9:30 p.m.
• For those that don’t know who Myron Cope is, he was a longtime broadcaster for the Steelers until he retired a year or so ago. If you ever heard this annoying, grating voice on Steelers highlights from some “local voices” segment on ESPN or some other national sports media, chances are that was Myron. He was one of those guys you either adored or hated. I, of course, was indifferent. That was until he got into Mario Lemieux’s business by writing an editorial a few days ago telling him to keep the Penguins in Shittsburgh because it is the “right thing to do.” Here's what he wrote.
Hey Myron. Fuck you.
Put up millions of dollars to keep a team you played with for so many years, then you can tell Mario what “the right thing” is to do. And by the way, the Rooney family did threaten to move the Steelers back in the 1990s if their new stadium demands weren’t met. I’m not hating on the Rooneys, and they are good owners. However, don’t you even try to pull that pseudo-sentimental shit with me. When the Pirates and Steelers were in danger of leaving the area, the local media went apeshit with threats of doom and gloom if the Pirates relocated to Raleigh. City leaders didn’t give a damn about the Penguins until other areas began to court them. It’s called the free market. Deal with it, bitches.
6 p.m.
• Anna Nicole Smith is dead. Don’t know why I care, but it’s being broadcast everywhere. I never liked her. If that old guy didn’t put her in his will before nodding off, then she shouldn’t have gotten a dime.
• So North Carolina beat Duke last night. Yay. Duke is one of those teams you either love or hate, and I am the latter. I don’t even care much for UNC, but if I have to choose between the two, I’m the Tarheels through and through. Why am I talking about this? To segway to a Duke alumn currently in the NBA.
• Gee, what a surprise. Today’s Around the Horn and Pardon the Interruption panelists expressed SHOCK and OUTRAGE over the comments of Philadelphia 76ers forward Shavlik Randolph, who said about John Amaechi.
Awesome. Simply awesome. Here’s what the rest of his quote said:
I always wondered how a gay guy could get away with staying in the closet when in the shower room after practice – wouldn’t there be certain … things … at attention? Not that I’d look. As long as someone doesn’t bring his gayness on me, I’m fine, too. Although I have to wonder how you can bring gayness on somebody. I guess you’ll know when it happens.
• Normally I’d be against such stupid regulation, but you know what: go ahead and ban iPods or whatever it is you fascists want to do. You latte-sippin’, hybrid-drivin’, soy-lovin’ New Yorkers are all about limiting the pleasure and enjoyment of other people (smokers, trans-fat eaters), it’s about time you got a taste of your own medicine.
Think about it. You have little Bobby crossing the street with his headphones blasting and can’t hear the horn of an approaching motorist. Suddenly, BLAM! Won’t you think of the children instead of your own greedy listening pleasure?
As the title states, I sold part of my life today. I've been an avid comic book collector since about the age of 5. I'm faced with hard and pressing times concerning money right now, and I had to find a way to get money very quickly.
It sucks, but I'm a grown man, and I have to make sacrifices to make end's meat. And since I don't have steady employment, selling things is a short term fix while I locate employment.
Just in case you're wondering, here's what I sold:
Incredible Hulk # 181, 340
Giant Size X-Men # 1
Iron Fist # 14
Uncanny X-Men #'s 136, 137, 141, 142, 266, 282, 304
X-Men #'s: 25, 30, 150
Wolverine: #'s 10, 75, and a few others
Daredevil: 1st apperance of Bullseye, death of Elecktra, and a few others
I also sold ALL of my graphic novels, such as: Weapon X, Daredevil Visionaries 1 - 4, Batman: Dark Knight Returns, Kingdom Come, Watchmen, etc.
All in all, a wonderful, and amazing comic book collection spanning 16 years.
WHEN YOU WANT TO GAMBLE, THE MAIN THING YOU MUST DO IS THIS: YOU MUST ACCEPT LOSING.
I haven't watched wrestling for years and I hardly ever frequent the wrestling folders here, but I did somehow meander into a link in the General Wrestling folder that detailed that Jake Roberts, once again, arrived at a card loaded and unable to perform. It is, of course, no news at all that Roberts (a favorite of mine, back when I had an interest in the business) is a cracked shell of humanity. What is concerning to me is the reaction that everybody always has to the unfortunate regularity of these kind of reports.
When they're not papering over the inherent tragedy in Jake's downfall with half-assed jokes, everybody keeps implying that it would be such a boon to the wrestling industry "if Jake were to somehow get his shit together", all while having a fundamental misunderstanding about what exactly has driven Roberts through this steady descent into oblivion. Why are you even bothering with any sort of optimism for Jake Roberts?
His self-destructive behavior comes about through a symbiotic relationship to professional wrestling; any possibility for humility is long gone, as there will always be some cheap-ass indie promoter, looking to score a buck, that will be more than happy to simply pay Roberts (in cash or in drugs, whatever's easier to procure) to headline their booking. Whether Roberts' addiction and depression are suitably indulged are of no consequence to them, as long as there's even a remote possibility that he works on their night. The sheer possibility of an appearance is somehow worthwhile because, despite what happened at Heroes of Wrestling, despite all of the constant no-shows and general instability...Jake "The Snake" Roberts still has some marketability to wrestling fandom, either out of hope for a glimpse at the brilliant performer of the past or out of morbid curiosity for the walking car crash that stumbles from town to no-horse town today.
There's no denying that Jake has the addiction here, likely spurred by an all-too-conscious self-loathing and a sordid past that no one would want to go through. But the industry, as a whole, has an addiction to Jake Roberts as well, always willing to bring him in for a quick jolt, a quick cash-in of nostalgia, with more regard for the icon rather than the human being that's no longer able to carry his fractured legacy. As much as I want Roberts to recover from his broken life, I know better than to expect him, or those that are content to bleed him dry, to find an opportunity. There Is No Hope Here.
I'm very content with my relationship right now. As of February 2nd, 2007, I've been with my girlfriend for eight months. If you count the time we were hanging out, it's closer to eight and a half months. Yeah, not exactly the longest time to be with someone, but it's the longest relationship I've ever been in.
From the start, I knew she was different than the rest. I've been with my share of women, and none of them ever made me feel actually happy, except for her. She is everything I have ever wanted, and ever needed. There is nothing in this world I would not do for her, or am not willing to do for her. I am 100% completely devoted and commited to her.
We moved in together last month, on the third. Everyone said it was too soon, and that we wouldn't last a week living together. Well, we've proved them ALL wrong. I've never been so happy to wake up in the morning, and see her laying next to me. A long time ago, I used to not care if I woke up again, but that's all a distant nightmare.
I took things a giant leap on January 13th, and asked her to marry me. And, she said yes. It's on the wraps right now, because I haven't asked her father yet, I am very traditional, and so is she. Plus, I don't have the engagement ring to give to her yet. We are planning on making it official this summer, probably around our One year anniversary.
I love her! Totally, and completely love her.
It was just past one but there was an ominous breeze filtering through the white skies on Tuesday. I sat in class and every single pair of eyes looked away watching the snow start to pick up. We knew it was coming but the anticipation was building, a buzz of whispers shooting through the air with the keypad blips of txt messaging and the gentle tapping on lap tops. All focus on class had expired once the snow finally collapsed down from the tight grips of the clouds and slammed onto the waiting campus. Numbers had been thrown out but the crude measurement with a tape measure out in the parking lot as I dodged cars and a stampede of paranoia read the story. 5 ¾ inches. It was just starting, it would reach higher later that night but combine with the below freezing temperatures and icy conditions foretold a scary adventure. It wasn’t the amount of snow that was the concern; it was the icy conditions and horrible road conditions.
I had to make a decision that morning. I knew all too well that these weather conditions were coming. Two weeks ago, I finally put up that old pick up truck that I drove since my accident two months ago and brought (against my initial intentions) a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 Hemi (a fucking machine) but instead of driving it that day, I knew my mother would be working downtown into the middle of the afternoon. Instead of letting her drive her old car that has seen better days, I gave her the keys to my brand new truck. Aren’t I a great son?
I finally found my way out through the shuffle of the parking lot. 5,500 students converging onto a one lane road all driving no faster then 15 MPH. It took approximately 35 minutes to travel 2 miles. A slightly longer wait and I made it through the town and reached the express way. The problem with this expressway was simply that it was basically a curvy hill and of course, the road crews hadn’t bothered to get to this specific area. It was coming down strong. Windshield wipers froze almost instantly. The skies fell darker in the early afternoon and the only option was instinct. A 2 lane expressway had become a 5 wide slip and slide Daytona 500 mess. No order can possibly function at these times. The urge of survival kicks in and everyone seeks their own grooves, that secret spot on the road that leads to freedom but instead just arrive to constant frustration.
Soon enough it feels monotonous. You almost adapt to moving like a snail at 20 MPH watching snow hail over your window (snow surf). Of course, there were the jackasses who felt that going faster on ice and snow was the better alternative. The world would be less shitty if these fuck-wads expired. Cars struggled to climb up the hills and I watched them in front of me, a good deal of distance away rock back and forth.
I finally got off that expressway and I felt secure in the rest of my trip home. I still had classes at another school in Middletown, but Middletown is horrendous with road crews and no class is ever worth spending an extra 2-3 hours there then I already am. I finally got home. What was usually just 20 minutes took two hours. I was already dressed to stay home and take in the falling snow but I got that phone call that I should have known was coming. I looked down and saw Allison was calling and I knew instantly what it was for. The keys were in my hands by the time I said “Hello”.
She works downtown. Normally its 25 minutes away but I knew better. Not only did I buy myself a new truck but I also brought her a car since hers was a pain to keep fixing up and wasn’t worth the time nor price. It wasn’t anything special. Just a cheap but dependable Saturn that I brought off a guy my father knew. Instead of driving down there, she took the bus because she wanted to save gas money. Usually, I’d applaud that but not in this case. I was off to go “rescue” her. Luckily for me, my mother had just arrived as I was leaving. So I wasn’t forced to fight through that in that old car again. The roads should have improved with a couple hours passed but the road crew had very little effect on the conditions. Although I hated driving in these conditions, I took a slight piece of happiness in this. It was good, if only for confirmation to know that she isn’t completely independant. It’s a fantastic trait but there’s always a time you want to feel like they need you for more then just being a fuck toy.
I arrived at the hotel well after I left the house and the night had already fell but I could see her standing by a door and I was taken aback by the sight of her breaking into a wide smile and doing that thing she does with her tongue when she smiles like that. Took us just as long to get back to my house but the trip home was probably the most, well, fun time I ever had driving 10 MPH on a icy highway with a deluge of pissed off drivers wanting to get home in time to catch American Idol or whatever crappy CBS action show was on.
I’ve always said that winter was the best time of the year and I continue to insist on that. Some think that the heat of the summer, the calmness of fall and the bloom of spring is the best and that can be understood but winter’s freeze creates this complete alternate world where somehow you become warmer against the dark cold nights. The best times of my life were always during the winter months and I’ll always associate snow for happiness. Things just feel good right now and I can hardly believe that a couple entries ago, I was pissed and bitter about life. Yeah, I know these times aren’t always here to stay and that the snow will soon melt and spring will begin.
There’s a lot of resentment around this place. People are so angry and many don’t seem to be willing to change that. Certain people are more obvious then others. I’ve been there, hell just a few weeks ago I was feeling down but there really isn’t a reason to be negative. Sure, the world sucks. Nothing changes and we’re just waiting for death but maybe you should drive in the snow every once in awhile to remember it doesn’t always have to be shitty.
5:45 p.m.
Some queer who used to play in the NBA has now admitted as such. OMG LET'S GIVE HIM A MEDAL~!!!
I bet he liked to drive HARD TO THE HOLE!!! I wonder who he POSTED UP!?!? Was he always out in front, or did he like to COME FROM BEHIND??? When he dunked, I bet he did a JOB on the RIM!!! Acutally, these retarded jokes would work for a guy who likes women, but you see ... he's GAY!!! Where was I going with this? I have no clue. Oh, yeah. He's gay. Big deal. And this interview will be aired on Valentine's Day ... wait a second, his book is called "Man in the Middle"? Now that's funny.
Maybe I'm being too hard on him. After all, with the jock culture I'm sure his life would have been a living hell with the fans, media and other players... huh huh huh, I said "hard on..."
VIDEO GAMES, SELECTED AT RANDOM
Bionic Commando
(NES - 1988)
Sometimes, the art in a game's design can be found in its limitations.
If there was a "golden age" of video games, it probably resided in the late 80's, when the wildly successful arcade industry intersected with the Nintendo Entertainment System and its resurrection of console gaming. At the crossroads was Super Mario Bros, providing a synergy of action and platforming elements that introduced a whole new generation to gaming and gave rise to a whole new wave of action/platformers across consoles and arcades alike.
So imagine the collective surprise of arcade patrons when they stepped up to the Bionic Commando cabinet in 1987 and found an action game with platforming elements that wouldn't allow you to jump. Mario could jump. That dude in Rolling Thunder could jump. Even the incredibly obese Karnov could jump. But the Bionic Commando's feet were planted to the ground; he was saddled with a bionic arm that worked like a grappling hook, pulling him up to higher ledges and swinging him across pits like Pitfall Harry. (Of course, Harry, like virtually everybody else in the universe of gaming protagonists at the time, could jump too.)
Despite this novel concept, the Bionic Commando arcade game was a modest success, at best, which made it somewhat of a surprise when Capcom decided to not only port over the game to the NES, but to give it a complete makeover.
For one, the storyline of the game underwent a huge change. The somewhat scruffy-looking protagonist from the first game and fiery-haired Radd Spencer was installed as the hero. His mission: to rescue Super Joe (the protagonist from the original Commando game) from the Nazis and to destroy their secret Albatross project. Of course, even though the Nazis are the villains of choice for countless FPS games today, Nintendo of America felt that their inclusion within the NES version of Bionic Commando was far too controversial for their family-oriented policy of publishing, so Capcom changed the Nazis to the BADDs and renamed Hitler as "Commander Killt" for the North America release in 1988. (As we'll see later, though, Nintendo of America didn't catch quite everything that the game had to offer.)
Beyond the storyline, the rest of the game received a remarkable facelift. The background music was re-imagined into some of the most striking pieces that you'll find on the NES at the time. Communication rooms were added to many of the stages, giving players the chance (if they equipped the right radio) to contact HQ to gain more information about the mission, as well the ability to wiretap into enemy communications. A world map was added to allow the player to proceed through stages in a non-linear fashion, and "neutral zone" stages were added to allow the player to gain information from NPCs and find different weapons/radios for use in the different stages throughout the game. The development team even added a mini-game (represented by trucks on the world map) where the player would be thrown into an overhead action/shoot'em up (in yet another nod to Commando).
Finally (and perhaps most importantly), the stage design was tightened up exponentially, revealing the real genius behind the game: the limited mobility forced the player to be a little more creative as they navigated through each area. The stages scrolled vertically, as well as horizontally, and the bionic arm trickery required to get through each stage became progressively more difficult as you go along, building perfectly to an epic showdown with the huge Albatross airship, "Master-D" himself and a frantic Metroid-esque escape from the final stage.
With all of these changes in place, the NES release was a much more robust gaming experience and, as a result, it became one of the greatest action games on the platform, essentially reducing its arcade predecessor to a mere curiosity. Bionic Commando is an absolute blast to play to this very day and, with one notable exception (the inability to change weapons/radios in-stage), the game design that drives it still seems fun and fresh.
It will be interesting to see how the ESRB rules on a release of Bionic Commando on the Wii Virtual Console, if one happens to come down the pike; astonishingly, the original NES game has profanity and a rather grisly depiction of Hitler's death at the end of the game:
Though you would never guess from its humble arcade origins, the NES release of Bionic Commando might be one of the most underappreciated games of all time, and it's certainly one of the best action titles that you can find out there, even compared with the games of today. If you can snag a ROM, I would highly recommend that you check it out.
****1/2
Ok, since ECW is on and I'm just sitting here and watching it, I have some time to post about me working the most recent BAW show.
I flew out of Sacramento, really really early Friday (1/26) morning. Before my flight, I saw this big Samoan guy who looked really familar. He was on my flight, I couldn't put my finger on it, but he looked really really familar. Anyways, I let it go and we flew out of California a little before 6:30 in the morning. I got into Portland a little after 8 and Portland's airport is FREAKING huge! I couldn't believe how big it was, I felt like I was in a mall. I waited outside for my shuttle under these space heaters the airport has and after half an hour of waiting, I went to my hotel. My hotel room was ok, nothing special about it, I tried taking a nap as I didn't get much sleep Thursday night. The problem was, the hotel was putting new carpet in the rooms...and they happen to be putting new carpet in the room across mine. So sleep was pretty much out of the question. So after waiting a little while, Helfyre called me up to let me know he was picking me up and we headed to BAW in McMinnville a little before 4 in the afternoon......and we hit traffic all the way there. What should have been about an hour drive, turned into a two hour and 10 minute drive, granted we had to make a sidestop due to Helfyre forgetting his music and had to get a cd for the show, but it still took a lot longer to get there than it should have and I thought California Bay Area traffic was horrible, I really shouldn't complain about Bay Area traffic again after sitting in Oregon traffic, that shit was insane.
Me and Helfyre got to the show a little after 6...and the show started at 7. As soon as I got in the building, I said hello to some of the BAW rookies and the booker and went right to the back to get changed quickly. I didn't know how soon they needed me, so I got changed quickly. Of course I said hello to those in the locker room before I got changed, that would have been rude if I didn't and as I was getting changed, the big samoan I saw that was on my flight that looked familar but I just couldn't put my finger on it, well he was there! Turns out, that guy is the Tonga Kid. The guy who teamed with Haku in the early 80's of the WWF and made the team of the Islanders. Really nice guy, I introduced myself and continued getting ready. He also showed up with "Count Black Pearl", which is a cousin of the Rock and Rikishi. More and more of the bigger names were showing up. Kamala showed up, along with D-Lo Brown. Both were really cool to meet. I didn't realize how tall Kamala and D-Lo actually are, both are really tall, espically Kamala.
The show started at 7 and I found out what matches I had. I had the first offical match of the night, which was a tag match between Kimo and Chico Navarro vs Cosmic River and "The Ideal Reflection" Christopher Ryseck. Kimo and Chico are actually workers from North Cal. They wrestle out of a promotion called BTW or Big Time Wrestling. Cosmic River is a maked hippie wrestler who believes in Peace and puts the peace sign of two fingers up a lot. Christopher Ryseck I met that night and I really don't know anything about his backround. His gimmick is the guy who is in love with himself gimmick. As I got into the ring before the wrestlers came out, I took a second to look at the crowd and the crowd had grown since the last show, it was at least double the size of the last show and they were loud...really loud. The tag match went well. I almost screwed up as I didn't see Cosmic's foot on the rope but I saw it as the last second and stopped my count...well ok I hesitated and slowly put my hand down to make it look like I didn't screw it up. The end of the match resulted with a double team as Kimo hit a back cracker on River and held him so Chico could hit a double stomp on River, then Kimo pinned River for the 3 count.
The 2nd match I had for the night was "Superstar" Shane Matthews vs JB Luce. I had met both these guys at the last show. This was Luce's debut match, not his debut with BAW but his first offical match altogether and Shane Matthews wrestled Micheal Blade on the last show and I got to Ref that match, so me and Shane worked together before. Shane had a lot of heat from the crowd, the crowd just hated him. The match went well for all 3 of us and the match ended up with Matthews rolling up Luce and according to the results, Shane Matthews used the ropes to help pin Luce...I didn't see it.
The was my last match for the night, which sucked because out of 9 matches and only using two Refs (me and another guy), I only got to do two matches. I was really hoping to Ref a few more matches but it happens, you learn that about wrestling. I stayed in Ref gear just in case they needed and I just stood near the enterance and watched the rest of the show on the moniters we had. I did come out for two more matches, I came out for L'Empereur vs Kamala match. I collected Emperuer's gear for him and got chased around the ring by Kamala...that was really cool for me and I also came out for the main event. The main event was a cage match, which was New Jack vs Terry Bull. I came out and set up the cage and I stood ringside, just in case anything bad was to happen. This match was crazy as all hell.
It started with Terry Bull attacking New Jack during Jack's enterance, which spilled out to the crowd. After a few minutes and after both men were busted open, Terry Bull and New Jack got into the cage and I locked the door so they couldn't get out. The match ended with New Jack pinning Terry Bull after hitting a suplex on him. Yeah I know what your thinking "A suplex?" and let me take a second to explain why it was off a suplex, both guys beat the living hell out of each other with weapons and in the cage, it wasn't a pretty sight, there was really nothing more they could have done to finish it, so thats how it ended. Besides NEW JACK DID A F'N SUPLEX! How often do you see Jack wrestle?
After the show was over, myself and Helfyre geared up and got ready to go. Oh and before I forget Helfyre had a match as well. He wrestled a triple threat agasint D-Lo Brown and Count Black Pearl. All 3 guys had a good match that the fans ate up. As me and Helfyre were getting ready to leave, Tonga Kid asked if we could give anyone a ride and then the game of musical passengers. First were two luchadores and ater a few minutes, it turned out the two luchadores had a ride, so they switched cars. The next two people were Rikishi and Count Black Pearl. Oh yeah! Rikishi was also on the show, I just didn't get to talk to him much but when I did talk to him, he was a nice guy. So after a few minutes later, we found out we actually weren't going to give Rikishi and Black Pearl a ride to the hotel. The game of musical passengers was pretty much over so Helfyre started backing out of the parking lot and as we were backing up we noticed New Jack and D-lo was in the parking lot, kinda walking around aimlessly. Helfyre asked if they needed a ride and they did. D-Lo had to get to the airport as he had a late flight and New Jack needed a ride to the hotel. So now D-Lo Brown and New Jack are in the same car as I am! I'm secretly marking out in my head.
The car ride to the airport in Portland was a lot of fun. D-Lo and New Jack told stories from Smokey Mountain and their time with TNA and we all joked with one another. At one point I got ribbed because the windows were fogging up in the back (5 people in a car can do that) and for some reason my window looked like some kind of Zebra pattern and everyone in the car ribbed me about how I was freaking them out making the window like that. We also stopped so D-Lo and New Jack could grab a beer. I got to share a beer with New Jack as drinking wasn't good for him that night as he lost a LOT of blood due to the cage match. After about an hour of driving, we dropped D-lo off at the airport in Portland, about half an hour before his flight was about to take off. It was funny watching D-lo speed walk into the airport as he was somewhat drunk off the 40oz he had bought and drank very quickly. As we were pulling away, New Jack rolled down the back window and started yelling to D-lo "D-LO YOU FORGOT YOUR BEER!" over and over again, it was great.
After dropping off D-lo, Helfyre and New Jack wanted to get something to eat, I asked Helfyre if he could drop me off as I had to get up early so I could catch my flight and wanted to get some sleep but New Jack wanted me to come and eat with them and I can't really say no to New Jack, so I went with them. When we got to the resturant, New Jack got a phone call and it went like this "Hey!"...."your kidding?"....*new Jack puts the phone down and a bit and looks at Helfyre* "Can you pick up D-lo, he missed his flight." So off Helfyre went to pick up D-lo as myself and New Jack got a table. As we waited, me and New Jack talked about wrestling and how it was a bit surreal for me to be hanging out with him and D-lo. He told me a story about him and Kamala and we discussed about how he was going to be running a school soon and invited me to come out and visit sometime. Yes New Jack is going to be running a pro wrestling school soon, and he actually plans on training on wrestling. Jack knows how to wrestle...he just doesn't use it very often in his matches. After a little bit, D-lo and Helfyre returned and joined us. Turns out D-lo had the wrong time for his flight and was actually 10 minutes late for his flight. So we all sat down and had dinner..well Breakfest for me as it was late enough to where it was time for a early morning/late night breakfest. After eating and talking some more, we all finished and left the restuarant and I got dropped off at my hotel and of course I said my good byes to D-lo, New Jack, and Helfyre.
As soon as I got back into my hotel, I took a quick shower to make sure all the blood was off of me and then went to sleep. I had to get up early to catch my flight back to CA as I had the CCW show still to do. Which will be told in my next blog, which I promise will be up in the next day or two.....at least before the weekend.
This is my first review / play-by-play.
"American Dragon" Bryan Danielson vs. KENTA 12/2/06 NOAH - Yokohoma Bunka Gymnasium - 3,800 Fans
Handshake of respect is given. Danielson works over the arm for the beginning of the match, a very lengthy feel out process. Danielson is so good at tearing down body parts, rendering them completely useless. Kenta tries to do some of his own arm work, but Danielson will have none of it using a back bridge and then a dropkick to get Kenta off of him. Danielson leg scissors Kenta's head, which Kenta gets out of and slaps Danielson in the face, heelish prick. Danielson doesn't take to it too kindly ripping into Kenta's arm again, and then slapping him in the face.
Kenta with elbows, Danielson with stiff european uppercuts. A very quick whip and drop sequence follows with Danielson pulling out a neat combo of hip toss followed directly with a sweet armbar, Kenta reaches the ropes. Danielson does the classic armbreaker over his shoulder, and then between his legs, and my favorite, putting his arm resting on his wrist on the mat and stomping it. Danielson gets a one count for his fantastic arm work so far. Kenta comes back with some swift, stiff kicks to Danielson's chest, and then his back for a one count. Kenta with a side headlock on the mat, for a while. Danielson gets to the ropes, no clean break for him as Kenta kicks him in the chest, and then hit him with a slow swinging neck breaker for a 2 count. Kenta now puts danielson in the head scissors, and in a funny spot, with Kenta on his stomach, they both start screaming and Danielson pops his head out between Kenta's leg. Wow. With Kenta on his stomach, Danielson goes for the surf board stretch, but Kenta refuses to give him his hands, so in an awesome spot, Danielson grinds his knuckles into Kenta's kidney area. Now that he has control of his arms he prepares to swing back with a "whoa...whoa" which is funny. As soon as he falls back he puts him in the dragon sleeper for a quick second, and then a one handed push back choke.
Danielson goes back for a surf board, but just jumps stomping both legs in the process. Danielson with another swank european uppercut, over the shoulder arm breakers. Kenta gets fired up and dishes out a quick couple elbow shots and knees to the midsection, and then tries to suplex Danielson who blocks it with a takedown armbar. Kenta cannot reach the ropes for a few seconds, Danielson holds on even though he's told to break, and then tells the ref he has until five. That was awesome. More over the shoulder arm breakers and then a back suplex for 2. Back to the dragon sleeper, with an added twist, putting Kenta's right arm inbetween his legs and sitting down. Kenta reaches the ropes. Danielson with another european uppercut, and a couple of Benoit style head butts. Danielson with a butterfly suplex into a armbar. That was cool. Damn, more over the shoulder arm breakers. Danielson whips Kenta into the corner, charges, gets the boot, Kenta runs off the ropes and get floored with a back elbow. Danielson goes for a suplex, but Kenta floats over and Danielson runs the ropes into a powerslam by Kenta, no cover.
Kenta with a running yakuze kick. Kenta with an elbow smash, charges d\Danielson gets a boot to the face, Danielson climbs the ropes and dives at Kenta, and eats a cutter (diamond cutter) for a 2 count. Kenta with strikes, spin kick, springboard dropkick for another 2 count. Backs Danielson into the corner and gives him some elbows. Whips Danielson into the other corner, and Danielson runs the turnbuckle does a backflip over Kenta landing behind him, Kenta charges and takes a nasty push down backbreaker. Danielson with the stalling diving head BUTT for a 2 count. A quick pin sequence follows, sunset flips, roll overs, etc, all for 2. Danielson tries to sunset flip Kenta, but gets slapped in the face yet again, and then gets a fisherman buster for his troubles for a 2 count. Kenta climbs the ropes and mocks Danielson, he'll soon regret that, Kenta dives and eats Danielson's boot. Danielson looks pissed. Kenta has rolled onto the apron, and Danielson tries to suplex him back into the ring, but Kenta counters and suplexs him out of the ring to the floor. Kenta tries to baseball slide, Danielson side steps and gives Kenta a LARIATOOOO~! knocking Kenta over the guardrail. Danielson gets back in the ring and shows his flying skills clearing the guardrail nailing Kenta with a springboard crossbody splash. Danielson landed badly, hurting his left knee. Kenta looks pretty shaken up as well. Danielson is having trouble standing at this point. Ref is counting. 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 Danielson is in 19 - Kenta is in.
Danielson with a top rope dropkick. He kips up and screams in agony hopping on one leg, yet charges at Kenta at full speed giving him a diving elbow. Danielson goes for a top rope move, but Kenta hits his leg and pushes him off, and Danielson charges back and gets a boot to the face, and then a spinning ddt over the ropes. Kenta spring boards at Danielson, who ducks, and botches a german suplex. Looked like he wanted to do a release, but Kenta doesn't do the necessary flip. so, Danielson quickly covers up the mistake and makes a bridge and gets a slow 2 count. Danielson runs the ropes and get a calf dropkick to the side of his head, Kenta follows up with a texas cloverleaf. Kenta must be watching Dean Malenko lately. Danielson reaches the ropes and takes a german suplex for two, still holding his knee. Kenta with some strikes, and goes for a spinning chop, Danielson ducks and gives Kenta a bridging back suplex while underhooking his left leg for a two count. Danielson ascends the turnbuckle, Kenta gives chase jumping right up to him, Danielson in yet another sweet spot slips through Kenta's leg and gets up behind him and gives him a top rope back suplex for 2 3/4. Danielson wastes no time and locks Kenta into the cattle multilation. Kenta is in the hold for about ten seconds before he reaches the ropes and Danielson releases the hold and immedaitely grabs his knee. Nice sequence of spots.
Slugfest time, Danielson's european uppercuts vs. Kenta's elbows. Danielson then does a running head BUTT, and Kenta with a running yakuze kick, Danielson with another running head BUTT, and then another. Those looked sick as hell, especially the last one.
Danielson now with the crossface chicken wing. Kenta with a leg takedown using his leg, which is cool. Kenta puts on the texas cloverleaf again, but small pakaged after a few seconds for a 2 count, and a round of aplouse. Slapping contest, and a kitchen sink by Danielson, followed up by 20 elbows strikes to Kenta's neck, yes, twenty. Danielson gets the cattle multilation on again, but doesn't like his positioning, so he releases, rolls Kenta over with a spinning headlock and reapplies the cattle multilation! That was incredible. Kenta reaches the ropes again, and is selling his neck. Danielson does the Benoit cut throat. Danielson goes for the tiger suplex, Kenta counters and goes for the go 2 sleep, Danielson counters and hits the tiger suplex for 2 3/4. Danielson goes for the cattle multilation again but Kenta rolls with him and pins Danielson for a 2 3/4 count. Wow. Double running yakuza kicks, Kenta with a flapjack lift into cutter again, Kenta with a combo of strikes and a Busaiku Knee Kick for 2 3/4. Kenta starts running the ropes going for it again, but Danielson moves and victory rolls with a bridge for 2, school boy for 2. Elbow strike fest, Danielson with a rolling elbow, Kenta goes for rolling elbow, but Danielson ducks and goes for the backslide, Kenta flips over and gives Danielson three Kawada style kicks to the head, and then hoists Danielson up on his shoulders, GO 2 SLEEP~! Danielson takes it to the chest, and is out on his feet, cover, 1 - 2 - 3! WINNER: KENTA in 25:21.
Wow. That was a great match. Felt like a AJPW 1990's heavyweight match, with the big moves, solid mat work, good heat, pretty decent selling at times, and them busting their asses for over 25 minutes. A very solid, re-watchable match. ****1/2
They (NOAH) should really consider having Danielson tour more often, well, once he returns from his injury. Danielson is easily in the top ten, possibly top five wrestlers in the world right now.
Ok, so I know I'm really lacking on my blog updates. I still owe you a BAW and CCW blog along with a training update. I'm lacking, I'm sorry, I'll get them up soon, I promise but right now I want to discuss how I recently found out how workers from South California hate North California workers and vicea versa.
The night I was in Oregon working the BAW show, another promotion here in CA was running. This promotion is called GZW. To be honest, I don't like the promoter of GZW, dude was very rude to me while I was talking to him and the end result ended up me being pist off. Before his first show, he sent me a message via Myspace to come down and watch GZW's first show, as a paying customer. I was considering it, it was kinda of a long drive for me to make as the show was set in Lodi and thats an hour in a half drive from where I currently live but I was considering going to the show regardless of the drive. Anyways, me and him were talking about the show, sending messages back and forth and I decided to offer myself to help him out with whatever he needed help with and I didn't ask for any pay, and I made it clear that I didn't want any money for it. Anyways, after sending that message asking if he wanted any help, I never got a response. I thought maybe Myspace screwed up, so I sent him another message after about a week after not hearing from him. Again after the 2nd message, I didn't hear back from him.
So after the first show took place, I sent him a message asking him how the show went...and I quickly got a response back. This was a surprise to me. So after talking about his first show and finding out how Samoa Joe was going to be on the next show, I again offered my hand in helping him out for free and after that message, I didn't hear back from again...he was ignoring me. I know he was getting my messages because when you check your "sent" folder on Myspace it lets you know if message had been read or not and the messages I was sending him were getting read. He just decided to stop talking to me altogether as I was offering my help...but yet he had no issue talking to me when he wanted me to pay to get in....So F him.
Anyways, so on the most recent GZW show, he had a mixture of North Cal guys with South Cal guys, mainly guys from PWG. Human Tornado, Joey Ryan, Chris Bosh, and Scott Lost. Now Sou Cal (South California) hate the Nor-cal (North California) guys. From my understanding, they think they're better than the wrestlers here in Nor-Cal and yeah that doesn't really sit well with all of us. Anyways, at GZW there was a major issue where actually The Reno Boys took GZW's belt home with them and no this wasn't a work, this was a shoot. The Reno Boys actually took the GZW title with them and left the show early. After this happen, GZW's promoter freaked out and booked a Sou-Cal vs Nor-Cal match...where I heard was rather stiff match, espically on the Nor-cal end of the match ( ).
So in a brief update, I wanted to put out there apprently is an issue between South California workers and North California workers. Something may arise again between the two parties, so if that happens, I wanted to post this first so there's some kind of backstory. So now you know...and knowing is half the battle.
AFRICA, MEXICO, SICILY, TIJUANA, INDIA, OSAKA, INDONESIA
Finding myself in between albums at the moment, I threw Cowboy Bebop: Blue into the mp3 player and spun through it on a particularly chilly commute into work today. My college roommate might have summed up Cowboy Bebop best when he said that "it's an anime that doesn't realize it's an anime." By integrating open-handed homage to Japanese detective stories with science fiction and excessive spaghetti western pastiche, Cowboy Bebop is the ultimate postmodernist anime and the soundtrack provided by Yoko Kanno and the Seatbelts is no different. Where else will you find deliciously overwrought power ballads sharing the stage with various jazz poetics and a straight-as-an-arrow orchestral rendition of Schubert's Ave Maria? Just a fantastic soundtrack.
BILL BELICHICK MAKES MY HEAD HURT
Apparently, the national sports media found a b-side to it's human interest blockbuster, "Let's Keep Talking About How We Shouldn't Talk About Black Coaches", in the story of one Ted Johnson, a former linebacker for the New England Patriots.
You'll never find me demeaning or belittling somebody's struggle with depression (perhaps, one of these days, I'll "treat" everybody to discussion of my own personal experiences with the ailment) and the fact that Alzheimer's disease may be right around the corner for the former player is undeniably a somber outcome for Ted Johnson and his family.
But, even though I generally have a disposition towards giving Belichick the benefit of the doubt, the timing of Johnson's testimony is somewhat unfortunate. When you couple the timing of this startling revelation (right before the Super Bowl) with reports that cite he was willing and ready to return to the team this year, Johnson's claim seems a little bit like a vengeful jab at a coach and organization that might have turned the linebacker down for his own good.
That's not to say the claim is without merit and/or relevance; the spectre of Andre Waters' suicide still lingers around the NFL's rear-view mirror. But, sometimes, the delivery is just as important as the message and, fair or not, there is a hint of sensationalism about this news. Let's find out more information before we take our turn at the soapbox, shall we?
8:30 p.m.
• You know, I was going to bitch about Fast Eddie and his additional tax ideas, but why bother when I have other reasons to bitch about government spending -- like 2,900,000,000,000 reasons.
I don't know what's sicker. The fact this is the number being proposed or that it's not going to be enough. Party of small government my ass.
• This caught my eye.
I know nothing about NASCAR, other than it makes a shitload of money. But you know what? If you're a NASCAR driver, you should know that there is no pension in place. What does that mean? SAVE your money! INVEST it wisely! Have other LIFE SKILLS besides driving really fast! Now a case could be made for the old-timers who may not have made as much money and helped turn this sport (yes, I called it a sport) into a cash cow, but that's another subject for another time. I'm talking about today's drivers making the big bucks; realize that you won't be doing this forever. Prepare for that.
Then again, if the rest of us don't save, why should NASCAR drivers?
8 p.m.
• I saw this on TSM, but I wanted to get more news on it. Oh hell no.
Words can't express how pissed Indy 4 makes me. Well, not pissed that I'd go out and kill. It's about as pissed as I'll get when it comes to movies that shouldn't be made. I'm sure I'll rant about why I hate this idea someday, but I just don't feel like it right now.
12:30 p.m.
• And now it’s time for the Dr. Laura Call(ers) of the day (or whenever I feel like doing this. Chick number one: She’s living with her boyfriend and away from her parents so she’s “depressed.” The other night her and the boyfriend got into a huge fight because “he’s not there to console me.” She can’t remember what she said to him during this fight, but she knows it caused him to rip apart a wall. OK then. Chick number two: She’s asking for advice about her boyfriend who “turned Christian” early in their relationship and caught him going after 13- to- 15 year-old girls on My Space. He’s also mad at her because she’s not a virgin. And this is only in the show’s first segment.
The A.L. West features three World Champions, two of them on paper being the two weakest World Series winners in that decade. The Royals lead the way with five teams as some may forget at one time they weren't a complete joke. The White Sox, Rangers, and Mariners have just one team a piece, Mariners being the only franchise in the 80's who failed to have a winning record with their '87 team leading the way with 78 wins. Can they shock the world and upset the '89 A's in the 1st Round?
#1
1989 Oakland Athletics (99-63, defeated San Francisco 4-0 in World Series)
OPS+: 104 (t-3rd)
ERA+: 118 (1st)
DefEff: .715 (1st)
Best Player: Rickey Henderson
Best Pitcher: Mike Moore
#2
1985 Kansas City Royals (91-71, defeated St. Louis 4-3 in World Series)
OPS+: 95 (t-12th)
ERA+: 119 (2nd)
DefEff: .701 (8th)
Best Player: George Brett
Best Pitcher: Brett Saberhagen
#3
1987 Minnesota Twins (85-77, defeated St. Louis 4-3 in World Series)
OPS+: 96 (10th)
ERA+: 100 (t-8th)
DefEff: .700 (t-6th)
Best Player: Kirby Puckett
Best Pitcher: Frank Viola
#4
1988 Oakland Athletics (104-58, lost to Los Angeles 4-1 in World Series)
OPS+: 109 (4th)
ERA+: 110 (t-2nd)
DefEff: .710 (4th)
Best Player: Jose Canseco
Best Pitcher: Dave Stewart
#5
1980 Kansas City Royals (97-65, lost to Philadelphia 4-2 in World Series)
OPS+: 107 (t-4th)
ERA+: 105 (5th)
DefEff: .707 (3rd)
Best Player: George Brett
Best Pitcher: Larry Gura
#6
1983 Chicago White Sox (99-63, lost to Baltimore 3-1 in ALCS)
OPS+: 100 (t-6th)
ERA+: 114 (2nd)
DefEff: .712 (2nd)
Best Player: Carlton Fisk
Best Pitcher: Richard Dotson
#7
1981 Oakland Athletics (64-45, lost to New York 3-0 in ALCS)
OPS+: 103 (9th)
ERA+: 105 (3rd)
DefEff: .732 (2nd)
Best Player: Rickey Henderson
Best Pitcher: Steve McCatty
#8
1982 California Angels (93-69, lost to Milwaukee 3-2 in ALCS)
OPS+: 114 (2nd)
ERA+: 107 (t-3rd)
DefEff: .712 (4th)
Best Player: Doug DiCinces
Best Pitcher: Geoff Zahn
#9
1986 California Angels (92-70, lost to Boston 4-3 in ALCS)
OPS+: 103 (t-6th)
ERA+: 107 (4th)
DefEff: .715 (3rd)
Best Player: Brian Downing
Best Pitcher: Mike Witt
#10
1984 Kansas City Royals (84-78, lost to Detroit 3-0 in ALCS)
OPS+: 97 (t-8th)
ERA+: 103 (6th)
DefEff: .711 (4th)
Best Player: Willie Wilson
Best Pitcher: Dan Quisenberry
#11
1989 Kansas City Royals (92-70, finished 7 games behind Oakland)
OPS+: 98 (t-8th)
ERA+: 109 (t-3rd)
DefEff: .692 (11th)
Best Player: Kevin Seitzer
Best Pitcher: Bret Saberhagen
#12
1988 Minnesota Twins (91-71, finished 13 games behind Oakland)
OPS+: 110 (t-2nd)
ERA+: 104 (t-4th)
DefEff: .699 (6th)
Best Player: Kirby Puckett
Best Pitcher: Frank Viola
#13
1982 Kansas City Royals (90-72, finished 3 games behind California)
OPS+: 109 (3rd)
ERA+: 100 (t-8th)
DefEff: .716 (3rd)
Best Player: George Brett
Best Pitcher: Dan Quisenberry
#14
1985 California Angels (90-72, finished 1 game behind Kansas City)
OPS+: 97 (8th)
ERA+: 105 (t-6th)
DefEff: .710 (t-4th)
Best Player: Brian Downing
Best Pitcher: Donnie Moore
#15
1981 Texas Rangers (57-48, second best overall record in A.L. West)
OPS+: 105 (t-5th)
ERA+: 102 (t-6th)
DefEff: .713 (t-5th)
Best Player: Buddy Bell
Best Pitcher: Doc Medich
#16
1987 Seattle Mariners (78-84, finished 7 games behind Minnesota)
OPS+: 97 (t-8th)
ERA+: 105 (5th)
DefEff: .694 (10th)
Best Player: Phil Bradley
Best Pitcher: Mark Langston
1st Round Match-ups
'87 Mariners vs. '89 A's
'86 Angels vs. '82 Angels
'82 Royals vs. '88 A's
'88 Twins vs. '80 Royals
'89 Royals vs. '83 White Sox
'85 Angels vs. '87 Twins
'84 Royals vs. '81 A's
'81 Rangers vs. '85 Royals
7:45 p.m.
• Of course, I haven’t talked about the most important thing regarding this year’s Super Bowl: How were the ads? Not good, I’m afraid. Below are my opinions regarding this year's batch.
“Reception” by Bud. Whatever.
“Class Mencia” by Bud. I knew where this was going five seconds into this ad, and I like Carlos Mencia so I’m probably a bit biased with this one. One of my preferred ads, but that’s not saying much with this year's crop.
“Live the Flavor” by Doritos. Was this the homemade ad that aired? If so, it wasn’t half bad. Hell, if that chick would have been on all fours for the entire 30 seconds, this would be my favorite commercial of the night.
“Snickers Super Bowl Ad.” Retarded. And no, it’s not because I’m a homophobe. I’m all about making fun of rednecks, those with mullets or other semblances of white trash, but it just wasn’t all that humorous.
“Rock Paper Scissors” by Bud. Eh.
“But He has Bud Light.” This one was so-so up until the end when the Ax guy comments on Chainsaw Man. That got a laugh out of me.
“Fist Bump” by Bud. Fist bump in the face the people that came up with this one.
“Coca-Cola Videogame.” I thought the ad was dumb, but I did like the animation, if that makes any sense.
“RollinVIP” by Nationwide. Fuck the fast-food haters, I liked this one. A lot. And until this ad I had never heard the former Mr. Spears talk.
“Comb-Over” by Sierra Mist. And that Ian Black guy goofs on other people from decades past?
“We’re Obsessed with Quality” by GM. The only thing that made me laugh is knowing that union workers are “obsessed with quality.” Otherwise, awful.
“Dalmation” by Bud. I’m sure a lot of people liked this one, but not me. Nothing wrong with having dogs in your ads, though.
“Boogeyman” by Emerald Nuts. “Robert Goulet appears and messes with your stuff.” What the hell? I’m saying “what the hell” in a good way, mind you.
“Check Out Girl” by Doritos. I guess this won that hippie contest, too. I liked the first one better. Much better. Get this chick down on all fours and you can put a saddle on her. ... After getting that image into my head, I think I might have to amend my previous sentence.
“New Steak Grilled Taquitos” by Taco Bell. Similar to the Dalmatian ad, I’m sure people liked this one; I just didn’t.
“Promotion Pit” By Career Builder. I don’t really care for this ad, but having gone through the experiences I have in the past three years at my place of employment, I think I like these kinds of ads more than I normally would if I were working at some place not headed up by fucking idiots. The “delivery guy” earned a chuckle.
“Generic Ad Name” by Garmin. Was over-the-top and dumb, but that’s a good thing. I approve.
“King Crab” by Bud. Didn’t care for it. Then again, I’m not a beer drinker so my opinion on these Bud ads may be tainted.
“Not What it Seems” by FedEx. There have been some funny FedEx ads like this in the past, but this ain’t one of them.
“Happiness Factory" By Coca-Cola. The fuck? People spent money making this shit?
“Darts & Jungle” by Career Builder. Not as well-liked as the above Career Builder. The “lemming shot” was good, though.
“Great Apes” by Bud. Stupid.
“Moon Office” by FedEx. Ugh. Stick to the “office-type” ads.
“Finger” by E-Trade. Wasn’t bad. Wasn’t great. I was waiting for the "middle finger" reference.
“Go Daddy.” I’ve never liked these Go Daddy ads. Hey, let’s put a chick with big tits in front of a camera wearing one of our shirts! See, with the Doritos ad I mentioned above dealing with the chick on all fours, that image was only on for a second, leaving much to the imagination. If you’re going to exploit big-chested women with nothing in-between their ears and an inferno in-between their legs, at least make it somewhat amusing.
“Hard to Say Goodbye” by the NFL. The Radier scenes were cute.
“Car Wash” by Chevy. Dreadful.
“Connectile Dysfunction” by Sprint. This is one of my favorite ads of the lot, if only because it’s goofing on all those four-hour boner ads. Or at least that’s my opinion of what they were trying to get across.
“Performance Evaluation” by Career Builder. I didn’t see this one during the game; I think this is my favorite Career Builder ad so far.
“Tundra Ramp” by Toyota. Those ads didn’t do it for me. Then again, I don’t beat off to vehicles that have oodles of horsepower and all that other shit.
“Karate” by Sierra Mist. They thought it was a good idea to make more than one Ian Black ad? I'm going to pretend that guy who makes fun of Hot Pockets weren't in these ads, too.
“Black History Timeline” by Coca-Cola. Do I really need to comment on this one?
“Autograph” by Foot Locker. No.
“JayZ vs. Shula” by Bud. Didn’t see this one during the game. Eh.
“Wild Hogs Movie.” The “But all I could think of was black jokes” line was amusing, but otherwise, ugh.
“Bank Robbery” by E-Trade. I feel for what they were trying to do, so I’m not going to hate on it…
“Meet the Robinsons Movie.” … But I WILL hate on this. What the fuck?!
“Green Tea” by Snapple. “It’s on the back of the bottle.” I knew it was coming, but the Jap's delivery was solid.
“See Saw” by Toyota. See my previous Toyota comment.
“Ain’t We Got Love” by Chevy. I really liked this one. Way, way more better than “This is Our Country.” I marked out when I heard LL.
“Orange County Choppers” by HP. So Orange County Choppers is a motorcycle business? I always wondered what those clothing items were pimping.
“Beat Your Heart Risk” by some hippie organization. Who made this shit?
“A Man’s Walk” by Van Heusen. The old “re-wind the ad” trick. Sorry, but I liked it better when alcohol companies did it with ads showing who the designated driver would be in a group of friends.
“Pride Movie.” First there was the football movie “Remember the Titans” that showed us the evils of RACISM. Then there was “Glory Road,” taking us through the struggles of black people playing college basketball. Now there’s a SWIMMING movie about this subject?
“Fuel Efficient Cars are the Shizzle,” by Honda. Oh boy, another ad showing a bunch of cars driving across barren land in pretty patterns. Click.
“Hannibal Rising.” I’m not a huge Hannibal fan, but I’ll watch these movies. I won’t watch them in a theater though. This will be a DVD’er.
“Men of the Year” by the United Way. Fuck this commie organization and their sexist hiring practices.
“Sales Genie.” Retarded. Simply retarded.
“Sheryl Crow Ad” by Revlon. I hate Sheryl Crow. Really, really, really hate her. Almost as much as I hate nl-asshole. That’s all I’m going to say about this one.
“Honda CR-V.” At least it had that “Hunka Burning Love” song. That’s about all I can say about this one.
“Flomax Ad.” Oh for Christ’s sake. Another one of these “Here’s to men” ads with them doing gay things like biking and boating. And they’re drinking WATER! I hate these ads. You know when the cameras stop rolling they’re all BUTT-fucking each other. “Real men” go out in the woods drinking bear, hunting defenseless animals and don’t care about having to go to the bathroom because they just piss in the bushes. Then again, I really wouldn’t know because I don’t hunt. But I bet that's what they do. And BUTT-fuck each other, of course.
OK, now let me scan through this list and come up with my insta-top five ads.
5) “Boogeyman,” by Emerald Nuts.
4) “Green Tea,” by Snapple.
3) “RollinVIP” by Nationwide.
2) “Connectile Dysfunction,” by Sprint.
1) “Ain’t We Got Love,” by Chevy.
Since I recently subscribed to WWE 24/7, I thought this would be good to write up. For those of you who have accessibility, I highly recommend it. A full compliment of wrestling programming, some changing over from week to week. Old house shows, Pay-per-views, television programs, etc. I honestly do not have enough time to watch it all.
A short forward. I do not pay much attention to psychology, workrate, etc. I tend to take a historian's viewpoint of wrestling. I will note bad wrestling, but I do not intend this to be match reviews. Just some thoughts that cross my mind at specific instances.
Sherri Martel vs. Fabulous Moolah
This match is where Sherri won the WWF women's title. This was pretty bad. Ric Flair is 57 and still wrestling part-time, but few view him as a legitimate contender to anything. Moolah here is 63 and the reigning champion! I guess the company lacked a name after they dumped Wendi Richter, but damn. Looking back on this, I think some people miss the boat on womens' wrestling. At some point, you would like to see a long term, valid womens' division. But what is the point? You are not going to draw MORE money when you have the women wrestling. When you have a hot act, like Sable or Trish Stratus, you cobble together a division and come up with some worthy challengers. If not, you set it on the back burner.
Bruiser Brody vs. Abdullah the Butcher
Brody and Abdullah were two wrestlers who would never job. After watching this match, the genius of it all is that neither one has to. You can avoid having a big blow off match because you know they would murder each other, and the promoter could not afford the damage costs. So you let them go out, wreck the place for 10-12 minutes and send them off to the next town. The other brilliant side of this is when you have two psycho monster heels. When you pair them off of each other, you turn one of them de facto face, and get a great reaction for it. Just look at Blassie/Tolos.
Hercules vs. Junkyard Dog
This is from the Spectrum in November of '87. A poster whose name I can not recall posted some Wrestling Observer notes from '87. In those, Meltzer referred to JYD as the worst worker in wrestling. Now, obviously there are green guys wrestling in front of 20 people who are always worse. But JYD was certainly the worst worker in a major promotion. His offense just looks absolutely putrid. It is almost embarrassing for a wrestler to sell his headbutts.
ECW Wrestling
It is hard to believe these are over a decade old already. The original music is long gone, so the original feel is somewhat gone. You know what made ECW great? It wasn't the quality wrestling or anything that stood far beyond the big two. It was that the big matches aired on free tv, on their television program. I think ECW lost much of its fun once Pay Per View started. And for all the complaining about the current product, it wasn't that good on TNN either. The big problem now, as with the TNN product, is that the show seems stuck in a holding pattern. They desperately need storyline progression.
-Well, the Super Bowl was on last night, and the Colts won. The game itself was lackluster, IMO. The highlight of course, was Motherfucking Prince. After a series of shitty halftime shows, his Majesty shows the Stones and McCarthy how it's done. The second he dropped the mic and played guitar, I marked out bigtime.
The commercials were largely dissapointing, for the most part. The Futuristic Coke commercial was ass, and the commecial with Federline was suprisingly amusing, but still lame. The best one though, was Letterman with Oprah. Next to Prince, it was the highlight of the night, because no one saw coming.
-In other news, I took a midterm today, and I'm feeling alright about it. I hopefully did good, or at least passed. Now, off to do a bunch of essay papers...
-Season 2 of "Masters of Horror" is over, and it ended in a disappointing way. A shame that what could have been a good season finale was ruined by poor acting and a series of Japanese horror cliches.
-Joe Biden is the next to throw his hat in the Presidential race. The good news for him: He stands a better chance than Kucinich the Munchkin. The bad news: He sucks as a candidate, and stands no chance in hell.
WOW, THE BEARS ARE REALLY CRAPPY AFTER ALL, AREN'T THEY
That "Super Bowl" show last night was a real hoot, wasn't it? The Indianapolis Colts win in a sloppy, waterlogged affair that really wasn't as close as the score (29-17) would indicate. Though I wouldn't stretch to call it a boring game, it was certainly one of the more poorly played Super Bowls in recent memory, as both teams combined for five fumbles in the first half, including two instances of the recovering team following up a fumble with one of their own. Both teams would eventually settle down in the second half, but Rex Grossman compensated for the lack of excitement by heaving two cringe-worthy interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown to seal the game in the fourth quarter.
Given the nature of the Bears' demise, there is a lot of finger-pointing going around The Morning After and rightfully so - the team that showed up in Miami was an unfortunate caricature of the Bears that steamrolled the National Football Conference during the regular season. Most of the blame-mongering will target Rex Grossman, who mixed an admirable David Carr imitation into his Evil Rex routine, conceding away third down conversions with weaksauce checkdowns (he completed 20 of 28 passes!), as well as failing to protect the ball in crucial situations.
But, ultimately, this same scrutiny should be applied to the rest of the offense, which struggled mightily against a rejuvenated Indianapolis defense. I've stated in NFL discussions on this board that time of possession can be misused when putting a game into proper context. The entire story of Super Bowl XLI, however, can be told through the stunning discrepancy in TOP:
QUARTER...BEARS..COLTS
------------------------
1st Qtr:...5:44...9:16
2nd Qtr:...4:20..10:40
3rd Qtr:...4:05..10:55
4th Qtr:...7:47...7:13
------------------------
TOTAL:....21:56..38:04
The longest Chicago offensive drive of the game lasted 2:22. Two minutes and twenty-two seconds. Grossman certainly didn't have a sharp game, but neither did the Bears' running attack: Cedric Benson was a complete non-factor (and injured for most of the game) and, outside of the big 52 yarder that led to the Bears' only offensive touchdown of the game, Thomas Jones couldn't really put anything together against a supposedly-porous Colts run defense.
The Colts, on the other hand, dominated the line of scrimmage, carving up the Bears' top-rated defense with 191 yards on the ground - a season-high for Chicago's run defense - and 430 yards in total. Though much of the credit for those rushing yards should certainly go to the tandem of Addai and Rhodes, the performance of the Indianapolis offensive line should not be ignored, as both backs found plenty of holes in the line when they got the handoff. Manning (who gave the weakest Super Bowl MVP-winning performance since Tom Brady earned the award in 2001 for 145 yards and a TD) simply took whatever an off-balance Bears defense would give him, which included a wide-open Reggie Wayne for a 53 yard touchdown in the second quarter. Though the Bears did just about everything that they could to keep the game close at the half, they couldn't hold out forever, as the Colts simply imposed their will and finally broke through with an excruciating seven minute drive to start off the second half.
The only time where the Bears showed a distinct advantage was in special teams: Devin Hester scorched some woeful kickoff coverage for a touchdown on the first touch of the game and the threat of a repeat performance forced the Colts into squib kicks for virtually every ensuing Chicago return. Otherwise, complete squa-doosh, as Kornheiser might say.
All in all, it was a painful game for Bears fans everywhere, with the added benefit of putting a lot of Patriots fans in an awkward position of actually having to respect Peyton Manning now. It's not a position they're going to take quietly - we've seen some sour grapes on TSM already, and I can only imagine the sludge that we'll get from the Sports Guy later this week. But it's just a matter of time, since the two things that they could hold against Manning - beating the Patriots and winning the big one - have been erased by the championship run of the 2006 Indianapolis Colts. Congratulations to Alfdogg, that cowboy dude with the numbers in his name, and any other Colts fans on the board.
MASTER OF REALITY IS A HEAVY METAL ROCK ALBUM
After a stern talking-to from Agent of Oblivion, I went ahead and acquired the remasters of Black Sabbath's 1971 release, Master of Reality. That old curmudgeonly poop Christgau graded it at C-, but I'd say it's a fair deal better than that. Not a ballsmashingly five-star affair (AllMusic strikes again!), but still pretty good.
That being said, I'm still struggling with the idea that "Children of the Grave" is a heavier song than Led Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks." The former is certainly enough in its own right, but I'm not even sure it's the heaviest song on Master of Reality, let alone comparable to the room-shaking drums of the latter. Maybe it's just a matter of taste. Shrugs.
CAST THY SHIP ABLAZE AND ALONE, FOREVER INTO TWILIGHT
New Millennium Blues is dead. Not exactly news, if you had seen some of the "last post dates" hanging around the non-wrestling folders at the new board, but worth a mention anyway because:
A. Loss and co. have set up a new wrestling-happy venture at ProWrestlingOnly.com.
B. This post should be the last time I'll mention my old board, or talk about old board drama in this blog.
Good luck to Loss and the rest of the PWO crew.
10:30 p.m.
• Esiason just said it was great that Tony Dungy gave thanks to "his" God. Esiason is a Muslim? Maybe that's why he's called "Boom"er.
10:15 p.m.
• I love Tony Dungy. When asked in the post-game segment about him being THE FIRST BLACK HEAD COACH TO WIN A SUPER BOWL, he said that was significant, but it was more significant that he and Lovie Smith were CHRISTIAN coaches. The New York Slimes is going to hate printing that.
10 p.m.
• The MVP award will probably go to Manning, but I'd vote for Colts' running backs. I think "co-" awards are gay, but Rhodes has 110+ yards rushing, and Addai has 10 catches.
9:45 p.m.
• No more "CONGRATS BLACK PEOPLE FOR HAVING TWO HEAD COACHES IN THIS GAME" ads. Please. For the love of God. Also, ain't it funny that in this game that features TWO BLACK HEAD COACHES, the most notable person in this game (unless something drastic happens in the last seven minutes of regulation) is the Jew quarterback?
• Don't blame me. I voted for Swann.
2 p.m.
• Hey, did I mention I went two-for-two in my Conference Championship picks? Yay, and stuff. Now it’s time to pick the Super Bowl. How will this game go? Who knows. I can see this contest going a number of ways. Will the Colts light up the scoreboard like the 49ers did against the Chargers back in XXIX, or will the Bears grind it out against a much more potent offense than their own, like the Giants did against the Bills in XXV? Will a big special teams play turn the course of the game, like the Packers had in Desmond Howard against the Patriots in XXXI? all of these scenarios are possible; all you have to do is just pick one and hope it works out. When looking at Super Bowls, particularly ones more recent, two things come to mind.
A great defense tends to best a great offense.
With all the hype leading up to this game, many times it seems it takes a quarter or so for one team (or both) to get situated.
Another thing I look at is the secondary matchup. Sure the marquee contest is Indy’s offense against Chicago’s defense. However, the game will probably be determined when the other units are on the field. If the Colts defense stuffs the Bears offense, it’s over and vice versa. Because of everything I have mentioned above, I’m going with the Bears 23, Colts 20. I’m now expecting a 49-0 blowout of the Bears in a few hours.
• One sorta tradition I have done off and on during this time of the year is watching highlights from previous Super Bowls. I just watched a few hours’ worth this afternoon, and I have to say that I don’t like the seemingly recent trend of mentioning what the halftime show was about. The Eagles/Pats recap talked about Paul McCartney, and the Seahawks/Steelers show mentioned the Rolling Stones. Odd how the Panthers/Patriots mid-game entertainment wasn’t mentioned. I have to say I don’t like the “newer” Super Bowl recaps of the 90s-00s, but whatever. NFL Films knows more than me about the subject of video production.
When you run simulations like this there will be bizarre results but I wasn't anticipating the '86 Mets getting bounced by the '88 Pirates but it happened and in only five games. Strat-O-Matic hates the Mets apparently as of their five teams only the '88 team survived. The '80 Phillies were also bounced as the '80 Expos got "revenge" for losing out by a game for the division title in 1980.
(16) 1988 Pittsburgh Pirates def. (1) 1986 New York Mets 4-1
Game 1: Mets 6, Pirates 5
Game 2: Pirates 6, Mets 1
Game 3: Pirates 4, Mets 3 11 innings
Game 4: Pirates 2, Mets 0
Game 5: Pirates 4, Mets 3
Bobby Bonilla: 9-20, 6 RBI
(9) 1989 Chicago Cubs def. (8) 1984 Chicago Cubs 4-2
Game 1: '84 Cubs 8, '89 Cubs 6
Game 2: '89 Cubs 9, '84 Cubs 3
Game 3: '89 Cubs 6, '84 Cubs 2
Game 4: '84 Cubs 6, '89 Cubs 2 10 innings
Game 5: '89 Cubs 9, '84 Cubs 5
Game 6: '89 Cubs 12, '84 Cubs 1
Andre Dawson: 9-24, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI
(4) 1985 St. Louis Cardinals def. (13) 1987 New York Mets 4-3
Game 1: Cardinals 3, Mets 2
Game 2: Mets 9, Cardinals 0
Game 3: Mets 4, Cardinals 3
Game 4: Cardinals 6, Mets 1
Game 5: Mets 2, Cardinals 1
Game 6: Cardinals 5, Mets 4
Game 7: Cardinals 5, Mets 3
Vince Coleman: 7 SB
(12) 1981 St. Louis Cardinals def. (5) 1987 St. Louis Cardinals 4-2
Game 1: '87 Cardinals 5, '81 Cardinals 4
Game 2: '81 Cardinals 9, '87 Cardinals 1
Game 3: '81 Cardinals 7, '87 Cardinals 4 10 innings
Game 4: '81 Cardinals 4, '87 Cardinals 0
Game 5: '87 Cardinals 3, '81 Cardinals 2 10 innings
Game 6: '81 Cardinals 7, '87 Cardinals 3
Darrell Porter: 3 HR, 11 RBI
(6) 1983 Philadelphia Phillies def. (11) 1985 New York Mets 4-3
Game 1: Mets 3, Phillies 2
Game 2: Phillies 6, Mets 5 13 innings
Game 3: Phillies 5, Mets 1
Game 4: Mets 2, Phillies 1
Game 5: Mets 4, Phillies 2
Game 6: Phillies 12, Mets 1
Game 7: Phillies 6, Mets 0
Mike Schmidt: 11-28, 7 HR, 13 RBI
(14) 1980 Montreal Expos def. (3) 1980 Philadelphia Phillies 4-1
Game 1: Phillies 4, Expos 3
Game 2: Expos 6, Phillies 4
Game 3: Expos 5, Phillies 2
Game 4: Expos 4, Phillies 2
Game 5: Expos 3, Phillies 1
Scott Sanderson: 2-0, 1.69 ERA
(7) 1988 New York Mets def. (10) 1981 Montreal Expos 4-2
Game 1: Mets 4, Expos 1
Game 2: Expos 5, Mets 3
Game 3: Expos 7, Mets 6 13 innings
Game 4: Mets 7, Expos 0
Game 5: Mets 7, Expos 6
Game 6: Mets 2, Expos 1
David Cone: 2-0, 0.53 ERA, 17 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 16 SO
(2) 1982 St. Louis Cardinals def. (15) 1984 New York Mets 4-2
Game 1: Cardinals 5, Mets 4
Game 2: Cardinals 4, Mets 3 10 innings
Game 3: Mets 5, Cardinals 4
Game 4: Cardinals 12, Mets 5
Game 5: Mets 8, Cardinals 5
Game 6: Cardinals 5, Mets 3 11 innings
George Hendrick: 10-28, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 6 RBI
N.L. East Division Quarterfinal Match-ups
(16) '88 Pirates vs. (9) '89 Cubs
(12) '81 Cardinals vs. (4) '85 Cardinals
(14) '80 Expos vs. (6) '83 Phillies
(7) '88 Mets vs. (2) '82 Cardinals
Up Next: A.L. West
10:45 p.m.
• The NFL announced this year's Hall of Fame class. Here are the finalists. The ones in bold were selected. Next to each one I'll give my insta-reaction as to how I would have voted for them. I will limit my selection to just five players.
Fred Dean: Who?
Richard Dent: Sure.
Russ Grimm: Tough one for me. My first thought was "not quite." Maybe if his coaching career continues to excel, then I'll say yeah.
Ray Guy: Yes. I know punters and field goal kickers are taboo in the HOF, but I'm a Ray Guy mark. Besides, he has an awesome name.
Gene Hickerson: Never heard of him.
Michael Irvin: I hated him as a player, but I like him as a commentator. I really enjoyed the banter he had with Rush during his brief ESPN stint. I may have said yes, but he wouldn't have been the first receiver I would have taken on this list.
Bob Kuechenberg: Shrug.
Bruce Matthews: Oh hell yes.
Art Monk: Yes. I don't care if he wasn't the flashiest or had the best stats. I feel bad he's not in the hall, and with other players that have bigger numbers on the way, I doubt Monk will ever get in.
Andre Reed: He'd be my second wide receiver choice, but do I have enough slots for him?
Charlie Sanders: Derp.
Paul Tagliabue: Was he a great commish? You bet. But Jesus Christ, he only retired in 2006!
Derrick Thomas: No. Great pass rusher, but I am only picking five.
Thurman Thomas: Great all-around back. I forgot he spent a year with the Dolphins.
Andre Tippett: No.
Roger Wehrli: Dunno. His bio thingy said he played cornerback from 1969-1982, so that says something.
Gary Zimmerman: I liked him as a player, but I have to say no this time around.
Who did I pick for my "Top 5"? Richard Dent, Ray Guy, Bruce Matthews, Art Monk and Thurman Thomas. Do I have any reasons for these picks? Yes. And they're selfish, stupid, biased and do not involve stats or any kind of in-depth research. Would you expect anything less?
5:15 p.m.
• Back in August I made some NFL predictions. Now let's go back and laugh. The italic lines are what I said six months ago.
AFC EAST: MY PREDICTION
New England Patriots
Miami Dolphins
New York Jets
Buffalo Bills
AFC EAST: REAL WORLD
New England Patriots
New York Jets
Buffalo Bills
Miami Dolphins
I have the Jets at number three and the Bills at number four just because.
AFC EAST: MY PREDICTION
Shittsburgh Steelers
Baltimore Ravens
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
AFC EAST: REAL WORLD
Baltimore Ravens
Cincinnati Bengals
Shittsburgh Steelers
Cleveland Browns
I have no clue what's going to happen here. These top three teams are interchangeable, and who knows what Cleveland is going to do this year.
AFC SOUTH: MY PREDICTION
Indianapolis Colts
Jacksonville Jaguars
Houston Texans
Tennessee Titans
AFC SOUTH: REAL WORLD
Indianapolis Colts
Tennessee Titans
Jacksonville Jaguars
Houston Texans
Indianapolis lost Edgerrin James but they're still going to be good and win this division. I think that window of opportunity for a Super Bowl win is close to being shut for them.
AFC WEST: MY PREDICTION
Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs
San Diego Chargers
Oakland Raiders
AFC WEST: REAL WORLD
San Diego Chargers
Kansas City Chiefs
Denver Broncos
Oakland Raiders
San Diego is in third place because they have the most potential to sputter out of the gate and call it a season early, what with the unproven Rivers as their starting quarterback.
NFC EAST: MY PREDICTION
Washington Redskins
Dallas Cowboys
New York Giants
Philadelphia Eagles
NFC EAST: REAL WORLD
Philadelphia Eagles
Dallas Cowboys
New York Giants
Washington Redskins
Every year it seems like a running back or two just breaks down right in front of our eyes due to wear and tear or age. This year I’m guessing it will happen to Tiki Barber. I have no rhyme or reason for this guess; I just think he will.
NFC NORTH: MY PREDICTION
Chicago Bears
Minnesota Vikings
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
NFC NORTH: REAL WORLD
Chicago Bears
Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings
Detroit Lions
I'm guessing the Lions will come in third followed by the Packers just because. Does it really matter which team finishes 5-11 and which team finishes 4-12?
NFC SOUTH: MY PREDICTION
Carolina Panthers
Tampa Bay Buccanneeers
Atlanta Falcons
New Orleans Saints
NFC SOUTH: REAL WORLD
New Orleans Saints
Carolina Panthers
Atlanta Falcons
Tampa Bay Buccanneeers
New Orleans will get a lot of ESPN hype thanks to Mr. Bush, but they’ll still lose.
NFC WEST: MY PREDICTION
Seattle Seahawks
St. Louis Rams
Arizona Cardinals
San Francisco 49ers
NFC WEST: REAL WORLD
Seattle Seahawks
St. Louis Rams
San Francisco 49ers
Arizona Cardinals
The 49ers will be better, but that’s just because they can’t get much worse.
FINAL TALLY:
If I got one point for every placement prediction I got right, my score would be 10 out of 32 for a .312 winning percentage, which is still as good or a better record than the Browns, Raiders, Redskins, Lions, Bucs and Cards.
3:15 p.m.
• Here is why you shouldn’t stay at the same job for too long, especially if you are working in an entry-level go-nowhere situation. I just heard that the theater I used to work at closed down a few weeks ago. Had I kept my customer-service job there (and why in the hell would I?), I’d be jobless. However, this bit of news is only one additional job I used to work that has since bit the dust. After working there I graduated from college and went to Sappy Valley, where I worked as a part-time copyeditor and cashier. Both of these positions have since been eliminated. In addition, the place I worked at in Ohio, from what I’ve been hearing, is really close to being shut down. And now the place where I work? Oh, man. I don't even know where to begin. There was also another store that I worked at from 1994-1996 that has long ceased operations. I will not count another store I worked at for a few weeks in December of 1998 because they were going out of business before I was even hired; I was on board for a few weeks because a number of workers quit after it was announced they would soon be jobless. Now one could deduct from this that I’m a cancer any place I work, but I like to think of this more like how a business can’t recover from my departure and all the productivity I brought. Yeah, that’s it.
8:45 p.m.
• OK, I could maybe understand the NFL getting its panties in a bunch over the use of “Super Bowl” because I hear on ads all the time that use terms like “the Big Game” when referring to the Super Bowl, but in regards to everything else? Jesus Christ. No Fun League indeed.
• For some reason the quote in bold below cracks me up. And for the one that wasn’t convicted of a HATE CRIME, was this person filled with apathy instead?
• From an interview with Bill Gates, who remarks about those Apple ads featuring the “cool” Mac guy and the “stiff” PC person.
It’s a goddamn computer! Get over it. I like these Apple ads. Do I believe everything that’s being claimed? Hell no. Do I care? Nopers. Many of them got a chuckle out of me upon the first few viewings, and in the end that’s all that matters. I know jack shit about computers, and I’ve worked with Macs and PCs in the past. Guess what? They both crash on me. As long as the product is not an outdated piece of shit and has the juice to run Quark, Photoshop and DreamWeaver while listening to Neal Boortz via streaming audio and having AIM turned on, then I’m happier than a pig in shit.
• Score one for the socialists. That's all I can say about this one.
I'm going to post a blog or blogs about the BAW and CCW shows soon. I actually did a blog about BAW a few days ago but due to a site error, I wasn't able to post it and when I hit the back button to try and post it again, everything I typed out was gone. I should have some time tomorrow, so I will try and get up a blog about the BAW show tomorrow and maybe CCW on Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning. So yeah they are coming, I've just been busy to type them out...again but they are coming along with a update on my training.
