The Tino Standard

To elaborate on that point, if the wrestler applying the sleeper gets his forearm under the chin and around the throat, the hold is supposed to be broken. I can remember McMahon, in between blurting out "WHATTAMANEUVER!" and "1...2... HE GOT HIM.... oh wait, no he didn't", would actually talk about this, explaining how the referee should check the position of the forearm, "making sure that sleeper isn't a choke hold."

That's a big assumption that it WILL sellout. It's not a PPV, so it's not a given. No, it's not to be assumed that they'll sell out MSG, but if you can't sell out the Garden after being away for a year and a half, then you might as well pack it in and wave the white flag.

Anybody pissed off about that train wreck of an ECW show last week doing good numbers should keep in mind that the real tell-tale sign is what kind of numbers they do THIS week. There were probably a lot of people tuning in for the first show to see what it was all about. Odds are, a lot probably didn't like what they saw and won't be back this week (or any time in the near future). Remember, the XFL did huge numbers in week 1 too.

To all the naysayers in here, I will forewarn you: You're not going to agree with what I have to say here. Let it be known, I'm not trolling, I'm just throwing in my own $.02. With that said... Foley vs. Flair? Best of three? BRING IT ON! Are either of these guys in their physical primes? Hell no. Do they both have deficiencies in their abilities that they try to mask every time they wrestle? Sure. But you know what? These guys GET IT. They're old-school workers who know how to get a rise out of the crowd. They understand psychology. Flair will have that crowd in the Carolinas in the palm of his hand, and Foley is going to be right there with him. No, it won't be a technical masterpiece. But take your CM Punks and Samoa Joes and every other "it" guy in 2006. For 25 or 30 minutes next Sunday, I want to turn back the clock with a couple of guys who know their way around the ring and have a personal history, to boot. Maybe I'm becoming an embattled old-timer at the age of 24, but I think this match is going to be a hell of a lot of fun to watch unfold, masterpiece or not. Sometimes, star ratings are overrated. Just let me enjoy the damn match.

I don't think you can have RVD and Heyman just "give back" the WWE title in favor of creating a new one. Saying "I'm not interested in this belt, so here ya go, take it back... I'd rather have this ECW belt instead" basically means you're saying the ECW belt is more valuable. And if you think for one second that Vince McMahon is going to make an ECW championship a bigger prize than the WWE title, which has been around for 50+ years, you're out of your mind.

I can't believe he outright admitted to trying to show the Warrior up after their WM 6 match in order to protect his own best interests. Talk about breaking the fourth wall.

I seem to remember the ECW crowd not particularly liking the WWE-ized version of Mysterio last year. Everybody assumes John Cena is going to be eaten alive by the crowd at ONS II, but don't be surprised when the same thing happens with the other champ.

Wait, what? Wasn't it pretty much assumed that the whole Booker T-Batista "fight" was some sort of Internet work to give Batista a program for when he returns? And even if it wasn't, what would Booker T care about Batista doing anything with Melina?

There is no more brand split. The brand split happened 4 years ago. There are two separate brands now, and they're far too entrenched and turning far too hefty of a profit to be folded back into one. Would one brand make more money than either of the two right now? Sure. Would one brand make more than the two COMBINED right now? No way. In other words, it ain't happening. Get over it. End of thread.

Yeah, that was 2004. Akron (with current Browns QB Charlie Frye at the helm) went 6-5 and was the only bowl-eligible team to not get in. It was kinda ridiculous that some very mediocre MAC teams got into bowls just because there were spots to fill. Just a year before Northern Illinois went 10-2 and didn't get a bowl game. I guess timing is everything. Anyway, I believe the rule is that teams have to have at least 6 wins and be above .500 to be eligible for bowl games. The makers of NCAA should know that.

This is a toss-up for me. From what little I've seen over the last couple months, Umaga doesn't really do much for me in the ring, but Armando Alenjandro Estrada is the best manager I've seen in years. The crowd is already singing along with him when he introduces himself. And his intro of "Uuuuuuuuu-MAAAAAA-Gahhhhhhhhhhhh!" is terrific. The Spirit Squad, on the other hand, has done way more with an awful gimmick than could ever be expected. Having said that, it's nice to take lemons and make lemonade, but it's still not champagne.

It's entirely possible that Logan or his Bluetooth goons DID tip off the Chinese. I mean, SOMEBODY had to, right? Would make for a hell of a midseason twist next year, if nothing else.

It's probably been pointed out by somebody before me, but one of the Spirit Squad guys are going to seriously FUBAR themselves one of these days with that "dive into the ring between the ropes" entrance.

I haven't been watching much wrestling in the last couple months what with 24 and the Apprentice running on Monday nights, but this manager guy, Armandoooo Alejandrooooo Estradaaaaaa, is hilarious.

Wasn't he first introduced as someone who had been involved with Michelle while she was estranged from Tony? And now he's going after Karen Hayes? DOWNGRADE.

"I once killed his unborn fetus... But we're over that now." LINE OF THE YEAR.

You know, I was wondering the same thing. According to my DVR schedule, CBS.com and every ad I saw on TV today, they're not showing the president's address, but it looked all the other networks are. Strange. EDIT: From the "I have too much time on my hands" department: I called CBS in New York and the receptionist said they ARE showing the presidential address at 8, but they don't know how long it will air, so they plan on showing the rest of the shows in full at some point in the evening. In other words, if you're relying on DVR like me, you've got a real pain in the ass to deal with.

Apparently I'm living in a cave, despite having seen every episode of the show, because I just learned during the noon news here that tonight's episode is the season finale. Anyway, I felt like they gave away half the episode with the feature on the news I just watched, so if you're curious, spoilers ahoy:

My bet is that Vince's "big announcement" will be that he is either resuming his search for a permanent Raw GM or he will introduce the new GM tonight. The angle with HBK was the only thing keeping him on Raw, and now that he has his win, that's probably done.

If nobody wants to see John Cena with the title now, why will people suddenly rally behind the idea of him going on a drawn-out chase trying to win it back?

A couple things: 1. I haven't seen Fever Pitch, but I distinctly remember Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon being allowed to run around on the field with a film crew, celebrating with the Red Sox when they clinched the World Series in St. Louis so they could use the footage for the movie. That Major League Baseball allowed that to happen was ridiculous, and I'm not even a Red Sox or Cardinals fan. 2. Major League filmed in Milwaukee, but they do have a few fly-bys and crowd shots of Cleveland Municipal Stadium spliced into the final game. I think they took those shots during a real game in Cleveland in August. I vaguely remember them advertising that they'd be shooting here for that. Also, the nun at the turnstile as people are filing in before the Yankees game is actually a big-time Indians fan. Local news has done a ton of features on her.

I was watching TV in the waiting room at a nearby hospital a couple months ago. As I flipped through channels, I found the Bob Ross painting show on and I left it for a couple minutes. Next thing I know, I turn around and EVERYBODY IN THE WAITING ROOM is hooked. By the way, the Family Guy spoof on Bob Ross is awesome. "We're going to put a pine tree right here... That'll just be our little secret..... And I mean it! I swear to God, if you tell ANYONE about that pine tree, I will (bleeeeeep) KILL YOU."

I think that was more of a bizarre anti-Mysterio sentiment than anything else. For whatever reason (maybe the way Mysterio has been booked the last couple months), the crowd collectively decided "there are two faces in this match, and we are solidly getting behind one of them - Angle." I think it reached the point that people were so pro-Angle that they were anti-anything that WASN'T Angle. It's like the John Cena effect in reverse.

I had a lot of respect for Bryce tonight. He believed in the product his team put out and he stood up for the people most responsible for putting it together, instead trying to go after the people who contributed the least. His downfall came in not being able to explain his rationale very well, which was too bad. Way too often on this show, people support their teammates' ideas during a task, only to turn on them when they fail. Bryce stuck by his people and got burned for it. That's a bitch.

Thread title basically explains what I'm after here: I just got home and my roommate gets home from work at 11. Without mentioning any spoilers, for those of you watching Wrestlemania right now, is it worth our time and money to order the replay later tonight?