iggymcfly

Michigan State has to start playing shut-down defense right now if they want to come back. If they keep letting May shoot eight footers at will, it won't matter how many threes they hit.

I'd say that for potential, it's hockey, as there's a small enough amount of scoring, that when your team finally gets a goal, it's awesome, and in a tight playoff game, every scoring chance the other team gets feels like a bullet whizzing by your head. However, with the way the NHL's gotten, (even before the lockout), I'd have to say that it's kind of lose some of it's luster. Waiting through the game for three or so goals is fine, but when you can go two and a half games without even getting one, it's just painful. As a result, I'd say the best sport right now is football, because the scores don't come so quick as to be meaningless, but they're getting set up the whole time. Also, the NCAA has a huge edge over the NFL here due to the game moving so much quicker. Baseball can be tremendous in the right setting, but your run of the mill regular season game where one team has a five or six run lead can get really boring. College basketball can be beautiful to watch as well, but I can see how people can get bored with the NBA.

Two things here: One, I'm surprised that people actually thought HHH would retain last year. I remember one of my biggest complaints with the match was that the buildup made it completely obvious that Benoit would win the title, and that it was overly predictable. I guess HHH's "holding down talent" myth helped with the drama of this one. Second, it made perfect sense for HHH to win at WM 2000. At the time, business was in a high period, and Rock was so over that nothing could have damaged him. At that point, with virtually no negative consequences, it made sense that they would try not to do the exact same thing with the main event that they'd done for the last fifteen years. It really cuts down on the drama of the "biggest match of the year" if the face wins every single time. Letting HHH get the win not only helped out the huge buyrate at Backlash; it also helped out every Mania afterward by keeping the main events from being cookie cutter predictable.

Ok, after that great performance by Illinois, I'm only two games away. The tough one's going to be getting the Spartans to win tonight, as I really don't see Illinois losing on Monday no matter what.

I don't know about that. He's still got the basic point. Nothing about Chris Benoit or Eddie Guerrero projects that cool aura that would make guys think "hey, I want to be like Benoit." If you're looking at Austin and Hogan, the idea that men wanted to be like them is pretty much indisputable. Hogan was the classical hero that youngsters would look up to, and Austin was the anti-hero that projected everything that people wished they could do in their own lives, but were afraid to. Everything I saw in that interview was pretty much spot on. He recognizes his own flaws, and it seems like he has a pretty good idea of what's going on in the business. Even with Batista, he's right, as while he has a lot of the tools, I think just about everybody cringes when he does that stupid flex pose.

Nah, you can still read people based on how they bet, which is where you get the majority of your reads in a live game anyway. The number of hands where you get a real tell based on a facial expression or something is really miniscule, unless the people you're playing with are just terrible.

They've already got the story they need for Mania. Batista's going to overcome the odds to win the title, and the fans are going to want to bask in that for a while. Given that Edge can use his shot any time, they could just as easily use that gimmick to get Edge a quick title reign and a hot feud later in the year. Edge could kind of taunt Batista off and on for a couple months about how he can have him any time he wants, and then when Batista's got a tough match lined up against someone else for a PPV (Bad Blood maybe?), Edge can announce that he wants to take his shot immediately afterward. Besides, with the Money in the Bank match supposedly being one of the "most brutal" in Mania history, and Batista just wrestling a singles match, it would make more sense for Edge to wait for a later date.

Just figured I'd bring this thread up to the top of the page before the games today. Anyway, while I'd like to see an All-Big Ten final, I really don't see Carolina losing today. However, I'm almost certain that they'll lose to the winner of the Illinois/Louisville game. Illinois has been the best all-around team in the country all year, and Louisville's on the biggest hot streak of any tournament team in years. Going with an ultimate prediction, I'd still have to say it's going to be Illinois over North Carolina, because I think that Illinois really regained a lot of their aura against Arizona, and should be going back to their incredible play from earlier in the year. And when the best team in the country's playing at the peak of their game, they're pretty damn hard to defeat. As for Carolina, they'll make it past MSU who's already overachieved to get to this point, but they don't play together as a team well enough to beat the Illini. More predictions?

More ridiculous than the NWA Champion using the title as a vanity belt ? Samoa Joe's ROH Title reign did more for the ROH Title within ROH than Jarrett's NWA Title reign did for the NWA Title within TNA, or the NWA for that matter. Historically, yes, the NWA Title means more than that ROH Title, but credibility wise, in the here and now, the ROH Title is far above the NWA Title, because it's been handled in a far better manner. What the hell is this vanity belt shit supposed to mean? Jarrett's the most recognizable name in TNA that's still in good physical condition, and can wrestle a full schedule, so he spends the lion's share of the time with the belt, but it's not like no one else has has possession of it. Samoa Joe spent a longer time with the ROH title than Jarrett did with the NWA belt. Is it just that Jarrett's time was split up into multiple reigns? I actually think that it's more logical to do it that way, because that just means that you're the best wrestler, but you can still lose. If you ask me, it's a lot more realistic to do it that way than it is to be undefeatable for a year and a half, and then suddenly be unable to win the title, while someone else is undefeatable.

WM XXI: Batista vs. HHH- Batista. This is one I know for a fact will happen. There's just no way they'd put HHH over here, after all the buildup that Batista's gotten. JBL vs. Cena- Cena. I haven't really been following Smackdown closely enough to be sure on this one, but from the looks of things, they have plans for Cena to be their next big star, and they're probably ready to get JBL away from the title after 8 months. WM XX: Benoit vs. HHH vs. HBK- Benoit. It was completely obvious that Benoit was going over here, as again they'd been buildin to it for six months. Never a doubt in my mind for this one. Angle vs. Eddie- Eddie. I'd actually been following Smackdown even less last year, so I wasn't sure, but it seemed like Eddie was going to keep the belt since he'd just won it a month ago. WM XIX: Angle vs. Brock- Brock. I really wanted Angle to win this match, but I knew he didn't have a chance with the injury and all. Booker T vs. HHH- HHH. Booker T had been so absolutely underwhelming that I couldn't imagine they would give him the belt, especially with Goldberg coming in. WM X-8: HHH vs. Jericho- HHH. Another completely obvious one, as Jericho was a total lame duck champion, and HHH wasn't going to lose in his big return. WM X-7: Rock vs. Austin- Austin. This was actually almost a complete toss-up, as Austin seemed to have a little more momentum to win it, coming off of injury and all, but it seemed like something "wasn't right" with his character, and that Rocky deserved to be the top guy. Of course, I didn't know that his character was off because he was about to turn heel, but it did make sense in retrospect. WM 2000: HHH vs. Rock vs. Big Show vs. Foley- Foley. I didn't really know what was going to happen here, but as a mark, I remember thinking that the SS tournament for the title was really tight, and that it would be a neat storyline coming out of WM to do something similar if Foley won the belt. I do remember thinking that there was no way in hell Trips would retain before the show though.

Aw, you ruined it. It would have taken at least four hours for most of the people here to figure it out.

He still sent him to Duke University to go on a special diet to lose weight. Granted, Yoko lost no weight it seemed, but Vince still sent him home to diet. Yeah, college campuses are known for weight loss. Duke University has a health and fitness center that's known as one the premiere weight loss centers in the entire world. Shows what you know.

Well to clarify, I agree the card isn't worth $50. Hell, I don't even think WM X-7 was worth that kind of money. In my personal experience, "seeing a PPV" means going to a bar with up to a $5 cover, (usually free) or getting it off the internet. I was just saying that for free, I was interested enough to put some effort into finding a feed or a bar in the area. My main point was that WM XXI had a lot better card than the Manias from the last couple years. I remember thinking that WM XIX and WM XX didn't "feel like Wrestlemania" at all, and were at most, just another PPV. I was just saying that this show was the first one that had the quality to at least feel like a top-level event since WM X-8.

Have you even watched Batista over the last couple months? He's shown more charisma than any face since The Rock, and he's gotten more over than anyone since RVD's first WWE run. To say it's all the suits is completely trivializing the WWE's biggest success story in years.

Umm, iggy, can you explain why Vince would join the UT after he abducted his daughter? Because Russo couldn't. Russo has a LONG history of pointless swerves. And, personally, I wouldn't hold up ANYTHING Russo did in regards to UT as a good thing. Honestly. Hell, I still want a clear explanation of UT v Kane, 1997 - 1999. -=Mike Actually, the storyline was that McMahon let Taker abduct his daughter to draw Austin out, with an understanding that Taker wouldn't let anything too bad happen to her as long as Vince got him to the title later. It's a little over the top, but it made sense. At least Russo would make feuds that were actually interesting and held together for a while. My theory on WCW is that Russo tried to do much to revive interest in a product that had been failing for years, but since I never watched it except for a few months in 1998, I don't really know how much was Russo's fault, and how much wasn't. All I know is that the time Russo was booking the WWF was the best creative period they ever had in their history. Even if Jesus Christ is wrestling on the card, you don't turn 2.0 ratings into 8.0 ratings without good writing.

You know, you can talk all you want about the "stigma" of wrestling, but back when the WWE used to run on USA, I knew exactly what channel it was, and I'd always flip over there to watch movies and stuff. The lead-in of WWE got me into "La Femme Nikita" as well. Now, I honestly couldn't tell you what channel USA is on TV, and it's never one of the channels I flip through. However, despite the fact that I can't think of one show besides WWE that I watch on Spike even semi-regularly, I always flip through it as one of my main channels that I check for shows on.

Freddy Garcia was awesome with the Mariners last year, (3.20 ERA), but he only went 4-7 because the run support was so bad. Piniero and Franklin both had ERAs under 5.00, but went a combined 10-27, again because of the run support. The Mariners' pitching staff wasn't great or anything last year, but the difference between the ERAs and W-L record was about as huge as I've ever seen. And by the way, has anyone been watching SportsCenter. They said they were having a five-part series on how Barry Bonds' injury will affect the Giants, and I remember laughing, thinking it was great they could be self-referential with their humor like that. No such luck. They actually showed a five minute piece on McCovey Cove, and gave interviews with the douchebags who swim out there about how it will be empty because Bonds is the only one who can hit it that far.

I'll compare. Here's how I feel and felt about the most anticipated matches, side-by-side. Main event Then: HHH vs. Benoit vs. HBK Now: HHH vs. Batista I know that the smarks were having a collective orgasm over Benoit being in the main event, but I've never liked him as a face, and the build for this match was pretty weak. Benoit won the RR, jumped for no reason, and challenged HHH. Then HBK interjected himself and the whole thing got all convoluted. This year, Batista and HHH have a tremendous feud, and it will be really enjoyable to see the Batista era get going. Advantage: WM XXI Secondary title match Then: Kurt Angle vs. Eddie Guerrero Now: John Cena vs. JBL The quality of the buildup to the match was about the same. Then, we had relatively big names, a match that could go either way, and pretty much guaranteed in-ring goodness. Now we've got (hopefully) the end to JBL's endless reign of doom, and that's about it. Advantage: WM XX Special Attraction Then: Brock Lesnar vs. Goldberg Now: Kurt Angle vs. HBK OK, Lesnar vs. Goldberg was supposed to be a dream match, and it was both men's last match in the WWE. However, neither one of them had legend status enough for us to care about their last match, so it ended up just being a meaningless exhibition between two guys who can't wrestle well. HBK/Angle's got some solid backstory going for it, as well as arguably the best worker from each brand. Should be tremendous. Advantage: WM XXI Hyped Undertaker match Then: Undertaker vs. Kane Now: Undertaker vs. Randy Orton The Taker/Kane story had been told too many times for anyone to care, and Taker's "return" from a few month hiatus wasn't really lighting my world on fire either. Also, no one on earth thought Kane had a chance in hell of going over. Meanwhile, Randy Orton's looking like he might finally be the guy to end the Deadman's streak, and no one really knows whether he'll do it or not. The way it's been built, Orton ending Taker's streak could be the most memorable moment of the night. Advantage: WM XXI Top undercard match Then: Evolution vs. Rock and Sock Now: Money in the Bank ladder match It was nice and nostalgic to see Rock and Foley back in the ring, and it was great entertainment. However, the ladder match has the potential to be TLC level off the charts awesome. In addition, it will affect the storylines long term, as the winner of the match has a guaranteed shot to main event a major PPV. The Rock and Sock match was the kind of thing you think would be "neat to see". but the Money in the Bank match is the kind where you wonder what's going to happen and who's going to win for weeks leading up. Advantage: WM XXI So there you go, out of the top five matches, WM XXI looks better for four out of five, and I'd definitely say it's a stronger card. WM XX may have had a more fleshed out undercard, but all-around I'd say the card for WM XXI looks a lot stronger.

I don't know. The thing I liked best about Russo's booking is that the wrestlers could actually keep track of who they hated. Nowadays, people randomly start a feud over nothing, wrestle each other for a couple months, and then forget about it. The Austin/Taker feud kept going off and on for a year, and Austin and McMahon didn't stop hating each other either. When Rock and Foley feuded, it started at Survivor Series, and they were still feuding until close to Wrestlemania. The feuds felt like they were established for a reason rather than the faces and heels just playing musical chairs with each other.

I was a huge Christian fan back in his E&C days, but he really just doesn't fit well as a main eventer. He's small with really weak offense, and that's a lethal combination. There's nothing about him that make people think he should be able to beat the top guys. He's great in a tag team setting, and he does pretty well in the upper midcard too. But as a real main eventer, he just doesn't fit.

I feel dumber after every word you write. Fortunately for me, you seem to be unable to produce anything beyond one or two lines. YAY! I can't believe you are hyped for such an underwhelming WM. Are you 11? Cause that's about the peak age when I was hyped for Wrestlemania based on it being "Wrestlemania". Then I sorta grew out of it cause that event was WM 9 and it blew chunks. Since then, WM hasn't really proven to be a "must buy" event. But hey, they put all this effort into providing shitty storylines to shitty matches, might as well reward em by spending $50. Meanwhile, PRIDE and UFC just completely dog it when making their awesome cards. Who the hell wants to see the top fighters in the world compete against each other when you can watch perfectly mediocre wrestlers fake punch each other for 20 minutes with little variation and effort, eh? Taker/Orton~! Batista/HHH~! Cena/JBL~! WILL ALL BE THE SAME MATCH~! Shitty Punch, Shitty Punch, Shitty Kick, Shitty Move, Shitty transition, Shitty Punch, Shitty Punch. WRESTLEMANIA~! This Granddaddy needs to be put in a home. So basically, you don't like wrestling. If I hadn't been here for years of you talking about how the "best thing for the business" was for Benoit to win every match clean, have none of the heels ever say anything bad about him, and main event every PPV, Raw, and Smackdown, I'd think that you were just a gimmick poster that was here to tell us how wrestling sucked. The fact is that WM has a way better looking card than it has the last couple years. But since OMG~BENOIT's not in the main event, you don't care, and we're stupid for caring. And then we have to hear about MMA which has nothing to do with this thread, and which the vast majority of us could give a fuck less about. I mean really, Angle/HBK, and HHH/Batista are the same match? Just stop posting in this thread until you get over yourself.

I like how everybody completely forgets that Vince Russo booked the WWE for the two best years they ever had, storyline-wise. He'd probably just leave WM alone, build up a heel while Batista finished off HHH again at Backlash in a stip match, and then set up hot feuds for Batista throughout the summer. Umm, his storylines for those years were shitty. They were just better than the crap the 3 retarded monkeys who booked WCW created. WWF storylines in 2000 showed how bad they were in 1998-9. -=Mike Yeah, the Austin/McMahon feud? Shitty. The Rock's heel turn at Survivor Series and subsequent run as Corporate Champ? Shitty. But Rock and HHH wrestling each other for nine straight PPVs until it's revealed that Rikishi ran over Austin? That was fucking gold.

I really think they're making the effort to build up new heel challengers for Batista this time. I mean with Benoit, you had one half-assed match with Kane, and every other successful title defense was over HHH. But with Batista, they're doing all this work setting up the "Money in the Bank" ladder match just so that Edge can be a credible challenger for him, and Orton's going to be a good natural feud too. It might sound naive, but I really think they're going to do things right this time.

This would be a terrible show to "watch as a mark." We've got a potential ***** wrestling match between Angle and HBK, HHH losing the World Title, the politics of the Undertaker vs. the Net's most hated young talent, Eddie vs. Rey, and a six-man match for a ticket back to the main event scene. C'mon. It's a smark's paradise.

They're nowhere near the level of that Tigers team. I think a better comparison would be last year's Mariners, who had a tremendous pitching staff, but could never score any runs because they were too old. I don't even think they'll be that bad though. The pitching shoud keep them at least alive through the first couple months of the season, and then Barry will probably come back around June. I bet the Giants will be above .500 with an outside shot at the NL West by the end of the year. I could certainly see a collapse on the horizon for 2006 though.