EVIL~! alkeiper

Rhetorical question?

Joe Bisenius is on Team USA's roster. If that isn't the tournament's defining WTF choice, I don't know what is.

I honestly think heel Sgt. Slaughter against Hulk Hogan was a great idea. The Iraqi crap killed it though.

I think the biggest problem with the A's right now as far as marketing is that they are on an extremely low power radio station.

One more quick comment. It's fun to hear the Tokyo Dome praised as a baseball venue when it most closely resembles Tropicana Field.

It looks like Korea is going to cruise to victory here. This thing really cranks up with a full slate tonight into tomorrow. 10:30pm there'll be Taiwan vs. China in an elimination game. I'd expect the ratings for that to be pretty poor. Japan vs. Korea at 5am, winner of that earns a second round berth. Both those games on ESPN2. Then we have pools C and D kicking off with their opening matchups. 11am (ESPN2), Netherlands vs. Dominican Republic 2pm (ESPN), Canada vs. United States 5pm (ESPN), Panama vs. Puerto Rico 8pm (MLB Network), Italy vs. Venezuela Panama and Canada are easily good enough to pull off upsets.

This one is all Vince's fault. The escape rule was put in for some retarded reason, and killed the premise of the match. Although it does still serve as a mild deterrent to a gang run-in. The escape rule dates well before Vince Jr. took over the promoter. If you watch Bruno Sammartino cage matches, it's very sensible. "It's just you and me, no referee, no interference. The last man standing walks out with the win." The problem is that is anti-climatic, and it was inevitable that promoters would book more creative finishes, Vince or no Vince. What gets me is when cage matches have Australian tag rules. Sting/Flair vs. Funk/Muta at Halloween Havoc '89. It's no DQ, win by surrender only. Why are you bothering with tags?

In doing research for my seminar paper, I made use of a couple volumes of Continental Congress minutes that I think were printed around 1890s-1900s.

I made it awake for Taiwan/Korea. This is more convenient than a Yankees/Red Sox playoff game.

I don't see it. I mean, if I pick the second half of a tag team then I'm in the same spot as the person I'm screwing over. And that's not worth a six or seventh round pick at all.

So far I haven't had anyone drafted I really wanted and expected to get.

I just use images.google.com.

Gagne wrestled MSG spots in the 1970s, and did a tour or two with Vince Sr. in the 1950s. As far as celebrities, Cyndi Lauper is really the best one WWE can induct.

Some of those moments were impressive because they were new at the time. Would they be unique yet, or are we assuming subsequent angles still occurred?

I'd listen to a reasonable offer.

Man, with the A-Rod news now I certainly inherited a dud of a fantasy baseball team.

There's one big problem with the ERA comparisons. The pitchers chosen for a national team would usually be the ones who had exceptional prior seasons, and thus likely to regress in the first place.

Next pick. Let's go with Dory Funk Jr.

4-0 yet after eight, so no mercy rule. It's interesting to see some of the subtle differences between a strong fundamental team and one that is not as experienced. China gave up a run on a balk earlier in the game, and their catcher has made a couple of ill-advised throws.

I find the opposite. Smaller capacity stadiums tend to invite higher priced seats for the remaining tickets, which are filled by corporate types. It's easier for your common fan to be a diehard when they can buy $5 outfield seats and attend more often.

Apparently China's first major international win was 2008. That would be nice if baseball did not already have a World Cup every two years. They went 2-5 in 1998, 1-6 in 2003 and 3-5 in 2005. Baseball really has international competitions all the time. It's just here where MLBers compete. What I don't get is that no one raises a fuss about AAA players (who would have the same kind of conditioning/readiness issues), or when MLB players go on postseason exhibition tours or play in the Caribbean World Series.

China's been flashing some good glovework so far. Only down 3-0 after four innings.

I don't think this tournament is tremendously important, but that doesn't mean it can't be enjoyed for its own sake.

Boogeyman was perfectly fine, a modern version of the Missing Link or someone of that ilk. That's useful, especially on the house show circuit.

Let me touch on Pool A a moment. Tomorrow morning sees China vs. Japan, Friday is Korea vs. Taiwan. I think the real excitement of the first round is seeing if any of these lesser teams can pull off upsets. Last year Panama came within a hair of toppling Cuba. China really doesn't have a prayer in hell. Taiwan though has some real talent, and could steal a win. Pools are double elimination bracket. Here's the silliest part of the tournament. The top two teams of each Pool advance. However, they are still going to play a final game to determine a pool winner. Now, given that tournament games are neutral site, how hard are you going to play in a game that merely determines seeding?