Cheech Tremendous

There was a story behind this and I can't remember all the details exactly. He knew that Bret was coming back, but he basically gave him an open forum to say whatever he wanted on live television and thus had no control over how the segment would go. There might have been some concern that it was a set-up or that Bret was going to say something detrimental towards the company. I don't recall this happening, but you'd be correct in assuming they were doing Bret v. Shawn at Mania 13. Shawn was supposed to return the job from the previous Mania, but then he mysterously hurt his knee, "lost his smile" and the rest is history.

It wasn't necessarily a contingency plan. Batista got really, really over and Orton failed as a face. He got the spot he deserved. It was one of the few times in recent memory that WWE listened to their fans.

That's partly true, but it also has to do with structural changes that have changed the wind patterns, or so I've heard from those way smarter than me. It's near impossible to hit one out in Fenway (Drew's PECOTA projects 12 HR this year!), but you can rack up doubles big time. It's plays neutral I guess, if you consider neutral to be one foot in ice water and one on fire.

The most bizarre thing about all the renovations is that they've somehow transformed the park from a hitter's paradise into a park that is starting to favor pitchers. It doesn't suppress runs because of the sheer amount of doubles that are hit off the monster, but it's the hardest park in the majors to hit a home run. Doesn't really favor triples or walks either.

Supposedly there might be a deal in the works that would send Corey Maggette and Shaun Livingston to the Nets for Vince Carter and Marcus Williams. I don't think that works under the salary cap, but there might be some ancillary pieces to even things out. I actually sort of like that deal for both teams, although a lot less for the Clippers. The Nets are essentially thisclose to needing an all-out rebuild, and the Clips need a shot in the ass to get them back into contention this year.

According to the Boston Herald, the JD Drew to Boston deal is finally done and should be announced today or tomorrow. Although it's hard to pin down specifics, it sounds like the Red Sox will have the option to void years 4 and 5 of the contract if Drew gets injured. EDIT: Deal done. Press conference Friday

In an exhibition game, there's always a chance that the And 1 guys could pull an upset, which would just be all sorts of bad publicity for the NBA. Why give a national stage to those who are basically bastardizing the sport?

I can't be the only one thinking that David Carr is a far superior player than Jake Plummer, right? Even if he's not, wouldn't it make the front office look like morons for passing over Leinart and Young last year because supposedly Carr was their guy only to backtrack one year later? What's the status on Domanick (Davis) Williams? I've heard some people say he'll be lucky to play another down, but others saying that he should be back to full speed. What was the extent of the injury, and have any others who've had it made successful comebacks?

Darin Erstad duped the Chicago White Sox into giving him a one-year deal. Not sure what they are thinking, but he is gritty.

Hogan already tried passing the torch to the Ultimate Warrior, Goldberg and the Rock, but none of them could carry it. Re: Hogan 'passing the torch' to Goldberg. Passing the torch to someone doesn't mean losing to them clean and then staying in the top matches while the guy you 'passed the torch' to is in the semi-main events, when he's even able to get on the PPV. And as for Hogan 'passing the torch' to Rock, that's a good one. That was a joke. Have you never heard a Hogan interview?

Maybe Rick is showing a house in the area.

Can't believe I'm going to say this, but I agree with CW. The Yanks only have one sure fire pitching sensation (Hughes), but that farm system is just stocked with arms. Half of those guys could shit the bed and they'd still have a few that will crack the majors. I don't think there are any stars there with the one exception, but I guess it comes down a depth versus upside argument.

Hogan already tried passing the torch to the Ultimate Warrior, Goldberg and the Rock, but none of them could carry it.

0 TDs is handling the defence? Exactly. The Colts couldn't do shit against the Ravens' D. It was the Ravens inept offense that cost them that game. The Bears offense is considerably better than Baltimore's. Team statistics put them neck-and-neck in offense. EDIT: Bears: Points/Game 26.7 (2nd) Total Yards/Gm 324.9 (15th) Rush Yards/Gm 119.9 (15th) Pass Yards/Gm 205.1 (14th) Ravens: Points/Game 22.1 (13rd) Total Yards/Gm 317.0 (17th) Rush Yards/Gm 102.3 (25th) Pass Yards/Gm 214.7 (11th) Not that I'm discounting the Bears, but they are exactly what the Ravens are on offense, just younger. Using yardage totals is bad way of analyzing things, both offensively and defensively, because of the inverse relationship between different aspects of the game. Chicago had the best special teams in the NFL, which constantly gave them superior field positioning. It's a lot easier to score going 50 yards than 60 or 70. Secondly, look at the Ravens rush yards per game. That's just an atrocious number and really reflects the difference in the two offenses. The Bears, as you have pointed out, were 2nd in the league in scoring. Part of that is due to the fact that the defense had so many takeaways, but nonetheless it illustrates that the Bears are more effective at putting points on the board. It won't help matters that the Bears biggest strengths double as Indy's biggest weaknesses (defense against the run, special teams).

I'm sure they do

Detroit still has Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller, both of whom are amongst the top prospects in the game. Maybin will probably be the the #1 overall prospect heading into 2008.

I had the same thought briefly before realizing that there isn't a chance in hell that Hogan would ever allow that to happen.

I won't have my Prospect Handbook until later this week, but I was able to steal Baseball America's team rankings from another source. First impressions: I was surprised to see Colorado ranked so high. Was also shocked to see Kansas City and Detroit ranked so low. They may lack depth in their systems, but both have a couple of out of this world prospects. This is also the first time that Boston and New York have ranked in the top 10 for as far back as I can remember. EDIT: I don't think these rankings include the prospects moved in the Randy Johnson or Brandon McCarthy deals. I think Matsuzaka was included with the Red Sox, but not sure about Kei Igawa with the Yankees.

November 2001

We know that. That's not the issue. What I was saying, was that what Paul Heyman stated in that interview could easily be said (and is actually somewhat being said by fans and "Carlito") today. It's the fact that Mr. Vincent Kennedy (.... KENNEDY) McMahon has lost his friggin' mind or he simply does not care anymore. The reason they can say it today is because they haven't changed one thing in the past five years. It's still a dated product that turns off hardcore fans and it has been ever since Stephanie took over creative in the fall of 2000. I don't know what you're trying to prove but pulling up some promo from the Invasion that added a couple buys to a throwaway show that was forgotten a couple of weeks later.

I DON'T KNOOOW!

What if they just have Umaga destroy Cena for the belt at the Rumble (maybe even shoot an injury angle). Umaga runs roughshod over the fed for a couple months why Cena chases before triumphantly returning to win the belt at Mania. Is that too paint by numbers to work these days?

I'd rather see it in Green Bay/Chicago/Buffalo. Play it outdoors in the cold the way football is meant to be played. 100% agree

He only seemed to be negative towards a few (like Fuji, Tyson and Mr. T). Any why not? Those guys don't deserve to be anywhere near the Hall of Fame. You must not know Mr. Fuji's wrestling history. Fuji was one of the top wrestlers of the 70's and became one of the most hated heel managers in the WWE. Mr. T should be in it as well just because he's part of the reason why the big wrestling boom in the 80's happened in the first place, though I think Cyndi Lauper should be put in it before him. Mike Tyson should not be in it. I do know Fuji's history and he's not a Hall of Famer. He's just not. Maybe you could get by adding him and Tanaka as a team, but his contributions were negligible as a manager. Second, saying Mr. T caused the 80s boom = saying Tyson caused the 90s boom

Why not save Shawn's last title shot for a feud later in the year? Because the timing is perfect to do it now. He can win the Rumble in his hometown, and he can dedicate the win to Hunter who the people know is his best friend and is injured. It'll mean a whole lot more now, when the emotion behind is more real because of Hunter and it can be built around it happening at Wrestlemania, then holding it off and going with it later in the year. If you do that storyline, you have to give Shawn the belt, which would be bad for business. Not only would you effectively turn the crowd against your #1 babyface, you'd be presenting a show in the year 2007 where the big moments are Hogan slamming a giant and Shawn Michaels and Undertaker winning your world titles.