Cheech Tremendous

Just imagine the pop Porter will get when he returns in March to crush Psycho Penguin in an argument over the NCAA tournament.

Czech has theorized in the past that the reason we have so many gimmicks and board personas is because we all grew up as wrestling fans. We all understood and reveled in the idea of playing up a character that was just an extension of ourselves. I've never really bought into this theory, but thinking about all the board "retirements" and "returns" makes me think that he was on to something. I can't think of any other place where the posters think of themselves as the stars and draw of the board over the actual content.

Edge and William Regal had a feud in early 2001 over the IC title that went nowhere. Bad matches, no heat and nothing memorable angle wise. Given the talent of the two workers and the amount of time they were programmed together, you'd think they'd have done something interesting. Nope.

If so, that is the first real evidence that this bad economy is going to have an effect on free agent signings. That's a significant discount over every other significant closer signing in the past two of three years. Rumor out of the Winter Meetings is that there isn't much of a market for Manny either. Some think that he may even accept arbitration and play on a one-year deal.

That's funny, I didn't realize that I was making an argument. I just listed great wrestlers who never held a world title. If you feel differently about ECW, TNA or AWA, that's fine. Just take them off the list. It's not like I care that much.

How did Alabama stay so high in the rankings? Looking back through their schedule, they had a nice win over Georgia, but the rest of their schedule was mostly crap. Granted, I'm not much of a college football guy so maybe I'm missing something. Did they really have a tougher schedule than the teams like USC, Penn State and Texas Tech? It even looks like Utah played a tougher schedule.

Sabathia wants to be a Dodger?

I "retired." It lasted four months. He'll be back.

I would only support this idea if Jeff started wearing a tuxedo with the sleeves cut off.

The NWA hasn't been a major organization since the the WCW split back in 1991. It's a glorified indy title.

At least my nightmare scenario of swapping Lugo for Willis is over. Everett should still be terrific in the field and will help the pitching in Detroit. He's not much of a offensive downgrade from the group they were considering (Lugo, Wilson) and the price was right. Not a deal that will blow your socks off, but a good one nonetheless.

No one will ever deny that the Red Sox have a monetary advantage that few franchises can match, but it doesn't mean that there is an endless supply of money. You don't break your model for player valuation because a guy has been on the team for a long time. That's just bad business. Varitek has been shown a great deal of respect from ownership, but at some point costs outweigh benefits. Many of the big market teams are looking to cut payroll because of the bad economy. It's not like John Henry has been isolated from this recession. The notion that money will be pouring in to the end of the time is ludicrous. This team has spent money, but they've also been about mitigating risk. How many $100 million deals has this ownership group given out? Zero. There's a reason for that. It's not as if they are low-balling these guys to hell and running them out of town. They offered arbitration to Varitek and he declined. Look back at negotiations with Pedro, Damon, and Nomar. Each guy was offered a large sum of money to return, but other teams went higher and the Sox decided it just wasn't worth it. They've been right in every case. For every Damon or Manny that rips the Sox FO you have an Ortiz, Pedroia, or Arroyo who takes a below market deal just to stay around. Even Derek Lowe is asking back into the organization. Making the tough calls on vets allows you the freedom to spread the money around to the other 25.

Let me ask my MSN contact.

From Baseball Prospectus:

T'Wolves fire Wittman; McHale to take over The article also indicates that McHale is relinquishing his job at Vice President of Basketball Operations.

The Rose Bowl matchup is the most interesting game to me. Seems like both of those teams have been forgotten in a bit the madness surrounding the Florida-Alabama-Texas-Oklahoma logjam. Not a lot of respect given to a couple of one-loss teams who won BCS conferences. Granted, the resume might not look as good as those other teams at the top, but they won the games when they counted. Whatever, no sense in beating a dead horse.

It's not that we want to see him unceremoniously dumped. The fact is Varitek doesn't have much value left and he wants to be paid like an elite starting catcher. He's too old and too poor at the plate and in the field to justify a $10 million contract. The intangibles that Varitek brings have some value, but how much? There were times last year that he seemed to be on a completely different page from younger guys like Lester, Buchholz and Masterson. We know of complaints about calling too many fastballs from guys like Beckett, Paps and Gagne. Is he really the master game caller that everyone makes him out to be, or are people just respecting the captain of the squad? Is he the benefactor of catching for some good pitchers behind a great defense? There reaches a point with every player where price exceeds value. We may be there with Tek.

I don't consider ECW or TNA to be a world title, but your mileage may vary. Thought of a few others: Owen Hart Rick Rude* Nikita Koloff British Bulldog Magnum TA Christian Barry Windham* Jerry Lawler** *Depending on how you view the NWA title post-WCW split **Depending on how you feel about latter-day AWA

We've done this thread so many times over the years. Here are the first ten that come to mind. Ted Dibiase Curt Hennig Scott Hall Roddy Piper Paul Orndorff Jake Roberts Bam Bam Bigelow Arn Anderson Raven Jeff Hardy I don't count ECW or latter-day AWA as a legit world title.

Youtube of the Year The Men of TSM Who would have thought that TSM had so many good looking men? Look out for that Richard McBeef callback (what callback?). Worst Poster of the Year Marvinisalunatic Poor Marvin. I don't even dislike the guy, but he had a rough year. I bet 90% of his posts this year somehow referenced Glenn Beck, the Orioles, the Ravens or HD television. C'mon big guy, pull it together. Post of the Year I can't find a link, but Treble's "I wear a tie to the board" is an easy choice. Short, simple and funny. A way to stick it to the "TSM is serious business" crowd. TSMeme of the Year Can "boarding hard" be considered a meme? If so, that has to be it. Honorable mention to the 80% references at EHME. That one will never get old.

Funniest Thread of the Year Chris Masters & JN News have died (Technically 2007, but it happened in the last year) This one had it all. JN News, fresh off his "Pizza Hut's Game Face" debacle breaks a major news story - Chris Masters is dead! However, we soon find out Mr. News was played for a fool by his MSN contact. From gargoyle Edge to "and now we play the waiting game" to Meltzer's fake-out confirmation to the Dantaur, this was a non-stop laugher. "Boarding Hard" Thread of the Year The TSM Market Research Thread Who would have thought that TSM could comment on itself and not invoke one dick picture, stupid flame war or ridiculous non-sequitur (okay one quick one about La Parka)? Everyone takes the opportunity to "board hard." A great moment for TSM and a great moment for America. Worst Thread Campaign 2008 Could it really be anything else? Technically, this thread started years ago, but it didn't reach its nadir until 2008. What a steaming pile of shit this was, and given the incredible size and scope of the thread and the importance of the subject matter, it may have been TSM's lowest moment. From Marney's return to Marvin's Glenn Beck-suckfest to the nauseating rise of the liberal echo chamber, nothing stops this thing. May God have mercy on our posting souls. Moment of the Year Mole's burgeoning TSM empire goes belly up due to non-payment and the Maff Clique rides in on their white horse to save the day. Total chaos ensues for a week, then back to the status quo.

This idea is split from the current thread about the 2008 Poster Tournament. Basically it's a thread to reflect on the year at TSM. Let's hear it all... the good, the bad, the ugly and the Marvin. No format is necessary here. Feel free to come up with your own categories and reflections. Here are a few ideas to get your started: Thread of the Year Folder of the Year Feud of the Year Post of the Year Dumbshit Moment of the Year Worst Poster Funniest Poster TSMeme of the Year We still have a whole month until the Poster of the Year tourney. Have fun, but don't burn yourself out.

GROUP A "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye - Neither song is really my cup of tea, but I've never cared for Aretha at all. GROUP B "A Day in the Life" by The Beatles - This is the best song left in the tourney and should win convincingly. Best song by the definitive band of the '60s. GROUP C "God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys - Fairly easy choice. The Who are great; "My Generation" however, is not. GROUP D "Gimme Shelter" by Rolling Stones - I love Dylan and the Stones, but I don't find "Like A Rolling Stone" to be as iconic as some make it out to be. What a lousy group of songs to make it to the finals. Nothing adventurous whatsoever.

Someone asked Tebow who he was going to vote for Heisman. He remarked that Bradford and Harrell had great seasons, but that he would love the opportunity to throw against those Big XII defenses.

Varitek declined arbitration, which will most likely end his career as a Red Sox (or Red Sock... Czech). Good luck finding that multi-year deal, buddy. Guess there is still a chance that the Sox bring him back on a one-year deal, but I can't believe that Boras talked him out of one year at $10 million+. If he somehow finds his way to another major league roster that's a draft pick for Boston, which is just gravy on top of finally getting a new catcher.