Dangerous A

WWE Title John Cena © vs Chris Jericho This match will really test Jericho's abilities to still carry slugs. This is the match that should be a street fight or something that can include weapons to disguise the fact Cena isn't a good wrestler. Jericho's style does not mesh with Cena's and we could be in for a bad one or a pleasant surprise. If this is better than ***'s, than on the WWE curve, it's really ****. World Title Batista © vs Hassan No way this is any good. Not sure if the buildup will be any good, but in the ring this will be horrible. Anything other than Batista winning will be a disaster because Hassan is not ready to carry a championship. HBK vs Hulk Hogan Battle for the aging...er...ages. The most intriguing part of this match will be to see how these 2 egomaniacs will be able to work out a finish where they come out looking good. Long term, I think HBK should win, but I see Hulk manipulating his way to a win here. Casket Match Undertaker vs Randy Orton Their WM21 match was the surprise of the night. I never liked the casket match gimmick, so I don't think this will really go anywhere. Orton probrably wins because he needs it most and it isn't past Taker to lose a casket match, although it may take 40 or more people to do it. Edge and Snitsky vs Kane and Matt Hardy If this stays a tag, they are clueless. Why do Kane and Snitsky need to be there? Are we afraid of hurting their feelings unless they get a match? I thought that's what Heat was for. This needs to be Hardy v. Edge one on one in some kind of non-sanctioned street fight deal where they can kill each other around the building. US Title Chris Benoit © vs JBL This should be good if JBL lets Benoit lead him by the hand. Benoit doesn't mind a match getting real physical and JBL likes to make it so. This should be a great, stiff brawling style match. IC Title Street Fight Carltio © vs Shelton Benjamin I agree with a lot of the posters here in that the street fight gimmick doesn't fit for this match or either of these men. These 2 just don't click in the ring. Benjamin should be fighting to get into ME's and Carlito should fight, well, just about anyone else except Shelton. I hope they abandon this program and go with Angle v. Benjamin. Big Show vs Kurt Angle Pretty much what I wrote above. These guys should switch opponents. Show v. Carlito and Angle v. Benjamin. That alone makes the undercard here 100% more watchable than what they have penciled in. Plus, Angle and Benjamin can continue through to Unforgiven. The Final Match Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Mysterio Jr I hope it really will be the final match. Their feud was fine until Creative decided to make their feud into "Passions". I shudder at what the secret will be. Perhaps they do 2 out of 3 traditional Lucha style match here? I'd love for the Mexicools to jump both men afterwards, forcing an unholy alliance against the new threat. It would help get the Mexicools over and we'd get excellent matches and match combos out of it. Plus there is a theme of "United we stand, divided we fall" that can play through where Eddie and Rey can't beat them alone because the Mexicools are a unit, but together, despite their latest tiff, they reluctantly join forces, possibly with London, to thwart the Mexicools.

Biscotti's are better IMO.

Shawn is doing house shows (at least most of them) unless he is injured. He was doing them for awhile and then his knee was injured, but now is back.

His back injury was pretty damn severe and bad enough to keep him out at least from 1998-2000. HBK was scheduled to face HHH at WMX7 after the Ray Lewis deal fell through, but when HBK showed up to Raw and SD tapings drugged up on painkillers and out of competition shape, so they sent him home. HBK straightened up in 2002 and the rest is history.

He's sort of out of his element in TNA and can't go balls to the wall like he could when he was working CMLL (now he's in AAA). I thought his work would in the X Division would be close to his Lucha work, but he has been somewhat of a disappointment. Another thing not helping him is he's a better heel than face and right now, he's a face. I know he's a world class in ring worker, but his work in TNA is much to be desired. I do think his work is more solid and less spotty than guys in the X Division like Dutt, Red, and Elix.

Hassan should not have the belt for the simple fact that he sucks so bad in the ring. They already have one champ stinking it up in the ring right now (Cena) and Batista is barely passable, so they really don't need to bring ME's to WCW-late 90's level by putting the belt on Hassan.

Shareef to the Nets isn't bad, but they still lack anything solid in the middle. It's nice because now when the Nets get into a half court game, they have a legit scoring threat in the post. Problem is Shareef is starting to show some wear and tear and he's not known as tough or as a winner. He has failed to make the playoffs with any of his teams and holds the record for playoff futility in regards to how long he's been in the league. Definitely doesn't have winner intangibles, but perhaps Kidd can help turn that around. Swift to Houston is a deal I like. Now they just need some better backcourt depth that isn't aging (think Sura, Wesley) along with a better point guard and maybe Houston and T-Mac finally get out of the first round. Swift has a ton of athleticism and will really put fear into guys defensively who drive down the lane because with him and Yao patrolling the paint, the opposition is going to have to get it done from the perimeter.

For a hated heel, Shane Douglas was pretty hated after the Pitbull I/broken neck angle where Douglas shook Pitbull I's halo around like a rag doll. Even the jaded, smart ECW Philly crowd was fixing to kill Douglas. I'm not sure if anyone checked out early/mid nineties AAA Lucha, but Los Gringos Locos (Eddy Guerrero, Konnan, Art Barr) were some of the biggest heat drawing bastards I've ever seen.

According to this week's Observer, TNA is paying Spike for the time, which if Meltz is right, will be Saturday night with either a 10 or 11 pm start time. It's also the reason Spike stopped showing the Ultimate Fighter ad that was bragging about how MMA was tough and that pro wrestling was fake and such.

The last quote is the furthest thing from the truth I've probrably ever seen in pro wrestling, and that says a lot.

It's funny how you mention those 3 because to a lot of casuals, those 3 in particular have a "WWE Reject" stigma to them. None of them are real draws, although Raven has somewhat of a cult following. Rhino is damaged goods even if they push him and I don't need to get into why Jarrett is not a draw and never will be. Zack, word from the latest Observer is Jeff and Jerry are working at trying to get the boys in the back to turn on D'Amore and the booking committee, but even Jeff's friends are seeing right through him. Jeff did not do himself any favors walking out of the King of the Mountain match last month and lost a lot of respect amongst the locker room.

Sonics have a new head coach.... http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2110578 Not to shit on you Rant, but I don't like that move at all. I know he's been with the team forever, so he knows the personnel well, but I remember his last stint with the Hawks was very forgettable.

Jarrett back in the ME makes me sad. Really Jeff Jarrett is the only thing that really, really bothers me about TNA right now. I can even stomach the crap that is 3LK/Outlaw storyline and some of the other drivel (think Lance Hoyt) over anything touching Jarrett. His involvement in this company makes me not want to invest much of my time and energy in this company.

This makes me sad.

I guess Larry's catch phrase "What can Brown do for you?" will be out there for NBA ball clubs this offseason. Paging Isiah Thomas.

Payton has probrably 2 more years of around 8 ppg and 4 apg, so he could still make a roster somewhere and contribute. The key would be would he be willing to come off the bench because on a good team, I don't see him as a starter anymore unless the PG stinks to high hell (think the Cavs).

While I agree Boondocks is a better strip than Doonesbury, I can't stand Boondocks creator, Aaron McGruder. He comes on Maher's HBO show as a regular panelist and while I don't mind him voicing his political views, he annoys me to no end when no one calls him on his reverse racism. When he talks about things outside race, I don't mind him, but as soon as race gets started as a topic, I tune out.

The latest rumors from Chad Ford at ESPN Insider on free agents and player movement... With just five days before the league lifts its moratorium on player movement, this summer's free agent frenzy appears to have hit a lull. With most of the top unrestricted free agents off the board, and the top young restricted free agents waiting for the moratorium to end before announcing their intentions, free agent news slowed to a trickle this weekend. Most surprising is that several of the most promising free agents haven't gotten deals yet. With guys like Raja Bell, Dan Gadzuric, Brian Scalabrine, Luke Walton, Bostjan Nachbar and Jerome James all having come to terms with teams, it makes you wonder why these five sleepers haven't been locked up. Sarunas Jasikevicius, PG, Maccabi Tel Aviv Two international free agents, Fabricio Oberto and Arvydas Macijauskas, have already found homes. But how is it that the best veteran player in Europe, Jasikevicius, hasn't? Oberto is older and Macijauskas is less athletic. Neither player has led his team to three straight Euroleague Championships. Jasikevicius, a former Maryland star, is an incredible passer, has deep range on his jumper, and plays with emotion and grit. Given his asking price (three years, around $10 million), he'd be a great pickup for a team trying to compete for a championship. The Cavs have shown the most interest, but have waffled between him, Antonio Daniels, Marko Jaric and Damon Stoudamire. The Pacers, Blazers and Sonics have also shown interest, but it's becoming clear that the market isn't quite as hot for him as we thought going into the summer. If teams don't act quickly, he may just decide to sign a long-term deal in Europe. That would be a shame. While Jasikevicius may not ever be a superstar in the NBA the way he is in Europe, he has the intangibles to be the type of player who helps a team win a title. Gerald Wallace, G/F, Charlotte Bobcats With most of the top swingmen off the board, it's pretty surprising that Wallace hasn't garnered more interest this summer. He had an excellent year for the Bobcats last season, and has great size and athleticism for his position. Defensively, he ranked in the top 10 in steals last year. His jump shot will never be a thing of beauty, but Wallace is versatile and would be a great fit on a team still trying to fill a void at the two or three. However, most teams assume that the Bobcats would match any offer for Wallace. They are way under the cap and have to sign somebody. But the truth is that Bernie Bickerstaff isn't inclined to overpay. They want lots of cap room going into next summer and might be willing to let Wallace leave if the alternative is eating up an inordinate amount of their cap flexibility next year. Kyle Korver, SF, Philadelphia 76ers Now that it appears that Joe Johnson, Michael Redd, Ray Allen and Macijauskas are locked up, Korver stands as the best shooter left on the board. Seven of the top eight 3-point shooting teams in the league made the playoffs last season. It's clear that shooting now comes at a premium. Korver tied for the league lead in 3-pointers made (226) and posted better than average numbers in rebounds and steals. The Sixers used him primarily as a spot-up shooter in their system, but it's clear that Korver has potential to be more. Add in his durability and better-than-expected defense and it's surprising the Heat and Cavs haven't made a stronger run at him. The fear is that under the new rules for "early bird" free agents (players with just two years experience), the Sixers will just match any offer. However, with Jim O'Brien gone (as well as the heavy emphasis on 3-point shooting) and Samuel Dalembert looking pretty expensive for the Sixers, Korver might be worth the risk. Ronald Murray, G, Seattle SuperSonics Have NBA teams forgotten about Murray's magical run in November of 2003, when he averaged 20.8 ppg and 4.3 apg on 45 percent shooting with Ray Allen out of the lineup? Murray's numbers have been up and down since then, but he was so good, and so consistent, during that month that surely teams have to take a look. Even this season, when given more than 25 minutes on the floor, Murray averaged an impressive 16.1 ppg. His shooting percentage was terrible this year and he never seemed to get into the flow, but on a team desperate for a combo guard who can put the ball in the basket, Murray seems like he's worth the risk. Travis Hansen, SG/SF, TAU Vitoria Hansen spent one lackluster year on the Hawks before heading overseas last year. After a rocky start at TAU, Hansen turned it on in the last two months of the season and was great. He helped his team get all the way to the Euroleague Finals and did it in front of a host of NBA GMs and scouts. Hansen is a great athlete, plays tenacious defense, can play multiple positions and has turned himself into a very good 3-point shooter. The Nuggets and Rockets have shown the most interest, but you have to wonder why teams such as the Cavs (assistant GM Chris Grant drafted him in 2003), Heat, Bobcats, Magic and Jazz aren't in the mix. Around the League • The Nets are running out of patience with the Blazers and Shareef Abdur-Rahim. The two teams have been in talks for the past week about a sign-and-trade that would put Abdur-Rahim in New Jersey. The Nets are trying to use their $4.9 million trade exception to acquire him. While that amount is no more than the mid-level exception that every team over the cap owns, a sign-and-trade would allow Abdur-Rahim to get an extra year and larger bonuses each year. The difference could amount (depending on where the cap comes in) to an extra $9 to $11 million over the course of the deal. The Blazers were holding out for a No. 1 and lately have been trying to get the draft rights to the Nets' second round pick this year, Serbian center Mile Ilic. So far the Nets have refused to budge, offering only a future second-round pick. The team's trade exception expires July 29, so there is a growing sense of urgency. If the Nets can't land Abdur-Rahim with their trade exception, they would be willing to pay him their mid-level. However, his agent, Aaron Goodwin, is holding out hope that if the Blazers can't work out a deal with the Nets, they might be able to get one done with the Kings, Rockets or Clippers. Expect things to work themselves out soon. The Nets also have strong interest in Stromile Swift and will try to work out a sign-and-trade with the Grizzlies for Swift if they don't get things with Abdur-Rahim resolved in the next few days. If the Nets can land either Swift or Abdur-Rahim with their trade exception, look for new owner Bruce Ratner to keep spending money. Their next signing would likely be free agent guard Keyon Dooling with part of their mid-level exception. The Nets are looking for a combo guard who can help Jason Kidd keep his minutes down to about 30 a night and they seem to have narrowed in on Dooling as their guy. • The Hawks have targeted Eddy Curry this summer, sources say, because GM Billy Knight believes that Curry is the one attainable free agent center out there right now. Knight is convinced that the Sixers and Bulls would match any offer he might make for Samuel Dalembert or Tyson Chandler, but Curry is a different story. Given his health problems and rocky relationship with the Bulls, the Hawks feel like the Bulls would be unwilling to match or, at the very least, would be amenable to a sign-and-trade that could send Al Harrington to Chicago. • It looks like free agent point guard Antonio Daniels has narrowed his choices down to the Lakers and Blazers. It would appear that the Lakers would be a no-brainer. Phil Jackson loves big guards and the Lakers, now that they've agreed to trade Chucky Atkins, could offer him a starting position. However, two things are holding him back. One, the Lakers want Daniels to sign a two-year deal. This has been the Lakers mantra all summer as they try to protect potential max cap space during the summer of 2007 so that they can make a run at Yao Ming in free agency. Daniels, who turned 30 in March, wants more job security, and feels he can get it from his other suitors. Two, new Blazers head coach Nate McMillan loved Daniels in Seattle and has been pushing to get him to come aboard as a tutor for Sebastian Telfair. The Jazz, Heat, Magic and Cavs have also shown interest in Daniels. • It looks like Vladimir Radmanovic and the Sonics are in contract gridlock at the moment. The Sonics want to re-sign Radmanovic, but he's asking for starters money (a starting salary between $8-9 million) and a position in the starting lineup. "Vladimir's a starter," his agent David Bauman told Insider. "He needs to be paid like one and he needs to be played like one." The problem for the Sonics is that they have Rashard Lewis playing his primary position, small forward, and a combo of Reggie Evans, Nick Collison and Danny Fortson holding down the power forward spot. Evans is also a free agent, so there might be an opportunity there, but it seems unlikely. If Radmanovic is a sixth man, the price would be way too rich for the Sonics' blood. The Sonics, however, hold Radmanovic's restricted rights making it difficult for him to just bolt the team. Teams like the Hornets are interested and have the cash to do a deal, but are fearful that the Sonics will match. A sign-and-trade might be the only way out of the jam for both teams. The Sonics need a big man and there are plenty of suitors for Radmanovic if teams over the cap can get into the bidding. One trading partner that might make some sense is the Celtics, who are willing to part with Antoine Walker and/or Gary Payton in a sign-and-trade. The Sonics have interest in both. • The Timberwolves are making a strong push for Clippers free-agent point-guard Marko Jaric. That could be the best signal yet that the team plans to jettison Sam Cassell this summer. Jaric is a restricted free agent, but the Clippers have shown some interest in being willing to facilitate a sign-and-trade. Clippers head coach Mike Dunleavy would love to have Jaric return as a back-up to Shaun Livingston and Cuttino Mobley, but he isn't going to break the bank. Jaric likes the Clippers, but would prefer to get a starting gig in the league. The Nuggets and Cavs have also shown strong interest in Jaric this summer. • The Bucks have been very busy this summer, drafting Andrew Bogut, trading for Jiri Welsch, and coming to terms with free agents Michael Redd, Bobby Simmons and Dan Gadzuric. The team has also been trying to re-sign center Zaza Pachulia. However, sources say that it looks like the Hawks are prepared to throw more cash his way should they be unable to land a big-time center like Dalembert, Chandler or Curry via free agency. • The Cavs have been showing a lot of interest in free agents Reggie Evans and Damon Stoudamire. The team is looking for a rugged rebounder to put next to Zydrunas Ilgauskas. The team missed Carlos Boozer and feel that Evans, who was the best rebounder per minute in the NBA, would be a great fit. If the Cavs offer the full mid-level, the Sonics might not be match. The team has also shown strong interest in Abdur-Rahim. That could also signal the end of the Drew Gooden era. The Cavs are also after another point guard to platoon with Eric Snow. Snow is a bigger, defense-minded guard so the Cavs are trying to go the opposite direction with his backup. Stoudamire might be a good choice. He's a good perimeter shooter, can push the ball up the floor and is coming off one his better seasons in recent memory. Then again, he's 31 years old and has had more than his fair share of legal problems the past few years. The team has also looked at Jasikevicus as well as two bigger guards in Daniels and Jaric. • The Miami Heat wanted to make a big splash this summer in the free agent market, but it looks like they'll end up standing pat by keeping a couple of their own free agents. The team came to terms with restricted free agent Udonis Haslem early last week and is getting closer to getting a deal done with free-agent point-guard Damon Jones. The Heat will, however, have to use most of their mid-level exception to lock up Jones. • Poor Nikoloz Tskitishvili. After three years of being labeled one of the all-time great draft busts, he finally caught a break this summer by landing on the Timberwolves' summer league squad. With former Suns scout Rex Chapman now playing a big role in Minnesota, Skita finally got a chance to show his stuff in front of some sympathetic eyes. In his first game, he had 25 points, 10 rebounds, shot 4-for-5 from three and looked much better than the No. 1 pick in the draft, Andrew Bogut. Alas, Skita broke his hand just nine minutes into the Wolves' second summer league game and will be out the next 4 to 6 weeks. Unfortunately for Skita, who wants to keep playing in the NBA, not Europe, no one is willing to break open the bank after one great summer league performance. Every one remembers that he was the MVP of the Reebok Vegas Summer League last year and then went on to do very little for the Nuggets and Warriors last season. • Spanish point guard Jose Manuel Calderon is expected to sign with the Raptors when the moritorium ends. The 24-year-old Calderon averaged 12 ppg and 2.9 apg this past season in the Euroleague and hit 46.6% of his three-point attempts. Chad Ford covers the NBA for ESPN Insider.

That first pic looks like Kawada hit the Ganso Bomb again.

This was a very funny movie and was what I thought it would be. I'd give it *** out of ****'s.

Let me talk a little about all this pop business. First off, Hogan is over, Hogan can pop a crowd, but he is not a draw. Cena is. Difference is Hogan gets the respect pop. He pops whoever is there. He knows how to work a crowd and get them to react to any little thing he does because he's a legend. Problem for Hogan is while people in the arena go nuts for him, it doesn't mean they want to spend money seeing him wrestle or go to shows because of him. Hogan pops the people who are there, whether it's 10 or 10,000 people in attendance. Thing with Cena is, a lot of the people in attendance are there to see him in particular. And there are more of those people than there are for fans of, say, a midcard guy like Regal. You can tell not just by the reaction, but merchandise sold at shows. Cena shirts and blow up hands (sort of like the old Hogan foam fingers) are all over the place in the arenas. More people go to house shows Cena is advertised on because he is a decent draw. Cena's problem is his in ring. As I've heard, he recently came out to San Fran about a month, month and a half ago for a house show. The show drew something like 3-4 thousand more than the previous time WWE cam to SF. Thing is, Cena stunk up the joint really bad in the ring. The question is how many fans were let down by Cena having a shitty match to where he may have hurt the territory for next time he comes into SF? That is where bad in ring hurts a top guy. On a personal note, I think they put Bischoff in the Cena-Jericho mix because they have zero faith in Jericho being able to be a credible heel on his own.

I've stated this before. In my opinion, no way TNA let's an uncontracted Matt Hardy on their PPV. If they could get even a one match committment out of him, I could possibly visualize it. But since that isn't the case, it isn't going to happen.

Forgot to include Amy Lindsey and Gabriella Hall as gals that are fun.

What about him? There is already a thread on him.

Comic strip artists and comedians feuding? Please. It doesn't get any lamer than that. Watch out, I smell the next Pac/Biggie feud brewing. We should all pray this doesn't spill out into the streets and that both men will keep this on paper.