cabbageboy

I dunno, I think Bradley and Hofstra are both in right now. Hofstra is about 38 in the RPI, which would put them in that 10-12 seed range. Bradley as well is 43 right now, which puts them in a similar range. The MVC could seriously get 6 bids if Bradley is in.

The reason I can't see Flair winning this is that he seems like filler quite honestly. As in "Hell, we had Shelton win his match, might as well have Flair since they are feuding for the IC title." Flair has no business winning this match. It would be mindnumbing if Flair actually beat a bunch of guys half his age in a hardcore ladder match. Oh, and Van Dam will be way more over than Flair in that match, mainly because the crowd will feel he's the guy who SHOULD win it.

That Funk part with Van Dam can't be accurate. Funk and RVD had zero history against each other in ECW and besides I would rather not have Funk job in his retirement match. Not to mention it'd be goofy to job out RVD there.

Teke, I thought LSU beat WVU in OT by like 1 point? Anyway my point is that no one should ever base their bracket on having "Random SEC champion that isn't UK" going very far. I've been burned by the SEC too many times to put FL, TN, or LSU very far on my bracket.

I don't know if the Big 10 has a truly great team in it. The whole league seems like a bunch of 3-4 seeds to me. Hell, if Michigan St. loses out they might make things very interesting for themselves, though I bet they at least finish 8-8 in league. Either way I don't think the Big 10 winner would even get a top 4 bye in the Big East. Right now in the SEC it is LSU that is winning the conf. I personally don't think they are any good really, mostly getting by in narrow wins against mediocre teams to pad that SEC record to 13-2. I'd look for them to almost certainly be a 1st/2nd round upset.

The only guy in the MITB that can do anything with it is RVD, I've said that numerous times on here. No one would buy Carlito winning that match since he's jobbed left and right and has no credibility. Do we really need a 57 year old Flair winning a MITB title shot? We've already seen HHH beat him to a pulp several times, and Flair/Cena would make no sense. No one else really has enough notoriety to warrant serious consideration. Van Dam at least can do some spectacular things in the match and get over with this style of match. Also, him winning it fits in with the current storyline that he was THIS close to main eventing WM but now wants another shot. Also, he'd have a perfect time to cash it in at One Night Stand.

I actually think now they will just keep Carlito out of the match. He and Masters can always go after Big Show and Kane for the tag titles at WM. Neither really NEEDS to be in the MITB as long as they win the tag belts from the invincible Show/Kane. As far as the rumors go, I heard it was 3 Raw and 3 SD and that the 3 from SD would be Matt Hardy, Finlay, and Bobby Lashley. It sounds bizarre since those SD guys seemingly have no remote shot compared to a really solid Raw lineup.

I honestly don't think HHH is going to turn face anytime soon. I think he will of course win the title at WM and then win a rematch at Backlash. Then if they aren't retarded and do something like have Flair win the MITB (which at age 57 I don't think anyone would buy), I'd have HHH feud with RVD. I've heard the Rey to Raw rumors but here is one aspect of that which baffles me: Why exactly is Rey a better candidate to be the top face than RVD?

Thing is, I really want to see Flair in the MITB along with Shelton to continue that feud. Carlito by himself without Masters really has no point being in the match. And Masters has no WM match at that point, so in other words just do the tag match and this time they'll add in that Big Show/Kane friction I mentioned on page 1, and voila. After all this jobbing Carlito has done there is no way anyone would take him seriously if he managed to worm his way into the MITB and win the match. Also, why would Flair put his MITB spot on the line? The Dirtiest Player in the Game wouldn't be that stupid, particularly after his mention of wanting that one last title. Not to mention he likely saw what happened when Rey put his spot on the line.

I'm somewhat relieved that now the MITB is going to be RVD/Shelton/Flair and whoever else. I'm assuming guys from SD, but since the show was taped before Raw they didn't do any qualifiers. Carlito and Masters neither one really need to be in the MITB. As I said in previous threads, they can certainly go after the tag belts and win them at WM, especially since Big Show and Kane really have no feud right now. With this lineup, they pretty much have to have RVD win it. None of the SD jobbers would have a hope in hell (Matt? Finlay? Lashley?) of winning, and Shelton/Flair cancel each other out. Man, was that HHH/Cena segment a train wreck or what? HHH burying Cena is like shooting fish in a barrel, it's too easy. After WM and the inevitable Backlash rematch they seriously need to depush Cena for a while and let him try and regain some heat. Cause man, right now it ain't pretty. And frankly I don't think HHH is going to turn face, so it's just going to be a flat out burial. Cena isn't getting standard heel heat here, it's flat out "This guy sucks" heat.

I think UAB will definitely get in. If they pull off the win over Memphis this week then they are definitely in, but the committee probably won't want to have CUSA as a mere 1 bid league. Also, even though they aren't supposed to look at past tourney success, UAB will get in due to the past couple of years beating UK, LSU, and so on.

Hostel...there's a great date movie! Hey, honey...let's go see some guys get tortured for 9 reels. That said, I do want to see that when it comes out on DVD. I too don't really get this Tyler Perry thing, or maybe I kinda do but not 100%. I rented the first one and found some things in it decent enough, but the tone of it was the most haphazard since Fast Times at Ridgemont High. It's like one minute you have Perry doing his silly man in drag act, then soon after drifts into subplots about drug abuse. Just wondering but is he even trying to convince in drag?

Did Raven really have that many great actual matches in ECW though? He was involved in some brilliant storylines but which of his matches would you include? I might toss in Raven/Cactus vs. Dreamer/Funk from N2R 95. How about another DVD with some Benoit on it, or more Eddie/Malenko stuff that isn't as well known as the farewell match?

I'd actually really like a Jannetty heel turn tonight. For longtime viewers it has SO much significance. For some reason though...I doubt it will happen. Call me crazy but I'd kinda like to see the Rockers ignite the tag division and get that long overdue run with the belts. I read on the Wrestlecrap forum some really hilarious stuff in regards to Kane/Big Show.

Who exactly would you toss out there? N. Iowa seems to be untouchable even after the late season swoon. Bradley beat them twice and is a respectable 43 in the RPI. If N. Iowa is included the SIU by all rights should make it since they too beat N. Iowa and finished a game ahead of them in the MVC. Hell, the freakin Colonial might get 3 bids. George Mason is pretty much in already and UNC Wilmington and Hofstra are both over 20 wins and in the top 40 in RPI.

What in the past few months would indicate they are so high on Carlito that they would give him an open ended #1 contender contract? It makes literally zero sense storywise considering the guy has no real credibility and has jobbed left and right. As I said, who the hell would he face even if he did win it? Cena? Sorry but Cena has squashed him so many times that no one would believe Carlito had a shot. HHH? In what, a heel vs. heel matchup? Any way you slice it that match has no heat or pizzazz. Carlito has other things he can do if he doesn't win the MITB. He and Masters can win the tag titles and restore some credibility to those belts (think about that one!). RVD though? The WWE management must be high enough on him to push him to the tourney finals, to have him finish in the Final 4 of the Rumble. Having him win the MITB is such a no brainer a 3rd grader could book it.

Tell me about quality of opponent. U of L has never recovered in SOS from all the jobbers early in the season. The only one who has done anything is Akron. The weird thing is that U of L has had one of the hardest conf. schedules I've ever seen: UConn twice, Nova twice, at Cuse, at WVU, Pitt, Quette, Cincy twice. It's ridiculously unfair considering some Big East teams get USF or DePaul twice and pad the record. I just checked the MVC standings and dear god they might well get in SIX teams. Wichita St. (14-4), Missouri St. (12-6), Creighton (12-6), S. Illinois (12-6), N. Iowa (11-7), and now Bradley (11-7). I think Bradley deserves a look since they finished AHEAD of N. Iowa in the MVC considering they beat them both times.

Exactly, Y2Jerk. In that MITB match I have little doubt there will be more amusing antics with Carlito and Masters trying to cost each other the match. I don't think anyone is giving those SD guys a hope in hell of actually winning, so the only guy left is RVD. As I said, there is nothing really that Carlito could do with the MITB even if he won. Besides, Carlito and Masters can tag again after that match anyway and probably win the titles at Backlash. I think an RVD/Edge feud will happen but why would Edge target RVD unless he had something Edge wanted (i.e. the MITB)?

I am baffled as to why anyone thinks Carlito is this lock to win the MITB. Other than him making the announcement he really has no momentum or anything and one look at the post WM house shows simply has him tagging with Masters. Also, since Masters will likely be in the match they will simply cancel each other out, or maybe Masters finally gets smart and turns on Carlito this time. Carlito's announcement on Raw is a token way of simply announcing the match, it doesn't by any means mean "Oh my God, Carlito is going to win!" If anything, that announcement is to make people think only Carlito and then he of course would not win. Also, what exactly is he going to do with it even if he DOES win? No one would buy him as WWE champ. He's already jobbed dozens of times to Cena, and I doubt a heel/heel matchup with HHH would make sense. RVD is really the only one of those 6 guys that could win this match and do anything with the MITB. Hell, he's really the only guy in the match that's actually over. Also, I think Edge is going to go after whoever wins this MITB, feeling it is "his" gimmick (and he'll also want back in the title scene).

Speaking of that Money in the Bank, on insidepulse.com I saw the rumor that it's going to be a Raw/SD match featuring: RVD, Carlito, Masters, Finlay, Matt Hardy, Lashley. With that array of JJTS guys Van Dam surely has to win it....right? Who else is in a position there to do anything with the MITB?

Will someone explain to me what UK was thinking with 13 seconds left today? Down 2 on the road to LSU. Take a time out. So who do you go to there? Perhaps Patrick Sparks, the guy who made two 3s that got you within 1 and then tied the game? Randolph Morris, who had 17 on the day? Of course not! Go to Sheray Thomas and let him shoot an airball...game. U of L loses today to WVU by 4, another tough effort only to fall short. Thanks to the totally absurd Big East schedule we will likely miss the conf. tourney. Kill me now.

Oh that was my bad, Iggy. I meant to say the Big 12 might only get 3 in (Kansas, Texas, OU). The Big 10 will get in Ohio St., Iowa, Michigan St., Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois.

Honestly I think what Cena needs is to just get the hell out of the title scene for a decent amount of time. Job the belt to HHH at WM (and get booed to shit), job one more time in Rupp Arena at Backlash, and then feud with someone, ANYONE else. As far as Cena teaming with someone, I suggested on the Raw thread that he should team with RVD. It would accomplish 2 things: 1. It would give Cena a bit more cred with the older male fans, the hardcore fans. 2. It would get RVD a little more over with the kids and teenage girls (though he's already reasonably popular there anyway). This wouldn't be a cheesy teaming or the typical "Throw two faces together in the upper card" crap like when Orton turned face and they threw him with guys like Benoit and Shawn. Make them friends who will look out for each other, REALLY have each other's backs. Film backstage segments, have them congratulate the other on a big win. Anyway, I don't think HHH will want to turn face. If anything he'll use his own inability to get Cena over as a face in this feud as a way to bury Cena in the back. Right now HHH said stuff like "Oh, Angle just didn't know how to play heel vs. Cena. Watch me do it." When he does all he can and Cena still can't get over as a face, HHH will be like "Vince, this guy just doesn't have it."

You know, while I am amused at the success of the MVC it is a bit sickening to think that 5 teams from that league could get in the tourney. I doubt U of L is going to make the tourney, but seriously....U of L could take out anyone in the fucking Missouri Valley. I mean come on, take Wichita St., Missouri St., or whoever from the MVC and put them in the Big East. Tell them to play UConn twice, Nova twice, Pitt, at Cuse and WVU....let's see if they go much better than 5-8 at this point. The MVC is going to get a bunch of teams in mostly because a lot of major confs. suck this year. Pac 10? Awful. Big 10? Only 3 for sure. ACC? Aside from Duke, UNC, NC St. and BC there isn't much. I mean what does it say when the friggin SEC is probably one of the more competitive confs. this year? SEC should at least get TN, FL, UK, LSU, and likely Bama (with Ark possibly sneaking in).

Corey hit the nail on the head with the parody analysis. Parodies always work better when parodying an entire genre rather than a specific scene from a film. The Naked Gun has few scenes in it that are directly riffing on other films (maybe Drebin's "I shoot the bastard" speech that echoes Dirty Harry). Other parodies work when flat out riffing on films that no one has seen. Airplane for instance is literally almost line for line a remake of Zero Hour, with jokes added in. Lines like "We need someone who can not only fly this plane, but who didn't have fish for dinner" are actually SERIOUS lines from Zero Hour, but here played for laughs. Another Zucker movie that is like this is Top Secret. Sure, the wild Casablanca meets Elvis plot is truly out there, but there is also a riff on The Conspirators that lasts for a good 10 mins. (Hillary meeting the blind man, going to the nightclub, etc). In other words, it's okay to flat out rip off a movie like The Conspirators because aside from 1940s movie buffs hardly anyone has seen it. I think this started around the time of Hot Shots. It shifted the parody style from parodying a general genre to parodying highly well known films. Thing is, there are still some highly original and fun jokes in the Hot Shots movies: --Charlie Sheen coming across his dad Martin on the river, which manages to spoof Rambo, Apocalypse Now, and Wall Street all at once. --Saddam and the President dueling a la Star Wars, with Saddam turning into the T-1000 by the end.