Hawk 34

Wait, Heyman picked up Katie Couric's tab? I'm sure Shane Douglas is cutting another shoot as we speak.

Who fails the drug test first, Scorpio or Hardy?

Well, that's well documented but I figure everyone has gone out of their way to see that. I know that I'm in the minority, but I loved pt. III just a bit more. I liked the quicker pace and I loved the story. I'll concede that the second version was vastly superior in quality, I just felt the finale was so well done. Very similar to the Flair/Steamboat '89 series (which it is often compared to).

Of all the new dramas that I have watched, this was the first show that turned me away by the half-hour point. The concept, was fine but the characters aren't interesting by any means.

Bouncers, see at least 100 people per hour. You can't really expect him to remember everyone that he let in.

I like how Chicago and Cincinnati, with different styles in hot dog prep both agree to the common sense that is ketchup, under no circumstances ever touches a hot dog.

I guess his face isn't the only thing that resembles a horse. Hope Test likes feces in his sink.

Using Joe Vs Kobashi, as a starting date you have throw in… Roderick Strong Vs James Gibson (10/2/05) Kenta Kobashi and Homicide Vs Low Ki and Samoa Joe (10/2/06) Bryan Danielson Vs Roderick Strong (10/29/05) Bryan Danielson Vs Chris Hero (1/14/06) Bryan Danielson Vs AJ Styles (1/28/06) Bryan Danielson Vs Jimmy Rave (2/25/06) Bryan Danielson Vs Roderick Strong (3/31/06) Austin Aries and Roderick Strong Vs Matt Sydal and Samoa Joe (4/28/06) Bryan Danielson Vs Nigel McGuiness (4/29/06) Austin Aries and Roderick Strong Vs The Briscoes (6/3/06) Samoa Joe Vs KENTA Vs Bryan Danielson (6/17/06) ROH Vs CZW-Cage Of Death (7/15/06) BJ Whitmer Vs Necro Butcher-Barbed Wire (7/28/06) Bryan Danielson Vs Nigel McGuiness (7/29) - It does look like I'm a Danielson mark, but he really has pulled off one incredible title reign and I still haven't seen his last two matches with Nigel, the 60 minute draws with Cabana and Joe, as well as the obvious great match that he had with KENTA.

I was referring to their match this past weekend. I wasn't aware there was another one but I'll have to look for it. Hawk; do you know when the Title Unification will be released on DVD? What's the word on the quality of the match? The general word is that it blew the first two matches completely away and judging from the highlights, I believe it. ROH still has to release "Time To Man Up" and "Fight Of The Century", before "Anarchy In The UK" and "Unified". I'll say the first week of October, just before the Cleveland/Detroit double-shot.

The Class has a good premise and I liked a couple characters but it really felt forced and I don't know if it really has the ability to step away from the obvious Friends comparisons.

I finally watched this show and it delivered. Great characters, fantastic performences from Whitford, Hirsch, Peet and especially, Perry.

I never intended to network, especially during school but I found myself in the process of this on Monday. One of my classes is Art History: Concepts in Digital Media. I don’t care much for art, I mean, I appreciate the talents and creative process involved but I’ve never made it a point to care about this subject. So, I’m taking this class because Miami University has this fucking idiotic concept called The Miami Plan. Essentially, no matter what you’re majoring, you have to fulfill requirements in specific fields not directly relating to it. For instance, X number of credits in Cultures, Science, Math, English, Fine Arts, Foreign Language and others that I forget. Luckily, some cross-over. I needed one more credit for Fine Arts. I elected this class merely because it slotted perfectly in between two other classes and because the professor has a reputation of being fairly well-liked. So, I’ve been taking a class that I don’t care for aside from presence of the girl that I have mention in the previous entries. On Monday, while chatting with this said girl, she had asked me about my previous jobs and such. It was at this time, my professor begun to eavesdrop . I told the girl that I had worked as a welder for a couple months before moving onto doing assembly work (which, as my loyal readers know lead me to the office job over the summer). My professor asked me about my history as a welder and this leads to her offering me a nice sum of money to construct a metal design that she had created and wanted to use as a canvas for a painting she plans to place in her Los Angeles Art Gallery. So, she gave me the sketch of what she wanted and it wasn’t really that difficult to put together. I called up my old job and asked one of the key welders if he could loan me the metal I would require for the job, and not only did he offer me whatever I wanted, but would do the job for me as minimal cost (I didn’t tell him the actual price I was offered). So, while in the process of talking to a girl that I’m pursuing, I managed to “network” myself into a pretty nice situation that’ll not only pay well but actually give me amusement of saying something I built is being viewed by snobs in Los Angeles. I’m used to building things that a lot of people see on a daily basis but that’s all thankless work. This, once it’s completed will be recognized in some form. It’s pretty surreal. Since my team representative in the KKK pick’ems, are lazy bastards and took a early bye week, this means I’m also “off” but that doesn’t mean I’m not looking at the games. Here are my picks New York Jets @ Buffalo Bills -People are getting too excited about Buffalo. I get that 1-1, is probably the best you can expect from this team but it’s really drastic to get excited. The Jets, on the other hand, have problems of their own. This makes this one of those dreaded coin toss games. It really can go either way with two sub-par teams. It’s a toss up, but I’m thinking Buffalo takes a quick fall back to the basement. New York 16 Buffalo 7 Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers -This is the GAME OF THE WEEK. Is it merely hometown bias? Perhaps but you can’t argue the importance of this game especially with the resurgent Baltimore franchise. Cincinnati has a very potent offense crowded with targets, and a defense that has shown great improvements in stopping the run and continue their usual trend of picking off hapless Quarterbacks. It suffered a trio of rough injuries, most devastating being David Pollack’s season ender. Pittsburgh, has a QB that appears to still be feeling the effects not just his most recent surgery but the near death experience just a few months ago. You see the change in Roethlisberger, beyond the cosmetic appearance. He really doesn’t look secure as he once did. It’s understandable, but on the field, a QB can’t doubt himself because it’ll damage the team. Carson Palmer, suffered an severe injury just 9 months ago that many felt could be a career ender and has rebounded to his 2005 form, already. With an abundance of contempt stored within him against the Pittsburgh franchise, you have to assume that Palmer will never be mentally prepared and intense as he’ll be on Sunday on Heinz Field. In my opinion, the playoff game last January between these two has elevated this rivalry among the most vicious and passionate stage of hatred in the NFL. With that level of animosity, it’ll stay close by sheer will but in the end, Rudi Johnson’s fresher legs and Palmer’s determination should be the deciding factor. Cincinnati 27 Pittsburgh 17 *Bonus Prediction* Replays of Palmer’s injury during the telecast: 106. Jacksonville Jaguars @ Indianapolis Colts -These two always play to Jacksonville’s style. Indianapolis, is usually forced to strip it’s identity of high-octane offense and play smash mouth football. We all know that a certain element of the previous Colts teams that played a crucial role in their success is no longer around and that is James. This is the first game in which his absence will be felt. It’ll be an ugly game because that’s Jacksonville’s style and they’ll force Indy to convert to it. I’ll go with Indianapolis to pull it off, despite their issues. Jacksonville 10 Indianapolis 14 Tennessee Titans @ Miami Dolphins -Remember when Miami was going to win the AFC Championship and that Daunte Culpepper was going to blaze through the NFL with complete dominance? Remember when Vince Young, appeared unstoppable? It never really existed. Miami, was an overblown sexy pick by the media and the sheep that followed them. While they had (and still might) have a outside shot at the wild-card, they have been exposed as frauds in that regard. Culpepper, still hasn’t improved and you can’t blame the injury as Carson Palmer suffered a equally severe injury and has returned to form, with lesser healing time. It appears more and more that Culpepper was merely a product of great system and WR corps. Tennessee, is a mess. Kerry Collins, can never really be your franchise QB. Not anymore, he had a couple miracle seasons in NY and Carolina but reality sunk in. This guy was so bad, Oakland dumped him for Aaron Brooks. Vince Young, is still a very long way from developing. This will still be the game Miami needed to shake the cobwebs off and gain some confidence via a solid victory. Tennessee 10 Miami 24 Washington Redskins @ Houston Texans -There probably isn’t a set of teams that I have less interest in then these two respective teams. I really don’t care what happens. I’ll take Houston, just because Joe Gibbs being 0-3 feels right. (What a shitty year for Gibbs. His football team starts off 0-2 and gets embarrassed by Drew Bledsoe on national primetime television and his star race car driver, Tony Stewart failed to make the “Chase For The Cup” but his hapless rookie driver stumbled into it, forcing them to shift the marketing campaign.) Washington 13 Houston 17 Chicago Bears @ Minnesota Vikings -The other day, some morons in the NFL thread actually challenged the validity of calling Chicago a favorite for the super bowl. Am I claiming that Chicago will be in Miami representing the NFC? No, but it’s far from outlandish to consider them a realistic possibility. Especially, with this suffocating defense and apparently, improved offense. We’ll find out if Chicago’s improved offense is just the effects of playing two very poor teams or if it’s legitimate. Minnesota, has been a slight surprise but it’s hardly indicative of what to expect down the road. I think they’ll give Chicago it’s most difficult test to date but given the quality of the teams Chicago dispatched, I believe that any NCAA DIV.I-AA school could pose a greater threat. Chicago 20 Minnesota 10 Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers -A world without STEVE SMITH is a really shitty one for the Carolina franchise. Already stumbling out of the gate at 0-2, despite the usual preseason hoopla from the media isn’t how they envisioned the season to start. Luckily, they collide into another divisional rival with a similar tale but much more dreadful display thus far. Carolina, will benefit greatly by facing a team that appears to be falling apart. Carolina 28 Tampa Bay 16 Green Bay Packers Vs Detroit Lions -Ugly. Favre, in a dome vs. Jon Kitna, on football field. Sounds like thanksgiving for any opposing corner in the NFL. It’ll either be a sloppy grotesque performance by each team or a shootout exposing the really weak defenses. Let’s go in between and say Green Bay 17 Detroit 14 Baltimore Ravens Vs Cleveland Browns -I said this on Sunday, but I’ll repeat it. People are greatly focusing on the incredibly putrid teams in Oakland, Detroit, Washington, Green Bay, Tennessee and Tampa Bay and have severely overlooked Cleveland. It’ll be an ugly game but Baltimore and its newfound offense will turn the switch late in the game to put it away. Baltimore 21 Cleveland 7 St. Louis Rams Vs Arizona Cardinals -What you have here is a really bad Kurt Warner playing against a team that appears be searching for something and keeps wandering away from where it started. The bottom line, if Kurt Warner is on the field, you generally take the other team. Probably high scoring, yet boring. St. Louis 31 Arizona 27 *Bonus prediction* Warner Sack Total: 6 New York Giants Vs Seattle Seahawks -Last year’s game was fairly memorable for specific reason. It went down to FG’s last time around and I’ll stick with that theme. New York 16 Seattle 13 Philadelphia Eagles @ San Francisco -Philly, could easily fall quickly as they are probably still stuck figuring out exactly what the hell went wrong last week. Philly, despite being disorientated should still manage to get it done this weekend. Philadelphia 24 San Francisco 13 Denver Broncos @ New England -Each team hasn’t necessarily been all that impressive this season, but that’s the mantra for the NE, to lay around in the weeds for awhile and strike around week 10 and we’re back to New England blowjobs and whiny blowhard fans. This will be the game that really gets the “Cutler!” fan base increased as New England wins in typical NE fashion. Denver 10 New England 16 MONDAY NIGHT Atlanta Falcons @ New Orleans Saints. -In case you missed it, the city of New Orleans was decimated by an brutal hurricane. It’s okay, only black people lived there. However, in the wake of this ruin was a franchise with no direction other then the road to San Antonio, TX. Then came the resurrection. Almost gift-wrapped by the city of Houston, Reggie Bush landed in the collective outstretched arms of The Big Easy. Despite the controversial nature surrounding Bush, he has been a brilliant marketing machine since his arrival in New Orleans. This game will mark the return to the SuperDome, which was used as a staging area during the hurricane. The game is sold out and with NO starting off 2-0, the fans are expected to be emotional. The reality, despite the potential tearful return “home”, they face a very good Atlanta Falcons team that has Michael Vick fully utilizing his potential, an stud of a RB in Warrick Dunn and a tremendously beefed up defense. It’ll be a somber return for New Orleans. Atlanta 26 New Orleans 17 *Bonus Prediction* Reggie Bush stats: 89 Yards, 10 rushes. 1 Td

It was always effectively put over as a neck submission, especially considering all the strikes to the head area prior to the application. I hate how they won't even call it the anaconda vice. It's just "ITS THAT MOVE!" What really pisses me off was how quick Credible and others are to tap out, while Moore despite being the smallest and least intimidating squirms out for almost 25 seconds before tapping.

People stick any food items into ranch. I could go along with chicken wings, celery and fries but when people starting applying ranch dressing to pizza, cheeseburgers and god knows what else, I lose all interest in ranch.

While Rey isn't as spectacular as he once was (this is moreso because of the knee injury, which was pre-bulk), he still an exceptional performer and I believe since becoming more grounded, he has gained more versatility in his performences. A really good example of a CW improving with increased bulk is CM Punk. While his most renowned matches (The Joe triology and Hero series) occured during his string-bean stage, he has improved greatly as a regular worker beyond just his usual mental intelligence and spotty nature that he once depended on in the past. I agree with that. I think Chavo has really suffered from the bulking up. I understand though that they (Eddie, Benoit, Rey, etc) didn't have a choice but to bulk up in the WWE if they wanted to be main eventers. Eddie and Benoit, were each bulking up long before WWE ever knocked on their door (or, they knocked on WWE's door).

While Rey isn't as spectacular as he once was (this is moreso because of the knee injury, which was pre-bulk), he still an exceptional performer and I believe since becoming more grounded, he has gained more versatility in his performences. A really good example of a CW improving with increased bulk is CM Punk. While his most renowned matches (The Joe triology and Hero series) occured during his string-bean stage, he has improved greatly as a regular worker beyond just his usual mental intelligence and spotty nature that he once depended on in the past.

TNA has done various house shows in Philly, NYC, Virginia, Detroit, Toronto and soon, Toledo. It would appear they are adopting ROH/ECW design of repeat shows in specific markets to increase fan support. While they have been co-promoted with Sadler, it's essentially being billed as TNA promotional shows. The core reason for the lack of progression in the promotion is obvious and it's not house shows. Vince, obviously has interest in some of these guys. Especially, AJ Styles, Monty Brown and Samoa Joe but he didn't get them. Vince will take anyone if it hurts the promotion in some way, look at Shannon Moore for instance.

Benoit, Danielson and The Briscoes, are just some that maintained, if not improved upon after bulking up.

Last year, according to Chad Johnson, Cleveland was the only team that "stopped" him and got the check mark. Perhaps, Pittsburgh should mimic Cleveland's defensive scheme.

I'm really like ECW's one hour show. It is actually fast paced, advances the stories quickly and still crams alot of character development. While Universial insists on the SD/RAW cross-overs, the rest of the show outside the random appearences have consistantly gotten better each show.

This is was the first time they put Punk on-screen with a main eventer and he didn't look out of place and actually got himself over and set a potential seed down the line. I really liked the sarcastic "You're welcome" retort towards Heyman.

He does know he only has a push because of his name, right?

Having watched every DVD released by ROH this year, I can't begin to describe how awesome the Danielson/McGuinness series has been and they still have two matches yet to be released. The KENTA excursion has been nothing short of awesome and the blow-off to the well worked CZW/ROH program at DBD IV was fantastic. I haven't seen enough NOAH this year but I will safely say that ROH 2006 is probably the best complete product for a wrestling promotion of this decade.

Eh, Austin used to wear white boots with black ring attire, IIRC. I always hated white boots on wrestlers, so I instinctively find myself despising any wrestler who wears them with their ring attire. Early Carlito, Billy Gunn, Hardcore Holly, HHH circa 2003. Hmm, maybe there's something about white boots that causes wrestlers to suck? Rick Martel, Tito Santana...I'm sure Ricky Steamboat did one time too IIRC. Shawn and Samoa Joe have also worn white boots.

I'm just surprised they actually looked within the Raw roster instead of grabbing Regal/Finlay for more Raw interaction with DX as opposed to the two appearences they already made.