Kahran Ramsus

Mine comes from him just having lots of hype and pulling his, "I don't want this fame and attention...let me do 80 more interviews to say I don't" crap. It got old. Plus there are better skiers out there and this guy is all I've been hearing about. He's just fucking annoying. He's not even the best American skier, yet he gets all of the hype. It reminds me of the leadup to the Super Bowl and the media complaining that Shaun Alexander wasn't a 'star' despite being the best player in the league last year. It seems with the American media actual talent is second to controversy. Miller hasn't done much for awhile now. He was the World Champion last year, but he has no wins this season at all and only one podium finish. Rahlves choked today, but he has far surpassed Miller as a skier at this point. Speaking of chokers, Apolo Anton Ohno is at it again after failing to make the final in the 1500 m. He is notable for not living up to his hype last time, only winning one tainted Gold after guaranteeing four before the Games. He didn't even perform as well as Marc Gagnon at Salt Lake. I guess he just can't handle the Olympic pressure or something.

He did dick in the Downhill so you are partway there.

One day in and Norway & Germany are already on top of the medal count. Norway has four medals in four events (although one was a double). Sure didn't take them long this year to get started.

This past vote was worse. You simply cannot ally with someone like Shane or that other guy, because they have proven that they can't keep their mouths shut. Sooner or later they will expose a plan when the other guys still have enough strength to fight back. The exact same thing happened with Jamie last year. And who won? A member of the minority tribe. Scheming is a vital part of the game, and if you can't keep it secret, you've lost. We saw it in Marquesas, we saw it in Amazon, we saw it in Vanuatu, and we saw it in Palau.

And it ends up being glittering Gold no less.

Jenn Heil advanced in first place, so she will go last for the finals. Could be Canada's first medal of the Games.

Figure Skating is the only thing I don't like in the Winter Games too.

I love when North Americans tell people from other countries how to spell the name of their own town. This is the first time they've ever referred to a city by it's official name instead of its English translation, which is stupid. Even with regards to Italy, it was not the Roma Olympics. I can understand the Italians calling it Torino, as they should, but the English media shouldn't be.

I also prefer the Winter Games to the Summer Games. For one thing, there are fewer events so CBC shows practically every one. And you don't have any 'sports' like sailing stinking things up.

Any chance that a nation besides Germany wins in the medal count this time?

I don't think Storm's views are particularly important, but since it is about WWE, the thread belongs in this folder.

My mistake. Actually, I would like to find out what the average ratings were from both years, as just scanning through the list RAW was in the 5.0s several times in 1999 but almost every night was in the 6s prior to the move to TNN move. The highest single rating was that 8.1 on May 10th, 1999, but the next after that was a 7.4 on May 1, 2000. I'm curious if the 1999 ratings were really as strong as people think in comparison the USA Raws in 2000. The Road to Wrestlemania period was definitely higher in 2000 than in 1999.

Wrestlemania XV had a 2.32 and Wrestlemania X-7 a 2.4 according to prowrestlinghistory.com so there is some dispute about that. Regardless, the peak in ratings was in 2000, which was also the greatest year financially in WWF history, and X-7 was seen by more people than any other WWE PPV in history. It is safe to say that the peak occurred well after Wrestlemania XV.

The penalties are a bit iffy. Technically they are the right call, but usually they are let go. As far as I could see, Roethlisberger's TD call was the correct one. After it happened, I rewound it on the PVR and played it back several times at 1/15 speed, and it certainly looked to me like the ball was over the goal line while Roethlisberger was still in the air. He comes down behind the line, but that was never in dispute. It doesn't matter if the ball crossed the plane while he was in the air. It is close, but it is the call I would have made too.

If the best they can come up for Shawn to do is feud with the owner, I don't blame him for wanting out.

That picture says nothing. He was pushed back while in the air.

hmm..my first memory of the movies was seeing Snow White, but I wasn't alive in 83. Maybe I was just watching it on a huge TV, i dont know. It was re-released a couple of times since then, so it was probably one of those. Disney stopped the practice of re-releasing their old films sometime in the 90s.

Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs in 1983. I had just turned 3.

Now the question is, will he be kept around, or are they gonna Mason him. I thought for a second Lynn was going to fire him.

That doesn't concern me as much as I don't like the idea of having Triple Threats at Wrestlemania in general. It would probably be much closer to the Wrestlemania XVI Four-Man in terms of quality. The bonus here is that Rey/Angle would be there to go on last, so it isn't as big a concern as it could be. Like I said, its better than the alternatives. HHH/Cena isn't very enticing and would probably be be a lousy match on top of that, and I have ZERO interest in seeing McMahon wrestle at all.

The Orton situation was different, because he was over and then after he beat Benoit he was booked to look like a complete pussy for a month before jobbing to HHH. Then after he lost the title they started booking him like Superman again and nobody bought it because it just came out of nowhere after getting pummelled by HHH. Orton's been possibly the worst booked upper carder that I've ever seen. It is like half the writers hate him and the other half adore him and Orton's performance at a particular show depends on which side gets in the last word with Vince before he goes out there. One week he beats Shawn Michaels relatively clean, the next he's getting clobbered by Undertaker. Just this week he was the last guy eliminated in the Royal Rumble, a few days after tapping out clean to Chris Benoit. There is no consistancy to his booking at all, and as a result his character has a big credibility problem and the fans shit on him whenever he gets pushed. Cena has been booked properly (for the most part) and the fans just aren't responding. The problem is more due to him than the booking. He was going great in the JBL feud, who was a great foil for him. Right now it looks like JBL was far more valuable as a heel than previously thought, and that getting Cena away from him was a mistake. JBL's reward is to be jobbing in 2 minutes to Boogeyman less than a year later. This company can be baffling at times.

The Smackdown side is easy to fix. Simply keep it as Rey/Angle and we get a good match with lots of heat. The only thing that needs to be done is to turn Angle heel again, which they seem to be doing with the Undertaker feud anyways. Orton has no business challenging for the World Title at Wrestlemania. World Heavyweight Championship: Kurt Angle vs. Rey Misterio RAW is a bigger problem as we are left with a WWE Title match in which fans don't want to see either participant take part in. But it is too late to do anything about that now with Edge getting buried at the Rumble. Therefore, even though I don't like the thoughts of it, there is really only one way to get a match that has anything even resembling a positive reaction from the fans. WWE Championship: John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels Nobody wants to see HBK/Vince either, so this kills two birds with one stone. We get a better match, a wrestler that fans can cheer (HBK), Cena defending the belt, HHH still winning the belt, and Vince screwing Shawn out of the title to continue that feud, which can end at Backlash. It isn't an ideal situation, but about the best I can get given the circumstances, and still accomplishes everything that WWE wants to do. Since the mid-card isn't set, there is a lot of room to fill out the rest of the card. Interpromotional Match: Hulk Hogan vs. US Champion Randy Orton - Orton takes the title from Booker to end that issue at No Way Out and begin the process of rebuilding him. He won't win here, but the loss means nothing and it gets him noticed. Since he's the Legend Killer, he might as well take on the biggest legend of them all on the biggest show of the year. Interpromotional Match: Kane & Big Show vs. MNM - MNM does have potential opponents elsewhere, but if Show & Kane aren't here they really have to face each other (nobody wants that) or be in the MITB match. Should be intriguing, even if people don't like the outcome. Besides the Smackdown/RAW battle has been one sided towards Smackdown in the past year. Two RAW wins are almost necessary at this show. Money In the Bank Ladder Match: Edge vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Carlito vs. Chris Masters vs. Ric Flair - I like the idea of bringing this back, but would prefer it to stay RAW only. The Undertaker vs. Chris Benoit - Undertaker really needs a great match at Wrestlemania and Benoit can give it to him. Those are the 6 Big Matches, so now it is just a matter of filling out the card. JBL vs. Bobby Lashley Booker T vs. Orlando Jordan Trish vs. Mickey Seems reasonable enough.

Edge's title run was a combination of Jericho's two title runs. Jericho's first title win was a great markout moment on PPV, and he just jobbed it back to the former champion (Rock) unceremoniously about three weeks later.

I could see Orton/Rey being a legitimate possibility at this point for the Smackdown Main Event. Orton really has credibility issues at this point though. I know Rey has just lost twice to Henry, but he always had that underdog vibe going for him so it would hurt a lot less than Orton tapping clean to Benoit and getting crushed by Undertaker.

Five point questions: 1) The winner of the 2006 Royal Rumble will be: HHH 2) Who will be the "Ironman" of the 2006 Royal Rumble? Rey Misterio 3) Who will last the shortest amount of time in the ring? Simon Dean 4) Who will get the most eliminations? (If there is a tie, you get your points) HHH 5) Who will be the last man eliminated? Chris Benoit 6) Will the winner be from Smackdown or Raw? RAW Three point questions...pick the man who will be in the Royal Rumble the LATEST (not who lasts the longest) out of the two choices below: 7) Viscera or Orlando Jordan 8) JBL or Shawn Michaels 9) Matt Hardy or Shelton Benjamin 10) Bobby Lashley or Kane 11) Chris Benoit or HHH 12) Chavo Guerrero or Rey Mysterio 13) Rob Van Dam or The Boogeyman 14) Randy Orton or Booker T 15) Chris Masters or Carlito 16) Johnny Nitro or Joey Mercury One point questions: 17) Who will draw #'s 1-4? (One point for each correct person) RVD, Shelton, Misterio, Matt Hardy 18) Who will be the last four men in the ring? (One point for each correct person) Benoit, HHH, Misterio, Kane 19) Who will be the last RAW superstar eliminated? Kane 20) Who will be the last Smackdown superstar eliminated? Benoit 21) Who will draw #'s 27-30 (One point for each correct person) Kane, Flair, Coach, Carlito 22) True or False: We will see a Boogeyman/Undertaker showdown. False 23) True or False: We will see a surprise return sometime during the Rumble. True 24) True or False: Somebody in the Rumble match will blade True 25) True or False: Vince McMahon will interfere in the Rumble True. You don't expect Shawn's elimination to be clean do you? TIEBREAKER QUESTION: Give the exact time this year's Rumble match will last: 56:17