- The next five games are going to ultimately define the Devils season. They currently sit in 12th place in the Eastern Conference, 8 points behind 8th place Buffalo (even on games played) and 10 points behind 7th place Ranger (with 3 games in hand). They are 20-2-2 in their last 24 games, yet I feel like they haven't gained much ground in the past week because teams above them having been winning. I see them still needing 24 points out of their final 17 games in order to have a legit shot at the playoffs (in doing so they also need the teams ahead of them to play losing hockey during this spell). The next five games are going to be crucial - not because they are playing teams that are on top of the standings, but rather they are playing teams they should beat. For a team that has been playing with nothing to lose, these games represent the first time when they do have something to lose. In the next five they get Ottawa twice (15th East), Atlanta twice (11th) and the hated Islanders (14th). They have to get 9 if not 10 points out of these 5 games because the schedule gets harder down the stretch with two against Boston (2nd) and Pittsburgh (4th) and one against Philly (1st), Washington (2nd) and the Rangers on the final day of the season. If they want to really make the playoffs, they need to get max points. It's as simple as that.
- We are witnessing one of the truly most remarkable NBA seasons of the past thirty years. Kevin Love, the 6'8" PF from the Minnesota Timberwolves, is having a record-breaking year. And while he has garnered some mainstream media attention, I'm not sure all America knows what he is going (credit playing in Minnesota and having to compete with Blake Griffin as large parts). So let's go over it: in 60 games this season Love has 55 double-doubles including a record-breaking 51 straight games. In that streak he has twelve 20/20 games and one 30/30 game (Nov 12 vs NY). His current average of 15.7 would be the highest in the league since Rodman in 1996-97 and he is the first person to have 20 points to go along with 15 boards since Moses Malone in 1982-83. He has been simply amazing, especially since he would not be considered one of the 6 most athletic guys on his own team, let alone the league. Instead he is using intelligence and savvy to pull down double-dogit boards every night, regardless of the opponent. Again, he has been simply amazing.
- Finally, let's talk a little wrestling again. As you know, The Rock returned to Raw a few weeks ago. He crushed John Cena and The Miz, prompting Cena to fire back using his old Dr of Thugonomics persona 'for one night only'. Last week, The Rock responded 'live' via satellite. As my boy Kevin Eck noted, the WWE is creating a sticky situation by having The Rock on tape while Cena shows up live every week. Anyone with an ounce of intelligence can see the hypocrisy in The Rock saying he is back and never leaving again...which makes me believe that they are actually doing this on purpose. And you know what, it is totally working. Last night you had Cena rap again and the crowd really seemed to be split between Cena and The Rock. By having them at each others throats rather than being buddy-buddy leading up to WM, they are creating major interest and intrigue. Personally, I am jacked to see what happens, especially now that The Miz finally has entered the fray by continuing to pummel a distracted Cena and by finally calling out The Rock. If I'm not wrong, I think I actually heard a pop for The Miz last night which is pretty unheard of. So far they are playing it perfect: keeping Cena and The Rock a part and at odds (thus making fans choose a side and then wait to see what happens) and having the wild card Miz (seemingly the heel of the three) now start to seem edgy and cool. I probably still can't justify the price of WM, but I certainly am going to enjoy the build-up to it...
- Oh wait, a 4th item - I totally forgot to mention the highlight of the night -Stone Cold Steve Austin came back and raised total hell. After Michael Cole announced that JBL would be the special guest ref in his match against Jerry Lawler, Austin stunned JBL and drank what appeared to be 12 beers. Then he poured two over Cole's head at the announcers table. When JBL finally got up in the ring, Austin offered him a beer and I assumed that for one night only JBL would revert back to his beer-drinking Bradshaw days, but instead, Austin stunned him and then had probably 12 more beers after that. It was classic Austin...and a classic reminder as to why he brought wrestling to such heights back when I was in college.
Showing posts with label wrestling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wrestling. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Three-Pointer and the Foul!
Since I'm not a huge fan of having three small posts, here is one large post with three separate topics. It's not quite a five pack, more like a three-pointer. So let's get to it
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Finally.....
I know I only have a few readers. I also know that of those readers, no one cares about wrestling or reading a post about wrestling. So I have tried to keep them to a minimum. However, after what I saw last night, I have to discuss it with the millions (...and millions!) of my fellow fans.
As some of you may be aware, Wrestlemania is a little over 6 weeks away and as usual, the WWE is starting to shape the card not only with matches, but with celebrities as well. On the last Raw, Vince McMahon announced that the host of Wrestlemania would be revealed in a week. He said that their was only one person in the world who could do the job. At the time, the announcement seemed strange because up to now, only middling celebrities had every hosted Raw. Was I going to be excited to see Bob Barker, Dennis Miller or Johnny Knoxville host Wrestlemania? No. I mean, don't get me wrong, they are all good in their own rights, but not Wrestlemania good.
All throughout last night's show they teased the announcement. Then at 10:50 local time, a limo showed up and the cameraman focused on the person's feet. It turned out to be a woman in high heels. I started going through the possibilities. Who could Vince get that would sell tickets? Sarah Palin and Paris Hilton were my first two wild ass guesses (no idea why). Then the lights went off. The crowd was ready to pop. On the big screen, some images that looked like lightning and smoke appeared. Carmen Electra was my next guess. My immediate thought was that with all the build-up, the WWE was setting itself up for failure. I mean, the entrance was a little over the top.
And then it happened....
Throughout the arena came the following words: IFFFF YA SMELLLLLL....WHAT THE ROCK....IS COOKING!! and out walks the host of Wrestlemania XXVII, The Rock, Dwayne Johnson. I watched the clip again this morning, fully aware of what went down last night and I still got chills. It was the loudest (And most unexpected) pop from a crowd I have heard in years. Simply amazing. He received a 5 minute standing ovation and then worked the mic (excuse me, killed on the mic) for an additional fifteen minutes.
He started off with his usual catchphrase: FINALLLLY THE ROCK HAS COME BACK TO.... Then he took off his glasses, got out of character and thanked the WWE fans for supporting him and making his dreams come true over the past 7 years. He then started to set up the storyline for Wrestlemania by ripping on The Miz and right about when he was going to name the other superstar he was looking forward to meeting, he was interrupted by Michael Cole. The ensuing exchange was an instant classic. I can't do it justice but will point you to the 3:33 minute mark when the Rock kills Cole. Now it's not the whole clip, but know that he throws in classic lines such as "Pie-Eating Jabroni" and "Shine that computer up, turn it sideways and shove it straight up his candy ass". He then ends with his "Millions of Fans"and "If Ya Smell" schtick and of course, The People's Eyebrow.
I loved every minute of it. Anyone who continued to watch wrestling over the years knows how far removed the current WWE is from the Attitude Era of the late 90's. Stone Cold, The Rock and DX were edgy; they pushed the bounds and ushered in arguably the greatest era of wrestling. When they retired, it was similar to the NBA losing Jordan, Malone, Barkley, Stockton, Ewing and Robinson all at the same time. Their was a clear void of talent and it took a few years for it to bounce back. Cena and Orton are doing a fine job of carrying the company, but they will never compare to Stone Cold and The Rock. I never thought I would see either of them in a WWE arena again and I actually had not read anything about The Rock being the special guest host. I was 100% surprised and had a hard time getting to sleep. It has been 7 years since he was in the WWE, so watching him do his thing made me feel young again (after all, I was still in Jersey when he left). It made me remember why I still love wrestling and why I will continue to love wrestling. The guy is just electric and the current crop of superstars can only hope to be half as good as him on the mic.
Now with all that being said, two final comments. 1. I understand that they wanted to throw us a curveball by making it appear that the host was female, but I would have liked some explanation as to who that was coming up in the limo. A simple statement from The Rock that it was his wife or even Stephanie McMahon would have worked. 2. By calling out Cena, he basically told us all who is going to challenge The Miz at Wrestlemania. The easy thing to do would have been for The Rock to play the part of the babyface and rip on the heels, but the WWE is too smart and they had him call out the company's top babyface in Cena. It was a little awkward at times because Cena's fans under the age of 14 didn't know how to respond. They have probably never seen The Rock and have never heard his shtick. They certainly have never sensed that he was a bad guy...but that is exactly what The Rock did. He made it him versus the world. He is the biggest star...he knows it...and the rest of the world knows it.
So how do I see this playing out? Well, I think we need to go back to 1998 when Mike Tyson was named the special ring enforcer for the Main Event between Stone Cold and Shawn Michaels. The build-up to the event saw Stone Cold confront Mike Tyson and threaten to kick his ass. In doing so, Tyson was built up as a heel (he even walked to the ring in a DX t-shirt) and everyone assumed that he would help Michaels retain the belt. Well, he didn't screw over Austin. In fact, he counted 1-2-3 and then leveled Michaels after the match.
I think the same thing happens in 2011. Cena will win the Elimination Chamber. The Rock will get involved in the Cena-Miz storyline. No one will know who he will side with, but he will make it look like he has serious heat with Cena. Then at Wrestlemania, he will help Cena win. They embrace and The Rock officially passes the torch. There is no doubt in my mind this is the storyline they go with, however, if they were going to turn Cena heel, this might be the perfect opportunity as attacking The Rock would get you instant heat.
I'll end by saying this was arguably the hardest post I have ever had to write. Not because the subject was serious and thought-provoking, but simply because all I wanted to do is tell you how excited I am. I wanted to quote all his lines and make sure that you all watched the clips. Basically, I am like a 13 year old kid right now who can't form complete sentences. That is how excited I am to have The Rock back in my life (if only for 5 weeks).
UPDATE: Full clips now on YouTube. Part 1. Part 2
As some of you may be aware, Wrestlemania is a little over 6 weeks away and as usual, the WWE is starting to shape the card not only with matches, but with celebrities as well. On the last Raw, Vince McMahon announced that the host of Wrestlemania would be revealed in a week. He said that their was only one person in the world who could do the job. At the time, the announcement seemed strange because up to now, only middling celebrities had every hosted Raw. Was I going to be excited to see Bob Barker, Dennis Miller or Johnny Knoxville host Wrestlemania? No. I mean, don't get me wrong, they are all good in their own rights, but not Wrestlemania good.
All throughout last night's show they teased the announcement. Then at 10:50 local time, a limo showed up and the cameraman focused on the person's feet. It turned out to be a woman in high heels. I started going through the possibilities. Who could Vince get that would sell tickets? Sarah Palin and Paris Hilton were my first two wild ass guesses (no idea why). Then the lights went off. The crowd was ready to pop. On the big screen, some images that looked like lightning and smoke appeared. Carmen Electra was my next guess. My immediate thought was that with all the build-up, the WWE was setting itself up for failure. I mean, the entrance was a little over the top.
And then it happened....
Throughout the arena came the following words: IFFFF YA SMELLLLLL....WHAT THE ROCK....IS COOKING!! and out walks the host of Wrestlemania XXVII, The Rock, Dwayne Johnson. I watched the clip again this morning, fully aware of what went down last night and I still got chills. It was the loudest (And most unexpected) pop from a crowd I have heard in years. Simply amazing. He received a 5 minute standing ovation and then worked the mic (excuse me, killed on the mic) for an additional fifteen minutes.
He started off with his usual catchphrase: FINALLLLY THE ROCK HAS COME BACK TO.... Then he took off his glasses, got out of character and thanked the WWE fans for supporting him and making his dreams come true over the past 7 years. He then started to set up the storyline for Wrestlemania by ripping on The Miz and right about when he was going to name the other superstar he was looking forward to meeting, he was interrupted by Michael Cole. The ensuing exchange was an instant classic. I can't do it justice but will point you to the 3:33 minute mark when the Rock kills Cole. Now it's not the whole clip, but know that he throws in classic lines such as "Pie-Eating Jabroni" and "Shine that computer up, turn it sideways and shove it straight up his candy ass". He then ends with his "Millions of Fans"and "If Ya Smell" schtick and of course, The People's Eyebrow.
I loved every minute of it. Anyone who continued to watch wrestling over the years knows how far removed the current WWE is from the Attitude Era of the late 90's. Stone Cold, The Rock and DX were edgy; they pushed the bounds and ushered in arguably the greatest era of wrestling. When they retired, it was similar to the NBA losing Jordan, Malone, Barkley, Stockton, Ewing and Robinson all at the same time. Their was a clear void of talent and it took a few years for it to bounce back. Cena and Orton are doing a fine job of carrying the company, but they will never compare to Stone Cold and The Rock. I never thought I would see either of them in a WWE arena again and I actually had not read anything about The Rock being the special guest host. I was 100% surprised and had a hard time getting to sleep. It has been 7 years since he was in the WWE, so watching him do his thing made me feel young again (after all, I was still in Jersey when he left). It made me remember why I still love wrestling and why I will continue to love wrestling. The guy is just electric and the current crop of superstars can only hope to be half as good as him on the mic.
Now with all that being said, two final comments. 1. I understand that they wanted to throw us a curveball by making it appear that the host was female, but I would have liked some explanation as to who that was coming up in the limo. A simple statement from The Rock that it was his wife or even Stephanie McMahon would have worked. 2. By calling out Cena, he basically told us all who is going to challenge The Miz at Wrestlemania. The easy thing to do would have been for The Rock to play the part of the babyface and rip on the heels, but the WWE is too smart and they had him call out the company's top babyface in Cena. It was a little awkward at times because Cena's fans under the age of 14 didn't know how to respond. They have probably never seen The Rock and have never heard his shtick. They certainly have never sensed that he was a bad guy...but that is exactly what The Rock did. He made it him versus the world. He is the biggest star...he knows it...and the rest of the world knows it.
So how do I see this playing out? Well, I think we need to go back to 1998 when Mike Tyson was named the special ring enforcer for the Main Event between Stone Cold and Shawn Michaels. The build-up to the event saw Stone Cold confront Mike Tyson and threaten to kick his ass. In doing so, Tyson was built up as a heel (he even walked to the ring in a DX t-shirt) and everyone assumed that he would help Michaels retain the belt. Well, he didn't screw over Austin. In fact, he counted 1-2-3 and then leveled Michaels after the match.
I think the same thing happens in 2011. Cena will win the Elimination Chamber. The Rock will get involved in the Cena-Miz storyline. No one will know who he will side with, but he will make it look like he has serious heat with Cena. Then at Wrestlemania, he will help Cena win. They embrace and The Rock officially passes the torch. There is no doubt in my mind this is the storyline they go with, however, if they were going to turn Cena heel, this might be the perfect opportunity as attacking The Rock would get you instant heat.
I'll end by saying this was arguably the hardest post I have ever had to write. Not because the subject was serious and thought-provoking, but simply because all I wanted to do is tell you how excited I am. I wanted to quote all his lines and make sure that you all watched the clips. Basically, I am like a 13 year old kid right now who can't form complete sentences. That is how excited I am to have The Rock back in my life (if only for 5 weeks).
UPDATE: Full clips now on YouTube. Part 1. Part 2
Friday, February 4, 2011
Friday Morning Five-Pack
Is there anyone out there who thinks Matthew Perry's new sitcom, Mr Sunshine, is going to be any good? This has all the looks of another failed attempt by a Friends cast member to get back into tv...and with that comes a failed segue into my Friday Morning Five Pack. So let's get to it.
- I honestly have no analysis for the Super Bowl that people haven't heard. We know Green Bay can't run the ball on Pittsburgh, but we know where they are going to be able to throw the ball all day. For me the key will be the Steelers' experience. I think Green Bay is still young and will make a big mistake to cost them the game. Ultimately I am very excited for not only the game, but for Kim Kardashian's fourth quarter commercial as well. Bring it on.
- On this week's Raw, we saw a vignette of an unknown person in a raincoat walking in the rain up the stairs to a dark house with the date 2.21.11. Internet rumors instantly started that the unknown man was Sting and that he was coming to WWE to challenge the Undertaker at Wrestlemania. I have ordered 2 pay-per-views in my life and while I can't justify buying my third, if this was to happen, I would seriously have to think about it. That would be HUGE.
- Tickets to Cascadia Summit sold out real quickly. I am happy to say that I was one of the lucky ones to be able to get tickets. Like everyone else, I got crushed by the fees, but overall it was a painless experience. I am totally excited about the Sounders-Vancouver match and think it is going to be electric in a smaller, more intimate setting than Qwest. I have a lot more to say about the rave green, but will be saving it for another set of posts.
- Back in October I suggested that Georgia boosters give Mark Richt a break in the midst of his first down year. Well, it looks like it has paid off - the Dawgs got the 6th ranked recruiting class in the nation. Now it's not a huge surprise as they always seem to recruit well, but so do LSU, Bama, Auburn and Florida. The problem is always putting those classes together to make a super team. SEC teams have won 5 straight national titles and while UGA has to many holes to believe that 2011 is the year, but 2012 is definitely going to be fun. Meanwhile on the other side of the country, UW pulled in a top 25 recruiting class, thanks in large part to their Holiday Bowl win. The best part of their class is that they were able to secure the top 5 players from the state of Washington. This was a problem with the Willingham regime and a blueprint that Lorenzo Romar has succesfully used to build the bball program into a powerhouse.
- Stepping aside for a minute, how ridic is this whole ridiculous recruiting process? I was sickened by the coverage that ESPN gave signing day. Listen, I know that college football is a huge deal, but 18 year olds should not be trotted out on tv like they are adults. If they spurn one school for another, they become a villain and have their Facebook accounts and emails flooded with death threats. At the school they do commit to they become a legend and the instant exploitation begins. I would love to see a similar network spend that much time on the college choice of a top rated cello player or a Rhodes Scholar.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
My Second Wrestling Post
This is the greatest time of the year for professional wrestling fans (both open ones like myself as well as those still in the closet) as we officially begin the two month build-up to Wrestlemania. The WWE does not have an off-season like the major sorts, so there are always times during the year when the writing sucks and the storylines are lame. It just happens. But for Wrestlemania, the storylines are crisp and the matches are top-notch. No matter what has happened in the past year, the writers are always able to get the biggest names in the business to wrestle each other. Main eventing Wrestlemania is the biggest honor in the business.
Over the past five years, only a select few have had that honor - John Cena, HHH, Randy Orton, Edge, Chris Jericho, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and Batista. The problem this year is that Jericho, Michaels, HHH and Batista are all retired while Cena, Orton and Edga have wrestled each other so many times over the past year that it is old an tired. So what did WWE do? Well, the anticipated the situation and started building up new stars over the past year.
I have been hoping that the company would anoint the current WWE Champion, The Miz, as the next guy to carry the torch. The guy is an amazing heel (ie - bad guy) and would be a welcome change from the old guard. However, he is inexperienced as a main eventer and not a crossover star like Cena. Would WWE go with The Miz as the top guy? Well, it looks like they tipped their hand at the Royal Rumble when The Miz cost Cena a shot at the title (the winner of the Rumble gets a title shot) by eliminating him even though he wasn't in the match. If that doesn't lead to Miz-Cena at Wrestlemania, then I know nothing about wrestling. (Oh, and on Raw last night, the WWE announcer, 50-something year old Jerry Lawler got a title shot at the next PPV meaning The Miz will hold the title until Wrestlemania)
For the other two main events, WWE has set up two other juicy match-ups...CM Punk vs Randy Orton and Edge vs Alberto Del Rio. The first is nothing shocking - Orton is a huge babyface (ie - good guy) and Punk is a huge heel. From what I know they have never faced each other, so it's perfect. As for the other bout, I am honestly shocked. Del Rio has been showing up on both Raw and Smackdown lately and he has been proclaiming that he was destined to win the Rumble. I assumed they were trying to build him up for the future, I just never thought the future was now. I just never thought someone who has been in the company less than a year would be in one of the three biggest matches at WM26.
All three of these matches would be great as they match the three biggest veterans against the three biggest newcomers. It is almost too perfect. Which of course, means it is too good to be true. WWE still has one more pay-per-view, Elimination Chamber, before Wrestlemania. At this event, they have two 6-person matches with the winner walking away with the respective titles. With six people in each match, anything can happen. The script can switch in a split second.
So my plea to WWE is this - don't throw us a curveball. The matches you are going to tease for the next month are perfect. Leave them the way they are and use the weeks in between to build up other storylines. But leave the main events as they are.
Over the past five years, only a select few have had that honor - John Cena, HHH, Randy Orton, Edge, Chris Jericho, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and Batista. The problem this year is that Jericho, Michaels, HHH and Batista are all retired while Cena, Orton and Edga have wrestled each other so many times over the past year that it is old an tired. So what did WWE do? Well, the anticipated the situation and started building up new stars over the past year.
I have been hoping that the company would anoint the current WWE Champion, The Miz, as the next guy to carry the torch. The guy is an amazing heel (ie - bad guy) and would be a welcome change from the old guard. However, he is inexperienced as a main eventer and not a crossover star like Cena. Would WWE go with The Miz as the top guy? Well, it looks like they tipped their hand at the Royal Rumble when The Miz cost Cena a shot at the title (the winner of the Rumble gets a title shot) by eliminating him even though he wasn't in the match. If that doesn't lead to Miz-Cena at Wrestlemania, then I know nothing about wrestling. (Oh, and on Raw last night, the WWE announcer, 50-something year old Jerry Lawler got a title shot at the next PPV meaning The Miz will hold the title until Wrestlemania)
For the other two main events, WWE has set up two other juicy match-ups...CM Punk vs Randy Orton and Edge vs Alberto Del Rio. The first is nothing shocking - Orton is a huge babyface (ie - good guy) and Punk is a huge heel. From what I know they have never faced each other, so it's perfect. As for the other bout, I am honestly shocked. Del Rio has been showing up on both Raw and Smackdown lately and he has been proclaiming that he was destined to win the Rumble. I assumed they were trying to build him up for the future, I just never thought the future was now. I just never thought someone who has been in the company less than a year would be in one of the three biggest matches at WM26.
All three of these matches would be great as they match the three biggest veterans against the three biggest newcomers. It is almost too perfect. Which of course, means it is too good to be true. WWE still has one more pay-per-view, Elimination Chamber, before Wrestlemania. At this event, they have two 6-person matches with the winner walking away with the respective titles. With six people in each match, anything can happen. The script can switch in a split second.
So my plea to WWE is this - don't throw us a curveball. The matches you are going to tease for the next month are perfect. Leave them the way they are and use the weeks in between to build up other storylines. But leave the main events as they are.
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