Eddie’s Blog

I finally get a chance to write down some thoughts on the NBA Playoffs, which have been off the hook so far.

First off, that Spurs-Suns game 1 was ridiculous. Duncan, a 3-pointer to tie. Really? It’s a shame this couldn’t go 7 games, but the Suns are done, it’s as simple as that. Nash is old and beat-up, and those three turnovers were key in the last loss. Shaq is beat up but can’t be blamed, especially not by the media that loves him. Amare is on fire, but his lousy defense and lack of support is too big a negative to overlook.

San Antonio Spurs - They still scare me. Seriously. They shouldn’t have beaten Phoenix like that, but most of those games were close. They have mastered the art of sleeping the season in, waking up for Playoffs and making things happen. It sucks to say it, but I’m glad Timmy got sick at this time. That 5-point game 1 against New Orleans and today’s loss makes this series that much more interesting.

Phoenix Suns - So reality strikes. Nash is not the same. Shaq doesn’t fit in here. Amare still doesn’t know how to play defense. D’Antoni is gone. Wow, this is going to be an important summer for them. I’d say rebuild around Amare, and see what you can do with the Boris Diaw’s of the world. Management has never been the strongest part of this club. Joe Johnson for Boris Diaw? Go figure.

New Orleans Hornets - I’ll admit. I didn’t see this coming. I thought this was going to be an early exit when Dallas got it together. The problem is Dallas played that series as if it was the regular season, and showed absolutely no will to win or advance. So I still blamed it on Dallas. Then they beat San Antonio in the first two games, where West had a monster game in Game 1, and Paul was sick in Game 2 tonight. I can either blame this on Timmy being sick or I can just finally admit to myself this team is scary. (GULP). It’s good they have Byron Scott. That’s a great coach right there! Peja is on fire, Bonzi is even playing smart sometimes. Pargo has left his Laker days behind, and did I mention Chris Paul is disgusting? Sick.

Dallas Mavericks - I think Howard had a vision around 4/20, and everything went down from there on. Another team that’s going to have an interesting summer. Do you keep Dirk? Do you keep Kidd? Does Kidd function better with a coach that doesn’t overcoach and play for his players from the bench? (Hint: Yes.) Does Kidd work better in faster ball? (Yes.) I say keep Dirk, Kidd, and Terry. Have a long summer and make them work out after the Olympics, hire a new coach and destroy next year.

Houston Rockets - OK Tracy. What’s the deal? I know what you’re going to say. It was impossible without Yao. Oh, please! Such a tease. Every year you make me think you’ll make it, and then somehow you don’t. It’s a shame, really. You’ll never be a great player until you win that damn Round 1. By yourself, with Yao, with Mutombo, without Battier. Whatever.

Utah Jazz - I don’t know. Williams is balling, but that’s not a surprise. Boozer hasn’t looked good in a while. Kirilenko doesn’t care and hasn’t for a while. Okur is just shooting, but it’s not like he has anything else in his game. This team badly needs a leader. I feel that Fisher helped out a lot in that department last year, and without him nobody is stepping up to unite the team. Boozer and Williams need to stand up.

LA Lakers - They’re going to go far. I’ve seen that sparke in Kobe’s eye before. Did anybody see the plays he’s been pulling in some of these games? It wa ridiculous. The worst part for everyone is that he truly believes they’ve got it now. To the point he gets cocky at times. I wouldn’t want to play him and Pau. Doesn’t matter how this year ends, although I think they’re making the Finals.. The important thing is what happens during summer and how the Pau-Lamar-Bynum front court works out. If it works, they can’t be stopped next year. Period.

Denver Nuggets - Did they expect anything else? Really. They figured out in Game 4 that if they pass the ball around instead of hand it to AI or Carmello who would then take a shot, they actually get open looks and break down any defense in front of them. The problem here is that they’ve never played united as a team since Game 1. Another interesting summer. If they are smart, they trade Carmello while they can get something for him, send JR Smith to Anger Management and the Yoga classes Farmar went to, and hope for the best.

Boston Celtics - Wow. We spent all summer wondering whether Doc Rivers can coach this team. Then he tried out several rotations for 82 games and looked good for the most part, dealing with injuries, giving just enough minutes to everyone, and figuring out rotations. Then he decided “Screw it, I’m not a good coach” and left his worst defenders on Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. That image of Ray Allen running around and getting owned on every possession from Game 4 is stuck in my head. Good luck, Boston. I want you against the Lakers in the finals, but I don’t know how that works with Doc in charge. Let’s see if you guys can outshoot LeBron.

Atlanta Hawks - I give them a lot of credit. Everybody thought this was going to be a sweep (way more people thought the Nuggets will get at least 1 game out of the Lakers in the West’s 1 vs. 8 series.) They showed up and played. The problem they had was the same one they’ve had all year - nobody told them you have to do the same thing you do at home when you play on the road. They looked ugly in Boston and honestly helped them out. I hope the bandwagon fans stick around and let’s get something going, Atlanta.

Cleveland Cavaliers - Point made. Don’t piss LeBron off. I don’t know about this Cavs team. LeBron is going to turn on the super jets right now, and Wally and Delonte are playing better. It helps they’ll be playing their old team (Boston) in this round. That’s good motivation. But until Ilgauskas and the rest of the bunch step it up, I don’t know what to expect. I think it’s going to be a great series with Boston because you gotta believe LeBron is going to the line at least 20 times a game from here on (so is Kobe).

Washington Wizards - See this, DeShawn Stevenson… I think they need to get rid of Arenas. He’s a tremendous player, but the team has so much more potential without him. Plus giving him up opens up a lot of space for a savy veteran (which they badly need) or two, and some good front-court presence.

Toronto Rapters - What happened?! Wow, what a letdown year. How funny is it that Calderon makes the team much better than Ford? Deal Ford, get rid of the dead weight of a few others, and rebuild around Bosh.

Orlando Magic - A case of a bad coach and no identity team. I like them, but they are just not clicking. Their good record and great play during the season was only because they were playing in a horrible East this year. The sad part is they make Detroit look good, and Detroit has been pathetic so far.

Detroit Pistons - See above. If somebody doesn’t get rid of that stupid little smirk on Chauncy’s face when his team is down 2, there’s 5 seconds to go and he has the ball, then I might have to kill him. I hate this team. I really do. Decide whether you want to play basketball or not, and then come over. Poor Aaron!

Philadelphia 76ers - Good for them! They have so many weaknesses, but the fact that they’re a strong unit/team helped them get two games out of the cocky Pistons. They need front-court presence badly, but they look very promising for next year if Andre Miller can keep up, and the new AI stays on top. Loved watching them.

Eddie

Dear Dixie,

I watched Impact again this week and feel as though an emotional purging may be required after each viewing if I wish to keep my sanity. So once again, I’ve written my thoughts on the show. Take them for whatever you think they are worth. If anything, they are honest thoughts from someone who isn’t worried about what you want to hear. What you want to hear is exactly what you already get from your inner circle.

Jay Lethal vs. Havoc was a bunch of moves and little else. Not a terrible way to open a show if the moves hit and they seemed to here. The only move that really stuck out as not looking good was the top rope elbow, which unfortunately was the finish. Jay does an incredible job of imitating Savage, but his finish never looks good. Just as I thought to myself that the elbow sucked, Havoc kicked out on the three count. Jay is a champion and Havoc is an enhancement guy. Even if Jay had the worst elbow of all time, Havoc should be dead from it. You don’t build a star by having them barely beat nobodies.

Kurt Angle was able to set up a live satellite to broadcast his antics at the football game, but apparantly he still doesn’t have a VCR and hasn’t been able to watch the tape of No Surrender to see that Sting didn’t slap Karen. I guarantee you the next PPV would be purchased by more homes if it was called ANGLE vs. STING instead of Bound For Glory.

If Kurt Angle attacked Kevin Nash’s son, Nash would kill him. Sting said that is how he wants to go out. He wants to go out by killing someone? Killing himself? Not sure, but in light of recent events, there had to be a better way to get his agenda across without making it sound like we have a possible homicide/suicide on our hands.

If that was the best of the seven takes Pacman did, I really wish I could see the other six. If he thinks XXX are porn stars, I wonder what he would have thought of Sports Entertainment Xtreme. Dixie, between the names TNA, XXX, and SEX, maybe my best bet is to speak your language. Fire Ur Committee, K?

With all the sexual puns, it makes me wonder what Bubba meant when he said he was going to put wood down the Steiner’s throats.

Whoever thought it was a good idea to add a bunch of bleeped out swearing to the show, um, they were wrong.

While it’s a terrible idea to introduce so many new women at once, I would certainly consider the introduction of Amazing Kong to be a success.

If I was a casual wrestling fan flipping through the channels and saw Christian hosting Carlito’s Cabana, I would be very confused. If I watched long enough to discover it wasn’t Carlito’s Cabana and was actually Chattin’ with the Champ, well, then I would have no choice but to assume that Christian is the champ and Samoa Joe is getting a title shot at the pay-per-view.

Why is Homicide’s cousin Benny shouting over him while he’s trying to talk?

I’ve got nothing against Bobby Roode or Petey Williams, but so many guys on the roster have worked each other so many times and not been over for so long that you want to change the channel as soon as you see them. So many guys on the roster are completely tainted from being part of a bad product for so long that fair or not, they need to be replaced. One of the reasons Kaz is over is because he left for a while and isn’t nearly as stale.

There have been so many beeps on this show that I’m convinced someone in the truck must be using morse code to ask for help.

Kurt goes into the bathroom because he’s looking for a piece of crap, but instead of checking the toilets first, he checks the shower? I think I have a migraine. As much as I’d prefer to move on, I just want to get this straight, Kurt Angle legitimately thought Sting would be in the bathroom because he’s a piece of crap? With that kind of logic, no wonder he still thinks Sting slapped Karen. Is Kurt Angle supposed to be autistic? I don’t get it.

The less said about Black Reign, the better.

Mike Tenay just said that Kurt was the brains behind the “phantom” slap. I’m so confused. Seems like I’ve been confused a lot during the show and considering I’m a pretty smart guy with many years of experience in wrestling, I can’t imagine how confused the average viewer must be at times. I must have missed when it was revealed that Angle was the mastermind because I don’t remember that at all. So, let me get this straight, Kurt’s ultimate plan was to trick Sting into thinking he lost his temper and cost himself the tag titles when in actuality it was pre-meditated to cost himself the tag titles? Then, he spends a month flipping out about a slap that he knows didn’t happen so that Sting would be distracted by a sudden urge to buy Kurt a Tivo? I mean, I just don’t get it. I will say this though, Kurt’s mind games are definitely effective because my brain is hurting really bad right now.

ANONYMOUS FRIEND

As printed on WrestlingObserver.com

Dear Dixie,

I watched your first two hour program and wanted to offer you my thoughts. Who I am is not important, but please consider me a friend. I don’t want to waste any of your time, so I’ll cut right to the chase. You need to make a lot of changes. Some big, some small, but a lot of changes nonetheless. Your inner circle has never had your best interest at heart, only theirs. You need to change that as well.

The dramatic opening used to be interesting, but it hasn’t been interesting in a very long time. The tone of the product never backs up the tone of the opening. You have a guy in a very serious voice talking about the heart and spirit of TNA. Even if I try to buy into what he’s saying, he loses me as soon as I remember that the name of the company is a sexual pun.

Black Reign and Rhino wasn’t a bad match, but I have to question why Black Reign is on the roster, let alone why he would be the first guy to walk out on the two hour debut. Nothing against Dustin, but his best days are far behind him and he doesn’t have any potential to draw you money. Every second of TV time given to him could be spent building a new star. Anybody looking for cartoon wrestling has five hours of Vince’s TV that they can watch and 14 pay-per-views to buy. TNA will always be second fiddle to fans looking for that kind of programming and the majority of them will never buy a second PPV each month. If you aren’t looking to attract a new audience or the audience that doesn’t enjoy Vince’s TV anymore, you’re wasting your time. Black Reign accomplishes none of that, regardless of who he is friends with. Also, it’s worth pointing out that in the first match alone, you had Raven, Abyss, Jim Mitchell, Havoc, and Sting run in, as well as Kurt on the screen. Let me ask you something, when the show is over, if you asked your viewers to name who was in that segment, would they be able to remember even half of the people that were involved or what they did?

The X division is supposed to set TNA apart, but in the last five years, it’s never been explained what makes it a division. Yes, it’s cute to say that there are no limits, but there are no limits in the heavyweight division either. If TNA isn’t sure how it’s a division, what are the fans supposed to think? Also, with all of the random X division guys blending together, how is Jay Lethal supposed to get over as champion when he’s beaten down so easily by Team 3D and grouped with Sonjay Dutt and Shark Boy, who are essentially the curtain crew?

I honestly couldn’t tell you what was said by Robert Roode. All of the edits were so distracting and amateurish that I can’t even believe the segment made the air.

If Sting is wandering around like an over reacting lunatic all night, what about that is supposed to be appealing to the audience? What percentage of your fans have children old enough to play high school football? I hope your demos say that it’s very high because anyone else in the audience would have a lot of trouble relating to the erratic Sting in this situation. All Kurt is doing is sitting in the crowd. Does Sting think Kurt is going to rape his kid with cameras rolling? What exactly is Sting so worried about? Also, let’s even say it’s some awful act being committed by Kurt, why is the camera cutting away quickly while the announcers completely ignore it?

I know that Jackie and Gail wrestled, but I pretty much forgot about it. I don’t think I’m alone. Another segment with half a dozen people walking out. How is the viewer supposed to keep track of everyone and everything when so much is always happening and nothing is important enough to cause a momentary pause so everyone can take a breath and try to digest?

Speaking of women, I think I remember two of them arguing over who is the interviewer.

Team Pacman vs. Team 3D ends when VKM runs out yet another time. Then the Steiners come out. I’m exhausted from trying to keep track of everything. Do you not see how this is a problem?

The noise that Don West makes each time he breathes is very irritating. Honestly, the announcers are irritating in general. Why are they screaming at me all the time? What did I do to deserve this? If you act like everything is super important, well then, nothing is important. Everything just becomes ordinary.

Let’s say that I was one of the few people that was excited about the gauntlet match at Bound For Glory. Why should I still be excited about it after seeing it already? Unconventional matches are supposed to create interest because of their novelty factor. I feel like I see these gauntlet matches all the time. What is their appeal supposed to be? I guess if I really liked ring entrances then they would be kind of cool.

Eric Young used to be an entertaining distraction, but now he’s an overused attraction. Sadly, I wish he’d been fired after all.

Another lightning flash edit during the Christian segment backstage. Are you for serious? I don’t know what to say other than wow. You have two prime time hours on basic cable. There’s no excuse for something so honky to be done so many times on the show.

Has Kurt heard of Tivo or YouTube? Why does he still think Sting slapped his wife?

If every program has a dramatic video package to try to make it seem special, how is any program actually special?

The main event was really good and an eight man tag is a much better way to get guys on TV than a gauntlet or six way, but seriously, how many guys have been on this show? How am I supposed to remember who they were or what they did?

The show wasn’t bad, just mind numbing. There was nothing about it that made me want to buy the pay-per-view, which should be the goal. It’s really hard to remember what happened when so much happened. I do remember very strange and heavy breathing being extremely audible towards the end of the main event. This combined with Don West’s signature breathing noise made me very uncomfortable. Elix Skipper ending up in the ring during the eight man tag starts to make me wonder if it’s even possible for a match to take place on Impact without someone interfering.

Ok, Kurt just assaulted Sting’s kid and now a music video is playing. Do you not see how this completely minimizes what just happened? If there was still time left in the broadcast, how could the producer justify ignoring what just took place? It’s one thing if you fade to black, but to cut to a highlight video is just so awkward and this mistake has been made many times before. If I’ve learned anything in the last five years, it’s that when TNA makes a mistake, I can expect to see it repeated many times and never addressed. What are you waiting for Dixie? Until you clean house, you’re just going to keep treading water. TNA needs to sink or swim already. You’ve got two hours. No more excuses.

ANONYMOUS FRIEND

As printed on WrestlingObserver.com

Ah, so after months of speculation - ladies and gentlemen, we have a trade!

– The Boston Celtics get:
Kevin Garnett

– The Minnesota Timberwolves get:
Al Jefferson
Ryan Gomes
Sebastian Telfair
Theo Ratliff
Gerald Green
2009 No. 1 round draft pick (it stays w/ Boston if it’s numbers 1 - 3)
Future No. 1 round draft pick
Cash

You read that right. It’s the first-ever 7-for-1 trade in NBA history. This gives the Celtics the core pack of three All-Star players closing in on their careers in a few years — Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett. In other words, those damn Celtics are back!

I don’t really know about that one. At 33, Fisher is definitely not the same youngin who can run up the court and be that important piece of the puzzle he was in the tri-peat. But again, he was surrounded by amazing people when that happened. He did want to start at Utah last year, and he did want to help out as much as he can, but mid-season he got tired. The weight of carrying a team is not for him. He’s coming back home mostly to be in a big city where he can get better treatment for his daughter’s eye condition (New York Knicks was obviously not an option), so it’s only logical to get Fish back where he belongs - in L.A. I guess the main question one must ask when it comes to Laker signings is how does it all apply to Kobe, as he’s the leader of the team. I think this is where the positives come in. A backcourt of Fisher and Kobe is something the Lakers badly need right now. The point guard position has actually been an issue since the days of Brian Shaw and you guessed it - Derek Fisher. No team will win a championship without a solid center and a point. While it’s great that the Lakers are getting Fisher to fill in for a defecting Smush Parker, the real question is how well can Fish do at 33? How much gas does he have left in the tank? In his first Laker run, he didn’t have to go all-out and be the leader of the team, but in the last few seasons he spent at Golden State and Utah, he did have to do just that, and he’s probably banged up. Fisher is entering his 11th year, so I know he has at least one good season left in him. Another main point is how much of a factor he will be to his backup guys in Javaris Crittenton and especially Jordan Farmar who the Lakers are very high on. I think getting to back-up Fish is a big deal for these guys and they’ll learn even more. Reuniting Fish with Kobe AND Phil Jackson in the triangle (remember - the Lakers’ biggest issue of getting a point guard and passing on Jason Kidd, and to a certain extent on Baron Davis, is that not everyone likes playing the triangle, especially Phil’s way) shouldn’t take a sweat. That’s something Laker fans need to look up to. The official press conference for Fish returning is tomorrow. Does he get number 3? I don’t know if Shammand Williams cares, or if he’s even staying with the Lakers, so I can’t tell you.

They made it official today on Lakers.com that they’ve re-signed Chris Mihm. I’m not sure why, unless there’s a Kwame or Bynum deal waiting to happen. I guess I’d take Mihm over Kwame any day though, but I’m still really not that big on the guy. For someone who got paid $4.2 million to sit courtside and smile all season last year, I don’t know if he can even return to form, and it’s not like he was Kareem before he got injured. Looking at it from a different perspective, the Lakers might be aiming at another big trade option that involoves either Kwame and/or Andrew Bynum, so they need Mihm. I think selling Bynum is not smart right now. If you’re going to invest in a player, invest all the way, don’t pussy out. Whether it was the right decision or not remains to be seen down the line.

Oh yeah - and get over it already - Kobe is staying. So is K.G., but in Minnesota.

So the NBA Summer League started today.

The Portland Trail Blazers and their glorified number one pick in the 2007 NBA Draft lost to the worst team in the East last year - the Boston Celtics 74-66. While obviously these aren’t the same as the NBA teams, they’re lead by one or two players that play regularly for the team during regular season, as well as a couple of other prospects (alongside the draft picks for the year) that the team is trying out.

Greg Oden’s welcome was no fun. The guy scored a miserable six points, and his four turn overs didn’t help him as he fouled out with 10 fouls (the limit for the summer league).

Things weren’t looking all that better for Kevin Durant. He went 0 for 5 in his first five field goals in the Sonics’ 77-66 loss to the Mavs, but bounced back to end the night with 5 for 17 shooting.

Welcome to the NBA. Enjoy this summer as much as you can…

Where is my iPod?

“… I like the old joke about two gay Irish guys - Patrick Fitzsimmons and Simmons Fitzpatrick.”

Thank you Joe!

FC Barcelona made a lot of last week when they signed arguably one of the best strikers in the world of soccert oday - Thierry Henry from Arsenal. That’s obviously quite the move, but I can’t help but think - why? I don’t understand the purpose behind it. They claim they needed a partner for Samuel Eto’O up top, but did they forget about Gudjohnsen and Messi? Not to mention Ronaldinho’s ability to score, and quite a few other midfielders on the team that are goalscorers as well? I guess they’re thinking of selling Messi away, which has been mentioned - otherwise, I really scratch my head about this one! Henry’s used to the EPL, and going over to Spain might not be what he expects. The styles are completely different.

Another issue to bring up is what happens to Arsenal now? Will Arsen Wenger stay now, and if not, what are the chances rumors are true of him reuniting with Henry as Barcelona coach? Man, that would be something. I have a lot of resepct for Arsen. The guy is a soccer genius, who has brought so many young unknowns to the team that turned into mega stars. With Van Persie still there, Arsenal remains a factor in EPL, but we’ll see what happens from here on. Next year will be good for sports!

I was watching the ESPN NBA Draft Preview, and they were saying that Portland insiders, scouts, and management have told Greg Oden’s camp he’s definitely getting drafted first. Of course, ESPN covered their ass by saying “unless something catastrophic happens to change their mind, Oden’s going first.” Of course, Seattle’s GM hast he easiest decision to make in the history of the NBA when it comes to his draft pick - just take whoever’s left over from Durant and Oden.

I don’t know why, and maybe you’ll call me a fool for it, but I don’t buy into this whole Oden hype. I mean, the guy is good, but I feel that Durant is going to be one of those amazing stars in the league some day, while Oden will do really good, but won’t have the magnitude of dominance of a Shaq or a Duncan like everyone says. I mean Shaq in his Laker run was just pure dominance and force. Yeah, you can claim he had Kobe and an amazing ensemble to go with, but to me that’s bull - the guy was just unstoppable, period! Plus if you think about it, all great big men have had a great circle of guys playing with them - Shaq, Duncan, Olajuwon, Kareem - the list goes on, and they all had very strong players on their teams.

I don’t know - I keep having mixed feelings which is why I haven’t really posted on this. The rest of the draft promises to be interesting too. Who would you take if you were in the 3rd through 8th spot???

Why do they have to break down so much? I’ve changed two different mice on my computer and they still freeze. I think something’s wrong with my port/drive/connection because I know for a fact nothing’s wrong with the actual mouse I put on!!! AH!

The NBA Draft is tomorrow night. Naturally, the entire league is buzzing with trades talk as the hours before the draft pass by rather quickly.

The biggest rumor circulating the ‘net is where will Kevin Garnett end up by tomorrow, or perhaps even after tomorrow. My dream has been for KG to team up with KB into a whole new era in Los Angeles Lakers history. While this has been worked hard on for a while now, it doesn’t look realistc. Another trade idea sees Kevin Garnett going to the Suns, who are ready to part ways with Shawn Marion preferrable, as they don’t want to deal Stoudamire away.

Then there is Kobe Bryant.

Folks, the talks of trades are never-ending, but with Kobe’s contract expiring shortly and with KG being a free agent next summer, I honestly don’t think you should expect much. I have this gutsy feeling that NOTHING will happen when it comes to trades. As far as KG goes, first he was rumored to the Celtics, then to the Lakers, and now the Suns. While I’m sure those are all (except the Celtics) teams he wants to play on, I just can’t see the right trade happening.

Which begs the question of - are NBA trades ever any good? I personally don’t think so. There’s absolutely no way trades can work for both sides, and you can never get what you gave, or vice versa sometimes. Take a look at the Los Angeles Lakers - a team I can speak of most, because I follow closely.

Kobe Bryant - to me - is the best player in the NBA. Many will disagree with this statement, and rightfully so, as this is just an opinion. I’m not even going to get close to the conversation of who’s best, what makes a player an MVP/best, etc, etc, etc, because it’s worthless. However, Kobe’s talents are definitely recognized by everyone who understands the game of basketball. So the Lakers trade him, right? What the hell could you possibly get for him that will be worth it? It’s just so hard to work around such a trade, not to mention that it’s near impossible to trade him out west because you don’t want your direct rivals getting him. So now you have to look East, where nobody has anything to offer for him that you will be satisfied with. It’s a mess really.

If anyone does end up traded before the draft, I think it’ll be Kobe. Unfortunately, he seems set on moving away from the Lakers, and I think ultimately he will be dealt away. I do also feel that the Lakers owner would rather sell the team than sell Kobe, but we’ll see. All I know is, the next 24 hours should be very exciting!

As far as KG goes, I think he’ll end up in Minnesota because the ‘Wolves are smart to milk him for all he’s worth, as they should. When he becomes a free agent next year, then things will get interesting.

Speaking of next year, I can’t wait for Summer ‘08 in the NBA. Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and Gilbert Arenas have the oppotunity to be free agents next summer. Now you talk about trades…

I have written a column - The Prime Cut: The Rabid Wolverine on my feelings of the recents events, and TBLWrestling.com has had plenty of coverage on this sad situation.

To be honest with you, I really can’t cover or speak about this anymore. I feel like I’m so empty on the topic because there’s just simply been TOO MUCH said, done, and speculated.

The bottom line is that, just like Vince McMahon and Co., I’m ready to begin the “healing process.” I loved Chris Benoit and will always remember him as a tremendous wrestler, one of the best - nothing else.

Rest In Peace Chris.

All I have to say at this moment is that the world is a cruel, cold place. I literally have absolutely no other reaction. I’ve tried to gather my thoughts for a couple of hours now (since I found out) and I simply can’t. I’ll try to write more on this later. Chris will always be remembered. Rest In Peace.

Really, folks. He’s alive. True story.

More — N & A - All About McMahon’s “Death”

The Latest on McMahon Death, Stephanie/Shane Return, SummerSlam — TBLWrestling.com

In case you missed it or you live under a rock - Kobe Bryant was on the Stephen A. Smith ESPN Radio show this morning and said he would like to be traded and that there is nothing the Lakers can do to change his mind.

Don’t buy into it. He talked to Phil Jackson and a few hours later in an interview with Dan Patrick for ESPN as well as on the LA 570 AM Station was already backtracking saying he wishes something can happen to change his mind and that Phil calmed him.

Jerry Buss would sell his soul before he trades Kobe. He’s worked really hard to keep him in Los Angeles, and has invested too much money into Kobe retiring in Hollywood.

However, Bryant’s points he brought up to Smith were pretty valid. There’s really no reason for him to stay on the Lakers unless things change. As good as this line-up looked last season before all the injuries, they’re not a title contender. Changes need to be made, so Jerry Buss would have to open up his pocket, and stop drunk-driving. Bad things await L.A. otherwise. How can you blame Kobe, really? They had the chance to get Jason Kidd or Jermaine O’Neal and they didn’t. To back up a bit, they traded Shaq for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant to the Heat, and then they go and trade one of Kobe’s best friends - Caron - to the Wizards (alongside Chucky Atkins) to get Kwame, who I am not sure what to make of anymore, though he has his moments. If that’s not enough, back up a bit more - they had the chance to get Baron Davis a while back, and they didn’t do that either. They missed out on K.G. too. Exactly what are they waiting for? The Lakers need another big player, that’s crystal clear to me. Rebuilding is not going to happen while Phil Jackson is coaching this team - he’s never been a coach that “TEACHES,” not to mention he loathes rookies and youngins with attitudes.

So Jerry Buss needs to get to work, or another team in the NBA will be making a huge-load of money off NEW 24 jerseys. Not to mention there will be 15,000 pissed off season ticket-holders in L.A.

The Golden State Warriors’ slogan for the month of April heading into the Playoffs has been “We Believe.” Tonight was yet another example of “how the little engine that could” did it again. Nobody thought the Warriors even had a chance of making the playoffs this year, as everybody put the Lakers and Clippers as the favorites of getting the 7th and 8th spot. Lakers got their act together in the key games, and managed to squeeze the 7th spot. The Clippers - not so much. But while everybody was paying attention to these two teams, it was the outsiders, the underdogs, the nobodys - with a 9 out of 10 streak in April that was able to clinche the 8th spot. And they finished it on a role - by beating number one seeded Dallas in their last game, making it 3/3 against the best team in the NBA. As irony would have it, by finishing 8th, Golden State had to face Dallas in Round 1 of the Playoffs.

“We Believe” was the motto they had. And that’s exactly what they did - they believed in themselves. They believed in themselves to the point where they now have a 3-1 lead over Dallas. I’ve been watching basketball for a while, and this has to be the absolute best Round 1 playoff series I’ve ever seen. You have the best team in the league all season - a team that ltierally demolished teams left and right, and was picture-perfect for almost 82 games, and how they’ve been crippled, and left to struggle, and absolutely defeated is just amazing. But enough about Dallas. How about those Warriors? Are you kidding me? Have you seen the emotion and passion these guys play with? They get an emotion out of each other for every ball, every ref call, every drive to the basket, literally every single little thing that happens on the court. And how they support each other as a team is absolutely out of this world. And if that’s not enough, how about the Bay Area, and Oakland getting into it. Damn, that might just be the best audience in the playoffs. I’d be just as thirsty if my team hasn’t seen Playoff action in more than a decade.

Even if Dallas comes back and wins this (which is possible after all), the series has ended for me, and the real winner is the Golden State Warriors. When you leave your heart, soul, and every last drop of sweat on that court, there’s nothing else to play for. The fans have been chanting “We Believe” - and those words actually meant something. This has been like watching a play or a movie unfold in front of you. But hey, who am i to judge? “It’s just sports” right? Yeah… “just sports…”

P.S. - How about former UCLA Bruins Baron Davis (wow, is he amazing or what?), and Matt Barnes coming through at the end?!

The Lakers literally let the Suns win Game 1. Literally. They once again lost a game they had already won, something they seem to do often this season. As Phil Jackson said, “they played 48 minutes, we played 36.” Kobe was out of gas in the 4th quarter and it was obvious. Not to mention that he has absolutely no trust in his teammates as he just kept shooting brick after brick instead of passing. And can you blame him, when all his teammates do when they get the ball is… you guessed it… pass it to Kobe and hope for the best. You can’t win that way. Lakers have to regroup, continue to play awesome defense like they did for 3 quarters today, and use their bigs, who were just dead today. Brown and Bynum combine for 10 points. Yeah, good luck with that. For the first time in the season, Touriaf was not a factor today, which did catch me by surprise, though he didn’t get that many minutes either. As far as the Suns go, they really need to shut up and start playing basketball. Mike D’Antoni was making ridiculous statements before the game. “Kwame is awful. Odom is nothing more than an average player.” Who the fuck does this guy think he is? Not to mention that the Suns went into this game as if it’s another season game, not a playoff, and damn, am I mad Lakers didn’t make them pay for it. They better stop talking, and start playing over in Phoenix, or nothing good awaits them because trust me - this isn’t Lakers’ best basketball. And even if they do get past L.A., their old friends of San Antonio await… Mavs-Warriors later tonight - I’m actually excited for that one!

Tomorrow night, WWE will hold their biggest PPV of the year in what is known as WrestleMania 23 - All Grown Up this year. Going into tomorrow’s Showcase of the Immortals, it must be noted that the company has done more than a good job of building up storylines and hype for the event. If all goes well, they should be looking at a really good buy rate, as The Battle of the Billionaires, Cena/Michaels, Batista/Undertaker, and Money in the Bank are four very different type of programs with different feel, build, point, and drawing ability. You have the absolute gimmick - Battle of the Billionaires, the wrestling gimmick - Undertaker’s streak against Batista’s will, and then the two wrestling-based programs in Cena/Michaels which should be an amazing bout, and the crazy spotfest in Money in the Bank. Jason Robinson, WWE’s head of production design, finished the set for the show in February, and in an interview for Detroit News mentioned that the set would have a massive stage, plenty of video screens, and “more pyro than a Kiss concert.” In comparison, it takes the WWE crew of 100 workers only 14 hours to set up for RAW. For WrestleMania, the company is working with a 300-worker crew who have started on the stage last week and were hoping to finish two days before the show. Make no mistake about it - WWE relies entirely on its annual money-maker to represent the company, and they will make sure to hype this through the roof, as is always the case. WWE’s technical production of wrestling TV is like no other, as they have proven many times in the past, and they deserve kudos for that.

It is very important that WWE continues the same build for other PPV shows that follow WrestleMania. They are currently going through a good upswing, and it’s crucial that they follow it up, and not fail miserably like they have in the past, following a good build for WrestleMania. With a developing Ric Flair-Carlito storyline, a Mick Foley return, and strongly-built characters in the wings, they have a good shot of making this a much better year for WWE. Let’s see if they make it.

Melina takes on Ashley for the Women’s Championship in a match that was put together in order to present the Playboy cover girl with a strong heel to beat when she wins the Women’s Championship. The problem here is that Ashley has not improved at all in the ring, and to be honest doesn’t seem to bring anything to the TV shows, as Melina is much more charismatic. While Perez isn’t exactly the next Trish Stratus, she’s used her position as champion and shown some improvement in the ring, and has definitely learned how to draw heat from the audience with her presence, while Ashley continues to randomly point in arenas as people don’t care about her. I’m assuming anything could happen here, but an Ashley win makes sense most.

The ECW Originals take on the New Breed in a match that is of little meaning. ECW is all but dead at this point in time, and it’s honestly sad to know that WWE missed the boat on yet another great opportunity to cash in. Seeing as the New Breed is on the upraise with Elijah Burke getting some publicity and the opportunity to be a guest analyst on ESPN Boxing earlier in the week, it would make sense for them to win. At the same time, they could go for the sentimental value, and give the Originals a win. It’s sad to see RVD so low on the card.

From what I understand, Kane will be taking time off pretty soon, as The Big Red Machine is having some trouble with his knee. His schedule since See No Evil came out hasn’t been light either, and it’s time for him to recharge the batteries. It is possible that they choose to go with the injury angle at ‘Mania, making Khali into an even bigger monster, but one can’t help and wonder if the Indian giant can even perform an injury angle well. This will be hopefully kept short and to the point, though Kane will try hard to get a decent bout out of Khali.

Chris Benoit takes on MVP in a match for the US Championship, and by the looks of it, we’ll have yet another title change. For a while now the word has been that Benoit is headed to RAW, as he’s been lost in the shuffle on SmackDown!, and if that’s the case he would have to drop the belt here. Even if he stays on Friday nights, one would think WWE will give MVP a push here, as they’ve invested a lot in him. There’s been very few matches I can remember calling “bad” with Benoit in them, so this should be good, and OK in the worst case scenario.

The Battle of the Billionaires pins Bobby Lashley representing Donald Trump against Umaga, the representative of Vince McMahon, with the loser getting their head shaved. Don’t trust any rumors you’ve heard of Brutus Beefcake, Hulk Hogan, or anyone else coming out to shave the loser’s head. Steve Austin will be doing the “honors.” This one should be obvious, and has been from the start, quite frankly. Lashley will be going over Umaga, but you can count on plenty of interferences, worked spots, and the likes in here. A Rey Mysterio interference has been talked about, and that makes sense for future storylines. They also have advertised for ECW on Tuesday that “a bad billionaire” will make an appearance, and Trump isn’t going on ECW on Tuesday, so that tells you who the winner is. As far as the match goes, seeing as it won’t be a grappling classic with the interruptions, I would expect more emphasis on the power of the two guys, and probably the regular McMahon humor spot or two.

The Undertaker takes on Batista for the World Heavyweight Championship. This is a really tough one to predict. Logic would have you believe ‘Taker takes it because of his ‘Mania streak, but when WWE originally set up this match in late 2006, the idea was for Batista to win. Time changes everything, of course, and the decision seems to be all but overturned. This has to be gimmicked somehow, whether it’s by the use of weapons, or a bloodbath, and if Batista wins, it should be due to a major heel turn. I don’t think ‘Taker would give his record up like that, and with so many people upset with Batista backstage, it makes sense that The Dead Man is in for another title reign. I don’t know if this will be the last match on the card or not, but they might considering it just for that reenactment of the title going to “the dark side,” though Ross won’t call the match this time around.

John Cena faces Shawn Michaels in the other main event of the evening for the WWE Championship. This should be the match of the night, unless Money in the Bank delivers big again. Michaels will work the usual miracles, and he should be given at least 30 minutes here. I think we’re due for an HBK title reign, but that’s never a lock. Cena won the belt two years ago at WrestleMania and has held on to it strong since, only losing periodically for a short period of time. He has been in the title contention at every single PPV since then. That’s a scary statistic that even Triple H might fringe at. I think they intend to keep Cena at the top and use him up for all he’s worth until they move another direction, but at the same time there’s plenty of opportunities if Michaels wins the belt, and one of the guys could turn heel if the title does change hands easily to prolong the program, which could be good.

Eight guys are put together for what has become one of the top matches at WrestleMania - the Money in the Bank ladder match. It’s easy to eliminate some people out here. Matt Hardy is not winning this, as he’s in it simply due to his experience and to make it a good match. His brother Jeff has promised a crazy spot, and hopefully won’t get hurt doing whatever insane gimmick he’s thought of. He is not considered a possibility to win either. CM Punk will try to impress people with a few crazy bumps, but it’s highly doubtful the company will give him that big a push by making him the winner. This is definitely the biggest match of his career to date though, and with a continued strong support by fans, he might get his chance soon, but not at WrestleMania. King Booker and Fit Finlay are the two veteran heels in the match, added for spice, and while this is probably Finlay’s biggest match of his long career, he’s in there to run things together, much like Matt Hardy. As far as King Booker goes, he tends to step things up when the others around him call for it, and while a win might benefit his character a lot, I don’t see him winning either. This leaves Edge, Randy Orton, and Mr. Kennedy as the favorites to win and that makes a lot of sense. Edge is without a doubt the current WWE MVP, as he’s an all-around good package. He’s definitely charismatic, has brought his A game to the ring, and has proven that he works in the top spot. WWE has a lot of plans for him this summer, and he should remain one of their top players if he protects himself from serious injuries. I don’t see him winning, however, because he has already been Mr. Money in the Bank and they wouldn’t want to repeat a storyline so quickly. He also has some ring rust to work on, as he’s been out of action for more than a month now due to those “educated feet” of Rob Van Dam. Randy Orton seems like an interesting way to go. He was WWE’s groomed future, but never quite made it when he was given the opportunities, though it’s very controversial as to why he didn’t make it. He’s been on the upraise, and got a face reaction on RAW thanks to his storyline with Edge. He could be due for a face turn, and I’d say is one of the favorites to win. The other favorite has to be Mr. Kennedy - the guy that WWE is big on and hasn’t quite pushed all the way yet. It should be interesting to see how it all goes down.

It looks like a decent show on paper, but if luck is not on WWE’s side, it could actually fall short of expectations. The important part for them is to do enough to live up to the hype of WrestleMania, as that even by itself could make or break a WWE financial year.

Eddie

So my prediction unfortunately came true, and Florida beat UCLA to advance to the Championship game. Coach Ben Howland and everyone in Westwood should be very proud of what the team accomplished this year. Howland is an amazing coach, and we’re lucky to have him. We played really well, and tonight was just not our night. The Bruins proved that they seem to crack a bit under pressure, but it was a simple luck rule of basketball that defeated them - their shots would just not go in. They got tapped on so many of those, not to mention the two critical ref calls with about 5 - 6 minutes remaining (the back court violation when UCLA was down 12 which would have given them ball possession with about 5.30 to go and on 4 unanswered by Florida; also, the cruical miss of when Aaron got fouled on his 3-point attempt) but that’s the nature of the beast. No complains, plus, credit should be given where it’s due - Florida played strong, they had a day, and made their shots. I don’t think they play as good as basketball as UCLA does - their defense is not as strong, though it is present, and they rely on 3-point shooting too much. I’m not an advocate of their style, but if they keep winning, you can’t argue against it. The story of the game for me was UCLA’s lack of luck when it came to certain shots, as well as Florida absolutely demolishing us on the boards (due to the foul trouble, our rebounders were gone). Richard had a ridiculous day for the Gators, and shouldn’t have been such a big factor. Aaron got going too late, Collison should have done more, while Shipp stayed strong. That’s okay. There’s always next year, and we’ll keep waiting on that 100th championship. GO BRUINS!

If you didn’t see it and I were you, I’d go out of my way to get a tape of it or download it or something. Suns were down by 15 in the fourth when Nash scored 10 points in 55 seconds and they went on to tie it up. The Mavs kept coming back throughout BOTH overtime periods, but finally it was the Suns on top by 1. Awesome game. Dallas is the better team, without a doubt, because they play both ends of the floor rather well. Suns are an interesting case. Their defense is a major concern, but damn, if your offense is that sickening, I don’t know if I’d be worried. However, in the Finals, the name of the game is defense, so no defense = no championship. I still think there might be an upset in the West as far as who wins it. The East is interesting too, though they’re weaker. Give me the Wizards as a surprise (is it really a surprise?) or Pistons or Bulls?! Man… I can’t wait, and to top it off, March Madness begins tomorrow…

P.S. - I’m convinced after tonight - other than K.G., Shawn Marion has to be the most underrated player in the NBA!

It’s unbelievable. For everybody watching the Lakers this season, you know what I’m talking about. For once, you have injuries ruining your team. Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, Kwame Brown, Vladimir Radmanovic, Maurice Evans for a day, Ronny Turiaf tonight, and don’t even get me started on Chris Mihm. How the hell do you play consistantly with so many injuries of so many key players? On top of it, the Lakers had the worst luck in the league. They’ve lost one too many games that they should have won, and there were quite a few ref calls against them that shouldn’t have been there. But that comes and goes with the game, I guess, seeing as they do get some calls that they shouldn’t, as well. What impressed me the most about this team today, after their 2 OT loss to the ‘Wolves of all teams, is that they’re not playing with the same desire and push anymore. Perhaps it’s tough to be excited and upbeat when so many key players are out, and when you’re losing, but tonight there was no excuse. Some players just didn’t even know what to do with the ball. “Pass it to Kobe” was the theme of the evening. While that’s fine, he’s only human, and he’s only one. A basketball team consists of 5. If the Lakers want to make anything out of the remainder of the season and post-season (that is if they advance to Playoffs, since they’re not a lock at all after their recent games), they need to rediscover team basketball. When they were 12 games above the 0.5 record line in the standings, they were playing as a team. They were a unit of five guys, who used the fundamentals of the game, and hustled to the max. Wins against the Mavericks, Suns, Spurs, and other top NBA teams were a natural. But when they faced a team below 0.5, they choked. They didn’t have that leadership, hustle, and push to play, and suffered for it. Kobe is in quite the form right now, but even he’s struggling with lingering injuries, not to mention he played over 50 minutes tonight. His play time will increase a lot. It’s the Brian Cook, Mo Evans, Smush Parker, and the like players that need to step it up and believe in themselves again. Since Lamar is done for the rest of the season, I think a kep player the Lakers need is Luke Walton. Someone to distribute the ball, and someone who is good at the fundamentals of the game. Until then, things are not looking good. They hustled all game tonight, and then did what they always do - gave it up in the last minute and overtime. The ‘Wolves gave us so many chances to win it, too. I hope my team gets it together…

Thumbs Up
Best Match: Royal Rumble
Worst Match: Test vs. Lashley for that ending.

The Hardys & MNM was a decent opener. It was good for what it was worth, and just like Dave described it, it was exactly what you would expect from those four guys. They worked hard, and built up a decent match.

Test vs. Lashley was a huge disappointment to me, as the TNA finisher was dull and extremely un-extreme. Horrible stuff. I don’t understand why they buried Test the way they did either - do they feel comfortable with Hardcore Holly being their top heel from here on? ECW is just sad nowadays. Not to mention the slap in the face to Tazz and Joey Styles when they had 2 SmackDown! guys and Lawler call the Rumble match.

Batista and Kennedy couldn’t have possibly been the worst match of the night, as Test and Lashley made sure of that. Kennedy tried and worked really hard, so he deserves a lot of credit for making the match “bad” as this was going to be beyond brutally bad. There’s no two ways around it - ever since coming back, Batista is so bad that he’s not even at the level he was at before getting injured. However, I’m sure that Undertaker will manage to get a good match out of him, as January through April seems to be the time when Undertaker kicks into high gear. I wouldn’t be surprise to see that main event changed to a three-way to feature Kennedy too.

I can’t say enough positives about the Cena-Umaga battle. This was something WWE has been lacking for months - tremendous booking. They gave Cena the win and in the process made him look like a true warrior - never giving up, bleeding, and still fighting, and brawling through it all. In the process, they made Umaga seem like a true monster as well, so I thought this worked well. The visuals with the steps, the bleeding, and the ring rope were nice touches that we don’t see often - creativity that the company lacks these days. Very good match.

I wish they let Ross, Tazz, and JBL call the Rumble - now that would have been something. While I thought Cole, JBL, and Lawler did a decent job (and that pairing makes sense, as Lawler and Cole worked together for quite some time back in the day), I wasn’t really into it until the end. A lot of the moments in the match were silly, but the last 10 minutes were absolutely amazing. Because they’re on different shows, many people have forgotten how good of interaction Undertaker and Shawn Michaels have with each other, and they made this work really well. When he wants to, Undertaker can be very entertaining to watch, and Michaels is awesome as well. I wanted to see more with CM Punk, but I’m glad they didn’t completely burry him. There weren’t that many “stories” in the Rumble this year - such as brother vs. brother (hardyz, taker/kane), or any former partners and show vs. show interaction, which only shows you how far behind they are in WrestleMania plans, but at the same time, keeping it straight-up competitive was fun as well, with no weird surprises.

The last minutes of the Rumble and Cena-Umaga made this a good show for me.

That was a tough one.

The Lakers seem to lose a lot of won games as of late, and it’s always to much subpar teams. That’s going to hurt a lot down the road. I can think of 5 games that they’ve lost this season which they should have won. At any rate, I still say this team will definitely make the playoffs. They’re playing without Odom right now, and even without him are doing well. Today they went to Kobe too much, I hope this wasn’t the beginning of a trend. They need to regroup after this horribly-long road trip, and continue to play team ball. They have a lot of potential, I expect great things out of this team next year.

I watched the Phoenix Suns/Dallas Mavericks game today, seeing as it was “the big one,” and while it was a tremendous game, I was paying attention to something else - the commentators. You might have noticed the anger in my last post, as the NBA on ABC ticked me off to an extreme. Well, it was great to watch the double-header today because the games were good and the commentating on par! I noticed in the Suns/Mavs game, how good of an analyst Doug Collins is. It’s not always a safe bet that former players work as announcers, but considering Collins was a coach as well, he certainly brings a lot to the table and is fun to talk to. The first game was also tremendous - two good teams that played smart basketball and the decision came in the very last seconds of the fourth. That’s my type of game! Love the NBA on TNT!

I have just about had it with ABC’s coverage of the NBA! And today was barely the first game…

Having their sub commentators today didn’t help. As some may know, I’m a huge Lakers fan (the only Los Angeles team I like), so of course I woke up early (I call 11 am early), and never mind that being sick ruined my Christmas already, these bastards made me want to committ suicide with their broadcast. First, they knew absolutely nothing about the two teams playing (Lakers, Heat) other than Dwyane and Kobe are the best. OK, I got that. They knew the basic details that were probably on a sheet of paper in front of them, such as Luke Walton is a forward, and he’s a starter this season. No shit? Any good commentator in the league knows that, considering Walton has had an amazing season opener, and is one of the leading 3-point shooters in the league. Oh but it gets better… Did you know that he’s Bill Walton’s son?! WOW! UGH!

It became even more clear they’re oblivious to the two teams when they started talking about how Radmanovic has been having an on/off season from the 3-point range (which he has), but nobody mentions the reason - a hand injury he’s been dealing with since the season started.

On top of all this misguidance, these guys don’t know how to call a game. They go off tangents, make general statements, and are just plain boring. Not to mention that they didn’t get half the calls that were made throughout the game. This ABC/ESPN coverage of the NBA plain sucks, if you ask me. When NBA was on NBC, it was by far the best coverage the NBA has had! People always knock Marv Albert for just about anything, but the guy knew how to call a game. He always brought excitement to the play, kind of like JR in wrestling. And he knows his stuff. These guys are proud of themselves because they know that Jordan Farmar went to UCLA (if you followed college basketball last year and you didn’t know that, then you’re in bad shape) and that Luke Walton (did we mention he’s the son of Bill Walton, who also went to UCLA?) went to Arizona. Wow… Idiots. It’s days like these that make me appreciate Stu Lantz even more.

Before reading this year’s Great American Bash review, feel free to check out my 2005 Great American Bash Review by clicking HERE. In fact, I’ll even copy down the introduction from last year’s show (due to being lazy and for fun) so you can see that not too much has changed from 2005.

Today was the second annual Great American Bash! It was a true American celebration. Traditions were kept as Undertaker killed a man again, Indians - this year in the form of Italians and Persians who play Arab-Americans on TV, were befriended and then killed, great Americans in the form of cowboy-hat-with-a-suit-can’t-wrestle rednecks were falling all over the place, and to top it all, there was T & A. Ah yes. What a great holiday! Perfect way to celebrate America and what my lovely WWE is all about. Well, Heidenreich didn’t lie for once! He did win those precious Tag Team belts with Fat Joe - that should help make the tag team division much more credible! Let me tell you what went down today, match by match!

Away we go…

0 - WWE.com with Snitsky defeated ECW.com with Conway
Unfortunately, dear Diary, we weren’t lucky enough to have a Sunday Night Heat match this year. In fact, diary, Sunday Night Heat no longer airs on national television. See, they decided to get rid of it because really, it just costs money. Even when years ago it used to have a solid wrestling match and tremendous PPV build, it was no good! But if you really want action, Sunday Night Heat is still here - on WWE.com! Not ECW.com, don’t get them confused! And if you go there, you’ll see that this week’s main event is Gene Snitsky vs. Rob Conway! OH HOW EXCITING!

1) Masturbator aka Spanky and Polio Rome aka Paul London def. The Pussies aka The Bulldogs aka Nidia’s Husband Jamie Noble and Mr. TNA (no Impact) Kid Kash
This match had it all! I am so glad to see two of WWE’s greatest divisions encorporated into one, as these wonderful cruiserweights compete for the tag team championships. The tag team division on SmackDown! is my favorite one!!! I watch Velocity for it every week on WWE.com! Spanky and Paul London are such amazing superstars, diary. I’m just hoping they don’t overpush them the way they have been - those hoggers of air time!

2) Big Irish Midget aka Very UnFit Finlay with Little Irish Midget def. Johnny “Chivas” Walker aka William Regal
This was such an exciting bout, dear Diary! Booked really well. Considering that these guys are two of the most experienced wrestlers on the roster, and two guys that can carry a wonderful technical old-school bout, even a brawl, they booked this tremendous. They focused on comedy spots with the midget, and had the ending be determined by a boot! Ah, this year’s show has been a hoot so far! I LOVE IT! What a wonderful Bash!

3) The Hamburgler/Green Lantern aka Gregory Helms def. Edge & Lita’s Bitch aka Matt Hardy
Having in mind the promotion for this match was the strongest going into the PPV, I expected more. The way this storyline has been booked in weeks’ past had been brilliant. I am sure 50% of the people out there bought the PPV because of this match and how much air time this storyline was given. What wonderful action here! Wait a minute! Why isn’t Carlito fighting? He did win the #1 Contenders Match for the Cruiserweight Championship on RAW against Shelton Benjamin! You remember! UGH! So much for rules!

4) The Undertaker killed The Big Show with Khali’s liver and the hopes of all India that bamboo is strong, unlike last year where he killed Muhammad Hassan, Daivari, Five Men, a Three-Legged Dog, Several Members of Security, and Paul Bearer for good measure after killing him originally in 2004
Unfortunately, dear diary, this match wasn’t planned. You see, The Great Khali was originally supposed to face The Undertaker in this epic battle. Unfortunately, Khali had a diseased liver, as well as a disease wrestling skill, and could not participate in tonight’s action. The same had happened to Bobby Lashley, which makes me wander what these two do together after shows. This match was HELLACIOUS! MY GOD! MY GOD! There were two huge bamboo stick cages, one around the ring, and one 20-foot cage outside on the floor. Winner had to escape two! You see, this… was the PUNJABI PRISON! Mike Tyson served his sentence here. Unfortunately, during a cross body that Undertaker did on last-minute replacement - ECW Champion The Big Show - the cage seemed to open a bit too easily. I guess all of India is upset with this. Bamboo proves unsafe. Typical Undertaker match - some blood, and a fart to win. I’m sad for The Big Show, who is the first person in history to have won the WCW and WWE Championships, and after that having gone on to win the ECW Championship entirely based on talent and strength… talent and strength of Kurt Angle’s neck and RVD’s marijuana. Long Live Big Show! All Hail Big Show! All Hail Big Show!

5) Bra & Panties Match
All Hail Big Show! All Hail Big Show!

6) Mini-Brock aka Batista def. (Jackie) Kennedy
He is baaaaaaaaaaack! And so are the ratings! CHOKE ON THAT BOOKER! I’m so glad they killed off Mr. Kennedy here. Who cares that he’s been the only attraction fans pay to see on SmackDown! lately and that they could have capitalized off of him in the long term. The important thing here is that THE ANIMAL is unleashed, and more victims need to be fed. I blame Mark Henry! He’s a bad man. No, wait, that’s Rikishi. Oh yeah, he’s a fat man with a beard. Oh wait, that’s Rikishi again… Hm… Damn.

7) Booker T w/ Sharmell w/o The Artist def. Rey Mysterio w/ Mask w/ Underdog Leash
OOOOOOOOOOO! What excitement the ending of this match was. Dear diary, I woulda never seen it coming! From miles away! Chavo Guerrero turned his back on Rey Mysterio!? WHY!? WHY CHAVO WHY?! Maybe the Larry Zbyzsko hair loss commercials took effect. Here comes another feud that will include the faith of Eddie Guerrero! I can’t wait! Maybe this time, instead of put his car on fire, they can bomb his new house in Arizona? I can’t wait! Oh, and dear diary, do you remember when Booker T got his back injured a couple of years ago?! And he was making appearances on the road and someone asked him if he’ll ever be World Champion again, and he laughed in response. Who’s laughing now!

Good night dear diary!

Full Credit: Indian International Bamboo Trading Company

Enjoy…

News & Analysis Returns

Now that was just sad…

If you didn’t catch Game 6 of the 2006 NBA Playoffs, you didn’t miss much. In fact, other than the fourth quarter, this was a pretty bad game. Besides the fact that the Mavs just had a bad day on the offense as they couldn’t get a damn shot in, when Antoine Walker has so many rebounds for the Heat, then you know something just ain’t right.

So for how long is this going to go on? Does the NBA think people are blind? A lot of my friends that followed the game have already posted a bulletin or pointed out to me that this was as rigged as it gets. And how can anyone doubt that? Everybody knew when the season began that it was the Suns in the West that were “the team.” Then for some miracle and an amazing season by Kobe, the Lakers made the playoffs and had to play the Suns. What a great scenario - let’s have someone in the West surprise the Suns. When the Lakers were a hair away from winning the series, obviously some weird “force” realized that this Laker team doesn’t have what it takes to bring in ratings or even perhaps beat the other West teams fair and square, so boom, 4 - 3, off they go. Then, like a well-scriped soap opera, they made Suns the come-back kings and I guess the suits in NBA couldn’t figure out who to put in there as the “surprise.” The Spurs are an old tune that nobody cares about anymore, and they’ve had their moment. Obviously, it was the Mavs that had the most decent team, and were capable of a surprise, and they got it. This isn’t to diss Avery Johnson because I have a lot of respect for him, but the ways in which that man threw his arms around and shouted like an idiot throughout all games, mixed with his horrible strategy can only prove that he’s just not a good coach. The communication with his players is supposedly really “strong.” I don’t see that at all. Anyway, off go to Suns, which is good for Nash who somehow gets MVP again when Kobe and Wade were doing unseen things all year.

The East was just pathetic this year. If anybody actually thought that the final wasn’t going to be Detroit and Miami, then I don’t know what kind of rock you’ve been sleeping under. Detroit is not interesting to anyone anymore, the money (and ratings) come with Miami. Think about it. You have the story of Shaq winning yet another ring with a new team (how long do you think it will take for the media to start the Kobe/Shaq war? this time it’s “Look who’s doing better after they broke up”), you have Pat Riley winning his fifth ring, and who the hell can miss the story of Gary Payton and Alonso Mourning - two of NBA’s greatest all time players FINALLY winning a ring. But it fell flat, watching it. The games were decent until tonight’s which I thought was bad, but it was just weird. I guess it was too obvious that this was as rigged as it gets. I think it’s time for David Stern to step down…

I like how nobody explained the change of announcers, but hey, that’s WWE for you. When Conway and Goldust were out there, it became obvious that this is a very live crowd, which helped bump up the quality of the show at times. Carlito and Chris Masters had a good bout, which I doubt anyone expected, although they botched two big spots. The crowd factor already played its role. The bout was well-booked and it accomplished what it was supposed to accomplish. It was sad to see Flair get squashed like that, even without a serious storyline behind it, although that helped push Umaga, a man who is a waste of everyone’s time at this point. Hopefully they’ll keep Coach away from the announcing booth from here on, this helped make the PPV much better, and Ross/Lawler might not be the best pair in the history of the business, but it’s a proven winner over other possibilities. Stratus and James didn’t have enough time to work with, but it was decent. Other than the main events and Benjamin/RVD nobody got any air time, which I don’t understand when you end 15 minutes early and manage to sneak a Eugene/Striker segment. Speaking of RVD/Benjamin, to me it was the best match of the night, and was filled with great action. Big Show and Kane was the stinker of the night (considering that Umaga and Masters were on the card, that speaks volumes), and probably had a lot to do with killing the mood for the time being. The segments the McMahons did about God (as well as the entrance) were horrible, but the truth of the matter is that everyone around me (I saw this at a sports bar) laughed a lot at these. Some of them were indeed funny, but funny doesn’t mean money in this business. I hardly doubt anyone bought the PPV (or paid to see it, like me) for this match. Michaels, as usual, saved the situation, and made for a decent bout, but considering how much more beneficial he can be, this seems like a complete waste. Mania, and even SNME was better than this bout. For all the idiots out there that are doing the DX chop and chanting Triple H, please stop, because you’re going to be the ones that boo him in less than a month and you’ll claim that he’s hogging the belt. And don’t try to say how gracious and great he was tonight, because he once again made himself the star, it’s just that he realized (finally) he doesn’t have to be champion anymore to be the #1 guy in the company, which he’s continued to book himself as. Overall, a decent show.