WWE Breaking Point occurred on Sunday night and it seems like it was an interesting show. During football season, WWE PPVs take a back seat around here. So, my thoughts will be based only on reports of the show I have read and I will be comparing my predictions to what actually happened. If anyone who saw the show live wants to correct me on anything, please feel free to leave a comment. Let’s get into it:
WWE Unified Tag Team Championship
Jericho and Big Show (c) vs. MVP and Mark Henry
My prediction: Jericho and Show win and retain
Actual result: Jericho and Show retain via pinfall
As I predicted and expected, Chris Jericho and the Big Show get the win in this match and continue their tag team championship reign. It just did not make any sort of sense to throw the belts on a hastily made team of MVP and Mark Henry. Reports indicate that this match had some good action in it. You got the standard, fast paced chain wrestling from Jericho and MVP, while Show and Henry slugged it out with their power moves. MVP played the “face in peril” until he could make a hot tag to Henry. Henry was able to dominate and Jericho avoided losing the titles by getting a foot on the ropes. The finish once again saw Big Show hitting a knockout punch on Henry and Jericho scored the pinfall to retain. This was the correct finish in my mind, but I still have no idea what the WWE plans to do here. Having Jericho and Show dominate for a long period can be good, as long as they drop the belts to a team who could use the help. I still say Legacy or the Hart Dynasty should beat them and that would cement either team as serious players. I wonder how long it will be before we get tension between Jericho and Show and the team starts to crumble.
WWE United States Championship
Kofi Kingston (c) vs. The Miz
My Prediction: I stated via Twitter that I was pulling for Miz, but expected a Kofi victory to extend this feud
Actual result: Kingston retains via pinfall
This match was a late addition to the PPV and pretty much replaced the Intercontinental Title match between John Morrison and Dolph Ziggler. By all accounts, this match delivered and it was very good. From what I read, the action was pretty fast paced throughout the match and it was filled with counters and reversals. Both Kofi and Miz looked very even and the match could have gone either way. In the end, Kofi connected with the Trouble in Paradise to retain the U.S. Title. I am fine with this result for the time being and I expected it. I love Miz’s arrogant and cocky character and he has really developed in a solid performer. In my estimation, he should get a run with the U.S. Title in the near future and I am hoping this feud will continue. Miz did the job and was John Cena’s bitch, so I don’t see how he can come up short here. If he continues to lose to Kingston and does not get the title, Miz will look very weak and will be stuck in mid-card jobber hell. Kingston has done a really good job with the U.S. Title and I think he should eventually lose to Miz and have a few good rematches before they both more onto new challengers.
Submissions Count Anywhere
Legacy vs. DX
My prediction: Legacy
Actual result: Legacy via submission on Michaels
I could not be more thrilled when I read the result of this match. After thinking and evaluating things, I came to the conclusion that Rhodes and Dibiase could not afford to lose this match and I am happy WWE creative seems to have agreed. Triple H and Shawn Michaels are bulletproof and they could afford the loss. A win over Legacy would have only buried two potential stars and it would have been stupid. Everything I have read indicates that this was a damn good match. The action spilled out of the ring and all over the arena. They fought in the stands, in the arena concourse, backstage, you name it. Obviously, both teams tried to kill each other and Legacy actually was much more effective. After going back and forth for a long while, Rhodes and Dibiase used the help of a cooler and a sick chair shot to knock out Triple H backstage. Once they got back into the ring, Shawn Michaels did a valiant job of trying to fight off Legacy, but he was not able to overcome the 2 on 1 disadvantage. Michaels eventually tapped out to a combination of a figure-four leg lock on the ring post by Rhodes and a Million Dollar Dream by Dibiase before Triple H could get back to the ring to make the save. It seems like Legacy finally was allowed to look like a real threat and they came out looking like stars in this match. I am pleasantly surprised at this outcome and hope that Rhodes and Dibiase continue to be booked strong. I don’t think they will ever become megastars, but they have the chance to be solid main event level talent if they are handled correctly. I have a sneaking suspicion though that this feud will continue and I am fearful that Legacy will be destroyed by DX at the Hell in a Cell PPV, which would very much hurt the momentum they got from this match.
Singapore Cane Match
Kane vs. The Great Khali
My prediction: The Great Khali
Actual result: Kane via pinfall
Well I don’t mind being wrong with this prediction. Although, it saddens me this could indicate the feud might continue. As you would expect, this was a very ugly match. The Montreal crowd started up a boring chant in the middle of it, so there is all you need to know. Kane and Khali apparently stumbled through the match, hitting each other with the canes a few times and trying to pull off some spots with them. Runjin Singh eventually got involved again by hitting Kane with a cane, which only angered the Big Red Machine and made him harass Singh. As Khali checked on Runjin, Kane was able to drop Khali neck-first on the ropes and then hit a chokeslam for the win. I have no more patience for this feud and it is going nowhere. Again, since Khali is playing the face in this feud, standard booking says that he comes out on top in the end. So sadly, we might have to be tortured with more matches between these two. I am not sure what else either Kane or Khali could be doing, but this feud is just boring and uninspiring.
*Special note: After this match, CM Punk was given some interview time and he actually brought up the fact that Jeff Hardy got arrested! I am surprised the WWE even touched that subject, but you can’t deny that it is a brilliant heel move for Punk to do.
ECW Championship
Christian (c) vs. William Regal
My prediction: William Regal wins ECW title
Actual result: Christian retains via pinfall
Well the swerve happened before this match even took place as ECW GM Tiffany banned Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov from ringside. Well if I knew that before the PPV, I may have had different thoughts about the result of the match. I expected Regal to steal the title with the help of Jackson and Kozlov, but with them being banned from ringside, it greatly increased the odds of Christian retaining and that is exactly what happened. As you would expect, the reports indicate that this was a very solid match. Both Christian and Regal are very skilled wrestlers and they seem to have delivered a good match. Christian had the Killswitch blocked three separate times before he was finally able to hit it for the win. Now, I have no idea what will be going on in ECW. I really thought that Regal would win and Christian would have to fight through the “Ruthless Roundtable” to try and get the title back. But at this point, Regal is starting to look like a chump and I don’t see how he should be in line for yet another title match. If Kozlov or Jackson step in now, that is pretty logical and could work. A title win for either one would definitely elevate that person to a new level.
“I Quit” Match for the WWE Championship
Randy Orton (c) vs. John Cena
My prediction: John Cena wins WWE Title
Actual result: John Cena wins WWE Title
Surprise, surprise, surprise…what a shocker. I said there was no way in hell John Cena would lose this match and say “I quit” and I was dead on. Cena’s whole persona is based on a never quit, never give up attitude so this result seemed to be a foregone conclusion. The way the match seems to have gone down is pretty bad and was typical Cena booking. From what I gather, Orton spent about 10-15 minutes absolutely beating the hell out of Cena. He abused him with steel steps and then pulled out a pair of handcuffs. Orton placed the key to the cuffs around his neck and then proceeded to cuff Cena to the ropes, to the turnbuckle, and even to himself with Cena’s hands behind his back. Orton destroyed Cena with a Singapore cane and chair shots. However, Cena did not quit and was eventually able to wrestle the key away from Orton and then cuffed himself to Orton directly. After a little more action, Cena worked Orton into the STFU and Orton quickly tapped. WHAT THE HELL?!? I am seriously sick and tired of John Cena playing Superman and Hulk Hogan, version 2.0. The act is so very worn out and I am tired of it. I don’t need Cena’s toughness and never give up attitude continually shoved down my throat. We get the point already. I have no problem with Cena winning the belt, but I am to the point where the booking of his matches is just insulting. The STFU is treated as the most dangerous move on Earth and John Cena can just survive anything. Orton will obviously get his rematch, but unfortunately Cena will win it and we will be subjected to a lengthy title reign and more of this crap. I try not to complain to this extent with what the WWE does, but I am just totally tired of John Cena.
Submission Match for the World Heavyweight Title
CM Punk (c) vs. The Undertaker
My prediction: Somehow, someway CM Punk retains
Actual result: CM Punk retains via Montreal Screwjob, Version 2.0
Well I said that I didn’t know how the WWE would do it, but CM Punk would not be losing the title this soon. I was right on this, but unfortunately, the WWE had to go the cheap and cheesy route and pull out another “Montreal Screwjob”. Punk and Taker put on a pretty good match that was cruising along just fine until Taker tried to hit Punk with a chokeslam. Punk countered with a roundhouse kick that was then countered into Taker’s Hell’s Gate submission hold. Punk quickly tapped out and we were led to believe that the Undertaker was the new World Heavyweight Champion…that is until Smackdown GM Teddy Long came out and reminded us all that Vicky Guerrero had the move banned and that decision has not been reversed. So the win did not count and the match had to continue. Soon after the restart, Punk got Taker in the Anaconda Vice. Suddenly, the bell rang, but the Undertaker did not submit. Punk and the referee quickly left the ring and joined Teddy Long on the entrance ramp. So the fix was in and we had to relive the Montreal Screwjob 12 years later. While I applaud the WWE for continuity with the Hell’s Gate submission being banned, this is just not a good move. It seems extremely stupid and foolish to do. I think it is insulting to the fans and there was no reason for it. The WWE painted themselves into a corner with this match stipulation and this is the price we pay. I don’t think the outcome does anything for CM Punk and he deserved something better to escape with the title. I really can’t say what that might have been, but this was dumb. To look on the bright side though, the build toward a rematch at the Hell in a Cell PPV should be pretty good and that main event match will hopefully be strong.
The Game’s Quick Hits
Patriots 25, Bills 24 – This turned out to be a surprisingly competitive game to open up the 40th season of Monday Night Football and the Patriots ended up having to survive and steal a victory in the final minutes. After being in disarray on the offensive side of the ball and firing their offensive coordinator in the preseason, most people assumed that the Patriots would easily handle the Bills in this game. But Buffalo came to play and their defense played well in the 1st half. They got really good pressure on Patriots QB Tom Brady and held the running game in check. Brady was not particularly sharp early on and he missed some throws. He did engineer one good scoring drive for a TD and had another bog down right before halftime. The Bills did not do much better on offense, but they did get a 26-yard interception return for a TD from Aaron Schobel after Brady poorly executed a screen pass. This helped the Bills take a 14-10 lead into the half.
Things did not get much better for the Patriots in the 2nd half. They dominated in terms of time of possession and they were able to move the ball with two long drives, but one ended in a turnover on downs and the other in a field goal. Brady looked passive and tentative in many situations and things were not clicking. The Bills were only slightly better until there was about 10 minutes left in the game. QB Trent Edwards was able to engineer a long scoring drive which ended in a 10-yard TD pass to RB Fred Jackson. This gave the Bills a 24-13 lead with just over 5 minutes left and it looked like Buffalo was going to pull an amazing upset. But then, the Patriots turned back into the Patriots. Brady got the hurry up offensive going and he easily drove New England down the field and threw an 18-yard TD pass to TE Benjamin Watson to pull the score to 24-19 after a failed 2-point conversion. Then, the Patriots got the break they needed when Buffalo’s Leodis McKelvin elected not to take a touchback on the kickoff and then proceeded to fumble the ball away. It only took Brady 3 plays to hit Watson again with a 16-yard TD pass to give the Patriots a crazy 25-24 come-from-behind win.
So in the final analysis, the Patriots may not be as good as everyone thought and the Bills might not be as bad as everyone thought. You could attribute the poor performance to opening game jitters, but the Patriots’ defense did have some holes that can be exploited as the year goes along. But this is what good teams do. They find a way to win games even when they do not play their best. I do expect Brady and the rest of the offense to round into form though and they should be fine in the long run. Considering how bad Buffalo looked in the preseason, this was an excellent performance. The no-huddle offense actually did some good things, but Trent Edwards needs to get better and take more shots down the field. The defense will also have to play this well in subsequent weeks to give the Bills any chance to win some ball games.
Chargers 24, Raiders 20 – In the final game of week 1, we got another strange game and a shocking performance from the Oakland Raiders. Just like the Bills, the Raiders looked bad in the preseason and no one expected them to really give the Chargers a game tonight. But Oakland came out rolling and was able to dominate the line of scrimmage with their offensive line. They were able to run the ball effectively on offense and their defense was surprisingly stout as they held Chargers QB Philip Rivers and RB LaDainian Tomlinson in check. Richard Seymour looked great and delivered an immediate impact on defense for the Raiders. If not for a few mistakes, a near miss of a TD catch late in the 2nd quarter, and some bad coverage on kickoff returns against RB Darren Sproles, the Raiders could have had a 14-7 lead at halftime. Instead, San Diego was lucky to go into the half with a 10-10 tie. Things remained ugly as both teams struggled on offense to start the 3rd quarter and both defenses were in firm control, but it was clear the Raiders continued to look better than the Chargers. Things finally heated up in the 4th quarter as the teams traded touchdowns and the lead. Rivers hit WR Vincent Jackson with a 15-yard TD pass to put the Chargers up 17-13. Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell then responded with a beautiful 57-yard touchdown pass to WR Louis Murphy on a 4th-and-15 to give Oakland the lead back. But Rivers and the Chargers had the final say as they drove down the field and Sproles scored on a 5-yard run to give San Diego a 24-20 win. Once again, good teams find a way to win games. This win will now be a good confidence booster for San Diego and it should be one hell of a game against the Ravens this Sunday. The Raiders look like they are buying into Coach Tom Cable’s philosophy and are playing better fundamental football. They actually could win a few more games than expected this season.
Monday Night RAWind: I thought the WWE was able to put on a pretty good show last night, but some things left a great deal to be desired. The show opened with Batista coming out, still in an arm brace, to make a “career altering announcement”. He stated that he was there to tell everyone goodbye, but before Batista was able to say much more, Randy Orton came out to the ring. Orton mocked Batista and claimed that he was retiring because he wanted to get away from Randy Orton. This seemed to amuse Batista, who then swerved everyone by pulling off the arm brace and attacking Orton. He then told everyone that he was saying goodbye to Raw because he was going to Smackdown. He finished off the opening segment by saying that tonight’s guest host, Trish Stratus, gave him one final match on Raw: a no holds barred match with Orton.
I was pretty excited for the show after this segment, but that turned into major disappointment as we got to the main event. Looking at the time, I could see that the match would be short and it was. Batista basically threw Orton around the announce table a bit and then took advantage of John Cena coming out and throwing Orton back in the ring as he tried to run away. He hit a quick Batista Bomb and the match was over. So you mean to tell me that after a man injures you and puts you out for 3 months and costs you your title that you are happy coming back and winning a meaningless match before switching shows? Will someone tell how the hell that makes sense? I could give it a pass if Orton and Batista had a long, kick ass match and Batista ended up destroying Orton, but this type of stuff is crap. Batista looks like a chump as far as I’m concerned and now he will be going to Smackdown to try and ruin CM Punk. I can dream that Punk will go over Batista, but I know better and I expect Batista to make Punk his bitch in the near future and that is sad. I am tired of Batista at this point, at least the face version of “The Animal”. If they turned him heel and allowed him to be a ruthless badass, I could be interested again. But like John Cena, Batista is stale and not that entertaining anymore.
Luckily though, there were some other good things to be found on Raw. The 10 pm main event featured Ted Dibiase against Shawn Michaels. Legacy cut a pretty effective promo before the match where they put themselves over as being the only people to make DX tap out. This was a good move and Rhodes and Dibiase are starting to look better out there. Michaels and Dibiase had a good match that ended in a DQ when Rhodes interfered and then all hell broke loose. DX and Legacy brawled around the ringside area and it was later announced that the teams would face each other in Hell in a Cell at the next PPV (to go along with Orton’s rematch against Cena which was also announced). So there is confirmation of my fear that Legacy will just get destroyed and set back.
We also saw a tag team match between Kofi Kingston and Primo against The Miz and Jack Swagger. It was short, but the most important development is that The Miz stole Kofi’s United States Title belt and walked out with it. So it seems this feud will indeed continue. In other action, Alicia Fox defeated Gail Kim to earn a shot at the Divas Championship against Mickie James. Now why in the hell is Alicia Fox getting a push? That makes no sense to me and she should not be getting anywhere near that belt. I think Beth Phoenix should be challenging James for it, but at least Beth did get a good spot on the card last night. She got in Trish’s face about the #1 contender’s match and Chris Jericho made an appearance as well. This led to a tag team match between Stratus and MVP and Phoenix and Jericho. The Big Show and Mark Henry got involved and it became a 6 person tag. In the end, Trish showed that she still has it in the ring and she was able to pin Beth for the victory. All in all, Trish was a good guest host and this edition of Raw was passable.
- The injury bug bit the Chicago Bears particularly hard on Sunday night as LB Brian Urlacher dislocated his wrist. He was forced to undergo surgery for the injury and he will be out for the rest of the season. This is terrible news for the Bears and they will take a big hit on defense. Urlacher is the heart and soul of the Bears’ defense and the unquestioned leader of the team. He is responsible for being the coordinator out on the field and he communicates what the team is doing to everyone else. And beyond that, he is just a ferocious player and can dominate a game. Chicago has enough playmakers and talent on the defensive side of the ball to still be a good unit overall, but they will not be as good without Urlacher. This is the exact same situation that the Pittsburgh Steelers face when you take Troy Polamalu out of their defense. I expect the Bears to still be tough to score on, but now it becomes a little easier for everyone to score points on them. Through the course of the season, this could be the difference between making the playoffs and coming up a game short. Chicago is already behind the Vikings and Packers and things do not look that good without Urlacher. The Bears have already been talking to free agent and former Buccaneers LB Derrick Brooks, but it looks like they will not be signing him at this time. Brooks knows the defensive scheme that Chicago runs, but at his advanced age, he will not be able to come in and make an impact like Brian Urlacher can. This is a tough situation for the Bears and I’m not sure they can overcome it to make a playoff run. QB Jay Cutler will have to start playing MUCH better to give Chicago any chance.
- Coach Andy Reid says that Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb will try to play through the pain of a fractured rib this Sunday against the Saints. Reports indicate that McNabb was in a great deal of pain yesterday and he found it hard to even sit comfortably. He is not expected to practice on Wednesday and it seemed highly unlikely he will be able to play this week, but his health will be monitored by the Eagles and he is officially “uncertain”. I have heard reports that he could easily be out 2-4 weeks, but apparently McNabb is going to try and give it a go. If McNabb can’t start on Sunday, QB Kevin Kolb will have to assume the starting role. As I have said before, things will be tough for the Eagles without McNabb if he can’t play. Kolb has show an inability to get the ball to the Eagles’ playmakers and that will not get the job done. The Eagles signed free agent QB Jeff Garcia as insurance on Monday afternoon. This is a smart pick up considering that Garcia is a proven veteran and he knows the Eagles offense. At this point, Kolb is the back up but if he struggles, the team can now turn to Garcia. It will be interesting to see what happens if Kolb plays and really struggles this Sunday because Michael Vick will be eligible to play in week 3 and now Garcia is around. Without question, the Eagles will have to sail through some choppy waters.
- A definitive update has finally come in on Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu. It was reported that he will not need knee surgery and he should be out for 3-6 weeks as originally speculated. This is a bit of good news for Pittsburgh that it is not more severe, but they will definitely miss Polamalu while he is out. I am hopeful that the Ravens could catch a break and Polamalu’s absence could cost the Steelers a game that they should win. Hey, you have to take whatever you can get.
- Carolina Panthers Coach John Fox stated on Monday that QB Jake Delhomme’s status with the team is “unchanged” and he will remain the starting quarterback. Including last season’s playoff loss, Delhomme has turned the ball over 11 times in his past 2 games. Fox compared Delhomme to Tiger Woods and Roger Federer, saying that they don’t win every tournament. Excuse me while I have a chuckle with that one. Delhomme is no slouch, but he certainly is not on the same level as Woods and Federer. Regardless though, the Panthers really do not have much of an option behind Delhomme so they will have to stick with him. The evidence continues to mount that the Panthers will just not be that good this season. Delhomme will have to regain his confidence and his form to turn this thing around.
- On the college injury front, USC QB Matt Barkley is listed as day-to-day after suffering a bruised shoulder against Ohio State on Saturday. The injury does not appear to be anything serious, but Coach Pete Carroll said Barkley will be monitored. He hopes that Barkley will be able to play this Saturday and that QB Aaron Corp is ready to step in if needed. Considering that USC is playing Washington this week, I don’t think it matters who is starting at quarterback. Washington still has a long way to go to become a powerhouse again and USC should handle them easily, even on the road.
-U.S. Open Update: Due to rain delays, the men’s championship match was pushed to Monday for the second consecutive year. The wait was worth it as #6 seed Juan Martin del Potro shocked #1 seed Roger Federer and beat him in a 5 set classic, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2. Amazingly, Federer seemed to crumble down the stretch as del Potro punished him with strong forehands and played extremely smart by getting in a great percentage of 1st serves. Usually Federer wears down his opponent and brings his game to another level, but in this match it was del Potro who delivered. He came back from 2 sets to 1 down and denied Federer his 16th Grand Slam title, his 6th consecutive U.S. Open title, and snapped his 40 match winning streak at the Open. It was a great match and a huge win for the 20-year old from Argentina. Even the best find it hard to deliver every single time and it was Federer’s turn to not deliver the goods when it mattered.
Serena Williams also returned to the court after her profanity-laced tirade against a linesperson in her semifinal defeat to Kim Clijsters. She won the U.S. Open women’s doubles title with her sister Venus Williams. They defeated defending champions Cara Black and Liezel Huber in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 to capture their 10th Grand Slam doubles title and first at the U.S. Open since 1999.
And on a final note from the Open, Kim Clijsters’ amazing win in the women’s championship match propelled her all the way up to #19 in the latest WTA rankings. She had no ranking prior to the tournament and she would have come into the rankings at #181 if she lost in the first round after competing in a few warm up events.
Showing posts with label monday night raw. Show all posts
Showing posts with label monday night raw. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Labor Day Quick Hits
Hope everyone enjoyed a safe and relaxing Labor Day holiday. Let’s take a look at what happened around the world of sports and wrestling yesterday.
The Game’s Quick Hits
Monday Night RAWind: When they announced that Bob Barker was going to be the special guest host this week, I immediately thought this could be a downright disaster and that it made no sense. After watching the show last night, I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised. Instead of having Barker do something truly stupid, they were able to mix him in and let him do what he does best, entertain. The WWE had Barker mix in some Price Is Right (or Price is RAW for the evening) games and they led to action that we saw in the ring. That was a pretty smart move. The crowd was very receptive to Barker and except for the schilling of his book, this was a well played night for the guest host concept.
The night started out with Santino, Jillian Hall, I.R.S., and Chris Jericho playing a pricing game on a “Best of Smackdown DVD”. Jericho was his usual smug self and wanted no part of it and he eventually confronted Barker, who had a nice interaction with Jericho. The whole thing led to a rematch from last week between Jericho and MVP. They both put on another solid match and as you might expect, MVP picked up the win this week after Jericho won last week. The pricing game segment came back later in the evening and that eventually led to a Bodyslam Challenge between Mark Henry and The Big Show. The same formula was followed and Henry won the match by slamming Show. While there was nothing spectacular in here, the matches did a good job of at least making the Unified Tag Team Championship match this Sunday at Breaking Point look important. MVP and Henry were made to look like legitimate threats, even though I believe it would be a mistake to have them win and take the belts off Jericho and Show.
In other significant developments, Cody Rhodes was given some time on the mic before a match with John Cena to explain why he did not attack Randy Orton after Orton gave his father, last week’s guest host Dusty Rhodes, an RKO at the end of the night. Granted, Cody is not great on the mic, but he got his point across that he is putting his career over his family and he will prove that he is making the right choice. He then threw in that he would make John Cena tap out in the upcoming match, so I knew that we were looking at either a Cena win or a DQ finish. And sure enough, Randy Orton ran in to cause a DQ after Cena and Rhodes put on a pretty good match. I was pleased to see the DQ because it would have been pointless to have Cena fight off Cody’s attempts at making him submit, only to “hulk up” and crush him. We already know Cena is like Superman, so I am glad I was spared the shtick tonight.
The main event of the evening was set up by Triple H and Shawn Michaels spinning the big wheel...well, pressing a button and watching the wheel spin on video…and having their opponents randomly selected. Randy Orton was one of the opponents selected and the other was…Chris Masters? Now why and how is Chris Masters making the main event of Raw? It made no sense to me and even if it looked cheesy from the whole “random” standpoint, it should have been Ted Dibiase main eventing with Orton. I will give Masters credit, though. He didn’t look that bad in the ring and he, along with Orton, and DX put on a pretty good tag team match. They did not let the match slow to a snail’s pace and there was some good drama near the end. DX picked up the win with stereo submission holds and were then attacked by Legacy. DX, Rhodes, and Dibiase fought all the way through the arena and out to the backstage lot where Legacy was able to steal a car and drive off. Orton slithered back to the ring to say a few words and this prompted Cena to come back out for a brawl. Cena got the upper hand early, but Orton was able to hit a spike DDT and then an RKO on a chair to stand tall over Cena to end the evening.
All in all, I thought this was a pretty good show going into the PPV. Raw has recovered nicely the past 2 weeks after the dismal post-Summerslam show. All of the main event feuds got some good and logical exposure and I believe that Breaking Point could be pretty interesting. Once again, it is clear that the best shows are the ones that cut down on stupid and idiotic segments and offer more wrestling. This show was chock full of backstage segments and shenanigans, but at least tonight they made some sense and had a purpose. And it was also nice to see Chavo Guerrero actually wrestle in a serious match against Evan Bourne…but of course they ruined it with Hornswoggle interfering. I guess you can’t win them all.
Miami, FL 38, #18 Florida State 34
Wow, what a way to end the long Labor Day weekend and first week of the college football season. Miami and Florida State put on a show in what was an awesome game. They traded punches back and forth and the game featured 6 lead changes. The pace of the game was fairly slow in the first half as both defenses held the game in check and Miami led 14-10 at halftime. But things really changed in the second half. Both teams were able to find a rhythm and it was big play after big play as the scoreboard was lit up. Miami took the lead with a 3-yard TD run with 1:53 left in the game, but then almost looked like they wanted to give it right back, hitting a weak squib kick on the kickoff and giving Florida State excellent field position on the Miami 49-yard line. Florida State QB Christian Ponder drove the Seminoles all the way down to the Miami 2, but threw three straight incompletions, the last one going through the hands of a receiver and to the ground as time expired. The star of the game clearly was Miami QB Jacory Harris. He looked extremely poised and much better than he did at any point last season. He made big completions when he had to and was able to lead his team to victory. Both of these teams look like serious contenders for bigger bowl games, but they both will have to try and sure up things on the defensive side of the ball. Miami could now be a huge spoiler and even challenge for the ACC title if they can carry this momentum. This loss will not kill Florida State just yet, but it is an obvious disappointment and they need to regroup. The Miami game against Oklahoma on October 3rd is now looking even better, especially with the question mark that is Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford…and speaking of that…
- As of right now, Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford is officially out 2-4 weeks. It was revealed on Monday that Bradford has a Grade 2 or Grade 3 sprain of his AC joint in his shoulder and it will be “a week or two” before his shoulder is reevaluated to see if he can stay on the now projected return timetable. Coach Bob Stoops said everything depends on how Bradford heals and how he is feeling, but the Sooners will be without him for “a while”. Bradford will not need to undergo surgery and reports indicate that he has already started on physical rehab for the shoulder. Obviously, this is good news for Oklahoma. The injury could have been more serious, but there exists the possibility that it could still linger on for weeks and hamper Bradford when he does return. Bradford smartly took out an insurance policy when he decided to return to school and put the NFL off for one more year. Hopefully Bradford himself and Oklahoma do consider Bradford’s long term health and future in this situation because he will still have the potential to be a top draft pick. Rushing him back will not do Oklahoma any good. My best guess right now is that Oklahoma wants to have him ready for the October 17th game against Texas. They stand no chance of winning that game without him. As I talked about yesterday though, this whole situation could set Oklahoma up for a loss at Miami, especially with how they looked tonight. I am not sure that the Sooners will be able to handle Miami without Bradford, and even with him, the game against Texas will be hard to win.
- The Detroit Lions have decided to go with rookie QB Matthew Stafford as their starting QB heading into the season. Coach Jim Schwartz stressed with the media that Stafford won the job and QB Daunte Culpepper did not lose it. As I have talked about before, I do not think this is the right move at this point. Without question, Stafford is the future of the franchise and the experience will help him. But the Lions are still a bad team and they do not have that much talent around Stafford. They are also desperate for a win after enduring the NFL’s first 0-16 season and they have lost 17 straight games overall. I believe that Culpepper should have started the season and been in there until the Lions broke through and got a win. Let’s face it, the season will be a disaster for Detroit and Stafford could always come in at mid-season and start to get his career rolling. Culpepper is a seasoned veteran and he came to camp this year motivated and in great shape. He would give the Lions the best opportunity to win a game right now. Instead, the Lions will have to put up with the growing pains of Stafford and if they lose 4…5…6 games in a row to start the year, the pressure will only mount on him. I think this is a bad move at the beginning of the season. Good luck to Stafford though…hope he can do something for this dismal franchise.
- As if it would be any shock otherwise, San Diego Chargers LB Shawne Merriman says that he did not harm Tila Tequila on Sunday and that he was only trying to prevent her from driving drunk. He says that she had been drinking and he was only looking out for the safety of Tequila, who he describes as a female acquaintance and not his girlfriend. Reports seem to suggest that paramedics and Sheriff’s deputies did not believe that Tequila had any serious injuries. Well this is certainly why I did not want to speculate on anything until more details came out. I can buy Merriman’s story that Tequila got seriously hammered and he tried to stop her from driving. If she was in an altered state and that drunk, it could be plausible that she tried to fight him and then in her mind she was “choked and falsely imprisoned”. We’ll have to see how this all plays out, but again, this is not a welcomed distraction for the Chargers.
- After being traded, Richard Seymour has still not reported to the Oakland Raiders. There has been talk going around that Seymour was extremely upset at being traded and one report said a friend close to Seymour is saying he might not even report at all. But Raiders Coach Tom Cable told the media that he has spoken with Seymour and he wants to play with the team. Seymour still needs to report and take a physical before the trade is official. I don’t blame Seymour for being mad, as he is going from the penthouse to the outhouse in the NFL. But he does need to be a professional about this and report to Oakland to try and make the best of things. He will still be getting paid well, so he needs to be an adult about this and do things the right way.
- Other NFL News and Notes: Cleveland Browns Coach Eric Mangini says that he has decided on who will be the Browns’ starting QB, but he will be keeping it a secret. Before Monday’s practice, Mangini has not yet told QB Brady Quinn or QB Derek Anderson who won and he believes that keeping it a secret gives the team a competitive advantage because it forces teams to prepare for 2 QBs instead of one. Oh give me a break with this garbage. The Browns need all the help they can get, but this isn’t going to do much good. I expect the Vikings to beat the Browns no matter who is starting at QB. Stop creating “drama” Mangini and get on with it.
As expected, the Denver Broncos have reinstated WR Brandon Marshall and he is now eligible to play in Denver’s season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. I’ve already made my feelings known about this guy, but this is probably the right move by Denver. They can’t just pay the guy to sit around and most likely, if he wants to get out of Denver, he will have to make some plays on the field and try to make an impact. The Broncos look to be in disarray, so they need all the playmakers they can get on the field. Hopefully Marshall can at least shut his mouth and play some football.
Titans RB LenDale White said he doesn’t think stomping on the “Terrible Towel” of the Steelers is so bad and he will do it again if he has the chance. "If there's a towel in the stands, I will stomp on it. I don't care who gets mad. ... If they throw a towel at me, I'm going to kick it and stomp all over it. If they don't want their towel stomped on, keep it out my face." This just makes me laugh imagining this guy running his mouth to a reporter about this. Hey, being a Ravens fan, I hate the Steelers as much as the next guy…but LenDale, just shut your mouth and play some football. This towel business is just plain silly.
Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel returned to the practice field Monday with a brace on his knee and his status for Sunday’s game against the Ravens is uncertain. Coach Todd Haley only said it was a positive sign that Cassel returned to practice. In my opinion, the Ravens will stomp Kansas City no matter who is starting at QB, so they should just rest Cassel if he is not 100% because the Ravens defense would knock him around and get to him all day.
The Eagles have cut QB A.J. Feeley and the move now leaves QB Michael Vick as the team’s number 3 QB. Definitely a smart move by Philly, they just had better hope QB Donovan McNabb does not get hurt in the first 2 games because all they have behind him is QB Kevin Kolb. In fact, a significant injury to McNabb will probably derail the Eagles’ entire season because Vick is not ready at this point to be a full time starter and Kolb is extremely untested…
- It seems as if Tiger Woods is starting to take offense to my posts about him struggling with his game and having no chance to win tournaments and even being in danger of losing the FedEx Cup. Tiger came out on absolute fire yesterday in the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship, shooting a final round 8-under par 63 to jump up to -12 overall. Tiger actually was a bit disappointed with his round and had chances to get as low as 60. He ran out of steam however, and the golf course was playing too easy to think he had any chance of winning. That honor went to “Mr. September” Steve Stricker, who birdied his final two holes to shoot a 4-under par 67 and finish at -17 overall, which was good for a 1 shot win over Scott Verplank and Jason Dufner. The final round of the tournament was a very fun watch. About a dozen players flirted with the lead and there was some really great shot making going on. Stricker’s win vaulted him over Tiger for the top spot in the FedEx Cup point standings. He certainly has the momentum and now the task is on him to keep it up. Tiger seemed to find his game on Sunday and he will have to take that into the final 2 tournaments because it seems that everyone is hungrier than ever to knock Tiger down a peg. It should be fun seeing how the final two events in the playoffs play out.
- Boise State has decided not to suspend Byron Hout for his actions at the end of last week’s Oregon/Boise State game. Hout slapped Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount’s shoulder pads and verbally taunted him which led to Blount punching Hout. Coach Chris Peterson claims that Hout is being disciplined and that a suspension is not warranted. I actually disagree with this. Hout initiated contact with Blount and there is no place for taunting after a victory like that. Since we are talking college here, Boise State can not take money away from Hout, so the only reasonable punishment would be a suspension. He should have been suspended for one game, so I think Boise State is wrong not doing it.
- MLB News and Notes: American League home run leader Carlos Pena of the Tampa Bay Rays is now out for the year after being hit in the hand and breaking two fingers. Pena was hit by Yankees P C.C. Sabathia in the opener of a day-night doubleheader. This obviously is news that the fading Rays did not need to hear and it seems like they are dead in the water as far as the playoffs go. The Rays had a great run last year, but I believe it was too much to expect a repeat this year…The Pittsburgh Pirates lost yesterday to the Chicago Cubs 4-2, ensuring they would have a losing season for the 17th consecutive year. This is a major league record and also a record for any of the four major professional sports in North America. The Pirates are just a joke and at least it is one jab that everyone can take at Pittsburgh. Of course at this point, I’m sure everyone from Pittsburgh just laughs at the Pirates as well before they throw the Steelers and the Penguins in your face…
- U.S. Open Update: The amazing and remarkable run of 17-year old American Melanie Oudin continued at the U.S. Open as she once again came from behind to beat #13 seed Nadia Petrova 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3. This was the third straight seeded player that Oudin has knocked out and she is now in the quarterfinals. On the men’s side, #1 seed Roger Federer continued his march toward a sixth straight title by winning his 38th consecutive match over #14 seed Tommy Robredo in straight sets. American John Isner, who took out #5 seed Andy Roddick, was eliminated in 4 sets by #10 seed Fernando Verdasco. Number 4 seed Novak Djokovic also advanced in straight sets.
The Game’s Quick Hits
Monday Night RAWind: When they announced that Bob Barker was going to be the special guest host this week, I immediately thought this could be a downright disaster and that it made no sense. After watching the show last night, I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised. Instead of having Barker do something truly stupid, they were able to mix him in and let him do what he does best, entertain. The WWE had Barker mix in some Price Is Right (or Price is RAW for the evening) games and they led to action that we saw in the ring. That was a pretty smart move. The crowd was very receptive to Barker and except for the schilling of his book, this was a well played night for the guest host concept.
The night started out with Santino, Jillian Hall, I.R.S., and Chris Jericho playing a pricing game on a “Best of Smackdown DVD”. Jericho was his usual smug self and wanted no part of it and he eventually confronted Barker, who had a nice interaction with Jericho. The whole thing led to a rematch from last week between Jericho and MVP. They both put on another solid match and as you might expect, MVP picked up the win this week after Jericho won last week. The pricing game segment came back later in the evening and that eventually led to a Bodyslam Challenge between Mark Henry and The Big Show. The same formula was followed and Henry won the match by slamming Show. While there was nothing spectacular in here, the matches did a good job of at least making the Unified Tag Team Championship match this Sunday at Breaking Point look important. MVP and Henry were made to look like legitimate threats, even though I believe it would be a mistake to have them win and take the belts off Jericho and Show.
In other significant developments, Cody Rhodes was given some time on the mic before a match with John Cena to explain why he did not attack Randy Orton after Orton gave his father, last week’s guest host Dusty Rhodes, an RKO at the end of the night. Granted, Cody is not great on the mic, but he got his point across that he is putting his career over his family and he will prove that he is making the right choice. He then threw in that he would make John Cena tap out in the upcoming match, so I knew that we were looking at either a Cena win or a DQ finish. And sure enough, Randy Orton ran in to cause a DQ after Cena and Rhodes put on a pretty good match. I was pleased to see the DQ because it would have been pointless to have Cena fight off Cody’s attempts at making him submit, only to “hulk up” and crush him. We already know Cena is like Superman, so I am glad I was spared the shtick tonight.
The main event of the evening was set up by Triple H and Shawn Michaels spinning the big wheel...well, pressing a button and watching the wheel spin on video…and having their opponents randomly selected. Randy Orton was one of the opponents selected and the other was…Chris Masters? Now why and how is Chris Masters making the main event of Raw? It made no sense to me and even if it looked cheesy from the whole “random” standpoint, it should have been Ted Dibiase main eventing with Orton. I will give Masters credit, though. He didn’t look that bad in the ring and he, along with Orton, and DX put on a pretty good tag team match. They did not let the match slow to a snail’s pace and there was some good drama near the end. DX picked up the win with stereo submission holds and were then attacked by Legacy. DX, Rhodes, and Dibiase fought all the way through the arena and out to the backstage lot where Legacy was able to steal a car and drive off. Orton slithered back to the ring to say a few words and this prompted Cena to come back out for a brawl. Cena got the upper hand early, but Orton was able to hit a spike DDT and then an RKO on a chair to stand tall over Cena to end the evening.
All in all, I thought this was a pretty good show going into the PPV. Raw has recovered nicely the past 2 weeks after the dismal post-Summerslam show. All of the main event feuds got some good and logical exposure and I believe that Breaking Point could be pretty interesting. Once again, it is clear that the best shows are the ones that cut down on stupid and idiotic segments and offer more wrestling. This show was chock full of backstage segments and shenanigans, but at least tonight they made some sense and had a purpose. And it was also nice to see Chavo Guerrero actually wrestle in a serious match against Evan Bourne…but of course they ruined it with Hornswoggle interfering. I guess you can’t win them all.
Miami, FL 38, #18 Florida State 34
Wow, what a way to end the long Labor Day weekend and first week of the college football season. Miami and Florida State put on a show in what was an awesome game. They traded punches back and forth and the game featured 6 lead changes. The pace of the game was fairly slow in the first half as both defenses held the game in check and Miami led 14-10 at halftime. But things really changed in the second half. Both teams were able to find a rhythm and it was big play after big play as the scoreboard was lit up. Miami took the lead with a 3-yard TD run with 1:53 left in the game, but then almost looked like they wanted to give it right back, hitting a weak squib kick on the kickoff and giving Florida State excellent field position on the Miami 49-yard line. Florida State QB Christian Ponder drove the Seminoles all the way down to the Miami 2, but threw three straight incompletions, the last one going through the hands of a receiver and to the ground as time expired. The star of the game clearly was Miami QB Jacory Harris. He looked extremely poised and much better than he did at any point last season. He made big completions when he had to and was able to lead his team to victory. Both of these teams look like serious contenders for bigger bowl games, but they both will have to try and sure up things on the defensive side of the ball. Miami could now be a huge spoiler and even challenge for the ACC title if they can carry this momentum. This loss will not kill Florida State just yet, but it is an obvious disappointment and they need to regroup. The Miami game against Oklahoma on October 3rd is now looking even better, especially with the question mark that is Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford…and speaking of that…
- As of right now, Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford is officially out 2-4 weeks. It was revealed on Monday that Bradford has a Grade 2 or Grade 3 sprain of his AC joint in his shoulder and it will be “a week or two” before his shoulder is reevaluated to see if he can stay on the now projected return timetable. Coach Bob Stoops said everything depends on how Bradford heals and how he is feeling, but the Sooners will be without him for “a while”. Bradford will not need to undergo surgery and reports indicate that he has already started on physical rehab for the shoulder. Obviously, this is good news for Oklahoma. The injury could have been more serious, but there exists the possibility that it could still linger on for weeks and hamper Bradford when he does return. Bradford smartly took out an insurance policy when he decided to return to school and put the NFL off for one more year. Hopefully Bradford himself and Oklahoma do consider Bradford’s long term health and future in this situation because he will still have the potential to be a top draft pick. Rushing him back will not do Oklahoma any good. My best guess right now is that Oklahoma wants to have him ready for the October 17th game against Texas. They stand no chance of winning that game without him. As I talked about yesterday though, this whole situation could set Oklahoma up for a loss at Miami, especially with how they looked tonight. I am not sure that the Sooners will be able to handle Miami without Bradford, and even with him, the game against Texas will be hard to win.
- The Detroit Lions have decided to go with rookie QB Matthew Stafford as their starting QB heading into the season. Coach Jim Schwartz stressed with the media that Stafford won the job and QB Daunte Culpepper did not lose it. As I have talked about before, I do not think this is the right move at this point. Without question, Stafford is the future of the franchise and the experience will help him. But the Lions are still a bad team and they do not have that much talent around Stafford. They are also desperate for a win after enduring the NFL’s first 0-16 season and they have lost 17 straight games overall. I believe that Culpepper should have started the season and been in there until the Lions broke through and got a win. Let’s face it, the season will be a disaster for Detroit and Stafford could always come in at mid-season and start to get his career rolling. Culpepper is a seasoned veteran and he came to camp this year motivated and in great shape. He would give the Lions the best opportunity to win a game right now. Instead, the Lions will have to put up with the growing pains of Stafford and if they lose 4…5…6 games in a row to start the year, the pressure will only mount on him. I think this is a bad move at the beginning of the season. Good luck to Stafford though…hope he can do something for this dismal franchise.
- As if it would be any shock otherwise, San Diego Chargers LB Shawne Merriman says that he did not harm Tila Tequila on Sunday and that he was only trying to prevent her from driving drunk. He says that she had been drinking and he was only looking out for the safety of Tequila, who he describes as a female acquaintance and not his girlfriend. Reports seem to suggest that paramedics and Sheriff’s deputies did not believe that Tequila had any serious injuries. Well this is certainly why I did not want to speculate on anything until more details came out. I can buy Merriman’s story that Tequila got seriously hammered and he tried to stop her from driving. If she was in an altered state and that drunk, it could be plausible that she tried to fight him and then in her mind she was “choked and falsely imprisoned”. We’ll have to see how this all plays out, but again, this is not a welcomed distraction for the Chargers.
- After being traded, Richard Seymour has still not reported to the Oakland Raiders. There has been talk going around that Seymour was extremely upset at being traded and one report said a friend close to Seymour is saying he might not even report at all. But Raiders Coach Tom Cable told the media that he has spoken with Seymour and he wants to play with the team. Seymour still needs to report and take a physical before the trade is official. I don’t blame Seymour for being mad, as he is going from the penthouse to the outhouse in the NFL. But he does need to be a professional about this and report to Oakland to try and make the best of things. He will still be getting paid well, so he needs to be an adult about this and do things the right way.
- Other NFL News and Notes: Cleveland Browns Coach Eric Mangini says that he has decided on who will be the Browns’ starting QB, but he will be keeping it a secret. Before Monday’s practice, Mangini has not yet told QB Brady Quinn or QB Derek Anderson who won and he believes that keeping it a secret gives the team a competitive advantage because it forces teams to prepare for 2 QBs instead of one. Oh give me a break with this garbage. The Browns need all the help they can get, but this isn’t going to do much good. I expect the Vikings to beat the Browns no matter who is starting at QB. Stop creating “drama” Mangini and get on with it.
As expected, the Denver Broncos have reinstated WR Brandon Marshall and he is now eligible to play in Denver’s season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals. I’ve already made my feelings known about this guy, but this is probably the right move by Denver. They can’t just pay the guy to sit around and most likely, if he wants to get out of Denver, he will have to make some plays on the field and try to make an impact. The Broncos look to be in disarray, so they need all the playmakers they can get on the field. Hopefully Marshall can at least shut his mouth and play some football.
Titans RB LenDale White said he doesn’t think stomping on the “Terrible Towel” of the Steelers is so bad and he will do it again if he has the chance. "If there's a towel in the stands, I will stomp on it. I don't care who gets mad. ... If they throw a towel at me, I'm going to kick it and stomp all over it. If they don't want their towel stomped on, keep it out my face." This just makes me laugh imagining this guy running his mouth to a reporter about this. Hey, being a Ravens fan, I hate the Steelers as much as the next guy…but LenDale, just shut your mouth and play some football. This towel business is just plain silly.
Kansas City Chiefs QB Matt Cassel returned to the practice field Monday with a brace on his knee and his status for Sunday’s game against the Ravens is uncertain. Coach Todd Haley only said it was a positive sign that Cassel returned to practice. In my opinion, the Ravens will stomp Kansas City no matter who is starting at QB, so they should just rest Cassel if he is not 100% because the Ravens defense would knock him around and get to him all day.
The Eagles have cut QB A.J. Feeley and the move now leaves QB Michael Vick as the team’s number 3 QB. Definitely a smart move by Philly, they just had better hope QB Donovan McNabb does not get hurt in the first 2 games because all they have behind him is QB Kevin Kolb. In fact, a significant injury to McNabb will probably derail the Eagles’ entire season because Vick is not ready at this point to be a full time starter and Kolb is extremely untested…
- It seems as if Tiger Woods is starting to take offense to my posts about him struggling with his game and having no chance to win tournaments and even being in danger of losing the FedEx Cup. Tiger came out on absolute fire yesterday in the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship, shooting a final round 8-under par 63 to jump up to -12 overall. Tiger actually was a bit disappointed with his round and had chances to get as low as 60. He ran out of steam however, and the golf course was playing too easy to think he had any chance of winning. That honor went to “Mr. September” Steve Stricker, who birdied his final two holes to shoot a 4-under par 67 and finish at -17 overall, which was good for a 1 shot win over Scott Verplank and Jason Dufner. The final round of the tournament was a very fun watch. About a dozen players flirted with the lead and there was some really great shot making going on. Stricker’s win vaulted him over Tiger for the top spot in the FedEx Cup point standings. He certainly has the momentum and now the task is on him to keep it up. Tiger seemed to find his game on Sunday and he will have to take that into the final 2 tournaments because it seems that everyone is hungrier than ever to knock Tiger down a peg. It should be fun seeing how the final two events in the playoffs play out.
- Boise State has decided not to suspend Byron Hout for his actions at the end of last week’s Oregon/Boise State game. Hout slapped Oregon RB LeGarrette Blount’s shoulder pads and verbally taunted him which led to Blount punching Hout. Coach Chris Peterson claims that Hout is being disciplined and that a suspension is not warranted. I actually disagree with this. Hout initiated contact with Blount and there is no place for taunting after a victory like that. Since we are talking college here, Boise State can not take money away from Hout, so the only reasonable punishment would be a suspension. He should have been suspended for one game, so I think Boise State is wrong not doing it.
- MLB News and Notes: American League home run leader Carlos Pena of the Tampa Bay Rays is now out for the year after being hit in the hand and breaking two fingers. Pena was hit by Yankees P C.C. Sabathia in the opener of a day-night doubleheader. This obviously is news that the fading Rays did not need to hear and it seems like they are dead in the water as far as the playoffs go. The Rays had a great run last year, but I believe it was too much to expect a repeat this year…The Pittsburgh Pirates lost yesterday to the Chicago Cubs 4-2, ensuring they would have a losing season for the 17th consecutive year. This is a major league record and also a record for any of the four major professional sports in North America. The Pirates are just a joke and at least it is one jab that everyone can take at Pittsburgh. Of course at this point, I’m sure everyone from Pittsburgh just laughs at the Pirates as well before they throw the Steelers and the Penguins in your face…
- U.S. Open Update: The amazing and remarkable run of 17-year old American Melanie Oudin continued at the U.S. Open as she once again came from behind to beat #13 seed Nadia Petrova 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3. This was the third straight seeded player that Oudin has knocked out and she is now in the quarterfinals. On the men’s side, #1 seed Roger Federer continued his march toward a sixth straight title by winning his 38th consecutive match over #14 seed Tommy Robredo in straight sets. American John Isner, who took out #5 seed Andy Roddick, was eliminated in 4 sets by #10 seed Fernando Verdasco. Number 4 seed Novak Djokovic also advanced in straight sets.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Rise and Fall of WCW Review
I finally got a chance to watch the documentary part on the WWE’s new DVD release “The Rise and Fall of WCW” and I wanted to share my thoughts on it without trying to give an exhaustive and comprehensive review of the whole thing. This DVD set has been highly anticipated ever since the WWE put out the “Rise and Fall of ECW” a few years back. Obviously, WCW had a much richer history than ECW and I’m sure fans were expecting a really great set chronicling the history of the company. And since WCW fought the WWE tooth and nail through the mid to late 1990’s, one had to wonder if there would be any revisionist history and would the documentary try to take any cheap shots or try to really bury their former rival. So the question is, did the set meet expectations?
For the most part, “The Rise and Fall of WCW” was a very good and well produced documentary, but I think it fell short of being something truly special. All of the documentaries that the WWE makes are a good watch in my opinion, but some stand out as being better than others. I feel this documentary was a notch below the ECW one and I believe it could have been more in depth. The documentary only clocked in at about 1 hour 45 minutes and I think it could have been much longer and more comprehensive. With that said, some areas of the history of the company were well documented and overall it was a nice stroll down memory lane.
The beginning of the documentary part was very good and the viewer was able to gain a good sense of how WCW was built up from the territory days. You were able to see how things slowly morphed from Jim Crockett Promotions to Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and then finally to WCW. It was obvious how much talent was present throughout the 70’s and 80’s and you got a very good look at how WCW was instrumental in creating the “big time” wrestling event and also how they helped to shape Pay Per Views. The documentary made you realize just how big things were back then for the company and the sky seemed to be the limit. Many of the people interviewed made reference to the 6:05 pm to 8:05 pm time slot on Saturday nights and how that became required viewing for fans back in the day. I was pleased to hear this myself because even though I don’t have sharp memories of things, I know I used to tune into TBS and watch when I was a little kid. I can remember being mesmerized by the athletic skill of the wrestlers and the larger than life personalities of guys like Sting. And even though I did not have an appreciation for the talents of a legend like Ric Flair at the time, those shows did seem like a big time thing and something special for a kid.
After a really good telling of how WCW slowly grew into a phenomenon, the main theme (from my perspective at least) of the documentary was introduced, which was no matter how good things looked for WCW on the surface, there was always trouble brewing behind the scenes that threatened the company. The first of these problems was that the company tried to expand too much too fast, and even though the money was pouring in, the company could not keep up with expenses. So after failed partnerships with Ted Turner and even Vince McMahon, Jim Crockett was forced to sell the entire company and operations to Turner and allow him to take over. Once Turner got his hands into things, it was only the beginning of the major problem which plagued WCW: people with no knowledge of the product screwing things up and then later allowing the “inmates to run the asylum” even when you had smart enough people in power positions.
In the early 1990’s, WCW had a wealth of talent with the likes of Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Sting, the Steiners, Vader, Lex Luger, Arn Anderson, and the list could go on and on. But sadly, extremely bad decisions and bad management held the company back. The people who gained control of the booking just could not find a way to gain any momentum at the best and didn’t know what the hell they were doing at the worst. The morale of the performers slowly started to disappear and the fun vanished. Many wrestlers just saw dollars and a paycheck and the ship was not righted until Eric Bischoff came along.
Bischoff was mostly portrayed in a positive light for what he did with WCW, and rightly so. He was a very smart and creative business man and he had enough sense to listen to other people and also channel Ted Turner’s money effectively. I don’t need to go into detail about how WCW was able to lure away WWE stars like Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Hulk Hogan, and Randy Savage. The WWE made these guys into stars and when they came to WCW, the company was legitimized and people took notice. The NWO was then formed and WCW took off like a rocket. The company dominated in the ratings for almost 2 years and WCW seemed to be unstoppable. They featured cruiserweights like Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio and Dean Malenko, and these performers gave fans an exciting style that the WWE was not offering. Goldberg also hit the scene during this period and his rise to stardom only helped WCW along.
So, things were great for the company until the same old problems as before crept up. Bischoff and other management people within WCW started to become arrogant and cocky. They really had no longer term vision and they only cared about the ratings and doing whatever it took to beat the WWE. Bischoff foolishly thought that he could actually put Vince McMahon out of business. On top of that, the wrestlers were getting huge contracts and too much creative control. The hiring of Vince Russo, who was pretty much killed in this documentary, was the beginning of the end. As many people probably know, Russo slung every stupid idea that he could against the wall until nothing stuck anymore. We got to see the infamous “finger poke of doom”, Jeff Jarrett laying down for Hulk Hogan, and David Arquette: WCW World Champion, among other things. Truly, things just spiraled out of control and the company was forced to fold under the weight of horrible decision making and the amount of money that was being lost.
All in all, this was a solid timeline of events which did show the rise and fall of the company. In my opinion, I would say that the facts are pretty much accurate, but you can never assume that you are getting the full story. In fact, I would have loved to see more of the story. I think this could have easily been a more comprehensive documentary and should have clocked in at about 3 hours. WWE could have spent more time talking about how Ric Flair and the Horsemen carried the company in the mid to late 1980’s and how they were able to develop more and more big events. I would have also liked to have seen more about the feuds that bridged the gap from the early 90’s until the NWO came along. Even through the bad management, WCW had a great in-ring product and it would have been nice to see some of those feuds highlighted. I admit to being a big mark for the NWO, so I would have liked seeing a more comprehensive look at how the faction evolved and then how it basically devolved into a farce and a joke which hurt the product. A greater examination of the cruiserweight division should have been included in my opinion. And lastly, I believe the documentary should have discussed the major angle that WCW tried which pitted the “New Blood” against the “Millionaires Club”. This storyline was not even mentioned and I feel it should have been talked about along with more information about the final months of the company’s existence.
“The Rise and Fall of WCW” was a good documentary, but it could have been better. Maybe the brevity of the whole thing is just yet another “jab” that Vince McMahon likes to do sometimes. For a wrestling junkie, this documentary was not as big of a “fix” as it should have been. I haven’t gotten around to watching the matches yet, but there appears to be some really good stuff on it. I am sure the earlier matches from the late 80’s and early 90’s will be better than the later material, but that is to be expected. With all that being said, I do recommend a purchase of this set. While it may not be perfect, I feel that it does deserve a place in your wrestling DVD library.
The Game’s Quick Hits:
Monday Night RAWind: I thought that Monday Night Raw this week was much better than last week’s offering. There seemed to be a little more focus on building toward the Breaking Point PPV and it was nice to see a greater emphasis on in-ring action as opposed to pointless and stupid backstage segments and “comedy” bits. Now this makes sense since Dusty Rhodes was the guest host. I have to admit…I like Dusty and always was a fan of the “common man” shtick and there is no question that Dusty could talk on the mic and bring it to ya. The opening segment involving Dusty, Randy Orton, and Cody Rhodes, which set up the main event title match between Orton and Cody Rhodes with Dusty in his corner and John Cena as the referee, was infinitely better than last week’s DX birthday celebration for Vince McMahon. In fact, I think it was a good move to keep DX in the back with Dusty this week and only have them do a little harmless merchandise schilling. Yes, I did laugh at the Shockmaster segment which featured Arn Anderson doing the Shockmaster’s voice. I thought it was fairly funny and saved the segments as a whole. As for the “main event” itself, I was cool with it being a bait and switch.
After the opening segment, I figured that either Orton would just decide to attack Cena and make the match a no contest (and then Legacy would come help) or Orton and Rhodes would just stop the match mid-stream and go after Cena. So, I was pleasantly surprised that they had Dusty do the heel turn right away and Legacy went right after Cena. DX made the predictable save, but Dusty knocking out Triple H with his cowboy boot and then eating an RKO at the end for his troubles was a nice touch. This ending worked because Legacy was able to get their heat back from Cena and DX and the fact that Cody wanted to beat the hell out of Orton for dropping Dusty but whimped out will be effective down the road. At this point, Rhodes and Dibiase continue to look like puppets and totally under Orton’s control. So when they do turn and stand up to him, it will hopefully be a major break for the two and the audience will get behind them. Maybe the whole ending segment was not perfect, but I thought it worked.
The action involving the divas was not that exciting, but at least it was good to see an immediate payoff for a change and a greater focus on some wrestling. Beth Phoenix won a 6 diva battle royal early in the evening and then got a shot at Divas Champion Mickie James later in the night. Beth was booked to look like a beast again and it was pretty effective. The dead crowd did not help the match and the sudden win by Mickie off of a DDT seemed uninspiring to me. I actually would have liked to see Beth win the title. It would have been a surprise and they could have immediately cemented Beth as a dominant bad ass again. I have no idea what the longer term build is now since Gail Kim keeps losing, so I guess we will have to wait and see.
I thought they did the logical move of having Chris Jericho vs. MVP and Big Show vs. Mark Henry to try and build the Unified Tag Team Championship match coming up at Breaking Point. They needed to do something since this match was just thrown together, and opting for some matches instead of pointless bantering or brawling was nice to see. Jericho and MVP put on a good match and Show vs. Henry was a slow and plodding snooze fest as one would predict. But both matches did their job of trying to prove that MVP and Henry are capable of hanging with JeriShow.
The fatal four way match for the United States Championship was also a nice little affair that featured some good action and allowed the contenders to be showcased. Again, I think a sudden title change would have been awesome to see, but maybe they are saving that for Smackdown this week, when I fully expect Rey Mysterio to drop the Intercontinental Title to Dolph Ziggler. The match did a great job of making Kofi Kingston the plucky “underdog” champion who works hard and finds a way to persevere and win. I was glad to see The Miz in there trying to be a sneaky heel and also glad that Carlito, not Miz, was the one who took the pinfall. I still think The Miz needs to complete his quest and win the U.S. Title in the near future.
And finally, the Chavo Guerrero and Hornswoggle angle has just moved into being stupid and absurd. It was funny the first 2 or 3 times, but now it is total crap and I want it off my TV. And speaking of stupid…why in the hell is Bob Barker hosting Raw next week? That makes absolutely NO sense for the last Raw before a PPV.
ECW Thoughts: I didn’t get a chance to catch ECW live as it aired, so I am only able to discuss the results. I am seeing that Sheamus defeated Goldust in a no count out, no disqualification match. These two have meshed together surprisingly well in the ring and the matches have been pretty good. Sheamus going over is obviously the right result and hopefully he will get a chance to move onto a new feud. I think Sheamus has the potential to be a player down the road, as long as they don’t start putting him into stupid matches or involving him with Hornswoggle. Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov squashed two jobbers and then tried to beat them down more along with William Regal before Christian and Tommy Dreamer made the save. This set up a tag team match for next week between Christian and Dreamer and Jackson and Kozlov. I will be very interested in this match to see how Jackson and Kozlov can hang. The feud between Christian and Regal is heating up nicely, so hopefully it continues. Shelton Benjamin defeated Zack Ryder last night as well. I am hoping that Benjamin is somehow able to break out of the mid card and move up the ladder again. Of course he needs to either get on Raw or Smackdown to have a shot at a secondary title or maybe he can somehow challenge Regal if he takes the belt from Christian down the line. I think Benjamin has been working hard to improve and I would like to see him get a bigger push.
- Reports today are saying that PG Ricky Rubio backed out of an agreement that was in place to bring him to the NBA and the Minnesota Timberwolves this season. Minnesota had reached an agreement with Rubio’s agent and his Spanish pro team, but then Rubio came to the Wolves and told them he would prefer to stay in Spain for 2 more years to better prepare himself for the NBA. I don’t know, but this could start smelling fishy. Who knows, maybe in 2 years he decides that he still wants to stay in Europe and tries to squeeze as much money out of Minnesota as he can. Timberwolves president David Kahn is saying that the team was always willing to wait a year or two to bring Rubio over and Rubio is on record saying he has a desire to play for Minnesota, so Kahn had better hope Rubio still has that desire in 2011. As everyone knows however, a lot can change in 2 years, so I’m sure we will have to deal with this in the news for a while to come.
- Brace yourself Canada and get some extra security at those nightclubs because Adam “Pacman” Jones has just agreed to a 1 year contract with the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. This was the next best option for Jones after the Dallas Cowboys released him in February and no NFL team even bothered to invite him to training camp. My short and sweet opinion on this guy? He is a total idiot. Here is another young player (still only 25) who is trying to flush his career and talents down the toilet due to stupid behavior. Since Jones was drafted in 2005, he has been arrested 6 times and involved in 12 instances that required police intervention. That is just plain stupid and it is amazing this guy is still getting opportunities out there. I am all for second chances, but Jones refuses to stay out of trouble and try to better himself. But that is what happens when you are an athlete and you have talent. If you can still play and a team has a need for what you can do, you will most likely get another shot. Maybe Jones can finally realize this might be his last shot to get to the NFL or else he will be stuck in Canada the rest of his career.
- Quick NFL notes: Patriots QB Tom Brady tested his throwing arm and shoulder in practice on Tuesday and showed no ill effects. Seems like the whole injury “scare” is now overblown and people in New England can breathe easy…Oakland Raiders CB Nnamdi Asomugha is expected to be sidelined about two weeks with a chipped bone in his left wrist. Asomugha is arguably Oakland’s best player and this kind of injury could very well limit how effective he would be in bump-and-run coverage this year. The Raiders didn’t need any more bad news since they will still be terrible this season…New York Giants DE Osi Umenyiora returned to practice on Tuesday after going AWOL on Monday and giving no reason on why he did. This is just a strange occurrence and there is obviously more to this story and I want to hear it…Bengals rookie OL Andre Smith will be out a few weeks after fracturing a bone in his foot. This looks like a case of bad karma to me after Cincinnati tried to lowball Smith with his rookie contract. I read that they have a weight clause in it though, so maybe Smith reported to the team not in the greatest of shape. No matter how you slice it though, it is typical Bungles…
- U.S. Open Update: Women’s #1 seed Dinara Safina barely survived and avoided becoming the first #1 seed to lose in the first round of the U.S. Open by beating 147th-ranked Olivia Rogowska 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4. As I stated before, I have no idea what in the hell they do to get these rankings but Safina should not be a #1 seed at these majors. It is one thing to rack up points at smaller events, but the major tournaments are where the best come through and she has proven nothing yet. The only upset of note on the second day was women’s #11 seed and former world #1 Ana Ivanovic losing in 3 sets.
For the most part, “The Rise and Fall of WCW” was a very good and well produced documentary, but I think it fell short of being something truly special. All of the documentaries that the WWE makes are a good watch in my opinion, but some stand out as being better than others. I feel this documentary was a notch below the ECW one and I believe it could have been more in depth. The documentary only clocked in at about 1 hour 45 minutes and I think it could have been much longer and more comprehensive. With that said, some areas of the history of the company were well documented and overall it was a nice stroll down memory lane.
The beginning of the documentary part was very good and the viewer was able to gain a good sense of how WCW was built up from the territory days. You were able to see how things slowly morphed from Jim Crockett Promotions to Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and then finally to WCW. It was obvious how much talent was present throughout the 70’s and 80’s and you got a very good look at how WCW was instrumental in creating the “big time” wrestling event and also how they helped to shape Pay Per Views. The documentary made you realize just how big things were back then for the company and the sky seemed to be the limit. Many of the people interviewed made reference to the 6:05 pm to 8:05 pm time slot on Saturday nights and how that became required viewing for fans back in the day. I was pleased to hear this myself because even though I don’t have sharp memories of things, I know I used to tune into TBS and watch when I was a little kid. I can remember being mesmerized by the athletic skill of the wrestlers and the larger than life personalities of guys like Sting. And even though I did not have an appreciation for the talents of a legend like Ric Flair at the time, those shows did seem like a big time thing and something special for a kid.
After a really good telling of how WCW slowly grew into a phenomenon, the main theme (from my perspective at least) of the documentary was introduced, which was no matter how good things looked for WCW on the surface, there was always trouble brewing behind the scenes that threatened the company. The first of these problems was that the company tried to expand too much too fast, and even though the money was pouring in, the company could not keep up with expenses. So after failed partnerships with Ted Turner and even Vince McMahon, Jim Crockett was forced to sell the entire company and operations to Turner and allow him to take over. Once Turner got his hands into things, it was only the beginning of the major problem which plagued WCW: people with no knowledge of the product screwing things up and then later allowing the “inmates to run the asylum” even when you had smart enough people in power positions.
In the early 1990’s, WCW had a wealth of talent with the likes of Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Sting, the Steiners, Vader, Lex Luger, Arn Anderson, and the list could go on and on. But sadly, extremely bad decisions and bad management held the company back. The people who gained control of the booking just could not find a way to gain any momentum at the best and didn’t know what the hell they were doing at the worst. The morale of the performers slowly started to disappear and the fun vanished. Many wrestlers just saw dollars and a paycheck and the ship was not righted until Eric Bischoff came along.
Bischoff was mostly portrayed in a positive light for what he did with WCW, and rightly so. He was a very smart and creative business man and he had enough sense to listen to other people and also channel Ted Turner’s money effectively. I don’t need to go into detail about how WCW was able to lure away WWE stars like Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Hulk Hogan, and Randy Savage. The WWE made these guys into stars and when they came to WCW, the company was legitimized and people took notice. The NWO was then formed and WCW took off like a rocket. The company dominated in the ratings for almost 2 years and WCW seemed to be unstoppable. They featured cruiserweights like Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio and Dean Malenko, and these performers gave fans an exciting style that the WWE was not offering. Goldberg also hit the scene during this period and his rise to stardom only helped WCW along.
So, things were great for the company until the same old problems as before crept up. Bischoff and other management people within WCW started to become arrogant and cocky. They really had no longer term vision and they only cared about the ratings and doing whatever it took to beat the WWE. Bischoff foolishly thought that he could actually put Vince McMahon out of business. On top of that, the wrestlers were getting huge contracts and too much creative control. The hiring of Vince Russo, who was pretty much killed in this documentary, was the beginning of the end. As many people probably know, Russo slung every stupid idea that he could against the wall until nothing stuck anymore. We got to see the infamous “finger poke of doom”, Jeff Jarrett laying down for Hulk Hogan, and David Arquette: WCW World Champion, among other things. Truly, things just spiraled out of control and the company was forced to fold under the weight of horrible decision making and the amount of money that was being lost.
All in all, this was a solid timeline of events which did show the rise and fall of the company. In my opinion, I would say that the facts are pretty much accurate, but you can never assume that you are getting the full story. In fact, I would have loved to see more of the story. I think this could have easily been a more comprehensive documentary and should have clocked in at about 3 hours. WWE could have spent more time talking about how Ric Flair and the Horsemen carried the company in the mid to late 1980’s and how they were able to develop more and more big events. I would have also liked to have seen more about the feuds that bridged the gap from the early 90’s until the NWO came along. Even through the bad management, WCW had a great in-ring product and it would have been nice to see some of those feuds highlighted. I admit to being a big mark for the NWO, so I would have liked seeing a more comprehensive look at how the faction evolved and then how it basically devolved into a farce and a joke which hurt the product. A greater examination of the cruiserweight division should have been included in my opinion. And lastly, I believe the documentary should have discussed the major angle that WCW tried which pitted the “New Blood” against the “Millionaires Club”. This storyline was not even mentioned and I feel it should have been talked about along with more information about the final months of the company’s existence.
“The Rise and Fall of WCW” was a good documentary, but it could have been better. Maybe the brevity of the whole thing is just yet another “jab” that Vince McMahon likes to do sometimes. For a wrestling junkie, this documentary was not as big of a “fix” as it should have been. I haven’t gotten around to watching the matches yet, but there appears to be some really good stuff on it. I am sure the earlier matches from the late 80’s and early 90’s will be better than the later material, but that is to be expected. With all that being said, I do recommend a purchase of this set. While it may not be perfect, I feel that it does deserve a place in your wrestling DVD library.
The Game’s Quick Hits:
Monday Night RAWind: I thought that Monday Night Raw this week was much better than last week’s offering. There seemed to be a little more focus on building toward the Breaking Point PPV and it was nice to see a greater emphasis on in-ring action as opposed to pointless and stupid backstage segments and “comedy” bits. Now this makes sense since Dusty Rhodes was the guest host. I have to admit…I like Dusty and always was a fan of the “common man” shtick and there is no question that Dusty could talk on the mic and bring it to ya. The opening segment involving Dusty, Randy Orton, and Cody Rhodes, which set up the main event title match between Orton and Cody Rhodes with Dusty in his corner and John Cena as the referee, was infinitely better than last week’s DX birthday celebration for Vince McMahon. In fact, I think it was a good move to keep DX in the back with Dusty this week and only have them do a little harmless merchandise schilling. Yes, I did laugh at the Shockmaster segment which featured Arn Anderson doing the Shockmaster’s voice. I thought it was fairly funny and saved the segments as a whole. As for the “main event” itself, I was cool with it being a bait and switch.
After the opening segment, I figured that either Orton would just decide to attack Cena and make the match a no contest (and then Legacy would come help) or Orton and Rhodes would just stop the match mid-stream and go after Cena. So, I was pleasantly surprised that they had Dusty do the heel turn right away and Legacy went right after Cena. DX made the predictable save, but Dusty knocking out Triple H with his cowboy boot and then eating an RKO at the end for his troubles was a nice touch. This ending worked because Legacy was able to get their heat back from Cena and DX and the fact that Cody wanted to beat the hell out of Orton for dropping Dusty but whimped out will be effective down the road. At this point, Rhodes and Dibiase continue to look like puppets and totally under Orton’s control. So when they do turn and stand up to him, it will hopefully be a major break for the two and the audience will get behind them. Maybe the whole ending segment was not perfect, but I thought it worked.
The action involving the divas was not that exciting, but at least it was good to see an immediate payoff for a change and a greater focus on some wrestling. Beth Phoenix won a 6 diva battle royal early in the evening and then got a shot at Divas Champion Mickie James later in the night. Beth was booked to look like a beast again and it was pretty effective. The dead crowd did not help the match and the sudden win by Mickie off of a DDT seemed uninspiring to me. I actually would have liked to see Beth win the title. It would have been a surprise and they could have immediately cemented Beth as a dominant bad ass again. I have no idea what the longer term build is now since Gail Kim keeps losing, so I guess we will have to wait and see.
I thought they did the logical move of having Chris Jericho vs. MVP and Big Show vs. Mark Henry to try and build the Unified Tag Team Championship match coming up at Breaking Point. They needed to do something since this match was just thrown together, and opting for some matches instead of pointless bantering or brawling was nice to see. Jericho and MVP put on a good match and Show vs. Henry was a slow and plodding snooze fest as one would predict. But both matches did their job of trying to prove that MVP and Henry are capable of hanging with JeriShow.
The fatal four way match for the United States Championship was also a nice little affair that featured some good action and allowed the contenders to be showcased. Again, I think a sudden title change would have been awesome to see, but maybe they are saving that for Smackdown this week, when I fully expect Rey Mysterio to drop the Intercontinental Title to Dolph Ziggler. The match did a great job of making Kofi Kingston the plucky “underdog” champion who works hard and finds a way to persevere and win. I was glad to see The Miz in there trying to be a sneaky heel and also glad that Carlito, not Miz, was the one who took the pinfall. I still think The Miz needs to complete his quest and win the U.S. Title in the near future.
And finally, the Chavo Guerrero and Hornswoggle angle has just moved into being stupid and absurd. It was funny the first 2 or 3 times, but now it is total crap and I want it off my TV. And speaking of stupid…why in the hell is Bob Barker hosting Raw next week? That makes absolutely NO sense for the last Raw before a PPV.
ECW Thoughts: I didn’t get a chance to catch ECW live as it aired, so I am only able to discuss the results. I am seeing that Sheamus defeated Goldust in a no count out, no disqualification match. These two have meshed together surprisingly well in the ring and the matches have been pretty good. Sheamus going over is obviously the right result and hopefully he will get a chance to move onto a new feud. I think Sheamus has the potential to be a player down the road, as long as they don’t start putting him into stupid matches or involving him with Hornswoggle. Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov squashed two jobbers and then tried to beat them down more along with William Regal before Christian and Tommy Dreamer made the save. This set up a tag team match for next week between Christian and Dreamer and Jackson and Kozlov. I will be very interested in this match to see how Jackson and Kozlov can hang. The feud between Christian and Regal is heating up nicely, so hopefully it continues. Shelton Benjamin defeated Zack Ryder last night as well. I am hoping that Benjamin is somehow able to break out of the mid card and move up the ladder again. Of course he needs to either get on Raw or Smackdown to have a shot at a secondary title or maybe he can somehow challenge Regal if he takes the belt from Christian down the line. I think Benjamin has been working hard to improve and I would like to see him get a bigger push.
- Reports today are saying that PG Ricky Rubio backed out of an agreement that was in place to bring him to the NBA and the Minnesota Timberwolves this season. Minnesota had reached an agreement with Rubio’s agent and his Spanish pro team, but then Rubio came to the Wolves and told them he would prefer to stay in Spain for 2 more years to better prepare himself for the NBA. I don’t know, but this could start smelling fishy. Who knows, maybe in 2 years he decides that he still wants to stay in Europe and tries to squeeze as much money out of Minnesota as he can. Timberwolves president David Kahn is saying that the team was always willing to wait a year or two to bring Rubio over and Rubio is on record saying he has a desire to play for Minnesota, so Kahn had better hope Rubio still has that desire in 2011. As everyone knows however, a lot can change in 2 years, so I’m sure we will have to deal with this in the news for a while to come.
- Brace yourself Canada and get some extra security at those nightclubs because Adam “Pacman” Jones has just agreed to a 1 year contract with the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. This was the next best option for Jones after the Dallas Cowboys released him in February and no NFL team even bothered to invite him to training camp. My short and sweet opinion on this guy? He is a total idiot. Here is another young player (still only 25) who is trying to flush his career and talents down the toilet due to stupid behavior. Since Jones was drafted in 2005, he has been arrested 6 times and involved in 12 instances that required police intervention. That is just plain stupid and it is amazing this guy is still getting opportunities out there. I am all for second chances, but Jones refuses to stay out of trouble and try to better himself. But that is what happens when you are an athlete and you have talent. If you can still play and a team has a need for what you can do, you will most likely get another shot. Maybe Jones can finally realize this might be his last shot to get to the NFL or else he will be stuck in Canada the rest of his career.
- Quick NFL notes: Patriots QB Tom Brady tested his throwing arm and shoulder in practice on Tuesday and showed no ill effects. Seems like the whole injury “scare” is now overblown and people in New England can breathe easy…Oakland Raiders CB Nnamdi Asomugha is expected to be sidelined about two weeks with a chipped bone in his left wrist. Asomugha is arguably Oakland’s best player and this kind of injury could very well limit how effective he would be in bump-and-run coverage this year. The Raiders didn’t need any more bad news since they will still be terrible this season…New York Giants DE Osi Umenyiora returned to practice on Tuesday after going AWOL on Monday and giving no reason on why he did. This is just a strange occurrence and there is obviously more to this story and I want to hear it…Bengals rookie OL Andre Smith will be out a few weeks after fracturing a bone in his foot. This looks like a case of bad karma to me after Cincinnati tried to lowball Smith with his rookie contract. I read that they have a weight clause in it though, so maybe Smith reported to the team not in the greatest of shape. No matter how you slice it though, it is typical Bungles…
- U.S. Open Update: Women’s #1 seed Dinara Safina barely survived and avoided becoming the first #1 seed to lose in the first round of the U.S. Open by beating 147th-ranked Olivia Rogowska 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4. As I stated before, I have no idea what in the hell they do to get these rankings but Safina should not be a #1 seed at these majors. It is one thing to rack up points at smaller events, but the major tournaments are where the best come through and she has proven nothing yet. The only upset of note on the second day was women’s #11 seed and former world #1 Ana Ivanovic losing in 3 sets.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Raven Mad and Ready for Football!
Football is a big passion of mine. I love the game and I enjoy kicking back on the weekend and watching as many college and pro games as I possibly can. I am from the Baltimore area so naturally, the Baltimore Ravens are my favorite NFL team. I was way too young to feel the hurt that people in Baltimore felt when the Colts rode out of town in those Mayflower vans in the winter of 1984. However, by the time Art Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore in 1995, I was ready to embrace them as the hometown team.
For the most part, it has been good to be a Baltimore Ravens fan for the past decade. The team was able to build itself into a winner by the 2000 season and won Super Bowl XXXV 34-7 over the New York Giants. That team featured quite possibly the greatest defense in the history of the game and throughout the years, the Ravens have been built on a strong defensive foundation. In the seasons following the Super Bowl win, Baltimore was able to stay competitive and make the playoffs, but they could not recapture the glory of that year. The defense stayed tough and stifling, but for the most part, the offensive side of things dropped the ball.
Now Brian Billick was supposed to be an “offensive guru”, but that never really materialized. Granted, the Ravens go by the philosophy that defense wins championships and the bigger bulk of salary cap space has been dedicated to the defense. But Billick and the team had no luck it seemed trying to build a better offense through the draft or find pieces that could work in free agency. The Ravens became very stagnant under Billick and the team was no longer buying his “brand”. A change needed to be made…enter John Harbaugh.
At the time, not many people knew if it was a good move bringing in the defensive backs coach from the Philadelphia Eagles and installing him as the head coach. The guy was young and had no head coaching experience at any level. But the Ravens’ front office was impressed enough to make the hire and it quickly paid off. Along with the drafting of Delaware QB Joe Flacco, the Ravens quickly jumped back into the elite level of the NFL last year. Unfortunately, the Ravens could not figure out how to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers last season and they fell 1 game short of making it to the Super Bowl. So now the question becomes, what is in store for the Ravens on the road to Super Bowl XLIV?
In my opinion, there is reason to be optimistic this year, but I am not willing to take a full plunge and say that I expect the Ravens to make the Super Bowl and possibly win it. I have never been a blind homer who touts his team as the best and expects them to go out and have an amazing season every year. I think that the Ravens can make a run again and if they are able to figure out how to beat Pittsburgh, then maybe something special could happen. I fully expect a trip to the playoffs and it should be very fun to watch.
On the defensive side of the ball, there are some questions this year. How will the team cope with the departure of defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, who is now the head coach of the New York Jets? Can someone step up and effectively replace Bart Scott, who also followed Ryan to New York and who was developing into an elite level linebacker? How much does Ray Lewis still have in the tank? I am fairly confident that the Ravens will indeed have answers to these questions and the defensive will still remain as one of the top units in the NFL.
The defensive does have some good depth even with the departures from last year and the Ravens have developed a system that works and they have proven over the years that they know how to develop players into stars on the defensive side of the ball. I believe that Ray Lewis still has enough in the tank to get the job done for the next 3 years that he signed for. His passion, dedication, work ethic, and leadership are unquestioned. He knows what it takes to win and he can will his teammates to victory. He also will be able to guide younger players and make them better. The defensive core of Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Ed Reed, and Haloti Ngata will keep the defensive ship sailing smoothly and will continue to give opposing offenses headaches this season.
As always, it seems that the offensive could still be what holds Baltimore back this year from true greatness. The 2000 defensive unit was a true once in a lifetime group and this year’s version will need more help from Flacco and company. Flacco had a great year last season by rookie QB standards. He was able to effectively manage the game, make a few good plays each time out, and not kill the team with costly turnovers. Of course that finally caught up to him in the AFC Championship game, but none the less, he played well enough to give the Ravens a shot in that game. The reports out of training camp this season have been promising. Flacco seems to be more comfortable with the offense and he has been doing a better job of spreading the ball around and not locking onto one or two receivers. This was evident in the first preseason game against the Redskins as Flacco hit 6 different receivers in very limited action. Truly, it seems as if Flacco will be the franchise QB the Ravens have been searching for.
But even if Flacco takes some steps forward, he is still inexperienced and the Ravens did not get him any help in the offseason at the receiver position. Thankfully, Derrick Mason decided to end his short retirement and return to the team. If Mason left, then the Ravens’ task of even making it back to the AFC Title game would have become much tougher. Mason is not an elite game breaking WR, but he knows how to get the job done and will be a dependable security blanket for Flacco. The other receivers are young and they will have to step up and contribute for the Ravens to go further this year.
The running game should hopefully help out Flacco. The Ravens have three dependable runners in Ron Rice, Willis McGahee, and Le’Ron McClain. McClain will be playing more fullback this year and hopefully will be opening up those running lanes for Rice and McGahee. Talk in camp is that Rice has shown great improvement and his pass catching ability has helped him move past McGahee for the starting job. Willis is responding with a good effort though and showing that he still has gas left in the tank. If all three can stay healthy this season, then that greatly helps and will set Baltimore up to make a serious run.
So in my final analysis, I think the Ravens will be very good this season but most likely will fall short of being super. My prediction is that they will fall one game short of winning the division and have to settle for a wild card spot again. In 2000 they won the Super Bowl as a wild card and that doesn’t seem to be a daunting task anymore. Will history repeat itself? Only time will tell, but my feeling is that the Ravens are still a year or two away from a possible Super Bowl win. If the defense remains strong and they can somehow add more offense for a developing Flacco, then Baltimore might have reason to celebrate within the next 3 years.
The Game’s Quick Hits
Monday Night Football Thoughts: As you can guess, my main thoughts for today were about the Ravens since they battled the Jets on Monday Night Football. The Ravens came away with a 24-23 victory and I have to say that once again, the first string defense and offense looked great. The Ravens’ D looked to be in midseason form and they made Jets rookie QB Mark Sanchez look like a rookie. Flacco looked good again, displaying his rocket arm and hitting some nice deep throws. If they are able to stretch the field, good things will be ahead for the Ravens. The second unit and beyond did look a bit shaky tonight, but that is what you get in the preseason. Troy Smith made a few mistakes, but all in all, another solid effort for Baltimore as we inch toward the regular season.
Monday Night RAWind: I will also try to give some quick thoughts in this section about the events of Monday Night Raw every week. This will not be a long recap, just some comments on what stood out to me. And unfortunately, not much did stand out last night and the show seemed like it fell flat and did not carry a great deal of momentum out of Summerslam. The 25 minute opening segment with DX ran too long. It was standard and classic DX shenanigans and the live crowd enjoyed it, but that doesn’t always transfer to TV land. Legacy crashed the party to set up the main event, which seems to kill the idea that some people had of DX moving on to challenge Jericho and Show for the Tag Titles. As predicted, Vince McMahon announced an “I Quit” match between Cena and Orton at Breaking Point for the WWE Championship. And since John Cena always says he never gives up and he never quits, it seems like Orton’s title reign has about 3 weeks left. I was happy to see The Miz continue on his quest to get a shot at Kofi Kingston for the United States Title. Miz has done some great stuff recently and I feel he should win that title and hopefully keep moving up the ladder. Floyd Mayweather’s involvement tonight was minimal and that was a good thing. He played a part in helping to shape a Unified Tag Team Title match at Breaking Point between JeriShow and MVP/Mark Henry. Nothing else stood out to me that is worth mentioning except for a Smackdown commercial which advertised CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy for the World Heavyweight Championship inside a steel cage this Friday. So there is your answer to the Matt Hardy Twitter mystery…yes, Jeff will be around after Summerslam, but it will just be 1 more show it seems. Let’s hope the match is a great one on Friday.
- News broke late Sunday night after Summerslam that ROH star “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson has agreed to a contract with the WWE. Now I have to say that I really don’t know much about ROH or Danielson due to the fact that I do not get HD Net and I also do not have the finances to buy ROH DVDs religiously and follow the promotion. However, I do know that Danielson is one of the best in-ring performers in the world (and nicknamed “Best in the World” by ROH faithful) and he could be a great addition to the WWE. But the WWE does have a tendency to ruin performers, so it remains to be seen if they will try to stick Danielson with a stupid gimmick and not allow him to showcase his skills. Without question, he has the ability to get over with his in-ring work, but will the WWE try to hold him down from that and not let him just be himself? I will be extremely interested in seeing what happens and I hope Danielson will bring some great wresting to my TV screen. For more thoughts on this, check out my friend’s blog at http://pureathlete89.blogspot.com. He is a huge ROH and Danielson fan and offers more insights than I can.
- Another day, more Michael Vick news. The New York Post ran a photo this weekend of Vick drinking vodka and pineapple juice at a Philadelphia airport bar. This prompted Vick’s mentor Tony Dungy to tell Vick “you can’t do that.” There is speculation that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stated that alcohol was prohibited for Vick, but an Eagles spokesman said that was not the case. In my opinion, as long as Goodell did not specifically put any restrictions on Vick, then the guy should be able to enjoy a drink if he wants. But I guess after what Vick has done, he is going to get this type of scrutiny. I say let the guy drink because it is his funeral if he screws up after drinking too much alcohol. On the field, reports indicate that Vick’s teammates say he looks ready to participate in game action. I am still looking forward to seeing what happens this Thursday night.
-Reports indicate that San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers has signed a 6-year, $92 million contract extension. I have to give credit to the Chargers for this move. Rivers has improved every year and he is starting to move up into the elite levels of NFL QBs. This signing will ensure continuity with the leader of the offense, prevent Rivers from testing the free agent waters next offseason, and allow the club to save its franchise tag. With the nucleus of the team in place, San Diego should remain a contender for the foreseeable future and they have a shot to be in the mix come January for a chance to make the Super Bowl. Also in other signing news, the Seahawks signed RB Edgerrin James to a 1 year contract. I suppose he will help a little bit, but I don’t expect him making a huge impact for Seattle.
- Miami Heat PF and #2 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft Michael Beasley has reportedly entered a rehab center in Houston. Details at this point aren’t that clear and no one knows the full story. Reports indicate that he is being treated for various issues, including depression. I don’t have too much to comment on here and I just hope that Beasley is able to get help. Depression is not understood by many people, but I know first hand that it really is a terrible condition that can have very bad consequences.
- A federal appeals court ruled that sports gambling in Delaware would violate a previous ban on wagering, so this seems to halt the state’s plan to allow it next month. This seems pretty bogus to me and I say if people want to gamble, let them gamble! I don’t buy into the notion that gambling would destroy the neighborhood around where the action is taking place or that young people would just get corrupted by it. No one wants to take responsibility for their own actions and I guess people don’t have enough self control. If someone is willing to take risks to ruin their life, then that is their choice. There is way too much that goes on in society where the actions of a few ruin things for the majority. Let people gamble away the money that they earned and let freedom ring…this is still America right?
For the most part, it has been good to be a Baltimore Ravens fan for the past decade. The team was able to build itself into a winner by the 2000 season and won Super Bowl XXXV 34-7 over the New York Giants. That team featured quite possibly the greatest defense in the history of the game and throughout the years, the Ravens have been built on a strong defensive foundation. In the seasons following the Super Bowl win, Baltimore was able to stay competitive and make the playoffs, but they could not recapture the glory of that year. The defense stayed tough and stifling, but for the most part, the offensive side of things dropped the ball.
Now Brian Billick was supposed to be an “offensive guru”, but that never really materialized. Granted, the Ravens go by the philosophy that defense wins championships and the bigger bulk of salary cap space has been dedicated to the defense. But Billick and the team had no luck it seemed trying to build a better offense through the draft or find pieces that could work in free agency. The Ravens became very stagnant under Billick and the team was no longer buying his “brand”. A change needed to be made…enter John Harbaugh.
At the time, not many people knew if it was a good move bringing in the defensive backs coach from the Philadelphia Eagles and installing him as the head coach. The guy was young and had no head coaching experience at any level. But the Ravens’ front office was impressed enough to make the hire and it quickly paid off. Along with the drafting of Delaware QB Joe Flacco, the Ravens quickly jumped back into the elite level of the NFL last year. Unfortunately, the Ravens could not figure out how to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers last season and they fell 1 game short of making it to the Super Bowl. So now the question becomes, what is in store for the Ravens on the road to Super Bowl XLIV?
In my opinion, there is reason to be optimistic this year, but I am not willing to take a full plunge and say that I expect the Ravens to make the Super Bowl and possibly win it. I have never been a blind homer who touts his team as the best and expects them to go out and have an amazing season every year. I think that the Ravens can make a run again and if they are able to figure out how to beat Pittsburgh, then maybe something special could happen. I fully expect a trip to the playoffs and it should be very fun to watch.
On the defensive side of the ball, there are some questions this year. How will the team cope with the departure of defensive coordinator Rex Ryan, who is now the head coach of the New York Jets? Can someone step up and effectively replace Bart Scott, who also followed Ryan to New York and who was developing into an elite level linebacker? How much does Ray Lewis still have in the tank? I am fairly confident that the Ravens will indeed have answers to these questions and the defensive will still remain as one of the top units in the NFL.
The defensive does have some good depth even with the departures from last year and the Ravens have developed a system that works and they have proven over the years that they know how to develop players into stars on the defensive side of the ball. I believe that Ray Lewis still has enough in the tank to get the job done for the next 3 years that he signed for. His passion, dedication, work ethic, and leadership are unquestioned. He knows what it takes to win and he can will his teammates to victory. He also will be able to guide younger players and make them better. The defensive core of Lewis, Terrell Suggs, Ed Reed, and Haloti Ngata will keep the defensive ship sailing smoothly and will continue to give opposing offenses headaches this season.
As always, it seems that the offensive could still be what holds Baltimore back this year from true greatness. The 2000 defensive unit was a true once in a lifetime group and this year’s version will need more help from Flacco and company. Flacco had a great year last season by rookie QB standards. He was able to effectively manage the game, make a few good plays each time out, and not kill the team with costly turnovers. Of course that finally caught up to him in the AFC Championship game, but none the less, he played well enough to give the Ravens a shot in that game. The reports out of training camp this season have been promising. Flacco seems to be more comfortable with the offense and he has been doing a better job of spreading the ball around and not locking onto one or two receivers. This was evident in the first preseason game against the Redskins as Flacco hit 6 different receivers in very limited action. Truly, it seems as if Flacco will be the franchise QB the Ravens have been searching for.
But even if Flacco takes some steps forward, he is still inexperienced and the Ravens did not get him any help in the offseason at the receiver position. Thankfully, Derrick Mason decided to end his short retirement and return to the team. If Mason left, then the Ravens’ task of even making it back to the AFC Title game would have become much tougher. Mason is not an elite game breaking WR, but he knows how to get the job done and will be a dependable security blanket for Flacco. The other receivers are young and they will have to step up and contribute for the Ravens to go further this year.
The running game should hopefully help out Flacco. The Ravens have three dependable runners in Ron Rice, Willis McGahee, and Le’Ron McClain. McClain will be playing more fullback this year and hopefully will be opening up those running lanes for Rice and McGahee. Talk in camp is that Rice has shown great improvement and his pass catching ability has helped him move past McGahee for the starting job. Willis is responding with a good effort though and showing that he still has gas left in the tank. If all three can stay healthy this season, then that greatly helps and will set Baltimore up to make a serious run.
So in my final analysis, I think the Ravens will be very good this season but most likely will fall short of being super. My prediction is that they will fall one game short of winning the division and have to settle for a wild card spot again. In 2000 they won the Super Bowl as a wild card and that doesn’t seem to be a daunting task anymore. Will history repeat itself? Only time will tell, but my feeling is that the Ravens are still a year or two away from a possible Super Bowl win. If the defense remains strong and they can somehow add more offense for a developing Flacco, then Baltimore might have reason to celebrate within the next 3 years.
The Game’s Quick Hits
Monday Night Football Thoughts: As you can guess, my main thoughts for today were about the Ravens since they battled the Jets on Monday Night Football. The Ravens came away with a 24-23 victory and I have to say that once again, the first string defense and offense looked great. The Ravens’ D looked to be in midseason form and they made Jets rookie QB Mark Sanchez look like a rookie. Flacco looked good again, displaying his rocket arm and hitting some nice deep throws. If they are able to stretch the field, good things will be ahead for the Ravens. The second unit and beyond did look a bit shaky tonight, but that is what you get in the preseason. Troy Smith made a few mistakes, but all in all, another solid effort for Baltimore as we inch toward the regular season.
Monday Night RAWind: I will also try to give some quick thoughts in this section about the events of Monday Night Raw every week. This will not be a long recap, just some comments on what stood out to me. And unfortunately, not much did stand out last night and the show seemed like it fell flat and did not carry a great deal of momentum out of Summerslam. The 25 minute opening segment with DX ran too long. It was standard and classic DX shenanigans and the live crowd enjoyed it, but that doesn’t always transfer to TV land. Legacy crashed the party to set up the main event, which seems to kill the idea that some people had of DX moving on to challenge Jericho and Show for the Tag Titles. As predicted, Vince McMahon announced an “I Quit” match between Cena and Orton at Breaking Point for the WWE Championship. And since John Cena always says he never gives up and he never quits, it seems like Orton’s title reign has about 3 weeks left. I was happy to see The Miz continue on his quest to get a shot at Kofi Kingston for the United States Title. Miz has done some great stuff recently and I feel he should win that title and hopefully keep moving up the ladder. Floyd Mayweather’s involvement tonight was minimal and that was a good thing. He played a part in helping to shape a Unified Tag Team Title match at Breaking Point between JeriShow and MVP/Mark Henry. Nothing else stood out to me that is worth mentioning except for a Smackdown commercial which advertised CM Punk vs. Jeff Hardy for the World Heavyweight Championship inside a steel cage this Friday. So there is your answer to the Matt Hardy Twitter mystery…yes, Jeff will be around after Summerslam, but it will just be 1 more show it seems. Let’s hope the match is a great one on Friday.
- News broke late Sunday night after Summerslam that ROH star “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson has agreed to a contract with the WWE. Now I have to say that I really don’t know much about ROH or Danielson due to the fact that I do not get HD Net and I also do not have the finances to buy ROH DVDs religiously and follow the promotion. However, I do know that Danielson is one of the best in-ring performers in the world (and nicknamed “Best in the World” by ROH faithful) and he could be a great addition to the WWE. But the WWE does have a tendency to ruin performers, so it remains to be seen if they will try to stick Danielson with a stupid gimmick and not allow him to showcase his skills. Without question, he has the ability to get over with his in-ring work, but will the WWE try to hold him down from that and not let him just be himself? I will be extremely interested in seeing what happens and I hope Danielson will bring some great wresting to my TV screen. For more thoughts on this, check out my friend’s blog at http://pureathlete89.blogspot.com. He is a huge ROH and Danielson fan and offers more insights than I can.
- Another day, more Michael Vick news. The New York Post ran a photo this weekend of Vick drinking vodka and pineapple juice at a Philadelphia airport bar. This prompted Vick’s mentor Tony Dungy to tell Vick “you can’t do that.” There is speculation that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stated that alcohol was prohibited for Vick, but an Eagles spokesman said that was not the case. In my opinion, as long as Goodell did not specifically put any restrictions on Vick, then the guy should be able to enjoy a drink if he wants. But I guess after what Vick has done, he is going to get this type of scrutiny. I say let the guy drink because it is his funeral if he screws up after drinking too much alcohol. On the field, reports indicate that Vick’s teammates say he looks ready to participate in game action. I am still looking forward to seeing what happens this Thursday night.
-Reports indicate that San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers has signed a 6-year, $92 million contract extension. I have to give credit to the Chargers for this move. Rivers has improved every year and he is starting to move up into the elite levels of NFL QBs. This signing will ensure continuity with the leader of the offense, prevent Rivers from testing the free agent waters next offseason, and allow the club to save its franchise tag. With the nucleus of the team in place, San Diego should remain a contender for the foreseeable future and they have a shot to be in the mix come January for a chance to make the Super Bowl. Also in other signing news, the Seahawks signed RB Edgerrin James to a 1 year contract. I suppose he will help a little bit, but I don’t expect him making a huge impact for Seattle.
- Miami Heat PF and #2 pick in the 2008 NBA Draft Michael Beasley has reportedly entered a rehab center in Houston. Details at this point aren’t that clear and no one knows the full story. Reports indicate that he is being treated for various issues, including depression. I don’t have too much to comment on here and I just hope that Beasley is able to get help. Depression is not understood by many people, but I know first hand that it really is a terrible condition that can have very bad consequences.
- A federal appeals court ruled that sports gambling in Delaware would violate a previous ban on wagering, so this seems to halt the state’s plan to allow it next month. This seems pretty bogus to me and I say if people want to gamble, let them gamble! I don’t buy into the notion that gambling would destroy the neighborhood around where the action is taking place or that young people would just get corrupted by it. No one wants to take responsibility for their own actions and I guess people don’t have enough self control. If someone is willing to take risks to ruin their life, then that is their choice. There is way too much that goes on in society where the actions of a few ruin things for the majority. Let people gamble away the money that they earned and let freedom ring…this is still America right?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
