It's time to make my 2011 World Series predictions and picks. Who will take the title as the Cardinals and Rangers prepare to meet for game one on Wednesday?
Before you count out wild card entry St. Louis, let's think about how the Cardinals entered the postseason and how they are playing now.
The Cardinals will undoubtedly be a long shot to win the 2011 World Series despite having home field advantage.
Many think the Rangers are so prolific on offense that the Cardinals will stand little chance. I have some food for thought for those critics as the World Series inches closer. I think the 2011 World Series schedule favors St. Louis thanks to the home field advantage and pitching matchups.
Texas may have a tough time winning in Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Historically, the Cardinals have been a tough out at home in front of the fans wearing red. The Cardinals also have a very underrated pitching staff. Sure, on paper it might appear that Texas would be an overwhelming favorite.
My predictions and picks say that might not be the case in the 2011 World Series.
So who will win? I want to break it down on a game by game basis. There might always be different variables to consider as the Series progresses-but I think the Cardinals have a slight edge regardless of those possible scenarios. But before I get into each individual game-I have some food for thought as to why the Cardinals should emerge as the 2011 World Champs.
Here are five reasons why I my predictions and picks say the Cardinals will win the 2011 World Series.
1) Home Field Advantage
The Cardinals get to play at home thanks to the NL winning the All Star game. That means the fans at Busch Stadium will be going bonkers as the Redbirds hit the field. I think this will almost guarantee the Cards can win 3 out of 4. The most pivotal games though will be in Texas where St. Louis will need to win at least one contest. That might be the biggest telling point of this series.
2) Red Hot Momentum
Maybe the Cardinals are a team of destiny. The players have to be thinking among those lines after edging out the Braves in come from behind fashion just to make the playoffs. The Cardinals also dispatched of Philadelphia and Milwaukee in the playoffs. The Phillies, much like the Rangers, sport a terrific offense with plenty of pop. The Phillies probably also had the best pitching staff in baseball.
3) The Albert Pujols factor
Love him or hate him, St. Louis has the Albert Pujols factor. He's the best player in baseball. Pitching staffs have to decide whether to put him on base or subtly pitch around him. Either way, Pujols is a huge thorn in the sides of opposing pitching staffs. The horrible news for teams who face the Cardinals is that if you elect to pitch around Pujols, you'll have to face guys like Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday and David Freese. That didn't work out too well for the NL teams down the stretch.
4) Tony LaRussa Knows How To Win
LaRussa might not be the best media or public relations guy out there-but he certainly is a proven winner.
I'll take LaRussa in a game of X's and O's any day of the week in a competitive contest. He may tinker with the batting lineup and put position players after his pitcher in the lineup-but the guy knows how to get the most of his players and their individual abilities.
5) The Cardinals Finally Found a Reliever
Some may have argued the largest weak point of St. Louis early this season was the bullpen. The Cardinals have certainly resolved those issues. Jason Motte is performing like an All Star and the rest of the Cardinals bullpen is chipping in as needed. The Cardinals were missing one huge piece to the puzzle and the switch to closer for Motte has solidified this team.
So what happens according to my predictions and picks for the 2011 World Series?
Here's a look at the 2011 World Series schedule and my predictions and picks for each individual game.
Game 1: Chris Carpenter pitches well enough to earn the victory and slows the Rangers offense down. The Cardinals offense takes advantage of left hander C.J. Wilson and puts up 5 runs in the first four innings. Cardinals win game one 7-2.
Game 2: Jaime Garcia struggles against the Rangers but the Cardinals also put up enough runs to stay competitive. I think the Redbirds win a slugfest 8-6.
Game 3: Things move to Texas and the Rangers are ready to explode against St. Louis at home. The Rangers win the third game of the series 5-2.
Game 4: This pivotal game is where I believe the Cardinals can make the difference. Kyle Lohse has pitched much better than a number 4 and he could put the Cardinals on top with an outstanding effort. I think this one is the closest thing resembling a pitcher's duel in the opening four games as the Cards win 3-2 in 10.
Game 5: Texas bounces back with a 6-3 victory to close to within 3 games to 2 in the Series.
Game 6: The Cardinals close it out with a 11-6 slugfest. St. Louis wins the World Series 4-2.
That's it for my 2011 World Series picks and predictions. Can the Rangers possibly steal this one away? Absolutely. Anytime you have great offense and stellar pitching you have an opportunity to win. My gut just tells me that you shouldn't count out the Cardinals at home--particularly when they are playing the best offense of the season at the right time. Texas is going to have a tough time slowing down this offense and vice versa. But in the end, I believe the Cardinals will be the team putting up the most runs on the majority of nights.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
WWE Monday Night RAW Review for 10/17/2011
Without further adu here is my review of Monday Night RAW which was taped in Mexico City this weekend
In Ring segment with Johnny Ace and Jim Ross
It's nice to see Jim Ross back on the show, but does anyone else find it odd that they would book the American broadcasters in a match in a show that was taped in Mexico? Laurinaitis is still painful to listen to, but I did get a kick out of the hug he forced on Ross and the way he put his arm around him.
1 -- RANDY ORTON & SHEAMUS & JOHN MORRISON vs. World Hvt. champion MARK HENRY & IC champion CODY RHODES & CHRISTIAN -- six-man tag match
WINNERS: Team Henry at 11:20. Although more attention was spent on outside-the-ring happenings, a good six-man tag match to promote a handful of items for the PPV. It was nice to see a hot crowd invested in the action, as well.
2 -- EVE (w/Kelly Kelly) vs. NATALYA (w/Divas champion BETH PHOENIX)
Winner: Eve at 2:10. Although this match was your typical short divas wrestling match it's still told a good story to set up Eve vs Beth Phoenix at the Pay Per View this Sunday Night.
In Ring Segment with C.M Punk which was interrupted by R-Truth/Miz, and Triple H
WWE appears to be pumping in some canned heat for the promo segments. The Truth and Miz really lost something with the way they returned last week. They just don't seem like threats to the Punk and Triple H team in a fair fight. For that matter, that's an ongoing problem for a lot of heels when they work with top talent.
3 -- C.M. PUNK (w/Triple H) vs. THE MIZ (w/R-Truth)
WINNER: No Contest at 8:46. This show was going just fine until they re-visited and replayed everything that went wrong on last week's show in this segment. Is this whole conspiracy angle still in-play with someone still trying to sabotage Hunter, this week via immigration issues?
3b -- C.M. PUNK vs. THE MIZ (w/R-Truth)
WINNER: Punk at 1:55. So I'm supposed to see The Miz and R-Truth as threats when they face C.M. Punk and the almighty Triple H on Sunday when Punk just got the better of them on his own until the post-match beatdown? This would be more effective if Punk didn't take this much punishment on a regular basis. Call me crazy, but if they want to position Triple H as such a big deal, then he should also be the one on the receiving end of a beatdown designed to put heat on the heels.
4 -- JACK SWAGGER (w/Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero) vs. ZACK RYDER
WINNER: Ryder at 0:32. I just hate squash matches. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
5 -- U.S. champion DOLPH ZIGGLER (w/Jack Swagger and Vickie Guerrero) vs. MASON RYAN (w/Zack Ryder) -- non-title match
WINNER: Ziggler via DQ at 2:36.
Yes, they're building up Ryan, but they are doing so at the expense of mid-card heels who should be moving up the ladder themselves. If this were an isolated incident than I wouldn't complain. Why can't WWE put some legit heat on anyone other than announcers and general managers?
6 -- WWE champion ALBERTO DEL RIO & MICHAEL COLE vs. JOHN CENA & JIM ROSS -- Winner chooses stipulation at Vengeance
WINNERS: Cena & Ross at 11:37. The hot crowd made this an acceptable main event, even though WWE gave away too much Cena-Del Rio before the PPV, and Ross and Cole played their roles well. As for the purpose of the match, it came across like a last-ditch effort to get some PPV buys to avoid a disastrous domestic buy total. It seems like Cena won't be winning the title after getting a "visual victory" with Del Rio counted down for a ten count and no verbal proclamation to re-take the title. Then again, McMahon could change his mind on Sunday. By the way the match between John Cena and Alberto Del Rio will be a last man standing match this Sunday at the PPV.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This was one of those Raws that lacked spontaneity and energy - despite a very good crowd throughout and a big-arena setting - because it clearly came across like a taped show and WWE blew their top storyline last week. Add in a bland, basic, attempt to sell a PPV with no juice, even more ridiculousness with a top storyline that (a) makes zero sense and (b) no one cares about anymore, and this wasn't a good rebound show. There was definitely a residual effect from last week's bizarreness. The problem is last week's show was supposed to be a definitive "break in the case" with Hunter removed from power and order restored to avoid an extended "walk-out." However, with Hunter still in the exact same authority figure position he was in during the chaos, nothing has technically changed, even though WWE is acting like it has. It wasn't as bad as last week, but WWE has to get away from this storyline as quickly as possible.
In Ring segment with Johnny Ace and Jim Ross
It's nice to see Jim Ross back on the show, but does anyone else find it odd that they would book the American broadcasters in a match in a show that was taped in Mexico? Laurinaitis is still painful to listen to, but I did get a kick out of the hug he forced on Ross and the way he put his arm around him.
1 -- RANDY ORTON & SHEAMUS & JOHN MORRISON vs. World Hvt. champion MARK HENRY & IC champion CODY RHODES & CHRISTIAN -- six-man tag match
WINNERS: Team Henry at 11:20. Although more attention was spent on outside-the-ring happenings, a good six-man tag match to promote a handful of items for the PPV. It was nice to see a hot crowd invested in the action, as well.
2 -- EVE (w/Kelly Kelly) vs. NATALYA (w/Divas champion BETH PHOENIX)
Winner: Eve at 2:10. Although this match was your typical short divas wrestling match it's still told a good story to set up Eve vs Beth Phoenix at the Pay Per View this Sunday Night.
In Ring Segment with C.M Punk which was interrupted by R-Truth/Miz, and Triple H
WWE appears to be pumping in some canned heat for the promo segments. The Truth and Miz really lost something with the way they returned last week. They just don't seem like threats to the Punk and Triple H team in a fair fight. For that matter, that's an ongoing problem for a lot of heels when they work with top talent.
3 -- C.M. PUNK (w/Triple H) vs. THE MIZ (w/R-Truth)
WINNER: No Contest at 8:46. This show was going just fine until they re-visited and replayed everything that went wrong on last week's show in this segment. Is this whole conspiracy angle still in-play with someone still trying to sabotage Hunter, this week via immigration issues?
3b -- C.M. PUNK vs. THE MIZ (w/R-Truth)
WINNER: Punk at 1:55. So I'm supposed to see The Miz and R-Truth as threats when they face C.M. Punk and the almighty Triple H on Sunday when Punk just got the better of them on his own until the post-match beatdown? This would be more effective if Punk didn't take this much punishment on a regular basis. Call me crazy, but if they want to position Triple H as such a big deal, then he should also be the one on the receiving end of a beatdown designed to put heat on the heels.
4 -- JACK SWAGGER (w/Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero) vs. ZACK RYDER
WINNER: Ryder at 0:32. I just hate squash matches. UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
5 -- U.S. champion DOLPH ZIGGLER (w/Jack Swagger and Vickie Guerrero) vs. MASON RYAN (w/Zack Ryder) -- non-title match
WINNER: Ziggler via DQ at 2:36.
Yes, they're building up Ryan, but they are doing so at the expense of mid-card heels who should be moving up the ladder themselves. If this were an isolated incident than I wouldn't complain. Why can't WWE put some legit heat on anyone other than announcers and general managers?
6 -- WWE champion ALBERTO DEL RIO & MICHAEL COLE vs. JOHN CENA & JIM ROSS -- Winner chooses stipulation at Vengeance
WINNERS: Cena & Ross at 11:37. The hot crowd made this an acceptable main event, even though WWE gave away too much Cena-Del Rio before the PPV, and Ross and Cole played their roles well. As for the purpose of the match, it came across like a last-ditch effort to get some PPV buys to avoid a disastrous domestic buy total. It seems like Cena won't be winning the title after getting a "visual victory" with Del Rio counted down for a ten count and no verbal proclamation to re-take the title. Then again, McMahon could change his mind on Sunday. By the way the match between John Cena and Alberto Del Rio will be a last man standing match this Sunday at the PPV.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This was one of those Raws that lacked spontaneity and energy - despite a very good crowd throughout and a big-arena setting - because it clearly came across like a taped show and WWE blew their top storyline last week. Add in a bland, basic, attempt to sell a PPV with no juice, even more ridiculousness with a top storyline that (a) makes zero sense and (b) no one cares about anymore, and this wasn't a good rebound show. There was definitely a residual effect from last week's bizarreness. The problem is last week's show was supposed to be a definitive "break in the case" with Hunter removed from power and order restored to avoid an extended "walk-out." However, with Hunter still in the exact same authority figure position he was in during the chaos, nothing has technically changed, even though WWE is acting like it has. It wasn't as bad as last week, but WWE has to get away from this storyline as quickly as possible.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
TNA BOUND FOR GLORY PPV RESULTS 10/16
1 -- X Division champion AUSTIN ARIES vs. BRIAN KENDRICK -- X Division Title match
WINNER: Aries at 10:28. Very good match to start the PPV. Nice finishing sequence and the crowd was fully invested, not just because of Aries, but the good action. (**3/4)
2 -- ROB VAN DAM vs. JERRY LYNN -- Full Metal Mayhem match
WINNER: RVD at 13:15. The presentation from TNA was this was "fun to go back in time," but this set the wrestling industry back two decades. Too many dangerous spots around the head/neck region for comfort. It wasn't entertaining at all in that respect. Just shaking my head at a replay showing all of the dangerous spots. It would be like ESPN still glorifying head shots on defenseless NFL receivers because it "gets a reaction." (n/a)
3 -- SAMOA JOE vs. MATT MORGAN vs. CRIMSON -- three-way match
WINNER: Crimson at 7:14. Fine execution of the story with Joe trying to pit the faces against each other, then Joe getting his comeuppance by taking the loss. Noteworthy was Joe getting that Austin Aries reaction from the vocal males. (*1/2)
4 -- BULLY RAY vs. MR. ANDERSON -- Philadelphia Street Fight -- Falls Count Anywhere
WINNER: Anderson at 14:33. The story carried the contest, which still had one too many head/neck blows for comfort, but it delivered on what was advertised. Anderson needed an impressive, decisive win to reverse course on his TNA career, and this accomplished the goal. (**)
5 -- Knockouts champion WINTER (w/Angelina Love) vs. VELVET SKY vs. MADISON RAYNE vs. MICKIE JAMES -- four-way Knockouts Title match -- Karen Jarrett special referee
WINNER: Velvet at 8:31 to capture the KO Title. That was a complete and utter mess with an over-complicated situation. The crowd did respond to the title change, though, after wanting the match to end about 30 seconds in.
6 -- A.J. STYLES vs. DANIELS -- I Quit match
WINNER: Styles at 13:42. This had potential to be a stand-out match, but the mid-match promo took this from a heated, competitive battle to an unrealistic, unentertaining situation with the vow to kill someone. (Of note: A.J. Styles was trending on Twitter following this match.) (**)
7 -- HULK HOGAN vs. STING -- No DQ match for control of TNA
WINNER: Sting at 9:43 to win control of the company. They tried to deliver an acceptable match considering the physical limitations in the ring. Add in a few bells & whistles and it went about as well as anyone could reasonably expect.
8 -- TNA World Hvt. champion KURT ANGLE vs. ROBERT ROODE -- TNA World Title match
WINNER: Angle at 14:15 to retain the TNA World Title. This was certainly Hogan's TNA dream night. TNA dropped the ball only allotting 15 minutes to the match and not going all the way with Roode after the build-up. If they were going to do this finish, the match needed to be about 25 minutes so Roode was legitimized as being able to "hang with Angle." Instead, he looked like another typical TNA babyface unable to win the big one. Even if Roode gets a re-match due to the non-clean finish, they can't get back to the position they were in leading to BFG. (***)
WINNER: Aries at 10:28. Very good match to start the PPV. Nice finishing sequence and the crowd was fully invested, not just because of Aries, but the good action. (**3/4)
2 -- ROB VAN DAM vs. JERRY LYNN -- Full Metal Mayhem match
WINNER: RVD at 13:15. The presentation from TNA was this was "fun to go back in time," but this set the wrestling industry back two decades. Too many dangerous spots around the head/neck region for comfort. It wasn't entertaining at all in that respect. Just shaking my head at a replay showing all of the dangerous spots. It would be like ESPN still glorifying head shots on defenseless NFL receivers because it "gets a reaction." (n/a)
3 -- SAMOA JOE vs. MATT MORGAN vs. CRIMSON -- three-way match
WINNER: Crimson at 7:14. Fine execution of the story with Joe trying to pit the faces against each other, then Joe getting his comeuppance by taking the loss. Noteworthy was Joe getting that Austin Aries reaction from the vocal males. (*1/2)
4 -- BULLY RAY vs. MR. ANDERSON -- Philadelphia Street Fight -- Falls Count Anywhere
WINNER: Anderson at 14:33. The story carried the contest, which still had one too many head/neck blows for comfort, but it delivered on what was advertised. Anderson needed an impressive, decisive win to reverse course on his TNA career, and this accomplished the goal. (**)
5 -- Knockouts champion WINTER (w/Angelina Love) vs. VELVET SKY vs. MADISON RAYNE vs. MICKIE JAMES -- four-way Knockouts Title match -- Karen Jarrett special referee
WINNER: Velvet at 8:31 to capture the KO Title. That was a complete and utter mess with an over-complicated situation. The crowd did respond to the title change, though, after wanting the match to end about 30 seconds in.
6 -- A.J. STYLES vs. DANIELS -- I Quit match
WINNER: Styles at 13:42. This had potential to be a stand-out match, but the mid-match promo took this from a heated, competitive battle to an unrealistic, unentertaining situation with the vow to kill someone. (Of note: A.J. Styles was trending on Twitter following this match.) (**)
7 -- HULK HOGAN vs. STING -- No DQ match for control of TNA
WINNER: Sting at 9:43 to win control of the company. They tried to deliver an acceptable match considering the physical limitations in the ring. Add in a few bells & whistles and it went about as well as anyone could reasonably expect.
8 -- TNA World Hvt. champion KURT ANGLE vs. ROBERT ROODE -- TNA World Title match
WINNER: Angle at 14:15 to retain the TNA World Title. This was certainly Hogan's TNA dream night. TNA dropped the ball only allotting 15 minutes to the match and not going all the way with Roode after the build-up. If they were going to do this finish, the match needed to be about 25 minutes so Roode was legitimized as being able to "hang with Angle." Instead, he looked like another typical TNA babyface unable to win the big one. Even if Roode gets a re-match due to the non-clean finish, they can't get back to the position they were in leading to BFG. (***)
TNA Wrestling Bound For Glory 2011 Preview
We are just hours away from TNA's largest show of the year, Bound for Glory. With the final card in place and the go-home episode of Impact Wrestling in the books, all we have left to do now is kill time arguing about how Hulk Hogan will manage to mess up tonight's event. There are a few things we should get out of the way before talking about the matches and getting down to predictions.
The Curious Case of Jeff Hardy
First of all, Jeff Hardy is scheduled to make an appearance at Bound for Glory. After rescuing Beer Money and clearing the ring of Immortal, Jeff Hardy confronted a very angry “King of the Mountain” and declared that he will be live and on-hand for this huge event. While he's not booked in any sort of match, it's almost guaranteed that he'll interfere in something. Personally, I've loved the way TNA has handled Jeff Hardy's return. There are a lot of fans that are just flat-out done with the Hardys. For them, he's wasted too much of their time, money, and energy. Others might be sick of Jeff getting pushed into main event spots despite still struggling with the same demons that have plagued him for years. As a fan of good entertainment and even better professional wrestling, I don't much care about Hardy's personal issues. If he's able to compete in a healthy manor, I'd prefer him get back to work, both for his sake and that of the fans that want him around. Bringing him back slowly, getting him involved over time, and most importantly apologizing about the issue directly carried a lot of weight in my decision to give the Charismatic Enigma a 3rd (or 4th...) chance. But sooner or later Hardy had to get back into the fray, and tonight he may just insert himself into one of the matches. While both the Hogan/Sting and Angle/Roode matches have been advertised to ban Immortal and Fortune from ringside, TNA is notorious for going back on that promise. It's safe to say Jeff will be making the save at some point during Bound for Glory, but I wouldn't put a heel swerve past them either. It's a bad move in my opinion, as Hardy's reputation is balancing that fragile line between in-ring character and real-life integrity, but it's been done before...
Didn't Quite Make the Cut...
According to ImpactWrestling.com, this match was pushed to the internet-only preshow, meaning the paying customers won't witness it unless they log on to TNA's Facebook page and check it out. I'm not too upset about this, because while I like Ink Inc and their newest female member Christina Von Eerie, I'm not a fan of Mexican America. I feel it's a huge waste of Hernandez' talent, and an annoying Mexican stereotype put on two guys from Texas and L.A. The fact that the match is for Tag Team gold means very little to me, as TNA has lost a lot of momentum in that division since taking the belts off of Beer Money and the Guns to focus on the Bound for Glory tournament. It sounds bad, but I'm hoping that Jessie Neal and Shannon Moore can pull out the victory just so we can see less of Mexican America...
X-Division Championship
Austin Aries vs. Brian Kendrick
As much as I appreciate that Kendrick has been trying to do his own thing on Impact and separate himself from the rest of the X-Division, I don't think it's working. The guy has had a dozen different gimmicks throughout his career, and if he wasn't such a skilled in-ring worker he couldn't find a job wrestling that broom Triple H put on the map last week. Lack of promo ability aside, Kendrick looked strong (finally) with his win over the champion on Impact this week, and at the very least we're going to get some classic X-Division action. Austin Aries is a wrestling god according to the internet and his legion of fans that have followed him all around the independents, so I expect nothing short of a 5 star match between these two veterans of the ring.
Prediction: Austin Aries retains the X-Division Championship. The former champion has put up a good fight, but I don't see him going much further in TNA. Aries on the other hand has a lot more opportunity, fan support (TNA fans rarely care about heel/face orientation), and is fresh since returning to the company.
TNA Women's Knockout Championship
Winter vs. Madison Rayne vs. Mickie James vs. Velvet Sky
Unfortunately, being a WWE fan for most of my life, I am very jaded when it comes to women's wrestling. I understand that the Knockout's used to draw some of the best numbers on TNA programming, and that there have been close to five star match-ups between women wrestlers. But in 2011, I'm not convinced that the KO division is that much better than the WWE's Diva divison. Mickie James was slowed down by the WWE machine and hasn't performed at the level we expected her to since coming to TNA. Madison Rayne is good, but who isn't sick of her on top of the KO's? Winter is again, good, but she's still relatively new and most people just lost interest after they turned her into some sort of witch... And the general consensus online is that if Velvet Sky wins the title, everyone is just going to hang themselves. So my pick to win is of course...
Prediction: Velvet Sky. It's actually quite simple. The event is Bound for Glory and she's the only women in the match never to have held the prize. You do the math...
Samoa Joe vs. Crimson vs. Matt Morgan
This match is really simple. Three large, main event level guys did not win the Bound for Glory tournament, and have decided to destroy each other because there's nothing better to do in TNA's upper-midcard. Joe is technically the heel here, while Crimson and Morgan share a sort of alliance, so we'll likely see a bit of double teaming until the inevitable Morgon/Crimson face-off. Like I said, this is a really simple feud, and I'm glad to see them keeping it that way. They didn't try to over-extend the story into anything ridiculous, they just kept it short, made it personal, and allowed the heat between Joe and Crimson to carry it all the way to tonight.
Prediction: Crimson has to win. The time for his streak to be legitimately broken has not yet come. That's a match you want to book well in advance, and advertise the heck out of it. Joe hasn't done much in quite some time, Morgan seems to have reached a plateau in his work, but Crimson has yet to hit any sort of barriers. The future is still very bright for the undefeated kid...
Full Metal Mayhem
Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn
Amidst a card of great technical matches, there always has to be a chaotic blood-bath. Who better to offer us extreme wrestling than the kings of ECW Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn. Once again we're looking at a very simple feud, but unlike most of the other matches on the card, this one probably has the least build. Oddly enough, that's fine for two reasons. One, because RVD and Lynn have enough history that they can pick up their feud at any time and have it make perfect sense. They're both hardcore and they hate each other. How hard is that to work with? The second reason is that RVD really only shines in a hardcore setting. He's an average wrestler, but he can't speak coherently to save his life and he's not putting on any clinics with the likes of Kurt Angle or AJ Styles. The kept this simple and saved time for other feuds that really needed the television time. The hardcore TNA fans aren't going to care about anything these two have to say. We just want to see them tear each other to pieces in one of the industry's most brutal matches.
Prediction: Rob Van Dam
Falls Count Anywhere
Bully Ray vs. Mr. Anderson
If you had advertised this match to me about six months ago I would have said it could main event the show. But now that Anderson has literally changed face/hell orientation a half dozen times since then, it's really hard to invest in anything his character does. One minute he's Jeff Hardy's mortal enemy, the next he's his best friend and tag partner. One minute he's fighting the evils of Immortal, the next he's selling out to them, and a quick second after that he's facing their best heel at Bound for Glory... All creative failures aside, these guys are still two of TNA's best workers at the moment and I'm looking forward to this match. Ray used to be one of my least favorite wrestlers in the business, but he has really shocked everyone with how well his singles push into the main event has gone over. If Kurt Angle wasn't going to take Bobby Roode to the top of the mountain, I'd say that Ray should have already been World champion by this point. And Anderson is...well he's Anderson. He's not the “Stone Cold” that many heralded him as back when he first came to TNA, but he's solid enough in the ring to make me excited to see these two go at it. Add to that the likely home-town atmosphere for the former Tag Team god (even though he basically told them to go to hell...) and I think we have quite a hot match on our hands.
Prediction: Bully Ray should win this match. They're going to want to send the fans home happy with the Sting/Hogan and main event segments, so I wouldn't doubt if this right here is the big heel victory. Not only that but Ray is the consistently solid character in this match that deserves the big Bound for Glory victory. I honestly can't believe I wrote that...
I Quit Match
AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels
These two are probably the most athletic men to ever go into an “I Quit” stipulation. Normally you see this brutal match given to your bigger guys to disguise the fact that they can't actual wrestle. In fact, the last time I was this excited for the stipulation it was the Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo feud after the death of Eddie Guerrero. That being said, who doesn't love a good Styles/Daniels match? It doesn't really matter who plays the heel or who is the face, because they're the two TNA originals that have a legitimate claim to the title of “best in the world”. And they have so much history that they really can just pop this match into whatever big event they choose; cue Bound for Glory. I love the slow, arrogant turn of Daniels. The jokes about beating Styles started as a fun poke at the Phenomenal One, but after weeks of torment it was great to see the two finally snap. Even without a great feud leading up to it, this match has the potential to take pro wrestling match of the year with only Cena/Punk in Chicago as legitimate competition. And that is very high praise indeed...
Prediction: AJ Styles will force Daniels to say “I Quit”. This match has to go on in the mid-card, because you don't want to kill the crowd right before the main event. People will be exhausted after this, and they're going to need something like Anderson/Bully Ray to wash it down with before the big World title match finish. You also don't want this to go before Hogan and Sting, because no matter what kind of swerve they pull, this match will overshadow it. That means there's virtually no harm to the face winning, and since Daniels has had all sorts of bragging rights it only seems natural to bring it all full-circle.
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode
The last time a title match was built this well going into a huge event, Chris Benoit won the World Heavyweight title at Wrestlemania 20. Kurt Angle, despite his recent bad publicity, is still the greatest pure wrestler the sport has ever seen. He is one of the only guys that can still hold a title and bring it instant prestige and value. Given his heavy involvement with Immortal, Kurt is a huge heel that can't even get the support of the marks in the Impact Zone. This entire angle was perfectly crafted for the young, incredibly talented Bobby Roode to step in and claim his place atop the world of professional wrestling. Or, as close as you can get being a champion in TNA... Putting him up against his Fortune brothers was brilliant. Not only did it put AJ, Kazarian, and James Storm in a much-needed spotlight, it gave us three fantastic Impact matches leading up to this title bout. The message is clear: Bobby Roode has beaten the best Impact Wrestling has to offer, and the only thing he has left to do is climb the final step and dethrone the reigning World Champion Kurt Angle. The only way they could possibly screw this up is to have Angle somehow retain the title. For once, I'm actually not against a run-in or swerve here, as long as it's done with creativity, tact, and adds to the match. Some of the best matches of all time have had climactic moments where factions hit the ring, only to be cleared out. I don't want Roode to get a cheap win, but if Fortune and Immortal have to brawl and take each other other leading to the conclusion, than let it happen. I'm not sure why, but I have faith in TNA creative to pull this match off. May god help us all...
Prediction: Bobby Roode to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
The Immortal vs. The Icon
This year's Bound for Glory has a stacked card of technically sound matches, intense rivalries, and a well-placed blood-bath. It has shaped up to be one of TNA's best events in a very long time. And yet...this is the one thing that could ruin it all. Despite all the careful planning and the payout from the rest of the night, here is the blemish that could leave a bad taste in every fan's mouth. One fight, not even a match, that could bring down a whole PPV card... I've been trying to remember that Hulk Hogan has defined professional wrestling, and that I need to stay positive going into this event to be able to fully enjoy myself. But after mulling it over for what seems like hours, I just can't think of a single situation that could make this segment turn out for the better. I just don't understand how TNA could responsibly let something like this happen... Hulk Hogan cannot wrestle a match, and he shouldn't be anywhere near the ring. This is a nostalgia play, pure and simple, and it's put out there more for Hogan's ego than anything else. I haven't heard from a single fan excited about this “fight”, especially after the wonderful news that Hogan will not be taking any “bumps” from Sting. I can remain hopeful that TNA pulls something random out of their ass and shocks me with a fantastic conclusion to Bound for Glory, but I have braced myself to forget this segment even happened if it goes as expected... It's just sad that something like this could potentially bring down a PPV that so many guys have worked to turn into a great event. If I were AJ Styles or Bobby Roode I would be having a serious conversation with my loved ones about whether it was worth it to stick around now that Hogan has resigned for another two years. At the very least this should have been the Ric Flair vs. Sting match that flopped on Impact several weeks ago. At this point I've come to terms with the likely quality of the angle. As more than a fan, as a human being I'm genuinely concerned with the health of a guy I spent my childhood admiring.
Prediction: Nobody wins. Sting may have his armed raised when all is said and done, but I can't predict a scenario in which anybody really wins from all of this.
So that's Bound for Glory in a nutshell. A slightly jaded, but still rather anticipated nutshell. AJ Styles and Daniels will steal the show, Roode's win will be a great moment in wrestling history, the X-Division will do their thing, the Mayhem match will be fun, and the rest of the card is solid enough to hold momentum throughout the PPV. For once I can say I am legitimately excited for a TNA event, and with Jeff Hardy scheduled to make an appearance and guys like Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, Ric Flair, and Kazarian not on the card I'm predicting some swerves and run-ins that will hopefully add to the night rather than take away from it.
Overall Bound for Glory prediction: B
The Curious Case of Jeff Hardy
First of all, Jeff Hardy is scheduled to make an appearance at Bound for Glory. After rescuing Beer Money and clearing the ring of Immortal, Jeff Hardy confronted a very angry “King of the Mountain” and declared that he will be live and on-hand for this huge event. While he's not booked in any sort of match, it's almost guaranteed that he'll interfere in something. Personally, I've loved the way TNA has handled Jeff Hardy's return. There are a lot of fans that are just flat-out done with the Hardys. For them, he's wasted too much of their time, money, and energy. Others might be sick of Jeff getting pushed into main event spots despite still struggling with the same demons that have plagued him for years. As a fan of good entertainment and even better professional wrestling, I don't much care about Hardy's personal issues. If he's able to compete in a healthy manor, I'd prefer him get back to work, both for his sake and that of the fans that want him around. Bringing him back slowly, getting him involved over time, and most importantly apologizing about the issue directly carried a lot of weight in my decision to give the Charismatic Enigma a 3rd (or 4th...) chance. But sooner or later Hardy had to get back into the fray, and tonight he may just insert himself into one of the matches. While both the Hogan/Sting and Angle/Roode matches have been advertised to ban Immortal and Fortune from ringside, TNA is notorious for going back on that promise. It's safe to say Jeff will be making the save at some point during Bound for Glory, but I wouldn't put a heel swerve past them either. It's a bad move in my opinion, as Hardy's reputation is balancing that fragile line between in-ring character and real-life integrity, but it's been done before...
Didn't Quite Make the Cut...
According to ImpactWrestling.com, this match was pushed to the internet-only preshow, meaning the paying customers won't witness it unless they log on to TNA's Facebook page and check it out. I'm not too upset about this, because while I like Ink Inc and their newest female member Christina Von Eerie, I'm not a fan of Mexican America. I feel it's a huge waste of Hernandez' talent, and an annoying Mexican stereotype put on two guys from Texas and L.A. The fact that the match is for Tag Team gold means very little to me, as TNA has lost a lot of momentum in that division since taking the belts off of Beer Money and the Guns to focus on the Bound for Glory tournament. It sounds bad, but I'm hoping that Jessie Neal and Shannon Moore can pull out the victory just so we can see less of Mexican America...
X-Division Championship
Austin Aries vs. Brian Kendrick
As much as I appreciate that Kendrick has been trying to do his own thing on Impact and separate himself from the rest of the X-Division, I don't think it's working. The guy has had a dozen different gimmicks throughout his career, and if he wasn't such a skilled in-ring worker he couldn't find a job wrestling that broom Triple H put on the map last week. Lack of promo ability aside, Kendrick looked strong (finally) with his win over the champion on Impact this week, and at the very least we're going to get some classic X-Division action. Austin Aries is a wrestling god according to the internet and his legion of fans that have followed him all around the independents, so I expect nothing short of a 5 star match between these two veterans of the ring.
Prediction: Austin Aries retains the X-Division Championship. The former champion has put up a good fight, but I don't see him going much further in TNA. Aries on the other hand has a lot more opportunity, fan support (TNA fans rarely care about heel/face orientation), and is fresh since returning to the company.
TNA Women's Knockout Championship
Winter vs. Madison Rayne vs. Mickie James vs. Velvet Sky
Unfortunately, being a WWE fan for most of my life, I am very jaded when it comes to women's wrestling. I understand that the Knockout's used to draw some of the best numbers on TNA programming, and that there have been close to five star match-ups between women wrestlers. But in 2011, I'm not convinced that the KO division is that much better than the WWE's Diva divison. Mickie James was slowed down by the WWE machine and hasn't performed at the level we expected her to since coming to TNA. Madison Rayne is good, but who isn't sick of her on top of the KO's? Winter is again, good, but she's still relatively new and most people just lost interest after they turned her into some sort of witch... And the general consensus online is that if Velvet Sky wins the title, everyone is just going to hang themselves. So my pick to win is of course...
Prediction: Velvet Sky. It's actually quite simple. The event is Bound for Glory and she's the only women in the match never to have held the prize. You do the math...
Samoa Joe vs. Crimson vs. Matt Morgan
This match is really simple. Three large, main event level guys did not win the Bound for Glory tournament, and have decided to destroy each other because there's nothing better to do in TNA's upper-midcard. Joe is technically the heel here, while Crimson and Morgan share a sort of alliance, so we'll likely see a bit of double teaming until the inevitable Morgon/Crimson face-off. Like I said, this is a really simple feud, and I'm glad to see them keeping it that way. They didn't try to over-extend the story into anything ridiculous, they just kept it short, made it personal, and allowed the heat between Joe and Crimson to carry it all the way to tonight.
Prediction: Crimson has to win. The time for his streak to be legitimately broken has not yet come. That's a match you want to book well in advance, and advertise the heck out of it. Joe hasn't done much in quite some time, Morgan seems to have reached a plateau in his work, but Crimson has yet to hit any sort of barriers. The future is still very bright for the undefeated kid...
Full Metal Mayhem
Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn
Amidst a card of great technical matches, there always has to be a chaotic blood-bath. Who better to offer us extreme wrestling than the kings of ECW Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn. Once again we're looking at a very simple feud, but unlike most of the other matches on the card, this one probably has the least build. Oddly enough, that's fine for two reasons. One, because RVD and Lynn have enough history that they can pick up their feud at any time and have it make perfect sense. They're both hardcore and they hate each other. How hard is that to work with? The second reason is that RVD really only shines in a hardcore setting. He's an average wrestler, but he can't speak coherently to save his life and he's not putting on any clinics with the likes of Kurt Angle or AJ Styles. The kept this simple and saved time for other feuds that really needed the television time. The hardcore TNA fans aren't going to care about anything these two have to say. We just want to see them tear each other to pieces in one of the industry's most brutal matches.
Prediction: Rob Van Dam
Falls Count Anywhere
Bully Ray vs. Mr. Anderson
If you had advertised this match to me about six months ago I would have said it could main event the show. But now that Anderson has literally changed face/hell orientation a half dozen times since then, it's really hard to invest in anything his character does. One minute he's Jeff Hardy's mortal enemy, the next he's his best friend and tag partner. One minute he's fighting the evils of Immortal, the next he's selling out to them, and a quick second after that he's facing their best heel at Bound for Glory... All creative failures aside, these guys are still two of TNA's best workers at the moment and I'm looking forward to this match. Ray used to be one of my least favorite wrestlers in the business, but he has really shocked everyone with how well his singles push into the main event has gone over. If Kurt Angle wasn't going to take Bobby Roode to the top of the mountain, I'd say that Ray should have already been World champion by this point. And Anderson is...well he's Anderson. He's not the “Stone Cold” that many heralded him as back when he first came to TNA, but he's solid enough in the ring to make me excited to see these two go at it. Add to that the likely home-town atmosphere for the former Tag Team god (even though he basically told them to go to hell...) and I think we have quite a hot match on our hands.
Prediction: Bully Ray should win this match. They're going to want to send the fans home happy with the Sting/Hogan and main event segments, so I wouldn't doubt if this right here is the big heel victory. Not only that but Ray is the consistently solid character in this match that deserves the big Bound for Glory victory. I honestly can't believe I wrote that...
I Quit Match
AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels
These two are probably the most athletic men to ever go into an “I Quit” stipulation. Normally you see this brutal match given to your bigger guys to disguise the fact that they can't actual wrestle. In fact, the last time I was this excited for the stipulation it was the Rey Mysterio vs. Chavo feud after the death of Eddie Guerrero. That being said, who doesn't love a good Styles/Daniels match? It doesn't really matter who plays the heel or who is the face, because they're the two TNA originals that have a legitimate claim to the title of “best in the world”. And they have so much history that they really can just pop this match into whatever big event they choose; cue Bound for Glory. I love the slow, arrogant turn of Daniels. The jokes about beating Styles started as a fun poke at the Phenomenal One, but after weeks of torment it was great to see the two finally snap. Even without a great feud leading up to it, this match has the potential to take pro wrestling match of the year with only Cena/Punk in Chicago as legitimate competition. And that is very high praise indeed...
Prediction: AJ Styles will force Daniels to say “I Quit”. This match has to go on in the mid-card, because you don't want to kill the crowd right before the main event. People will be exhausted after this, and they're going to need something like Anderson/Bully Ray to wash it down with before the big World title match finish. You also don't want this to go before Hogan and Sting, because no matter what kind of swerve they pull, this match will overshadow it. That means there's virtually no harm to the face winning, and since Daniels has had all sorts of bragging rights it only seems natural to bring it all full-circle.
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
Kurt Angle vs. Bobby Roode
The last time a title match was built this well going into a huge event, Chris Benoit won the World Heavyweight title at Wrestlemania 20. Kurt Angle, despite his recent bad publicity, is still the greatest pure wrestler the sport has ever seen. He is one of the only guys that can still hold a title and bring it instant prestige and value. Given his heavy involvement with Immortal, Kurt is a huge heel that can't even get the support of the marks in the Impact Zone. This entire angle was perfectly crafted for the young, incredibly talented Bobby Roode to step in and claim his place atop the world of professional wrestling. Or, as close as you can get being a champion in TNA... Putting him up against his Fortune brothers was brilliant. Not only did it put AJ, Kazarian, and James Storm in a much-needed spotlight, it gave us three fantastic Impact matches leading up to this title bout. The message is clear: Bobby Roode has beaten the best Impact Wrestling has to offer, and the only thing he has left to do is climb the final step and dethrone the reigning World Champion Kurt Angle. The only way they could possibly screw this up is to have Angle somehow retain the title. For once, I'm actually not against a run-in or swerve here, as long as it's done with creativity, tact, and adds to the match. Some of the best matches of all time have had climactic moments where factions hit the ring, only to be cleared out. I don't want Roode to get a cheap win, but if Fortune and Immortal have to brawl and take each other other leading to the conclusion, than let it happen. I'm not sure why, but I have faith in TNA creative to pull this match off. May god help us all...
Prediction: Bobby Roode to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship
The Immortal vs. The Icon
This year's Bound for Glory has a stacked card of technically sound matches, intense rivalries, and a well-placed blood-bath. It has shaped up to be one of TNA's best events in a very long time. And yet...this is the one thing that could ruin it all. Despite all the careful planning and the payout from the rest of the night, here is the blemish that could leave a bad taste in every fan's mouth. One fight, not even a match, that could bring down a whole PPV card... I've been trying to remember that Hulk Hogan has defined professional wrestling, and that I need to stay positive going into this event to be able to fully enjoy myself. But after mulling it over for what seems like hours, I just can't think of a single situation that could make this segment turn out for the better. I just don't understand how TNA could responsibly let something like this happen... Hulk Hogan cannot wrestle a match, and he shouldn't be anywhere near the ring. This is a nostalgia play, pure and simple, and it's put out there more for Hogan's ego than anything else. I haven't heard from a single fan excited about this “fight”, especially after the wonderful news that Hogan will not be taking any “bumps” from Sting. I can remain hopeful that TNA pulls something random out of their ass and shocks me with a fantastic conclusion to Bound for Glory, but I have braced myself to forget this segment even happened if it goes as expected... It's just sad that something like this could potentially bring down a PPV that so many guys have worked to turn into a great event. If I were AJ Styles or Bobby Roode I would be having a serious conversation with my loved ones about whether it was worth it to stick around now that Hogan has resigned for another two years. At the very least this should have been the Ric Flair vs. Sting match that flopped on Impact several weeks ago. At this point I've come to terms with the likely quality of the angle. As more than a fan, as a human being I'm genuinely concerned with the health of a guy I spent my childhood admiring.
Prediction: Nobody wins. Sting may have his armed raised when all is said and done, but I can't predict a scenario in which anybody really wins from all of this.
So that's Bound for Glory in a nutshell. A slightly jaded, but still rather anticipated nutshell. AJ Styles and Daniels will steal the show, Roode's win will be a great moment in wrestling history, the X-Division will do their thing, the Mayhem match will be fun, and the rest of the card is solid enough to hold momentum throughout the PPV. For once I can say I am legitimately excited for a TNA event, and with Jeff Hardy scheduled to make an appearance and guys like Abyss, Jeff Jarrett, Ric Flair, and Kazarian not on the card I'm predicting some swerves and run-ins that will hopefully add to the night rather than take away from it.
Overall Bound for Glory prediction: B
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Andy Reid's Last Stand?
Is this Sunday's game against the Washington Redskins the last stand for Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid? History shows that it just might be.
Only five NFL teams have ever started a season 1-4 and qualified for the playoffs since the current 12-team playoff format was implemented in 1990. All five of those teams won their sixth game to improve their record to 2-4.
Reid's 1-4 Eagles will face the NFC East division-leading Redskins (3-1) in what has to be considered a must win game. That's because no team has started the season 1-5 and made the playoff under the current format. Only the Cincinnati Bengals made the playoffs after a 1-5 start and that was all the way back in 1970. Again, this is a must-win game for Reid.
The problem is, this Eagles team has shown no signs of being able to win games. Their lone win was in Week 1 against the winless St. Louis Rams.
The Eagles have many problems and they all reflect poorly on the head coach. They lead the NFL in turnovers with 15 and have a minus-10 turnover ratio. In Reid's previous 12 seasons, the Eagles have had a negative turnover ratio only twice, in 2005 and 2007. Besides his first season in Philadelphia, those are the only two years that Reid has missed the playoffs.
Quarterback Michael Vick is the main culprit with the turnovers. He has thrown seven interceptions and lost three of his seven fumbles this year. And he has thrown at least one interception in 10 of his last 11 games dating back to last season.
While you might think that Vick's inability to protect the football isn't Reid's fault, you obviously forget that Reid brought Vick to the team and just insisted that the team sign him to a huge contract. It's Reid's fault that Vick is being paid as one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL, even though anybody who has access to the statistics and a functioning pair of eyes, knows that Vick is vastly overrated.
Reid has a wide array of offensive weapons, yet he neglected to build even a decent offensive line. The rookie center gets physically over-matched on every snap. The rookie first round draft pick at guard couldn't even get on the field until a journeyman was so inadequate the team decided they had nothing to lose. The right tackle never played the position before this season. And the group can't get a single yard in short yardage situations, which has led to their futility in the red zone.
That brings us to the defensive side of the ball, where most of the real problems reside on this 1-4 team that many predicted to win the NFC East.
It was destined to be a disaster from the start when Reid hired his offensive line coach to be the defensive coordinator, even though Juan Castillo had never coached on the defensive side of the ball in the NFL. But the worst part about that hiring is that Reid forced himself into that corner.
You see, Reid hired defensive line coach Jim Washburn before he started interviewing defensive coordinators. While Washburn is a highly respected NFL coach, he also runs a very unique defensive line set, called the "wide nine". The "wide nine" sets the ends out wide and has all four down linemen go after the quarterback on every play, almost ignoring the run. It works in theory by producing big sack numbers, which the Eagles have actually generated this year. The problem is that it leaves huge gaps for opposing running backs to run through and allows offensive linemen to get right on the linebackers.
The Eagles didn't bother to sign even a decent linebacker and the results have led directly to that 1-4 record. The scheme worked well for Washburn in Tennessee because he had a good middle linebacker in Steven Tulloch. Tulloch was a free agent, but Reid decided he liked a rookie fourth-rounder in that spot instead. Tulloch signed with the 5-0 Detroit Lions, who run the same scheme, while the Eagles are at the bottom of the defensive rushing rankings.
Getting back to Castillo, the reason Reid hired him is that nobody else wanted the job. Other candidates didn't want to come in and be forced to run the "wide nine" scheme without a decent linebacker corps. So Reid essentially limited his options by hiring Washburn first. The reason Reid hired Washburn was because his offense always had so much trouble against those defensive fronts. The reason they had so much trouble is that Reid never runs the damn ball and since the "wide nine" is built to rush the passer, it's easy to see why it worked so well against Reid's offenses.
The rookie middle linebacker was moved to the outside and then moved to the bench. Yet teams are still running the ball straight down the Eagles throats. This was an obvious problem before the season even started to everyone with a clue, yet Reid didn't see it that way.
The team traded quarterback Kevin Kolb for a draft pick and a starting cornerback, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, then proceeded to sign the biggest name in free agency to a huge contract. That fact that Nnamdi Asomugha also played cornerback and the Eagles already had a Pro Bowl cornerback in Asante Samuel, didn't seem to matter to Reid. Bring in the big names and his new defensive coordinator will figure out how to use three players in two starting spots. Too bad it hasn't worked out that way.
Asomugha has surprisingly struggled in the zone coverages that the Eagles are using and Cromartie and Samuel shy away from tackles like Reid shies away from a salad bar. The subpar safeties aren't helping matters either. The team let safety Quintin Mikell go in free agency and never adequately replaced Brian Dawkins.
Speaking of Dawkins, another problem with Reid's hand-picked players is a complete and utter lack of heart. The team doesn't tackle well and other teams are not afraid to go over the middle since there isn't a single defensive player on the Eagles capable of laying a big hit on a receiver. When Dawkins was here, and even Mikell to a lesser extent, receivers didn't run across the middle without a care in the world like they do now. Intimidation is still a part of a good defense in spite of the NFL fining every borderline hit.
Another thing missing from this team is leadership.
When Dawkins was here he was the leader of the whole team. He led by example and by his words. He could fire up his teammates with a big speech and then go out on the field and wreak havoc on the opposing team. There isn't a single person on this current team with the credibility to be a leader.
Vick is considered the leader of the offense by default since he is the quarterback, but he is a turnover machine this season and doesn't have much pull with the defensive players. The offensive linemen are either young or quiet. LeSean McCoy is quiet and DeSean Jackson is more of a finger-pointing punk than a leader.
On the defensive side of the ball, there isn't even an option. Asomugha would normally be the best choice, but he's new to the team and still learning this horrible defense. Samuel is the defensive version of Jackson. The linebackers and safeties are all young and terrible. Trent Cole isn't a vocal leader and, like Asomugha, Cullen Jenkins is new to the team.
If you don't think strong leadership among the players is important, then think about the fact that Dawkins never allowed his defense to give up fourth quarter leads almost every week. Leadership matters and this team doesn't have any.
Since Reid picked every player on this roster that failing is on him. He assembled a bunch of stars and can't get them to gel as a team. Hey, what do you expect from a man who couldn't even keep his own sons out of trouble?
Speaking of the defense, it's now obvious that I was right all these years about the defense carrying Reid's teams during the early years of his tenure as head coach. Jim Johnson was a mastermind and Reid hasn't won a single game since his death. That is not a coincidence.
Then there is Reid's game-day failures.
I have long contended that Reid is the worst game-day coach in the NFL. He almost never runs the football in spite of the fact that McCoy is one of the most talented backs in the NFL. Reid never met a replay challenge he couldn't botch. He is simply the worst time-management coach in the NFL. And he is absolutely incapable of making any in-game adjustments. These are not my opinions, they are the facts of Reid's 12+ years of coaching the Eagles.
Then there is the matter of how bad Reid is at drafting players. There are actually those out there who disagree with me that Reid couldn't find a talented player in the NFL Hall of Fame. Those people would be wrong. The reason the team had to spend so much money on free agents this past offseason is that Reid's draft day mistakes have left this team woefully short on talent.
The Eagles front office is too cheap to fire Reid during the season though. Reid would have to not win another game for team president Joe Banner to fire him before the end of the season. This team values their public image almost as much as it values their money.
Unfortunately, Reid always manages to win a few games late in the season to make his record look better than it really is. I would say that stinks because it costs the team spots in the draft, but he is terrible at the draft remember? What's the difference?
Plus the Eagles have a bye after the Redskins game and Reid is a perfect 12-0 in games after the bye. His teams are also 65-27-1 in November and December, so there is a chance Reid could win enough games to actually get this team around .500 and save his job.
That is the doomsday scenario for any true Eagles fans. This team has fallen and it can't get up. That's because it's stuck under the weight of Reid's incompetence.
The more likely scenario is that this team continues to under-perform in spite of the fact that Banner declared that the team was "all in" after the free agent spending spree. In that scenario, the team would have no choice but to finally set Eagles fans free from the Andy Reid regime that has produced zero Lombardi Trophies.
Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel was just put on notice by his GM and Manuel actually won a World Series. Reid has never won a thing and it's time for him to move on. All he needs to do is continue down the same path he has been following all year and he'll force the Eagles to make a move.
The next step down that path takes place on Sunday in Washington. That's when we'll get to see which way Reid takes the Eagles.
Only five NFL teams have ever started a season 1-4 and qualified for the playoffs since the current 12-team playoff format was implemented in 1990. All five of those teams won their sixth game to improve their record to 2-4.
Reid's 1-4 Eagles will face the NFC East division-leading Redskins (3-1) in what has to be considered a must win game. That's because no team has started the season 1-5 and made the playoff under the current format. Only the Cincinnati Bengals made the playoffs after a 1-5 start and that was all the way back in 1970. Again, this is a must-win game for Reid.
The problem is, this Eagles team has shown no signs of being able to win games. Their lone win was in Week 1 against the winless St. Louis Rams.
The Eagles have many problems and they all reflect poorly on the head coach. They lead the NFL in turnovers with 15 and have a minus-10 turnover ratio. In Reid's previous 12 seasons, the Eagles have had a negative turnover ratio only twice, in 2005 and 2007. Besides his first season in Philadelphia, those are the only two years that Reid has missed the playoffs.
Quarterback Michael Vick is the main culprit with the turnovers. He has thrown seven interceptions and lost three of his seven fumbles this year. And he has thrown at least one interception in 10 of his last 11 games dating back to last season.
While you might think that Vick's inability to protect the football isn't Reid's fault, you obviously forget that Reid brought Vick to the team and just insisted that the team sign him to a huge contract. It's Reid's fault that Vick is being paid as one of the elite quarterbacks in the NFL, even though anybody who has access to the statistics and a functioning pair of eyes, knows that Vick is vastly overrated.
Reid has a wide array of offensive weapons, yet he neglected to build even a decent offensive line. The rookie center gets physically over-matched on every snap. The rookie first round draft pick at guard couldn't even get on the field until a journeyman was so inadequate the team decided they had nothing to lose. The right tackle never played the position before this season. And the group can't get a single yard in short yardage situations, which has led to their futility in the red zone.
That brings us to the defensive side of the ball, where most of the real problems reside on this 1-4 team that many predicted to win the NFC East.
It was destined to be a disaster from the start when Reid hired his offensive line coach to be the defensive coordinator, even though Juan Castillo had never coached on the defensive side of the ball in the NFL. But the worst part about that hiring is that Reid forced himself into that corner.
You see, Reid hired defensive line coach Jim Washburn before he started interviewing defensive coordinators. While Washburn is a highly respected NFL coach, he also runs a very unique defensive line set, called the "wide nine". The "wide nine" sets the ends out wide and has all four down linemen go after the quarterback on every play, almost ignoring the run. It works in theory by producing big sack numbers, which the Eagles have actually generated this year. The problem is that it leaves huge gaps for opposing running backs to run through and allows offensive linemen to get right on the linebackers.
The Eagles didn't bother to sign even a decent linebacker and the results have led directly to that 1-4 record. The scheme worked well for Washburn in Tennessee because he had a good middle linebacker in Steven Tulloch. Tulloch was a free agent, but Reid decided he liked a rookie fourth-rounder in that spot instead. Tulloch signed with the 5-0 Detroit Lions, who run the same scheme, while the Eagles are at the bottom of the defensive rushing rankings.
Getting back to Castillo, the reason Reid hired him is that nobody else wanted the job. Other candidates didn't want to come in and be forced to run the "wide nine" scheme without a decent linebacker corps. So Reid essentially limited his options by hiring Washburn first. The reason Reid hired Washburn was because his offense always had so much trouble against those defensive fronts. The reason they had so much trouble is that Reid never runs the damn ball and since the "wide nine" is built to rush the passer, it's easy to see why it worked so well against Reid's offenses.
The rookie middle linebacker was moved to the outside and then moved to the bench. Yet teams are still running the ball straight down the Eagles throats. This was an obvious problem before the season even started to everyone with a clue, yet Reid didn't see it that way.
The team traded quarterback Kevin Kolb for a draft pick and a starting cornerback, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, then proceeded to sign the biggest name in free agency to a huge contract. That fact that Nnamdi Asomugha also played cornerback and the Eagles already had a Pro Bowl cornerback in Asante Samuel, didn't seem to matter to Reid. Bring in the big names and his new defensive coordinator will figure out how to use three players in two starting spots. Too bad it hasn't worked out that way.
Asomugha has surprisingly struggled in the zone coverages that the Eagles are using and Cromartie and Samuel shy away from tackles like Reid shies away from a salad bar. The subpar safeties aren't helping matters either. The team let safety Quintin Mikell go in free agency and never adequately replaced Brian Dawkins.
Speaking of Dawkins, another problem with Reid's hand-picked players is a complete and utter lack of heart. The team doesn't tackle well and other teams are not afraid to go over the middle since there isn't a single defensive player on the Eagles capable of laying a big hit on a receiver. When Dawkins was here, and even Mikell to a lesser extent, receivers didn't run across the middle without a care in the world like they do now. Intimidation is still a part of a good defense in spite of the NFL fining every borderline hit.
Another thing missing from this team is leadership.
When Dawkins was here he was the leader of the whole team. He led by example and by his words. He could fire up his teammates with a big speech and then go out on the field and wreak havoc on the opposing team. There isn't a single person on this current team with the credibility to be a leader.
Vick is considered the leader of the offense by default since he is the quarterback, but he is a turnover machine this season and doesn't have much pull with the defensive players. The offensive linemen are either young or quiet. LeSean McCoy is quiet and DeSean Jackson is more of a finger-pointing punk than a leader.
On the defensive side of the ball, there isn't even an option. Asomugha would normally be the best choice, but he's new to the team and still learning this horrible defense. Samuel is the defensive version of Jackson. The linebackers and safeties are all young and terrible. Trent Cole isn't a vocal leader and, like Asomugha, Cullen Jenkins is new to the team.
If you don't think strong leadership among the players is important, then think about the fact that Dawkins never allowed his defense to give up fourth quarter leads almost every week. Leadership matters and this team doesn't have any.
Since Reid picked every player on this roster that failing is on him. He assembled a bunch of stars and can't get them to gel as a team. Hey, what do you expect from a man who couldn't even keep his own sons out of trouble?
Speaking of the defense, it's now obvious that I was right all these years about the defense carrying Reid's teams during the early years of his tenure as head coach. Jim Johnson was a mastermind and Reid hasn't won a single game since his death. That is not a coincidence.
Then there is Reid's game-day failures.
I have long contended that Reid is the worst game-day coach in the NFL. He almost never runs the football in spite of the fact that McCoy is one of the most talented backs in the NFL. Reid never met a replay challenge he couldn't botch. He is simply the worst time-management coach in the NFL. And he is absolutely incapable of making any in-game adjustments. These are not my opinions, they are the facts of Reid's 12+ years of coaching the Eagles.
Then there is the matter of how bad Reid is at drafting players. There are actually those out there who disagree with me that Reid couldn't find a talented player in the NFL Hall of Fame. Those people would be wrong. The reason the team had to spend so much money on free agents this past offseason is that Reid's draft day mistakes have left this team woefully short on talent.
The Eagles front office is too cheap to fire Reid during the season though. Reid would have to not win another game for team president Joe Banner to fire him before the end of the season. This team values their public image almost as much as it values their money.
Unfortunately, Reid always manages to win a few games late in the season to make his record look better than it really is. I would say that stinks because it costs the team spots in the draft, but he is terrible at the draft remember? What's the difference?
Plus the Eagles have a bye after the Redskins game and Reid is a perfect 12-0 in games after the bye. His teams are also 65-27-1 in November and December, so there is a chance Reid could win enough games to actually get this team around .500 and save his job.
That is the doomsday scenario for any true Eagles fans. This team has fallen and it can't get up. That's because it's stuck under the weight of Reid's incompetence.
The more likely scenario is that this team continues to under-perform in spite of the fact that Banner declared that the team was "all in" after the free agent spending spree. In that scenario, the team would have no choice but to finally set Eagles fans free from the Andy Reid regime that has produced zero Lombardi Trophies.
Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel was just put on notice by his GM and Manuel actually won a World Series. Reid has never won a thing and it's time for him to move on. All he needs to do is continue down the same path he has been following all year and he'll force the Eagles to make a move.
The next step down that path takes place on Sunday in Washington. That's when we'll get to see which way Reid takes the Eagles.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
King Theo Epstein the Overrated?
So Theo Epstein is going to the Chicago Cubs. I wish him luck. I think it would be great for baseball and the city of Chicago for the Cubbies to win a World Series. But how is it that the Brian Cashman of The New York Yankees gets so little credit as a GM because of his high payroll and Theo Epstein gets lauded and credited with being a great GM with the 2nd highest payroll? What? He was only outspending Tampa Bay by $120 million instead of $160 so he has to be smart? Yes I am a self-admitted Yankee fan and while there are likable qualities to both Cashman and Epstein, I think the correct analysis is to evaluate them in the framework of their unique situations.
Both have proven themselves in the context or running high payroll teams, standing up to ownership and adding a small measure of sanity as they both look to blend and develop a farm system in conjunction with overpaying free agents. However, does this translate to genius or to success with teams that don't have an absurd payroll?
In basketball if a team was on the brink of winning or competing for a championship, and Phil Jackson was available to coach, it is a no-brainer to hire him. But what about if you were in rebuilding mode? Would the Zen Master be your first choice? Maybe, maybe not.
Formerly of ESPN and now with the MLB Network, Peter Gammons referred to Epstein as "King Theo" for landing Curt Schilling in a trade prior to the 2004 season. What a brilliant move, trading for arguably the most clutch pitcher of his time in his prime. How did this trade come about? Lets see, Arizona could no longer afford Schilling and had to move him. Of the three teams that were capable of pulling off the trade, the Philadelphia Phillies did not have the money to pay him. Arizona still had their panties in a bunch with the Yankees over their signing David Wells after Zona thought they had a handshake agreement with Wells. As a result, the Diamondbacks were asking for a lot more/better players from the Yankees. That left the Red Sox all by themselves. Courting Schilling on Thanksgiving was a nice touch but really not necessary, nor proof of genius.
But lets not forget that many key pieces to the 04 team and breaking the curse of the Bambino were already in place prior to Epstein assuming his throne. Including world series MVP Manny Ramirez, the guy who broke open game seven in Yankee stadium with a grand slam, Johnny Damon, the still six inning dominant Pedro Martinez, the very solid Derek Lowe, catcher Jason Varitek and the list goes on.
In 2003 the Red Sox lost in part because of their bullpen. Who was the best closer available on the free agent market? Well any barroom fan could have told you it was Keith Folke of the Oakland A's. I don't know how he thought of this, but King Theo outbid the A's and signed him. (The Yankees had some reliever named Mariano Rivera so they weren't in on the bidding) Pure genius right?
Epstein also gets credited with acquiring the following players for the 04 team: David Ortiz and Kevin Millar. And lets give Theo some credit for over the years not trading players from his farm system such as Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsberry, Kevin Youkilis and Jonathan Papelbon. Yes he got Josh Beckett in a trade but he had to give up Hanley Ramirez to get him. He may have overpaid for him in his last contract but on balance still a plus a move since Beckett was key in a second world series in a decade. However, like Adrian Gonzalez, Beckett was a known commodity with only a handful of teams having the assets to make the trade and the money to sign or pay the player. It is easier to be smart when you have greater resources and limited competition, no?
Here are other names added during the reign of Theo: Jeremy Giambi, Pedro Astocio, Pokey Reese, Byung-Hyun Kim, Ramiro Mendoza, Matt Clement (The Sox less ridiculed version of Carl Pavano), Wade Miller, Jose Cruz Jr., Coco Crisp, Wily Mo Pena, Daisuke Matsusaka, J.D Drew, Bartolo Colon, Brad Penny, John Smoltz, Eric Gagne,Edgar Renteria, Mike Cameron, John Lackey and Carl Crawford. Epstein also made major efforts and failed to land Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira (lucky him).
There are plenty of mistakes that get overlooked when you win. Mistakes that teams with lesser payrolls can't afford to make or overcome.
The media loves to credit certain people. They love the story of Theo. With the Yankees they the loved story of Joe Torre. With one team it's the manager leading the team, with Boston it was the GM. In football, Bill Parcells could be a team's hot dog stand vendor, but if they win he is the one who lead them to victory.
Beware King Theo, unless he comes from your farm system in Chicago don't expect to sign the next Curt Shilling, or Keith Folke. You will be watching the Yankees, your new genius replacement in Boston, or perhaps another market with more money to spend then you sign him.
Fate may still smile upon Theo is Chicago, with the Yankees and Red Sox not likely to be bidders on Pujols. If the Cubs sign him (or Prince Fielder) it won't be because of genius it will be because they're the highest bidder…
Both have proven themselves in the context or running high payroll teams, standing up to ownership and adding a small measure of sanity as they both look to blend and develop a farm system in conjunction with overpaying free agents. However, does this translate to genius or to success with teams that don't have an absurd payroll?
In basketball if a team was on the brink of winning or competing for a championship, and Phil Jackson was available to coach, it is a no-brainer to hire him. But what about if you were in rebuilding mode? Would the Zen Master be your first choice? Maybe, maybe not.
Formerly of ESPN and now with the MLB Network, Peter Gammons referred to Epstein as "King Theo" for landing Curt Schilling in a trade prior to the 2004 season. What a brilliant move, trading for arguably the most clutch pitcher of his time in his prime. How did this trade come about? Lets see, Arizona could no longer afford Schilling and had to move him. Of the three teams that were capable of pulling off the trade, the Philadelphia Phillies did not have the money to pay him. Arizona still had their panties in a bunch with the Yankees over their signing David Wells after Zona thought they had a handshake agreement with Wells. As a result, the Diamondbacks were asking for a lot more/better players from the Yankees. That left the Red Sox all by themselves. Courting Schilling on Thanksgiving was a nice touch but really not necessary, nor proof of genius.
But lets not forget that many key pieces to the 04 team and breaking the curse of the Bambino were already in place prior to Epstein assuming his throne. Including world series MVP Manny Ramirez, the guy who broke open game seven in Yankee stadium with a grand slam, Johnny Damon, the still six inning dominant Pedro Martinez, the very solid Derek Lowe, catcher Jason Varitek and the list goes on.
In 2003 the Red Sox lost in part because of their bullpen. Who was the best closer available on the free agent market? Well any barroom fan could have told you it was Keith Folke of the Oakland A's. I don't know how he thought of this, but King Theo outbid the A's and signed him. (The Yankees had some reliever named Mariano Rivera so they weren't in on the bidding) Pure genius right?
Epstein also gets credited with acquiring the following players for the 04 team: David Ortiz and Kevin Millar. And lets give Theo some credit for over the years not trading players from his farm system such as Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsberry, Kevin Youkilis and Jonathan Papelbon. Yes he got Josh Beckett in a trade but he had to give up Hanley Ramirez to get him. He may have overpaid for him in his last contract but on balance still a plus a move since Beckett was key in a second world series in a decade. However, like Adrian Gonzalez, Beckett was a known commodity with only a handful of teams having the assets to make the trade and the money to sign or pay the player. It is easier to be smart when you have greater resources and limited competition, no?
Here are other names added during the reign of Theo: Jeremy Giambi, Pedro Astocio, Pokey Reese, Byung-Hyun Kim, Ramiro Mendoza, Matt Clement (The Sox less ridiculed version of Carl Pavano), Wade Miller, Jose Cruz Jr., Coco Crisp, Wily Mo Pena, Daisuke Matsusaka, J.D Drew, Bartolo Colon, Brad Penny, John Smoltz, Eric Gagne,Edgar Renteria, Mike Cameron, John Lackey and Carl Crawford. Epstein also made major efforts and failed to land Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira (lucky him).
There are plenty of mistakes that get overlooked when you win. Mistakes that teams with lesser payrolls can't afford to make or overcome.
The media loves to credit certain people. They love the story of Theo. With the Yankees they the loved story of Joe Torre. With one team it's the manager leading the team, with Boston it was the GM. In football, Bill Parcells could be a team's hot dog stand vendor, but if they win he is the one who lead them to victory.
Beware King Theo, unless he comes from your farm system in Chicago don't expect to sign the next Curt Shilling, or Keith Folke. You will be watching the Yankees, your new genius replacement in Boston, or perhaps another market with more money to spend then you sign him.
Fate may still smile upon Theo is Chicago, with the Yankees and Red Sox not likely to be bidders on Pujols. If the Cubs sign him (or Prince Fielder) it won't be because of genius it will be because they're the highest bidder…
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
The NBA season is officially in jeopardy. For months basketball fans grasped on the feeble notion that maybe the two sides would come together and make a deal. Unfortunately, the owners and the players union according to reports via Yahoo! and ESPN NBA are still far apart in their negotiation. First it was the lock out.. Then came the cancelling of summer league, training camp, and pre-season games.
All okay according to fans like myself: 'Its all right.. they will get it together..its events that must be sacrifice in order to let these guys work things out'
But here we are deep into October and things have suddenly turned grim. The cancellation of the first two weeks of the season pretty much ensures that games will be cancelled. Despite comments by David Stern, its hard to believe that the games falling on those two weeks can be made up during the rest of the regular season. Not only does this create more back to backs or Stern forbid 3 games in a row.. but.. It would also be nearly impossible to book the stadiums, when many like The Staples Center have schedules planned out for months in advance.
So games will inevitably be cancelled.
And it definitely gets me mad as a die-hard fan of the NBA. Not only do I not get enough basketball (Im already going through considerable withdrawals) but it tarnishes a season of accomplishments. Giving us another asterisk season. The last time a lock out occurred (1999) every accomplishment was degraded by saying that it came in a year where it was easier to win, due to smaller amount of games. The Spurs became champions.. oh but as Phil Jackson said.. they should have an asterisk placed next to that stat since it happened in a shortened season.
For fans who place more attention to who is NBA regular season MVP and NBA Champion, than they do to who became president.. that means a lot.
Who will get the downgraded accomplishment this year?
If Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers wins a title.. it will be: oh he has 5 rings and that easy one he got because of the lock out..
If Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks wins a second title in a row.. it will be: Oh but his back-to-back doesnt compare to others.. he did it in a shortened season.
If LeBron James of the Miami Heat wins his very first ring, there will be an endless summer of: How about he wins one in a regular season, like the rest of the champs.. he had it easy.
And so on and so on... An endless continual rant of how this season meant nothing.
Now to most, it wouldn't seem like it would matter but to obsessive fans of the NBA , its a tragedy.
So I for one start mourning now, this NBA debacle.. Players wanting to keep a bigger piece of the pie and The Owner trying their best to control the pie. Honestly, I don't particularly care about who wins out in the end or who's demands are met.. I just want more freakin' basketball..
How many games will we get 70? 65? 50?
And dare I say it.. None?
Unfortunately as a rare a notion as it may be at this point, it is very possible that we may have a cancelled season. Which means ill finally have to submit to being admited into the John Wooden Rehab Clinic. A place to learn about how to cope with life after losing the NBA..
But for the moment I will keep hoping that things get worked out some how and that the fans don't continue to suffer, through what seems like greed of men. Millionaires fighting over collecting a few extra millions.
All I want is to get the season started.. Watch the NBA's greatest players in Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Derek Rose, Blake Griffin.. and so many other athletic freaks.. I want to see some crisp passes, some connecting alley oops, and some posterizing dunks.. I want to see a player that is husstling so much that he creates a turn over.. Or maybe a nasty block, a sick rejection, that makes the other player run back to the other end of the court with his head lowered in shame and new found humility..
I want to be able to forget my worries every night I turn on my local sports team.. and revel in the rivalry for 48 minutes..
I want to scream due to emotional turmoil when my team loses a game at the buzzer..
And I want to feel the euphoria and culminating collective satisfaction of sticking with my team trough highs and lows and seeing them win the NBA Championship..
But before that happens..
We need these Owners and Players to get their act together, make concessions, act like freakin' big boys.. and come to some kind of agreement.. so we can get this NBA season started.. with the least amount of games lost in the process.
All okay according to fans like myself: 'Its all right.. they will get it together..its events that must be sacrifice in order to let these guys work things out'
But here we are deep into October and things have suddenly turned grim. The cancellation of the first two weeks of the season pretty much ensures that games will be cancelled. Despite comments by David Stern, its hard to believe that the games falling on those two weeks can be made up during the rest of the regular season. Not only does this create more back to backs or Stern forbid 3 games in a row.. but.. It would also be nearly impossible to book the stadiums, when many like The Staples Center have schedules planned out for months in advance.
So games will inevitably be cancelled.
And it definitely gets me mad as a die-hard fan of the NBA. Not only do I not get enough basketball (Im already going through considerable withdrawals) but it tarnishes a season of accomplishments. Giving us another asterisk season. The last time a lock out occurred (1999) every accomplishment was degraded by saying that it came in a year where it was easier to win, due to smaller amount of games. The Spurs became champions.. oh but as Phil Jackson said.. they should have an asterisk placed next to that stat since it happened in a shortened season.
For fans who place more attention to who is NBA regular season MVP and NBA Champion, than they do to who became president.. that means a lot.
Who will get the downgraded accomplishment this year?
If Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers wins a title.. it will be: oh he has 5 rings and that easy one he got because of the lock out..
If Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks wins a second title in a row.. it will be: Oh but his back-to-back doesnt compare to others.. he did it in a shortened season.
If LeBron James of the Miami Heat wins his very first ring, there will be an endless summer of: How about he wins one in a regular season, like the rest of the champs.. he had it easy.
And so on and so on... An endless continual rant of how this season meant nothing.
Now to most, it wouldn't seem like it would matter but to obsessive fans of the NBA , its a tragedy.
So I for one start mourning now, this NBA debacle.. Players wanting to keep a bigger piece of the pie and The Owner trying their best to control the pie. Honestly, I don't particularly care about who wins out in the end or who's demands are met.. I just want more freakin' basketball..
How many games will we get 70? 65? 50?
And dare I say it.. None?
Unfortunately as a rare a notion as it may be at this point, it is very possible that we may have a cancelled season. Which means ill finally have to submit to being admited into the John Wooden Rehab Clinic. A place to learn about how to cope with life after losing the NBA..
But for the moment I will keep hoping that things get worked out some how and that the fans don't continue to suffer, through what seems like greed of men. Millionaires fighting over collecting a few extra millions.
All I want is to get the season started.. Watch the NBA's greatest players in Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Derek Rose, Blake Griffin.. and so many other athletic freaks.. I want to see some crisp passes, some connecting alley oops, and some posterizing dunks.. I want to see a player that is husstling so much that he creates a turn over.. Or maybe a nasty block, a sick rejection, that makes the other player run back to the other end of the court with his head lowered in shame and new found humility..
I want to be able to forget my worries every night I turn on my local sports team.. and revel in the rivalry for 48 minutes..
I want to scream due to emotional turmoil when my team loses a game at the buzzer..
And I want to feel the euphoria and culminating collective satisfaction of sticking with my team trough highs and lows and seeing them win the NBA Championship..
But before that happens..
We need these Owners and Players to get their act together, make concessions, act like freakin' big boys.. and come to some kind of agreement.. so we can get this NBA season started.. with the least amount of games lost in the process.
Widespread respect for UFC Lightweight Champ Frankie Edgar more than overdue after UFC 136 performance
UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar has struggled with getting the respect of the MMA world on a widespread basis throughout his career, but after an epic comeback performance against Gray Maynard at UFC 136 it's more than past time for him to get his due.
Edgar made his way up the ranks very much under the radar. While he scored impressive victories over Tyson Griffin, Mark Bocek, and Spencer Fisher in his first year with the UFC back in 2007, he didn't exactly light the division on fire. Then he lost for the first, and to date only, time in his first bout with Maynard to kick off 2008.
However, he bounced back with a win over Hermes Franca that earned him a shot at Sean Sherk, a shot that began to show just what type of potential there was in the New Jersey native.
His three round performance against Sherk was really the first time his boxing skills began to gain notice. He displayed excellent foot work, popping in and out with his strikes and keeping Sherk completely off his game for the entire 15 minute fight. He then dominated Matt Veach in his most impressive performance at the time, securing a rear naked choke win to punch his ticket to a title shot at B.J. Penn.
Edgar wasn't expected to beat Penn at UFC 112. There was no reason to believe that Edgar, despite showing some marked improvement over the previous year, had the tools to stop the man who had dominated the lightweight division for some time.
But Edgar hung with him for 25 minutes, flustering Penn with his speed and ability to get in and out with strikes. Though many felt he didn't do enough to take the fight, and felt Penn got robbed by the decision, Edgar still captured the belt and was forced to prove himself worthy in an immediate rematch.
Edgar more than accomplished that in their rematch last August, employing a similar gameplan to the first fight but to much greater effect, leaving no doubt he was the better fighter on that night at UFC 118.
That win set up the rematch with Maynard at UFC 125, and after Edgar displayed tremendous heart to make it to a draw in that fight, the UFC once again forced him to prove himself the better fighter than his opponent with the immediate rematch.
Saturday's fight began in almost identical fashion to their UFC 125 fight. Edgar set the pace early with his striking game, landing combinations and backing away from Maynard's counters, but then Maynard connected on an uppercut that hurt Edgar and began the assault. He had Edgar bloodied and on rubber legs, hitting him with big shots all across the cage as he chased him down.
Maynard stayed more patient than in the last fight, however, and appeared to have more energy to take the fight over after Edgar survived.
Then he failed to follow up.
Edgar recovered between rounds, and Maynard offered nothing in the way of offense in the second. Edgar slowly got himself back into a rhythm, and by the third round completely controlled the pace.
Due to some bad judging that failed to give Maynard a 10-8 first round on two judges' scorecards, Edgar entered the Championship rounds ahead after bouncing back from the first round. Instead of leaving things in the judges hands, however, Edgar found a way to put a stamp on this fight and rivalry.
Late in the fourth round, Edgar shot in for a takedown. As Maynard stopped it and scrambled, Edgar landed an uppercut on the way back up that rocked him. Maynard attempted to recover, but as he stumbled to his feet, Edgar accomplished what he couldn't, and followed up. He cracked him with consecutive overhand rights at the cage that sent him crashing to the ground, and landed a series of punches that forced the referee to stop the fight.
It was only Edgar's third stoppage by strikes, but once again showcased the incredible ability this Champion has to survive adversity and adapt his game. He's constantly improving, and has more heart than perhaps any fighter on the UFC's roster.
This was his breakout performance. Even after beating B.J. Penn twice, Edgar failed to quell the doubters. After coming back twice from hellacious first round beatings against the only man that holds a victory over him, there's no doubt he's one of the very best fighters in the world, and deserves to be seen by everyone in that regard.
Edgar made his way up the ranks very much under the radar. While he scored impressive victories over Tyson Griffin, Mark Bocek, and Spencer Fisher in his first year with the UFC back in 2007, he didn't exactly light the division on fire. Then he lost for the first, and to date only, time in his first bout with Maynard to kick off 2008.
However, he bounced back with a win over Hermes Franca that earned him a shot at Sean Sherk, a shot that began to show just what type of potential there was in the New Jersey native.
His three round performance against Sherk was really the first time his boxing skills began to gain notice. He displayed excellent foot work, popping in and out with his strikes and keeping Sherk completely off his game for the entire 15 minute fight. He then dominated Matt Veach in his most impressive performance at the time, securing a rear naked choke win to punch his ticket to a title shot at B.J. Penn.
Edgar wasn't expected to beat Penn at UFC 112. There was no reason to believe that Edgar, despite showing some marked improvement over the previous year, had the tools to stop the man who had dominated the lightweight division for some time.
But Edgar hung with him for 25 minutes, flustering Penn with his speed and ability to get in and out with strikes. Though many felt he didn't do enough to take the fight, and felt Penn got robbed by the decision, Edgar still captured the belt and was forced to prove himself worthy in an immediate rematch.
Edgar more than accomplished that in their rematch last August, employing a similar gameplan to the first fight but to much greater effect, leaving no doubt he was the better fighter on that night at UFC 118.
That win set up the rematch with Maynard at UFC 125, and after Edgar displayed tremendous heart to make it to a draw in that fight, the UFC once again forced him to prove himself the better fighter than his opponent with the immediate rematch.
Saturday's fight began in almost identical fashion to their UFC 125 fight. Edgar set the pace early with his striking game, landing combinations and backing away from Maynard's counters, but then Maynard connected on an uppercut that hurt Edgar and began the assault. He had Edgar bloodied and on rubber legs, hitting him with big shots all across the cage as he chased him down.
Maynard stayed more patient than in the last fight, however, and appeared to have more energy to take the fight over after Edgar survived.
Then he failed to follow up.
Edgar recovered between rounds, and Maynard offered nothing in the way of offense in the second. Edgar slowly got himself back into a rhythm, and by the third round completely controlled the pace.
Due to some bad judging that failed to give Maynard a 10-8 first round on two judges' scorecards, Edgar entered the Championship rounds ahead after bouncing back from the first round. Instead of leaving things in the judges hands, however, Edgar found a way to put a stamp on this fight and rivalry.
Late in the fourth round, Edgar shot in for a takedown. As Maynard stopped it and scrambled, Edgar landed an uppercut on the way back up that rocked him. Maynard attempted to recover, but as he stumbled to his feet, Edgar accomplished what he couldn't, and followed up. He cracked him with consecutive overhand rights at the cage that sent him crashing to the ground, and landed a series of punches that forced the referee to stop the fight.
It was only Edgar's third stoppage by strikes, but once again showcased the incredible ability this Champion has to survive adversity and adapt his game. He's constantly improving, and has more heart than perhaps any fighter on the UFC's roster.
This was his breakout performance. Even after beating B.J. Penn twice, Edgar failed to quell the doubters. After coming back twice from hellacious first round beatings against the only man that holds a victory over him, there's no doubt he's one of the very best fighters in the world, and deserves to be seen by everyone in that regard.
2011 NFL Predictions Week 6
The 2011 NFL season enters their sixth week and we are getting a better grasp of what each of the teams are made of. Pre-season favorites like the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets have faltered while teams like the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers are at the top of their divisions.
While you look at the NFL Prediction for Week 6, you can take a look at my performance here with the NFL Pick'em contest. Do not let the 6-6 record dissuade you.
St. Louis Rams vs. Green Bay Packers
While the Rams may be rested from their bye week, they will be traveling up North to take on one of the hottest teams in the NFL, the Packers. The Rams defense is going to have their hands full as they try to stop Packers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who been picking defenses. The Packers will find themselves with another home win and a 6-0 record.
Packers 31 Rams 10
Buffalo Bills vs. New York Giants
The Bills bounced back against the Eagles last week and will take on another team from the NFC East. You can expect them to give the Giants' defense a heavy dose of Fred Jackson to help keep the potent Giants' passing game off the field. Giants' quarterback Eli Manning could be in for a bad day if the Bills duplicate the four interceptions they had against Michael Vick. Bills will put up enough points to win the game.
Bills 34 Giants 24
Indianapolis Colts vs. Cincinnati Bengals
The winless Colts with travel to Cincinnati to take on a Bengals team that has performed better than expected this year under rookie quarterback Andy Dalton. The Bengals defense should be able to keep the Colts and their unproven quarterback, Curtis Painter, under control and make sure their offense does not lose the lead. The key to this game will be the ground attack of both units and who can control the time of possession.
Bengals 27 Colts 21
Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta Falcons
The Panthers continue to show some offensive life with the strong arm of rookie Cam Newton. They will be taking on a Falcons team that saw a golden chance slip away last week when the Packers came back to beat them. The Panthers are going to have their work cut out for them on the Falcon's home turf. Expect to see Falcons' running back Michael Turner go wild through the porous defense of the Panthers during this Week 6 game of the 2011 NFL Season.
Falcons 27 Panthers 24
San Francisco 49ers vs. Detroit Lions
If you did not know about the success of the 49ers this season, you do know now, especially after the dominating performance they had over the Bucs. Their defense is going to be a test for the Lions' explosive offense led by quarterback Matt Stafford. If the Lions want to win, they are going to need to develop a running game to keep the 49ers defense honest. The game will be close but the Lions will lose the game in front of the home crowd.
49ers 24 Lions 21
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Redskins
The Eagles have continued to slide after suffering another loss last week, giving them a 1-4 record. This is good news for the Redskins who will be eager to put another nail in the coffin of their playoff hopes. The Redskins will push to develop their running game and keep the pressure on Michael Vick to try and force the turnovers. While the game will be close, look for the Eagles to earn a close win.
Eagles 24 Redskins 21
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
After another loss, the Jaguars will need to travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers whose offense kicked it into high gear last week. The Steelers' defense is going to have a field day with rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbart and should have no issues keeping them under control. Big Ben should have another productive day at quarterback as the Steelers win one for the Home crowd.
Steelers 31 Jaguars 17
Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens
The Texans are still smarting from that close loss last week, but will need to push past that when they travel to the East Coast to take on the Ravens. The game is going to feature two of the top backs in the game, Ray Rice and Arian Foster. Rice will earn the edge in this matchup thanks to his ability to receive the ball out of the backfield. The Ravens are for real and are the best all-around team in the AFC.
Ravens 24 Texans 21
Cleveland Browns vs. Oakland Raiders
The Browns eager to be off their bye will be taking on a Raiders team that was emotionally spent after winning their last game in the memory of Al Davis. While this should be an easy game for the Raiders, the Browns are going to be rested and raring to go with a solid plan to contain Darren McFadden. This game is the reason why fans love the NFL since any team can win when the conditions are right.
Browns 17 Raiders 24
New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Saints have a chance to open a two game lead in the NFC South when they take on the Buccaneers this week in Florida. The Saints' offense continues to hum along, scoring when needed. This week their defense will have the chance to step up against a Buccaneers' offense that struggled last week against the 49ers. The Bucs will look a little better but will find the road to victory difficult.
Saints 35 Buccaneers 24
Dallas Cowboys vs. New England Patriots
The Cowboys had many questions arise after their meltdown during week 4 of the 2011 NFL season. Hopefully some of them are solved when they travel to the East and take on the Patriots, who are tied for first in the AFC East. The Patriots defense showed some signs of improvement last week but will need to maintain this against a Cowboys' offense that has the potential to put up points.
Patriots 28 Cowboy 27
Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears
The Vikings won the first game of the 2011 NFL season thanks to relying upon their star, Adrian Peterson, who scored three touchdowns in the victory. They will be taking on a NFC North opponent, the Bears, who are still recovering from their Monday night game in Detroit. The Bears defense is still too much for the Vikings who have a vanilla passing game.
Bears 27 Vikings 20
Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets
The Dolphins find themselves traveling to New York at the worst possible time. Not only are they going to be heading into the contest with a backup quarterback, thanks to the shoulder injury to Chad Henne, they will be facing a desperate Jets team to turn things around. The Jets will have no problem moving the ball against the Dolphins and control this game from the beginning.
Jets 31 Dolphins 17
While you look at the NFL Prediction for Week 6, you can take a look at my performance here with the NFL Pick'em contest. Do not let the 6-6 record dissuade you.
St. Louis Rams vs. Green Bay Packers
While the Rams may be rested from their bye week, they will be traveling up North to take on one of the hottest teams in the NFL, the Packers. The Rams defense is going to have their hands full as they try to stop Packers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who been picking defenses. The Packers will find themselves with another home win and a 6-0 record.
Packers 31 Rams 10
Buffalo Bills vs. New York Giants
The Bills bounced back against the Eagles last week and will take on another team from the NFC East. You can expect them to give the Giants' defense a heavy dose of Fred Jackson to help keep the potent Giants' passing game off the field. Giants' quarterback Eli Manning could be in for a bad day if the Bills duplicate the four interceptions they had against Michael Vick. Bills will put up enough points to win the game.
Bills 34 Giants 24
Indianapolis Colts vs. Cincinnati Bengals
The winless Colts with travel to Cincinnati to take on a Bengals team that has performed better than expected this year under rookie quarterback Andy Dalton. The Bengals defense should be able to keep the Colts and their unproven quarterback, Curtis Painter, under control and make sure their offense does not lose the lead. The key to this game will be the ground attack of both units and who can control the time of possession.
Bengals 27 Colts 21
Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta Falcons
The Panthers continue to show some offensive life with the strong arm of rookie Cam Newton. They will be taking on a Falcons team that saw a golden chance slip away last week when the Packers came back to beat them. The Panthers are going to have their work cut out for them on the Falcon's home turf. Expect to see Falcons' running back Michael Turner go wild through the porous defense of the Panthers during this Week 6 game of the 2011 NFL Season.
Falcons 27 Panthers 24
San Francisco 49ers vs. Detroit Lions
If you did not know about the success of the 49ers this season, you do know now, especially after the dominating performance they had over the Bucs. Their defense is going to be a test for the Lions' explosive offense led by quarterback Matt Stafford. If the Lions want to win, they are going to need to develop a running game to keep the 49ers defense honest. The game will be close but the Lions will lose the game in front of the home crowd.
49ers 24 Lions 21
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Washington Redskins
The Eagles have continued to slide after suffering another loss last week, giving them a 1-4 record. This is good news for the Redskins who will be eager to put another nail in the coffin of their playoff hopes. The Redskins will push to develop their running game and keep the pressure on Michael Vick to try and force the turnovers. While the game will be close, look for the Eagles to earn a close win.
Eagles 24 Redskins 21
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
After another loss, the Jaguars will need to travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers whose offense kicked it into high gear last week. The Steelers' defense is going to have a field day with rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbart and should have no issues keeping them under control. Big Ben should have another productive day at quarterback as the Steelers win one for the Home crowd.
Steelers 31 Jaguars 17
Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens
The Texans are still smarting from that close loss last week, but will need to push past that when they travel to the East Coast to take on the Ravens. The game is going to feature two of the top backs in the game, Ray Rice and Arian Foster. Rice will earn the edge in this matchup thanks to his ability to receive the ball out of the backfield. The Ravens are for real and are the best all-around team in the AFC.
Ravens 24 Texans 21
Cleveland Browns vs. Oakland Raiders
The Browns eager to be off their bye will be taking on a Raiders team that was emotionally spent after winning their last game in the memory of Al Davis. While this should be an easy game for the Raiders, the Browns are going to be rested and raring to go with a solid plan to contain Darren McFadden. This game is the reason why fans love the NFL since any team can win when the conditions are right.
Browns 17 Raiders 24
New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Saints have a chance to open a two game lead in the NFC South when they take on the Buccaneers this week in Florida. The Saints' offense continues to hum along, scoring when needed. This week their defense will have the chance to step up against a Buccaneers' offense that struggled last week against the 49ers. The Bucs will look a little better but will find the road to victory difficult.
Saints 35 Buccaneers 24
Dallas Cowboys vs. New England Patriots
The Cowboys had many questions arise after their meltdown during week 4 of the 2011 NFL season. Hopefully some of them are solved when they travel to the East and take on the Patriots, who are tied for first in the AFC East. The Patriots defense showed some signs of improvement last week but will need to maintain this against a Cowboys' offense that has the potential to put up points.
Patriots 28 Cowboy 27
Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears
The Vikings won the first game of the 2011 NFL season thanks to relying upon their star, Adrian Peterson, who scored three touchdowns in the victory. They will be taking on a NFC North opponent, the Bears, who are still recovering from their Monday night game in Detroit. The Bears defense is still too much for the Vikings who have a vanilla passing game.
Bears 27 Vikings 20
Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets
The Dolphins find themselves traveling to New York at the worst possible time. Not only are they going to be heading into the contest with a backup quarterback, thanks to the shoulder injury to Chad Henne, they will be facing a desperate Jets team to turn things around. The Jets will have no problem moving the ball against the Dolphins and control this game from the beginning.
Jets 31 Dolphins 17
Monday, October 10, 2011
WWE Monday Night RAW Review for 10/10/2011
Without further adu here is my recap from last night Monday Night Raw episode.
In Ring segment with Triple H interrupted by John Cena, Sheamus, and C.M. Punk
Last week on Monday Night RAW we had 55 wrestlers, staff, announcers walking out on the WWE after they gave a vote of confidence that Triple H wasn't the right man on the job. However, there were several wrestlers that did support Triple H as the COO of the WWE with John Cena, Sheamus, and C.M. Punk approving. With that Triple H announced John Cena vs Sheamus with Triple H as the special guest referee and C.M. Punk as guest play by play man.
John Cena vs Sheamus
No Decision at 5:05 when McMahon cut the match off
In Ring Segment with Triple H and Vince McMahon
So, how do they explain the BOD relieving McMahon of his duties in favor of Hunter, then the BOD going behind Hunter's back to inform McMahon of Hunter being relieved of his duties?
John Morrison vs Christian
Winner: Christian. Another match that John Morrison gets buried in and I have to wonder that WWE is pushing the door at John Morrison. If that is indeed so than John Morrison would be a perfect canadidate for TNA and for the X division because of his high flying arsenal moves he can use in the division.
Mark Henry vs Randy Orton
Winner: Randy Orton by DQ. This basically set up a feud with Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes. If this feud does indeed happen then it would be something to watch because Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton were part of a stable called legacy. However, I was disappointed with the Mark Henry and Big Show fallout. This past weekend WWE had promised that the Big Show would return to Monday Night Raw to explain what he did to Mark Henry after The Big Show came back to Smackdown and put Mark Henry through the announce table after the world strongest man took out The Big Show several months ago.
KELLY KELLY & EVE vs. ROSA MENDES & TAMINA
WINNERS: Eve & Kelly at 2:15. Apparently this puts Eve in position for the next Divas Title shot?
U.S. champion DOLPH ZIGGLER & JACK SWAGGER & DAVID OTUNGA (w/Vickie Guerrero) vs. MASON RYAN & WWE tag champions AIR BOOM (KOFI KINGSTON & EVAN BOURNE)
Winners: Team Ryan. Another match that was poorly booked. Since WWE brought back Mason Ryan as a babyface WWE has destroyed Mason Ryan character I mean this was the guy that was going to be the next ass heel like Batista was when he left the WWE last year.
6 -- WWE champion ALBERTO DEL RIO vs. C.M. PUNK -- non-title match
WINNER: Match stopped at 4:18.
6b -- WWE champion ALBERTO DEL RIO & C.M. PUNK vs. THE MIZ & R-TRUTH
Winner: C.M Punk by DQ. This match ended when Alberto Del Rio decided to walk away from ringside, leaving Punk alone in the match. The crowd tried to rally with a "C-M-Punk" chant as the heels worked over Punk. Punk made a comeback on Miz with a Macho Man elbow drop before trying the G2S, but Truth broke it up. Miz and Truth then double-teamed Punk, so ref Charles Robinson threw out the match. Then Triple H, in street clothes, stormed the ring and destroyed Miz and Truth. Miz tried to escape through the crowd, but Hunter yanked him back to ringside and threw him into the ring steps. Punk then flung Truth over the announce table. Truth escaped through the crowd, though. Miz bailed, too. Hunter and Punk then re-assembled together in the ring. Cue up Hunter's theme music.
My final thoughts. This show was one of the worst WWE Monday Night Raw shows in history. Throughout the night every match on this show was poorly booked, and not to mention the first 35 minutes of the show with the Triple H/Vince Mcmahon segment. If WWE is going to continue to book these Monday Night Raw shows poorly then WWE ratings will decline.
In Ring segment with Triple H interrupted by John Cena, Sheamus, and C.M. Punk
Last week on Monday Night RAW we had 55 wrestlers, staff, announcers walking out on the WWE after they gave a vote of confidence that Triple H wasn't the right man on the job. However, there were several wrestlers that did support Triple H as the COO of the WWE with John Cena, Sheamus, and C.M. Punk approving. With that Triple H announced John Cena vs Sheamus with Triple H as the special guest referee and C.M. Punk as guest play by play man.
John Cena vs Sheamus
No Decision at 5:05 when McMahon cut the match off
In Ring Segment with Triple H and Vince McMahon
So, how do they explain the BOD relieving McMahon of his duties in favor of Hunter, then the BOD going behind Hunter's back to inform McMahon of Hunter being relieved of his duties?
John Morrison vs Christian
Winner: Christian. Another match that John Morrison gets buried in and I have to wonder that WWE is pushing the door at John Morrison. If that is indeed so than John Morrison would be a perfect canadidate for TNA and for the X division because of his high flying arsenal moves he can use in the division.
Mark Henry vs Randy Orton
Winner: Randy Orton by DQ. This basically set up a feud with Randy Orton and Cody Rhodes. If this feud does indeed happen then it would be something to watch because Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton were part of a stable called legacy. However, I was disappointed with the Mark Henry and Big Show fallout. This past weekend WWE had promised that the Big Show would return to Monday Night Raw to explain what he did to Mark Henry after The Big Show came back to Smackdown and put Mark Henry through the announce table after the world strongest man took out The Big Show several months ago.
KELLY KELLY & EVE vs. ROSA MENDES & TAMINA
WINNERS: Eve & Kelly at 2:15. Apparently this puts Eve in position for the next Divas Title shot?
U.S. champion DOLPH ZIGGLER & JACK SWAGGER & DAVID OTUNGA (w/Vickie Guerrero) vs. MASON RYAN & WWE tag champions AIR BOOM (KOFI KINGSTON & EVAN BOURNE)
Winners: Team Ryan. Another match that was poorly booked. Since WWE brought back Mason Ryan as a babyface WWE has destroyed Mason Ryan character I mean this was the guy that was going to be the next ass heel like Batista was when he left the WWE last year.
6 -- WWE champion ALBERTO DEL RIO vs. C.M. PUNK -- non-title match
WINNER: Match stopped at 4:18.
6b -- WWE champion ALBERTO DEL RIO & C.M. PUNK vs. THE MIZ & R-TRUTH
Winner: C.M Punk by DQ. This match ended when Alberto Del Rio decided to walk away from ringside, leaving Punk alone in the match. The crowd tried to rally with a "C-M-Punk" chant as the heels worked over Punk. Punk made a comeback on Miz with a Macho Man elbow drop before trying the G2S, but Truth broke it up. Miz and Truth then double-teamed Punk, so ref Charles Robinson threw out the match. Then Triple H, in street clothes, stormed the ring and destroyed Miz and Truth. Miz tried to escape through the crowd, but Hunter yanked him back to ringside and threw him into the ring steps. Punk then flung Truth over the announce table. Truth escaped through the crowd, though. Miz bailed, too. Hunter and Punk then re-assembled together in the ring. Cue up Hunter's theme music.
My final thoughts. This show was one of the worst WWE Monday Night Raw shows in history. Throughout the night every match on this show was poorly booked, and not to mention the first 35 minutes of the show with the Triple H/Vince Mcmahon segment. If WWE is going to continue to book these Monday Night Raw shows poorly then WWE ratings will decline.
Friday, October 7, 2011
UFC 136 Preview
Melvin Guillard vs. Joe Lauzon (Lightweight)
Guillard is in the midst of his most impressive career run, and finds himself perhaps a win or two away from finally earning a title shot in the UFC. Lauzon, on the other hand, has been in an up and down pattern in his last several fights, going 4-3 over the last three years but just 2-2 in his last four.
Lauzon wants this fight on the ground. Submissions have always been Guillard's weak point, and Lauzon has been able to roll through a few opponents with ease on the ground in his time in the Octagon. However, Guillard is not Gabe Ruediger or Curt Warburton.
Guillard has improved his takedown defense, and if he avoids a stupid mistake like the one he made against Nate Diaz two years ago, this is far and away his fight to lose.
PREDICTION: Guillard via TKO in the second round
Nam Phan vs. Leonard Garcia (Featherweight)
A rematch of a bout the two had back in December of last year, Phan and Garcia both come into this fight off of losses in their last bouts. Phan dropped a decision to Mike Brown, while Garcia was stopped in a rematch with Chan Sung Jung in March.
There's no reason to believe this fight goes any differently than the first meeting between the two. Phan is better at connecting on his strikes, while Garcia is excellent at giving the illusion of success with his winging, wild punches. What Phan needs to do is make sure it's clear that he's connecting on his punches and doing damage, because Garcia will continue to swing at him and it will score points with judges.
Still, Phan was completely robbed in the first fight, and hopefully for him if it looks like a similar fight to their first one the judges get it correct this time out.
PREDICTION: Phan via unanimous decision
Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann (Middleweight)
This middleweight matchup is quite likely to determine the next challenger to the UFC Middleweight Title. Sonnen had his shot last summer and came close to defeating Anderson Silva before getting submitted in the fifth round and then subsequently failing his drug test for the event.
The saga has told ad nauseum, but the end result is Sonnen returning to action for the first time in 14 months against one of the hot fighters in the division in Stann. The former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion has come on strong in the last year with a move to 185 lbs. and a rapidly improving overall game.
This is absolutely a striker vs. grappler fight, as Sonnen will attempt to bully Stann around and grind him out through three rounds, while Stann will try to finish this fight before that happens. The smart money is on Sonnen being able to implement his game because of what he's been able to do in the past and the fact that Stann has had troubles with grinders keeping him on his back in the past. However, Stann has been working on that weakness, and if he can keep himself standing, he may be able to hurt Sonnen on the feet.
Still, Sonnen hasn't been stopped by strikes in years, and his weakness has always been the submission game. Stann is no stranger to that, and locked on a triangle choke against Mike Massenzio in his middleweight debut. This is an extremely intriguing fight, and another where I'm going to go out on a limb with the underdog to keep his streak alive.
PREDICTION: Stann via submission in the third round
Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian (Featherweight Championship)
Aldo makes his second appearance in the Octagon after successfully defending his belt against Mark Hominick in April, while Florian gets his third shot at capturing gold in the UFC.
The 25-year-old Aldo has been a dynamo in the striking department, showing off a wide variety of attacks and finding ways to finish fights with his hands and his feet. What hasn't been seen during his time in the WEC and UFC is his ground game, because no one's really been able to test him there. However, he possesses a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu, and there's been no reason to believe he can't handle himself on the ground.
Though Florian has come up short in some of his biggest fights, he's one of the most consistent finishers in the UFC. Florian has ten wins inside the Octagon, and only two of those fights have gone the distance.
What's fascinating about Florian's success in the sport is that his striking game is often overlooked. Because he's become so adept with his submission game, many forget his origins in Muay Thai. Where he's come up short has been his wrestling game, and he's had trouble at times dealing with fighters that were able to out-grapple him.
As crazy as it might sound, Florian is easily the most dangerous fighter Aldo has faced to date. Florian's got inches of height and reach on Aldo, his striking game is perhaps not quite as dangerous but easily effective enough to give him troubles, and his submission game is superb.
This is a desperation fight for Florian. A loss here may just take him out of title contention for the rest of his career, but a win gives him new life atop his latest division. For as fantastic as Aldo has been thus far, Florian's got the experience edge and has the physical tools to take this fight. I'm going out on a limb with this one, but I think Florian pulls off the upset on Saturday night.
PREDICTION: Florian via submission in the third round
Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard (Lightweight Championship)
Gray Maynard feels slighted coming into this third fight with Edgar. He holds the only victory over Edgar, and feels he should have been given the decision in their rematch at UFC 125. It's hard to blame him for that feeling, as he nearly finished Edgar in the first round of that fight and arguably should have gotten a 10-7 mark from the judges. One more round won with a 10-7 would have given him the win.
However, Edgar had his own argument for the fight with one of the greatest comebacks seen in the Octagon. He took one of the worst beatings given in the UFC without a finish in that first round; it was everything Maynard could do to him played out in that five minute round, and Edgar survived and thrived the rest of the way.
Edgar comes into this third matchup the favorite, despite the fact that he has yet to beat Maynard. But it's because he survived through such a hellacious beating and still came back strong that it's hard to see what Maynard could possibly do to put him away this time.
The Champ has shown a great ability to adapt and grow from fight to fight. After slightly edging out a decision over B.J. Penn to capture the belt, he came back in the immediate rematch and left no question that he was the better man that night. Even in the rematch with Maynard, Edgar showed off a massively improved wrestling game from when the two met the first time.
Maynard left everything in the cage on January 1 and wasn't able to finish the job. Unlike Edgar, Maynard's game hasn't really evolved at the same rate. He's still a fantastic wrestler and he hits really hard, but Edgar's ground game continues to improve, and his footwork and boxing technique is among the best in the division.
I think there's going to be a lot of this fight that resembles what we saw from these two in January, but I don't think it will be the first round that's repeated. Edgar knows what Maynard is bringing in this fight, and I think he'll be more ready for it this time around.
PREDICTION: Edgar via unanimous decision
Guillard is in the midst of his most impressive career run, and finds himself perhaps a win or two away from finally earning a title shot in the UFC. Lauzon, on the other hand, has been in an up and down pattern in his last several fights, going 4-3 over the last three years but just 2-2 in his last four.
Lauzon wants this fight on the ground. Submissions have always been Guillard's weak point, and Lauzon has been able to roll through a few opponents with ease on the ground in his time in the Octagon. However, Guillard is not Gabe Ruediger or Curt Warburton.
Guillard has improved his takedown defense, and if he avoids a stupid mistake like the one he made against Nate Diaz two years ago, this is far and away his fight to lose.
PREDICTION: Guillard via TKO in the second round
Nam Phan vs. Leonard Garcia (Featherweight)
A rematch of a bout the two had back in December of last year, Phan and Garcia both come into this fight off of losses in their last bouts. Phan dropped a decision to Mike Brown, while Garcia was stopped in a rematch with Chan Sung Jung in March.
There's no reason to believe this fight goes any differently than the first meeting between the two. Phan is better at connecting on his strikes, while Garcia is excellent at giving the illusion of success with his winging, wild punches. What Phan needs to do is make sure it's clear that he's connecting on his punches and doing damage, because Garcia will continue to swing at him and it will score points with judges.
Still, Phan was completely robbed in the first fight, and hopefully for him if it looks like a similar fight to their first one the judges get it correct this time out.
PREDICTION: Phan via unanimous decision
Chael Sonnen vs. Brian Stann (Middleweight)
This middleweight matchup is quite likely to determine the next challenger to the UFC Middleweight Title. Sonnen had his shot last summer and came close to defeating Anderson Silva before getting submitted in the fifth round and then subsequently failing his drug test for the event.
The saga has told ad nauseum, but the end result is Sonnen returning to action for the first time in 14 months against one of the hot fighters in the division in Stann. The former WEC Light Heavyweight Champion has come on strong in the last year with a move to 185 lbs. and a rapidly improving overall game.
This is absolutely a striker vs. grappler fight, as Sonnen will attempt to bully Stann around and grind him out through three rounds, while Stann will try to finish this fight before that happens. The smart money is on Sonnen being able to implement his game because of what he's been able to do in the past and the fact that Stann has had troubles with grinders keeping him on his back in the past. However, Stann has been working on that weakness, and if he can keep himself standing, he may be able to hurt Sonnen on the feet.
Still, Sonnen hasn't been stopped by strikes in years, and his weakness has always been the submission game. Stann is no stranger to that, and locked on a triangle choke against Mike Massenzio in his middleweight debut. This is an extremely intriguing fight, and another where I'm going to go out on a limb with the underdog to keep his streak alive.
PREDICTION: Stann via submission in the third round
Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian (Featherweight Championship)
Aldo makes his second appearance in the Octagon after successfully defending his belt against Mark Hominick in April, while Florian gets his third shot at capturing gold in the UFC.
The 25-year-old Aldo has been a dynamo in the striking department, showing off a wide variety of attacks and finding ways to finish fights with his hands and his feet. What hasn't been seen during his time in the WEC and UFC is his ground game, because no one's really been able to test him there. However, he possesses a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu, and there's been no reason to believe he can't handle himself on the ground.
Though Florian has come up short in some of his biggest fights, he's one of the most consistent finishers in the UFC. Florian has ten wins inside the Octagon, and only two of those fights have gone the distance.
What's fascinating about Florian's success in the sport is that his striking game is often overlooked. Because he's become so adept with his submission game, many forget his origins in Muay Thai. Where he's come up short has been his wrestling game, and he's had trouble at times dealing with fighters that were able to out-grapple him.
As crazy as it might sound, Florian is easily the most dangerous fighter Aldo has faced to date. Florian's got inches of height and reach on Aldo, his striking game is perhaps not quite as dangerous but easily effective enough to give him troubles, and his submission game is superb.
This is a desperation fight for Florian. A loss here may just take him out of title contention for the rest of his career, but a win gives him new life atop his latest division. For as fantastic as Aldo has been thus far, Florian's got the experience edge and has the physical tools to take this fight. I'm going out on a limb with this one, but I think Florian pulls off the upset on Saturday night.
PREDICTION: Florian via submission in the third round
Frankie Edgar vs. Gray Maynard (Lightweight Championship)
Gray Maynard feels slighted coming into this third fight with Edgar. He holds the only victory over Edgar, and feels he should have been given the decision in their rematch at UFC 125. It's hard to blame him for that feeling, as he nearly finished Edgar in the first round of that fight and arguably should have gotten a 10-7 mark from the judges. One more round won with a 10-7 would have given him the win.
However, Edgar had his own argument for the fight with one of the greatest comebacks seen in the Octagon. He took one of the worst beatings given in the UFC without a finish in that first round; it was everything Maynard could do to him played out in that five minute round, and Edgar survived and thrived the rest of the way.
Edgar comes into this third matchup the favorite, despite the fact that he has yet to beat Maynard. But it's because he survived through such a hellacious beating and still came back strong that it's hard to see what Maynard could possibly do to put him away this time.
The Champ has shown a great ability to adapt and grow from fight to fight. After slightly edging out a decision over B.J. Penn to capture the belt, he came back in the immediate rematch and left no question that he was the better man that night. Even in the rematch with Maynard, Edgar showed off a massively improved wrestling game from when the two met the first time.
Maynard left everything in the cage on January 1 and wasn't able to finish the job. Unlike Edgar, Maynard's game hasn't really evolved at the same rate. He's still a fantastic wrestler and he hits really hard, but Edgar's ground game continues to improve, and his footwork and boxing technique is among the best in the division.
I think there's going to be a lot of this fight that resembles what we saw from these two in January, but I don't think it will be the first round that's repeated. Edgar knows what Maynard is bringing in this fight, and I think he'll be more ready for it this time around.
PREDICTION: Edgar via unanimous decision
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)