Yay For Mania? (Not Really. Takeover's Still Better. Predictions & Such.)

Today is Opening Day for MLB.  The Mets see the World Champion Royals and as a Mets fan, I can't remember a time when I was more jacked about a season than this one.  Tonight is also the season finale of The Walking Dead, one that I can honestly say I'm both looking forward to and dreading because of who's coming into the mix and what it likely means for one unfortunate soul.

Oh and today is Wrestlemania.  In Dallas, Texas at AT&T Stadium aka Jerryworld, home of the Dallas Cowboys.  Since 1997, they've been the epitomy of mediocrity in the NFL.  Unless I'm mistaken, it's easily the biggest pro football stadium in the country.  I wish I could say I was as excited about this year's Mania, but alas I am not.  The top end, which is generally what you use to pull in the masses is really off for reasons I'll get into later.  So this year, as I take in various Manias on the Network, I may as well type out some predictions.  Note, I don't have a ton of high expectations for this Mania.  Yes, XXX and X31 were outstanding.  We're due for a really bad one and this will probably be it.

United States Championship
Kalisto v. Ryback
- It's crazy to think that just three years ago, Ryback was on the cusp of being a major player on the main event scene.  He had a real Goldberg like following and he probably should've won the 2013 Royal Rumble.  Alas, he did not.  Alas, bad booking followed.  Alas, he's opening Mania against maybe the most meh United States Champion in recorded ever.  Other than his one super insane spot at TLC last December, I can't think of one recognizable thing about Kalisto.  It feels like Ryback will win and if not, well, whatever.
Who Should Win: I generally don't care.
Who Will Win: I probably won't care and neither will you.  (See, my prediction column is already starting off better than tonight's Mania.)

Styles/Jericho IV
- If they really do open Mania with the above, then they'll need something to wake people up or get them back to their seats from their concession runs (cause that's really the only match on this card that you can legitimately bookmark as 'I can miss this for...').  This would've worked so much better if they didn't throw away one of these matches on regular TV.  This should be the rubber match, but when bad booking has overrun a company...this is what you get.  There's no feasible way that Styles loses here.  Problem is AJ has the 2-1 advantage and another win isn't really moving the meter so to speak.  Still, it'll be a good match and I guess that's really all we can ask for because we sure as hell aren't getting any really good storylines out of this deal.
Who Should Win: Styles
Who Will Win: Styles.  I can see him becoming a top contender for either the IC (maybe) or US (not what most want, but that title needs some luster put back on it after all it has lost since Cena dropped it last year) for the Spring.

New Day/The League Of Maroons
- The Roman Initiative has been an abject failure.  I'm not talking small, as in it has only caught the one guy involved.  It has totally crushed the four guys who technically have the man advantage in this match.  But well, because of how completely idiotic that Roman Reigns made them look shortly after forming...yeah.  They haven't gotten any serious traction since and with how badly New Day has owned them on YouTube over the last month and change...good grief.

Oh and this is what happens when you totally dry up your tag division, kids.  Mundane handicap deals like this where yeah.
Who Should Win:  New Day.  If only we had a good tag division around them...
Who Will Win:  New Day.  Small riot may break out if they do something outrageous like actually have The League Of Half Wits win.

Divas Championship
Charlotte w/Ric Flair v. Sasha Banks v. Becky Lynch
- Apparently, this is the swan song for maybe the worst designed belt sans those penny belts the New Day have.  That aside, what started horribly last July with easily the worst booked set of trios in recorded ever has led us here.  Charlotte dethroned Nikki Bella to become Divas Champion last September and maybe weeks after Paige insulted her dead brother, went heel and it kinda went downhill from there for her.  I'm a huge Flair fan, if not for her pops I might not be into wrestling at all.  But they've done a piss poor job of establishing her as anything more than a really bad knock off of her dad and it's BAD.  I don't remember her being this bad in NXT to be honest.  I read somewhere this morning that she felt insulted when they had her dad walking with her to the ring and to be honest, I kinda agree with her.

This will easily be, given time which it likely will get, the greatest women's match in Mania history.  (Until maybe next year when we may get Banks/Bayley on this platform and they crush it out the yard.)  Under normal circumstances, given all that has unfolded since January, this is where Becky would break through.  She was hosed at the Rumble.  She has been hosed the last two times she has gone after the title.  Sasha interjected herself into this mix after Becky's second try at the Rumble and her case is a simple one.  She hasn't lost since coming up from NXT and is sick of waiting for her shot.  Becky SHOULD win.  Sasha WILL win.
Who Should Win: Becky Lynch.  Months of coming up short normally pay off at the biggest stage...but not likely this year.
Who Will Win: Sasha Banks.  Cause it pays to have a famous cousin who just got inducted into the Hall Of Fuckery last night.  She's winning.

No Holds Barred Street Fight
Brock Lesnar w/Paul Heyman v. Dean Ambrose
- This started as a result of how the main event of Fast Lane ended.  Apparently, Brock Lesnar felt a certain kind of way about having a steel chair bounced off of him repeatedly by Dean Ambrose.  He assaulted Dean the night after on Raw in the parking lot and Dean challenged him to a No Holds Barred Street Fight for Mania because the only things that will survive a nuclear holocaust are cockroaches, Twinkies and Dean Ambrose.  So yeah, this is how we got here.  It's Dean Ambrose against an indiscriminate weapon of mass destruction in Brock Lesnar.  Normally, the rule book is the only thing that keeps Brock's opponents from being completely left for dead.  Dean has removed that from the equation.  This will be brutal.  It will be fun.  I'm reasonably certain win or lose, Dean will come out of this similar to Austin in Wrestlemania XIII after his loss to Bret.  Fans will still love him and he SHOULD have the inside track to headlining next year's Mania.  (Why he's not headliing this year's Mania...never mind.)

Who Should Win: Dean Ambrose.  Brock technically picked this fight with Dean by assaulting him in the parking lot.  Dean SHOULD win this.
Who Will Win: Brock, I think.  This is one of those rare instances where I'm not sure this is as clear cut as it looks on paper.  It's kind of a given that the Wyatts will factor into this, given their interaction with both over the last few weeks.  It's worth noting that the last Street Fight that Brock was involved in at Mania, came against Triple H three years ago.

Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match
Kevin Owens v. Sami Zayn v. Dolph Ziggler v. The Miz & Other Dudes Who Have No Business In This Match At All
- This makes zero sense.  A Fatal Four Way made more sense than this.  Zayn/Owens made the most sense, but given what's at the very top of the card, we can't have anyone taking away from that by stealing the show like Savage/Steamboat 29 years earlier.  Apparently, it has been 15 years since the IC Champion has walked in and walked out of Mania the champion.  That was Chris Jericho at X-7 aka The Greatest Mania Ever.  There's only one other person I could make a case for winning this thing and that's Zayn, but under this set of circumstances...it's not really a big blow against Owens directly if he beats five other guys up a ladder to snatch a belt.  With the history between these two, Owens and Zayn needs to be mano y mano and Zayn needs to beat Owens directly.  To exact revenge for turning on him, for taking the NXT Championship and nearly ending his career last year.
Who Should Win: KO.
Who Will Win:  Zayn, cause it probably makes too much sense to do what I just laid out and they'd rather not let these two build this bad boy up.

WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Triple H v. Roman Reigns
- In the 30 years of Wrestlemania, I don't think you'll ever find a scenario like this.  EVER.  This is generally where the big time babyface is all but coronated as months of his struggle against the heel champion finally pay off.  But what happens when nobody wants to see that?  What happens when at seemingly every turn, that guy is all but booed out of the building?  Happened at last year's Mania as the masses cheered Brock nearly killing this poor guy with about 10 Suplexes and 3 F5s.  This year, we get something we haven't seen in 11 years.  Triple H going into Wrestlemania as World Champion.  If they handled this better, then yes, Trips could and probably would succeed in getting Roman over with the masses.  But for two straight years, they have tried unsuccessfully to get Roman over and it has FAILED.  There was a glimmer of hope in late December when he snapped and absolutely went psychotic on Triple H.  If they kept the belt off of him, left it on Sheamus a little while longer, I don't think it would be as bad as it is now.

It's worth noting that Triple H has been at his absolute best on the stick.  Even going back to the zenith of his heel powers which ran from 2000-2005 or so.  His promo on Monday was serious heel gold and seemingly the only time you could get the crowd to boo was when one of two things happened...

Stephanie spoke or Roman Reigns was even uttered aloud.  That last part this close to Mania is NOT GOOD AT ALL.

This time around, there's no Money In The Bank to save them like last year.  This time, they have to go one way (Trips retaining) or the other (Roman regaining the title).  It's one thing if your face is booed at any other event or venue.  It simply CANNOT HAPPEN AT MANIA.  Every eye in the world is on it, especially now that they're in bed with ESPN who has set up shop there.  They cannot afford to have their chosen champion booed out of the arena by 100 thousand plus when he's technically supposed to be cheered by that many.  It shouldn't have gone this way, but push something far enough and eventually...this is the end result.

Who Should Win: Roman Reigns.  Well, if they hadn't been so damn unrelenting in their desire to get him over...yeah.  He SHOULD WIN.  But unless he wins, then goes heel immediately after on whatever poor soul comes out to try and share his spotlight...see below.
Who Will Win: Triple H.  It's difficult to outdo the title farce that was Wrestlemania IX, but if anything could, this most certainly would be it.  This will be a No DQ match, something they probably should've announced way sooner than they did.  It's not like X-7 with Austin/Rock where that sudden change made the match that much better.  All that aside, Triple H should win and furthermore, he should remain champion until his protege returns sometime this Spring (or later this Summer) to get what's his back.

Heck In A Cage
The Undertaker v. Shane McMahon
Shane wins, he gets control of Monday Night Raw & Taker can no longer compete at Mania
- So apparently, Shane McMahon has stuff in a lockbox that his pops doesn't want leaked.  The contents of which are so damaging, Vince has agreed to Shane's demands IF he can win tonight at Mania against his most loyal disciple.  (Reference November 2001 after Survivor Series if you really want the backstory on the Vince/Taker dynamic.  Would've been really helpful if they fleshed this out way more than they did.  Actually, would've been helpful if they did something more than make the match and then have these two hurling insults at each other.)  When Shane returned a month ago, most everyone lost their mind.  He hasn't been seen in ten years.  He was missed by everyone who has had their fill of every other McMahon and at this point, I guess Shane in place of Vince and Stephanie works out just fine.  I think the WWE has more or less ridden this nostalgia wave to a poorly booked match where it wasn't well thought out and the execution of it could be even worse.  (At least Boss Man/Taker had a little bit of rhyme or reason behind it back at WM XV.)

If The Undertaker wins, well, what then?  Does Shane go away?  Do we find out what Shane had in that box which Vince didn't want to see the light of day?  (This kinda reminds me of Inside Man in a way...only not as coherent in the plot department.)  Shane's last fight was ten years ago alongside his pops.  His last Heck In A Cage match, ten years ago against DX.  Shane's last Mania match came against his pops at The Greatest Mania Ever.  Thing is, I'm not with Taker being used in this fashion when he has maybe one or two more Manias left counting this one.  It's difficult to envision a scenario where Taker loses in Texas.  Whoever helps makes this happen, will be booed to no end.  Trust and believe that.  That's the other part to this which makes no sense to me.  You're putting the fans in a near impossible position where to get the change they really want (no more Authority on Raw, meaningless if it stays at three hours but whatever) they have to root against their homestate guy.

Who Should Win: Taker.  Taker about killed Shane on an episode of Smackdown in 2000 shortly after his return as the American Bad Ass and that took less than five minutes.  He has beaten bigger and badder on this stage.  No way should he lose in his return to his homestate to Vince's kid.  Never mind the whole 'Shane can't throw a believable punch despite all this extensive training he's undergoing' thing.
Who Will Win:  Everything about this screams "shenanigans".  This feels like a lot of brawling, weapons and everything we're likely to get with Dean & Brock minus the suplexes.  With there being the distinct chance that The Authority are off Raw.  This becomes moot when you realize they can simply slide over to Smackdown and doubly moot if Hunter remains champion coming out of Mania. I'm still thinking there was a better way to go about doing this with Taker (best way would've been to have Bray/Taker 2, this time Bray wins).

My guess is Shane will win as someone returns who has enough motivation to see The Authority removed from Raw.  There was something Shane mentioned about folks who haven't gotten enough shots that kinda felt like a zing, but was meant to be something we kept in our minds for later down the line.  Shane running Raw with Triple H remaining the WWE WHC, feels like how Mania will end tonight.

BONUS TIME

Who dies tonight at the end of The Walking Dead???
- Short answer, nobody...YET.  Long answer, this show will let us all stew on this for the next six months.  I think they're going to do something really clever, like shift the camera to where we see it from their perspective and it will fade when the bat connects.  The easy answer is Darryl.  Especially after he got the Benny Blanco treatment from ole Dwight Slapnut last week.  Even if that wasn't a killshot, with no doctor on hand, how long can he go with a gunshot wound?

We haven't had a really great villain since The Governor and I've heard that Negan is the baddest of them all.  So I'm super excited to see what's next, but kinda sad at what this is likely going to mean for things moving forward.

Candid Cam, Warriors V. The World (Not Really), & A Requiem For Daniel Bryan/Why Dean Ambrose Should Win Next Sunday Night (But Likely Won't Cause...)

So, I got a few things that I feel like blogging poetic about here on this Valentine’s Day Weekend.  First and foremost…

Candid Cam
- So the Super Bowl was this past Sunday and short of anyone outside of Denver, you came out of that with enough egg on your face to make an omelet.   In a battle of the league’s best defenses, Denver’s rose to the occasion hitting Cam about as often as they hit Ben and Brady before him.  Carolina’s offense finally stalled out when their receivers apparently remembered who they were and couldn’t catch a cold in the middle of flu season.  So Team Dab got flat out drubbed and afterwards, Cam didn’t take too kindly to it.  He was short during the post game presser and after a handful of idiotic questions, he just took off.  Now, while most everyone felt the need to crush this dude in the Court of Public Opinion, I did not mostly because the vast majority of it made no sense.  However, his play on the field…yeesh.  Did he ever pick a worst time to play his worst game of the year. 

Cam had a golden chance to if not outright silence his critics, at least pipe em’ down for the next few months with a solid showing and a win.  Instead, he gave em tons of ammo to just pepper him with for a good long time to come.  He didn’t hustle after the second fumble late, which as it turns out, proved to set up the backbreaking and title clinching win for the Broncos.  Cam lost two fumbles, threw a pick and was largely ineffective.  Whatever passes weren’t dropped by his receivers were being air mailed over their heads when during the season, they were spot on.  For a team that collectively dabbed for their team picture before the game, it’s clear that they didn’t take Denver as seriously as they should have.  So now, Carolina gets to sit through the Winter and Spring thinking about what might have been.  Yes, they went an impressive 17-2.  But returning to this point is NOT GUARANTEED.  Ask Dan Marino about his return trip.  The NFC next season will be a bit stiffer and their schedule sure as hell won’t be as easy as it was this year.  Not only are they the reigning NFC Champions, they’re loud and have made themselves a big target most if not all are licking their chops to take down a few pegs.  Still, Cam is honest and admitted to the press a few days ago what we already knew.  That he is a sore loser and quoted Vince Lombardi who infamously said…

“Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser.”

He’s not wrong.  However, going forward, he needs to understand for the fun that he looks to have out there…he better be ready for the shit storm that comes with it when he loses.  Because after this, they’re out for his blood in a major way.

Warriors v. The World (NOT.  REALLY.)
- So it’s the All-Star Break and for the first time in 20 years, two teams are pushing for 70 wins.  Golden State and San Antonio.  San Antonio are seemingly doing their basketball equivalent to the San Francisco Giants in baseball this decade where every other year after a title, they make a serious push.  Golden State on the other hand, what they’re doing is sorta unexpected coming off of a title win.  They’re coming out with a fury that very few expected.  Not only do they look every bit the part of the defending champion, but their best player is making it clear he’s the Best In The World not later…not a few years from now…but RIGHT NOW.  Golden State has been so dominant, the playoffs for the first time in a very long time feels like a formality.  Seriously.  The field has thinned itself out so much, there’s literally no real point in making a case for anyone else competing with San Antonio or Golden State.  The Western Conference Finals if it goes according to the script, will be our De Facto Finals.  Nobody that comes out of the East will need to bother showing up for anything more than appearances.  Yes LeBron, you got David Blatt run out of his job to have Tyronn Lue lead you into a second straight Finals series that may be even bloodier than last year’s.  If it’s Golden State, forget about it.  Seriously.  What they did to the Cavaliers last month was a STATEMENT.  Emphatically making it clear, the Cavs aren’t on their level.  Not now, not in June. 

The Spurs, the team everyone just wants to go away already, are the only thing standing between the Warriors and absolute domination.  Seriously.  The Spurs are quietly reloading for life after Duncan/Ginobili/Parker and are loaded with Kawhi & LaMarcus, with Big Boban as feasibly the stand in for Duncan when the time comes.  The Association changed its rules to ensure that offense reigns and well, this is what it has led to.  Golden State is probably the proverbial wet dream that the Association was hoping for when it legislated any and all defense out of the game to ensure we got scoring in bunches.  The Spurs are within four games of the Warriors and neither team to this point has lost at home, making home court advantage more important than ever before heading into the playoffs.  The stage is set for a potentially epic clash between the Dubs & Spurs.  Old School v. New School.  Teacher Pop v. Pupil Kerr.  I so can’t wait for this.

A Requiem For Daniel Bryan & Why Dean Ambrose Needs To Win Next Sunday In Cleveland…
- Monday night, Daniel Bryan retired from the WWE.  I haven’t seen his retirement speech nor do I have any intention to do so now or anytime in the future.  He was one of my favorites and I feel terrible that his body simply would not permit him to resume his in-ring career.  He retired out of self-preservation and the company kept him out not to protect its own initiative as I previously suspected…but for his own good.  I can respect and applaud that.  Daniel Bryan is most notable for starting the Yes Movement.  A little thing that helped spur his rise in 2014 to the main event of Wrestlemania XXX and a victory that got him his one and only run as WWE World Heavyweight Champion.  Daniel Bryan is a Grand Slam Winner, or winner of every major title that company has to offer.  Former WWE Champion, World Heavyweight Champion, United States Champion, Intercontinental Champion (the last title he held before he hung it up last year by the by) and former Tag Team Champion.  Didn’t win the Rumble as mostly everyone wanted in 2014 and definitely didn’t do it last year to the dismay of EVERYONE.  His last significant in ring action was putting Roman Reigns over last February at Fast Lane, because the company forced Roman on the public and it went over terribly.  (Big shock, close to a full calendar year after this…HE’S STILL NOT OVER WITH THE PUBLIC THE WAY A TOP FACE SHOULD BE.)  Still, in a company that has lived and died by its giants…Daniel Bryan smashed through the ceiling that was made to keep people like him as a B+ Player. 

Worth pointing out, only two people in the last ten years have made the WWE socially relevant.  CM Punk and Daniel Bryan.  One retired and the other walked away because he couldn’t stomach their nonsense anymore.  This brings me to the here and now, specifically nine days from now in Cleveland at WWE Fast Lane.  The main event will be a Triple Threat match pitting Intercontinental Champion and home state boy Dean Ambrose against Roman Reigns against Brock Lesnar.  The winner will headline Wrestlemania against Triple H and wrestle for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.  On the surface if you’ve been following this since November, this is yet another attempt to get Roman over.  Problem is, Roman winning effectively incinerates what has been the driving narrative since Survivor Series.  See, The Authority has gone out of their way to ensure that Roman Reigns is kept as far away from the championship as possible.  Sheamus cashed in on him to cost him the title at Survivor Series, then his League of Nation cohorts helped keep him from retrieving it at TLC which caused Roman to out and out snap afterwards.  He viciously assaulted Sheamus with a chair and turned his rage towards COO Triple H, leading to him being put through the announce table and being speared into oblivion.  Until the Royal Rumble last month and aside from NXT Takeover London, Triple H hadn’t been seen or heard from yet his father in law vowed that his vengeful son in law would return when Roman least suspected.  After Sheamus was unsuccessful in regaining the title on January 4^th, Vince McMahon elected to go for the jugular.  He turned the Royal Rumble into a full on One Versus All, Roman’s signature motto and t-shirt selling thingy making it a title match for just the second time in company history.  First time ever a champion would have to defend his title in such a setting.  Even worse, he would enter #1, meaning he would have to last over an hour or so if he hoped to keep the title. 

On the surface, even if you’re not fully into wrestling as I am, this is tailor made for the champion to lose.  Only two men have ever entered first and won it in the history of the match.  Well, fans knew the fix was in and they booed Roman almost immediately.  Sensing this could get really hairy if he stayed out there, they had Roman attacked by the League Of Nations to effectively keep the crowd from turning this into a repeat of last year’s Rumble (where they pretty much shat all over the thing once they knew Roman was going to win no matter what).  In the end, Roman came back out and that REALLY didn’t help so go figure that entrant #30 was a returning Triple H.  He returned to a hero’s welcome, which wasn’t totally surprising given the event took place in Orlando, Florida only a rock’s throw away from where NXT does its weekly thing as The Best Show On Earth that he oversees.  The final four came down to Sheamus (former WWE WHC), Roman (the current champion next to nobody wants to stay champion, or face at this point), Triple H (the end result of reducing your roster’s credibility to absolute rubble and then some) and Dean Ambrose (I’ll get to this in depth momentarily).  Now, Triple H eliminated Roman and that was obvious the second Trips came out in his wrestling gear.  The story being that Roman had a receipt for the meltdown at TLC that Trips caught the full on brunt of and he did that. 

Now, sometimes a story needs a title to really emphasize how important it is for both men.  This, is not one of those cases.  This thing going all the way back to mid November when the title was vacated after Seth’s injury and Roman refused Triple H’s offer to be his handpicked champion, was about Roman not being champion.  Given how most fans feel about Roman or let me be clear, the company’s decision to peg Roman as ‘The Next Great Hero’ ala Hogan, Austin, The Rock & Cena…the title needs to be as far away from this beef as possible.  HOWEVER, because we’re in a time when they have absolutely zero faith in the roster as a whole despite it being as deep as it ever has been…Triple H is the WWE World Heavyweight Champion in 2016.  So now, we have a Triple Threat match set to determine who the first challenger will be for the throne that is occupied by the self professed King Of Kings.  Most everything I have read and what most of us are already dreading is that we’re getting Roman Reigns v. Triple H at Wrestlemania for the title.  Unless the goal is to get Roman booed out of Texas Stadium by a crowd that has no desire to see him win his third title in as many months…this needs to be changed.  Roman for the most part is a pretty good dude.  Most of the angst that fans have sent his way is mostly at the company for forcing him on us rather than willingly accepting him, as they have Dean Ambrose. 

Dean Ambrose is an Ohio native who out of the three man Shield trio which consisted of himself, Roman and Seth…he was the proverbial odd man out.  Creative found things almost immediately for Seth (went heel two Summers ago and split the group up) and Roman (whom they pegged to be The Heir To Cena’s Top Face throne).  Dean was left to his own devices and as it turned out, this was the best possible thing that could’ve happened to him.  He got over on his own and despite some of the most nonsensical booking this side of who knows what…fans hasn’t stopped cheering for him.  It’s arguable on some level that right now, he, not Roman is the top face in the company.  Short of massive mind control, I wouldn’t have to guess that next weekend when the WWE holds its main event, the only person who will get a better reaction than Dean will be Brock.  The last few weeks have been spent driving the narrative that Dean is completely unafraid and unfazed by the hype surrounding Brock, who is the term ‘ass kicker’ in human form.  Dean has taken beatings from Brock the last two weeks and come back asking for more, stating that Brock may put him down but doesn’t have what it takes to KEEP HIM DOWN.  This, actually makes him a popular choice even outside of the state of Ohio to actually WIN next Sunday.  It’s likely that Brock will not win as the Wyatt Family went out of their way to eliminate him at the Rumble.  With their recent war cry against all of the company’s “titans”, they really don’t get much bigger than him all told.  (I won’t even begin to mention how Brock beating Bray at Mania, which feels almost certain, all but kills any hopes of Bray as a main eventer having lost at Mania these last three years to Cena, Taker & now Brock in near rapid fire succession.)  Dean, while he will be hands down not just the sentimental pick but the home state guy…this company can’t feasibly think Roman pinning his best friend will be warmly received on ANY LEVEL by an Ohio crowd that booed his return from injury two years ago. 

If they expect Roman to get over as a main eventer, it will have to be as a heel.  The only way that he has worked as a face to this point, has been as someone who kicks ass and says very little.  He simply cannot cut an effective promo at this point in time.  As a heel, I think he can let his natural charisma flow and as it was with his cousin about 18 years earlier, the fans can change their tune willingly as opposed to forcibly.  Right now, on the heels of Bryan retiring, the time is now for Dean to become the next big face they usher into a severely depleted main event scene. 

Extra Points

Houston, We Got Some Problems…
- The Rockets are self-destructing right before our very eyes.  Kevin McHale was fired just 11 games into this season and not even a full season removed from leading the Rockets back from a 3-1 hole against the Clippers in the Western Conference Semifinals last season.  Houston sits near the bottom of the conference right now and the in-fighting has been pretty bad all told.  James Harden is a bearded primadonna who shoots first, second and third.  Dwight Howard is coming to grips with the notion that he and Harden probably work better in a video game than in real life.  So now with the NBA on its break and Howard in a contract year of sorts where he can opt out for free agency this Summer, the Rockets have a decision.  Do they trust that time can heal these wounds and they can make a playoff run out West (don’t bank on it) or do they simply acknowledge that it’s not working and Howard won’t stay, so deal him and get what you can?  Well, if they go with the second course of action, there’s a small hitch to this.  What they want and what they end up with, won’t be close to the same thing.  Howard’s body is breaking down and I can’t see anyone giving up a ton for someone whose name isn’t nearly close to what it was, never mind his actual on court production.  He is a rim protector, something that the right team can use on defense and offensively he can definitely get you buckets.  (That whole free throw shooting thing will be a problem, especially late in games.) 

Houston lucked up in a way when they were given Harden by OKC and Howard chose them a few summers ago in free agency over the Lakers.  Now, it’s looking more and more like OKC simply dumped dead weight in Harden (they’re pushing 40+ wins without him and this is with a rookie coach who’s new to the pro game after spending the last 20 years in Gainesville).  You will not win if Harden or Howard are your best players.  Is Harden a good scorer?  Yes.  Is he a player capable of leading your team to the promised land when it matters most?  Absolutely NOT.  For GM Daryl Morey who has up to this point, mastered the art of staying competitive without full on rebuilding the way most teams have…this has been a failure of sorts.  The chemistry is off in a major way and it’s probably not going to improve any time soon.  Golden State has this thing on lock and all told, short of injury to either Curry, Thompson or Green…it’s safe to say anyone who crosses their paths in the first two rounds will NOT have a good time.  Which begs the two part question…or three so to speak…

Who Should Go, Who Will Go And Where’s The Best Fit For Howard (Since Harden Likely Won’t Be Moved)?
- Harden SHOULD go, but it’s incredibly and increasingly likely if anyone does go, it’ll be Howard.  For all that’s said about Howard being a care free soul and the like, he doesn’t strike me as the diva that Harden is.  Mind you, Howard did get Stan Van Gundy run out of Orlando despite being its best coach in franchise history, Harden just seems to be on another level entirely.  One that’s clearly making it difficult to contend despite being one of the better assembled units in the Association.  I can’t see Howard staying out West, virtually every team I can think of doesn’t need him or adding him wouldn’t move the meter by much.  So where would the best fit for him be?  Only a handful of teams come to mind, all of them are back East…

Boston has the most assets and picks of any team out there, thanks to Brooklyn foolishly handing them every pick from now until the end of the decade for a couple of near the end of their prime veterans.  It makes sense that Boston WOULD go after Howard, but well, does adding him really do much in the grand scheme?  He wouldn’t be their best player, which falls on Thomas.  However, for a team that would be in dire need of low post scoring, he would definitely fit the bill.  I do think Howard could be a viable second option for a team, especially out East where upward mobility isn’t as limited as it is out West.  Toronto would be another possible destination, but they are likely to stick with what they have and rightly so.  That unit is very young and very promising, only way I see a move being made is if and only IF they’re absolutely certain that they can take the East NOW and not later. 

Miami is the only other place I can think of, but this seems super unlikely unless they’ve hit the point of no return with their current young big Hassan Whiteside.  I’m against going young for old, as there’s just no real upside to it.  Short of Pat Riley thinking they can make a run this year and can maximize Howard in their offense as opposed to Hassan, no way do they make a move. 

So in the end, I think Houston hangs on to Howard, gets their clocks cleaned in the first round and Howard bounces out in the Summer. 

Peace.

 

Musings On The Mamba, The NFL & Laughing At The Exclusivity Of The "CFP"

(Note, I started typing this yesterday and finished it off today.  So yeah...enjoy.)

Welp, since tonight's Monday Night Football game is effectively for degenerate gambling types only (cause I can't imagine anyone else outside of the individual fanbases involved having any amounts of give a shit about two non playoff teams battling)...I figure I may as well make my first formal NFL blog with November about over with.  As we head into the home stretch of December, it's literally a tale of two conferences.

One's incredibly top heavy in the AFC with the Pats & Bengals at the top, I'm not quite ready to put Denver up there with them just yet.  If they go nostalgic and throw Peyton back out there when it's clear that his body is not close to where his mind is...they're likely one and done.  If they stick with Brock who's clearly showing he's not ready to turn this thing back over to Peyton, who knows?  The Colts have been a real Jekyll & Hyde act all year.  With Luck behind center, they look lost mostly because he does.  Apparently he has been playing hurt for most of the first half of the year and his play has nosedived considerably (go fig this is the year I get him in fantasy).  However, when his 40 year old counterpart has stepped in to replace him, they're 4-0.  No, really.  They have yet to lose a start with Hasselbeck under center.  So while I don't see them making a run or even a walk of any kind, it's clear that at least for this season, staying with the hot hand could be the thing that keeps them from losing the division to Houston.  Ah yes, Houston.  The great 'What If' that seemingly never materializes because they just can't seem to find a QB to get this offense rolling.  Double J Watt continues doing Watt things on defense, as he reminds me of a new age Reggie White who likely won't ever compete for a Super Bowl until he lands with an offense that can make his defense matter.

Buffalo has underachieved a lot, Oakland is looking like it's just about ready to snap out of a near 13 year slumber and return to the playoffs.  If it's not this season, it's definitely going to be next season.  Depending on what Elway does, Osweiler/Carr could be the next great divisional beef for years to come.  Miami's simply an average team that everyone pumped up to be the team that FINALLY puts an end to the Patriots' reign of divisional dominance and they have imploded.  Suh has gone Haynesworth on them, as in he got his money and now is in no shits given mode.  Or maybe he does and it's just not looking good.  I don't know.  The Jags are only in the conversation because the AFC South is just THAT BAD (the NFC East is just as atrocious).  Only the Clowns, Titans, Ravens & Chargers are totally out of it.  In the NFC, wow.

Apparently a year ago today, Carolina lost its last regular season game.  They haven't lost since.  I believe if they win 12-14 games and are the #1 seed in the NFC, Cam should win the MVP award this season.  (Should only share it if New England finishes with a similar mark.)  When Kelvin Benjamin went down with a season ending injury, I wrote their offense off.  It was Greg Olsen and a bunch of never weres or has beens.  No way do they do anything of any consequence.  Boy, was I wrong here.  Their D is stellar across the board and the Panthers are going to be a seriously tough out in the playoffs.  As will Arizona, so long as nothing happens to Palmer like last season or they just get lazy for no good reason.  Their D is right up there with Carolina's and they too, will be seriously tough to push out.  After that, there are more question marks than you'd see on The Riddler's outfit.  Minnesota has seemingly come out of nowhere sparked by Adrian Peterson's rise from who knows what.  He lost a season because he whipped his kid like he stole something with a switch and at the age where most backs start to slow down, he hasn't.  That, combined with the emergence of Bridgewater and Barr on defense, has sparked a Purple Push towards the top.  Oh, one other thing outside of the Purple Place has sparked it.  Green Bay's inexplicable and maybe inevitable fall from divisional grace.  They're a game back but man, something just looks really OFF with them all year.  Rodgers has been super shaky, Lacy hasn't been himself and their D which was suspect anyhow hasn't helped stop the bleeding from this offense which hasn't recovered after losing Jordy Nelson.  So short of an absolute implosion over this last month, I'm not seeing the Pack slip.  It's that last Wild Card spot plus that other divisional champion that gets very interesting.

Yesterday, the Giants could've put a serious chokehold on the division race.  With the Cowboys all but done and Philly all but done with Chip Kelly, only Washington looms as their biggest divisional hurdle.  But they haven't lost to these clowns in years, so surely coming off a bye...they'd win yesterday.  Right?  NOPE.  The Giants as they have done consistently this year, when they look awful, they go full on compost heap.  Three picks by Eli.  Offense can't run.  OBJ does OBJ type stuff, but it's not enough.  Now, the tiebreaker falls with the Washington Ethnic Slurs and the schedule doesn't exactly favor the Giants the rest of the way.  Their experience should give them the advantage, but that's something that should have carried them to a victory yesterday and it didn't.  So even as a fan, I don't know.  Their D is a serious work in progress and their inability to run the rock gives me serious pause about their chances of winning a third title in as many seasons in the Elite Era.  Then, there's that last Wild Card spot and that's a real head scratcher.

After dragging their feet for most of this season for various reasons, the two time defending conference champions appear to be back on it.  However, after losing Graham for the season and it looking more and more like Rawls is the new hotness behind Wilson...can Seattle really be trusted?  Their usually staunch D has been gouged quite often this season and folks don't appear to be as afraid as they used to be of throwing on them.  As evident by the 400 plus yards that the Steelers dropped upside their head yesterday.  Seattle won't catch the Cardinals in the division, but they're a dangerous team if they CAN make it in because of their championship pedigree.  The other team in the mix only because of its good start, are the Not As Dirty As They Used To Be Birds from the ATL.  They were 5-0 at one point and well, they're 1-5 since.  I don't know what has happened to them, but they're losing ground and they've now got a young Tampa team in their rear view closing FAST.  Tampa drafted my main man from FSU, "Infamous" Jameis WInston and handed him the reins immediately.  He's playing better and that offense around him isn't bad at all.  They have the tiebreaker over Chicago (SURPRISE SURPRISE, they're not dead in the water after all!) and the Giants (yet another reason why their margin for error going forward now is super slim), so all they have to do is play the rest of the season like they're oblivious to the pressure and they're good.  After that, well, it's not exactly clear who or what is ready to step up.

Despite having the best young back in the game, the Rams probably won't be playoff bound this season.  The Bears have shown signs of life when they were thought to be dead in the water.  Detroit, well, will continue to waste the prime of a supremely gifted offensive talent with idiotic roster management and inept coaching.  (How oh how did Jim Caldwell talk his way into another job after that smash up job he did with the Colts?) In Philly, Chip Kelly the GM helped make life for Chip Kelly the Coach near impossible.  I have zero tears to shed for that.  The Saints are probably done for in all honesty.  They've already fired their defensive coordinator, their O won't be enough to get them back to the playoffs and not enough dominoes will fall in their favor to make that happen.

Some 'Extra Point' stuff...

- Cleveland losing the way it did last night was 'typical' Cleveland.  Best reaction came from the fan who was so livid, he literally tore through his Browns jersey.  ProTip kids, when your team makes you so livid you're tearing through stuff like that, find a new team.  Don't be that person who hangs on to an untimely death.  Speaking of...
- Mike Pettine should be fired.  For thinking that Josh McCown is their "best chance to win" and for his clear bias against Johnny Manziel.  Look, I get Johnny isn't a patron saint.  He is a party animal, much the same way that Rob Gronkowski is.  Wanna know the difference?  It's a different narrative entirely when your team is WINNING while you're partying versus them LOSING while doing that.  I get he had a disagreement with his significant other a few weeks back and well, shit happens.

But Johnny has performed well when he has played and simply put, the vicious career crushing cycle of killing QB careers has to STOP.  It's that simple.  Build a team around Johnny, be supportive of his growth both as a player and as a person.  If that's too difficult (and given who we're talking about,eh), then send him to a team that will.

- College Football.  I can't stand this CFP nonsense.  Excuse me, what it really is in essence is the Big School Invitational because only the 'Big Schools' are truly invited.  I think this thing was a lot better off with computers deciding things, they weren't as agenda driven as these humans are I tell ya what.  Right now, there are just two unbeatens left heading into Title Weekend.  Clemson & Iowa.  Now, Clemson is ranked #1 and has the simplest path to a seat at the table.  Beat North Carolina and you're good.  Iowa on the other hand, is something of an unsure thing even with a date against #5 Michigan State in Indy this weekend.  What bugs me is that the very thing being held against Iowa in terms of their spot in these rankings (they haven't played anybody, conference or nonconference) is something you could hold against the likes of Alabama and other teams that are thought more highly of when you talk playoff consideration.

Hell, even the Media and Coaches polls are showing Iowa no respect.  Alabama and Oklahoma respectively are ranked ahead of the unbeaten Hawkeyes, something that is definitely influenced by this BSI nonsense.  After slaughtering OK State, Oklahoma was nudged past both Big Ten schools in the AP and they're one spot below Iowa in the Coaches (Iowa's looking up at Alabama there).  I miss the days when not losing games, scheduling be damned actually meant more than the name attached to your record and what ratings come along with it.  Clearly OU & Bama have more national sizzle than Iowa, which makes their title game against Michigan State easily the most important game this school has played in YEARS.  It hasn't won a conference title in 13 years.  (Also worth noting that year they had a SHARE of the Big Ten with Ohio State.)  That 2002 team was thumped by USC during the infant stages of the Trojan Dynasty that was picking up steam after years of doing absolutely nothing of consequence.  Their last outright Big Ten title was 1985.  Even still, regardless of who they have or have not beaten let's face facts...

Everything that makes March Madness so great is going to be the undoing of college football.  College basketball's system is INCLUSIVE whereas this system in its present incarnation is more or less EXCLUSIVE.  Even if they expand this to 8 teams which is very likely within the next two years or so, it won't change.  What it will do is drive teams like Boise State and others to join bigger conferences in the hopes of not being left out of future playoff consideration.  Oh and because it wouldn't be right of me to close this out without mentioning him...

- The Black Mamba is walking away after this season.  Kobe Bryant came out in the Class of 1996, one year after KG in 95 and one year before Tim Duncan.  In my lifetime, my Mount Rushmore goes like this...

MJ.  Magic.  Duncan.  Bird.

Kobe was outstanding, but his ego which made him great and helped get him 5 rings, likely kept him from surpassing Jordan.  When things between he and Shaq couldn't be resolved, leading to Shaq being sent packing, the Lakers toiled in mediocrity for a while.  The worst of it was when Phoenix came from a 3-1 series hole to run the Lakers home and Kobe in that finale was nonexistent.  That's a HUGE blemish on his resume that none of the others have.  They get Pau Gasol in exchange for Marc Gasol and we all know what happens next.  Kobe gets to the Finals drawing even with the Celts and beating the Magic for his final ring in 2010.  Kobe never got out of the second round after that last title and after the vaunted Howard & Nash experiment went bust, Kid Buss never replenished the roster to give Kobe one more chance.  Kobe's body has gone out on him and his run will end in depressing fashion.  He is without a shadow of a doubt the second greatest shooting guard I've seen in my lifetime behind MJ and ahead of Wade.  However, I cannot put him ahead of Duncan who has five rings and a longer string of success compared to Kobe.  Duncan has not missed the playoffs in his career.  EVER.  Even though the head to head meetings with Duncan actually favors Kobe (4-2), Duncan's sustained consistency over such a long stretch cannot be ignored.

And I'm done...

Why Survivor Series Was Crap & Why The Ending Didn't Matter...

I've been watching the WWE for close to three decades now and this is as bad as I've seen it in well, roughly 20 years or so.  Ratings have hit new lows and even though I think that's a bad indicator of what's great and what isn't sportswise...this is a really tough watch right now for a few reasons which I'll outline here.

First, no storylines...AT ALL.  Like any good show, you gotta have characters engaged in storylines to keep people entertained.  This is the first time in about 20 years that the WWE, the brand which labels itself "sports entertainment" has absolutely SUCKED at entertaining the masses.  Creative hasn't earned its paycheck in forever and over the last few months, it's real apparent to me at least, the only person they're seemingly writing anything for is Roman Reigns.  (I'll get to him in a bit.)  Without storylines of any kind, you have what most have been watching every week.  Aimless hooblah going around and around with no discernible direction whatsoever.  Nobody gets over.  Nobody is entertained.

Second, there's no future.  No, really, there's NONE.  This is where I go off not on the finale, but something that largely went unnoticed by most folks in the midst of their anger about how the Survivor Series ended.  That's all fine and well, but The Wyatt Family were effectively jobbed out to The Old Men Of Destruction, Undertaker & Kane.  Now, for the uninitiated this goes all the way back to January.  Bray Wyatt through a series of well laid cryptic promos called out The Undertaker, wanting to finish what Brock Lesnar started when he ended The Streak last April.  Taker responded and even though he didn't need to, even though he probably shouldn't have, beat Bray Wyatt at Wrestlemania XXXI.  Okay.  Taker moved on to retribution in the form of kicking Brock in the junk repeatedly and Bray became The Smark's Advocate as he went on a 'Anyone But Roman' crusade.  Both of these crusades ended on the same night last month and that's when Bray, unsuccessful in his quest to snuff out Roman decided to renew acquaintances with The Undertaker who was done in ironically enough...with a low blow by Brock who claimed final victory inside Heck In A Cage.  Bray, with his 'Family' consisting of three big guys who look like they not only haven't missed a meal but probably consumed a few in their sleep...beat Taker to a pulp.  They carried him off and the next night on Raw when Bray came out to brag about what he did, Kane got much of the same.

Now again, while Taker & Kane aren't lightweights by any stretch of the imagination, they're up against four guys as tall and as big as they are.  Two weeks ago, The Old Men returned and in one night, effectively laid waste to all four men seemingly at the same time.  This comes 13 days before their tag match at Survivor Series and I guess the E felt like giving people a preview of what was to come.  Cause 13 days after the two of them returned, damned if the same exact thing didn't play out at Survivor Series.  It was Taker & Kane against Bray Wyatt & Luke Harper officially.  First one to get dealt with was Erick Rowan.  Then there was Braun Strowman, the biggest of these four who was unveiled late August.  He was put through a table best I can recollect.  Long story short, Luke Harper gets tombstoned by Taker and that's it.  So while I get that Sunday night was about commemorating the 25 year anniversary of Taker's debut in the company, this was the absolute perfect time to pass that proverbial torch to someone else.  To someone who much like Taker, is a really good 'dark' character.  The Wyatt Family could've been a really good dark unit but well, nobody does nostalgic quite like the E.  While its past will shine bright, its future is super bleak.  Bray Wyatt has lost virtually every major fight he has picked over the last year with the three biggest dogs roaming the yard (John Cena, Roman Reigns & The Undertaker).  One would say it's an honor unto itself to be able to say within a calendar year, you've worked with all three of those names but it doesn't count for anything if all you're doing is LOSING to them.  Still, with a roster this stacked with talent from the top (Roman and Dean are definitely up there, Kevin Owens has made waves since he entered the company in February and he's not going anywhere) down, it's insane that it's THIS BAD.

Survivor Series well, was much like every other special event you will see going forward.  A largely underwhelming midcard and a hit or miss main event.  The three tournament matches were good, the finale was shorter than expected and I have to think it's a teaser for future attractions down the line.  (Least I hope that's the case.)  THE finale was when Roman Reigns turned down Triple H's handshake with an emphatic Spear and turned into a Brogue Kick by Sheamus who cashed in his Money In The Bank title shot (good for 365 days to get a title shot anywhere, anytime, anyplace).  Now it's worth pointing out that no man has ever been cashed in on or on the wrong end of it twice within a calendar year.  Thanks to two Brogue Kicks by Sheamus, Roman Reigns can say he's the first to do so.  Now, it was a forgone conclusion that Roman Reigns would become champion here.  Didn't matter if Seth Rollins blew out everything in his knee or not.  This was the predetermined point where it all came full circle for him.  Thing is, he's STILL not ready for a few reasons.  First and foremost, he cannot talk for extended spurts.  Being champion isn't just about LOOKING the part which he does in spades, whatever that means.  You have to be able to SOUND the part and that's something, he just doesn't have and isn't close to right now.  Whether Vince is writing his shit or not, it's clear the second that camera light goes red, Roman just sounds dead.  Next, he has what I call John Cena Heat which isn't good for a company that's looking to have its top face cheered by EVERYONE.  John Cena Heat is defined by me as someone who is getting a 50/50 reaction at best and general apathy from the fans at worst.  Roman through no fault of his own, has had John Cena Heat since January when most caught on to the fact that Roman was being slingshotted to the top of the heap against their wishes.  Now, last year he was liked.  Well liked.  But the one thing that the company hasn't figured out, is that you can't tell the paying public what they're going to cheer for anymore.  It's not the 80s.  It's as crappy as the 90s and here's the thing most of these "smart marks" don't get.  It wouldn't have mattered if Roman walked out of Sunday as champion or not.  It's not going to matter that Sheamus, who should have something of a career rebirth so long as booking doesn't cripple his title run the way it has, well, everyone over the last few years.  Sheamus had his first run as champion towards the end of 2009 and hasn't done a ton since of consequence, he's better suited as a heel.  Being paired alongside Triple H, won't hurt him in the least bit.  This ending works out well on several fronts...

For The Authority, it's a much needed and past due reboot.  I'm sorry but while Kane & Show are big and were tag champs once upon a time...they were more comic relief than they were intimidating.  Monday we got a new look at what The Authority likely will resemble going forward.  Sheamus, Rusev & Wade Barrett.  Unfortunately with the current piss poor state that creative is in, nothing will come of this and it's a shame because those are three really good talents paired up with two of the best heel heat magnets in the form of Triple H & Stephanie McMahon.  Speaking of Triple H, this breathes new life into his heel authority form which had effectively flatlined over the last few months.  Roman will be the target of his angst going forward as he makes it his mission to ensure Roman doesn't regain the title on his watch.  At Wrestlemania, their beef will reach its boiling point more than likely.  Even though I've read that Sheamus is likely holding the belt up until the Rumble, he should keep it until Mania.  It's also worth noting that Roman's road to the title hit a roadblock at Money In The Bank back in June, the very night when Sheamus snatched the case he failed to thanks to Bray Wyatt's interference.

Fact is right now, television is as uninteresting as it has ever been and as a result, people are tuning out.  I cancelled the WWE Network a few months back and I only agreed to get it back cause of the free month they offered me.  That and two other reasons, one was because I wanted to know how this tourney played out and the other is next month when Finn Balor defends the NXT Championship against Samoa Joe.  NXT is really good, but it's a stark contrast to what's wrong with the main product.  One hour of NXT is light years greater than everything that we're presently getting from Raw and Smackdown COMBINED.  It's really not rocket science, people.  The weekly shows are pretty much a paint by numbers operation and it's not a good one.  This week we got Sheamus coming out, gloating about his win Sunday night and Roman coming out to stake his claim for a rematch.  Now, Roman wasn't angry about being screwed and showed literally no emotion to indicate he was upset about what went down.  Hell, he showed more emotion the night before after the fact than he did the following night.  John Cena Clone Sequence, commence!!!  The E is turning Roman into another John Cena.  Like Cena, Roman doesn't take anything too seriously even when it all but screams that he does so.  Problem is, Cena has done so much it's kinda understandable that he has such a laid back deal about him.  Roman hasn't done 1/3 of what Cena has.  Considering the last few months he has had, being robbed by Seth at Wrestlemania, getting denied the Money In The Bank by Bray in June and then losing Sunday night thanks to Sheamus robbing him...Roman needed to show he's PISSED.  He's sick of folks robbing him and he's ready to start blowing through fools.  But he didn't and at the end of the night, faced with a three on one disadvantage, Roman went through all three guys with a steel chair.  Just like John Cena has.  This company isn't about making stars anymore, just 'The Next So & So'.  Thing is, this is another part of the problem.  John Cena got his big break ten years ago and ever since roughly August of 2005, he hasn't had 100% of the crowd support since.  This is where John Cena Heat comes from.  Dueling chants of adulation and utter disdain at the same time.  Generally, you don't want your audience split about the top hero in the company.  There was no split reaction for Hogan or Austin in their respective primes.

So...the sad reality here is short of a total overhaul creatively speaking, this isn't going to change anytime soon.  Seth Rollins, Cesaro and Randy Orton are out until at the very earliest next Spring.  Orton apparently needs neck surgery on top of the injury to his shoulder, so maybe next Summer for him.  Losing Cesaro and Rollins hurts, as it's two fewer bodies for a creative and booking team that can't seem to stay out of its own way.  Sadly for them, the viewers will keep tuning out until they get with the program, pardon the obvious pun.

The Super Blog!!! (One. Day. Late.)

What a game.  Had to be, otherwise I'd be ranting poetic about the nonsensical bullshit world we live in where ball pressure can get pounded on more than a critical topic such as head injuries and the long term damage they cause in the NFL.  (Or some health related issue to that effect.)  So what did last night teach us if nothing else???

DEFENSE.  STILL WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS.  (Especially when you're not handing the ball off to the most physically imposing force to lace up a pair of cleats not named Bo or Earl.)
- Yes, Tom Brady threw the ball 50 times against easily the best secondary in the NFL.  Didn't throw at Sherman and well not for the sake of being sensible, but why should he?  If I'm having success throwing at other folks, I don't need to show how big my balls are by throwing at THE BEST CORNER IN THE GAME TODAY.  That's how you lose games, especially on the biggest stage.  (Oops, hi Pete!  I'll get to you in a second.)  The Pats won a game last night that technically, it had no business winning because after one of the most unexplainable catches you'll ever see...Seattle made an unexplainable call that most Seahawks fans and players will see in their nightmares for all of eternity.

Malcolm Butler, a corner you probably never heard of a day in your life, became Larry Brown 2.0 by jumping a pass that never should've been thrown and sealed the deal with a pick.  Showing yet again, that offense may put points on the board and give certain stats crazed junkies an unbelievable high...but at the end of the day, your ability to STOP SOMEBODY is what gets you paid, laid and championship made.  (Eh, I tried with that last one.)

Da Hoodie & The Guy That He Replaced
- Da Hoodie remains the most decorated disciple of the Bill Parcells Coaching Tree and for reasons I'll never know, it's not mentioned the way it should be.  Da Hoodie oversaw the D for one of the more underrated defensive units in the 80s & 90s (The Big Blue Wrecking Crew with L.T., Harry Carson, Pepper Johnson and other bone crushing folks of that sort) and while he hasn't had half that talent in Foxboro, he has done a pretty damn great job coaching these boys up regardless.  This year, much like most others since their last SB run a few years ago...they were left for dead after KC blew their doors off in a Monday Night game back in October.  The Pats, didn't roll over and play dead, they circled the wagons and went about business as usual.  Another season of double digit wins, media hatred cause they wouldn't cave as they were supposed to and now, a fourth ring putting him alongside former Blitzburgh coach Chuck Noll.  Now about That Guy Who He Replaced In New England...

Pete.  Carroll.  I have to admit, he has major backbone.  Not a ton of brains after last night, but it takes a seriously ballsy guy to THROW FROM THE ONE YARD LINE WITH A REPEAT TITLE IN THE FUCKING BAG.  All you have to do, is RUN THE BALL.  Doesn't matter how you do it, FB Dive, HB [Insert Terminology Of Choice Here], QB Over The Top, Under The Center, Who Gives A Shit.  Bottom line, THE BALL HAD NO BUSINESS LEAVING THE GROUND IN ANY FORM OR FASHION UNLESS IT WAS GOING FROM THE WILSON'S HANDS INTO THE BODY OF MARSHAWN LYNCH!!!  This loss will sting Pete way more than the USC loss to Texas did.  In a way, this may cripple their empire before it truly got going.  Games like these, usually do one of two things to you.  They either send you upward or they bring you crashing to the ground.  The last few teams who have lost heartbreaking games of this sort, haven't bounced back from them since.  Atlanta was one play away from reaching the Super Bowl a few years ago.  They've gone in the tank and Mike Smith has since been replaced.  San Fran came close to bringing home another title in the Bro Bowl a few years ago and well...they haven't been the same since.  Jim Harbaugh has since been run back to college thanks to management not liking him.

Seattle now has to deal with a grumpy Lynch who has been poked by the media seemingly all year long and now having to suffer the indignity of not being trusted to get ONE YARD AFTER GETTING FOUR BEFORE THE GAME KILLING INT...how do you return to Seattle after this?  To this end I say, watch out for Buffalo in the Beast Mode Sweepstakes.  Buffalo shouldn't have dealt him away to begin with and with Rex Ryan who never saw a running play he didn't like, do the math.

Tom Brady.  Joe Montana.  Terry Bradshaw.
- In the world we live in, more focus has been put on dumbass numbers that ultimately, don't add up to jackshit.  You've got guys like Drew Brees, A.A. Ron Rodgers, Phillp Rivers and Andrew Luck that are slurped off way more than the likes of Big Ben, Tom Brady & Eli Manning.  Why?  Cause those other guys are in offenses where they throw early and often, basically they are what Kenny Smith what label 'looters in a riot'.  Wanna know what the likes of Drew & A.A. Ron also have in common?  For all their great passing stats...they only have one ring a piece.  Same goes for Employee #18 aka Peyton Manning, Eli's Big Brother that is the Greatest Regular Season Quarterback In Recorded Ever.  Like, I think he averages about 10 wins a year just by his lonesome yet in the playoffs...he's below average.  Like, with this year's punking by the hands of Indianapolis, his record is below .500 for his career.

Terry Bradshaw had the luxury of playing behind, feasibly the greatest defense in NFL history.  The Steel Curtain.  Dominated the 70s.  Know why Bradshaw deserves way more respect than he's given?  Because while the Steel Curtain kept teams from scoring in those Super Bowl wins against the Cowboys, Vikes & Rams respectively...Terry Bradshaw was the guy who ensured that offense ran smoothly.  Know that deep throw that Lynn Swann caught in the late 70s against the Cowboys?  Sure as shit wasn't Mel Blount or Jack Lambert pitching him that rock.  It was Terry.  Terry Bradshaw's stat line likely wouldn't blow your skirt or shorts up, because HE DIDN'T HAVE TO THROW IT ALL THE DAMN TIME!!!  It's called having a balanced offensive attack and having the likes of Franco Harris and Frenchy Fuqua to hand the pill off to.  (Yes, I'm well aware I was born in 1980 and I shouldn't know this much about a team that dominated just before I was born.  Got a problem with it, take it up with my Dad.  He's an avid Steelers fan and probably filled my head with more about them than most any sports related thing I can think of.)

Joe Montana is yet another one, woefully under appreciated for being a cold blooded assassin who unlike his contemporaries Marino & Elway, just got shit done.  Hell, even the guy who they passed the torch to in the early 90s, Steve Young...Mister One Hit Wonder in my book, is spoken of far better than Joe Cool.  All Joe Cool did was win 4 titles in the 80s, win three Super Bowl MVPs in the process and kill the Bengals (twice), Broncos & Dolphins in the Super Bowl.  Oh and that San Fran D during that timeframe, WOEFULLY UNDERRATED.  Joe was disrespected by being dealt to Kansas City so that Steve Young could get his turn behind the wheel.  Steve got one more title out of a team that was built to win a helluva lot more.  Joe went to KC, guided the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game in 93 and got em' back to the playoffs the year after before retiring in 1994.

Tom Brady is the greatest 6th round pick in NFL history.  If not for him crossing paths with the New York Football Giants, Brady would be sitting with his model wife packing a fistful of rings like he was The Mandarin.  Tom Brady picked apart the NFL's best secondary with Julian Edelman and Shane Vereen.  Tom Brady, who hasn't seen a playmaker on the outside since he had Moss does indeed have Gronk (when healthy), beat the NFL's best secondary with a bunch of NOBODIES.  Basically, it was a fleet of 2s & 3s, plus a #1 at TE.  It was "Vintage Brady", if I may go Michael Cole for a second.  No other QB has done more with less in his CAREER than Brady and yet, he gets little to NO respect for it.  Or not as much as the others who have done far less in their careers.

Extra Points
- The Pats will enter next season as the hunted and it feels like Groundhog Day cause now the Spurs of the NFL are back atop the mountain months after San Antonio retook their throne.  The AFC isn't quite as tough as the NFC, which I'll get to in a second.  But unless the Colts get some running help for Luck, the Texans solve that QB issue and the Bengals stop letting the moment overwhelm them...I'm having a difficult time seeing anyone stop the Pats.  If you want a darkhorse to watch out for...keep an eye on the Bills.  Rex Ryan is motivated to stop the Pats and stick it to the Jets, he's likely one good running back and a good QB away from doing so.  (You can get that in an offseason.)
- Seattle's losing opens things up tremendously in the NFC next season.  Sherman's gonna need Tommy John season, which means his next season is a wash.  Jeremy Lane is out.  So we'll see half of the world's most dangerous 90s R & B group, err, secondary.  Sorry, that SI cover threw me a bit.  I don't have a frontrunner in the NFC next season.  There are certain teams I just can't take seriously, because of their offensive make up and the like.  Or the fact that they can't stop anyone (Hi, Gag Bay) or the fact that they're coming off a self inflicted gun shot wound (Hi Seattle).

For the record, Seattle will not go anywhere as long as their braintrust remains intact.  Sherman was a 5th rounder.  Wilson, 3rd rounder.  Most of their key cogs sans Lynch, were taken in the Draft well after you've likely tuned out.  That's when you put a team together.  If you can hit on all those picks after Round 2, coaching is all you need to keep a team in place doing great things.  Seattle LIKELY falls back a smidge next season, but just for next season.  Their drafting will keep them in it for years to come.  Also of note, when you draft well in Rounds 2-7, missing in Round 1 doesn't cripple you like it does most other teams.  As a Giants fan, I'm good knowing Odell Beckham Junior is the new money man opposite of Cruz so Eli has a serious threat to keep secondaries up at night.  But before I sign off, my Top 4 of Coaches and QBs in the NFL.

Top 4 QBs
1) Tom Brady.  Four Super Bowl Championships in roughly 14 years.  No discernible playmaker aside from Gronk this time, won his previous three with a bunch of possession receivers and folks you wouldn't run with in Madden.  Three time Super Bowl MVP.  Puts him with Joe Cool.  Can't refute that.  Four game winning drives in four wins.  Darth Brady, bitches.
2) Eli Manning.  Yeah, I'm aware of the fact that he hasn't been to the playoffs since the 2011 season.  But ya know why he's here?  Cause when he gets to the playoffs, he WINS.  He has been on the road more than he has been at home and I dare say, he's probably better on the road.  2-0 in Lambeau in the postseason.  2-0 against Tom Brady in the Super Bowl.  Eli's the one Manning that Brady is scared shitless of.  Believe that.
3) Big Ben.  His first title was won likely in spite of him when he was young and their ground game carried them big time.  That second title, trust and believe, HE WON THAT ONE.  Game winning drive, drops a beauty in for Santonio Holmes to snatch for the game winner.  Ben had no business going back in to that playoff game this season, but he's definitely one of the best.  Ben & Eli are the best of that vaunted 2005 QB Class.
4) Delaware Joe Flacco.  Of the 'One Hit Wonders', Joe's got my respect.  This guy has ice water in his veins in a legitimate way.  The 'Delaware Joe' thing is something of an homage to Hollywood Hogan, only Joe went to school at Delaware University, so there's that too.  Joe had a bad throw but like Eli, has been a serious pain in Brady's ass and Joe has shown a major propensity for not being fazed by being on the road for the playoffs.

Top 4 Coaches
1) Bill Belichick.  Da Hoodie.  Disciple of former Giants head coach Bill Parcells, I won't even bother with that Spygate bullshit.  He shook off a bad coaching start in Cleveland, went back to coach alongside Bill with the Jets and then, he took over New England.  Won his first title in 2001 cancelling The Greatest Show On Turf and it has been rolling since then.  No other coach has done more with less than this guy.  Yet it's staggering how many coaches have had so much more and been fired or gone since Bill arrived in 2001.
2) Tom Coughlin.  2-0 in the Super Bowl.  He's not done yet and he has managed coaching in the media hotbed of the East Coast better than most in his spot have.  Coughlin's definitely my second favorite NYG coach of all time behind The Tuna, one more title puts him over the top.  He's not done YET.  Drafting Beckham props the window open, now they simply have to retool both lines, especially the defensive line cause without a pass rush...it's moot.  (This can be done in an offseason.)
3) Mike Tomlin.  Omar Epps lookalike jokes aside, the guy can coach.  The Steelers, stay in the hunt and it's because this guy coaches better than most.  He has one ring, knows he should've had two and shouldn't finish with one title when it's all said and done.  Organization behind him is one of the best in the league.
4) John Harbaugh.  As the last remaining Harbaugh, I see him as having the most upside of all the coaches with just one ring on his resume.  Pete would've occupied this spot, but he just had to throw from the 1.  John Harbaugh would've run the damn thing in.  How he managed to keep the Ravens flowing with a patchwork secondary and after the Ray Rice deal, was nothing short of remarkable.

And lastly...

- If EA Sports puts someone from your favorite team on the ballot to be the next Madden cover guy, do what Carolina coach Ron Rivera did...VOTE FOR THE OTHER GUY.  I don't believe in curses, but I'm also failing to see the coincidence behind damn near every single Madden cover guy having some mysterious calamity that times itself just right with the year they appear on it.  To Sherman's credit, he's the only one of the bunch that made it to the Super Bowl.  But the price he paid to get there (Tommy John surgery likely cancels him out for next season) was STEEP.  Before him and excluding last year's cover guy Barry Sanders, you'd be very hard pressed to find anyone who hasn't prospered by being on that cover.  Calvin Johnson didn't do too bad, was healthy and led the league in receiving.  But he didn't make the playoffs the year he did it.  Google 'Madden Curse' and you'll see what's befallen all who appear on that cover.  It's like Death from Final Destination.  It can't be cheated.  Won't be beaten.  By anyone.

Until next time or I feel compelled to blog about something...PEACE.

The Summer of Punk And How The WWE's Mismanagement Of This Is Still Stinging Now.

A little background about me as a wrestling fan before I begin.  I'm 34.  I've been watching wrestling for about 30 years give or take.  I was a NWA/WCW guy and yes, I was rooting for the bad guy before doing so was considered cool.  I was a Ric Flair fan, not Hulk Hogan.  I was a Demolition guy, not LOD ironically enough.  (In case you were curious, Tully & Arn were my favorite tag team as a kid.)  So I say all of that, to say this...

2011 could've been a really great year.  By the time June of 2011 rolled around, much like most wrestling fans, I was really struggling to stay tuned.  Then, one fateful night in June, CM Punk runs in during a Table Match between R-Truth and John Cena.  He costs Cena the match and as Cena lied in the wreckage of a smashed table, he sat down on the stage with a mic in hand and dropped the single greatest promo in the history of Monday Night Raw.  Seriously, I dare you to find one that topped it in the annals of that show's history and you'll fail miserably.  I guarantee it.  This thing was wide reaching and it was resounding.  It was one man who for the better part of his career, kept exceeding the expectations put before him and had nothing to show for it.  His World Title run in 2008 was short circuited because they felt Jericho/HBK (which was a great feud at that time, Jericho was really lights out as a smarmy, suit wearing heel) needed the strap.  His World Title run a year later was more of a jog around the block than a run, as he dropped the belt to Taker barely two months after winning it.  Oh and that screw job finish at Breaking Point in that Submission Match, good grief I could've written it better hung over and in my sleep than what we ended up with.  2010 saw the rise of the Straight Edge Society and despite it being one of the better stables they had at the time, he got no closer to the title.  So he moves to commentary and just KILLS IT, before snapping back to action beefing with Cena.  Which brings us to...

June 27, 2011.  CM Punk spent the end of Raw just blasting the WWE for everything that fans like me were sick and tired of.  We were sick of Cena being crammed down our throats.  We were sick of folks like Punk being told their only role was to make the meatheads look good and that was it.  Finally, for every angry fan who was smart enough to know good wrestling when we see it, we had a voice.  A week later, CM Punk wasn't seen and that promo was still felt by all.  Cena voiced his displeasure of Punk being suspended, Vince stood his ground until Cena handed him the belt and bounced.  Vince caved, giving Cena what he wanted but stated if he lost to Punk in Chicago and the belt with it, he was "fired".  So we flash forward a week to Boston, Cena's home turf and with a bullhorn in tow, CM Punk owned the first segment.  Then when Cena came out, he owned him too even though Cena spoke most of that time they were out there.  Then the night ends with Punk talking the masses into the building with a scathing promo about the walking contradiction that Cena has become and this was after he spent what felt like a solid 10-15 minutes putting Vince in his place for all the screwed up roster decisions he has made.  Contract gets torn up, Raw ends with Punk mocking Cena and everyone's jacked for the PPV.  We want to see how this ends.

Money In The Bank 2011.  Lemme tell ya something, as someone who remembers The Montreal Screwjob and all that came from it...this was another HUGE MOMENT the WWE had and unlike 1997, they royally hosed this.  The match itself was absolutely GREAT.  The fans were seriously jacked in a way I hadn't heard in my lifetime.  I still get goosebumps watching that match, the false finishes and then THE FINISH which was an inverted ending to Montreal 1997.  What you got in Chicago, was the 'what if HBK stopped Vince from ringing the bell, slid back in and lost to Bret' finish.  Punk wins the title, celebrates with the strap and then...he stares down Vince after keeping Alberto Del Rio from cashing in on him and keeping the belt in the company.  With a simple blown kiss, he was out.  He did the unthinkable.  We all lost our minds watching it.  I lost my voice cheering it on.  The next night, Vince stopped a one night tournament to crown a new champion to attempt to fire Cena for his failure to keep the belt from leaving.  Punk had already taken to social media, posting a picture of the belt in his fridge next to a jar of Smuckers Jelly I believe.   But before Cena could be fired by Vince, Triple H came out on behalf of the Board of Directors to begrudgingly fire his Father-In-Law as COO and announce he has been picked to replace him.

So turning this forward, at Comic Con, Punk appeared and given his stature, he blended right in with the crowd there.  He had a rather nice back and forth with Triple H who was speaking front and center, setting the wheels in motion for his return only we didn't know when.  It would've been better, if his return wasn't until just before Summerslam.  They could've milked this beautifully and I believe if they had the creative team they had in place during the Monday Night Wars, they would have done so.  Instead, Punk returned the night Rey Mysterio won the WWE Title and then lost it the SAME NIGHT to John Cena who decided he was going to get his rematch.  (Hustle.  Loyalty.  Picking Your Spot Like A Sneaky Snake To Reclaim The Top Spot.)  So LOLCENAWINSLOL and as he's celebrating with Jim Ross calling it, we hear the static sound which would lead to the anthem we all marked out for when we heard it cause we knew what it meant.  The Champ.  Was Back.  Punk returned and while the reaction was okay, maybe I should've seen this thing falling flat from here.  Of course, we had the unheard of 'two champions at the same time' deal when in reality, Cena was the Interim Champion.  Punk was THE CHAMPION as he was never beaten for the title and it was never formally stripped from him.  He simply took the belt on the final day of his contract and that was it.  But logistics, right?  Anyway, they make the rematch at Summerslam with Triple H as the special guest ref.  Match goes off without a hitch, except for the finish where Trips didn't catch Cena's foot on the rope.  Honest mistake.  Fine.  Punk's made history.  First man in history to beat Cena clean on back to back PPVs.  HOORAY!!!

Then Kevin Nash ran in.  Then Del Rio cashed in.  Then the proverbial bottom to the single biggest rise this side of Stone Cold in 1997-98 started to erode bit by bit.  He lost to Cena the night after Summerslam thanks to Nash's distraction.  Long story short, it took Punk nearly two and a half months to earn his one on one return match for the title Del Rio took from him.  Trips inevitably books a match for Night of Champions between Punk and Nash, then it flips into Punk and Triple H.  Okay, this is probably the way they should've went from the get go but okay.  Makes sense given Punk has been jabbing Trips since Comic Con and Trips has had to put his ego on the backburner for the betterment of the company.  He can't do things the way he's used to doing it and well, he finally had enough.  Punk is still convinced him being screwed was a Triple H move and the match has a catch.  Punk wins, Trips steps down as COO.  There's no way Punk should lose this match.  Not after beating SuperCena on back to back pay per views.  Right?  RIGHT?????????

Wrong.  So wrong.  The match itself for an all out brawl, was really good to me.  Hell, the promo these two had with each other six days prior to NOC, was as heated an exchange as you'll ever see.  Once it got going anyway, cause for the first few minutes it was kind of a slow dance.  But basically, after what felt like 80 run ins from and not limited to R-Truth and The Miz (great team that didn't even touch its ceiling as a unit) and of course Kevin Nash...Trips wins after 3 Pedigrees and I think a sledgehammer shot.  Punk went on to lose on the next two PPVs, once in a tag match with Trips against The Awesome Truth and then at Heck In A Cage to Del Rio and Cena after Cena was locked out of the cell by Del Rio and Punk was teed off on with a lead pipe.  Not for nothing, the ending of this match with Truth & Miz coming in from under the ring and hitting anything that move made for one of the best PPV endings you'll ever see.  So Punk finally gets his rematch at Survivor Series in the Garden and him being introduced by The Fink, was great.  Punk ends up making Del Rio tap and Day 1 of 434 begins.  This should've been a star making moment, the moment when the WWE had its Batman to SuperCena.

Yeah...did they ever screw this up.  Wanna know how long it took Punk to headline a PPV after Survivor Series?  Nine months.  It wasn't until Night of Champions in Boston in September of 2012 that he headlined against SuperCena no less, with Paul Heyman in his corner that Punk was finally put on the marquee.  Sad thing is, this wasn't by design, it was because The Rock on Raw 1000 announced he was challenging for the title against whomever the champ was at the Royal Rumble.  So now, with this on the horizon, they had to put the belt back on the front burner.  Needless to say and I don't know this man personally or even informally, but I can't imagine this made Punk happy.  AT ALL.  Punk went on to battle his archnemesis to a draw in Boston, beat Ryback at Heck In A Cage thanks to a crooked ref, survived the combined efforts of Ryback and SuperCena thanks to three guys who would go on to form the single most destructive force this side of the New World Order at Survivor Series before it all ended in January.  Well, you know how this story goes from here.  Punk gets his rematch, loses, challenges Taker at Mania and loses again.  Takes off for a few months and returns in Chicago to face Jericho, wins, then has Heyman turn on him at Money In The Bank a month later.  Long story short, Punk's last days were spent spinning his wheels when in reality, he should've been the Savage to SuperCena's Hogan.  His last night was the 2014 Royal Rumble when he went from #1 to being one of the last 4 before being tossed out by Corporate Kane.

We haven't seen him on WWE television since and while the WWE would lead you to think otherwise, they haven't really bounced back from this since.  See, Punk was pound for pound the best mic worker they had.  He was your proverbial Swiss Army Knife, a tool for every occasion that the WWE had in its toolbox and then minimized it to the point where he just went home and never went back.  Like someone I remember reading said, you don't break contract unless you're seriously not happy.  Since late January, I've read a ton of keyboard warriors on their moral high horses bashing him for his decision to leave and break contract.  But to them I say, what reason did he have for staying?  He was the longest reigning WWE Champion this side of Hulkamania.  Think about this for a second.  Nobody...not John Cena, not Triple H, not The Rock, not The Undertaker carried that belt half as long as CM Punk did from November 2011 to January 2013.  CM Punk & Paul Heyman were your new age Ric Flair and JJ Dillon.  That's fact, not opinion or fiction.  Now, the WWE finds itself in a serious hole.  Daniel Bryan, the popular choice to step into that #2 spot is out until feasibly 2015.  He was the fans' preference to win this year's Rumble that Batista won, but well, you know how that went.  Roman Reigns became the next guy pegged to not just become the Face Behind THE Face, but to inevitably become the heir to SuperCena's throne.  Welp, he just had to have surgery and he might be out until 2015 too.  Boy, they sure are running through them aren't they?  So now this falls to Dean Ambrose, one of the men who made his debut along with Reigns and Seth Rollins during Punk's title defense at Survivor Series in 2012.  Ambrose is a really nice hybrid of what we never got to see of Brian Pillman during his WWE run and is very Terry Funk meets Roddy Piper on the stick.

Lemme put it this way, if I had the book, he's winning the 2015 Rumble if healthy and he's taking the strap off Lesnar in San Fran at next year's Mania before Seth Rollins cashes in on him and becomes champion.  But all of this is moot if Punk is still on the roster.  See, Punk's gone because when you hit the point where you feel your hard work isn't going to net you the reward you deserve...you lose motivation to keep doing it.  I've personally had that happen to me and while I didn't break contract like Punk did, my lack of give a crap led to me being fired.  Because I was drained from feeling like I was never going to get the reward I felt was warranted and others did too.  As a result of the mismanagement of The Summer of Punk and the 434 Day Reign it led to, the WWE has nobody behind Cena on the babyface food chain at the moment.  Ambrose is likely to run with this and unless they cut his knees out from underneath him, he's not going to let this go.  As he said on Monday night...

"Nobody takes food off my plate.  Not even you, John."

Dean's eating now at the spot vacated by the injuries to Daniel & Roman, but wouldn't even have that spot if not for the general disdain that set in and led to Punk leaving the company never to be seen or heard from again.  For now???  See, it's rare to see anyone leave and never return.  Especially when there's still money to be made.  Austin left in June of 2002 and eventually returned.  When he left though, they blasted him the DAY he left.  Other than Stephanie blasting fans for chanting Punk's name a few nights ago and the occasional veiled shots at him, they've been incredibly careful to not incinerate any bridges with Punk because they know what he brings to the table.  In light of the recent legal hooblah, it really is 'Never Say Never'.  Especially in wrestling.