April 1st, 2012
You had to know WrestleMania 28 would make history, as this event has been building for well over a year! The double main event has definitely been slow-brewing ever since 2011, when The Rock first met John Cena, and the Undertaker battles Triple H at last year’s WrestleMania 27.
Perhaps you even scoffed at the main event this year–after all, The Rock only shows up to a WWE ring once or twice a year. This match was made for the glory of John Cena, right? Wasn’t it obvious The Rock would play the role of “jabroni” to John Cena?
Maybe it was obvious, but it sure as heck didn’t happen! In fact, The Rock was the crowd favorite for the entire event (Cena was just about booed out of the stadium) and defeated the white rapper wrestler after a devastating Rock Bottom. The Rock Bottom finisher was perfectly executed, as Rock played dead for a mock “People’s Elbow” by Cena, and then sprung up to deliver the blow. The most interesting development, wrestling fans and insiders say, was the fact that Cena was playing the villain on WrestleMania 28, showing great arrogance, while The Rock was playing the role of hero underdog.
There were other upsets as well, such as Sheamus winning the World Title from Daniel Bryan in only 18 seconds, and Kane defeating Randy Orton with a clean choke slam. CM Punk also retained the title, defeating Chris Jericho with the “Anaconda vise.”
Perhaps the best match of the night (though Rock and Cena was a close second) was the Undertaker vs. Triple H, in a bout that virtually promised us that Undertaker would lose, and that Triple H would destroy the dead man’s WrestleMania winning streak. However, Taker again defeated Triple H with a tombstone pile driver to go 20-0. Gee, they made it seem like such a surprise. The most surprising bit was when Triple H, Shawn Michaels and Undertaker all shared a group hug! Sweeeet, guys.
Another interesting tidbit was the news that ex-UFC fighter Brock Lesnar was in Miami, and may have even been backstage at the event. However, Lesnar did not make his presence known. Perhaps he was just waiting for the perfect “surprise” appearance on the next episode of Monday Night RAW?
Wrestlemania 28 is history, but the WWE has nine more months of action to offer in 2012. Buy your tickets in advance and come enjoy the internal and external fireworks going on!
March 29th, 2012
The NFL annual league meeting was held yesterday, and while there was lots of buzz around the Saints, their bounty programs, and their punishments, there was still time to talk about how football would look next year. Amidst that talk, four major rules changes were made; here they are.
- Regular season overtime will now match playoff overtime. When the NFL changed the overtime rule last year to say that each team had to have possession of the ball at least once (unless a TD was scored), they held off on imposing the rule during the regular season, for fear of changing too much too soon. Now, the overtime in both regular and playoff season will match up — each team must have the ball at least once.
- Booth officials now have more power. Although the Bills didn’t get to have every replay review handled by booth officials, like they wanted, there were still some changes to the booth officials’ duties and responsibilities. These officials will now be able to replay reviews on fumbles, interceptions, backward passes, muffed kicks recovered by an opponent, and behind the line passes, also recovered by the opponent.
- Too many men. In the old rules (the ones that stood on Tuesday,) teams were simply given yardage when the opposing team had too many men. Now though, the play will be called a dead ball foul when there are too many men in formation.
- No more crackback blocks. Players who clip or block from below the waist are now considered to be defenseless players, and cannot be hit in the head or the neck.
These were the only changes that were actually made in yesterday’s meeting. However, there were still many issues left to be decided, and those will be tabled until May. No one’s worried, though. Rich McKay, president of the Atlanta Falcons, said coming out of the meeting, “There is not necessarily resistance. They do not need to be passed today. We will pass them in May.”
March 26th, 2012
When it was announced on Monday that Peyton Manning would be signing with the Denver Broncos, everyone’s eyes turned to Tim Tebow. Where would the quarterback, who took his team to the playoffs while thanking God on bended knee, go now? Just days later, and after a contract debacle during negotiations, Tim Tebow is now a New York Jet, playing backup to Mark Sanchez.
Tim Tebow, along with a 2012 seventh-round draft pick, was traded to the New York Jets in exchange for a 2012 fourth and sixth round draft pick. The deal seemed to be a simple one at first, but when negotiations started and it was found that Denver still owed Tebow $5 million of the salary advance from his rookie contract. That did seem to stall things for a bit and had everyone thinking that Tebow was in an off-again, on-again situation with the Jets. Finally the two sides agreed to each pay half and Tebow was on his way to New York.
Tebow, in a conference call with reporters, seemed optimistic about the move, saying, “I just want to thank the Denver Broncos for my time there. It was very memorable and special. Now I’m looking forward to my time as a Jet. I’m very thankful for the opportunity to play for such a great organization. It’s my dream and passion to help them out and just be a part of it. I’m just happy they believed in me and stuck with me through this crazy process.”
March 18th, 2012
The NBA trade deadline last Thursday came and went just as many of those in major sports as of late — no big names moved, and much of the anticipation that built up to it didn’t end up coming to fruition. But there were some teams that made some noise and for those that did, it’s now just a waiting game to see if those moves will pay off. Here’s a recap of what happened on the NBA trade deadline day.
- The biggest story was that Denver Nuggets traded Nene to the Washington Wizards for JaVale McGee. The deal also included the move of Nick Young, who will be leaving Washington to play for the L.A. Clippers.
- A huge story leading up to the trade deadline was that of Stephen Jackson, who was acquired by the Golden State Warriors along with Andrew Bogut for Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh, and Kwame Brown. Jackson may not have even had a chance to slip on the Warriors jersey though, before the team traded him to the San Antonio Spurs for Richard Jefferson and a conditional first round pick.
- The Portland Trailblazers made a few huge splashes, but those might be the only noise we hear from them for a while, as they are clearly focused now on rebuilding and have some challenging seasons in front of them. The Trailblazers traded Markus Camby to the Houston Rockets, and sent Gerald Wallace to the New Jersey Nets for center Mehmet Okur, forward Shawne Williams, and the Nets’ protected first-round pick.
- The L.A. Lakers acquired Jason Kapono and Luke Walton from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Ramon Sessions and Christian Eyenga.
Leading up to the deadline of course, the biggest talk was that of Dwight Howard and whether he would be traded or not. It seemed as though Howard couldn’t make up his mind, wanting to be traded and then wanting to stay in Orlando and then wanting to be traded again. It was enough to make any fan, or Magic owner, crazy; and left Howard giving the excuse that it was a “heart vs. head” decision. Excuses or not, it leaves the Magic with a playoff spot that they’ve got to really make something of — before Howard’s head sends him to play in another city.
Steve Nash was another name that was heavily talked about before trade deadline day; and another one in which there was no move. Unlike Howard though, Nash was very clear both before and during the trade frenzy that he did not want to be moved; although his contract with the Phoenix Suns is up after this season. So it may not be so much that he’s “happy with the organization” as he claims, but that he’s just waiting until his free agency begins to make the most money he can — there are a lot of teams that would love to add to Nash to their roster.
March 15th, 2012
The Tennessee Titans have made it clear that they would do everything they could to get Peyton Manning to play for them this year, and yesterday they started trying.
When Manning stepped off the plane in Tennessee to meet with Titans’ execs, it was nothing new to him. Manning played for Tennessee during his college years, and at the time he enjoyed the hero football star status that he still enjoys today. And the fact that a hero was in town was certainly felt. Fans lined the fence outside of team headquarters, cheering and waving and holding up posters indicating their desperation to have Peyton play for them. And while Manning was inside speaking to Titans coach, Mike Munchak and team doctors, the Tennessee Governor, Bill Haslam also phoned to speak to Manning personally. Reporters were outside giving “live action updates” and a radio station even blared the song “Rocky Top” while Manning was inside. Yes, Tennessee wants him. And they want him badly.
No one knows just yet what Manning will do, but free agency has already begun and that means Manning will need to make a decision soon. Denver, Arizona, and Miami are all now teams that are actively pursuing the quarterback, but they won’t be able to wait forever. If Manning doesn’t make a decision they’ll have to go with someone else just to cover their bases. And if Manning wants other players to come with him, he’ll need to give even more time for deals to be made.
For the time being, we can only hope that real news will be made soon. Bud Adams, owner of the Titans, told a Nashville radio station on Wednesday night, “He’s going to make up his mind fairly soon. Hopefully we’d be in the running.”
March 12th, 2012
New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith might have thought the only wrath he would suffer after posting a pic to Twitter on Thursday night was that of his girlfriend, Tahiry Jose. In the pic, Jose was lying on a bed, with her back to the camera, watching television. Unfortunately, Jose was wearing only undergarments (with a full tank top,) and Smith joked that it was her large back end that was blocking his view of the television. He quickly found out that the picture was not as cool as he thought.
The tweet was immediately followed with tons of followers telling him just what an “uncool” move it was, although no one seemed seriously offended. Tahiry may have been though, along with Joe Budden, who Tahiry has been seeing for the past year, although the two have had a tumultuous relationship. Smith must have gotten wind from several angles that his picture was most unappreciated, as he soon took down the pic, tweeting along with it, “Sorry for my last tweet @TheRealTahiry n @JoeBudden I see ya’ll will never be done so I’ll step aside and chalk this one up!”
That wasn’t all that Smith had to say, either. After his game on Friday night, one in which his team lost, he seemed to take some accountability for the loss saying, “I didn’t know it would turn into a big deal. I definitely regret it. Whenever it takes away from our team, I regret it. It wasn’t the smartest move.”
But, it would be more than hurt feelings that he’d have to deal with. The NBA also got wind of the tweet, and apparently decided to make an example of Smith, fining him $25,000.
Yes, even though he expressed sincere regret over it, even before the fine and on multiple occasions, the NBA still fined him, and pretty heftily. It has many questioning what right, if any, the NBA has to do such a thing. After all, by fining Smith, they’re saying that they have some sort of right to his Twitter account and that he’s accountable to them for what he puts up there. But is he?
It’s an interesting question, and definitely a two-sided one. On the one hand, it’s J.R. Smith’s personal Twitter account. What right does the league have to say about what he tweets, posts, or does in his personal time? It was a fairly harmless picture to begin with and in basketball as with every other sport, players have done far worse in their personal time and not have had such severe repercussions. On the other hand, team executives and the league do have a right to say what players have to do in their personal time, such as when it comes to things like risky, albeit legal, behavior. So where is the line drawn, then? And does the NBA really think that what a player does in their personal time is any reflection on them?
What do you think? Did J.R. Smith deserve the fine, and should the league have a say over players’ personal Twitter accounts?
March 5th, 2012
During the NBA All-Star game, Dwayne Wade shocked fans, and mostly Kobe Bryant, when he fouled Kobe in a game that meant nothing, breaking his nose and giving him “concussion-like” symptoms. Fans thought it serendipitous that Wade’s Miami Heat were headed out to L.A. just one week later, and were eager to see how the repercussions of the unnecessary hit would play out. Bryant came out wearing a face mask and swinging. But it wasn’t revenge he was looking for, simply a win. Wade on the other hand, may have been suffering from a little karma, as it wasn’t one of his best games yet.
Wade didn’t apologize for the hit after the All-Star game, saying that Bryant had also thrown a couple of fouls his way. Reportedly though, Wade did send Kobe a text apologizing for the hit shortly after the incident. That must have been enough, as Bryant was then quoted as saying, “We put it behind us and moved on to this game. Baseball, it’s part of their sport. It’s kind of what they do. It’s part of their culture, it’s not part of ours.” Scoring 33 points in a game that the Lakers took over the Heat by 93-83 probably didn’t hurt Kobe’s ability to be gracious.
Wade on the other hand, had a horrible game. He finished with half of Kobe’s points, just 16, he missed 10 out of the 17 shots he threw, and he fouled out of the game. Being taken out of the game didn’t help the Heat, as they were also missing Bosh who missed his third game after his grandmother’s death. Wade couldn’t understand the fouls himself, saying, “It’s very rare. I don’t foul out much. I guess I had the red flag on me today. It was unfortunate. I would love to be in there with my teammates and I wasn’t able to.” Maybe it was the headache he was feeling after being hit by Lakers players during the game. Wade’s headache was probably nothing compared to Kobe’s though.
Kobe has been said to suffer from severe headaches when he’s exposed to a large amount of noise. That’s not good, considering that Lakers fans aren’t known for being a quiet bunch. The star Lakers player also had a hard time answering reports questions after the game, as he squinted against the blinding light of the cameras. Bryant has worn the face mask he donned at the Heat game for his past three games — every game one in which the Lakers emerged victorious. He has said that he’s not sure of how much longer he’ll continue to wear the protective gear; but after taking a few shots from Miami on Sunday, it’ll probably be at least a few days longer than he expected.
After the highly anticipated game, things go back to where they were before the All-Stars. The Lakers are still down in points, and now trying to figure out a way to win without Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown. And in addition, they might be looking at losing Kobe for a little while if his condition gets any worse. The Heat on the other hand, remain high in the charts, but are no doubt excited about Bosch’s return; and hoping that Wade’s physical symptoms and foul tendencies are behind him.
March 3rd, 2012
No one went into the NBA All-Star game on Sunday night thinking that fireworks were going to happen — neither the fans nor the players. In what’s typically a lackluster game that doesn’t involve too much contact but a lot of scoring, this one started off in traditional form. The Eastern conference came onto the court looking as though they had lead in their legs and not a lot of fire in their heart. And while the Western Conference was a little more aggressive, they didn’t have to put out that much effort to take the ball away from the East.
The most exciting part of the first half was when the Western Conference took 88 points, breaking the record for the most points scored in an NBA All-Star half. That, and a interviews right on the bench with some of the greats in today’s game such as LeBron James were about as interesting as it got. In the third quarter though, that all changed and fans now had a couple of things to get really excited about — blood, and a controversy!
In a game when teams typically just hand the ball back and forth, with perhaps a few showy albeit fake attempts to really play any defense, Dwayne Wade changed all of that against NBA giant Kobe Bryant. With just under ten minutes of play left in the third quarter, Wade came up on Bryant from behind and hard-fouled him over the shoulder. It was enough for Bryant to draw blood and no wonder; after the game the Lakers were reporting that he had a nasal fracture. Fair play in regular season, but absolutely unheard of in a game when players are just trying to get through it and get back to their real jobs. It’s not a game that’s worth risking anything for generally and now, Bryant is said to be suffering from headaches and concussion-like symptoms.
That will have to be played out later this coming weekend, when Miami Heat will travel to L.A. to play the Lakers. As it stands, Wade is standing behind his statement that “Kobe had fouled me twice in a row before that, so he still [was] one up on me.” No apologies, not even for a blatantly tough hit in a game that means nothing.
In the meantime, there was still a game to be played out.
James came alive off the bench too, when he had a triple 3: three three-pointers in the first three minutes of the second half. That helped the East get back in the game, even if they were still down by 12. The West brought it the entire game, with Bryant scoring 27, even if he shot only four out of eleven tries in the second half; that concussed condition probably didn’t help. Russell Westbrook brought his own, scoring 21 points during his 28 minutes in the game and Kevin Love scored 17 points — eight of them helped liven up the second half.
In the end it looked like your usual NBA All-Star game, with the Western Conference taking 152 points over the East’s 149. But even with a typical score and not a lot of hoopla surrounding it, this is still sure to be on the NBA All-Star games that’s actually to be remembered.
February 28th, 2012
After Super Bowl and the Academy Awards take place, attention moves to the annual and traditional Wrestlemania–at least in the wrestling world. Wrestlemania XXVIII (28) is happening on April 1, 2012 and a few tickets are still available. It is going to take place at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Though Wrestlemania is an entire 3-4 hours of entertainment, thus far only four matches have been announced. No doubt the bookers, scriptwriters and the McMahon dynasty are all eagerly planning the show.
It doesn’t look like anything’s going to outshine the main event: The Rock, a Hollywood action star, is going to do battle with John Cena. This feud has been building for a while, as The Rock has been trash talking John Cena for a long time now. Since last Wrestlemania, The Rock has been getting involved in physical action and has even “Rock-Bottomed” John Cena, costing him important victories. The Rock and Cena actually teamed up at Survivor Series 2011 to defeat The Miz and R-Truth, but that didn’t stop The Rock from attacking Cena following their victory.
Another main event will see old pros the Undertaker and Triple H in a Hell in a Cell match. No, you’re not experiencing déjà vu. The Undertake and Triple H fought last year, which saw Taker keep his undefeated Wrestlemania streak by making Triple H submit. Of course, Triple H may have gotten the last laugh since he walked away from the match while the Undertaker had to be carried out on a stretcher! Taker only returned to the WWE on January 30, 2012 and immediately challenged Triple H to a rematch at WrestleMania XXVIII. As wrestling fans know, the Hell in the Cell match is often times the deadliest type of match in the sport, one that sees all sorts of huge falls, bloodied faces and career-ending injuries.
Last but not least, Chris Jericho who recently returned to the WWE (after lying and saying he wasn’t coming back) is now facing proverbial truth-teller CM Punk. CM Punk has garnered a lot of attention for his in-your-face attitude, but Jericho asserts that he’s just stealing his shtick.
What will happen at Wrestlemania 28? You can see it on PPV…or look for last minute tickets for a live showing!
February 16th, 2012
Every NBA fan by now has heard about Jeremy Lin, the point guard who sat on the New York Knicks‘ bench all season, nearly non-existent. When the Knicks, who weren’t having a great season so far anyway, lost some of their best players, they had no choice but to put Lin on the floor. And now they’ve seen that they’d be fools to pull him off of it.
Since Jeremy Lin has taken to the court, the New York Knicks have not lost a game yet; that makes for a total of seven games. And let’s not forget, this from a team that didn’t appear to be very god before Lin stepped in. Lin has outperformed huge names like Kobe Bryant, when the Knicks played the Lakers on Friday. Then on Tuesday when his team was facing the Toronto Raptors and down by 17 points, Lin scored six straight points towards the end of the game, and the game-winning three-pointer with just half a second left in the game. And last night facing Sacramento, Jeremy the Lincredible scored 10 points, never mind the six turnovers that he also gave up.
But nobody’s perfect, and Lin is certainly giving the Knicks enough hope to go on. Averaging 23.3 points and 7.4 assists in just the first five of his games, that’s a record for anyone keeping track and one that hasn’t been matched since 1976 — and that includes many greats including Jordan, Bryant, Shaq, and LeBron.
How do you explain it? It seems you don’t, or can’t, according to coach Mike D’Antoni. In an interview right after the game against the Lakers, D’Antoni said, “I don’t know what to tell you. I have never seen this. It’s not often that a guy is going to play four games, the best you are going to see, and nobody knows who he is. That is hard to do.”
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