Around the Horn Gets Awkward Discussing Jay Mariotti Arrest

For those of you that missed Monday's edition of Around the Horn, here is the panel of Bob Ryan/Woody Paige/and Kevin Blackistone discuss Jay Mariotti's worst day ever.

Essentially, everyone on the panel sticks up for Mariotti (well, not for his actions, of course) and continue to rag on the ever present blogospheric media/players/coaches throwing him under the bus.



Man, I still would have loved to hear how Tim Cowlishaw felt about it. Oh well.

(Courtesy of Deadspin)

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26% think Sarah Palin would be an effective president

Proving once again that about one-quarter of the U.S. population is nuts.

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Lorenzo Cain's Unbelievable Leaping Catch

During last night's Brewers/Reds affair, Milwaukee outfielder Lorenzo Cain made an outstanding play on a ball hit by Ryan Hanigan.

Not only does he sacrifice the body, he leaps into the scoreboard portion of the padded wall with no regard for human life:

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Ndamukong Suh Nearly Decapitates Jake Delhomme

Although this video has already made the rounds on ESPN, I figured that posting it here is still pretty worthwile.

During this weekend's Lions/Browns preseason game, Lions rookie defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh nearly decapitates Browns quarterback Jake Delhomme on an illegal hit:



So, I guess the experts were wrong when they said Suh didn't have a mean streak, huh?

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How Big League Baseball Can Learn From The Little Guys

Lies, performance-enhancing drugs and questions about putting asterisks on historical records has become baseball’s reputation thanks to the spawn of the Steroids Era in Major League Baseball in the 1980s.

Jose Canseco was one of the best baseball players during the 1980s and 1990s. Years later, he wrote a book about his steroid use and the widespread use of it throughout baseball clubhouses everywhere.

Barry Bonds is the current owner of the baseball home run record, but came out stating that he never “knowingly” took PEDs during his illustrious career.

Roger Clemens recently got indicted on perjury charges after he was accused of lying about his steroid use. “The Rocket” has won the most CY Young awards ever with seven.

All three of these players are only a tiny shred of the list of players who have used steroids during their baseball career. The temptation of cheating and using PEDs for personal gain has become an epic dilemma that will haunt baseball forever.

Major League baseball needs a change and a new fresh outlook. They need to reclaim the pureness and camaraderie that it inspired before the steroids era tainted the sport.

The answer: the kids.

The 2010 Little League World Series wrapped up on August 29th, 2010 as the international champions, Japan, defeated the United States champions, Hawaii. The team from Tokyo celebrated at the pitcher’s mound after their win by collecting dirt from the mound as souvenirs of their great achievement.

That moment was a reflection of how the game has regained some inspiration and dignity. The sport was appreciated for all the blessings the players received because of it.

An appreciation that has been lost in the big leagues.

All the kids in the tournament happily ran around the outfield making diving catches and miraculous snags of groundballs around the diamond not for the sake of popularity or to increase their own value, but for the sake of helping the team.

There were no players worried about their stats or records they could accomplish. They had one goal in mind through each game they played; they are playing for more than themselves, they were playing for their country.

That understanding was felt by each player of each team.

The best players from all the squads were always the most quiet who led by example and their play, not by their statistics and contract earnings. They didn’t use their baseball ability to become bigger than the sport; they used it to enhance who they represented.

A team essence was felt in each and every game they played. Whether it was the team from Texas, who all sported eye black like young phenom Bryce Harper, or the team from Taiwan, who had a pitcher-by-committee rotation; each team understood that they needed each other to play unselfishly to become champions.

Major League Baseball needs to regain that unselfishness the league once exemplified.

The majors were once a great league that defined what baseball was all about. Baseball is one of the ultimate team sports and past players knew that their output was important for the success not just for the team, but for the legacy of the sport.

Being great was never about records, money nor doping to gain an advantage.

Now, the legacy of baseball has become tainted with selfish players and cheaters looking for a way to hold all the records and make the millions of dollars.

What was once the sport labeled “America’s Pastime” has now become “America’s Worst Crime”. An injustice created by a sport that was born in the United States when the Major League formed in 1901.

The Little League teams have always looked up to the stars in baseball as their heroes and inspiration as they hope to one day be like them.

Maybe it’s time the Major Leaguers emulate the Little Leaguers.

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Roger Clemens' pleas fall on deaf ears in court of public opinion

As reported in multiple media outlets, a federal grand jury indicted former New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens on charges of making false statements to Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs.

The indictment charges Clemens with one count of obstruction of Congress, three counts of making false statements and two counts of perjury in connection with his testimony before a bipartisan House committee in February 2008.

Clemens’ fall from grace began when his name was mentioned 82 times, second only to Jose Canseco, in the Mitchell Report on steroid use in baseball. In the report, Brian McNamee, hired by Clemens in 1998 to be his personal strength coach, stated during the 1998, 2000, and 2001 baseball seasons, he injected Clemens with Winstrol, a synthetic anabolic steroid derived from testosterone.

And although former teammate and Yankees starting pitcher Andy Pettitte corroborated McNamee’s statements and testimony before the House oversight committee, Clemens vehemently denied his use of steroids; a stance the seven-time Cy Young Award winner maintained when summoned to formally respond to the stinging accusations.

In a Washington federal court on Monday, Clemens pleaded not guilty to all six counts of perjuring himself before Congress. Subsequently, United States District Judge Reggie Walton set a date of April 5, 2011 to begin the proceedings of a trial that could culminate in a crash landing for ‘The Rocket’.

If convicted on all six counts, Clemens could face up to 30 years in prison and a $1.5 million fine, although 15-21 months would be the more likely sentence under United States sentencing guidelines.

However, even if exonerated in federal court, the man who amassed 354 wins and 4,672 strikeouts during a stellar 24-year career will always have a verdict of guilty rendered against him in the court of public opinion.

Therefore, this is a far cry from a case of innocent until proven guilty or guilty until proven innocent. This is a classic demonstration of guilty even if the charges can’t be proved in a court of law; with the ultimate result being a wanton lack of appreciation for what Clemens accomplished on the field by baseball writers and fans alike.

Don Sutton, Gaylord Perry, Phil Niekro and even Yankees great Whitey Ford pitched with surgical precision on the mound during their respective careers, but they were equally notorious for illegally ‘doctoring’ and/or ‘loading’ baseballs to achieve extremely favorable results.

Yet all four hurlers were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame while their history of subterfuge is considered virtually laughable in the annals of baseball. And these are proven cheaters of the game.

But, despite the absolution of the aforementioned transgressors, the reality of the situation for Roger Clemens is he will never find true justice because the court of public opinion has already convicted him with no possibility of a retrial.

His name will no longer receive the adulation and respect it did less than five years ago and the doors of the Hall of Fame will remain closed to the 11-time All-Star for as long as they remain locked to the likes of Pete Rose.

However, when it comes to casting judgment on ‘The Rocket’, anything short of a confession, a conviction in a court of law or the discovery of irrefutable evidence that Clemens used performance-enhancing drugs should be considered a prejudiced and premature conclusion.

Unfortunately, hypocrisy has blinded those within the circles of Major League Baseball to the fact that it has cheated justice throughout history as much as the individuals it has disowned for allegedly cheating the game.

Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a special video report on the plea made by Roger Clemens in federal court.

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Baseball Manager Freak-Out #2,110: Gives Fan First Base After Tirade

Obviously as you can tell, I am in-depth follower of the State College Spikes out in Pennsylvania.

Recently, manager Gary Robinson was not happy with a call made by an umpire and proceeded to freak out to the nth degree.

After taking it out on the umpire who made the call, Gary decided to take first base and that's where the fun begins:

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Political Correctness

I remember, a little bit ago, how we would laugh over the politically correct terms we were to use instead of what were common--and we would make jokes.  Of course, one of the jokes was that the politically correct term for 'short' was 'vertically challenged.'  'Bald' men were 'follicle-ly challenged.'  And so on.  Now, I'm not, by any means, trying to say we should go back to the days when 'those words' were used commonly--and we all know what 'those words' were--but it is getting a bit ridiculous.

I recently read an article that had a list of 'correct' words as opposed to the 'incorrect' ones.  To say I was appalled, is putting it mildly.  Really now, just WHAT is wrong with some of these 'incorrect' words?  And here is part of the list:

            WRONG word/term---CORRECT word/term

• disabled person, crippled---person with a disability
• confined to a wheelchair---person who has a mobility impairment
• quadriplegic/paraplegic---person who is paralyzed
• stroke victim/suffered from stroke---person who has had a stroke
• epilectic---person who has epilepsy
• mute---person without speech

I don't know, but this seems a bit over the top.  It is getting to the point where you are afraid to wish someone a good day, for fear they'll sue you after having the lousiest day of their life!  Other than saying 'hello,' if you are unfamiliar with a person, you have to watch every word you utter so closely, that conversation is difficult, at best.  That place north of the Arctic Circle that I continually threaten to move to, is starting to sound more and more welcoming every day.

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Fantasy Drafthelp: Football Training Camp Updates

These are the following revisions to our draft board in FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFTOLOGY 2010 since it went to press on August 1 (anytime a player is listed as making any kind of move, other players in the proximity on the board should be assumed as rising or falling one spot per move accordingly):

QB UP
Jake Delhomme: from off the board to 18
Matt Cassel: from off the board to 26

QB DOWN
Matt Leinart: from 15 to off the board

RB UP
CJ Spiller: from 29 to 21
Jahvid Best: from 34 to 27
Arian Foster: from 41 to 28
LaDainian Tomlinson: from off the board to 33
Leon Washington: from off the board to 37
Mike Bell: from off the board to 44

RB DOWN
Knowshon Moreno: from 10 to 13
Ben Tate: from 42 to off the board

WR UP
Terrell Owens: from 35 to 28
Jacoby Jones: from 50 to 39
Mike Williams: from off the board to 51
Nate Burleson: from 48 to 41
Chris Chambers: from 58 to 43
Bernard Berrian: from 59 to 32

WR DOWN
Larry Fitzgerald: from 4 to 8
Sidney Rice: from 7 to 58
Vincent Jackson : from 17 to 21
Percy Harvin: from 29 to 40
Donnie Avery: from 64 to off the board

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The Case for Joe Girardi to Leave New York Yankees

Prior to the opening stanza of a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi addressed recent speculation surrounding his interest in the Chicago Cubs’ managerial position.

Girardi, a native of East Peoria, Illinois, is in the final year of a three-year, $7.5 million contract with New York and has already become the fourth most successful manager, behind Ralph Houk, Billy Martin and Clark Griffith, among the 17 former Yankees players who have been elevated to the position.

So while Girardi is attempting to lead the Bronx Bombers to a second consecutive World Series Championship, the Chicago Cubs are contemplating how to fill the void left by Lou Piniella, who retired on August 22 to care for his ailing mother.

And under the ownership of the Ricketts family, members of the Forbes 400, it appears that the Cubs would be willing to open the coffers in a concerted effort to lure Girardi away from the Big Apple.

With this stark reality in mind, Girardi, a graduate of Northwestern University, towed the company line in final comments to the media this season regarding his pending free agency; but the former Cubs catcher fell short of going on record with an unequivocal declaration that New York is where he wanted to manage next season.

"I'm going to talk about it for a few minutes today and that's going to be it. As I've said all along, my responsibility is to the Yankees. I was hired by the Yankees to do a job, we're in a division race, a very tight division race, and my job is to prepare this team to play every day. That's what I'm focusing on."

"I'm happy with my contract situation”, Girardi continued. “I feel I'm fortunate to be one of 30 managers with a contract right now managing in the big leagues. There are people in this organization that have done a lot more for this organization than I have that don't have contracts (for next season). We're not worried about it for next year. I'm worried about right now."

The task at hand, guiding the Yankees to World Title #28, may be in the forefront of Girardi’s mind but, championship or not, once New York’s season officially comes to an end there is no doubt that the 2006 National League Manager of the Year will give the Cubs every opportunity to present their case.

Essentially, Chicago is where Girardi was born and raised, where he went to high school and college, and where he spent the majority of his professional baseball career.

In addition, the Cubs' organization not only has an apparent willingness to compete with the Steinbrenner conglomerate for Girardi's services but the wherewithal to outbid them as well.

Finally, the Chicago Cubs haven’t won a World Series Title in 102 years and have been dubbed “The Lovable Losers” due to this distinction. As manager of the Cubs, Girardi would have the chance to make baseball history and achieve iconic status in the Windy City by ending the longest championship drought in North American professional sports today.

Never would one man be appreciated, beloved and celebrated more by one city for winning a single championship than for racking up multiple championships in another.

Basically, unless he wins in excess of four World Series Titles, Girardi will always be considered a spoke in the wheel of a New York franchise on virtual cruise control whereas he would be largely viewed as the main cog in the Cubs’ drive to end a century long dry spell the moment he becomes their skipper.

These are the factors that should weigh heavily on Girardi’s mind when he emerges as the hottest managerial free agent within the next couple of months; and the Chicago Cubs should be able to present an extremely compelling argument for Girardi to take the road less traveled and leave the New York Yankees in the absence of a critical firestorm.

In all likelihood though, Girardi won't leave the secure confines of the Yankees clubhouse for one that will require a few years to rebuild and retool. However, stranger things have happened in the annals of baseball.

Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a special video presentation regarding the Chicago Cubs’ managerial possibilities.

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Looking Ahead

Well how was that full moon for you? For me, I'm glad it is over. I felt burdened with more responsibility than normal. I longed for a sunny breezy week of summer I ended up with endless tasks, a tinge of loneliness and finding help only when I paid for it. Not what I consider a banner week but a perfectly lame full moon during a mercury retrograde. Glad that is fini.

This week we have disseminating and last quarter moon where we will have a Sun conjunct Mercury on Friday August 3 which should bring a slight a-hah moment (hate that expression but it fits) in the same vein when your mind thinks back upon something from the past with a new awareness. "Wait a minute, I think Dad was fired from his job in the 70's" We will get some insight on something that may be helpful or practical given Sun and Mercury are conjoining in Virgo. Of course since it is a retro mercury it will have a looking back feeling.


In terms of lunar aspects there is a Moon square Neptune on August 31 (2:39pm EDT) that will bring in something fuzzy or unclear. But it should not last long given a few hours later Uranus and Jupiter aspects will bring us something charming and unique

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THE SURFING EXPERIENCE

The last 2 days have seen some of the best surfing conditions here this winter. Today at the inlet the waves looked very much like this, about the same size and just a bit fuller on the take-off, peeling off perfectly to the right. It is very difficult to describe the sensation of being on a good wave and flying down the line. But for my non-surfing buddies, here goes.

After paddling out in the deep channel you are 'out the back' and sitting on your board. The water is crystal aqua clear and you feel the density of your legs dangling weightless beneath you as you look out to the horizon. You look for that lift in the swell, like a huge leviathan heaving in the distance. If you are out of your comfort zone this can cause you some anxiety as you wait to see how much it lifts above the prevailing swell. But this is what you are waiting for, because you are going to try and ride this dragon.

As the wave starts to tilt your way you get into position, if there is no-one to dodge or give way to that is the moment you know it is your wave - you feel a sense of commitment. It is often more difficult to get into the correct position the bigger the wave, because there is more distance to travel to make the necessary adjustments. Today I missed quite a few because of this, but got plenty of rides anyway.

You make sure you are in exactly the right place, far enough out so it won't start breaking before you get onto it, far enough in to be in the vortex, right where it is peeling off. You make the final decision to go, swing your board around and start paddling away from where the wave is breaking. This is critical if it is a fast moving wave as they were today because otherwise you get cleaned up by the white water, which then sees you bouncing along the face on your stomach or wiping out. If this happens you get 'caught inside' and can get quite a few 'on the head' as you flounder around in the turbulence of the white water, making for the channel and trying to stay out of the way of the person who will surely be on the next wave.

You watch the shoulder of the wave, the bit that is unbroken, to re-check you are in the right spot and also cast a glance backward over your other shoulder to make sure you haven't gone too far out on the shoulder, which means you might not be in the vortex and stall. There is anticipation while all this goes on.

You paddle into the wave, anticipating the surge that will come when the wave catches you up in its trajectory as it spirals across to the deeper channel. I think this is the moment the adrenaline kicks in. Things start to happen much faster now, you paddle with conviction, then surge foward into the green vortex, delighted that there is a wedge shaped face you know you can negotiate. Getting up can be tricky and it is here you can lose the wave. Often you are not aware of getting up at all, because it has become instinctual and you have to move fast. But on slow waves you can see what is happening. On a faster wave before you know it you are up, the board lifts and settles into the wave under you, feet planted firmly in the right place. Every muscle and fibre is making sure you don't lose this wave as you set your position down the line. If the line is clear it is just you and the wave, that is all it is about. I can't put into words the sheer joy of this moment - standing still on a moving platform on a moving surface, knowing that you have just jumped on the back of this great strange creature. It feels like magic.

Off the wider shoulder now the wave face becomes more vertical, so you set a line for the sucking hollow. You have to hold the board down so it doesn't head for the top of the wave because then you will surf yourself out of it. But you also have to stay high enough on the face to stay moving ahead of the breaking white water that is licking at your shoulder, always trying to eat you. It is like being just out of reach of the mouth of some watery creature that is snapping at you, sometimes playfully and sometimes on a mission to throw you off its back by slapping you over the head - just to keep you real and humble. There is no doubt who is in control here.

The face is now almost vertical but you know your board has hard rails and will slot in there because you have done this before. So you swing up to the lip, kicking the back of the board around by leaning hard on it into the face of the wave and flicking the front around with your front foot. When you have gone up far enough you have to push the board back down the face again and in small curving arcs you scoot along the face, making small adjustments to stay in touch with the ever-changing wall of water.

If you go too far out on the shoulder you have to carve back into the vortex, turn the board back in the direction of the wave again, towards the white watery teeth, turn again, wait for the stall which leaves you in suspended anguish sometimes until the wave picks you up, you gather speed and off you go again. On a good day, like today, this can go on for 50 metres.

You head for the channel as the wave gets closer to the shore. Until, like today, you are so close in to the shore that you have to kick out over the back before you end up on the sand. Such a sense of elation. You wallow in the deep cool channel for a second, then gather yourself, swing back onto your board and start the long paddle back.

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Where the New York Mets Went Wrong This Season

With a 3-0 victory over the first-place Atlanta Braves on July 11, the New York Mets entered the All-Star break with a record of 48-40; leaving them four games back in the National League East race and only one game behind the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Wild Card standings.

But since that particular point in time, the Mets proceeded to drop 24 out of their last 40 contests to fall to fourth in the division, nine games south of the front-running Braves, and seven games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the National League Wild Card.

And even though there are still 34 games left in the season, there isn’t a preponderance of evidence demonstrating that New York can make a miraculous run to their first post-season appearance since 2006.

As with last season, there are many factors attributable to the Mets’ failure to be in the thick of the playoff hunt going into September; and the burden of blame can be placed squarely on the shoulders of front office and player personnel alike.

5. The mid-season meltdown of Mike Pelfrey

In the first half of the season, ‘Big Pelf’ appeared to be a viable National League Cy Young candidate as he emerged as the anchor of New York’s starting rotation.

But in five July starts, Pelfrey went 0-3 with a 10.02 ERA in a month where the Mets lost 16 of 25 games. During that span, the Mets went from second in the division race to fourth and from 2 games behind the Braves to 6.5.

Although Pelfrey has regained his form in recent weeks, going 3-2 with a 1.82 ERA in August, his July swoon was a significant contributor to a Mets’ free fall that has essentially taken them out of playoff contention.

4. Home is where the victories are

The Mets have pulled a Dr. Jekyll/Mr.Hyde-like performance at home and on the road this season.

New York is tied for seventh in home victories (38) in the National League while tying for fourth (40) in road losses.

If the Mets had simply broke even away from Citi Field at this juncture, translating to a 33-33 record, they would trail Atlanta by only two games in the division and would be tied with Philadelphia in the National League Wild Card standings.

3. The unfulfilled promise of Jason Bay

After a 2009 season that saw him earn a third All-Star selection, hit 36 home runs and 119 RBI’s, and be named one of the 50 greatest current players in baseball by the Sporting News, Bay signed as a free agent with New York to the tune of $66 million over four years.

And as the biggest fish they landed this past off-season, the Mets were expecting Bay to infuse significant power into the lineup that rivaled his previous six seasons where he averaged 26 home runs and 99 RBI’s per year.

Instead, Bay, a career .278 hitter, has seen his average dip to .259 and his home run (6) and RBI (47) production plummet to their lowest levels since 2003. In addition, Bay’s slugging percentage (.402) is the lowest it’s been in his entire career.

Bay has been on the 15-day DL since July 30 after suffering a concussion in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Mets’ manager Jerry Manuel doesn’t expect his starting left fielder to return this season.

2. Team hitting has been offensive rather than on the offensive

Out of the 16 teams in the National League, New York is 13th in runs scored (517), 14th in hits (1,069), 13th in doubles (209), 13th in home runs (96), 13th in total bases (1,636), 14th in RBI’s (492), 14th in batting average (.248), 14th in on base percentage (.314) and 14th in slugging percentage (.379).

This is a crying shame considering the Mets’ pitching staff is fifth in the league in ERA (3.65) after being looked upon as a team weakness entering this season.

1. Mets’ front office watches the trade deadline come and go

There are certain points during a baseball season where the action or inaction of the front office can mean the difference between a team playing meaningful baseball in September and October or merely playing out the string.

And when the Mets’ front office decided to stand pat with the trade deadline (July 31) looming, they essentially gave up on the season while New York still had the chance to become one of the surprise stories of the 2010 season.

Instead, all that remain are questions about exactly where the organization is headed. And for a demanding baseball market like New York, this is simply unacceptable.

Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a special video presentation to lift the spirits of Mets' fans.

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35th UEFA Super Cup 2010 Winner

Jose Antonio Reyes and Sergio Aguero scored second-half goals as Atletico Madrid beat Inter Milan 2-0 to win the European Super Cup for the first time.
Date 27 August 2010
Man of the Match José Antonio Reyes (Atlético Madrid)
Attendance 17,265

Inter Milan v Atletico Madrid Highlights

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Saan kaikesta ongelman

Tällä kertaa luvassa pelkkiä tylsiä asukuvia, try to live with that. Semmosta se on kun ei oo mitään hovikuvaajaa eikä jännää elämää. :--(

Viime viikon asuista yks, nro 1.

♥ paita: Allulta
♥ hame: GT
♥ laukku: Citymarket
♥ korvikset ja pinni: H&M

Toi valaistus tekee hirveen kalpeeks, en sentään ihan vielä oo menettäny kaikkee rusketustani. :D

Toinen asu viime viikolta, nro 2.

♥ mekko, ballerinat, pinni & rannekkeet: H&M
♥ laukku: Seppälä
♥ korvikset: Fiorella

Heräsin sunnuntain ja maanantain välisenä yönä siihen, että olin ihan jääkalikka mutta olo oli kuumeinen. Olinkin jo uumoillu että tulisin kipeeks, kun veli just sairasti enterorokon ja mulla oli monena päivänä koskenu päähän ja kurkkukin oli kipee. Sen kahen aikaan heräämisen jälkeen n nukkunu paljoo ollenkaan johonkin kuuteen asti, että oikein mukava yö ja silleen. Koko maanantai oli sitten suoranaista helvettiä, kuume vaihteli 38-39 välillä, enkä pystyny tekemään mitään muuta kun makaamaan sängyssä ja kattomaan Serranoo. Kaikkein varmiten tietää kuitenkin siitä että oon kipee, jos mulle ei maistu ruoka. :D Mun piti sillon pakottaa itteni syömään vesimelonia ja pinaattikeittoo. Voin kertoo että oli mun viimesten voimien takana käydä hakemassa alakerrasta sitä melonia, olin ihan kuollu sen jälkeen. Tiistaina oli onneks jo parempi olo ja ruokakin maistu. Harmi vaan että siitä asti kurkku on ollu kun kaktus, kaikkein eniten on sattunu suklaan syönti, mikä oli oikeesti tosi tuskallista myös henkisesti, kun teki hirveesti mieli mut sitte kurkku ei paljoo antanu periks. XD Niin ja olin siis ihan satavarma siitä että mullakin on se enterorokko kun oireet ja muut oli ihan asiaan kuuluvia, mutta koska keskiviikkonakaan ei ilmestyny rakkuloita niin totesin että selvisin ilmeisesti "pelkästään" jollain imusolmuketulehuksella tai sen tapasella. En vielä tiiä paraneeko tää kurkku tästä itestään, oon vaan syöny yskänkarkkeja ja varjellu kurkkua kaulahuivilla sisätiloissakin. En vaan jaksais käydä lääkärissä joka kuitenkin määräis antibiootit, blöö. :D Haha mikä sairaskertomus, mulle vaan on tosi harvinaista että oon kipee tai varsinkaan kuumeessa.
Ai niin ja sen taudin muuten peruuntu mun viime postauksessa mainihtemani street dance -tunti! Allu kävi siellä sitten itestään, mutta koko luokka oli ollu niin järkkyjä ja ilkeitä lissuja täynnä, että ei pahemmin houkuttelis tanssin kokeilu.. :D Ehotin jo että alotettais vaikka espanjan alkeiskurssi, mut sekään ei taida onnistua eräästä syystä, mistä kerroon heti kun saan lisätietoo. Oon ihan piukeena epätietosuudesta!

Torstaina eli eilen sain kuitenkin kammettua itteni takas kouluun, tämmöisessä asussa. Nro 3.

♥ onepiece: Lindex
♥ leggarit: GT
♥ neule, pipo, huivi & rannekoru: H&M
♥ laukku: äitin vanha

Tänään oltiin vielä levottomampia ja hervottomampia Allun kanssa kun yleensä. Vaikka eipä mua haitannu. :--) Pitkällä ruokatunnilla käytiin Allun luona mun mopolla (se se vasta naurut aina aiheuttaakin, kivaa säätöö XD), ja sain katsastaa Allun kirpparitavarat ennen niitten myyntiä. Eurolla lähti mukaan musta lörttöpipo ja pääkallohuivi, kuvaa joskus myöhemmin. :) Damn jos ois tienny tuon, niin en ois ottanu H&M:ltä tilattua pipoo.
Päivän asu, nro 4.

♥ toppi & panta: Seppälä
♥ neule, korvikset & rannekoru: H&M
♥ farkut: Jim&Jill
♥ korkkarit: DinSko
♥ helmet: äitin vanhat, ite lyhennetty

Olin melkeen jo unohtanu nää korkkarit, kun olivat ainoot jotka ei ollu esillä koko kesänä. Taisin valita nää jokskuks lahjaks suunnilleen kasiluokalla. Periaatteessa ihan kivat, mutta pronssihtavan värin takia tulee käytettyä tosi harvoin, joten taitavat lähtee myyntiin sitten joskus.

Mulla on taas koko viikonloppu töitä, ja huomenna ois joku kokouskin, apua. XD
Ai juma miten tylsä postaus tästä tuli, mutta aattelin että ois järkevintä nyt tulla postaamaan näitä asuja, kun niitä on jo koneelle kertyny. En kuitenkaan halua jättää niitä julkasemattakaan. Pahottelut siis kaikille niille jotka melkeen kuoli tylsyyteen.
Blaa.
Nyt nukkuu, etten nukaha kassalle.

Np: Lady Gaga - Monster

P.S. Oon ajautumassa tai no oon jo ajautunu karkkien ja muiden mässyjen kierteeseen. Fuuu-. Katotaan vaan niin oon ens kesänä 10kg painavampi, enkä pysty alottamaan lakkoo uuestaan enkä jaksa liikkuakaan kuten nytkään kauheen pitkään aikaan. ÄÄÄ VALI VALI.

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Top 10 Soprts Photo (Friday, August 27,2010)

Splash up
China's Liu Lan, center, swims her way to a gold medal Friday in the youth women's 100-meter butterfly final on Day 6 of the Youth Olympics at Singapore Sports School in Singapore.

Pulling for Wales
Gemma Hallett of Wales pulls Rebecca Trethowan of Australia down by her hair Friday during Australia's 26-12 victory in a Pool A match at the Women's Rugby World Cup at Surrey Sports Park in Guildford, England.

Bird's-eye view
Minnesota plays Texas during pool play Friday at the Little League World Series at Lamade Stadium in South Williamsport, Pa.

Ghost of a chance
Shane Perkins rides during a Cycling Australia training session before the Commonwealth Games team announcement Thursday at Darebin International Sports Centre in Melbourne, Australia.

Fly guys
Ken Block and Alex Gelsomino of the United States compete Saturday in Leg 2 of the WRC Rally of Germany in Trier, Germany.

Spry guys
Competitors in the junior men's BMX final race over a jump Thursday on Day 5 of the Youth Olympics at Tampines Bike Park in Singapore.

Oh, Manning
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning loses his helmet while being tackled during the first half of the Giants' 31-16 victory over the New York Jets in a preseason game Aug. 16 at the new Meadowlands stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Hey, Sole Power
Wayne Lorden rides Sole Power to victory in the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes on Friday during the Yorkshire Ebor Festival at York Race Track in York, England.

Splash down
Brazil's Ioran Etchechury trips and falls into the water during the Boys' 2,000-meter steeplechase Wednesday on Day 4 of the Youth Olympics at Bishan Stadium in Singapore.

 
Set in the sun
Billy Allen sets for Jeff Nygaard in their match Saturday during the Manhattan Beach Open in Manhattan Beach, Calif.

Like it Or Not ! Click on ''Like'' or ''Comments''

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Send in the Links (8/27/2010)

-> Bad News for Stephen Strasburg (No Guts, No Glory)
-> Fan gets Banned From Minor League Stadium For Life (Out of Bounds)
-> Pour Out A Little Liquor for BallHype (NESW Sports)
-> Really, Hank Steinbrenner, Really? (Unathletic Mag)
-> Scottie Pippen Gets A Statue, An Awesome Bronze Statue (That NBA Lottery Pick)

Today's Moment of Awesome: You're Going the Wrong Way!



(Courtesy of The Score)

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Thrillist Quickens Pulse of Fantasy Football Fans in NYC

From August 22 to August 24, men’s lifestyle e-mail newsletter and website, Thrillist.com, lived up to the first six letters of its name by hosting a next-level fantasy football extravaganza at New York City’s multimedia nerve center Pulse.

Sponsored by Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Yahoo!, ten lucky sweepstakes winners and their fantasy football league rivals conducted their respective drafts within the luxurious confines of Thrillist’s Ultimate Draft Suite, where food, drinks and merriment were in abundance and fantasy football took center stage in the heart of midtown New York.

The guests of the Ultimate Draft Suite were treated to numerous amenities that included:

- A commissioner’s podium where thought-provoking and trash talk-inducing draft selections were officially announced ala Roger Goodell

- Drafting via Yahoo!'s stratospherically high-tech fantasy football game, in addition to advice guides courtesy of Yahoo!

- Yahoo! fantasy football experts on hand that patiently answered any and all drafting questions

- Cheerleader waitresses who served refreshing beverages, tailgate-worthy sustenance and rousing cheers

- Hot shaves in between picks, courtesy of King of Shaves

- Old-school inspirational gridiron videos which contained slow-motion footage and pulse-pounding musical scores

On the final evening of the three-day event, New York Giants wide receiver Ramses Barden made an appearance to mingle with the drafters and offer his expertise on what thousands of fantasy football die-hards consider the single, most important time of the year.

Founded in 2005 by University of Pennsylvania graduates Adam Rich and Ben Lerer, and based out of New York City, Thrillist has become a virtual city guide for men in the 21- to 34-year-old demographic with editions in New York and twelve other cities in the United States (Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington D.C.) and an international edition in London.

The upcoming schedule for the increasingly popular men’s newsletter includes stops in the Midwest and on the West Coast where Thrillist will bring the Ultimate Draft Suite to Chicago and San Francisco, respectively, for a reboot of the Suite-est draft experience in existence.

Click here to read the original article on Examiner.com, which includes relevant links and a special video presentation featuring pictures from Thrillist’s Ultimate Draft Suite.

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Chad OchoCinco Gets A Cereal

In the annals of athletes endorsing food, Bengals wide receiver Chad OchoCinco might be the most colorful.

Ochocinco recently struck a deal with PLB Sports to help him market a cereal to be sold in the Cincinnati area.

We get more from CNBC's Darren Rovell:

Watch out world. Chad Ochocinco is getting his own cereal. The flashy Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver will be on boxes of "Ochocinco's," sold exclusively at Cincinnati-area Kroger's and on the Web site of the company that markets the cereal, PLB Sports beginning Sept. 7.

Ty Ballou, president of PLB Sports, said that a successful run would be to sell 100,000 boxes, but if the Bengals make it to the Super Bowl, he could imagine hitting the 1 million mark.

PLB Sports has been making athlete food products 14 years. Its most famous product was Flutie Flakes, named after Buffalo Bills quarterback Doug Flutie, which sold nearly three million boxes. Next was Kurt Warner's Crunch Time Cereal, which sold 300,000 boxes a decade ago when St. Louis Rams quarterback came out of nowhere and brought the team to the Super Bowl.

The only question that I have left is will the Chad Ochocinco's get soggy in the milk or will they just be fined by the National Football League for uncerealike conduct?

(Courtesy of Sports Biz with Darren Rovell)

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Who Would Be The Real Number One: Stephen Strasburg or Bryce Harper?

In sports, sometimes a down-on-their-luck team can get that once in a lifetime chance to draft a franchise player.

The San Antonio Spurs had a horrendous 1996-97 season turn out to be a blessing in disguise as they won the lottery and drafted Tim Duncan.

The Dallas Cowboys are sometimes known as “America’s Team”; but if they didn’t go 1-15 in 1988, they never would have gotten UCLA star quarterback Troy Aikman.

The Cleveland Cavaliers was a league worst 17-65 and valued at $222 million in 2002-03. They got the number one pick the next season, drafted Lebron James and were valued at $467 million by December 2009.

Striking it rich with a franchise player is similar to getting hit by lightening, because it rarely occurs.

For the Washington Nationals, they were hit with it not just once, but twice.

After recording their third straight losing season in 2008, the Nationals were able to use their 2009 number one pick to select power-pitcher Stephen Strasburg. Then after another losing season in 2009, they used the 2010 number one pick to draft 17-year-old phenom Bryce Harper.

Although the Nationals lucked out and got two of the most hyped amateur baseball players in recent years, who would be the best selection if both players were in the SAME draft?

Strasburg as the number one overall can be validated by what he has done since being drafted.

In a little over a year, he’s already up in the big leagues.

Strasburg has a 5-3 record with a 2.91 ERA and an amazing 91 strikeouts to 17 walks in just 68 innings. At the age of 22 and with hardly any time needed in the minors, the former San Diego State pitcher has begun to establish himself as one of the games premier pitcher.

While the public is beginning to see Strasburg live up to the hype, Harper’s ceiling just might be higher.

After his GED following his sophomore year of high school, Harper played baseball at the Junior College levels. Playing for Southern Nevada, Harper had a .447 batting average while blasting 31 homeruns and driving home 98 RBIs in only 66 games.

Staggering totals from a kid who is facing men who are in their early 20s, but is too young to buy cigarettes.

The other concept within this question is which is more valuable: a position player or a pitcher?

Despite only being able to usually go once every five games, pitchers determine the outcome of games and can control another team. Even if a team can put up runs, they still have to be able to pitch as well.

When it comes to pitching well, Strasburg can do that with his repertoire of pitches.

His four-seam fastball can reach triple digits alone and is devastating to hit. He also has a two-seam fastball with the same speed, but opposite movement, of the four-seamer. Add in a wicked curve ball that dips quickly with good speed and a deceptive change-up, and its understandable why Strasburg has 91 Ks in 12 starts.

Pitchers may control a game, but hitters play day in and day out. An everyday hitter will bat anywhere from three to four times a game on average. Aside from hitting, they can pick up their team with miraculous catches or throwing out an opponent on defense.

When it comes to getting a player who can perform everyday, it doesn’t get any better than Harper.

Harper’s stats may be hard to measure because he plays for a junior college, but the fact that he should be in high school and still has those staggering numbers at collegiate level is unimaginable. He will also be entering the majors at 17, allowing him to develop in the minors then join the majors at a young age.

Seeing the finished product that Harper could become can be summed up in one word: scary.

So which one would it be: the hard throwing Strasburg or the all-around hitting sensation Harper?

While Strasburg’s pitching ability is probably more valuable than Harper’s hitting, the choice would have to be the everyday player Harper. Also, Harper is much younger than Strasburg (he is 17, Strasburg is 22) and so the younger hitter will have more time to develop.

Lucky for the Nationals, they don’t have to choose.

They have both.

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And Down The Stretch They Come, The Winner Is My Wife Knows Everything

One thing that I do know about race horse owners is that they love to come up with creative names for their horses.

Watch this horse race from Monmouth Park where the two lead horses were named, "My Wife Knows Everything" and "The Wife Doesn't Know".

Obviously, the race announcer enjoyed calling this one:

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German Soccer Reporter Takes Ball To The Head

In the world that is television sports coverage, the one cardinal rule as a reporter is to make sure that you always watch your back for flying objects.

German soccer reporter Jessica Kastrop maybe should have learned that rule as evidenced in the below clip where she takes a soccer ball to the back of the head:



(Courtesy of Gawker.TV)

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Korut syksyn väreihin

Korut alkavat pikkuhiljaa vaihtaa väriään syksyisempiin sävyihin ja näissä muutama maistiainen kivihelmistä, mitä kuriiri eilen toi....

Ihania savukvartsiriisejä Shaggy Loopsin kera rannekorussa. Savukvartseja tulee eksymään pian myös kaulakoruunkin, kumma miten nämä kivimieltymykset vaihtuvat säännöllisesti.

Pyöreitä 10 millisiä rutiilikvartseja rannekorussa ja korvakoruissa. Tuherotkin kasvaa ja kiinnittivät kameranaisen huomion :D

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Pisces Full Moon

Full Moon Pisces

Tuesday August 24 1:04pm EDT

01 Pisces 25

Welcome to Pisces Full Moon. I apologize for not getting this up sooner but summer is crazy busy in a house with an active boy. ‘nuff said.

Well, it has been full moon for nearly eight hours and I’m sure you are feeling it. Emotions are up high with Pisces since it is a water sign but the Sun at 1 degree Virgo brings a sensibility to our powerful feelings. Pisces evokes pain and suffering and perhaps a feeling of “what’s the use?” But Virgo will not allow us to wallow, we are motivated by a sense, “Yeah, I guess it is shit but there is nothing I can do about it---and then Pisces responds, “Yeah, the only thing left is to release it----and then Virgo finalizes it with “let’s move on, it’s the only practical thing left.”

And that’s what the next 2.5 days is about. Some people might say, “let go, let God.” But that’s not accurate for this energy. It is just a feeling of finality or maybe more to the point would be the old expression, “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

If old issues come up and you are sick and tired of them then use Pluto’s sextile Moon/Trine Sun to release them. Just say it,”I give up” and stop fighting it. Go with the flow.

Neptune conjunction with the Moon (out of sign) will also provide some comfort with the out-of-control feelings. And anyway haven’t we learned “control” is an illusion 90 percent of the time?

Finally, the sun has a nice trine with North Node which always gives us some kind of gift. Perhaps an entre’ somewhere? A door to something we had never considered?

Here’s a novel idea, maybe the timing (virgo) works best when we get the eff out of our way and stop pretending we ware in charge (Leo).

There, you heard it here---go release now!

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What Could Have Been

In January 1969, George Harrison quit the Beatles--for five days.  John Lennon had this reaction:  "If he doesn't come back by Tuesday, we get Eric Clapton."

The preceding was a bit of trivia that I found in the newest mental_floss magazine--and all I can say is WOW!!!  Just how would this have changed music as we know it, if this had happened?!

Of course, the Beatles would have changed considerably.  While Harrison was an amazing guitarist--he doesn't get the praise for his abilities that he should--having Clapton in the Beatles could have changed their sound substantially.  Could you imagine all of the guitar riffs in Beatles' songs?  Would the Beatles have taken a turn at being like Cream?  Would we have had some of the beautiful ballads like 'Yesterday' if they had a genius guitarist like Clapton?  So many possibilities from what was.

You also have to wonder how long would the Beatles have stayed together.  Just how much of a 'voice' did Harrison have in the group and would Clapton have had more or less?  And how would Clapton have developed his talent in such a group?  From what it seems, Lennon and McCartney had their creative battles--and both had quite the big egos.  Ringo and George were the 'quiet' members of the group and were overlooked and stayed in the background more than they probably should have.  It wasn't till the Beatles broke up that the two of them actually were able to shine.  Clapton always wanted to be the one in the background and had to be encouraged to come to the forefront and do any amount of singing--so, would he have received this type of encouragement if he had been a Beatle?

Then, of course, you have the music from AFTER the Beatles broke up.  Would it still have come to pass?  Would Harrison have become as big a star on his own?  And don't forget everything Clapton did that might have not happened:  the Yardbirds, Cream, Blind Faith,  Derek & the Dominoes, etc.  Would Clapton have made his way to becoming one of the 'elder statesmen' of rock if he had been with the Beatles?  Could he have sustained his career all these years, as he has?

It is amazing to think about the possibilities of what could have been if one little decision had or had not been made.  The same is true in our own lives:  what if I had/had not gone to the party that night;  what if I had/had not met that person;  what if I had/had not made that wrong turn?  It most definitely boggles the mind to think about!  And this could keep you awake for days, if you let it!  ;)

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THE JFK CASE: OSWALD AND HIS TWELVE HANDLERS

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Another Japanese Baseball Wall-Climbing Catch

Previously on Outside the Boxscore, we showed you an impressive wall-climbing catch that happened during a Hiroshima Carp/Yokohama Baystars game.

Well, we had another similar impressive catch occur in a recent match-up between these same teams.

Watch as Carp outfielder Amaya Soichiro do his best Spiderman impression:



(Courtesy of Big League Stew)

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Death in Soccer

Miklós Fehér

Personal information
Full name Miklós Fehér
Date of birth July 20, 1979
Place of birth Tatabánya, Hungary
Date of death January 25, 2004 (aged 24)
Place of death Guimarães, Portugal
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Striker
Youth career
Győri ETO
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gools)†

1995–1998 Győri ETO 62 (23)
1998–2002 Porto 10 (1)
2000–2002 Porto B 7 (2)
2000 → Salgueiros (loan) 14 (5)
2000–2001 → Braga (loan) 26 (14)
2002–2004 Benfica 29 (7)

Total 145 (51)

National team
1996–1997 Hungary U18 8 (3)
1996–2000 Hungary U21 5 (0)
1998–2004 Hungary 25 (7)

Miklós "Miki" Fehér (20 July 1979 — 25 January 2004) was a Hungarian footballer, who played as a striker for Portuguese football team S.L. Benfica. On 25th January 2004, Fehér died of a cardiac arrest during a match between Vitória de Guimarães and his team Benfica in Guimarães, Portugal.
International career
Fehér made his first international appearance for Hungary in October 1998 against Azerbaijan, and went on to score seven goals in 25 international matches.

On 11 October 2000, he netted a hat-trick in a 6–1 away thrashing of Lithuania, in a 2002 World Cup qualifier.

Death

On 25 January 2004, Benfica travelled to Guimarães to play Vitória de Guimarães. The game was being broadcast live on television, and Benfica were leading 1–0. Fehér had just come on as a substitute. He assisted another player brought from the bench, Fernando Aguiar, for the match's only goal, but received a yellow card in Hammer Time and suddenly bent forward, seemingly in pain. He then fell backwards to the ground. Teammates rushed immediately to aid Fehér before medical personnel arrived on the pitch. CPR was performed as players looked on in visible distress. An ambulance arrived on the pitch and Fehér was rushed to the hospital. His condition was covered by the Portuguese media throughout the day. However, before midnight, Fehér's death was confirmed.

 The cause of death was cardiac arrhythmia, brought on by Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. In his memory, Benfica retired the number 29 shirt, which he wore during his time at the club. He was remembered by many and his death caused a profound shock in Portuguese sports. Among others, Reinaldo Teles (director of football of Porto) and José Mourinho (Porto's manager at the time) paid their respects at the Estádio da Luz, where the player's body remained before his burial in his native Hungary.

A club delegation, which included the entire squad, travelled to Hungary, presenting Fehér's parents with the 2004–05 league championship medal, in respect for the player and his time with the club.

On 9 October 2009, the day before their World Cup qualifier against Portugal in Lisbon, the Hungarian national team squad laid a wreath next to a metal bust of Feher at Benfica's homeground Estádio da Luz, in tribute to his memory.

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The Tuesday Steve-For-All News Report 08.24.10

Daniel Bryan shows up in Cincy and nobody tells me, WWE takes offense to Chris Nowinski taking offense to them, TNA releases Homicide months after he requested it, and we have visual proof that Alberto Del Rio will be a big deal!

I consider myself a pretty big fan of independent wrestling. I know that most of you don't care about things that happen outside the WWE Universe & the TNA Galaxy, but I also know that some of you are like me and want to see the indies do well. So if you're anything like me, you get really frustrated when a promotion doesn't do the things it should to be successful.

Case in point: The Heartland Wrestling Association is a long-running indy promotion in my area. Talent like Desmond Wolfe, Shark Boy, Jon Moxley, Chad Collyer and many others learned their craft in the promotion founded by Les Thatcher. At one time, HWA was a developmental territory for the WWF and was even the subject of an episode of MTV's True Life back in 1999. (That was the same episode with Tony Atlas asking people for a cellaphone. Truly a classic moment in television history.) Unfortunately, most people probably don't know that the HWA is still around in 2010.

I was chilling at my friend's house on Saturday afternoon while he was surfing the Observer web site, and he asked me if I knew about the HWA's show last night. I said no, and he told me that Bryan Danielson had been on the show. Longtime readers know that I've been a big Dragon fan for several years now, and I always enjoyed seeing him in action up at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Dayton. Had I known he was going to be working a show right across the river, I would have made the trip.

I did know that the Northern Wrestling Federation was running a Roger Ruffin vs. Abyss match on Saturday night. The NWF is pretty good at doing things to promote their shows, whether it's running commercials during Raw, Smackdown or Impact, or putting up posters in various parts of the Greater Cincinnati area. These are not hard concepts to grasp…I'm sure the commercials aren't cheap, but running ads during wrestling shows on TV is the best way to reach the largest number of wrestling fans. It's common sense. I can't remember the last time I saw an HWA commercial, and I never see any flyers or posters anywhere.

And when you're the HWA and you have a show FEATURING A GUY THAT WRESTLED IN THE SUMMERSLAM MAIN EVENT AND ON RAW MONDAY NIGHT, why in the world wouldn't you take advantage of that and advertise it? That makes no sense whatsoever. Maybe they ran a commercial on Cincinnati cable and ignored the Northern Kentucky market, but that doesn't make any sense either when you have somebody that can draw indy fans from long distances and won't be coming back without WWE.

Rant over. Don't worry, Jeff Small will be back next week and I'm sure he won't subject you to any indy wrestling rants. Maybe something about Jersey Shore.

Speaking of which…SNOOKI!

John Cena = Unbeatable Discussion

There was a lot of conversation about John Cena, which comes as no surprise because he's only the biggest star in wrestling. Yes, Cena comes off as being unbeatable most of the time, and people like me get annoyed with it while we're watching the shows. In my Raw thoughts I complained about Cena a bit, and I stand by it. But it's not like this is anything new to WWE. The World Wide Wrestling Federation started on the back of Bruno Sammartino, who held their championship for reigns of seven and four years. He was an indestructible babyface that the fans loved to see. I've often wondered if there was a contingent of fans that complained about Bruno winning all the time, since history tells us that everybody loved Bruno, and there isn't anybody that everybody loves.

Pedro Morales was the unbeatable champion for almost three years, between Bruno's runs with the title. Bob Backlund held the title for five years, with a brief interruption by Antonio Inoki that occasionally gets recognized by WWE but didn't really matter anyway. Hulk Hogan's first reign was for four years, and I don‘t need to remind you of how dominant he was. In the 90s you had a different type of unbeatable babyface champion, as Bret Hart & Shawn Michaels always found ways to overcome the odds. Then Stone Cold Steve Austin came along and he won all the time too. Not to mention the Undertaker, who has spent most of his career as an unbeatable babyface. But he's more in the mold of the Andre the Giant-style babyface as special attraction than the Bruno/Hogan model that always dominates the championship. It wasn't until there were two titles that Undertaker was constantly in the title scene, in the past he was occupied with feuds. Rey Mysterio is in the Bret/Shawn mold.

Lots of people like unbeatable baby faces. WWE typically does its best business when there's one indestructible guy on top that everybody wants to see. Personally, John Cena doesn't really bother me that much. It just so happens that he usually ends up going against people that I like more. I don't see him using politics to get what he wants…WWE sees that the majority of the audience that they're targeting likes him, so they push him. Fans like to root for a winner, and WWE has done a pretty good job over almost fifty years of giving them one.

I think Superstar summed it up best when he said "In real sports you'll have a guy or team is is neigh unbeatable. Think Fedor in MMA. In a sport that presents itself as real, then why wouldn't you have a guy like that? So when someone finally beats this guy clean, it means something.".

Even people who don't really beat Cena clean get something out of it. Ask Sheamus. I'm sure somebody will correct me if I'm wrong, but he's yet to defeat John Cena cleanly. However, he's still won the WWE title from Cena twice, the company's pretty high on him and he gets the desired reaction from the crowd.

ginger isn't very positive about The Nexus, saying "hey guys, nexus either won by count out or dq. none of them had to really wrestle except for the one who wrestled who cena. now if tna had done this you would have ripped them to shreds. they need more wrestling, less talk, less backstage junk, less gang up 7 on 1. this is not good if you are trying to be more kid friendly."

I had no problem with Nexus's means of victories in their matches. Sometimes it's tough to remember because they've been pushed at the top of the shows lately, but they are still rookies. With the exception of beasts like Bill Goldberg, Brock Lesnar & Bobby Lashley, most new wrestlers have to work their way up the ranks and pay their dues. It's how wrestling works. They need to get the advantage in numbers however they can because it's the best way for them to hang with the established superstars on the Raw roster. If Heath Slater had cleanly beat Edge, there would have been a wave of people complaining about how Slater didn't deserve it. The same goes for Justin Gabriel's victory over Randy Orton. I was surprised that nobody really said anything about Wade Barrett beating the multi-time world champion Chris Jericho, but I think that speaks to how much people are buying into Wade Barrett.

Or maybe people did say something and I ignored them. That happens sometimes.

Now some Wednesday talk!

Lopez doesn't like it when I talk about other wrestling promotions. He asks "Does Steve Cook hate TNA so much that he is getting all excited about Luch libre USA and the mystery promotion in Florida and is predicting that those promotions will be successful???"


Lopez & Friends, you couldn't be more wrong. The fact of the matter is that I want everybody to be successful. I want TNA to succeed. I want ROH to succeed. I want Lucha Libre USA to succeed, and I'd like the Florida Mystery Promotion to become an actual promotion and succeed. And yes, I hope WWE remains successful for many, many years to come.

Why is that? Simple…more wrestling on television is a good thing. Good wrestling on television is a great thing, and great wrestling on television hopefully leads to a boom period and wrestling being obscenely popular again. I loved it back in the late 1990s when Raw & Nitro were scoring huge ratings and everybody at my high school was talking about Austin, Goldberg, Rock & the New World Order. The same people that made fun of me for watching the stuff a couple of years earlier would ask me when I thought Goldberg‘s winning streak would end, or if I saw what Stone Cold did to Vince. That was a pretty great time. Then WCW & ECW disappeared, interest died off and pro wrestling fandom once again became something you didn't really publicize. WWE fell into a phase where nothing they were doing was clicking with the masses, and nobody was really there to attract the casual wrestling fans that'd stick around for something cool

TNA showed up, and they've had some good periods, but they've mostly seemed content to relive the glory days of other wrestling promotions while giving lip service to pushing younger talent. I don't "hate" TNA just because I talk up other promotions. I don't remember predicting that the FMP would be successful, what I said was that I was waiting until they actually did something until "getting excited" about it. That was in response to reports that some top ROH talent had signed with them. Of course, these reports haven't named any names.
As for LLUSA, I've been saying that it's going to take some time if they're going to be successful and they need to be patient. I haven't agreed with everything they've done, but I'm not going to be too harsh to a promotion that's been airing TV shows for a little more than a month and still trying to establish themselves as a wrestling company running shows across America. TNA's had eight years and they've brought in everybody under the sun and have tried just about everything that you can think of. They don't get as much leeway as newer promotions, or as much as a group like Ring of Honor that has a fraction of the funding that TNA does. Some might not find that fair but that's the way it is.

neverAcquiesce chimed in on Honky Tonk Man's promo on Bubba the Love Sponge, saying "It's like someone bet HTM he couldn't cut a promo with a bunch of random objects and he was all, "Miracle Whip and a thermometer? Roll the fucking camera.""


I think that would be a great challenge on NXT. Give the rookies different props and tell them to cut promos on each other using them. It'd be kinda like the Prop Game on Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and more challenging than having them talk about whatever they feel like, which they‘ve already done at least twice this season that I can think of. Then they could use the props as weapons afterwards. I like this idea.

Chungles asks "Steve, do you not get tired of catering to the perpetually pre-pubescent?" That phrase sounded recent to me, and then I remembered who I read using it on the same day…

Admittedly, these facts are kind of dry compared to the subjective opinion of those with their own agenda or the inflamed rhetoric that appeals to those perpetually pre-pubescent, parasitic internet "experts" who neither have any legitimate experience or success as executives in the television or wrestling industry, and the rants of the terminally irrelevant trying desperately to hold on to their last 200 fans. 
Eric "I Don't Care What The Internet Thinks Yet I Can't Stop Talking About Them" Bischoff
 
Chungles = Eric Bischoff! I should have known all along!


I like Chungles, so I'm going to answer his question…no, I don't. I used to do serious business on this website when I wrote the Ask 411 Wrestling column longer than anybody in history (until Sforcina passes me pretty soon), and it really started wearing on me. You can only answer the same questions about Randy Savage & Stephanie McMahon so often before you get tired of talking about it. It got to the point where I no longer enjoyed writing about or watching the pro wrestling.

Eventually I came to the realization that I don't know everything about wrestling and I never will even if I watch it for every waking hour of the rest of my life…and quite frankly, I don't need to. I'll leave it to everybody else on the Net to know everything about everything and get all angry about the way things are. Me, I just want to chillax and spend some of my free time writing about something that I've enjoyed for twenty years. I also spend way too much time watching a whole lot of new & old wrestling, and sometimes that results in me not knowing a Raw guest host or two because I haven't seen a TV show or a movie. I hope that people enjoy it, and maybe it helps some people lighten up and even crack a smile. If my work "caters to the pre-pubescent", that's probably because I'm a big kid that hasn't grown up in most ways. "Arrested Development" would be a pretty good title for my autobiography if it wasn't already a TV show.

Christopher wants to know " Who is the woman in the other wrestling news image?" You mean this woman, right?

I know who Christopher means, I just wanted an excuse to use this picture again.

There are some questions that I wouldn't mind answering every week, because suckas gots to know about the radiant Reby Sky, a young, up and coming favorite of the News From Cook‘s Corner staff. Reby appears on Lucha Libre USA: Masked Warriors under the more formal name of Rebecca Reyes. She plays the role of a captivating interviewer that sometimes gets liquored up and marries midgets in Las Vegas. But who among us hasn't done that, right? She's in training to become a professional wrestler (presumably to fend off the advances of crazy wrestling midgets and goofy Internet wrestling writers), co-hosts the Busted Open radio show, which airs Wednesday afternoons on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio, does some photography for Supermodels Unlimited Magazine, and spends her free time obsessing over the New York Giants. I guess the New York thing explains how she finds the time to do all this stuff, since those people don't sleep.


Speaking of football…

Who-Dey…

Who-Dey…

Who-Dey think they gonna beat dem Bengals…

NO WHAMMY!

Hi, hello and welcome to the Tuesday Steve-For-All Report! I'm Steve Cook, and it's another double-shot of wrestling news from your humble correspondent. Pretty soon I'm going to have all of these days on lockdown because 411 can't hold me back. JP Prag can keep Thursdays because business news makes my eyes glaze over, but the 5 & 1 and the Wrestling News Experience can't take more than ten minutes of effort to do. Harrison can stay around too as long as he gets his lucha recaps up in a timely manner

Don't you love it when I act like I'm important around here? It makes me giggle.

"I don't care if you're awesome, TALK TO THE HAND."

WWE sent most of their wrestlers to Japan & China, having already taped all their television for this week. So how did the front office decide to fill all of this spare time they suddenly have? If your answer was "By picking a fight with an unhappy ex-employee", you know the WWE brass way too well.
It all started when Linda McMahon commented on the death of the wrestler known as Lance Cade last week, insisting that WWE couldn't be blamed for his death any more than the movie studios could be blamed for the death of Heath Ledger. She added that she might have met Cade once, maybe, she wasn't sure. This drew the ire of former WWE Superstar turned concussion expert Chris Nowinski, who went on New England Cable News and talked about how Cade's death was the latest in a pattern of deaths that WWE should at least partially be blamed for.
WWE issued a statement on Sunday attempting to refute some of Nowinski's claims and taking shots at his character, going as far to say that they weren't even sure that Nowinski ever had a single conversation with Lance Cade. I guess since Linda wasn't sure she had one maybe they thought nobody did. After looking in Nowinski's match history, it turns out that Nowinski had in fact teamed with Lance Cade on at least one occasion in 2003. On January 15th of that year, Cade & Nowinski (with Kenny Bolin as their manager) took on the team of Rob Conway & Charlie Haas. One has to assume that as tag team partners on at least one night, Lance & Chris had to have some words with each other. It'd be awfully tough to team with a guy that you've never talked to…I guess it's possible, but it'd have to be easier if you could talk to the dude. On the other hand, if Nowinski did go through tables four times a week, it's unclear when that would have happened when you look at his match history. The list is incomplete and doesn't include house shows and things like that, so maybe he was going through a lot of tables on house shows.

I guess the bottom line here is that some wrestling companies should be a little more sympathetic towards deceased wrestlers. Unfortunately promoters and other people in positions of authority don't have a lot of regard for their underlings sometimes, and there's a story I'll be talking about tomorrow that's one of the more disturbing examples of that that I've ever seen.
Meanwhile, Chris Jericho spent his time in Japan picking fights with Pro Wrestling NOAH's Yoshihiro Takayama

Bad idea, Chris. Bad idea. You might be the best in the world at what you do, but Takayama won't care about that while he's smacking the crap out of you. And good luck putting him in the Walls of Jericho, that guy just doesn't like submitting to anything. If Jericho insists on pursuing this further we won't be talking about his contract status with WWE anytime soon.

TAKA Michinoku & Sho Funaki were visiting backstage while the WWE was in Japan. No word on whether they talked to people in their evil English voices. INDEEEEEEEEEEEED.
Alberto Del Rio is going to be a big deal in WWE. How can I be so sure? Well, other than the fact that he looked really impressive Friday night in his victory over Rey Mysterio, there was this little gem on WWE.com:

I don't know if you know this or not, but I'm kind of a big deal.

I'm digging Del Rio's act, so this is good news to me. You see rich guys being driven into the arena all the time, but they're usually not driving themselves and blaring their horn incessantly. The ring announcer is also a nice touch. I really do need to learn Spanish sometime so I can understand what ADR & Rey are saying in their promos, anything that's going on in AAA, and so I can understand the Lucha Libre USA promos. The captions aren't very helpful when they're covered by MTV2 graphics.

In your "Wardrobe Malfunction" News Of The Week, Michelle McCool's right breast popped out of her top while cheering Kaval's rap on NXT last week. Unfortunately the camera cut away in time for people like me not to notice. I'll tell you what, that's not the first time Kaval's had the ladies coming out of their clothes. Guy's got some game. I think it's the Barry White voice that does it for them.

WWE was not nearly as high on AAA luchadora Sexy Star as I was hoping. The scuttlebutt from Da Meltz is that they thought her work was horrible, her English wasn‘t good, she didn't look pretty enough without a mask on and she was over the WWE Diva weight limit. I've thought Sexy was a pretty good worker on the AAA show, but I guess it's possible that she isn't good without the Apaches around. Can't really comment on her English or how she looks without a mask. I wouldn't say that the word "overweight" comes to mind when I look at her either.

Reusing an old image for those of you unfamiliar with Ms. Star

But it's their company. I'll at least give Johnny Ace credit for being honest about WWE's standards for their Divas. Back when Jim Ross was in charge of these things you could never be sure what they were looking for. I think JR's line was "they shouldn't be afraid to break a nail", which didn't really explain the presence of most of the women they had under contract at the time, who were deathly afraid of their nails breaking.
This probably still isn't the worst review that a foreign talent has received from WWE. Japanese heavyweight Takeshi Morishima didn't get signed in 2009 because Vince McMahon thought he looked like a fat girl

Ted DiBiase Sr. admitted that he took steroids for a brief period during his career. You know, I think it'd be more newsworthy if somebody that was in the 1980s WWF said that they never took them.

SyFy will be twice as Dashing tonight, as Dashing Cody Rhodes will be appearing on Warehouse 13 at 9 PM leading into NXT. Here's a description!
SmackDown Superstar "Dashing" Cody Rhodes™ joins Warehouse 13 as Myka Bering's (Joanne Kelly) unrequited high school love interest.
Cody guest stars as "Kurt Smoller," the former captain of Myka's high school football team. Charming and good-natured, Kurt shows up at her high school reunion and sparks begin to fly. Myka finds herself romantically drawn to Kurt in spite of complications brought on by exposure to an artifact.
Kurt Smoller? Are the WWE writers naming people on SyFy shows too?
Two hours of DCR greatness just might be too much for me to handle. Will two hours of Raw be too much for me to handle? Let's find out together…

-SHEAMUS FELLA! He seems to have a problem with children. He could never cut this promo in the Impact Zone.

-Randy Orton is a spoiled child? Well, he wouldn't be the first son of a wrestler to come off that way.

-The crazy mystery Raw GM rewards Sheamus by letting him sit on a throne and decide his next WWE title contender. This reminds me of how I celebrated my 7th birthday. And Orton's the one that's a spoiled child?
-Is it just me or does Michael Cole age rapidly every week? In a few weeks he's going to come out looking like Mike Wallace.
-Are they trying to make me like Truth's rapping because Cole doesn't like it? I guess it's about time me and Vintage Boy agreed on something.
-Remember when being a nine-time world champion meant something?
-Cool cross-body running charge by Edge. I don't think I've seen that one before. I'll wait while you comment on how he did it at a PPV and I'm a loon.
-Pretty decent match with Edge defeating R-Truth. Edge yells at Sheamus about how he hasn't beaten anybody. It's weird to think of him as an old-timer, but I guess he's been around long enough.
-Khali vs. Jericho. All right Mr. Best In The World At What You Do, let's see what you do with Jeff Small's celebrity crush!
-Wow, Jericho got him in the Walls. And who said Khali has no athletic ability? I was kind of hoping Khali would win just to see if he would have gotten votes in WOTW.
-I guess everybody gets to do a post-match promo tonight where they run through all of their accomplishments. Well, except for John Cena, who gets a pre-match promo.
-Wait a minute, did they deliberately release purple and yellow Cena gear because they were in LA? That's pretty cool…and pretty funny when you remember that Cena's a Celtics fan.
-Jillian sings some Eminem for us. Melina's home town is Los Angeles. Jillian's is Ashland, Kentucky. I'd have to think long and hard to come up with two more dissimilar towns.

-I'll be honest and say I ignored the Jillian/Melina match to work on my Wednesday news column. Can you really blame me? I did catch the feed cutting out during Melina's finish. Impressive!
-LayCool has an offer for Melina that she can't refuse. I had an offer for them that they refused.
-Miz talks about being a team player. What does he know about teams, he's from Cleveland. Obviously Cena kept him off Team WWE to stay away from that bad karma.
-All right, the Nexus title ban has been lifted! It was nice knowing you, Sheamus.
-Cena vs. Miz! Remember when Miz had no chance of beating Cena even if Cena had his arms and legs sawed off? Those were the days.
-OK, Rey Mysterio giving the straw to the dude in the 7-11 commercial is kinda funny.
-I approve of Miz using old A-Train moves.
-The definition of "Five knuckle shuffle" according to Urban Dictionary:
The act of male masturbation. See also wank, spanking the monkey.

"Johnny's mother caught him in the middle of a five knuckle shuffle."
Pfft, and WWE says they're PG.
-I don't typically approve of non-finishes, but when they involve Daniel Bryan beating up Miz I couldn't be happier. Hey Cole, run in there and help out your boy!
-Santino & Kozlov vs. Usos. Time to write more stuff for Wednesday!
-Tamina kisses Santino. Boy, I can't wait for that wedding. Maybe Tamina will dress Santino up like one of the Usos.
-What is Maryse wearing? It kind of matches the green tye dye Brickyard 400 shirt I'm wearing while I type this. Oh I'm going to hear it for that fashion selection, I'm sure.
-Randy Orton RKOs John Morrison & Ted DiBiase. People should stop diving at Orton, because only bad things happen to them. Sheamus walked out on the match because he's already made his decision. That's right, he's taking his talents to South Beach.

-That joke's gotta be worn out by now.
-Sheamus has decided that his next opponent shall be Zack Ryder. WOO WOO WOO. It'll happen right now, and it'll be pretty quick since it's 10:56 EST.
-Big kick and it's over. Well, that was special.
-Sheamus says he's taking the month off since he doesn't have to defend the WWE title for another 30 days. Wade Barrett, who has a title shot coming to him, has other plans. He gets a title opportunity at a PPV of his choice, and he's choosing Sheamus at Night of Champions!
-The crazy Raw GM e-mails Cole and tells us that Wade Barrett's request has been upheld. Woohoo! However, there will be four other people in the Six-Pack Challenge: Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Edge & John Cena. Well that's not fair to Barrett!
-Not only that, but Barrett gets jumped by everybody else! Outrageous! Finishers all around! It's Randy Orton standing tall as we fade to black…which probably means he won't be winning the title.

There were two big releases in TNA this week…Rosie Lottalove & Homicide. This is probably the first and last time that these two names will be listed together. Rosie appeared for TNA a grand total of one time. Homicide had been asking for his release ever since I can remember, and TNA hadn't used him since the June 24 edition of Impact. He should be back on the indy circuit soon after recovering from a groin injury he suffered in July. Obviously it wasn't in TNA.

Homicide had a pretty good thing going in TNA for quite awhile, but once they decided that LAX needed to break up he never really did a whole lot. I don't really see him working well in WWE, but you know that all the high-profile indies will be dying to book him, and AAA will probably have some interest since they've been pushing Hernandez in his LAX gimmick. I think he'll be all right…if nothing else he's finally got what he's wanted all year, his release from a company he had no interest in working for.
Team 3D's contracts expire this week. The latest word is that they aren't really close to coming to terms and haven't been booked for anything at the Impact tapings. You know that 3D was hoping that the EV2.0 ratings bump would have lasted a little bit longer, that would have helped their status quite a bit. Brother Ray was at the tapings working as an agent, so things can't be that bad.
Balls Mahoney is not happy with Axl Rotten. Apparently something happened with Axl at the Hardcore Justice show that resulted in Balls not being offered a job with TNA. He wasn't very specific about it in the interview that I read, but he did have this classic quote on the situation:
"I can honestly say now I will NEVER team with Axl Rotten again. If WWE or TNA called me up and said we want you to come in and team with Axl of course I'd have to say yes but otherwise it isn't ever going to happen again."
So Balls will never team with Axl again unless he can make money with it. Gotcha.
Balls has been getting into all sorts of trouble lately…he was charged with disorderly conduct on Saturday after getting into a fight with fellow wrestler John Kissell. The story was that they were staging the fight in order to drum up interest in an upcoming indy show they'll be appearing on. Well, I guess that's more inventive than my idea of advertising on televised wrestling shows. The downfall happened when the onlookers saw that one of them had a knife. I guess none of these onlookers noticed the guy that was just on TNA PPV a couple of weeks ago.

There's a mean joke there somewhere.

                                                                    

        Layla helps Kelly with some during-match stretching.

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