Perhaps the greatest team ever assembled enjoy their journey to the gold medal.
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Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Monday, June 18, 2012
WWE No Way Out Reaction
Another WWE pay-per-view is in the books and I'm not sure what to make of tonight. I want to say Over the Limit was better, but that'd be pushing it. It wasn't a bad show, but it certainly isn't a show I'd go back and watch again. The WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship matches saved this show from being a complete dud that's for sure.
It was just an average pay-per-view with nothing really special happening. Well, at least nothing we didn't see coming anyway. Let's get to my reaction of this show from top to bottom.
World Heavyweight Championship Match
Sheamus (c) vs Dolph Ziggler (w/Vickie Guerrero)
I'm kind of disappointed that this opened the show, but that goes to show you how far the World Heavyweight Championship has come to a point where it opens a show.
But besides all that, this match was damn good. I mean, very good. It was extremely well contested and was a great back and forth wrestling match. I was surprised that these two wrestlers have great chemistry. I didn't get bored of it at all. Great action and storytelling from start to finish. Sheamus gets the win after hitting the Brogue Kick.
I hope this is the beginning of a feud with these two, but I doubt it. This was just Ziggler filling Alberto Del Rio's spot in the match which sucks because I think Ziggler deserves a main event spot. I think this kid is ready, but who am I say who's ready or not?
Nonetheless, a great opening match.
Tuxedo Match
Santino vs Ricardo Rodriguez
To be blatantly honest, this match bored the hell outta me. I didn't find anything funny about this match until the end when Ricardo had Del Rio's face on his underwear.
Santino won and so ends the comedic portion of this show.
Intercontinental Championship Match
Christian (c) vs Cody Rhodes
These two proved they can put on a great match when given enough time to do so. There was great back and forth action, storytelling and a lot of technical wrestling thrown in there. I want to say this got to 10 minutes, and maybe more. I liked the match. I feel like these two can do even better than this if they got an extra 15 minutes, but I'm not in charge of these things.
Christian wins and retains the IC Title. I hope this the last we'll see of this feud. I think this is the closure Cody Rhodes needed for his IC Title run. He lost the belt at Over the Limit and lost tonight in his rematch. It's time for Rhodes to move on and start getting in the main event scene. Maybe he's the next opponent for Sheamus. You never know. As far as Christian goes, I'd love to see him feud with either Miz or maybe Damien Sandow next.
Fatal 4 Way #1 Contenders Tag Team Match
The Usos vs Darren Young & Titus O' Neill vs Tyson Kidd & Justin Gabriel vs Primo & Epico
I thought this match was going to be a complete dud, but it turned out to be really good. The good about this is that you have a chance to showcase great, young talent and show what these new kids can really do. The bad thing about this is that nobody really knows or cares that much about these guys because they haven't been featured on RAW or SmackDown enough for people to care about them.
The match was pretty good with all these guys getting some action in. The best spot was Tyson Kidd hitting a hurricanrana off the top rope sending Primo crashing into everybody else on the floor! That was SICK! And then came the swerve when A.W. who wanted to recruit Primo and Epico into a stable he was trying to form, screwed them and allowed Darren Young and Titus O' Neill to get the win.
What made it even better was that They all jumped Primo and Epico afterwards confirming that A.W. is going to be with Young and O' Neill full-time.
You know, this little turn would've have been so much more better if we cared about the people involved.
But anyway, Darren Young and Titus O' Neill look like they're really getting a push in the tag team division here. They maybe a threat to take the tag belts off of Kofi and Truth. Now, let's see if WWE can give these guys some air time so that we can really care about them.
Triple H addresses the WWE Universe
I'm going to cut through all the BS and get the heart of this promo. Triple H challenged Brock Lesnar to a match at Summerslam. You know Summerslam right? The pay-per-view that's all the way in August? Keep in mind that we're still in June.
He said get rid of the lawyers, the lawsuits, and the legal junk and he wants to "Fight" Brock at Summerslam.
As a fan, I can't wait to see this match because I've been wanting to see Triple H and Brock Lesnar feud with each other ever since 2002 and this is something I can't wait to see. But the thing about this is that they have to announce this match two months in advance to ensure that people are going to buy Summerslam. They can't build storylines like they used to anymore. Back in the day, HHH and Lesnar would've headlined No Way Out. You didn't need a bigger stage like Summerslam to get a match over, but again, I digress.
I'm looking forward to seeing how they build this up in the next two months.
Divas Championship Match
Layla (c) vs Beth Phoenix
These put on another solid match. It wasn't nearly as good as their match at Over the Limit match, but still solid nonetheless. They sort of repeated the same things they did in last month's match. Of course, the crowd didn't care because WWE hasn't given us a reason to care about the Divas anymore like back in the day.
Layla retains here and I don't know where she goes from here. Maybe Kharma returns and goes after Layla and Beth gets involved? I don't see how long they can milk a Beth Phoenix/Layla feud. They either bring in Kharma or here's what I'd love to see: Have Michelle McCool make a comeback and go after Layla. That'd be a feud I'd love to see. Former Lay-Cool partners going at it for the Divas Championship. That's what I'd do.
Sin Cara vs Hunico
Meh. This was a repeat of their match from RAW. Once again, I'm finding it real hard to care about Sin Cara when there's really nothing to invest in for him. Everything about him screams Rey Mysterio wannabe and I feel like he's so much more than that. But I digress.
Sin Cara wins in a solid match.
Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship
CM Punk (c) vs Daniel Bryan vs Kane
Here We Go! This is the match I've been waiting for all night long! The best storyline that WWE has going on right now will finally get its payoff. Let's set the stage for those who haven't been following. I'll make it short and sweet.
Bryan and Punk have been feuding, Kane has beef with both men, AJ's gone crazy since being dumped by Daniel Bryan and has been acting as such, all three are battling for the WWE Championship, and somehow AJ is the X-Factor in all this.
Tonight, she was seen with Punk and Bryan wishing them luck and when she got to Kane, he laid a BIG kiss on her! It's hard to tell what's going to happen. Let's get to the match!
The atmosphere was amazing and the crowd was HOT for the entire match! They were cheering from start to finish and loved all of it.....somewhat. Well, here's what I thought of it. The match itself was amazing and the fans made the match even better. There was never any lull in the action and there were great spots. The YES! Chants were in attendance in MASS and the crowd loved this match. There were great near fall spots, and I found myself cheering for Daniel Bryan. This match was extremely well done. Match of the night of course and it's not even close. For the most part, triple threat matches always deliver and this one didn't disappoint at all.
Now, here's where I bet EVERYBODY had a problem with the match: The way it ended. AJ comes running down to the ring and gets on the apron, Kane accidentally bumps into her knocking her to the floor, and CM Punk drops Kane with the GTS for the win. Kane leaves the ring and carries AJ off to the back and AJ looks back giving Punk a little smile.
I bet a lot of people were thinking AJ was going to screw over Punk and Kane and side with Bryan and help him win the WWE Championship. But the way they did it ensures us that this storyline isn't over yet. From the beginning, AJ was playing Kane like a fiddle all to help CM Punk retain the WWE Championship. She was planning it all along: Play Kane for a fool, screw Bryan, and help Punk. But I somehow can't feel like this story is over. I feel like the AJ payoff still hasn't come yet. It's coming, it's not over yet. I still can't get enough of the storyline. The more it keeps going, the more I love it. Just wish we would've seen Bryan at the end. He sort of just vanished.
Ryback vs Dan Delaney & Rob Grymes
And yet ANOTHER squash match for Ryback. Nothing more, nothing less. You know, I undertstand they're trying to build this guy into the next Goldberg, but at least Goldberg was facing people that were relevant and actually his size. Sometimes, he'd take out people twice his size. Ryback is beginning to bore me with the squashing of these 90 lb guys.
Steel Cage Match
John Cena vs Big Show
Well, here's it is. The Main Event: John Cena vs Big Show. If John Cena wins, Mr. McMahon will fire John Laurinatis, but if Big Show wins, John Laurinatis will fire John Cena. Quite a sticky situation indeed.
The match itself was slow and sometimes boring, but it followed John Cena matches to a T. Cena would get some strong offense in early on until Big Show started to dominate. Show would continue to dominate Cena until he could muster up enough strength to topple the Giant. But here's where things got interesting.
Cena would attempt to leave the Cage with help from Mr. McMahon, but Big Johnny would slam the Cage back in his face. Cena walks right into a chokeslam and kicks out! If the match was going to end at any point, it would be right there, but it didn't which meant John Cena was going to win at some point. You just didn't know when or how it would happen.
Big Show would later on go for the WMD. He'd miss Cena, and knock out the ref, but he'd come back and take Cena down anyway. And then, everybody that Big Show had destroyed in his reign of terror: guys like Zack Ryder, Kofi Kingston and Brodus Clay made their way down to the ring. Big Show would take them out but turn around into an AA.
But guess who won? You guessed it. John Cena. John Cena got to the top of the Cage and Big Show crawled out of the door. It was a race to see who would get to the floor first and John Cena won. Big Johnny got fired right on the spot by Mr. McMahon and got AA'ed through the announce table to cap it off. John Cena stands tall......once again.
So, John Cena wins and John Laurinatis is fired. Where do we go from here? Does Triple H take over? Does Mr. McMahon re-hire Teddy Long? Does something happen that causes John Laurinatis to come back? This next move is crucial.
This entire month of Big Show running through most of the RAW Roster was pretty much all for not since he couldn't come away with the win. I don't understand this to be honest. How does this at all help the Big Show. This heel turn isn't completely wasted, but it's taken one hell of a dent tonight. Where does he go from here now? I really doubt his feud with Cena is over, but how can he be taken seriously now? He didn't do what he said after all this and Cena continues to end every show on top no matter who he takes on. No matter how over a heel can be, they wouldn't dare have him go over John Cena and make him legitimate.
Overall, it was an average show saved by the World Championship and WWE Championship matches and was capped off by a poor main event that was saved by some late theatrics by other superstars. I would've liked to see some other things go differently, but that isn't the way things work. We have to wait and see how things develop.
Tomorrow's RAW should be most interesting. And I'm going to be there LIVE so I'm gonna love it......hopefully.
Feel free to Comment.
By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
NBA Finals - Game 1 Reaction
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Game 1 of the NBA Finals to crown the 2012 Champions kicked off last night in front the extremely loud and excited OKC crowd. Let's set the stage shall we?
The 3 time MVP Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and the Miami Heat making their second NBA Finals appearance. After a heralded Homecoming to Miami for Lebron James and Chris Bosh. Miami took all their hype and excitement to the NBA Finals last year and were defeated by the Dallas Mavericks in 6 games. This season, they seemed to be even more focused than ever to capture an NBA Title. The pressure is on for the Big 3. It's either now, or never.
Vs.
Scoring Champion Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and the young Oklahoma City Thunder who are all making their first NBA Finals appearance. The first season this group was together, they didn't even reach the playoffs and finished with a 23-59 record, the year after, they lost in the first round to the Lakers, and last season they lost in the Conference Finals to the eventual NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks in 5 games. This season, they made a statement sweeping Dallas, taking out Kobe and the Lakers, and defeating the HEAVILY favored San Antonio Spurs.
It all begins here. Let's get to the action!
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Miami came out HOT in the first quarter. Battier hit his first three shots (all three pointers). The Miami Heat, as a team, hit 83% from 3-point range in the first quarter. OKC, on the other hand, started out 1-6, had about 8 turnovers and Westbrook was 3-10. Early on, we found out what could be the bane of OKC in these NBA Finals: Westbrook's erratic shooting and the number of turnovers OKC had. OKC played a tad bit sloppy and jittery for my taste.
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Moving onto the second quarter, The Heat continued to dominate. Battier and Chalmers became the role players that Miami needed to step up. Haslem stepped in as well and gave some well needed points off the bench. Battier went into the locker room with 13 points and Chalmers had 10 points. Durant and Harden were doing most of the scoring. Fisher had a little spurt, but the Miami Heat quickly rebounded and tightened up on defense. At one point, they led by 13 points. The Thunder really looked like they were rookies out there and Miami was getting ready to run them out of the gym.
Despite scoring 51% to Miami's 58% from the field in the first half, the Thunder were lucky to be only be down by 7 heading into Halftime the way they were playing. As a Thunder fan, you can either worry that your team can't get it together or have faith that they'll shake off the jitters and play like they have been. As a Miami Heat fan, things are looking pretty good for your team. You would think they would turn up the intensity, put the game out of reach and OKC wouldn't recover.
Right?
That is why we play two more quarters. Because the second half was an entirely different story.
OKC came out in the third quarter and hit the first three of their four shots. They started out on a 13-6 run and tied the game at 60 midway through the third quarter. The crowd was on their feet, OKC shook off those jitters and started playing more loose, defended better, made all the shots they missed in the first half and really took control of the game away from Miami.
Lebron James put Miami on his back and single handily kept them in this game. He had 9 points in the third quarter. Battier, who was RED HOT in the first half only had 2 points in the third. Wade had only one field goal and went to the line twice. The Heat indeed cooled down and the tide was beginning to change as they got outscored 26-19 in the third quarter as OKC took a one point lead into the fourth quarter.
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Lebron James tried to keep the Heat in the game, but by this time OKC, more specifically Kevin Durant took command of the fourth. Durant made 6 of his 10 shots and finished with 36 points and Westbrook finished with 27 points. Wade's erratic shooting didn't help as he had 19 points on 7-19 shooting, Bosh played 34 minutes and had 12 points and Lebron couldn't do it by himself as he finished with 30 points himself. Miami had four other players in double figures, but it wasn't enough.
OKC was getting too many easy shots, easy penetration in the paint and the more Miami tried to come back, the more OKC just pulled away. Durant and Westbrook BY THEMSELVES outscored the Miami Heat team 41-40 in the second half of the game. Once OKC got their act together, they were seemingly unstoppable. Serge Ibaka was the only other Thunder player, besides Durant, in double figures.
So here's where I stand on all this:
The Miami Heat came out HOT and they couldn't finish. OKC started off sloppy and finished strong. Once AGAIN, Lebron had to carry the Heat team on his back down the line when nobody else could get it going in the second half, but it wasn't enough. But I'm sure he'll get pretty much all the blame despite the fact that he came to play and picked up the slack. This is turning into Cleveland all over again for Lebron. He does pretty much all the work, and nobody else steps up to help him. The Heat need to get their act together for Game 2. Wade needs to pick and choose his shots, Bosh needs a few more touches, switch up on defense more often and get Battier and Chalmers going. If they play like they did in the first half the whole series, then maybe Miami has a chance.
As far as the OKC Thunder go, there's really not much to say. They looked a little nervous in the beginning. Durant did most of the scoring and Westbrook was chucking shots like he always does. They were outplayed most of the time. They needed that halftime to collect themselves and get back to their game. Durant came out and scored 36 points, Sefalosha provided some great defensive prowess, Westbrook also calmed down and OKC played like the OKC Thunder that took out the San Antonio Spurs. They continue this play, they can win it all.
OKC is now 9-0 at Home in the playoffs. Miami is 4-5 on the road in these playoffs.
Game 2 will be Thursday Night from the Chesapeake Energy Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Feel free to Comment.
By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Monday Night RAW Review (6/11/12)
It's been a poor string of RAW's since the Over the Limit pay-per-view, but tonight's RAW should be good for a couple of reasons:
1) This is a 3 hour show so they have A LOT of time to build upon storylines and better matches.
2) It's the Go-home show for No Way Out this Sunday so it should be a very action packed RAW.
So, with all that aside, let's get to this RAW Review already!
Mr. McMahon Returns
The Boss is back!
John Laurinatis comes out and before he can even say a word, Mr. McMahon comes out to a HUGE pop from the fans. He comes in and runs down Johnny's list of bad things he's done as his time as GM like the Brock Lesnar incident, the lawsuits and the Big Show fiasco. The fans are chanting "Fire Johnny" and this brings out Sheamus.
He comes out and pretty much says the same thing and wants Laurinatis fired. Laurinatis then says he's gonna have an opponent for Sheamus.
But Mr. McMahon says, that Sheamus' match better be impressive and every match better be impressive or else Johnny is FIRED!
Good segment. It didn't eat up 20 minutes like I thought it would and Mr. McMahon sending Johnny's whatever that is he drives off the stage was pretty cool.
Sheamus vs Tensai
Regular big man match. Nothing too special. Tensai was dominating for a good portion of the match. Sheamus sold most of Tensai's work and made him look like a legitimate beast. Sheamus gets the win with the Brogue Kick. Now we await and see who Sheamus' new #1 Contender will be later on.
Backstage Segment
After a few moments of bantering, Teddy comes up with an idea to put Christian, Swagger, Khali, and Ziggler in a Fatal 4 Way match and that winner will face off against Sheamus at No Way Out. I think I have an idea who's going to win this one.
Tensai's Attack
Back from the break and Tensai is still in the ring with Sakamoto. Tensai attacks Sakamoto. That's about it. He's frustrated about his loss and takes it out on Sakamoto for what reason? Cause he lost the match and Sakamoto is apparently the only guy around. Well, Sakamoto was about as useless as a manager can be so I assume this is the last we'll be seeing of him.
I don't see what this does for Tensai's character. Is he going to get even more angry? How could be possibly become more physical than he already is now?
Santino & Layla vs Ricardo Rodriguez & Beth Phoenix
Remember when Santino and Beth Phoenix were a couple?
Anyway, nothing more than a comedy match. Santino and Ricardo fool around on the outside while Beth pins Layla in the ring. This means Beth and Layla will probably collide for the Divas Championship again which doesn't bother me. They put on a great match at Over the Limit. The fans don't care, but I can't wait to see both Divas lock up again.
A really funny part of the match is after Beth gets the win, Santino rips off Ricardo's shirt to reveal a skin tight Justin Bieber shirt! I admit, I got a chuckle out of this Big Time.
Daniel Bryan/CM Punk/Kane/AJ Segment
Daniel Bryan comes out the crowd loves him. He comes out and runs down Punk and Kane and also throws in AJ saying she's still in love with him. Bryan says Punk is jealous of him and is trying to make him jealous by dating his ex-girlfriend. He also finished with a cool catchphrase: "Once you go Bryan, there's no point in trying." He started a YES! Chant until CM Punk's music hits.
CM Punk comes out and he and Bryan battle on the mic. Bryan calls Punk a sell-out and that he used to respect him, but he's changed since his promo last year. And I can't help but to agree with him. Let's be a bit real, I was a Punk fan when he first came in, but his character needed a drastic change to become relevant . But that's neither here nor there.
Back to the promo, Punk said he achieved success on his own terms, unlike Bryan. They go back and forth for a little bit until Kane comes out. Kane comes out and talks about all the crazy things he's done in his past and proclaims he will win the WWE Championship at No Way Out.
AJ runs out and addresses all 3 men. She looks at Kane and says he actually has a heart, she looks at Bryan and says she hasn't gotten over him, and looks at Punk and says he's the coolest guy she's ever known. Then here what was key about this promo:
She puts on a straight face and says she knows the best man will win on Sunday. AJ's allegiance will finally come to light this Sunday. Can't wait to see how it all pans out. This has been one of the best feuds going on right now and we really don't know where AJ will go. Maybe she really does have a thing for Punk, maybe her and Kane will make a twisted couple, or maybe, just maybe, AJ and Bryan will get back together and form a dominant heel couple. Either way, it should be interesting.
Solid promo overall. I liked the back and forth between Punk and Bryan. That was really the only enjoyable part of the promo IMO. I felt like this could've been handled a lot better towards the end, but it was good for what it was.
Fatal 4 Way Elimination #1 Contender's Match
Christian vs Dolph Ziggler vs Jack Swagger vs The Great Khali
A very short, but enjoyable match nonetheless. Didn't really care for Khali's elimination so I'll skip that one. Ziggler pinned his own teammate Swagger to eliminate him, and then it came down to Christian and Ziggler. These guys had a great back and forth and the crowd was hot for it. Ziggler finally pins Christian after connecting with the Zig Zag! This was a pretty cool spot in the match.
Ziggler wins and he's moving on to No Way Out to face Sheamus for the World Heavyweight Championship! Ziggler and Sheamus have a little face-off on the ramp for a little sneak preview. Ziggler's time has finally come. I don't think he's going to win, but he has another World Championship match under his belt. Should be a great match.
Ryback vs Local Jobbers
Typical Ryback squash. He destroyed these guys. They get funnier each week, but I really think it's time they did SOMETHING with Ryback other than feed him in town jobbers.
Steel Cage Match
Big Show vs Kofi Kingston
Kofi starts off attacking Big Show but that strategy quickly falls by the wayside. Big Show rebounds and destroys Kofi. Despite a great spot where Kofi bounces off the cage hitting the Trouble in Paradise and getting the crowd to their feet, Show dominated Kofi and literally knocked him out and left the cage.
This was another sample of Big Show's power and showing us what we can "expect" when John Cena faces Big Show Sunday. Kofi Kingston is no John Cena, but this is another way to get Big Show's monster character over more before Sunday.
Sin Cara vs Curt Hawkins
Meh, Sin Cara doesn't really do much for me. All the mood lighting and slow paced action. I skipped this match to be honest. Sin Cara didn't interest me when he debuted, and he's not getting me interested with this new red attire either.
Heath Slater vs Vader
Heath Slater was babbling and I wasn't listening until......VADER came out!
I don't know about most of you but seeing this guy is a blast from the past! I watched Vader from his time in the 90s and watched his old stuff as well. I was always a fan of Vader's. This was awesome to see. Glad to see him pummel Heath Slater and get the win. Finishing with the Vader Bomb was a sweet touch. One of the only bright spots in this 3 hour RAW.
Kane & Daniel Bryan vs CM Punk & AJ Lee
This was a very unusual tag team match. Punk and Kane start things off with some back and forth action until Bryan comes in and wants to get in on the action. Bryan and Punk do their occasional chain wrestling before Kane comes back in. In an awkward spot, Punk falls onto AJ which counts as a tag, I guess. AJ comes in and stares down the Big Red Machine.
She hops around the ring, jumps on Kane, wraps his legs around him and kisses him for a pretty long damn time. Kane is freaked out and leaves the ring. This allows Punk to take advantage and pin Daniel Bryan for the win.
AJ sits like Punk in the middle of the ring with a crazy look on her face as all three men look at her. This makes you wonder just who is AJ going to side with on Sunday? Which side is she going to choose? She's played this "crazy" role very well for the last month and it's finally time for the payoff. I think I have a solid idea of what might go down, but I want to see it happen. Can't wait to see how this all comes full circle.
Mr. McMahon's Decision
Mr. McMahon comes out with Security guards behind him and calls out Big Johnny.
Big Johnny tries to reason with Vince and said he's made RAW better, but Vince begs to differ. Just as he was about to fire him, out comes Big Show to defend his man. Show kisses Laurinatis ass for what seems to be a couple minutes. He mentions his contract and how he has done everything Vince has asked of him the last 14 years and he's done being what Vince wants and wants to do his own thing.
Cue John Cena.
Cena comes out and does his usual good guy rambling, but somewhere in that babble, Cena starts to make sense when he says everything Show has done will be all for not if he doesn't beat Cena. If Big Show doesn't beat Cena on Sunday, he'll be the World's Largest Disappointment. Show gets angry and throws around the security guards. Cena attacks Show, but gets swatted off. Mr. McMahon throws down Big Johnny and gets caught with a HUGE right hand by Big Show that lays him out!
Laurinatis and Big Show leave and Cena is still in the ring checking on Mr. McMahon as RAW goes off the air.
This segment was very....well awkward. Ok, let me not go that far. It was good. Mr. McMahon, Big Johnny, Big Show and John Cena got some decent mic time. This whole segment was just a way to put over the John Cena/Big Show match this Sunday. And now, there's a catch: If Big Show loses, then Big Johnny is fired. So now, for the second pay-per-view in a row, Johnny's job is on the line. We're almost assured now that there's a chance Big Show might pick up the victory. But after the way RAW ended, it's hard to exactly predict what might happen.
I mean, Big Show has been on a tear the last few weeks and if he loses to Cena, then this entire thing really would've been for no reason at all. If their serious about giving Big Show one last good run as a heel, he needs to pick up steam and be relevant and a loss to John Cena is NOT the way to go. But with Johnny's job on the line, I think Big Show might win this one. Then again, it is hard to say.
Overall, this was an ok RAW. If this is really what we're going to look forward too when RAW goes 3 hours in July, I don't know... the first hour was really a throwaway and things didn't get serious until the second hour. There were more bad spots than good spots. Some of the little things annoyed me like Heath Slater getting mic time, Hornswoggle getting air time, Sin Cara, Big Show burying the tag team champions.....again, more filler matches than actual meaningful matches, and no Miz. Really?
The only bright spots were Vader returning, the AJ/Punk/Bryan/Kane feud continuing and the last segment was ok. Mediocre at best if you ask me.
It was another lackluster RAW before a big pay-per-view show going down this Sunday. Well, I expect this to be a great show, but with the injuries and suspensions to guys like Jericho, Orton, and Del Rio, the buyrates will suffer quite a bit. Don't even know if I'm going to make a No Way Out prediction blog.
It'll be interesting to see if WWE can deliver another solid pay-per-view. Guess we'll find out on Sunday.
Feel free to Comment.
By: Gerald "Showstopper" Prophete
Monday, June 11, 2012
NBA FINALS - Dreams Do Come True
"NBA COULDN'T DRAW A BETTER PICTURE"
No, Lebron James cannot score 50 points every game, yes Chris Bosh not being healthy affected the team, yes Rajon Rondo is a top 10 player in the league and the old dogs weren't going down without a fight. Even after game two of the Western Conference Championships there were talks of the Oklahoma City Thunder getting swept. Nonetheless the journey to the NBA Finals is over and the NBA did what it was suppose to do keep us excited, change our expectations and in the end give us what we wanted. In one series Dwayne Wade was one game from being traded, Scott Brooks (OKC coach) was being called a fool and said to be out coached, and Erik Sproelstra was suppose be replaced with Pat Riley, but here we are at the dream match up we all wanted.
This NBA Finals will be the most viewed no doubt about it not only because it has the two best players on the planet facing off but, more importantly we will watch either to see Lebron James succeed or to watch him fail which many want to see. Kevin Durant is a great player but all eyes are on Lebron James and if he can finally get the monkey of his back. Who ever you have your money on know this one will be a roller coaster of a series and the person we least expect will have the most influence/ impact on the series.
The key to this series will be the match-ups and if Westbrook doesn't try to steal the shine from Kevin Durant. Everyone is saying that the Heat are in big trouble but I'm here to disagree we all saw the Thunder go through the Mavericks, Lakers, and Spurs to land a spot in the finals. The media, the fans and the nation are all being prisoners of the moment we see a Heat team barely get past the so called old Celtics and assume that the Thunder are way beyond the Miami Heat.
The teams OKC Thunder got passed have pretty much dominated the NBA for the last fourteen years but those teams are a thing of the past, other than the San Antonio Spurs, the Los Angeles Lakers, and Dallas Mavericks weren't real contenders to anybody but their fans. The Lakers and Mavericks had flaws which came to light even more in the playoffs. I bring those teams up to give you perspective because if you listen and watch media outlets they will make you believe the Thunder had to go through the 2000 Lakers to get to the NBA Finals. I'm not saying the OKC Thunder players are overrated but the team is beatable and don't match up as well as we all think against the Miami Heat.
The Oklahoma City Thunder big three Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden will be the focal point of the Thunders offense but other than that they have many liabilities, everyones talking about Perkins, and Ibaka's presence in the paint but the fact is they are a liability offensively especially Perkins. The Thunder have absolutely no post play and the teams that give the Miami the most trouble are teams with big men that can produce. For example: Boston's Kevin Garnett, and Indiana's Roy Hibbert. Another argument for OKC Thunder being everyones pick to win it all is Russell Westbrook who now everyone thinks is all of a sudden is Derrick Rose.
I believe Russell Westbrook is a great player but he's no D Rose and he's no Rajon Rondo. Westbrook's Jumper is inconsistent and not a superior passer like the other two and often makes many bad decisions in the game. The more upset Russell Westbrook gets the more he chucks up terrible shots. The key to his game is driving to the basket which is something the Miami Heat are good at stopping. Mario Chalmers cannot cover Russell Westbrook but if history tells us anything Russell Westbrook worst match up is himself. The OKC Thunder also do not have a bench other than James Harden but lets be honest, if you think James Harden will be hitting fade away threes with a hand in his face every game, I suggest you see a doctor. The Thunder's lack of depth will be a problem against a physical team such as Miami. The Thunder out match many of their opponents athletically but I doubt that will work against the Miami Heat because they like to run the floor as well. The OKC Thunder team is good but it's not great as many want to believe.
The Miami Heat are suppose to be great but their really just good because they lack many intangibles. I'll give you seven seconds to guess what Lebron James is averaging for the 2012 playoffs..... well if you don't know the answer is 30ppg, 9 RB and 5 assists. That's his average folks. I want you to remember your most average class in high school or college. If Lebron James basketball average was a letter grade, that would equal an A average. What keeps this team from being great is the simple things, however let's start with free throws. The Miami Heat seems as if they are keeping worse and worse at the line, especially in the fourth quarter.
The second thing I would say is the injuries to Wade and Bosh. We have watched most of the post season. Without bosh, we forget this team is very different when Bosh is taking the mid range shot instead of Haslem or our favorite Mike Miller (that was sarcasm.) Which leads me to the second biggest flaw of the Heat: They miss too many open shots. I know you can't make them all, but there are times where Miller, Battier and Haslem are so open they could grab a snack before they shoot and yet they air ball it. But the real reason why many doubt the Heat and it's there biggest flaw: It's heart, desire, and hunger at times. This team can look untouchable and yet there are times when the Miami Heat look disengaged and relaxed. If you play relaxed against the OKC Thunder, they will destroy you with their stellar mid range game especially Kevin Durant. Lebron James carried the Miami Heat on his back this post season now it's time for D. Wade and the rest of the team to join the party on a consistent level. It's also time for Lebron James to bring the same intensity to the Finals because in all his Finals appearances he has never dominated or took control of a game.
I believe this series will be a battle, but I believe it's Lebron James and the Miami Heat time to shine. It's now or never for Lebron James but either way the NBA champion of 2011-2012 season will make the NBA proud to call them the new face of the league.
My Pick: Miami Heat in 6
Key Notes
Pressure bust pipes. While Heat have all the pressure in the world, the Thunder have alot and with pressure comes alot a missed shots from role players.
Thunder and Heat split series this regular season.
The Heat force many free throws and are not a primary jump shooting team like the Spurs so Ibaka will be in foul trouble alot.
Oklahoma City Thunder is the favorite to win.
The key to the series is if Dwayne Wade can match Russell Westbrook's output or surpass it if so Miami Heat win because that leaves too much up to Kevin Durant to overcome.
Roy Hibbert, Kevin Garnett, and now Ibaka were all said to give the Miami Heat problems so far the Heat have over come good defensive big men and both Hibbert and Kevin Garnett are better scorers than Ibaka.
by Phillip "Stats" Rodney
"The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials."
-- Chinese proverb
-- Chinese proverb
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