Twenty-five Reasons WrestleMania is the Real Super Sunday

As seen in this months WWE MAgazine.

Houston’s Reliant Center plays host to the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania, and we guarantee it’ll be better than the so-called “Big Game.” Let us count the ways that the Show of Shows beats the Super Bowl…

1. Better Trophies
The Vince Lombardi Trophy, which is basically a football on a stick, will sit on some shelf and collect dust for most of the year. You can’t even drink out of it like the Stanley Cup. A WWE Championship, on the other hand, is paraded around by the champ 24/7. Plus, the title itself is great for keeping pants up.

2. Zero Commercials
The cost for a 30-second spot during Super Bowl XLIII? Three million dollars. For that reason alone, commercials have taken on nearly as much significance as the game, if not more. Throw in the over-hyped halftime show, and the 60 minutes of actual football action becomes an afterthought. At WrestleMania, matches are never overshadowed by anything, especially not by a bunch of Budweiser horses.

3. Our Post-Game is Raw
Super Bowl winners talk about making that pilgrimage to Disneyland after their victory. Win or lose, WWE Superstars compete on Raw the very next night.

4. Hallelujah! No Bob Costas
With Super Bowl XLIII airing on NBC this year, you’ll be subjugated to at least four hours of inane pregame chatter spewing from the mouth of diminutive, non-athlete Bob Costas. He’s not nearly as entertaining as the similarly-sized Hornswoggle, but he is much cleaner.

5. Our former GM Actually Played in the NFL
Back in the day, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was a sports star … at his high school in the ultra-rich suburb of Bronxville, NY. The man never played a single down in the pros. Say what you will about Mike Adamle’s time as Raw’s GM, but the man scrambled at running back for seven seasons with the Jets, Bears and Chiefs during the smashmouth 1970s. For that, he has our respect.

6. Hardys Trump Mannings
A big game match-up between Peyton and Eli would be an instant on-field classic. But figure they’d also appear in at least half of the commercials that night, and it’d add up to just too much Manning. Wouldn’t you rather see Matt and Jeff Hardy team up or face off? Well of course you would.

7. Tickets for the Fans —Not Corporate Stooges
This year, Roger Goodell and the NFL have set aside a thousand Super Bowl tickets for fans. Face value? Five-hundred dollars a pop. Considering that Raymond James Stadium can hold up to 75,000 strong, the NFL is doling out a scant 1.3 percent of the total tickets. Good luck scoring one. Reliant Center, the host site of the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania (and home to the Houston Texans), can seat 71,000 fans and offers admission for as little as $40 per ticket. What’s the better value? You do the math.

8. Bookmakers Need Not Apply
There is absolutely no chance Las Vegas has any undue say in the outcome of any of the matches at WrestleMania. We’re just saying.

9. Higher Standards
Wide receivers will go horizontal to catch a pass, but will they leap from a 16-foot high ladder to notch a TD?

10. The Undertaker’s Streak
The Steel Curtain Pittsburgh teams took three Super Bowls in the 1970s, Dallas took three in the 1990s, and New England has dominated the new millennium with a trio of wins. If those franchises qualify as “dynasties,” then what do you call Undertaker’s streak of 16 wins and zero losses? Phenomenal.

11. Superior Fashion at WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony
Every summer in Canton, Ohio, the Pro Football Hall of Fame honors a select group of retired players … by making them wear ghastly cream-colored blazers. Honestly, they make that green jacket from the Masters Tournament look stylish. The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, prior to ’Mania, has no such dress code … although black tie is preferred. All class.

12. You Actually Watch IT with Fans
Remember the last Super Bowl party you attended? No? Probably because the guests (specifically your girlfriend or wife and her annoying friends) were more concerned with idle chitchat than gridiron action. Fact is, when ’Mania begins, fans are glued to the action.

13. Helping H-Town
Ticketholders at the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania are headed to the largest city in the Lone Star State. We don’t have to remind you about the hell that hurricanes wreaked on Houston in the summer of 2008. While in town, lend a helping hand to local charities, or at the very least crack open that wallet and help stimulate the local economy (we’ll show you where and how next issue). Now that’s patriotism!

14. Hotter Reporters
Sorry, Andrea Kramer. Although your sideline reporting skills are second only to Suzy Kolber’s, you’re no match for the stunning Eve Torres.

15. WrestleMania is Not Named After a Lame Children’s Toy
The Super Bowl took its name from a popular 1960s toy, the Super Ball. Lamar Hunt, owner of the Kansas City Chiefs and founder of the AFL, saw his children playing with the bouncy sphere, and the rest is history.

16. No Two-Week Gap Between Regularly-Scheduled WWE events and ’Mania
The AFC and NFC Championship Games are both played on Sunday, Jan.18. Then fans must wait 14 days until Super Bowl Sunday. Meanwhile, the WWE Universe is treated to a full week of in-ring action prior to ’Mania. And 45 hours after SmackDown goes off the air on MyNetwork TV Friday night, WrestleMania begins. Plus, you’re sleeping through at least half of that span anyway.

17. You Can Ogle Godaddy.Com Spokesbeauty, Candice Michelle, For More Than 30 Seconds

18. You Make The Call. Which Is Better?…
An NFL Field Goal kick or Shawn Michaels’ Superkick?

19. The City Of Buffalo Could Use A Championship
The words “Norwood wide right” still send chills down the spines of Buffalo fans. The town hasn’t won big since the Bills took back-to-back AFL Championships in ’64 and ’65, and Buffalo hasn’t made a playoff appearance this century. That makes Nickel City native Beth Phoenix the best (and per-haps only) chance for the B-Lo to savor an actual championship victory. Jinx.

20. Freedom Of Choice
Chances are, your favorite team isn’t even playing in the Super Bowl. You’re lucky if they even made the playoffs. At WrestleMania, however, you’re guaranteed to see your favorite Superstars in action.

21. Fewer Blowouts
Of the first 43 Super Bowls, 21 have been won by 14 points or more. Total blowouts. Of the first 24 WrestleManias, 245 matches have been contested and only six of those bouts lasted less than a minute and can be considered squash matches. That’s value.

22. No Injury Timeouts
When’s the last time you saw an NFL pro play through a broken collarbone?

23. Spring Fever
After the Super Bowl, you can look forward to seven more bone-chilling weeks of winter before the thaw. After the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania, which is on April 5, by the way, spring has already sprung. For those of you who live south of the equator, disregard this entry and enjoy your autumn.

24. Our Refs Pay The Price When They Screw Up
During week two of this NFL season, referee Ed Hochuli ruled Denver QB Jay Cutler’s fumble an incomplete pass. The Broncos won the game by a point. For his screw-up he received a “bad grade” from the league. When a WWE ref blows a call, you better believe the punishment is more severe…and meted out on the spot by the offended Superstar.

25. Rematches One Month Later
The Super Bowl loser has to wait until next season (nearly seven months!) for a shot at revenge. For the defeated at ’Mania, one last long shot opportunity presents itself a mere three weeks later at Backlash on April 26. How convenient.

Good Wrestling news sites

Here are some good wrestling INFO sites

http://www.prowrestling.net/

http://www.rajah.com/base/

http://www.wrestlingforum.com/

http://www.wrestlingbio.com/

http://www.lordsofpain.net/

http://www.ewrestlingnews.com/

Implosion '07

A couple of years ago shortly after moving into my apartment on North Street there was a building implosion in Downtown Buffalo. Luckily there was a good sight line to the implosion from the roof of my building.

Here is the result.
























Here is a slideshow of it as well:

Implosion Slideshow

Mike and Mike in the Morning

Mike and Mike in the Morning

In the morning when getting ready for work I used to listen to WGR in the morning to get some good sports talk and be entertained a little bit. In the last couple of years I've started listening to Mike and Mike in the Morning. The major reason is WGR's undying dedication to the Buffalo Sabres no matter what the season. Sure they have Bills coverage when they are playing and I do understand that they are the radio home of the Sabres and this is Buffalo but there is a whole other world going on beyond the Buffalo Sabres and hockey. While I'm not a big fan of hockey I do know who's good, who's bad and who the superstars are, but WGR covers hockey as if it's the only sport in the world. They have also put hockey on some kind of pedestal, referring to it as a "smart" sport which apparently has more honor than all the other sports. They like to devalue the rules and officials of the other sports as well. Acting as if every call in hockey and every rule in hockey is perfect. I understand that hockey is the only pro sport going on in Buffalo right now but there are a slew of other sports going on in the world and through the magic of television we have access to watch them. I mean is how the Sabres skated in practice this morning more important than a "big" game between the Lakers and Cavaliers? Mike and Mike cover all sports even a little bit of hockey. They do interviews with various beat writers and reporters and cover all the major sports. On WGR we hear about changes to the Sabres 4th line and calls about how the Bills should make Turner Gill their head coach and Drew Willy their quarterback. It's funny the only host who would talk about subjects other than hockey or football was Brad Riter who WGR unceremoniously fired a couple of years ago. He is back on the radio weekdays from 6-9 on WECK 1230 AM in Buffalo.

I'll continue to listen to WGR in the car though because ESPN doesn't have a radio station here and because I actually do love to hate WGR. They also do these funny songs and bits which I do enjoy quite a lot. Like this one...

Is wrestling real?

No of course its not but according to what i've read in some YouTube comments people think it is real.

Look at this accident:



according to these comments on youtube...

...some people think this was real. To quote Pete Price "Lolmazing".

I'm not a huge fan of Jeff Hardy in fact I don't really like him at all but in wrestling ever heel needs a face to go against. As some people know Edge is just about my favorite wrestler (CM Punk is up there too) and this current feud with Jeff Hardy is fun.It's had me watching Smackdown every week. It all started here....



Basically Jeff Hardy was finally getting his title shot in a triple threat match against Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov but on the morning of survivor series he was found unconscious in his hotel room. He was attacked by an unknown assailant and he was unable to participate in the match. Vicki Guerrero, the SmackDown GM (and wife to Edge), replaced him with Edge. Edge went on to win the title. Speculation has been running rampant that Edge was behind the attack. and he has of course denied involvement. There's a lot of speculation as to who is really behind the attacks and hopefully these question will be answered this Sunday at the Royal Rumble. The popular theory is that Edge's old buddy Christian is behind the attacks which I agree with but I think that it will come out that Edge knew nothing about the attacks beforehand. I guess we will see.

In Honor of the Man

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

New Coffee Table Additions....

Brilliant Commercials

MergeBuffalo

In one of the only times the Buffalo Shows message board has been useful lately it gave me information on a new Vegan Vegetarian Organic Raw Food Restaurant in Buffalo called Merge.

I found out about it on Friday and on Saturday Mary and I ventured out to check it out. If you live in Buffalo or have ever been to Buffalo you know that there pretty much aren't any vegetarian friendly restaurants in the city. We used to have one called Preservation Hall but that has been closed for 10years? now.

The restaurant is located at 439 Delaware which is about three blocks from my apartment. We went in and its very nice in there. Not "valet parking jacket and tie nice" but very comfortable. There was artwork on the walls and decent (in my opinion) music was playing over the PA. I looked at the photos and while I wasn't blown away by the work I remembered the name of the photographer. His name was J Matthew Kianka. He has a rather extraordinary website.

Now to the food. Mary and I got an appetizer and two entrees which we shared. For our appetizer we had the polenta medallions because my first choice the Buffalo Style Eggplant wasn't available. For my entree I got the Tex Mex wrap with vegan mac and cheese. Mary got the Tease Panini with sweet potato fries. We shared the food and I thought all of it was pretty tasty although MAry believed that there should have been a little bit of honey with the sweet potato fries.

Overall I liked it and I will go there again. It was pretty cheap too. Our appetizers and entrees came to $21.75.

The Ravishing One

Last year I was dating a woman who had a son who collected WWE figures. We (her son and I ) would get up early in the morning and take pics of the wrestlers. I have quite the collection of pics of the various wrestlers but I've actually gotten some of my own figures recently and started to photograph them first I did CM Punk now I've done Ravishing Rick Rude. I'll probably do an Abdullah the Butcher if Fletcher lets me but here goes....

I Rise...I Fall...I Rise Back Up

Cleaning is like chicken soup for the soul. When I have something going on in my head cleaning is way to kind of sort them out because even though cleaning is a constructive activity is at the same time a "mindless" activity. You see dirt you clean, there isn't really anything to think about other than what product or the other that you may be using to achieve your goal. Anyhow I went to work to fax some papers to Nikon and I saw the store was a bit of a mess so I vacuumed and did some cleaning.

while i was vacumming a friend of mine texted me about a run in with her ex-boyfriend. So between the texts and while we were texting I was thinking about the subject of her love. She thinks her ex-boyfriend still loves her even though he is (from my observations ) mentally abusive to her. I guess when she sees him in person everything is ok but when they talk on the phone (he lives far away) there is nothing but animosity and hate. She thinks that he loves her because of what they shared in the past and the way he treats her when they are in each others presence (and his friends are around). She says he won't tell her that she loves her and in my mind if you love someone you will tell them wherever, whenever and in anyone's company. You will scream it from the rooftops no matter who's listening.

Do I think he loves her? No. Does she think that she loves him? Yes.

This got me to thinking...can what she feels for him really be love? can what he feels for her but won't admit be love? The vacuum got me thinking. I think it could really be love. I think love is the one feeling in the world which will make the most irrational of feelings seem very rational. You put two people in a relationship who have nothing in common (on the surface) and may be from two different segments of society and somehow their feelings for each other grow. What makes those feelings grow? I think it's love. Love changes the answer to so many questions. When we love someone we give them the benefit of the doubt we have a double standard for them and we basically find ways for everything they do to have some sort of tangible value.

Love rationalizes so many things. What other feeling does that?

When we are outside of a relationship we ask so many questions of what we really want in a relationship but love has the potential to change those answers.

"What I thought was true before
Were lies I couldn't see
What I thought was beautiful
Is only memories"

I really have such a fear of this feeling. I was in love before and it took me way off of my 'path" and I never noticed.

My Favorite Albums of the Year

Awesome Commercial