PeterHilton

I feel strangely uncomfortable now.

Won't quote you to avoid the spoiler, but I agree with everything you said there. It's a bad risk imo. If they play it worn - like what the E did to Orton when he broke off from Evolution - they are going to absolutely kill one of the hottest acts they have. If they play it right..just not that much to gain. Especially since they need some top tier heels.

**waits for cappyboy's next Ken Anderson tirade**

No. You're right. But that's why it's well done. He's not playing the ridiculous fur coat wearing, purple suit having, giant hat with a feather in it pimp from a 70s blaxploitation film. He's paying a pimp. A hustler. But more like the kind of guy you'd see outside a really nice club in Manhattan. Or in the lobby of the hotel where the visiting sports team is staying.

I have no idea how MVP's character is any simpler than Cena's "never gonna give up/goody two shoes" deal. Not a critique of Cena. Just a statement about the way characters in the E are written. He looks like he came from the year 1994. Seriously..it's like watching Coolio wrestle. if he did his braids flat to his head or grew them out Weezy style I'd be all about it...(Because he's fun in the ring and has a really decent moveset) but he looks goofy like that. . Too right on both counts. Burke would've been the biggest star the E could make. I honesltly think they knew that he was at his best as Black pope and didn't have the guts to run that character out in their PG world. This. "Goody two shoes" is a stereotype. A street hustler from 'the hood' who wears lots of 'bling' and talks about 'pimpin ho's'? Not a stereotype? Do you know any black people? You might want to run that by them and see if it has any racial overtones. again..love the character though because it's done well. But if you don't see how that's a stereotype or think it disregards his race I would strongly disagree.

Honestly, I can't agree with you. You could argue that most of the guys on the roster are playing 'stereotypes' of some sort; that kind of simple character is necessary. it's a shortcut for telling stories....99% of that roster has very little depth to their character. And - again - at least it was a stereotypical character that the E got right. It's authentic. I don't care that The Truth is playing a rapper. that doesn't bug me. It bugs me that he's wearing a hairstyle and doing dance moves that are like 15 years out of style...he looks like he stepped out of a video form the new jack swing era. And I don't understand how talking about his real-life past is a stereotype. That's what really happened to him. The fact that it's such a positive end is awesome. Most kids who end up in jail by 16 spend the rest of their lives in the system. He's not. Good for him. In the end, Self is probably right and his time passed him by. But MVP was/is a GREAT character (with a ****ty finisher- The Playmaker) that wasn't given the push he deserved.

WTF? People's Elbow...? Don't take this the wrong way..but you sound like you might be a wee bit out of touch with pop culture here. Kind of dorky, actually. He's playing off the archetype of today's athlete. He's got the bodysuit which is supposed to be like the Under Aarmour/Nike work out gear. He use to rock the eye black and the doo rag and the breath-right strip. He came out under the inflatable entranceway like in football. Did a big dance at the top of the ramp..had gold..an agent...talked about being a high priced free agent. Also..he doesn't "like basketball"..he's mimmicking the "ballin" move that got red-hot because of the Jim Jones song of the same name that came out a few years ago. That song was all over the goddamned place and blew up so big that pro athletes started doing the move. Here's the NY Giants during their Super Bowl year: He was like the WWE's spin on Ray Lewis. Not only was it a cool gimmick, but it was original and current. First time in a long time where the E booked a believable ethnic character. (and going to jail at 16 is a marketable trait if you can show that he turned his life around, changed his ways, and made something of himself. which he has.)

Cmon now...how many hispanics in America are from a part of the world where their ancestors are purely Spanish? None in my family, that's for damn sure..

There's actually some anthropological basis for this (a bit outdated but it's there), I just can't believe they'd do that because of the inherent inaccuracy that will create. Weird.

Wait..so all hispanics are "other" ? That seems like a bad way to measure such a growing segment of the population.

He was crap on the mic though. And he had the girl voice. Eventually it would've caught up to him.

Christ..forgot Zeke. Yeah..he's got monster heel push written all over him If we're really dreaming..maybe Monty Brown comes back to the business for the E and gets the run he deserved in TNA.

I like MVP because ..if you're going to build a star..he's got the most relatable and realistic gimmick and his real life backstory makes him marketable as a role model. For the kids. Het him a new finisher and an Under Armour sponsorship and he's set!

Also..according to his various bios...Kofi was born in Ghana and then moved to the US when he was 2 or 3. Which means at the very least he's got to have some kind of legit citizenship status in the US to be working here. I'd say he's the very definition of the term African-American.

If anything, it's a marketing tool. The WWE (and wrestling in general) has to fight this stigma as being entertainment for rednecks and yokels. If you're going to appeal to a wider audience, it pays to have performers who come from a wider variety of backgrounds. It's why SD had so many hispanic wrestlers on UPN (which skewed to much larger hispanic and black audience). It's why the E has explored bringing in stars from Mexico. It makes sense. However, I'm sincerely hoping Killings isn't the big star they're going to push..it'd be much nicer to see them use someone that wasn't such an obvious stereotype with such an obvious stereotype look.

This series. And I think the Magic will win tomorrow. So both series will interesting leading into Lakers v Celtics XI: This Time It's For Blood.

If the personalities on that team don't tear them apart, and they get the same kind of performance out the OLine, I think they win the division.

It's - in all honesty - a completely ridiculous argument as it relates to comparing two professional sports conferences. Kobe Bryant played HS ball in Philly. So based on your argument do I count him when I talk about the 76ers? Philly basketball? wtf? That makes no sense. How do you not see that? If you are comparing teams from different conferences, you evaluate the player on those rosters. Period. No. Sorry. It's semantics. I don't see it. What's the purpose of being in a position like head coach in pro sports? To win games. To succeed. If you're not going to succeed then why are you coaching? Does a professional sports franchise hire a coach to be mediocre. "Oh yeah ..don't worry about the wins and losses...we'll keep you around for years because you're so great at setting up 3-on-3 passing drills and patting guys on the ass" Being a successful head coach and being a head coach is the same thing. Nobody hires a coach to not succeed so it's pointless to try to split hairs in this instance.

Amazing game tonight. Even as a Lakers fan that was fun to watch.. This is EXACTLY how the Suns wanted to see the games play out. The Lakers had better control the pace, work harder to get entry passes inside to Gasol and Odom, and start playing some defense or else they are going to lose this thing. Also, for a team that was supposed to have learned to be tougher last year, it's disturbing how they are getting physically overmatched by a finesse Suns team. Artest hasn't even knocked anyone down.

I like that theory. It'd be especially chaotic in a non-wrestling thread.

I haven't heard anything specific.

Ummmm...what? The WWE doesn't do or care about what the net fans want because they make up a small fraction of the overall viewing audience. Wrestling nerds watch regardless so they cater to the mainstream because that's what drives revenue.

To be fair..in reading enough of lazorbeak's posts I can see where he can come across as being rude. But Gator..you are extremely frustrating to debate with. You flip around and attach value to tiny niggling little points that have nothing to do with the over-all topic. ( I mean..really? you needed me to clarify that "harder to coach" and "harder to have success as a coach" were basically the same thing as it related to what we were talking about? REALLY??) Also...if this is lingering animosity from that basketball thread, let it go. lazorbeak won that argument. I read it...you weren't making any sense. You actually said at one point the Eastern conference was beter because more players are born in the east. It was crazy talk.

That's been discussed. I believe he meant an on-screen reason.

This I agree with.