Remianen

Let's be honest though. Besides Pope, it's not like he has competition for 'most interesting' in TNA. If you put a rose in the middle of a cowpie, it makes the rose look all the more impressive. Note, I'm not saying Anderson isn't performing his ass off. What I'm saying is, I'd be more impressed if he was outshining everyone at a high point rather than this rock bottom point. I have to give Jay Lethal props too. Since he's started appearing regularly again, he's been really good too (with the 'I'm stuck in the past' Macho Man schtick). Calling Abyss Andre the Giant and referencing the Mega Bucks was a hoot and that Flair promo was ridiculous. I think if they had more Anderson, Pope, and Lethal (and maybe Morgan) and less Hogan and Flair, the show would be more entertaining. Of course, then they'd flub everything up by booking matches people actually WANT to see to go 5 minutes or some crap. Yeah, RVD-Wolfe could be a PPV main event if built right....but this one wasn't built right.

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="stratusfaction" data-cite="stratusfaction" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="25170" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>She is not horrible in the ring by any means!</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I would disagree, but maybe it comes down to perspective.</p><p> </p><p> Six months out of APW Boot Camp, Melissa was far superior to Lacey. Go rent the 'Future Legend' DVD (or any of APW's DVDs from that period) and see for yourself. Then again, Melissa was wrestling MEN (Robert Thompson, among others) so maybe that made a difference.</p><p> </p><p> Lacey Von Erich has a significant barrier she has to break through. What barrier is that? The one she sees in the mirror. Generally speaking, the women wrestlers who rely on their looks early on, tend to do so for their entire career. Their skills don't get them booked or hired, their looks do, so their skills never get the level of work or polish that their looks tend to. Once you get pigeonholed into that 'diva' category, you can't break out. When you think of the best women's wrestlers, almost none of them fit that basic template (bottle blonde, often with hooters) that Lacey...and Angelina...and Velvet...and Madison...and Shantelle...and Maryse...all do. MsChif? Nope! Hamada? No. Sara del Rey? Nope. Mercedes Martinez? No. Melissa? Hells no. Sarah Stock? Nope! LuFisto? Hahahaha, no. She'll learn to work that overly simplistic, low impact SE style decently...and nothing else. But assuming she only wants to work for TNA or WWE, that's probably all she needs.</p><p> </p><p> Besides, just because there are people who are worse than her, doesn't mean she's automatically not bad (or horrible). It just means, she's not the worst. No more than the Nets season mean they weren't a bad team just because they didn't break the league record for futility.</p>

I am honestly flabbergasted whenever I see/hear baseball fans making postseason declarations....at the beginning of a season. And Stennick, wanting Cardinals pitchers to be considered equal to Lincecum and Cain is short-sighted and meaningless. If given the choice, I'd guarantee you Waino and Carp would rather be considered equal to Sabathia and Burnett than Lincecum and Cain. Do I need to explain why? Let people run their mouths about how great Lincecum and Cain are in the regular season. Regular season means (richard) when all is said and done, especially if that's all you have to show for a season. Only the hardware with the metal flags (and the jewelry that results from the hardware with the metal flags) matters. Lincecum and Cain can play footsie with the Cy Young while everyone else hoists hardware with metal flags. If at the end, Lincecum and Cain have Cy Youngs and Wainwright and Carpenter have rings, who got the better of that deal? Full disclosure: I'm not a fan of either Lincecum or Cain simply due to their passivity when it comes to their ballclubs. A Schilling or a Johnson would take the Giants to task for half-assing it and not even trying to build a bonafide contender, despite having two of the top five young arms in the game on the roster. Winners want to win, when it counts most. They don't like their teams conceding defeat before the season even starts. Brian Sabean is a coward and the Seattle Mariners make the Giants look all the worse (100-loss season to bonafide playoff contender in two years).

And that's okay. In fact, that means you are their target audience. The problem I have is that when the division started, they were almost the opposite. They were the antithesis of the WWE Diva. Now, they're a cheap copy of the divas. Their top four workers are all plastic looking bottle blondes who would not look out of place on RAW or Smackdown. Your view would probably differ from mine. And with you being a huge TNA fan (not an insult, just an observation), their original Knockouts style was very spot-heavy. Lisa can't do spot-heavy very well and Kong isn't allowed to (though she most definitely can) due to character. Thus, a spot monkey's dream would tend to fit TNA's basic style, which is relatively easy for a limited worker to do. I think if they had given her a more mat focused style to contrast with the flippity floppity of the rest of the division, it would've helped. But I'm sincerely curious Hyde. Name some "good" matches the Beautiful People were in.

Takes two to tango. How good would your team be at so...erm futbol, if your goalie was a donkey? Tara-Kong did well, I thought. Being allowed to do more doesn't automatically mean you do so. No more than having a gun means you should start shooting people. If your opponent is green or less than ideally capable, you can't start popping off big moves if they can't protect you. If you're playing (insert sport here) with a toddler, you don't play at the best of your ability, you tone it down so the toddler can actually participate (or have a chance of participating). Good workers tend to have good matches together. A good worker with a bad or less skilled worker needs to work harder to make that match "good" and sometimes, no matter how hard you work, you just can't pull it off. Could Kurt Angle get a good match out of Rob Terry? I don't think so, for the same reason Tara couldn't produce that with Velvet or Madison (or even Angelina. She's improved but she's still not all that good).

Lemme ask you TEW players something. If Tara "wasn't interesting", who's fault is that? You're talking about people who are the card placement equivalent of freakin' Happy Elwood. Not surprisingly, this guy gets it. Lisa Varon is (or would be) an excellent worker in a senior/living legend type of role. She's been there and done that and has a wealth of experience to draw on. None of the Knockouts have ever worked front & center on the biggest stage in the business. What's more, she's been taking care of her post-wrestling life almost since the beginning (see: Fat Tony's and now Widow Customs), kinda like Trish and Nora did. None of those girls has done that. Onscreen, when booked to her strengths, she can still outperform the T&A remnants of the Knockouts. But no, because she's nearing 40 (OMG 40! She's almost Social Security age! ) and has been booked poorly, you think she should go. Despite the fact that she's the only Knockout with "street cred" with the audience TNA's trying to siphon, can still go, and has the experience necessary to possibly bring up the green and limited in the ring division, you let her go. Yeah, I suppose having your backstage interviewer be the highest paid "Knockout" is an awesome idea! I swear, TNA's management should go to work for Goldman Sachs. I bet the job would pay better, for the same logic.

I'm built for ground speed. Hard to be a gazelle when you're so much further from the ground. Because us New Yorkers don't identify with coasts. We're New Yorkers, that's all the identification we need. Duh. So'm I. I don't feel short because none of my siblings can catch me. True story. My oldest (half) brother was 6'8. We all went to a club outside Burlington, NC. Brothers and nephews had warrants. So when a fight broke out in the parking lot and the police came, everyone took off running (like roaches when the kitchen light comes on). Those of us under 6 feet got home....where we later received phone calls from the 6'4, 6'5, 6'3, 6'7, and 6'8 chaps who...didn't get home. "They set my bail at..." Easier to catch an ostrich than a cricket (even when he's makin' a whole lotta noise, tryin' to get him some).

Yeah, you keep thinking that matches are what matter primarily in WWE. Instead of screaming like a paragon of petulance, go back and look at the tape. I don't give a flip how good his matches were and obviously, neither does the E. You can't advance feuds in WWE solely on ringwork, can you? Shelton looked disinterested and listless in many of his promos from his ECW stint. His character has never been overtly interesting (which places him in stark contrast to Brock and Big Show, does it not?) and needed time on camera to really build interest. I'm sorry, what were we talking about again? Oh yeah, MICKIE JAMES GETTING RELEASED. Sounds like a synonym for 'fired' to me. And lazorbeak, that quote can't stand on its own. If he's talking about just in WWE (as in WWE = 'the world'), perhaps. If he's talking literally, he's shown how little he's familiar with the subject.

Bzzt! Wrong! I think you need to take off your nostalgia glasses and actually look at the quality of the matches themselves. She was not performing at anywhere near the level you seem to think she was (again, nostalgia). I like Mickie (granted, I liked her more when she was Alexis Laree and had a full moveset...) but I'm a realist. The tape don't lie. She was great when she was working with top tier workers (Trish, Victoria) but declined sharply to the point where she couldn't even be depended upon to pull watchable matches from the 'diva' types (and she could in years past). Ah, that's really not saying much. Yes, because WWE is the standard bearer for workrate. ampulator, have you not gotten the fact that in-ring skill is simply not enough to succeed in WWE? If he wasn't in the studio constantly trying to improve his mic work, he was coasting. I don't care if he was freakin' Antonio Inoki reborn. In WWE, you must be entertaining in front of a camera or you're not going to get very far. Shelton doesn't have 'the look' that would get him over (Shad does, as does Ezekiel Jackson) so he's got to find other ways OUTSIDE THE RING to stand out. He didn't. So now, he's gone. She could kick him in the groin and he could do nothing about it. She can yell and scream at him and punch him in the throat and if he so much as raises his voice, HE'S wrong. Seriously, who doesn't know this? It doesn't take much to "push someone around" if they can't fire back. So, if true, he used the only method available to him. I can't blame him for that. What's he supposed to do? Invite her to take it outside?

It's about carriage. There are some people who still believe that you should carry yourself like a 'true pro' if you wish to be considered one. Thus, using that line of thinking, carry yourself as a main eventer even if you aren't. In WWE terms, that would be 'be like Taker' moreso than 'be like a young Shawn Michaels', I think. Do you know what 'slacker' means? Are you familiar with people who do just enough to get by, without excelling (or even trying to excel)? That's what 'coasting' is.

Well, if 5'10, 165 is 'huge'. Why do you sound surprised?

Damn, that was you? Sorry!

THIS IS AWESOME! Had a similar thing happen years ago when I moonlighted at the front desk of the Omni Berkshire Place (wanted to learn the hotel business so I worked for free. My day job at KPMG was literally a 5 minute walk down the street). Someone came in insisting that they had reserved a Berkshire suite (they hadn't) and that they were a VIP (they weren't). We had a Madison suite available that I COULD have upgraded him to but with the fuss he was making, I put him in the worst room in the hotel. "I'm sorry sir, we're fully committed tonight."

I got a new one! - House Hunters, Property Virgins, & My First Place on HGTV. Listen Princess, I'm sure you think you're the only person on the planet who wants to buy a house in the "hip, up & coming area with the great shops/schools/bars" with public transportation closeby and thousands of square feet of space (oh and with the huge backyard and the 3 car garage on a lot where there are no neighbors within a third of an acre of you. Privacy, y'know!). But your Thunderbird/Scotsmac pocketbook says your Cattier tastes are misplaced! You either want the granite countertops with the huge island and an open floorplan and brand new hardwood floors with an immense master suite with walk in closets that could double as bedrooms....OR you want to be in the hip, up & coming area with the great shops/schools/bars nearby. PICK ONE, you can't have both at your price point. Oh yeah and if you're getting married in 3 months, wait until AFTER the wedding to go house hunting. Houses cost money and if your wedding is this huge, elaborate cultural affair ("traditional Indian wedding"), you don't have it to spare. - Condos and planned development communities So, lemme get this straight. You want me to give you several hundred thousand of my dollars PLUS several hundred dollars a month so you can tell me what I can and cannot do with the property I gave you several hundred thousand dollars for. That about right? How 'bout no? That sum it up for ya? - Lotteries How come when the jackpots go over $200 million, you can be sure that the winners will be some people in their 60s or older? WHY? Seriously, I'd be happy even if the 20something who won smoked or snorted the entire jackpot moreso than the old person who will "save" the money (FOR WHAT?!?) or get scammed out of a large portion of it.

Uh, you do realize that completion percentage is very much a matter of system, yes? West Coast passers tend to have higher completion percentages than non-West Coast passers. John Elway was a running QB with a career completion percentage of under 57%. I'm guessing he's not a good quarterback in your eyes? Lemme throw some other names out at you. Bart Starr - 57.4% Johnny Unitas - 54.6% David Carr - 59.8% Tony Romo - 63.4% Is it your assertion that Tony Romo is better than Starr or Unitas? Of course not. The completion percentage metric isn't even useful in 'rule of thumb' fashion, because of how widely some systems can be. No one cares if you're completing passes into the flat and simple comebacks and slants on a regular basis. That doesn't make you a 'good' (much less 'great') QB. And people who look down their noses at mobile quarterbacks are short sighted. Heck, a mobile QB would've arguably had the VIKINGS in the Super Bowl after running (HUGE lane there), not throwing that pick. The above example is meant to illustrate that under 60% completion percentage is neither the sole purview of mobile QBs nor is it some kind of panacea on judging a quarterback's effectiveness. Most teams nowadays break down completion percentage by zone. As I said, no one cares if you can complete shovel passes and dink & dunk type passes. How accurate are you on intermediate and deep routes? Those passes tend to have lower completion percentages overall, for obvious reasons. But the 60% metric seems to be mainly the stat of the elite QBs. But those QBs, not surprisingly, tend to play in certain systems (read: not vertical based). They also tend to have pretty decent receivers to throw to. Vince Young has had neither, to this stage of his career. I'm not saying he's a "great" QB but it makes sense to find commonalities when evaluating people who don't play on the same team.

I would disagree. You're only thinking money. But remember, the Chargers had to trade UP to get the #2 pick to take Leaf. What did they trade to move up ONE slot from #3 overall to #2? Two 1st rounders, a second rounder, and two players (one of which was Eric Metcalf, who was coming off a Pro Bowl season). I kinda think Leaf's cost was far more than Russell's. Also, I think Ryan Leaf's problem was he liked to throw the ball to the wrong team a little too much.

The difference is, NASCAR gets their fuel for free (SOURCE). That's why oil companies pony up to be the 'official fuel sponsor of NASCAR'. Airlines don't get that privilege and without hedging, would have to pay the exact price per barrel that it says on the tin. It's why so many American carriers filed for bankruptcy over the last 5 years and one didn't even come close to financial trouble (Southwest). Their fuel hedging is legendary so they never had to pay the outrageous prices for oil that occurred in the late 2007 to late 2008 period. Plus, NASCAR (until fairly recently) used a form of gas that didn't require the same amount of refining that the ones used in passenger vehicles must have. Until approximately 2005 or so, they were still using leaded gas where passenger vehicles in the US switched to unleaded gas (which requires more refining, thus costs more to produce) back in the 80s. Long story short, the airline comparison is invalid because NASCAR is sponsored by the very companies that supply their equipment and materials. Delta isn't sponsored by Airbus or Boeing (Toyota/Ford/Chevy) or BP or Shell, thus the only discounts they get from these companies are the same discounts anyone else would get (those being, volume discounts) and fuel hedging (which is essentially the purchase of fuel at a future date, at today's prevailing price. If the price goes up, you saved a lot of money. If the price goes down, you overpaid). Those people flying around in G450s and such pay for their fuel. I've taken one private flight on my own dime and I can tell you, fuel cost factors in heavily (and depending on oil prices and the length of the flight, the fuel can cost more than the flight crew). So how "the consumer then pays for it", I have no idea. The refining processes to create jet fuels are different from those used to create unleaded fuel for passenger vehicles (and even diesel fuel for vehicles and trucks) and is reflected in their price at the pump. So they're really not related in any more than a 'they're both based on petroleum' way.

You're not taking into account the contract's terms. That's probably what won the cases for the teams. Both Vick and Rogers committed crimes (or offenses) that got them into hot water. For example, remember when Kellen Winslow Jr blew out his knee in the motorcycle accident a few years back? Or when Roethlisberger suffered an injury from riding a motorcycle? There are clauses in every standard NFL contract that makes it a violation to even participate in some "dangerous" recreational activities. Guess what riding a motorcycle is? Or an ATV or going bungee jumping or riding in a racecar or any of a myriad of things that teams let slide oftentimes. The personal conduct statute (that has recently been heavily enforced by this commissioner) has existed in the standard NFL contract since the last CBA was ratified. Prior to that, it had to be added to most contracts (and was only typically included in the high dollar ones). That's why Big Ben is being called on the carpet for "a pattern of questionable judgment". It's not just THIS case, it's the previous cases of him doing stupid stuff that endangers his playing career. Thus, a player whose conduct violates part of the contract's term, is in breech and thus can be sued for it. That's why a 'guaranteed' contract is only such if the player adheres to the terms of said contract. If you do, you earn all the money detailed in said contract. If you don't, the contract might be able to be voided without you getting your money. Rogers and Vick got what they deserved. The Lions and Falcons should not be forced to pay a player when they blatantly violate the terms of the contract. Oh yeah and an awesome EAT IT, OLD CHUMP for Al Davis: http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Source-JaMarcus-Russell-is-tipping-the-scales-at-300-pounds.html Damn shame when your quarterback weighs about as much as your (former) left tackle.

I'll raise you one. In New York City (and perhaps other places), we have speedbumps...with craters in 'em (you can't call 'em potholes, they're too deep. You can't call 'em sinkholes cuz they're too shallow ). Talk about double reinforcement! "Look out, sign says there's a bump up ahead." "Screw the bump, I'm trying to avoid the hole in the middle of the bump." Imagine you with your flip flops tripping over a speedbump and landing ankle deep in water/slush/crud at the bottom of said speedbump. Gotta love what freeze/thaw, freeze/thaw does to asphalt, eh?

If that's the case, I bet the Glazers wish they owned the second best (since it's worth far more) or even the fourth or fifth best (considering they just moved into a billion dollar palace six or so months ago). It has to do with location and/or background. In North America, football is one sport (played with an oblong ball and pads that still don't protect from injury) while elsewhere it's another. There are many terms that are similar. 'Dork' means something totally different in Alaska than it does in the mainland US. If a kid in the US said he wanted to play pro football when he grows up, there are three letters that would come to the minds of most everyone in earshot and those letters would not be 'MLS'. Perhaps a better example to illustrate the point: what system of measurement is used throughout the world? What system of measurement is used in the United States? Why is one called 'standard' when it really isn't? I've got a couple more than I stumbled on this weekend. - People who have no concept of 'camping out'. Couple friends just bought an RV and said they wanted to 'camp out' next weekend and invited me and a guest along. NEWS FLASH: You're not campin' out! You're taking a freakin' $75,000 apartment on the road (this thing). Honorable mention goes to my group of travel buddies (including the aforementioned couple) who, last time we went "camping" at Sugarloaf Mountain, we did so in a fleet of SUVs with big ass wedding tents, generators, and TVs!!! - A corollary to the 'drive thru' thing. Amusement parks. Why is it that there are people who will stand in the churros stand line and when it's their turn to order, act like deciding what they want is a matter of immense importance? Hi, it's a CHURROS STAND. You should order, oh I dunno, perhaps CHURROS?!?! The same thing applies for the spot where they sell funnel cakes. - Fundamentalist vegetarians (or vegans). Great, wonderful, you don't eat meat (or any animal products). I respect that. But don't pitch a fit when I walk my skinny ass into that steakhouse and get me a slab o' ribs or a porterhouse that weighs more than your weekly food intake. - Stupid teachers (or rather, teachers who think their kids are stupid). In the 9th grade (public school, of course), I was suspended from school for disputing the teacher and "being disruptive". My crime? I disagreed with him when he said Columbus discovered America. He took issue with me when I said, "Okay, I'm going to your house right now and because I've never been there before, I'm discovering it for...well, me and my family." My niece got into some trouble a couple years ago when she "corrected" a music teacher and told him that no, Elvis Presley did not "invent" rock & roll. - David Patterson. 'nuff said. - A realtor I recently fired. She kept trying to sell me on buying into a condo complex in Newark. Yes, I have friends in the area (building across the street, in fact). But lemme get this straight. You want me to pay $400k+ to move from Brooklyn, NY....to the Brooklyn of New Jersey? I'll play like Steve Nash and pass. What's worse is, I specifically told her 'No New York, no New Jersey, no Connecticut'. - City & state governments who view travelers as piggy banks. Anyone in the US who has traveled recently (and actually looked at their bill) knows what I'm talkin' about. Sixteen years ago when I first got into the business, I thought it was no big deal. Now, it's freakin' ridiculous.

I think it's quite the indictment when The Big Show's team (who needs a quarterback like the wizard needs food: badly) passes you over twice. He's NFL ready but everywhere you look, the same thing is said: he has questionable intangibles. But he's going to an awesome team since even when he plays, he's not gonna have to do much. Hand off to DeAngelo. Hand off to Jonathan. Play-action pass to Smith.

Actually, Russell's big thing was his physical stats. He was a "specimen" with a "rocket arm". Your memory is faulty. I like Toby to the Vikings. He'd probably add 3 years to Adrian's career, just punishing the hell out of people.

Perhaps, but Rich Eisen brought up a good point. Where does Clausen fit in when/if John Fox gets fired? If he doesn't beat out Matt Moore (and the odds are against him doing that given the gap in practical, real NFL experience), he probably won't play due to the lame duck coach playing CYA. New England is hittin' home runs though. Brady's got a VERY good target now.

Scale is off. MMO boxes rarely cost $60 (and those are only combo packs for ONE MMO. You can probably guess which one). The box sale is just like any other game. You don't get persistent worlds that are always on and available for the box sale. The monthly fee is for access to said persistent world that is always on. For so-called "free to play" games, it's a bit worse since while it is free to log in and play, you're going to have to pay something (and often far more than $15) to actually be able to play effectively (via "item mall" or "cash shop"). But then, I look at it the same way I do other recurring bills I have. Had to pay to get my (landline) phone installed and those people send me a bill every month! Same goes for cable/satellite and broadband (even if it's included in your rent). I've never felt the need to call out from work to play. I play enough as it is heh. And since I can usually do the "boring" stuff (dailies, farming for tradeskill materials, PLing alts) while at work, my game time at home is clear to do "fun" stuff (if herding cats can qualify as 'fun').

And I suppose it's your assertion that a player who hadn't played the position since HIGH SCHOOL was ready to start in the NFL? Tebow wasn't drafted to start now (we're not the Rams). He was drafted to start 1-3 years down the line. So you might wanna call Scott Pioli and tell him that 1-3 years on the bench learning isn't long enough to make a player ready to be an NFL caliber passer. Oh wait....