BeadleMania Moves On as the Era of Thompson Struggles Early

Beadle to NBC Universal; Thompson to SportsNation - One Star Continues to Rise as One Show Begins to Fall

As everybody reading knows, I am a huge Michelle Beadle fan. To say I adore her is an understatement. She is smart, beautiful, sarcastic, funny, sexy, sassy, witty, and a million other adjectives. You can say I have a little crush on Michelle. So, when Michelle Beadle’s contract with ESPN came up and she started to hear offers from other organizations, I was not a happy camper. Michelle’s work with Colin Cowherd on SportsNation made her a star and gave ESPN (a.k.a. the World Wide Leader) a sports show that was more than old men yelling at each other. She has a tremendous mind for sports and, unlike most talking heads in the sports media, calls out athletes for reprehensible behavior without placing them on a pedestal. Sadly, after I heard from Michelle personally on Twitter (in my most exciting Twitter moment thus far), I knew Michelle Beadle was leaving ESPN. The news confirmed this fear on May 11th when Michelle Beadle signed a deal with NBC Universal.

On May 31st, Michelle Beadle taped her last episode of SportsNation. On June 1st, that episode aired with the best moments of Michelle Beadle playing out for the fans in a This Is Your Life-style episode that concluded with Michelle going out in style as she was shot out of a cannon while dressed like Evel Knievel.



Michelle landed at NBC with new jobs and a huge new contract. Michelle’s new deal sees her based in New York City with a rumored paycheck of $800,000 a year. She is now a correspondent on NBC Universal-produced Access Hollywood. She will also stay in sports with a job corresponding from the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Also, Michelle will be a part of a new sports program that will air on NBC Sports Network in the fall. In addition, she will do some work with NBC’s longtime morning show Today. As Michelle said to me in her tweet, “I only make moves that benefit me. Don’t worry. Sports is not all I know or want.” It certainly appears as though Michelle has her dream gig.



Along with her new job, Michelle is still breaking hearts and capturing the imagination of her fans through her posts on Twitter. Michelle set the sports world abuzz once again during her brief vacation in-between jobs in early June with this picture. After having to carry Colin Cowherd for almost three years and stay muzzled by the corporate policies of ESPN, we are lucky Michelle did not assault that monkey status in photographs that would have certainly set the internet on fire.

As for SportsNation, another lovely blonde woman stepped into the hosting position alongside Colin Cowherd immediately when Charissa Thompson took over. Initially, longtime SportsNation fans were less than impressed with the news. Charissa herself took to Twitter with jokes about her “popularity” during that first week. The truth is that, while Charissa was a wonderful co-host alongside Michael Smith on Numbers Never Lie, she was never going to be able to fill Michelle Beadle’s shoes on SportsNation. That show was Michelle Beadle and Colin Cowherd. Nobody could just step in and fill their shoes. This is something I believe Colin Cowherd knows as well because rumors of Cowherd departing SportsNation for his own show at ESPN started immediately with the announcement of Michelle’s departure. After a month of episodes, Charissa’s efforts have not improved one bit. She is still Beadle-Lite. Charissa tries too hard to be the cool chick and that is something that came naturally with Michelle. Moreover, her chemistry with Colin is awkwardly uncomfortable. Cowherd runs wild over Charissa with his opinions as Thompson lacks the backbone Beadle constantly showed in talking back to Cowherd during their three years together on SportsNation. That happens when Charissa is not trying to be a female Colin by agreeing with everything Cowherd says. In a month on the job, Charissa Thompson has brought nothing but a pretty smile and hot booty to SportsNation.



It may be a good effort but it is not enough to keep this fan, or many others like me, from turning to another channel. SportsNation is dead. The heart and soul of the show left when they shot Beadle from a cannon on the June 1st episode. While the jury is already in regarding SportsNation with Charissa Thompson as co-host, the jury is still out regarding the matter of Michelle Beadle’s move to NBC Universal. 



Michelle started her work on Access Hollywood on June 18th with an introduction from Billy Bush and assignment interviewing Maroon 5 members Adam Levine and James Valentine. Since then, Michelle has conducted interviews with Katy Perry, Ringo Starr, and the father of the late Amy Winehouse among her many duties as Access Hollywood’s New York correspondent. If Beadle had only Access Hollywood on her plate, I would firmly believe that she made a huge mistake with her career because, while she looked stunning in those interviews, Michelle was on camera for a minimal amount of time. In that time, Michelle’s personality was rarely on display. One key element in Michelle Beadle’s rise to fame with ESPN was that she became a daily part of fans’ lives through SportsNation. We love her opinion as much as we love her beauty. Speaking on behalf of the many BeadleManiacs out there, I hope that Michelle gets more TV time to express herself with the NBC Sports Network show because Access Hollywood definitely will not cut it. If anybody can break through the Billy Bush monopoly of television time on Access Hollywood though, it can be Michelle Beadle. She is too popular and simply too good at her job to be a sidekick to the poor man’s Ryan Seacrest.

CM Punk's Pipe Bomb - One Year Later

Wrestling Wednesday…

World Wrestling Entertainment - CM Punk’s Infamous Pipe Bomb Revisited



On June 27th, 2011, another mundane and forgettable episode of Monday Night RAW turned into wrestling immortality after a five-minute promo from CM Punk captured the imaginations of wrestling fans young and old alike. The promo, entitled “Pipe Bomb #1,” was the words of CM Punk: the number one contender to the WWE Championship and disgruntled employee who was set to leave World Wrestling Entertainment on July 18th - one day after his championship match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view event. While a popular figure among professional wrestling fans because of his in-ring skills and status as a throwback to an era when men ruled the ring, CM Punk’s star rose in the eyes of the sports entertainment fans on that night as well when he channeled the Attitude Era and “sh*t got real.”

CM Punk won the WWE Championship from John Cena in a classic match on July 17th and promptly left the company. He was a worldwide phenomenon as Twitter was abuzz with Punk’s every move. ESPN personalities like Michelle Beadle, Robert Flores, and Bill Simmons frequently brought Punk into conversation on television and in blog entries. He appeared at Comic-Con to a major following previously unexpected. CM Punk was the renegade and spark plug WWE needed. Then, WWE did what they do: management pissed out the fire before allowing the fire to successfully burn. CM Punk returned to WWE television two weeks later. He lost the WWE Championship to Alberto Del Rio at SummerSlam and entered into a feud with WWE executive/professional push-finisher Triple H and Hunter’s ancient wrestling relic/friend Kevin Nash. CM Punk rebounded from this brief derailment to win the WWE Championship again at Survivor Series. He has remained WWE Champion for seven months with no end to his reign in sight while having outstanding matches with Alberto Del Rio, The Miz, Dolph Ziggler, Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, and Kane. Besides success in the ring, CM finally became the focal point for the company that he always deserved to be. It is Punk’s face on t-shirts, programs, and merchandise. CM Punk is on talk shows like Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Conan with Conan O’Brien. CM Punk is even the company representative for World Wrestling Entertainment at the USA Upfronts.



CM Punk, pictured with Bruce Campbell of Burn Notice at the USA Upfronts, appears to have finally made it. Change finally occurred in World Wrestling Entertainment and it is all thanks to CM Punk, right? WRONG!

The beauty of CM Punk’s promo was that it appeared to be a shoot. It appeared to be the real, genuine feelings of a disgruntled employee because rumors of Punk’s feelings towards management were not a secret in the wrestling world. While WWE was not going to let a disgruntled employee really speak that ill of the company on live television, a worked shoot was still extremely exciting and refreshing to an audience tired of John Cena’s weekly speeches of “never giving up” and “overcoming the odds.” One year later, it appears as though the worked shoot we all fell in love with was not even a worked shoot. This was a work and Phillip Brooks sold us all a bill of goods regarding his desire to bring change to the WWE as he sold his soul to the devil that is Vincent Kennedy McMahon.

What has really changed in the one year since this “pipe bomb” was unleashed?

CM Punk repeated stressed that he was the best in the world. It became a popular t-shirt. Yet, John Cena remains the focal point of World Wrestling Entertainment. The numbers never lie. While CM Punk has held the WWE Championship twice since this speech for a total of 248 out of a possible 346 days, CM Punk has been in the main event of five of a possible 13 pay-per-view events. In three of those main event spots, John Cena was also in the main event alongside Punk. Meanwhile, in one of the two PPV events in which Punk main evented without John Cena, Punk jobbed to Triple H (Night of Champions - September 2011). While Punk was in five total main events, John Cena was in the main event 10 times. TEN TIMES! As a result, CM Punk may have established himself as the best in the world but he clearly was not worth of the spot as the best in the company. In fact, who has CM Punk beaten since the Pipe Bomb to prove that he is the best in the world? CM Punk has two victories over John Cena. Of course, like him or not, John Cena puts over a lot of talent before management wastes the effort. John Cena has even lost of management figures (John Laurinaitis), Hollywood actors (Dwayne Johnson), and D-List celebrities (Kevin Federline) so a few wins by Punk really mean nothing. Punk does not have marquee wins over any other men firmly established as main event draws in the eyes of Vince McMahon. Alberto Del Rio, Dolph Ziggler, and Daniel Bryan may be among the most talented in-ring workers in the company but none is a main event star. Chris Jericho returned with the sole purpose of losing to everyone he has encountered so Punk’s wins over Jericho have meant nothing either. CM Punk owned a shell of the man once known as “the best in the world at what he did.” Who hasn’t beat Kane or The Miz? What did CM Punk do against the WWE’s prime-time players like Triple H, The Undertaker, or Randy Orton? He went 0-1 against Triple H and never faced The Undertaker or Randy Orton. While The Undertaker works only one match a year and would not put Punk over should Punk gotten that precious WrestleMania match, Randy Orton was available to put over Punk but the moment never occurred. It did not occur because, in the grand scheme of things, Orton was above Punk and remained there until Orton’s own immaturity changed that. CM Punk did noting to elevate himself above Randy Orton.

One thing has changed since June 27th, 2011. Phillip Jack Brooks sold out and became everything that he ranted about hating. CM Punk became the poster child of everything the IWC (internet wrestling community) wanted in a professional wrestler with his speech against Vince McMahon and sports entertainment. The reality is that CM Punk must have learned many lessons on how to kiss ass like a pro in order to get that spot because kissing Vince’s ass is the only reason Phil Brooks is in the spot he has today. CM Punk is a great wrestler. However, he was a great wrestler five years ago too and got nothing for his efforts but jobber duties to the John Cenas, Randy Ortons, Undertakers, and Edges of the world. Thanks to a little kissing up in the right places, Punk is now WWE Champion with a firm spot on the card just below that precious main event spot saved for the best in the world (according to management). Punk obtained his spot on the company intro and appearances on television as a shill for World Wrestling Entertainment. We saw Punk looking like a corporate man alongside Bruce Campbell earlier. The reality is that CM Punk preached about the things he hated in WWE on June 27th, 2011 while knowing he was in position to become every one of those things. Change did not come with CM Punk’s promo to anything but CM Punk’s bank account because he sold out. He sold out his fans. He sold out his integrity. Most importantly, he sold out on his professional wrestling dreams by becoming the sports entertainer that Vince McMahon wanted him to be. Punk is just another glad-handed, nonsensical, douche bag, yes-man gladly accepting a paycheck from Vincent Kennedy McMahon while the art form of professional wrestling continues to die in the WWE. That is the only thing that changed in the aftermath of CM Punk’s “pipe bomb.”

In one year, CM Punk has seen the greatest success of his professional career. Punk held the WWE Championship going into and coming out of the Royal Rumble and WrestleMania. He has appeared out countless television shows while becoming one of the faces of World Wrestling Entertainment. But, at what cost? CM Punk is now just as bad as John Cena, John Laurinaitis, Randy Orton, and even Doofus himself; Triple H. Punk sold his soul for WWE immortality. Change only occurred in the sense that the last hope for professional wrestling to survive in the sports entertainment Mecca of WWE sold out to save himself. Thank you, Phillip Brooks, for one great speech that we will remember long after we forget the year of your greatest successes because of your place in the shadow of John Cena and the same old WWE.

The Five-Year Anniversary of Chris Benoit is RAW

Five Years Later: How Chris Benoit Killed the Wrestling in World Wrestling Entertainment

That man was Chris Benoit. In a 22-year career, Chris Benoit became one of the most respected in-ring competitors and one of the honored in-ring competitors of all-time. Benoit was a two-time world champion (one-time WCW Champion and one-time World Heavyweight Champion in WWE), a five-time United States Champion, a four-time Intercontinental Champion, a seven-time Tag Team Champion (once in ECW, twice in WCW, and four times in WWE), and a one-time Television Champion in WCW. In 1994, Benoit won the prestigious Super J Cup tournament in New Japan Pro Wrestling. A decade late, Benoit won the WWE Royal Rumble match by entering first and lasting a then-record 1:01:30. Chris Benoit had a highly decorated career and was destined for immortality as one of the all-time greats in the sport of professional wrestling.

The weekend of June 22nd-24th, 2007 changed that.

On June 25th, 2005, authorities went to the Benoit home in Fayetteville, Georgia on a “welfare check” after several missed appointments led to concerns. Inside the home, police discovered the bodies of Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their 7-year-old son Daniel at around 2:30PM. On Friday, June 22nd, Chris murdered his wife, Nancy, in an upstairs office. She was found with her limbs bound to a chair. She was straggled with a cord. Authorities found a Bible by her body. The following day, Chris murdered his son, Daniel, in the child’s bedroom. Drugged and likely unconscious before the murder, Daniel was suffocated in his bed. Alongside his body, a Bible laid. Chris Benoit committed suicide a day later by using a cord from a weight machine to create a noose for himself. Benoit then released approximately 240 pounds, six pounds more than his own weight, to cause his strangulation. No suicide not was discovered at the scene o the crime but one was later found in a box of Chris’ belongings at the home of his first wife, Martina Benoit. The note, found in a Bible, simply read, “I’m preparing to leave this Earth.”

World Wrestling Entertainment initially canceled a three-hour RAW scheduled that night to honor and pay tribute to Benoit. By the end of the broadcast, the news came that Benoit committed the murders and committed suicide. Vince McMahon opened ECW the following night with this statement:

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Last night on Monday Night Raw, the WWE presented a special tribute show, recognizing the career of Chris Benoit. However, now some 26 hours later, the facts of this horrific tragedy are now apparent. Therefore, other than my comments, there will be no mention of Mr. Benoit’s name tonight. On the contrary, tonight’s show will be dedicated to everyone who has been affected by this terrible incident. This evening marks the first step of the healing process. Tonight, WWE performers will do what they do better than anyone else in the world: entertain you.”

From that moment forward, World Wrestling Entertainment never mentioned Chris Benoit again on WWE television again. Outside of a mention in a couple of publications, WWE erased Chris Benoit from the record books completely. It is as if the man never existed. I can understand WWE distancing itself from a man who murdered his family and committed suicide in such a heinous manner. Society no longer celebrates many athletes and entertainers because of acts committed later in life. With that said, their accomplishments are still respected and honored.  The National Football League still respects the on-field contributions of OJ Simpson despite Simpson allegedly killing his ex-wife and her lover. The acting accomplishments of Robert Blake still exist despite Blake’s trial and acquittal over the death of his second wife. In short, many have committed actions that ended the celebration of their lives. However, they were not erased from the face of the earth. That is what Vince McMahon and WWE have tried to do with the 22-year career of Chris Benoit.

I still respect Chris Benoit, the professional wrestler, because he brought an in-ring ability and a quiet intensity to the ring that few matched before him and fewer have had since him. I do not condone the actions of Chris Benoit, the man. However, I will not say steroids caused Benoit to snap that weekend and I will not use this tragedy as evidence on the evils of professional wrestling. Evidence concerning the mental capabilities of Benoit after 20+ years of concussions from athletic endeavors leads me to believe that Chris Benoit was not in his right mind when he murdered his family and committed suicide. While this does not justify his actions, I do believe that it paints him in a light much different from the portrayals of a steroid-raging monster as the media have tried to describe Benoit in the five years since the tragedy. Chris Benoit murdered his wife and son that weekend before committing suicide. Little did Chris Benoit know that he did something else that weekend. He killed the wrestling in World Wrestling Entertainment.

The golden days of World Wrestling Entertainment were already in the rearview mirror before the Chris Benoit tragedy occurred. John Cena was the face of the company and in the midst of a year-plus long WWE Championship reign. The company was stuck in a rut with every main event revolving around Cena, Randy Orton, Triple H, Batista, Edge, or The Undertaker. While the fans yearned for fresh faces in the main event picture, the “same old six” were firmly in control of the company with regards to management’s favor. (Side note: it is funny how the more things change, the more they stay the same.) While the in-ring action was solid a majority of the time, the focus of WWE programming stayed on the worst possible storylines. The three-hour RAW canceled the night news of the Benoit tragedy broke was originally a memorial for Vince McMahon as, two weeks earlier, he was “killed” in a limousine explosion. With that stupid and tasteless angle mercifully aborted, Vince McMahon’s first step in the healing process was not to focus on professional wrestling inside the ring. Instead, McMahon became the focal point of a storyline where it was revealed that the midget leprechaun Hornswoggle was his illegitimate son after months of horrible promos.

In the five years since the Benoit tragedy, we have witnessed World Wrestling Entertainment fall to new lows never imagined. WWE openly pandered to the children in the audience and became a company more concerned with keeping children in the audience than keeping wrestling fans in the audience. Corny, unfunny attempts at comedy replaced raw emotion and intensity. D-list celebrity hosts replaced A-list celebrities watching from the stands. Feuds started for no reason and ended with no culmination because logic became irrelevant since the target audience could not remember from one week to the new. Talking for 20 minutes without saying a word replaced five minutes of powerful language that got a point across. Sock-covered “cobras,” water bottles, and BBQ sauce baths replaced kendo sticks, chair shots, and blood baths. For every CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, Zack Ryder, Alberto Del Rio, or Cody Rhodes to breathe life into the professional wrestling fans, there has been a John Cena or Randy Orton still in their way preventing them from truly achieving greatness. Being an in-ring specialist has become akin to wearing a scarlet letter in the WWE since the Chris Benoit tragedy as only in rare instances have the professional wrestling truly gotten to shine over the sport entertainers/children entertainers that Vince McMahon pushes today. Pay-per-view buyrates, television ratings, stock market prices, arena attendance, and fan interest are all at all-time lows with no hope on the horizon for this once-proud professional wrestling company. Of course, also in the wake of the Benoit tragedy, Vince McMahon himself ordered the term “wrestling” banned from his company because the WWE is a sports entertainment company. Chris Benoit, ultimately, killed wrestling in World Wrestling Entertainment.

Five years is a long time. Yet, for those hurt by Chris Benoit’s actions over the weekend of June 22nd-24th, 2007, I am sure five years feels like a few minutes. I can never imagine the pain, suffering, and ultimately disappointment they experienced or continue to experience in the aftermath of this tragedy. The wrestling world can move on. The wrestling business can continue and thrive. However, the biggest promotion in the world allowed this incident to change it and change it in a way not easily reversible. Truthfully, it may never be reversed. Chris Benoit did more than kill his wife and son before committing suicide. He killed the lifeblood behind a multi-billion dollar company when he killed the wrestling in World Wrestling Entertainment.

The Highlight Reel presents This Week's Recap for June 24, 2012

THIS WEEK’S RECAP…

Superstar of the Week: Ryan Hunter-Reay

After a strong start to the 2012 season that included podium finishes at St. Petersburg and San Paulo, Ryan Hunter-Reay struggled with DNFs at the Indianapolis 500 and in Texas. Instead of looking forward to a championship run in 2013, Ryan Hunter-Reay turned his luck around and firmly returned to the IndyCar Series Championship hunt with back-to-back wins at Milwaukee and Saturday’s event in Iowa. Hunter-Reay’s two victories have moved him from seventh to second in points, only three markers behind the once-dominant Will Power.

Two victories in the IndyCar Series are incredibly impressive when you do not drive for Team Penske or Chip Ganassi Racing, the super teams of the sport. Ryan Hunter-Reay has put Andretti Autosport in victory lane two weeks in a row and has the #28 Sun Drop Chevrolet/Dallara DW12 in the forefront of the championship fight. Congratulations go out to one of the hottest drivers on the planet. Ryan Hunter-Reay is on a roll.

Jerk of the Week: Jerry Sandusky

It is easy to say that former Penn State football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky is one of the worst human beings in the world. Sandusky did nothing new this week to deserve this award but, when you finally get your just desserts for almost two decades of evil, you do not have to do anything new to be the Jerk of the Week.

On Friday night in a Pennsylvania court room, a jury handed down their verdict after 21 hours of deliberation in the trial of the former Penn State assistant coach charged with sexual misconduct with minors spanning over two decades. Found guilty on 45 of 48 charges, Sandusky will face a maximum of 442 years in prison. Justice was served in the case of the “Tickle Monster” vs. the State of Pennsylvania. After molesting at least 10 children (and probably dozens more), Jerry Sandusky is going to be confined to prison for the rest of his life. The only hope that I have left for this front-runner for Jerk of the Century is that I hope Sandusky gets the same treatment he willingly gave to so many young boys during his reign of terror on the Penn State campus. If Jerry Sandusky can experience one-tenth of the pain and distress he inflicted on these young boys, life in prison will be a just punishment for a man otherwise deserving of the death penalty in my eyes.

Babe of the Week: Kate Upton
 


A Special Congratulations to… Juwan Howard

Lost in the commotion of the Miami Heat winning* the NBA Championship and LeBron James earning* his first NBA title was the culmination of a dream that started generations earlier in Chicago, Illinois. On a cold and gray Chicago morn, a poor little baby child was born. In the ghetto. His name was Juwan Antonio Howard. The year was 1834 and, even though it was still 57 years before James Naismith invented the game, little Juwan knew he was going to be an NBA Champion.

Howard led a memorable life before basketball. He helped slaves escape to the north alongside Harriet Tubman in the Underground Railroad. Howard later served in the United States Army during World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. After a brief time performing as a member of The Four Tops during the late 1950s, Howard served for the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War. Afterward, Howard worked on a ranch alongside Juan Valdez and his goat Pepé picking coffee beans in the 1980s, Howard enrolled at the University of Michigan in 1991. As a member of the heralded Fab Five, Howard went to two National Championship Games during his three years at Michigan. A major scandal led to the forfeiture of accomplishments from 1992-98 by the NCAA yet Howard’s time and efforts with fellow Fab Five members Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Ray King, and Jimmy King are still recognized by fans as among the greatest years in Michigan Wolverines basketball history. Howard entered the NBA in 1994, being drafted fifth overall by the then-Washington Bullets. Howard spent seven years in Washington with his only all-star appearance coming as a Bullet in 1996. Howard then bounced around the league for the next decade with stops in Dallas, Denver, Orlando, Houston, Dallas again, Denver again, Charlotte, and Portland in pursuit of the one prize he has yearned for since the 1800s: an NBA Championship ring.

Howard joined LeBron James and the Miami Heat in 2010 when the Heat first assembled their “guaranteed” championship team. Initially, Howard wandered into the victory celebration and believed he was “a champion” as Howard said this repeatedly in his well-known voice duplicated by Robot Chicken character Eagle-Eye Smith.



Howard was prepared to retire with his first NBA Championship but later reconsidered when finding out that the celebration was actually a team introduction. Sitting on the bench regaling teammates with tales about when every NBA arena was “orange groves as far as the eye can see,” Howard finally achieved his life-long goal on Thursday night with his first NBA Championship in his 17th season. Congratulations, Juwan. You are finally a champion.

The Miami Heat are the 2012 NBA Champions*

The 2012 NBA Finals -or- How LeBron James Finally Won a Championship with the Heat and His Closest Corporate Friends



“In this fall… this is very tough… in this fall I’m going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat. I feel like it’s going to give me the best opportunity to win and to win for multiple years, and not only just to win in the regular season or just to win five games in a row or three games in a row, I want to be able to win championships. And I feel like I can compete down there.”
- LeBron James, July 8th, 2010 when leaving Cleveland for Miami.



“Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven…”
- LeBron James, July 9th, 2010 when addressing winning a championship in Miami



“It’s about damn time.”
- LeBron James, June 21st, 2012 after winning his first NBA Championship

The Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, four games to one; to win their second NBA Championship and the first NBA Championship for LeBron James with a series-clinching 121-106 victory on June 21st. LeBron James won the Finals MVP with a performance that will go down in history. However, did this championship finally end the hate for LeBron James? For many, it did. For many more, this victory did nothing.

The Miami Heat won the NBA Championship in the record book. However, anybody who watched the NBA postseason knows that the Miami Heat’s victory should come with an asterisk because the Miami Heat did NOT win the title without the help of the NBA officials and the front office. From the no-call late in Game Two where LeBron James was allowed to mug Thunder forward Kevin Durant forward, the Heat were playing eight-on-five with the referees in their back pocket for Games three, four, and five. The Miami Heat, on paper, was a better team. At times, they played as if they were the better team. However, the reality is that the Miami Heat never had a real challenge because the officials were not going to allow the Oklahoma City Thunder to beat the Heat and stop LeBron James from finally getting his first ring. Why? David Stern sees the money that will come from our bandwagon-jumping sports nation.

As I said when addressing the Jerk of the Week last week, NBA Commissioner David Stern has made a history of sketchy decisions to alter the course of the National Basketball Association. The 2012 NBA Draft Lottery was the latest of Stern’s fixes to occur before our very eyes with his kool-aid drinking sycophants justifying the incident. Now, on a grander scale, the stereotypical bandwagon jumpers who see a frontrunner and “become life-long fans” of a team in the blink of an eye are joining forces with the kool-aid drinking sycophants with the coronation of LeBron James finally as an NBA Champion. Why would David Stern need to fix the finals for James though? Plan and simple, LeBron James folds under pressure. When the officials are not on the take, James folds. He gets in foul trouble, opponents get to play defense, and he folds like a cheap suit. In the 2012 postseason, both the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics had the Miami Heat on the ropes until shady officiating played a part in the game concurrently with the Miami Heat’s “magical comeback.” Coincidence? I think NOT!

David Stern, Nike, ESPN/ABC, and the NBA are going to make millions… no, scratch that… billions off LeBron James merchandise and endorsement deals that will come with James finally as an NBA Champion. With that accolade, James can finally say he is a champion when talking about his spot in basketball history alongside Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and the other greats of all-time. Considering the short-term memories and naïve nature of young sports fans, they may do what Stern wants and start calling LeBron James the greatest of all-time. However, it remains true that none of those men mentioned above joined forces with other competitors to win. Even Kobe won a title without Shaq. Magic, Larry, and Michael acquired their championship sidekicks via the NBA Draft and not summer time meets and ridiculous TV specials. LeBron James is now an NBA Champion. However, the means by which he acquired this title are still means that any sports fan that holds the term “champion” to a level of integrity and respect will frown upon.

Congratulations LeBron James on finally winning an NBA Championship. You now have a reason to celebrate. Not having a reason has not stopped you before but at least you now have a reason. I do hope that while you celebrate with your Miami Heat teammates like Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers, and Mike Miller that you do not forget to celebrate with your most important teammates…



They deserve rings too for this championship.

Wrestling Wednesday: Breaking Down the 2012 Bound for Glory Series

Wrestling Wednesday…

TNA Wrestling - Breaking Down the Bound for Glory Series
For the second consecutive year, TNA Wrestling is holding a summer-long competition to determine a number one contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at their biggest event of the year called the Bound for Glory Series. Twelve superstars will compete in a series of matches with the winner ultimately earning a championship opportunity at Bound for Glory on October 14th. Last year’s series was a star-maker. Robert Roode won the series and, while he ultimately did not win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Kurt Angle at Bound for Glory, Roode left the series as a main event star. Roode was not alone though in moving up to the next level. James Storm and Bully Ray solidified themselves as future main event talent with their strong showings. In addition, the competition saw Gunner and Crimson solidify themselves as future stars, Devon emerged as a singles star, and Samoa Joe reestablished himself by finding an edge he lost for almost two years before the competition. Will the 2012 Bound for Glory Series have as much of an impact in TNA Wrestling as the first competition though?



The 2012 Bound for Glory Series consists of a more star-studded lineup than last year’s edition. In 2011, four former world champions made up the twelve-wrestler field with two of those former champions years removed from the title hunt. This year’s field consists of seven former world champions with only one of those former champions really outside of the title hunt. The 2012 Bound for Glory Series field consists of Ken Anderson, Kurt Angle, Bully Ray, Christopher Daniels, D’Angelo Dinero, Jeff Hardy, Magnus, Robbie E, Samoa Joe, James Storm, AJ Styles, and Rob Van Dam. It is an incredible field of talented in-ring workers and interesting characters. Sadly, the stars have aligned for a Roode/Storm main event at Bound for Glory. Now, I am not complaining about the Robert Roode vs. James Storm match that has been the expected main event for Bound for Glory since April. It is going to be another great match between the former Beer Money members. However, with the outcome not in doubt, there has to be another purpose for the Bound for Glory Series in order to keep fans like me interested. I believe the 2012 BFG Series can do a couple of things that fans will enjoy.

First, the 2012 BFG Series can help elevate talent in the series. D’Angelo Dinero returns to TNA with a spot in the BFG Series after a six-month absence. A strong run in the competition with a few big wins could be just the spark needed for the Pope to return to his upper mid-card status from early 2010. Robbie E is a talented young man stuck with a horrible Jersey Shore rip-off gimmick. The fact that he has not been fired yet is a testament to his talents inside the ropes. The BFG Series could be just the proving ground to show that Robbie E is more than a comedy act in TNA Wrestling. Still young and learning, Magnus is one of the most physically gifted wrestlers in the company. While Magnus is a long shot to do anything spectacular in the BFG Series this year, I believe a few solid wins and good matches could help establish Magnus as a solid singles competitor instead of the tag team specialist he has been since 2009. Samoa Joe, coming off an outstanding match with X-Division Champion Austin Aries at Slammiversary, is another talent who could use the BFG Series to return to main event status. Last year, Joe regained the killer instinct and edge that made him a household name during the BFG Series. Then, he floundered until a tag team run with Magnus gave him purpose. I look at this as Samoa Joe’s last chance to prove his worth in TNA Wrestling. Attitude problems and clashes with management have hurt his stock in TNA. However, sloppy efforts and no motivation inside the ring have done just as much damage to the Samoan Submission Machine‘s career. The 2012 BFG Series is just the thing Joe needs to show his stock as a top performer in TNA over an extended period.

Second, the 2012 Bound for Glory Series can help some current feuds by either adding a spark or a much-needed distraction. This year’s field features men currently involved in feuds with others outside of the BFG Series. The potential is there to add new twists to these current rivalries. Take, for instance, Bully Ray. The Bully Ray/Joseph Park/Abyss rivalry can finally add intensity to it via Bully Ray blaming losses on annoyances and interference from Park and Abyss. Intensity is one element their feud has severely lacked. Meanwhile, the BFG Series could be the distraction finally needed to lessen AJ Styles’ involvement in the seemingly endless and pointless affair storyline between Styles and TNA President Dixie Carter. What started as an intense feud based on professional jealousy between Styles and Christopher Daniels, the Styles/Daniels rivalry devolved into tediousness thanks to the angle turning into the AJ Styles/Dixie Carter affair. Nobody likes this affair angle outside of Carter herself apparently. A TNA World Tag Team Championship victory with Kurt Angle at Slammiversary was the first step in the right direction to move Styles away from this pointless angle. A strong run in the BFG Series could finally return AJ Styles to main event star form. In addition, Christopher Daniels could continue his solid work of the last year with a great run in the BFG Series. If the series helps lead to a quick end to Dixie Carter’s time as a focal point of the company, it will be a success.

Third, the 2012 Bound for Glory Series could give some superstars a much-needed purpose. For months, four men have remained in the TNA World Heavyweight Championship picture but have not captured the gold nor truly been a part of a solid feud. At least the series gives Ken Anderson, Kurt Angle, Jeff Hardy, and Rob Van Dam a purpose for their matches. While the four have continued to have outstanding matches with everyone they have faced, neither have really been part of a memorable angle since Lockdown. The BFG Series can provide just the storyline motivation for their efforts.

I am a huge fan of the “Tennessee Cowboy” James Storm. That is what makes the long-term plans for Storm and Roode and Bound for Glory a double-edged sword. The match is going to be outstanding. Their rivalry has been nothing short of epic thus far. Sadly, with the plans for Storm vs. Roode seeming right, it makes the Bound for Glory Series so pointless because it is only going to line up 11 competitors for James Storm to run through on his way to a championship match in October. I hope what I outlined earlier comes to fruition for the other 11 men involved in the 2012 Bound for Glory Series. This competition can build James Storm’s momentum and elevate the other men involved at the same time.

TNA Wrestling has a lasting legacy of poorly executing easy ideas that would benefit the entire company. However, this seems like a slam-dunk that even TNA Wrestling at their worst could not mess up. It is going to be a very interesting summer for the fans and the wrestlers involved. The Bound for Glory Series is back. With the most star-studded field in its brief history, the potential is here for TNA to do plenty of good for many superstars over the next three months.

The Highlight Reel presents This Week's Recap

THIS WEEK’S RECAP…
 
Superstar of the Week: Matt Cain and Webb Simpson

San Francisco Giants right-handed pitcher Matt Cain threw the 22nd perfect game in Major League Baseball on June 13th in a 10-0 victory over the Houston Astros.  It was the first perfect game in Giants history and first no-hitter for the Giants since 2009. Cain struck out 14 Astros, tying him for most strikeouts in a perfect game with Sandy Koufax’s 1965 perfect game.

Also in San Francisco, California, the 112th US Open golf tournament took place at the Olympic Club. North Carolina native Webb Simpson won his first major with a final round 68, making up the four shot deficit to third round leaders Jim Furyk and Graeme McDowell. While Simpson did nothing spectacular on the course to win the tournament, he was solid in a final round that saw McDowell struggle early and Furyk lose a three-stroke lead over the final six holes. However, Simpson’s spectacular moment at the 2012 US Open came in the victory celebration when a clown briefly interrupted him.



“Enjoy the jail cell, pal,” Simpson quipped as Bob Costas appeared to crap himself as a man wearing Union Jack colors stumbled into the shot and squawked like a bird. That image, more than any on the course, will be the lasting memory of the 2012 US Open. Congrats to Webb Simpson on that little bit of awesomeness. Congrats to the buffoon in the Union Jack colors too as he will forever live in sports crashing infamy.

Jerk of the Week: Shady Officials, Crooked Commissioners, and the Fans Too Blind / Naïve to See the Truth.

In the last week, I have found myself more disgusted than ever with the corrupt nature of sports. I have witnessed one of the most obvious screw-jobs in the history of professional boxing and a commissioner finally snap under the pressure of allegations that his league is fixed. Between the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley fight on June 9th and David Stern’s unprofessional behavior during an interview with Jim Rome on June 13th, I have seen enough to lay judgment on both parties regardless of what their supporters think.

I watched the WBO Welterweight Championship fight between Timothy Bradley and Manny Pacquiao on June 9th from Las Vegas online. As I watched the fight, it was obvious from the beginning that Bradley was well out of his league. “Pac Man” Pacquiao dominated the fight. The commentators calling the fight spent the duration of the fight talking about the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather, Jr. dream fight because the Pacquiao-Bradley fight was out of hand after the fifth round. After the final bell rang in the 12th round, it was inevitable that Manny Pacquiao won the WBO Welterweight Championship. Most said Pacquiao won all 12 rounds while even the most generous of viewers and experts only gave Bradley two rounds in the fight. Pac Man won the fight. Then, Michael Buffer announced the decision. Judge Jerry Roth scored the fight 115-113 for Pacquiao while judges Duane Ford and CJ Ross scored the fight 115-113 in favor of Bradley. Timothy Bradley just stole a victory from Manny Pacquiao. The sporting world was shocked. Commentators were shocked. Analysts were shocked. Anybody with common sense who watched the fight was shocked. Manny Pacquiao was screwed in Las Vegas.

Moments after the announcement of the decision, rumors of a fix began to spread all over the sporting world. The fact that Timothy Bradley himself announced a rematch date during his victory interview added to the “fixed” speculations. Despite being blooded, beaten, and wheelchair-bound with a broken ankle, Timothy Bradley was the winner of this fight in two of the three judges’ eyes. Ford and Ross were the only two people who believed Bradley won. In my opinion, there was never a more obvious fix in the history of boxing. This fix finally killed interest in a sport dying a slow painful death since its heyday in the 1970s.

As boxing allowed corruption to kill it, another more popular sport battled speculations of corruption in its own right as the 2012 NBA postseason was in full swing. For years, one of the major criticisms of the NBA has been the preferential treatment superstars receive from officials. If you are LeBron James or Kobe Bryant for example, you will get calls in your favor the majority of the time. It appears to be an unwritten rule in the NBA. These observations have occurred since the days of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird though so they are a mute point in 2012. This is not going to change; it is just going to continue tarnishing the league’s integrity. Full of controversial calls and no calls involving superstars whom league Commissioner David Stern finds favor with because of the revenue they bring to the league, the 2012 postseason has been par for the course in terms of shady officiating. Frankly, I believe that as long as Stern runs the league, the corruption involving officiating will never change. We saw it with Tim Donaghy and his scandal. I believe it still exists in the league. However, that is not the focal point for the latest accusations of corruption in the NBA. The NBA opened a new series of speculation with the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery.

On May 30th, the New Orleans Hornets won the NBA Draft Lottery and first pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. Despite having the worst record in NBA history, the Charlotte Bobcats will pick number two in the draft because New Orleans won the lottery. Where is the controversy though in the Draft Lottery? Look at the background to the event.

The NBA owned the New Orleans Hornets for the 2011-12 season. When the Hornets attempted to trade their best player, guard Chris Paul, to the Los Angeles Lakers, Commissioner David Stern voided the trade because it would have hurt the Lakers. The trade would have sent two important role players (Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom) from Los Angeles to New Orleans for Paul. Odom ultimately went to the defending champion Dallas Mavericks and fizzled out while Gasol stayed on a Lakers team that made it to the second round of the playoffs. Stern allowed a trade that sent Paul to the Los Angeles Clippers instead. The Clippers saw Paul join league sensation Blake Griffin and have their best season in franchise history while the Hornets were the fourth-worst team in the league. New Orleans received nothing substantial in exchange for Paul. Knowing this was wrong, New Orleans got a bone from David Stern for destroying their chances last season in the form of the number one draft pick in a draft year when only one player, Kentucky center Anthony Davis, appears to be an impact player.

Nothing fishy about this at all though, right? It is all merely a coincidence, right? David Stern did not fix the Draft Lottery in 1985 so the New York Knicks could take Patrick Ewing despite video evidence living online that shows strong evidence of a fix. So, when Jim Rome asked Stern about this latest controversy in a radio interview on June 13th, David Stern’s reply was the response of a man innocent of all these allegations, right? Nothing says innocence quite like “Have you stopped beating your wife yet?” David Stern cracked under the pressure of another highly respected sports journalist asking him the million-dollar question: Was the Draft Lottery rigged? Taking the interview down an ugly road with a low blow, Stern did nothing to help clear the name of his league or the 2012 Draft Lottery with that response. It just made him appear guiltier with his defensive remark.

Of course, when Stern has sheep blindly following and protecting the NBA in spite of common sense telling them that things are wrong and fishy, Stern can continue to be defensive and continue to book the sport as he wants because nobody is really going to call him out on it. That is where the fans come in. No, fan is a great term. I am a fan. I am even a fan of the sports in question: boxing and basketball. Fans recognize these injustices and get angry by them. I am not talking about fans. I am talking about the sniveling, bottom-feeding, naïve sycophants who protect the logo at all costs. I’m talking about the people who have drank David Stern’s kool-aid to a point where they believe no sport is worthy of coverage but the almighty NBA and the NBA itself cannot possibly be fixed in any manner despite evidence to the contrary.  These are the people more responsible for corruption ruining the NBA than anyone in the media or the league itself because these are the people still singing corruption’s praises while silencing the voice of the ones questioning the shady actions.

The worst people in the world this week are the shady officials ruining the events in the ring or on the court, the crooked commissioners pulling the strings and writing the scripts behind the scenes, and the naïve sycophants who allow this to go unpunished while blindly supporting these injustices.

Babe of the Week: Michelle Beadle



A Melancholy Happy Trails to…
- Rodney King, 47 - American police brutality victim (June 17th)
- Henry Hill, 69 - American mobster and inspiration for Goodfellas (June 12th)

Change is in the Air: An End and a New Beginning for The Highlight Reel

“If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” - Woody Allen


My name is Aaron Goins. For the last year, I have planned to become a high school English teacher in the quickest and most effective way possible. I reenrolled at Greensboro College, the place where I obtained my Bachelor’s Degree in English and Communications in 2008, to complete my prerequisite courses before participating in the Piedmont Alternative Licensure program over the summer of 2012. The PAL program consisted of a year’s worth of studies in five intense weeks. That was my plan. However, things change in the blink of an eye.


I will remember May 2012 as one of the worst months of my life. As I started working on final preparations for my summer in the PAL Program, I received information that Financial Aid would not cover the cost of the PAL Program alone. I was $1,500 short and without a payment plan as an option. Therefore, I had to get a $1,500 loan to cover the difference left by Financial Aid. Considering my poor credit and status as an unemployed college student, banks were not jumping to offer me a loan. My father, who currently is sitting on a considerable amount in the bank, would not give me a loan until October because he did not have any faith in me becoming a high school teacher. Once again, I felt that loving support from him that has led me to vote him Father of the Year since 1983. After a lot of stress over the matter and a mild panic attack, I asked my sister for help in applying for a loan. She agreed to help me out and I will forever be grateful for her help in the matter. I seriously hope she knows just how much that meant to me. I resumed the preparations for the PAL Program after dodging that first bullet when a second bullet took me down: the repossession of my car. 


I knew we were behind on payments but not to the level that my mother finally informed me of as my sole means of transportation was towed away by a bald, muscle-bound, juicehead who could not provide a clean urine sample with a 30-day cleanse over Mother‘s Day Weekend. Once again, my father sat on his bank while his son and wife struggled to find an affordable car. With help from his sister, my aunt, we were able to find a car and make that dreaded initial down payment. By the time things started to turn in a more positive manner, I already made the decision to decline entry into the PAL Program because… frankly, I do not believe I could handle the stress of that intense program after 31 days of pure Hell.


“Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” - Maria Robinson


I have hit the reset button on my life’s controller. Instead of having a teaching license by the end of 2012, I hope to have a license by the end of 2013. I could blame my father for his selfishness and lack of faith, support, and genuine concern for his family. I could blame my mother for a lack of communication over a very crucial matter. I know I could blame myself for making the wrong decisions in life that have me in this setting in the first place. However, the truth is that blaming people and dwelling on this situation will not change the situation. The only thing that will change the situation is to get up, brush off the dust, and keep moving forward.


“Get busy living or get busy dying.” - Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption)


I have made plans to take the classes I would have in the PAL Program during the fall semester and spring semester of 2013. In addition, I am going to work my ass off as a more motivated substitute teacher in Rockingham County. I am going to prove to everyone around me, and most importantly to myself, that I can teach and that I want to teach. This is my last chance to make an impact on this world and I am not going to fail. 


With these changes in my life, I have decided to make a change regarding my longtime hobby of writing The Highlight Reel. Since October 2003, I have followed a similar format with my blog: News and Notes, This Week’s Awards, a closing segment. Since the beginning, I have covered a lengthy period of time with each edition of The Highlight Reel. A week. Two weeks. A month. Each edition was loaded with tons of information and opinions over an extended period. The more I have embraced social media, the more I have gotten bored with my own hobby. I am tired of recapping events I already covered on Facebook and Twitter. In being unconventional with my blog, I also became outdated with my own opinions on my interests. Change is in the air! The Highlight Reel is about to become something different. More relevant. More interesting. More topical. More me.


My name is Aaron Goins. I thank you for reading my thoughts over the last nine years (or whenever you started reading my work). I thank you for reading my story. This change in life plans could have been the thing to bring back soul-crushing depression and possibly led me finally to give up on life for good. I could have gone to a dark place. Instead, I look at this as a new beginning. It is a new beginning on my dream, a new beginning on my hobby, and a new beginning on my life. I hope that you will come along with me for the journey. I hope that I can entertain you, inform you, provoke you, and enlighten you with this blog. More importantly, I hope I can make your proud with my life. 


Welcome to The Highlight Reel.