I have been extremely busy with the college life over the last month that I completely neglected The Highlight Reel. I know. Real life responsibilities are no excuse for denying you all the rants and commentaries on the world of sports, entertainment, and pop culture you come to expect. For that, I apologize. At least it was only February so I did not miss much, right?
**Super Bowl XLVII, known in some circles as the HarBowl, took place in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 3rd. In a game not soon to be forgotten, the Baltimore Ravens withstood a second-half charge from the San Francisco 49ers and won their second Lombardi Trophy with a 34-31 victory. Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco earned MVP honors – even though I would have given the honor wide receiver / kick returner Jacoby Jones – with his 22 of 33 passing day for 287 yards and three touchdowns.
The game itself appeared to be a blowout in the making with Baltimore leading 21-6 at halftime and 28-6 early in the third quarter after a 108-yard kickoff return from Jones. Then, the blackout happened. An issue with the generators at the Mercedes Benz Superdome led to a 34-minute delay in play after a 22-minute power outage for a portion of the stadium. It was an insane moment that served as the moment when 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh finally lit a fire under his team’s rear end before the 49ers made a game out of Super Bowl XLVII upon the return of the lights. With 9:57 left in the fourth quarter, the 49ers actually pulled to within two at 31-29 after a Colin Kaepernick touchdown run. However, the 49ers never got closer and the Ravens won the game.
Before the season, I predicted the Baltimore Ravens to lose in the Super Bowl to the Green Bay Packers. The day before the game, I predicted the Ravens would fall to the 49ers. However, I was thrilled in witnessing the Ravens win their second Lombardi Trophy. The Ravens are my AFC team of choice. In addition, I really liked seeing Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis retire as a Super Bowl Champion. I do not care what the anti-Lewis camp says about the man. The courts in Atlanta found Lewis innocent of murder in 2000 and Lewis did not conduct himself in any further thuggish behavior after that controversial night. In most cases, I believe the phrase “where there is smoke, there is fire.” In the case of Lewis, there was smoke but 13 years later, we have not seen a flame. I was happy for Lewis, Ed Reed, Joe Flacco, coach John Harbaugh, and all of the other Ravens robbed of their rightful spot in the big game a year earlier by Billy Cundiff’s lack of a clutch gene. Congratulations go out to the Baltimore Ravens – Super Bowl XLVII Champions!
**Oh, and this happened…
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| Ride on a rocket ship to the moon! Behold the destrucity of the ULTIMATE Beyoncé!!! |
Some say she was incredible. Others, including myself, say it was mediocre at best. However, Beyoncé’s halftime performance gave us some unflattering images of the singer that the internet has had a lot of fun with over the last month. The Ultimate Beyoncé is my favorite of these images by a mile.
**Awards season hit its peak in February with both the Grammy Awards and the Academy Awards taking center stage on their respective nights. In both cases, lengthy award ceremonies and celebrities congratulating themselves for being celebrities with trophies were the norm. Also, in both cases, I was thrilled that some awesome people received honors they truly deserved.
At the Grammy Awards on February 10th, the big winners were Gotye and Kimbra (Record of the Year for “Somebody That I Used to Know”), Mumford and Sons (Album of the Year for Babel) and Fun (Song of the Year for “We Are Young”). I loved watching Kelly Clarkson’s happy and slightly drunken victory speech for Best Pop Vocal Album for Stronger, Carrie Underwood’s victories for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song for “Blown Away”, and Taylor Swift’s victory alongside the Civil Wars for Best Song for a Visual Media for “Safe and Sound” off The Hunger Games soundtrack. In addition, Carrie Underwood’s colorful and exciting performance of “Blown Away” and “Two Black Cadillacs” made the night for me.
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| That dress was a better show than 2/3's of the acts at the Grammy Awards. |
Meanwhile at the Academy Awards, I was thrilled watching America’s Sweetheart (of the moment) Jennifer Lawrence win the first of what should be many Best Actress statuettes as she won for Silver Linings Playbook. Even though she fell on the way to accept her award, Lawrence never lost a bit of the grace, beauty, and charm fans have come to expect from her.
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| Hey haters! Yeah! Right here! |
Ben Affleck’s victory speech as Argo won Best Picture and Daniel Day Lewis’ victory speech as he won Best Actor for Lincoln were both endearing and memorable moments on the Oscar stage. Christoph Waltz’s victory in the Best Supporting Actor category for Django Unchained and Anne Hathaway’s victory as Best Supporting Actress for The Dark Knight Rises, I mean Les Misérables, may have been anticlimactic but were also just victories.
In fact, the only complaints I really had with either show revolved around the hosts. LL Cool J went to the WWE School of Social Media Shilling with a Grammy performance that more annoying than endearing. However, the criticisms seemed to fall onto Seth MacFarlane for his controversial hosting job at the Academy Awards. I thought he was terrific in what I saw of his performance. Many did not however as his one-liners and shots at many of Hollywood’s elite were too mean or inappropriate for the occasion. The uptight suits of the Academy seemed shocked by MacFarlane’s jokes as if they did not know whom they hired to host the ceremony. Their issue with MacFarlane seems to be theirs alone though as the majority of America seemed to enjoy his dark, sometimes off-putting brand of humor.
**On January 31st, TNA owner Dixie Carter finally made a major announcement on TNA Impact Wrestling that truly lived up to the hype. During this taped broadcast from the United Kingdom, Carter announced life that TNA Impact was officially going on the road beginning with the March 14th episode of Impact Wrestling. The first episode after the Lockdown pay-per-view will emanate from the Sears Center in Chicago, Illinois.
After years of saying TNA needed to break free from their dependence on Orlando, Florida and the Impact Zone, TNA listened. Impact will air live on Thursday nights with the following week’s episode taped on Friday night in a bi-weekly live schedule that will see Impact finally cross the country while giving wrestling fans all over America a chance to enjoy the action that Orlando has taken for granted with unenthusiastic crowds for years. Pay-per-views from all over the country and February’s four Impact Wrestling shows from the United Kingdom show the wrestling world that TNA fans are out there and are excited for the product. It is now up to TNA to maintain their high standard of in-ring product and up to the fans who have cried for the product to be on the road for years to show up when TNA is in their town. After years of teasing it, TNA is finally making the move to reach another level of success. It is about time and I cannot wait for Impact to air live from North Carolina.
**Another major deal announced by TNA Wrestling during the month was the resigning of current TNA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Hardy to a long-term contract extension. I know many who trash Jeff Hardy for his past drug abuse. I have done it also. However, Hardy has shown himself to be a top draw for the company and a solid in-ring worker since he returned in December 2011. In addition, Hardy appears to be clean and sober finally. I know some will think I am just falling for Hardy’s act again. However, without giving a man the benefit of a doubt, would Eddie Guerrero’s sobriety the last four years of his life count? Would we truly believe in the work Diamond Dallas Page is doing to help Jake “the Snake” Roberts or Scott Hall become sober? Jeff Hardy has not given me a single reason to doubt his sobriety this time around. Perhaps he needed to hit rock bottom – something he did at March 2011’s Victory Road event.
Jeff Hardy would get more money from World Wrestling Entertainment. He would also get a heavier work schedule more likely to push him back into the drug culture for survival than his current TNA schedule. I am glad to see Jeff resign with TNA. Now, I just hope that I never have to read about another drug issue for Hardy. He has come a long way from the drug-fueled joke he once was and does not need to return to that level.
**In February, Michelle Beadle returned to daily sports television with the debut of The Crossover on NBC Sports Network. Alongside co-host Dave Briggs, Beadle returns to the format she is most comfortable with as sports, entertainment, and a low-key vibe of nonchalance make each half-hour feel like a broadcast with friends debating the hot stories of the day in a local bar, club, or message board. The Crossover reminds me of the early days of ESPN SportsNation in the sense that the show is about two different perspectives on the big stories in sports – The Crossover featuring Beadle and Briggs the way SportsNation featured Beadle and Colin Cowherd – without anybody taking the sports stories so serious that it appears life or death. The major difference comes in how Beadle and Briggs actually seem to agree a lot more than she did with Cowherd. In addition, Dave Briggs does not come off (yet, anyway) as the elitist blowhard Colin Cowherd does every time he speaks.
While the numbers have been less than stellar to start, The Crossover also has to deal with being on a network most people do not even know they have on their television. ESPN has 30+ years of brand recognition and associations with the National Football League, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, all of the major college conferences, and the National Basketball Association while NBCSN has associations with the Olympics, the National Hockey League, IndyCar Series, and Major League Soccer. That should not be an issue but it clearly will be as NBCSN uses The Crossover to help their network grow. I look at The Crossover the way I look at TNA Wrestling or Ring of Honor Wrestling – fans would see it to be superior to the borderline racist ESPN First Take or the overly dramatic Pardon the Interruption if they would tune in. However, much like TNA and ROH are not WWE, NBCSN is not ESPN so the masses will not give anything on the network a chance.
One month in and I think The Crossover has great potential to become the next great sports television show. Then again, it is associated with one of the biggest stars in sports television today – Michelle Beadle. As long as NBCSN does not try to make Beadle into someone she is not, she will carry any hot dumpster fire into a status of respectability. I mean, she does make Billy Bush and Access Hollywood entertaining.
**NASCAR opened the 2013 season with one of the most exciting and noteworthy Daytona Speedweeks in recent memory thanks to one of the most horrific accidents in stock car history and the achievements of Danica Patrick.
Starting her first full-time season at the Cup level, Danica Patrick won the pole for the 2013 Daytona 500 – becoming the first female to win a pole at the highest level of NASCAR. Danica then followed up that performance with a stellar run in the race itself. Never falling lower than 11th, Patrick remained in the Top 3 for over half of the event – more than any other driver did. An unwise decision to stick with Greg Biffle as a drafting partner proved erroneous late as Patrick fell on the final lap from 3rd to an 8th place finish. Still, the finish proved history as Patrick scored the best career finish for a female in a Cup Series event.
Jimmie Johnson led 17 laps and won the Daytona 500 for a second time in his career. The victory was Johnson’s 61st career win in his 400th start – an impressive feat for a driver currently in the midst of one of the greatest careers in stock car racing history.
The events of Sunday occurred with a cloud overhead because of a brutal, horrific accident the day before in the Nationwide Series event. On the final lap, Brad Keselowski turned Regan Smith as Smith attempted to block him. This set off a chain reaction of carnage that ultimately sent Kyle Larson’s Chevrolet into the catch fence. Portions of his car, including the motor and front tires sheared off the car and littered the grandstands with debris. Ultimately, the accident injured 33 spectators, two seriously.
I believe that a part of the civility and high quality racing action on Sunday – yes, I actually tuned in and watched half of the race – came because of this accident. The eyes of the sporting world were upon NASCAR because of Danica Patrick’s success during qualifying as well as the new Generation 6 racecars. The drivers needed to show what racing was about – competition – and not provide another day showing the sport as a real-life incarnation of the Roger Corman film Death Race 2000. So, other than Kyle Busch – in another example of Kyle being NASCAR’s biggest tool – turning Kasey Kahne into traffic and eliminating Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick in the process, the accidents in the 500 were not because of the usual overly aggressive driving that comes from restrictor plate racing. Drivers were on their best behavior and it provided for some good racing. Well, good as you will ever see while restrictor plates are still in existence. While I know that restrictor plate racing will never leave NASCAR – because the brain trust believe a pack of cars running 185-190 MPH with restricted motors is safer than cars running unrestricted motors at 205-220 MPH with the ability to get away from one another – I hope this accident will ultimately get NASCAR to move fans off the wall at these events. Besides the increased danger of debris flying into the stands, the intensified noise and fumes that come with sitting that close are also dangers alleviated with spectator seating moved back off the track. However, there is money to come from those seats and nobody died in this accident so safety will take a backseat to profit once again when this accident becomes a distant memory.
**One of the most shocking stories of the month was the Valentine’s Day murder of model Reeva Steenkamp at the hands of her boyfriend – South African track and field star Oscar Pistorius. Known as the Blade Runner, Pistorius became the first amputee to compete in the Olympics in 2012 when the double-amputee competed in the men’s 400 meter and the 4x400 meter relay. His story was one of strength and courage that made him a hero to the physically disabled globally.
In the early morning of February 14th, Pistorius fired four shots into the locked bathroom door of his Pretoria home, hitting Steenkamp three times. Authorities believe the murder was premeditated while Pistorius has said multiple times that he believed he was shooting at an intruder in his home.
This story is one the sporting world will keep an eye on for a long time. The 2012 Summer Olympics were the birthplace of Pistorius as an international star. Watching interviews with the man, I would never believe him capable of the cold-blooded murder he is now accused. Still, anything is possible. Pistorius’ athletic achievements are living proof of that.
**February 2013 will go down as the most exciting month in the history of Jack Swagger. Swagger received more recognition - both good and bad - this month than any other time in his professional wrestling career. After years of mediocrity (at best) and months of not even appearing to job on television, Swagger returned on the February 4th episode of RAW with a new racist manager in Zeb Coulter - a delightful parody of a Tea Party follower portrayed by Dutch Mantell. Since then, Swagger has emerged as a main event performer in a matter of weeks and has a World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania against Alberto Del Rio scheduled. Then, this happened.
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| I'm Jackth Swathgah and I like reether! |
After the February 19th SmackDown taping in Mississippi, police stopped Swagger for speeding. Authorities arrested Swagger for reckless driving, DUI, and marijuana possession. Picked up by TMZ, this arrest and the character of Zeb Coulter getting national attention from Tea Party-biased media like Glenn Beck (in what I believe is a working relationship between the two parties) have caused a buzz for World Wrestling Entertainment that no amount of part-timers coming in for a WrestleMania paycheck can create. That is why I think anybody who believes WWE will punish Swagger for this arrest is a complete and utter buffoon.
Swagger will be another in a long list of current WWE Superstars with a mugshot, from either a DUI or some sort of possession charge, to add to their portfolio. This list includes current Intercontinental Champion Wade Barrett, current Divas Champion Kaitlyn, Santino Marella, Cameron of the Funkadactyls, Bo Dallas, Jay Uso, Ted DiBiase, Alex Riley, and even part-time player Chris Jericho. While most have never seen the main event, Chris Jericho has and still does. His arrest never derailed his run at the top for a moment.
Jack Swagger is going to be another example of the hypocrisy that fuels World Wrestling Entertainment. While Cody Rhodes, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Christian, and countless others waste away in the mid-card or on the sidelines because creative has nothing for them, Jack Swagger will take weed possession, a DUI, and the WWE’s dependence on part-timers who will not be around in May as rocket fuel on his push to the moon. Of course, he also really benefited from Linda McMahon finally no longer in the running for any form of office. Without trying to impress the government anymore, anything goes in the WWE.
**On February 15th, an asteroid entered the Earth’s atmosphere over Russia and exploded around 15 miles above the ground. The powerful shockwave and subsequent falling meteorite debris created a panic captured on phones in Russia by citizens apparently ready to record everything on video (even themselves driving).
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| Coming this summer. Butterflies. Birds. Asteroids. Michael Bay presents Nature and Science. Rated PG-13. |
Entitled Nature and Science and directed by Michael Bay, this incident - actually known as the Chelyabinsk meteor - was the largest object to enter the Earth’s atmosphere since the 1908 Tunguska incident. Flying debris injured over 1,500 people as the shock wave damaged over 4,300 buildings in six cities. There were no fatalities though.
All of these years, we have believed the upcoming zombie apocalypse to begin in either America or England (if you put stock in the 28 Days Later storyline). All of the movies lied to us. The zombie apocalypse is actually a Russian-centered plague.
**All hail the Upton Dynasty!
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| In the immortal words on Ronald J. Simmons, "Damn!" |
For a second consecutive year, Sports Illustrated named Kate Upton cover girl of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. Upton joins Christie Brinkley (1979-1981), Paulina Porizkova (1984-1985), Elle Macpherson (1986-1988), Tyra Banks (1996-1997), and Carolyn Murphy (2005-2006) as the only models to grace the prestigious cover in consecutive years and is one of only 14 models to grace the cover more than once in the magazine’s 49-year history. Nice!
**On February 15th, I joined a friend of mine – Gwen Grogan – and made new friends in Carrie Woods and her daughter Brianna as we all attended the Rascal Flatts / The Band Perry concert at the Greensboro Coliseum. It was an outstanding concert.
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| Enjoying our seats before the show L to R: me, Gwen, Carrie, Brianna |
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| Kimberly and the boys creeping down the stairs to start their set. |
The Band Perry brought nothing but energy to the stage for their 50-minute set. Despite singing while battling an illness, Kimberly Perry showed why she is one of the premiere front-women in music today with vocals second to none and a beauty simple intoxicating. I really loved the sound of the new songs of their upcoming sophomore album Pioneer, including their new single “Done” and the number one song in country music on the day of the show “Better Dig Two.” In addition, it is not a true concert experience for me without finding myself moved by the music. When the crowd joined Kimberly in singing “If I Die Young,” I found myself with those familiar misty eyes that let me know I am alive.
Rascal Flatts rocked the stage in an entertaining set that did not disappoint yet lacked many big hits. That is a testament to their legendary career. They put on an outstanding show full of hits and still lacked many terrific songs because they could not play all night. For many, the highlight of the show was when the Wake Forest Marching Band joined the trio on “Life is a Highway.” For me, the highlight of their set was “These Days” and the show-ending ode to the fans “Here’s to You.”
**On February 22nd, I went to my first CWF Mid-Atlantic Wrestling show in Gibsonville, NC. Joined by my friend Doug, we went to the show many to see the stars from Ring of Honor advertised to appear. However, by the end of the night, we both came away saying that CWF Mid-Atlantic was an Indy show worthy of seeing on their own merits.
The event, held in conjunction with PWX Wrestling out of Charlotte, NC, featured appearances from Ring of Honor World Champion Kevin Steen, ROH Television Champion Adam Cole, former ROH Triple Crown winners Eddie Edwards and Roderick Strong, and ROH up-and-coming talent Cedric Alexander and Grizzly Redwood. I knew they would bring the best professional wrestling action possible to the ring. However, the CWF Mid-Atlantic and PWX talent on the show matched their efforts. A local talent named Chiva Kid defeated Eddie Edwards in a match better than anything on television in months. Kevin Steen and CWF Mid-Atlantic Champion Arik Royal had a wild brawl throughout the CWF Sportatorium ending with a Steen package piledriver to the referee equivalent of Danny Bonaduce.
Not only was the wrestling action great, I loved my experience meeting the Ring of Honor talent. All of the guys were wonderful. Kevin Steen was extremely friendly and fun to talk with while Roderick Strong could not be a more polar opposite from the douche bag he portrays inside the ring. Adam Cole and Eddie Edwards both were gracious with fans too. In addition, it was fun to see Grizzly Redwood appear both confused and slightly annoyed when Doug asked why Lumberjack Joe Le Duc was on his t-shirts. That said, all of these guys made the fans feel like friends - something that comes in encounters with true class acts. Some guys (Raven, Ole Anderson) could learn a lot from their younger counterparts.
THIS MONTH’S AWARDS
Superstar of the Week: Chicks, man.
February 2013 was definitely a month full of Girl Power. Jennifer Lawrence and Anne Hathaway collected awards left and right for their performances in Silver Linings Playbook and Les Misérables respectively. Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, and Kelly Clarkson all walked away with Grammy Awards. Danica Patrick won the pole for the Daytona 500 and backed up that qualifying lap with a historic run and 8th place finish in the Great American Race. Jessica Chastain won awards for Zero Dark Thirty and saw both that film and Mama do extremely well at the box office. Beyoncé crushed life at the Super Bowl and gave us a meme we all adore.
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| She'll break your heart and your arm. |
Then, there was “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey. On February 23rd, Rousey became the first woman to headline a UFC event when she, alongside Liz Carmouche, headlined UFC 157. Rousey defeated Carmouche via armbar submission in the first round of a competitive fight to retain her Women’s Bantamweight Championship. The fight brought more attention to the rising UFC and showed that interest does exist in women’s mixed martial arts. If UFC promoter Dana White can find more competition for Rousey - maybe convince Gina Carano to return to the fight game - Ronda Rousey’s epic night in Anaheim will be the first of many epic nights for women’s MMA.
Yes, many men did have a great February. However, February 2013 was certainly a month where “Chicks Rules” was not just a catchphrase.
Jerk of the Week: The International Olympic Committee
I love the Olympics. I make no secret of that. However, I find myself annoyed by the decisions of the IOC (International Olympic Committee) more and more with every decision they announce. On February 12th, the IOC made their latest blunder with an announcement regarding the 2020 Summer Games - wrestling would no longer be an Olympic sport.
One of the oldest sports in the history of time and one of the pillars of the Olympic Games alongside track and field is no longer an Olympic sport. Yet, badminton remains. Table tennis remains. Trampoline is an Olympic sport. It is painful enough that baseball and softball are no longer Olympic sports. However, now wrestling is no longer an Olympic sport?!? What is next? Removing track and field in favor of air guitar?!?
If the IOC does not quickly rectify this problem and return wrestling to its rightful place among the sports of the 2020 Olympiad, I think the IOC will realize their blunder in 2020 when many turn a blind eye towards an Olympics without one of the pillars of the games.
A Melancholy Happy Trails to…
- Bonnie Franklin, 69 - American actress best known for One Day at a Time (March 1st)
- C. Everett Coop, 96 - American surgeon and Surgeon General of the United States from 1982-1989 (February 25th)
- Lou Myers, 77 - American actor best known for A Different World (February 19th)
- Jerry Buss, 80 - American entrepreneur and owner of the Los Angeles Lakers (February 18th)
- Mindy McCready, 37 - Country singer best known for “Ten Thousand Angels” and “Guys Do It All the Time” (February 17th)
- Reeva Steenkamp, 29 - South African model and murder victim of Oscar Pistorius (February 14th)
- Barney, 12 - American Scottish Terrier owned by President George W. Bush (February 1st)
- Ed Koch, 88 - American politician best known as Mayor of New York from 1978-1989 and judge on The People’s Court (February 1st)
- Caleb Moore, 25 - American snowmobile competitor (January 31st)
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