THIS WEEK’S RECAP…
Superstar of the Week: Jay Briscoe and Luke Bryan
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| Dem Boys with the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Championship |
On April 5th in New York City at Supercard of Honor VII, one of the cornerstones of Ring of Honor Wrestling finally reached the top of the mountain when Jay Briscoe defeated Kevin Steen to win the Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Championship for the first time.
An eight-time Ring of Honor World Team Champion with his brother Mark, Jay Briscoe has remained one of the most exciting and talented performers in ROH from day one. While the title reign of Kevin Steen was one of the greatest reigns in Ring of Honor history, I do not know a single wrestling fan upset with the news that Jay Briscoe finally won the big one. I hope this is the beginning of a long run at the top for one of the most underrated individual performers - both in the ring and on the microphone - in the business today. Congratulations to Jay Briscoe on the biggest victory yet in his career.
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| Nothing but genuine emotion. That was a special moment in ACM history. |
At the 48th annual Academy of Country Music Awards, Luke Bryan received the biggest honor of his career when the Georgia native won the Entertainer of the Year award. Bryan won the fan-determined award over former two-time winner Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, and country music’s power couple Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert. The emotion flowed as Bryan was overcome and broke down multiple times during his acceptance speech. It was a wonderful moment for one of the top young stars in the genre. Congratulations to Luke Bryan on Entertainer of the Year.
Jerk of the Week: Mike Rice, Jr. and Rutgers University
Over the week, ESPN made the situation surrounding Rutgers Men’s Basketball coach Mike Rice, Jr. public knowledge with a story on Outside the Lines detailing Rice’s verbal, physical, and mental abuse of players on the Scarlet Knights basketball team over the last three years. At practices throughout his three year stint as head coach, Rice struck players with balls, shouted obscenities and homophobic slurs, and physically put his hands on players. Rutgers suspended Rice for three games without pay in December 2012 after this abuse became knowledge to the university. However, it appeared that Rutgers was prepared to sweep this situation under the rug until Outside the Lines aired hours of abuse during practices on Tuesday.
In the aftermath of these videos becoming public knowledge, the university fired Rice from his position as head coach. In addition, Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti resigned amidst public ridicule for not terminating Rice immediately when these videos depicting Rice’s abusive ways became knowledge to him in 2012.
I am a firm believer that we are developing generations of soft children with the constant coddling and rewarding children for merely participating as oppose to only rewarding children for victory and success. With that said, I not only believe Rice deserved his termination but also deserves criminal prosecution for the abuse he inflicted on his players. In any other circle, his actions are assault. Indiana University kept around an abusive monster for 30+ years in Bobby Knight and justified his antics and behavior until Knight was no longer winning games consistently. Mike Rice, Jr. never had a winning season at Rutgers and was still getting protected by the university until ESPN brought the abuse to light. Rutgers is just as guilty and just as big of a jerk as Rice is for committing the horrible actions in the first place.
Babe of the Week: Kimberly Perry
A Melancholy Happy Trails to…
- Richard Brooker, 58 - American actor and stuntman best known as Jason in Friday the 13th: Part III (April 8th)
- Annette Funicello, 70 - American actress and singer best known for her time on the Mickey Mouse Club and series of beach movies (April 8th)
- Margaret Thatcher, 87 - British politician and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (April 8th)
- Roger Ebert, 70 - American film critic (April 4th)
- Jack Pardee, 76 - American football player and coach best known for his time with the Houston Oilers (April 1st)
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