Weekend wrapup: Answering my own question, and Y2J is a genius

So, last week I asked for some of you Hoop Dawg experts to help me understand why the team fell so far so fast. I got NO help from any of you, but since then I've watched a couple of games and I think I have it figured out: absolutely zero inside presence, and inconsistent scoring outside of KCP, who is certainly extremely talented offensively but has a LONG way to go defensively.

Does that about cover it?

We did finally get an SEC win last week, but I honestly don't see very many more in our future...I hope I'm wrong. Maybe Marcus Thornton can work himself back into shape and provide some strength inside, maybe Gerald Robinson and Dustin Ware can recapture some past magic, maybe KCP will learn quickly what it takes to play defense at an SEC level....but that's a lot to ask in a very short period of time. And then Robinson and Ware are both seniors...I'm starting to get depressed.

Moving on...

 - Finished up the last couple of comedies from the Wednesday/Thursday Comedy DVR Extravaganza.

First the bad news...The Office continues to demonstrate that the writing staff has gone completely off the rails since the departure of Michael Scott. I don't think I laughed a single time at this last episode, and I don't know what the point of the episode was. I'm all for the uncomfortable darker humor that the show sometimes goes for..."Dinner Party" (in which Jim, Pam, Andy, Angela, Dwight, and Dwight's former nanny have a remarkably uncomfortable dinner at Michael and Jan's condo) is probably my favorite Office episode ever. The difference between then and now is that the reason that episode worked so well is that the writing staff had such a firm grasp of who these characters were and how they worked. Now...I don't think anybody has any idea of what the thread is.

For example...I feel like they are trying to make Andy and Erin the new Jim and Pam (since they have completely murdered the Jim/Pam characters, who used to be the heart and soul of the show). But the whole storyline feels rushed, especially this other woman whom Andy is not only dating all of a sudden, but is apparently ready to marry. I can't for the life of me even tell you this woman's NAME, much less anything about her or her relationship with Andy. Why should I care?

And the problem isn't just with that storyline...Dwight, Kevin, Ryan, Stanley, etc...it seems that every single character, with the possible exception of Creed, has become problematic in their inconsistent characterization. Kevin, in particular, is barely recognizable as the guy who could conceivably win a World Series of Poker bracelet.

None of that would be as big a problem if the show was actually still funny....sadly, they can't even pull that off anymore.

On the other hand, Up All Night continues to just be a really fun half hour every week. Will Arnett and Christina Applegate have created a couple that just feels EXTREMELY realistic to me....almost every story that they do feels really familiar. This week's story about trying to watch a TV series together, and how it becomes this "project" that you are working on together, and going to sleep every time you try to start it, etc...I've LIVED that. And I am perfectly happy with Megan Mulally fulfilling her destiny of guest starring on every single comedy I watch...she was fantastic, as usual.

Anyway, it's not super ambitious (like Community), and it's not as polished and at the top of its game (like Parks and Rec), but it's certainly a show that I look forward to every week.

 - Two other shows I watched this weekend are both heading towards the end of their runs (I think)...one of them for sure, and one of them increasingly likely.

Chuck aired its penultimate episode last week, with only the two hour finale left on the docket. As usual with this show, I am thoroughly enjoying the ride. We all know where the Chuck and Sarah story is most likely headed...I don't think this is the type of show that is going to pull the rug out from under their viewers with anything less than a happy ending for those two. But they are doing a fairly decent job putting up believable roadblocks in their path...although I'm not COMPLETELY happy with Sarah being in "damsel in distress" mode the way she was this week. Hopefully this week will see her back to her butt-kicking ways, with or without the Intersect. In fact, I was sort of hoping that last week's episode was going to involve more of her doing all of these Intersect-aided amazing things, only for Chuck to just assume that it was just her being awesome as usual.

And if that was the last hurrah of Jeffster, what a great way for them to go out. Great stuff all around.

Also...Alan Sepinwall is running a five part interview with Josh Schwarz and Chris Fedak, the co-creators and show runners. Part one is HERE, and if you're a fan of the show I encourage you to go check out the rest as the week goes on. It's a typical great interview from Alan, and a fitting farewell to the show. It's also funny to see the pictures of Chuck and Sarah from the early days of the show...we've come a long way, baby.

As for Fringe, my feelings about this season continue to be mixed. I'm enjoying many of the things the show is doing this season...last week was another strong episode in a series of them, from a storytelling perspective, and the acting is always top notch. But I'm really struggling with the idea that these are not really the characters we have been watching for the life of the show to this point. Whether they exist in a different universe/timeline, or they are in the same universe that we have been watching but "changed" due to what happened with Peter, they don't feel like "our" Olivia, Walter, etc.

And it could be that all of that will be resolved by where the writers are taking us...it wouldn't surprise me if by the end of this season, everything has been put "right" somehow. And if this wasn't probably the last season of the show, that wouldn't be so bad. But, based on the ratings and the high cost of the show, I think it probably IS the last season...which means that we will have spent much of the last season of the show with someone OTHER than the characters we have been watching from the beginning. And that is very frustrating and sad to me.

Still one of the best shows on television...I just hope we don't look back on this as a wasted last season.

 - As long time readers of the blog (or long time knowers of me) know, I have been a wrestling fan almost my entire life. I am not a rabid fan at all anymore...my fandom at this point just consists of me occasionally checking out some of the wrestling websites/blogs and checking out what is going on with the shows, which will sometime lead to me checking out a particular storyline/match if it piques my interest. I got caught up in the Summer of Punk last summer, for instance, and I was intrigued to start reading rumors that Chris Jericho (one of my all time favorites) may be making a comeback.

Well, he did...and, seriously, the guy is a genius when it comes to this business. What he has done since he came back is some truly Kauffman level stuff.

First, there was this...his big comeback on Raw three weeks ago, in which he somehow had the crowd chanting his name and going crazy when he first made his appearance, and then making a COMPLETE heel turn 5-6 minutes later...without ever saying a word.




And then, the next week, he returns...only he is so "overcome" that he once again leaves without saying a word...




And then LAST week, he finally gets into the ring, as part of a big 6-man tag main event....only to pull THIS:

I love it, and I will be checking out Raw every week for the foreseeable future to see what comes next.

WHAT TO WATCH TONIGHT

Well, I'm not watching anything...instead, we spent the evening welcoming the latest member of the Grantham family. Introducing, my new nephew...Jackson Reagan Grantham (or, as his uncle will be calling him, Jax)

RIP, Macho Man..a list in your honor

Sad news today about the death of Macho Man Randy Savage...and the fact that he died in a car accident somehow makes it even more sad. Most of the time when we hear of a wrestler passing before his time, it is due to some repercussion of their lifestyle...drugs, steroid use, etc. Not that it makes their deaths any less tragic...but, yeah, it kind of does.

So, anyway...in honor of the Macho Man, here is a list of the Top 20 wrestlers from the time that I actually was regularly watching (roughly 1984-2001). This is not necessarily a list of my "favorite" wrestlers...it's the ones I considered the best, based on in-ring work, mic skills, total body of work (including longevity and style adaptability) and the iconic nature of the "character" they created.

Yes, I put WAY too much thought into this. And one thing I learned...apparently wrestling fans LOVE both Creed and Staind. That was disappointing, but not surprising.

First off, honorable mention to a few who JUST missed the list: Scott Hall, Owen Hart, Magnum T.A., and Vader.

20. Curt Hennig. Mr. Perfect was just a great character, and at his peak he really knew how to work a match. I'll never forget his 360 degree selling of clotheslines.


19. Edge. Would probably be higher on the list based on his work after the time period I'm looking at...but even by 2001, he was already established as one of the greatest workers in the world, and was often hilarious on the mic.


18. Jake The Snake Roberts. Inventor of the DDT, and creator of one of the most iconic and memorable characters of all time. Dude scared me to death when I was a kid...but I still wanted to be him every time we would imitate wrestlers on our trampoline.


17. Arn Anderson. The enforcer. One of the legitimate tough guys in the sport, and almost nobody was better on the mic.


16. Eddie Guerrero. CHEAT TO WIN, BABY!!!


15. Triple H. Not the most consistent in ring worker, but for a time in the early 00's he could make a claim at being one of the to 2-3 in North America. Nobody since Hulk Hogan has had as much power behind the scenes.


14. Sting. One of the great babyfaces of all time, and a very consistent in-ring worker who put on some classics in the late 80's and into the 90's against Flair, Vader, and others. Was never the same after the stupid "Evil Sting" storyline in 96-97.


13. Chris Jericho. I probably have him too high, but he was always one of my personal favorites. A bit sloppy in the ring, but few were better on the mic, and his intro to WWF was one of my favorite mark-out moments as a wrestling fan.


12. Undertaker. Had some of the worst matches I have ever sat through...but also created maybe the greatest persona in pro wrestling history, and managed to stay relevant through many iterations of the sport and several different wrestling styles.


11. Ricky Steamboat. Generally regarded as the greatest pure babyface of all time, and one of this generation's greatest workers as well. When compiling a list of the greatest matches of the 1980's, he probably has at least three or four of the top five (at least two out of the trilogy against Flair, and his epic match with the Macho Man at WrestleMania III).


10. Mick Foley. A true hardcore wrestling icon, and consistently one of the best in the sport on the mic, no wonder which of his personas he was using.


9. Randy Savage. This is a guy whose in-ring skill gets overlooked due to his persona, I think. But he was a great worker as well as one of the most insane promo guys of all time.


8. Dynamite Kid. Before the back injury, he may have been the best worker in the world. If you are a fan of pure, old school wrestling, do yourself a favor and look up some of his matches in Japan against Tiger Mask.


7. Chris Benoit. Fitting that he makes the list just ahead of Dynamite, who was his hero. If this was based solely on in-ring ability, he may be number one. But the guy couldn't cut a promo to save his life. (poor choice of words?)


6. Kurt Angle. One of the most athletically gifted and innovative performers I have ever seen, and could work a crowd as well as anybody in history.


5. Bret Hart. The Excellence in Execution. One of the top 2-3 pure workers I ever saw, but only so-so on the mic.


4. The Rock. THE most ELECTRIFYING man in SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT. Probably the 2nd greatest ever on the mic, and overcame a pretty rough start to become a better than average in-ring worker. Could definitely tell a story in the ring, and had some true classics in the 99-01 era. A huge part of the most successful time in history for pro wrestling, and one of its most recognizable figures.
♠

3. Stone Cold Steve Austin. All he did was singlehandedly bring the WWF into the "Attitude Era" and basically destroy WCW, along with the Rock.


And...here is where it gets controversial...

2. Ric Flair. The best promo guy of all time. Could carry a broomstick to a 3 star match. World Champion dozens of times over. And my #2 of all time by a razor thin margin.


1. Shawn Michaels. I know I'm going to take some crap for this one. In my opinion, my top two are interchangeable...the only thing that puts Shawn Michaels ahead of Flair is that he wrestled so many different styles...as awesome as some of Flair's matches were, they had a tendency to follow the same patterns every time. Michaels has wrestled more styles, told a greater variety of stories with his matches, and that puts him over the top for me.



OK, now it's your turn...where am I wrong? Who are your favorites? What are some of your favorite wrestling memories?

Hey, Nature Boy....how many days left until kickoff?

WHOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Thanks, Ric! Hope the Dawgs beat the mess out of your gators this year!

GO DAWGS!!

The return of an old Legend feature...

The title of the last post reminded me...it's been a while since I put up an Old School Rasslin' Post of the Week/Month/Quarter/Year.

Today's combines both old school rasslin' (although calling this era old-school makes me feel, well....OLD) and the Dawgs:

Hear that? The crowd is chanting already...

GOOOOOOOLD-BERG.......GOOOOOOOLD-BERG....

Who's NEXT?

Thank you, Hulk Hogan..

Because you are delusional and pathetic enough to try and start a new wrestling promotion in Australia, the world is blessed with THIS:


Ahh...he's still got it.

"I only THINK I'm the man? Ask your ex-wife! I REEK of being The Man!"

WHOOOOO!!!!

Old School Rasslin' Post of the Week

Picked this one for two reasons...

- I think Tully Blanchard is extremely underrated, both on the mic and in the ring

- Check out the guys in the audience calling the Dawgs right in the beginning of his promo...they continue to just be totally obnoxious the whole time, to the point where it really throws Tully off his game. Awesome.

Old School Rasslin' post of the....quarter, I guess?

Finally, the return of a (semi) regular feature here at Stuff of Legend...as many of you know, I grew up as a huge rasslin' fan (yes, it's RASSLIN', not wrestling. WRESTLING is what they do at the Olympics). Every Saturday night was spent watching not only World Championship Wrestling on TBS, but also the wrestling marathon they would show on what I guess was an early version of UPN (I remember it was channel 69) from about 9PM to 1AM every Saturday, where we would see AWA, UWF (where I saw Ultimate Warrior and Sting make their debuts), Mid-South...all of the great old-school stuff. Then my friends, my brother, and I would go out to the trampoline and try out all of the moves we saw on TV on each other...I swear, if I was growing up in today's environment my parents would have been sued a dozen times by now.

So, occasionally, I like to bust out some old-school rasslin' stuff, most often related to my childhood nemesis/heroes, The Four Horsemen.

Check out this card they are promoting in this spot...as a kid, I would have been insane with my desire to see this show. Heck, I'd probably pay money to see it right now:


I know, right? Ron Garvin vs. Tully Blanchard? R&R Express vs. The Minnesota Wrecking Crew? Flair vs. Dusty? Gorgeous Jimmy Garvin vs. The Skinniest Man Alive, Sam Houston? Sign me up!!!

Also funny to see a young Tony Schiavone, who a lot of Dawg fans will recognize from WSB 750...he landed there after WCW was bought out by WWF a few years ago. Don't try to talk to him about rasslin' on the air though...he doesn't like that. (...ahem..)

Hey, what can I tell you? It's the offseason...gotta find something to pass the time!

Why Jim Cornette still ROOLZ

OK....this is specifically for any of you who, like me, grew up watching Wrestling and continued to follow it up through it's popularity peak in the late 90's, and are now confused, disgusted, bored, or angry when you try to watch the product today.

Jim Cornette's rant here...warning, some mild offensive language. But he NAILS what the problem is...

WHOOOO!!!!!!

Nice story on ESPN.com about the Nature Boy.

Old School Rasslin' post of the week

Makes me feel old that this might be considered "old school," but it was over ten years ago. In the world of rasslin', that's an eternity.

OSRPOTW this week is one of the greatest sports entertainment performances of all time...enjoy.

Old school rasslin' post of the week

When in doubt, it's always safe to go with the Nature Boy...

Old School Rasslin' post of the week

Wow...I miss the 80's.

This is great...

From David Hale's blog...for some reason, it always cracks me up that Coach Richt's nickname was "Boca" when he was at The U.

Old School Rasslin' post of the week

The Old School Rasslin' Post of the week makes its return with, who else....the Nature Boy.

By the way, the big guy blocking the camera looking like a big fat bumblebee is none other than the Boogie-Woogie Man Jimmy Valiant. Also, check out Ricky Morton to the left wearing his face guard after the Horsemen rubbed his nose in the concrete...classic.

I'M BACK, BABY!

FINALLY....the ROCK has come BACK TO THE BLOGOSPHERE!!!!

....

....

Yeah, that was lame. Sorry, I'm really rusty, considering that yesterday marked the ONE MONTH anniversary of my last post. I appreciate all the cards and letters commemorating that momentous occasion.

Real life has severely limited my blogging time...business planning season at work, and a remodeling extravaganza going on at my house.

I'll be back later (PROMISE!!!) with my thoughts on the last three games, as well as my preview of the LSU slobberknocker that will take place tomorrow in Baton Rouge.

In the meantime, here are some random thoughts that I have had over the last month:

- Mad Men is the second best show on TV, behind only Lost. (Quick note: when football season is over and the new TV season starts in January, you're going to think you wondered into a Techie blog due to all of the GeekTV posts you're going to see...all Lost/BSG, all the time, baby!). Mad Men contains some of the best writing and acting out there, and the art direction is just perfect. Both the writing and the acting are subtle, so it may take a few episodes to grab you, but do yourself a favor and pick up season 1 on DVD. Season 2 is wrapping up Sunday night, but I'm sure it will be replayed on AMC...I'll try to post the times when it starts.

- The schadenfreude factor of watching Auburn's struggles has been almost overcome by pity. The whole Tony Franklin situation was just a disaster from the beginning, and it all falls at the feet of Tommy Tuberville. I never understood the hire in the first place...Auburn has always been a rugged, hit you in the mouth, old school SEC team, and they have had a good bit of success doing so. Why, why, WHY would you decide to switch from that to some frou-frou pansy spread? My heart went out to Auburn fans as I watched their offense pull that crap where they all line up on offense, and then everybody stands up and looks at the sideline. They looked like a MAC team with that little act. THEN, after you hire Tony Franklin, who only knows one offensive philosophy, you tie his hands by not allowing him to hire his own staff, and leave a staff under him that has only known smash-mouth football. This was a recipe for disaster, and that's exactly what they got. The coaching staff never bought in to what Franklin was trying to do, which means the team never did, either. THEN, when the inevitable happens and the offense falls apart, you fire the coordinator in the middle of the season, and you're left with a mish-mash of players and scheme that keep you from running ANYTHING with any degree of effectiveness.

Bravo, Tuberville...Bra-freakin-vo.

Tell me if ANYBODY enjoyed watching Auburn get their lunch handed to them by West Virginia last night more than Tony Franklin...not only did the team/coach who may have cost you a career go down in flames, but they did so at the hands of the spread offense. I wouldn't have been surprised if the camera had panned up to the WVU coach's box, only to hear Jim Ross scream, "Wait a minute...that's TONY FRANKLIN'S MUSIC? Who let him up there? What a SHOCKING turn of events!"

- Tennessee, on the other hand...I'm TOTALLY enjoying watching Phat Phil's downfall. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. It's certainly turned the Phil Fulmer Show on SportSouth into Must-See TV for me. Few things in life bring more joy than watching Fulmer squirm as he says things like, "Yeah, we really didn't block anybody on that play...Another poor decision by Nick, he's gotta be better than that...looks like a blown assignment there in the secondary...." BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

- How about those Falcons? Regardless of what happens from here on out, you have to be excited about the future of this team. Let me be one of many to say that I was WRONG, WRONG, WRONG about drafting Matt Ryan. This guy is a future star in this league, and only the moron Vick apologists can possibly find anything to complain about in regards to his performance so far. It would be hard to have a better off season than what the Falcons pulled off this past year, which is AMAZING considering the shape they were in when the season ended. The Dimitroff hire looks great so far...a nearly PERFECT draft (first 4 picks: Ryan, Baker, Lofton, Douglas, all MAJOR contributors), possibly the best free agent signing of the offseason (Michael Turner). Love what Mike Smith and his coaching staff are doing right now...to be honest, it reminds me a lot of what Dan Reeves had going on, which is fine by me. We'll know more about the possibilities for this year after the next couple of weeks, but you can tell the foundation is being built, and I honestly believe the playoffs could be a possibility as early as next year.

More to come later...I've got a lot of stuff that's built up over the last month!

Old school rasslin' post of the week

One of the greatest heels of all time....the Million Dollar Man, Ted Dibiase.

Take a look at this clip if you want to know how to make a crowd really hate you....this is what you call HEEL HEAT.

Weekly old school rasslin' post

Classic, classic American Dream...

Old school rasslin' post of the week

Missed this yesterday...I was a little distracted. I probably need to move this weekly feature away from Saturdays, huh?

This one is LONG, but for guys my age this one will really bring back memories...The Four Horsemen with JJ Dillon vs. The Road Warriors with Paul Ellering, Dusty Rhodes, and Nikita Koloff in the first ever WarGames match. Enjoy the carnage...

Some love from the WorldWide Leader

Chris Low, who BTW does a very good job as the SEC blogger at ESPN.com, lists the top 25 things he's looking forward to this year here.

Quite a bit of love here for the Dawgs, including the top three...

1. Larry Munson's call to arms: Munson's legendary voice sends the Georgia fans into a frenzy at Sanford Stadium just before the team hits the field with his "Glory, Glory to old Georgia" montage. Munson is truly an SEC treasure, and it's great to see him back for another season of calling Georgia's home games.

2. Pregame warm-ups for the Florida-Georgia game: Think there might be some jawing going on? The anticipation for this one is off the charts. Can't Nov. 1 go ahead and get here?

3. The first touchdown in the Florida-Georgia game: A wild end zone celebration a year ago after scoring the first touchdown turned the Bulldogs' entire season around. What can we expect this time?

19. Georgia's Tasmanian Devil: Sophomore linebacker Rennie Curran is listed at 5-foot-11, but he's probably closer to 5-9. It doesn't matter, because he's one the surest tacklers in the league. If he gets his hands on you, you're toast.

AMEN to all four of these...and then, just because..

16. Ric Flair on the sideline at Williams-Brice Stadium: The Nature Boy and the Head Ball Coach are buds.

WHOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Weekly Old School Rasslin'