The Good, Bad and (Very) Ugly of WWE 'Brand Extension'
When the WWE announced a few months back it was going to
bring back the "Brand Extension" by making Raw and Smackdown
separate programs, this was met by a good deal of excitement
from fans that were wanting something "different" from what
was quickly becoming a bit of a stale product. While on paper the brand extension seemed like a good idea,
the reality has quickly proven the old adage "be careful
what you wish for. "
Today, I'll give what I feel are the "Good, Bad and the
Ugly" of the present brand extension. Good: Women's Division
Bayley[assets/Uploads/Blog/Bayley.
Ryback Doesn't Get It: Ryan Reeves Leaves WWE Over Pay Dispute
This is my first blog in a while and I'll deviate from poker
for a bit to talk about a story in wrestling that has come
to a head in the past week. *Ryan Reeves*, better known to the WWE Universe as Ryback,
recently announced that he is "no longer doing business"
with the WWE. Ryback has been off of TV for a few months now after WWE
officials sent him home over a dispute over pay. He's been contending for a while that mid- and lower-card
wrestlers should be paid better than they are and, while I
can understand his beef, at the same time he doesn't really
seem to get the realities of the pro wrestling world.
Lederer Apology More About Negreanu Growth than Howard Remorse
If you follow poker at all - or at least some of the major
news in the poker world - you've likely heard about the
"apology" issued by former Full Tilt Poker bigwig *Howard
Lederer*. If you haven't heard, head over to FullContactPoker. com and
check out Daniel Negreanu's latest blog.
Negreanu chose to be the vehicle through which Lederer
issued his apology for his poor oversight of Full Tilt's
financial management, and when I first heard this from a
third-party source I thought it was a troll by Negreanu.
If You're a Winning Poker Player and a Jerk, Don't Expect Game Invites
Some of you may have been following Daniel Negreanu’s
posts over on Full Contact Poker about his recent
high-stakes poker escapades in Las Vegas. A point I wanted to talk about is when he mentioned building
relationships in order to get a seat in some of poker’s
top cash games. Negreanu revealed that if you’re a winning player and a
bit of a jerk, you probably won’t get invited to many of
these games. Instead, relationship building is key to getting into these
games.
2015 WSOP Predictions Revisited
Prior to the start of the 2015 World Series of Poker, I made
my annual series of predictions for the event. Now that the
November Nine is set, it is time for me to review my picks. I must admit, this WSOP was a bit disappointing overall. While attendance was technically up overall, most events saw
dips in attendance.
The Bell Tolls for Lesnar at WWE BattleGround
I was getting ready to write a blog about some of the poker
media's reaction to Daniel Negreanu busting out of the
November Nine but then I went over to check out the results
of WWE BattleGround. King Barrett Won - Not a Big Shock. R Truth is mainly just
used to build up talent nowadays. Orton Beat Sheamus - Considering I didn't know the two were
even wrestling in this event, I'm meh on this one.
Categories:
BattleGround,
Brock Lesnar,
SummerSlam,
The Undertaker,
WWE,
WWE BattleGround,
WWE SummerSlam
This Season's WWE Tough Enough is Tough to Watch
Have you been watching Tough Enough?
If not, you might consider yourself fortunate. I've always supported the Tough Enough concept in the past
because the show has been successful in producing some
future talent for the WWE and in many cases, it was great
television. Then we get the current piece of crap being passed off as
tough enough. I saved the Christmas rush and started hating the new
concept from the first episode.
Categories:
A.J. Lee,
Billy Gunn,
Booker T,
Chris Jericho,
Daniel Bryan,
Giorgia,
Hulk Hogan,
Lita,
Paige,
Sara Lee,
Tough Enough,
WWE,
WWE Tough Enough
Flashback Friday - Scotty Nguyen Wins 1998 WSOP Main Event
The 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event has just completed
Day 2 and the remaining players are beginning to seriously
contemplate whether they can become poker's next world
champion. In this edition of Flashback Friday, we look back to the
1998 WSOP Main Event and the heads-up match between Scotty
Nguyen and Kevin McBride. At the river, the board was 9h-9d-8c-8h-8s and Scotty Nguyen
moved all-in. While McBride contemplates what to do, Scotty says the
immortal words he's now known for:
:You call, it gonna be all over baby.
Categories:
1998 WSOP Main Event,
Friday Flashback,
Kevin McBride,
Scotty Nguyen,
World Series of Poker,
WSOP
Dr. Will Noyes Saves a Life - Wins a Poker Tournament
On Monday night, there was a medical emergency during the
ONE DROP High Roller involving a spectator. Fortunately,
there was a doctor playing in the $1,500 NL Event and he was
able to offer assistance. This scenario reminded me of a story conveyed to me a few
years back by a couple of old school poker pros and was a
great example of the poker gods smiling down on one of the
good guys of the game. Dr Will Noyes, aka the Poker Doctor, was a well known player
in the 1990 through the early years of the Poker Boom.
Categories:
Dr Will Noyes,
Poker Doctor
Pledge of Allegiance Controversy - Poker Players Always Need Something to Bitch About
Many of you have probably heard about the controversy from
the WSOP over the weekend regarding the Pledge of Allegiance
being recited before the Seniors Event. I purposely waited to see the reaction from players and let
others have their say. Nolan Dalla provided a well written
and insightful piece that I don't completely agree with, but
at least he presents it in a level-headed and respectful
way. I'm not Nolan Dalla.