Let's Try This Again

After realizing I have not posted on my blog in a while I thought, "what the hell? Let's try this again!" So I just want to comment on some stories in the news. First, spring training is in full swing finally. After watching the Indians play earlier and looking at their roster, three things come to mind.

1. What the hell happened to our rotation??? If our hopes of getting 6+ innings out of starter rests in the hands of Carl Pavano, we may be in trouble! Think about this, the Yankees got rid of this guy because he lost his stuff. So, unless he is a magician and can make things appear and disappear at the drop of a hat, I don't suspect he found his stuff and is going to carry the load this season.

2. Why is Kerry Wood our closer? Granted, he did make the All-Star team last year, it's still frustrating to see the team making the same mistake over-and-over. If you want a true closer, look in the farm system and grow one! Relying on closers who are in the latter stages of their career is a recipe for disaster, and it has not brought a championship to Cleveland.

3. Why is Matt LaPorta not on the 40-man roster? This is the top prospect we traded our #1 starter, CC Sabathia for at the trade deadline last season, and he's not even on the 40-man roster? I'm no expert, but if I traded away the best pitcher Cleveland's seen this decade and then the guy we traded for ended up elsewhere the following year, fans might get pissed! Even the video games would call that questionable!

Speaking of which, (cheap plug alert!) the new MLB games for 09 are out this Tuesday. The San Francisco Giants Tim Lincecum is on the cover of 2K Sports MLB 2k9; Boston Red Sox Dustin Pedroia is on the cover of MLB 09: The Show, which is exclusive to the Sony brands. I have a PS3, so I'll be looking for The Show. I played both last year, and I still can't stand the game 2K Sports keeps putting out. I don't see them making the changes to put that game on top of the market, and the only reason it will sell better is because it will be on every current generation console. When does that exclusivity deal end, anyway? It can't be soon enough!

I have to talk about Manny Ramirez. Why? Well, when someone is greedy about money, I feel like I should stand up and say, WHAT THE HELL??? In this economy Manny has decided that very substantial offers from the only team who's bidding on him, the Dodgers, is not enough? Read that sentence again. Does that make sense to you? Let's see if we can put this in perspective. Let's say you were window washer. And let's say your contract with A-1 Washers expired Jan 1st and you were making good money after spending several years at BRS Cleaners. But you grew tired of BRS and purposely did a lousy job in your final year with them. Now, A-1 wants you back. But you raised your asking price and now not even Steam Frank Gigante wants to sign you because you're just too expensive and after your experience at BRS, you can't be trusted. A-1's offered you three deals but each one is met with your agent saying, "More money and more years." Don't you think A-1 should just tell you to stick it and let you sit on the sidelines making nothing? Let's see what happens to all those sponsorships and investments then!

Hmmm... I seem a little angry there. Let's end on a fun note (and a another cheap plug). As you may know, I'm a wrestling fan. With it being WrestleMania season, it's great to hear that a new video game is coming out this month with legends from WWE. The game, Legends of WrestleMania features stars from the '80s and '90s. You can relive the famous Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant match from WrestleMania III, or the Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. The Rock match from WrestleMania XV that launched the biggest rivalry of the "attitude era." And the list of legends in this game is impressive: Undertaker, Ted DiBiase, Ulimate Warrior, Shawn Michaels, Legion of Doom, Yokozuna, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Jimmy Hart. This one is quickly crawling up my wish list, and if you would more info on it, including the complete roster, head over to ign.com.

One last thing, I'm trying to find some good blogs for baseball card collecting as I'm restarting my favorite old hobby. If you have one, or write one, please let me know and I'll be happy to link you once I get that part of the site fixed.

OK, final thing. If you're wondering what's up with all this "What the hell" stuff that's going on throughout my blog, I have just the person for you to ask. That would be my buddy David Funk. He's much better at explaining it than I am, plus he's good to talk sports with. Any Sooners fans will want to add him to your blog roll, trust me on this one. And don't forget to check out our Basic Bloganomics site where you can read both of us, including new BWE & EBW blogs! Thanks everyone!

WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 Review

Earlier this gaming season I had the misfortune of playing the first TNA game to hit the store shelves. Like most wrestling fans, I was looking for my cyber smackdown fix. Alas, it did not come in a six-sided ring. But there was hope on the horizon as ign.com started the annual SmackDown Countdown, hyping up the eagerly anticipated 10th anniversary installment of THQ/Yukes juggernaut franchise. After playing the game for two weeks now, I can say it was worth the wait and my PlayStation 3 is finally getting some use.

CM Punk introduces Chris Jericho to his boot.

The game play is solid. At times someone could mistake the game for the real product. Heck, even John Cena's character model in the game uses the exact same 5 moves the real Cena does! The controls are very user friendly and much easier to adapt to than the TNA game. The series introduces a new feature in match called Signature Moves. Each superstar has two moves that can be used by storing a full momentum meter. These two extra moves change the game and can be instrumental in winning a match.

It's time to play "The Game!"

The other great feature added to the squared circle is the use of abilities. Last year, every superstar had two fighting styles that determined what abilities they had. This presented a huge problem, with superstars doing moves and acting in ways they never would! (When is the last time you saw Jeff Hardy bust himself open with a chair to show he's hardcore?) This has been remedied as each superstar has up to six abilities. They can be something simple like the ability to double stack tables or something more complex and character specific like stealing an opponents finisher. And the A.I. is much more refined than ever before. Big Show won't go for top rope moves like a cruiserweight, Rey Mysterio takes to the air in ways that will leave you scratching your head. It really adds to the value of this game.

Randy Orton is one of the most dominant in the game.

The most hyped feature this year is the increased focus on tag team matches. In past years, being on the apron waiting for the tag was a very boring part of the game. And if your friend was being a jerk and hogging all the ring time, chances were good you were going to be bored and pissed by the end of the match. Those days are over. Now the man on the apron is as much a part of the action as the guys in the ring. From the apron you can grab the opponent to hold him open for a cheap shot by your partner, distract the ref, and pull down the top rope when your opponent is coming towards the ropes sending him tumbling to the floor. Even the momentum meter is changed for tag matches as each team shares a meter. This really adds strategy to the matches, especially if the illegal man wastes the finisher at a crucial moment in the match. The hottest feature of tag matches is the Hot Tag. This is when your partner is getting beaten to a pulp and needs to get out of the ring. The guy on the apron gets the crowd cheering him on, then the partner lunges to make the tag. The fresh man comes in fired up, taking down the opponent and then knocking his opponent's partner off the apron. This feature is a lot of fun, and since it is only good once per match, adds to the strategy.

Taker's Road to WrestleMania dabbles in the supernatural.

The bread and butter of any wrestling game is story mode and create mode. The story mode is two seperate modes. The first is the brand new Road to WrestleMania mode. You start by picking on of 6 characters/stories: John Cena, Triple H, Undertaker, Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Rey Mysterio & Batista. Then, the game launches into the mode, getting you familiar with the superstar before going to a well-done cutscene of the opening pyro and announcer voice-over for the show. The announcers will actually progress your story along, a huge plus in my book! Then, you get some cutscene that is fully voiced-over to prepare you for your match. During the match, the announcer will provide insight into your story! No, I don't mean, "He needs to win the match." I mean, "If Chris Jericho is going to find out who is responsible for that vicious attack two weeks ago on Monday Night Raw, Shane McMahon must be covering for the man responsible. Why else would he put Jericho in a match with Snitsky tonight?" See how much better that is? Jericho's RTW story is without question the best in the game. The twists and turns that one took had me guessing until the very end.

Cena has never been a fan of the catering.

Almost all of the unlockables in the game come via RTW mode. However, Career Mode is needed for the final unlockable. I'm going to skip Career Mode for now because it ties in directly with Create Mode. Let's get into the creating! The standards of the series are back, Create-A-Superstar, Create-An-Entrance, & Create-A-Moveset. CAS, or CAW mode, is basically the same song and dance from past games. If you've played any of the last four games, you will be familiar with everything there. That's not a bad thing, but a little bit of improvement could have been put in here where the most replay value comes from. Some new entrances have been added this year, including an unlockable for Cena and one of my favorites from John Morrison. Seriously, have you seen his slow-mo entrance? That helps make him a star. The big news on this front for PlayStation 3 owners like myself is the ability to add your own music. That's right, Triple H is coming to the ring to Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl!" Take that, "King of Kings!"

Imagine the possibilities with Create-a-Finisher.

The new feature in the Create side is one that fans have been asking, craving, &/or demanding for 10 years, Create-A-Finisher. The finisher you create is up to you. Do you want to go from a powerbomb pick-up into a fisherman's suplex, with a DX crotch chop thrown in? Or would you like to string every low blow together into a Ric Flair special? (And if you do, for the love of God don't take that online!) There are some very unique possibilities, as of this writing, however, a decent Canadian Destroyer is impossible to create. Think of this year's version as a beta test, as the only finishers can be created from a standing front position. The groundwork is in place for great things in the future from this mode!

Make videos better than the guys in Stamford.

Another exciting new feature this year is the Highlight Reel. I was unsure of this mode when I first played the game, and with all the customization it nearly got lost in the shuffle! But when I finally did get the chance to use it, I was simply blown away. To use this feature, you must first save some video clips. By pausing the game during a match and selecting Highlight Reel, you can see a 30-second replay from your match, change angles, and more. If you like what you see, you can save it in one of 30 slots for later use. This replay mode is one fans have been asking for since day one, and its ease of use is fantastic.

Jeff is not going to like where that boot ends up!

After the match, you go into Highlight Reel mode, and the fun really begins. From here you can add clips together to make a video package complete with music (both in-game music & your own music on the hard drive.). Or if you're really crafty, you can add in sound effects for crowd noise and even plug in some lines from the announcers. Plus, you can add graphics to the video, adjust camera angles, adjust the speed and length of the clips, and so much more. When your masterpiece is complete, you get to create a DVD cover for the clips. There are so many options here, and let me say my Highlight Reel from a WCW Championship Ladder match between Undertaker & Jeff Hardy looked good, and after trimming away some unwanted footage told a great story of how a Tombstone Piledriver on the arena floor busted open the high-flying Hardy and allowed the veteran Taker just enough time to climb up the ladder and pull down the title. I suspect I won't be the only one spending too much time in the Highlight Reel studio.

You can unlock "The World's Angriest Man" amongst others.

The customization goes one step further this year with the all-new Roster Editor. Now, fans can change superstars brands (Raw, SmackDown, ECW, Legend, Free Agent, & the unlockable WCW!), change them to clean or dirty, and even switches championships without having a match. This is a very welcome addition to the series, and players will spend more time here than they might think.

Their amazing rivalry this year can be relived or rewritten on SvR 2009.

Remember the Career Mode I dodged earlier? Time to revisit that now. The only way to level up CAWs is to send them through Career Mode, or as I like to call it "The Gold Rush." The only point of this ridiculous mode is to win every championship while gaining attribute points in the matches. The biggest problem with this, unless you search for a list, you won't know how to get certain attribute points. So if you have a life and game during what little down time you do have, you will waste most of your time in this mode trying to get you character to a 50 overall. The other problem is, to assign abilities to your CAW you have to earn them by doing something specific in a match in Career Mode. But they don't tell you how to earn them, well, until you earn them. So if you really want the ability to steal finishers, and only have one ability spot open (and that will happen, frequently), you had best avoid the Cruiserweight Title completely (that gets you the Springboard ability), and you will want to avoid Chris Jericho completely unless you want the Lock Pick ability.

Unsafe working environment?

The biggest complaint I have with the game is how much was taken out of it from last year. Sure, we may have finally gotten the Inferno match, but why was the Buried Alive match removed? And yes, there are lot of new superstars in the game with new moves, but why is the most recognizable move in wrestling in this decade, the Stone Cold Stunner, only available as part of Create-A-Finisher? So you're going to have downloadable content for the game, great! Would you mind telling us what the hell it's going to be???

The landing really sucks.

I've loved the SmackDown series for 10 years, and as a veteran of the series I think it's time to give the franchise to someone else. Yukes put together a great game, but THQ's uniformed and most times stupid marketing ploys angered most fans of the series, myself included, who just wanted to know what makes this game so special. THQ sold this game to fans like a used car salesman. They let you take it for a test drive, but they didn't want you to know about the power windows, heated mirrors & 4-wheel drive.

The game is the same thing you've played for 4 years, and the bells and whistles added this year add to the solid gameplay, but in it's 10th year the series still plays the way it did on the PS2. However, this series has been solid over those past 4 years, and the control scheme has reached a nice balance between casual gamer & fanboy. The continued addition makes each game different from the last, and with 10 years of games THQ & Yukes have built a must-have franchise for wrestling fans. Hey Midway Games, take some notes!

My Score: 8.5/10

All photos courtesy of ign.com

Random Thoughts

Before I begin, I would like to apologize to my readers for not updating my blog recently. It is not for lack of trying, but when I post something I want to give you something to think about. I don't just post get my post counts up, that's just pathetic. So just know that if you read something here, it's the best I've got at that time.

Alright, enough of that. What is going on in the NFL? Tom Brady's done for the season. And that means the Patroits are in deep trouble. I'm not going to judge Matt Cassel, New England's backup, because I have not watched him play. But I will say this, it is going to be a uphill climb for the AFC Champions for the rest of this season. It will be interesting to see how they fare the rest of the season. And if Cassel doesn't live up to expectations, I would not be surprised to see the Pats looking for a replacement QB on the trading block.

Aaron Rodgers deserves much better media than what he has got thus far. If I hear Rodgers compared to Favre one more time before season's end, my head may explode. How can you compare the two when one has not played a full season? Could someone please relay that message to the folks in Bristol? I'm going to spew nonsense about Rodgers being Favre-like in Green Bay because that is probably never going to happen again. Rodgers will be good, he will win some games, and he will do what Favre seems unable to do, shut up and play!

What happened in Cleveland? My Browns faced their team's mortality it would seem against the Dallas Cowboys. I have to admit, I picked the Brownies to lose that game (Kinda bittersweet, huh?) The problem is the problem the Browns have had since they returned in 1999, their defense sucks. And while offense wins games, defense wins championships. So until Cleveland puts together a defense that can get through an offensive line, were going to waiting a while for a championship in Cleveland. (You would think I would be a little more optimistic about the home team!)

NASCAR continues to put on some of the worst racing seen in many years with the Car of Tomorrow. The race at Richmond, the race before the chase, was so boring that I felt bad for everyone who braved Tropical Storm Hanna to see it. The racing probably would have been better had everyone raced for 400 laps instead of 25! This whole "save your stuff for the end" crap needs to end! Recently I went go-karting with my brother and my best friend and had a great time! Good speed, hard corners, and loose cars is a recipe for a good time in my book! Anyone who enjoys NASCAR or racing of any kind needs to get behind the wheel of one these things. But with all the fun, I did notice something wrong. There are rules at the track at was racing on:

1. No intentional bumping
2. No spinning
3. No cutting someone off

And if you didn't obey these rules, you were parked. Sound familiar? It should, because this is the same crap NASCAR drivers are dealing with now. My point, rules are fine, in moderation and with the idea that they be fluid. Bring back the old NASCAR! Oh, and support go-karting.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I had the misfortune of watching WWE Unforgiven, the most recent PPV. The event was held in my backyard in Cleveland, and I tried desperately to get tickets for the event. I'm so glad I didn't. There was so much that went wrong, from World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk losing his championship without even competing in a match; Chris Jericho getting beaten six ways from ugly and still having the ability to come out later in the show and win the World Heavyweight Championship; to Big Show beating the hell out of the Undertaker; and matches that just, well, sucked.

The only good thing to come out of that event was the Championship Scramble concept match. The rules to this match are convulted and tough to follow, but it basically boils down to this:

• 2 men start the match. Every 5 minutes a new superstar enters the ring until all 5 competitors are in the ring. The match last 20 minutes.


• A pin or submission names that person the "interim champion" of the match. He is not officially recognized as champion until the match ends, if he is the "interim champion" at its conclusion


• The "interim champion" does not have to be pinned or submit in order to lose his status.
  

Overall, the match was fun to watch, and presented some good exciting moments. Unfortunately, it was not enough to save this PPV. Please save your money and avoid this one at all costs.

Remember how I said I was not going to buy Madden 09 for the XBOX 360? Well, I didn't. I bought the "Collector's Edition" for the Playstation 3! Boo me all you want for that, but at least it didn't have Brett Favre on the cover! Another game that is on my watch list is WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 (no surprise there!). If you are a wrestling fan, head over to ign.com and checkout the exclusive content on this year's SvR game. Early reports look good, but we won't know for sure until the game's release in November.

One final note, I'm going to be experimenting with this blog over the next week or two to see what all blogger can do. So, if you notice some changes to this entry and they look a little weird, just know that they are intentional and will most likely be fixed.

Alright, that's all I've got for now. Thanks for reading, and as always, I'll try to get it right next time.

WWE SummerSlam Preview

I'm sure I've mentioned on here somewhere my passion for pro wrestling. If not, then check out the BWE Promotions site, and see what we have going on there.

Anyway, WWE SummerSlam is this Sunday on pay-per-view, and as the biggest event of the summer, I have to put in my two cents. There have been many great moments in the event's over 20-year history, from the event in Wembley Stadium, to Undertaker vs. Austin, to the first World Championship of Randy Orton's career, there have been some big moments here.

This year's event is being billed as "The Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer," and it looks interesting on paper. There's potential in this event, so I'm going to do my best to predict what's going to happen.

Jeff Hardy vs. MVP
I'm intrigued by the build for this as it's another one of those times where WWE is trying to blur the line between fiction and reality. Both are very talented, and in line for a push (hopefully), so this match may reveal the future booking on SmackDown. With Triple H as the WWE Champion for the forseeable future, there's no reason to weaken one of the few heels on the blue brand. So, I'm going with MVP to win the match, and get a push to the WWE Title picture, so that Triple H has fresh blood at the next PPV.

ECW Champion Mark Henry vs. Matt Hardy

I like the "World's Strongest Champion." Even though it's mostly a gimmick, he's incredibly believable in that role. I hate the new look of the ECW Title belt, but there's no changing that. I really like the addition of Tony Atlas as the man behind the champion. Ok, maybe I'm nostagic. Point is, all signs point to Matt winning the title at SummerSlam, so he won't. Mark Henry wins, with help from Tony Atlas, setting up a rematch where Matt wins the title.

Intercontinental Champion Kofi Kingston & Women's Champion Mickie James vs. Santino Marella & Beth Phoenix in a Winner Take All match

I may be in the minority, but I like new Raw General Manager Mike Adamle. The creative team is doing a good job of booking the "anything can happen" idea, and this is being called an "Adamle Original." The idea is the winning team gets both titles. I admit, I have been split on this one. I really like the current champions. Kofi Kingston is one of the most exciting young stars on Raw, and Mickie has been deserving title runs since her program with Trish Stratus ended in 2006. Santino & Beth don't need titles to get over, and with those two flirting like high schoolers, I don't see a reason for them to win. I'm picking Kofi & Mickie to retain their titles after Beth goes for the cover on Mickie, but Santino's ego causes him to come in and cost his team the match.

World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk vs. JBL

I'm really disappointed with the way Punk is being booked as Champion. In fact, I'm disappointed with this match. This is the exact same match we saw on Raw the night Punk won the title! So, either none of the writer's watch their program, or they have a very poor short term memory. Either way, this match will be very forgettable, which is a shame because it will be Punk's first clean win for the title.

Shawn Michaels is scheduled to announce his future at the event. As wrestlecrap.com recapped a week ago, HBK has retired so many times that the mention of it has been met with jeers and angry fans. Why WWE continues to insult the intelligence of its fans, I have no idea. So here's what's going to happen. HBK will come out, sing his sad song about how doctors say he has to hang up his boots, then as the fans give him pity, Chris Jericho runs in and attacks HBK to continue their angle. While all this is happening, I would suggest a concession run to the fans in Indianapolis, because you'll be seeing it on WWE TV for the next two weeks.

"First Time Ever" John Cena vs. Batista

If ever there was a money fued, this is it. And as much as we may hate to believe it, the writer's know what they are doing with the main event talent. They are not going to give away this match. There's no story behind this angle, except for a mis-aimed punch. Great way to build your big match. My pick, a draw, most likely after a Batista Bomb or Spinebuster from Batista and both not being able to get up before the 10-count. Get ready to see Cena vs. Batista II at WrestleMania 25, where this match needs to take place.

WWE Champion Triple H vs. The Great Khali

The only way Khali is going to win this match is by DQ. Triple H wins.

Hell in a Cell: Undertaker vs. Edge

This is probably the best story in WWE currently. Edge and Taker have been feuding for over a year now, and it still has steam. These two have put on some great matches, including the main event at WrestleMania XXIV. Their TLC match at One Night Stand was also good, and now they are in a Hell in a Cell. I enjoy the cell. It tends to heighten the violence and brutality in the ring. I can't remember the last time a cell match ended without blood. So I expect the same. The build for this match has been great, and the emergence of the "old Edge" has added a new dimension to this match. However, I can't look at the build without thinking one thing. What's the swerve?

The swerve: Vickie Guerrero has not divorced Edge, even after it was revealed his cheated on her. This set-up looks obvious. Taker will have to deal with Edge and his "La Familia" as it will be revealed Edge had this all planned from the beginning and was conspiring against Undertaker so that he could put the final nail in the coffin by beating the Deadman in his own match.

But with Taker just returning, it makes no sense to have him lose here. So, Undertaker wins, with the Tombstone, after fending off every member of la familia, and hopefully he gets his hands on Vickie Guerrero as well.

BTW, if anyone is buying WWE's story about Randy Orton's motorcycle accident, I don't know why. This pretty much confirms Orton will appear at SummerSlam, I'm just not sure when and why.

I don't think this event will live up to the card. There's not enough build in two of the three top matches. You have to give the fans a reason to watch the event. I don't see a reason to, so I'll be reading the results online Monday morning.

There you have it. I hope you enjoyed this preview. As always, thanks for reading, and I'll try to get it right next time.