Royal Rumble 2008 preview

The Royal Rumble, while considered one of the “Big Four” WWE Pay-Per-Views, is really, in my eyes, one of the big two. The Royal Rumble starts the 8 to 10 week ‘Road to Wrestlemania.’ For more than the last decade, the winner of the Royal Rumble is guaranteed a championship match at Wrestlemania and this year is no different. There are 5 matches, including the Rumble, and 24 identified Rumble participants… I will give you my preview for the event.

Chris Jericho vs. John “Bradshaw” Layfield

JBL returned from almost a two-year absence from the ring to interfere in Jericho’s WWE title match. Having two returning wrestlers in a feud really does nothing for either on of their mojos, but they’re both great competitors and great at what they bring to the table.

Jericho and JBL are two of the best mic workers and the two of them have some how carved an intriguing match despite an incredibly rushed feud.

I’m a huge Jericho mark, so I’m hoping he goes over here, but something really gives me a bad feeling here. I’m expecting a JBL disqualification to give Jericho the victory…













Career Threatening Match: Ric Flair vs. United States Champion MVP

Ric Flair will go over another peak superstar here, though, this time, I think he’ll get a submission victory after inference from Matt Hardy to setup MVP vs. Matt Hardy at Wrestlemania. Thankfully MVP has enough juice so that a loss here won’t kill his momentum.
















World Championship Match: Edge vs. Rey Mysterio

There is zero chance Rey Rey wins this match, but they’re two great workers and it’ll be a great match. Edge hits the Spear after interference from the Edge-Heads.

WWE Title Match: Randy Orton vs. Jeff Hardy

I’m surprised how well this match has been built up and how excited I am to see it. Orton has been a solid Champ and I expect him to make it through this match to job to the Rumble winner at Wrestlemania. Hardy has all the mojo in the world with him right now and he deserves to go over here, but it won’t happen… if it does, the roof of MSG will come off. Orton will over by pinfall…
















Royal Rumble match

Usually, wrestlers in World Title matches don’t participate in the Rumble, but other wrestlers on the card usually will, so I’m surprised MVP, Flair, Jericho and JBL aren’t listed as Rumble participants. In those 6 slots, two names will come out of no where, 2 will be surprises and 2 will make sense… I’m guessing Sgt. Slaughter and IRS will be the names coming out of no where, the Big Show and The Rock will be the surprises and CM Punk and Matt Hardy will be the two logical slot fillers. If I get one of those right, I’ll be happy.

Now, the 24 listed participants, in reverse order of how good I believe their chances are to win the Rumble:

No Chance in Hell
24. Tommy Dreamer
23. Chuck Palumbo
22. The Miz
21. Santino Marella
20. Hardcore Holly
19. Jamie Noble

Legends
18. Mick Foley
17. Kane

Guys They Won’t Push Correctly
16. Snitsky
15. Mark Henry
14. Carlito
13. Shelton Benjamin
12. Cody Rhodes
11. Big Daddy V

Irish people
10. Hornswoggle
9. Finlay

With the Right Push, It’d Make Sense
8. Umaga
7. The Great Khali

Former Darlings, One Last Shot
6. John Morrison
5. Mr. Kennedy

Contenders
4. Batista
3. Shawn Michaels
2. The Undertaker

Married to the Princess… and Winner of the 2008 Royal Rumble
1. Triple H
Triple H will win the Rumble, his second, to only further cement his “place in history.” God, I hate Triple H… but I cannot wait for the Rumble. Expect a review Monday…

(I hate to make another sports post, but...)

...the 15-game losing streak, the longest in NBA history (for a team that reached championship status just two years ago) has ended.


HALLELUJAH!

That said, how embarrassing would it be to lose to the Heat at home?

Hip Hop's Bastard Children Vol. 1

Nas creates AZ

Nasir Jones first album, Illmatic, is critically acclaimed as one of, if not the, best single album ever released or recorded in the brief history of rap music. Hell, in certain circles, this cd is considered among the best musical recordings to take place in the 20th century.

For many reasons, this album will be remembered as the point at which rap music became a legit art form. The stylings of KRS-1, the lyrical wizardry of Rakim, and the bantering humor of a Slick Rick were all drawn together to create an album whose impact sparked the mainstream acceptance and growth of America's definitive sound.

But there is a dark side to this...

On the track, "Life's a Bitch" one of Nas' homies from the QB projects, a rapper by the name of AZ was given life. He breezed over and through one of L.E.S.'s most laid back and jazzy tracks with an unforgettable verse and delivery, promising that "as long as we leavin thieven, we'll be leavin with some kind of doe" among other gems.

To bad for him the ride crashed to a halt almost immediately. AZ was able to follow up his appearance with some modest contributions on The Firm's : The Album as well as a career's worth of solo projects from Aziatic, to S.O.S.A. (Save Our Streets AZ) , to Pieces of a Man...but alas, it simply was not to be.

While AZ reached a strong level of success for a bastard child, he remains one birthed into the game without direction. He was never able to amount to the success of his "father" Nas, and as a result has faded into obscurity

AZ the Visualiza
Visualizin the realism of life and actuality 
Fuck who's the baddest a person's status depends on salary
And my mentality is, money orientated
I'm destined to live the dream for all my peeps who never made it cause
yeah, we were beginners in the hood as five percenters
But somethin must of got in us cause all of us turned to sinners 
Now some, restin in peace and some are sittin in San Quentin 
Others such as myself are tryin to carry on tradition
Keepin the schwepervesence street ghetto essence inside us 
Cause it provides us with the proper insight to guide us
Even though, we know somehow we all gotta go 
but as long as we leavin thievin we'll be leavin with some kind of dough 
so, and to that day we expire and turn to vapors 
me and my capers-ll be somewhere stackin plenty papers
Keepin it real, packin steel, gettin high
Cause life's a bitch and then you die

Movies that need a Sequel?

Who in the hell do I have to sleep with to get a sequel of the movie SOLO featuring Mario Van Peebles? Why wasn't a sequal made? Why wasn't SOLO nominated for at least 3 Oscars and 4 Golden Globes? Martin Scorsese gets an Oscar for Departed but Norberto Barba gets no love for SOLO. Who bribed the movie critics in 1996 to trash a cinema classic? WHO, WHO I ASK! No Justice, No PEACE! I want a Sequel!

Stickin' it to the man....

Nothing let's people know how you really feel more than writing in 10 foot letters on your roof. A couple in Philly decided to do just that. Fed up with the noise caused by the planes flying over their house they decided to let the Federal Aviation Administration know exactly how they felt.

Sing it sister!

That got me thinking. There's a message I'd love to put on my roof addressed to those fine feathered friends of ours.


"Dear Birds....Fuck off....stop shitting on my car....keep your little beaks shut until 9:00am then squawk all you friggin want I don't care I'll already be at work....if your going to shit on a statue make sure that it's a statue for somebody pretty lame that didn't deserve a statue to begin with....like John Elway....come to think of it he might not even have a statue yet....but I hope he does get one just so that you guys can shit on it....I hate John Elway....not as much as I hate Hakeem Olajuwon but that's a separate discussion....he doesn't need a statue to shit on you can just aim for him personally....crows can ignore this message....you guys are cool....how awesome was that movie with on of you guys in it?....so awesome"


I'd have to have a pretty big house to fit all that on the roof in 10 foot letters but you get the point.

Cmon Pookie!

The weekend is almost here and not a moment too soon.... Whatever you plan on doing this weekend have fun but be forewarned..... Stuff like this happens all the time.....

Throwback: NBA Live 95

Man oh man. EA Sports did a number on me in the mid 90’s. The games they put out for FIFA, NHL, and NBA literally stayed locked in my Sega Genesis. My kid brother and I would play NHL ’94/’95 for hours on end trying to see how many goals we could score and how many players we could injure on each team. But in 1995 there was a seminal moment for Basketball in video games.

NBA Live ’95 came out, and a star was born. To this point arguably my favorite basketball video game was Jordan vs. Bird for NES. Looking back at that game, it was pretty awful, but hell the strange dunk contest thing was pretty cool. And who could forget the magnificent music that played during pretty much every event in the game. Obviously NBA Live had some precursors. Namely:

Lakers vs. Celtics (Only could use 8 teams)
Bulls vs. Lakers (MJ was actually in this game)
Team USA Basketball (Hilarious to kick France’s ass)
Bulls vs. Blazers (Custom teams was a major plus)

Then NBA Live hit the scene. You mean I can call plays? All 27 teams are available? I can speed up my players with a “turbo” button. Dunk at will with players who have no business dunking, in situations where dunking doesn't seem possible? You got it! Twas a big moment for me. I think I played that game until it broke. It even saved all of your info! My kid brother and I would play as the all star teams, and battle late into the night. I even vaguely remember trading Nick Anderson for Stacey Augmon (Not sure why). Even now 13 years later it still ranks as one of my favorite games of all time.

What you know about Litterial Green fool!?!