Welcome to another blog, here on the new DOINOW.com! As always, make sure to check out the right hand of the site for the archives section, where many topics are discussed in-depth. Everything from the Rangers, WWE, Jets, Giants, #FU13 AROID, Frank Boucher, Strahan vs Barber, Carmelo & much more are discussed.
There's a lot of stuff to get into tonight, here in my final blog of 2014. I will be back with Rangers/Panthers reaction on 1/1/15. Until then, it's time to hit a variety of things.
In a random thought, I can not get the song "FIREWORK" by Katy Perry out of my head. Thanks so much for that Seth Rogen & James Franco. If you haven't seen "The Interview", it's the same character Seth Rogen plays in every movie. This movie is really just Pineapple Express 2 "PYONGYANG NIGHTS". A funny and mindless movie. Fuck you North Korea!
For my hockey people, I will lead off with the Rangers. For my wrestling people, scroll down. For my NFL people, scroll down even further. Let's get rolling, and always, please spread the news about this DOINOW.com website to your friends, enemies and especially the senior community. They love complaining as much as I do!
RANGERS:
Where to start? Do I go on my Talbot vs Lundqvist rant for the 2000th time or just let you guys know the usual spiel? Lundqvist is the most overrated and overpaid player in the league, hands down. Another blown lead for King Contract. With an 8 game win streak on the line, and tested against a semi-decent team, Lundqvist folded like a cheap suit. It's really comical at this point. Whenever the Rangers score, Lundqvist turns into a new born puppy and shits & pisses himself immediately. I feel like I'm watching a Saturday Night Live parody every time Hank is in goal this year.
I've said it a million times here, so I'm not going to inundate you with this, but Talbot needs to be starting for a bit. You need to save Hank for the playoffs anyway. Hank is not Hank this year. There's not one time this year that a shot in Hank's way doesn't make your asshole clench like Big Bubba is approaching you in a tight jail cell. I am dreading this upcoming west coast trip, and return home game with the Islanders. I get that Hank is the highest paid goalie in the league by far, but he sure as hell is not playing like it.
You can't expect the Rangers to win every game, but it is depressing they let this game get away from them. I put this loss solely on Henrik "Give me 2 goals and I got this" Lundqvist. He just looked lost and out of position many times tonight.
The positives out of this loss comes from different areas. First off, JT Miller came up big with the first goal of the game, a Power Play Goal. Coach Vigneault is going to have many tough decisions coming up. Jasper Fast, JT Miller, and with the production Anthony Duclair is putting up in the Juniors is going to make that 12th forward spot so important. Luckily for me, the NHL Network has been broadcasting these World Junior Championships, and Duclair has been an absolute beast. I can't see how you sit him for the rest of the season.
Rick Nash was all over the puck tonight. Despite not scoring, Nash was to be reckoned with, forcing the puck into scoring positions numerous times. Nash is a first line All-Star this year. Despite no goals, Nash was all over it all night.
Dan Boyle came close on several occasions to making this a tied game. He is starting to play better, but he is not justifying his contract at this point in the year. You can feel his frustration.
I feel bad for Chris Kreider. He's one of these home grown guys. I sympathize with him, dealing with his grandfather's passing. However, he's not been the Kreider of last year. I hope he can turn it around. Under Torts, he'd be benched already. I really hope he can get in front of his funk and start producing again.
Does anyone but AV see the upside in Tanner Glass? Sure he has some big hits, but I don't see why he's getting paid as much as he is, nor do I see why he gets ice time over everyone else. He's a big forward, but the Rangers need goals and Kevin Klein is owning the hit department right now.
Speaking of Klein, I am enjoying his play, as well as the play of Mats Zuccarello. Congrats to ZUUUUUC on becoming the highest scoring Norwegian player in NHL history. My friend, Michelle STANZI, would be happy to hear this!
How about the HEY HEY Kid, Kevin Hayes? I'm hoping Duke gets as much playing time as he's getting when he comes back. I'm liking the future of the Rangers. Hayes is about 1-2 seasons away from being a bonafide all-star in this league.
It was tough watching Lundqvist blow another game, especially with the Islanders winning and sharing first place with the Penguins tonight. This was a game to keep pace for first place. The Capitals, getting a point tonight, grab third place in the division, although the Rangers have two games in hand. Still, this was a winnable game, that falls squarely on the shoulders of Lundqvist.
Is it me, or does Lundqvist make the "Eli Manning" face more than any other athlete today?
How about that Derek Stepan starting off the game with a killer slap shot, straight out of a video game? That would've been something if it went in.
Overall, I thought Dallas played an aggressive defensive game. The Rangers had opportunities, but really never got a chance to set up an umbrella and find a way to the net. Dallas exploited an overrated goalie and exposed him. Let's hope the Rangers start Talbot on 12/31 against the Panthers, allowing Hank to party early in Miami with his Pantene Pro-V hair.
Tough loss for the blueshirts, in a game they should've won. It's time for the Lundqvist apologists out there to realize it's 2014 and King Contract is also King No-Cups. Time to hold Hank accountable for his 10th blown lead of the season.
Quick thoughts:
WEBLEEDBLUE.com needs to make a MILLER TIME T-Shirt ASAP.
Thanks to Rick Carpiniello for his feedback and plugging these blogs, despite our differences on Lundqvist! I've been reading him for such a long time, so it means a lot to get his reaction. Ditto Stan Fischler, whose books I love. If it wasn't for him, I would've never discovered Frank Boucher, whose number should be retired and hanging in the rafters at MSG. I've always been opinionated and a writer, so their feedback and plugs are deeply appreciated.
Thank you to my facebook/twitter friends, who don't have to deal with me in person, like my real life Ranger friends! The Cam Talbot love is real! I always appreciate people who have a sense of humor and I enjoy all the ball breaking! ICWT!!!!
Ranger talk resumes 1/1. I figure I will do the blog right before the Winter Classic.
As always, LET'S GO RANGERS!!!
I hope my buddy Edwin Crespo is reading this, because here comes a wrestling review. If you're a Ranger fan, just discovering me, I got my writing start with pro wrestling. From time-to-time, I do wrestling recaps here to satisfy my old audience, that I hope keeps clicking onto DOINOW.com.
Originally, I had no plans to recap Raw. However, I'm in that positive New Year spirit. I know I need to go on a diet, because the Miller Lite/Parliament Light diet can only do so much, so I'm embracing positive energy right now and everyone bettering themselves as we head to 2015. The reason I'm deciding to recap Raw is because I thought it was one of the better Raws I've seen in a while.
Before starting, make sure to check out my WWE MSG 12/26 recap in the archives. Lots of wrestling thoughts and opinions in there, and I'm not going to rehash myself. Find out why I think John Cena is the greatest of all time! For readers and my friends, please don't ask me to recap indy wrestling anymore. I will only recap an indy show if I'm being paid (Sell-out) or if Bison Bravado is winning the WORLD title in the main event! And yes, I am, and always will be, a Bison fan. You don't find loyalty and good friends every day, and Bison is just that!
RAW:
The show opened up with Edge & Christian announcing they are the hosts of this show. It's amazing that Edge's retirement is almost four years now. Time flies. He had a solid career, perhaps underrated a bit. He helped carry the WWE and is arguably John Cena's greatest opponent.
E&C did their old spiel, and got to the point they would host a "Cutting Edge Peep Show" in the main event tonight. Good nostalgia here. This led to Lesnar coming out, before Cena coming out to counter him. Cena & Lesnar scuffled, before Lesnar bailing. I feel more hype should be put into Lesnar vs Cena.
IC Champion Dolph Ziggler vs US Champion Rusev w/Lana went to a DQ
Ok match. I'm not a Ziggler guy like the rest of internet nation. I don't ever see him becoming a main eventer. Maybe it's his silly name, which I know, he has no control of. Rusev got DQ'd when he wouldn't stop attacking Ziggler in the ropes. Seems like a bailout finish, which makes you wonder why they booked this anyway. This didn't do favors for either guy. You could've used the time better by having each champion winning a title match, rather than doing this.
POSTMATCH: Ryback ran out to chase Rusev away.
Ryback, after commercial, cut a heart-felt promo. He was getting the "WHAT" treatment early on, but that quickly quieted down. He basically rehashed everything he said on the "TALK IS JERICHO" podcast, about how became a fan, and ran down his career. This was the best promo Ryback ever did and he gained a lot of stock after this. The only thing he didn't say was "FUCK CM PUNK", but he came off very strong.
Sure Ryback comes off as a big steroid guy, but for the first time, he came off as a person and someone you want to root for. I know people who know him, who all say he's a good guy. He's not just a meat head, despite the way he's portrayed on TV. The promo wasn't a million dollar thing, but it did a lot to further his career. I'm glad the WWE gave him time to do this. I'm rooting for the Big Guy to do well. Stick your pipebomb up your ass, this was a great promo.
Nikki Bella w/Brie Bella d. Natalya w/Tyson Kidd
This was Total Divas commercial. It sucks how the Bella program went to shits, despite all the attention it was given. No one cares about this Tyson/Natalya split. I hope their marriage in real life, is able to over come the WWE trying to fuck it up. Wrestling has a nasty history when booking real life couples in bad situations. Nikki wins after Tyson helped Nikki by accident. Brie Bella has been reduced to an afterthought, after dominating WWE storylines for most of the summer.
For the WWE Tag Team Titles
The Usos d. (C) Miz & Mizdow to win the tag team titles
I was surprised with the title change here, but it was well deserved and a good pace to the show. It's good to know that if you watch Raw, something of historic note can happen. I was shocked they changed the titles on a non-Network event, and I couldn't be the only one.
Uso's win the match. After the match, they got a babyface interview to put over their year with Jerry Lawler. Naomi, who is married to one of these two, came out to celebrate, despite doing a prematch segment with the Miz, thanking him for hollywood burn. Let's hope Naomi's marriage isn't affected with wrestling storyline either. No one wants to become a Nancy Benoit here!
Promos for Daniel Bryan doing a promo & a Rollins vs Reigns match aired next. Rollins vs Reigns shouldn't be a throwaway on Raw match.
Bad News Barrett d. Cesaro
PREMATCH: Cesaro did a promo, akin to Ryback's. I was thinking this would be the start of the turn for Cesaro on the way up, but it wasn't meant to be. Too bad. He has so much talent. Vince buried him during the Austin podcast, and while that was addressed, nothing was done to remedy it. Too bad. The guy could be a major player, but the opinion of only one man matters in pro wrestling.
BNB returned to Raw and defeated Cesaro with the Bull Hammer. The crowd didn't know how to react, as they wanted to see Cesaro do well, but they also wanted to cheer on the returning Barrett. Bad match making. BNB should've went over on someone meaningless, like one of the blacks in the New Day. I do like all the new influx of talent that is returning to the WWE and hopefully a logical booking staff has control of them. I fear that though.
Luke Harper d. Jack Swagger
Only thing of note is that Swagger is now a jobber without Colter. Don't like his post Wrestlemania roster cut chances. Harper won with the newly dubbed "CLOTHESLINE FROM SMELL" by JBL. I laughed. If it sticks, it makes Harper a babyface.
Cena & Edge had a backstage skit. Cena and Edge went back and forth on their history, before Cena giving respect to Edge. I enjoyed this. This may be the best feud of the 2000's. I really appreciate what these two did for the business and enjoyed their programs together. Good shout-out for long time fans. (Yes, long time, as their first piece of business was in 2005. Can you imagine that's 10 years now? What the fuck do we do with our lives?)
Roman Reigns d. Seth Rollins with the stooges via DQ
This seems to be an on-going occurrence with Raw. Too many DQ's. Just don't book the match. This should be a Free-Per-View Network match, not a throwaway on Raw. This was going ok, but with the no finish, you just feel like you wasted your time.
Big Show ran in and threw Reigns into the announcers table, then put the table on top of him. I like and respect what Big Show has done for the business, but seeing Big Show being the stepping stone for someone else for the 1893843874809374897389748937894789037th time has lost its appeal on me. You just did the same program with Brock Lesnar a year ago.
Does anyone really care about Reigns vs Big Show? Reigns, unlike Daniel Bryan, has lost a lot of momentum since returning from injury. Blame the bookers.
Bray Wyatt vs Dean Ambrose in an ambulance match was announced for next week. Ugh. I hate Wyatt. I have talked about why before. I've seen everything where he's ripped his gimmick off from before. He's just a fat dude in a Hawaiian shirt. Ambrose could've been big, but they put him on job duty. If Wyatt vs Undertaker is really the plan, it's going to go over like a wet shart in bride's dress.
Daniel Bryan came out for a promo. He did a spiel about his ups and downs and what he's been through. In the end, he announced his return... at the Royal Rumble, the first time the Rumble has been plugged. I'm happy for the guy. I've met him two or three times on the indies and heard countless stories about him. There's no way you can't root for this guy. Fantasy booker in me says, Lesnar is going to UFC and is lame duck, let him beat Lesnar for the title at Mania and give him the run he deserves. If WWE gets behind Bryan, he can be a star and god knows they need a 1A since no one is on Cena's level.
Miz & Mizdow wanted a title rematch, but Edge and Christian fed them to an 80's tag team.
The Ascension (Victor & Conor) d. Miz & Mizdow
I like to see new talent get elevated, but the Ascension look like a WCW Saturday Night Job team, straight with their LOD/Powers of Pain gear. Look at my NXT recaps for more on them. I don't see these guys amounting to anything. Too generic and Victor looks like he's 40 already.
MAIN EVENT STORYLINE PROMO
E&C did their Cutting Edge Peep show. This amounted to Rollins, The Stooges & Big Show attacking E&C. For some reason, Christian sold a brief case shot for 20 minutes. WWE also hammered home that Christian was done due to concussions.
The main play here was that The Authority was brought back by Cena, after Rollins threatened to paralyze Edge's neck with a curb stomp. I get the angle and all, but this could've been done better. Maybe if Rollins attacked Nikki Bella, Cena's Total Diva girlfriend, this would've been more personal and hit home harder. I get how Cena respects Edge, but this made Cena look like too much of a pussy. It also made it look like Edge has no friends.
Eventually, Cena traded Edge's health for bringing the Authority back. For some reason, Lesnar celebrated with a returning HHH & Steph to close the show. That came off stupid.
It also killed the Survivor Series stipulation. This just felt rushed to me. I know it's wrestling and stips mean nothing, but you would've like to see this last longer than it did.
Overall:
A good Raw that got 2015 set in motion. If I'm booking, Reigns isn't over, despite the thought that Reigns wins the Rumble & beats Lesnar at Mania. Right now, I'm looking at Lesnar as a lame duck champion, whose contract expires at Mania and will probably go to UFC. A one on one match is always the best route to go, but I could see Bryan vs Lesnar vs Cena vs Reigns at Mania. I'd give the title to Bryan and set up the rematches for Cena and Reigns. Rollins also has to figure in there somewhere with the MITB. Maybe he can steal the title from Bryan, the Raw after Mania, and be chased. Either way, I don't want to see Reigns as champ, despite all directions pointing this way.
Very enjoyable Raw in my opinion and I know it was good, because the jaded fuck in me was compelled to write about it.
Lots of NFL news on Black Monday. I guess I'll start with the obvious. Jet fans should be happy that Rex Ryan & John Idzik were fired by Jets owner Woody Johnson. I can sympathize with Idzik. He never had a chance when he wasn't able to pick his own coach. Jet fans are wishing Ryan was able to stick around. I can understand that. Who will the Jets get that will be better? However, it's up to the new GM to make his own decisions, so Ryan had to go.
I think Ryan will wind up in Atlanta, after the firing of Mike Smith. He would fit in well there. Part of me would like to hear Ryan become a frequent guest of MIKE ZAUN, but I believe coaching, not media is in his future. Idzik had a brutal tenure with the Jets, but I don't think it will be held against him because after all, it's the Jets. The Jets have more problems than just their coach/gm situation. I don't see how they compete in 2015.
My beloved Giants basically stated that Coughlin will be coming back for 2015. Fewell hasn't been fired yet, but I'm expecting it. Coughlin should stay. He won two SBs and the future looks bright for the Giants. Have you seen their schedule for 2015? It's an easy 12-4 season, if everything plays out the way it should. As a diehard Giants fan, I'm not upset about missing the playoffs three years in a row, because I got my SB glory, twice, in my adult life time. It's all I can ask for.
As far as these NFL playoffs, I think the Patriots will beat the Seahawks in the Superbowl. It's very rare both number 1 teams make the SB, but it happened last year. I just don't see the Pats or the 'Hawks losing at home. Teams 2-6 each look shaky in their division as well. I'm very surprised by the way the Broncos played down the stretch. I wouldn't bet on Manning vs Brady in Foxboro this year.
In closing, on my last blog of 2014, I would like to send out my condolences once again to the family of Mike Viruet (Morgan) on the loss of their son Mike Viruet Jr. I discussed his passing on other blogs. It is just a tragedy. The Morgan family always treated me great, personally, and I can't imagine the holidays for them right now. A 20 year old life was taken away by a coward. I hope you guys can donate to them anyway you can.
I would also like to express my condolences for the two cops, Liu & Ramos who were killed two weeks ago. Big props to the NY Teams for doing their part in donating and bringing awareness to their families. NYPD LIVES MATTER. My fat ass will be running the Tunnels to Towers race later this year to help bring money & awareness to the NYPD. Bottom line, if you respect cops, they will respect you. I wish all my NYPD friends a safe night, each and every night when they take duty.
It's been real 2014. Sportswise, I will never forget the run the Rangers gave me in June. Life-wise, we live in weird times. I wish the best for everyone reading this.
As always,
LETS GO RANGERS
LETS GO CENA!
LETS GO NYPD!
Thanks for reading,
Sean McCaffrey
BULLSMC@AOL.COM
@NYCTHEMIC on the twitter!
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