Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Why I Stopped Watching Wrestling and Started Again.

Now I never intended on talking about professional wrestling on this blog but I recently got back into it and decided I give it a shot. First I'm going to explain why I left and why I came back. I got into wrestling around 2005. It wasn't the greatest era for professional wrestling but it sucked me in none the less. I loved the violence, the over the top storylines and the ridiculous soap opera-ness of it all. Plus it didn't hurt that the WWE Champion at the time was billed from the town next to mine. That's right I was a John Cena fan. I started watching every week and eventually bought my first pay per view event, WrestleMania 22. It was a grand spectacle with the Money in the Bank Ladder match, flaming tables, the Ultimate Underdog Rey Mysterio winning the World Heavyweight Championship and John Cena defeating Triple H in the Main Event. From then I would get every pay per view, sorry Dad. After awhile I started to branch out and came across TNA, Total Nonstop Action and was immediately hooked on that. Then when WWE decided to go from TV-14 to PG for business reason and because TNA was getting really big, I jumped ship. By 2009 I put all my faith into TNA. I stopped watching WWE all together, stopped ordering their pay per views and was loyal to TNA. It didn't hurt that their pay per views were ten dollars cheaper. Then 2010 rolled in and so did Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Eric Bischoff and several other legends who wanted to build the next big wrestling company. In my opinion however they ended up killing the company I had put all my faith in. I realized this when Hulk Hogan got rid of TNA signature six-sided ring. The thing that made TNA unique from the other American wrestling companies was gone. From then on the storylines were pretty lame, personas didn't match wrestlers and I had lost faith. By 2011 I stopped watching wrestling altogether. I did read what was going however. I was happy when one of my favorites would win a title. This year was different. I was reading what was going on and said to myself, I'm watching the Royal Rumble. The Royal Rumble was always my favorite pay per view, next to TNA Lockdown because I was there when Samoa Joe defeated Kurt Angle at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell. Anyways, I ordered the Royal Rumble and I honestly had fun with it. The triple threat match for the WWE Title between John Cena, Seth Rollins and Brock Lesner was great. The other matches were decent and the Royal Rumble match itself could only be describe with one word, disaster. It was incredibly predictable. The crowd turned on the match relatively early. The ending was very lackluster and boring. Even the Rock couldn't save it. It was back to back years of really bad Royal Rumbles, but I still decided to watch Monday Night Raw the next night. I continued watching from there almost entirely because of one man. The Eater of Worlds, Bray Wyatt. Not since Raven, my favorite wrestler, had I seen someone that fun to watch. He is unmatched on the microphone and unorthodox in the ring. His storylines a breath of fresh air in a stagnant company. The fact that he has never won a title makes my legitimately angry. While Bray Wyatt kept me convinced to keep watching RAW, it was the developmental show NXT that made me started really loving wrestling again. Only an hour each week, they put on better matches and have better promos than the main roster. It becoming so popular that the indie circuit wrestlers are finally coming to WWE. The men Vince McMahon refused to acknowledge are main eventing his development show. Plus their woman can actually wrestle and aren't used as objects instead of athletes. Now that I'm back into wrestling I may or may not post some of my crazy ideas. Most likely I will but we will see. Thank you for reading this crappy post and see you soon.

Knicks Mid-Season Trades

My fascination with the New York Knicks has continued this season, more so than before with Kristaps Porzingis exceeded expectations. So I thought it would be appropriate to look at how they can improve this season and possibly make the playoffs. We are almost at the halfway mark of the season so trades are going to start heating up. Now if we look at the Knicks they been quite surprising. They haven't been great but they haven't been bad either. The main issue they are having is their guards. Arron Afflalo is their lone bright spot, with Lance Thomas being able to switch between small forward and shooting guard. The play of their point guards however has been lousy. Jose Calderon has good field goal percentage and 3 point percentage. Unfortunately he doesn't take enough shots or get enough assists. Rookie Jerian Grant hasn't adjusted to the NBA level yet and the Knicks are paying the price. Then there is Langston Galloway, who was promising early but has dipped significantly in field goal percentage and assists. So what the Knicks need to do is trade for a starting point guard and preferably trade for a backup combo guard. Let's start with the point guards. Four names come to mind for trade targets. Ty Lawson, Jarrett Jack, Brandon Jennings and Ricky Rubio. If this was a free agency list I would have Rajon Rondo or Mike Conley at the top. Realistically Ty Lawson would be the cheapest option. The Knicks would really only have to give up Calderon and maybe a throw-in like Kevin Seraphin or Cleanthony Early. Ty Lawson is having a poor season but I blame that almost entirely on James Harden. He's been a plus assist man in the past, including last season. He does have off court issue and playing in New York might not help that so the Knicks need to be cautious.
Jarrett Jack is the type of player that I believe would fit well with the Knicks style of play. His field goal percentage is lackluster and he can't shoot 3s consistently, but his mid range jumper and ability to make assists is really what the Knicks need. Even with his below average season and because Brooklyn is not tanking, he would be more expensive. Jose Calderon would go in the deal and maybe Derrick Williams or Lance Thomas plus a throw in.
Brand
on Jennings would be an interesting pick up. He has yet to play an NBA game this year but has play a game in the D-League. He seems very eager to get back on the court but Reggie Jackson is clearly blocking him. If Jennings can bounce back he brings the assist the Knicks desperately need, explosiveness and the ability to hit 3s. He is very streaky however and is not know for his field goal percentage. I do believe that his style of play would fit nicely with the Knicks. He may also be expensive with the Pistons looking to grab a playoff spot. Jose Calderon would be a good backup for them as well as Langston Galloway to fill in for the injured Jodie Meeks. Throw in Kevin Seraphin and you have a deal.
Ricky Rubio is the most unlikely to get traded. The Timberwolves still have high hopes for him. The Knicks also don't have much to offer because the lack draft picks. Phil Jackson is crafty and the Wolves like Zach LaVine who has vastly improved and in my opinion has outplayed Rubio.
As for their choice in combo guards/backup shooting guards I can really only see one good fit and that's Jamal Crawford. He's not having the best season, especially shooting the 3 but a change of scenery from the fluctuating Clippers might be just what he needs. His experience and clutch scoring are what the Knicks really need coming off the bench. He shouldn't be too expensive either. He's going into free agency and the Clippers are very crowded in the backcourt. Trading Kevin Seraphin, Derrick Williams (Who I want the Knicks to keep) and a future pick should land them Crawford. Galloway might have to go as well if they haven't already traded him.
With additions to the team I believe the Knicks can sneak into the playoffs, if not they can definitely play spoilers to teams who are trying to.