Tag Archives: rdtworld

Poker

RDT Reviews KidPoker

Spoilers because…I’m not sure how to review a documentary otherwise…

KidPoker is the inspiring story of top poker professional Daniel Negreanu. The short version of this review is that this is a great documentary that has me wanting more. Even if you aren’t a poker fan, there’s a lot to be learned from KidPoker.

KidPoker establishes early Negreanu’s super close relationship with his parents…and how Negreanu was a bit of a wild child who seemed to say whatever came out of his mouth with a lack of respect for anyone he thought was wrong. Both points really define the person Negreanu is today for better or for worse (and mostly it is for better). Negreanu telling his teacher that he’s bored in class as he decided to lay down in the back of the class isn’t that different than Negreanu telling a tournament director that his structure isn’t good or blinding himself out as a form of protest. Negreanu also is one to be proud of his accomplishments and his framing of a letter he got from school where his teacher wrote that she basically couldn’t deal with him anymore is definitely a high point.

Negreanu’s background in regards to schooling also justifies a personal belief of mine in regards to the education system. While Negreanu’s in an extreme case (I would never recommend someone dropout of school or not finish to play poker), his success proves that not everyone is going to benefit from learning about Biology or History in the classroom. If I were a parent I’d personally want my student to excel in one area than be above average in all. Give me an A+, C, C, C, C student over a B+, B+, B, B, B student any day. That A+ should be pushed. I sense Negreanu would be an A+ in math and to no surprise at all he excelled in something that required him to be good at numbers. The public education system should take note.

Anyway, back to the documentary we learn about how Negreanu began going back and forth to Vegas, going broke each time. It didn’t take him that long to figure the games out and soon his mother was in 100% support of his career (his father already was) (story about how another parent told Negreanu’s mother that she would be ashamed of him even though her son was selling drugs and stolen radios is also a highlight. You see that every day). This arrives me at point #2, when your parents are in full support of what you do it can only strengthen you. It’s obvious Negreanu drew that support from his parents throughout his career. Negreanu’s relationship with his parents, especially his mother, is the strongest point of the documentary.

Another strong point about the documentary: many of Daniel’s friends and fellow professionals being honest about the pros and cons of Negreanu himself. Jennifer Harman details how after Negreanu broke through with a surprising WSOP bracelet in 1998 he made awful financial decisions. Later in the doc Antonio Esfandiari says there’s something that to this day he still disagrees with Negreanu about but that doesn’t change how much respect he has for him. John Duthie pointed out that sometimes Negreanu said things that may have been over the line…even if he was right. Overall it was nice to see that the entire documentary wasn’t just something to soothe Negreanu’s ego.

After we see Negreanu tear up the poker scene through 2004, disappointingly we jump ahead to Negreanu’s high roller successes of 2013. I do wish there was some more focus on Negreanu’s struggles after 2004 (like his “poor” 2005 tournament results) and how he refocused and captured the Limit Hold’em title in 2008. I’m also curious how a myriad of near misses affected him, such as 2nd places in the WSOP in 2002 and 2003, and especially the 2nd place in the 2009 WSOPE Main Event. We don’t even go over his WSOP-A Main Event title in 2013 either. In fact, we don’t hear anything about his WSOP Main Event shortcomings, especially the 2001 one. Maybe these are unnecessary to the story, but I guess as a poker fan I just want to know everything (I wanted to know how his World Poker Finals run in 1997 helped him too).

Moreso about the missing period as that we don’t explore some of what seems to be significant personal relationships. We see Evelyn Ng multiple times in the documentary but we don’t get one story about her, surprising as it seems considering they are great friends and knew each other since they were about 16 (they were pool hustlers together, and pool is a part of KidPoker). We also don’t hear anything about Daniel being married in 2005, although perhaps when he’s speaking about a relationship in the Choice Center that’s what it’s in reference to (no idea). Also the biggest example of him getting doused with controversy because of his mouth is his feud with Annie Duke. Then again, why would we want her to be publicized through this documentary? So I take it back. Less Annie Duke the better.

Lastly, I’m surprised that I don’t hear the word “Pokerstars” in the entire documentary. We see the software on screen and such, but that relationship surprisingly isn’t explored.

What KidPoker does well though is it makes this larger than life poker World Champion relatable to the normal person. I too used to write sports stats and such just like Negreanu when I was a kid. Who hasn’t had success get to their head a bit and as a result made mistakes (like Negreanu lost 98 bracelet win) and assumed success would be guaranteed year after year? Who hasn’t lost an inspiring figure in their lives? Who hasn’t been criticized and as a result needed to prove themselves (I can’t help but shake my head at the 2+2 Forums references in KidPoker. While I guess it’s the best place for poker discussion most of 2+2 is an embarrassment. Hell I just read today what a fish Phil Hellmuth is in tournament poker as he took down another $1,000,000+ prize. What a joke.)

KidPoker does a great job of explaining how a wild Canadian like Negreanu became a spokesperson and ambassador for the game of poker (Phil Ivey calling it “the game of poker” and not just “poker” is awesome, but that’s another discussion). It’s well done. Sure I wish there were some more stories here…but isn’t that a sign it was a great doc in the first place?

Grade: A-

 

Other (DC, Marvel, Disney etc.)

RDT Reviews Captain America: The First Avenger

Big spoilers here…I mean the film has been out for five years now

Captain America: The First Avenger has one goal and it accomplishes it: provide an origin story for Captain America (I suppose it sets up some things for The Avengers as well). It accomplishes this goal in a straightforward manner in a very good but not quite great way.

The First Avenger is a classic zero to hero story. Steve Rogers is a skinny kid in Brooklyn with a great heart and fighting spirit. He’s found by a scientist for the U.S. military who’s directing a project to create the ultimate super solider and thinks Rogers the right choice because of his personality. It turns out he’s right, as Rogers is transformed into Captain America, proves his worth, and takes down the Nazi organization HYDRA, led by the Red Skull. It’s a basic but good story that gets the point across.

The First Avenger is made up of several mini-arcs that work, yet are rushed. He starts off as that skinny kid that no one believes in (and may be smarter than everyone else too), but rather early in the film he’s transformed into Captain America. He’s stuck as a symbol of the American effort in World War II, another interesting direction, but then decides to go on his own and free soldiers (including his friend “Bucky” Barnes). Agent Carter falls for him, sees him kissing someone else, gets mad then falls for him again. It works…but again it’s rushed. Admittedly his friendship with Bucky is underdeveloped…but still good enough.

Some of the performances work really well here. Tommy Lee Jones is great as Colonel Chester Phillips and Hayley Atwell is just as great as Agent Carter. Hugo Weaving is a very good villain as well as his Red Skull is one of the more memorable Marvel villains in the MCU (whatever that’s saying). Chris Evans wasn’t bad either.

Perhaps I didn’t say much in this review but in turn there’s not a lot to say. There’s much more good than bad and we get a good origin story for Captain America. There’s nothing in this film I would particularly classify as bad other than it being a bit rushed.

We also had one of the better final scenes of the MCU…when Cap wakes up in modern day NY, setting up the Avengers. Just a great scene.

Pros:

+Agent Carter is great, and the Red Skull is one of the more memorable MCU villains.

+Zero to Hero story done quite well.

+Establishes the Captain America character well.

+It was cool to see Howard Stark in action.

Cons:

-Some plot points are a bit rushed.

A good film that establishes Captain America for the MCU. There’s not much bad here at all and a whole lot of good.

Grade: B+

 

Pro Wrestling

RDT Reviews Wrestlemania III

WWF Wrestlemania III
March 29, 1987
Detroit, MI

While the first Wrestlemania was a huge success, the second one was a bit of a disappointment. Vince McMahon looked to expand the Wrestlemania idea by having it split between three venues didn’t completely work, and the main events were a bit lackluster. Vince McMahon had a solution to this though…the biggest main event you could put together in 1987: Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant. Oh, and instead of three venues Mania III will be in the 94,000 seat Pontiac Silverdome.

An insane idea for sure. But why couldn’t the WWF pack the Silverdome to the rafters? This is perhaps the golden era of professional wrestling. Vince McMahon had been riding this wrestling boom super high and there looked to be no end in sight. Hulkamania was running wild…and going against the “undefeated” Andre the Giant just seemed like printing money. Could Mania III fix the issues of Mania II?

The Card

I know it really isn’t 93,000 people, but those long viewed shots are incredible.

Aretha Frankin with the iconic “America the Beautiful”. Even in the opening moments you had a sense that this may have been the biggest professional wrestling card ever.

The Can-Am Connection vs. Bob Orton and Don Muraco

The Connection is Rick Martel and Tom Zenk.

The Connection win when Martel pinned Muraco in 5:37. Crossbody for the win. Fun opener that got the crowd into it as Zenk and Martel were popular.

Billy Jack Haynes vs. Hercules

Build-up involves Haynes offering Hercules to lock him in the Full Nelson, but Hercules taking him out instead. It’s Chris Masters 18 years early.

Haynes survives the Full Nelson and locks Hercules in one of his own!

Double Countout in 7:44. Haynes has the Full Nelson locked in, but Hercules is able to roll to the outside and takes Haynes with him. Haynes locks in the hold again and both men are counted out. Hated the finish, match told a good story though. Hercules levels Haynes with a steel chain afterwards, busting him open.

Hillbilly Jim, Haiti Kid and Little Beaver vs. King Kong Bundy, Lord Littlebrook and Little Tokyo

Littlebrook, Tokyo, Beaver and Kid are all midget wrestlers. The real issue was with Jim and Bundy.

Quite a drop off from Mania II for Bundy.

Rules state big guys fight big guys and little guys fight little guys.

Beaver actually elbows Bundy. This leads to a funny sequence where Beaver drops kicks Bundy before running to tag in Jim.

Beaver keeps attacking Bundy, who’s had enough.

Jim, Beaver and Kid win by DQ in 3:25. Bundy slams Beaver and drops an elbow on him for the DQ. Jesse Ventura makes a good point that Beaver kept attacking Bundy and shouldn’t have been DQed. The midgets all turn on Bundy too. This was more of a comedy match.

Junkyard Dog vs. Harley Race

If JYD loses, he has to bow to Race, if he wins he gets the wear the crown.

I don’t really know the details backstage I guess, but Harley Race seemed absolutely wasted in the WWF.

Harley Race pinned Junkyard Dog in 4:22. Belly to belly wins it. JYD bows to Race…then attacks him with a chair and wears the robe himself. Some good guy. Of course the crowd cheers him too. Ventura again makes a great point that JYD was wrong to do that to Race. Also, in the internet era JYD would have been booed out of the building for that.

The Rougeau Brothers vs. Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake

Really great double team move midway in when Beefcake holds Jacques over his head and Valentine comes down with a forearm. Beefcake ends it with a backbreaker.

We get some Bobby Heenan on commentary which is great. He’s 2-0 because the double countout was a win in his book!

Beefcake accidentally nails Valentine, leading too…

Valentine and Beefcake win in 4:03. Raymond has Valentine beat, but Dino Bravo breaks up the pin when coming off the top rope for Valentine to steal the win.

Afterwards Bravo celebrates with Valentine and leave Beefcake in the ring, which turns Beefcake. Odd choice to have the Rougeaus lose here if they were gonna break up Valentine and Beefcake.

Hair vs. Hair
Roddy Piper vs. Adrian Adonis

The build-up to this seems incredible. Piper was retiring, but he had been attacked by Adonis and took a flower pot to the face. Piper destroying the Flower Shop set is incredible as well.

It took an hour, but we finally have a big match to make this feel like Wrestlemania.

Piper starts off by whipping Adonis with a belt. Adonis gets revenge though. Already the intensity of this match sets it apart from the rest of the card.

Piper throws Jimmy Hart at Adonis and that sets him over the top rope. Entertaining stuff so far.

I like how Adonis’ sleeper is called “Good Night Irene”.

Roddy Piper wins when Adonis passed out in 6:33. Adonis has Piper beat it seems, but releases Good Night Irene too early. While celebrating, Brutus Beefcake comes down and helps revive Piper. Piper gets the sleeper for the win. Beefcake cuts Adonis’ hair as revenge for an earlier situation where Adonis cut Beefcake’s hair. This led to Beefcake being called “the Barber”. Maybe not the best match, but it was fun and told a good story. When the character are over, matches become better automatically. Piper’s retirement wouldn’t last of course. Adonis left the WWF shortly after this.

It is beginning to get dark in the Silverdome which really helps the atmosphere.

Danny Davis and the Hart Foundation vs. The British Bulldogs and Tito Santana

Big heat for Davis as he’s was a heel ref that got “banned”. He gets in a few kicks everytime he’s tagged in and immediately tags out. Good stuff.

Davis tries a slingshot and the Dynamite Kid gets his knees up, allowing Tito to come in and attack Davis.

Davey Boy Smith gets an awesome Tombstone on Davis. Wow!

The Harts and Davis win when Davis pinned Davey Boy in 8:54. Big brawl erupts, but Davis gets the megaphone and takes out Davey for the win. Good, fun match. Davis gets huge heat. This was kind of a last hurrah for the Bulldogs, as Dynamite Kid had hurt his back a few months prior and was never the same worker again.

Butch Reed vs. Koko B. Ware

This is Reed’s PPV debut.

Reed pins Ware in 3:40. Reed reverses a crossbody and holds the tights for the win. Slick attacks Ware, but Tito Santana evens the odds and helps Ware fend off Reed and Slick. Not much to say about this one really. All these short matches are hurting the card for sure.

Intercontinental Championship
Randy Savage© vs. Ricky Steamboat

George “The Animal” Steele is in Steamboat’s corner, and of course Miss Elizabeth is in Savage’s.

Hot start with two perfect armdrags from Steamboat and a tree slam.

So far everything Steamboat and Savage have done has been intense and crisp. In North American Steamboat was arguably the best worker in the world at this point, and Savage had to be top 10 at worst.

Savage knees Steamboat in the back and sends him into the crowd. In 1987!

Savage comes off the top with an axhandle smash to Steamboat on the floor.

Steamboat backdrops Savage over the top rope and onto the floor. Savage goes over the top rope amazingly as well!

Steamboat jumps over the ref and takes Savage out with a flying karate chop! Two count only as Savage gets the ropes…but the crowd popped huge there!

Tons of near falls on Savage…and again they fool the crowd!

Great irish whip reversal takes out the referee.

Big elbow from Savage! But still no referee.

Ricky Steamboat wins the title by pin in 14:35. Savage grabs the ring bell, but Steele grabs it from him. Savage attacks Steele then grabs the ring bell again, but Steele pushes Savage off the top rope. A dazed Savage tries to slam Steamboat, but he rolls through and gets the pin and the title. The first great Wrestlemania match, and for a while it was the best Wrestlemania match of all time (some would say it still is, and some would say it’s the greatest match of all time). The story is tremendous, the in-ring action is tremendous and the match itself serves as the prototype to great matches of the future (up until about 1998). This match also showed that Savage could both be main event level guys, although Steamboat wouldn’t reach that level in the WWF. Both men were World Champions a couple years from this match as Savage was World Champion at the next Wrestlemania and Steamboat would win the NWA World Title from Ric Flair in 1989.

Honky Tonk Man vs. Jake “The Snake” Roberts

Jake has Alice Cooper in his corner.

Cool spot on the outside where Jake gets slammed into the post and sells it so well he ends up crashing into the railing.

Honky Tonk Man pins Jake in 7:04. Jake goes for the DDT, but Jimmy Hart holds onto Jake’s leg which stops him. Honky then rolls Jake up and holds the ropes for the pin. Not a bad match by any means. Alice Cooper and Jake get Jimmy Hart at the end and allow Damien, Jake’s snake, to get him.

The Killer Bees vs. Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik

Jim Duggan prevents Volkoff from singing the Russian National Anthem.

Sheik and Volkoff win by DQ in 5:48. Duggan whacks Sheik with the 2×4 for the DQ. Ventura complained about Duggan being on the outside the entire time and it turned out he was right. Match was fine. Duggan starts a USA chant which somehow offsets the fact that he ruined the match. Ah well.

WWF Championship
Hulk Hogan© vs. Andre the Giant

Arguably the biggest match in professional wrestling history at this point. Hogan, the invincible superman against Andre, the undefeated 8th Wonder of the World. Andre turned heel when he was given a smaller trophy than Hogan for being undefeated for 20 years. This was the Dream Match at the time.

There’s some perfect about Bob Uecker’s introduction of Andre the Giant.

To this day nothing for me matches Hogan and Andre’s initial staredown in terms of intensity and big match feel.

Hogan goes for the slam..but Andre falls on him! He gets a two count only.

For as bad match quality wise this match is, the beginning isn’t too bad. Andre just tosses Hogan around like he’s nothing, which was a perfect way to book this match considering Hogan never went through anything like that before.

Other than a small offensive from Hogan, this has been all Andre. Once again, its smart booking because you have no idea if Hogan could come back from this.

I couldn’t help but laugh that Hogan goes for a piledriver on the floor to Andre. Like that was going to happen.

Hogan slams Andre!

Hogan retains the title in 12:02. Legdrop wins. Easily the greatest smoke and mirrors match ever as the match itself was pretty bad (although it definitely could have been worse), but it doesn’t matter one bit. Historically this match was the perfect example of hype and being able to deliver despite obvious limitations. The feud would remain hot and continue through 1988, where Andre would win the title on the first Saturday Night’s Main Event. Hogan slamming Andre is still arguably the biggest moment in Wrestlemania history.

We had one of the most historic matches in wrestling history with Andre vs. Hogan, one of the greatest matches in wrestling history with Steamboat vs. Savage, and a few good matches (Harts/Davis-Bulldogs/Santana, Piper-Adonis). I can’t give it the perfect A+ because there was a lot of short stuff that wasn’t good, but this definitely was a great Wrestlemania.

This was the peak of the golden age of professional wrestling. While 1987 and even 1988 would remain strong for the WWF, things would go downhill after that.

But as of Mania III, Hulkamania was still running as wild as ever.

Final Grade: A

Video Games

The (Fictional) World Series of Smash

2 Comments

                A random rant about the competitive video game community first. While I enjoy participating in and watching Super Smash Bros. tournaments, I always wished there was more diversity in them. Sure, the idea of competitive gaming is to minimize luck and maximize skill. But I believe more can be done to have casuals play more tournaments as well to expand the game. Giving casuals events they can do well in as well providing a tournament scene that allows them to have fun and not feel bad about losing to competitive players could only grow the Super Smash Bros. community.

If I ever become rich and wealthy, I would look to create a World Series of Smash, a series of tournaments that provide big money Guarantees for small buy-ins. I would try to have Nintendo endorse the series as well (so no Project M or Super Smash Flash) in this fictional scenario. I would look to have every single match recorded and uploaded. While some (most) of the events are standard double elimination style tournaments, some of the events are tournament types not even remotely seen in the Smash community. Right now, it’s just a dream.

Event #1

Game: Melee

Rules: Standard Tournament, Double Elimination

Buy-in: $20

Guaranteed: $15,000

Event #2

Game: Smash 4

Rules: Single Elimination

Buy-in: $20

Guaranteed: $10,000

Event #3

Game: Smash 4

Rules: 4 v 4, Double Elimination

Buy-in: $20 ($5 per player)

Guaranteed: $3,000

Event #4

Game: Brawl

Rules: 1 Stock, 3 Min, Best of Sevens, Double Elimination, Randoms

Buy-in: $10

Guaranteed: $4,000

Event #5

Game: Smash 4

Rules: Best of Fives, Must use different character each time.

Buy-in: $10

Guaranteed: $6,000

Event #6

Game: Smash 4

Rules: 8 Player Smash, 15 Mins, 10% of highest scores advance (closest to a multiple of 8).

Buy-in: $10

Guaranteed: $4,000

Event #7

Game: Smash 4

Rules: 3 v 3, Double Elimination

Buy-in: $21 ($7 per team)

Guaranteed: $3,000

Event #8

Game: Smash 4

Rules: 4 Player Smash, 10 HP, Randoms, Customs On, Single Elimination

Buy-in: $5

Guaranteed: $2,500

Event #9

Game: Melee

Rules: Single Elimination, Best of Sevens

Buy-in: $20

Guaranteed: $15,000

Event #10

Game: Brawl

Rules: Double Elimination, Low Items

Buy-in: $10

Guaranteed: $3,000

Event #11

Game: 64, Melee, Brawl, 4

Rules: Double Elimination, Game selection is a counterpick option. Game choice at the beginning is a result of striking.

Buy-in: $10

Guaranteed: $2,000

Event #12 (64 Main Event)

Game: 64

Rules: Standard Tournament, Double Elimination

Buy-in: $20

Guaranteed: $6,000

Event #13 (64 Teams Main Event)

Game: 64

Rules: Standard Tournament, Double Elimination

Buy-in: $20 ($10 per player)

Guaranteed: $4,000

Event #14 (Melee Main Event)

Game: Melee

Rules: Standard Tournament, Double Elimination

Buy-in: $20

Guaranteed: $40,000

Event #15 (Melee Teams Main Event)

Game: Melee

Rules: Standard Tournament, Double Elimination

Buy-in: $20 ($10 per player)

Guaranteed: $20,000

Event #16 (Brawl Main Event)

Game: Brawl

Rules: Standard Tournament, Double Elimination

Buy-in: $20

Guaranteed: $15,000

Event #17 (Brawl Teams Main Event)

Game: Brawl

Rules: Standard Tournament, Double Elimination

Buy-in: $20 ($10 per player)

Guaranteed: $8,000

Event #18 (Smash 4 Main Event)

Game: Smash 4

Rules: Standard Tournament, Double Elimination

Buy-in: $20

Guaranteed: $25,000

Event #19 (Smash 4 Teams Main Event)

Game: Smash 4

Rules: Standard Tournament, Double Elimination

Buy-in: $20 ($10 per player)

Guaranteed: $8,000

Event #20

Game: Smash 4

Rules: Standard Tournament, Double Elimination

Buy-in: $50

Guaranteed: $20,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basketball

Top 100 Greatest Basketball Players Ever: #50-#41

#50: James Worthy

top100worthy

Resume

NBA Finals MVP: 1x (’88)

NBA All-3rd Team: 2x (’90, ’91)

All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: ‘83

NBA All-Star: 7x (’86, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ‘92)

NBA Top 10 FG%: 5x (’83,’85, ’86, ’89, ’90)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Rating: 1x (’86)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 1x (’86)

2nd Best Player on Two Champions: ’87 Lakers, ’88 Lakers

3rd Best Player on One Champion: ’85 Lakers

2nd Best Player on Two Runner-Ups: ’89 Lakers, ’91 Lakers

3rd Best Player on One Runner-Up: ’84 Lakers

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 50th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 58th

A really tough career to project since he was Magic’s wingman for virtually his whole career. Simmons compares Worthy to Tom Chambers, and Chambers barely made the top 100 without the help of a Magic Johnson, so there’s that. Reason why he couldn’t drop lower than the Top 50? He was “Big Game” James. In the 1984 Finals, Worthy put up games of 29 PTS on 11/12 shooting, 30 points on 14/17 and three other 50%+ FG 20 point games in a tough loss to the Celtics. He made up for that by putting up 29 on 12/22, 33 on 13/17 and 28 on 11/15 in Boston, all wins for LA, in the 1985 Finals. He opened the 1987 Finals with a 33-10-9. He finished off the Bad Boy Pistons in 1988 with a 36-16-10 in Game 7…and even dropped 40 in the deciding game when they lost the next year (with no Magic). More evidence points to Worthy being great than not.

#49: Dennis Johnson

top100djohnson

Resume

NBA Finals MVP: 1x (’79)

NBA All-1st Team: 1x (’81)

NBA All-2nd Team: 1x (‘80)

NBA All-Defensive 1st Team: 6x (’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’87)

NBA All-Defensive 2nd Team: 3x (’84, ’85, ’86)

NBA All-Star: 5x (’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’85)

NBA Top 10 Defensive Win Shares: 1x (’80)

NBA Career Assists: 45th

NBA Career Steals: 43rd

3rd Best Player on One Champion: ’79 Sonics

Starter on Two Champions: ’84 Celtics, ’86 Celtics

2nd Best Player on One Runner-Up: ’78 Sonics

Starter on Two Runner-Ups: ’85 Celtics, ’87 Celtics

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 54th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 53rd

DJ gets the nod over Worthy for a few reasons. For one, we don’t know how Worthy’s career projects without Magic Johnson…but we do know Johnson could thrive without Bird since he did in Seattle. Also, Worthy’s main attribute was big game scoring. DJ’s was big game defense and he could score as well. Big difference. In an All-Time defensive team, DJ fits right in there with Jordan, Payton, Moncreif in the greatest defensive guards before 2000 conversation (and maybe of all time as well). He hounded Magic in the ’84 Finals and also shut down Andrew Toney (Toney gave Boston tons of trouble in the early 80s and was a big reason the Sixers made the Finals in ’83). DJ was the best guard on teams that won 47, 52, 56, 57, 46, 53, 62, 63, 67 games.

#48: Bill Walton

top100walton

Resume

NBA MVP: 1x (’78)

NBA Finals MVP: 1x (’77)

NBA All-1st Team: 1x (’78)

NBA All-2nd Team: 1x (‘77)

NBA All-Defensive 1st Team: 2x (’77, ‘78)

NBA All-Star: 2x (’77, ‘78)

NBA Defensive Rating Leader: 2x (’78, ’86)

NBA Top 5 Rebounds: 1x (’77)

NBA Top 10 Blocks: 2x (’77, ’78)

NBA Top 3 WS/48: 2x (’77, ’78)

NBA Top 10 Defensive Rating: 5x (’76, ’77, ’78, ’85, ’86)

Best Player on One Champion: ’77 Blazers

Sixth Man on One Champion: ’86 Celtics

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 27th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 74th

Bill Simmons’ asks whether or not you would want two and a half transcendent years and twelve other years full of injuries or fourteen quality years. He took the two and a half, a big reason why he had Walton so high up (he compared him to David Robinson) in his pyramid. At one time I agreed, but looking at it now Walton’s peak came in the messy late seventies. Theoretically the league was full of talent, but teams still weren’t able to figure out styles and such after the merger. When Walton went down in 1978 (he was so good that year he rightly won MVP after playing only 58 of 60 games anyway…Portland was 50-10 at the time) Portland went down with him, failing to even win one playoff series.

An idea of how good Walton was? He averaged 19-19-5-4 in the ’77 Finals where Portland won, including a 20-23-8-7 in the deciding game. He had pretty much no supporting cast (Mo Lucas, Bobby Gross, Lionel Hollins?) and it didn’t matter. As a bonus, he was an iconic sixth man on the ’86 Celtics. If he doesn’t get hurt, Walton probably gets into the Top 15.

#47: Stephen Curry

top100curry

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NBA MVP: 1x (’15)

NBA All-1st Team: 1x (’15)

NBA All-2nd Team: 1x (‘14)

NBA Rookie 1st Team: 1x (‘10)

NBA All-Star: 2x (’14, ‘15)

NBA Steals Leader: 1x (’15)

NBA 3 PT FG Leader: 3x (’13, ’14, ’15)

NBA FT% Leader: 2x (’11, ’15)

NBA WS/48 Leader: 1x (’15)

NBA Top 10 Points: 3x (’13, ’14, ’15)

NBA Top 5 Assists: 4x (’10, ’13, ’14, ‘15)

NBA Top 2 Steals: 2x (’14, ’15)

NBA Top 5 WS/48: 2x (’14, ‘15)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 3x (’13, ’14, ’15)

NBA Top 10 PER: 2x (’14, ’15)

NBA Career Offensive Rating: 50th

Best Player on One Champion: ’15 Warriors

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): Not Ranked

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): Not Ranked

Obviously not ranked on Simmons or Slam due to the fact that Curry began peaking in 2014. Gets the nod over Walton because his peak took place in an extremely talented time in the NBA (won MVP over LeBron for example). It’s absolutely terrifying to watch Curry if he’s playing against your team. A League MVP, a great WS/48 season and best player on a title team status? That’s good enough for top 50.

The difference between Curry and Derrick Rose is that Curry’s MVP doesn’t really have any doubt attached to it. Yeah, you can consider James Harden, but no one actually thinks Harden was robbed. In 2011, Rose was probably the third best player in the league that year, behind LeBron and Dwight Howard. And LeBron destroyed him in the Eastern Conference Finals. Curry had so such issues (although he did luck out as opposing PGs got hurt).

#46: Ray Allen

top100allen

Resume

NBA All-2nd Team: 1x (’05)

NBA All-3rd Team: 1x (‘01)

NBA Rookie 2nd Team: 1x (‘97)

NBA All-Star: 10x (’00, ’01, ’02, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ‘11)

NBA 3 PT FG Leader: 1x (‘06)

NBA Offensive Win Share Leader: 1x (’01)

NBA Top 10 Points: 2x (’05, ‘06)

NBA Top 10 3 PT FG: 11x (’98, ’00, ’01, ’02, ’03, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’11)

NBA Top 10 FT%: 14x (’98, ’99, ’00, ’01, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 2x (’01, ’09)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 1x (‘01)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Rating: 4x (’00, ’01, ’06, ’09)

NBA Career 3 PT FG: 1st

NBA Career FT%: 7th

Third Best Player on One Champion: ’08 Celtics

Role Player on One Champion: ’13 Heat

Third Best Player on One Runner-Up: ’10 Celtics

Role Player on One Runner-Up: ’14 Heat

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 62nd

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 79th

Pretty much Reggie Miller with a better post-season resume. Allen was very close (and probably deserved to be) the best player on a runner-up with the 2001 Bucks. He was clutch in the 2008 Finals against the Lakers. Everyone remembers the big comeback in Game 4…but somehow Allen playing all 48 minutes and closing the game out by driving past Sasha Vujacic in crunch time is forgotten. He was kinda robbed of Finals MVP in that series as well (50-50-90% shooting, 20 PPG). He hit a game winning three with no time left against Chicago in Round 1 in 2009, and also had a 51 point game later in the series. He also set a record with 8 threes in Game 2 against the Lakers in the Finals…although he fell apart later in that series. Of course he cemented his legacy as a clutch three point shooter, possibly surpassing Reggie as the best ever with his dagger of a three that saved LeBron’s legacy and the 2013 Miami Heat season. Most of that is just the late stage of his career. He was the top guy for a very good Bucks and a very good Sonics team (a Sonics team that gave the 2005 Champ Spurs a nice six game scare).

 #45: Chauncey Billups

top100billups

Resume

NBA Finals MVP: 1x (’04)

NBA All-2nd Team: 1x (’06)

NBA All-3rd Team: 2x (’07, ‘09)

NBA All-Defensive 2nd Team: 2x (’05, ‘06)

NBA All-Star: 5x (’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ‘10)

NBA Offensive Rating Leader: 1x (’06)

NBA Top 10 Assists: 2x (’06, ’07)

NBA Top 10 FT%: 11x (’99, ’02, ’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ‘11)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 5x (’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 6x (’03, ’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ‘08)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Rating: 5x (’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ‘09)

NBA Career FT%: 5th

NBA Career 3P FG: 7th

NBA Career Offensive Rating: 18th

Best Player on One Champion: ’04 Pistons

Best Player on One Runner-Up: ’05 Pistons

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): Not Ranked

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 124th

Easily the most underrated player of all time and it’s all due to perception. So let’s get to those perceptions and debunk them.

Number 1: The starting five for the 2004 Pistons were all equal…they were a real team and that’s why they won the title. Now defensively, I give Ben Wallace all the credit in the world and he did receive some consideration for my Top 100 due to his performance on the defensive end for the 2004 and 2005 Pistons. But offensively? Rasheed Wallace was a nice mid-season addition for a Pistons team that had already made a Conference Finals the year before with Billups. All I know is in Phil Jackson’s book The Last Season, he thinks about the Finals and starts off by thinking they are a team of equals…only to come to the conclusion that Billups was the key all along. That and when Chauncey left in 2008 the entire team fell apart. Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince have done nothing of note since Chauncey left them. Not true for Chauncey…leading us too…

Number 2: Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets to the 2009 Conference Finals. Let the record show that Carmelo had the worst season of his early career in 2009 (.105 WS/48, 45% FG, 23 PPG, didn’t make the All-Star team), although he played great in the playoffs) and the Nuggets didn’t fall off at all. The Nuggets with Carmelo also made it past the first round for the first time…Chauncey had a 135 offensive rating in the playoffs. Detroit meanwhile fell out in Round 1. The difference was Chauncey.

Number 3: Chauncey was only good because of the slow it down style of the Pistons. Of course, this makes no sense as he succeeded with the Nuggets too.

Number 4: The Pistons era was overrated because the East was bad all those years. Of course, this isn’t fair to Chauncey as others have gotten this benefit too (and he got to the Conference Finals in the West anyway). Being the best player on a team that made seven straight Conference Finals is impressive no matter what the situation. His Pistons ended the Kidd era Nets, ended the Shaq-Kobe Lakers, nearly upset Duncan at his peak and even knocked LeBron down once. Sounds good enough for me.

In addition to all of that, Chauncey has great advanced numbers and a few All-NBA teams. He’s a great player.

#44: George Gervin

top100gervin

Resume

NBA All-1st Team: 5x (’78, ’79, ’80, ’81, ’82)

NBA All-2nd Team: 2x (’77, ‘83)

ABA All-2nd Team: 2x (’75, ’76)

ABA All-Rookie 1st Team: 1x (’73)

NBA All-Star: 9x (’78, ’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’84, ‘85)

ABA All-Star: 3x (’74, ’75, ’76)

NBA Points Leader: 4x (’78, ’79, ’80, ’82)

NBA Top 6 Points: 8x (’77, ’78, ’79, ’80, ’81, ’82, ’83, ’84)

ABA Top 7 Points: 3x (’74, ’75, ’76)

ABA Top 10 Blocks: 3x (’74, ’75, ’76)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 6x (’77, ’78, ’79, ’80, ’81, ’82)

ABA Top 10 Win Shares: 3x (’74, ’75, ’76)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 3x (’77, ’78, ’79)

ABA Top 10 WS/48: 1x (76)

NBA Top 10 PER: 6x ( ’77, ’78, ’79, ’80, ’81, ’82)

ABA Top 10 PER: 3x (’74, ’75, ’76)

NBA+ABA Career Points: 15th

ABA Career Blocks: 9th

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 34th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 45th

The Iceman was one of the all-time great scorers…and that’s about it. Horrible defensive player and seemingly only cared about scoring points. But he was great at it, and in the late 70s where everything was screwed up roster wise, that was good enough to be one of the best players in the league. It never got him to the Finals though as he failed to get past those Unseld-Hayes Bullets teams. And once Magic and Bird came along, Gervin was never seeing the Finals.

Recently, his record of 33 points in a quarter was broken, but it tells you just what kind of scorer he was. His peak was too good to leave out of the Top 50.

#43: Sam Jones

top100jones

Resume

NBA All-2nd Team: 3x (’65, ’66, ‘67)

NBA All-Star: 5x (’62, ’64, ’65, ’66, ‘68)

NBA Top 10 Points: 2x (’65, ‘66)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 5x (’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ‘66)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 10x (’59, ’60, ’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ‘68)

2nd or 3rd Best Player on Six Champions, Won Ten Championships Overall (’59 Celtics, ’60 Celtics, ’61 Celtics, ’62 Celtics, ’63 Celtics, ’64 Celtics, ’65 Celtics, ’66 Celtics, ’68 Celtics, ’69 Celtics)

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 33rd

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 65th

Simmons gave the nod to Jones over Gervin because of the teammate aspect, the fact that Bill Russell praises Jones as his crunch time scorer. While I can’t say I’ve seen much of Sam Jones other than some Youtube highlights, but I have seen Gervin and I know he’s a me-first guy and probably the biggest reason the Spurs didn’t win a title. So I’ll take Simmons word on this.

I’ll also provide the list of great playoff games Jones had that Simmons provided, which was more than enough to sway me.

Hit a game winner in the Eastern Conference Finals vs. ’62 Sixers in Game 7, scored 27…Scored 35 against the ’62 Lakers in the Finals…scored 27 in Game 7 of the ’62 Finals vs. the Lakers…scored 47 against Oscar and the Royals in another Game 7…37 in Game 7 of the ’65 Sixers series…34 Points in Game 5 of the ’65 Royals series…hit a game winner in Game 4 of the ’69 Lakers series. That’s not all of them…but you get the point.

#42: Clyde Drexler

PLEASE NOTE THIS IMAGE IS FOR USE VIA THE CONSUMER POD SITE ONLY. PORTLAND, OR - JANUARY 1: Clyde Drexler #22 of the Portland Trail Blazers dunks during a game on January 1, 1989 in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory copyright notice: Copyright NBAE 1989 (Photo by Mike Powell/NBAE/Getty Images)

Resume

NBA All-1st Team: 1x (‘92)

NBA All-2nd Team: 2x (’88, ‘91)

NBA All-3rd Team: 2x (’88, ‘95)

NBA All-Star: 10x (’86, ’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94, ’96, ‘97)

NBA Top 10 Points: 3x (’88, ’89, ‘92)

NBA Top 10 Assists: 1x (’86)

NBA Top 10 Steals: 6x (’85, ’86, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’95)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 6x (’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ‘95)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 6x (’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ‘95)

NBA Top 10 PER: 4x (’88, ’89, ’92, ‘95)

NBA Career Points: 29th

NBA Career Steals: 7th

2nd Best Player on one Champion: ’95 Rockets

Best Player on Two Runner-Ups: ’90 Blazers, ’92 Blazers

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 44th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 42nd

I’ll just start off with saying I agree with Michael Jordan…that Drexler was a poor man’s Michael Jordan.

It may not seem completely fair, but that’s what he was. Primarily an inside drive guy with a shaky outside shot…only Drexler wasn’t remotely a good three point shooter either. His peak in the late 80s and early 90s was impressive…he got to the Finals before Jordan did…but he failed at that level and then was destroyed by Jordan in ’92. Amazingly, he begins to decline at age 30 in 1993 in what only could be described as a player who’s confidence was destroyed.

 There’s not much else to say about Drexler. He was a really good player, sometimes great, that couldn’t get his teams to the finish line. His career was swallowed up by Jordan. It goes farther than the ’92 Finals. Remember, Portland didn’t pick Jordan because they had Drexler. And of course, Drexler’s ring came in the 2nd of Jordan’s baseball years.

And of course…there was the 1992 Finals. Poor Drexler.

#41: George Mikan

George Mikan, right, honored earlier this year as one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all-time, led the Minneapolis Lakers basketball team to six championships. This photo is from a game against Rochester at the old Minneapolis Auditorium on March 29, 1954. Star Tribune file photo.

Resume

NBA All-1st Team: 6x (’49, ’50, ’51, ’52, ’53, ’54)

NBA All-Star: 4x (’51, ’52, ’53, ’54)

NBA Points Leader: 3x (’49, ’50, ’51)

NBA Rebounds Leader: 1x (’53)

NBA PER Leader: 3x (’52, ’53, ’54)

NBA Offensive Win Share Leader: 2x (’49, ’51)

NBA Defensive Win Share Leader: 5x (’50, ’51, ’52, ’53, ’54)

NBA Win Share Leader: 3x (’49, ’50, ’51)

NBA WS/48 Leader: 1x (’53)

NBA Top 4 Points: 6x (’49, ’50, ’51, ’52, ’53, ’54)

NBA Top 10 Assists: 1x (’49)

NBA Top 3 Rebounds: 4x (’51, ’52, ’53, ‘54)

NBA Top 4 Win Shares: 6x (’49, ’50, ’51, ’52, ’53, ’54)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 3x (’52, ’53, ‘54)

Best Player on Five Champions: ’49 Lakers, ’50 Lakers, ’52 Lakers, ’53 Lakers, ’54 Lakers

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 38th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 29th

Obviously a product of his era. Once the shot clock and bigger lane came into play, Mikan was done. He absolutely dominated the early NBA and even the NBL. He was basketball’s first great player and dominated the league. That has to count for something.

Football

2015 NFL Season Predictions

We are merely hours away from kickoff for the 2015 NFL Season! For a few years parity has actually been escaping the NFL although no one has seemed to notice or care. The NFL is more popular than ever and if recent events involving Commissioner Roger Goodell doesn’t dent that popularity than nothing will. Back to the parity point, for years many claimed that parity, that any team could win and perhaps go to the Super Bowl any year, was a big reason for the NFL’s popularity. Only the last three years have shown otherwise. The AFC Title game for the past four years have been Patriots-Ravens (2012 postseason), Patriots-Ravens again (2013), Patriots-Broncos (2014) and Patriots-Colts (2015). On the NFC side it has been 49ers-Giants (2012), 49ers-Falcons (2013), 49ers-Seahawks (2014) and Seahawks-Packers (2015). It isn’t even as if the Packers and Colts or even Giants were new to this either. So while another team may surprisingly win the division or even sneak into the Conference Title game, the days of the surprising 1999 Rams or 2003 Panthers seem to be over. That’s fine, as it makes things easier to predict.

With that being said…RDT’s 2015 NFL Predictions.

NFC East

nflpredeli

Giants: 11-5
Cowboys: 10-6
Eagles 9-7
Redskins 6-10

It has been a few years since the Giants last surprised us with a Super Bowl run. While I don’t necessarily think a Super Bowl is in the cards this year this is the first time in a few years where I think the Giants aren’t being talked about enough (and I live in NY!). The Giants were a slightly better team than expected last year (7.5 Pythagorean Wins against 6 actual wins). With Odell Beckham giving Eli Manning his best weapon in his career, Eli just has to hope that whatever’s left of his offensive line can keep him protected. For two years now Eli’s O-Line has been decimated by injuries over the last couple of years and some of that lingers today. If he can get the ball out, Giants will have a chance on that side of the ball. The other thing going in the Giants’ favor is the absolute dysfunction of Washington and Philadelphia. The Redskins had their whole Robert Griffin III drama and now Kirk Cousins is starting, so that’s a mess waiting to happen. Philly has all the talent in the world, but Chip Kelly’s trade for, then lack of faith of, Sam Bradford sounds like a problem waiting to happen. I really think the ship has sailed on Kelly. What seemed revolutionary a couple of years ago now looks like a coach with too much roster power making crazy moves with a gimmick offense. I guess we’ll see. Dallas should be fine…they were arguably a play away from the NFC Title game last year…but I’ve been far past completely trusting Dallas and Tony Romo at this point.

NFC North

nflpredteddy

Vikings: 11-5
Packers: 11-5
Lions: 8-8
Bears: 7-9

It’s not just the return of Adrian Peterson, which may not even work out anyway (2,000 career caries), but that Minnesota is a young team that should only get better. They were 7-9 anyway without their best player. Part of that is Teddy Bridgewater and how well he played in his last six starts last year. According to Grantland, Teddy was 12 in QBR, completed 69% of his passes for 1,440 yards, 10 TDs and 6 INTS. Best of all, it was an improvement over his first six starts. If Bridgewater improves and Peterson is still a monster, that’s suddenly a super dangerous combination. Green Bay is always going to be there as long as Aaron Rodgers plays quarterback, and him alone is enough to make Green Bay a Super Bowl contender (they almost got there last year). While they won’t fall that much, Detroit losing Ndamukong Suh is going to hurt too badly for them to be able to deal with Green Bay or Minnesota. Their offense should be fine unless Calvin Johnson regresses. The Bears should be okay, unless Jay Cutler is completely done.

NFC South

nflprednewton

Panthers: 10-6
Saints: 8-8
Falcons: 7-9
Buccaneers: 4-12

This division is still a mess and really any of the four teams can take it. I like Carolina because despite not being the most talented team, Coach Ron Rivera’s transformation into “Riverboat Ron” (leading to taking chances on 4th down and such) and Cam Newton’s play gives Carolina a shot to win any game. Atlanta may be more talented, and who knows, perhaps the Matt Ryan-Julio Jones connection will be unstoppable this year, but I’ve never truly believed in Matt Ryan as a top tier quarterback. He always seemed like the guy with every single weapon at his disposal (Jones, Tony Gonzalez, Roddy White, Michael Turner). Their defense was horrid last year as well. Atlanta’s just going to have to prove it to me. I also think I’m over the Saints. I love Drew Brees, but losing Graham is going to hurt and I think their peak is over. And let’s give Jameis Winston a year to see what he’s got first.

NFC West

nflpredsherman

Seahawks: 12-4
Rams: 6-10
Cardinals: 5-11
49ers: 4-12

Even though I think Seattle is slowly on the way down they could easily be just fine and their division is weak anyway. I can’t find a powerhouse in the NFC that’s going take the regular season crown away from them. The Rams are a fun choice I guess, but I’m not going to believe in Nick Foles at QB. While they upset Seattle last year and have a good defense I need to see more before I go in with them. The Cardinals are a prime example of a team to fall apart. Without Carson Palmer they couldn’t score a point, and now we’re getting back a 35 year old Palmer coming off a torn ACL. Palmer’s been done as a top tier QB for years and I think 2014 was just an outlier. Then again, perhaps Arizona just needs him to be merely average. We’ll find out. I assume two people retired from the 49ers as I was writing this. I’m not putting any stock whatsoever in them. You don’t drop Jim Harbaugh and get better.

I just can’t find a way to bet against Seattle making the Super Bowl again. Unless there’s a crazy Giants team (don’t rule this out…happens every few years apparently) or Aaron Rodgers really is the GOAT (don’t rule this out either, although losing Jordy Nelson makes it so much harder on him) I’m going to have to pick Seattle here. Even if they are getting hit with “The Disease of More”.

AFC East

nflpredbrady

Patriots: 12-4
Bills: 9-7
Dolphins: 7-9
Jets: 6-10

An angry Patriots team is a scary Patriots team. While some key losses may seem to hurt them (Revis), you’re going to have to find a really good argument to convince me that New England isn’t going to make at least their fifth straight AFC Title game.  Remember how well Brady played after there were jokes that he was done and Jimmy Garoppolo was going to start? How did that turn out for the NFL? The Bills will be decent because Rex Ryan can get the best out of a smashmouth football team, but he’s still in the wrong era and Buffalo’s QB situation is appallingly bad. Miami seems to be a popular choice to surprise, but they have no secondary and Ryan Tannenhill is their quarterback. The Jets have Ryan Fitzpatrick running their offense. So unless the defense wants to carry them like they did for Geno, it’s just not going to happen.

AFC North

nflpredflacco

Ravens: 11-5
Steelers: 9-7
Bengals: 6-10
Browns: 3-13

The Ravens have some red flags…mainly their only legit WR is an aging Steve Smith and the running game looks like it has a lot to be desired. That’s okay though, their defense should carry them to at least the 9-7 range alone, and I’m more of a Joe Flacco fan than not at the moment. I think the Steelers are a bit weaker overall (and have a tough schedule…they play teams like the Colts where Baltimore doesn’t). The Bengals run of one and dones are going to end eventually, and until they move on from Andy Dalton I’m going to pick this season for that. You can’t help but feel bad for the Browns. Josh McCown and Johnny Manziel? Maybe Manziel figures it out. Don’t sleep on the Ravens though…you always have to give a real chance to well coached teams.

AFC South

nflpredluck

Colts: 12-4
Texans: 6-10
Titans: 5-11
Jaguars: 3-13

This is simple to figure out. The Jaguars are still a mess. Unless Mariotta is great right away the Titans will be bad once again, and the Texans somehow downgraded from Ryan Fitzpatrick at QB (although it wouldn’t surprise me if J.J. Watt somehow won 10 games by himself at this point). That leaves the Andrew Luck Colts. I don’t think the Colts are as good as everyone says…they’re right now a popular Super Bowl pick. People are forgetting that the only reason the Colts got by Denver in the playoffs last year was because Peyton Manning was hurt. Otherwise you had a Denver-NE rematch going. Colts will be fine, Luck might be better (which is why their record doesn’t fall), but they’re still behind New England and Denver.

AFC West

nflpredcharles

Chiefs: 11-5
Chargers: 11-5
Broncos: 10-6
Raiders: 6-10

Put a big asterisk here, because we don’t know what Peyton Manning we are getting. Is he healthy? Is he still hurt from last year? I think that fear combined with the changes made coaching wise will hurt Denver a bit…although a 10-6 Broncos team can absolutely make the Super Bowl.  The Chiefs are a stereotypical Andy Reid team. They’ll probably win the division and lose in the opening round to Denver. I’ve always been a bit of a Philip Rivers fan and thought he played well the last two years. I think this may be San Diego’s last shot at anything. Remember last year they started 5-1 and just had a rough schedule down the stretch.

Ultimately I see a rematch in the Super Bowl. While there are some teams that I think can threaten Seattle and New England, I feel there are too many flaws out there for them to overcome their weaknesses. I think Seattle wins this time though.

 

 

 

 

 

Basketball

Top 100 Basketball Players Ever: #60-#51

#60: Bernard King

top100king

Resume

All-NBA 1st Team: 2x (’84, ‘85)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 1x (’82)

All-NBA 3rd Team: 1x (’91)

All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’78)

NBA All-Star: 4x (’82, ’84, ’85, ‘91)

NBA PPG Leader (55 G): 1x (’85)

NBA Top 10 Points: 4x (’78, ’81, ’82, ’84)

NBA Top 5 Win Shares: 1x (’84)

NBA Top 2 WS/48: 1x  (’84)

NBA Top 10 PER: 2x (’81, ’82)

NBA Career Points: 42nd

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 58th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 69th

I’ll admit to being a little skeptical overall of King, considering that his resume is quite short. With one (major) exception, it looked like King had one of the unluckiest careers in NBA history regarding injuries and style clashing. Bill Simmons described King as unstoppable from 1983-1985. This seems relevant as that’s part of one of the toughest eras in professional basketball history. This didn’t matter to King, the lone blue chipper for the early 80s Knicks, as he put together two NBA 1st teams and led the Knicks to the playoffs a couple of those years as well. In 1985, while leading the league in scoring he blew out his knee and never was the same. That, combined with King being stuck in Hubie Brown’s slowdown style, limited King to what he could have been.

Of course, King’s career is also hampered by cocaine use early in his career. His drug use limited him just as much as his later injuries would, I mean, isn’t it odd that King took so many years to peak, and when he did he was downright unstoppable in a tough era? Those King years at the top represent the player we wanted Carmelo Anthony to become, only it never quite happened for Melo (and probably isn’t at this point).

And then there’s this. Despite the injuries and such, King came back in 1991 and randomly put up a 28.4 PPG season at age 34. Combine that with his reputation, his long standing record of 60 points at MSG (which Kobe broke when Wilson Chandler couldn’t guard him) and that he was so good that his 55 game 1985 season still got him All-1st Team honors over Michael Jordan, and well I’ll have to push my skepticism to the side.

 #59: Elvin Hayes

top100hayes

Resume

All-NBA 1st Team: 3x (’75, ’77, ‘79)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 3x (’73, ’74, ‘76)

All-NBA Defensive 2nd Team: (’73, ’74)

All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: (’69)

NBA All-Star: 12x (’69, ’70, ’71, ’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76, ’77, ’78, ’79, ‘80)

NBA Points Leader: 1x (’69)

NBA Rebounds Leader: 2x (’70, ’74)

NBA Defensive Rating Leader: 1x (’75)

NBA Defensive Win Shares Leader: 3x (’71, ’74, ’75)

NBA Top 10 Points: 7x (’69, ’70, ’71, ’72, ’75, ’77, ‘80)

NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 13x (’69, ’70, ’71, ’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76, ’77, ’78, ’79, ’80, ’81)

NBA Top 10 Blocks: 8x (’74, ’75, ’76, ’77, ’78, ’79, ’80, ’81)

NBA Top 10 Steals: 1x (’75)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 3x (’74, ’75, ‘77)

NBA Top 10 Defensive Win Shares: 12x (’69, ’70, ’71, ’72, ’73, ’74, ’75, ’76, ’77, ’78, ’79, ’80, ’81)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 1x (’75)

NBA Top 10 PER: 2x (’81, ’82)

NBA Career Points: 9th

NBA Career Rebounds: 4th

NBA Career Blocks: 22nd

Best Player on One NBA Champion: ’78 Bullets

Best Player on Two Runner-Ups: ’75 Bullets, ’79 Bullets

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 51st

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 23rd

Looking at the resume you’re likely to side with Slam’s ranking of Hayes than Simmons. Here are the following quotes about Hayes from various publications and sportswriters at the time:

“During his four years with the Rockets, Hayes was variously considered a ball hog, a rotten apple, a dumbbell and a guaranteed loser.” –Sports Illustrated, 1974

“Individualism overcame Elvin in yet another big contest.”

“Hayes once more disappeared in the moments of crisis.”

“It’s imperative for the Bullets that their only real name player and 10 year All-Star justify his status by not dissolving at the end of the seventh game [of the Finals].” – Curry Kirkpatrick, Sports Illustrated, 1978

“You stay away from that no-good fucking prick.” – Rockets’ Coach Bill Fitch, on what he reportedly told rookie Ralph Sampson when Hayes said he wanted to mentor him.

Now, being a jerk and being hated by the sports media doesn’t mean you’re a bad player (although, it’s a good sign that you’re a terrible teammate and a potential locker room cancer), so let’s go with a couple of game related stories.

Hayes may be the worst “best player on a title team ever”, and it’s debated about whether or not he really was the best player on that 1978 title team (Unseld). The defining story? After scoring a total of 19 fourth quarter points in six Finals games in 1978, and calls for him to step up in Game 7, Hayes fouled out with 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter of that Game 7. The Bullets, on the road, managed to win the title without him as Unseld won Finals MVP. Not exactly MJ against Utah. Speaking of Utah, in terms of clutchness Hayes is regarded as the poor man’s Karl Malone. That’s not a compliment. All of this combined with that he peaked during a weak era of pro basketball, the 1970s, and his lowish ranking starts to make some sense.

#58: Paul Arizin

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Resume

All-NBA 1st Team: 3x (’52, ’56, ‘57)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 1x (’59)

NBA All-Star: 10x (’51, ’52, ’55, ’56, ’57, ’58, ’59, ’60, ’61, ‘62)

NBA Points Leader: 2x (’52, ’57)

NBA Win Share Leader: 1x (’52)

NBA Offensive Win Share Leader: 1x (’52)

NBA Top 10 Points: 9x (’51, ’52,’55, ’56, ’57, ’58, ’59, ’60, ’61)

NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 2x (’51, ’52)

NBA Top 10 PER: 4x (’52, ’56, ’57, ’59)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 8x: (’51, ’52, ’55, ’56, ’57, ’59, ’60, ’61)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: (’52, ’56, ’57, ’59)

First Player to average 20+PPG for Nine Straight Seasons

Best Player on One NBA Champion: ’56 Warriors

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 56th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 71st

The first player to ever use a jump shot, which seems important from a historical point of view. Arizin was the best player on the last pre-Russell NBA Champs, the ’56 Warriors. He had a killer post-season that year (29-8, .262 WS/48). Would have probably had more All-Stars, but in ’53 and ’54 he was forced into military duty and didn’t play. He ended his career on a high note, averaging a 23-7 for the Sixers as they almost beat the ’62 Celtics. Arizin is one of the top examples that Wilt Chamberlain in fact had great players as teammates too.

#57: Dolph Schayes

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Resume

All-NBA 1st Team: 6x (’52, ’53, ’54, ’55, ’57, ’58)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 6x (’50, ’51, ’56, ’59, ’60, ’61)

NBA All-Star: 12x (’51, ’52, ’53, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57, ’58, ’59, ’60, ’61, ‘62)

NBA Rebounds Leader: 1x (’51)

NBA FT% Leader: 3x (’58, ’60, 62)

NBA Win Share Leader: 1x (’58)

NBA WS/48 Leader: 1x (’54)

NBA Defensive Win Share Leader: 1x (’55)

NBA Top 10 Points: 11x (’51, ’53, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57, ’58, ’59, ’60, ’61, ‘62)

NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 12x (’51, ’52, ’53, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57, ’58, ’59, ’60, ’61, ‘62)

NBA Top 10 Assists: 3x (’50, ’51, ’57)

NBA Top 3 FT%: 10x: (’53, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57, ’58, ’59, ’60, ’61, ‘62)

NBA Top 10 PER: 10x: (’53, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57, ’58, ’59, ’60, ’61, ‘62)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 11x: (’50, ’51, ’52, ’53, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57, ’58, ’59, ’60)

NBA Career Rebounds: 26th

Best Player on One NBA Champion: ’55 Nationals

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 52nd

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 35th

Like Hayes, an outstanding resume that merits Schayes being ranked higher. Schayes issue is the era he played in: the 1950s. Before Bill Russell showed up Schayes was one of the best players in the early NBA along with George Mikan (who we’ll get to). After Russell (and others), Schayes stopped winning in the playoffs. That’s fine. The total weight of his resume gives him a decent amount of credit, and I put him above Hayes as Schayes defining story (playing a full season with a broken arm and just switching his main hand) is a lot better than Hayes.

It’s always going to be tough to rank the 1950s guys. They will always take a hit (half of Dolph’s career was even before the shot clock existed) ranking wise. Dolph’s resume was too good to drop outside the Top 60.

#56: Dominique Wilkins

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Resume

All-NBA 1st Team: 1x (‘86)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 4x (’87, ’88, ’91, ’93)

All-NBA 3rd Team: 2x (’89, ’94)

NBA All-Star: 9x (’86, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94)

NBA PPG Leader: 1x (’86)

NBA Top 10 Points: 9x (’85, ’86, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’93, ’94)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 2x: (’86, ‘87)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: (’87, ’93)

NBA Career Points: 12th

NBA Career Steals: 56th

NBA Career Offensive Rebounds: 31st

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 55th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 43rd

If you’re siding with Dominique to be 15-20 spots higher, you’re rewarding individual and arguably selfish play over team ball. You can look at the fact that ‘Nique never got past round 2 in two ways: he clashed against the Bad Boy Pistons, Bird’s Celtics and Jordan’s Bulls…or you can come to the conclusion that a self-absorbed  all O and no D scorer who did nothing to make his teammates better couldn’t will his teams to the finish line.

It doesn’t mean that Dominique wasn’t a great player. His Hawks teams routinely made the playoffs and even won 50+ games from ’86-’89 (peaking at 57 in 1987) and he didn’t have that much of a supporting cast (Kevin Willis and Doc Rivers were his best teammates). So he has to get credit for that. He had one chance to get to the Conference Finals, but his 47 wasn’t enough (Bird scored 20 in the 4th and Boston won by 2). But again, his defense was a problem for the Hawks in that game as well. How far can a no defense guy get in the playoffs without a strong defensive unit around him or a top shot blocking center? Not far enough it seems.

#55: Chris Paul

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Resume

NBA Rookie of the Year: ‘06

All-NBA 1st Team: 4x (’08, ’12, ’13, ‘14)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 2x (’09, ‘15)

All-NBA 3rd Team: 1x (‘11)

All-NBA Defensive 1st Team: 5x (’09, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15)

All-NBA Defensive 2nd Team: 1x (’08)

All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: ‘06

NBA All-Star Game MVP: 1x (’13)

NBA All-Star: 8x (’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14, ‘15)

NBA Assists Leader: 3x (’08, ’09, ’15)

NBA Steals Leader: 5x (’06, ’08, ’09, ’11, ’12)

NBA Win Shares Leader: 1x (’08)

NBA Offensive Win Shares Leader: 3x (’08, ’12, ’15)

NBA WS/48 Leader: 1x (’08)

NBA Top 10 Points: 2x (’09, ‘15)

NBA Top 10 Assists: 10x (’06, ’07, ’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15)

NBA Top 3 Steals: 8x (’06, ’08, ’09, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 7x (’08, ’09, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 8x (’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15)

NBA Top 10 PER: 8x (’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15)

NBA Top 10 Offensive Rating: 8x (’08, ’09, ’10, ’11, ’12, ’13, ’14, ’15)

NBA Career Assists: 16th

NBA Career Steals: 26th

NBA Career APG: 3rd

NBA Career SPG: 4th

NBA Career Offensive Rating: 1st

NBA Career Win Shares: 32nd

NBA Career WS/48: 3rd

NBA Career PER: 6th

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 90th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 107th

On paper, CP3 is already one of the greatest basketball players ever. He either holds or is on pace to hold many different records (both traditional and advanced). He would hold a spot on the starting five best two way players in the NBA right now, and would even have a chance at an all-time version. He was absolutely robbed of the MVP in 2008 (sorry Kobe fans) where he put up 21.1 PPG, 11.6 APG, 4 RPG and 2.7 SPG while only having 2.5 turnovers a game for a 56 win Hornets team. Only players in NBA history to put up 20 PPG, 11 APG and 2 SPG in a season are CP3 and Isiah…although CP3 did it with less turnovers and shot a higher percentage.

So what holds CP3 back from a higher ranking? For some reason or another he also can’t get past round 2 of the playoffs. Twice he’s gotten to Game 7 of the 2nd round and once to a super close Game 6, and each time he fell short. In 2008 a 22 year old Paul has been dominating the playoffs and had a 3-2 lead on the Spurs…but the Spurs shocked the Hornets in Game 7 as Paul was “held” to a 18-14-8-5. He was masterful for the most part in the six game loss to the Thunder in 2014, averaging 22-12-4 and 2 and a half steals for the series, but Durant and Westbrook were too good and the Thunder prevailed. Both of those losses though could be justified. What wasn’t justified was the Clippers blowing their series against Houston last year. Putting that together with the up 3-2 against the Spurs and the Thunder series (famously lost Game 5 despite being up 7 with 50 seconds to go) one has to wonder why Chris Paul teams keep blowing huge games (even in round 1 last year against the Spurs, a series that the Clippers won and Paul was masterful in Game 7 in, there were several blunders along the way, especially in Game 2, which made you question the toughness of the Clippers). Until he can rectify this, I don’t know if he’ll ever crack the top 40.

But I think he’ll do it eventually. He’s 30 years old now and should still have 3-4 elite years left. The talent is there. The coaching is there. They have beaten great teams (like the Spurs last year). Is Chris Paul the leader we all think he is? Or is there a little bit of Oscar Robinson in him…someone who’s teammates play in fear of him and as a result screw up in the clutch? We’ll find out.

#54: Billy Cunningham

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Resume

ABA MVP: 1x (’73)

All-NBA 1st Team: 3x (’69, ’70, ‘71)

All-NBA 2nd Team: 1x (’72)

All-ABA 1st Team: 1x (’73)

All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: ‘66

ABA Steals Leader: 1x (’73)

NBA All-Star: 4x (’69, ’70, ’71, ’72)

ABA All-Star: 1x (’73)

ABA Steals Leader: 1x (’73)

NBA Top 10 Points: 3x (’69, ’70, ’71)

ABA Top 5 Points: 1x (’73)

NBA Top 10 Assists: 1x (’75)

ABA Top 3 Assists: 1x (’73)

NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 2x (’69, ’70)

ABA Top 5 Rebounds: 1x (’73)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 1x (’70)

ABA Top 3 Win Shares: 1x (’73)

Sixth Man For One Champion: ’67 Sixers

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 49th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 41st

At first it doesn’t feel like he has the resume, although both Simmons and Slam rank him quite highly. His ABA MVP year is nothing to sneeze at: 24-12-6 with 2 and a half steals per game. Ranked in the top 5 in points, top 3 in assists and top 5 in rebounds while leading the ABA in steals during his MVP year. Simmons thought he was good enough to be the 1969 MVP (22-11-3). He’s regarded as the best small forward for a five year stretch. He’s another example that Wilt played with great players during his career, and Cunningham was a solid 6th man (15 PPG) for that ’67 Sixers team that won the title (in regards to his playstyle, he’s compared to Manu).

#53: Hal Greer

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Resume

All-NBA 2nd Team: 7x (’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ‘69)

NBA All-Star Game MVP: 1x (’68)

NBA All-Star: 10x (’61, ’62, ’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ‘70)

NBA Top 10 Points: 6x (’63, ’64, ’65, ’66, ’67, ’68)

NBA Top 10 Assists: 4x (’64, ’65, ’66, ’68)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 3x (’63, ’66, 68)

2nd Best Player on One Championship Team: ’67 Sixers

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 48th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 59th

Another not quite impressive resume…but Greer gets ranked this high for being Wilt’s 2nd banana (scoring 27.7 PPG in the ’67 playoffs where the Sixers won the title) as well as for his consistency year in and year out. There’s not much else to say about Greer. Players from his era respected his work ethic and thought he had a beautiful jump shot. He also shot free throws with his jumper. Nonetheless, season after season of 20 PPG as primarily a 2nd banana with a Championship is nothing to sneeze at. More proof Wilt played with great players.

#52: Nate Thurmond

top100thurmond

Resume

All-NBA Defensive 1st Team: 2x (’69, ’71)

All-NBA Defensive 2nd Team: (’72, ’73, ’74)

All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: ‘64

NBA All-Star: 7x (’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’70, ’73, ‘74)

NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 8x (’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’71, ’72, ‘73)

NBA Top 10 Blocks: 2x (’74, ‘75)

NBA Top 5 Defensive Rating: 1x (’75)

NBA Top 10 Defensive Win Shares: 8x (’65, ’66, ’67, ’68, ’69, ’72, ’73, ’75)

NBA Career Rebounds: 10th

2nd Best Player on One Runner-Up: (’67 Warriors)

Starter on One Runner-Up: (’64 Warriors)

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 45th

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 34th

Probably in the starting lineup for the all-time underrated team. He mad no All-NBA teams but for a very good reason: his career coincided with Wilt, Russell, Kareem and Reed (and there was no Third Team back then). Regarded as the 2nd best defensive center in the league after Russell. Recorded 2.9 BPG when he was washed up in ’74…it was the first year the NBA recorded blocks. Had the first recorded quadruple double (22 PTS, 14 REB, 13 AST, 12 BLK) in 1974.

His lack of championship success was because of two things. One, he was ridiculously unlucky as Rick Barry bolted the Warriors for the ABA. Had he stayed, some of those early 70s titles probably go to the Warriors. When Barry came back the Warriors traded him to Chicago to save money…and Thurmond almost made them pay as the Bulls took the Warriors to 7 games in the Western Finals.

The second part was what kept him off of all those All-NBA teams. He wasn’t getting past Russell, Wilt or Kareem. Kareem and Wilt both said Thurmond was their toughest defender in the early 70s. Just think of the rich man’s Dikembe Mutombo here.

#51: Wes Unseld

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Resume

NBA MVP: 1x (’69)

NBA Finals MVP: 1x (’78)

NBA All-1st Team: 1x (’69)

All-NBA Rookie 1st Team: ‘69

NBA All-Star: 5x (’69, ’71, ’72, ’73, ‘75)

NBA Top 10 Rebounds: 10x (’69, ’70, ’71, ’72, ’73, ’75, ’76, ’77, ’78, ’80)

NBA Top 3 Offensive Rating: 1x (’79)

NBA Top 10 Defensive Rating: 2x (’75, ’76)

NBA Top 10 Win Shares: 5x (’69, ’70, ’73, ’75, ’76)

NBA Top 10 WS/48: 2x (’69, ’75)

NBA Top 10 Defensive Win Shares: 8x (’69, ’70, ’71, ’73, ’75, ’76, ’77, ‘78)

NBA Career Rebounds: 12th

2nd Best Player on One NBA Champion: ’78 Bullets

2nd Best Player on Three Runner-Ups: ’71 Bullets, ’74 Bullets, ’79 Bullets

Simmons Pyramid Ranking (2010): 42nd

Slam Magazine 500 Ranking (2011): 33rd

A strange resume that you’ll have to ignore statistics to appreciate. Defensively, Unseld wasn’t a shot blocker…yet put up some really good defensive rating and defensive win shares numbers. He wasn’t a scorer, yet was really efficient offensively. He was arguably the best player (I know we said Hayes, but ugh) on that ’78 Bullets team for doing all the dirty work (screens, rebounding) and for being the greatest outlet passer in NBA history (Red Auerbach said that perhaps only Russell was better). So it’s just going to be impossible to capture the impact Unseld had through awards and statistics.

Here’s the thing. Back in the 60s and early 70s…the players voted on the league MVP. Sure they got carried away with it and Unseld wasn’t the correct choice…but it’s something that he did win MVP, no? His opponents thought he was that difficult to deal with playing against him. And Unseld showed it was at least somewhat of a worthy accolade as he’d win the ’78 Finals MVP. So there’s more evidence that he’s a great player than not. What a tough player to rank.

Pro Wrestling

RAW vs. NITRO Week 2 (9/11/95)

Week 2

Posted Image

Nitro: 9/11/95
Miami, FL

We’ve got a big name World Title match tonight, Hulk Hogan vs. Lex Luger!

I think it’s awesome that Bischoff put Luger in a Nitro main event immediately. Luger was all over WWF TV just two weeks prior.

This is the go home PPV for Fall Brawl ’95.

Mongo looks ridiculous with glasses.

Bischoff says that Vader has gown AWOL. I think Vader was just fired. Anyway, he’s out of the War Games match.

Sabu vs. Alex Wright

We’re not in ECW are we anymore Sabu?

Sabu takes Wright over the top with a frankensteiner.

Sabu uses a chair as a springboard…but Wright moves and Sabu leg lariats the railing!

Awesome backflip off the top from Wright…which transitions into a German Suplex.

Sabu gets the three on Alex Wright after a top rope victory roll…but Sabu continues the attack and drives Wright through a table!

Alex Wright wins by DQ in 3:58. Ref reverses the decision. Pretty fun 4 minute match with nice spots. Good showing off of Sabu and Wright.

Here comes Ric Flair!

Flair compares himself to Joe Montana and Arn Anderson to Lawrence Taylor. Uh…

Lex Luger comes out to tell Flair “he’s too much” and leaves. Ok?

What an odd segment that was. I mean the interview was fine…but the Luger cameo was what?

Sting vs. VK Wallstreet

Wallstreet is an absolute Million Dollar Man ripoff here.

Bischoff says that “Shawn Michaels beat the big guy with a superkick!” I’m sure Vince McMahon had a heart attack right there. HBK vs. Sid was the main event on RAW…which was taped on August 28th, 1995.

Bischoff says of Wallstreet: “It’s all about power, it’s all about money, and that’s why he’s in WCW”. You think Hogan said that about his contract negotiation?

A very heavy anti-WWF segment here. Bischoff points out Luger was wrestling for the WWF nine days ago but left because he wanted competition. Ouch.

Sting pins Wallstreet in 4:13. Crossbody off the top for the win. Too short for my tastes, but it was fine and the crowd was into it.

Bischoff makes sure that we watch Saturday Night for the debut of Disco Inferno!

Scott Norton vs. Randy Savage

Norton was treated as a big deal early on. No one remembers his debut on the first Nitro…and by this time next year he’d be wrestling Ice Train.

Savage is selling like a million bucks for Norton at least.

Randy Savage pins Scott Norton in 5:39. The Dungeon of Doom hit the ring, and Norton and The Shark bump heads and Shark falls on Norton’s legs. This let’s Savage drop the big elbow for the win. Pretty weird finish. Dungeon of Doom attack Savage as a precursor to War Games. Weird to build up Norton to have him lose right away though.

WCW World Championship: Hulk Hogan© vs. Lex Luger

Hogan does put Luger over like a million bucks here. Well, right until he survives the Torture Rack.

We get the Hulk Up as well. Crowd kinda died during it.

Hulk Hogan wins by DQ in 5:28. Dungeon of Doom ruins this one too. Hogan of course legdropped Luger…so much for putting him over.

Sting and Savage run in, but the DOD don’t attack Luger! Now Hogan doesn’t trust him. This would set up the untruthworthy Luger deal. Sting defends him. How didn’t this lead to the Megapowers vs. Sting and Luger?

Luger will be Vader’s replacement this Sunday! Well, at least that’s what Sting wants. Savage is against him. Hogan, the deciding vote, says yes. Savage is brilliant here.

A solid outing for Nitro again, but I thought some things missed this time around. I liked Sabu vs. Wright…but the reverse decision blows. I don’t think anyone thought Wallstreet was beating Sting…and the announcers decided to use that time to talk about the WWF anyway. Flair’s interview was there. Scott Norton was put over in losing, but he wasn’t really the right guy to draw anyway. Hogan vs. Luger…booked as a dream match and all, went a mere 5 minutes. I feel like they could have cut Sting vs. Wallstreet here. It may have been the best quality match involving a big name, but also the least important.

That being said…we still got a show full of nonstop action, and Hogan put on his working boots for Luger for 4 minutes and 45 seconds. Savage did too. It’s also a good sign that the Nitro rating barely moved…even though it was up against RAW this week.

For the record I am all for Bischoff giving away the RAW results.

TV Rating: 2.4 (-0.1)
Grade: B+

Posted Image

RAW: 9/11/95
Canton, Ohio

Now that Vince saw what the competition was offering it was time to outshine them and own Monday Nights.

Oh wait…the show is taped.

Yes, taped back in August. Next week’s show is as well. Fun fact that Lex Luger was in a the dark match for this show.

The WWF is coming off a pretty awful Summerslam (a one match care if there ever was one, although The Kid vs. Hakushi was fine too). Now they’ve lost one of their main players, how will Vince respond? Despite a pretty good talent roster, somehow this meant more pushing for Mabel. No idea why.

The main event here is a match that was originally scheduled for Summerslam: HBK vs. Sid for the IC Title. Watching Nitro first though…Bischoff told us how that would turn out.

We have The Bulldog vs. Razor too. Two pretty big matches!

No idea why the WWF went to this terrible intro in 1995…especially when the classic RAW theme outright owned.

Razor Ramon vs. The British Bulldog

The Bulldog just turned heel on Diesel. Ramon just lost the IC title Ladder Match…and also had problems with Dean Douglas.

The Bulldog cutting his hair short was a great look for him.

This has been a solid back and forth contest so far. Good heat for Davey Boy.

Accidental ref bump…leads to Douglas attacking Ramon after Ramon had hit the Razor’s Edge.

Kid makes the save…and takes an awesome bump off the apron!

British Bulldog wins by DQ in 7:10. Kid comes off the top, but misses the Bulldog and hits Razor. Shouldn’t Razor win by DQ? Anyway, pretty good opening segment.

Vince interviews Kid and Razor, and it turns into an argument with Kid and Ramon when Vince says Kid cost Razor the match. Kid says last week (during tennis?) Razor cost him the match. He challenges Razor to a match for next week! He makes sure to point out he beat Razor the first time. Ramon accepts.

Weird poem from Todd Pettengill. Anyway, Yokozuna and Owen vs. Mabel and Mo next week I guess?

The Smokin’ Gunns vs. Rad Radford and The Brooklyn Brawler

No idea who’s winning this one.

Smokin’ Gunns win when Bart Gunn pins The Brawler in 2:46. It was an action packed 3 minutes at least. Did the Gunns ever name that sidewalk slam flying legdrop combo?

Goldust promo. No idea what he’s talking about…but who cares. It owns. References The Undertaker here, interestingly enough. The Goldust character is brilliant.

I like that they use the helicopter stock footage that would appear in The Rock’s 2003 heel titantron.

D.D.S. Isaac Yank’em vs. Scott Taylor

Two Attitude wrestlers here!

Awful chokeslam there. Funny what a long way that move has come for the future Kane.

Yank’em pins Taylor in 2:14. He wins with the DDS…which yes…is a DDT. How many people switched to Savage vs. Norton here?

In Your House hype. All the matches set already it looks like. It doesn’t look too bad!

WWF Intercontinental Championship
Shawn Michaels© vs. Sycho Sid

No one knows how to get a solid match out of Sid like Shawn does.

Shawn makes Sid look amazing here.

Awesome nip up from Sid, which led to a chokeslam.

Shawn Michaels pins Sid in 7:21. Three superkicks…one of them a real superkick, gets Shawn the win. Shawn bumps everywhere for Sid, and it leads to a very good match…even if it’s a bit short.

In retrospect, it’s odd that Vince allowed Shawn to do a striptease in the middle of the ring.

One last backstage interview with Diesel and HBK before we call it a night.

The show had a very good beginning and end, but it’s hard to care about any of that stuff in the middle. Thanks to Nitro, RAW squash matches would begin to be phased out. Unless you thought people were sticking around for The Brooklyn Brawler and Scott Taylor.

That along hurts the show enough. The 5 minute In Your House commercial is bothersome too. Nothing is built up (on RAW at least) yet a whole card is set already? Should I be watching Superstars instead?

Again…the opener and main were good.

TV Rating: 2.5
Grade: B

Weekly Review

Watching Nitro made me feel like WCW had so much talent they had to get in on the show. Watching RAW made me wonder why the WWF didn’t use all their top guys. Now that Nitro set that standard, RAW would have to catch up.

Even though Shawn vs. Sid was the better match in terms quality, Hogan vs. Luger was a huge deal with the WCW World Title on the line and everything. Nitro had an action packed show from top to bottom. RAW had a good start and good ending with stuff no one cared about in the middle.

Plus, Bischoff told you what would happen anyway…

Great start for Nitro ratings wise. First week of competition and they lose by merely 0.1. Not bad at all.

TV Ratings Score: 1-0 RAW

Grade Score: 1-0 Nitro

Uncategorized

RDT Reviews Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Big spoilers here…are you even reading this if you haven’t seen the film. Also, all Star Wars films have to invite comparison to the prequels…because inevitably any discussion of the Star Wars films invites such comparisons.

For years I thought this might have been the weakest Star Wars film of them all. Watching it again though, Return of the Jedi finally gives us the hero we’ve been waiting for in regards to Luke Skywalker and the result is a satisfying conclusion to the original Star Wars trilogy.

We start off right where we left off in Empire Strikes Back, with Luke, Leia, Chewy, Lando, R2 and 3PO heading to Tatooine to save Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt. Return of the Jedi is practically a two part act, with this being the first act. It’s quite an effective act as it establishes that this is now the established, prepared and most importantly confident Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker (despite what Yoda says later) who is ready to take down the Empire. Luke makes pretty quick work of the Hutts (random awesome point, it was cool to see Leia find an opening and take down Jabba herself instead of being rescued). It’s exciting to see Luke as the confident hero as in the previous two installments I wasn’t completely buying it (similar to the popular opinion about Anakin Skywalker becoming Vader in the prequels actually). Here, I buy it. There’s no whining or anything. It is as if the battle and loss to Vader hardened him. I don’t completely buy the path of how he got to this point, but now that he’s here it’s great to see. We tie another loose end as Luke visits Yoda, and Yoda confirms what Vader told Luke about being his father. Overall this is a brilliant first act that I just completely overlooked years ago watching this film.

I do think the film goes slightly downhill the rest of the way. The story is that the Emperor has coming to oversee the creation of the 2nd Death Star. He tells Vader, who unfortunately has been neutered as an amazing bad ass villain here that only together can they convert Luke to the dark side. The Rebels meanwhile have received information about the Death Star that gives them one last shot to destroy the Empire once and for all. Little do they know the Emperor is setting a trap to end the Rebellion once and for all. The second half here breaks up into two parts: Luke’s confrontation with the Emperor and Vader, and the battle on Endor. Before this we get the revelation that Luke and Leia are brother and sister, one of the weakest plot points in the entire saga and something that takes away from Luke a bit. In fact, pretty much everything that happens on Endor is weak and underwhelming (other than “god” C3PO. That was hilarious). The Ewoks taking out the Empire’s best troops takes a huge suspension of disbelief to get behind and I can’t do it, even if the Ewoks are supposed to be warriors. Just compare this conclusion to A New Hope’s and you’ll realize the seriousness is just gone.

But Vader and Luke’s confrontation? It’s great. While yes it is disappointing that Vader isn’t the monster he was in Empire, it is at least understandable here. He’s about to do a face turn (turning into a good guy) and the focus of evil needs to be on the Emperor. Since the Emperor is awesome himself, this is still perfectly fine. We finally get that emotion from Luke Skywalker I’ve waiting three films for when Vader threatens to convert his sister to the Dark Side. While I never once believed that Luke was going to turn, the entire sequence is well done.

There’s a lot of good in Return of the Jedi. It was a lot better than I remembered and tied up a lot of the loose ends from the first two films.

Pros:

+Luke Skywalker finally comes into his own and becomes the hero this franchise was sorely missing.

+A fitting conclusion to the saga. The story tied up quite nicely.

+The Emperor is awesome.

+”God” C3PO is awesome.

Cons:

-While the Emperor is awesome, it was disappointing to see Vader as basically a sidekick.

-95% of what happens on Endor is disappointing and underwhelming.

-Ewoks are terrible.

-The Luke-Leia brother-sister relationship was forced and put a value on the love for one another. I’d be more interested in Vader threatening to turn Luke’s friends to the Darkside as opposed to forcing a sibling narrative.

Overall, very good.

Grade: B+