The Ignorance Of Being Geraldo

The Benoit tragedies has been one of the main headline topics on the news and there are so many angles that the media are working on with these deaths.

One of the most ridiculous stories coming out of the tragedy was made by Geraldo Rivera. This sorry excuse of a reporter claimed that the death of Sherri Martel was part of it as well and that Kevin Sullivan was somehow involved.

The celebrity journalist found that Sherri had died and was once associated with Nancy Benoit's ex-husband Kevin Sullivan and made the asinine comment on a live news station in the US.

He even went so far with his conspiracy theory by announcing that Sherri had died on the same day as Nancy. As we are aware - Sherri died a week earlier in a different part of America.

The reporter was sued by the WWF in the early nineties. He obviously has an axe to grind with the industry and is finding these deaths an easy way to promote himself.

The big problem with these 'revelations' is that some people out there will take his word on it and believe them to be accurate.

A good journalist knows how to present their facts and use them efficiently. Rivera is just a joke.

Major Goings On

There just doesn't seem to be an end to the stories stemming from the Benoit murders and suicide. This has become the most controversial and topical moments in the history of the business.

The doctor of Chris Benoit had his surgery raided by the FBI yesterday and all his computers were seized. According to the LA Times newspaper it is possible that charges could be made against him today.

There is another story making the news that has caused a stir. It relates to the Chris Benoit page that can be found on the Wikipedia website.

On the Sunday night after Benoit failed to make his match at WWE Vengeance after citing 'personal reasons' someone updated the online encyclopedia announcing that Benoit had no-showed the ECW title match due to his wife dying.

The Benoits were found dead twelve hours after this post was uploaded to the site.

The conspiracy theorists jumped on this story like a pack of hyenas when the IP address of the individual was based in Connecticut which is where the WWE headquarters is based.

The Wikipedia site has managed to get an interview with the person that made the announcement. He or she wanted to remain anonymous claiming that they had made up the story after reading on other sites that Nancy's death was the reason for the wrestler's absence.

Things have got even creepier when I was reading and listening to comments made by Wade Keller of the Pro Wrestling Torch in regards to this story.

The person who made the claim has a history of changing items on Wikipedia. Keller recognised that one of the rare wrestling corrections the user had made was editing terrible comments about Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Guerrero was apparently the last person to have been contacted by Benoit.

Keller's comments on this topic are as follows;

This is a story I sat on for two days (I got emails on it dating back to Tuesday) because I didn't consider anything more than a lucky guess and not worth pursuing in a busy news week. But once the IP was traced to Connecticut, it became intriguing and worth exploring. Then, when investigation through Wikipedia's history linked to that IP address revealed that the individual had previously edited just a month earlier a Chavo Guerrero entry on Wikipedia - not to vandalize it, but to eliminate vile and outlandish accusations - it seemed too big of a coincidence. The fact that a person who accurately predicted something that few people could have had insight into at that point had also come to the defense on Wikipedia of one person who had tons of insight into Benoit's situation that weekend, then it became a story. The problem with the confession is that it fits two scenarios: One, a guy guessed right and is now sorry. Two, someone who broke confidence with someone who had inside info, who somehow has a tie with Chavo Guerrero, and is scared to death that he or she has just gotten into a lot of trouble and perhaps gotten Chavo or someone else who was a middleman between them in trouble because the Wikipedia entry indicates Chavo might have known more earlier than he let on. The only way to eliminate the potential tie-in to anyone who was privy to insight into Nancy's well-being or Benoit's potential actions or confessed actions is for this person to come forward and be investigated and then cleared of any such connection. This confession, frankly, makes me more suspicious that there's more to it than I was before the confession was made. A prankster who used vile anti-black and anti-gay terms in previous Wikipedia posts (those sharing the same IP number) doesn't seem like the type who would want to end the media frenzy surrounding his attention-seeking posts so quickly. This confession comes across as more likely someone doing damage control to try to stop the attention because there is something to hide. That's just my take on it, nothing more or less.

Benoit Media

There has been a lot of coverage of the Benoit murders and suicide in the news. Vince McMahon appeared on an American news show this morning in relation to this incident.

Vince McMahon interviewed on the Today Show:

http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=6fc941c3-ad35-4f6c-882a-b2f056f06a72&f=05&fg=rss

Linda McMahon interviewed on ABC News:

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=3325390

Other Video Links:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=MU26TRmqZBw

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHBOAmYnD8o

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9kG6Ai9UVaI

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dlgzdyGSPJw&NR=1

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bVAYfBLFEfo

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bVAYfBLFEfo

The Healing Process

I'm still getting over the shock of what happened. It seems the more I have looked at what has happened this weekend the more I am appalled at the tragedy.

In no particular order here are some of the things that have been uncovered since the news broke:

- Vince McMahon made a statement before last night's episode of ECW explaining the decision they had made to run a tribute episode of Raw. He claimed that the name 'Chris Benoit' would no longer be mentioned after the revelations made at the press conference held on Tuesday afternoon. McMahon said they were dedicating the show to those affected by the murders and suicide and the 'healing process' would begin.

-The press conference revealed that Nancy Benoit had been tied up and crushed, Daniel Benoit was found to have been suffocated in his bed and Chris Benoit took his own life by hanging himself in his gym.

-News items revealed that needle marks were found on the seven-year old. He had been injected by one or both of his parents with HGH (Human Growth Hormone). A few hours after this story was made public someone came forward in defence of the Benoit family claiming that the son had a condition called Fragile X Syndrome. The Benoits had kept this a secret. Certain people are now wondering whether Benoit killed Daniel in fear that his son would not be cared for properly without his mother and father. I can see the thought process on this one but I still cannot accept that a child was killed.

-All mentions of Benoit - including merchandise - were lifted from the WWE website once the press conference details were announced.

-The topic of steroids and 'roid rage' being the blame was brought up my numerous media outlets. The WWE released a statement of their own announcing that Benoit's last test in April of this year turned out to be a negative and claimed that they were concerned by the media's sensationalistic approach to the coverage. They argued that the tying up of Nancy Benoit is a sign of a premeditated murder rather than that of 'rage'.

-A time-line of Benoit's weekend were also put up on WWE.com. The series of text messages sent to his colleagues were transcribed in this account.

There are so many other things going on right now that will try to answer the big question of 'Why?' I think this has been one of the most surreal times I have ever experienced as a wrestling fan.

Yesterday's piece was written in a way where I wanted to show the rise and fall of Chris Benoit by jumping from my own recollections of him to the actions of this past weekend. I think it was one of most difficult pieces I have ever written. We will never be able to look back fondly at the career now. I wanted to use my writing to emphasise this feeling.

Hero & Villain

I couldn't sleep last night. The episode of WWE Raw dedicated to Chris Benoit didn't finish until after four o'clock. I lay in stunned silence at the news that I had received just hours earlier. One of the greatest workers in the business had passed away.

*********************************************

The first time I ever came across Chris Benoit was in the Autumn of 1993. I used to record episodes of WCW Worldwide on Thursday nights as they were part of the ITV Night-Time line-up.

The show was on too late for me. I had to be up early for school the following morning so I would put the episodes on a tape and watch them whilst having my Friday breakfast.

Back in the early 1990's I didn't look at work-rate as being one of the best things in a wrestler. I went for the larger than life characters like Hulk Hogan, Sid Vicious and The Ultimate Warrior.

Wrestling was all about goodies and baddies - heroes and villains. An escape from reality.

Benoit would appear on episodes of WCW taped at the MGM Studios in Florida. He was too small for me. I would pass up the opportunity I had to watch him wrestle as I thought he was just another one of those guys who were put in the ring to make the star look good.

It wasn't uncommon for me to fast forward his and everyone elses matches to see what Ric Flair or Sting were up to.

**********************************************

I found out a few minutes after posting my predictions that Benoit was not going to be at the Vengeance pay-per-view event on Sunday night. The reason given was that he had to return home on Saturday to deal with some personal issues.

**************************************************
I had matured as a fan by the time 1995 appeared on our calendars. I still liked Hogan and Vicious but I now preferred the lighter wrestlers. There was a lot more action in the bouts which featured the likes of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels.
There was life outside of the United States. I learnt this with the abundance of underground tapes being traded by fans that contributed to the newsletters and fanzines I subscribed to.
One of the first tapes I ordered was called the Super J Cup. The event was held in Japan in the Spring of 1994 and a selection of the greatest junior heavyweights were placed in a tournament to win the trophy.
There were some amazing bouts on this card. I was introduced to some of Japan's best workers like Jushin Liger and the Great Sasuke. These performers were miles better than anyone WWF or WCW had in their ranks.
The winner of the tournament was a person I had already been acquainted with - Chris Benoit.
*************************************************
I was sitting at my desk when I got a message from my friend, Joe. He was wondering if I had heard the news. I obviously hadn't as I would have been the one breaking it to him.
Chris Benoit was dead.
I checked the websites and my shock was multiplied when I read that his wife and seven-year old son had also passed away.
My initial thought was that we had lost another wrestler to a tragic accident. Then - within minutes of posting the news here - I started thinking a lot more about what could have happened.
I was hoping I was wrong. A man couldn't have killed his own wife and son could he? Especially a guy who I had been watching on my television set for the best part of fourteen years.
**********************************************

The most defining moment of Chris Benoit's career was in the WWE. The venue was Madison Square Garden and the event was Wrestlemania XX in the Spring of 2004.
The show ended with the Canadian Crippler winning his first world championship after beating Triple H and Shawn Michaels in the main event.
Lifting the world title at the close of the most important night in wrestling is the dream all aspiring and current wrestlers have. On that night, Benoit achieved his dream.
He was joined in the ring with the WWE Champion. Eddie Guerrero. Both were best friends in and out of the business. As the ticker-tape fell from the sky the two embraced in acknowledgement that their time had arrived.
They were on top of the world.

*************************************************
I tuned in to WWE Raw and found the tributes from his peers to be classy considering they must have been dealing with the shock of losing one of their own.
I sat watching the show from start to finish and enjoyed viewing the highlights of Benoit's career. I felt a peculiar feeling inside, though.
The deaths of Owen Hart and Eddie Guerrero and the tribute shows dedicated in their memory hit me hard. This one wasn't so bad. I figured at first it was due to me being desensitised to the shock of wrestlers passing and the way the company celebrates their life.
It felt a lot different this time. The arena was empty and the broadcasters did the link up work to the historic footage and comments from the stars.
I had an eerie feeling that this was the last time I would be able to watch Chris Benoit wrestle and be able to enjoy it.
In the hours after the television show I scanned a lot of news sites to find more information on the passing. My initials concerns were found to be true. I can't fathom why such a thing could have happened and feel for those who were and will have to live with the regrets of this past weekend.
****************************************************
On Saturday Chris Benoit took the life of his wife, Nancy.
A day later - his son, Daniel became the second victim.
Benoit ended his own life on Monday after hanging himself in his weight room.
Benoit's two children from a previous marriage will now face the rest of their lives without a stepmother, father and brother.

***************************************************
And they still say wrestling is an escape from reality.

Chris Benoit

I am sitting here in absolute shock. Chris Benoit, his wife and son have been found dead at their home in Atlanta.

I can't find the words to write anything at the moment. All I know is he was one of the best wrestlers of the modern era and this is another crazy moment us fans experience when some of our favourites go sooner than they should.

I will return on Tuesday with a lengthy story talking about when I first saw Benoit wrestle, his legendary underground tape that I had during my teens and also the biggest moment of his career.

365

I have finally made it.

Way back in June of 2006 I thought I would attempt to post something on here every day and see how long I could go for. It is now one whole year of continuous posts.

My initial plan was to go for the year to see if I could keep up with it. I did that as today's post shows.

There have been days where I cheated and just typed things like 'I have nothing to say' but it still counts!

The streak will continue until something halts the process.

The Night Of Champions

The WWE is hosting their Vengeance pay-per-view tonight and their main selling hook they are advertising for the event is that all the matches are title bouts.

It's the first time on PPV that a championship will be defended in every fight.

Here are a list of the titles on the line as well as my prediction on who will win:

Women's Title - Melina .vs. Candice Michelle

I am predicting a successful defence from Melina. Candice has won all their other matches but these have been contested under 'non-title' rules.

Cruiserweight - Chavo Guerrero .vs. Jimmy Wang Yang

This is a tough one to call. Guerrero may need to lose the title to keep the division fresh but is Jimmy Wang Yang the man to do it? I'll go for a Guerrero win here but I will probably have changed my mind by bell-time.

WWE Tag Team Championship - Deuce & Domino .vs. ?

The two title-holders will be putting their belts on the line in an 'Open Challenge Match'. I am guessing that one of the newer teams will beat them in order to start off a feud with them. My pick is for the Major Brothers to walk away as champs.

US Championship - MVP .vs. Ric Flair

This match has the potential to be the show stealer. Flair has just moved to Smackdown and MVP has just come off a good run of matches against Chris Benoit. These matches have shown that Montel Vontavious Porter has the potential to be a big name in the future. A win against Flair will further enhance this theory.

World Tag Team Championship - Cade & Murdoch .vs. The Hardys

The Hardys recently lost the titles to Cade and Murdoch. I can't see the belts being shifted back to them this soon.

Intercontinental Championship - Santino Marella .vs. Umaga

I think the Santino Marella angle must end here tonight. He beat Umaga for the title in Italy early this year when he was called out of the crowd to wrestle the Samoan. It was a good idea at the time but it really has bored me ever since. Umaga needs to avenge that loss.

ECW World Championship - CM Punk .vs. Chris Benoit

Both these wrestlers will go head-to-head for the vacant ECW Championship. I think Punk has the tools to be a star in the future and this bout will be interesting to see how he hangs in there with the likes of Benoit. This is similar to the MVP and Ric Flair bout but in this one I am banking on the older wrestler to win the match. Benoit is going to be the main guy on ECW. He needs the belt.

World Championship - Edge .vs. Batista

If Batista doesn't win the belt tonight then he will be unable to challenge Edge for it again. That is the rule of this 'Last Chance Match'. I can't see Batista winning the title here but I also can't see him not making future title challenges. My guess is a Batista win via disqualification. That way the belt will not change hands and Batista will still be eligible for title shots.

WWE Championship - John Cena .vs. King Booker .vs. Mick Foley .vs. Randy Orton .vs. Bobby Lashley

This is a 'Challenge Match' where former champions have a chance to reclaim the gold. John Cena always wins when the odds are stacked against him. It will happen here as well. Cena wins.

Au Revoir, Henry

Deep down, every Arsenal fan knew it was coming sooner or later.

Thierry Henry announced that he is leaving the club he joined in 1999 in order to sign for Barcelona.

Rumours were spreading that the Frenchman was heading to the Spanish club way back in the late Spring and early Summer of 2006. The player denied he was going anywhere and signed a new bigger contract to remain at Arsenal. It was an important year for the club - they moved to a new ground and they named a new team captain in Thierry Henry.

Henry and his team didn't have a good year at the Emirates Stadium. But he kept his word. He stayed at the club that has treated him well and made him a star beyond his wildest dreams.

The political landscape has changed at the club now, though.

David Dein - one of the most powerful men there - resigned earlier this year. His main allies were Henry and team manager, Arsene Wenger.

Wenger has not committed himself to a new contract and it is doubtful that he will be at the helm for the 2008/9 season.

Henry has justified his move by saying that the changes could affect his football and the time is right to move. I can't fault him. He has to do what's best for his career. Carpe Diem.

The Arsenal fans may have lost one of the most inspirational players that has ever worn the shirt. The Premier League has lost a true pro.

The Bitches Are Back

It didn't take long for the disastrous queens to plaque my new computer. I just lost s tournament after playing the pair that has ended my tourneys more than any other hand.

I was doing well. I had played them at least two times recently and won the hands. I thought that the bad luck I received in playing them had been exorcised. Until now.

There was an all-in move ahead of me from a player who had lost a lot of chips in the previous hand. He was called by the person to my right so I made the all-in move with my QQ.

To my left was the tournament chip leader and - as he had the funds to call - he met my bet.

The first raiser had A8, the caller had AJ and the chip leader had K6. I was winning.

But it didn't last.

The board was filled with diamonds and a king. The initial raiser made a flush when his eight of diamonds help him. The rest of the chips went to the tournament leader who had paired his kings.

I finished the tournament in seventy-sixth place. Two hundred and eighty-nine players originally entered it so I had been hanging in playing tight as I had said I would. I just haven't worked out the winning bit.

Yet.

Return Of The Rock (And I Don't Mean Dwayne Johnson)

I am not that good at poker (I have been dire in recent games).

It's time to face the truth. I am abysmal if you look at my current form. (see above).

I'm getting beat by hands that luck out on the Turn or River which shouldn't have been played anyway (is it them or is it me?)

I cannot bluff fools because there is always someone calling (or is it me being the fool?).

How do I change the current form? (I was once a contendah!).

Easy. I am going to return to being the tight player that has worked well for me in the past. No more crazy play for me. It's time the head ruled the heart and I become the rock of the table again (I am not going to take any more crap at the table).

I know where I have been going wrong. It's just a matter of changing my style back to a more conservative approach to the game (Boring for some but succesful at the end of the day).

I know it will be worthwhile in the long run.

12 Hours

I was knocked offline at 10pm last night due to a major glitch at Virgin Media. I didn't get back until after ten this morning.

It was weird not being connected to the net. I felt like I was back in the 1990's with nothing to do but listen to the radio and watch television.

I take this experience as an example of how dependant we are on the Internet.

I missed being able to keep up with wrestling news, playing poker and chat to people I know online. It just shows how much lives have changed since the advent of the Net.

The Season Bet : Part 4

All the results are in!

The season bet is now complete after Real Madrid secured the La Liga title this past Sunday. The Spanish team was one of those picked in my block bet in the latter part of last Summer.

The bet can be ruled a failure. I placed £100.40 in total with 10p a line covered over 502 bets. I returned £78.93 which equates to a loss of £21.47.

Here is a breakdown of what happened and analysis of where I went wrong.

The Winners

Real Madrid, Lyon, PSV, FC Porto and Indianapolis Colts.

The Losers

Celtic, Newcastle United, Bayern Munich and West Bromwich Albion.

Where I went wrong

I shouldn't have been too confident on betting on handicaps in the leagues. I placed a bet on Newcastle to win the Premier League with a thirty-four point head start as well as placing a bet on Celtic to win the Scottish premier League with the exact points they would accrue over the season (other teams in the league would have had the point advantage).

I knew Celtic were going to win the SPL so I shouldn't have been greedy going for the handicap and just made the bet on them to secure the title.

I had a feeling Manchester United were going to win the Premier League or - if not - come second. As my bet was an each-way, it would have worked. In fact, it would have been even more successful as they didn't just finish in second, they won the league. I thought Newcastle were in a position to get a few wins under their belt with Michael Owen's return slated for November at the time I placed the bet. As we are all aware, Owen failed to return until the late days of the season but by then my bet was dead and buried. Ironically, I am thinking that the Magpies will be able to pull this kind of bet off next season but I will not go there ever again!

I am surprised at West Brom and Bayern Munich's seasons but the real reason my bet didn't yield a win was because of my greed in the odds offered on Celtic and Newcastle in the handicap.
That was the downfall of the bet but was a lesson learnt.

Bernard Manning

Bernard Manning, one of Britain's most controversial comedians, died this afternoon at the age of seventy-six.

In a creepy twist of fate I was watching the Tiswas special on Saturday night and there was a clip of where a strongman was trying to lift Manning and Big Daddy on a bar with both of the men on either side.

The man failed to lift the two Northerners and even ended up hurting himself on live television. Bernard Manning even split his trousers during the failed attempt at lifting as the comedian and wrestler were both dropped to the ground.

I haven't seen Manning on television in years. The most likely reason is because his act had become politically incorrect.

It was not unusual to hear him call up the James Whale radio show on Talk Sport while travelling home from his gigs.

I am sure James Whale will hold a celebration in his memory on tonight's show at ten o'clock.

Superstition Wins

The Australian football - if you recall - has been one of the worst experiences I have brought you on this blog. For two weeks the results have been dire and I decided to be superstitious on my third attempt. Fortunately for me it was third time lucky.

I decided not to reveal the picks I had selected from the list given to me by the Racing & Football Outlook newspaper. It was an approach that gave me a return that made the last three weeks profitable. Albeit a few pounds in the black.

The paper suggested placing any three of the following teams into a treble. This would have consisted of twenty bets. I decided to go one better and add anther two teams from their other tips and create a Goliath bet.

The teams in the selection were; Werribee, Banyule, Lalor, Balcatta, Mandurah, Bayswater, Pascoe Vale and Mooroolbark. The last two being the squads I picked from their other tipping suggestions.

Two out of the eight failed to win and I returned £40.20 from my stake of £12.35. Had Bayswater and Lalor won their games I was looking at walking away with ten times more than what i did.

I think I will not give up on the Aussie leagues just yet. The RFO does seem to have their form back and hopefully it will rub off on me.

My eyes will be focused on the Spanish La Liga tonight. Real Madrid have the title in their grasp. If they can win against Real Mallorca then they have won the league and my season bet will be completed.

Barcelona and Sevilla are the two teams which stand in our way.

Sherri Martel

'Sensational' Sherri Martel died yesterday at the age of forty-nine.

If you have been a regular reader of this blog or have a good memory you will know that she was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in the Spring of 2006.

I had a few good words to write about Sherri back when I wrote about the Hall of Fame as she had added me to her mailing list after I sent her a few random lines in late 2004.

I had a number of emails from Sherri since that time and I even congratulated her when it was announced that she was to be inducted into the Hall.

On that night in question; Sherri stole the show.

She had to be prompted to wrap-up her speech as she had gone over her required time. She kept shouting to the people heckling her that it was her time and to be quiet. She was enjoying herself and you could tell she didn't want the experience to end.

Little did we know it was to be her last moment in the spotlight.

Friday The Fifteenth

There is a bad bug going around and guess who caught it!

Back To...

I planned on titling today's post 'Back To Winning Ways' after ending up in seventy-seventh place in the Frenzy Freezeout tournament on Coral Poker last night.

Nine hundred and fifty-eight people entered the game and the top one hundred and thirty were paid out. As I came in the payout list I doubled my entry fee so walked away with ten dollars.

I wasn't disappointed with the result. Sure, it would have been nice to have left with the first place and a thousand dollars but there is something I have figured out - it is probably best to have continuous tournament finishes rather than a scattering of wins.

That's not to say continuous first place finises would be bad. It's just hard to be so dominant especially with the cast of opponents you encounter over the net.

I'm not winning but definitely not losing. I hope it continues.

G'day Or Another Bad One?

The Racing & Football Outlook implored its readers not to 'give up on the Australian footy after a freak fallow period' in this week's issue.

I had vowed not to bet on the league again but I will give it one more shot this weekend.

In order not to make it third time lucky I will not reveal my picks as the last two times I had done so I ended up a loser.

The superstitious side of my ego has returned, I'm afraid.

Blaze Of Glory

The end of Monday Night Raw closed with a scene of Vince McMahon's limousine in a wall of fire after a car bomb detonated. Viewers - in the seconds before the blast - saw the WWE chairman entering his vehicle.

Is this the end of the Mr. McMahon character? Or is it the end of McMahon's reign in WWE?

Vince McMahon is the reason why I am typing this right now. Had it not been for him, professional wrestling would still be the territorial run business it was before McMahon came along and used cable television to go national.

Over the years we have seen VKM go from being the commentator on a majority of his shows to the heel chairman of the company. A move that was prompted by his real-life feud with Bret Hart after the Canadian was double-crossed by his boss in Montreal over how a title match was to end.

In recent weeks we have seen a different side to the McMahon character. He was shaved bald at Wrestlemania after his wrestler, Umaga lost to Bobby Lashley. He then went on to win the ECW world title in his feud with Lashley but lost it to his rival a fortnight ago.

Ever since losing his title the WWE viewers have witnessed McMahon being even more eccentric. He would randomly refer to his dignity not being compromised. Some would say it was a hidden acknowledgement to something that was happening in his personal life.

The chairman has had a tendency to use his company's storylines in an ironic sense.

During the 1994 trial where he was indicted on charges of steroid distribution he ran an angle where Lex Luger was framed for turning on his fans by fellow good guy, Tatanka. This storyline ended with the accuser being the one who turned on the fans thus the blamer was the real baddie.

During the early 2000 when the then WWF was being targeted bu the Parents Television Council (PTC) for the violence on their shows, McMahon introduced a heel faction called the RTC (Right To Censor).

The dramatic end to last night's show could be more than a symbolic end to the character. It is possible that the loss of dignity that the chairman mentioned in previous weeks could be a sign of health issues he is facing in his personal life.

As the two cases above show - it is also possible that McMahon departing the WWE in this manner is an end to McMahon's involvement with the business.

I can't imagine the world of wrestling continuing without the mind of Vince McMahon. I personally hope that the issues he is facing in reality can be resolved. If not - it is going to be a lot different without his genius.

The Invite

There was an email from Sky waiting in my inbox this afternoon. I opened it up and there was an invite waiting for me.

There is a live tournament taking place in Birmingham in two weeks and there are one hundred invited players set to take part.

I have the option of accepting the seat and being one of these people gunning for the one thousand pound prize for first place.

I doubt I will be there. But it was nice to have had the chance.

Another Joke

I had yet another disaster on the Australian soccer yesterday morning.

There were two out of eight winners again which is a poor run in my opinion. The Racing & Football Outlook will have a hard time finding an excuse for this one. Or maybe not - they will simply throw in a few more teams like the last time and hold their breath and hope for a few good results so they can claim to be amazing at their tipping of Australian soccer.

The real story is - they are a joke when it comes to the Aussie leagues.

I contacted and told them what I thought. As soon as the results were in yesterday afternoon and I realised it was another losing weekend I fired off an email saying;

'Roll on the new football season because your Australian forecasts are a joke!'

I bet that one isn't going to be published in their letters pages.

47 Questions

I hate sending off those emails where people ask you to answer and then forward them to everyone on my list. I had a good one today, though. I thought the best way to do it and end the 'chain' would be to answer the questions on here for two reasons:

A) I am keeping my vow of not sending chain emails to people who may not want them and B) I have nothing better to do for today's post.

So - here we go:

1. Were you named after anyone?
David is the patron saint of Wales. There are a few reasons why I have John as a middle name.

2. When was the last time you cried?
November 2005 when watching the Monday Night Raw on the night that Eddie Guerrero died and they had that show dedicated to him. The opening video brought tears to my eyes.

3. Do you like your handwriting?
Hmmm - depends on the pen I use!

4. What is your favourite lunch meat?
Chicken.

5. Do you have kids?
No.

6. If you were another person would yo be friends with you?
I doubt it.

7. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
Umm.

8. Do you still have your tonsils?
I did last time I looked.

9. Would you bungee jump?
HELL NO!

10. What is your favourite cereal?
Kellogs Crunchy Nut.

11. Do you untie your laces when you take off your shoes?
I never have them tied in the first place!

12. Do you think you are strong?
That's a tough question. In more ways than one.

13. What is your favourite ice-cream?
Strawberry Cheesecake flavour.

14. What is the first thing you notice about people?
Their dress-sense.

15. Red or pink?
Hmmm - Pink is Bret Hart. Red is Shawn Michaels. Gotta be red!

16. What is the least favourite thing about yourself?
Sometimes I act before I think things through first.

17. Who do you miss the most?
They know who they are.

18. Do you want everyone to send this back to you?
No, that's why I am doing it here instead.

19. What colour pants and shoes are you wearing?
Black boxers with the Superman logo on them and white trainers.

20. What was the last thing you ate?
Chewing gum. It's not going to get stuck on my heart before some smart arse says it will!

21. What are you listening to right now?
The Fugees' album 'The Score'.

22. If you were crayon what colour would you be?
Green.

23. Favourite smell?
Opening a new book. That new Mick Foley one didn't smell that good, though!!!

24. Who was the last person you spoke to?
My nephew.

25. Do you like the person who sent this to you?
She's okay for a scouser.

26. Favourite sports to watch?
Wrestling is you want to class that as a 'sport.' If not, I will go for American Football.

27. Hair colour?
Brownish.

28. Eye colour?
Green.

29. Do you wear contacts?
Nope.

30. Favourite pastime?
Poker.

31. Scary movies or happy endings?
Yo Adrian!

32. Last movie you watched?
Spider man 3.

33. What colour shirt are you wearing?
Blue with a white '8' on it.

34. Summer or winter?
Winter.

35. Hugs or kisses?
Both.

36. Favourite dessert?
Snickers ice cream bar.

37. Most likely to respond?
If I had decided to send this I think Mia and Tina would have been the two who would have replied immediately.

38. Least likely to respond?
Rossy.

39. What book are you reading now?
In between books as I finished Wrestling Babylon and now trying to catch up on my pile of poker magazines.

40. What is on your mouse pad?
Dell logo.

41. What did you watch on T.V. last night?
Oh damn - the secret is out. I watched that programme I promised not to mention on here that begins with B and ends in R

42. Favourite sound?
When I order books, CDs or DVDs over the net and that package hits the floor when it is posted through the letterbox. I have spent many mornings sitting waiting for that thud when I am expecting an order.

43. Rolling Stones or Beatles?
The Beatles without a shadow of a doubt.

44. Where is the farthest you have been from home?
I am not sure. Bulgaria? Tenerife? Greece? Got a map??

45. Do you have a special talent?
Fairly good memory.

46. Where were you born?
Cardiff.

47. Whose answers are you looking forward to the most?
Nobody.

One More Go

I thought I would have another go at betting on this weekend's Australian soccer.

I have picked these eight teams to win their matches. All placed in a goliath at 5p a line.

Altona C, Diamond V, Northcote C, Morwell, Moorlibank, Canning, SW Phoenix and Gosnells.

Wrestling With A Pen

Irv Muchnick is a name wrestling fans will be unaware of. And so they should. You see - there seems to be a stereotype that exists within the mainstream that wrestling fans can't read therefore Mr Muchnick and his writings will not have passed into the minds of those filled with visions of being a Hulkamaniac or a member of John Cena's Chain Gang.

Before now the only Muchnicks known to some wrestling fan would be the St. Louis promoter, Sam. A legendary member of the NWA during the territorial days of the 'sport'. Sam Muchnick was also the uncle of the writer, Irv.

Irv Muhnick has released Wrestling Babylon : Piledriving tales of sex, death & scandal The book is an anthology of Muchnick's writing for major newspapers and magazines over the years. All the work is based on the genre that his uncle promoted. Pro wrestling.

Tragedy seems to exist both on and off the screen in sports entertainment. The rise and fall of one of wrestling's families the Von Erichs is written about in one of the articles.

The piece looks at how the controlling father, Fritz pushed his five sons to be superstars in the sport. The fact that only one son has survived is a dark reminder of the way wrestlers cannot separate the real from the fake. The Von Erich story was one of overdoses and suicide.

One of the most shocking thoughts brought when reading the piece on the Dallas family was that Kerry Von Erich was still alive when the piece was published in 1988. Five years later he took his own life after shooting himself in fear that a drug arrest would send him to jail.

The sole survivor, Kevin's son is now talking about making the profession his own.

The tragic story of the Von Erichs is accompanied with a later chapter based on a recent writing by Muchnick which looks at the amazing death rate amongst wrestlers who were performing during the two boom periods in the industry.

The shopping list of wrestlers who failed to make it to their fiftieth birthday is a shuddering eight pages long and is evidence how these passings have gone undetected by the mainstream. Muchnick makes the point that - had this been any other sport - attention would have been made to the alarming number of fatalities.

The scandalous 1991-92 era of the WWF is also represented in a majority of the writers' work. Muchnick must have been one of the main journalists who covered the revelations that Hulk Hogan was a steroid user, Pat Patterson and Mel Phillips made homosexual passes at male colleagues or ringboys and Vince McMahon raped one of his female referees in the back of a limousine.

All these allegations came out in the open during the early nineties and was a black eye for the WWF. As a fan, Muchnick was able to give more than a reporters edge to these stories.

I found this collection of writings one of the most interesting reads I have encountered as a wrestling fan. I knew a lot about the history of the sport but this anthology is a great example of how a knowledgeable journalist would tackle the stories.

There are far too many mainstream writers out there who don't understand the business and their work is lost before they even make any sense. Muchnick is one of the exceptions.

A Sports Reading

I spent yesterday afternoon listening to Sports Byline radio and a show came on that had a gambling theme. As you have probably guessed by now - it caught my attention.

The host had a number of professional tipsters on and they were running down the baseball card of the evening and offering tips on the games.

I thought I would follow their suggestions so opened up a web browser as I listened and clicked in the boxes when they were analysing the form of both team and - using their foresight - predicted which team would be victorious.

The problem was - I couldn't decipher whether they were saying to bet against or for the team in question!

It was kind of like listening to a horoscope reading. It was a matter of the wording and how the sentences were deconstructed by my myself. Well, that's what I thought anyway.

The sports clairvoyants either had it wrong or I was listening incorrectly. My balance still read zero pounds this morning when I checked my betting account.

I think there will be less listening to tipsters in my future.

Seven Eleven

I entered a tournament this evening that was being played on Betfair Poker in conjunction with Maxim magazine.

The winner was to win a Sony Playstation Portable. I wanted to win it for Josh.

There were seven hundred and eleven players, though. I was facing an uphill struggle from the get-go.

After over three hours of play I crashed out in twenty-fourth place.

I came close. Real close.

The Death Of Rileys

I found out that Rileys Snooker Club are hosting poker tournaments and looked into taking part in one. It resulted in one of the biggest headaches I have faced in regards to playing online poker.

I signed up for 888.com's version of Rileys Poker in order to take part in their online satellite for the final in Solihull which takes place in late August then I waited.

And waited.

It didn't load up my screen when it was time to play and I then realised I was being connected and disconnected from their server. Fearing that it was something to do with my new PC, I tried another way of logging in. This also turned out to be a fruitless effort.

A call to the helpline didn't resolve the situation, either. In fact it made me even more cross as I was put through to someone who was arguing with me over whether a zero was an 'O'. it took me three attempts to correct her.

I knew there and then I had no chance of making any progress in tonight's tournament. In fact - I am going one step further and will announce now that I will never play on 888.com, Pacific Poker, Rileys Poker or whatever title they care to name it again.

To quote one of the best teachers I met in college - They couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery.

WWE Uncensored

There was one pay-per-view event that WCW held in 1995 that was terrible. That's not to say the WCW did great events and this one was a one-off. It's just memorable that the whole thing stunk.

Big time.

I had to buy the video from a tape trader as I had changed from satellite to cable television and was unable to pick up WCW as the German channel I was able to catch the shows on was unavailable on cable.

I paid for this rubbish.

The show in question was WCW Uncensored. The concept of the event was that all the matches would have stipulations. These ranged from a truck match where the winner was the person who managed to honk the horn on a truck that was travelling along the motorway to a falls count anywhere match where a fake concessions stand was where a majority of the action took place.

Would you believe me if I told you that the Nasty Boys and Harlem Heat were hitting and knocking each other down with bags of candy floss? I kid you not.

The reason why I am reminded of this dire event is because the WWE will be hosting their One Night Stand pay-per-view tonight. The concept of this event is exactly what WCW did with Uncensored twelve years ago. All matches will have certain rules that stray away from the norm.

I'm sure the WWE will show the fans how to do a PPV like this properly. It will - without a doubt - be better than what WCW did in 1995.

But then again - WWE couldn't do any worse.

Could they?

Fantasy WSOP

The World Series of Poker kicked off last night in Las Vegas. The series of tournaments will played over the course of the next few weeks and will culminate with the crowning of a new World champion in the main event.

To make the month even more interesting Poker Player magazine is running a competition similar to fantasy football - The Fantasy WSOP League.

The rules are simple, each player must pick a team of professionals and make sure they don't go over the budget of 2,000 points. Points are awarded for these performances of the pro's in all of the events in the World Series calendar.

I have built a team called 'Team Equinoxx' and my players - as well as their value - are listed below. It is too late to enter your own team but you can keep up to date with the scores at www.pokerplayermagazine.co.uk/fantasy

Team Equinoxx

Roland de Wolfe 150pts

Marcel Luske 100pts

Scotty Nguyen 100pts

Jennifer Harman 300pts

Joe Hachem 150pts

Devilfish 100pts

Daniel Negreanu 500pts

Phil Laak 100pts

Dan Harrington 300pts

Liz Lieu 150pts

Return To Oz

The football leagues across Europe are either over or about to play out their dénouement so all the betting firms are looking for something to entice their punters over the Summer months.

Some give up for the off-season. Others look across the world.

I found Australia.

I have placed a Goliath bet on Saturday's Australian Soccer matches. Most of these games will be played during our Friday night so I am going to be waking up to the results. It saves for all that anxiety when watching the scores live!

The teams I have chosen were picked from the Racing and Football Outlook. It seems they have had a successful run of picking recently. Let's hope their form will continue this weekend.

Bentleigh EVS
Pascoe Vale 11/10
Waverley 7/4
Westvale 6/4
Frankston S 5/4
S Yarra 11/8
Galaxy 13/8
Adelaide 5/6