The JR Situation

It's deadline day for Jim Ross.

The commentator's current deal with World Wrestling Entertainment ends today and there has been a lot of speculation across the Internet that he has spoke with people at TNA.

Obviously, the TNA talks aren't at an advanced stage as he cannot negotiate with another company until his current contract ends.

Today.

Ross' initial long-term deal ended a number of months ago. He has been off-air for a while suffering from another attack of Bell's Palsy, an affliction that has bothered him since 1994.

He was signed to a short-term contract in what many speculate was to ensure he wasn't a part of TNA's initial move to Monday nights.

I personally cannot see him working for TNA but the rumour mill seems to be leaning on that possibility. He has also voiced how much he enjoys mixed martial arts - whether that is another option for him is debatable as his year's of being a pro wrestling announcer could work against him.

One of his most recent Twitter posts cryptically notes that today is D-Day:

I've had a blessed and amazing career full of unbelieveable experiences. This wk is memorable 4 what hasn't happened. Blessing n disquise?

(sic).

I guess we'll find out the answer sooner rather than later.

Goodbye To Tara

On January 15th 2009, I dedicated a post to the departure of Victoria from WWE.

She was one of my favourite female wrestlers and - at that time - I assumed she was leaving wrestling for good.

Fortunately, Lisa Varon -her real name - landed in TNA. As WWE owned the copyright to her wrestling moniker, she was renamed 'Tara'.

Varon announced yesterday that she will now be leaving TNA after they tried to lowball her on a new contract price.

She claims that she joined TNA for a year because she felt that she had something left to give professional wrestling and took less money than she thought she deserved. Her recent negotiations fell apart with her asking for a little more than she was on for the initial contract.

It's another sad example of TNA bringing in, and paying big money, to big name stars and not looking after those who want to be paid a respectable amount of money and work for what they're worth.

It would be nice to see her return to WWE but I cannot see it happening.

First Impression Of Avatar On Blu-ray

I managed to catch Avatar over the early part of this week and my first impression of it was it was great.

I don't like watching long movies so I decided to watch the first half on Monday and followed up with the remainder yesterday afternoon.

It was the first time I watched a Blu-ray film and been impressed with the effects. With that said, the only other film I have sat and watched completely through on a BD was Wolverine which was bundled with the Playstation 3.

I still haven't looked at the extras on the disc - I am assuming there are some features, I just haven't looked at the menu as I just hit 'Play Movie' as soon as I put the disc in.

As for the film itself - I thought it was a good story and the battle at the end was one of the best battle sequences I have seen in a movie.

Kong Tweets

I've been reading posts on the message board I frequently visit and one of the threads on there has been following wrestlers' activity on Twitter.

The Awesome Kong tweets have been a popular subject of discussion as she has recently visited the Cauliflower Alley Hall of Fame ceremony and met up with Steve Austin and Jim Ross.

After the event, she made these announcements to her followers:

I got 2 meet my idol Stone Cold Steve Austin last nite. I damn near peed my pants when I introduced myself & he said 'I know who you are...'

and:

At the Vegas airport still geeking out about Jim Ross's kind words and meeting Steve Austin

Jim Ross had commented that:

Met Awesome Kong @ CAC. What an opponent for Beth Phoenix or Nattie Neidhart, among other Divas, in WWE. Nice heater for vickie guerrero.

And Austin had tweeted this, after Kong had messaged him saying that she enjoyed meeting him:

you too kong!! keep up the great work..if WWE has any brains they will hire you immediately... GOOD LUCK!!!

One of the funnier tweets was from a fan who sent this to Kong:

Your sweet smile. The way you sing, I miss you more, Than TNA's 6-sided ring

You know, one day I just may use that one myself.

If I haven't done so already.

Goodbye To Batista

By the time this post is published, it will be an hour before WWE Extreme Rules airs and it may end up being the last pay-per-view appearance by Batista.

For the time being, at least.

'The Animal' hasn't signed a new contract and it's looking likely that he will be done by the end of the week.

He has been voicing his intention to give up wrestling and try an acting career for quite some time. WWE had even had him set to appear in one of their next movies but his lack of commitment to a new contract ended up costing him the role. Triple H, one of his on and off-screen allies, is taking his place.

I like Batista's character. He was a cool badass either as a face but his recent heel turn has been brilliant and was a breath of fresh air as he had been playing a babyface since the great storyline in the early part of 2005 when he turned good against Ric Flair and Triple H.

He isn't one of the greatest wrestlers that have ever lived but has been one of the ones I enjoyed watching these past six years.

Extreme Rules

It's WWE's Extreme Rules pay-per-view tonight and I am glad it is on Sky Sports.

I'll be able to record it, go to bed and watch it in the morning.

That is how I feel about the event. There is nothing that stands out as worthy of staying up for.

The match between Rey Mysterio and CM Punk is intriguing in that - if Rey wins - Punk may be shaved bald.

I'd like to hazard a guess that this doesn't happen tonight.

And that's why I won't be staying up for it.

Rey won against Punk at WrestleMania where - if he lost - he would have had to join Punk's cult, The Straight Edge Society.

I think Punk wins tonight and then a little down the road - more than likely at the next PPV - there will be a match with double stipulations with Punk putting his hair on the line and Mysterio will put either his mask or having to become a member of the heel faction.

Avatar Delivered

I just received my copy of Avatar.

I preordered it a few months ago on Play.com.

I picked the steel case pack with the Blu-ray and DVD versions, four postcards, a book and a T-shirt (not for me!).

You'll find out what I think of the movie in a few days.

The Unlikely Chat Up Line

I walked into a betting shop in another part of Cardiff this morning and - while looking for the football betting slip - I was confronted by a woman.

'Have you got any I.D.?'

It would have made sense if she worked there but she didn't. I looked over at the cashier and she was giving me a 'she doesn't really work here' look.

I said I had identification - even though I didn't - because I wanted to see what she would do next. I opened up my wallet and pulled out a few cards, looked through them and announced that I 'left it at home'.

She then asked how old I was and I told her I was in my thirties and she commented on how good I looked for my age.

What the hell!?

Then again, I must be an Adonis compared to the regular cast of characters you would find in a betting shop.

Facts & Theories

I go through a hibernation period in American sports betting once the Super Bowl is over so I cut myself away from listening to the gambling podcasts that I spend a lot of time listening to during the regular season.

With the release of the 2010 schedules, I decided to spend yesterday listening to the latest shows.

And I was met with bad news.

Apparently, a few weeks ago, one of the hosts I listened to for sport tips was found dead alongside his wife in what looks to be a double suicide.

Wanting to get more from this story - I searched the news sites and looked at the site he owned and operated and read the last few posts he left on his message board.

There are a lot of conspiracy theories about the circumstances.

Some people are even speculating that this was because of the FBI indicting a lot of illegal bookmakers over the past few weeks. Some say he took his life before they caught up with him, others are even contemplating the thought that he went under the witness protection program and the death of him and his wife was subterfuge.

I'd like to believe it was the latter but it seems too Hollywood for that.

It's a sad situation with more questions than answers.

Looking Forward To The New NFL Season

The NFL released the schedules for the 2010 season last night and it's making me look forward to the kick-off even more.

Last week, I found out that ESPN has secured the UK rights to air Monday Night Football and I was over the moon as - last year - Sky and Channel Five didn't negotiate for these games and the UK fans missed out on some great match-ups.

Another thing that the UK version of ESPN has the television rights for is the NFL Draft which takes place live at 12:30am on Friday morning.

The Draft is where the top college players will be signed to professional teams and is always an interesting thing to watch in the lead-in to a season.

There are still a few more questions in regards to the UK coverage of NFL games for the preseason and regular season but we still have a long way to go until they are answered.

It's looking good at this moment, though.

Raw And The Sign Of The Night

It was a below average edition of WWE Raw last night.

But, it was hardly their fault.

Raw - as I noted in yesterday's post - was rewritten after most of its wrestlers were stranded in the UK following the grounding of aeroplanes following the Icelandic volcano. To cover up the lack of available performers, the SmackDown stars were written in.

They managed to do a few 'live via satellite' interviews with some of the key talent as it's a few days before the next pay-per-view.

One of the signs in the crowd struck out to me as funny. It read:

WWE H8 VOLCANOES

Monday Night SmackDown

It's going to be an interesting night of wrestling tonight.

The WWE Raw crew were unable to get out of the United Kingdom due to the airports being on Lockdown due to the Icelandic volcano that has caused mayhem for air travellers since Thursday. Therefore, they will not be able to appear on the show.

Stars from the SmackDown brand were able to escape Europe after making a trek via coach to an airport in Spain and then flew out on Saturday evening.

The SmackDown crew are now set to appear on the Raw show. WWE managed to secure a studio somewhere in the UK for the Raw stars to film a number of promos which will air on the broadcast.

Get ready for one of the most intriguing episode in the history of the show.

Facejacker

I caught the first episode of Facejacker on Friday night and I absolutely loved it.

The series is made by the same comedian behind the successful Fonejacker TV programme.

Fonejacker was made up of prank calls played by a cast of many characters. This time, Kayvan Novak brings his alter-egos to life by interacting live in the public rather than over the telephone.

There were moments in the initial episode where I had tears rolling down my eyes because I thought it was hysterical.

I did, however, find it difficult to believe that Terry Tibbs was able to last on the live bidding channel without getting found out who he was.

Fonejacker won a BAFTA television award so - bearing in mind the amount of cameramen, production staff and hosts he managed to dupe into believing he was a legitimate person - it should have been known by at least one person working within the business who Terry Tibbs was.

With that said, I loved the drive-thru chip shop segments as well as the art show hosted by Brian Badonde.

It's worth going out of your way if you liked Fonejacker and enjoyed Beadle's About, Candid Camera or any other series that preyed on the unsuspecting public.

Goodbye (Again)

My relatives have left for home once again.

The volcano situation, which has caused all planes to be grounded, kept them here for a few more days. They had three plane cancellations since yesterday morning so they have decided to go for an overnight ferry home.

When they left originally, I wrote on here how I hated saying 'goodbye'. In the back of my mind, I was kicking myself because I always feel that I didn't make the most out of their visit. I don't get to see friends and family as much as I once did so I was thinking maybe I could have done a bit more.

There was only so much they could fill into three days so most of the time they spent was with my parents.

Anyway, a few minutes after hitting the publish button, I got word that they were coming back. I selfishly felt pleased that their flight was cancelled because I got to spend more time with them.

I ended up going to the pub for one drink with my cousin and then headed back home for a few more cans. It was the first time I was drunk in nearly a year!

That volcano has a lot to answer for.

But, you won't hear me complainin'.

The Debate

It's funny looking at all the reports from the first election debate that was aired live on ITV last night.

Some say David Cameron, others say Nick Clegg.

Where is the love for Gordon Brown?

He definitely came third last night and the way it has been looking for some time, he'll be second on May 6th.

I Hate Goodbyes

It's nearly twenty minutes to seven and I am snuggled up in bed after waving off my aunt and cousin.

They came across from Ireland for three days and are flying back this morning.

It was nice having them here. I don't get to see them often, in fact - the last time I saw my cousin was in the spring of 1990.

I've always hated saying goodbye. The best examples I can think of was feigning illness back when I had to leave Germany in 1987 just so I could try and stay a little longer. The trick didn't work.

Nor did it work in 1988 on my second departure from Germany.

I don't even know why I am writing about it here, I guess it's therapeutic in some way to get out how much farewells bother me.

I guess it's time to get back to sleep.

6.57am Update - I've just received a phone call telling me their flight has been cancelled because of the volcanic dust in the air coming over from Iceland! They are on the way back here.

Did Virgin Media Do Me A Favour?

I set Windows Media Player to record WWE Raw on Monday before I went to bed.

I awoke, did all the things I do each morning and then settled down at the computer to watch the episode.

The show took place from London and David Hasselhoff was the guest host (or general manager if you want to be picky). He came out in a car similar to K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider and was wearing a glittery blazer. As the theme tune to his eighties TV series was playing to the crowd, the cable box must have realised the episode was going downhill and did me a favour.

A large box appeared right in the middle of the screen saying that I hadn't subscribed to the channel and I needed to contact customer services.

I'm not sure what the problem was but I've fixed it now.

I'll never be able to say I saw that episode. Unless I watch the replay tonight....

Up For The Cup, Down For The League

I will be cheering Portsmouth on in the FA Cup final next month.

The club have had a terrible season both on and off the field and they are the unlikely finalists in the big game at Wembley Stadium.

They'll be up against Chelsea and I have a bad feeling that the London team will end up destroying them.

I believe that it would make for such a great story if Pompey win, though.

Portsmouth were relegated from the Premier League this past Saturday in a season where they became the first top-flight English team to go into administration after hitting financial lows.

The House Party

I had a crazy dream last night.

I dreamt that I had a crowd gathered outside my house because someone had given out the information that I was having a house party.

It was so weird, I was running around trying to prevent the house becoming too crowded and had even opened the back door so as to keep the flow going.

I think the reason why I was dreaming of a situation like this was because I watched an episode of The Bill a few weeks ago where they were trying to contain a football crowd that had just departed a train before kick-off.

The Grand National Winner (And Loser)

Eric's Charm was my big pick for the Grand National. At 40/1, a few papers I read had suggested it so I ran with it.

And it lost.

But, in better news - my Nephew picked the eventual winner, Don't Push It.

It was the second year running that he has looked at all the names in the newspaper, picked a horse that stood out and won.

All that effort and reading up I do and a nine-year old beats me after spending a minute reading the names. I must be doing something wrong!

Hogan Back To WWE?

In this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it is noted that many people within WWE are expecting Hulk Hogan to be a part of next year's WrestleMania due to his tendency to bail out on sinking ships.

The 'sinking ship' in this case is TNA.

If you have followed Hulk Hogan's career, you can pretty much agree with this assessment as he has a long track record of knowing when to 'get out of Dodge'. Take his most recent clever tactic of appearing at the opening of last week's episode of TNA Impact and more or less told the audience at home that he wasn't going to be back for the rest of the show.

It was smart booking himself out of that episode because everyone was expecting WWE's ratings to jump up due to it being the day after WrestleMania.

As it turned out, TNA's ratings did fall significantly whilst WWE's rose slightly.

Hogan got out of it looking okay as he had the argument that the ratings were bad because he didn't play a key role within that episode.

It should also be noted that Hulk Hogan's contract with TNA is only for a year and is dependent on when he actually signed.

He made his TV debut for the company in January but the announcement of him joining the group was made in the Autumn of 2009.

So, we also could have another example of him smartly working the company by only working nine months out of a one-year deal.

It's all speculation at this point, however. I guess time will be the answer.

Garbage Pail Kids Flashback

I was killing time on YouTube yesterday afternoon and stumbled upon a video with someone opening a new box of Garbage Pail Kids trading cards.

The Garbage Pail Kids were around when I was in primary school. There were five or six cards and a stick of bubble gum in each packet.

They were gross parodies of the Cabbage Patch Kids and a lot of people at my school collected them.

In 1987, a movie was made to capitalise on their popularity. The film - in hindsight - was abysmal. I just didn't know it back then.

The new collection is called 'Flashback' and feature reworkings of the original artwork. They more than likely won't be out in UK shops - not that I was going to buy them, anyway. It was just interesting to see the older characeters making a comeback after all these years.

Scrapping The Six Shooters

I'm Scrapping the Six Shooter betting series as of right now.

After a few weeks of doing it, I've realised it was a difficult task to accomplish a one-hundred percent record on any given week.

Injuries also caused me to pick players I didn't want to.

Winning on a similar, yet different, type of bet on Monday has made me decide that it's for the best to try a different approach especially now that the season is in its twilight.

The End Of The Bill

I should have seen it coming.

In fact, I did.

A few weeks ago, it was announced that ITV had cancelled The Bill after over twenty-five years.

I went through phases of liking and being disinterested in the show. In the last four years, I had become a fan again.

Then, only recently, I noticed how repetitive the storylines were becoming.

After moving to a later timeslot and cutting down from two episodes a week to one, it seemed that each 'grittier' new episode involved child abductions or something to do with drugs.

I was on YouTube earlier this year and stumbled upon a few classic episodes from the 1980s and began reading the user comments.

One of these statements noted how The Bill's change in tone and timeslot was similar in ways to how London's Burning was before ITV pulled the plug on that series.

That person had made a great point but - in the back of my mind - I discounted it figuring ITV wouldn't cancel it.

I'm probably going to end up missing it eventually but - right now - I couldn't care less. It has become stale, why else would I have been clamouring to see older videos on YouTube?

A Win (Finally)

I had a flutter on the Bank Holiday Monday football and won - the first time I've been victorious in a while.

I selected eight things to happen and placed them into four-folds.

I chose Newcastle, Norwich, Reading and Southampton to win by either 1-0, 2-0 or 2-1 by covering three potential scorelines. Reading were the only teams not to oblige. All the others won their games 2-1 which helped the bet greatly.

The other winning bets were Molde, Eastwood Town and a Belgian game to go over two and a half goals.

I had a losing match winner in Kettering Town.

I made £47.45 profit from the £8.86 stake. If only the other selections had won!

Two For The Money

There was a good Al Pacino film on BBC1 on Thursday night titled Two For The Money.

It was based on one of American sports betting touts who sells their picks and how he signed up one of the country's best handicappers to work alongside him.

I obviously enjoyed it because it's the sort of thing I have experience in as I have dealt with people who sell their tips.

Let it be known, however, that I have no paid for sports picks. I believe that to be one big con. the only thing I have ever done is bought a subscription to a weekly handicapping newsletter which points you in the right direction so you can compare your numbers with theirs. That's as far as I would go and would definitely steer people away from getting caught up in the massive hole of the hyperbolic 'Game of the Year' or 'Game of the Century' tips these guys promote.

Right, off the soap box I go...

The film shows this industry in a grey light - you see the positives and negatives that can happen from being involved in it.

Pacino had some great lines as well. The best one was when he described betting as a drug and the high is 'just before you take it. The dice are dancing on the table. Between now and the time they stop, that's the greatest high in the world'.

I wouldn't go so far as to say it's the 'greatest high in the world', but I can definitely see where the writer was coming from.

For me, it was when the ball was rolling around the roulette wheel and the adrenaline rush I got through the anticipation of a win or loss at the casino table was a thrill. Sure, winning was good but it was always the build-up that made it all the more exciting.

Chris Kanyon

Former WWE and WCW wrestler Chris Kanyon was found dead yesterday after taking his own life.

It was a tragic end to a turbulent final number of years as Kanyon had battled bipolar disorder.

I can't help but feel sorry for him when I consider what was going on in TNA this past week.

A number of years ago, he was making the Internet news when he claimed that he had an idea to become the first real openly gay wrestler. His idea must have been brushed off as Kanyon was not signed to a deal.

This week, TNA brought out Orlando Jordan in a somewhat similar role to what Kanyon had been suggesting all those years ago.

In a twist of irony, his most successful stint in the business came at a time when WCW was on its last legs.

His feud with Diamond Dallas Page was one of the fun feuds that that company had written back then.

Six Shooters : Week II

Last week's results weren't good as I had two voids, one winner and the rest were losing bets.

I am now £3 in the red after getting 78p back from the bet.

This week, I've decided to add a few different players to score first.

1) Charlie Adam (Blackpool)
2) Peter Whittingham (Cardiff)
3) Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
4) Carlos Tevez (Manchester City)
5) Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
6) Kris Boyd (Glasgow Rangers)

4p each-way Lucky 63 (£5.04)

The Ongoing Theme

It's been an ongoing theme for me to rip into Good Friday on this blog.

Each year, I seem to write about how boring and dull the day is.

And I am never wrong.

3-D Blogging

With the renaissance of 3-D in cinemas and television, I am going to dedicate today's post to the launch of 3-D Blogging.

It's a new concept that is set to become take blogging into the HD era.

You'll need 3-D glasses to see for yourself so put them on and notice how these words appear before you.

Put them on - I am sure you have them somewhere.

It's good, isn't it?

3-D Blogging is the way forward and you saw it here first.