NBA

– From Alan Hahn’s twitter account, he covers the Knicks for Newsday

“Multiple sources are telling Newsday that LeBron James has decided to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. The new Big Three is here.”

We have speculated that the three have had a pact to play together for some time, and this report is from a fairly reliable source in Hahn and Newsday. Later, ESPN’s Chris Broussard said the same thing via Twitter. There’s still a chance LeBron could change his mind at the last minute, but as of now, it looks like he’s going to Miami to play with Wade and Bosh. And don’t be surprised if this is enough to bring Pat Riley back to the bench next season.

In addition, the latest rumour swirling in Miami is that LeBron put down a deposit on a $49M estate here in Coral Gables and was seen around town yesterday.

Wow. If this is true (don’t take it as fact until he says it on ESPN), expect an Instant Classic ripping into this whole situation.

– AOL Fanhouse is reporting that F Shaquille O’Neal’s “first choice” is to win a championship with the Spurs. The Spurs are said to be interested in him as well.

– AOL Fanhouse reports that the Heat are trying to bring back G Jason Williams. J-Will won an NBA title with the Heat in 2006.

NHL

– Contradicting an earlier report, the Kings are not interested in signing UFA F Ilya Kovalchuk according to team governor Tim Leiweke. The problem the Kings have is that they will need to sign talented players like D Drew Doughty etc. to long-term deals soon, and they won’t have the cap space to do so if they give Kovalchuk the $8M+ annually that he’ll command on a long-term contract. The two sides were done with each other this past Sunday and then Kovalchuk’s agent “re-engaged” the team in conversations, the paper reports. The agent, Jay Grossman, sent a proposal to the team Wednesday that didn’t leave enough salary-cap space in the team’s budget to keep the younger players it has been grooming to be building blocks for the organization, according to the Times. “We really would love to add Kovi to our team, but not at the cost of our good young players. Dean (GM Lombardi) is trying here, but we know what we need in cap space going forward to keep our nucleus together. We can’t let one guy throw us into panic in a year or two. It is not about cash. It is about cap.” It looks like the Devils for Kovalchuk if he stays in the NHL, if not, the KHL. Stay tuned.

– The Wild have re-signed F Robbie Earl to a 1-year/2-way contract. Earl was looking for a one-way deal, but couldn’t find one with any NHL team so he re-signed with the Wild. He will get $550K when he is in the NHL and $105K as a minor leaguer.

NHL

– According to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, discussions are “heating up” between the Rangers and Mariners involving M’s ace LHP Cliff Lee. Add another team to the growing list. The Reds have reportedly exchanged names with the Mariners, the Twins may or may not have made an offer, and the Mets and Yankees are at least kicking the tires on Lee. Texas definitely has the prospects to make a deal work and the money exchanged should be a non-issue, even with the murky situation surrounding the Rangers’ exchange of ownership. Lee, who has fanned 89 batters and walked only six, is owed just about $4M.

– According to Newsday, the Mets “like the idea” of bringing Cubs’ LHP Ted Lilly back to the team. If they can afford it, the team would pick up the $6M left on his deal so that it wouldn’t have give up too much in the prospects department in order to get the 34-year-old with the 3-7 record and 3.76 ERA. Other Cubs being mentioned on the trade block include SS Ryan Theriot, 2B Mike Fontenot, INF Jeff Baker, 1B Derrek Lee, OF Kosuke Fukudome and OF Xavier Nady.

NFL

– LB Antonio Pierce has officially announced his retirement from the NFL and will be joining ESPN as an NFL analyst. The writing was on the wall for Pierce, who would have needed surgery on his neck in order to continue his playing career. The former undrafted free agent finishes his career with 687 tackles, nine sacks and seven interceptions. Pierce “will appear on NFL Live, SportsCenter, ESPNEWS, and 1050 ESPN New York, and he will provide weekly analysis on ESPNNewYork.com, ESPN’s home for New York sports news and information.” He said in a statement that “After nine years of having the privilege of playing in the National Football League, today I’ve decided to end my playing days…I am extremely excited about contributing my knowledge and experience in this new endeavor to the championship team at ESPN.”

WWE

– Multi-time WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Saturday’s Blue Jays/Red Sox game. The game takes place at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario.

TNA

– According to the Wrestling Observer, former WCW star “Taskmaster” Kevin Sullivan met recently with TNA President Dixie Carter about joining the company’s creative team. During that meeting, Sullivan presented an angle that involves a year-long main event storyline that would require them signing a top star who the company would likely have difficulty getting. In addition, TNA did, in fact, quietly part ways with writer Ed Ferrara a few weeks ago. Ferrara left a teaching position and was brought into the company several months ago around the time that Jim Cornette not-so-quietly parted ways with them, in large part due to that hiring. Of course, Ferrara also served as Vince Russo’s right-hand man for the WWF during the Attitude Era.

– One third of the Knockout Tag Team Champions, Velvet Sky, recently signed a three-year contract with TNA Wrestling. She also received a pay raise, bumping her salary from $300 per show to $600 per show. As a result, she is among the company’s top female earners.

VoV

Marc Valeri – captaincharisma@hotmail.com
VoV – www.voiceofvaleri.com
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The WWE is in need of a shakeup. Some things are done well, others poorly. As a fan, I believe that some things need to be changed and tweaked in order to improve the product that WWE airs. There’s no question amongst young WWE fans that the Attitude Era was one of the best periods to be a wrestling fan. Growing up during this era, I can only hope that WWE tries to recapture some of the things that made this time frame so great. What the WWE has become now is great for kids, but as ratings continue to slip, it’s become clear that staying on their current path moving forward will not do the trick. The following are some suggestions for WWE to consider moving forward, in no specific order;

Turn Triple H Heel
I know I speak for a lot of people when I say that babyface Triple H sucks. Bring back heel Triple H. The same HHH that ran Evolution. The same one that destroyed Shawn Michaels so many times. From my perspective, HHH has been main eventing for 10+ years and has more title reigns than anybody else in the WWE. Oh, and he’s married to the boss’ daughter. I can’t cheer for him anymore. Plus, making him a heel can open more doors in terms of storylines and feuds. Early rumours point to HHH saving the WWE from Nexus, but I’d prefer it if he was their leader. Bring back the closest thing to Evolution as possible.

Scrap the PG-TV
That said, this will not happen. With Linda McMahon running for Senate, WWE needs to keep a squeaky-clean image in order for her to stand a chance. In addition, some of the big players from the Attitude Era – Vince McMahon, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon – all have children or grandchildren. The old PG-14 stuff is gone – at least for the time being.

Move SmackDown! Back to Thursdays
Again, this will not happen (this year, at least) because SyFy will be picking it up in October in the exact same timeslot. The move could potentially be done next year, though. Personally, I find it hard to catch SmackDown! since Friday is…well, Friday night. Thursday nights are not only more convenient for a lot of people, but statistically, Friday is the second worst night of the week for TV ratings, behind only Saturday.

For the Love of God, Get Edge & Christian on the Same Show
At this year’s draft, Edge was moved to Raw, which is where Christian was. I thought that they’d be on the same show, finally, after *years* of waiting for them to team up again. And what happens? Christian moves to SmackDown. The SmackDown following the Draft Lottery on Raw saw Christian and Edge have a great in-ring promo segment, followed by an excellent TV match on the following Raw. Why are they always separated? The guys have known each other since grade 6 and came up together through the ranks. Chemistry like that doesn’t just happen. Plus, both are excellent workers and both can play believable babyface and heel characters. Attitude Era fans would love to see them together again for the first time since 2001 – teaming, feuding, whatever the case may be. While Edge is a main eventer and Christian is midcard, I believe it can still work. WWE found a way to push Evan Bourne, who has zero mic experience, so they’ve got to be able to do the same for a veteran like Christian.

Feud Brands
This went on for a very short period in the WWE, but I loved it. It makes for a terrific storyline heading into a PPV like Survivor Series, where Raw’s best 5 take on SmackDown’s best 5. I remember guys like Orton (SmackDown) running into Raw, disrupting a match and RKOing Shawn Michaels for no real reason. The following SmackDown, HBK ran in and superkicked Orton, causing him to lose the match. Kane, Undertaker, Big Show, HHH – all of these guys were involved in showing up at the rival show and ruining matches, and whoever had the home turf had to fend them off. It was awesome, just like the WWE/Alliance angle worked well. Anytime you band together a bunch of superstars and give them a solid storyline to work with, you’re going to see results.

Re-Sign Bryan Danielson
I’m sure you all know the story by now. Danielson was fired for choking ring announcer Justin Roberts with his tie, which WWE thought was too violent for their PG-TV audience. Danielson is currently in the midst of his 90-day no compete clause, meaning that he can work indy bookings (which he does), but cannot appear on TNA Wrestling during this time. This clause is expected to be lifted around mid-September, where rumours suggest that WWE will re-sign him. Danielson is far too valuable a talent to let go for nothing. My suggestion would be to bring him back as a babyface in any ugly duckling situaiton, assuming the Nexus angle is still around.

Rebuild the Women’s and Tag Team Division
The WWE Divas division is atrocious. The company has had zero pushes for anyone since Lita and Trish Stratus. In terms of a performance standpoint, their best Divas are Beth Phoenix, Gail Kim, Natalya, Melina and Michelle McCool. Now, Gail is constantly being buried, and Natalya is finally getting some ring time. But what bugs me is the lack of storyline and build for these matches. If you give them time, these women can perform. They also need a story to hook the audience. They also had Mickie James, who they stupidly released (in April, began pursuing her singing career which WWE didn’t like) but is also amongst their best performers. Which reminds me, they need to sign Awesome Kong. Especially now, with Beth and Melina injured, the Women’s division looks feeble. Speaking of feeble, how about WWE’s tag divison? Can it even be called that? All they do is stick two singles wrestlers together and call it a tag team. Guys like Chris Jericho, who they often don’t have a program for, usually gets thrown under the bus and is stuck doing tag matches. That said, because he’s such a great worker, he has the ability to better some of the younger guys (The Miz, etc.) and turn them into better performers. Finally, WWE is starting to push the Usos and The Hart Dynasty, which are two legitimate tag teams. Quit pairing singles wrestlers together and start developing tag teams. Brian Kendrick and Paul London were amazing. Why not do Jeff Hardy & Matt Hardy back when Jeff was still around? DiBiase & Rhodes? Cryme Tyme? The Colons? The division would be decent if they actually gave it a chance.

Bring Back the Older WWE Championship
It was fine when John Cena was rapping, but the spinner belt has worn out its welcome. The WHC just looks so much nicer – bring back a solid plate championship. Cena even said that the spinner was getting stale and that it had run its course. Bring back the old WWE Championship.

Scrap the Guest Host Gimmick
This concept was a mess from the beginning. Once in a blue moon did a guest host do something great. Otherwise, they took up a lot of airtime, especially for a show that’s promo-heavy and doesn’t future lengthy matches. Some guest hosts provided nothing to benefit the Raw telecast, while others (all?) were making appearances for a company that they’ll never be associated with again. I understand the idea behind it – that WWE could potentially be getting some mainstream attention by having, say, Ashton Kutcher on the show, but simply put, it’s not working. Stick to the basics – sound wrestling built by solid storytelling. That’ll lead to more viewers for Raw, and in turn, more Pay-Per-View buys. Not watching Jerry Springer attempt to piece together his show on Raw.

Give Commentators Personalities
WWE used to have announces that played to personalities – some were babyface, others heel, etc. JBL is an example of a heel commentator. He praised a “heel move” saying that it was smart, strategic, etc. Everyone now seems to have one bland, generic personality. WWE was headed in the right direction when they had Michael Cole work normally until Bryan Danielson showed up, then constantly chirped him. My suggestion? Bring JBL to the commentary desk. His back won’t allow him to wrestle anymore – so be it. Do colour commentary for SmackDown, and get someone like William Regal for Raw. A fantastic heel character who is outstanding from behind the desk.

Stop booking champions to lose non-title matches
WWE was not happy with Jack Swagger’s WHC reign and decided to take the belt off of him, citing him not getting over. But reading further into it shows that WWE really dropped the ball on this one. According to the Wrestling Observer, Swagger had 4 singles wins on TV, 6 TV losses (Orton, Morrison, Undertaker, Kingston & Mysterio twice), a loss in a three way, a loss in the only tag match he had and three DQ losses. That’s 15 matches, where he won a grand total of 4. As a World Champion. But how can you when you’re constantly booked to lose? Look at Sheamus on Raw, he’s not booked like that. Rey Mysterio got the same treatment a few years ago. It just doesn’t make sense. The champs don’t need to lose every single non-title match.

John Cena vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania
It’s been a long time since these guys feuded on SmackDown, and it’s about time they do it again. Cena’s the top dog in the WWE, while Undertaker’s undefeated streak remains intact. The best part about it is that a championship doesn’t need to be involved, and it remains a high-calibre match. Git’r done.

Build an actual WWE Hall of Fame
A lot of WWE HOFers are in that deserve to be, but a lot of names are left out for stupid reasons. Guys like Bruno Sammartino (not on good terms with Vince) and Randy Savage (Vince not on good terms with him) and The Ultimate Warrior (see Savage) are left out, while people like Koko B. Ware and other random celebrities are in. But while that may never change, why not build a physical Hall of Fame? The NFL (Canton, OH), NBA (Springifield, MA), MLB (Cooperstown, NY) and NHL (Toronto, ON) have them, where fans can visit and interact. Why not build one in Connecticut? I’d visit. Assuming the names like the three aforementioned were included.

More Raw/SD/PPV in Major Cities
Big name cities like Toronto, Los Angeles, New York, Cleveland, Chicago, Miami, etc. need more shows. As it stands, they only get a few live shows a year, and it sucks. Typically, WWE likes to book major house shows in these cities, they sell out their buildings that hold about 20,000 and then put TVs in smaller cities because that’s a better way to sell out in the smaller cities. But some cities just want it more – reward them and bring more shows here. House shows suck. I want Raw, SmackDown and PPVs.

VoV

Marc Valeri – captaincharisma@hotmail.com
VoV – www.voiceofvaleri.com
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VoV

– What’s up peepulation! Forgot to mention that April was once again another record-breaking month for VoV.com. We garnered an incredible 495,000+ hits, which broke its own record by 70,000+ hits! Thanks to the peepulation for their continued support!

MLB

– Nationals’ RHP Stephen Strasburg, 21, made his major league debut last night in front of a sold-out crowd in Washington, DC. Strasburg’s final line looked like this: 7 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 14 K. The 14 K’s are a franchise record. His fastball was regularly in the 100′s, and his curve was extremely effective. Although he did face the Pirates, 14 K’s is impressive. Even more impressive was his 7 straight retired to end his outing, plus the 9 straight retired after giving up a two-run homer.

Staying in the NL, Marlins’ OF Mike Stanton went 3-for-5 with two runs scored in his major league debut against the Phillies on Tuesday night. All hits were singles, but it was still a solid debut for the youngster. The 20-year-old slugger is prone strikeouts — and did whiff once tonight — and is expected to struggle to post a good batting average out of the gate.

– George A. King III of the NY Post reports that the Mariners are prepared for the Yankees to have interest in acquiring LHP Cliff Lee. The team’s most immediate need is to find another bat, and they have had scouts following the Astros in recent days, but the Yankees should never be discounted as a potential destination for Lee. According to King, the Mariners are currently scouting the Yankees organization thoroughly and have interest in prospect SS Eduardo Nunez and either prospect C Austin Romine or C Jesus Montero. For the Yankees to give up such a haul, they would likely try to lock Lee up to a contract extension. There’s still a lot of time before the trade deadline, so look for Lee to be connected to many teams in the days to come.

Speaking of which, rumours continue to fly that current Phillies’ OF Jayson Werth will sign with the Yankees this winter. Stay tuned.

– Cubs’ 3B Aramis Ramirez (thumb) is expected to be placed on the DL on Wednesday. Ramirez has been bothered by a deep bruise near the base of his left thumb for over a month and has struggled miserably in the process, so the rest could do him some good on two fronts.

– According to the Baltimore Sun, the O’s will interview Bobby Valentine, who is currently an analyst with ESPN and spent a few years in Japan, where he won a Japan Series championship with the Chiba Lotte Marines in 2005. Another fella who got a call from Orioles president Andy MacPhail is former Cleveland Indians manager Eric Wedge. The 42-year-old led the Indians to the American League Championship Series in 2007. Others on the O’s list, according to the Sun, are interim manager Juan Samuel, former Orioles catcher and current broadcaster Rick Dempsey, former Orioles manager Davey Johnson, Buck Showalter, Phil Garner, Bob Melvin, and Clint Hurdle.

NBA

– F Amare Stoudemire will opt out of the final year of his contract if he doesn’t re-sign with the Phoenix Suns before the deadline at the end of this month. Stoudemire, speaking at his basketball camp Tuesday, said he deserves a maximum contract and would like it to be with Phoenix, where he has played since he was drafted out of high school in 2002. The All-Star power forward said there was “no chance” he would exercise the final year of his contract with the Suns, which would pay him about $17M. Phoenix could give him more than any other team—a six-year/$127M deal.

“We’ve got the fans excited about basketball again. So what I don’t want is for me to have to leave and the fans are now not quite as excited about the game here. I want to keep the hype, want to keep the fans involved, want to keep everybody ecstatic about the Phoenix Suns…My agent is doing a good job of keeping the line of communication open with Steve Kerr and Robert,” Stoudemire said. “Those guys became great friends, so I’ll just sit back and let them handle it. Once it comes down to a bottom line, that’s when I step in.”

– According to a number of sources, the Raptors are expected to try and package F Hedo Turkoglu with F Chris Bosh, assuming Bosh accepts a sign-and-trade. Stay tuned.

– Warriors coach Don Nelson seems to have stayed in Maui while the team conducted its first round of draft workouts. Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News sees the writing on the wall — “It’s not so much Nelson checking out as Nelson reading the room: Once the team is sold, he will no longer be the Warriors coach. He is o-u-t, and he knows it.”

NHL

– The Raleigh News & Observer reports that F Ray Whitney, 38, is not going to sign with the Hurricanes prior to July 1. GM Jim Rutherford said, “I think it will be difficult with where he will be at, contract-wise. I expect him to go into July (and the free-agent market). It appears that’s the way it’s going to go.” Whitney was reportedly looking for a three-year deal at this year’s trade deadline.

– The Buffalo News reports that the Sabres have cut off contract talks with F Zack Kassian. Kassina, selected 13th overall in the NHL Draft, was accused of punching another man at a bar in Canada. The team insists that it is not “abandoning” 19-year-old Kassian, who was given a 20-game suspension last season by the OHL for a hit to the head of Matt Kennedy of the Barrie Colts.

NFL

– Cowboys’ running back coach Skip Peete revealed that Marion Barber played the last 13 games of the 2009 season with a torn left quadriceps muscle. “He still has a hole in it,” Peete said. Barber suffered the injury in Week 2, when it was originally labeled a strain. Keep that in mind the next time someone tells you NFL teams are forthcoming with injury details. He also battled knee and thigh injuries in the playoffs, when he was held to 18 yards on 11 carries. Barber hasn’t displayed any carryover effects from the injury this spring, but he remains a poor bet to stay healthy for 16 games.

WWE

– On Monday’s RAW, WWE began a major storyline featuring the NXT season 1 Rookies. The angle began when Wade Barrett appeared on the ramp during the show’s main event between John Cena and CM Punk.

As Barrett made his way to the ring, his fellow Season 1 Rookies – Daniel Bryan, David Otunga, Skip Sheffield, Michael Tarver, Darren Young, Heath Slater, Justin Gabriel – all appeared from the crowd and surrounded the ring. Each of them wore a black armband with a yellow “N” on them.

The Rookies proceeded to destroy everything in sight – including John Cena, the Straight Edge Society, the WWE announcers and ringside crew members, the announcer’s table and the ring. According to live reports sent in from fans who were at the show in Miami, the crowd was very into the angle and the NXT crew had a ton of heat. Many compared the invasion to the early nWo back in WCW in the late 1990s.

After the NXT Season 1 rookies returned backstage, they received a lot of praise for WWE management for the way the angle played out. According to f4wonline.com, Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Michael Hayes are really liking the recent NXT angles the Michael Cole vs. Daniel Bryan feud, the NXT Season Finale episode and last night’s invasion.

The fact that Michael Cole was the only WWE crew member to escape the NXT beatdown could be a sign that he’s part of the storyline, as there has been talk of moving turning Cole heel. Expect tonight’s WWE NXT Season 2 premiere to feature fallout from last night’s angle. There’s also been talk of Season 1’s rookies being featured regularly on Season 2.

– WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:

The NXT Invasion On RAW: “The NXT wrestlers collective assault on all that is WWE including wrestlers, announcers, the ring announcer, time keeper, security, etc was a complete shocker. Raw’s ending from Miami was one of the best conclusions of any Raw episode in years. This incident was completely out of the blue and poses many more questions than answers which is the life’s blood of producing episodic TV. The follow up to this matter certainly has my interest and I am more than curious to see where this NXT issue goes. I can only assume that it will be addressed tonight in some form on the 2nd season premier of NXT on Syfy.”

Saturday’s UFC 115 PPV: “It’s hard to pick a winner in Saturday’s UFC PPV in Vancouver in the Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin main event which is another reason that UFC PPV’s are so much fun to watch. I’m an ‘Iceman’ fan but one always wonders how much fuel is left in the tank of a veteran like Liddell. We know that Chuck’s passion and his will to compete will always be in place but are his physical skills still in tact to win an other UFC main event? Insiders speculate that Franklin is nearing the end of his run and that he has confided in some folks that he’s about ready to call it a career. That’s merely hearsay as far as I know but it certainly adds to the intrigue of this fight. It’s arguable that both Liddell and Franklin won’t be fighting that much longer as neither athlete strikes me as the type of fighter that will allow themselves to stay too long. There is no way that the judges will influence Liddell vs. Franklin Saturday night from where I sit. Vancouver is a great city, one of my favorite places to visit from my days of weekly, WWE travel, but their politicos seem to be having a knee jerk reaction to UFC/MMA regarding what I’ve read as being ridiculous requirements for insurance, etc. It’s too bad that uneducated politicians often times perceive UFC to be something that it isn’t and that these decisions then adversely affect the fans who live in the community. I can assure you that the many businesses in Vancouver will covet the UFC being in town this week.”

The Undertaker’s New DVD Set: “The Undertaker’s ‘Deadliest Matches’ is out today on DVD and is a really fun DVD to watch. It covers the true evolution of the Undertaker persona through multiple eras and with a wide variety of opponents and unique matches. I enjoyed it and think that it’s a must have for all Undertaker fans. It certainly brought back plenty of fun memories for me as a broadcaster.”

– In an interview with The Wrestler, multi-time WWE Women’s Champion Trish Stratus comments on the possibility of a wrestling comeback. She said:

“I always want to do something that is challenging and impactful, no matter what I do … Absolutely, I’d go back—but only if I could do something that makes a difference.”

– WWE officials are reportedly upset with Chris Jericho over his new role as the host of a new game show on the ABC network. Apparently WWE told Jericho last week that they wanted him to back out of the show,  but Jericho would not back down talked them into letting him take the gig.

– Evan Bourne’s recent push came about after John Cena went to Vince McMahon and basically told him that the company was dropping the ball by not fully getting behind Bourne. Another reason behind Bourne’s push is that with Daniel Bryan and Kaval being brought up to the main roster, WWE wants to condition fans to accept smaller superstars as viable main eventers.

– WWE’s on air talent was told not to mention UFC on last night’s RAW that featured UFC star Rampage Jackson as one of the guest hosts. The Bella Twins did a skit backstage where Jackson was simply referred to as an MMA fighter with no mention of the company he works for.

– Monday’s three-hour Viewer’s Choice episode of Raw drew a 3.1 cable rating. The show did a 3.3 rating for two final hours, Raw’s usual timeslot.

UFC

– After hosting WWE RAW on Monday with his A-Team co-stars Bradley Cooper and Sharlto Copley, UFC’s Quinton “Rampage” Jackson says he had a blast at RAW and “wants in” on the WWE action.Rampage wrote on Twitter:

“I was like a kid today,I have not been happy this past week,but meeting my child hood heros,and making new friends was all I needed I’m back. I will tell y’all everything tomorrow,it’s late here,I’m still on tour,I will let y’all know what I’m doing so y’all can keep up,btw I want in.”

On Tuesday, he followed up with a lot more on his WWE RAW experience, including meeting WWE names like Vince McMahon, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Bret Hart, John Cena and more. He wrote:

“Everybody was cool! They r a bunch of big kids like me,doing what they love. Big Show was so funny! He showed me the choke slam. I want in!!! John Cena,was cool,but Ted is the man,I wanna do a movie wit him. Vince was cool as hell,Bret is my new home boy Pipper so down to Earth” The King is lade back,Mean Gene was pimp,everybody was damn cool,I would like 2 go back as Rampage and do the power bomb.”

Rampage then compared his experience at RAW with the WWE wrestlers and fans to MMA fans, who he says can be “full of crap.”

“Haters will hate that’s all they will ever be,im gonna give them mo stuff 2 hate on! we all will stay n business! I’m lovin my REAL fans mo. I was there 2 support them,so I talked good about them and told the truth about the mma fans,get mad if u want that means u r the 1s that I was talking about! Some mma fans r full of crap,like the ones that booed me when I KOed Chuck So like I said lighten up,or come whoop my ass. Didn’t meet any a holes.”

After being handcuffed and held hostage by Ted DiBiase Jr. and his man servant Virgil, Rampge broke free of the cuffs and laid out his captors. To those wondering if he really was handcuffed – he said, “the cuffs were real homie, I’m just that strong!!!

TNA

– Eric Young is now engaged.

VoV

Marc Valeri – captaincharisma@hotmail.com
VoV – www.voiceofvaleri.com
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PGA

– According to Entertainment Tonight, Tiger Woods and Elin Noregren are putting the final touches on their divorce agreement, ending their six-year marriage. Nordegren was conspicuously absent when Woods made his return to golf at the Masters last weekend.

TNA

– According to the PWTorch, in response to Impact’s lackluster ratings, discussion of bringing Jim Ross and Paul Heyman to TNA has heated up amongst company officials. Ross remains under contract to WWE through April 30 and has indicated on his official website that he doesn’t know what the future holds for him in WWE.

Heyman is contractually free, but hasn’t shown much interest in joining TNA when friends have asked him about joining the company in the past.They feel he would accept a position with the company, however, if he was given power beyond appearing as a character and writing shows.

– There is much internal concern regarding the state of Jeff Hardy. Many feel his work since coming to TNA has been lackluster, not to mention that his promos are rambling and sometimes virtually incoherent. Several people are comparing his current state to his previous run in the company, which occurred as a result of his termination from WWE for erratic behavior, drug use, refusal to enter rehab and deteriorating ring performance. Kevin Nash also received a concussion as a result of Hardy during their cage match two weeks ago on Impact, as he landed on his head while performing the Swanton.

And why wouldn’t Jeff be back on anything? There’s no drug testing in TNA, so anyone is free to do anything without any consequence.

– As reported here earlier, Christy Hemme has re-signed with TNA. The Honky Tonk Man’s official website reports that Hemme signed a three-year/$525K deal worth $175K annually. The website also notes that Hemme’s new contract has left some of her fellow female co-workers notably upset.– As reported earlier, Christy Hemme has re-signed with TNA. The official website of The Honky Tonk Man is reporting Hemme’s deal is being compared to Awesome Kong’s as the recently released Knockout was receiving $400 per appearance from TNA. Reportedly, Kong’s inability to attain a slight raise in salary was her main point of contention with TNA, which led to her ultimately departing from the organization.

MLB

– The Phillies have placed SS Jimmy Rollins (right calf strain) on the 15-day DL. Rollins has what is being termed as something between a “1 and 2 degree” calf strain and will miss two-to-four weeks. It’s a tough blow for Rollins, who was batting .391 (9-for-23) with one home run, three RBI and eight runs scored over the first seven games of the season.

– The Orioles have placed LHP Mike Gonzalez (strained left shoulder) on the 15-day DL  retroactive to April 10. It’s pretty clear by Gonzalez’s early appearances that something wasn’t quite right with him and this confirms it. Gonzalez made a career-high 80 appearances with the Braves in ’09, his first full season after Tommy John surgery, so the Orioles took a calculated risk by signing him to a two-year contract in the first place.

– The Red Sox have transferred SS Jed Lowrie (mononucleosis) to the 60-day DL. Lowrie was placed on the 15-day DL to open the season. He’s unlikely to contribute at the big league level this season, or at least not before the All-Star break.

WWE

– On Twitter, multi-time champion Melina posted a few strongly worded messages concerning Eve Torres’ Divas title opportunity on Monday’s Raw. Notably, Melina said she didn’t want to see the title “get lost on someone who can’t bring attention or validity to it.” While initially she didn’t mention Eve by name, she specified the 2007 Diva Search winner following her championship victory on Monday, adding that she got cheated out of the special moment one consumes after taking time to reach such a noted accomplishment.

Here is what Melina wrote:

“My 984th Tweet will be about Maryse. Other reasons I want her to win. Not only is she the most experienced out of the two but she is the most charismatic one. She is entertaining in her own right and puts focus on the championship. The title will get lost on someone who can’t bring attention or validity to it. She is a good heel. She can sneak or cheat to win. Her ways of winning the title without earning it makes it worth something bcuz it shows that the championship is so important a person is willing to lie, cheat and steal!!! In turn it makes you want to see a babyface knock her teeth in and win it the way you should, by wrestling!!! You earn that championship, by Maryse constantly cheating or finaggling her way to retain it, she makes a Baby fight for it and in a different way, earn it. Good for her. Make that title mean something girl! Please!”

“I still stand by what I say. Back in the Trish/Lita/Jazz era, the women earned the title and fought for it. It meant so much. Women looked at them and wanted to be as great as them. It shouldn’t be about taking turns on who gets to put in on this week. It should be about who earned it and who brings credibility to it. I still wish it could have been Jillian, Katie or Gail to have that opportunity. All I wanted was to start a new era. To make those women proud to see we were keeping it alive.”

“Just to make sure everyone understands, I think Eve is an up and coming talent. She has potential like many of our Divas. Like many of our Divas, they deserve a better title moment than that. With a good chase and a good build up. Maybe you need to be a wrestler to know that feeling but, it’s an incredible feeling when you have reached such an honor. Where it took time and you invested so much to reach that moment/ that level. She got cheated out of that. No one understands that. Good for her. Be good to your heels, they make you who you are… As a former heel, I know. Do your thing chica.”

– Injuries continue to mount for WWE as Rey Mysterio had to be assisted leaving last night’s television taping in London, England following his show closer dark match with CM Punk. Meanwhile, John Morrison may have suffered an injury during the company’s ongoing tour as he did not work last night’s SmackDown taping. However, it should be noted that it is not 100% confirmed.

VoV

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VoV

FI-NALLY…the RAW Review…has-come-BACK…to Voice of Valeri. I apologize for the number of consecutive weeks without having your crotches rocked (5 or 6 by my count – and I supposedly didn’t miss anything), but there shouldn’t be any more problems from here on out. I haven’t seen/read the spoilers for RAW, but I’ve seen SmackDown! roughly every week. I’m telling you now, if you like wrestling, watch that instead of RAW.

RAW

RAW # 850 comes to you live from Chicago, Illinois. This week’s RAW is hosted by none other than former Price is Right host Bob Barker. The price is wrong, bitch.

Opener

I’ll be honest, I missed this part. I’m sure it wasn’t anything of any substance, though. Nice setup for RAW though. The Price is RAW is stupid.

MVP d. Chris Jericho

Great match. Decent finish to the match.

Backstage

I’ve got two words for ‘ya – spin it. HBK gets Chris Masters and Triple H gets Randy Orton.

Evan Bourne d. Chavo Guerrero

Guerrero “loses” a Chevrolette Corvette. Hornswoggle with the distraction, Bourne wins via school boy. What a stupid waste of time.

John Cena d. Cody Rhodes via DQ

Snoozer of a promo from Rhodes. Lame match with Orton interfering afterwards. Waste.

Batista has a “major announcement” next week. I hope it’s retirement.

Barker’s Game

Coming out to the Price is Right theme has always been my dream. Bringing White Sox C A.J. Pierzynski in is so dumb. Cubs fans were rioting. What a waste of time. SmackDown! never has crap like this.

The Big Show d. Santino Marella – Mark Henry d. The Big Show

That was shorter than Christian’s title defense at SummerSlam. What a mess trying to raise Show’s arm. As for the second match, picture Barney fighting the Kool Aid Man. More crotch grabbing than a rap video. Is Henry not supposed to be the World’s Stongest Man? If Cena can lift him, there’s no way Henry can’t.

Backstage

Barker with Josh Mathews. Snooooooore.

Trish guests host RAW next week in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I miss her.

Backstage

Bob Barker ruins Chavo. *Sigh*. Poor attempt at re-enacting Happy Gilmore.

DX d. RKO & Chris Masters

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve seen the MasterBaiter. His combover doesn’t work. He’s lost of ton of muscle, and because of that, partnered with his stupid haircut, has lost all of his push-ability. Decent match at best. Awesome kick at the end. Hilarious chase afterwards. I seriously thought HBK sliding on top of the trunk was going to make the limo stop.

Decent RKO/Cena ending with a blown finish.

Final Thoughts

I’m going to put as much thought into this review as creative did to RAW. It sucked ass from a straw.

Score: 2.5

WWE

– According to 4WOnline, WWE officials are said to be very unhappy with Rey Mysterio over comments he made to a newspaper in Mexico regarding his recent drug test failure where he said had a prescription for the drug he failed for, but they suspended him before he could give proof of his prescription. A number of ideas are being discussed for Tuesday’s SmackDown! taping in Cleveland including Dolph Ziggler beating him for the Intercontinental title or Ziggler interfering and costing him the title against another wrestler. Although, WWE would have to explain Ziggler winning a number one contender’s match on last week’s episode of Superstars and not being in the match if they go in the latter direction.

It should be be noted that the official guidelines for WWE’s Wellness Policy says talent has up to seventy-two hours to provide proof of a valid prescription upon being notified of a positive test. The exact text of WWE’s Wellness Policy for handling a positive test is as follows: “It shall be the responsibility of WWE Talent to provide, if not already provided, to the Medical Director, within seventy two (72) hours of notification of a positive test, suitable proof that the substance in question has been taken pursuant to a valid prescription for a legitimate medical purpose.” If that’s the case, Mysterio should have had until Saturday to provide the necessary documents to company officials.

A lot will come down to how WWE defines the “notification” aspect. Mysterio said he was not notified of his positive test until Wednesday due to a three-week absence for a vacation, promoting SummerSlam overseas and working shows, but it remains unclear whether the company attempted to reach out to him prior to then. Mysterio worked the previous day’s SmackDown taping in Phoenix, so it would appear that he was not informed of his positive test result until arriving at home the next day. Elsewhere during the interview Mysterio also claimed to have passed fifteen drug tests within the past year.

– The Examiner has an article up noting that Floyd Mayweather said after his recent appearance on RAW that he wants to get out of boxing and into pro wrestling. Mayweather said he looks forward to being in a WWE ring soon and will one day be a WWE Superstar. In an update on the Floyd Mayweather shooting investigation from last Monday, the LA Times reports that Las Vegas police seized two handguns, two bulletproof vests and ammunition from Mayweather’s home that day.

– In an interview with 105.7 FM in York, Pennsylvania, Bob Barker said he will be hosting Monday Night RAW from Chicago on Labour Day.

– The Air Canada Center website has announced that Trish Stratus will host the September 14 edition of Monday Night RAW from the building. Click here for event information.

MLB

– If Cubs RHP Rich Harden remains a Cub after today, it’s unlikely the team will re-sign him this offseason. Harden has been great during the second half of the season, but paying him $50-60M for four unpredictable seasons is something they don’t want to do.

The Twins have yet to request Harden’s medical records, and a deal looks unlikely with the deadline looming today at 1 p.m. ET. The 27-year-old right-hander has been on the DL seven times since 2005.

The Twins still have some kind a chance to win the American League Central, currently being led by the Tigers 4.5 games ahead of them. Meanwhile, the Cubs are pretty much done, falling to 10 games behind the Cardinals. The Twins also believe that acquiring him could mean re-signing C Joe Mauer and 1B Justin Morneau to long-term deals, which in turn, could attract Harden to sign with them. The waiver deadline is today.

– According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, the Twins are among several teams interested in RHP Brad Penny. Penny will clear waivers in a couple of hours and has already drawn interest from the Marlins and Giants. The 31-year-old right-hander had a dissapointing 5.61 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 24 starts with the Red Sox this season, but it looks like he’ll have his pick of the litter.

– According to the San Francisco Chronicle, A’s INF Nomar Garciaparra has cleared waivers and could be traded today, and the team that leads the potential suitors are none other than the Phillies. The Phillies apparently were thinking about signing Garciaparra last winter, and recently had some scouts out to watch his efforts this past weekend. Even though he’s only batting .264 with two homers and 13 RBI in 129 at-bats for the A’s this season, he’s got a very good career batting line for October games: .321 with seven homers and 24 RBIs in 112 at-bats. He’d certainly be an upgrade over their current pinch hitter, OF Matt Stairs, who is 0-for-his-last-27 and .151 on the season.

– The Dodgers have acquired INF Ronnie Belliard from the Nationals for RHP Luis Garcia and a PTBNL. In 86 games this season, the 34-year-old Belliard was batting .246 with five home runs and 22 runs batted in. He won a World Series ring with St. Louis in 2006, appearing in 14 of 15 games during the postseason. He was instrumental in getting the Cardinals to the Fall Classic, hitting .462 with a pair of RBI in four National League Division Series games.

– Due to his concussion, Mets 3B David Wright will be wearing a new style helmet next season – it’s a new, bulky Rawlings S100. Cubs RHP Ryan Dempster said that when he wore it, it felt like “my own bobblehead day”. Wright said, “I imagine they got some pretty smart people that designed them so I’m sure it works pretty good. If it provides more safety, then I’m all for it.” No matter, Minor League Baseball and the St. Louis-based company announced Monday it will be required in the minors beginning next season. Six S100 helmets are being sent to each major league team for its players to try out for the rest of this year.

NBA

– The Wolves are still trying to negotiate a buyout for G Ricky Rubio to play in the NBA. Regal Barcelona is ready to shell out the $5.3M to have Rubio come play for them, something the Wolves want to prevent. According to El Mundo Deportivo, Kahn supposedly made some sort of final offer when he had dinner with DKV Joventut president Jordi Villacampa and agent Dan Fegan on Saturday night. The special offer is expected to include endorsement deals, as well as a preseason/exhibition game vs. DKV Joventut. Plus, Kahn drafted a second Joventut player in this year’s draft, Henk Norel. Rumour has it he could pay $500K each to Joventut to buy out Norel and Rubio as a way of giving the team a little extra dough, even though Norel would never make it to the Timberwolves bench. Stay tuned.

– The Mavericks are reportedly willing to acquire disgruntled Warriors F Stephen Jackson. Jackson is owed $36M over the next four years. One rumour has another large contract going the other way: G Jason Terry. But, Mavericks beat writer Tim MacMahon says the odds of Stephen Jackson being traded to Dallas are “closer to none than slim, even in a straight salary dump.” The Mavs are over the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax and would essentially be paying $70M over four years for Jackson, too rich even for owner Mark Cuban.

– Rockets GM Daryl Morey said recently that F Yao Ming could return during the 2009-2010 season, and the franchise no longer feels his broken left foot is career-threatening. “They have not actually ruled out [his return] this season. I think that’s less likely than likely, but they haven’t ruled it out.” Yao still needs to wear a cast for a few weeks, after which he’ll be on crutches for six-to-eight weeks.

– G Carlos Arroyo is apparently coming back to the NBA from playing overseas, as he’s set to sign a one-year deal with the Bulls. Last season, he led Maccabi Tel Aviv to an Israeli Premier League Championship and got himself the honor of being named MVP of the Finals. But, the Daily Herald says there’s no way that the Bulls will sign Arroyo since it already has four point guards under contract and not a lot of salary-cap room to work with. Stay tuned.

– Attorneys for Jayson Williams say the retired NBA star’s convictions related to a fatal shooting should be thrown out because those who prosecuted him were racially biased. Williams was convicted of four counts of covering up the shooting of a hired driver at his central New Jersey mansion more than seven years ago.

NHL

– Paul Kelly is out as executive director of the NHL Players’ Association. The union announced at its annual meeting Monday that its executive board voted “overwhelmingly” to remove Kelly. The executive board is made up of one player from each of the 30 teams. Kelly held the job for less than two years. The NHLPA didn’t give a reason, saying that after a review of the “overall operation of the NHLPA, it was decided that Paul Kelly should no longer continue to serve as executive director.” The union said it would immediately form a committee to find a replacement. Kelly had been on the job since October, 2007, when he took over for the fired Ted Saskin.

– The Senators supposedly don’t want F Dany Heatley to show up at training camp. Training camp for the team starts on September 12 and GM Bryan Murray would supposedly love to have a trade in place by then that would send Heatley packing. Rumours persist that the Sharks are very interested, but might not have the talent to trade in order to get the job done. Murray hasn’t apparently had a lot of choices to pick from when it comes to Heatley trade scenarios, and the rumour is that the team doesn’t want the circus to become a daily distraction to the team. Expect Murray to lower his return price for the former 50-goal scorer.

– The Senators have some interest in F Petr Sykora. The Senators are currently over the cap and would only sign Sykora if they were able to trade F Dany Heatley before training camp. The Flyers and Wild might also be interested in Sykora’s services after they lost the race to sign F Alex Tanguay to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sykora scored 25 goals and 46 points in 76 games with the Pens last season.

NFL

– Patriots LB Tedy Bruschi has retired after 13 NFL seasons. Bruschi helped anchor a defense that was instrumental in New England’s three Super Bowl titles spanning four seasons. During his tenure with the team, New England made the playoffs nine times with eight division championships and five conference titles. The 36-year-old one-time Pro Bowl selection holds the franchise record for most postseason games with 22.

TNA

– TNA President Dixie Carter was a guest on the Live Audio Wrestling Internet radio show on Sunday night. Host John Pollock discussed TNA’s current PPV formula of one event per month, Carter says she is not a fan of the monthly PPV format and she would like to see the formula shaken up.

“I’m not a big fan of monthly PPVs, quite honestly, but you have contracts that keep you held in and bound at times. We’re definitely talking about trying to shake things up and do things differently in the future…I work very, very closely (creatively). I’m not going to profess to be a wrestling writer. I am good at challenging people. It’s not just ratings, but other things as well,” Carter said. “We’ve made a lot of changes internally to present the product more real and focusing on these young guys.”

Despite the fact that TNA is a privately held company and their actual PPV buyrate figures are never officially released, the data that does get out indicates that TNA has never come close to breaking 100,000 buys for an event and change is needed.

NHL

– The Canucks are still interested in free agent F Mats Sundin. Sundin played for the Canucks last season garnering 28 points in 41 games and eight points in eight post-season contests. The Canucks still need a top-six forward, and while Sundin will fit in nicely, they cannot afford to pay him anything close to the $5.625M he received for half a season last year. Sundin still has to decide if he wants to return to the NHL for another season.

– The Edmonton Oilers are still interested in Sens F Dany Heatley. Heatley has refused a trade to Edmonton twice this week, so Oilers president Kevin Lowe and GM Steve Tambellini flew to Heatley’s home in BC on Wednesday to meet with the disgruntled Senator. Lowe and Tambellini were believed to have stayed overnight so their talks with Heatley may prove to be fruitful. Stay tuned as the troublesome Heatley is still one of the best goal scorers in the NHL.

Meanwhile, Ottawa GM Bryan Murray told reporters that the price for Heatley just went up. Heatley was given his $4M bonus Wednesday night, and the Senators would want more back in a trade with that payment gone through. Heatley officially nixed a deal to the Oilers Wednesday, which would have seen F Andrew Cogliano, D Ladislav Smid and F Dustin Penner coming back to Ottawa for the sniper. Murray also recently hinted at no longer shopping the sniper. Although it is hard to imagine Heatley in a Senators uniform next season, knowing that he wants out and all his teammates knowing the same thing would cause a locker room distraction.

– The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that the Columbus Blue Jackets and F Rick Nash are close to a new deal. Nash still has one year left on his old contract but the Blue Jackets want him signed, sealed and delivered as quickly as possible. Rumours have him signing a seven-year/$8-9M per season, or possibly a ten-year/$75-85M deal. If Nash signs, there will be a lot of disappointed teams in the NHL who were hoping that he would hit the unrestricted free agency market next season.

– The Leafs have signed F Mikhail Grabovski to a three-year/$8.7M deal.

– The Kings have signed D Rob Scuderi to a four-year/$13.6M deal.

– The Thrashers have signed F Nik Antorpov to a four-year/$16M deal.

– The Bruins have signed F Mark Recchi to a one-year/$1M deal.

– The Coyotes have signed D Adrian Aucoin to a one-year deal/$2.25M deal.

– The Thrashers have re-signed F Chris Thorburn.

– The Hurricanes have signed F Chad LaRose to a two-year/$3.4M deal.

– The Panthers have signed D Jordan Leopold to a one-year/$1.75M deal.

– The Stars have signed D Karlis Skrastins to a two-year/$2.75M deal.

NBA

– The Celtics have offered F Rasheed Wallace a two-year contract. Wallace is coming off a five-year contract with the Pistons, earning $13.68M last season. The teams courting Wallace would be offering the midlevel exception, worth between $5.6-5.8M.

– G Allen Iverson has told the Grizzlies that he’d like to play in Memphis. The high-scoring veteran is a free agent for the first time in his professional career. Iverson, 34, reportedly has only had mild discussions with the Heat since the free agency period began Wednesday. There were also internet reports Thursday that the Bulls have interest in AI. While no deal is imminent and conversations have been only exploratory, Griz brass are said to be weighing the pros and cons of adding Iverson to the team’s youth movement, according to the Commercial Appeal. Iverson would certainly have to take a major pay cut from the $21M he earned last season with Detroit. It is believed that the Griz would only entertain Iverson at what they’d deem a reasonable price, and if the 13-year veteran agreed to play off the bench.

– The Lakers have signed F Ron Artest. David Bauman, Artest’s agent, said the final details are still being worked out, but could be finished as early as Thursday night. ESPN.com reported that Artest had agreed to a three-year/$18M deal, while the LA Times reports a five-year/$32M deal.

– According to the AP, the Rockets have signed F Trevor Ariza to a multi-year deal. He will reportedly make $5.6M his first year.

– The Knicks are expected to offer G Jason Kidd a three-year deal worth roughly $18M, while the Mavs have offered a three-year/$25-30M deal. Kidd would love to play for Mike D’Antoni and favors NYC because his children live there. $12M is a lot of cash, but at this point in his career, Kidd could very well decide to play where he’ll be happiest.

– The Mavericks are expected to sign F Marcin Gortat to an offer sheet on Wednesday, which the Magic will have seven days to match if they want to keep the big man. Dallas is reportedly offering him their full mid-level exception – which could be for five years starting at about $5.6M. If the offer is for five years, there’s a decent chance the Magic will choose not to match it due to the luxury tax penalties that would follow. And after also losing F Tony Battie and F Hedo Turkoglu, the Magic could be pretty thin in the front court.

– Despite what was being reported by a Spanish newspaper on Thursday, Wolves G Ricky Rubio has still not made up his mind about where he will play next season. Yesterday’s report said Rubio was heading back to Spain for two years, but that now looks like speculation on the part of the media. The simple fact is that Rubio and his people are still trying to decide the best course of action to take. That could easily mean he returns to Spain for two years, it could mean that he plays this season for the Wolves, or it could mean he’s traded to the Knicks or some other team. As usual, stay tuned.

– A day after jumping to Detroit, Pistons G Ben Gordon told a Chicago radio station Thursday that the Bulls never made a contract offer even though GM Gar Forman claimed re-signing him was their No. 1 priority. “I mean they didn’t pursue me at all. They didn’t even make an offer so it was pretty much a one-man race.” Gordon agreed to a five-year/$50+M with the Pistons on Wednesday after leading the Bulls in scoring the past four seasons. Under league rules, that deal can’t be announced until next week.

– The Bucks have met with F Josh Childress who signed a three-year/$20M deal with Olympiakos. A sign-and-trade would have to be worked out, as his NBA right are still with the Hawks.

NFL

– A league spokesman has denied speculation that the NFL has already approved the mass production of QB Brett Favre Vikings jerseys. Reebok is believed to have produced screens of the No. 4 jerseys, but they could be destroyed if Favre doesn’t end up with the Vikings. He’s almost certain to, though, and the merchandise could threaten the single-season record for jersey sales.

MLB

– If Angels RHP John Lackey tests the free agent market at season’s end, the Rangers are expected to make him an offer.

– The D’Backs are shopping 1B/3B Chad Tracy. The Red Sox are interested.

– The Phillies are considering offering RHP Paul Byrd a contract.

– The Marlins have signed RHP Luis Ayala.

WWE

– While at RAW this week, Batista was telling people that his physical rehabilitation is going well, according to PWInsider.com. The Animal had surgery last month to repair a torn tendon in his arm and he’s on schedule to get back in the gym in about four-to-six weeks. Batista is hoping to return by November’s Survivor Series PPV, which takes place from his hometown of Washington D.C. As reported earlier this week, he’s keeping busy during his time off – as he’s set to star in a new “martial arts comedy” film with boxing champion and fellow Filipino national hero, Manny Pacquaio.

– Former WWE Diva Torrie Wilson was interviewed by Kevin Eck of The Baltimore Sun to discuss her second place finish in NBC’s I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here and she had some interesting things to say regarding WWE. Highlights from the interview are as follows:

Whether having a snake on her face was worse than kissing Vince McMahon: “Oh, making out with Vince, for sure [laughs]. I’ll take the snake any day.”

Embarrassed over taking part in the Miss WrestleMania Battle Royal: “I’m very mad at myself and embarrassed that I agreed to be a part of something like that. A lot of people in the audience didn’t even know that I was in that match because they didn’t even announce it. For me, that whole experience at WrestleMania was kind of like closure. I feel like maybe I’m not appreciated like I would have hoped. They just wanted all these girls there. Now I can understand why Trish [Stratus] decided not to do it; she was smart. Going into it I trusted them that they would use me in the right way and I should have known better. All in all, I learned a valuable lesson.”

Whether she thinks she’s done with professional wrestling: “I do. I just didn’t appreciate that experience and I felt very unappreciated after all of the years that I put in for them. You combine that with the fact that I asked them to do a little thing on wwe.com to “vote for Torrie” and they just ignored me. So, my feelings are hurt.”

– Tony Atlas’ future with WWE is very much in doubt following the transfer of his associate, Mark Henry, to the RAW brand this past Monday. Company officials plan on pushing the “World’s Strongest Man” as a top babyface, which as a result, has left Atlas to fend for himself as he is not being brought alongside him. As of this week, he is still considered a member of the ECW roster, but creative has no idea on how to use him. His contract may be coming due as early as next week as he returned to the company on July 8, 2008 and signed a deal (more than likely a one-year deal) shortly thereafter.

– Roddy Piper was bailed out of jail earlier today on $5K bond and will have to appear before a court in Los Angeles for his DUI charges on 7/23.

RAW

– RAW # 833 comes to you live from Kentucky, Louisville.

Opener

Orton promo. Good stuff. Better than the last few weeks, but that’s not saying much. I’ve got mixed feelings about Ric Flair coming back, but as long as he’s not in an official match, I guess it’s alright. The attack was good until John Cena runs in for the save – of course, it’s only been a few weeks of him not being in the title picture.

Backstage

Typical Cena promo. His facial reaction was priceless when Vickie told him about the match set-up, and even up until “oh, no!”, but once he started talking, it went straight downhill.

Diva Battle Royal

Should’ve just been Mickie James versus Kelly Kelly and save the middle man. Great interference by Maryse with the hairspray to the face, and an even better sell by Mickie. I think Mickie could put on a great program with both Beth Phoenix and Maryse, it’s just a shame that WWE has used her so sparingly lately.

Santino Marella d. Chavo Guerrero

Santino’s mannerisms are unbelieveable. He’s so animated, but it works like a charm, especially hearing him yell and sell injuries in the ring. As for the match, it was pretty much a waste, but it got more time than I thought it would. Santino scores the pinfall for the first time since Triple H lost a match.

Backstage

The Miz and Maryse. Miz’ cockiness is great, and the segment was great too. He could’ve turned up the arrogant ass-o-meter one notch, though.

Backstage

Matthews w/ Matt Hardy. Pointless.

Backstage

Orton w/ Chavo and Vickie. Great heel promo by RKO.

Carlito & Primo d. The Brian Kendrick & Goldust

Meh. I think The Brian Kendrick should team with The Miz and just make THE Tag Team, or something to that effect. As much as I want to believe Kendrick is a single’s heel, he’s best suited for midcard or tag matches at best. Goldswoggle has some potential here. But if Hornswoggle is gold loving, shouldn’t he have been with Shelton Benjamin before?

In-Ring Segment

The Miz comes out to John Cena’s Word Life music, as well as his attire. Awesome. Miz’ rap was incredible. Lawler interrupts for some reason and absolutely ruins everything The Miz has been doing on RAW. What for? Totally unnecessary, and a total waste. Big Show beats down Lawler afterwards. Good, that’s what you get.

MVP d. Matt Hardy to retain US Championship

Nice, a US title defence on RAW. About time – how else are the lesser belts going to get better if they’re never defended? The match itself was the match of the night, but it was 5 minutes at best. These two work well together, so hopefully the feud doesn’t end.

Backstage

Flair and Batista. Dumb segment, but whatever, it helps it for later tonight I guess. If Flair calls out Orton and has a match next week, I quit WWE.

Backstage

Vickie w/ Chavo. Vickie on top of the couches for the frog splash was hysterical. Santina’s interference with pig noises was also great. But, if they were trying to figure whether Santina was Santino, why wouldn’t they have just put them one-on-one, or even a tag match? Wouldn’t that be the most logical thing to do?

Vickie d. Santina to win Ms. WrestleMania crown

So stupid. How can someone win a Ms. WrestleMania crown, A) when it’s not WrestleMania 25 anymore, and B) when they didn’t even compete in the damn match at ‘Mania to begin with!? It’s not like the crown meant anything, since it went to Santina rather than Trish or Lita or Beth or something, but still, it’s the principal. I was really looking forward to seeing Vickie wrestle, too. What a waste. Seeing Vickie dance afterwards has ruined the prospect of getting a boner for the next 25 years.

Batista & John Cena d. Legacy

Slow match, with a lot of holds. Flair’s interference was expected, and SuperCena leaving was expected as well. But if Rhodes and DiBiase were able to beat down Batista in the opener, shouldn’t having RKO there in a 3-on-1 just make matters worse, rather than having Batista suddenly overcome the odds? I wonder if Flair’s return is going to be the cue where Batista turns heel…

Final Thoughts

Unfortunately, I missed Judgment Day, but from what I’ve heard, it was pretty good, despite all the title’s being successfully defended. I like how WWE used the US title on RAW, as it’s a step in the right direction. I really hope Flair doesn’t “come back”, because then it’ll just be a slap in the face to everyone who loves him, especially HBK. Flair’s return would be a pitch down the middle for Batista to turn heel, so now’s as good a time as any. As for RAW, it sucked. The Miz salvaged anything positive coming out of it, and the US title match was the only one with any substance whatsoever.

Score: 3

NHL

– The Phoenix Coyotes are ready to sue the NHL because the league will not allow owner Jerry Moyes to sell the team to Canadian Jim Balsillie. This is turning into a mess and the NHL has to be wary of a possible lawsuit if Moyes cannot sell the team to Balsillie who wants to move the team to southern Ontario. The Coyotes are prepared to sue and cite that the NHL is breaking state and federal anti-trust laws. The Coyotes are preparing its case for the court and they state in their case that Phoenix is not a viable hockey market according to the Arizona Republic. The team has lost $73 million in the last three years. Sounds to us that this is not a viable market. Stay tuned.

– Penguins’ D Sergei Gonchar is reportedly out four-to-six weeks with a knee injury.

– The Avs are interested in hiring Patrick Roy as their new GM. Stay tuned.

WWE

– As noted several weeks ago, former WWE Diva Amy “Lita” Dumas was asked to take part in the 25-Diva Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXV. For those wondering why she turned the offer down, she simply stated she is retired, according to the latest issue of Power Slam magazine.

– According to the PWTorch, while Women’s Champion Melina has worked hard to repair her image in the locker room over the past few years, some wrestlers are still leery of her as they feel she is overly dramatic and often tries to make herself the center of attention.

As reported here earlier, Melina caused several wrestlers to roll their eyes in reaction to her recent complaints about being moved from RAW to SmackDown!. The WWE Women’s Champion is once again dating John Morrison, as the couple was spotted slow dancing together throughout the night at the annual post-WrestleMania party. With the draft coming up at the time, the two reportedly asked to be placed on the same brand together. Nonetheless, she was complaining to other wrestlers about being moved to SmackDown and got rather emotional following news of the switch on the Draft show.

Backstage, many feel she had to know that WWE weren’t going to place her and Morrison on the same brand as Batista given the past issues the three have had. Batista noted in his 2007 autobiography, Batista Unleashed, that he had a physical relationship with Melina during their time together on SmackDown!.

Batista wrote:

“My wife thought I was sleeping with Melina right off the bat, while we were still married. It wasn’t true, but it did make me feel guilty about being friends with her.

“Since then, as I’ve said, Melina and I have gotten closer and our relationship has become physical. That’s caused a bit of controversy, but I don’t give a sh*t. She’s my friend, and I love her very much.”

“It’s not like she’s been an angel all these years,” said one former co-worker regarding the situation. “She’s disposable. It’s not like she’s in a position to bitch.”

Many company sources believe Melina has yet to actually complain to management regarding the switch to SmackDown!.

Another source referred to her complaints as ‘eye-rolling’ and said most people have taken a ‘who cares?’ approach to the drama.

– I can’t confirm the validity of the following piece, but it was apparently written from the perspective of an anonymous former WWE Diva giving her tongue-in-cheek take on the afterlife of a WWE Diva, largely taking aim at her peers and the numerous fans that attend wrestling conventions (which almost always have a slew of former WWE Divas on hand).

The piece has been forwarded around to numerous wrestling sites, including this one. An interesting read to say the least:

20 Official Rules For WWE Diva Afterlife

Written by a former WWE Diva

1. Don’t worry, it will grow back fine… just cut it down and stop bleaching it dummy. Now your natural color will be seen as a “new look” and you will experience refreshed marketability. Take some brand new all natural 8×10′s at Wal-Mart and work it girl!

2. Remember you can always bleach your hair again back to the “classic look” to boost your self esteem for a week. If you ever get cancer from the dye, just ask Dawn Marie to sell her unwashed panties through Wrestlers Rescue to help pay for the medical bills.

3. If your just coming off TV, then your used to the schedule. Always starve yourself before every appearance and pig out at your favorite fast food restaurant afterwards. Nothing new. Eating disorders and binging cycles are totally normal and healthy. It’s a Diva’s way of life, 4-life.

4. If you haven’t done so already, you need to go **** either Scott Levy, Batista or Ric Flair before he dies. Do a few lines of coke with them too. It makes for a great tell all shoot and high self worth.

5. The wrestling convention circuit is 10×200. The same 10 money marks will book you and the same 200 losers will show up each time. Milk ‘em for all they are worth cause it’s all you got left. Virgil will be at every show so you might as well get to know him too. And yes, he is a real creep.

6. Appearing at 3 Flea Markets per week is officially known as “doing a tour”. Congrats on the success!

7. Letting men touch your breasts for an extra $5 during photo-ops is an excellent business strategy.

8. If the photo-op printer ever stalls and delays, just give them an index card with your own lip prints on it. It will make their day that you were soooo selfless, giving and thoughtful of their patience.

9. It’s perfectly normal to refer to other human beings as “fans”, “clients” and “followers” but to their face- always call them “friend”.

10. Always smile and play nice with the co-workers you haven’t seen in 5 years. These are your “best friends in the whole world”….somehow? That’s how the wrestling family illusion rolls on.

11. Treat the disabled extra nice. Them pockets are deep with Social Security money and they spend like mad at the gimmick table.

12. You will never draw like Trish Stratus, you will never look like Trish Stratus and you will flat out never be Trish Stratus… but don’t ever stop trying hun’.

13. But yes, I know you are still a big star… right in your head.

14. Even if you got fired, always say that you left “on your own terms” or because of an “undisclosed dispute”. This will always make you appear above the business.

15. Always say that a WWE return is “right around the corner” and “never say never” when you know damn well they wouldn’t take you back if you begged.

16. When the going get’s tough, selling your used tampons on eBay is a great way to make some additional cash.

17. I know the crows feet and wrinkles are building up. It’s ok, no one is going to seriously book your used up, worn out ass after age 45 anyway. It’s now time to assume the Moolah role.

18. There’s nothing wrong with forever living in the past. Tammy Sytch still lives in 1996, and look there’s nothing wrong with her.

19. Why have any normal relationships? You can have every lonely pervert from Philadelphia to Oakland lusting after you. Being emotionally unstable is F U N!

20. Remember that Jesus forgives you for all of your sins, so everything listed above is A-OK. Just rinse and repeat.

In closing: Yes this is one sad life but hey it’s all you know…. so do it like a professional!

MLB

– Cubs’ 3B Aramis Ramirez is projected to miss at least four-to-six weeks with the separated shoulder he suffered Friday night. It actually could have been worse news given how the injury looked. Ironically the Cubs trade for UTIL Ryan Freel, which seemed like a bit of an afterthought earlier in the evening, now looms large given Freel’s ability to play third base. INF Aaron Miles and 2B Mike Fontenot will also see some time there.

– Mets’ manager Jerry Manuel was fined and suspended for Saturday’s game after aggressively arguing with umpire Bill Welke on Thursday. Sandy Alomar Sr. will manage in his place. Manuel was tossed in the eighth inning Thursday for arguing a questionable double play call, in which SS Jose Reyes was cited for interfering with a runner. He will not appeal.

– The Orioles have traded UTIL Ryan Freel to the Cubs for OF Joey Gathright.

– The Rays have traded 2B Adam Kennedy to the A’s for a player to be named later.

– The Marlins have placed RHP Anibal Sanchez (right shoulder) on the 15-day DL.

– The Yankees have placed C Jose Molina (quad) on the 15-day DL.

– The Cardinals have placed OF Rick Ankiel (shoulder) on the 15-day DL.

– The Mets have placed LHP Oliver Perez (knee tendinitis) on the 15-day DL.

NBA

– The Kings intend to interview head coach Eddie Jordan about a possible return to Sacramento, a team he coached briefly in the late 1990s. The Kings simultaneously confirmed their interest in Jordan and denied having made overtures to University of Louisville coach Rick Pitino. Jordan was fired by the Wizards in November after a successful six-year run that included four trips to the playoffs.

NFL

– Raiders’ WR Javon Walker underwent another surgery on his knee last month. Walker told the team about the procedure just a few days ago. Coach Tom Cable acknowledged that it’s “uncommon” for players to undergo surgery without informing the team, but normal rules don’t apply to the Raiders. Cable says Walker’s ankle is now fine, but it’s the knee we worry about.

– According to RB Willis McGahee, his most recent arthroscopic surgery was to his ankle, not his knee. The team initially announced it as a knee surgery, but it looks like they erred. McGahee expects to be fully recovered by the start of training camp in late July.

WWE

– During a recent interview with MetalInjection.net, SmackDown! superstar CM Punk was asked by reporter Robert Pasbani Metal when he might cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase.

“My plan is to call somebody out a little bit ahead of time instead of doing the surprise thing. There is a Pay-Per-View, Judgment Day in Chicago coming up so I might have to do it so I have the hometown advantage.”

WWE Judgement Day takes place on Sunday, May 17.

– There was a rumour going around last week that former WWE Diva Trish Stratus had declined a WWE invitation to appear at WrestleMania 25 in the Divas battle royal match because she wasn’t going to win. In an interview with Slam Wrestling, Trish said her decision to skip the show had nothing to do with the fact that she wasn’t going to win the match.

“Simply, there were no finishes, no ‘What’s going to happen? Will I win?’ discussed. It was just, ‘Would you like to be in this 25-woman battle royal at WrestleMania,’ and I said, ‘Thank you but I’m going to decline.’”

Trish also added;

“I’ve always said to come out of retirement is a big deal to me – so if I was to come out it is for something special. To be honest, I feel WrestleMania is a place to create memorable moments in one’s career and frankly, with 25 women in the ring, I was just not sure how anyone could come out having their ‘WrestleMania moment,’ maybe if it was a little clearer that could be accomplished for someone, I would have been a part of it.”

When asked if she’d return to WWE one day she said;

“If I were to go back, I would like to do something that is new and fresh, there are so many girls right now that can work, I’d want to be able to mix it up with someone I hadn’t gotten the chance to before I left.”

Trish was asked if she’d like to wrestle with Hart Family prodigy Natalya Neidhart. She said;

“Oh my god, I would love to work with her. I think she has so much potential; they’ve just got to do the right thing with her, especially with the built-in history. I get excited when I think about what they can do with her.”

For those wondering, this is a recent picture of Trish Stratus. Wow.

– ESPN.com currently features a profile of WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair. After admitting that he “experimented” with steroids back in the 1980′s, Flair said WWE has cleaned up their locker room with their Wellness Policy.

“Our company’s as clean as can be. We’ve got the most stringent drug-testing policies in place in the world. There’s no ifs, ands or buts. The guys pee in an open area. … It is what it is. The guys pay the penalty now. We’re not going to mess around with that after all we’ve been through.”

The story mentions that Flair pays a total of $22K a month in alimony to his two ex-wives. After all the ups and downs that his crazy lifestyle has brought him, the Nature Boy is still all about a good time.

“First of all, I don’t pursue women. For me, it’s about camaraderie. My whole life is like, if something’s going on, nothing ever preceded fun. I always put my friends and the fun and the business ahead of everything.”

NFL

– PFT.com reports that the Giants acquiring WR Braylon Edwards is now unlikely, despite two reports of the contrary. PFT suggests both sides are “posturing,” with Cleveland leaking rumours to drive up Edwards’ market, and New York holding out “until the Browns drop their asking price” and Edwards his contract demands. The Browns are said to be asking for Mathias Kiwanuka. Edwards wants to be paid $10M a year.

– Former Broncos’ RB Travis Henry has signed a plea deal with Florida prosecutors, accepting a charge that carries a mandatory 10 years-to-life in prison, $4M in fines, and five years of supervised release. In exchange for having two counts of cocaine distribution dropped, Henry will admit to conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute. Henry was arrested on the charges in October.

– The Steelers have re-signed QB Charlie Batch to a one-year/$895K contract. The deal includes a $50K signing bonus. This was the obvious move after Pittsburgh lost QB Byron Leftwich. Batch is 34 and missed all of 2008 with a broken collarbone.

MLB

– Braves’ LHP Tom Glavine has been diagnosed with rotator-cuff inflammation and told to rest for two weeks before he resumes throwing. This will still push his debut back at least one month, and probably closer to six weeks. A DL stint isn’t out of the question, either.

NBA

– Celtics’ G Ray Allen has been suspended one game.