One of Wrestlemania's oldest traditions is ruined

 41 years ago, Vince McMahon launched Wrestlemania as a closed circuit event from Madison Square Garden. Knowing he needed more than just the wrestlers on his rosters to sell the event, McMahon banked on some additional star power.

He'd already brought in Mr. T (The A-Team) and singer Cyndi Lauper. For the big party, he added boxing icon Muhammad Ali, who'd had a brief dalliance with the company nearly a decade earlier, Yankee legend Billy Martin, and Liberace, who got into the Rockettes' legendary kick line.

Voila! A tradition was born.

In one week's time, however, when Wrestlemania returns to Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the celebrity involvement will be lacking the star power of the original.

Country singer Jelly Roll has had previous appearances with WWE. Rapper L'il Yachty? Not so much. Yachty is being positioned as a "hype man" for former NXT champ Trick Williams as he seeks the US title. Before becoming a champion in his own right, Williams was a hype man himself for former US champ Carmelo Hayes when both were in NXT.

Jelly Roll, meanwhile, is thrust into a main event feud involving current champ Cody Rhodes and former champ Randy Orton, who were stablemates 17 years ago. Instead of referencing the past, which has only been done in passing to this point, with a week to go, TKO CEO Ari Emanuel decided the Saturday main event needed some unnecessary extra juice.

Enter Pat McAfee.

Claiming mental exhaustion after a 4 1/2 month college football season kept him from returning to WWE as a commentator, McAfee made a surprise return on April 3, turning heel on Rhodes, and aligning himself with Orton.

On last night's Smackdown, Orton & McAfee stole Rhodes' title belt, adding further fuel to the fire, especially after it got out before Friday that Emanuel is also McAfee's agent.

Conflict of interest, anyone?

If I were a betting man, and I'm not, I'd say Orton's chances of leaving Vegas with his 15th world title were flushed down the drain. He & McAfee are reportedly set for a tag match vs. Rhodes & Jelly Roll at Backlash next month.

The fans would like to ask Emanuel to pass the Pepto-Bismol, this is so bad.

Last year, Emanuel brought in Travis Scott as an emissary for former champ turned TKO board member Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to screw over Rhodes. Neither Johnson nor Scott has been heard from since, and you'd think Emanuel would've learned a lesson after that debacle, but no.

Without addressing Emanuel directly, both Rhodes & CM Punk have taken shots at the TKO frontman this week, leading some to speculate that Johnson would return after all, but why bother, if he's going to skip out again after next week?

If they need a corporate stooge for Rhodes, Punk, or any other babyface to cut promos on this coming week, they already have someone available in Bruce Prichard, long McMahon's right hand man. The artist formerly known as faux evangelist Brother Love would make a good sounding board/victim.

But is Emanuel willing to take that step, as safe as it is?

Stay tuned.

Musical Interlude: A Whale of a Tale (1954)

 I have seen Disney's adaptation of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea in a more condensed form when it aired on The Wonderful World of Disney. I don't, however, remember seeing it all, as some parts may have been edited for time.

The only song in the movie was "A Whale of a Tale", co-written by future TV icon Norman Gimbel, and sung by the film's star, Kirk Douglas.

How Douglas never made a musical is beyond me.

Anyway, Douglas appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show in December 1954. The world's most famous dimpled chin could've been Popeye if the comic strip hero had been adapted for a feature film back then.....

As Popeye himself would say, well, blow me down!

A little of this & a little of that

 If you were planning on seeing Barry Manilow on his farewell tour, I've got some bad news.

Manilow has postponed a series of dates, including a stop in Albany at the MVP Arena on April 20, due to health concerns. Hold on to your tickets, as they'll be honored when the concerts are rescheduled.

The farewell tour is on hold.

ESPN is taking a ton of heat for its Masters coverage on Thursday.

There were already issues with Jason Kelce (Monday Night Countdown) as an on course reporter. Then, the network doubled down by having WWE superstar Michael "The Miz" Mizanin in a broadcast booth with Laura Rutledge. Give Miz credit, though, for dressing for the occasion, as dapper as usual, in a white & green ensemble. Mizanin was there to promote not only Wrestlemania next weekend, portions of which will air on ESPN, but also his new side gig as host of the Amazon Prime revival of American Gladiators.

 And this was after ESPN was turned down when it requested that Pat McAfee and his crew could set up shop at Augusta, after McAfee had gotten in hot water with WWE fans a week ago for being inserted in a main event storyline at the Show of Shows between Randy Orton & Cody Rhodes, at the request of TKO CEO Ari Emanuel.

Like, if it ain't broken, ya don't fix it, but ESPN & WWE are both guilty of that. Then again, it could've been worse at the Masters.

Stephen A. Smith could've been in Miz's seat.

It's been a happy homecoming so far this week for former Mets utility ace Jeff McNeil.

Back in New York with the A's for series vs. the Yankees & Mets this week, McNeil went 4-8 with an RBI and a run scored as the A's took two of three from the Yanks. Tonight, McNeil returns to Citi Field for a series vs. his former team, for whom he played the first seven seasons of his career. Former Mets prospect JT Ginn gets the start for the A's.

Later this month, Liberty Mutual insurance is retiring the Safeco brand of personal insurance (i.e. homeowners, auto), as all of their insurance products will be under the Liberty Mutual umbrella. You might remember when Liberty Mutual sponsored outdoors programming in the 70's. I caution, however, when you visit the website, you might find mascots Limu Emu & Doug pictured on the site. The commercials are in heavy rotation, but do ya really need a reminder when online? Judge for yourself.

You need experienced negotiators to make a ceasefire happen. Unfortunately, the White House is sending some clowns

 On Wednesday, president Trump announced he was sending a negotiating team to forge a ceasefire between the US, Israel, & Iran. Instead of hiring experienced negotiators, Dumb Donald is sending VP Just Dumb Vance, son-in-law Jared Kushner, and special envoy Steve Witkoff.

That tells you right away that Trump is looking out, again, for his own self-interest instead of doing it right. The faux tough guy act ain't working with the Iranians, but Dumb Donald keeps trying, such that ABC's Jimmy Kimmel suggested that they should have sent these guys:

Then again, considering Trump & Vance are Washington's answer to Beavis & Butt-Head, well........!

Folks, it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Sports this 'n' that

 Once again, Donald Trump is meddling where he doesn't belong.

This time, it's college sports, particularly football.

On April 3, Trump signed an executive order, directing the government to improve collegiate rules as it relates to eligibility, pay-for-play, and, most importantly, the transfer portal. At the same time, the oldest bully in America is threatening schools with loss of federal funding if they do not comply.

The order is set to take effect August 1, right before the start of football season. Included in the order:

Restoring the transfer system to its original model. Apparently, Trump, like a lot of fans, is sick of the transfer portal being used after football & basketball seasons.

"Five for five eligibility". Translated, athletes would have no more than 5 years to fulfill their eligibility requirements.

In other words, Trump wants to force the NCAA to go back to its outdated system. The current system, it seems, confuses Trump. Then again, he's easily confused for a man his age. Progress of any kind, whether it's in sports or in society, offends him.

Well, we've got two words for you, Dumb Donald.

Pound sand.

At the end of the week, the Mets will see an old friend in a visiting uniform for the first time this season.

Jeff McNeil is already in town with the Sacramento A's, as they're playing the Yankees before going across town to Citi Field on Friday. McNeil went 2-3 with a walk & a run scored in a 5-3 loss to the Yankees on Tuesday.

The World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers are mourning the passing of one of their icons of the 70's.

Davey Lopes was part of the fabled Dodger infield during the 70's and early 80's. Lopes spent the last few years as a coach with the Dodgers & Washington before passing away Tuesday at 80.

Once the Dodgers get back from their road trip, if it hasn't happened already, they'll likely add a patch with Lopes' #15 to honor him.

I don't think it surprises anyone that CarShield's national ad campaign with former major leaguer and MLB Network analyst Eric Byrnes is turning off a lot of people, due to Byrnes' over the top delivery.

Wrestling legend Ric Flair, on his 2nd tour of duty with CarShield, appears at the end of a couple of the ads in a broadcast booth, headset and all. We prefer rapper-actor Ice T (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) over Byrnes any day of the week.

MLB teams are using either active players, like the Yankees' JC Escarra & Oswaldo Cabrera, or retired stars, like Howard Johnson, representing the Mets, in localized ads.

Wild West Wednesdays: The series premiere of Lancer (1968)

 Lancer, some might think, was CBS' long delayed response to NBC's long running Bonanza, except it was on a different night.

In the opener, Murdoch (Andrew Duggan) reunites his two sons, Scott (James Stacy), who has returned home from Boston, and Johnny (Wayne Maunder, ex-Custer), promising them each a share of their land in exchange for driving out some outlaw raiders.

Joe Don Baker and future icon Gordon Jump are among the guest stars.

We'll reach into the Four Star archives in 2 weeks.

WWE 2026 Hall of Fame class

 In 10 days, WWE will induct a new class into the Hall of Fame, part of Wrestlemania weekend, a weekend that also sees unfunny comic Tony Hinchcliffe get roasted, and Fox NFL Sunday analyst Rob Gronkowski, supplanted by Tommy Lee Jones as the pitchman for USAA, hosting an after-party during the weekend.

This year's class:

Stephanie McMahon: You knew this was inevitable, after husband Paul "Triple H" Levesque had been inducted twice as a faction member (Evolution, DX), that Stephanie would get her flowers.

AJ Styles: Newly retired (at least in storyline), Styles (Allen Jones) appears to put a cap on a nearly 30 year career in the business, between WCW, TNA, New Japan, Ring of Honor, & WWE.

Demolition (Ax & Smash): Two time tag team champions in the late 80's, Ax (Bill Eadie) & Smash (Barry Darsow, the 2nd man to essay the role) became just as much an iconic team as the team they were emulating, and would ultimately feud with, the Road Warriors.

Dennis Rodman: The NBA maverick joined the NWO in WCW in the late 90's. Rodman goes into the celebrity wing of the Hall.

Posthumous inductions:

Bad News Brown: Brown (Allen Coage) brought martial arts to the WWE in the late 80's, when he was signed away from Stampede Wrestling in Canada. While he was never a champion in WWE, Brown had memorable feuds with Roddy Piper & Bret Hart. First WWE wrestler to use an enziguri, which was his finisher, under the label, "Ghetto Blaster".

Sid Vicious (aka Sid Justice, Sycho Sid): In one of his last interviews before his passing, Vicious (Sid Eudy) claimed that one reason he hadn't already gone in the Hall was because of issues with Vince McMahon. Along with Demolition, Sid goes in as a case of fan service, and despite being a heel most of his career, he accrued a fan following no matter what.

Memorable moment:

"The slam heard 'round the world" (Hulk Hogan vs. Andre The Giant, Wrestlemania 3, 1987): Nearly 7 years earlier, Hogan was a heel who actually slammed Andre at Shea Stadium, something that was kept quiet because it was a non-televised event. In Pontiac, Michigan, the roles were reversed, with Andre now a heel, managed by Bobby Heenan. Despite a perceived botch, Hogan slammed Andre, leading to the finish of their match. Andre would get a tainted piece of revenge 11 months later.

The fun begins at midnight (ET), or, 9 pm on the West Coast, on April 17.