Saturday was the annual White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington. Roy Wood, Jr. (The Daily Show) served as MC, but not before President Biden was a quality opening act.
Taking aim at not only certain Republicans, but also at Fox News, Tucker Carlson, Don Lemon, and questions about his own capability at his age, Biden demonstrated a razor sharp wit, and a toothy smile reminiscent of Jimmy Carter.
Everyone has their favorites. I wonder, though, if the writers for certain late night hosts were loaned out to the President for the night, or if Wood helped Biden. This we do know. Come tomorrow, Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, and whomever is hosting Daily Show this week will evaluate Biden's stand-up routine.
Donald Trump refused to attend the dinners in 2017-9, largely because of his own thin skin, but probably he couldn't hire writers that could make him look good. Or he heard rumors Rosie O'Donnell would host. I wish I could find video of someone like Ronald Reagan at one of these dinners.......
After tax season ended a week and a half ago, H & R Block has closed its downtown Troy location, this time for good. The familiar posters promoting the company are off the windows, the office is barren, and something tells me they're not renewing their lease on the space on Congress Street.
The last thing Congress Street needs is another empty storefront, though.
Ever since taking over Albany Street in October, Brian Cady has impressed listeners and Albany Broadcasting management, such that he now adds DJ to his resume.
After a brief stint in February where he read traffic reports on Magic in The Morning, Cady is now himself a disc jockey, filling the 7-10 am space leading to The Sounds of Sinatra at 10 am on WROW.
Seems to me Albany Broadcasting is looking at filling every air space available, save maybe for overnights. Albany Street airs on all of Albany Broadcasting's channels except Jamz 96.3 & WFLY (92.3).
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Reading that Rev. Nina Nichols, a local pastor, has tossed her hat in the ring for Mayor of Troy as a Democrat, hoping to keep the city under Democratic control after 2 successive Democratic Mayors, Lou Rosamilia and Patrick Madden. Madden is being term-limited out, and City Council President Carmella Mantello may be looking at a 4th bid for Mayor if she gets the Republican nod. Mantello is 0-3 in challenging for City Hall, having lost to Mark Pattison, Rosamilia, and Madden. I think what the voters are trying to tell Mantello is, she's got her comfort zone leading the City Council, and can go no further.
I shared with a local activist I talked to yesterday that Madden was being term limited out, and the dude was shocked, not knowing about the term limits. Interesting.
Rivers Cuomo and Weezer are real pop culture fans.
8 years after using footage from Happy Days for the video for "Buddy Holly", the band joins up with the Muppets for "Keep Fishin'".
The plot? Drummer Patrick Wilson is being held prisoner by an infatuated Ms. Piggy, who goes full diva when she reaches the stage. At least the Muppets were able to lend some help, including Animal on drums, until Wilson joins the party. For this, they recreated the set of The Muppet Show.
Georgia Misrepresentative Empty-G (Marjorie Taylor Greene) will say anything to get a headline, no matter how outrageous, because she's only in Congress to be famous. If that was a requirement, don't you think Paris Hilton could've been elected 25 years ago?
Empty-G brought the stupid at a recent hearing where she castigated Randi Weingarten, head of a powerful teachers union, for being a step-parent.
Farron Cousins breaks it down.
Has it not occurred to Ms. Moldy Peaches that celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Madonna are also foster parents? I shan't be surprised at all if either one picks up on Greene's pathetic commentary, and rips her a few new ones. And we won't even contemplate Greene continuing her equally pointless feud with Alex From The Block (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez)............
On the national stage, GOPers loyal to former president Donald Trump continue to work their voter base by claiming there was fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Former WNYT anchor "Kryin'" Kari Lake, for example, is still claiming she got screwed out of the governor's race in Arizona nearly six months ago, and is trying to pass herself off as the rightful governor, even as she's making subtle overtures about running for Senate next year.
Turns out Kryin' Kari ain't the only ex-journalist dealing in fraud & misinformation.
Rensselaer County Director of Operations Richard Crist, a former reporter for El Cheapo Media, was one of three local GOPer operatives indicted on charges that they committed voter fraud during the 2021 municipal elections. County Bureau of Central Services director and failed Mayoral candidate James "Don't Call Me Commissioner" Gordon and consultant Leslie Wallace were also indicted Thursday. All pleaded not guilty.
Taking his cues from Judge Lewis Kaplan in New York, presiding over the Trump vs. E. Jean Carroll civil trial, US Magistrate Judge Andrew Baxter warned each defendant about attempting to influence or intimidate prospective witnesses. You might recall that in 2019, Crist & Gordon were at the center of another scandal, in which they discouraged GOP Mayoral candidate Tom Reale from running against Patrick Madden, opting instead to favor independent Rodney Wiltshire. Madden was re-elected in a landslide, and will wrap his term in January after his successor is elected.
As for individual charges:
Each is charged with conspiring to abuse their positions to violate the constitutional rights of county employees, and bullying them into filling out absentee ballots. Gordon was charged on one count of witness tampering, and faces 10 years for conspiracy and 20 for witness tampering.
Wallace faces 5 years for making false statements. Crist could get 10 for conspiracy.
It wouldn't surprise anyone if this is the same sort of thing that goes on in states controlled by Republicans, like, for example, Florida, where Trump wanna-be Ron DeSantis is imposing laws designed to discriminate against minorities and the LGBTQ+ community. If he's really serious about running for president next year, he might want to start taking a look at things in upstate NY. Former county elections commissioner Jason Schofield will be sentenced in September. Former Troy city councilwoman Kim Ashe-McPherson is to be sentenced in June. They'll soon have some company with Crist, Wallace, & Gordon.
In a separate investigation further along than the federal probe, the office of NY Attorney General Letitia James issued subpoenas to the county several absentee ballot documents that supposedly had been handled by Crist & Gordon. In a parallel to Trump's criminal case, brought by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, attorney William Dreyer requested a witness list, but in this case, since most of the witnesses are supposedly county employees, Dreyer wants to make sure not to get caught engaging in witness tampering.
Dreyer gets it, and so does Judge Baxter. Trump wanted the identities of the jurors so he could whine, rant, and complain, and incite his base. Dreyer and his clients have already assured Baxter there won't be any intimidation (we think), and just want to make sure they don't accidentally commit any violations. An appeal, however, is pending.
GOPers in other states, not just Florida, should be paying attention. The ivory towers in red states could soon fall if they get caught doing similar things.
We are now into the 3rd day of a civil trial involving journalist E. Jean Carroll, who alleged that in the mid 90's, she & Trump met at Burgdorf Goodman, and after some light flirting, Carroll was coaxed into trying on some clothes, but that Trump, allegedly, caught her unaware, and "raped" her. Other women have come forward.
So why is Trump refusing to be at court? He's too afraid to face his accuser straight up. Instead, he goes on Truthless Social, and fabricates his version of events, right before Carroll gave her testimony. Judge Lewis Kaplan wasn't buying whatever garbage attorney Joe "Defensive" Tacopina was selling, and let Tacopina know about it.
Farron Cousins explains.
Trump has repeatedly denied knowing or meeting Carroll, which could be explained away with the simple fact that the Oldest Baby in America is having memory issues. He reshapes events to suit his narrative, not the reality. His refusal to be in court the last two days, and today as well, speaks to his fear of facing Carroll. As I've noted, there are pictures of them together, like this one:
If Diaper Don doesn't show up at all during the trial, stick a fork in him. He's done. Tacopina had better hope he was paid in advance, else he'll join a long list of creditors Diaper Don owes money to.
Florida Misrepresentative Matt "Rusty" Gaetz, poster child for whiny nepo-dorks everywhere, doesn't want to help lower class citizens either in his home state or anywhere else. He wouldn't know what it's like to be poor, but why make people suffer more than they already are? Because he's a privileged little geek whose family fortune can get him out of trouble at any time.
Farron Cousins breaks it down:
80 hours a month? That's two weeks worth of work for most folks. Of course, Gaetz isn't thinking straight. Like most of his fellow GOPers (I don't need to tell you who), Gaetz is behaving like a child here (gee, who would he be taking after?), impatiently waiting for the requirements he wants to be enacted. Not only does he get another set of Weasel ears this week, but he adds this to his growing collection:
I could picture him in detention with Beavis & Butt-Head. That would be his speed.
Those words are not nearly enough to describe Harry Belafonte, who passed away at 96. In his memory, we serve up a snappin' rendition of "In My Father's House", a gospel standard, from The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.
"Those who fail to remember history are condemned to repeat it."-George Santayana.
15 years ago, the Jests signed quarterback Brett Favre after he'd left the Green Bay Packers, making room for Aaron Rodgers, who'd apprenticed under Favre for 3 seasons after the Packers drafted Rodgers out of California in 2005. Favre. however, left New York after 1 season, chased out of town amidst a sexting scandal with a local reporter.
On Monday, with three days before the 2023 NFL draft, the Jests traded some draft picks to Green Bay to get Rodgers, who'd expressed an interest in playing in New York, thinking the same thing won't happen to him that happened to Favre. He is, though, bringing his own baggage in the form of controversy surrounding COVID vaccine denials in 2021. There was a reason State Farm de-emphasized Rodgers in their ad campaign last season, with Chiefs coach Andy Reid appearing with his star QB, Patrick Mahomes, in one ad.
Rodgers, then, moves into a competitive AFC East loaded with young QB's. It will be a miracle if the Jests make the playoffs.
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Lost amidst the headlines Monday was the news that NBC-Universal-Comcast CEO Jeff "Cracked" Shell was let go due to an inappropriate relationship with a CNBC reporter.
Comcast is in no hurry to name a replacement for Shell.
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We touched on this briefly yesterday in discussing the shocking departure of Tucker Carlson from Fox News, but CNN cut ties with morning co-anchor Don Lemon, just weeks after he'd served a brief suspension for some disparaging remarks about GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
To be honest, I'd read of Lemon's departure before Carlson's hit my newsreaders, though time-wise, it was in reverse order.
While former president Pecos Pampers celebrated Lemon's dismissal as only he could, even he was shocked by Carlson's departure. Carlson himself was said to have been blindsided. As previously noted, he was not given any closure on the network, and Brian Kilmeade was given the first chance to fill the chair on the initial Fox News Tonight. Maybe Aaron Rodgers should audition if he bombs with the Jests.
First, Fox No News reached a settlement with Dominion Voting Systems last week for $787 million dollars. Since then, two Fox No News personalities have, surprisingly, been cut.
The first was weekend host Dan Bongino, who was let go a couple of days ago. The second is a real shocker.
Earlier this morning, Tucker Carlson, who had previously burned his bridges at CNN & MSNBC, ended a 13, nearly 14, year run at Fox No News. His last show, on Friday, ended with him eating pizza on the air, delivered by a guest. That he had no idea he was being let go then is no different from a lot of shows being cancelled without a proper conclusion. That's the television business in a nutshell.
Brian Tyler Cohen breaks this down, using clips from Fox No News' Faulkner Focus and his own YouTube series, The Legal Breakdown, which he shares with Glenn Kirschner.
What had been a valuable asset to Fox became a liability virtually overnight after the Dominion settlement. With Fox facing more lawsuits (i.e. Smartmatic), it was practically inevitable that the dominoes would start falling in the form of roster cuts. The rechristened Fox News Tonight will likely use talent from sister network Fox Business (i.e. Lisa Kennedy Montgomery, no stranger to primetime from her days at MTV in the 90's), in addition to other network sucka MC's like Greg Gutfeld and Jesse Watters, whose show preceded Carlson's.
As Brian asked, where does Carlson go next? With CNN looking to balance their political views----and Carlson's departure from Fox overshadowed CNN dumping Don Lemon this morning----a second tour at CNN isn't out of the question. MSNBC? Fuhgeddaboutit! Newsnacks? Maybe. One America is a sinking ship. Carlson being a nepo baby also leads to speculation he could start his own channel (highly unlikely). I think for now, he takes a well deserved break.
Spam Hannity, who also has a radio show airing locally, and Laura Inkblot, along with Dirty Watters, could also be on the chopping block. I wonder if Rupert Murdoch still has John Layfield's number. The retired wrestler was a frequent guest on Bulls & Bears, a stock market show, a few years back, and he's got enough Foghorn Leghorn bluster to him to give it a whirl.
My own prediction: Carlson gets his dream job. With the National Enquirer. At least there, he can say he's dealing in fiction.....
The success of Let's Make a Deal enabled Monty Hall and producing partner Stefan Hatos to sell ABC Split Second in 1972. The series lasted three years, and a subsequent revival, hosted and produced by Hall, ran for 1 season in 1986 in syndication.
So it's a surprise that the series is back, updated for the 21st century, and is the latest acquisition of Game Show Network. John Michael Higgins (ex-America Says, Saved by The Bell) is the series host for this revival, which launched a week ago.
GSN's YouTube channel has the opener:
This time, they're not giving away cars, like they did 50 years ago. Keep an eye for it, since GSN, at last check, was spamming reruns of the Steve Harvey iteration of Family Feud into the ground.
Every now & again, I will surf the cable on a Sunday morning before leaving for church, and find something to hold my attention.
One of these shows was In Touch, which has aired in the past on cable on USA Network and Ion, if memory serves me, as well as some local channels. Based in Atlanta, In Touch was the television ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley, who gives his congregation at the church and in the television audience the straight scoop, directly from the Bible itself. No theatrics.
In recent years, while Dr. Stanley continued his ministry, other, less prominent pastors hitched their wagons to a certain demagogue, not realizing that they were following a fraud. Regular readers of this blog know of whom I refer.
Earlier this week, Dr. Stanley was called home at 90. The following video was the beginning of a series of teachings. I must assume that he had prepared the remaining parts of this series in advance.
I am also assuming that Dr. Stanley's son, Andy, will take command of the ministry going forward.
Country singer Mel Tillis and actress Susan Anton, who'd have a brief fling on the country charts in the early 80's, seemed like an unlikely combo to host a variety show, but that's what happened in the spring-summer of 1978, when ABC and the Osmond Brothers put them together in a half-hour series, Mel & Susan Together, which lasted a month.
Tillis, whose stuttering disappeared when he sang, appeared to also learn how to control it when acting in sketches, taking his cues from Jimmy Stewart. Part of the reason the show failed was because at the time Anton was known mostly for commercials (Muriel cigars, Serta mattresses), and Tillis rarely stepped outside of his comfort zone in country music. Another instance would be when he was on the panel for a country-centric episode of The Hollywood Squares.
No complete episodes are available, just some sample skits, including this one, in which Mel & Susan are cops. Mel's a desk sergeant, and Susan a clueless officer who busts Donny & Marie Osmond for selling merchandise at one of their concerts......
As noted, this came from the Osmond family's studio, and its failure marked the beginning of the end for the Osmonds on ABC, as Donny & Marie's show, rechristened The Osmond Family Show, would meet its end less than a year later.
No rating. Back then on Saturday nights, with my folks at the bowling alley, I was more of a CHiPs guy, or my brother would prefer old movies on the cable.
We all know that Georgia Misrepresentative Marjorie Taylor Greene is one of these Paris Hilton wanna-bes in Congress who is there so she can be famous, or, in reality, infamous, because she's only interested in getting attention for herself, extending her 15 minutes as often as possible.
But while Hilton, the heiress to a hotel chain fortune has retreated from the heavy glare of the spotlight in recent years since The Simple Life waved good-bye, she now comes off looking like a MENSA member next to Greene, who is in a race with Colorado's Lauren Boebert to see who can out-dumb the other on a given day.
Proof of this was a Wednesday Homeland Security Committee meeting in which Empty-G went off-point, on purpose, of course, to rag on Democrat Eric Swalwell, regurgitating a long debunked rumor that Swalwell had a relationship with a Chinese spy a few years ago, and DHS head Alejandro Mayorkas. Acting HSC chair Mark Green, a fellow Republican, decided to silence Empty-G by removing her remarks from that day's record. As we'll see in the following Farron Cousins video, Empty-G didn't help her cause by behaving like an entitled high schooler.
I've joked about Greene being under the mistaken impression that her inspiration would be Reese Witherspoon's "Legally Blonde" movies. However, after this episode, I'll throw in "Clueless".
As Farron noted, Greene went "crying" to House Speaker Kevin "The Body Snatcher" McCarthy like he was a high school principal, if not a surrogate father. With that in mind, we give you this item from Alex Chilton and the Box Tops, circa 1968.
There has been some discussion within the GOP about dismissing Greene from the HSC, and she deserves it for her juvenile outburst. Once again, she has shown the world her true nature. The next step for the GOP is to keep her off camera for a few weeks, and keep her away from microphones, so they can curb her addiction to attention. Yeah, I know. Wishful thinking.
Oakland has been the home to the Athletics since the 60's. Last weekend, they honored the 50th anniversary of their 1973 title team in the course of getting swept by the Mets, who, in a way, extracted some payback for losing the 1973 World Series in 7 games. Then again, this year's A's are among the dregs of the American League.
Now comes word that the A's are planning to join the Raiders in Las Vegas after buying some property for a new stadium. Doesn't Vegas still have a minor league team?
The elephant that is the A's mascot should be dressed as a hobo as a result, as the team is setting up to relocate around 2026 for the first time since leaving Kansas City for Oakland roughly 60 years prior. The current ownership of the A's will remind folks here of how cheap the Wilpon family was before Steve Cohen bought the Mets after the 2020 season
It just doesn't smell right.
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Speaking of the Mets, ace Max Scherzer is already serving his 10 game suspension for using an allegedly foreign substance in Wednesday's game vs. Los Angeles. Scherzer's rationale? If an impartial arbitrator heard were to hear his case, things might be different, but Major League Baseball had other ideas, using their own arbitrator.
What they should be doing is investigating whether or not umpire Phil Cuzzi, who had a previous ejection for a foreign substance in 2021 overturned (they don't specify if it was Arizona's Caleb Smith or Seattle's Hector Santiago) is overstepping his bounds and going all Judge Roy Bean on players he doesn't like. Trust me on this. When Cuzzi, Dan Bellino, & their crew come to New York to work a Mets series, they're going to get booed.
Cuzzi might want to talk to that other notorious ump, Angel Hernandez.....
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4 Detroit Lions players were suspended by the NFL for violating the league's policy on gambling. Seems the placed bets on games, allegedly league games, though there are people saying it might've also been some college games, on NFL property. Two Lions players were cut. Players suspended "indefinitely" will be eligible to petition for reinstatement following the Super Bowl in February 2024.
A 5th player, from Washington, was also suspended.
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As long as we're discussing the Commanders, the team has a new ownership group coming in to replace Napoleon Snyder, who got bum-rushed because of a sexual harassment scandal, not too dissimilar to what forced Donald Sterling to sell the LA Clippers of the NBA. The new group includes NBA Hall of Famer Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who had previously had a share of the Dodgers.
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Earlier today, Chicago Cubs pitcher Drew Smyly had a day vs. the Dodgers, a perfect game through 7 innings, as seen on MLB Network.
The reason Smyly's down on the field? A collision with catcher Yan Gomes in the 8th inning, leading to an infield hit and the end of Smyly's bid for the perfecto. He went 7 2/3 innings with 10 K's, as the Cubs cruised. Outfielder Cody Bellinger continued to torture his former team, homering for the 2nd straight game.
Former Cubs catcher Joe Girardi, almost a year removed from being dismissed as manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, has joined the carousel of commentators for the Marquee Sports Network, in its 3rd season, as a color analyst. The Cubs, it seems, are copying the Yankee formula of a rotating lineup of not only game analysts, as the Yanks do, but play by play announcers, too. The roster includes ESPN's Jon Schiambi and Beth Mowins, and game analyst Rick Sutcliffe, a ESPN alum who pitched for both the Cubs & Dodgers in his career.
On that salient note, we're begging the Mets to move PA announcer and part-time WPIX anchor Marysol Castro out of the PA booth and into the broadcast booth as the Flushing answer to the Yanks' Suzyn Waldman, who is stuck playing 2nd banana to ageless John Sterling on radio. Even as his career winds down, the 80-something Sterling still calls games as if he was Mr. Magoo.
Moving Castro to the booth to spell Gary Cohen occasionally would also be the reverse of the Yankees' rehiring Paul Olden to be their PA guy after the passing of Bob Sheppard a few years ago. Something to think about.
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With the 2023 USFL season underway, it's interesting to hear Fox's Curt Menefee calling games on NBC. The two networks are sharing announcers during the season, with Menefee partnered with college analysts Joel Klatt and Brock Huard, the latter of whom is working as a sideline reporter who also stays in communication with Menefee & Klatt, the way the late Tony Siragusa did doing NFL games when he was at Fox. Cris Collinsworth's soundalike son, Jac, is also in the announcers' pool this season.
The late Andy Warhol once said that in the future, everyone would be famous for 15 minutes.
Joe "Defensive" Tacopina's 15 minutes are just about up.
The veteran barrister went before Judge Lewis Kaplan three different times in the past week, either solo or in the company of in-over-her-head Alina Habba-Dabba-Doo, to try to coax Kaplan into revealing the identities of the jurors who will be present for the E. Jean Carroll case, due to start April 25. Kaplan stonewalled Tacopina every time, and, as Farron Cousins explains, Tacopina skipped a meeting that he should've attended that would've saved him all the grief.
Blinded by fame and the association with a disgraced celebrity, Tacopina would've known a lot sooner that Kaplan was adamant about keeping the jury anonymous had he actually done what he was supposed to do and attend pre-trial meetings instead of going on a media tour with Fox No News, MSNBC, Newsnacks, et al, to milk those 15 minutes. As a result, Tacopina gets a set of Weasel ears. Shirking legal responsibility will do that every time.
Earlier today, Mets ace Max Scherzer was ejected from the game vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers when the umpires, led by crew chief Dan Bellino, determined he had some sort of foreign substance on his glove. The Mets broadcast team (Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, Keith Hernandez) breaks it down.
Bellino was the same ump who had a heated dispute with Arizona pitcher Madison Bumgarner a year ago. With the retirement of Joe West, Bellino is quickly becoming one of the most hated umpires in the game.
Four days ago, at Yankee Stadium, Yankee pitcher Domingo German had a perfect game going vs. Minnesota when, perhaps prompted by Twins manager Rocco Baldelli, German was checked.
Lindsay at Close Call Sports explains, with help from Yankee announcer Michael Kay.
Commenters on a Mets subreddit complained of umpires being biased against the Mets, but also noted that James Hoye's crew had fumbled in the Yankees-Twins game, which saw Baldelli ejected. They also discussed the fact that Major League Baseball had issued a directive to have the umpires enforce the rules on foreign substances to the letter.
There are going to be incidents like this again and again, all in the name of trying to deter cheating. Scherzer is likely gone for 10 games, meaning he'll miss at least two starts, pending an appeal. However, this is a scenario where Commissioner Rob Manfred and the umpires union may need to rethink things. If it is just rosin, as Scherzer had argued, then the umpires over-reacted, over-sensitive after the German debacle.
While there were people with legitimate grievances against Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg present, invited by Fibber Jordan and the House Judiciary Committee, Monday's "field hearing" was actually what we all knew it was, a dog & pony show that was missing the dogs & ponies.
While Jordan and his fellow GOPers, including traitor to the 518 Elise Stefanik, tried to paint the picture that Bragg is soft on violent crime, the truth is the rate of violent crime in Jordan's home state of Ohio is triple that of NYC. All these GOPers are doing is protecting the Oldest Baby in America, but failing. If this keeps up, Jordan's butt will be in the jackpot next.
Democrats, led by NY's own Jerry Nadler, Jordan's predecessor as chair of the Judiciary Committee, made sure to drive the point home that this was a waste of time & space. All you needed was the theme from The Twilight Zone to capture the proper mood.
Farron Cousins breaks it down:
The belief that the wealthy consider themselves above the law is now little more than a dying urban legend. Harvey Weinstein was taken down. Trump is trying to avoid Bragg and everyone else trying to send him to prison or Bellevue Hospital, whichever is more appropriate. Jordan and his cronies are trying to protect Trump, but it could end up with them on trial, too, and, oh, what a day that will be.
They say that the word, "dramedy", was coined in reviews of Hooperman, a 2-season comedy-drama from Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher (L. A. Law) for ABC, marking the return of John Ritter after a couple of years spent making movies after Three's a Crowd, the successor to Three's Company, had ended.
Ritter has the title role as San Francisco police inspector Harry Hooperman, who balances his police work with an additional responsibility as a landlord. Barbara Bosson (fresh from Hill Street Blues) is part of the ensemble.
Before we go further, we could retroactively use "dramedy" to describe earlier comedy-dramas such as Room 222 and M*A*S*H, both of which came from the same studio as Hooperman, 20th Century Fox.
Edit, 2/15/24: Had to change the video. Here's the intro:
Surprisingly, Hooperman didn't draw any interest from my parents when this was on the air. Their interests laid elsewhere at the time.
"You knew the job was dangerous when you took it!"---Super Chicken, 1967.
Joe "Defensive" Tacopina should've known better than to sign on with Team Pampers in defending the Oldest Baby in America against former columnist and cable personality E. Jean Carroll.
Tacopina and Alina Habba-Dabba-Doo have been trolling social media trying to find the identities of the anonymous jury that will hear the case when it starts next week. Judge Lewis Kaplan ain't having any of that, and reamed them out. Their case is weak, as Farron Cousins points out, because they're only presenting half the story......
You get the idea. Trump, because he's such a child, wants to pressure, bully, and intimidate the jury so he gets off scot free. Kaplan is protecting the jury by keeping their identities secret, for their sake, and everyone else's. As a rule, jurors can't discuss an active case they're hearing with the media or their families. That's a rule as old as time. The problem with Trump is that he wants to be president again, but at the rate things are going presently, that ain't happening.
We solicited this comment from a prominent attorney who once tutored Alina.....
"She never finished law school."
I think Trump lured her in by going to a karaoke bar and singing "Beauty School Dropout" from "Grease", but that's unlikely. His voice is even worse than the greatest Golden Throat of all time, William Shatner.
We know Alina is in over her head, and the flood waters are rising! As for Tacopina, like other barristers, he's killed his career by joining with Trump. He should've known better.
"Spirits in The Material World" was the 2nd US single from the Police's 1981 album, "Ghost in The Machine". For the record, Sting plays both bass & keyboards.
Here's an in-show commercial from The Ed Sullivan Show, circa 1961, in which Ed is joined by Sandy Becker (Wonderama) and two boys to demonstrate Fab laundry detergent, then made by Colgate-Palmolive (Colgate sold their detergent brands to Phoenix Brands a few years ago).
Nearly 2 1/2 years later, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell doesn't care that his reputation has been destroyed thanks to his dedication to Donald Trump.
Like other conservative screwballs, Lindell insists the 2020 election was stolen (it wasn't), but his "summits" and "cyber-symposiums" are just glorified telethons for his fading business, with coupon codes clearly on the bottom of the screen if you find yourself watching.
The reason MyPillow is tanking is because Lindell is spending more money on his pathetic crusade than trying to better his business model. Still, he plods on, because no one can convince him to give up his quest.
On August 15 & 16, Lindell and his circus will invade Springfield, Missouri, under the umbrella of a :"election crime bureau summit", and it appears the usual suspects, including jailbird-in-waiting Steve Bannon, will be part of the circus.
The fact that Lindell announced this on Bannon's podcast (which should be off the air and Bannon in jail) four months in advance is enough lead time to warn prospective marks away from what amounts to a grift-a-thon.
Understand this. Lindell has no real answers. He's deluded himself into believing a lie. Between Lindell and Trump, it's a wonder more people haven't filed for bankruptcy, the way they've been conned into donating to these goofs.
Four months is also advance notice for law enforcement to prevent this from happening, knowing that Lindell has no evidence, and can easily be popped for fraud and criminal misrepresentation. There are, of course, better things to do in Missouri during the dog days of summer. The St. Louis Cardinals will likely be in a pennant race, for example.
It's clear that, despite four years as president, Donald Trump, National Ignoramus, has no real understanding of how laws work, not to mention attorney-client privilege. The sheltered life he led for years before gaining fame as a real estate "mogul" in New York has long insulated him from the realities of the legal system.
So now, Trump, the Archduke of Affluenza, has filed a frivolous lawsuit against his former attorney, Michael Cohen, who was disbarred after going to prison five years ago. The amount of damages the Oldest Baby in America is demanding isn't the point. A grandiose form of witness intimidation is, as Cohen is set to be the prosecution's star witness against Trump in Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's case against the Tangerine Traitor.
Farron Cousins explains:
With Cohen having been disbarred, attorney-client privilege is off the table, as Farron implies. This is really another distraction tactic from Trump, who is running out of options. The fact that he filed the suit in Florida doesn't matter. The case is being tried in NY, and Trump wants it in Florida thinking he'll have a friendlier venue, but as we've seen, that isn't always the case.
A trip to Palmolive's labs in on order here, as Charles Nelson Reilly (The Ghost & Mrs. Muir) emerges with a face full of shave cream, specifically Palmolive's Rapid Shave in a mint variant. This I believe was Reilly's 1st endorsement deal. He'd land another one a few years later for Bic Banana pens.
Seems these days, Rapid Shave is still around----in Australia and New Zealand. Go figure.
There's something in the waters in Florida that makes politicians say and do dumb things. The Sunshine State, of course, is run by a wanna-be dictator in Ron DeStupid, and you have Misrepresentative Rusty Gaetz and this week's Dunce Cap winner, Senator Marco Rubio.
So why pick on Rubio?
For context, we have to go back to an item from yesterday. We mentioned how Georgia dimwit Marjorie Taylor Greene joined a growing number of famous (or, in her case, infamous) folks boycotting Bud Light beer because the manufacturer, Anheuser-Busch, hired transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney as their latest endorser for the product. In the company's mind, Mulvaney is actually no different than any other spokesperson they've hired in the past, and, remember, 40 years ago, they introduced the world to a dog, Spuds McKenzie, endorsing the beer.
Well, Rubio proved yet again that he's not exactly a Rhodes scholar, either, in an interview with Fox No News earlier this week, making some false claims about this country tied to Mulvaney being hired to pitch Bud Light.
Farron Cousins explains.
Marco, there is dumb, and, then, there is you. Does anyone filter GOPers before going on TV and proving how dim they are? Enjoy your Dunce Cap, Marco. You deserve it.
We've shown you the complete Hullabaloo episode this comes from, but now, we're going to focus on Jerry Lewis getting serious as a singer. Here's "I'll See Your Light", with intro by son Gary.
Jerry would headline his own variety show for NBC two years later after his previous series for ABC had ended prematurely.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was in town on Monday at Troy High, calling for federal funding to put a stop to the "swatting" that affected several schools, including Troy High, across the state the last two weeks.
It is believed that the fake phone threats are originating outside of the US and are hard to trace as a result. These are not practical jokes for the sake of being funny. It's cruel and irresponsible, really.
Back in Washington, Senator Schumer has said he will introduce a resolution next week against Republican threats espoused by the likes of former president Donald Trump, Ohio Misrepresentative Fibber Jordan, and others, to defund the Department of Justice just because the DOJ is investigating the Big Orange Baby. I'd take it a step or two further, and add a resolution to censure any Republican misusing their position for personal gain (i.e. Jordan) or to aid someone in the legal quagmire Trump is in. There are amendments to the Constitution that can shut down, for example, Jordan's misuse of the Judiciary Committee to hassle Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, or disqualify Trump from running for president again.
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Speaking of Trump, he's now looking to further delay the trial, set for later this month, in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case.
Attorney Joe Tacopina is claiming they need an extra 4 weeks to allow Bragg's investigation to cool down. Not going to happen. You can bank on Judge Lewis Kaplan spiking this request in the nearest waste basket. As for Trump......
"WWWWAAHHHHHH! I can't concentrate on two cases at once! WAAAAHHHH!"
Too bad. You reap what you sow, Diaper Don. Deal with it!!
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So much has been made of country singer and sometime actor Travis Tritt and rapper-singer Kid Rock boycotting Bud Light because of Anheuser-Busch supporting the LGBTQ+ community. In particular, transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Then, there is Empty-G, Marjorie Taylor Greene.
The Georgia Misrepresentative decided to switch brands to Coors. Unfortunately, for Greene, Miller-Coors also supports the LGBTQ+ community, and Ms. Moldy Peaches got roasted on Twitter yet again as a result.
I think what you'll find is just about every major manufacturer of food and drink is looking out to support the LGBTQ+ community any way they can. That includes just about every beer and soft drink company in this country.
And if you've got a problem with that, well, I wish I had a quarter to spare so you could follow Tritt's advice, and call someone who cares.
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Former AEW champ Kenny Omega recently recorded narration for a video for his hometown Winnipeg Jets after the Jets qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs, which will begin next week. I would suspect that TNT might invite him into the studio as a guest analyst during the playoffs. He'd make a great ambassador for both the NHL & AEW.
Ohio Misrepresentative Fibber Jordan has been among the leading GOPers falsely claiming that Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is a pro-crime attorney, citing fake statistics on crime in NYC, when Ohio's violent crime rates are even higher than New York's!!
So, what happened next?
Bragg decided to call Jordan's bluff, basically. Jordan has been sued by Bragg's office, ostensibly for obstruction and interference, which likely will kill a planned House Judiciary Committee visit to NYC next week.
Photo courtesy Yahoo!.
Jordan, as has been documented, has taken the offensive against Bragg on behalf of former president Pecos Pampers (Donald Trump), and trying to claim, along with the Big Orange Baby, that Trump has done nothing wrong. Well, if he hadn't used campaign funds to pay off adult film actress Stormy Daniels, that might be true, but he did, and well, to paraphrase an umpire's statement to Mets manager Terry Collins a few years ago, Jordan's butt, along with Trump's, is in the jackpot.
Jordan has been the most high profile of Trump's Congressional stooges trying to interfere with Bragg's investigation, but, as has been pointed out, he is no stranger to scandal, dating back to his days as a wrestling coach at Ohio State. He refused to answer a subpoena issued by the Select Committee (since disbanded) investigating the insurrection on 1/6/21, and now he's issuing subpoenas, including one to former assistant DA Mark Pomeranz.
And with Citizen Pampers in NYC for a deposition in the E. Jean Carroll case, the walls around Trump are crumbling faster than expected. If Jordan isn't careful, his days in Washington may be numbered.
Mike Whinedell is trying to sell the bogus story that former president Donald Trump, under indictment for some campaign finance violations, among other things, has "united" the country. The MyPillow frontman thinks people are being sympathetic toward the Big Orange Baby, but as Farron Cousins points out, it's actually the other way around:
If the feather-brained Lindell actually bothered to read a newspaper or some news articles online that were non-partisan, for example, he'd see that his tall tale has already been debunked before he finishes his impersonation of Baron Munchausen. The truth is, Lindell doesn't want people to forget he's around, so he comes up with this pathetic story, thinking people will fall for it. Nope.
It was a novel idea, far more successful in the movies years later (i.e. "Look Who's Talking"), but in the summer of 1960, a sitcom built around the thoughts of a toddler was an experiment America wasn't ready for.
Happy was also a star vehicle for George Burns' son, Ronnie, who had apprenticed, if you will, on The Burns & Allen Show, working with adoptive dad George and mom Gracie. The Born twins shared the title role as Happy, but as with most gimmicks, were never given screen credit. Happy, they said, was played by Happy, as if the child were a household pet.
Happy aired as a summer replacement series on NBC in the summer of 1960, and was brought back six months later. What did it replace? Why, the Kraft Music Hall, considering the two series shared a sponsor, and a producer. Singer Perry Como's production company, Roncom, sold Happy to NBC, and would later co-produce Kraft Suspense Theatre (1963-5), which, in turn, spun off Run For Your Life (1965-8).
Let's check out a sample episode:
When the laughs start while Happy is talking in the intro, you know the show is in trouble.
Up until 1982, I only knew one brand of pro wrestling, what we know today as the WWE. Eddie Einhorn, then the owner of the Chicago White Sox, had tried to make an inroad with the International Wrestling Association, whose International Championship Wrestling aired on WOR in NY in the mid-70's, but the promotion didn't survive the decade.
In February 1982, SuperStation WTBS (now TBS) made its debut in Troy, Albany, and other environs after debuting in rural areas. The crown jewel of Ted Turner's television empire, including CNN, which was not yet 2 years old at the time, was Georgia Championship Wrestling, which filled up to two hours on Saturday nights, often shrunken in half during baseball season in favor of Braves games.
Famed announcer Gordon Solie was at the mic for the action, and there was a reason why he was oft referred to as the "Walter Cronkite of professional wrestling", with his genial manner and honesty.
The Georgia program had started before TBS became a superstation, and adopted the title in 1976. After the infamous "Black Saturday" takeover by Vince McMahon, Georgia Championship Wrestling was supplanted by WWF reruns from their syndicated programs until the spring of 1985, during which time Ole Anderson landed a morning berth on TBS (previously discussed at Saturday Morning Archives), which lasted a year before the NWA reclaimed their Saturday evening berth under the new title, World Championship Wrestling. By then, of course, Solie was long gone, and would return to the NWA a few years later.
Solie was characterized in a comic book story starring Captain America, right around the time of this sample episode from 1982.
Why are we bringing this up? Because All Elite Wrestling is expanding their schedule, and will take possession of the legendary Saturday 6:05 pm (ET) berth later this year, reportedly in a 2 hour format, just like the old days, but without the frequent pre-emptions for baseball, since the Braves are now on another channel. Former WCW announcers Jim Ross & Tony Schiavone work for AEW today, and likely will appear on the new show.
Back in the day, Schlitz was a major name in the beer industry. In the mid-70's, the company branched out, and introduced Schlitz Malt Liquor, famous for using a bull as its mascot.
The ad campaign featured a diverse group of celebrities, including Richard Roundtree ("Shaft"), Robert Rdigely (ex-The Gallant Men), Don Adams (ex-Get Smart), The SOS Band, Kool & The Gang, and, in this spot, the dance troupe, the Lockers, featuring Toni Basil, Adolph "Shabba-Doo" Quinones, and Fred Berry, who'd land a gig as Rerun on What's Happening!!! six months after this ad first aired.
In case you didn't know, Schlitz was being parodied (as Schotz) on Laverne & Shirley, which debuted two months before this commercial premiered.
There's an expression often used in the wrestling business when a wrestler starts a feud with a larger opponent.
"Don't poke the bear".
Of course, this is lost on Citizen Pampers (Donald Trump), who, after having been told by Judge Juan Merchan earlier this week to scale back the inflammatory rhetoric, went after Merchan's family, as did his eldest son, Dumb Donald II, who went so far as to post a picture of Merchan's daughter, who had worked for a group that worked on the 2020 election campaign for current VP Kamala Harris.
Since then, Merchan & his family, like Manhaatan DA Alvin Bragg, has gotten death threats from deranged Trump supporters. All because America's Oldest Baby is so scared of going to jail and not being able to run in 2024. The suburban marks that make up much of Trump's voter base don't get it, and never will.
Now comes word that Trump has joined the chorus started by Ohio Misrepresentative Fibber Jordan to defund the Department of Justice, which includes the FBI. Trump is that scared. Jordan has already abused his authority by demanding that Bragg come to Washington, interrupting his investigation.
Are you familiar with obstruction of justice, Mr. Jordan? If not, I'm pretty sure Mr. Bragg will school you on that, or, if he doesn't, a certain New York Representative will, rather forcefully.
Farron Cousins explains why Trump is whining about the DOJ:
And, then, there is Empty-G.
Peach-brained Marjorie Taylor Greene did an interview where she tried to compare Trump to the late Nelson Mandela and Jesus. It's clear she hasn't read the Bible in God knows how long, misinterpreting the Crucifixion of Jesus by recasting Him as a political prisoner. She mentions Him in order to keep the evangelicals on her side. To her, the Bible is just another prop to con the marks in her district, which won't play well nationally if she tries to upgrade her standing in Washington.
Personally, I'd challenge Empty-G and Lauren Balloon to recite from memory passages from the Bible that they claim to read, without having to open the Good Book, and do so on national television, be it C-Span, Fox No News, NewsNation, or even CBS, which once had some religious programming on Sunday mornings like Lamp Unto My Feet and Look Up & Live. Failure to recall any Bible verse would expose them as frauds. Just like Trump, who famously fumbled a reading from 2nd Corinthians at Liberty University a few years back.
The embarrassment of these fraudulent GOPers will be glorious.
Hours after getting swept by Milwaukee, the Mets announced that today's game vs. Miami, the home opener at Citi Field, was being postponed to Friday due to an anticipated rain storm.
However, a number of astute Mets fans on Reddit pointed out that the rain won't hit NYC until later tonight, well after the game would've completed, scheduled for a 1:10 pm (ET) 1st pitch. Considering that the Mets had just played a week's worth of games without an off day, they could use the rainout to rest.
They're not alone. As reported over at Tri-City SportsBeat, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High might've anticipated a storm of their own, and postponed a tennis match vs. Troy High. The two school still had softball & baseball games (both won by Burnt Hills), and there was no rain to be had.
It makes one wonder if there really is a Chicken Little working as a national meteorologist......!
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After a week of games, the addition of a pitch clock has helped, and though a number of players, including a few Mets, have been docked for violations, games are usually finishing under 3 hours, old school style. Through the first week, only one player has been ejected for disputing a clock violation, and that was San Diego slugger Manny Machado on Tuesday vs. Arizona. I suspect this won't be the last ejection for a clock violation.
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One interesting story coming out of Wrestlemania last weekend involves a case of mistaken identity.
Kevin Huntsperger spent the weekend cosplaying as the late Big Boss Man (Ray Traylor), and a friend had gone as Boss Man's nemesis, the Mountie (Jacques Rougeau). However, a security guard at SoFi Stadium couldn't tell the difference, and had Hunsperger ejected on Sunday.
Of course, we're referring to the Oldest Baby in America, Donald J. Trump, who repeatedly plead not guilty before Judge Juan Merchan on Tuesday in Manhattan, then flew home to Mar-a-Lame-O and whined about it in an address to the public, mostly his brain-dead drones.
Trump @ Mar-a-Lame-O Tuesday night.
The whining came after Judge Merchan warned Trump against using inflammatory speech once he got home. Of course, the Annoying Orange won't listen to anyone other than the voices in his head. The felonies are in part having to do with payments from his political fund in 2016 to actress Stephanie Clifford, aka Stormy Daniels, and trying to cover up the payments and the relationship with Clifford, which, if you believe reports, has caused some friction with Trump's wife, Melania. Trump insists he's innocent, that this is a "witch hunt", etc., but why deny the truth? Because he's been led to believe for most of his life that his money will save him.
It won't this time.
At Mar-a-Lame-O, Trump railed against not only Merchan, but also special prosecutor Jack Smith. insisting on playing the victim, ignorant of the fact that other captains of industry have been taken down in recent times.
Back in New York, a protest organized by Empty-G, Georgia Misrepresentative Marjorie Taylor Greene, didn't go as planned, as Empty-G was chased off because of all the noise. Pinocchio Santos represented the NY branch of the Trump Appreciation Society., and he fled right along with Empty-G, likely back to Long Island, where God only knows happened next.
Trump won't listen to Merchan or anyone else. He's going to keep making a fool and a jerk of himself until the next hearing, which unfortunately for us, isn't for 8 months. That's right. Not until December. Trial is scheduled for January. By then, he'll already be scarred legally, if the judge in the E. Jean Carroll case, set for later this month, rules against Trump.
If each and every case against Trump rules against him, he can kiss his chances of another Presidential run good-bye.
During Wrestlemania weekend, WWE Executive Chairman/head nutcase Vince McMahon, sporting the world's weakest mustache, sold the company to Endeavor Holdings Group, the parent company of UFC. McMahon remains Executive Chairman. Ari Emanuel, CEO of Endeavor, will retain that title, which means WWE CEO Nick Khan will once again be President of WWE, opposite UFC President Dana White.
Endeavor released the following on Monday:
There are positives and negatives in this deal.
Positive: This opens up the possibility of crossovers between UFC & WWE. Brock Lesnar has held titles with both promotions, and while he's going to be busy for a bit, I wouldn't rule out his returning to UFC as a commentator or brand ambassador. Bobby Lashley competed for UFC's biggest rival, Bellator. Ronda Rousey, like Lesnar, has championships on her resume with both UFC & WWE, and could open the door on the women's side for best friend and tag team partner Shayna Baszler, as well as Sonya Deville.
Both promotions have television under the Disney umbrella (ESPN revived Ultimate Fighter last year), which makes a crossover even more likely.
Negative: McMahon's wrinkled fingerprints were all over Raw last night and during Sunday's Wrestlemania card. How else to explain Lesnar swerving the audience and turning on Cody Rhodes just as the TV main event was set to start last night? How else to explain Roman Reigns remaining champion via cheating on Sunday? Morale is said to have been down since Sunday.
It's because McMahon, who will be 78 in August, can't leave well enough alone. 8 1/2 months after leaving, and 2 1/2 since returning, he was back in charge of Raw last night, making last minute changes before and during the show.
Ari Emanuel, what were you thinking??
I can answer that myself. McMahon's ego got in the way as usual. Seems that he sold Emanuel a bill of goods, conniving his way back into control because he couldn't stand the prosperity of WWE under his son-in-law, Paul "Triple H" Levesque, who had to answer questions about Reigns' latest tainted title defense following Sunday's card. McMahon was bored being retired. All the progress Levesque has made in the women's division is virtually undone, as Bayley & Asuka, two proud former champions, have both indicated taking time off after losses over the weekend. Bayley was a last minute scratch last night.
For conning Emanuel, and screwing over his audience for the bazillionth time, McMahon gets another set of Weasel ears, something he hasn't gotten in years.
It could be worse. After Power Slap bombed on TBS during the winter, White could land it on USA or ESPN.
Procter & Gamble used to have a larger line of laundry detergents than they do now, as some brands, like Oxydol, were sold to smaller companies.
Era was a product of their laundry line expansion in the 70's, which I think was around the same time that P & G's core laundry brands, Tide & Cheer, would expand and add a liquid version to the powdered detergents on the market.
In this 1978 spot, William Boyett (ex-Adam-12, Highway Patrol) plays a camp counselor extolling the virtues of Era.
As of this writing, Donald Trump is either en route to New York, or is already there ahead of his being officially indicted. Unsurprisingly, certain GOPers are planning on showing up on Tuesday to protest, which turns this into a media circus that only the Oldest Baby in America can appreciate.
While we don't know exactly how many charges will be handed down against Trump, he's already whining about the judge in the case.
"WAAAAHHHH! The judge hates me! He's biased! WAAAAHHHHHH!"
Judge Juan Merchan previously presided over the Allen Weisselberg case, and that's where Trump, like the child he is, gets the idea that the judge is biased. However, as Trump's own lawyer, Joe Tacopina, admitted over the weekend, he has no issue with Merchan, a definite disconnect between lawyer and client.
"Well, you knew the job was dangerous when you took it!"--Super Chicken, 1967.
Meanwhile, Georgia Misrepresentative Marjorie Taylor Greene has announced she will be in New York Tuesday, presumably to lead the protest. She's parroted Trump's claim that Democratic donor George Soros was directly tied to Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, but he isn't. Empty-G appeared on 60 Minutes on Sunday, and made a fool of herself as usual, which led to Twitter turning on reporter Lesley Stahl. Greene apparently will link up with the NY Young Republicans, and likely other GOPer morons like Lee Zeldin and the Goofianis. If the NYPD is smart, they'll have them fill out questionnaires, and then subject them to lie detector tests so we don't have to hear the same recycled garbage over and over again.
Trump, according to Tacopina, will be booked & fingerprinted, but will not be handcuffed. That would make Trump look weak to his base. Either that, or.....
"WAAAAHHHH! These are too tight! My wrists hurt! WAAAHHHH!!!"
Maybe they should have Ice-T and friends from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit read him the Miranda rights.......
1962 was a good year for shows set in World War II. Well, not entirely.
ABC launched a trio of freshman series set in that era in the season. The sitcom, McHale's Navy, lasted 4 seasons, and spawned a pair of feature films. Combat! ran for 5.
The Gallant Men, a Warner Bros. entry, didn't make it past the season.
Set up on Fridays as a lead-in to The Flintstones, and airing in the same time slot where Combat! was on Tuesdays, The Gallant Men should've appealed to the same audience as Combat!, but ran instead into unexpected opposition, and unfavorable comparisons to Combat!, produced by ABC's in-house production company, Selmur Productions. Three of the stars of Gallant Men went on to success elsewhere.
William Reynolds would resurface in The FBI, which Warners co-produced with Quinn Martin.
Roger Davis was first the announcer, then co-star, on Alias Smith & Jones.
Robert Ridgely reinvented himself as a voice actor, doing commercials and cartoons, the latter starting in the 70's (i.e. Flash Gordon, Tarzan, Thundarr The Barbarian) while still getting the occasional character role.
Had there not been so much indifference from viewers & critics, maybe Gallant Men gets a 2nd season.
Wrestlemania continues tonight in Inglewood at SoFi Stadium, but after last night's card, and NXT Stand & Deliver earlier Saturday, WWE has to find a way to top itself again.
Saturday's results, with my own commentary included:
Stand & Deliver:
Three title changes out of five title matches is par for the course for NXT. I posted my predictions on Reddit, and got 5 of 7 matches correct.
NXT title: Carmelo Hayes unseated Bron Breakker to become champion. While the build-up was about respect, Hayes' hype man, Trick Williams, came back to the ring after being ejected, and interfered, but his actions had no bearing on the finish. Breakker, the son of Hall of Famer Rick Steiner, loses at Stand & Deliver for the 2nd straight year in what may be his last NXT match.
NXT women's title: Australia's Indi Hartwell won a 6-pack ladder match that, in the final analysis, was meant to write off former champion Roxanne Perez for a few more weeks as she recovers from a storyline case of anxiety and exhaustion. Hartwell's kayfabe husband, Dexter Lumis, crossed over from Raw to lend Indi a helping hand at the end of the match, a spot that's been used a few times before on the main roster, and usually by heels.
NXT men's tag team titles: Gallus is whole again, as Joe Coffey rejoined brother Mark and tag team partner Wolfgang to help them retain over the Creed Brothers and NXT's answer to the Tracksuit Mafia in Tony D'Angelo & Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo. Joe Coffey had been away since the end of September, even though his partners had returned in January.
NXT women's tag titles: Scotland's Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn defeated Fallon Henley & Kiana James to win the titles, when James' baser heel instincts got in the way, and cost her the gold. The soap opera continues on Tuesday.
NXT North American title: Wes Lee survived the challenges of Dragon Lee, Axiom, JD McDonagh, & Ilja Dragunov in a title match with international proportions, what with Lee the only American in the match.
Also:
Johnny Gargano, along with wife Candice, crossed over from Raw to defeat Grayson Waller in an unsanctioned match. Waller's storyline with Shawn Michaels will doubtlessly continue.
Chase U (Andre Chase, Duke Hudson, & Thea Hail) & Tyler Bate defeated Schism (Joe Gacy, Ava, & the Dyad (Jagger Reid & Rip Fowler, formerly the Grizzled Young Veterans)) in a 8-person mixed tag. Had the heels won, they would've gotten control of the kayfabe university, which would represent some sort of commentary on the political climate in Florida, where NXT is based, and it's corrupt governor, Ron DeSantis, and his attacks on education, race, and gender identities.
Wrestlemania:
US title: Austin Theory retained over 3-time champion John Cena. Sub Cena for Seth Rollins, and you get the same match they've had at live events. Theory needed an illegal low blow to set up the finish, in this case after a ref bump. Theory has no credibility as a champion because of this.
Smackdown women's title: Rhea Ripley, with the Judgment Day in the locker room, dethroned Charlotte Flair, and, in doing so, avenged a loss to Flair for the NXT women's title three years ago.
WWE unified tag titles: Canada's Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn put an end to the Usos' stranglehold on the tag titles, which may spell the beginning of the end for the Bloodline faction.
Also:
Rollins defeated Logan Paul, which illustrates in a nutshell the difference between Vince McMahon's booking and that of son-in-law Paul Levesque (Triple H). McMahon almost surely would've had Paul winning. Paul has now lost two WWE matches in a row.
Women's tag team champions Becky Lynch & Lita teamed with Trish Stratus to defeat Damage CTRL (Bayley, IYO SKY, & Dakota Kai) in a 6-woman match in which five countries were represented among the six competitors (US, Ireland, Canada, Japan, & New Zealand).
Rey Mysterio defeated son Dominic in a grudge match. Ripley, Dom's kayfabe girlfriend, was not at ringside, as her match followed.
The Street Profits won a 4-way tag team showcase match over Alpha Academy (Chad Gable & Otis), The Viking Raiders (Erik & Ivar, formerly known as Ray Rowe & Hanson), & Braun Strowman & Ricochet.
In an unadvertised special, event "host" Michael "The Miz" Mizanin was goaded into a match with Pat McAfee by co-host Snoop Dogg. McAfee defeated Miz in a quickie with help from San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle.
Yeah, it's a tough act to follow. Check the video:
