Another WWE wrestler dealing with stalker issues. Will this madness never end?

 The wrestler in question is one of the youngest women on the roster, Roxanne Perez, whose life, and that of her off-screen boyfriend, are being threatened by a delusional "fan". You know the type. The kind that thinks the object of their affection is "meant to be" with them.

On television, Roxanne is a heel, or, villain, as a member of the Judgment Day faction. The current women's world champ, stablemate Liv Morgan, can relate to Perez's problems, since she's also been stalked. Her stalker was arrested. Perez's stalker is, as of this morning, still at large.

The stalker in this case, whom we won't name, wanted to encourage Perez's beau to beat her up so she could see his point. Like, that's really going to happen. NOT! As WWE went to bat for Morgan, they'll do the same for Perez.

As for the stalker, well, dare I say it? His future is likely in a rubber room.

Maybe the NBA champs should be renamed the Knickhausens....nah

 Saturday Night's Main Event was the centerpiece to the annual Fanatics Fest, wrapping today in New York. WWE made sure to give the fans some real thrills with help from the NBA champion Knicks.

The program's final segment had Jalen Brunson, sporting a brace on his wrist, joining WWE champion Roman Reigns in the ring, only to be interrupted by Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, accompanying Seth Rollins. The two hoopsters were injured, and not cleared for physical activity.

Earlier in the night, Danhausen, credited with helping the Knicks end a 53 year title drought, was facing JD McDonagh of the Judgment Day stable. Some "Minihausens" tried to help in a No-disqualificaion match, but McDonagh and his cornerman, AAA Mega Champion Dominick Mysterio, fended them off. That's when Danhausen pulled out his wild card..........

You can tell Karl-Anthony Towns had been preparing for something like this. Needless to say, Danhausen won the match with an inverted DDT.

Makes ya wish NBC-Universal simulcast this on NBC, the home of the NBA, and original home of Saturday Night's Main Event......

Sports this 'n' that

 The finals of the FIFA World Cup are now set, after Argentina rallied to beat England, 2-1, earlier today. Lionel Messi & Argentina now will play Spain on Sunday (3 pm ET, Fox) at the Meadowlands. 

However, there are headlines away from the pitch, with reports that singer-talk show host Jennifer Hudson will sing the national anthem prior to the game Sunday, despite the fact that the US was eliminated 9 days ago. Figure FIFA head Gianni Infantino got that idea from his friend, president Trump, who, unfortunately, will hand out the championship trophy.

The National League was held to 2 hits as the American League won the All-Star Game, 4-0. The Yankees' Cody Bellinger drove in the game winners in the first inning, and the AL pitching & defense made it stand up, such that Bellinger was named game MVP.

St. Louis' Jordan Walker, who won the Home Run Derby by outpointing the Phillies' Kyle Schwarber, which made the partisans very unhappy, to the point where they booed Walker when he entered last night's game.

Talk about a tough crowd.

By the way, Netflix has taken over the Derby beginning with Monday's broadcast. The landscape of baseball on television continues to change.

While he's being used in a daffy sci-fi story arc on Smackdown with Danhausen, the Miz (Mike Mizanin) is very active away from the ring.

Miz is at the ESPY's tonight, and made an appearance on SportsCenter to promote SummerSlam, coming up August 1-2 in Minneapolis. Three days earlier, he was finishing up at the American Century celebrity golf championship, and may have gotten on ESPN's top 10 plays list with this shot:

We know some wrestlers like to play golf. We've seen Miz play softball during the All-Star break in the past. The dude has some skillz.

With ESPN now in charge of NFL Network programming, they've decided to end the syndicated version of Good Morning Football after 2 seasons.

Good Morning Football-Overtime is being bounced for the usual reason---low ratings, compared to the parent program. Well, it does get redundant over time (pun intended).

Sports this 'n' that

 Five days after defeating San Antonio for their first NBA title since 1973, the Knicks had the attention of all of NYC this morning.

The victory parade down the legendary Canyon of Heroes culminated at City Hall, where Mayor Zohran Mamdani spoke at great length, praising the team. Owner James Dolan has already decided that the Knicks will be the first NBA champions to visit president Trump at the White House, since Dolan & Trump are long time friends and have similar social attitudes, as witnessed by Dolan's long standing feud with former Knick star Charles Oakley, dating back nearly a decade, and, well, we know about Trump's childish, daily tantrums.

Trump is in France for the G7 Summit, and missed the parade.

The Knicks have already worked out a deal with the WWE in relation to Danhausen, who was a good luck charm for the team during their post-season run. Comparisons to the Mets' magical run 2 summers ago after a promotional appearance by Grimace can be dismissed, since Danhausen got the Knicks "to the finish line".

Speaking of WWE, there are no plans to hold a PLE at the White House, unlike the UFC spectacular four nights ago. UFC frontman & Ram pitchman Dana White has already shot down plans for a second card at the White House, and has to deal with the backlash of one of his fighters taking a cheap shot at former First Lady Michelle Obama. Right wing morons are overestimating the crowd size for Sunday's card. Par for the course for chronic liar Trump and his supporters.

Belated congratulations to the Carolina Hurricanes on winning the Stanley Cup on Sunday, besting Vegas in 6 games. We referenced this over at Tri-City SportsBeat on Monday.

It must've been guys night out for WWE's Paul "Triple H" Levesque, Roman Reigns, & Nick Khan at the UFC card on Sunday. Levesque's brother-in-law, Shane McMahon, was also in the house, as he's probably the biggest MMA fan in the family.

Could another title drought come to an end? The Knicks are on the verge

 53 years.

That's how long it's been since the Knicks were last NBA champions. Back then, you had Willis Reed, Earl Monroe, Bill Bradley, Walt Frazier, and Phil Jackson, who'd later win a bunch of titles as a coach. 

Today, the Knicks have the likes of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Karl-Anthony Towns, and they're a game away from their 3rd NBA title.

Wednesday night, the Knicks erased a 29 point 2nd half deficit to beat San Antonio, and take a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals, with Game 5 set for Saturday night in San Antonio.

Remember when they'd hype the Muscular Dystrophy telethons back in the day? "Stay up with Jerry (Lewis), and watch the stars come out!", Ed McMahon would intone in the voiceover.

The Knicks had the stars at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night....

Missing from the picture: Michael J. Fox and rapper Fat Joe.

Knicks radio co-host Monica McNutt, however, threw cold water on Taylor Swift's appearance, not realizing that the singer is, in fact, a Knicks fan. And you thought they were done with the buzzkill......!

Two years ago, the Mets rode a wave of momentum after a promotional appearance by McDonald's mascot Grimace became a meme. The Knicks are riding a similar wave, thanks in large part to WWE star Danhausen, who "uncursed" the team, leading to their current status, having won 12 of 13.

The Mets should be paying attention. They might need Danhausen's services next.

The kiss of death strikes both coasts

 "Dumb Donald is really dumb!"---Gene Rayburn, Match Game, 1973-84.

Not every candidate that is endorsed by Dozin' Donald Trump actually succeeds.

A week ago, former reality star Spencer Pratt (ex-The Hills) was in line for a runoff election in November against incumbent Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. But, in the words of college football icon Lee Corso, not so fast, my friend, not so fast.

On Monday, LA councilperson Nithya Raman surged into 2nd place, setting up the runoff with Bass in November.

He saw nothing but Raman's tail lights.

The elimination of Spencer from the race came less than 48 hours after Trump threw a temper tantrum on Meet The Press, falsely claiming, as usual, that the election was rigged.

"WAAAAHHHHH! They're screwing Spencer! WAAAHHHH!"

No, they're not, Dumb Donald. You screwed him by endorsing him. If you didn't insist sticking your nose into every GOP race, things might be different.

In New York, the Knicks saw their 13 game postseason winning streak snapped in a 115-111 loss to San Antonio. As had been widely reported, and panned, Trump showed up. If the 2025 Super Bowl was any indication, he probably didn't stay for the whole game. WWE's Danhausen was also in attendance, but his kayfabe "powers" were negated by the presence of Dozin' Donald. Rumors circulated that Trump would be seated at Celebrity Row at courtside, but, common sense prevailed in that regard, as Trump was given a luxury suite by his friend and fellow man-child, James Dolan. The View moderator Whoopi Goldberg, ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, and others had suggested that Trump not show up, but, of course, and of course, he was booed by the city he betrayed to move to Florida during his first term. The Knicks were forced to cancel a watch party outside Madison Square Garden (it was moved to Bryant Park). Filmmaker & Knicks superfan Spike Lee wore a jersey autographed by Pope Leo to troll Trump.

No, Trump won't be back for game 4, which takes place tomorrow. He's already done enough damage.

More examples of GOP stupidity

 To the surprise of, well, no one, former Attorney General Pam "Dumb" Bondi pleaded the 5th when testifying before Congress on Friday, refusing to answer any questions about the Epstein files, and other controversies.

Current acting AG Todd "Bleached" Blanche sent some lawyers over to ensure that Bondi didn't spill any tea, let's put it that way. It tells us that the GOP is that scared the truth will come out.

Just hold both of them for contempt, and see what happens.

A Federal judge ruled Friday that president Trump cannot have his name added to the Kennedy Center, after all. What Donnie Diapers did last year, the judge ruled, was illegal.

Of course, there was this:

"WAAAHHHH! I do what I want! You don't tell me what to do! WAAAAHHHHHH!!"

Donnie Diapers' jealousy of the Democrats is on full display. And so is his ego.

Treasury Secretary Scott "Full" Bessent is the idiot responsible for the plan to introduce a $250 bill with Trump's face on it. Look for that to be struck down as well, since sitting presidents aren't supposed to have this while in office.

And, then, there is the Freedom 250 concert series, scheduled for the National Mall in Washington from June 25-July 10. Some of the artists announced for the series earlier in the week have already withdrawn, claiming that they were misled by the claim that the concerts were supposed to unite the country. Not with Trump involved. Cheeto Narcissus likely will show up to gum up the works. In the last two days, the following have dropped out:

Bret Michaels (Poison).

Martina McBride.

The Commodores, who haven't had a hit record in 41 years ("Night Shift", 1985, their only post Lionel Richie hit).

Young MC.

Morris Day & The Time, best known for their association with Prince in the 80's, and hits like "Jungle Love".

As of now, Flo Rida &  Fabrice Morvan (Milli Vanilli) are still scheduled. There are conflicting reports regarding another 90's act, the C & C Music Factory, now under the direction of Freedom Williams, who's not exactly a Trump fan himself.

Yahoo! commenters are having a field day as Trump sycophants are trying to spin their way out of this debacle, asking if has-beens like Kid Rock will be added. Some asked about Roseanne Barr & Scott Baio.

Apparently, the committee reps that met with the agents for the artists didn't tell them everything, and that further research exposed the truth.

Prediction: Trump's talent challenged daughter-in-law, Lara, and unfunny comic Tony Hinchcliffe will fill the vacant spots, or the entire event gets cancelled.

Update, 4:58 pm (ET): Trump himself has announced he will appear as a headline act. Watch the house vacate.

Speaking of Lara, it seems she blew up a myth about Dumb Donald. Standing side-by-side with the president exposes the fact that he's not as tall as he claims to be. Well, DUH!!!!! We do start to lose height as we get older. I'll guess he's not 215 pounds, either, but more like 315.

Finally, Trump, a WWE Hall of Famer for hosting two Wrestlemania events in Atlantic City in the late 80's, participating in a 3rd, and being a friend of the McMahon family, bought stock in TKO, WWE's parent company, ahead of the UFC card scheduled for his birthday, June 14. Gee, what a surprise, or, in the words of Thanos in an Avengers movie, "this is inevitable". It sure is.

That time Muhammad Ali fought a jobber (1976)

 Ahead of his boxer vs. wrestler match in Japan vs. Antonio Inoki, Muhammad Ali fought a 3 round exhibition against a lesser known wrestler, Buddy Wolfe. Fred Blassie was in Ali's corner, and Dick The Bruiser was in Wolfe's, with AWA legend, and future Hall of Famer, Verne Gagne, wearing his warmup suit as the ref.

Hearing Blassie shouting instructions to Ali, it made me think of what might've been had Blassie auditioned for a supporting role in "Rocky". Of course, we all know that "Rocky" was a mammoth hit, with film legend Burgess Meredith as Mickey opposite Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa.

I think this might've been the first time Gagne was in the same building with Vince McMahon, who conducted a post-fight interview with Ali & Blassie.

Sports this 'n' that

 In the run-up to tonight's Backlash PLE on the ESPN app (the 1st hour will be simulcast on ESPN2), various WWE personalities have appeared on ESPN programming.

Perhaps the biggest impact on sports outside WWE came from Long Island native Paul Heyman. Heyman, beloved in Philadelphia as the mastermind behind Extreme Championship Wrestling, threw his support behind his hometown Knicks in the NBA Eastern Conference semi-finals, and warned the 76ers that "their season was already over". It might've seemed like typical bluster from Heyman, with the Knicks already up, 2-0, when he made this statement, but, as of today, he might actually be right, after the Knicks won again on Friday to go up, 3-0.

Your move, Philadelphia.

It has not been a good week off the field for the Atlanta Braves.

First, former announcer John Sterling, who later became an icon as the radio voice of the Yankees, had passed away, followed by former owner Ted Turner on Wednesday. Now comes word that Bobby Cox, who served two stints as manager (1977-81, 1985-2010), with a run in Toronto in between, winning 5 National League titles, 14 division titles, and the 1995 World Series, has passed at 84.

MLB has produced this video obituary, narrated by Matt Vasgersian:

There is also mourning in Pittsburgh, as former player & coach Bob Skinner passed away mid-week at 95. I never saw him play, but he served as a coach for managers Bill Virdon & Jim Leyland for several seasons.

Rest in peace, gentlemen.

Sports this 'n' that

 Maybe the Mets could learn something from what happened in Philadelphia earlier this week.

Rob Thomson was fired, the 2nd manager in 4 days (Alex Cora), replaced by bench coach Don Mattingly, who had come over from Toronto in the offseason. Philadelphia has since opened some distance between themselves and the last place Mets, amid speculation that Mets manager Carlos Mendoza may be the next to go, at least if you follow the drama on reddit.

Mattingly previously managed Miami and the Los Angeles Dodgers, and is the kind of experienced voice the Phillies needed.

The Mets, meanwhile, continue to be plagued by injuries. Luis Robert, Jr., one of their off-season acquisitions (Chicago White Sox) went down earlier in the week, and after Saturday's loss to the Angels, infielder Ronny Mauricio went to the IL with a thumb injury. Redditors are blaming David Stearns for some of the off-season moves, including letting professional leech Scott Boras Badenov con Pete Alonso into chasing the money to Baltimore. Alonso has been struggling, and someone suggested a trade to bring him back to Flushing.

Alonso is back in New York this weekend, but, aside from a home run on Friday, the Yankees have held him in check. The Mets will see Alonso later this season.

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani mistakenly assumed Trae Young was still with the Atlanta Hawks ahead of the 1st round of the NBA playoffs. Young was traded earlier this season.

So, the Knicks blew the Hawks out of the playoffs on Thursday, winning game 6 by 57 points. The game was actually over in the 1st quarter. In Atlanta!!!

Bank on this. Braves fans will pick up the gauntlet for the Hawks when Los Bravos play the Mets later this season.

The PGA tour is at the Doral Country Club, owned by president Trump, this weekend, and, how's this for a surprise? When the players reached holes 16-18, there were no fans in sight! Meidas Touch explains:

Welp, if Trump didn't initiate the current conflict with Iran, and actually learned how to comport himself as president instead of being an elderly man on his 4th or 5th childhood, that wouldn't happen. People see the Trump name on the building, and turn away. Why should the world's worst golfer own a course? At least grand-daughter Kai (Don, Jr.'s daughter) learned the game the right way.......!

We're reading that the Saudis are pulling their financial backing from the LIV golf tour, in its 4th season, and 2nd with broadcasts on Fox (moving over from CW) after this season. Hmmmmm. People were speculating that the Saudis might not renew their contract with WWE when that runs out later this year. And speaking of WWE......

NXT fans were jumping for joy upon learning earlier this week that the PLE's for the Tuesday brand will begin airing on CW this summer. Since the network is looking for some weekend programming to complement the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts series, and fill the void created by LIV golf's departure last year, this is great news. Last month's Stand & Deliver streamed on YouTube, but this is even better. Apparently, the new deal starts with the Great American Bash in July, after the former WCW event had been set up as a 2 part episode of the weekly NXT series the last couple of years.

The once prestigious National Wrestling Alliance is back on television, as NWA Powerr began airing on Comet (check listings) this weekend. Broadcasts will mostly air Saturday afternoons at 4 pm (ET), though a special episode aired Friday night. Unfortunately, the quality of wrestling, while it seeks to revive the studio wrestling aesthetic from the territory era, has suffered under Billy Corgan's ownership. The former Smashing Pumpkins frontman should be happy with the new deal, though, as that should bring more eyeballs to the NWA & Comet.

The season of the turk comes to WWE

 It's been a week since Wrestlemania, and all the attendant drama in and out of the ring. On Friday, WWE had its annual spring cleaning, and a lot of fans are displeased over some of the cuts:

Nikki Cross=3 time tag team champion, former women's champion.

Zoey Stark=had recently been activated from the disabled list, but instead of going back to NXT to prep for a return to the main roster, she gets cut. Not a good look, but WWE has cut wrestlers while injured before.

Alba Fyre=With tag partner Piper Niven on the DL (neck), Kay Lee Ray, the former NXT UK women's champ, was left as a bodyguard for Chelsea Green, wasting her talent.

Joe Gacy=Being part of the Wyatt Sicks saved his career, and he won a tag title, something he couldn't do in NXT.

Bo Dallas=The Wyatt Sicks was his way of honoring his late brother, Bray Wyatt, but getting injured hurt even more than he knew. Also, the Wyatt Sicks' feud with the MFT's was sabotaged politically.

Andre Chase=I believe he'd also been a coach at NXT, especially after Chase U was dissolved for the final time. Mostly a JTTS without the faction. Won a tag title in NXT.

Erick Rowan=Former tag team champion (with the late Luke Harper) was brought back, only to be cut a 2nd time.

Dexter Lumis=Won a tag title as a member of the Wyatt Sicks, but if WWE needs a graphic artist, maybe they'll bring him back.

Dante Chen=Got a modest push in NXT, only to have that stopped, and had last been in Evolve.

Kairi Sane=This hurts the fans more than anything. 2-time tag team champ as 1/2 of the Kabuki Warriors (w/Asuka), and was in the middle of a story arc that would break up the team if allowed to continue. Judging from reddit, Kairi has a lot of fans, and why not? 2nd time in 5 years she's been cut.

Aleister Black & Zelina=A year ago, Black returned from AEW to reunite with his wife, but instead of being pointed toward the US or Undisputed titles, where he would've had some stellar matches, uncreative kept ignoring him after losing a feud with Damian Priest.

Motor City Machine Guns=Former tag team champs with WWE & TNA, Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin will resurface soon, either in TNA, AEW, or Major League Wrestling.

Apollo Crews=One of the longest tenured of the talents cut, former US champion, mostly used as jobber fodder of late.

Santos Escobar=Former cruiserweight champ in NXT, had just returned, but sidelined again (biceps) while with AAA.

Luca Crusifino=The breakup of NXT's D'Angelo Family faction saw Crusifino move to Evolve. Never fully resolved his issue with current NXT champ Tony D'Angelo.

Malik Blade=Had moved to Evolve after tag partner Edris Enofe left a while back. Largely treading water.

Trill London

Sirena Linton

Tyra Mae Steele=Was the 1st season women's champ on LFG, had a couple of matches in NXT, then moved to Evolve, and disappeared.

Chris Island

Tyriek Igwe

Tyson Dupont=The High Ryze (Dupont & Igwe) seemed to disappear after Wes Lee (Dezmond Xavier) left for TNA, then AEW.

Trill London, Sirena Linton, & Chris Island were all WWE ID signees in the Peformance Center, and never got TV time on NXT.

Chief Creative Officer Paul Levesque (Triple H) has to share the blame with his corporate overlords at TKO Holdings, as some of the above were in active storylines or regularly featured. After New Japan star EVIL (Takako Watanabe) signed earlier this week, the cuts were made to move some money around. Many of the above talent will resurface in due course, but this wave of cuts gave fans more reason to hate on WWE/TKO, as if they didn't already have enough reason.

Meanwhile, Smackdown is reloading after taking some of the hits. The Fatal Influence faction arrived last night, with Blake Monroe (FKA Mariah May in AEW) and Ricky Saints (Starks) due soon. Rumors have Watanabe heading to either NXT or the main roster.

And after several wrestlers talked about being hassled by overzealous fans last weekend, well, the ones cut won't have to worry about that for a while. Maybe.

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.

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.

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.

Sports this 'n' that

 The Mets welcomed back shortstop Francisco Lindor today, as he made his preseason debut vs. Toronto.

Lindor reached on an error, and scored in the midst of a 5 run 2nd inning, as the Mets thumped the AL champs, 8-1. The game was stopped after 6 innings due to rain.

There will be a new champion in the World Baseball Classic after Venezuela upended Japan Saturday night in Miami, 8-7. 

Atlanta's Ronald Acuna, Jr. opened the game with a solo home run off the Dodgers' Yoshinobi Yamamoto. In the bottom half of the 1st, Shohei Ohtani answered for Japan to tie the game. 

However, in the 6th, with Japan up, 5-2, going into the inning, Venezuela took back the lead, thanks to Boston's Wilyer Abreu, after trimming the lead to 5-4.

Venezuela will play Italy tomorrow night, while Team USA plays the Dominican Republic tonight, with the winners meeting on Tuesday to end the tournament.

An even worse downside for Japan was outfielder Seiya Suzuki going down with an injury after being thrown out trying to steal 2nd to end the 1st inning. That's the last thing the Cubs needed, but, if it's not serious, Suzuki should be ready for the Cubs' opener next week.

Chalk up another endorsement deal for Caitlin Clark.

The Indiana Fever star is appearing in a new Capital One ad with Charles Barkley & Samuel L. Jackson that will play from now until the end of the NCAA tournaments April 6-7. Barkley's also given the rub to the "Capital One Bank Guy", as has Jackson. Now, all we need is for the dude to be in an ad with Jennifer Garner......!

Most amusing ad of the week comes from WWE, which has LA Knight, Penta, & Stephanie Vaquer appearing in a commercial for TurboTax. Ms. Vaquer is from Chile, while Penta, of course, is from Mexico. I guess tax returns do come with work visas......!

With the NCAA's right around the corner, CBS' Ian Eagle & Bill Raftery are doing a spot for Spectrum Cable. Keep in mind, though, that this is a national ad, not a localized one.

Sports this 'n' that

 NBC looked to its previous coverage of the NBA Tuesday night on what was billed as "Throwback Tuesday".

Bob Costas returned to the network to call the game, with analysts Doug Collins & Mike Fratello. Hannah Storm & Jim Gray were on the sidelines. Costas, who'd recently announced his retirement, was in rare form.

If NBC wants the ratings, maybe more of these "Throwbacks" would help.

More NBC: The network has signed Detroit Tigers play-by-play man Jason Benetti away from Fox to call their soon-to-be-revived Game of The Week. Benetti has also called college football & basketball for Fox, and before signing with the Tigers, had succeeded Ken Harrelson as the voice of the Chicago White Sox. Fox agreed to release Benetti from his contract early so he could go to NBC.

Fox, meanwhile, has also lost PBA bowling-----to the CW. Seems Nexstar, CW's owner (which also owns WTEN in the 518), is serious about their sports portfolio, having added NASCAR's O'Reilly series (formerly Xfinity), college basketball & football, the LIV golf tour, and WWE NXT in recent years.

Before the World Baseball Classic opens tomorrow, teams are playing exhibitions against MLB clubs, with mixed results. For example, Team USA blew away San Francisco. In Tampa, the Yankees demolished Panama, 11-1. The A's similarly routed Brazil, 14-4, in Arizona. The exhibitions continue today before tournament play starts tomorrow.

Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar will miss the 2026 season after testing positive for PED's for the 2nd time.

You'd think by now, players would figure out what to look for to avoid such hazards.

WWE's NXT division crowned a new North American champion last week, and it's really a feel good story.

Myles Borne (real name David Bostian III) is legitimately deaf, the result of having had Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension of The Newborn upon his birth. Predictably ridiculed by then-champion Ethan Page, Borne finally earned a title match vs. Page on the February 24 episode, and defeated Page after Hank Walker, Tank Ledger, & Shiloh Hill intercepted an attempt at outside interference from Evolve champ Jackson Drake and his Vanity Project mates, Ricky Smokes & Brad Baylor, while NXT champ Joe Hendry held off Ricky Saints. Borne won an impromptu rematch with Page last night while both were in tearaway civilian clothes. Something tells me they'll meet again in a tuxedo match.

As bodybuilder-turned-actor Lou Ferrigno became a hero to not only the disabled but television viewers everywhere as The Incredible Hulk (1977-82), so, too, has Borne become a hero.

Sports this 'n' that

 An era ended in WWE Saturday night, as John Cena, after 23 years on the main roster, retired following a loss to former World & Intercontinental Champion Gunther (Walter Stark). Fans were upset because it appeared as though Cena had smiled a little before tapping out.

Earlier in the night, a jealous Miz disrupted the proceedings, upset that he wasn't scheduled to appear on Saturday Night's Main Event, so he hijacked the show for a few minutes. Ignorant of the fact his main event win over Cena 14 years ago was tainted, Miz demanded respect.

R-Truth and a special guest had other ideas......

Yeah, Miz acts like Daffy Duck, who also never got a standing ovation. At least we know who Joe Hendry, newly signed with WWE, will feud with once he's officially on the main roster around the Royal Rumble......!

Across the Potomac in Baltimore, site of this year's Army-Navy game, president Trump was brought out for the ceremonial coin toss. Suffice to say, it didn't go well........

One reporter opined that Trump looked like a space alien who didn't know what he was doing. Reminds me of this guy.......

Flipping a coin ain't the same as tossing an egg, but, well, Mork was the first one I thought of.

Trump's poor attempt at a coin flip was, ultimately, the kiss of death for Army, as Navy escaped with a 17-16 victory, achieving back-to-back 10 win seasons.

In New York, Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy, becoming the 1st Hoosier to win the prestigious award. ESPN moved the ceremony up to 7 pm (ET), in addition to being simulcast on ABC.

Mets fans are even saltier this weekend after first baseman and 2-time Home Run Derby champ Pete Alonso signed with Baltimore. 5 years, $155 million, absent the commission for his parasitic leech, Scott Boras Badenov. Just days after closer Edwin Diaz fled west to the Dodgers, another piece of the Mets' 2024 NLCS team has been removed. Signing infielder Jorge Polanco (Seattle) ain't going to salve the wounds right away, but it does indicate that the team plans to move Mark Vientos across the diamond to play first base to replace Alonso. Many fans on reddit have turned on owner Steve Cohen and GM David Stearns for letting Diaz, Alonso, & Brandon Nimmo leave in the last month. Boras represents Nimmo & Alonso, while Diaz is repped by another, lesser known agency.

The Rangers celebrated their 100th anniversary Saturday at Madison Square Garden, honoring some 2 dozen former players in a pre-game ceremony hosted by former announcer Sam Rosen. Then, the current team rallied from a 3 goal deficit in the first period to beat Montreal in overtime, 5-4. Current color analyst Dave Maloney was on the ice for the ceremony, then called the game with Kenny Albert. For Ranger fans, Christmas came early.

Sports this 'n' that

 Some people don't deserve to be flattered. Ever.

Donald Trump is one of those people.

The most immature president in the history of ever was awarded a fabricated peace prize by FIFA during a ceremony at the Kennedy Center Friday to announce the draw for the 2026 World Cup.

President Packrat then went so far as to sound off on the NFL, thinking they need to change their name and the name of the sport, since in Europe, soccer, as we know it, is known as football.

Photo courtesy MSN.com

You'll recall that Donnie Diapers stole some trophies at FIFA events earlier this year, believing he's entitled to them, so FIFA suits are pandering to him by flattering him with hollow praise and fake gifts.

I'm told Trump actually played football in school, but I have a hard time believing that, considering he comes across as a wannabe who was assigned as a waterboy......

Orange Narcissus just has to meddle in everything where he doesn't belong. Bellevue will be waiting for him....

Meghan Trainor, please call your service. Your career is over.

If you've seen her State Farm commercial with Patrick Mahomes, you know why.

As former WWE champion and Honda pitchman John Cena winds down his in-ring career, an old nemesis is being presented as being jealous that one of today's stars has the honor of being Cena's last opponent on Saturday Night's Main Event, streaming next week on Peacock.

Former World & Intercontinental Champion Gunther has the honor, and Miz (Michael Mizanin) wants to use the fact that he defeated Cena at Wrestlemania 14 years ago to justify his getting the shot. Uh, no. Today, Miz is Daffy Duck to Cena's Bugs Bunny, while the Austrian-born Gunther would be happy with the honor.

After NXT/Evolve's Brooks Jensen (Ben Buchanan) complained about not being included in the Last Time is Now tournament, NXT Creative included him in a storyline in TNA, where he, along with two other 2nd generation wrestlers, Lexis King (Brian Pillman, Jr.) & Charlie Dempsey (Bailey Matthews), and others are disrupting TNA events, but there is no continuity between TNA & NXT for whatever reason. While Jensen is getting some shine time, NXT frontman Shawn Michaels is not following through on Tuesdays, when the object, in this writer's opinion, is to get people watching both NXT & TNA programming.

In case you wonder, Dempsey is the son of William Regal (Darren Matthews).

Seems the NFL is grooming Detroit Lions defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson as their next crossover star.

Hutchinson is appearing with Patrick Mahomes in ads for State Farm, and with ex-Pittsburgh Steeler & Head & Shoulders pitchman Troy Polamalu for the shampoo. At least Hutchinson has personality, which is more than we can say for the not-quite-wooden Eli Manning......!

Sports this 'n' that

 Giants rookie running back Cam Skattebo may be out for the season with leg issues, but that didn't stop him from showing up on Monday Night Raw at Madison Square Garden, along with a few teammates, including fellow rookie Abdul Carter, and in the company of Netflix personality Andrew Schultz.

Schultz & Skattebo were being interviewed by Jackie Redmond when the men of the Judgment Day disrupted the proceedings. This led to Schultz & the players tussling across the barricade with Finn Balor, JD McDonaugh, and Dominik Mysterio until security intervened.

Mission accomplished. This set-to ultimately wound its way to ESPN and other media outlets, which is what WWE wanted.

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Current Intercontinental champion & Honda pitchman John Cena may be retiring next month, but it hasn't taken WWE long to figure out what's next.

It's being reported that, come April, Cena will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, less than a year after his last match, set for December 13 in Washington. Normally, they'd go against the usual rules for induction for a wrestler who had passed away, as they did for Eddie Guerrero, after his passing 20 years ago.

Well, they do say anything can happen......

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While we're still nearly 3 months away from the Super Bowl, the NFL is banking on music fans to stay tuned during next week's Thanksgiving games.

The league announced over the weekend that Jack White of White Stripes fame will perform in Detroit at halftime of the Lions-Packers game. Post Malone will be in Arlington for the Cowboys-Chiefs match, and L'il Jon will be in Baltimore for Ravens-Bengals.

For the networks, it helps that November is a ratings sweeps period.

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So we're reading that ESPN's resident imbecile, Stephen A. Smith, is whining about how NY Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and NY Senator Chuck Schumer have all turned down invitations to appear on his new political talk show.

Like, can ya blame them? Screamin' A walked out of a NewsNation town hall he was co-hosting last month. He's so clueless about politics, like he is about any sport other than basketball (and even that is a reach), he'd be flame broiled by Newsom & AOC, who could probably concoct a recipe for roast dork.

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Less than a month after getting bounced by Penn State, James Franklin has landed a new gig. He'll take over at Virginia Tech next year. That's gotta be a record.

Sports this 'n' that

 With the Yankees down, 2-0, heading into Tuesday's ALDS game at the Stadium, there were the usual calls from fans and the media to send manager Aaron Boone on his way if the team can't come back to beat Toronto.

Boone's opposite number, Toronto's John Schneider, may have given Boone some help.

Schneider, in the wake of the Yankees' 9-6 win on Tuesday, decided that it would be a bullpen game for the Blue Jays tonight, with Louis Varland starting. Varland was one of the culprits responsible for the Yankee comeback Tuesday, giving up 2 homers, including one to Aaron Judge.

Photo courtesy MSN. com.

Dum-de-dum-dum-dummmmmmmmb!!!

Varland pitched 1 inning, charged with 2 runs on 2 hits and 2 strikeouts, and was charged with the loss. New York will start rookie Cam Schlittler, who looked like a jewel in going 8 innings vs. Boston last week in the Wild Card clincher.

If the Yanks come all the way back to advance to the ALCS, Schneider will be the one gone, not Boone (at least not yet), and his latest bonehead play may be the cause.

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Hockey season started Tuesday, and it's the same old, tired song for fans of the Rangers, who reportedly looked listless in losing to Pittsburgh, 3-0, in the home opener at Madison Square Garden. Have to believe they were struggling to draw fans due to the Yankees-Blue Jays game. It's just the start of the season, but, you know some people need a reason to whine and go click chasing online.

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Speaking of click chasing, there are more morons launching YouTube channels using AI to deceive fans of WWE and the Mets with false headlines. In the case of the AI trolls with WWE "news", they're trying to sell the idea that top stars such as Becky Lynch or Cody Rhodes has "died" when it's not even close to being true. On the Mets channels, the trolls are fabricating personnel changes. Seems these get-a-lifes think most of us were born yesterday. All you need to see is the "headline" to know the news is fake.

And, in the words of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, that's all I've got to say about that.

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Could the balance of power be shifting again in the AFC?

Kansas City is 2-3 after Jacksonville's last second upset on Monday. New England is resurgent under former star player Mike Vrabel, who has the Pats 1 game behind Buffalo after beating the Bills on Sunday. Baltimore is 1-4 in the North, due in part to less than stellar play, coupled with an injury to QB Lamar Jackson. Suddenly, Pittsburgh, with Aaron Rodgers, leads the North, while Cincinnati just traded for ageless wonder Joe Flacco, who comes over from Cleveland with the Bengals & Browns both struggling.

The Bengals, in turn, cut backup QB Brett Rypien (son of Super Bowl champ Mark Rypien), who'll likely land somewhere else.

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As Dallas was dismantling the Jests on Sunday at the Meadowlands, owner/GM/head idiot Jerry Jones decided to be crass and flipped the bird to Jests fans, pouring salt onto the wounds of an 0-5, last place club. For that, Jones was fined by the NFL, all because his act of stupidity was caught on camera. Maybe Jerry couldn't find a church before the game, and, well.....!

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Instead of teasing fans with "The Decision II", LeBron James might need to spend more time caring for son Bronny, given the youth's health problems. Just sayin'.