The fabled poet wrote that "the best laid plans of mice & men often go astray". That certainly holds true in the WWE.
Just 9 days ago, at The Bash PPV, Edge & Chris Jericho were inserted into a tag title match between then-champions Primo & Carlito Colon and Legacy (Ted DiBiase, Jr. & Cody Rhodes). The idea being that Smackdown's GM, Theodore Long, was under pressure from his nuttier-than-a-can-of-cashews boss, Vince McMahon, to shake things up for the Friday show. Edge & Jericho won the match and the tag titles, this after Jericho had dropped the Intercontinental title earlier in the evening.
5 days later, at a house show in San Diego, Edge tore his Achilles' tendon in a match vs. old foe Jeff Hardy. Edge had surgery earlier today, and the early estimate is that he's gone until next Spring, perhaps in time for Wrestlemania 26 in Phoenix. Since WWE taped two weeks' worth of television programming last week to accomodate a summer tour of Japan (Smackdown) & Australia (Raw), the company has the luxury of time before the next episode of Raw (July 13) to decide what to do with the tag team championship.
Edge's injury is the latest to plague the WWE. A month ago, Dave Batista had to vacate the WWE title after suffering a torn bicep muscle. Just a couple of weeks later, Matt Hardy was sidelined with a torn abdominal muscle. Hardy has since revealed on his Twitter page that he's actually had the tear since childhood, and it'd gotten progressively worse in recent weeks. Hardy, it's believed, will be gone until late September at the earliest.
What these injuries do to WWE is it hinders whatever long term planning the company had for their television programs. Hardy, for example, had a brief feud with his younger brother, Jeff, earlier this year, and Hardy had just been "traded" from Raw to Smackdown, despite the injury. The thinking, of course, was that they could finish the feud between the two brothers and move on. Similarly, they had just decided to have the only other brother act on the roster, the Colons, split up and feud, but that was before Edge went on the DL, and common sense says that it would be prudent to hold off on that for a while. Unfortunately, common sense is in short supply in the WWE. It will be interesting to see just exactly what WWE intends to do come July 13.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Monday, July 6, 2009
The People Have Spoken!
The rosters for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, taking place July 14, were announced on Sunday. The Mets have 4 players, Boston has 6, the most of any team in either the American or National League, the World Champion Phillies have 3, with the possibility of 1 more if outfielder Shane Victorino wins an online vote for the last spot on the NL roster. The Yankees have 3, none of whom is named Alex Rodriguez. Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez didn't make the NL team, either. And, in all honesty, that's the beauty of it all.
The fans voted Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria as the starter at 3rd base for the AL over "A-Rod", and his peers didn't even consider Rodriguez for a slot, since he missed the first few weeks of the season due to a hip injury. He's not in line for the final slot on the AL roster. Manny tumbled down to the middle of the pack among NL outfielders, but 2 of the starters, the Mets' Carlos Beltran & Philadelphia's Raul Ibanez, are doubtful due to injury. If the players, managers, & coaches didn't want Manny any more than the fans did, and he's not on the online ballot (teammate Matt Kemp is), well, what does that say about Ramirez, fresh from a 50-game suspension?
What it really says is that MLB and its fans don't want the All-Star Break clouded with constant questions about steroids as it relates to Ramirez & Rodriguez. It would create a gigantic distraction from the game itself, not to mention a public relations nightmare. Ramirez already has dug a hole having his agent, Scott Boras (who also represents Rodriguez, among others), with him for a pre-game press conference in San Diego on Friday. Ramirez didn't want to talk about steroid use, no doubt on the advice of Boras, who's also a practicing lawyer. Such defiance before Congress destroyed what chances Mark McGwire had of being elected to the Hall of Fame. Ramirez is on the slope, teetering. So is Sammy Sosa, who up until a month ago was so sure he'd be Cooperstown-bound. That is, until his name came up among the 103 players, along with Rodriguez, who'd tested positive 6 years ago for performance enhancers. You'd think they'd have learned from the sad examples of McGwire & Rafael Palmiero, both of whom damaged themselves before Congress 4 years ago (Sosa was also there), but they didn't.
As long as Manny keeps saying he doesn't want to talk about it, the media will apply more pressure and keep after him until he does agree to talk. And as desperate as some networks are for programming, I'd not be surprised if someone offered Ramirez & Boras more money than they'd ever need to do---gulp---a reality show. Yeah, that's the last thing MLB and its television partners need. And I hope it never comes to that.
The fans voted Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria as the starter at 3rd base for the AL over "A-Rod", and his peers didn't even consider Rodriguez for a slot, since he missed the first few weeks of the season due to a hip injury. He's not in line for the final slot on the AL roster. Manny tumbled down to the middle of the pack among NL outfielders, but 2 of the starters, the Mets' Carlos Beltran & Philadelphia's Raul Ibanez, are doubtful due to injury. If the players, managers, & coaches didn't want Manny any more than the fans did, and he's not on the online ballot (teammate Matt Kemp is), well, what does that say about Ramirez, fresh from a 50-game suspension?
What it really says is that MLB and its fans don't want the All-Star Break clouded with constant questions about steroids as it relates to Ramirez & Rodriguez. It would create a gigantic distraction from the game itself, not to mention a public relations nightmare. Ramirez already has dug a hole having his agent, Scott Boras (who also represents Rodriguez, among others), with him for a pre-game press conference in San Diego on Friday. Ramirez didn't want to talk about steroid use, no doubt on the advice of Boras, who's also a practicing lawyer. Such defiance before Congress destroyed what chances Mark McGwire had of being elected to the Hall of Fame. Ramirez is on the slope, teetering. So is Sammy Sosa, who up until a month ago was so sure he'd be Cooperstown-bound. That is, until his name came up among the 103 players, along with Rodriguez, who'd tested positive 6 years ago for performance enhancers. You'd think they'd have learned from the sad examples of McGwire & Rafael Palmiero, both of whom damaged themselves before Congress 4 years ago (Sosa was also there), but they didn't.
As long as Manny keeps saying he doesn't want to talk about it, the media will apply more pressure and keep after him until he does agree to talk. And as desperate as some networks are for programming, I'd not be surprised if someone offered Ramirez & Boras more money than they'd ever need to do---gulp---a reality show. Yeah, that's the last thing MLB and its television partners need. And I hope it never comes to that.
The Reality of Saying "No!"
Until maybe a year or so ago, few had heard of Jon & Kate Gosselin, the "stars", and I use that term loosely for a reason, of TLC's Jon and Kate Plus Eight. The eight in the title being their eight children. A set of twins and a set of sextuplets. TLC threw a bunch of money to the Gosselins so they could allow a camera crew to record every day of their lives so that a nation of voyeurs can learn everything about them. Whatever happened to ordinary people having private lives?
Over the last few months, though, the Gosselins have fallen victim to the darker side of tabloid media. They're in the process of a divorce, and TLC, smartly, put their popular show on hold while the Gosselins sort things out. Jon supposedly has a mistress? And they want her on the show? If that doesn't scream, "Jump the shark!", I don't know what does. TLC is better off, and so would the Gosselin family, to be honest with you, if they just cut bait and end the series, rather than continue to exploit the family for the sake of ratings and ad revenues.
Over on WE, there's something called Raising Sextuplets. And I've read that "Octomom" has been offered a reality show so she can extend her 15 minutes of fame. Please! Stop the pain! There are more important things that this country needs to concern itself with, like the economy and the situation in Iraq, for example. It's one thing if a celebrity agrees to do a reality show just for a quick payday, but for a cable network to offer money to an average family just because they have 6 or 8 or more children? One more reason that Hollywood has gone creatively bankrupt.
Over the last few months, though, the Gosselins have fallen victim to the darker side of tabloid media. They're in the process of a divorce, and TLC, smartly, put their popular show on hold while the Gosselins sort things out. Jon supposedly has a mistress? And they want her on the show? If that doesn't scream, "Jump the shark!", I don't know what does. TLC is better off, and so would the Gosselin family, to be honest with you, if they just cut bait and end the series, rather than continue to exploit the family for the sake of ratings and ad revenues.
Over on WE, there's something called Raising Sextuplets. And I've read that "Octomom" has been offered a reality show so she can extend her 15 minutes of fame. Please! Stop the pain! There are more important things that this country needs to concern itself with, like the economy and the situation in Iraq, for example. It's one thing if a celebrity agrees to do a reality show just for a quick payday, but for a cable network to offer money to an average family just because they have 6 or 8 or more children? One more reason that Hollywood has gone creatively bankrupt.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Celebrating the wrong kind of role model
There is one thing that I don't understand in regards to Manny Ramirez. He gets a 50-game ban from baseball for testing positive for banned substances, and yet, Major League Baseball allows the Los Angeles Dodgers to send Ramirez off on a rehab assignment about a week and a half before he was eligible to return to the Dodgers on July 3. Oh, of course, MLB knew what they were doing. Manny wasn't going alone. MLB Network and ESPNews did live cutaways to every Manny at-bat in every game he played. MLB wanted America to follow this story because of its insatiable appetite for scandal.
And therein lies the problem. Manny lost all claim to being a role model when he was busted. And, yet, MLB insists on marketing him because he already has a reputation as a feared slugger, a former American League batting champion, and, as evidenced in Boston at the end of his run there, a bit of a goof. "Manny being Manny" didn't just become a marketing tool by accident.
In contrast, Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez didn't go on a rehab assignment before being activated in May. I don't think the Steinbrenner family would've allowed it, no matter how much money MLB was willing to throw their way. Rodriguez hit a home run in his first at-bat of the season in Baltimore, and all is right in the world of the Yankees. They've stopped talking about the inordinately large amount of home runs flying out of Yankee Stadium II, and the Yankees are chasing ancient enemy Boston for first place in the AL East. However, in the cases of both "A-Rod" & Manny, the questions will persist over their use of performance enhancers for the rest of their careers. America wants to know. Not entirely true. Not everyone is actually that interested.
Here's another contrast. Philadelphia pitcher J. C. Romero began the season suspended for 50 games, also for using performance enhancers, but you didn't get a media blitz out of Philadelphia heralding his return. Romero is a relief pitcher, a lunch pail kind of guy, if you will. He's done his time, he's back at work as if nothing happened. His suspension is behind him.
So why all the fuss over Manny Ramirez & Alex Rodriguez? Here's the reasons:
1) They play in major media markets.
2) They're paid to hit home runs.
3) They're marketed as role models to kids, even after they've been busted, which means that
4) MLB still wants to make money off them.
Today, Fox joined in the love-fest for Manny by cutting to the Padres-Dodgers game during coverage of other regional action (i.e. Mets-Phillies). They only did it 4 times, 3 of them being Manny's at-bats. After recording a putout to end the home 5th, Ramirez was removed from the game. You can bet that tomorrow, it'll be more of the same.
Meanwhile, Manny's chances of making the National League All-Star team for the first time dimmed while he was away. The only chance he has now is if he's selected by either Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel, who managed Manny when both were in Cleveland several years back, or by a vote among managers, coaches, and, most importantly, fellow players. In all probability, that's how he makes the team. He won't be a starter, though 2 of the 3 outfield leaders, Philadelphia's Raul Ibanez and the Mets' Carlos Beltran, are on the DL and doubtful to play in the July 14 All-Star Game, making it remotely possible that Manny will be in the starting lineup. And that would be the wrong decision, because it sends the wrong message to the kids. It means that MLB is telling children that it doesn't matter if Manny got busted. He's still a role model in our eyes. In truth, Ramirez forfeited any claim to being a role model the minute he was placed on suspension.
But try telling that to Commissioner Allan Selig and the money-comes-first suits running Major League Baseball. To them, people like Manny Ramirez are like the used cars Selig sells in his Milwaukee dealership, and every so often, one of them comes up a lemon.
And therein lies the problem. Manny lost all claim to being a role model when he was busted. And, yet, MLB insists on marketing him because he already has a reputation as a feared slugger, a former American League batting champion, and, as evidenced in Boston at the end of his run there, a bit of a goof. "Manny being Manny" didn't just become a marketing tool by accident.
In contrast, Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez didn't go on a rehab assignment before being activated in May. I don't think the Steinbrenner family would've allowed it, no matter how much money MLB was willing to throw their way. Rodriguez hit a home run in his first at-bat of the season in Baltimore, and all is right in the world of the Yankees. They've stopped talking about the inordinately large amount of home runs flying out of Yankee Stadium II, and the Yankees are chasing ancient enemy Boston for first place in the AL East. However, in the cases of both "A-Rod" & Manny, the questions will persist over their use of performance enhancers for the rest of their careers. America wants to know. Not entirely true. Not everyone is actually that interested.
Here's another contrast. Philadelphia pitcher J. C. Romero began the season suspended for 50 games, also for using performance enhancers, but you didn't get a media blitz out of Philadelphia heralding his return. Romero is a relief pitcher, a lunch pail kind of guy, if you will. He's done his time, he's back at work as if nothing happened. His suspension is behind him.
So why all the fuss over Manny Ramirez & Alex Rodriguez? Here's the reasons:
1) They play in major media markets.
2) They're paid to hit home runs.
3) They're marketed as role models to kids, even after they've been busted, which means that
4) MLB still wants to make money off them.
Today, Fox joined in the love-fest for Manny by cutting to the Padres-Dodgers game during coverage of other regional action (i.e. Mets-Phillies). They only did it 4 times, 3 of them being Manny's at-bats. After recording a putout to end the home 5th, Ramirez was removed from the game. You can bet that tomorrow, it'll be more of the same.
Meanwhile, Manny's chances of making the National League All-Star team for the first time dimmed while he was away. The only chance he has now is if he's selected by either Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel, who managed Manny when both were in Cleveland several years back, or by a vote among managers, coaches, and, most importantly, fellow players. In all probability, that's how he makes the team. He won't be a starter, though 2 of the 3 outfield leaders, Philadelphia's Raul Ibanez and the Mets' Carlos Beltran, are on the DL and doubtful to play in the July 14 All-Star Game, making it remotely possible that Manny will be in the starting lineup. And that would be the wrong decision, because it sends the wrong message to the kids. It means that MLB is telling children that it doesn't matter if Manny got busted. He's still a role model in our eyes. In truth, Ramirez forfeited any claim to being a role model the minute he was placed on suspension.
But try telling that to Commissioner Allan Selig and the money-comes-first suits running Major League Baseball. To them, people like Manny Ramirez are like the used cars Selig sells in his Milwaukee dealership, and every so often, one of them comes up a lemon.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Diversity is a dirty word......
A common, disturbing trend among cable networks these days is to run marathons of certain popular shows every day. Marathons are supposed to be special events, reserved for, say, 1) holidays, 2) memorials of recently deceased cast members, or 3) anniversaries of when the series premiered.
The Sci-Fi Channel (To be rechristened SyFy beginning July 7, a genius move if there ever was one. NOT!!) uses holiday periods for extensive marathons of one specfically iconic series---The Twilight Zone. On a regular programming day, however, the network will run a block of episodes of a different series per day. It could be Zone one day, X-Files the next, and Dark Shadows the next. It used to be they'd have a more diverse lineup, with, for example, 2 episodes of Shadows in mid-morning, and other favorites like X-Files and Stargate SG-1 dotting the schedule. Not so anymore.
WE (Women's Entertainment) & Hallmark share the rights to Golden Girls, and each runs at least 2-3 hours worth in a row. For the children, Nickelodeon is notorious for airing daily blocks of hits like Spongebob Squarepants and Fairly Oddparents 7 days a week. They will tell you it's all about ratings. What the purists, like myself, will argue is that they are burning out their precious commodities with overexposure, still convinced that their target audience will just sit there and watch the same episodes 5 times in 3 days, or something to that effect.
Turning to the opposite extreme, niche channels like Cartoon Network risk alienating their core viewership by daring to step outside the box. Cartoon Network, in particular, has gradually added live-action programming completely unrelated to animation to their roster of late, the latest being a series of pseudo-reality shows under the "CN Real" umbrella. They've also acquired the not-so-trendy Slamball, a basketball game played with trampolines, that has bounced around from Spike to Versus and elsewhere since its launch 6 years ago. There's a reason that Slamball, the brainchild of former Philadelphia 76ers executive Pat Croce, has moved around. It's not a huge ratings draw, contrary to the feeble thinking of CN's suits.
CN would be fine if they restricted their live-action programming to movies that had some link to the cartoons on their roster (i.e. any "Batman" movie). Ben 10 got so hot, they decided to do 2 live-action movies based on the series, but something gets lost in the transition from toon to live-action. Who's programming the channel these days, anyway? Beavis & Butt-Head?
What the bosses at most of these networks fail to comprehend is that while they're trying to attract today's generation, older viewers are looking to these channels to find old series they haven't seen in a while. They don't get what they're looking for, so they tune out. So what if "reality" shows are cheap to produce. It's become a crutch to the suits that stifles creativity. It's time to go back to basics. Lose the marathons. Reality shows have long since jumped the shark. It's time to recognize who's really watching.
The Sci-Fi Channel (To be rechristened SyFy beginning July 7, a genius move if there ever was one. NOT!!) uses holiday periods for extensive marathons of one specfically iconic series---The Twilight Zone. On a regular programming day, however, the network will run a block of episodes of a different series per day. It could be Zone one day, X-Files the next, and Dark Shadows the next. It used to be they'd have a more diverse lineup, with, for example, 2 episodes of Shadows in mid-morning, and other favorites like X-Files and Stargate SG-1 dotting the schedule. Not so anymore.
WE (Women's Entertainment) & Hallmark share the rights to Golden Girls, and each runs at least 2-3 hours worth in a row. For the children, Nickelodeon is notorious for airing daily blocks of hits like Spongebob Squarepants and Fairly Oddparents 7 days a week. They will tell you it's all about ratings. What the purists, like myself, will argue is that they are burning out their precious commodities with overexposure, still convinced that their target audience will just sit there and watch the same episodes 5 times in 3 days, or something to that effect.
Turning to the opposite extreme, niche channels like Cartoon Network risk alienating their core viewership by daring to step outside the box. Cartoon Network, in particular, has gradually added live-action programming completely unrelated to animation to their roster of late, the latest being a series of pseudo-reality shows under the "CN Real" umbrella. They've also acquired the not-so-trendy Slamball, a basketball game played with trampolines, that has bounced around from Spike to Versus and elsewhere since its launch 6 years ago. There's a reason that Slamball, the brainchild of former Philadelphia 76ers executive Pat Croce, has moved around. It's not a huge ratings draw, contrary to the feeble thinking of CN's suits.
CN would be fine if they restricted their live-action programming to movies that had some link to the cartoons on their roster (i.e. any "Batman" movie). Ben 10 got so hot, they decided to do 2 live-action movies based on the series, but something gets lost in the transition from toon to live-action. Who's programming the channel these days, anyway? Beavis & Butt-Head?
What the bosses at most of these networks fail to comprehend is that while they're trying to attract today's generation, older viewers are looking to these channels to find old series they haven't seen in a while. They don't get what they're looking for, so they tune out. So what if "reality" shows are cheap to produce. It's become a crutch to the suits that stifles creativity. It's time to go back to basics. Lose the marathons. Reality shows have long since jumped the shark. It's time to recognize who's really watching.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Not even the Enquirer saw this one coming....
I was checking my e-mail at work earlier today and ran across a headline that reported that actor Karl Malden had passed away at 97. Most of us will remember Malden for the 70's crime drama, The Streets of San Francisco, co-starring Michael Douglas, and a series of commercials for American Express ("Don't leave home without it!"), but Malden was already a well respected and established film star by the time Quinn Martin had cast him in Streets.
The National Enquirer and other supermarket tabloids habitually will splash headlines claiming (fill in the blank)'s "sad last days", figuring if their readers recognize the name, they'll buy the rag and read the story. There were no such headlines forecasting Malden's passing. Rev. Phantom, posting on Mondo 70, admitted he didn't know Malden had lasted as long as he did. That sentiment, I suspect, is shared by so many because Malden had been out of the public eye the last several years. His last television appearance was nearly 10 years ago. It's almost a lock that Turner Classic Movies, assuming they have the rights, will air as many of Malden's films as possible in the coming days to honor his memory.
With all the media attention remaining focused obsessively on Michael Jackson, who passed away on June 25, Malden's death, and that of an early contemporary of his, Gale Storm (My Little Margie), will have all but slipped under the radar. There will be the obligatory mention on the news and entertainment programs, and that will be all. A week from now, we'll still be bombarded with "news", and I use the term loosely for a reason, about Jackson, while Malden will be resting in peace. Just the way he'd want it.
The National Enquirer and other supermarket tabloids habitually will splash headlines claiming (fill in the blank)'s "sad last days", figuring if their readers recognize the name, they'll buy the rag and read the story. There were no such headlines forecasting Malden's passing. Rev. Phantom, posting on Mondo 70, admitted he didn't know Malden had lasted as long as he did. That sentiment, I suspect, is shared by so many because Malden had been out of the public eye the last several years. His last television appearance was nearly 10 years ago. It's almost a lock that Turner Classic Movies, assuming they have the rights, will air as many of Malden's films as possible in the coming days to honor his memory.
With all the media attention remaining focused obsessively on Michael Jackson, who passed away on June 25, Malden's death, and that of an early contemporary of his, Gale Storm (My Little Margie), will have all but slipped under the radar. There will be the obligatory mention on the news and entertainment programs, and that will be all. A week from now, we'll still be bombarded with "news", and I use the term loosely for a reason, about Jackson, while Malden will be resting in peace. Just the way he'd want it.
Mr. Franken Goes to Washington
Around 1981, I think, when appearing on Saturday Night Live, Al Franken declared that the 80's were "The Al Franken Decade". It was in jest, of course, but now he stands poised to make the next one his for real.
On Tuesday, Franken was finally, formally declared the winner of the Senate race in Minnesota, defeating Republican challenger Norm Coleman by over 300 votes and after several recounts. Franken thus becomes the latest celebrity to successfully be elected to political office.
In the last 20 years, we've seen actors Ben Jones (ex-Dukes of Hazzard) and Fred Grandy (ex-Love Boat) and singer Sonny Bono elected to Congress. Former pro wrestler and actor Jesse Ventura ("Predator") was elected Governor of Minnesota 11 years ago, so that historical achievement gave Franken at the very least a fighting chance against Coleman. Heh, considering that Ventura's co-star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is the current Governor of California, what are the chances of another co-star, Carl Weathers, being elected down the road? I digress.
Franken's views skew liberal. He hosted a talk show on the now-defunct Air America radio network until last year (not readily available in upstate New York, insofar as I knew), when he stepped down to make his run for the Senate. It will be interesting to see what happens when he makes his first appearance on the C-Span networks during the next session of the US Senate. Especially in terms of Nielsen ratings, if any.
On Tuesday, Franken was finally, formally declared the winner of the Senate race in Minnesota, defeating Republican challenger Norm Coleman by over 300 votes and after several recounts. Franken thus becomes the latest celebrity to successfully be elected to political office.
In the last 20 years, we've seen actors Ben Jones (ex-Dukes of Hazzard) and Fred Grandy (ex-Love Boat) and singer Sonny Bono elected to Congress. Former pro wrestler and actor Jesse Ventura ("Predator") was elected Governor of Minnesota 11 years ago, so that historical achievement gave Franken at the very least a fighting chance against Coleman. Heh, considering that Ventura's co-star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is the current Governor of California, what are the chances of another co-star, Carl Weathers, being elected down the road? I digress.
Franken's views skew liberal. He hosted a talk show on the now-defunct Air America radio network until last year (not readily available in upstate New York, insofar as I knew), when he stepped down to make his run for the Senate. It will be interesting to see what happens when he makes his first appearance on the C-Span networks during the next session of the US Senate. Especially in terms of Nielsen ratings, if any.
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