If it isn't broken, why fix it?: Wonder Woman gets a new costume

DC Comics is going out of its way to alienate long time readers------again.

In the 90's, they thought they could make money out of killing off Superman and disabling the Batman---both for the short term. They targeted the speculator boom of the period, where would-be investors were buying more copies than they really needed of every trendy, "hot" book out there in order to make a profit. Less than a year later, the two iconic heroes were back, good as new.

Now, DC is messing with another of their iconic characters. This time, it's Wonder Woman, and all the fuss is over a wardrobe change, something that hasn't happened in several years.

Images released to the press on Tuesday presented what is supposed to be the Amazing Amazon's 21st century "new look", as designed by artist Jim Lee and envisioned by writer J. Michael Straczynski, who is also putting his stamp on Superman at the same time. Wonder Woman, it seems, has swapped her iconic costume for something more urban, including pants and a leather jacket. A recent storyline explains the change. It seems the gods of Olympus have changed the course of time, such that it alters Wonder Woman's very existence, once again removing her from the early days of the Justice League of America (which DC had previously done in the late 80's). Now, with little or no memory of her link to the gods, Wonder Woman has become another urban avenger.

That is just SO wrong on so many levels. Fans are already howling in protest, even before the first issue with the new look even hits stores. Nearly 70 years after her debut, Wonder Woman has had her wardrobe changed for only the 2nd time. The first attempt was in the late 60's, when the editors of the period re-envisioned her as DC's answer to Emma Peel (The Avengers). Frankly speaking, I'd rather have had a return to that particular look if there was to be a change at all. There are already fans predicting a return to the classic, star-spangled costume, within a year or less. With the 70th anniversary a year away, I'd say that prediction will indeed come true.

The only real, rational reason for the change, no matter how Straczynski tries to spin it, is that it comes down to----what else?----money, and how much DC can make by marketing the new look. Sorry, guys, but this one's an epic fail.

As a good idea falls apart.......

Vince McMahon just can't buy a break these days with the "1st season" graduates of his NXT series. First, Bryan Danielson (aka Daniel Bryan) was fired after violating guidelines regarding on-camera assaults on personnel that Danielson seemingly didn't know about. The groundswell of fan support for Danielson would seem to assure a return before the 90-day no compete clause in his contract expires. Given the latest developments, that return may have to be hastened, and quickly.

NXT season 1 winner Wade Barrett (real name, Stuart Sanders) was missing from last night's Monday Night Raw as well as house shows the preceding three days due to the fact that his work visa had expired. Barrett has returned to his native England to await the processing of a new visa that would allow him to return and continue the storyline.

As a result, the six remaining "graduates", now known as Nexus (not to be confused with a popular sci-fi comics series from the 80's), went forward without their established leader last night, adding former grapplers Rick Steamboat, Dean Malenko, Arn Anderson, Mike Rotundo (who had to remind folks of his alter-ego, Irwin R. Schyster, in a promo on Steamboat), and Michael Hayes, along with color analyst Jerry Lawler, to the list of victims. As the newsboards report, there is no timetable to determine Barrett's return, the latest pothole in what is arguably the hottest storyline WWE has had in years.

Meanwhile, over on Friday Night Smackdown, Scotland's Drew McIntyre (Drew Galloway) was "deported" in storyline on the June 25 episode, but in real life, McIntyre is also dealing with visa issues, and has returned to Scotland, leaving behind new bride Taryn Terrell (former ECW GM turned WWE diva Tiffany) while he sorts out his issues. In all honesty, McIntyre's spoiled brat gimmick had seemingly run its course. That he had to leave his wife for the duration suggests that marrying an American citizen doesn't always mean you're exempt from deportation, contrary to what we've seen in a number of movies over the years.

Back to the Nexus. It seemed fitting that they systematically picked off their victims, one by one, last night. It isn't their fault that a different kind of system, for good or bad, is picking them off, one by one, in the short term. Barrett will most assuredly be back, for the sake of keeping the storyline alive and kicking. His case, and that of McIntyre, speaks to the inability of McMahon to cover all the bases. He had to know their visas were expiring, and should've pushed to have them renewed before the expiration dates passed. Had the visas been renewed, things might be different than what we've seen over the last four nights.

A year ago, TNA had the same problem with Canada's Angelina Love (Angel Williams), who has since returned after settling her visa issues. Again, a glaring lack of due diligence in addressing the paperwork of visa renewals resulted in a key player being forced off stage, as it were, forcing the creative team to scramble to create a solution. Now, WWE has that same problem, times two, staring them in the face. When McIntyre returns, he has to undergo a gimmick change, since his role as a whiny, spoiled brat who ran to McMahon every time things didn't go his way rubbed people the wrong way very quickly. Barrett is an even more valuable player, as he has the presence and charisma to carry the Nexus gimmick. The other 6 collectively don't.

The only positive that comes out of this is that it ensures that the Nexus angle on Raw will last into the fall, perhaps culminating at Survivor Series in November. Renewing a work visa isn't a quick process, and WWE is preparing to move forward without Barrett & McIntyre for the duration, however long it is. McIntyre's absence from Smackdown had been teased for some time, especially since he was married last month, but had held off on a honeymoon.

So, what else could go wrong now?

Will soccer ever accept the 21st century?

While the United States was eliminated from the World Cup soccer tournament over the weekend, the tournament remains mired in controversy over----what else?----poor officiating.

In the course of its 4 games, Team USA had two goals taken away, and in each case, an argument can be made that it could've turned the tide of battle. But the ineptitude of soccer referees seemed to peak in Sunday's game between England and Germany. England had a goal scored that went undetected by the referee, especially when the German goalkeeper put the ball right back in play before the official even realized a goal had been scored. Germany went on to win the game, 4-1, eliminating England.

Throughout the tournament, FIFA top gun Sepp Blatter has remain firm in his belief that soccer doesn't need instant replay like everyone else. Sorry, Sepp, but it's time FIFA got in line with every other sports governing body and embraced modern technology.

The only other major sport I can think of that doesn't seem to require instant replay is golf, for obvious reasons. It doesn't really need it. With all of the scrutiny in the World Cup, it's increasingly clear that soccer needs it, and as was discussed on ESPN's Around The Horn & Pardon The Interruption, the most likely use of replay would be on goals, same as in hockey. And I'd not be surprised if there have been missed offsides calls in hockey, just as there have been during the World Cup.

Even when the tournament ends, the controversy will linger over replay. Regardless of where the tournament is played in 2014, FIFA has 4 years to finally recognize the need for replay. It may be the only way soccer will ever be accepted in America in the 21st century.

It's not a good idea to take a good joke too far........

Over the last three nights, the NY-Penn League's Tri-City Valleycats hosted division rival Vermont, and had a little bit of fun on their video screen with the Lake Monsters' lineup. 4 different players had their pictures substituted with others of significantly higher value. To wit:

Outfielder Connor Rowe had cable personality & Ford pitchman Mike Rowe (Dirty Jobs) appearing on the video screen. Catcher Cole Leonida was subbed with "King Leonidas" from the movie "300". Infielder Blake Kelso was replaced on the board by actor-producer Ashton Kutcher ("Killers"), who played Michael Kelso on That 70's Show, and Stephen King, another infielder, had his picture subbed with that of the more famous author of the same name. Oh, sure, the 'Cats' graphics department thought they were being cute and clever, and had the joke only been used the first night (Wednesday), it'd have been fine, but as I found out after talking with some random team staffers, they stretched it across all three games. Vermont won Wednesday & Friday's games, taking the series 2-1. Karmic justice, you would think, but since the Lake Monsters are due to return to Troy later this summer, I would expect more of the same. Fun is fun, but this kind of joke is best kept in smaller doses.

Of course, the Valleycats are the same team that hired a Bob Sheppard impersonator to do one inning of PA announcements when the Staten Island Yankees were in town in 2006 & 2008.

In hindsight, the joke might actually have worked better had the team had a deal in place with Time Warner Cable to have their games shown on TV. The Valleycats discontinued radio broadcasts after the '08 season, and don't even have their internet broadcasts issued over the loudspeakers in the restrooms this year. Since they're a consistently solid draw, it's not a real issue, but don'tcha think they could spare a little extra coin to service the fans that can't go on the road with the team? Food for thought.

Too bad it wasn't a ninja turtle.....

Yahoo! is reporting the story of a 10 year old girl who was forced to leave her pet turtle behind when she boarded a flight from Atlanta to Milwaukee on Tuesday. The turtle, named for one of the characters in the hit movie, "Avatar", is only 2 inches long, and was kept in a cage, but the airline at the last minute ruled that the turtle couldn't be on board in the cabin with its owner and her sisters.

The poor girl was forced to put the turtle, cage & all, in the garbage rather than wait for another flight. Her father, whom she was visiting, would come and get the turtle, but an airline employee picked up the turtle to take home. Airline officials cited health reasons, specifically a report by the Center for Disease Control that claimed that turtles likely could carry salmonella.

Thankfully, this story has a happy ending. The turtle was shipped as cargo to Milwaukee on Thursday, but the airline may be hearing from PETA soon, and for once, PETA can do something constructive. We hope. I guess none of the airline employees were Braves fans.........!

Suing for attention

I just read an article on Yahoo! that illustrates yet again just how obsessively litigous our society has become.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is threatening to file a lawsuit against McDonald's, alleging that the fast-food chain's Happy Meal toys are partially responsible for the rise in child obesity.

Give me a break!!! So-called "watchdog" groups like CSPI pop up like pimples, claiming they are acting in the best interests of children, but the truth of the matter is, they just want people to know they're out there in a mad grab for 15 minutes of fame. The article notes that CSPI's last high profile lawsuit was 4 years ago against Kellogg's, which prompted the cereal giant to revamp their product. However, going after McDonald's reads more like a case of golddigging.

To tell you the truth, I didn't even know about the Kellogg's case until I read the article. McDonald's has had the Happy Meals around for nearly 40 years, and while there might've been a few problems with the toys because of safety issues, such as the recent recall of "Shrek"-related items, I don't see much correlation between the toys and kids gaining weight. Yes, we're becoming more health-conscious as a society, but we don't need another group of busy-bodies trying to dictate what we can eat. We have brains, we can decide for ourselves, thank you very much!

What CSPI would probably be happy with is if they add salads to the Happy Meals. Maybe that'll happen, but I'd rather that it was a decision made by McDonald's without the prompting of a bunch of get-a-lifes with nothing better to do than chase publicity.

Yellow journalism was never this bad

The other day, I received 3 issues of The Sovereign, a New York based monthly tabloid whose headlines make the Weekly World News read more like Mad Magazine.

Included in the package were some postcards from the editors, and on one of the postcards was a short inscription that stated that the issues were a gift from my pen pal in Long Island, whom we'll call "Donald" to protect his identity. "Donald", you see, is a conspiracy buff, just like the Sovereign's editors, and, despite my repeated advice not to send me anything without asking first, decided it'd be a good idea to send me the three issues of the rag. The anti-Obama headlines turned me off immediately. When "Donald" e-mailed me the next day to tell me about a flier he sent, also unsolicited, I notified him that I was not happy with the newspaper, and repeated yet again that he should ask first before doing something like this. Whether he actually heeds the advice this time remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, the advice I have for the editors of the Sovereign and their loyal readers is rather simple. Get a life.