Month: April 2015

The Spotlight On Wrestling Podcasts- 4/13 to 4/17 

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I’ve been listening to wrestling podcasts now for quite some time.  If you’re going to get into where it all started it was probably back in 2003 when I was in Orlando, Florida visiting my grandfather. My grandfather  had fallen ill and unfortunately passed away while we were in town visiting him for about a month.  During this period of time, I noticed a show on Orlando’s 740 the team called Between The Ropes which was a local weekly radio show dedicated to professional wrestling.  I immediately jumped on my computer and saw that BTR had a website and had a list of all of their past episodes.  I was instantly hooked! This was way before the days of podcasts and BTR was a great show. Hosts Fritz, Dickerman & Vito ( and sometimes D’Lo Brown) got me through a tough time. The show was a two hour long program that broke all the news of wrestling & mma. During the second hour they were usually an interview featuring WWE superstars, independent wrestlers or members of the wrestling media. BTR introduced me to a whole new side of the wrestling industry, it was no longer just about Raw & Smackdown, rather there was a whole community out there.   Of course, this probably doesn’t fully count as a podcast because it was a radio show but I do still enjoy much of BTR host, Brian Fritz’s stuff.  If we’re going strictly podcating, I’d say it started in 2010 when I first started listening to Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling.  I was seeing a girl who lived in Woodbridge, New Jersey and so I would travel from Queens, NY two to three times per week and spent four-six hours in the car each time. With Cabana always being one of my favorite wrestlers,  I instantly became hooked to his podcast because it really gave an inside perspective to the world of independent wrestling and the conversations were always so fun.  Over the past two years wrestling podcasts have exploded.  I never would have thought we’d hear from Chris Jericho & Stone Cold Steve Austin as podcast hosts each week. Wrestling podcasts continue to grow at such a clip it’s both exciting and intimidating.  With this column I’m going to point out three podcasts from last week that you should go out of your way to listen to and, if applicable, a podcast or two that you could skip this week. My goal here is not only to focus on the more known wrestling podcasts but also to maybe find a podcast or two for you that you may not know about. So, without any further ado, let’s get into three highlights from last week.

Highlights:
1)  In The Pit With Piper with Ronda Rousey- 4/13/2015-  Show of hands who knew Rowdy Roddy Piper had a podcast every week?  It’s ok if you didn’t as for whatever reason Roddy’s podcast hasn’t caught on as much as the other ones have, at least not right away.  Truth be told, Roddy’s podcast has really started to get better and this past week’s podcast was my favorite thus far.  Ronda Rousey is absolute pleasure to listen to and you can tell the mutual admiration that both Rowdy ones have for one another.  What I found interesting was that Piper actually gave the Rowdy moniker to Rousey.  The conversation also touches on Ronda’s future with the WWE which should provide some optimism to wrestling fans around the world.  A fun listen all around and you can find Roddy’s podcast every Monday at podcastone.com
2) The Ross Report with Shawn Michaels- 4/14/2015-  I know that Shawn has really made the podcast rounds lately as he promotes his new book and it gets to a point of how much you can listen to one guy but I really like his appearance on The Ross Report.  Ross was really in his element asking Shawn questions you don’t hear during every interview.  In particular, Ross gets into shawn’s in ring return while training talents prior to his return to the WWE as well as what plans would have been had Shawn stuck around post Wrestlemania 14.  Fun listen and the Ross Report can be found Tuesday evenings on podcastone.com
3) The Human Podcast Machine with Todd Grisham- 4/14/2015– If there’s one podcast I’m really enjoying, it’s The Human Podcast Machine with Taz.  Taz has such a knack for this podcasting world and makes for a great host.  His shows are always pretty light hearted and good for a laugh.  His episode with former WWE play by play man, and current ESPN anchor, Todd Grisham is actually one of his best.  Grisham may have come across on camera as a little bland but he’s actually got a great personality and hearing the two catch up was a pleasure to listen to.
Lowlights:
1) Talk Is Jericho with Team Tiger Awesome- 4/15/2015-  I usually love Chris’ show and I’m sure his interview with William Regal is great but Team Tiger Awesome didn’t do much for me.  If you’re thinking it’s because they aren’t wrestlers, that isn’t the case as I’ve enjoyed countless episodes of TIJ with his non wrestling guests, this one just seemed a little too much self promotion.  Jericho is the king of self promotion and does it so well that I got his book and new Fozzy record based on what I heard on TIJ!  That said I would have preferred this interview be a sub interview to go along with a bigger interview guest as I didn’t think over 90 minutes on Jericho’s new Comdedy Central gig was necessary.
That’s going to do it for this week, I’ll be back next Monday with my picks from this past week.  Until then, go out there and listen to some podcasts!

The Spotlight Sports Pick Of The Day- 4/22/2015

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Spotlight Sports Pick Of The Day- Brooklyn Nets (+10.5)

I have nothing but respect for what the Atlanta Hawks have done this season.  Going undefeated for an entire month and coming from, seemingly, out of nowhere to finish first place in the East.  The Nets, on the hand, limped into the playoffs and have underachieved all season.  Thus, this pick may be a bit puzzling but I feel that once you get to the playoffs it’s an entirely different ballgame.  The Nets have been to the playoffs over the past three seasons with the same core of payers and have had some success.  Before game 1 on Sunday, the Hawks hadn’t even played a competitive game in over a month.  I’m not saying that the Nets are going to win but I do expect them to keep it close and if they do push the Hawks it’ll be interesting to see how the Hawks respond.  Regardless, more than 10 points is something I’m willing to jump on and pick Brooklyn and their veterans in this one.

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The Spotlight On Today’s Sports- 4/22/2015

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Hello everyone and welcome to the Spotlight on Sports for Wednesday, April the 23rd, 2015. Yesterday, our spotlight ended up living up to the hype, at least two thirds of it, as the Isles & Capitals went into Overtime again and the Rockets & Mavs also lived up to its billing as it seems like the Mavericks are fading fast in that series. Let’s jump into what’s in store for later this evening.

1) Ace’s Wild- It’s the battle of bitter rivals tonight as the San Francisco Giants play host to the LA Dodgers and to make things even better Clayton Kershaw will be opposed by Madison Bumgarner. It’s the reigning Cy Young Award winner vs the Reigning World Series MVP for the first time this season.  While both men are off to less than stellar starts, if you’re a fan of old fashioned pitching duels, this one is sure to fit your fancy.

 

2) Will “They Let A Spaniard Beat Them Again?”- One of the biggest headlines to come out of any NBA playoff series thus far were that the Portland Trail Blazers had posted anti Spanish signs in their vistors locker room prior to game one of their first round series with the Memphis Grizzlies. Obviously this is in reference to Grizzlies star forward Marc Gasol. If game one was any indication, however, the Trail Blazers should not be concerned with one player’s heritage but rather how one sided game one was. If this revelation about the signs provides any more motivation for the Grizzlies, Id expect a quick series and an ugly Game 2 for Portland.

3) 10 Straight?!?!- Quickly, can anyone tell me the three teams tied for the best record in baseball? Well, one is the defending American League champion Kansas City Royals, second is the high powered Detroit Tigers and the third is the…New York Mets?!?! Yep the New York Mets are sitting pretty atop the National League East with an 11-3 record and have done so after losing Stud pitcher Zack Wheeler for the season, Captain David Wright and Catcher Travis D’Arnaud to injury. How good have the Mets been? Well not only have the Mets won 9 straight games but they’ve all been in division. The Mets will try to keep this feel good start to the season going as they host the Braves tomorrow night and look for their tenth straight win!

That’s going to do it for me today but Id encourage everyone to check out the Spotlight Sports Pick Of The Day if you’re looking to make your sports day a little more interesting. If you don’t agree with my three highlights of the day, feel free to leave your choices in the comments section.

The Spotlight On WWE Raw Albany- 4/20/2015

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Hello Everyone and welcome to the spotlight on WWE Raw where every Tuesday we’ll have your highights and lowlights from the previous night’s episode.  Now I shoud make it clear that highlights include anything that I personally enjoyed and that I feel like you should go out of your way to see.  Lowlights, on the other hand, can either be something on the show that didn’t work for me whether it be a bad match or bad booking, something you won’t miss much of if you decided to skip that portion of show or maybe just something that all around left an overall bad feeling for whatever the reason.  With that out of the way let’s get into Raw.

The highlights 

1) RKO Outta Nowhere- I loved the use of Randy Orton last night as I felt that by delviering a promise in the beginning of the show that Rany would RKO everyone before finally getting to Rollins, then hitting people with an RKO throughout the course of the night before finally delivering an RKO to Rollins at the end of the night was all great.  It gave fans tuning in at 8 pm that hook, then kept them engaged throughout the show wondering where he would show up next (the highlight for me being catering) and then delivering that payoff at the end of the show was a great way to lay out Raw and get everyone ready for Extreme Rules on Sunday.

2) The Big Red Machine–  I really enjoyed the Kane stuff last night especially his passionate promo against Seth Rollins.  I felt this was the best thing Kane has done since he feuded with Bray Wyatt.  Say what you will about Kane but it seems like the people really want to see him in a babyface role.  I even thought his match with Cena was pretty good and I like that Cena acted very serious for his match with Kane as he had with every US title open challenge.  I’m just hoping like anything that this is not some kind of Authority setup because we just went through that with Rollins a weeks before Wrestlemania.

3) Ambrose and Harper– These guys are just a joy to watch and they remind me to the days of the hardcore division that has been missing from WWE over the last several years.  Ambrose and Harper are both so good and fearless in some of the things they do.  I liked that they brawled around the arena and appreciate the sacrifices both of them take seemingly every time out. 

The Lowlights

1) The Battle For “The Miz”- I’m not sure what I was expecting but it was more than this. Miz & Mizdow had been, what I thought, a great feud with tons of momentum behind them following their breakup at the Royal Rumble. Fast forward just a little more than three weeks & their first blow off match doesn’t even happen on a pay per view and is given just a little more than five minutes here. The ending was also predictable as I don’t think anyone believed Summer Rae was going to be featured against her Marine 4 co star. Then in the end the Miz (who I really feel can be a main event heel for WWE) became a bit player in Randy Orton’s onslaught & did quite possibly the silliest face after taking an RKO. In the end, I just hope these two don’t get lost in the shuffle now that their feud is done, especially Sandow who I thought was on the verge of something good. 

2) Bo Dallas- I liked his promo, I always have, but to me it’s just a shame that their isn’t more to be done with Bo Dallas. I’m in no way suggesting he should have gotten one over on Roman Reigns but to me there’s more to Bo than a comedy heel. Prior to NXT’s rise on the Network, Dallas was a focal point of the brand and I hope he gets a little more juice moving forward. It’s especially sad that while Sheamus got months of build for his return, that Dallas got nothing at all. He’s young, he’s great on the mic & solid in the ring. I hope WWE notices all of this as well. 

3) “Kiss Me Arse”- Sheamus has been on fire since his return to the company as a badass heel. Likewise, Dolph Ziggler has also looked like a cranked up a notch star since the two have been feuding over the last several weeks. I’m sure that the two of them will have a great match on Sunday but that “Kiss Me Arse” stipulation is rubbing me the wrong way. That is a stipulation that should be reserved for the likes of Santino Marella or Henry Godwin, not two former world champions. 

That’s going to do it for me this week but before I go I would like to wish a speedy recovery to Daniel Bryan. I hope that the injury is minor as I would hate to see Bryan go through anymore turmoil in his life. 

Spotlight Sports Pick of The Day- 4/21/2015

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Spotlight Sports Pick of the Day- Cleveland Cavaliers (-11)

The Cleveland Cavaliers came out of the gate on Sunday afternoon looking pretty sluggish to say the least.  It looked like they were running through mud as their shots weren’t falling and for the first quarter and a half of the game it looked like we were gettng set for a nice series between the Cavs and the Upstart Boston Celtics.  Then reality set in and it looked like the Cavs started to take there team a lot more seriously and stopped messing around.  The Reality here is that the Cavs are way too much for the Celtics.  They’re not just Lebron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love but rather they are stacked with so much depth and can beat you so many ways.  Even after their slow start on Sunday, the Cavs still won going away and will do so again tonight.  I don’t like big spreads (I picked the Nets and won on them simply going against that big spread) but I willing to roll with it tonight.