Transformers!

STOLEN:  ONE (1) BLASTER THE AUTOBOT COMMUNICATOR TRANSFORMER.  JANESVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS ON THE CASE!!!!!!!!!!!

Everybody has stories they remember from elementary school.  I will never forgot a few of mine.  A.  Paula Roenenberg giving me a lolipop and a kiss on the cheek the last day of 3rd grade then never seeing her again (still waiting for her to come back...)  B.  Waiting for music class in 6th grade only to throw up, miss the garbage can and have Deucer Slavin say 'Wow Wilmot, that's the only shot I've ever seen you miss.' (Stud basketball player I was).  C.  Watching Billy Frye put pins on the seat of our substitute teacher in 3rd grade and just laughing along with everybody else instead of helping out the poor, old sub; not the fearless leader I am now obviously....

This next story, or nightmare I should say, has haunted me for the last 20 years.  Picutre this:  6th grade 1986-87.  Second floor of Roosevelt Elementary School.  Transformers at the time were a big deal.  We had grown out of G.I. Joe's, Cabbage Patch Kids and all the other kiddie toys.  We had moved on to the amazing Transformers.  Can you imagine 12-year-olds with a new toy that is not only a car but could change into a robot?  CAN YOU IMAGINE THAT?  No, neither could I.  My family wasn't able to go out and buy every new toy that hit Toys r Us so I couldn't run and get the Transformer I wanted.  I honestly can't even tell you the name of my favorite one (found it online, Autobot Communicator which I so elequently posted above).  It was a boom box that transformed into a gun.  It was great.  To me, it was the coolest toy the world had ever seen.  So here's what happened:

I traded to a friend of mine some baseball cards that were worth a good bit of money for the Transformer boom box/gun.  I was in heaven.  The next day I took it to school and it wasstolen out of my locker.  I will never ever forget my favorite toy.  I will find another sometime soon on ebay.  I just realized this story is kind of lame.  Very important to me in 6th grade. 

In conclusion, if you are 32 and still have a ringing in your soul to still be a kid and want to see Transformers: The Movie this coming Wednesday, then do it.  I know I will.

R.I.P. Chris Benoit and Family

Over the weekend, one of the best wrestlers in the history of the World Wrestling Federation took his wife and son's lives in a despicable act, then took his own.  It's an incredibly sad story that happens every day in America.  What sets this story apart is that Chris Benoit was, as his peers call him, "the dad you always wanted to have," Bill Apter a pro-wresting writer and friend of Benoit, told FOX News.

This is another death the wrestling industry, World Wrestling Entertainment, CEO and President Vince McMahon in particular, is going to have to explain.  Trace Gallagher on Fox News Tuesday afternoon said 'somebody is going to have to face the music.'  With 60 deaths of wrestlers under the age of 45, most coming through the WWE, the hammer, I believe, should fall on Vince McMahon.

Far too many wrestlers from McMahon's organization have passed away too soon.  Benoit, Brian Pillman, Eddie Guerrero, Crash Holly, Kerry Von Erich, Chris Candido, Yokozuna, Davey Boy Smith, Terry Gordy, Rick Rude, Big Boss Man, Earthquake, Mike Awesome, Dino Bravo, Curt Hennig, Dick Murdoch, Bam Bam Bigelow, Junkyard Dog, Big John Studd, Andre the Giant and Michael Hegstrand (Hawk of the Road Warrirors) to name a few.  This is just a short list of popular WWE wrestlers who have passed away.

Picturing most of these wrestlers I can tell you I'd bet 90% of them were on steroids, which are illegal and were found in Benoit's home. Steroid's lead to 'roid rage.'  Roid Rage on BodyBuildingPro.com is defined as the popular name given to the uncontrolled outburst of anger and violence exhibited by anabolic steroid users. Despite never being proven by the medical community, the term is continuously exaggerated by the mainstream media (this might also be known as Red Bull here in Madison, Wisconsin).

Yes, wrestlers have the choice to take steroids, but as Gallagher said 'the bigger you get, the badder you get, the more money you make.'  Do you really think Mr. McMahon was telling his guys not to take steroids knowing they are illegal?  Me neither.

R.I.P.Chris Benoit, Nancy Daus and 7-year-old Daniel Benoit. (Benoit had two children, David and Megan, through another marriage who were not at the house at the time of the murders).

** THZ.com has a photo gallery of wrestlers who have passed away.

 

Summer Readin' (Until the Fall)

 Thank you Street & Smith's for putting a Sooner on the cover....at least in that region.  In Madison, we get a Buckeye on the cover.  That should never happen.

For me, the Fall can't come soon enough.  I'm sorry but baseball is not fun to watch on tv.  Going to a game?  Now that's fun.  Tour de France?  Lance is done so I really don't watch that anymore.  Golf?  The British Open I'll watch having been there a bunch of times.  What else is there?  Having played, coached and taught tennis for the last 25 years the French Open and Wimbledon are fun, but come on...it's not college football.  I know it, you know it, the country knows it.  Granted, the NBA Draft is this Thursday and with With that, I'm going to run down my top eight reasons that I can not wait for the fall to get here.

My Top Eight Reasons I Can Not Wait For The Fall:

1.  With a No. 3 ranking in Street & Smith's preseason magazine, Wisconsin has a chance to be better than they were last year when they were 13-1.  Giddy up.

2.  The English Premiership starts and, thankfully, it starts in mid-August.  Can Man U repeat?  Can Chelsea regain the title?  Arsenal lost Thierry Henry.  Will they drop out of the top four in the league?  Yes, I can't wait for the Premier League to start again.  Can you tell?

3.  NFL.  Yes, our Packers seem to have no chance of making the playoffs (where is the running back to replace Ahman Green?), but as my friend Josh always says...well, he really doesn't say anything in particular, but he loves the NFL and his love of it makes me love it.  Or something...

4.  MLB Playoffs.  Yes, they do go into the winter now, but they do actually start in the fall.  Thus something I am looking forward to in the Fall.

5.  Ironman Wisconsin.  Every time I hear about this or see a participant I want to sign up.  Do I think my body can withstand the torture?  Doubtful.  Would be an amazing experience though.

6.  Wisconsin foliage.  I am not gay and I just used the word foliage.  Is that alright?  Should I leave it?  I am a big enough man to know I have a feminine side.  Either way, Madison in the fall is awesome.

7.  College basketball practice starts and, for me, that's better than almost any other sport that is in season. 

8.  THE NHL.  YES, I LOVE THE NHL!!!  BOY, I CAN'T WAIT FOR IT TO START AGAIN.  Wait, has the season ended?  Could really care less, I just can't think of anything else I am looking forward to in the fall.  If I do think of something, I'll delete this one and put it here. 

8A.  The US Open.  This almost isn't fun anymore because Roger Federer will completely dominate this tournament again.  NHL trumps US Open.

** The NBA Draft is this Thursday, June 28 and the Portland Trailblazers have a huge decision on their hands.  Durant or Oden.  Granted, Oden is the man and he'd solidy the middle in Portland for years to come, but if you remember the 'Blazers had the No. 1 pick in 1985 and they went with a center, Sam Bowie, instead of a great guard, Michael Jordan.  Portland's management, after working out both players earlier this week, said Durant's workout for the team was 'one of the best we've ever seen by anybody.' 

Oden is NOT Sam Bowie.  Enough said. 

 This is a great billboard put up by an evangelist earlier this week.

Never Too Soon To Talk College Football

I look forward to fall more than any other time of year (except for March).  Knowing that each week counts if you want to play for a National Title makes every game huge.  It's only June and two full months until the season starts, but there are at least ten teams that have a shot at winning it all. 

My Top Eight College Football Questions for 2007:

1.  Here in Madison, the Badgers are ranked as high as No. 4 in preseason mags.  Doesn't matter who is quarterback (Donovan or Evridge), Camp Randall will be rocking.  Can Wisconsin win the Big 10?  Heck, let's aim higher.   The National Title? 

2.  Can the Lebron James of high school football, Jimmy Clausen, walk into South Bend and lift the Irish to places (recently) unknown?  Sure, Brady Quinn was good.  Jimmy Clausen is much better. But will Clausen get the surrounding cast to bring a National Title in Notre Dame in the next few years?  All I ask of the BCS is not to put the Irish into a BCS game if they aren't worthy.  Is that so much to ask? 

3.  Will Ohio State be able to replace Troy Smith, Ted Ginn, Antonio Pittman and Anthony Gonzalex and stay at the top of the Big 10?  No.  Next question.

 'What?  Me worry?'

4.  What can Nick Saban do with Bama?  This year the SEC, along with every other year, is far too strong for Saban to lift the Crimson Tide in the upper tier of the best conference in college football.

5.  Can Hawaii QB Colt Brennan throw for 5000 yards this year?  I wouldn't put it past him.  He is in the right offense, has a great arm and wide receivers who can fly.  Not that we'll ever get to see any of his games when they start at midnight here in the Midwest.

 Can this be John David Booty's year?

6.  Who is the best team in the country?  USC?  Florida?  Can John David Booty take the Trojans to Matt Leinert territory?  Can Tim Tebow actually throw the ball?  Yes and yes.  But who wins the National Title? 

7.  Yes, Arkansas has the best player in college football (Darren McFadden), but can Coach Houston Nutt keep his job into 2008?  Best recruits leaving, parents fuming, playbooks going up in smoke, etc.  Houston Nutt isn't going to be able to win enough in the SEC to keep his job after this season.

8.  Who wins the Big 12?  Sophomore Colt McCoy returns for just his second season in Austin and has a fantastic offense around him (think Limas Sweed, Selvin Young, Jamaal Charles, etc).  Who replaces Paul Thompson as Oklahoma's QB? 

** I'd like to have a question about the Heisman Trophy, but since the player who wins the award never amounts to jack squat, I'll pass on that one.

The Sopranos!

Did we really expect Tony Soprano to sleep with the fishes?  Did we really think he would rat out his mafia family and go into the Witness Protection Program?  Fahgetaboutit!

In a classic Soprano murder, Brooklyn Boss Phil Leotardo and his wife were at a gas station.  Phil got out of the car, was shot in the head and, with the car still in drive, was run over.  Don't mess with Soprano.

Tony lives!  A reunion show or movie down the line would be fantastic.