So, I was delaying doing this as the WWE has another five entries into the Rumble to announce but I may not get a chance tomorrow so I'm going to assume none of those five will be a surprise winner.
This year, we have a little bit of a fuzzy picture with the Orton/Hardy match. As much as I'd love to see it and will mark like a school girl if it happens, I just don't see Jeff picking up the gold. So, these picks are done assuming Orton and Edge are your champs.
Without further adieu, my annual Rumble picks...
First, my picks for the "surprise entrants." We go into Sunday morning with five open spots. I'm picking a returning Big Show for one, Legends Slaughter and Simmons, and pulling double-duty Flair and MVP. I'll include them in my breakdown.
The Bottom Of The Barrel
----
Bob Holly - he's good for a beatdown spot on Cody to put over the "Every man for himself" but he's not gonna sniff victory
Cody Rhodes - See above
The Miz - he and Morrison might do the partners beating each other up spot instead but nothing will ever match Ax and Smash beating each other up in '89.
Snitsky - I miss babykicking Snitsky
Carlito - Ahhh, how the mighty have fallen.
Santino Marella - he's got the gimmick and the character down but the ringwork won't hold up yet
Tommy Dreamer - not even sure how Tommy gets in there but he's got no chance
Chuck Palumbo - Nice angle on Smackdown but feuding with Jamie Noble doesn't line you up for the World Title
Jamie Noble - insert "Palumbo" in the sentence above
Sgt. Slaughter - do I need to explain this?
Ron Simmons - DAMN!
What's Left Of the Glass
----
Mark Henry - I think they're past the Henry as World Title contender phase. He should get a couple nice power eliminations but nothing of note.
Kane - Kane has gotten to the spot where he almost gets a World Title program every year or two but he'd never be considered as a Rumble winner unless the perfect angle came up or perhaps if he was retiring.
John Morrison - I think Morrison is a future superstar for the WWE but this year, he's just a part of a very entertaining tag team and doesn't stand much hope unless they decide to really put over ECW and let Morrison challenge for that title at Mania.
Shelton Benjamin - He's getting a pretty good push but unless ECW is in for a big push, not going to happen this year.
Getting Closer
----
Mick Foley - I suppose it's always possible that we might see Foley challenge for a big title again but most likely he's there for a comedy spot, add some star power, and possibly set up a Mania match if there's one to be done [I vote Foley/Umaga Street Fight.]
Finlay - The only thing that gives Finlay an outside chance is the Vince angle but I can't imagine Finlay/Orton or Finlay/Edge main eventing Mania. His purpose in the Rumble is to do most of the work for Hornswoggle to set up whatever angle that's going to develop.
Mr. Kennedy - If he hadn't had the suspension, I would say it might be possible. But he got sidetracked so badly because of it, he still hasn't recovered.
Great Khali - He's there for the giant spots. Nothing more. Some big elims. A lot of Finlay/Hornswoggle interactions. But he's not getting the World Title match on the big show.
Big Daddy V - See above minus the Irishmen.
MVP - I think MVP is destined to finish the Matt Hardy angle at Mania so this isn't his year... maybe next year.
Big Show - if he's in this, I'd say he's Regal and Vince's attempt to eliminate HHH from the match. He might be there at the end but he's not winning it.
Almost There
----
Umaga - The only chance he has is if Rey or Hardy pull off wins. Hardy's his best chance but even with that, I can't imagine they'd run this match again already. It'd be a great one but not likely.
CM Punk - Again, unless ECW is getting a huge push with the Rumble winner picking an ECW Title shot, I just don't think Punk is there yet. A couple more years under his belt, perhaps.
Hornswoggle - I just can't see it. I can imagine Vince finding it funny as shit to do but I can't imagine it happening. He'll get pretty deep I'd imagine but he'll get eliminated in some screwy fashion... maybe Vince doing it himself for "tough love"
The Top 5
----
In the end, there's really only five guys who seem like they stand a chance.
The Undertaker - winner last year... readymade revenge match with Edge for the ultimate undefeated at Mania showdown. It just seems to fit perfectly. I'm not fond of back-to-back Rumble wins though.
Triple H - Triple H vs Orton? Check. HHH vs Hardy? Check. HHH vs Edge would actually be pretty incredible but I don't think they're going that way. HHH has to be the odds-on-favorite to be in the RAW title match at Mania.
Shawn Michaels - There's a chance. I'd say it's slim. I really think we're heading all the way to Mania with HBK/Kennedy. I'd expect those two to eliminate each other. Maybe Kennedy lays in a post-elim beatdown that puts HBK on the shelf for six weeks or so to give a break before the heatup. But HBK/Edge, HBK/Rey, HBK/Hardy would all work for me. And they never really did finish HBK/Orton. Not a bad option but I don't think it'll happen.
Batista - I don't really want another Batista/Edge match. Batista/Orton could be possible, I guess. Batista turning heel on his "best friend" Rey would work for me too. He's got a decent chance.
Ric Flair - I know, I know. It's the sentiment in me. If Flair's last match is going to be at Mania, how could it be any better than for it to be a World Title match. If it's me, I have Flair win the World Title in the last match at Mania in a bloodbath, give a tearful retirement speech, and have a tournament over the next month leading to Backlash for the gold. I mean... it's Ric Flair, dammit. He's going into the HOF at Mania hopefully so Rumble win, HOF entry, title win at Mania. Have him announce he's retiring at Mania win-lose-or-draw. It's just too perfect.
Who Will Win: The Undertaker
Who Should Win: Ric Flair
Those are my picks and I'm stickin' to it!
2008-01-26
2008-01-24
Fight Night Picks In Review
Ahhh, much better.
Final results?
Out of nine fights, I picked 7 out of 9 winners correctly for a .778 score. Not too shabby.
Moneywise, I was perfect on the night betting $100 and getting a profit of $67.
Picks Average For This Show: .778 (7 out of 9)
Picks Average For The Year: .500 (9 out of 18)
Money For This Show: +$67
Money For The Year: +$57
Next show is the big PPV with Brock Lesnar's debut against Frank Mir and Noguiera vs Sylvia for the interim heavyweight title. Should be an interesting show coming up on Super Bowl weekend. Check back a couple days before for all the picks.
Final results?
Out of nine fights, I picked 7 out of 9 winners correctly for a .778 score. Not too shabby.
Moneywise, I was perfect on the night betting $100 and getting a profit of $67.
Picks Average For This Show: .778 (7 out of 9)
Picks Average For The Year: .500 (9 out of 18)
Money For This Show: +$67
Money For The Year: +$57
Next show is the big PPV with Brock Lesnar's debut against Frank Mir and Noguiera vs Sylvia for the interim heavyweight title. Should be an interesting show coming up on Super Bowl weekend. Check back a couple days before for all the picks.
2008-01-23
Random randomness
Got nothing big to write about today so here's a few random observations just to keep me active.
** The weather forecast is calling for rain every day until next Tuesday. And they say it never rains in Southern California. Well, Toni Tony Tone does anyways. Whatever happened to them?
** Bobby Lashley apparently requested to be released from his WWE contract today. No big loss as he never developed into the worker they thought he would. I suppose he still could but it's probably not likely. He's rumored to be looking into MMA as a new career option. Good grief.
** Rumors run wild that Brock Lesnar is penciled into headlining UFC 86 in a few months. Seriously? Talk about counting your chickens. I'm rooting for Brock against Mir just in hopes of seeing Lesnar vs Cro Cop but the sadist in me would like to see Lesnar submitted in 30 seconds just to punish him for his lack of gratitude to the WWE.
** Royal Rumble's this weekend. I'll be doing my annual Rumble predictions whenever the final lineup is released... hopefully soon.
** Lakers are leading the Spurs after one quarter as I write this. It's gonna be a two month dogfight for them to stay in a good playoff position as they wait for Bynum and Ariza to recover. Such a shame. They were really looking good.
** Don Mattingly is out already as the Dodgers hitting coach. Apparently he's having some family issues so he was re-assigned to a "special assignment" coach. So much for being the heir apparent, I guess. Hard to be groomed by Torre for the manager's job when apparently you won't be in the dugout most of the year.
** Good review for Rambo on AICN today. I've never seen any of the Rambo movies but I may have to change that in the near future.
** AICN also confirmed that Heath Ledger completed all his post-prod work on The Dark Knight so it'll be the final film to have a full Ledger performance in it. The autopsy came back inconclusive so they have to dig a little deeper [no pun intended.] We're thinking of having a Ledger movie night just to pay a little respect.
** Finished the second book in the Eragon trilogy the other day. It was okay. I was slapped across the face about 3/4 of the way through by how much of a Star Wars backbone it has. Almost too much. I suppose it's difficult to write a sci-fi/fantasy without either ripping off Star Wars or LOTR but man... this guy is blatant in a lot of ways. You have to be impressed that he was published so young but still... annoying.
** Almost time to reserve rooms for Comic-Con. The past year or so it has become increasingly hard to duck out of the Hollywood panels to some of the smaller comic panels even though there's always stuff I want to see. This year might not be so hard though as I haven't bought comics in probably six months. And after reading some of the stuff going on in Spidey, I'm pretty happy about that.
** The weather forecast is calling for rain every day until next Tuesday. And they say it never rains in Southern California. Well, Toni Tony Tone does anyways. Whatever happened to them?
** Bobby Lashley apparently requested to be released from his WWE contract today. No big loss as he never developed into the worker they thought he would. I suppose he still could but it's probably not likely. He's rumored to be looking into MMA as a new career option. Good grief.
** Rumors run wild that Brock Lesnar is penciled into headlining UFC 86 in a few months. Seriously? Talk about counting your chickens. I'm rooting for Brock against Mir just in hopes of seeing Lesnar vs Cro Cop but the sadist in me would like to see Lesnar submitted in 30 seconds just to punish him for his lack of gratitude to the WWE.
** Royal Rumble's this weekend. I'll be doing my annual Rumble predictions whenever the final lineup is released... hopefully soon.
** Lakers are leading the Spurs after one quarter as I write this. It's gonna be a two month dogfight for them to stay in a good playoff position as they wait for Bynum and Ariza to recover. Such a shame. They were really looking good.
** Don Mattingly is out already as the Dodgers hitting coach. Apparently he's having some family issues so he was re-assigned to a "special assignment" coach. So much for being the heir apparent, I guess. Hard to be groomed by Torre for the manager's job when apparently you won't be in the dugout most of the year.
** Good review for Rambo on AICN today. I've never seen any of the Rambo movies but I may have to change that in the near future.
** AICN also confirmed that Heath Ledger completed all his post-prod work on The Dark Knight so it'll be the final film to have a full Ledger performance in it. The autopsy came back inconclusive so they have to dig a little deeper [no pun intended.] We're thinking of having a Ledger movie night just to pay a little respect.
** Finished the second book in the Eragon trilogy the other day. It was okay. I was slapped across the face about 3/4 of the way through by how much of a Star Wars backbone it has. Almost too much. I suppose it's difficult to write a sci-fi/fantasy without either ripping off Star Wars or LOTR but man... this guy is blatant in a lot of ways. You have to be impressed that he was published so young but still... annoying.
** Almost time to reserve rooms for Comic-Con. The past year or so it has become increasingly hard to duck out of the Hollywood panels to some of the smaller comic panels even though there's always stuff I want to see. This year might not be so hard though as I haven't bought comics in probably six months. And after reading some of the stuff going on in Spidey, I'm pretty happy about that.
2008-01-22
Heath Ledger found dead
Man, that's a bit of a surprise. I mean... there are certain deaths you expect to come at any moment. I've been expecting Britney to either OD or kill herself for a few months now so I'm prepared for that one. This one surprises me.
And yes, as the comic book guy, my immediate curiosity is how it affects The Dark Knight. That probably shouldn't be my reaction that quickly but I'll be honest and admit that it is. From AICN, it sounds like all the initial shooting is done but it's unclear how much post is done. Not sure what his role in the planned third movie [if any] was planned to be either. From all accounts, Ledger may have knocked this role out of the park so it's always sad to see a talented actor on the verge of even greater superstardom crash and burn.
Oh, and of course, there are drugs on the scene. Read into that what you will, I guess.
Never saw Brokeback or A Knight's Tale so until The Dark Knight hits the screen, the first Ledger scene that will always come to mind is him singing and dancing in the football stadium in 10 Things I Hate About You.
Anyways... just a few quick thoughts on the matter.
R.I.P. Heath Ledger
And yes, as the comic book guy, my immediate curiosity is how it affects The Dark Knight. That probably shouldn't be my reaction that quickly but I'll be honest and admit that it is. From AICN, it sounds like all the initial shooting is done but it's unclear how much post is done. Not sure what his role in the planned third movie [if any] was planned to be either. From all accounts, Ledger may have knocked this role out of the park so it's always sad to see a talented actor on the verge of even greater superstardom crash and burn.
Oh, and of course, there are drugs on the scene. Read into that what you will, I guess.
Never saw Brokeback or A Knight's Tale so until The Dark Knight hits the screen, the first Ledger scene that will always come to mind is him singing and dancing in the football stadium in 10 Things I Hate About You.
Anyways... just a few quick thoughts on the matter.
R.I.P. Heath Ledger
Picks Again
Alright, let's try this again...
UFC Fight Night 12
Date: Jan. 23, 2008
Location: Las Vegas
Venue: The Palms
Broadcast: Spike TV
MAIN CARD
* Josh Burkman vs. Mike Swick
* Patrick Côté vs. Drew McFedries
* Nate Diaz vs. Alvin Robinson
* Thiago Tavares vs. Michihiro Omigawa
PRELIMINARY CARD
* Alberto Crane vs. Kurt Pellegrino
* Gray Maynard vs. Dennis Siver
* Cole Miller vs. Jeremy Stephens
* Corey Hill vs. Joe Veres
* Justin Buchholz vs. Matt Wiman
Justin Buchholz vs. Matt Wiman
Odds: No action being taken
My memory sparks at Matt Wiman's name. A quick look shows him at 8-3 with nothing really impressive on his record. He's coming off two wins in a row. Bucholz is 7-1 with nothing really standing out for him either. Four straight wins for him. Not much to on on here.
MY PICK: Justin Bucholz by TKO in Rd 1
Corey Hill vs Joe Veres
Odds: No action being taken
Corey Hill was that lanky mofo from TUF. Veres is 4-2 with his last loss being a 9 second KO to Gray Maynard.
MY PICK: Corey Hill by TKO in Rd 2
Cole Miller vs Jeremy Stephens
Odds: No action being taken
Miller is 13-2 with 4 straight wins. Stephens is 12-2 with 2 straight and his last loss coming to Din Thomas. This looks pretty close actually. Miller has a lot of submission wins, Stephens has a lot of TKOs.
MY PICK: Cole Miller by decision
Gray Maynard vs. Dennis Siver
Odds: No action being taken
Siver is 11-4 with nothing of note in his record. Maynard's 3-0 with no big wins either. This could go either way. I always thought Maynard looked like he should be a badass so I'll go that way.
MY PICK: Gray Maynard by TKO in Rd 2
Alberto Crane vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Odds: No action being taken
Crane is 8-1 with the loss coming to Huerta back in August in his UFC debut. No shame in losing to Huerta. Pellegrino is 10-3 with losses to Joe Daddy and Drew Fickett. Both are coming off losses.
MY PICK: Kurt Pellegrino by submission [armbar] in Rd 2
MAIN CARD
Thiago Tavares vs. Michihiro Omigawa
Odds: No action being taken
Omigawa is 4-5. Pretty rare that someone with a losing record pops up on a UFC show. He does have a win in the past over Aoki though and is a Yoshida student. Tavares is 12-1 coming off a loss to Tyson Griffin.
MY PICK: Thiago Tavares by submission [armbar] in Rd 1
Nate Diaz vs Alvin Robinson
Odds: Diaz at -165, Robinson at +135
Robinson is 9-2 coming off a win over Jorge Gurgel. Nate Diaz is 7-2 coming off a two win streak incl. the TUF Finale.
MY PICK: Diaz by decision
BETTING: $10 on Diaz to win $6
Patrick Côté vs. Drew McFedries
Odds: Cote at -125, Drew at -105
Cote is 11-4 on a three fight win streak and coming off a win over Kendall Grove. McFedries is 6-2 with the losses coming to Nate Quarry and Martin Kampmann.
MY PICK: Cote by TKO in Rd 2
BETTING: $40 on Cote to win $32
Josh Burkman vs. Mike Swick
Odds: -175 for Swick, +135 for Burkman
Burkman is 9-4. His biggest win is probably over Drew Fickett. Swick is 10-2 and was on a 5 fight win streak before the decision loss to Okami. This is Swick's first fight in his new weight class as well.
MY PICK: Swick by TKO in Rd 2
BETTInG: $50 on Swick to win $29
Cross your fingers, folks!
UFC Fight Night 12
Date: Jan. 23, 2008
Location: Las Vegas
Venue: The Palms
Broadcast: Spike TV
MAIN CARD
* Josh Burkman vs. Mike Swick
* Patrick Côté vs. Drew McFedries
* Nate Diaz vs. Alvin Robinson
* Thiago Tavares vs. Michihiro Omigawa
PRELIMINARY CARD
* Alberto Crane vs. Kurt Pellegrino
* Gray Maynard vs. Dennis Siver
* Cole Miller vs. Jeremy Stephens
* Corey Hill vs. Joe Veres
* Justin Buchholz vs. Matt Wiman
Justin Buchholz vs. Matt Wiman
Odds: No action being taken
My memory sparks at Matt Wiman's name. A quick look shows him at 8-3 with nothing really impressive on his record. He's coming off two wins in a row. Bucholz is 7-1 with nothing really standing out for him either. Four straight wins for him. Not much to on on here.
MY PICK: Justin Bucholz by TKO in Rd 1
Corey Hill vs Joe Veres
Odds: No action being taken
Corey Hill was that lanky mofo from TUF. Veres is 4-2 with his last loss being a 9 second KO to Gray Maynard.
MY PICK: Corey Hill by TKO in Rd 2
Cole Miller vs Jeremy Stephens
Odds: No action being taken
Miller is 13-2 with 4 straight wins. Stephens is 12-2 with 2 straight and his last loss coming to Din Thomas. This looks pretty close actually. Miller has a lot of submission wins, Stephens has a lot of TKOs.
MY PICK: Cole Miller by decision
Gray Maynard vs. Dennis Siver
Odds: No action being taken
Siver is 11-4 with nothing of note in his record. Maynard's 3-0 with no big wins either. This could go either way. I always thought Maynard looked like he should be a badass so I'll go that way.
MY PICK: Gray Maynard by TKO in Rd 2
Alberto Crane vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Odds: No action being taken
Crane is 8-1 with the loss coming to Huerta back in August in his UFC debut. No shame in losing to Huerta. Pellegrino is 10-3 with losses to Joe Daddy and Drew Fickett. Both are coming off losses.
MY PICK: Kurt Pellegrino by submission [armbar] in Rd 2
MAIN CARD
Thiago Tavares vs. Michihiro Omigawa
Odds: No action being taken
Omigawa is 4-5. Pretty rare that someone with a losing record pops up on a UFC show. He does have a win in the past over Aoki though and is a Yoshida student. Tavares is 12-1 coming off a loss to Tyson Griffin.
MY PICK: Thiago Tavares by submission [armbar] in Rd 1
Nate Diaz vs Alvin Robinson
Odds: Diaz at -165, Robinson at +135
Robinson is 9-2 coming off a win over Jorge Gurgel. Nate Diaz is 7-2 coming off a two win streak incl. the TUF Finale.
MY PICK: Diaz by decision
BETTING: $10 on Diaz to win $6
Patrick Côté vs. Drew McFedries
Odds: Cote at -125, Drew at -105
Cote is 11-4 on a three fight win streak and coming off a win over Kendall Grove. McFedries is 6-2 with the losses coming to Nate Quarry and Martin Kampmann.
MY PICK: Cote by TKO in Rd 2
BETTING: $40 on Cote to win $32
Josh Burkman vs. Mike Swick
Odds: -175 for Swick, +135 for Burkman
Burkman is 9-4. His biggest win is probably over Drew Fickett. Swick is 10-2 and was on a 5 fight win streak before the decision loss to Okami. This is Swick's first fight in his new weight class as well.
MY PICK: Swick by TKO in Rd 2
BETTInG: $50 on Swick to win $29
Cross your fingers, folks!
2008-01-21
UFC Picks Results
Well, that blew.
The fights weren't very good for the most part but I had a good time watching the show. But man oh man, were my picks all fucked up.
The final results?
Out of nine fights, I picked two winners correctly for a .222 score. I'll keep a running total throughout the year but this is a bad, bad way to start.
Moneywise, I did okay. I started with $100 in bets. I lost $80 on Gonzaga and Stevenson. The $20 that I bet on Rivera as an upset pick landed me $70. So, I total out at $90 for the show, losing only $10.
Picks Average For This Show: .222 (2 out of 9)
Picks Average For The Year: .222 (2 out of 9)
Money For This Show: -$10
Money For The Year: -$10
Next show is Wednesday for Fight Night so check back tomorrow or Wednesday morning for the next batch of picks.
The fights weren't very good for the most part but I had a good time watching the show. But man oh man, were my picks all fucked up.
The final results?
Out of nine fights, I picked two winners correctly for a .222 score. I'll keep a running total throughout the year but this is a bad, bad way to start.
Moneywise, I did okay. I started with $100 in bets. I lost $80 on Gonzaga and Stevenson. The $20 that I bet on Rivera as an upset pick landed me $70. So, I total out at $90 for the show, losing only $10.
Picks Average For This Show: .222 (2 out of 9)
Picks Average For The Year: .222 (2 out of 9)
Money For This Show: -$10
Money For The Year: -$10
Next show is Wednesday for Fight Night so check back tomorrow or Wednesday morning for the next batch of picks.
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