Greggulator

I think Steph is a Top 10 player of all-time, even though I do not have a list. But he changed basketball more than any other player has in decades. Steph’s influence is just insane. Basketball is completely different than it was 10 years ago and his fingerprints are all over that. But the thing that is overlooked regarding Steph is one of the all-time most selfless players. He sets such a ridiculous amount of screens and the like for a player his size. It just unlocks everything. He weaponsizes his “gravity” more than any other player. He has been a pleasure to watch. We may have gotten way too three-heavy, but Steph and Golden State are also all about selflessness and passing and finding the best shot. It’s the Spurs formula but with the two best jump shooters who ever lived. We are blessed to have been able to watch them.

Your daily dose of "Wait, Ja Morant did what???" This is a human being who did this.

They really should teach this show in screenwriting classes. Ever review ever says “This show should not work but it does.” The reason why is because it takes its characters seriously. They really understand the importance of having characters make choices along the way and how it impacts their development. This show is a really great comparison to Friday Night Lights. They are in many ways the same exact show — a look at the lives of kids and adolescents in a particular sub-culture. But the magic behind both of these shows is that it takes the character choices and their stories seriously. It’s just that the tones are radically different. But, with both, strong characters and understanding how to develop those comes before anything else. But Cobra Kai really is a gem.

Six episodes and a bit into the 7th. This is just perfect for what it wants to be. The tone of this has always been such a unique mixture of nostalgia and Dawson’s Creek and whole also not being afraid to wink at itself and etc. But they have really mastered it, and are also now expanding the universe it has created bigger. Just an awesome show.

I don’t think I am spoiling anything but Terry Silver blaming cocaine on his behavior in Karate Kid 3 is just the best explanation of anything ever.

Three episodes in and this is better than ever. What an incredible show.

Got the couch reserved and ready to start.

I’m almost at that choice, too. Am I crazy for thinking he is Iverson 2.0? They have the same frame, the same freakish athleticism, the same ability to rise to the moment, finishing ability, court vision, desire to step on throats, etc. While not nearly the moment-in-time of AI crossing Jordan, Ja in his fourth game as a pro blocker Kyrie’s shot at the buzzer and talked so much shit after it was golden. If Ja’s three-point shot is legit, and he levels up on defense (and he does try), then he is a MVP candidate, if he is not already. He doesn’t have AI’s star power, but only Jordan and LeBron and Kobe had more than AI, and I am even thinking Iverson was a bigger star in their primes than Kobe. But Ja seems like a good teammate and small-town kid. We are in an age where players learn about sleep cycles and high-end nutrition, and rolling 25-deep to the TGI Friday’s next to the practice facility (which AI really did) before speeding off in a Bentley to play blackjack and drink until 7 AM is now frowned upon. Like... that dude is the future. I know Luka is the crowned generational talent. But Ja might end up being the best player of his generation. It’s also cool as shit he is on Memphis, because the NBA should always have a huge star and good team in a small market.

Ja Morant is going to be All-NBA this year. He might be a Top 10 player right now.

I did not like the internal logic of the judges set-up, unless I missed a line. But why would The Cowboy just accept a match with judges at the insistence of Bryan Danielson? It would have been better if it was set up by some authority figure type. Not that needs to be on screen. But just something like “Tony Kahn has said that if this goes for another hour again that a panel of judges will...” Just a small nitpick about the angle. It feels like Bryan gets to handpick the judges. If that is the case, I am actually all in favor of The Dragon stacking the deck through bribery and deceit to procure the title ala some Ted DiBiase thing. “I’m sorry, Hangman... but that was in the contract that you signed!” But if it is some panel of objective legends, and they redo a Terry Funk thing with Hangman... just could have set it up better. If they redo The Funk thing, I really hope they do it with a salmon coat wearing Mark Henry to call back to that awesome segment with Cena. People would flip out and The Hangman would fall for it.

Only thing the Main Event should have had differently was the involvement of a heel manager and either a briefcase or dress shoe as a weapon. Also: I really hope Bryan buys off the judges. How I want my wrestling top operate.

If you have ESPN3 or any other means, I can not recommend watching the Cal Baptist Lancers enough. They have a 6’5” PG from Tasmania named Taran Armstrong who is the best passing college point guard I can remember since Jason Kidd. I am not exaggerating. He’s leading the NCAA in assists. Last night, he had 15 dimes and he really could have had 20 if teammates did not miss a few open looks. He’s also a triple double threat and averages over 7 rebounds a game. Rapidly rising up draft boards. The WAC is a good conference so who knows if they will make the tournament but this team in general is a fantastic watch.

Here is FTR and Vickie tormenting Mexican Lucha Libre fans over the weekend. Man, as much as I love Tully, I had no idea how much of a perfect pairing this would be. “Eddie moved to America so we could be millionaires!”

Apparently, the team of Jay Lyon and Midas Black go by the name The Mane Event on the indie scene. And I just dug up this gem.

I forget who brought these to my attention. But FTR are my favorite tag team (if not human beings) right now. I'm going through the AEW Dark Elevation archives to find some of the great FTR squash matches for you. These are so gold. APRIL 12, 2021 FTR VS. JAY LYON AND MIDAS BLACK OVERALL SCORE: 6/10. This is from April 12, and there's apparently a quadruple main event. I can't be bothered to watch what that entails because I'm headed straight to the 51 minute mark where Dax and Cash are going up against the team of Midas Black and Jay Lion. Jay Lyon is an all-time keeper of a jobber. He's some squat looking guy wearing a dollar store lion mask and carries a piece of steak in his mouth as he wrestles. And, as The Big Show astutely points out, he has the word "ROAR" written on the back of his trunks. He and his partner (dollar store Prince Halloween costume) also tried some color coordination, which is nice. This is gold right from the start, with Dax putting Jay Lyon into the corner, paintbrushing him, and then cackling as the mask comes right off and Midas goes to put this mask back on to save the identity of his partner/Dollar General points club member. Great jerk heel moment when Cash nonchalantly holds the ropes open so Dax can toss Jay Lyon to the floor so Wardlaw and Tully can slap him around for a bit. Midas Black gets the hot tag, and that's when I realize he's wearing suspenders with his trunks. Dax does the Arn hot tag sell perfectly before giving him his awesome brainbuster. Then they finish the job with the spike piledriver. Afterwards, Wardlaw kicks both Jay Lyon and Midas Black to the floor like the pieces of trash they are. I can't help but think that the mask falling off was an accident. With later day FTR Dark Elevation matches, they would have done something much more heinous and hilarious to take their deserved pelt. Cash has more of a mohawk than a mullet, but I like where this is headed. This is pretty much a one-man show from Dax beating the hell out of two jobbers. I like the addition of Wardlaw as their enforcer at ringside and any Tully Blanchard slapping someone around ala JJ is good with me.

Not sure if this belongs here or in the lucha thread, but there is so much goodness in this handheld from the FTR match last night. Vicki's outfit is stupendous. Cash showing patriotism at his finest around the 3:35 mark is also great. FTR is number one and the best.

I love every second of that wedding. How has Rosemary never made a leap to NXT or AEW? I have never watched any Impact except for whatever stuff she has been involved with, and I love every second of it. She also from what I have watched seemed like she’s at least decent in ring.

I am somewhere between you and the rest of the board in terms of staying on top of wrestling fandom. But in terms of who AEW has brought over — they have done a really good job with a lot of really misused talent that did not get a chance to shine. FTR had some of the best tag matches in decades in NXT — all of their stuff against American Alpha and DIY is just about perfection. But they sank on the main roster and left for a promotion where they can get good segments and times for matches. One of my favorite acts ever. Miro is one of the biggest WWE mistakes ever. He is a perfect WWE wrestler — an athletic freak who can be a monster or comedy worker who should have had a career at least like The Miz where he could be on any spot on the card for 20 years. And, on top of it, his wife/valet Lana is also really talented at the heel manager role, but she has not showed up yet. Ruby Soho has a really great character. She is not the best in-ring performer, and she was a level below The Four Horsewomen and Asuka in the WWE, but the character stuff she nails. She is a really great baby face for AEW’s women’s division, which is pretty good (Britt Baker rules) but not scorching hot yet. But the miscast people have been great.

I think Nese is a snooze but he’s fine if he’s there to put people over. Maybe he will also along the way learn, oh, anything about working a character. It’s also not my money so what do I care?

Why haven’t I been watching Impact? Do they have this kind of stuff regularly? If so, I am there for it.

Tony Neise might be my least favorite wrestler. I know he is “good” but he does not do anything at all to work a crowd. Can you imagine deciding to sign up to be a pro wrestler and saying “You know what? I know I could literally be as outlandish and crazy as I want, but I don’t know, I am just going to be really boring and do some moves.” He is the exact opposite of my wresting tastes. But do you know who is? FTR. I think Cash Wheeler might be the best worker alive right now. Matt D touched on him a few weeks ago, but he is just running with being a Bobby Eaton co-splayer, and I love it. His mullet is coming in nicely. It works really well with his crappy beard, too. And keeping his chest hair is a great creative choice. He does awesome taunts and is so great at interrupting hot tags. Everything about that match felt like a 1989 NWA Sunday syndicated show main event - lengthy tag match, good fired up spitfire baby faces who have been wronged, great color coordination amongst the heel trio, and a great run-in ending leading to a triumphant heel victory and me laughing at PAC getting blinded some more since I am also a heel.

Survivor is the best. I think it's the best TV show of all-time, and I don't even think there's a close second. It's just really nuts that this show has been on for 41 seasons over 20 years and still finds a way to reinvent itself but also staying true to the original premise -- strangers go off to live in the jungle with limited resources while trying to figure out how to win $1 million, and the whole question of where each person draws their ethical lines to win. This last episode was maybe the best episode in the show's history. It was just a perfect hour of TV -- the tension from the week before, a character coming to terms with a personal struggle, the new twist that had incredible stakes, a really honest and heartfelt talk about race in American society, and finally the elimination. No spoilers in this post. But, man, I could not love something more.

Billy Gunn versus Darby Allin is not a MOTYC, but like Matt D, I really loved that match. I have never liked Billy Gunn in any form, but him as a jacked up fading steroid bully with two jock daddy’s boys idiot sons is a great role for him. They are very reminiscent of the final year I played Little League baseball, where the alcoholic head coach had his two Jersey Shore-style moron sons on the team who loved cackling at their teammates who sucked (me) while Dad looked on with glee. My favorite moment in Little League sports ever was that season, when our first basemen Richie whiffed on a ball thrown his way. The coach and his idiot sons started screaming at him. Richie’s response was a very nonchalant “I quit” and he left in the middle of the inning. Anyways, Billy Gunn tossing around Darby as his goon sons was a blast. The commentary was also really good as selling this as a clash between different eras, which helped make it believable for Darby to win, on top of Taz doing some good Heenan-style work by talking about what good kids Billy’s sons were. Darby doing a coffin drop to the floor was aces. The end was also really unique. There are so many times when a finisher gets kicked out of and the person who hit the finisher has no idea what to do next. Or if they go back to their finisher it gets countered. But Darby just hit the Coffin Drop a second time and that did the trick. Really good bully heel versus undersized baby face match.

“Great kids.” I loved Taz saying that when the Gunn kids were taunting Darby like the two biggest jerk-off daddy’s boys possible. I also love how Thunder Rosa still wears her half face paint when she’ a dressed like she’s headed to a marketing networking event as soon as her promo is over.