Why Monster Week is AMAZING

The centerpiece show during Monster Week is River Monsters.  “Extreme angler” Jeremy Wade travels the globe to investigate deaths and attacks on humans by large fish.  He goes everywhere from Thailand, India, Indonesia, South America, Central America.  He even fishes the cooling pond at Chernobyl in the Ukraine.  No, he doesn’t catch a three-eyed fish, but it’s all still fascinating.  Seven times out of ten, he catches a giant catfish.  Some as huge as a small bear.  He even does experiments with various sea creatures.  Jumping into shallow lakes and surrounding himself with eels, sitting in a pool with piranhas, letting vampire like lamprey eels bite him.  Crazy shit.  This dude is determined!  And yes, he looks like an older, British Joel McHale.  In the season finale, which airs next Monday, he’s going to fish Loch Ness in Scotland!

What. The. Fuck.

In addition to River Monsters, you can catch up on episodes of Finding Bigfoot during Monster Week. A show which is more ripe for comedy than thrills and chills.  I’m still waiting for a witness to describe a sasquatch’s massive, swinging dick.  The term “Squatchy” will enter your personal lexicon.  Seriously, one of the bigfoot hunters is named Bobo.  BOBO!

Are you super-psyched to watch a special about a giant, man eating crocodile the size of a school bus?  What about a show about huge Burmese pythons?  How about a couple of specials about scientists hunting for THE KRAKEN!  Deep sea diving to film an actual colossal squid!  I’m running out of different words for giant!  If that doesn’t tickle your pickle, then how about a couple of specials on mermaids?!  Video, witness accounts and even an actual mermaid corpse!  DAMMMMNNNNN!!!

If you need more reasons why you should never, ever get in any body of water other than a pool… wait, sometimes there are alligators in pools.  So, don’t get in your pool either.  Anyway, tune in to Monster Week like right now.  Set your DVR’s and thank me later.

Let us know what you think in the comments below!

The post The Best Thing You’re Not Watching: Monster Week appeared first on Flapship Sports & Entertainment.

Even with this week’s big returns in TNA, this biggest news may be a departure.  D’Lo Brown apparently D’Lo’d his way right out of Aces and Eights on Impact! by first stepping on the young guys’ toes by insisting that he face Kurt Angle, then swearing on his colors that he would take care of Kurt Angle, then making his match with Angle an “I Quit” match and finally tapping out when reinforcements didn’t arrive.  Sure, Bully Ray and Ken Anderson kind of screwed D’Lo by not sending in the troops, but even when he hadn’t been retired for 10 years, when was D’Lo Brown and Kurt Angle ever even close to a fair fight?  While Anderson stands to move up in the organization with Brown’s departure, it is unclear what motivated Bully Ray to turn on the man who had been his key mole.  Regardless of why, D’Lo Brown went from the very powerful position of Vice President of Aces and Eights to a man without a country…

Over on WWE programming, D’Lo’s old Nation of Domination cohort, Mark Henry and the epitome of what the NOI stood against, Sheamus really kicked their differences of opinion into high gear with a combination of tomfoolery and feats of strength.  On Raw, Mark Henry beat Tensai and then Brodus Clay in successive tugs-of-war, reminding the world just how entertaining and impressive Mark Henry’s exhibition’s can be.  Then, The World’s Strongest Man almost beat Sheamus in a tug-of-war, but The Great White let go of the rope so Henry would fall and then Brogue Kicked him.  Next, on SmackDown, The Pride of Silsbee, Texas beat Sheamus at arm wrestling, only to have the shifty Irishman sucker him into a left-handed rematch that ended in another Brogue Kick…

Brief Results

4.29.13  WWE Monday Night Raw

Ricardo Rodriguez (with Alberto Del Rio) rolled up Zeb Colter (with Jack Swagger) to beat Big E Langston (with Dolph Ziggler and AJ Lee) and Colter in a triple threat match for the right to name the stipulation for the World Title match at Extreme Rules.  Let me tell you, there were shenanigans.

Randy Orton beat Cody Rhodes when he countered a Disaster Kick with an RKO.

Naomi (with Cameron) defeated Brie Bella (with Nikki) by disqualification when the Bellas twinned out and got caught.

Dolph Ziggler (with AJ Lee and Big E Langston) Zig Zagged Kofi Kingston to prove that (just like before he was champion) Dolph Ziggler is better than Kofi Kingston.

Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colter) forced Zack Ryder to tap to The Patriot Lock.

Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez) forced Antonio Cesaro to tap out to the Border Cross Armbreaker and then announced that the World Title Match at Extreme Rules will be a ladder match (which I’m not sure even favors him).

The Shield defeated John Cena and Team Hell No! in a six-man tag team match when Cena’s leg gave out and Roman Reigns capitalized with a spear.

5.1.13  WWE Main Event

Kofi Kingston defended the United States Championship against Antonio Cesaro using Trouble in Paradise.  This was a great match and the icing on the cake was Cesaro’s post match beatdown of Kingston, which he walked away from with a handful of dreads.

Justin Gaybriel beat Heath Slater with a 450 Splash.

5.2.13  TNA Impact Wrestling

Chris Sabin beat Zema Ion and Sonjay Dutt in an X-Division match when he pinned Ion with a cradle piledriver.

Rob Terry beat Joey Ryan, Robbie E and Jesse Godderz in a 3-on-1 handicap match when he hit Ryan with a Freakbuster.

Kurt Angle forced D’Lo Brown to tap to the Angle Lock.

Taryn Terrell and Mickie James beat Gail Kim and Tara in a tag team match when Terrell rolled up Tara for the pin.

Sting beat Matt Morgan to earn a shot at Bully Ray’s World Title when The Blueprint passed out in the Scorpion Deathlock.

5.3.13  WWE Friday Night SmackDown

Ryback beat a very game Daniel Bryan with Shellshocked.

Fandango beat Zack Ryder with a top rope leg drop.

Alberto Del Rio/Ricardo Rodriguez beat Dolph Ziggler/Big E Langston (with AJ Lee) and Jack Swagger/Zeb Colter when Ziggler tapped to the Border Cross Armbreaker.

Randy Orton defeated Damien Sandow with an RKO.

Dean Ambrose pinned Kane after hitting a headlock driver, thanks to a distraction caused by the rest of Shield.

Special Recognition

YouTube Special:  Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes

Sign of the Week:  “I (Heart) Horse Men” – It’s either broken English professing a sentiment I wholeheartedly agree with or something much darker.  Either way it wins.

Line of the Week:  Dolph Ziggler, in assessing Zeb Colter’s chances against Ricardo Rodriguez: “He’s got that old man strength.”

Gyne of the Week:  Kaitlyn – Apparently she’s acquired a secret admirer and I’d like to remind her that she also has many overt admirers.

The post Weekly Wrestling Wrecap #22 appeared first on Flapship Sports & Entertainment.

Baseball hardly qualifies as a “high-impact” sport,  however, in the last week we have seen a prime example for the two avoidable (or much more easily controlled) concerns for irreparable harm in the game.   One is a concern toward player safety, the other being a perfect example of safety being used against the game.

Using Safety Against the Spirit of the Game

I start with this because it’s the far less discussed tenet underlying player safety concerns in MLB.  On May 1st, AJ Pierzykski entered the batters’ box as a pinch hitter for the Texas Rangers down 5-2 with 2 outs in the 9th inning.  Addison Reed throws an inside slider that has a little too much high-and-tight swing to it.  AJ gets hit.  Before I go any further let me preface this by saying that, unlike many, I’m indifferent towards AJ Pierzynski. My gut says he’s a great teammate but a prick on the street. It really doesn’t matter though for this issue.

Juuuust a bit inside.

Sadly the video replay has been pulled across the board, but I’ll do what I can by providing a video of what one of the best baseball minds in the game says about the matter.  I will never go on the record saying that guys shouldn’t be able to protect themselves with whatever body armor they feel necessary in sport (within reason).  You are reading from the same guy that quit his baseball career by age 12 because he was scared shitless of being beaned.  I can’t imagine what a 90+ mph pitch striking muscle feels like, let alone bone.

What I am saying though is that we’re, on occasion, seeing an unintended consequence of this protection by players leaning into pitches to get a base (see screen capture above).  Once upon a time there was a level of acceptable tact to this practice.  If you had the mental fortitude to see a ball coming in at you and – in that second – deduce that you could let it hit you as it’s hitting a safe fat/muscle laden area of the body, you ‘earned’ the base. You paid your due by way of a stinging bruise.  The reason “taking one for the team” (like Roger Dorn in the video below) is acceptable is that it’s your body’s natural instinct to get the fuck out of the way of the ball.

It’s a feat in all-that-is-manly testosterone to just stand in there and take one.  AJ provided us with the absolute worst-case scenario of body armor.  Because of this bionic elbow padding, AJ shows absolutely no concern to avoid this pitch as it tails in toward him, not one iota.  In fact he clearly has an OPPOSITE reaction and leans his elbow into the pitch.  I’m trying my hardest not to take it a step further and point out that he then jaws at the pitcher like there was intent behind it. Eh, like Steve Stone eloquently put it, that’s just AJ being AJ.  The underlying issue transcends this one player.  This issue, which seemingly started with Barry Bonds, isn’t an epidemic by any stretch yet, but something MLB and its fans will need to keep an eye on going forward.  I’m all for player protection, but when they use that protection to essentially cheat the system and impede on the spirit of the game, we have issues.  Hopefully MLB has already started contacting players about this baseball version of “flopping” before fans really start getting a whiff of its putrid stench.

Batters are in Full Armor, but Pitchers Wear Nothing

May 7th.  JA Happ throws Desmond Jennings one of a thousand pitches in MLB for the evening, except this one comes back at 120mph with a return ticket back into Happ’s skull.  It’s happened before. See: Bryce Florie.

My biggest issue with this is that much like player safety in the NFL, sweeping reform will not take place until a player is killed on the field.  It’s the ultimate in a reactive vs. preventative culture.  In the case of the NFL, I’m a bit more sympathetic to the cause.  This game is predicated on brutal violence.  You risk pieces of your fanbase every time you soften the game. Like I said above, these are our gladiators, and this is our coliseum.

In baseball, however, things are so much more preventable without damaging the fabric of the game.  I mean, these guys are on the mound a mere 60 feet and 6 inches away from the bat.  Presuming your 90mph heater gets deposited right back down your throat at around 120mph, we can use simple math to note that you will be given a whopping one-third of ONE second to react to this missile.  Good luck with that.

JA Happ had no chance of avoiding this result.

The reason these injuries aren’t rampant, the same reason that no one does anything proactive to protect themselves, is that it takes a perfect storm of events to reach a catastrophic conclusion.  It’s human nature to weigh the pros and cons of any situation.  A face guard is obtrusive, both visually to the viewer and physically to the player.  That said, I refuse to believe that technology cannot produce a light-weight, durable-yet comfortable face guard option for a pitcher.  The rare times I am called upon to pitch for a 12″ softball league, you better believe I’m at least wearing a mouth guard and leaning back after the pitch just like that scared 12-year old kid in the batters box.

In reality, this is an issue that needs to be addressed from the youth ranks upward. This actually is an ongoing debate at the youth levels, and it kind of scares me at how many parents argue on the side of tradition in this one.  Sure, it’s going happen to one in a thousand kids, hell maybe one in ten-thousand.  And of those, that comebacker maybe only has a fractional chance of truly scarring your kid for life, if not worse.  But this isn’t some “country gone soft” issue.  It’s a very serious issue and if we started the kids with proper protection from the get-go, then it wouldn’t be obtrusive to them going forward because it would just be “another piece of equipment” that they are used to.

Every single player is expected to protect their testicles, but who gives a shit if they bust their face wide open and damage their brain?

Welcome to the coliseum.  Are you not entertained????

The post Protection in Major League Baseball (a rant) appeared first on Flapship Sports & Entertainment.

This is what I’ve posted on a couple of message boards and then a less annoying one to Facebook. So you know that means I like it a lot. Why exactly is that, you might ask? Why do I love Frank Turner’s ‘Tape Deck Heart’ so damn much? Well, let me tell you.

By now, I’m sure you’ve heard the soon-to-be-mega-single from the album – “Recovery”. If you haven’t, well, check it out:

When you’re done listening to that for the 18th time straight, let’s get on with the rest of the album. The true “OMFG” songs are easily the aforementioned “Recovery”, as well as just plain fantastic, artful, and expansive tracks like “Losing Days” and “Plain Sailing Weather”. If you have no idea who Frank Turner is, I absolutely adore Rolling Stone’s summary of him: “The onetime singer of U.K. hardcore band Million Dead, Frank Turner is a grown-ass Englishman who turns out highly quotable, sometimes deliriously catchy rants about life after punk.”

He’s right. He does.

‘Tape Deck Heart’ is actually Frank’s 5th album, and it’s 12 tracks of awesome. Of course, if you download the iTunes version, you get 5 extra tunes giving you a meaty 17 track album to have on pretty much all day long. Turner is a fantastically capable musician, who mixes sounds – any given song can be both sad, happy, slow, exciting. Just try to get through “Four Simple Words” – which is simply about the dude wanting to dance – without wanting to do so yourself… or at least bob your head and get all excited.

So with Frank Turner’s “Tape Deck Heart”, I can safely say I’ve found the first “leave it on all day on repeat” album of Summer.

9/10

The post Frank Turner ‘Tape Deck Heart’ Review appeared first on Flapship Sports & Entertainment.

The Undertaker was all over WWE TV this week, and I‘m not talking about video packages or promos.  These were actual new matches on free television.  On Raw, The Deadman teamed with his brother and Daniel Bryan to face The Shield in a six-man tag team match that tore the house down.  The match itself was absolutely captivating (and I’m not huge on six-man tags) and I have to assume it was the career highlight for all three members of The Shield.  Then Taker went toe to toe with Dean Ambrose on SmackDown, finishing The Shield’s finest with Hell’s Gate (which should have stayed The Devil’s Triangle, since it’s a triangle choke).  It was a treat to see so much Deadman and it speaks volumes about the potential WWE management see in the Shield, Dean Ambrose in particular.  In what has to be considered a response to/attempt to capitalize on Big Evil’s return, TNA even brought back their own dark icon: Sting (who saved Hulk Hogan from Aces and Eights, baseball bat style)…

Apparently Ryback took umbrage with some remarks made by Mick Foley and he called out the Hall of Famer on Raw.  After the usual “friends try to talk some sense into Foley” sequence of events (during which John Cena gave Mick a chair), The Mickster confronted Ryback in the ring.  The confrontation saw Ryback take Foley’s chair and bow up, but Cena made the save before any harm came to the legend.  Then, the aggressor became the victim as Shield descended on Ryback.  At first, JC acted like he was going to lay back and watch the beating, like Ryback did last week.  But finally, Cena’s conscience got the better of him and he made the save, running off The Hounds of Justice.  Then Cena’s dislkike for Ryback got the better of his conscience, and he FU’d The Big Hungry to end Raw…

Brief Results

4.22.13  WWE Monday Night Raw (Cordelia Day Edition)

R-Truth beat Antonio Cesaro pretty quickly with a Little Jimmy.  So, not only is Cesaro capable of losing to Americans, he is particularly vulnerable to black people.  They should book Cesaro against Otunga so we can see just how black you have to be.

Damien Sandow (with Cody Rhodes) dragged the neck of Brodus Clay (with Sweet T and The Funkadactyls) across the top rope and rolled him up with a handful of tights for the win.

Dolph Ziggler (with AJ Lee and Big E Langston) hit a Zig Zag to beat Chris Jericho (who was distracted by Fandango’s music).

Sweet Tensai (with Brodus Clay and The Funkadactyls) beat Cody Rhodes (with Damien Sandow) using a Senton Splash.

Big E Langston beat Zack Ryder with The Big Ending.

Dean Ambrose dodged a diving head butt and hooked both of Daniel Bryan’s legs to propel The Shield to victory over The Undertaker and Team Hell No!.

Fandango beat William Regal with that dip into a Flatliner move.

AJ Lee beat Aksana, Naomi, Tamina and Layla in a #1 Contender’s Divas Battle Royal by pretending she was knocked out in the center of the ring for the whole match then running the swerve from the end of Saw.

4.24.13  WWE Main Event

The show kicked off with JBL goading Mark Henry into a 4 man gauntlet match.  First, The World’s Strongest Man beat one Uso after another in short order.  Then he kicked out of a Cobra from Santino Marella to hit The World’s Strongest Slam for another win.  Unfortunately, The Great Khali (with Hornswoggle and Nattie) proved to be a little more difficult, and, after taking a Hindu Chop, Henry rolled out of the ring and was counted out.

4.25.13  TNA Impact! Wrestling

Taryn Terrell surprised Tara (now from Chicago, IL?) by rolling her up for the pin when the veteran started the kicking-dirt-onto-her routine.

Rob Terry beat Jesse Godderz (with Robbie E).

Los Mexicanos retained the TNA Tag Team Championships against Austin Aries and Bobby Roode when Christopher Daniels (who had been running down Aries on commentary for the whole match) accidentally took out Roode and Chavo cleaned up with a frogsplash.

Velvet Sky used a rollup to successfully defend the Knockouts Championship against Mickie James, despite suffering a leg injury.

4.26.13  WWE Friday Night SmackDown

Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colter) beat Alberto Del Rio (with Ricardo Rodriguez) in a no disqualification match by wearing him out with a kendo stick and throwing a ladder on him, then finishing him with a gutwrench powerbomb.

Layla beat Aksana with a pinning combination she calls Infinity.

Big Show KO Punched Sheamus off of the top rope (just cleaned his fucking clock) for the win when Mark Henry caused a distraction.

Wade Barrett dodged a Knee Trembler and hit a Bullhammer on William Regal in a startlingly short match.

Mark Henry beat Randy Orton by disqualification when Sheamus ran in and Brogue Kicked the World’s Strongest Man.

The Undertaker forced Dean Ambrose to tap to Hell’s Gate.

Special Recognition

YouTube Special:  The Undertaker and Team Hell No! vs. The Shield.

Sign of the Week:  “Swagger, work permit?” (in England)

Line of the Week:  “[ODB] looks a little bit like Steven Van Zandt with a boob job”- taz

Gyne of the Week:  Tara.  P.S. Chicago has bottomless strip clubs.

The post Weekly Wrestling Wrecap #21 appeared first on Flapship Sports & Entertainment.

Rose has jumped up and down excitedly as the Bulls knocked off the higher-seeded Nets. Then came Game 1 against the Heat, where the Bulls shocked the world with Joakim Noah playing at less than 100%, Luol Deng in the hospital, Rose doing what he’s doing, and Kirk Hinrich nursing his old lady calves on the bench.

Now comes a fresh, sexy rumor for Senior NBA Writer Alex Kennedy over at Hoopsworld.

Word out of Chicago is that Rose may suit up for Game 3, which will be played this Friday. Suiting up doesn’t guarantee that Rose will play, but being in uniform on the bench rather than donning a suit would be a step forward for the 24-year-old. Nothing has been confirmed at this point, but it’s a possibility.

Now wouldn’t this be fun? Of course, as is often the case, the “source” in the story goes unnamed. It happens. I’d rather read about rumors of Rose returning than continue watching him jump up and down and “GO UP STAIRS!!!” on the sidelines while his teammates battle it out on the court as they have.

Are we near the end of the ugly D-Rose suits era?

The Bulls play Game 2 against the Heat tonight at 6pm CT. One has to imagine that LeBron is going to just go ballistic. We will see what happens – but can you imagine a Bulls team up 2-0 coming back to the United Center and getting their MVP back?

I know I can.

The post Ok, stay with me – Derrick Rose might return for Game 3 appeared first on Flapship Sports & Entertainment.

The Bulls Beat the Heat Tonight

It doesn’t matter. They did it.

The Bulls beat the Heat in Game 1.

They stole home court advantage.  The Chicago Bulls, the team that is defying the rules of the NBA – a league where stars matter and upsets rarely happen. They just hung around and Nate “playing for a gazillion dollar contract” Robinson finally has a team that has no choice but to let him put them on his 5’8″ back.

I know this is likely the top of the mountain, and I don’t give a shit. The Bulls already have as many wins against the Heat in this series as they did in the disappointing 5-game loss to them in 2011. You know, that year they had the MVP on their roster and not on the other side. That year that Derrick Rose wasn’t too scared to play again. This team is so bereft of talent right now, it’s scary. Marco Belinelli, he of “the balls gif” is hitting big shots. Jimmy Butler is proving that there might be a light at the end of the tunnel if Rose ever actually decides to play.

Can the Bulls do the unthinkable?

Again, I get it. The Bulls won’t win this series.

Will they?

I keep thinking, with every win, that maybe the next one will be enough to get Derrick Rose to play again. Maybe Tom Thibodeau has figured out what no one in the history of the NBA ever could – how to scheme and will and effort your way to a championship. It’s doubtful – hell, it’s implausible and downright impossible, but I want to BULLieve for the sake of the NBA itself.

Sadly, we all know this game was the result of the Heat not caring. They saw the roster on the other side. They came out rusty and missed countless open looks early that would have put the Bulls away. They won’t let this happen again.

Or will they?

I’ll see you guys on Wednesday night. Go freedom. Go liberty. Go Bulls.

The post So the Bulls beat the Heat… appeared first on Flapship Sports & Entertainment.

Round 5, Pick 30 – Jordan Mills, Offensive Tackle, Louisiana Tech, 6-5, 316
The Bears traded down from the 20th pick of the round down to Atlanta’s 30 spot in exchange for a 7th round draft pick. Chances are the Bears had their eyes on Mills from the get-go and were happy to move down and grab another player in the meantime. The first thing to note on Mills is his tremendous size, this is ideal for a potential tackle. He played right tackle at Louisiana Tech and that figures to be his best chance to play in Chicago as well, following the signing of Jermon Bushrod. He may also compete at guard, though first round pick Kyle Long figures to have the inside track there, competing with Gabe Carimi.

Jordan Mills is one big boy.

While his size is a tremendous asset, none of his other measurables jump off the page. He timed slowly even among lineman in speed and agility testing, did just okay on bench press, and had surprisingly short arms for a big guy. This is a fairly predictable place for a player like this to get drafted, who isn’t a top notch athlete and did not play in an elite program or against good competition in college. Mills has a reputation for having a good attitude and motor on the field and by all accounts seems a decent value in the fifth round, though nobody would be too surprised that he fell that far. His size gives him starter upside, though his athleticism and lack of experience as a left tackle keeps his ceiling fairly low.

For his part, he seems to see himself as a possible starter. Talking about the different weapons on the Bears to the Chicago Tribune, he says, “[Bushrod] on the left side, me on the right side, that’s going to be an offensive line to reckon with.” Beyond that comment, he seems rather gracious and eager to get going on the team.

Round 6, Pick 20 – Cornelius Washington, OLB/DE, Georgia, 6-4, 268
Washington is a very exciting pick, especially in the 6th round. If you weren’t thrilled with Mills’ lack of measurables, then you will love Cornelius Washington. At his size, he ran a 4.55 40 yard dash, cranked out 36 reps on bench press, reached 39 inches in the vertical jump, and made 128 inches in the broad jump. He was a top performer among linebackers in every category. For perspective, he outweights Manti Te’o by 40 pounds, is 3 inches taller, and beat him in every category, both strength and speed based. Most predictions had Washington going at least a round higher and some thought he could go as high as the second round.

It isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, though. He made it to the end of the sixth round undrafted. After a fairly productive junior season which earned him a place on the Butkus Award watch list entering his senior season, he more or less fell flat as a senior. An OLB in the Georgia 3-4 scheme, he was not a full time player due to his inability to play the pass well or have the discipline to be consistent against the run. While he clearly profiles better with his hand on the ground as a DE in a scheme like the Bears’ 4-3, it is all projection at this point. He was remarkably unproductive as a college player, so he has a lot to prove before he can be chalked down as a significant contributor for the Bears.

He should get similar types of reps that we saw Shea McClellin receive last year, coming in for obvious passing situations. Washington can flat out rush the passer and Bears fans can hope for a season like Mark Anderson’s rookie season, when he racked up a high amount of sacks as a predominantly 3rd down player. Israel Idonije’s status (will he return to the Bears?) will also affect the amount of reps to be spread around.

Round 7, Pick 30 – Marquess Wilson, Wide Receiver, Washington State, 6-3, 194
Wilson is another interesting pick, only a few spots away from Mr. Irrelevant. In contrast to Cornelius Washington, Wilson was wildly productive at Washington State racking up consecutive 1,000 yard seasons and was on pace for yet another before exiting the team early in his junior season. As a junior, he hauled in a staggering 12 touchdowns. You might already have guessed the reason that he fell to the 7th round: a team suspension for a “violation of team rules” followed by Wilson quitting and sending out a letter alleging abuse on part of his head coach, Mike Leach. There are few details available on the matter other than Wilson’s letter defaming his head coach. It is unclear whether the allegations were true or he was taking advantage of Leach’s reputation.

Wilson ran a respectable 4.51 40 yard dash and posted a 35 inch vertical leap to go along with a top performing 6.65 three cone drill. His athleticism paired with good height projects well, though his strength will be a concern. He only managed 7 reps on bench press and is rather slender. With Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery already in the fold, Wilson may find himself in the slot where he is less likely to get bothered by jams on the line of scrimmage. He has been described as a rather refined receiver, though lapses in concentration have resulted in periodic drops. Many suspected Wilson would go higher in the draft; this speaks well to his playing ability but makes you wonder what happened in team interviews that caused him to drop so far.

Overall
The Bears took players that were generally considered good value in the rounds they were picked, and all clearly possess the talent to play right away in the NFL. Each faces different obstacles on their way to being big contributors, but fans should expect to see one or more of these names making plays on the field this year. Mills has the most talent in front of him and the least apparent talent of his own, so he likely will be one of the top backups at both guard and tackle in case of injury. It is highly unlikely that Washington finds himself as a full-time contributor, but there is a good chance he will get meaningful snaps at defensive end. Wilson has the best chance to see the field on a consistent basis, as Earl Bennett and Alshon Jeffery have both battled injuries in the recent past and the receiving corps is very shallow after the top 3, especially with Devin Hester being relegated to special teams. It is difficult to make any assessment of these picks other than that General Manager Phil Emery did a very good job of getting useful pieces in what are often throwaway rounds.

The post Chicago Bears Find Value in Day 3 Draft Picks appeared first on Flapship Sports & Entertainment.

Booker T and Teddy Long’s relationship has been deteriorating right before our very eyes on WWE television for a while now.  I think we can all acknowledge that ever since he was announced for the Hall of Fame, Book has had a certain swagger in his step that could be mistaken for cockiness and he has gradually become more and more disrespectful toward Long.  This week, however, things got more serious than cutting someone off midsentence or dismissing an idea, when Long gave Jack Swagger the opportunity to earn a World Title match at Extreme Rules without Booker’s consent.  Swagger capitalized by beating Dolph Ziggler and Booker was fit to be tied, eventually dressing Teddy down and making the match into a triple threat including Alberto Del Rio.  Then on SmackDown, Big Show went out of his way to pointedly thank Teddy Long for being fair right in front of Book, which further pissed the GM off.  This split has been on the horizon for quite awhile now and though it began with Booker belittling Teddy, it appears to be headed toward a Teddy Long power grab.  Since Long would be another person well-suited to managing a stable, perhaps he could rail against Booker by uniting some allies into a faction, rather than Eve Torres-style backstabbing…

This week, AJ Styles and Ryback played up the ambiguity of their positions in very similar ways.  Both Raw and Impact ended on the same note, as Ryback and Styles each walked off, leaving the babyfaces to be dismantled by The Shield and Aces and Eights respectively.  Ryback began the week by justifying his turn on John Cena because he rescued Cena from The Shield on six occasions while Cena never saved him.  Then, when Cena called Ryback out to the ring to be accountable, Ryback just stood and watched The Shield descend on Cena and tear him apart.  Similarly, on Impact, AJ Styles was scheduled to face James Storm as an act of accountability for his erratic behavior.  After Styles beat The Cowboy clean with his new submission finisher, he beat up Bad Influence (who were trying to reunite with him) and then sauntered off as Aces and Eights attacked all of the TNA wrestlers in the center of the ring…

Brief Results

4.15.13  WWE Monday Night Raw

Randy Orton and Sheamus beat The Big Show in a handicap match using a Brogue Kick into an RKO.

Kofi Kingston won the United States Championship from Antonio Cesaro using the Trouble in Paradise.

Team Hell No! beat The Prime Time Players by chokeslam/diving headbutting Darren Young.

R-Truth beat Wade Barrett with a Little Jimmy.

Team Rhodes Scholars defeated The Great Khali and Santino Marella when Damien Sandow rolled up a distracted Marella with a handful of tights.

Jack Swagger (with Zeb Colter) rolled up Dolph Ziggler to win a shot at the World Title.

Nikki Bella beat Kaitlyn with some twinnery.

4.17.13  WWE Main Event

Justin Gaybriel won an over-the-top-rope battle royal to face Wade Barrett for the Intercontinental Championship.  The order of elimination was an Uso, Yoshi Tatsu, Epico, Jinder Mahal, The Great Khali, the other Uso, Alex Riley, Santino Marella, Drew McIntyre and Primo.  The commentators were putting Alex Riley over so much during this bout that they were almost mocking him.

Wade Barrett successfully defended the Intercontinental Championship against Justin Gaybriel with a Bullhammer Elbow.

4.18.13  TNA Impact Wrestling

Garett Bischoff and Wes Brisco beat Kurt Angle in a handicap match when Bisch punched Angle in the back of the neck with a chain provided by D-Lo Brown.

Kenny King beat Petey Williams and Zema Ion in an X-Division match by pinning Ion, who was softened up by Williams’ Scorpion Death Lock.  This bout was also the debut of the X Cam, which is a camera that the referee wears on his head.  For those of you who like a little more Blair Witch in their wrestling.

Instead of Devon defending his TV Title against Magnus, Aces and Eights just kind of gang beat that foreign devil until Samoa Joe made the save.

Mickie James beat Miss Tessmacher by reversing a sunset flip.

Devon successfully defended his Television title against Samoa Joe with a huge assist from Aces and Eights.

AJ Styles forced James Storm to tap out to a modified leglock.

4.19.13  WWE SmackDown

Fandango beat Santino Marella with kind of a dancing dip into a Flatliner.

Kofi Kingston beat Wade Barrett in a United States Champion vs. Intercontinental Champion match by turning a lackadaisical cover into a crucifix rollup.

Alberto Del Rio rolled up Jack Swagger to win a pretty solid match.

The Great Khali, Hornswoggle and Nattie Neidhart beat Primo, Epico and Rosa Mendes when The Great Khali hit Epico with The Punjabi Plunge.

The Big Show and Mark Henry defeated Randy Orton and Sheamus when Big Show chokeslammed Orton.

Special Recognition

YouTube Special:  Antonio Cesaro vs. Kofi Kingston United States Championship Match

Sign of the Week:  It was a series of three signs this week: “I’m with Owen” (with an arrow pointing up), “Sorry Canada” (with arrows points out to either side) and “I’m with Chris” (with an arrow pointing down)

Line of the Week:  Christopher Daniels (talking to Bobby Roode): “Let’s be honest, everyone knows that a Canadian’s opinion is only worth ¾ of an American’s.  That’s science.”

Gyne of the Week:  Mickie James.  Tons of mileage but still keeping it tight.

The post Weekly Wrestling Wrecap #20 appeared first on Flapship Sports & Entertainment.

These Guys are Owned by Anheuser-Busch.

Shock Top
Shock Top was devised as a competitor to Blue Moon, and since it is brewed in Fort Collins, Colorado, no one would ever guess to associate it with their parent company in St. Louis. Since its inception in 2006, the brand has grown from a single beer to several different specialty and seasonal brews. Its marketing is very recognizable for its lemon head logo and is ubiquitous where beer is sold due to Anheuser-Busch’s sway in the distribution system.

Rolling Rock
Rolling Rock was long independent after springing up after the end of prohibition. However, in 2006 the label was purchased by Anheuser-Busch and its traditional brewing facilities were subsequently abandoned. Despite leaving the facilities, the brand has retained its motto, “From the glass lined tanks of Old Latrobe, we tender this premium beer for your enjoyment as a tribute to your good taste. It comes from the mountain springs to you.” In the interest of not blatantly lying, they added “To honor the tradition of this great brand, we quote from the original pledge of quality.” Since A-B’s merger with Rolling Rock’s old owner, InBev, they have been trying to sell the brand.

Land Shark Lager
Marketed as the house lager for Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville restaurants, this pale lager that is served in clear bottles has long seemed a domestic competitor to Corona. Given its fairly obvious connection to Buffett and his restaurants, it may come as a surprise that this beer belongs to the world’s largest beer company.

Goose Island Brewery
Once a favorite of craft beer enthusiasts, Anheuser-Busch purchased the Chicago-based brewery in 2011. While not all offerings have been effected by the purchase (beyond more widespread distribution), many became concerned when brewmaster Greg Hall resigned following the purchase. After a modest investment in expanding the original Chicago-based brewing facility, the non-speciality brews are now brewed at Anheuser-Busch facilities in Fort Collins, Colorado and Baldwinsville, New York, to the alarm of some Goose Island fans.

These adorable little guys are owned by Bud.

Michelob
Michelob is well over a century old and has always been a possession of the Busch family, who founded it. The brand has undergone several changes over the years and has lately been a brand that introduces different seasonal and specialty beers. Its apparent non-relation to Anheuser-Busch, as conveyed in advertising, allows the brand to appear to be a competitor to both Budweiser and the Miller-Coors brands. Its Michelob Ultra brew is a favorite among hotties nation-wide.

Corona
After a fight with the U.S. Justice Department, Anheuser-Busch InBev successfully purchased Grupo Modelo, the owner of Corona. Grupo Modelo also owns Negra Modelo, Estrella, and Pacifico. Corona is the number 5 selling beer in the United States, making it the country’s top import. While the deal worked out with the Justice Department will prevent A-B InBev from making too many management decisions with the brand, all the money involved will still belong to the Anheuser-Busch.

Is there a magic code?

Beer companies are not required to disclose their corporate parentage on the label. At this point, it is difficult to know whether the beer you’re buying is actually craft or a unique import or just one of many centralized holdings of a massive conglomerate. For some, this is not a big deal. If you like a beer, you like it. Some others prefer to support small businesses or may feel more assured that the quality will be high if they know the beer does not come from one of the several large corporations that dominate the world beer industry. Others still may feel the exact opposite – Information is always positive.

Either way, Happy Friday, and enjoy whatever it is you decide to drink this weekend!

The post Six Breweries You Didn’t Know Were Owned by Anheuser-Busch appeared first on Flapship Sports & Entertainment.