Be sure to check out WWE Superstars this Thursday August 27th at 8:00pm EST on the WGN America television network.

On the next episode of WWE Superstars the crowd could be drawn as a decent Number One Contender’s match for the Intercontinental Title is taking place. The combatants are Mike Knox, Finlay, and recent Summer Slam Intercontinental Challenger Dolph Ziggler. One of these men will be qualifying for the new WWE Pay-Per-View “Breaking Point” to face Rey Mysterio so let’s break down what’s at stake.

For Dolph Ziggler we already know. He put forth a valiant effort against a seasoned WWE vet in Rey Mysterio at Summer Slam. If he wins this Number One Contender’s match, he’ll undoubtedly need to beat Mysterio this time to move further in his notoriety.

For Finlay it would be a spot back in the limelight we call Pay-Per-View. This fellow has been knocking on the ECW Championship’s door but never gets the chance to be put over. Perhaps a crack at the Intercontinental gold will be it for him.

Finally, for Mike Knox, it gives him his real first shot at glory. Up until now he mainly suffices as an exhibitionist. However, if any of you remember his feud with Rey Mysterio not too long ago then there is definitely reason to believe that he could cash in on this opportunity.

Aside from this main event, the show will be featuring The Hurricane in a grudge match against Paul Burchill and a highly intriguing matchup between Primo Colon and Jack Swagger. Swagger and Colon’s styles are very different and it should make for an interesting night along with the Number One Contender’s bout.

Let the drama begin.

By now everyone knows about the latest head-turning acquisition in the NFL. No ladies and gentleman, we are not talking about Michael Vick. This is the return of the return of Mr. Brett Favre. I got a look at the Vikings schedule which didn’t interest me much prior to the huge pickup. But let’s all take a look together now that Favre has joined the club.

The first five games should produce a 5-0 start; at Cleveland, at Detroit, home against rebuilding San Francisco, home against defensively struggling Green Bay, and at the inept St. Louis Rams.

The next three games are tough; home against Baltimore, at Pittsburgh, home at Green Bay. I’d say the Pittsburgh game is a loss. The one against Green Bay could be a shootout based on pure emotion alone that could go either way. The game against the Ravens figures to be hard-nosed and I’ll give the Vikes the edge in that one being at home to bring them to 6-2 midway.

After that they get to rest up for a week before they face the Lions again at home, then inconsistent Seattle at home, and Chicago who has defensive and wide receiving woes at home as well. I think all three are wins bringing them to 9-2.

The final stretch is where it gets tough; at Arizona, a trap-game like matchup against Cincinnati at home, at Carolina, at Chicago who may be in the division race at that time, and home against the New York Giants who might be in playoff or NFC East title contention as well.

If the Vikings turn out to be solid, they should win one or two of those last five games. If they mold into a great team then 12-13 wins should be on the horizon. Favre may be 40 years old, and have shown signs of decay over the last half of the previous year, but in Minnesota he has a proven deep threat in Bernard Berrian, and a put-the-team-on-my-back rusher in Adrian Peterson along with starter-worthy Chester Taylor.  

This team is much more balanced offensively and stronger defensively than the Jets were last year and that should be the difference in how well Favre plays through another 16 game stretch.

Tune into WWE Superstars Thursday nights at 8:00pm eastern on the WGN network.

Probably the main benefit that comes out of this show is the chance to see what you typically only got on special occasions (usually three hour specials of Monday Night RAW) or during the WWE draft… mixed brand wrestling. Although that is obviously the marketed benefit, it is still quite a perk for any WWE fan and deserves some stressing.

One night you might get matchups mixed with inter-brand bouts, or you might even get an occasional Number One Contender’s match as was the case a while back between Christian and Finlay. In this respect it is kind of cool and I view it like the show for those who see pro wrestling as their past time; you’re just going to get a good, random mix of entertainment with the occasional contest that has something at stake.

I would not expect to see Super Card type matchups on this show but you’ll definitely have a Super Card player here and there in the ring with someone else (see John Cena versus Ted DiBiase Jr.).  

And aside from what the show does for the fans it also helps out those superstars that aren’t scheduled to see action quite as often as others would on Monday Night Raw, Friday Night Smackdown and ECW. So for that, WWE Superstars is pretty interesting television.

Prepare for even more magic in Orlando next season.

Vin-sanity is now headed to the Orlando Magic. Why do I like this move? Not only because Vince Carter is an obvious All-Star and has shown superstar potential, but because the already loaded Orlando Magic made a move to get themselves even more loaded. Like The Matrix… reloaded.

I compare the positive nature of this move to their mid-season move of last year when they traded for Raefer Alston. When Jameer Nelson went down, the Magic picked up Alston to take care of the slack. In Alston they had found another capable point guard to run the floor for the Magic. Now, they have given up Alston and Tony Battie for Vince Carter. And in all seriousness, because they have a still budding Nelson at the point, that definitely makes Vince Carter worth those two players and the other no-name they gave up to get him.

Finally, the Magic will further be known as the team who thrives on the three point play. They still have Mikael Pietrus, Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson, and Courtney Lee who can all hit the dagger three. Even the capable Anthony Johnson can do it. Now they add Carter with Dwight Howard and they have two true All-Star players on their team. This proves that the Magic were not happy with the final result of their season and I commend them for it.

Get ready for this again.

Next week July 6^th on Monday Night Raw John Cena and Triple H will face off against one another for the third time in their history. The difference this time is that they won’t be facing each other for a title, but rather, for an opportunity to face Randy Orton for the WWE Championship. When Triple H defeated MVP and Cena defeated the Mix the first round of this Number One Contenders tournament, they earned the right to fight next week.

The first time these two fought was at one of the Wrestlemanias when Cena was defending the coveted WWE Championship. He forced the Game to tap out and defended his title. The second time they fought it was Triple H who defended his title successfully. Now what will happen this time? It’s simple. Cena will win or there will be a Triple Threat.

I don’t see the WWE having another match between H and Orton, because that has just gotten exhausting. So, in that case, the Triple threat seems like the most likely matchup if the WWE is trying to wrap the belt around Triple H’s waist once again as it seems is the case. So don’t be surprised when I’m right!

He's one goofy dude. But if he puts on the right kind of performance this Sunday we might start to take him a little more seriously...

This Sunday at The Bash (formerly known as The Great American Bash) the Miz will face John Cena in a standard wrestling match for pride, that is… for the Miz. For John Cena, this is hardly a thing of self-importance but mostly satisfaction in teaching the Miz that he has no chance stepping into the ring with one of the consistent main eventers. But for the Miz it is his chance to show that he can truly stand up to John Cena.

Miz is not like a Randy Orton where he can “punk out” of a match and still attains notoriety from the fans with clever wit and dastardly actions, whether they love him or hate him. So, in order for the Miz to be taken seriously by the so-called WWE Universe he will either have to fight an even match, perhaps close to a battle of attrition and lose, or defeat Cena straight up with no tricks and no cheating along with a performance that looks guts-worthy.

In all truth, I hope they let that happen. Cena’s character has been fading in terms of his dominance. Beating the Big Show four, five, or six times, or whatever it has been does not count, because The Big Show is a jobber for the top dogs, and is simply there to make them look better; the Triple Hs, the Ortons, Batistas, and the Cenas of the WWE world.

My prediction: it will be a solid match that will start off shaky. Then, at one of the points where Cena is in control Big Show will come down and distract him. Then the Miz will roll him up from behind and pick up the victory.

I remember an infamous day in 2004. It was November 14^th and they dubbed it… “Steelin a Brown!” It was before kickoff of Steelers/Browns game and the Cleveland Browns bust of a running back William Green decided it was ok to get into it verbally with Joey Porter the linebacker. And that’s cool. Just don’t let it get physical Mr. Willie.

See, what happened was, I guess Green thought that spitting in Porter’s face would help to disintegrate that pirate-like scowl of Porter’s but he was wrong. Porter then proceeded to cock back a fist and jacked him up like Riahanna having a bad episode of déjà-vu involving Chris Brown. But the only tunes that Green was singing then was “Damn.”

Not only was he left with a damaged cranium, but also got booted from the game right before the Steelers did what they usually do when they play the Browns… legalized rape!

Well I guess things might just turn out better for Chris Brown, who today has decided to plead guilty for beating the $%^& out of his woman, Rihanna. Today Chris didn’t even get put in jail for 1st degree assault charges, he however will have 5 years of probation with some hours of community service. Man that seems like a steal for Brown doesn’t it?  Chris won’t even miss a beat, dropping new hits on them…(Hopefully Rihanna won’t receive anymore!) I guess that the way the jury crumbles!

REALLY FUNNY YOU-TUBE SONG!

If you need a football fix check out NFL Network. With Comcast Cable company it’s only around $7.00 and change. I’m not trying to promote for another company, I’m just trying to let people who are football heads know about a great spot where they can get a fix, and that is NFL network when they replay entire football games, usually matchups that had great finishes or were good mostly through all four quarters.

But that is not the best part. They show the games without the breaks in between plays so they go faster. If they showed thee old broadcasts in their entirety, then I could definitely see that being a problem. And for those of you thinking that an extra $7.00+ a month is too much to ask for one more channel, please note that is the price of an entire sports package that includes racing, fencing, (a whole bunch of other crap) but probably most importantly the NBA TV channel.

Don’t forget that this channel is great for the regular and post seasons as well as you can tune in any time of the day if you’re not satisfied with the converge from Sports Center.

He didn't do too much in Jacksonville... 11 catches & 181 yards. But let's see what he does with two more veteran Pro Bowlers in Todd Heap and Derrick Mason.

The Ravens made some free agency movement by picking up two wide receivers that have showed the capability to be productive. Although both players, Jerry Porter and Kelley Washington, have either been a disappointment or simply have not had much playing time as of late, their potential and skill are no doubt present.

Porter is the one that has been a disappointment. In fact, he has been a disappointment since his years with Rich Gannon in 2004 and 2005. Since then, his numbers are a total of 56 catches for 905 yards. Hardly great for a guy who was considered a great slot man and potential number two wide receiver, if not number one. However, in those two solid years with Gannon in 04 and 05 he produced 64 catches for 998 yards and 76 for 942 respectively. So, that’s just three years ago, and in the three years after he has had to deal with Kerry Collins before he found the fountain of youth in Tennessee, a young JaMarcus Russell, and a fluke-a-luke David Garrard in Jacksonville last season. Perhaps good things are to come on a team with a promising QB in Joe Flacco and a winning attitude.

Kelley Washington has not done much since his years in Cincinnati. In fact, his totals since 2005 are not very good; 20 catches for 119 yards. But in his first two years he looked like he was on a steady growth plan with 22 catches for 299 yards in 2003 and 31 catches for 378 yards in 2004. Plus, he has had to play behind four exceptional Pro Bowlers in T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Ochocinco from 05 to 06 with the Bengals, and two more in Randy Moss and Wes Welker in New England from 07 to 08 which could definitely leave a guy to be overlooked.

Although both these men are not stars, they definitely have shown the tools to be admirably productive at best. What this tells me is that the Baltimore Ravens are really looking to be better than their already great 11-5 record from last year.

Clank clanck clank! It's the Lakers... and Santa too?

Today, in downtown L.A., it is a glorious day. Where in the city of angels every creature in purple and yellow will be stirring, including those who hardly get any play time. Kobe Bryant will not have to live with the ghost of Christmas Shaq, and Santa Jackson gets spoiled like a baby with a tenth ring in his stocking.

Rudolph the red-nosed Ariza will get accepted by his fellow deer and Santa Jackson after pulling the slay against the Magic, and the worker elf, little Derek Fisher proves his reliability. I don’t know if the same can be said for “Don’ter the Blitzen” (aka the inconsistent Lamar Odom) as he seems to be doing a lot more prancing than he does playing. He may not be allowed back in Santa’s shop come next Christmas season.

And even little Luke Walton, the token white elf, can be seen setting up trees with the worker bee Jordan Farmar, but not like the trees his father once grasped. And even in this time of merrious cheer, Zen is practiced, but perhaps not this coming year in L.A.

If you look closely you can see a Gasol standing tall, and a Bynum who is about to fall as they both stand underneath the mistletoe in The L.A. Day Parade!