Summer of Excitement - Operation: Mascot Hunt - [a case of the summer]

I'm on vacation this week, hence this later-than-usual post (I also almost certainly won't be doing a LIVE Raw post, but if I do catch the show, I plan on sending occasional thoughts on Twitter).  Anyway, I JUST got my Internet set up (and my computer seems to be the only one that works), so I thought I'd post this ASAP and add the photos/graphics later.  Thanks for the patience!

So this past week, my office had our summer relaxation event at a Somerset Patriots game.  They're a minors baseball team in New Jersey.  Anyway, as many of you will remember from a few years ago, I always consider it a mission to get a photo with a team mascot.  Two years ago, the last time we went to a Patriots game, I snapped a photo with one.  But this team has two....so my mission was to ensure that I got a photo with both!

And actually, I had a bit of an inside track, as well.  One of my friends from college actually reports on the Patriots, so I gave him a heads up and wondered if he could arrange for both mascots to visit our suite.  He assured me that the mascots love him, so that shouldn't be a problem.  However, when game day came around, he learned that it's actually a camp day, and that the mascots tend to be pretty busy on those days.

Despite that minor obstacle, I'm glad to say that I succeeded!  Not only did I get a photo with both at once (which, unfortunately, is a little hard to make out since the sun was behind us), I also got great self shots with each one of them individually.  So, I'm glad to say it was mission accomplished!

Those photos will be added to my "Photos with Funny Items" album, so be sure to check it out when you get a chance:

http://s653.photobucket.com/albums/uu256/acaseoftheblog/Photos%20with%20funny%20items/

UPDATED:  August 4, 2012 - Photos added!

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A Case of Beer - The Lottery Draft - [a case of the summer]

Instead of telling you about an unusual or unknown game, I thought this week I'd discuss a manner of running a beer pong tournament.

Back in my college days, when my friends and I moved out of the dorm, we used to arrange an annual beer pong tournament.  And over the summer, while I was home, I did my best to have one with my hometown friends as well.  Back in 2005, I ran probably my best tournament yet, when I did the Lottery Draft (wrestling fans will recognize the name -- it's a play on the then-yearly Draft Lottery).

So how does it work?  Everybody's name is put in a hat.  One name is randomly selected.  That person then picks their partner (logic being that he/she will pick a strong partner or somebody they play well with).  That team will then pick one of their opponents.  The person they picked (logically a weaker player) then gets to pick his/her partner (again, likely a strong player or somebody they team well with).  The process continues until the bracket has been filled (and obviously, anybody who was selected as a partner or opponent can no longer be picked out of the hat).

The reason I came up with this is because it's the best of both worlds.  Some people like to pick teams, others like teams to be picked randomly.  Plus, I really like the idea of picking one of your opponents (which could increase your chances of victory), but giving that person the power of improving their chances by choosing their own partner.  There are a lot of fun possibilities, too.  Let's say you're a great player, but a really crappy player makes you their partner?  You really don't know what might happen!

For what it's worth, I didn't win that year's tournament.  One of my best friends from home was the first name picked, and he (surprisingly) picked one of my best friends from school.  They picked my brother as their opponent, who in turn picked me as his partner.  We lost that game, but due to the double elimination rules, we fought our way through the loser's bracket and ultimately came in third place.  The team to win?  My best friend from home and my best friend from school!  Kinda fun that the first team to come together under this process ended up winning it all.

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Paul Bearer: Angst Ridden Teenager?

Well I'm mildly disappointed to report that for the first time, I've been blocked by somebody on Twitter.  And on top of that, I genuinely don't understand why.  You'll probably recall from my discussion with Shane Helms, I make a conscious effort to keep all of my interactions on Twitter civil and respectful.  I simply refuse to stoop to somebody's low levels.  And hey, I'm 30 years old.  I really don't find much joy acting like an immature kid when debating something.

The thing is, this wasn't even a debate.  As many of you are likely aware, Roddy Piper got into an issue with some wrestling site because they reported that he made suggestive comments towards Kaitlyn, which made her feel uncomfortable.  Both the Legend and Diva denied the reports, and Piper (rightfully) wanted to know which site started the rumor.  My good friends at WrestleChat.Net pinpointed it to Ryan Clark of WZR Online.  Out of curiosity, I checked out Ryan's Twitter feed and discovered that he also reported that Paul Bearer was rumored to be at Raw 1,000, even though Paul Bearer himself, in a Twitter message sent to Ryan, denied this fact.  So I sent the following message:

Matt Basilo ‏@acaseofthetwit

@WrestleChatNet - There's also a funny interaction between@RyanClarkWZR & @wweURNiverse where Paul outright says he won't be on #Raw1000

Later, Paul Bearer surprisingly wrote back saying this:

Paul Bearer ‏@wweURNiverse

@acaseofthetwit And your point is....

The somewhat aggravated tone of his message confused me.  I reread what I wrote, and honestly in no way did it seem like I was making any sort of attack on Paul.  Nonetheless, I answered:

Matt Basilo ‏@acaseofthetwit

@wweURNiverse - ...that he reported false news despite the subject confirming otherwise.

I wanted to make it perfectly clear that my initial message was directed at Ryan, and not him.  But once again, Bearer wrote back with a less-than-friendly response:

Paul Bearer ‏@wweURNiverse

@acaseofthetwit Whatever...

At this point, admittedly, I was started to feel a little disrespected.  Paul Bearer, like many celebrities on Twitter, demands to be treated with respect.  And he does deserve that.  But shouldn't I be afforded that same courtesy?  Just because I'm not famous doesn't mean I should be spoken down to.  I mean, when I saw him write "Whatever...." as a response to what I had said, I honestly thought he came across like some immature, angst written teenager (hence the title of this post).  The guy is almost 60 years old, why not handle the misunderstanding/issue with a little more decorum?  So I asked him the following:

Matt Basilo ‏@acaseofthetwit

@wweURNiverse - Why the hostility? My argument is in defense of people who have lies reported about them

This seemed like a pretty reasonable question, and I wanted him to understand my stance.  In no way was I attacking him.  In fact, I was attempting to stand up for those in the wrestling industry who have false information reported about him.  Certainly that doesn't deserve such aggressive messages.  His response:

Paul Bearer ‏@wweURNiverse

@acaseofthetwit LOL

What the hell?  I didn't even know how to interpret that.  Was he laughing in my face?  Was he laughing at the fact that I seemed offended or bothered by his messages?  Did he consider this all a misunderstanding?  What was I missing????  I wasn't behaving like a jerk, so I asked:

Matt Basilo ‏@acaseofthetwit

@wweURNiverse - I'm just a lifelong fan and a nice person. Not sure what I did to warrant this angst

Following that message, I noticed that his responses were no longer showing up on my iPad (they still remained on my laptop, however).  So I got curious and decided to check out his profile, which now came up as protected.  I hit the "Follow" button, only for a message to say that I've been blocked by the user.

Keep the following things in mind:  At no point did I ever use offensive language.  I honestly do not believe anything that I've said could be reasonable interpreted as an attack towards him either.  I also did not inundate him with messages.  Aside from the original message (which wasn't even directed towards him, it simply referred to him), every message I sent was in response to a message he had sent me.  I also have no hostile history with the guy.  I've repeatedly sent kind, supportive messages whenever he's mentioned his late wife and his grandchildren.

Honestly, I don't know what to make of the guy.  One second he's telling people to "God bless," but the next he seems to want to act bitter and angry towards people who don't deserve it.  I'm not devastated by this, as it's not as if he ever said anything substantial or mind blowing on Twitter (but hey, thanks for the daily reminder about where we can all find your website).  Honestly, I'm just not sure what I said or did to warrant such a hostile and disrespectful interactive exchange.  Perhaps next time he tells somebody to "God bless," he should remember the golden rule.

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Trending Topics - The Dark Knight Rises - [a case of the summer]

So this Sunday I finally got to see The Dark Knight Rises ("finally" might seem like a strong word since it had just come out two days prior, but waiting truly did feel like an eternity), which means this edition of Trending Topics with be my review of the epic film.  There will be spoilers within, so I'm going to do a page break to ensure that nothing is ruined for anybody who hasn't already seen the film.  For those who have seen the movie and want to know my thoughts, click the "Read More" link below!

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LIVE #Raw1000 thoughts - July 23, 2012

11:14 - Quite the interesting ending to Raw and a rather enthralling character study into CM Punk.  First, the ref was knocked out, immediately followed by John Cena hitting the AA and getting a clear win over Punk (which did not count, since the ref was out cold).  This was slightly bothersome, however not significantly so.  For the past year, in their actual matches, Punk has been shown to be at least on Cena's level.  And we can always use the excuse that Punk suffered some damage banging into the referee.  Following that, the Big Show interfered and Punk reluctantly watched on as Big Show prepped a WMD.  He was obviously conflicted, unsure if he should just let it happen or if he should help him.  Ultimately, he let it happen.  Following that, he was notably torn as to whether he should take the cheap win even though it wouldn't be particularly honorable.  After a significant amount of turmoil, he decided to wake up the ref and go for the cover.  But he didn't get the pin. And when he went for his finisher, which was reversed into an STF, Big Show again interfered (thus ending the match).  Again, Punk was unsure what to do while Big Show made the attack.  Rock finally came to Cena's aid, but just as the Rock was going for the People's Elbow, Punk shockingly attacked him.  All the while, he seemed conflicted.

What does this all mean?  The way I saw it, Punk realized that he came THIS close to losing the WWE Championship, and that scared him.  It also preyed on his insecurities, which Eve pointed out a few weeks ago (yeah he's the champion, but the company still centers around Cena).  And because of that, he was willing to do whatever it took to stay on top.  I wouldn't say this is a heel turn, but it's certainly planting the seeds for an eventual one.  The ending certainly has people talking, that's for sure.

And hey!  History has been made!  John Cena is now the first person to cash in the briefcase and not win the title!

10:59 - I think we're going to see a screwjob finish.  If Cena were going to win it in a legitimate match, they would give this match MUCH more time.  I say Big Show interferes and Punk somehow retains.

10:52 - So we've only got about 20 minutes left in the show and there's some surprising stuff so far.  Particularly, what we HAVEN'T seen.  No Divas match so far (including the rumored return of Kelly Kelly). No Big Show.  No Edge.  And, most surprisingly (and as noted in the comments section), no Stone Cold Steve Austin.  Not only is he the pioneer of making Raw successful, but he's been somewhat of a constant in these Raw memorable moments.  They're clearly highlighting him, which seems strange (to this extent) if he's not here.  I'm not sure I see him interfering in the main event (which I do imagine Big Show will do) because it doesn't seem to make sense.  Very surprising.

10:45 - It's always awesome to see the Undertaker on TV and I'm a sucker for him and Kane as a team....so I loved that segment.  But I'm fairly certain Alex Riley could've cleared the ring of those six guys....I'm pretty sure Kane had it covered.  They couldn't have made the threat a little more believable?

Overall awesome segment, though.  Except Undertaker struggled with that hood a bit.

10:38 - Undertaker appearance?

10:34 - Just get it over with and say that Hornswoggle was responsible for GTV.  Makes about as much sense as the Anonymous Raw General Manager :)

10:25 - No f'n way.....Sean Mooney??!?!?!  He hasn't aged a day!

10:23 - That was a fun climax to the Heath Slater/Legends storyline.  I especially liked seeing all of the past legends (as well as some additional ones) reappearing to stop Slater from leaving.  This is actually the one time that I might argue that a losing streak worked.  A very, very, very, very, very rare instance.


10:18 - Okay, who do you think Slater is facing (incidentally, has nothing happened in 15 minutes?)

10:03 - Oh, how I can't wait to see everybody's reaction to Triple H clearing the ring of Brock Lesnar.  I didn't mind it (as long as Lesnar wins the match).  I was more bothered by Stephanie emasculating Heyman verbally and physically, actually.

10:01 - Just in case you were wondering, Heyman can't talk about Triple H's kids....but Stephanie McMahon can talk crap about Heyman's kids.

9:46 - I don't mind Miz winning the title.  I actually hope that Christian inserts himself into the World title feud, which desperately needs some interest in it (sorry, ADR/Sheamus isn't cutting it).  And how about throwing Miz in a feud with Sin Cara or somebody?  Build up that midcard and the IC title.

9:37 - I wouldn't mind seeing a full blown Christian/Miz feud (wish it were for the World Championship, though).  By the way, I HATE Miz's new look with the new look and the barely there facial hair.  Remember when WWE had Dolph Ziggler dye his distinctive bleach blonde hair brown, so that it looked like everybody else?  Terrible mistake which took away what made him unique.  Miz's fauxhawk was a recognizable characteristic that set him apart.  And he looked a lot better with it, too.

9:36 - Who faces Christian?  I'm hoping somebody surprising, i.e. not Cody Rhodes.

9:28 - Fantastic segment that probably topped anything we've seen tonight.  First off, CM Punk, The Rock, and Daniel Bryan exchanging insults behind the mic is guaranteed gold.  And it surely delivered.  Also, I LOVE the idea of building the Rock's title match at Royal Rumble in July.  Awesome stuff.

9:19 - I know the brand extension really means nothing at this point, but Daniel Bryan IS a Smackdown guy.  Why would the the Raw GM have any impact on his career?  For that matter, AJ (the new General Manager) is a Smackdown Diva in and of itself.  I need a flow chart.

9:16 - So far, no new WWE Championship for Punk.

9:10 - Wow, I did not expect that.  Not at all.  I'm intrigued.  I'm sure AJ as the new General Manager won't satisfy the people who felt she was being overexposed (however, I was NOT part of that group), but I find Bryan's role in this particularly interesting.  Was he going to marry her?  Did he have something up his sleeve?  Did he truly love her?  Are they now broken up?  Who's the heel?  Who's the face?  Rather intriguing stuff.  By the way, AJ strikes me as the kind of girl who really would have Slick officiate her wedding.

9:05 - This crowd is yelling "WHAT?" during a Daniel Bryan segment?  Isn't there a more appropriate one word chant?

8:57 - I thought we'd see Stephanie interrupt Triple H and Trish's workout routine in a throwback to their Attitude Era awkward moment.  Oh well.  Big wedding is next.  Was Bryan talking to mental patients?

8:55 - I will confess that at one time Dude Love was actually my favorite incarnation of Mick Foley.  Of course, that would be usurped by a tie-wearing loony Mankind.  This was actually a clever way of using him, instead of his typical cheap pop promos.

8:48 - "He's an invisible child.  How do we know he's dancing if we can't see him?"

8:45 - My gut, unfortunately, tells me that Bryan will turn on AJ.  But I'm hoping that's not the case.  I want these guys to end up together.  By the way, in that backstage skit, AJ showed she has more charisma than many guys on the roster.

8:38 - I have to say, a feud between Dolph Ziggler and Chris Jericho, with both of them in a bit of a tweener role (until determining which goes face) could be LOADS of fun.  Sign me up for that.

By the way, was Cole excusing JR from the ring?  If he's only doing announcing for one match, why waste it on some throwaway six man match?  How about the WWE Championship match?  Or at least something to do with the Attitude Era?  I hope I misinterpreted that.

8:28 - I don't know why, but the social media icons on the graphics that show the Superstar's name annoy me.  WWE realizes we can't press the TV screen to click the link, right?

Oh, and I guess that wasn't an official face turn for Jericho last week.  Sin Cara and Mysterio teaming is cool, though.  Is this a first?

8:26 - Great to see JR back at the announce booth.  But why was Lawler so surprised to see him with the goatee?  He had it last time Lawler saw him (on television) at WrestleMania.

8:19 - A fun segment that didn't outstay its welcome.  It was fun seeing every single significant member of DX together -- in fact, this version of DX never officially appeared together.  So this was truly significant.  The interchange at the end, with Shawn and Gunn arguing over who gets to say "And if you're not down with that...." was pretty humorous.  I'm also glad that the promo was interrupted, because I think it would've been somewhat weak if it was JUST DX patting themselves on the back.  There needed to be a conflict and some action.  Well done -- effective beginning.

8:09 - Even though it turned into their (annoying) schtick....for that matter, shilling merchandise is very un-DX as well (anti-establishment, afterall).

8:06 - Willing to see how this plays out, but Vince introducing DX is very un-DX.

8:04 - Really good opening video, with a nice mix of legitimate historic moments, celebrity appearances, lighthearted moments, sentimental moments, and moments that might have changed the industry.  Really cool stuff.  Surprised we didn't get a full blown new intro, though (to go with the new logo and new theme, apparently).  Onto McMahon....

7:14 - Okay, the 1,000th episode of Raw is going to start in about 45 minutes and I have to admit that I'm looking pretty forward to it.  I discussed this on Twitter earlier, but between CM Punk vs. John Cena, the Daniel Bryan/AJ wedding, the return of the Rock, the return of Brock Lesnar, and even the DX reunion (with the possibility of other DX members appearing) truly makes it feel like something big is going to happen around every corner.  Plus, we've got some returning legends (some of which could have substantial impact on the show) and the announcement of a new Raw/Smackdown General Manager.

My hopes for the show?  First and foremost, that CM Punk debuts a new WWE Championship.  And second:  WWE calms down with this friggin' Tout crap.  The Twitter thing got a little annoying, yes, but it was at least something I could relate to.  I really don't like or get this Tout thing.  Twitter is great because you can simultaneously check out many people's thoughts while not disrupting whatever you're doing.  You can watch TV and read what 15 different people think.  You can be at work and follow what's going on.  Tout is just too disruptive.  You've got to watch a video, so you have to do it one at a time.  And you can't really watch it while watching TV or talking on the telephone.  And the messages have to be, like, 15 seconds or something anyway....so it's not like you can't just put it in a Tweet.  I don't get it.

Check back at 8:00 for my LIVE thoughts.  And comment!  So that we can discuss the show.

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Summer of Excitement - Fitness Week - [a case of the summer]

If you remember in my introduction to the Summer of Excitement, one of the criteria was to do something that I've never done before.  And I did this this past week in what I refer to as "Fitness Week."

Why the title?  Well, due to a fairly rainy June and July, we've had a lot of softball games to make up.  So on Monday we were to have a double header, followed by a single game on Wednesday.  And to close out the week, I'd be running my very first 5K on Thursday.  As a guy who doesn't particularly like to exercise and has a genuine disdain for running, this was going to be quite an arduous and challenging task.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure I should tell you that things didn't work out exactly as planned.  Due to -- you guessed it -- rain, our Wednesday night softball game got canceled (however, we did win BOTH of our games on Monday!!)  But that was counteracted by a trip I needed to take to one of our other offices Thursday afternoon, which resulted in me and one other person having to carry two computer monitors, a giant printer, several boxes, miscellaneous other IT equipment and A BOOK CASE from our New Brunswick office to our Morristown office.  That was quite tiring, I tell ya' what.

But the real challenge was the 5K, which I've never done before.  Well, that's not entirely true.  I signed up for this same 5K last year, but actively decided to walk it (and made a great new friend in doing so).  It was for a good charity and a bunch of my work friends were doing it, so I participated more for support than to actually try to run it.  However, when I finally crossed the finish line, they had completely run out of participation medals, which really disappointed me.  Actually, it disappointed me A LOT.  So this year, I decided I would participate again and that I would actually try to run it.  With no prior training whatsoever.

Truthfully, I didn't end up running the entire thing.  There were A LOT of hills and over 4,000 people participating.  Between the inclines, the heat, and the constantly shuffling around people, I did force myself to walk every now and again.  But I legitimately ran the first full mile, and I'd say more than half of the race beyond that point.  And I finished strong.  Most importantly, I GOT MY MEDAL!!!  That's right, I got the one thing I was truly working towards.  And that, in itself, was a proud accomplishment for me.  I do admit, though, that my hips are STILL feeling the pain three days later.

There was one thing that I found curious, though, which is that the event actually got picketed.  That's right -- people were actually staging a strike against this run.  I didn't catch who the group was, but their fight was against Verizon (the event sponsor), starting that the company has excited instances of corporate greed.  The thing is, the race was to benefit a battered women's shelter.  Don't you think there's a more appropriate event to stage this protest?  I mean, urging people not to donate and participate in an event intended to help battered women seems a little low.  Just as important as picking your battles is knowing when and where to have those battles.  Poor judgment, indeed.

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A Case of Beer - The Finger Game - [a case of the summer]

Alright, alright, get your mind out of the gutter.

This is a game we used to play in my hometown during our college years.  I haven't seen it played anywhere else, and nobody outside of the people I've played with has ever heard of it.  I don't know who invented it or where it came from, but it's a pretty easy game to play.

Basically you fill up a glass with beer, and all of the participants put one finger on the lip of the cup.  So, let's say five people are playing.  The first person will say any number between zero and five.  At the exact moment that the person is saying the number, everybody either lifts their finger or leaves it there.  If the number the person says is the same as the number of fingers on the cup, that person is out (the purpose of the game is to "guess" how many fingers will be on the cup).

This process continues, with each person around the table trying to guess.  The last person standing, as you might have guessed, has to drink the beer.

When I explain this game the inevitable question is "why don't you just keep/raise your finger based on what the person is saying?"  As in, just cheat.  Well, the problem is two-fold:  For one, I'm not kidding when I say this is simultaneous.  As the person speaks, you really do have to raise or leave your finger (any obviously late move is disqualified (as in, if you're late to raise, your finger is counted as "down").  And secondly, you have no idea what everybody else is going to do.  So, even if you "know" that the person is going to say "three," you don't know if the other players are going to lift or raise their fingers.  Making your efforts to cheat somewhat moot.

Oh, and you also have your typical complaint about people's fingers being where your lips are going to touch.  I don't know what to tell you about that one.  It's a drinking game....they're all terribly unsanitary.

And actually, as people begin to drink and panic (believe it or not, it actually gets quite intense when you get to the final two), you hear some very funny actions.  Like, for example, saying "zero" but then forgetting to lift your own finger.  Or the genuine and surprising excitement that occurs when somebody guesses right after several rounds of unsuccessful turns.

It's a unique game.  Give it a shot.

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Trending Topics - fiverr.com - [a case of the summer]

Well, due to the impending storm, tonight's softball game was canceled.  I could use the extra rest, but this is actually impacting my Summer of Excitement entry for the week (more on that this weekend).  Drat!

But anyway, this edition of Trending Topics is about my new internet obsession:  http://fiverr.com/

Like many hilarious things, this comes to me courtesy of Tosh.0.  What is it, exactly?  Well, it's a website where people offer various services for $5.  These services truly cover the spectrum.  Several people offer to sing Happy Birthday for you.  Another person offers advice on those traveling with children.  And then there are several that offer to do a video testimonial for your company, or put together a professional video with your company's logo.  Some of the stuff is actually quite tempting.

Truth be told, I have actually considered taking up some of these offers for content for this blog.  Definitely checkout this website.  Which services would you purchase for $5?

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LIVE Money in the Bank thoughts - July 15, 2012

10:47 - That was an odd ending, with the handle just tearing off when Cena was using it as a weapon against Show.  I'm not saying it might have been an accident, but it was a bit anti-climatic.  And there's another reason why this shouldn't have been the last match.  It was good, but not great.  Certainly not the best match of the night.  Possibly not even the best ladder match of the night.

To steal a phrase from Scott Keith, this is pretty much the definition of a "thumbs in the middle" type show.  Punk/Bryan was awesome.  WHC MITB was great.  And WWE Championship MITB and ADR/Sheamus was good.  Then you had a lot of pointless filler.  I don't regret ordering the show, but it wasn't as great as it could have been.

What are your thoughts of the show?

10:40 - I will say that Big Show is doing a good job of selling the enormity of this ladder.

10:24 - By the way, Big Show's camouflage singlet is dreadful looking.  Never liked it.

10:23 - I don't know.....I guess Cena wins this.

10:19 - No Kharma appearance, which everybody was hoping for with the entire Divas division in the ring at once.

10:14 - Wow, so there is a Divas match....with all of them getting their own entrance?  With only 45 minutes left of the show?  I'm a bit surprised the MITB match isn't getting more time (especially since they have 5 entrances as well).  I'm going with the face Divas winning.  Because Natalya getting pinned is always a safe bet.

10:11 - And now she just said that they should have done a Divas championship match instead.  Yeah, because Layla is far more marketable than Ryback.

10:08 - So former WWE Diva Maria just tweeted "Why is Ryback Goldberg?  Why is Ryback Batista?  Why is Ryback Brock?"  Clearly, in her mind, all musclebound guys who win squash matches are all the same.  But she's something special and stands out from all of the other females in the wrestling industry (rolls eyes).

10:02 - That was an absolutely epic match and while it wasn't last (which it should have been), it did at least get a very respectable amount of time (and the announcers hyped it as a really special, big deal).  These guys didn't hold anything back, and the AJ factor was handled great.  At certain points she was a pot stirrer.  At other times, she seemed like she felt remorse for these two potentially injuring each other.  In the end, she played it down the middle.  And if I read her expressions right, she seemed concerned for Bryan and resentful towards Punk, perhaps because he seemingly completely ignored her post-match.  My only concern is that with Bryan losing clean, this is the end of their feud.  I certainly hope not.

I think this goes without saying, but Ryback wins.

9:44 - Honestly, in the middle of all of this carnage, imagine them doing backstage shots of the MITB winner watching, and the announcers wondering if that person is going to cash in.  I just don't get it.

9:41 - This is a great match and they're really unleashing a lot of punishment.  Now just remember if we had the added concern of whether the MITB winner would cash in afterwards.  What a complete waste.  They better have something SHOCKING planned for that ladder match.

9:31 - So the WWE Championship Money in the Bank winner will be rewarded by going further down the card?

9:29 - Daniel Bryan's new attire is kinda strange.  And decidedly less cool than his old one.  I'm sure I'll be loving it in another few weeks, though.  CM Punk sporting last year's MITB attire, which is a little disappointing.  I see Punk retaining, although I'm not sold on that prediction.

9:24 - I think a rant might be necessary.  I said this in my Trending Topics piece, but the MITB ladder match should ALWAYS be before the championship counterpart, simply because you can build the intrigue of whether the briefcase will be cashed in.  But on top of that, this Punk/Bryan/AJ story is getting A LOT of attention and the fans are really digging it.  I'd say, far more than the MITB match.  What's the point of not ending the show with the WWE Championship match?  It's rather frustrating.  I'm invested in this match, but I'm not in the MITB match.  It'll make the last hour kinda pointless for me.

9:20 - That was sorta strange, to be honest.  A rather good match, but it just didn't seem to make a lot of sense.  Why not just do a tag title match?  And Kofi and Truth were silent while on commentary.

Looks like the WWE Championship match is next.  Which is really, REALLY lame.

9:14 - Alright, I'll admit that AW did say two things that made me laugh.  Asking the audience to applause and telling Rosa to shut up.

9:13 - Sorry, forgot my prediction (100% so far!)  I'm going with the Prime Time Players winning.

9:08 - So the Tag Team Champions are on the pre-show, but the #1 contenders are on the PPV?

9:06 - Fresh haircut for Daniel Bryan.  I love it when the Superstars look like they cleaned themselves up for a PPV.  By the way, this video package makes me worried they might actually have the WWE Championship Match before the Money in the Bank match.  Which would be awful.

9:03 - Fun tease with Ziggler almost cashing in.  And the fans ate it up.  The "We Want Ziggler!" chant as ADR and Ricardo beat on Sheamus was great.  I almost sensed we might get a Dolph face turn.  Glad they didn't have Ziggler lose the briefcase so quickly, though.

9:00 - A perfectly fine match, just rather uninteresting.  They did well for themselves, but I REALLY hope these two are done with each other now.  There are plenty of talented guys on Smackdown, why not give Cody Rhodes a push and throw him in a feud with Sheamus next?  Post-match beatdown....does Dolph cash in?

8:48 - Granted, things haven't picked up yet, but the live audience is totally dead during this match.  Why did WWE insist upon this match anyway?

8:45 - By the way, ADR seemingly replaced white with black, which gives him a bit of an edge.

8:43 - Sheamus sporting his PPV-only (apparently) red trunks.  I approve.  I predict Sheamus retains.

8:39 - Looks like they are doing the WHC match now.  Disappointing.  Within the first hour, both (all) of Smackdown's advertised matches will have taken place.  Don't get me wrong, I have NO desire to see Sheamus vs. Alberto Del Rio (hopefully this gets it out of their system), but they're preventing themselves from building some intrigue around Dolph possibly cashing in.  I feel strongly that both Money in the Bank matches should occur before both championship matches, just to create a little distance between the two.

8:36 - I'm thrilled that Miz entered himself into the WWE Championship Money in the Bank match.  The match was definitely lacking and I'm for any new entrants.  But I have to say, the guy looks incredibly awkward with the hair parted to the side and the kinda-sorta facial hair.

8:33 - I hope they don't do the World Heavyweight Championship match next.  That would defeat the purpose of the Money in the Bank advantage.  Plus, is it really necessary to hammer the point home that the World Heavyweight Championship pales in comparison to the WWE Championship?

8:28 - Considering the insane bumps he took throughout the match, Dolph definitely deserved that victory.  And overall I think he was the right guy to win.  Hopefully he'll be like Edge -- after repeated failed attempts at winning the title legitimately, he "cheaply" uses Money in the Bank.  But in doing so, he firmly establishes himself as championship material and a main event Superstar.  Great match -- I suspect the WWE Championship counterpart will have a tough time topping that.  And hopefully the front office took notice of Tyson Kidd's great performance.

8:26 - Does this mean that Sin Cara failed another Wellness test?

8:18 - Relatively minor botches aside, this is an enjoyable match thus far.

8:14 - Everybody expected Sin Cara to botch....I don't think many expected it to be with Dolph Ziggler, though.

8:09 - Love that Christian got the prestigious "last entrant" honor, but disappointed he didn't debut some new attire either.  By the way, anyone else notice that Christian always takes off his belt and leaves it at the stairs, instead of handing it to the time keeper like everyone else?

8:07 - So instead of debuting new attire, Cody Rhodes has seemingly reverted back to his old ones.  Negative points for him.  Positive points, though, for Kidd wearing Barbershop Window's "Bank on Kidd" t-shirt.

8:04 - REALLY cool opening video package.  Top notch.  Looks like I was right about the first match.  This is an incredibly tough one to pick a winner for, since there are so many possibilities for where things might be going.  Dolph Ziggler and Cody Rhodes seem like the strongest bets (especially Ziggler), but I could see them doing something surprising and giving Damien Sandow the win.  If I'm forced to pick, I'm going with Ziggler.

7:59 - Show is about to begin.  I predict we start with the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank match.  However, I wish they'd do something riskier and start with the WWE Championship one.  Then spend the entire show building the intrigue of the repercussions for whoever wins.

7:53 - So apparently a No DQ stipulation was added to Punk vs. Bryan, which is very strange and unnecessary because (a) people are already intrigued by the match and (b) with a guest ref, the possibility of a screw job is already there.  Very odd.

7:44 - And now Matt Striker is doing commentary on the YouTube show, while interviewing Tyson Kidd backstage on the PPV show.  Mind.  Blown.

7:41 - Hold on a second....is Kofi Kingston wearing Skeletor trunks?  If so, that's super awesome.  Kofi has some of the coolest designs.

7:39 - So Scott Stanford is currently doing commentary on the YouTube pre-show, while also hosting the PPV pre-show.  Quite surreal.

7:35 - Bravo to Kofi Kingston for debuting some new trunks at tonight's show (the first of, hopefully, many). I said this before and I'll say it again -- why on earth is Kofi NOT in the Money in the Bank match???  This guy was tailor made for that and is always a highlight.  Big mistake.

7:29 - Well, I decided to take the plunge and order Money in the Bank.  Last year's show was so incredible that I decided to take the gamble.  And that's exactly what this show is -- a gamble.  There's a great deal of potential for it to be a fantastic show....or for it to be a terrible show.  Mostly, it's a sign of where the company might be going.

Last year, for example, had CM Punk winning the WWE Championship in an awesome match that was the culmination of an amazing feud.  We also saw Christian win the World Heavyweight Championship.  And Daniel Bryan, shockingly, win the Smackdown Money in the Bank match.  It was like a smart fan's dream show.

This year is a bit less thrilling, but I'm willing to give it a shot.  Espcially since I'm LOVING this Punk/Bryan/AJ feud.  The rest is....questionable.  Especially since only 4 matches have been announced.

I'll be giving my predictions before each match.  Now, onto the pre-show.

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Summer of Excitement - Kickball - [a case of the summer]

Have you watched last week's Summer of Excitement #ZRvsDZ video?  It was a fun little mission and hopefully an entertaining video, so give it a look if you haven't already!

This week's Summer of Excitement event was a flashback of sorts, as my firm participated in a charity kickball (that's right....KICKBALL!) tournament.  They did one last year, too, but I wasn't able to attend (i.e. I wasn't invited).  This year i made my desire to go be known, and was able to join 9 others in taking on other local firms in some kickball fun.

I don't know about you, but I haven't played kickball since high school.  Maybe even middle school.  So it's been a while.  The rules were relatively simple -- the ball has to bounce at least twice before cross the plate on a pitch (should you choose to bounce) and no pegging in the face.

Unfortunately we only ended up playing two games before getting eliminated.  The first game (which was a preliminary round) we absolutely dominated.  We played great.  I even managed to make a catch (sounds easy, but those red balls are bouncy!)  In the second game, we got off to a rough start.  At one point we were down  7-0.  This was compounded by some truly shoddy officiating (yes, I'm going to be "That Guy" right now).  The referees were just volunteers no older than we were.  They repeatedly missed calls (including a very crucial out, where I tagged a player going to third but they called safe).  Half the time they didn't even know how many outs there were.  Nonetheless, we were able to turn things around and brought the game to 7-6 (with them in the lead) going into the final inning.  Unfortunately, we weren't able to keep the momentum going and we ended up losing in a very competitive and frustrating game.

The real kicker (ha), though?  When we were eliminated, we went upstairs to the viewing room where there were drinks and refreshments -- and the keg had just been kicked!!  Thankfully another was on the way, but we were the first to get served so all we got was foam.  Talk about insult to injury!

Overall, it was a really fun day.  Now, I just need to go play some dodgeball.

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