NXT's R Evolution and Its Effect On WWE Superstars.

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Reports of frustration from WWE's main roster have our Divas and Superstars more focused than ever after seeing how fan reacted to Thursday's event. The success of NXT and stars like Sami Zayn and my favorite fat man, Kevin Owens, sparked a bit of a rivalry leaving everyone fired up for tonight's PPV.

Kevin Owens, formerly Kevin Steen of ROH, debuted with an impressive win over CJ Parker. Parker even tweets "Make no mistake!!! @FightOwenFight is the toughest man I've ever stepped in the ring with!" Owen confirmed that WWE could not water down talent like his, walking away from the ring with a face full of blood and a broken nose. 

Lucha Dragons defeat the Vaudervillians for the Tag Team Championship. Baron Corbin defeated Tye Dillinger. Charlotte retains the Woman's Championship. Sami Zayn, formerly El Generico of ROH and Steen's partner for many years, defeats Adrian Neville becoming the fifth NXT Champion. Some may say Owens shocking attack on Zayn was brilliant story telling, which is true, but we've already seen this fight in a different ring. It was written for Ring of Honor, not WWE. Nonetheless, I'm super stoked to watch this feud unravel in a WWE ring. FLY FATMAN, FLY!

-Loveblump

The Money Grab Continues: MLB Offseason

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The MLB off-season always involves money being thrown around like no other major league sport. This year has been no different, with Giancarlo Stanton being the biggest signing with his 300 million dollar contract. As the off-season goes on we continue to see other smaller, yet still rather big signings and trades. We're also at a point where baseball clubs are trying to trade players because of their other acquisitions; the Boston Red Sox trading Yoenis Cespedes for Rick Porcello, because their outfield is now crowded after the Hanley Ramirez signing.

The Red Sox have been very busy this off-season with acquiring Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval, these moves bolstered their lineup, but what about their rotation? The Red Sox traded for Porecello and Wade Miley, as well as the Justin Masterson signing, a former Red Sox. The Sox were also in the running for Jon Lester, but were beaten by their former GM and the Chicago Cubs. Lester gets a 6 year, 155 million dollar deal. After losing Russell Martin to the Toronto Blue Jays, the Cubs have acquired Lester, Jason Hammels, and replaced Martin with Miguel Montero from the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Cubs aren’t the only Chicago team that have been making serious moves made this year so far, as the White Sox have added Jeff Samardjiza, David Robertson, Zach Duke, and Dan Jennings. While the Miami Marlins are not to be trusted, they have made huge moves such as adding Dee Gordon, Mat Latos, and Andre Rienzo. No one has been more eager to put together a better club than the Dodgers, as they shook up their entire infield by trading Matt Kemp to the Padres. The Dodgers acquired Jimmy Rollins, Howie Kendrick, Enrique Hernandez, Chris Hatcher, and Brandon McCarthy. Ervin Santana also found a new home with the Minnesota Twins for four years. The AL Champion Kansas City Royals acquired Kendrys Morales. The big question is, why have the New York Yankees been so quiet? 

Considering the Bombers have lost Robertson and Jeter retired, why has their only big off-season move been to add Didi Gregorious? Could the answer be that they have a Max deal in mind? Pun aside, Max Scherzer to the Yankees makes sense because the Yankees could use a top of the rotation starter with CC Sabathia getting older. Their lineup is questionable since their big off-season move, Gregorious, is more of a defensive player. Also consider that A Rod is reportedly out of shape, so they could use a pitcher that can keep the game close.

This year’s Winter Meetings could be one of the most memorable with all these deals so far. Normally there are a few deals that happen, but not this year. Ultimately, we still have a good three months until Spring Training starts, so while major dominoes have fallen, there are still moves to be made before Spring Training.

By: Kai Jones

Edited by: Dana P. (E.I.C.)

WWE Monday Night Raw Recap, The Slammy's and More.

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Seth Green hosts The Slammy Awards on this weeks Raw. We start off with a win for Seth Rollins against Ziggler. The "This is Awesome" Award goes to Sting's Debut. No Sting, but Rollins did stop at the podium to give us a piece of his mind and accept the award. Apparently, Sting doesn't deserve the award. 

John Laurinaitis comes out to present 'Surprise Return of the Year" after a match against Kofi and Cody Rhodes. Kofi wins and the award goes to The Ultimate Warrior, of course. Ric Flair's daughter, Charlotte, the NXT's woman's champion, takes on Natalya! It was freaking amazing. Natty wins but all I can think about is how hot wrestling daughters are. Seriously, Foley, Hogan, Hart, McMahon, now Flair. Santino comes out to present. The "OMG Moment of the Year" goes to Brock for ending Taker's streak. Boo. Paul Heyman should fire his make up artist. 

Bray Wyatt cuts a promo for his match at TLC. Ambrose emerges out of a smokey ambulance in a neck brace. He's ready for his match on Sunday. Ladder and chair in hand, nothing can stop this breakout star of the year. He's ready to eat Bray alive. The King presents the "Diva of the Year" award to AJ. She promises to beat Nikki and take back the title. Cena cuts his promo for Sunday. Bellyaching about the stipulations for his match against Rollins. I'm glad that was short and sweet. Former tag team partners, Luke Harper and Erick Rowan, compete for the next match. Harper is disqualified for grabbing a ladder. The "LOL Moment of the Year" goes to Mizdow. I honestly think it should have went to the Wee-L-C match.

Ryback and The Usos win the 6 man tag match. Ricky Steamboat comes out to a standing ovation and presents the award for Match of the Year. Ziggler comes out to accept for Team Cena vs Team Authority at Survivor Series. Booker T presents Roman Reigns with "Superstar of the Year" just before a brief main event of Cena vs Big Show. This feud is never ending. Raw ends with a mini Survivor Series in the ring. Team Cena comes out to battle Team Authority as Rollins is left the last man standing. Will this be the scene Sunday night at Tables, Ladders, Chairs, AND STAIRS!?

-Loveblump

The Disappointing Brooklyn Nets and the Disgraceful New York Knicks.

Image Credit: EliteDaily.com

By: Kai Jones

Edited by: Dana P. (E.I.C.) 

New York City, the city of big lights, big dreams, and big expensive underperforming basketball teams. Anyone that follows basketball knows that the New York Knicks are in the words of Charles Barkley, “TURRIBLE!” The Brooklyn Nets aren’t quite as bad as the Knicks, because they are in the Eastern Conference. They are still one game under .500. Brooklyn is currently in the 8th spot of the eastern conference. Let’s not get into the despair of the Eastern Conference, where one win the Philadelphia 76ers are 7 games back of the 8th spot! Can either team get back to the near top of the Eastern conference,  where both of them were just 2 seasons ago?

Can the New York Knicks? Probably not. Willis Reed is not walking through those doors. On the brighter side, if the Knicks start to understand the Triangle offense and are able to get healthy, they could make the playoffs. 

Experienced veterans JR Smith, Samuel Dalembert, and Jose Calderon have not played up to their career averages. Calderon is especially surprising as he’s been a great point guard wherever he has been. 

Carmelo Anthony has been performing well. The Knicks do have young talent, but if they are going to make the playoffs, Derek Fisher needs to find the right lineups ASAP! 

The Nets are a little closer to the top considering they’re in the playoffs as of right now. This is a team of overpaid, aging veterans. Jarrett Jack and Kevin Garnett have not played up to their contracts. While Deron Williams and Joe Johnson have played well, they are going to have to continue their winning ways of the past few days when they beat the defending champs. 

It sure is sad to be a New York sports fan lately. The Jets and Giants are eliminated from the playoffs, the Mets and Yankees aren’t splashing in free agency, the Knicks can't win, but there is potential hope with the Nets. Brooklyn, we go hard!

WWE Monday Night Raw Recap: The GM Blows Our Cyber Monday Night Raw

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Raw opens with announcements from the new "Anonymous Raw General Manager." I would've loved to see John Cena toss that laptop across the ring but like a gentleman, he closes it softly and cuts him promo. The night takes a turn for the worst as Rollins and what's left of The Authority, send Cena through a table....but not before the rest of Team Cena gets their asses handed to them. The GM reveals that the shot at the Heavyweight Title is on the line at TLC in two weeks. If Cena's not careful, we could have a Rollins vs Brock match in a few months. 

Tag-team Turmoil looked more like a walk in the park for The Usos. After The New Day eliminated The Dust Brothers and Tyson Kidd pinned Kofi, The Usos attack Cesaro and don't even break a sweat taking out Adam Rose. The Usos have nothing to worry about in the ring. Their real problem is The Miz. Jimmy goes nuts after The Miz gets a little flirty complementing Noami's twerking in her new music video, "Dance All Night." He comes out and knocks The Miz right off his feet. I can't wait to see these two in the ring at the PPV. 

Vince was in the building to remind us about his Stone Cold interview on the WWE Network. They try to convince us Big Show is a bully. Fandango vs Swagger turns into Swagger vs Rusev. Ambrose kills Bray Wyatt's rocking chair. Paul Heyman compares Brock Lesnar to Christmas and the 6 man main event let Team Babyface get even for the beat down in the beginning of the show. 

If you weren't paying attention, you would have missed my favorite part of Raw. Saint Mick debuts with Noelle Foley. I try really hard to not to be a pervert so I won't throw in a Mr. Socko joke but Mankind's daughter is smoking hot! Follow her on twitter @NoelleFoley.

Next week Seth Green hosts the Slammys in Greenville, South Carolina. If you have the WWE app, don't forget to vote! 

-Loveblump

Slaughterhouse Invades DTLR To Promote The Release of 'Shady XV'

by: Dana P. (E.I.C.)

Shady Records mega group Slaughterhouse were all about promoting the release of 'Shady XV.' Last week, 'House Gang' (minus Joe Budden) stopped by DTLR at the Livingston Mall location in New Jersey. DTLR is a retailer of urban inspired clothing, sneakers, accessories and more, with multiple locations throughout the United States. DTLR carries name brands such as Nike, Adidas, Timberland, Jordan Brand, and many more. Their staff is also very kind, professional, and helpful!

Fans were able to purchase Shady XV, as Royce Da 5'9, Crooked I, and Joell Ortiz signed autographs and took photos with fans. The men of the hour even did some shopping after the event! 

We caught Slaughterhouse on the way out, as did one lucky DTLR employee, when he stopped Royce to spit a verse for him. Oh and we did in fact get footage of that! Check out the video below. Also be sure to visit www.dtlr.com for all of your shopping needs. 

Does Ray Rice Deserve A Second Chance?

Image Credit: www.usatoday.com

By: Kai Jones

Edited by: Dana P. (E.I.C.)

Ray Rice has done something almost unprecedented. He beat a Roger Goodell suspension. Ray Rice was suspended indefinitely after a video of an assault on his wife, (then fiancé) was leaked, which may have been justified. However considering that, he's already been punished, which is not right. Of course Roger Goodell claimed he was lied to or misled. On Friday, Judge Barbara Jones ruled that Goodell was wrong and made the suspension arbitrarily. So Ray Rice is now an NFL player, what does that mean though?

It means Rice can move past this ugly in incident and focus on himself, his family, and his career. Before this incident, Rice had been a law-abiding citizen and loved by people who knew him. Nothing speaks more to Rice’s character than right after the incident, while his high school removed his jersey from its walls, current students questioned the decision. Also, while the Ravens allowed fans to exchange his jersey, some fans still showed their support of Rice and wore his jersey to the games. After the decision, Rice even had two former teammates tweet their support. Rice was clearly well liked and have never been in the news before for criminal activities, and clearly he made a huge mistake, which he acknowledged. Rice is sorry and ready to get back to football. People may have forgotten but before the incident, Rice was an all-pro, championship winning running back. Who will give him a shot? The biggest rumor has been the Indianapolis Colts because of the injuries to Ahmad Bradshaw and Trent Richardson isn’t living up to expectations, could use a running back for their playoff run.

Aside from Rice, there's Roger Goodell. Roger Goodell has ruled the NFL with almost an iron fist. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ players in 2011, during the lockout, chose not to ratify the new CBA because Goodell gets to be the judge, jury, and sometimes executioner. This was overlooked at the time, but now it seems smart, and maybe Rice and the New Orleans Saints understand. It’s easy to overdose on power, and Goodell has overdosed. With this decision, it shows how much of a snake Goodell can be, as he lied to cover himself. While I respect what he tries to do, the NFL needs a system of checks and balances.

This decision was the right thing to do. Even the constitution won’t let a man be punished twice, so no way should the NFL be allowed to use double jeopardy to save face.