March is always a wonderful time if you’re a sports fan. The World Baseball Classic is on, most states have their high school basketball tournaments going and it’s March Madness. I’ve been watching a lot of basketball these last couple of weeks and it’s been very interesting. Some of what I have seen has been absolutely awesome but other things make me question decisions that are being made on and off the playing fields.

In Michigan, we have the MHSAA that makes all the rules and regulations for high school sports. For the most part they do a great job with the high school sports and they are ran. However a couple of weeks ago I went to a District Semifinal where a 17-3 team played a 2-18 team. The game ended up being a sixty four point blowout which after awhile wasn’t even fun to watch. The team that won ended up benching all of it’s starters for the entire second half of the game. The MHSAA needs to rethink the way they determine who makes the playoffs and who doesn’t. Not every team should be in a State Championship Team. If each team plays twenty games in a season and they don’t win eleven of them then they do not qualify for the playoffs. A tournament is about rewarding teams who have winning seasons and work hard to achieve those winning seasons. What message are you sending to these kids? Right now you’re sending message that it’s okay not work hard to achieve a goal and you can still get rewarded. I also think you put these kids in a position to feel humiliated and embarrassed. If you take out all the teams that were below five hundred then it would be roughly two less games that the winning teams would have to play which eliminate the blowouts and any risk that a player might get injured. It’s games like the Regional Final Game I went to this past week that make high school basketball great. It was competitive and close which had the crowd into the game the entire time. Both sides had a ton of energy which made it a very fun atmosphere to be in. Imagine if you just had one district game and then moved on to regional games. It is something that the MHSAA really should evaluate and think about doing.

As high school basketball is winding down the intensity of March Madness is certainly upon us. A lot of the games have been extremely competitive and fun to watch. One thing that was not fun to watch was how the Gonzaga-Northwestern game went down. Northwestern had a ton of momentum in the closing minutes of the game and it seemed like they were going to knock off a number one seed. As Northwestern was driving to the hoop for layup Gonzaga’s big man stuck his hand through the net and over the inside of the rim which should have been called goaltending. The referee’s did not call it which resulted in Northwestern’s Head Coach Chris Collins becoming furious with the officials. The officials didn’t appreciate Collins getting in their face, and as result called a Technical Foul on Northwestern. Once this unfolded Northwestern lost all of their momentum, and ultimately lost the game. There are many sides to this whole situation, but the one I am going with is that the officials need be held more accountable for their mistakes. There were three officials on the court and you mean to tell me that none of them could see an obvious goaltend. Did Chris Collins lose control? Yes, of course he did. This was the first time that Northwestern has ever made the big tournament and in situations like these emotions run very high. I think the NCAA needs to review goaltending calls, because there have been a few missed goaltend calls already in this tournament. I’ve read others saying that it as karma because Northwestern was gifted a victory by a Vanderbilt playing making a mistake at the end of the game. There is a huge difference between a player making a mistake and the officials missing an obvious violation of the rules. The officials should never determine the outcome of a game or a change in momentum of a game. I hope someday officials are held more accountable for making crucial mistakes that take the game out of the players hands.

When basketball hasn’t been the focus of the sports world the World Baseball Classic has been taking place. I love the World Baseball Classic is so much fun to watch because you have players from Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball and other international leagues representing their countries. One of the best moments so far in this tournament was Adam Jones robbing Manny Machado off a home run in the USA-Puerto Rico game. Why was this such a cool moment? It’s because Jones and Machado are teammates for the Baltimore Orioles and unless they go to another team you won’t see them play each other. That’s what makes this tournament so great because you can have MLB teammates on opposing sides being competitive for the love of their country. The World Baseball Classic concludes this coming week and the March Madness Tournament concludes the following week. Before you know it we will be in the regular season of baseball. My early World Series prediction is that the Chicago Cubs will be back in the World Series defending their title against the Boston Red Sox. I am sure my prediction will change halfway through the season but only time will tell. Until next time be safe, be strong and remember Controversy Doesn’t Come Without Criticism!

Road to WWE Wrestlemania 33: Week 7

This week on the Road to Wrestlemania proclamations were made and more matches were determined. Monday Night Raw started off with Paul Heyman promising that Brock Lesnar would put down Goldberg at Wrestlemania once and for all. Another feud brewing is that of Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho. The fact that they were so entertaining for so long together makes the rivalry that much better. I think the team of Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe are going to be very hard to beat as long as their under the guidance of Triple H. Speaking of Triple H, he came out to confront Mick Foley after Foley was involved in a war of words with Stephanie. This led to Foley giving Triple H a taste of Mr. Socko but before he could some serious damage Stephanie hit him with a low blow. As Triple H was getting to ready to attack Foley he was interrupted by Seth Rollins. Triple H and Rollins got into a brawl that went Rollins way at first. Triple H gained the upper-hand and left Rollins laying to end Raw.

Smackdown was absolutely volatile this week. AJ Styles has been upset after he lost his spot in the Wrestlemania Main Event. He argued with Shane McMahon last week but this week was completely different. Styles waited for Shane to the arena and unleashed a horrifying attack on him. It resulted in Daniel Bryan firing Styles and having him escorted out of the building. By the end of the night Shane came out and said that he will face AJ Styles at Wrestlemania. That was one of many stories that took place throughout the night. The two power couples of WWE will be squaring off as John Cena with Nikki Bella will be against The Miz with his wife Maryse. A lot of people think this is a terrible idea but I think The Miz and John Cena feud really never got the length or credit it should have back in 2011. At the end of Smackdown Bray Wyatt delivered an eerie message to Randy Orton as a result of the Wyatt Compound being burnt to the ground a few weeks ago. I feel like there wasn't much action on Smackdown this week but sometimes it's better to build strong stories then it is to have meaningless matches.

The Cruiserweight Division got a clear picture of what Wrestlemania is going to look like for them. There was a 5 way elimination match to determine who would face Neville at Wrestlemania. The participants were TJ Perkins, Tony Nese, Akira Tozawa, The Brian Kendrick and Austin Aries. All of them are deserving to be in the Cruiserweight Title Match but it was Aries who came out on top. I think this match is going to be a sleeper match. Many people are probably thinking this is a blow-off match but don't be surprised if we are all talking about this match by the end of the night on April 2nd. The night before Wrestlemania is NXT Takeover Orlando. We now know that all three titles will be on the line. Ember Moon will be taking on Asuka in a match that is going to turn a lot of heads. It was announced that The Authors of Pain will take on both The Revival and DIY for the Tag Team Titles. Shinsuke Nakamura gets his long awaited rematch against Bobby Roode for the NXT Title which should be another classic. Roode had an awesome match against Kassius Ohno this week. I am glad they brought Ohno back but one has to wonder how long he'll stay in NXT.  Ohno along with Roode, Nakamura, Asuka and The Revival would be a huge addition to a roster that has the lack of depth that it does. I think you're going to see some major shakeups after Takeover and Wrestlemania. Until then the weekend is shaping up to be a great one. I personally cannot wait to see what happens in two weeks. Tune in next week to see what takes place on the Road to Wrestlemania!

Matches of the Week

Raw: Samoa Joe/Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn/Chris Jericho

Smackdown: The Uso's vs. American Alpha

205 Live: Austin Aries vs. Tony Nese vs. TJ Perkins vs. The Brian Kendrick vs. Akira Tozawa 

NXT: Bobby Roode vs. Kassius Ohno

Road to WWE Wrestlemania 33: Week 6

This week we have moved beyond the fast lane and move ahead to Orlando. Monday Night Raw kicked off with Chris Jericho explaining why he cost Kevin Owens the Universal Title and wanting an explanation for Owens actions three weeks ago at the Festival of Friendship. Owens gave his explanation, which led to Chris Jericho suggesting a match between the two of them at Wrestlemania. Owens accepted and then a brawl broke out between he, Jericho, Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn. This lead to Zayn vs. Owens, and Jericho vs. Joe. Triple H's boys won their respective matches. Most people thought that Jack Gallagher and Neville had the best match at WWE FastLane. Well things didn't change much because Neville had another incredible match with Rich Swann on Raw. Once the match was over Austin Aries interviewed Neville and during that interview the crowd was on fire for Aries. Neville was angered by this which resulted in Aries attacking him. It looks like 205 Live and the Cruiserweight Division are heating up. Two big matches were set up for Wrestlemania this week. It was determined that Bayley will defend her Women's Championship against Charlotte and Sasha Banks at the biggest show of the year. The other match that looks to be set in stone is Roman Reigns vs. The Undertaker. Braun Strowman came out at the end of Raw to challenge Reigns for another fight. He got The Undertaker instead. After The Undertaker chased off Strowman out came Roman Reigns and told The Undertaker "this is my yard now." Raw ended with Taker chokeslamming Reigns and leaving laying in the ring. 

While part timers are dominating the scene on Raw, the Smackdown roster has some great matches in place with full time members of the roster. The women's division is being put to good use at Wrestlemania because Alexa Bliss will be defending her title against every available woman on the Smackdown. I have a feeling that a few woman from the past might just show up to claim the spotlight. When it comes to claiming the spotlight no one has been doing more to claim it then Baron Corbin. He and Dean Ambrose have been at each others throats since Elimination Chamber and things have gotten more intense by the week. This Wrestlemania could be a career defining moment for Corbin. He has the talent and attitude to do big things in WWE. A lot of people are upset about the outcome of Tuesday's main event that saw Randy Orton defeating AJ Styles for the right to challenge Bray Wyatt for the WWE Championship. After Smackdown went off the air Styles confronted Shane McMahon which ultimately means they will end up in match on the biggest night of the year. Many feel that Styles has carried the WWE since his arrival last year. The fans feel that this is not a high profiled match and AJ deserves better. I agree that he does deserve better, but I have a feeling that all of this negative feedback is going to motivate both men into have a great match that will most likely steal the show. 

Following Smackdown, 205 Live was very fun to watch due to the fact that Austin Aries made his in-ring return against Tony Nese. It seems to be the Aries wants that Cruiserweight Title but he will have to go through Neville to get it. Austin Aries is a great addition to 205 because the show lacks the names people want. I think the show would benefit from adding Kalisto and some veteran Cruiserweight to the show. Name recognition is a huge thing for WWE audiences and the need the big names to work with those who don't have the star power. On Wednesday, NXT saw the return of Shinsuke Nakamura as he took on TJ Perkins. I love Nakamura but he seriously needs to be moved up to the main roster. I think Nakamura will do great things on either brand and will become a major player in WWE. 

This concludes another week on the Road to Wrestlemania. Wrestlemania is starting to shape up and with less then four weeks anything can happen. Tune in next week to see what takes place on the Road to Wrestlemania.

Matches of the Week:

Raw- Rich Swann vs. Neville

Smackdown- Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles

205 Live- Austin Aries vs. Tony Nese 

NXT: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. TJ Perkins

"Ravishing" Rick Rude to be Inducted into the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame

The girls loved him and the guys wanted to look like him. The WWE Hall of Fame will now be "Simply Ravishing." Rick Rude never strayed away from being the ultimate bad guy. He had a great physique, arrogant attitude and a ton of charisma. For 15 years he was one of the best in ring performers and managers you could ask for. He grew in Robbinsdale, Minnesota and went to school with Barry Darsow(Demolition Smash), John Nord(The Berzerker), Nikita Koloff, and Curt Hennig. Rude and Hennig remained close over the years when they were both in the same company. When I think of Rick Rude I think of the colorful attire with different images whether it be a title, or a certain wrestlers wife. Sometimes his attire started a feud especially the feud he had with the Jake the Snake Roberts. Rude kept flirting with Jake's wife and eventually put her face on his tights which led to him getting pants pulled down on national television. 

Rick Rude's hard work paid off in WWE as he eventually won the Intercontinental Championship by defeating the Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania 5. In my personal opinion Rick Rude's best work didn't come until after he left WWE and headed to WCW. He was a 3 time WCW International Heavyweight Champion and a United States Champion. During those feuds he had some great matches with Ricky Steamboat, Sting, Dustin Rhodes and Ric Flair. He was also apart of The Dangerous Alliance which was led by Paul Heyman. Rick Rude's career ended after he suffered a serious back injury. After disappearing for three years Rick Rude showed up in ECW as a commentator and also as someone who was constantly harassing Shane Douglas to the point of The Franchise losing the ECW Title. 

In late 1997, he came in as the "insurance policy" for DX which unfortunately did not last long. Rude left the WWE in support of his friend Bret Hart after the Montreal Screwjob. He made history by appearing on Raw and Nitro in the same due to Raw being on a taped ahead of time. He aligned himself with the n.W.o and his childhood best friend Curt Hennig. He stayed in WCW until early 1999. Rick Rude will now take is rightful place into the WWE Hall of Fame. He will be inducted by longtime WCW rival Ricky Steamboat who he had many great matches with. Congratulations to Rick Rude's family on this incredible honor.

Results, Recap, Review of WWE FastLane 2017

Tonight was the final stop for Raw before Wrestlemania and this show had some major implications for the biggest show of the year. Before I begin with my thoughts here are the results of tonight's show.

-Preshow: Rich Swann/Akira Tozawa defeated Noam Dar/The Brian Kendrick

-Samoa Joe defeated Sami Zayn

-The Club defeated Enzo/Big Cass to retain the Raw Tag Team Championships

-Sasha Banks defeated Nia Jax.
-Cesaro defeated Jinder Mahal
-Big Show defeated Rusev
-Neville defeated Jack Gallagher to retain the WWE Cruiserweight Championship
-Roman Reigns defeated Braun Strowman
-Bayley defeated Charlotte to retain the Raw Women's Championship.
-Goldberg defeated Kevin Owens to retain the WWE Universal Championship

The opening match of the night was between Samoa Joe and Sami Zayn. It seems to be that Joe is being pushed very heavily which is a good thing. Joe has always been a very versatile performer. I think he's going to be fast tracked to a major championship like Kevin Owens and AJ Styles were. I will be curious to see what they have in store for him in four weeks at Wrestlemania. The one thing I was disappointed in going into this pay-per-view is that Cesaro and Sheamus were not involved in the tag team title match. The Club took on  Enzo and Big Cass in a match I said would happen at Wrestlemania. I guess I was a month early. I like The Club but I feel they would be much stronger if they Balor or Styles by their side. My prediction is that Enzo and Big Cass will have a nice Wrestlemania moment.

The Raw Women's Division has been dominated by four women as of late, I feel like the division needs a couple more women to shake things up. Nia Jax and Sasha Banks is already getting old. It's been the same crap for three months but at least Sasha won the match tonight. My disappointment was lifted when Cesaro got a match against Jinder Mahal. Cesaro was really fired up on the pre-show because of the lack of opportunities he and Sheamus are getting. Personally both guys should be pushed heavily as singles competitors if they are not going to use them as a tag team. I am not sure what they are doing with Jinder Mahal and Rusev but it's weird. Mahal loses to Cesaro in a random match and Rusev loses to Big Show in another random match. I really think the writers are getting lazy with the mid-card which wouldn't have happened years ago.

One person that being used correctly is Neville and it was proven tonight. He and Jack Gallagher tore the house down with their. The Cruiserweights need to be allowed to deliver more matches like this. It was very aggressive and hard hitting. I like the fact that Neville hit the Red Arrow to win the match. Another match that was very aggressive was Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman. Each week I am more impressed with Braun Strowman and how athletic he really is. I really hated seeing Strowman lose because he had so much momentum. I really hope they have something big for him at Wrestlemania because out of everyone on the Raw roster he's the most believable monster that WWE has had in a long time. It was nice to see two consecutive matches on a pay per view be really good. I wish they could have eight matches in a row that were fantastic.

As I said earlier, I have no interest in the Raw Women's Division at this point. It's the same thing with the same competitors every week. I really hope when the NXT call ups happen the women go to Raw to get some more depth. I think Smackdown does a better job of shuffling the women and creating newer matches between the women. I will say that I was shocked by the ending of the match. I am really surprised Charlotte lost her pay-per-view streak before Wrestlemania. I guess for once they did something that no one saw coming which is good. I like surprises because they don't happen very often on WWE television. One thing that was not surprising is Goldberg winning the WWE Universal Title. It's really a shame Kevin Owens lost the fast. He is a great performer and his reign as champion should have ended in better fashion.

Now that we have four weeks left until Wrestlemania I hope they put together a huge under-card because the main event is going to be awful. I am really sick and tired of old out of shape part timers coming in and collecting a paycheck and stealing a spot from someone who works all year around. For me that's what this show represented. I am going to give the show a 6 out of 10. It was a decent show but nothing epic happened. I am extremely disappointed but hopefully in four weeks Wrestlemania makes up for it.