Review of Concussion

I once stated that former NFL players have no business suing the league because they knew the risks of getting into their sport and made it a career for themselves. To those players and their families I'd like to apologize for making that statement several years ago. Before I saw this move people called this propaganda, overblown Hollywood Drama and the movie the NFL didn't want you to see. While all movies are Hollywood Drama in some sort of fashion, the reality of the story cannot be denied. Many people to this day continue to deny Dr. Omalu's working and findings. Whether you choose to believe what this movie represents is up to you, but from what I have observed the events in this movie don't seem very far fetched.

I believe the NFL knew about the effects of concussions before Dr. Omalu's findings but when they knew about them will always remain a question. It will always remain a question due to a lawsuit in which the NFL put in the condition that they didn't have to disclose when they knew about the effects of concussions. I also believe that the NFL would do anything to protect the multi-billion dollar business from being under scrutiny. Here are some of the quotes in the movie that suggest that they would do anything. to protect their business.

"Tape, needles, Torodol, Vicodin, whatever it takes to keep them in the game. It's business." -Dr. Julian Bailes

"They're terrified of you. Bennet Omalu is going to war with a corporation that has 20 million people on a weekly basis craving their product the same way they crave food. The NFL owns a day of the week, the same day the Church used to own. Now it's theirs. They're very big." -Dr. Cyril Wecht

"They don't want to want to talk to you. The NFL has known about the concussion issue for years. You've turned on the lights and gave their biggest boogey man a name." -Dr. Julian Bailes

Whether these things were actually said is something that only Wecht and Bailes know. Both Bailes and Omalu say that film is accurate while others deny that CTE was discovered long before Omalu did the autopsy. If CTE was known before Mike Webster's death then why wasn't anyone questioning it? It was either because it didn't existed or someone wasn't brave enough to speak up. The fight that Omalu and those close to him had to deal with seemed very real. They dealt with a lot of hardships and backlash because he was brave enough to speak up.

There are stories that Concussion might have been edited significantly due to the NFL's lawyers getting involved. If this is true then it proves that the NFL is still in denial about their character and they it's portrayed as a business. I have to laugh because before the began, they had an NFL Pepsi commercial touting Pepsi as the official soft drink of the NFL. Is it because Celebration Cinema has Pepsi as a vendor or is it because the NFL will go beyond great lengths to protect their image? I'll let you be the judge of that.

In the end, the NFL has changed and the way the game is played is very different now then what it was. There are now penalties and punishment for helmet-to-helmet hits and targeting. Players who get a concussion now have to meet and pass a concussion protocol before they are allowed to play again. This NFL scenario also reminds me of what happen to former WWE Star Chris Benoit. In 2007, Benoit killed his wife and son and then committed suicide. The WWE much like the NFL underwent a lot of scrutiny and was forced to chain. The WWE no longer allows major blows to the head with chairs and other foreign objects. They also have a medical team that has a concussion protocol as well as other tests for other injuries. If a superstar doesn't pass then they don't get into the ring.

The NFL is a business, but it takes people to run that business. I don't think Omula was trying to shut down pro football. I think he was trying ensure that those who play in the NFL had a healthy future for themselves on their families. Unfortunately the families of Mike Webster, Terry Long, Justin Strzelczyk, Andre Waters, Dave Duerson, and Junior Seau didn't get a husband, a father and friend didn't get that healthy future. Their stories are just as powerful as Omalu's passion to save others lives. This movie was enlightening, heart wrenching and very powerful. Whether all of it's true is for viewers to decided. Only the people who were portrayed in the movie know what the truth really Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, and Albert Brooks do an awesome job in their roles. Everyone does a a really good job in their roles. It's no wonder why this movie is up for so many awards. I would give this movie 5 stars, 2 thumbs up and would recommend it to any sports fans out there.

Reality of the Octagon: How the UFC has used WWE's Concepts

Some may call me crazy, some may call me a conspiracy theorist and some think I am full of a lot of hot air. I have been a life long fan of the WWE and the UFC. I use to love the old school UFC style tournaments when size didn't matter and when the referees didn't stop it until they absolutely had to. The fights were considered very violent and everything about them was real. I knew from a young age that pro wrestling was predetermined and scripted. From then on I studied the trends of the business. I looked at what was hot and what was not. I looked at what made the company money and what didn't make the company money. These studies and trends have really made me wonder about how many other sports and entertainment businesses out there use the same concepts as the WWE.

Let's look at the last month alone in the UFC. Ronda Rousey was the hottest thing in the UFC because she was the first dominant female in the UFC. She took an absolute beating from current champion Holly Holm in pretty timely fashion. I don't think the beating she took was fake but lets look at the facts and trend. Rousey even said before this fight she was going to take time off and disappear for awhile. Let's also look at the fact that fans started getting bored with her and hated her attitude towards opponents. Now ask yourself, why would Dana White keep the title on someone who was going to take time off and not any money off of them? Sports is a business just like any other business. If your stars aren't performing then you move on to someone who will. 

Then let's take at Conor McGregor versus Jose Aldo Jr. Aldo hadn't lost a fight in ten years and he was dominant for the decade he went undefeated and looked to be pretty unstoppable. As we all know McGregor has become the people's choice. So what's the smart business move? Put the title on the fighter who is most over with the fans. It's like what WWE did with CM Punk. They put the title on the wrestler who fans wanted to see the most. They knew it would make them a ton of money and have some really great viewership. You can't honestly tell me that a guy that who hadn't lost in ten years all of suddenly steps into the octagon and forgot how to fight. Again it's about making money and whats trending. Conor McGregor is trending and is going to make the UFC a lot of money. 

Lastly, you have the last UFC on Fox of 2015. The main event was Donald Cerrone versus Rafael dos Anjos for the UFC Lightweight Championship. There are two very interesting aspects to the main event that caught my attention. The show was suppose to end at 10pm and before the fight began it was just past 10pm. The person I sat I watched the fight said what do you want to bet that the fight doesn't go past the first round because UFC doesn't want to upset Fox by going way over their time-slot. Sure enough the fight was over in 66 seconds. Cerrone hadn't lost since August of 2013 and that loss was to non other then Rafael dos Anjos. Irony or coincidence? Can you honestly sit here and tell me that Donald Cerrone can beat everyone he's faced in the last two years but forgot how to fight against the last guy he lost against? I feel like my intelligence is being insulted with some of the obvious results we have been seeing.  Also on UFC on FOX, multiple fighters called out Conor McGregor wanting a title shot. All of them sounded like a scripted promo to get that big money fight. When in UFC history have you seen 3 or 4 fighters call out the same guy in one night? It's UFC's way of keeping you on the edge of your seat to find out who will get the title shot. 

We have seen three examples all in the last month of UFC using WWE's concepts but if you look really hard these concepts started awhile back. I remember the first thing I ever saw that really made me question the legitimacy of the UFC being completely real. In April 2005, at the The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale Rich Franklin took on Ken Shamrock. Franklin was on the rise and Shamrock was on the decline. I remember Shamrock went for a kick and missed. He then planted his feet and fell which led to Franklin jumping on top of him and winning by TKO. The next fight Franklin had he became UFC Middleweight Champion and Shamrock would not win an MMA fight for another four years. 

Let's take a look at Randy Couture. He won the UFC Heavyweight Championship in March 2007 and then had some major disputes with Dana White and the UFC after his title defense against Gabriel Gonzaga in August of 2007. He kept stating he wanted to fight  Fedor Emelianenko and was willing go through lawsuits and everything else to do so. Well the UFC's answer was to file a lawsuit and win and then get Couture back in the octagon so he could lose to the title. In November 2008, Randy Couture lost the UFC Heavyweight Title to Brock Lesnar ensuring the UFC would have a fighting champion that people would tune in to watch. Love him or hate him, people tuned into Brock Lesnar's fights to see what was going to happen. As of September 2015, Brock Lesnar was featured four times on the UFC's top ten of highest selling pay-per-views of all time. Lesnar used his WWE heel tactics and his aggressiveness to get the attention of MMA fans. Anyone remember what happened when Lesnar was no longer healthy? He was humiliated by Cain Velasquez and Alistair Overeem. Why? Because he could no longer make the company any more money. Do you really think Lesnar would have gone back to WWE if he was completely healthy? I think it's safe to say he would still be fighting and people would still tune into to see what was going to happen in his fights.

Lastly, I want you to think about Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Randy Couture, BJ Penn, and Matt Hughes. Do you want to know what they all have in common? They all lost their last UFC fight. Everyone except Couture lost their last two or three fights because Dana White was trying to get them to retire and he knew they didn't have the value they once did. Other the Georges St, Pierre please name me one fighter with a huge name that was a huge draw that ended up leaving the UFC on top while still making the company money? It's no different then a WWE wrestler who retires. They always walk out with a loss. With all this evidence in-front of you, do you still it's coincidence? Do you still think I am crazy? Do you still think it's a conspiracy theory? Is really that far fetched to think UFC as sports entertainment like UFC? The physicality of the fights are very real but so is the idea of making money and making business decision that make you more money. Think about that the next time a fighter starts trending and gets the fans attention. You'll see the reality right in-front of you. 

Review, Results, Recap of WWE NXT Takeover London

This afternoon the WWE Network presented another NXT Takeover special and this time it was held in London, England. I love these NXT specials but my concern with them is they keep setting the bar so high that it might get hard to please fans on a consistent basis. Before I start with my thoughts on what happened in London here are the results of the latest NXT special

-Asuka defeated Emma
-The Mechanics defeated Enzo Amore/Colin Cassidy to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships
-Baron Corbin defeated Apollo Crews
-Bayley defeated Nia Jax to retain the NXT Women's Championship
-Finn Balor defeated Samoa Joe to retain NXT Championship

I am really disappointed that Enzo and Big Cass didn't capture the NXT Tag Titles. They have been around longer then any other tag team in NXT tag team. Although I never thought I'd see the day that Seven Nation Army and Hey Jude would be turned into chants towards Enzo and Big Cass. I was also not really that impressed with the Divas title match. I really feel Nia Jax is just getting the attention because of her bloodline. She is green as hell and really has done nothing to be put in that spot. When she can do what Paige, Emma, Natalya, Charlotte and Sasha Banks did then I'll be more interested in her. I think she has a bright future someday but she has a lot to learn before she gets these big opportunities again. I will say that I look forward to seeing Nia Jax get in the ring with Asuka. They teased that match up tonight and after what Asuka has done to Dana Brooke and Emma I'll be curious to see what see does to Nia.

If you like shockers I really thought Baron Corbin going over Apollo Crews was a big shocker. Crews hasn't lost yet on TV and Corbin has been very stale. I really thought Corbin should have been brought up to the main roster a long time ago. I view Corbin the same way I viewed Tyler Breeze. If you're not going to put the NXT Title on him then move him up to the main roster. A couple of guys who could see the main roster soon are NXT Champion Finn Balor and his challenger Samoa Joe. I am huge supporter of both Balor and Joe and they put on one heck of a match. I am glad Finn Balor has gotten a lengthy title run so far and hope they keep feeding him great opponents. I enjoyed the main event and it was probably the best main event that NXT could give with everything that's going on in WWE these days.

NXT Takeover London was a solid special and I really feel the fans had a huge part in making it fun to watch. Do I think it was the best Takeover? No but there are always some great wrestling matches during these events. Tonight was no different. I for one cannot wait for the NXT Takeover special that was announced for Wrestlemania weekend. I think Triple and company are going to come out guns blazing and will might even rival Wrestlemania itself with the way things are in WWE right now. For now I'll soak in what I witnessed tonight and get ready for NXT's Road to Wrestlemania!

Review, Recap, Results of WWE TLC 2015

Tonight was the annual Tables, Ladders and Chairs show that caps off the year for WWE in terms of pay-per-views. I honestly have very low expectations for WWE shows right because of the lack of talent and the horrible creative that is going on in WWE. With that being said here are the results of WWE TLC:

-Preshow Match: Sasha Banks defeated Becky Lynch
-Triple Threat Ladder Match:The New Day defeated The Uso's and Lucha Dragons to retain the WWE Tag Team Championships
-Rusev defeated Ryback
-Chairs Match: Alberto Del Rio defeated Jack Swagger to retain the WWE United States Championship
-Tables: The Wyatt Family defeated The Dudley Boys/Tommy Dreamer/Rhyno
-Dean Ambrose defeated Kevin Owens to become the new Intercontinental
-Charlotte defeated Paige to retain the WWE Divas Championship
-TLC: Sheamus defeated Roman Reigns to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

I can't believe what I saw out of Kalisto in the opening match. He brought me back to the days of Edge/Christian, The Dudley's and Hardy's when they were setting the bar in TLC matches. All three tag teams had awesome performances but Sin Cara and Kalisto stood out to me. I thought Jack Swagger and Alberto Del Rio had a great match. I was really happy to see Dean Ambrose finally get rewarded. He's been stable in a time of major instability in the WWE. How funny does that phrase sound when talking about Dean? Hope to see more of Ambrose and Owens in the future.

I hate matches with horrible buildup or a horrible story. I am not a fan of the Ryback and Rusev saga because it's all centered around Lana. I am sorry but the Lana trend has officially over. She screwed all that up when her and Rusev's engagement went public. Speak of women going on a downward spiral I think Charlotte is in that same category. I am sorry but she has no originality about her at this point. It absolutely pisses me off that she can play off her fathers legacy but someone like Curtis Axel can't play off his fathers legacy. If the plan is for us to hate Charlotte it's working because I went from really loving her in NXT to absolutely having nothing but disdain for her. I love how she can piggyback of Ric's legacy but people like Curtis Axel are not on TV. I hope Charlotte finds some originality otherwise her career will tank faster then the XFL

The Main Event between Sheamus and Roman Reigns came off better then expected. It was very predictable but they beat the crap out of each other. I absolutely love the fact that Roman Reigns went nuts after the match. All I got to say is it's about time they did something crazy at the end of pay per view. All in all I would give the show 6.5 out 10 for effort because they do take a lot of abuse when it's TLC. Now that 2015 has come to an end in terms of pay per views we look ahead to 2016 and the best pay per view of them all. It's time to Rumble. It's time for the Royal Rumble!

PS...When I look back on this pay-per-view this is what I will remember:

2015 NFL Week 14 Predictions

I apologize for not writing my predictions. I was on vacation in the beautiful Upper Peninsula of Michigan. I predicted 10 games right last week and the ones that were incorrect were Lions/Packers, Bears/49ers, Jaguars/Titans, Vikings/Seahawks, Patriots/Eagles, and Redskins/Cowboys. I have to say this has been one of the craziest years in the NFL that I have ever seen. With that being said here my predictions. Hopefully they can live to the craziness.

Arizona Cardinals over Minnesota Vikings

Carolina Panthers over Atlanta Falcons 

Buffalo Bills over Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Redskins over Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals over Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers over Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions over St. Louis Rams

New York Jets over Tennessee Titans

Indianapolis Colts over Jacksonville Jaguars 

Kansas City Chiefs over San Diego Chargers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers over New Orleans Saints 

Seattle Seahawks over Baltimore Ravens 

Denver Broncos over Oakland Raiders

Green Bay Packers over Dallas Cowboys

New England Patriots over Houston Texans

New York Giants over Miami Dolphins

So far I have 118 correct predictions this season. I have to say it's been one of the more difficult years in making predictions because on any given Sunday there could be an upset. Please check back next week for my week 15 predictions. 

Cal Bishop's Release: A Small Part in WWE's Big Problem

As I've sat these last two weeks watching WWE's Breaking Ground on the WWE Network I realized that WWE might be more in trouble then I even want to admit. The last two episodes revealed that NXT talent Cal Bishop had been released. Cal had two previous shoulder injuries that kept him out of action for quite awhile. He was on his way to recovery and making a return when he was told he was terminated. Cal Bishop in an accomplished amateur wrestler, a hard worker and his story could have easily won over the fans. Then you have a guy like Z.Z. who has been featured on almost every episode of Breaking Ground so far.

Z.Z. was on Tough Enough and became an internet sensation due to his personality and look. However when I watch Breaking Ground I see a lazy young kid who has no passion for this business. He doesn't put any effort in and has not heart and desire. Usually when the fans speak up about who they want to be successful they are usually right. Some example of that were CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and other stars with the similar background. So why is WWE holding on to Z.Z. when they could have had Cal Bishop? I would have understood if Cal would have gotten in the ring and couldn't perform at a certain level but he was never given a chance to get in the ring again. Triple H is usually really great at making decisions and giving the fans what they want, but keeping a guy like Z.Z. for the fans is a huge mistake. By the time it's over Triple H would have wasted time and money on a kid that wants to be babied and have it all handed to him.

I believe Cal Bishop's release is no different then Devin Taylor being released. Devin was slowed by injuries and was having a hard time picking up on things because of it. I truly believe she should have been kept around to continue her role as a backstage interviewer. She had a great personality, and did her job well. After all they kept Corey Graves after injuries ended his career and he's become a great announcer. Devin Taylor should have been given the same opportunity. 

Triple H runs NXT  a lot different then Vince runs Raw and Smackdown but he's going to make mistakes just like Vince does. I believe letting Cal Bishop and Devin Taylor go was a mistake. Instead we are stuck with Z.Z. and in the end it's going to be an epic fail. I am sure now that the fans have seen how lazy Z.Z. is they could really care less about him. There is nothing special there and he just doesn't have what it takes to be a WWE Superstar. I wish Cal Bishop all the success in the world. Rumor has it that he will be trying out for the USA Olympic Team for the 2016 games. I hope he makes the team and does well where ever he goes. Maybe this will open the eyes of WWE and some of the decisions they are making. 

WWE has a big problem right now and it's the fact they focus on the wrong people. Start focusing on the people who have the passion, the work ethic and those who shine in the ring. I for one would rather see a great wrestler with no personality then a horrible wrestler with tons of personality. I want to be awed by what happens in the ring, not outside of it. WWE needs to re evaluate some of their prospects and start making better decisions about the future of their company. How many more will be like Cal Bishop being passed by for someone like Z.Z.? Hopefully for the future of the business they won't drop the ball like this again.