This Week in Wrestling 2/23/2024 – Jeff Knapp

 WWE2K has finally released the full roster for WWE2K 24 and the list goes as follows:

“Macho Man” Randy Savage  (OHHH YEAH)
“Ravishing” Rick Rude
“Rowdy” Roddy Piper
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin
“Superstar” Billy Graham*
Andre The Giant
Bad Bunny
Batista
Beth Phoenix
Big Boss Man
Boogeyman
Booker T
Bray Wyatt
Bret “Hitman” Hart
British Bulldog
Bruno Sammartino
Cactus Jack
Chyna
Diesel
Doink The Clown
Dude Love
Dusty Rhodes*
Eddie Guerrero
Eric Bischoff
Eve Torres
Faarooq
Harley Race
Hollywood Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Jake “The Snake” Roberts
JBL
Jerry “The King” Lawler
Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart
John Cena
Kane
Kevin Nash
Lita
Mankind
Maryse
Mighty Molly
Molly Holly
Muhammad Ali
Rick Steiner
Rikishi
Rob Van Dam
Ronda Rousey
Scott Hall
Scott Steiner
Shane McMahon
Shawn Michaels
Stacy Keibler
Stephanie McMahon
Stardust*
Syxx
Ted DiBiase
The Fiend
The Hurricane
The Rock
The Undertaker
Triple H
Trish Stratus
Tyler Breeze
Ultimate Warrior
Umaga
Uncle Howdy
Vader
Wade Barrett
William Regal
X-Pac
Yokozuna

Raw
 Akira Tozawa
Alexa Bliss
Becky Lynch
Bianca Belair
Big E
Braun Strowman
Bronson Reed
Candice LeRae
Carmella
Cedric Alexander
Chad Gable
Chelsea Green
Cody Rhodes
Damian Priest
Dexter Lumis
Dominik Mysterio
Erik
Finn Balor
Giovanni Vinci
Gunther
Indi Hartwell
Ivar
JD McDonagh
Jey Uso
Johnny Gargano
Kofi Kingston
Liv Morgan
Ludwig Kaiser
Maxxine Dupri
Natalya
Nikki Cross
Otis
Piper Niven
Raquel Rodriguez
Rhea Ripley
Ricochet
R-Truth
Sami Zayn
Seth “Freakin” Rollins
Shayna Baszler
Shinsuke Nakamura
Sonya Deville
Tegan Nox
The Miz
Tommaso Ciampa
Valhalla
Xavier Woods
Zoey Stark

SmackDown
 AJ Styles
Alba Fyre
Angelo Dawkins
Ashante “Thee” Adonis
Asuka
Austin Theory
Bayley
Bobby Lashley
Butch
Cameron Grimes
Charlotte Flair
Cruz Del Toro
Dakota Kai
Elton Prince
Grayson Waller
Isla Dawn
IYO SKY
Jimmy Uso
Joaquin Wilde
Karrion Kross
Katana Chance
Kayden Carter
Kevin Owens
Kit Wilson
LA Knight
Logan Paul
Luke Gallows
Michin Mia Yim
Montez Ford
MVP
Omos
Randy Orton
Rey Mysterio
Ridge Holland
Robert Roode
Roman Reigns
Santos Escobar
Scarlett
Sheamus
Shotzi
Solo Sikoa
Tamina
Xia Li
Zelina Vega

NXT
 Andre Chase
Angel Garza
Apollo Crews
Axiom
Baron Corbin
Blair Davenport
Bron Breakker
Brooks Jensen
Brutus Creed
Carmelo Hayes
Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo
Cora Jade
Damon Kemp
Dijak
Drew Gulak
Duke Hudson
Fallon Henley
Gigi Dolin
Humberto
Ilja Dragunov
Ivy Nile
Jacy Jayne
Jinder Mahal
Joe Coffey
Joe Gacy
Josh Briggs
Julius Creed
Nathan Frazer
Nikkita Lyons
Noam Dar
Roxanne Perez
Sanga
SCRYPTS
Thea Hail
Tiffany Stratton
Tony D’Angelo
Trick Williams
Tyler Bate
Veer Mahaan
Wendy Choo
Wes Lee
Wolfgang

Manager
 B-Fab
Bobby “The Brain” Heenan
Cathy Kelley
Mick Foley
Miss Elizabeth
Paul Bearer
Paul Heyman
Theodore Long

In what started in early January, National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) President Billy Corgan announced an exclusive streaming deal for NWA with The CW. Under this newly minted all-encompassing partnership, multiple NWA programs will be streaming and on-demand via The CW platform and portal in the United States.

Next up for the NWA, the massive signature live event Hard Times 2024 will premiere on the platform as part of future episodes of NWA Powerrr, streaming on both CWTV.com and the CW app.

After going down and being unable to continue competing after landing on the outside of the ring during her NXT Women’s Championship match, Shotzi has confirmed she tore her ACL and will be out of action for about 9 months. At best, she’s back in November to compete during Survivor Series weekend. If not, then I’d guess a return at the 2025 Royal Rumble.

In a move that surprised nobody, TNA Wrestling has extended the contract of one of the greatest wrestlers in TNA/Impact history, Josh Alexander. The length of the extension for the former Tag Team, X-Division, and World Champion hasn’t been disclosed but it comes just a day after he and others posted hourglass emojis on their X feed. Not sure if it’s related but we will see.

This past Monday Raquel Rodriguez became the last lady to qualify for the Women’s Elimination Chamber match, where the winner will go on to face the winner of the Rhea Ripley vs Nia Jax match. Along with Raquel, the other women competing will be Naomi, Liv Morgan, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, and Tiffany Stratton.

The WWE has filed a trademark for the name “New Catch Republic” as a tag team name for the team of Pete Dunne and Tyler Bate.

AEW announced that next Wednesday of Dynamite “The Aerial Assassin” Will Ospreay will be there to confront the Don Callis family, leading up to his match at Revolution against Konosuke Takeshita.

Brock Lesnar, although in the new WWE is now unplayable. 2K has somehow locked his character and fans of the game will be unable to use him once they start playing WWE2K 24

After 2 neck fusion surgeries, Booby Roode is now medically cleared to return to the ring. With that said during his interview on the show INSIGHT With Chris Van Vliet, he said the following about his return “Ironically enough, I just got green-lighted. The fusion has completely fused. So as far as like, looking at it from a medical point of view, it’s safe to get back in the ring, I guess. But at almost 48 years old, given the opportunity that I’ve been given now to work as a producer, which was my goal coming to WWE almost eight years ago. I’m quite happy doing this. And I feel like I’ve had a good run, as they say, and I’m happy to do what I’m doing now.”

Reports are saying that this year’s AEW Forbidden Door will take place this June from Arthur Ashe Stadium in NYC. The two different weekends this could work are June 8-9 and June 22-23 because those are the two weekends when the NY Mets, who play across the street are on the road.

Congratulations are to both Nick Nemeth (FKA Dolph Ziggler) for becoming the new NJPW IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion when he defeated David Finley and to Matt Riddle for defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi and becoming the new NJPW TV Champion at NJPW’s New Beginning. 

Rollcall of current Champions across the wrestling world

WWE

WWE Universal Championship – Roman Reigns

World Heavyweight Champion – Seth Rollins

WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champions – Judgement Day

WWE Women’s Champion – Iyo Sky

Women’s World Champion – Rhea Ripley

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions – The Kabuki Warriors

WWE US Champion – Logan Paul

WWE Intercontinental Champion – Gunther

NXT

NXT Championship- Ilja Dragunov

NXT Women’s Champion – Lyra Valkyria

North American Champion – Oba Femi

Tag Team Champions – The Wolf Dogs (Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin)

AEW

AEW World Champion – Samoa Joe

TNT Champion – Christian

Women’s Champion – Toni Storm

TBS Champion – Julia Hart

Tag Team Champions – Sting & Darby Allin

Trios Champions – The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn

AEW International Champion – Orange Cassidy

TNA Wrestling

World Champion – Moose

X Division – Chris Sabin

Tag Team Champions – ABC

Digital Media Champion – Crazzy Steve

Knockouts Champion – Jordynne Grace

Knockouts Tag Champions – Decay

ROH

ROH World Champion – Eddie Kingston

ROH TV Champion – Kyle Fletcher

ROH Pure Champion – Wheeler Yuta

ROH Tag Champions – The Kingdom

ROH Women’s Champion – Athena

ROH Six Man Tag Champions – Bullet Club Gold

NJPW

IWGP World Champion – Tetsuya Naito

IWGP Global Heavyweight – Nick Nemeth

IWGP Junior Heavyweight – El Desperado

Strong Openweight Champion – Eddie Kingston

IWGP Television Champion – Matt Riddle

IWGP Tag Team Champions – Bullet Club (Kenta & Chase Owens)

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions – Bullet Club War Dogs (Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors)

Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions – Guerrillas of Destiny (Hikuleo and El Phantasmo)

NEVER Openweight Champion – Evil

NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Champions – Vacant

KOPW 2023 – Great O Khan

IWGP Women’s Champion – Maya Iwatani (Shared with Stardom)

   Strong Women’s Champion – Guillia (Shared with Stardom)

NWA

NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion – EC3

NWA World TV Champion – Max The Impaler (unified men’s and women’s)

NWA World Jr Heavyweight Champion – Colby Corino

NWA National Champion – “Thrillbilly Silas Mason

NWA World Tag Team Champions – Blunt Force Trauma – (Carnage & Damage)

NWA US Tag Team Champions – The Immortals (Kratos & Odinson)

NWA World Women’s Champion – Kenzie Paige

NWA World Women’s TV Champion – Max The Impaler

NWA World Women’s Tag Team Champions – Pretty Empowered (Ella Envy & Kylie Paige)

AAA – Triple A Worldwide

AAA Mega Champion – El Hijo Del Vikingo

AAA Latin American Champion – Octagon Jr

AAA World Cruiserweight Champion – Komander

AAA World Tag Team Champions – Nueva Generacion Dinamita (Sanson & Forastero)

AAA World Trios Champions – Los Vipers (Abismo Negro Jr, Psicosis & Toxin)

AAA Reina de Reinas Champion – Flammer

CMLL – Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre

CMLL World Heavyweight Champion – Gran Guerrero

CMLL World Light Heavyweight Champion – Niebla Roja

CMLL World Middleweight Champion – Templario

CMLL World Welterweight Champion – Titan

CMLL World Lightweight Champion – Stigma

CMLL World Tag Team Champions – Los Nuevos Ingobernables (Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja)

CMLL World Trios Champions – Atlantis Jr., Star Jr. &Volador Jr.

CMLL World Women’s Champion – Stephanie Vaquer

Stardom

World of Stardom Champion (main title) – Maika

Wonder of Stardom Champion (secondary title ie IC tite) – Saori Anou

Goddess of Stardom Champions (tag) – AphroditE – (Saya Kamitani & Utami Hayashishita)

Artist of Stardom Champions (trios) – Abarenbo GE (Syuri, Mirai and Ami Sohrei)

High Speed Champion (lightweight or x type of title) Mei Seira

Too Loyal?

By Mike Rifkin

Spring Training is upon us, meaning Baseball is back. Every team has high expectations to compete for a World Series Championship. One team that people are going to have doubts about is the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who saw the best player in the world (Shohei Ohtani) go across the I-5 highway to the Dodgers. Now losing the best player in the world would send most teams into a rebuild situation, but not the Angels because they’ve had another generational talent on their roster. 

Mike Trout told reporters that he has been pushing ownership to make big-time additions to the roster so the team can compete for a championship, and he also went on to say that if things don’t improve he might ask for a trade. Trout said “You know, there might be a time. I really haven’t thought about this, but you know when I signed that contract, I’m loyal.” Trout has seven years remaining on his contract. Loyalty in sports is not something you see today, with free agency and players demanding trades. 

I don’t believe people would be mad at Mike Trout if he does eventually request out of Anaheim. Despite the phenomenal weather and being able to go to Disneyland what have the Angels shown him? They signed Albert Pujols just so he could hit milestone home runs in their uniform and then they let him go, they signed Shohei Ohtani and that couldn’t even land them a playoff spot. Mike Trout in his career has been to the playoffs once and the Angels were swept in that series. Mike Trout is one of the best players of his generation and he has been on the grand stage of October once. That’s a shame for baseball and its fanbase.

 So what do the Angels do to keep their star in-house? Well, there are two really good starting pitchers still on the free agency market Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, the Angels should sign one of them. Now people are going to ask how you replace Shohei Ohtani. Think of the scene in Moneyball where Brad Pitt tells his scouts one player wouldn’t replace Jason Giambi, the Angels need multiple guys to step up in the absence of Ohtani. 

But the most important thing the Angels need to do might be to cut bait with Anthony Rendon. Rendon has played in 200 games since signing a seven-year 245 million-dollar contract in 2020. Rendon has 22 homers and 111 RBI since joining the Angels. Rendon has been hurt and has made headlines off the field whether it’s interacting with a fan, not talking to reporters about his recovery, on-field brawl, etc… But recently Rendon has said baseball has never been a top priority for him. Well, he’s not paying back the money he made from baseball, but if the Angels want to be successful they need Rendon to play or he needs to go. 

The baseball world deserves to see Mike Trout on the biggest stage. If the Angels continue to hold him down, he might have no choice but to request a trade, but his loyalty does matter. The Angels need to reciprocate the fact that he’s loyal maybe a little too loyal. 

This Week in Wrestling 2/16/2024 – Jeff Knapp

TNA And PowerTown Wrestling Announced the Lineup for the First Wave Of Action Figures, and those wrestlers announced for Series 1 Ultras so far are Moose, Josh Alexander, Eddie Edwards & Jordynne Grace.

Mandy Rose announced she would collaborate with another former WWE wrestler, Lacey Evans, for OnlyFans Content. I won’t check that out “wink wink, nudge, nudge, say no more, say no more” (ode to Monty Python)

With a victory for the Kansas City Chief at Superbowl LVIII, the WWE and NFL have released a WWE Super Bowl LVIII legacy title belt to commemorate their win.

The officially licensed NFL product showcases the official design and color scheme of Super Bowl LVII, including the iconic “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign and custom side plates emblazoned with the Chiefs logo. The legacy title belt is available for purchase now via NFLShop.com, WWEShop.com, and Fanatics.com.

I’d love to send a huge congratulations to WWE Superstar & wrestler Sonya Deville. She and her longtime girlfriend, Toni Cassano, got married over the weekend. Reports are that Maria Menounos officiated the wedding.

AEW owner Tony Khan confirms Forbidden Door 3 and wants CMLL involved.

Former WWF, CWF, Portland Wrestling, and WCCW wrestler Billy Jack” Haynes was arrested in the killing of his wife at home in Portland, Ore., on Thursday, 2/8, after a standoff with police.

Former WWE Divas Champion Maryse took to social media this past week to confirm that she had been diagnosed with Serious Borderline Ovarian Tumors and will need to undergo surgery. SBOT is a rare but severe form of precancer.

This week on NWA Powerrr, we saw Max the Impaler unify the NWA’s Men’s and Women’s TV titles when she defeated Mims in the title about.

Sean Ross Sapp at Fightful Select, QT Marshall, is on his way back to returning to AEW and will return to the VP role that he previously held last year. However, he’s not currently scheduled to return as an in-ring talent. With his return to the company, Marshall can continue wrestling elsewhere, excluding the WWE.

Congratulations to The Wolf Dogs (Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin) for becoming the new NXT Tag Team Champions when they defeated The Family (Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo)

The TNA roster got together and decided to send a group-inspired letter to the heads of Anthem Sports to voice their concerns about the Firing of Scott D’Amore. Which you can read in the link provided. https://rajah.com/node/tna-wrestling-roster-sends-letter-anthem-entertainment-regarding-scott-damore-firing

It was announced that on March 3rd, 2024, at AEW Revolution, Sting and Darby Allin will defend the AEW World Tag Team Championships against Nicholas and Matthew Jackson in Sting’s final wrestling match.

Former WWE Raw Announcer Kevin Patrick, whose real name is Kevin Egan, has announced he has landed a new job as the lead host of MLS 360 on Apple TV. MLS 360 is MLS’s version of NFL RedZone.

It’s being reported, but it has yet to be confirmed, that Tommy Dreamer has assumed the role of head of creative for TNA Wrestling.

It’s reported that NXT’s Nikkita Lyons will be out of action again after suffering another injury.

Roll call of current Champions across the wrestling world

WWE

WWE Championship – Roman Reigns

WWE Universal – Roman Reigns

World Heavyweight Champion – Seth Rollins

WWE Undisputed Tag Team Champions – Judgement Day

WWE Women’s Champion – Iyo Sky

Women’s World Champion – Rhea Ripley

WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions – The Kabuki Warriors

WWE US Champion – Logan Paul

WWE Intercontinental Champion – Gunther

NXT

NXT Championship- Ilja Dragunov

NXT Women’s Champion – Lyra Valkyria

North American Champion – Oba Femi

Tag Team Champions – The Wolf Dogs (Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin)

AEW

AEW World Champion – Samoa Joe

TNT Champion – Christian

Women’s Champion – Toni Storm

TBS Champion – Julia Hart

Tag Team Champions – Sting & Darby Allin

Trios Champions – The Acclaimed and Billy Gunn

AEW International Champion – Orange Cassidy

TNA Wrestling

World Champion – Moose

X Division – Chris Sabin

Tag Team Champions – ABC

Digital Media Champion – Crazzy Steve

Knockouts Champion – Jordynne Grace

Knockouts Tag Champions – Decay

ROH

ROH World Champion – Eddie Kingston

ROH TV Champion – Kyle Fletcher

ROH Pure Champion – Wheeler Yuta

ROH Tag Champions – The Kingdom

ROH Women’s Champion – Athena

ROH Six Man Tag Champions – Bullet Club Gold

NJPW

IWGP World Champion – Tetsuya Naito

IWGP Global Heavyweight – David Finlay

IWGP Junior Heavyweight – El Desperado

Strong Openweight Champion – Eddie Kingston

IWGP Television Champion – Hiroshi Tanahashi

IWGP Tag Team Champions – Bullet Club (Kenta & Chase Owens)

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions – Bullet Club War Dogs (Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors)

Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions – Guerrillas of Destiny (Hikuleo and El Phantasmo)

NEVER Openweight Champion – Evil

NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Champions – Vacant

KOPW 2023 – Great O Khan

IWGP Women’s Champion – Maya Iwatani (Shared with Stardom)

   Strong Women’s Champion – Guillia (Shared with Stardom)

NWA

NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion – EC3

NWA World TV Champion – Max The Impaler (unified men’s and women’s)

NWA World Jr Heavyweight Champion – Colby Corino

NWA National Champion – “Thrillbilly Silas Mason

NWA World Tag Team Champions – Blunt Force Trauma – (Carnage & Damage)

NWA US Tag Team Champions – The Immortals (Kratos & Odinson)

NWA World Women’s Champion – Kenzie Paige

NWA World Women’s TV Champion – Max The Impaler

NWA World Women’s Tag Team Champions – Pretty Empowered (Ella Envy & Kylie Paige)

AAA – Triple A Worldwide

AAA Mega Champion – El Hijo Del Vikingo

AAA Latin American Champion – Octagon Jr

AAA World Cruiserweight Champion – Komander

AAA World Tag Team Champions – Nueva Generacion Dinamita (Sanson & Forastero)

AAA World Trios Champions – Los Vipers (Abismo Negro Jr, Psicosis & Toxin)

AAA Reina de Reinas Champion – Flammer

CMLL – Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre

CMLL World Heavyweight Champion – Gran Guerrero

CMLL World Light Heavyweight Champion – Niebla Roja

CMLL World Middleweight Champion – Templario

CMLL World Welterweight Champion – Titan

CMLL World Lightweight Champion – Stigma

CMLL World Tag Team Champions – Los Nuevos Ingobernables (Ángel de Oro & Niebla Roja)

CMLL World Trios Champions – Atlantis Jr., Star Jr. &Volador Jr.

CMLL World Women’s Champion – Stephanie Vaquer

Stardom

World of Stardom Champion (main title) – Maika

Wonder of Stardom Champion (secondary title ie, IC title) – Saori Anou

Goddess of Stardom Champions (tag) – AphroditE – (Saya Kamitani & Utami Hayashishita)

Artist of Stardom Champions (trios) – Abarenbo GE (Syuri, Mirai and Ami Sohrei)

High-Speed Champion (lightweight or x type of title) Mei Seira

DUELING MOCK DRAFTS

BY NOAH TROMBLEY AND MARK HALPERN

Here is the first edition of dueling mock drafts, a series which we will be doing until the first round of the NFL Draft. We have our selections for the first round, but reasons why will be given at a later date. But here’s the first edition of dueling mocks. 

Noah Trombley Mock Draft 2024 #1

  1. Bears trade pick to Denver Broncos for Pat Surtain, Number 12 overall pick, and Courtland Sutton
    1. Denver Selects Caleb Williams (QB USC)
  2. Washington Selects Drake Maye (QB North Carolina)
  3. Patriots Select Jayden Daniels (QB LSU)
  4. Cardinals Select Marvin Harrison Jr. (WR Ohio State)
  5. Chargers Select Malik Nabers (WR LSU)
  6. Giants Select Brock Bowers (TE Georgia)
  7. Titans Select Olumuyiwa Fashanu (OL Penn State)
  8. Atlanta Selects Joe Alt (OL Notre Dame)
  9. Chicago Selects Jared Verse (DE Florida State)
  10.  Jets Select Rome Odunze (WR Washington)
  11.  Minnesota Selects J.J. McCarthy (QB Michigan)
  12.  Chicago Selects Dallas Turner (LB Alabama)
  13.  Raiders Select Amarius Mims (OL Georgia)
  14.  Saints Select Jer’Zhan Newton (DT Illinois)
  15.  Colts Select Taliese Fuaga (OL Oregon State)
  16.  Seattle Selects Byron Murphy II (DT Texas)
  17.  Jaguars Select Nate Wiggins (CB Clemson)
  18.  Bengals Select Kingsley Suamataia (OL BYU)
  19.  Rams Select Cooper DeJean (CB Iowa)
  20.  Steelers Select T’Vondre Sweat (DT Texas)
  21.  Dolphins Select JC Latham (OL Alabama) 
  22.  Eagles Select Terrion Arnold (CB Alabama)
  23.  Houston Selects Quinyon Mitchell (CB Toledo)
  24. Cowboys trade pick to Arizona Cardinals for Number 27 overall and Number 66 overall
    1. Cardinals select Troy Fautanu (OL Washington)
  25.  Packers Select Tyler Guyton (OL Oklahoma)
  26.  Buccaneers Select Keon Coleman (WR Florida State)
  27.  Cowboys Select Jordan Morgan (OL Arizona) 
  28.  Bills Select Ennis RakeStraw Jr. (CB Missouri)
  29.  Lions Select Kool-Aid McKinstry (CB Alabama)
  30.  Ravens Select Adonai Mitchell (WR Texas)
  31.  Niners Select Graham Barton (C Duke)
  32.  Chiefs Select Brian Thomas Jr. (WR LSU)

Halpern Mock Draft 

  1. Washington – Caleb Williams. Trade with Chicago-   Chicago Gets #2 overall Terry McLaurin and 2024 4th round pick
  2. Chicago-  Marvin Harrison Jr
  3. New England- Drake Maye
  4. Ari –  Malik Nabers
  5. LAC – Joe Alt
  6. NYG-  Jayden Daniels
  7. Ten – Olumuyiwa Fashanu 
  8. Atlanta-  Dallas Turner
  9. Chicago-  Jc Lathan
  10. NYJ -Jared Verse
  11. MIN – Terrion Arnold 
  12. Den-  Rome Odunze
  13. LV – Byron Murphy
  14. NO-  Laiatu Latu
  15. IND – Brock Bowers
  16. SEA Jackson Powers-Johnson
  17. JAX – Brian Thomas Jr 
  18. CIN – Amarius Mims
  19. LAR-  J.J Mcarthy
  20. PIT -Quinyon Mitchell
  21. MIA – Nate Wiggins 
  22. PHI – Cooper DeJean
  23. HOU – Taliese Fuaga
  24. DALLAS -Tyler Guyton
  25. GB  Ennis Rakestraw
  26. TB -Troy Fautanu
  27. ARI – Graham Barton 
  28. BUF-  Kool-Aid Mckinstry 
  29. DET JerXhan Newton 
  30. Balt Jordan Morgan 
  31. 49ers Jordan Morgan
  32. KC T’vondre Sweat

HE’S BACK

DALLAS HAS THEIR NEW DC

By Mark Halpern

Well Dan Quinn took an opportunity to be the Head Coach of the Washington Commanders and the question who was going to be brought into replace the man who made the Dallas Defense what it is. There were plenty of candidates but, when you have someone who was very successful in Dallas once as the DC and Had them ranked at the top of the league during his tenure, then it should work again right? Well Dallas last night made their decision to bring back former DC Mike Zimmer.

    Zimmer was the DC for the Cowboys from 2000-2006 and had the defense at the top of it’s game during his tenure as DC. Mike Zimmer had been the Head coach for the Vikings from 2014-2021 and had some success as it but the team had fallen off and Zimmer was let go. Dan Quinn did a fantastic job not only with the LB core but the Secondary as well. Zimmer is a great defensive minded coach and there is some similarity to their coaching style. Zimmer, I believe he will use the success of the secondary as a stepping off point but will rebuild the Defensive line to the likes of what it was there and the NFL Draft has plenty of good defensive prospects for Dallas to look at.

   I think this is one of the best ways that Jerry Jones could have answered the leaving of Dan Quinn that might have soured Dallas fans but, the Zimmer hire will definitely sweeten them back up

Royal Pains

By Mike Rifkin

The LA Kings came out of the All-Star break with an impressive 4-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, and most people thought that was what they needed to get out of this almost two-month funk they’ve been in. Well, on Tuesday night, they lost by a touchdown to the Buffalo Sabres, and any good feeling people had about LA after the win over the Oilers evaporated. 

Since the new year, the Kings are 4-8-5 and are clinging to a wild card position in the Western Conference. The beatdown in Buffalo began a four-game East Coast trip for LA, who will also visit New Jersey, Boston, and Pittsburgh on this trip. Two teams like LA are fighting for their playoff lives, and Boston is one of the best teams in the NHL. As I said, LA is currently the first wild card in the Western Conference, but their saving grace is that they have games in hand on the teams chasing them. But the games in hand won’t matter if the Kings continue to play terribly. 

LA’s recent stretch got Head Coach Todd McLellan fired during the All-Star break; after a tremendous start to the season, the Kings have fallen off. Before the season, I was very high on LA significantly after they added Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Winnipeg Jets, but right now, I am unsure of what the Kings are, and if they continue to be this bad, what will Rob Blake do with the trade deadline coming? 

MALCOLM WILL TRY AND SPLIT THE MIDDLE 

BY Mark Halpern

    Most of us remember Frankie Muniz as Malcolm from Malcolm in the Middle, a funny sitcom with him and Bryan Cranston. Since his show ended, Muniz had been in the spotlight for reasons, some being wrong. He had gotten into racing and was in a severe accident in 2011, but that hasn’t stopped his passion for racing. At the Daytona 500, Franke Muniz will be racing for the Xfinity racing team and the car will be a Ford model, and his number will be #35. We wish Frankie good luck with his new endeavor.  

Dys-Function Junction Is Your Function

By Mike Rifkin

Was there a team with more hype entering the NFL season than the New York Jets? We got it. They added future Hall of Fame Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, plus Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson, who were returning offensively and have one of the best defenses in the NFL. But the team with the longest playoff drought in any sport in North America continues to be a dysfunctional mess even after the season. The Jets finished with a 7-10 record, which didn’t stop owner Woody Johnson from passing the blame. Before Thursday’s NFL Honors show, Woody Johnson called out multiple people within the organization, including General Manager Joe Douglas, Head Coach Robert Salah, and Quarterback Zach Wilson. 

The Jets drafted Wilson second overall in 2021, and after two bad years, the Jets decided to trade for Rodgers. Four plays into the season, Rodgers tore his Achilles and missed the season. Wilson was thrust back into the spotlight and a position where he would never succeed. Wilson wasn’t going to succeed because of the team, and no, I don’t mean the guys on the field. I mean an organization that didn’t believe in him, from ownership to the coaching staff. Woody Johnson said of Wilson, “You need a backup Quarterback, and we didn’t have one last year.” Now, that’s an indictment of quite a few people, including Johnson himself; as owner of the team, does he not have a say in what the GM needs to bring to the roster? Is it Zach Wilson’s fault the team went out to get Rodgers – well, yes and no. Yes, because Wilson, in two years, had struggled mightily for the Jets. No, because I think even if Wilson had been solid enough, the Jets were too fascinated with Rodgers that they would go for him. But the problem the Jets ran into was Wilson needed to be moved the second Rodgers was brought in. But here’s the real thing that bothered me about Wilson: when he got benched for Trevor Siemian and Tim Boyle, two guys who are journeymen and not good. 

Wilson gets blamed for this year, but the Jets are a mess from the top down. Joe Douglas and Robert Salah never made any adjustments after Rodgers got hurt, and quite frankly, they set Wilson up to fail. By the way, Woody also announced that Salah and Douglas will return to their roles next season. Woody Johnson said on Salah, “ The discussions I’ve had in the last couple of months, they’ve seen me about as mad as I can be with what was going on with the offense particularly. We have all this talent, and we have to deploy this talent properly. So I think they all got the message.” I am unsure of the offensive talent because Breece Hall and Garrett Wilson are outstanding young players. Still, guys like Randall Cobb and Allen Lazard were brought in because they’re boys with Aaron Rodgers, and both had dreadful seasons. Dalvin Cook, well, that experiment failed big time as well. Saleh is 18-33 as the Jets coach, and in my opinion, he is a glorified Defensive coordinator. But I have seen nothing from him in three seasons that makes me believe he is the guy to right the ship for the Jets. But to me, with a guy like Mike Vrabel out there on the market, I would make that change today, but Woody Johnson is deciding to play this out for one more year. 

The Saleh and Douglas duo’s Jets’ career hinges on one person: Aaron Rodgers. But here’s the thing: when the Jets acquired Rodgers, the goal wasn’t just making the playoffs; it was the AFC Championship game or bust. Now, Rodgers is 40 years old and coming off a torn Achilles, but Rodgers also has more pressure than any other quarterback in the league to win next season. But the Jets sold their soul to bring in Rodgers, and this year, they got hurt.

Was Woody Johnson right in his criticism? Sure, but Woody Johnson is also in a position where he should be blamed; the Jets have been a dysfunctional mess for a long time, but 2023-24 was a cherry on top. 

Missed It By THAT Much

By Mark Halpern

The Detroit Lions, their organization, and its fans missed heading to the Super Bowl by three points. The season that this team had was nothing short of spectacular, and from the way the first half ended, it looked liked things were headed that way, but again, the Defense just broke down, and a couple of players missed some passes that would have turned the tide more in the Lions’ favor. That said, the impression they left on the entire NFL basically stated that the King of the Jungle has returned.

    The Offense broke camp as one of the youngest on the field this season. From the first time he stepped on a field till the moment he stepped off, Jared Goff has been a true leader and the captain of this high-powered Offense. He had a spectacular year throwing for 4,575 yards with 30 touchdowns and only 12 Interceptions. Goff used the talent that was known and returning from last year. The Offense broke camp with a 1-2 punch at running back that would see it become one of the most dangerous duos by the end of the season. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs shared the spotlight this season, combined for 1,960 yards and 23 TDs (1015 yards for Montgomery, 945 yards for Gibbs). You don’t always need a valid number one when two number twos combine to be better than almost all of the #1’s ranked this season. Gibbs got his shot early in the season when Montgomery suffered a thigh injury, and this gave Gibbs the time to show why they needed to split time. This will be the same two next season. Goff had some major talent at Wide Receiver this season with St. Brown, who caught 115 targets for 1500 yards and ten touchdowns. He is one of the most feared wide receivers in the game to go along with Lamb, A.J. Brown, D.K. Metcalf, and Justin Jefferson, to name a few. What was supposed to be their starting #2 wide receiver, Jameson Williams, was often injured and still needs to find his footing, but he will. He finished with 40 catches for 350 yards and only 2 TD. This won’t cut it; this is one area of the Offense they will need to look at again.

Josh Reynolds and Kalif Raymond made up to combine for a number three and had decent seasons, but none better than Goff’s second-favorite target, Sam LaPorta. LaPorta was drafted in the second round and made his presence felt early on in the season. In his rookie season, he had 86 catches for 889 yards and ten touchdowns. Detroit saw the presence of a tight end of this caliber when they had drafted T.J. Hockenson but traded him to Minnesota (Still scratching my head on that one), leaving a very vacant hole that was filled, which was surprising. Most of the focus was on Mayer of LV, Kinkaid of Buf, and Schoonmaker of Dallas. This kid surpassed all of them and put him in the running for NFL ROY, but it will go to Stroud in the end. All in all, this Offense is just going to get better next season. The question becomes, do they bring in a #2 WR and move Williams to Slot?

   Now, the Offense had a great year, and the Defense started out playing at a high level against some solid teams and was showing this team could match up with any Defense in the NFL. Sophomore Defense of end Adian Hutchinson looked like a season primetime diaper dandy (thanks Dick Vitale) and had a season that should be compared to Fred Warner of the 49ers, Micha Parsons of Dallas, and Roquan Smith of Baltimore. Hutchinson must rush the quarterback and also drop back in Defense. He had a spectacular year with 11.5 sacks and 43 solo tackles, including more than 10 for loss. Linebacker Alex Anzalone had a great season with 129 total tackles and was one of the most consistent players at the center of the Lions’ Defense. Defensive Back Kerby Joseph was their best defensive player in the secondary unit. The term roaming free safety fits him well because he was at the center of every defensive play. Totaling 82 tackles (69 solo) and four interceptions, he will help lead them into next season. Now, if the Offense weren’t as good as it was, they would have lost most of the last seven games. The Defense would start great (the NFC Championship Game) and end in disaster. My most feared word in the NFL is a comfortable cause, which is when you make mistakes. The Lions’ secondary over those last games was a significant disaster and could have cost them the entire division. 

    The Lions need to focus on a few areas of Defense. They need another end rusher to compliment Hutchinson; they should invest in a player like Stephon Gilmore, as he most likely won’t be back in Dallas, and would give them a player who proved he could play last season still at a high rate. The Lions also need some help on the offensive line, and the draft is full of good linemen to have; with the most prominent name, Joe Alt out of Notre Dame will be gone by the 7th, and with Det not picking until the 29th, they might be in a position to move out of the first round and grab an extra two and a 3rd and a 4th 2025 would get that done. Dan Campbell has his hands full and is probably already burning the midnight oil, preparing for next season.

    I expect to see this team in the thick of it next year and very well could be in the NFC title game and, dare I say it, a Super Bowl appearance. Catch you next season, Lions fans, and thank you for reading.

Making Moves

By Mike Rifkin

The city of Baltimore is jumping with joy right now. Most people would say the city should be sad after the Ravens lost in the AFC Championship game, but no, Baltimore should be ecstatic after what has occurred over the past few days. 

A few days ago, it was announced that the Baltimore Orioles would be sold to David Rubenstein and Mike Arougheti for 1.725 Billion Dollars. The sale is yet to be official ( there should be a vote at the owners’ meeting next week), but the new ownership group didn’t take long to make an impact.

On Thursday night, it was announced that the Baltimore Orioles made a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers, sending Pitcher DL Hall, Third Baseman Joey Ortiz, and the 34th pick in the MLB Draft for former CY Young Award winner Corbin Burnes. Acquiring Burnes is the move many people wanted the Orioles to make last season at the trade deadline as they went on to win 101 games and win the AL East for the first time since 2014. Adding Burnes to a very young core could make a team that won 101 games last year even more dangerous 

One thing to know is that Burnes is a Free Agent after the season, so once new ownership does take over, I would expect extension talks to be at Spring Training potentially. If new ownership does, would they follow the Atlanta Braves route of buying out arbitration years of their young core and signing them long-term? Taking care of Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Austin Hays, etc… could help Baltimore be a constant threat in the American League. But for now, Baltimore celebrates what new ownership has and can continue to bring to you.