Looking To Improve

By : Mike Rifkin

The Dolphins and Raiders get set to meet in preseason action on Saturday. Both teams had similar offseasons. They both hired new head coaches, traded for and extended star wide receivers and added a premier free agent. 

Last season the Raiders went 10-7 finishing second in the AFC West and earning a Wild Card berth. The Raiders lost the Wild Card game to the eventual AFC Champion Bengals. The Raiders fired Jon Gruden during the season and interim coach Rich Bisaccia is now the Special Teams coach for the Packers. The Raiders hired Patriots Offensive Coordinator Josh Mcdaniels to be the new head coach. Mcdaniels coached the division rival Denver Broncos in 2009-10 posting an 11-17 record. The Raiders were not done adding to their offense when they traded for Packers receiver Davante Adams. Adams who played with quarterback Derek Carr at Fresno State, has had over 100 catches three of the last four seasons with over 1,000 yards and double digit touchdowns. Last season Adams had 123 catches for 1,553 yards and 11 touchdowns. Adams did sign a five year extension worth 141 million dollars. Adding Adams to an offense that already includes Darren Waller, Hunter Renfrow, and Josh Jacobs should benefit Derek Carr. Carr last season threw for 4,804 yards with 23 touchdowns and 14 interceptions along with a 68.4 completion percentage. On defense the Raiders signed Chandler Jones to a three year 52.5 million dollar deal. Five of the last six seasons Jones has had double digit sacks. The only year he missed out was 2020 where he was limited to five games. Jones last season had 10.5 sacks including five in week one, Jones also had six forced fumbles. The Raiders are pairing Jones with former fourth round pick Maxx Crosby who got a four year 94 million dollar contract extension. Crosby had eight sacks last season. Crosby and Jones might be the best pass rush duo In the NFL and they will need them in what should be a highly competitive AFC West. 

The Miami Dolphins finished last season 9-8 which was third in the AFC East. Brian Flores was fired after the season and was replaced by 49ers offensive coordinator Mike Mcdaniel. The big thing the Dolphins did this offseason was revamp the entire offense trying to get the most out of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa who last season had a 67.8 completion percentage 2,653 yards with 16 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Dolphins traded draft picks to the Chiefs for star receiver Tyreek Hill. Hill who is arguably the best deep ball threat in the entire league had 111 catches for 1,239 yards and nine touchdowns for the Chiefs last season. Pairing Hill with second year wide out Jaylen Waddle who last year set the rookie record with 104 catches had 1,015 yards and six touchdowns. Miami also signed Cedrick Wilson from the Cowboys. Wilson had 45 catches for 602 yards and six touchdowns. Miami also placed the Franchise Tag on tight end Mike Gesicki who last year had 73 catches for 780 yards and two touchdowns. The Dolphins also revamped their running back room bringing in Raheem Mostert from 49ers. Mostert tore his ACL in week one of last season, but had solid seasons in both 2019 and 2020.The Dolphins also signed Chase Edmonds from the Cardinals. Edmonds had 592 yards and two touchdowns rushing while adding 43 catches for 311 yards. The biggest thing the Dolphins did was sign Saints Left Tackle Terron Armstead to a five year 87 million dollar contract. Armstead a three time Pro Bowler was considered the best Offensive lineman on the market. Miami also added former Cowboy offensive lineman Connor Williams to the offensive line. The Dolphins defense was fifth in the league in sacks last season with 48.0 led by Emmanuel Ogbah who had nine. Ogbah got rewarded with a four year 65 million dollar contract. Rookie Jaelan Phillips had eight and a half sacks watch for him to have a nice season. Cornerbacks Xavien Howard and Byron Jones give Miami a solid secondary but watch second year safety Jevon Holland who had 69 tackles, two and a half sacks and two interceptions to also step up.

BATY GETS THE CALL

By Mark Halpern

At the beginning of the Mets season, much of the focus was on the big-league team as it should be, but the Mets farm system was talked about in great detail before and after the lockout. The Mets have one if not the top farm system in all of baseball. The names that kept being talked about were Catcher Francisco Alverez, 1B/3B Mark Vientos, and 3B Brett Baty. For months, Mets fans were guessing who it would be and why. Some fans argued that considering the Mets weakness at Catcher, Alvarez (the #1 prospect in baseball) would be first. Others speculated Mark Vientos because the Mets needed a RH DH and could give the Polar Bear a breather now and then, and there was Baty, who has been impressive as his teammates have been. The question became who was going to be first and when. Today Brett Baty was told the one thing that all baseball players can’t wait to hear: “It’s your turn.”

      Baty was the Mets first-round pick in 2019 with good reason. This position had been handled by one of the greatest third basemen to play for the Mets, and that was David Wright. Since Wright’s departure, the Mets haven’t had a constant name at this position. The Mets tried and thought they might have found a solution in J.D Davis, but his defense was not where the Mets liked. This year it has been Luis Guillmore (who just landed on IL) and Eduardo Escobar, who has been a true fan favorite, but he hasn’t been the healthiest (Escobar was scratched 8/16/2022) over the past two weeks. It was becoming more apparent to Mets fans that one of their significant prospects was coming, and they were right.

    Baty has had excellent statistics through his minor league stint. In 2019 Baty moved right through Mets Rookie and Penn league (low A) teams very fast, and before Covid struck and shutdown, the Minors in 2020 Baty had batted .234 7hr and 33 RBIs in 228 plate appearances. I know that’s not eye-popping stats, but his work ethic and respect for the organization and his teammates showed who this ball player is. With Covid wiping out the 2020 season, Baty had time to work on his defense (which was his one big concern), and it has paid off. In 2021 Baty started in AA, moved down to High A (to deal with injury), and was immediately promoted to AA where he played 129 games and batted .299 24hr and 88rbi’s in 570 plate appearances. His talent wasn’t unnoticed as he was promoted to be with the two other top prospects, Alverez and Vientos in AAA Syracuse.

     With the injuries and September call-ups coming very soon, Mets fans were sitting back and waiting to see what the organization would do. Yesterday Mets Skipper Buck Showalter had said that neither Baty/Vientos would be called up. When the Mets heard about Escobar’s health and the position needs, Baty fit the spot. I am very happy for him because I have watched his progress like another Mets third baseman. This is a momentous occasion for not only Baty but his family. I wish him nothing but the best and hope he is the player we have been waiting three years to make it to the majors.

On The Prowl 

By: Mike Rifkin

Last season the Nashville Predators went 45-30-7 which was good for fifth in the highly competitive Central Division and the second wild card spot in the Western Conference. The reward for that was a first round matchup with the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche. The Predators were without Vezina finalist Juuse Saros who was out with a lower body injury. Last season Jusse Saros went 38-25-3 with a 2.64 GAA, .918 save percentage and four shutouts. Maybe the Preds win a game with Saros but they don’t win the series especially while being outscored 21 – 9. The Avs also went 7-16 on the power play while the Preds went 3-13. During the regular season the Predators averaged 3.20 goals per game and gave up 3,05 goals per game. Power Play converted 24.4 percent and their penalty kill was 79.2 percent. 

Last offseason the Predators traded long time defenseman Ryan Ellis to the Philadelphia Flyers as part of a three team trade with the Vegas Golden Knights. This offseason the Predators replaced one Ryan with another, as they traded for Lightning defenseman and two time Stanley Cup Champion Ryan McDonagh. Mcdonagh last season had four goals and 26 points in 71 games played. McDonagh has also played in185 career playoff games and has 12 goals and 64 points in those 185 games. McDonagh has always been known as a shutdown top four defenseman. One of the things Head Coach John Hynes could do with McDonagh is pair him with either Dante Fabbro or Alexandere Carrier. But getting McDonagh gives the Nashville defense a great left side with McDonagh, Norris Trophy Finalist and Captain Roman Josi, and Mattias Ekholm. 

The Predators also re-signed their franchise leader in goals when Filip Forsberg (who was traded for Martin Erat, sorry Caps fan) to a eight year 68 million dollar contract. Forsberg is currently fourth in Predators history with 469 points. Last season Forsberg broke 40 goals for the first time in his career, but prior to that was always near the high 20’s and 30s. Forsberg has also contributed in the playoffs with 29 goals and 53 points in 75 games. They also brought in another top six winger when they signed Nino Niederreiter to a two year eight million dollar contract. Niederreiter had 24 goals and 44 points in 75 games played for the Hurricanes last season. He gives the Preds top six some size and net front presence. Niederreiter also has 30 points in 82 career playoff games. Hynes could play Forsberg with either Matt Duchene or Ryan Johansen and Niederreiter with the other. 

Now do I think the Preds can overtake the Central from the Avs? No but I could see the Predators challenge the Minnesota Wild or St. Louis Blues for second or third place  in a very competitive Central Division. But I really like what David Poile and the Preds have done this offseason.  Don’t sleep on the Preds this season.

Time To Leave A Mark

By: Mike Rifkin

The New York Mets defeated the Cincinnati Reds 10-2 on Wednesday afternoon. The win pushes the Mets winning streak to six consecutive games. The Mets currently have a seven game lead in the NL East over the Atlanta Braves and 10 game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies. The Mets next 11 games will be against their division rivals and if they keep playing well can put a lot more distance in the division.

So far in 12 meetings against Philadelphia the Mets are 9-3 including a combined no hitter on April 29th. On May 5th the Mets trailed 7-2 in the top of the Ninth inning and the offense came alive with six runs to come back and win. The last time the two teams met was Memorial Day weekend and the Mets swept the Phillies at Citi Field. But this is not the same Phillies team. The Phillies have also won six in a row and nine of their last ten games. Philly has gone 38-19 since Rob Thomson took over for Joe Girardi. But the most impressive thing about the Phillies is they are 23-13 since losing Bryce Harper to a fractured thumb. One guy who has tortured the Mets in his career is Kyle Schwarber who currently leads the NL with 34 home runs. In his career Schwarber has 16 home runs against New York including three this year. For the Mets one of their MVP candidates Pete Alonso is hitting .357 with five home runs and 18 RBI against Philly this season and in his career has 12 home runs and 41 RBI against the NL East foe. The pitching matchups will be Ranger Suarez (PHI) vs Max Scherzer (NYM) on Friday, Aaron Nola (PHI) vs Jacob deGrom(NYM) on Saturday, and Zack Wheeler (PHI) vs Chris Bassitt (NYM) on Sunday. 

The Mets will go to Atlanta after to play a Braves team looking for revenge after losing four out of five games to the Mets at Citi Field last weekend. The Mets so far against the defending World Series Champions are 8-4 through 12 meetings. Francisco Lindor is hitting.283 with a home run and eight RBI vs the Braves while Alonso is hitting .313 with two home runs and 12 RBI. For the Braves Matt Olson and Austin Riley each have three home runs against the Mets. Ronald Acuna Jr is hitting .341 against the Mets this season and had a really good series at Citi Field last week. 

The Mets next 11 games give them an opportunity to run away further with the NL East, but it will not be easy with the way both the Phillies and Braves are playing. We will see if the Mets can leave their mark over the next 11 games.

Statement Series

By : Mike Rifkin

On Sunday the New York Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves 5-2, taking four of five in the series and pushing their lead in the National League East to 6.5 over the Braves. For the first time this season the defending World Series Champions have lost three games in a row.

In the four wins Mets pitchers racked up 51 strikeouts including 19 in Sunday’s finale. The last two games were exactly how Mets manager Buck Showalter drew it up by having his two aces close out the series and potentially drop the hammer on the Braves. Saturday Max Scherzer struck out 11 Braves in seven innings of work and on Sunday in his second start back Jacob deGrom was perfect threw five innings before a walk and a two run home run ended his day, but he still struck out 12 in 5.2 innings.

Offensively the Mets did what they do and that was grind out at bats and force Braves starters into deep pitch counts. Pete Alonso drove in seven runs in the five games giving him a National League leading 95 on the season. The guys the Mets got at the trade deadline also came through. Tyler Naquin, Darin Ruf and Daniel Vogelbach all contributed big hits in the series including Naquin with a two home run game in his Citi Field debut. 

The Mets recipe for success this season was on point during this series. Tremendous starting pitching, good defense and offensively grinding out at bats. On the flip side the Braves made five errors defensively in the series including three in game two of the doubleheader on Saturday. Buck Showalter showed the importance of this series in the first game where he asked All Star Closer Edwin Diaz to get the last six outs of the ball game. 

With the Mets lead pushed to 6.5 games in the NL East the two teams still have two series remaining head to head. The first one is a four game series next week and the other is a three game series the second to last series of the season.

Waddling Up The Pacific

By: Mike Rifkin

Last season the Anaheim Ducks finished seventh in the Pacific Division and thirteenth in the Western Conference. General Manager Pat Verbeek has been very active since the NHL trade deadline. At the deadline Verbeek traded away defenseman Josh Manson to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche for a 2023 Second round pick and prospect defenseman Drew Helleson. They then moved defenseman Hampus Lindholm to the Boston Bruins for a 2022 first round pick (C,Nathan Gaucher), Second round picks in 2023 and 2024, and defensemen Urho Vaakanainen and John Moore. Vaakanainen had two assists in 14 games with the Ducks after the trade. They also traded forward Nicolas Deslauriers to the Wild for a 2023 Third round pick. The last deadline move saw Rickard Rakell sent to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2022 Second round pick (D,Tristan Luneau), Goalie Calle Clang, Dominik Simon and Zac Aston-Reese. Aston-Reece and Simon each put up four goals in 17 games for the Ducks. The biggest departure from the Ducks was captain Ryan Getzlaf who announced his retirement after the season. Getzlaf, a former first round pick in 2003 posted 1,019 points in 1,157 games played all with the Ducks. He also helped the Ducks win the Stanley Cup in 2007.

In his first offseason as GM Pat Verbeek has been aggressive and has added some good pieces. First he signed Frank Vatrano to a three year contract. Vatrano had 18 goals and 32 points last season for the Panthers and Rangers. Vatrano added five goals and 13 points in 20 Playoff games with the Rangers. Vatrano has a very quick release and a great shot. Dallas Eakins can play Vatrano with Trevor Zegras who had 23 goals and 61 points as a rookie. Despite what John Tortorella says Zegras was fun to watch last season (youtube the lacrosse goal) Pat Verbeek wasn’t done plucking from the Rangers as he also signed Ryan Strome to a five year 25 million dollar contract. Strome last season had 21 goals and 54 points. As a Ranger Strome had 71 goals and 195 points in parts of four seasons on Broadway. Part of Strome’s success was playing with Artemi Panarin so I am intrigued if Dallas Eakins pairs him with Troy Terry who had a career high 37 goals and 67 points last season. The Ducks also bolstered their blue line by signing former Star John Klingberg to a one year seven million dollar contract. Klingberg had six goals and 47 points last season for Dallas. In his career Klingberg has 71 goals and 374 points. Klingberg in the playoffs has seven goals and 35 points in 59 career playoff games. Klingberg will join a defense group that already has veterans Cam Fowler and Kevin Shattenkirk and a potential game changer in Jamie Drysdale. But if the Ducks are out of race by trade deadline Klingberg can be a big time rental for a playoff team.

But the best move for the Ducks might be the one they didn’t make. Before the offseason began it was reported that goaltender John Gibson was willing to waive his no trade clause if the Ducks wanted him to, but that has yet to occur. Gibson last season went 18-26-11 with a 3.19 GAA and .904 save percentage. In his career he is 166-148-51 with a 2.67 GAA and .915 save percentage and 23 shutouts. 

I really like what Pat Verbeek has done so far as GM from the trade deadline to the offseason. I don’t think the Ducks are a playoff team yet, but they can make life difficult for other Pacific Division teams this season.

TWIW – This Week In Wrestling 8/1/22 – 8/5/22

By Jeff Knapp

There have been reports that both Naomi and Sasha Banks have agreed to return to the WWE after falling out a few months ago. Whether this story is true or not, we will have this updated when it is 100% true.

Congratulations to Johnathan Gresham who earned a shot at the Progress championship when he won a 4-way match at Ric Flair’s Last Match PPV.

Speaking of that, Congratulations to Andrade and to the Nature Boy Ric Flair on their victory at that PPV when Flair pin Double J Jeff Jarrett

During this week’s Dynamite, Taz broke the news that as of that show Team Taz has officially disbanded. He wasn’t in the loops as far as Hobbs turning on Stark or Hook, challenging and winning the FTW Championship. He wished the 3 men all the best, but it’s time to move forward he says.

WWE Hall of Famer “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan revealed on Instagram that he has finished up his cancer treatment. That is amazing news. I was a huge fan of his as a kid and when I got to meet him a few years ago, I let him know how much I rooted for him. What a wonderful human being Duggan is.

Michael Cole Announced on Smackdown that the WWE will hold a tournament to crown new Women’s Tag Team Champions starting Monday

WWE – RAW

This was the 1st Raw under the Triple H regime and the biggest difference I saw was the extra 20 minutes of wrestling they had compared to the previous weeks.

There were 2 triple threat matches that night and the winners of both would face each other to see who would become the #1 contender to the US Championship currently held by the Almighty Bobby Lashley.

In the 1st match we had AJ Styles defeat The Miz and Mustafa Ali in an amazing sequence when Ali hit the 450 on Miz and when he propelled himself up from the impact, AJ caught him and connected in a Styles Clash. Great match and it was amazing to see Mustafa Ali get a chance to shine.

In the 2nd match, Ciampa defeated Dolph Ziggler and Chad Gable. I’m a fan of all 3 men, but it’s great to see Ciampa get the spotlight.

In the finals for the # 1 contendership, Ciampa defeated Styles when the Miz got involved and cause the distraction allowing TC to hit the Fairy Tale Ending and become the new # 1 Contender to the US Championship. I’m really curious how he will attack Lashley in their match next week. He’s one tough guy and was one of the greatest NXT champions of all time, but he’ll have his work cut out for him.

The rest of the show gave us some of the best matches on Raw in a long time. In my opinion, Iyo Sky gave Bianca Belair one of her toughest fights to date outside of Becky Lynch. Now that she has aligned with Bailey and Dakota Kai, this will be a very formidable trio. (Better than Toxic Attraction in nxt?)

In what has become par for the course, The Usos put on one hell of a fight when they defended their Undisputed Tag Team titles. This time they faced the Mysterios. I’m not positive how they earned the shot, but possibly based on the fact that Rey is celebrating his 20th year in the WWE.

With that said, Rey and Dominik put up one hell of a fight, but Dom gets nailed with the 1D and that’s it until the Judgment Day makes their way to the ring. Unfortunately, Edge Accidently hits Dom with a spear, but he is still able to fend off the Judgement Day.

NXT

NXT started off hot this week by having a NXT Women’s Tag team 4-way elimination match to crown the new Champions after they titles were vacated. The crowd was hot for this one as one of my favorite women’s tag teams in all of the WWE won their 1st championships. Kayden Carter & Katana Chance had every man, woman and child in the Capital Center jumping and cheer as they defeated Tatum Paxley & Ivy Nile, newcomers Yulissa Leon & Valentina Ferroz who showed some real spunk and finally knocking off Toxic Attraction’s Jacy Jayne & Gigi Dollin to become the new champions. They’ve fought hard, now we have to see them fight harder to keep the titles.

This was a hard night to figure out, we saw some good matches from Carmelo Hayes, who took on Nathan Frazer, Joe Gacy who faced Jensen. I’m a big fan of Gacy, who has the character who has the potential to be great if they just allow him to become darker, like Jim Jones.

Nothing against Alba Fyre but this match against Lash Legend was just not my cup of tea. How they think that Lash is ready for the spotlight of NXT is beyond me. She has all the athletic ability, but maybe some time in Level UP might be the best thing. I’m always looking to get emotionally invested in them, but her and Duke Hudson are 2 of those wrestlers who make me want to fast forward or use the bathroom.

It appears that Legado Del Fantasma has gone against the stipulation of their match and has broken away from the Mob. If Elektra Lopez is involved, do whatever you want. I’m hoping that Esobar takes out Tony Mamaluke once and for all. He has that face you just want to fast forward through.

In the main event we saw Solo Sikoa defeat Von Wagner in a falls count anywhere match in what was really entertaining. Solo has the bloodline to be amazing, but I want to give it up to Von Wagner. This was his best match to date and the fact that they paired him with Robert Stone was the best thing they could have done for him. If gives him a mouthpiece to get him over, once again proving my point that managers are needed more in the world of pro wrestling.

AEW – DYNAMITE

In what was seen as a surprise to some but not to others, Jay Lethal won clean over Orange Cassidy when he connected with his Lethal Injection finisher with little interference from Satnam Singh and Sonjay Dutt.

The Elite came to the ring, which consisted of The Young Bucks, reDRagon and Adam Cole Bay Bay. Cole talks about how he isn’t cleared to wrestle, and neither is Kyle. He talks about loyalty and that although he and Kyle can’t compete for the newly made Trios Titles, neither can the Young Bucks. This prompts reDRagon to Pearl Harbor job the Bucks also allowing Cole to get in a few kicks until Hangman Adam Page runs down and makes the save. I have seen something like this in the shadows when The Bucks seemed to have wanted to patch things up with Page, but just couldn’t get the alone time with him to talk things out. When the time is right, will we see those 6 men fight it out until an eventual returning Kenny Omega comes to straighten things out?

ThunderStorm (Thunder Rosa & Toni Storm) took on the team of Britt Baker & Jamie Hayter, with Rebel. Britt and Jamie have been a team a lot longer and it shows when it’s time to get on the same page. Storm is also the #1 contender to Rosa’s Women’s championship, so at some point this will have to boil over. When that match does happen, I see nothing less than a barn burner that Thunder Rosa will come out on top on. This time around we see Hayter picking up the pinfall over Toni Storm

This week we also saw Ricky Starks unsuccessfully try to get some type of revenge on Powerhouse Hobbs, but Hobbs is just way too strong.

Christian Cage also defeated Matt Hardy with the Killswitch and Daniel Garcia claims he’s now the Dragon Slayer by defeating the American Dragon, Bryan Danielson. That was a short but very effective promo.

Finally in the Main event with his title shot on the line, Chris Jericho submitted Wheeler Yuta with the Lion Tamer submission.

Before I wrap up Dynamite, the internet was buzzing with the rap from Max Caster when he mentioned Vince McMahon’s retirement in his diss rap to the Ass Boys and Billy Gunn.

As of this writing, it’s been a nice change of pace to have both Raw and Dynamite have both quality shows, usually it’s just the one having it where I don’t feel the need to fast forward.

IMPACT

The night started off with 2 former champions, Deonna Purrazzo who took on the leader of Decay, Rosemary who was joined by Taya Valkyrie and Jessicka, who was once Havok but creative pulled a horrible another personality gimmick with her like they did with Su Yung…twice. Deonna picked up the victory after Jessicka somehow accidently distracted the ref.

We also saw Brian Meyers get what could be called a questionable win when he pinned Black Tarus, but Taurs’s feet were on the bottom rope. After yet another ref blunder, Marsha Slamovich devastated Gisele Shaw with a Snow Plow.

Back to tag team action where we saw the Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) get a pinfall victory over Violent By Design’s Deaner &Joe Doering) I have to give it to VBD. Although they lost tonight, they have made tremendous strides in the Impact tag team division over the past year. 

Our main event is just around the corner, but 1st we have a very upset Sami Callihan in the ring dismantle Raj Singh with his Cactus Driver 97. The reason he is so upset is because of his frustrations with not being able to get his hands on Moose and Steve Maclin. After the match he gets his wish as Moose comes from behind and attacks Callihan. But is able to fight back until Maclin shows up and reverses the Cactus Driver 97 and groin shots Callihan, Moose then hits a spear followed by a DDT from Maclin.

We are now at the main event and this week we get The Bullet Club’s Doc Gallows facing PCO of HNM in a street fight. This is a wild match that goes all over the place. PCO takes the ring apart and at one point gets chokeslammed through the exposed wood by Gallows only to come back. In the end, with Gallows on the mat, PCO puts on a glove and loads it up with thumb tacks and leaps off the top onto Gallows who rolls into the sunken part of the ring and is then pinned by PCO for the win. How many times will PCO have to prove that he’s not the weak link in HNM?

WWE – SMACKDOWN

In what was a great show we started off right away with Pat Mcafee having me rolling with his breakdown of his match with Corbin at Summerslam. His use of the teleprompter just added to the hilarity of the entire segment.

Corbin, after being tired of being laughed at, challenges Ricochet to a match.

The match was one of Ricochet’s best matches on television in quite some time and proves that he needs to be in the conversation when it comes to not only high profile matches but in title contention when the opportunity comes his way.

Corbin had many chances tonight but had his mind more focused on Pat than on Ricochet and because of that got nailed with a perfect looking Shooting Star Press for the win.

In a match that had IC Championship ramifications, Shinsuke Nakamura faced Ludwig Kaiser with the stipulation being that if Nakamura wins, he will be the #1 contender to Gunther’s IC title. Although Kaiser had many opportunities even hitting a hard hitting European uppercut and wrist-clutch suplex, he was no match for the Kinshasa that Shinsuke eventually hit Ludwig with for the win.

There was an awkward moment tonight for Liv Morgan. I don’t think she was prepared to handle the audibly noticeable amount of boos she received talking about how she tapped out only after she pinned Ronda Rousey. This led to Sonya Deville to come out and chastise her. 

This led to the gauntlet match that would determine the #1 contender who will face her at the next PPV.

The gauntlet match went as following:

Sonya Deville defeated Aliyah

Raquel Rodriguez powerbombed Sonya for the win

Raquel then defeats Shotzi, Xi Li and then Natayla making it 4 wins in a row.

After facing all those competitors, she finally fell victim to Shayna Baszler, who rolled her up for the win but not before locking in a few submission attempts. Raquel has a bright future, but personally I’d love to see Shanya have a long run with the title. 

Lastly, we were greeted in the ring by Roman Reigns who talks about Drew McIntyre challenging him, which brings out Drew. 

Drew doesn’t want to wait and just as he’s ready to enter the ring, new music hits and there is a strange figure in the entrance way and was attacked from behind from….Karrion Kross !!! Kross is back with Scarlett Bordeaux. 

After he takes out Drew, Scarlett leaves a hour glass in the ring for Roman and is told tic toc. 

Is Roman’s time going to run out at the hands of Kross? We can only hope for that match.

Banking On Health

By : Mike Rifkin

With the MLB trade deadline passing my biggest takeaway on the New York Mets is that they are banking on the guys currently injured to have big returns. 

The Mets at the trade deadline added Darin Ruf from the Giants for JD Davis and three prospects. Ruf will DH when the team faces a left handed pitcher. Nine of Ruf’s eleven home runs and has a slash line of .252/.364/.523  against lefties. Ruf will DH vs lefties while Daniel Vogelbach will DH against right handed pitchers. The Mets also acquired reliever Mychal Givens from the Cubs. Givens was 6-2 with a 2.66 ERA and had 51 strikeouts in 40.2 innings pitched. Givens pitched for Mets manager Buck Showalter in Baltimore.

Trevor May who is likely to be activated before today’s game in Washington, James McCann who is likely to be back some time this weekend ,Drew Smith and Tylor Megill. May who has been out since April with a stress reaction in his right humerus had a 8.64 ERA before going on the IL. Drew Smith who is currently on the IL with a back issue got off to a tremendous start including 13.1 consecutive scoreless innings to start the season. Tylor Megill who started for the Mets on opening day has been on the IL with shoulder issues. Megill was 4-2 with a ERA over 5 and has 47 strikeouts in 41.1 innings pitched.James McCann who is currently on a rehab assignment for the second time following an oblique injury. McCann on the season is hitting .183 with two home runs and 11 RBI. Following his first IL stint with a broken hamate bone McCann was looking to get more comfortable at the plate. But even with the lack of offense from McCann so far this season he is very good at calling games and throwing out potential base stealers. But the most important return was in last night’s game where Mets ace Jacob deGrom returned after more than a year on the shelf. DeGrom went five innings giving up a run on three hits and striking out six. If the Mets rotation stays healthy with DeGrom and Scherzer at the top it is formidable.

Mets GM Billy Eppler said they were close to adding a catcher and a left handed reliever and just couldn’t come to terms on a deal. Most fans are unsatisfied with what happened especially after seeing what division rivals Phillies and Braves did, but the Mets are banking on the guys coming back from injury as insurance instead of making a big deal. It’s not always the big deal that wins you a pennant every year.

Why WWE RAW’s best show in years took place in the wrong city.

By: Noah Trombley

The Triple H era of WWE truly began this week as the game’s influence on the Monday Night Raw program was very clear from the get go. This episode of the Monday night staple was such a breath of fresh air as many of the annoying habits and booking decisions that Vince had used throughout his many years running the ship seem to be non-existent. Storylines seemed to be treated with care and given reasons to exist, champions were made to look like a huge deal, and most importantly there was plenty of wrestling on the show. That seems weird to say out loud but one of the most prevalent criticisms of Vince McMahon’s WWE, especially on a weekly programming front, was that there wasn’t enough wrestling on the shows. This week had no such issues as we had 6 matches on this week’s show that all went over at least 12 mins. In the case of the Bianca Belair vs Iyo Sky match, they put on a 20 minute banger of a match while lower on the card we got another amazing match consisting of Seth Rollins vs Montez Ford. This was such an amazing turn around from just a week ago, we actually had a 3 hour wrestling show where wrestling was the focus of the show. 

With that being said however there was one thing that happened, or didn’t happen, during this week’s Raw which brought the whole show down. Raw this week emanated from the Toyota Center in Houston Texas, and let’s just say WWE should not return to the Houston area for a while. The entire show had amazing matches, amazing promos from the likes of Edge, and the continuation of some of the year’s best storylines. However, this Houston crowd seemed like they couldn’t care less about what was going on in the ring or backstage. No matter what the performers did the crowd remained deadly quiet throughout the entire night. The near falls that Bianca and Iyo were getting on each other barely received any kind of reaction, you could’ve put crickets in this crowd and they would have been louder than the people in the arena. This just baffles me as why would you pay your hard earned money to go to a show like WWE, where crowd participation is almost as important as the performers themselves, and just sit on your hands all night. There were entire sections of the crowd just sitting there motionless while the main event of the Usos vs the Mysterios for the Undisputed Tag Team Championships raged on. This took so much out of the show as watching it on TV you couldn’t help but notice how the crowd seemed to not care at all with wah

This crowd seemed to not respect these performers working their butts off to give them an amazing show with some amazing action. It seriously was a show of disrespect by this crowd. WWE should not put up with this lack of crowd participation. If this show was in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, anywhere else the crowd would’ve gone nuts at the action on display this night. Compare the reactions on Raw to the opening match of last week’s Smackdown which saw Drew Mcintyre vs Sheamus for a shot at the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship and you will see just how disappointing this Houston crowd was. WWE should seriously send a message to the city of Houston and not return for a while to show that if they want another show again they are going to have to show up and be a raucous crowd and appreciate what these performers are giving them.

Deshaun Watson Suspended

By: Mike Rifkin

Monday morning Judge Sue Robinson handed a six game suspension to Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson and did not fine him for violating the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy stemming from multiple accusations of sexual misconduct.  

In her decision Judge Robinson said “ Mr. Watson is hereby suspended for six (6) regular-season games without pay. Although this is the most significant punishment ever imposed on an NFL player for allegations of non-violent sexual conduct,  Mr. Watson’s pattern of conduct is more egregious than any before reviewed by the NFL.” Six games is not enough for this kind of behavior and the NFL, who has three days to appeal this, absolutely should appeal this. The decision also said the NFL wanted Watson suspended for the season and with reinstatement for 2023 hinging on specific conditions. The League says its request is unprecedented, because his conduct was unprecedented. Yes the league has suspended players for sexual assault and misconduct before, but not to this extent. Watson will miss games against the Panthers, Jets, Steelers, Falcons, Chargers and Patriots. 

The NFL needs to make a statement saying this kind of behavior will not be tolerated. They made that stance on Tom Brady with deflategate and with Calvin Ridley this offseason suspending him for the season for gambling. But this behavior is much worse and Roger Goodell needs to appeal this. Even if Watson and his team want to take this to court the NFL needs to make the right call.

The NFL as a whole has a massive cultural issue whether it be players or owners. Deshaun Watson is the latest example of part of the problem along with what is going on with Commanders Owner Daniel Snyder, if Roger Goodell wants to show the fans what he truly believes both reports have to be released. At the end of the day six games for Watson’s behavior is not enough for me and I hope the NFL appeals the suspension and give Watson a much lengthier suspension