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Review of The Road Warriors: Danger, Death and the Rush of Wrestling

March 12th 2011 23:05
The Road Warriors became the greatest tag team in professional wrestling history by pulling no punches and not trying to be fancy. Road Warrior Animal writes with the same style that he wrestled with and his autobiography is just as entertaining and successful as anything he did inside of the ring.

This book has great backstage stories about the companies he worked for. And also several bizarre moments that took place during the matches that fans were unaware of. The book was written by Joe "Animal" Laurinaitis and Andrew William Wright. The forward was written by "Precious" Paul Ellering. The hardcover book has a suggested retail price of $24.95.

The Road Warriors were to tag team wrestling in the '80s what Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair were to singles wrestling during that era. While Flair and Hogan's autobiographies didn't match the greatness of their careers, this book gives a reader everything they could want in a book about this legendary tag team.

The book starts off with Animal breaking into the business and it is amazing the people he began his training with. He drove to wrestling class with three other people that would become huge stars in the business: Hawk, Rick Rude, and Demolition Smash (aka Repo Man and Barry Darsow). In addition to talking about his dealings with them, he also helped get Scott Norton and Nikita Koloff involved in the wrestling business.

One of the most interesting things about the career of the Road Warriors is that despite their huge success, they have been around some tremendous failures in the wrestling business. They wrestled in Georgia when the company was sold to Vince McMahon. They went to the AWA and saw that company decline tremendously. They went over to the NWA and were a part of that company when Jim Crockett was forced to sell the company to Ted Turner and were also there during the Jim Herd error (pun intended). Animal gives an interesting take on these topics that are sure to intrigue fans of both the team and wrestling history in general.

After leaving World Championship Wrestling, the team went to World Wrestling Entertainment where they were given a new name (The Legion of Doom) and were without their long-time manager, Paul Ellering. Interestingly, this was not their first contact with the company. Animal details a meeting the group had with Vince McMahon several years earlier when they tried to play Vince against Jim Crockett during a previous negotiation meeting.
Problems for the team began around this time as Hawk's drug use became a major issue for both men. Hawk's drug abuse was so bad that it resulted in the group losing the World Tag Team Championship in a phantom title change to Money Inc. Amazingly, Hawk's problems with the company and drugs only got worse from there. As most wrestling fans know, this story ended in a tragedy similar to that of Eddie Guerrero as Hawk died of a heart attack brought on by years of abusing his body despite recently turning his life around.

This is a great book that deserves a place in the wrestling library of any wrestling fan that wants to know more about wrestling during the '80s and '90s. This book is similar in style and content quality to those by Bret Hart and Gary Hart, both of which I consider to be among the greatest wrestling autobiographies ever.
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The Day Dale Died

March 11th 2011 01:50
For many, their love and infatuation with NASCAR ended the day NASCAR's biggest star, Dale Earnhardt, died on the high banks of Daytona International Speedway.

While trying to defend his piece of real estate on the last lap Dale's rear bumper made contact with Sterling Marlin's Coors Lite Silver Bullet Dodge and then veered right toward the outside retaining wall. Before Dale hit the wall his car came into contact with Kenny Schrader's bright yellow M&M's powered machine which changed the direction of Dale's black number three Goodwrench Chevy into an almost perpendicular trajectory to the wall - in other words, he went head-on into the wall.

Since that moment on February 18, 2001 there have been many people stating the reasons why Dale died - it was the seat-belt, it was the hardness of the wall, it was the way the car was built with no crush zones, he wasn't wearing a full-face helmet, he had no HANS-like device, and so on.
Honestly, once it’s said and done the fact remains that Dale is gone and with his death NASCAR lost a lot of fans - I know, I was one of them - and NASCAR was forever changed.

Once Dale died I lost interest in NASCAR. Sure I watched the next few races. Steve Park's win was good - but it still made me sad that Dale wasn't there to see his driver pull into victory lane. Harvick's win was pretty freakin' awesome - but still, that should have been Dale driving that car. I cried none-the-less; it was an emotional win for the team and their new driver.

But once that race was over I was done with NASCAR - as a die-hard anyway. I didn't watch another full flag to flag race for years after. I watched parts of races if I happened to be around a T.V. and it was on but I didn't record any races to watch later and I certainly never went to any races either.
I became an absentee fan of sorts - I still enjoyed stock car racing but I wasn't interested in the product on T.V. anymore. I remained that way for about five years and then I slowly started coming back to NASCAR again, but I wasn't the same fan I used to be - not even close - but I was back none-the-less.

I'm still not that fan I used to be, and honestly I don't think I will ever be that type of fan again and I don't think anyone that was a Dale Earnhardt fan will ever be the same kind of fan they were before he died - if they come back to NASCAR at all that is. Sure a lot of Dale Earnhardt Jr’s fan base came from his Daddy, but let's face it they aren't the same fans now that they were when Dale Sr. was alive and to be honest with you it isn't even fair for Dale Jr. to shoulder the unachievable expectations placed on him by these transplanted fans - but that is another story altogether.

When Dale Earnhardt died a part of me died too and a part of NASCAR died. In the aftermath of Dale's death everyone was looking to place blame on someone or something for the cause of his death - Sterling Marlin even received death threats.

A lot of fans blamed NASCAR for Dale's death naming the restrictor plates and aerodynamic packages as the cause while others thought it was NASCAR's inaction to make racing safer after the deaths of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin (to name a few). Faulty equipment and lack of driver safety features in the car and in equipment used by Dale were blamed as well.

It was this angst over Dale's death that drove fans away and caused NASCAR to change the way they did things. Good or bad, NASCAR was forever changed as a result. The NASCAR at the turn of the century died when Dale hit that wall. The NASCAR that emerged from the aftermath of Dale's death is now safety conscious, and we now have The Chase, a new points system (yet again), , the HANS device, safety barriers, foreign car manufacturers, and so on.

As fans from back then slowly came back to NASCAR they have found that the NASCAR they knew wasn't the NASCAR they were now seeing - things were different. For some it was difficult to accept the changes while others went along with it because they loved the sport too much to stay away. I think I'd fall into the second category although I can honestly say that I'm more of a fan of the sport than the fan of any one driver in particular - those days are done, I couldn't invest as much into another driver as I did in Dale.
Would the changes in NASCAR, especially in the area of safety have happened if Dale wouldn't have died? I don't know, I'd like to think so anyway. However I don't believe they would have happened as fast as they did though.

But here's what I do know:

1) NASCAR is safer for the drivers now - probably more so now than in any other time in NASCAR history

2) NASCAR will never be like it was prior to the death of Dale Earnhardt

3) NASCAR still has a lot of displaced Earnhardt fans out there who are unsure of the new NASCAR

4) NASCAR is now listening to their fans more than ever before (yes I do think its true)

5) NASCAR will never have another Dale Earnhardt

6) It has been ten years since Dale died and NASCAR, for good or bad, is still feeling the effects of his death - I know I am.

It is too bad it had to take the death of Dale Earnhardt to change the old NASCAR into the new NASCAR. I wish that in this case I could have my cake and eat it too, that way Dale would still be alive and NASCAR would be the safety conscious entity it is now. As the years go by and future NASCAR historians look back at NASCAR they will find that Dale Earnhardt's legacy to NASCAR will not be his driving skills, wins or seven Championships, it will be the changes made by NASCAR as a result of his death. For me, as a die-hard Earnhardt fan, that isn't the way it was supposed to be - his legacy should have been his driving skills, wins, and quite possibly a record setting eight Championships
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In Kahn I dont Trust

March 3rd 2011 02:04
In Kahn We, Sadly, Can No Longer Trust. After he was hired, I envisioned writing an article called “In Kahn We Trust” hoping to stick it to the NBA experts after the Wolves made a major turnaround. But, it appears not to be, as they were right in the end. David Kahn has not worked out.

Whining, ranting, pessimism, self-loathing. This is the tone that is about to be heavily prominent in this write-up. So, if you are sensitive to those kinds of things, or would rather think positive things about the “Kahn plan," I humbly ask you to either respect the take that is about to unravel, or instead return to your land where unicorns prance openly, and where David Kahn is instead the doppelganger of a small Leprechaun.

Okay, okay, perhaps a bit harsh and dramatic to start things out, but the point is: things are bad. Very bad. There is no other way to put it. But, let’s back up here for a moment.

When David Kahn was hired in May of 2009, there was a general wave of optimism. Whether this optimism was misguided due to spillover from the long-awaited end to the McHale era remains to be seen. But before Kahn was hired we had 3 others in the final consideration pool (that we know of): Dennis Lindsey of the Spurs, Randy Pfund, and the legendary Tom Penn. To the best of what was gathered based on’09 reports, Pfund was asking for over $4 million, a salary many would agree is much too high. Penn ended up using us for personal gain in Portland (he was later fired for doing so), but Lindsey was the most interesting case. It is fully unclear what made Lindsey withdraw, but reports at the time suggested it had to do with a lack of front office autonomy. If I had to guess, this was tied to a lack of budgetary discretion for building his own front office, not retaining McHale.

Kahn demonstrated his ability to fire McHale only weeks later. And thus after Lindsey withdrew, we ended up with the man who was our obvious first choice all along, and anybody who said otherwise was “completely wrong” according to Glen Taylor. Enter David Kahn, of whom, during his legendary introductory press conference, compared himself to glam rock artist Adam Lambert, pretended that he wasn’t absolutely desperate to get a job, name dropped George Karl, and used the term “our league” not once, but five times. Yet, here we were, ready to usher in a new era. And we bought into it, the scent of McHale still lingering.

Kahn’s very first “transaction” was to dismiss Kevin McHale as coach, which hit hard and home with many. Opinion at the time seemed to split on this maneuver. Had it not been for the gargantuan Russia-sized bowel movement McHale had left on the front office, he might have made a fantastic coach for this young squad. A laid back type, yet firm and fair. Positive. Not arrogant, but humble and human. Empowered players to bring the best out in themselves with his laid back, Midwestern charm.

Not to tangent, but I often wonder why coaches do not seem more receptive to feedback. In a corporate setting, the stubborn mules tend to be the least respected. And in basketball, a respect for your coach is basically mandatory for team success. Coaches make errors too, and nothing, personally, makes me respect or hold someone in higher regard than a willingness to admit and learn from mistakes.

Shortly after the McHale dismissal, Kahn began wheeling and dealing. His first basketball-related move, at the time, was a good one: trading Mike Miller and Randy Foye for the 5th pick in the 2009 draft, Darius Songaila, Etan Thomas and Oleksiy Pecherov. From a value standpoint, we won big. This pick, as most know, turned out to be Ricky Rubio. The same Rubio, might I add, could be in danger of not joining the team next year. However, that night, all was magical. The Target Center-based draft party was louder than any Timberwolves event since the ’04 Western Finals. Unicorns were running rampant.

All was well. This was the apex of Kahn’s career as President of Basketball Operations; a title which Kahn of course says is “meaningless.” Shortly after, we selected Jonny Flynn, passing over a projected top 5, dead-eye shooter in Stephen Curry. An odd buzz permeated Target Center. Confused patrons could be heard mumbling things such as “a trade must be in the works.” One cannot blame Kahn for jumping on a tax-starved Wizards team, or for taking Rubio. Surely he could have done more homework on the buyout situation, but passing on Ricky would have been a very large PR blunder as your first ever draft pick. It is the Flynn pick that, well, do we need to elaborate?

Many remain confused to this day. Had it not been for the post-McHale era Kool-Aid (which provided Kahn FAR too much time, in hindsight), Draft Day ’09 was the start of Kahn’s fall into the GM we know today; the man many could argue is worse than Kevin McHale. The same McHale… Kahn had fired days before. The same McHale who acquired our current All-Star. Who do you blame? The Chicken or the Egg? Does the old saying not apply somewhat to this scenario? If you bought a used car for $2,000, would you expect it to drive like a brand new $35,000 Audi? Glen Taylor thinks so, apparently. And yet, we bought into it.

Shortly following came the much-heralded signing of our current coaching staff, led by the legend himself Kurt Rambis, and his minions Bill Laimbeer, Reggie Theus, film director Woody Allen, and JB Bickerstaff. A very positively received hiring by the fan base at the time.

Little did we know?

After a series of cost-cutting trades (Kahn averaged one trade/signing every two-weeks from August-October, 2009), we had the 2009-2010 Wolves poop-fest headlined by Damien Wilkins, Sasha Pavlovic, Pecherov and Nathan Jawai. Because apparently marijuana and heavy drugs were legal in Minnesota at the time, I predicted 30 wins.

The human psyche tells us many things to convince us we couldn’t possibly be wrong. Quick hypothetical: If you could go back in time and slap yourself for thinking something, would it be ask that beautiful girl on a date you never had the courage to speak to… or to tell yourself you are an idiot for supporting the Rambis hire? Kind of a tough call. But, despite the 15 wins and the subsequent 2010 draft, many bought it anyways.

Rambis, has, in short, been a complete disaster as a head coach. There is currently no single basketball-related counterpoint that someone can provide (believe me, I have tried to find one, and have asked his small faction of supporters…to no avail) that suggests otherwise other than the nauseating “give ‘em more time” mantra. How many examples do we need to provide in order to invoke an understanding of the level of coaching incompetence coming from the man barking orders in his ‘pretend-to-sound-like-Phil-J ackson’ rasp? A few, in typical run-on form: thinking Kevin Love is a 6th man, playing 11 players in first halves, refusing to close out 3-point shots, alienating your young point guard, becoming, at one point, the worst coach in team history record-wise, having the exact same # of wins as last year (in what was the worst season in franchise history) to date, completely disregarding player's strengths and comfort levels. So many more examples. And we want Ricky Rubio within 3 feet of this guy? Long story short, he had his chance. But most importantly, again, the team currently has the exact same number of wins as last year. Oh by the way, rather under the radar, the Wolves just hired a consultant to provide an outside evaluation as to just what is going on with this team. Again, all I ask is one reason not related to patience.

Kahn was not done, though. Another draft passed in which he picked, or traded for, 3 players who play the same position, passing over DeMarcus Cousins in the process. But then, after making his annual slew of cost-cutting moves, Kahn had previously promised us he was freeing up money to make a big move via three windows of opportunity. At first these windows were the ’10 trade deadline, the ‘10 draft and the ’11 Trade Deadline, the last of which just went by. Now, after little materialized, the windows were conveniently pushed out in his latest “letter to the fans” before this season. This bought Kahn more time to make cost cutting moves and draft underperforming players. So where is this plan? Do you not realize our cap space has an expiration date and it pretty much right now? Does this all seem like an unplanned representation of sheer boobery and BS or is it just me?

Let me pause and say this about DeMarcus Cousins: anyone who honestly takes a step back and says “I would still pass on Cousins today” seems to be grasping at Wolves-colored straws. In the NBA, behavioral issues are two-fold. You have the criminal-types who do drugs and get into legal trouble; and you have the temperamental, but over-competitive type. Think Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett vs. Eddy Curry (who we were ironically traded for or Ron Artest (to a lesser degree). DeMarcus Cousins is in camp A in every way, and may one day be a better player than Rasheed Wallace. Wes Johnson MIGHT one day be better than Ryan Gomes. Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett have championships.

Championships that these “head cases” helped their teams win. Wes Johnson is scared to draw fouls. There is such a night and day difference between being over-competitive and showing an on-court fire, and being a “criminal” head case. Cousin’s issues are derived from, at least, positive intentions. While he is absolutely in the wrong without question, this is not something to start a witch hunt over. Our front office made a mistake passing on him, plain and simple, and thus to date the only solid draft pick Kahn has made based on pick position and value appears to be Wayne Ellington.

What preposterous rationalization will we make next to justify the incompetence? And we trade for Anthony Randolph because he has some upside?

Then there was the trade of Al Jefferson for 2 first round picks, for cap space? The cap space was to be used for the aforementioned “singular move.” Oddly, the Al trade was a trade some, including me, supported. Despite the going-ons in Utah and what appears imminent with our cap space (nothing), again Kahn gets cents on the dollar for another valuable asset.

Actually, no, your singular crap on the proverbial head of your glorious window of opportunity to do something with a slew of assets. Assets that, to date, have netted us a group of confused wings, a coach who couldn’t manage a group of typing monkeys, and the maintenance of the 2nd best rebounder since 1982. The biggest bright spot coming from the guy Kahn fired, and who initially he wanted to mold into a 6th man. And somewhere, the sound of Rubio can be heard laughing.

Yet, Rambis and Kahn are still defended. "Give them time!" Absolutely not! No more time after all that has transpired. At what point are we going to stop gifting away our assets? At what point do the rebuilding trades stop where one big asset net us 3 (or 1) smaller asset(s)? At what point do we stop overpaying?

And here we are today, with 14 wins, only Cleveland is worse than the timber puppies. David Kahn, your legacy. Created by your own dishonesty and mismanagement of expectations. You have done Our Town well. Speaking of town, I want to say that I firmly believe a swift change to the front office can make an immediate difference. It is easy and painless. Let Kahn go home, and leave ‘Our League’ for a while.

Then let Rambis go and give Laimbeer a shot. While at the women’s level, Laimbeer has proven he can coach and win at a professional-level, and lead people whom, quite frankly, are very different than he is. This is not something to sneeze at. The move would be quick and painless. And, most importantly, no more Kahn, who has just proven time and time again that he, is only good at one thing: turning silver into coal.

Do it Taylor. Do it for Our Team.
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What is wrong with Gopher Hockey Part II

February 21st 2011 16:36
Can the Gophers Win with an All-Minnesota Team?
This is the second part of "What's Wrong with Minnesota Gophers Hockey?" Last week Part I focused on the changing landscape of college hockey, as well as the development of Gopher players.

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What is wrong with Golden Gopher Hockey?

February 12th 2011 02:28
In the past three seasons, the Minnesota Gophers hockey program have finished no better than fifth in the WCHA standings, and have just one NCAA tourney appearance, getting bounced in the first round in 2007-08. Halfway through the 2010-11 season, they're barely above .500 overall, and are clinging to fifth in the conference once again. This has been the longest stretch of mediocrity for Gopher hockey since everyone's favorite Glen Sonmor/Ken Yackel, Sr. Era in the early 1970's.

Sonmor took over for some guy named John Marriucci (apparently he was a pretty big deal. They named a rink after him or something) and finished 8th, 5th, and 5th in his first three WCHA seasons. He then won the WCHA regular season title in 1969/70 before another 5th place finish (and a 14-17-2 record) in '70/71 and a 1-7 start the next season got him canned and replaced by Yackel. The team would finish 10th that year, prompting the hire of a former Gopher player and Minnesotan named Herb Brooks in 1972. After a 6th place finish his first season, Brooks would go on to become a hockey coaching legend in not just the state, but the country


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2012 Winter Classic

February 9th 2011 02:39
With the success of the winter classic, I say it's time to bring it to the real frozen pond. Minnesota. And I say we have the old mn team play the new one. Wild vs Dallas. Love it but what jerseys would they or should they wear?

Some will probaly say let the Wild wear the NORTH star sweater and let the Stars wear the version of the early 1990's that just had the stars moniker


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In Minnesota: Less is More

February 9th 2011 02:28
I love Minnesota.

I don't care if people make fun of me for it. We are among the most unique people in this country. We are resilient, tough, genuine and a little goofy. We are supportive, prideful and almost loyal to a fault. There is something about us that is a little bit off to everyone else and we wouldn't have it any other way


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Mn Wild Mid-season Grade

February 8th 2011 22:32
Grades are something I know very well. I'd also like to think, that I know hockey pretty well too. As a paraprofessional I see grades all of the time, its part of the job. It can be stressful for both the student and the parents.

Grades are expected to be both accurate and done expeditiously but add into that a student's and their respective parent expectations and you have a formula that can produce some considerable tension.You attempt to stay objective despite a parent and / or student's criticism but its tough to stay that way when they're telling you that somehow the teacher must have made a mistake


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