Bringing in 2019

(Warning:  Just returned from my brothers and had a couple of bourbons... forgive me if I ramble)

2019... I won't bother with predictions.  They always seem like a crapshoot anyways.  

On a personal level- I want to really focus on my health.  For the first two months, I'm abstaining from alcohol and really focusing on my diet.  I really would like to hit 190 pounds sometime this year.  (My weight this morning:  214.0 pounds)

For the world?  I just want us to be nicer to each other.  So much of what I read is just so angry.  Angry at each other.  Instead of looking for solutions, we're looking to scream at each other.  It's so... tiring.  And feels so useless.  I see the anger and snark and I'm just... tuning it out.  If someone has a point to make it's not reaching me.  

Most of the stuff I write on here nowadays is light fluff- sports predictions, wrestling rants.  Part of that is to entertain.  Part of that is because I don't have solutions to the problems we face.  So if all I can offer is amusement... that's what I'm offering.

I thank you all for reading, whoever is out there.  This is an infinitesimally tiny corner of the internet... but it is mine, and I appreciate everyone who checks it out.

Thank you, and have a great 2019.

Closing Out 2018

2018.... It was a year.  

On a personal level... for me, it wasn't a horrible year.  But I have some friends going through some serious illnesses, and watching them is agonizing.  You want to help, and there's so little you can do...  "Thoughts and Prayers" has turned into a punchline, but for some situations, I'm not sure there's anything else I or anyone can do.

On a world level... I don't like to talk politics anymore.  There doesn't seem any point- we're not discussing ideas.  Maybe I'll feel different next year.

My predictions ... they did not turn out so well.  I'm sure I'll try again.

Even after all of these years, I'm still not sure what I'm doing with this blog.  Mainly a place to write down my thoughts that aren't under the facebook/twitter umbrella.  But I'm so casual about this that I have no idea who (if anyone) actually reads this.  If you are reading this, thanks.  


Wishing everyone a fantastic 2019.   Surely you concede we deserve it.

Top 64 Tournaments- past and present

I'm a fan (geek) about brackets and tournaments.  Start out with 64 options (more than that is too many).  Find a way for two of the options to match up, then find a way to declare a winner- winner moves on.  In the end, there can be only one winner.

A dozen years ago, I ran some top 64 tournaments through email over work.  This past year, I restarted them.  The voting is on Facebook.  The link is 'All Time Drafts- Voting'  Everyone's welcome to join the group, vote, and argue for their choices.

I put together a list of all of my previous drafts and the winners.  We're starting a new one (Top 64 Villains) next Monday.

Bracket	Winner
Rock Bands	Led Zeppelin
Movies	Star Wars:  A New Hope
TV Comedies	The Simpsons
Comic Strips	Calvin & Hobbes
Movie Actors	Harrison Ford
Movie Actresses	Katherine Hepburn
Stand-Up Comedians	George Carlin
Arcade Games	Donkey Kong
Disney/Pixar Movies	The Lion King
Villains	… To Be Determined…

Sad Godzilla Amongst the Ruins

I used to love monster movies.

Went through a phase where I read a ton about the early movies of Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolfman.  And then another phase of King Kong and the giant Kaiju Japanese monsters.

I’ve never liked horror movies- I don’t enjoy being scared.  But monster movies used to hit a sweet spot for me.

There’s a 2019 movie coming out:  Godzilla- King of the Monsters.  Here’s the trailer:

And… I’m not happy seeing it.  I’m depressed and sad, really.

Two reasons- one minor, one major.

The minor one:  Dear Lord, why do all of these movies have to be so literally dark?  I know ‘less is more’ and maybe the actual movie you can really see the monsters- but here everything is dark and grey and blue and muted and so difficult to see.  The technology is better nowadays, the cinematography is great- why make everything so shadowy?

But here’s the major one:  I. Do. Not. Like. Disaster. Porn.

I don’t want to see 2 hours of cities being decimated and lives obliterated.  It’s not fun or enjoyable.

Those 50’s and 60’s Godzilla movies?  They looked cheesy and fake.  You know what else?  They were fun- in part because you knew they were cheesy and fake.

If I want to see a realistic image of a building being destroyed, I can watch the news.

I can’t imagine this movie doing well- who wants to see a monster movie and feel sad?

Really, Cavs?

I have a sports rule- I can root for a bad team, but not a stupid team.  Bad teams get better; stupid teams waste your time.  Unfortunately, the Cleveland Cavaliers just jumped from the former to the latter.

Starting out 0-5, losing to Atlanta and Brooklyn?  That's a bad team.

Firing your head coach five games into the season?  That's a stupid team.

Smart organizations do not fire their coaches in mid-season.  If you fire your coach, do it in the off season, to allow the coach to mold the team in his image before the season starts.  

I have no idea how good or bad of a coach Tyronn Lue is.  The players liked him.  He won a NBA title, but with the caveat that this was a team dominated by LeBron James.  

When James left, there was an argument to blow up the team and start over.  I thought the team had enough talent to compete for the playoffs- but if the organization had gone in that direction, I would have supported them.

Instead, they signed Kevin Love to a four year extension.  I like Kevin Love- but if you're rebuilding, you don't sign a 30 year old player to an extension.  Not in today's NBA.

I still think the Cleveland Cavaliers have talent- but it's a weird mix of talent.  They have veterans (Love, JR Smith, Kyle Korver, Tristan Thompson).  They have young guys (Cedi Osman, Colin Sexton).  They lose their next draft pick to the Hawks unless the Cavs are one of the worst 10 teams in the NBA (right now, that's likely- but again, it's FIVE GAMES into the season).  

If your argument was that you didn't think Ty Lue was the right coach for this team, then fire him so you can find the right guy.  But do that in the offseason and admit you're rebuilding.

Instead, it's the worst of all worlds- the team stinks, and anyone they bring in will have no time to mold the team.  As an added bonus, your organization looks like you are in complete disarray.

It's the move of a stupid organization- and I don't want to waste my time thinking about them anymore.

WWE Evolution Predictions

* Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Natalya vs The Riott Squad (Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan, and Ruby Riott)
My Crazy Dream Booking: Clean win for the faces.  As much as I like the Riott Squad, for my major storyline idea (see below), I need Sasha Banks and Bayley to be strong.  I would have an extended sequence between Natalya and Ruby Riott, each trying to one-up the other.  Morgan and Logan I keep as a tag team for the woman’s tag titles
What Should Happen: Clean win for the faces
What Will Happen: Clean win for the faces
What I’m Terrified Will Happen: Riott Squad wins when Sasha Banks turns heel on Bayley
If I Was Booking This And I Hated You: Riott Squad wins when Bayley turns heel on Sasha Banks

* Women’s Battle Royal       Battle royal for a women's championship match
My Crazy Dream Booking: Asuka wins cleanly.  At the end of the match, as she celebrate, music comes on- and Meiko Satomura comes down to stare down Asuka and set up a Wrestlemania match between the two 
What Should Happen: Asuka wins cleanly to challenge the winner of Charlotte-Becky Lynch  (Note:  If Molly Holly wins, I will gladly put that under this category)
What Will Happen: Ember Moon wins to challenge Rhonda Rousey
What I’m Terrified Will Happen: Tamina wins to challenge Rhonda Rousey
If I Was Booking This And I Hated You: Michelle McCool wins to challenge for both titles

* Trish Stratus and Lita vs Alexa Bliss and Mickie James
My Crazy Dream Booking: Alexa Bliss and Mickie James wins;  afterwards, Alexa starts on a campaign to destroy the ‘old has-beens’;  she goes after Ivory, after Molly Holly, after all of the female stars from the past- including her own partner, Mickie James- before setting her sights on the big target:  Stephanie McMahon, for Wrestlemania

(I like Alexa, and I want to give her a main event program.  But for my major storyline idea, she’s on the outside looking in.  I figure Alexa might be the only female wrestler able to heel it up enough for Stephanie McMahon to be a face at Wrestlemania)

 
What Should Happen: Lita and Trish Stratus win to set up a ‘Classic Female Wrestlers’ vs. ‘Modern female Wrestlers’ elimination match, possibly at Survivor Series (Lita, Trish, Natalya, Kaitlyn, and Molly Holly vs. Alexa, Mickie, and the Riott Squad)?

What Will Happen: Lita and Trish win
What I’m Terrified Will Happen: Lita and Trish can’t go anymore- they still win, but it’s a bad match
If I Was Booking This And I Hated You: Mickie James turns on Alexa and they try a face turn with Alexa

* Mae Young Classic Finals:  Toni Storm vs Io Shirai
My Crazy Dream Booking:  Toni Storm wins- and afterwards, Mercedes Martinez comes out to challenge her.  Meanwhile, Io Shirai goes after the NXT title

 
What Should Happen: Toni Storm wins, and is attacked by Rhea Ripley afterwards to set up the main feud for the NXT UK woman’s title.  Io Shirai goes after the NXT title in a battle of the air with Kairi Sane

What Will Happen: Toni Storm wins
What I’m Terrified Will Happen: Io wins- and Storm turns heel afterwards
If I Was Booking This And I Hated You: Io still isn’t used to the WWE rings, misses on the moonsault, and the crowd turns on her and the match

* NXT UK Women’s Title:  Rhea Ripley (c) vs Kaitlyn
My Crazy Dream Booking: Ripley retains and is booked as a strong heel champion for Toni Storm to challenge
What Should Happen: Ripley retains
What Will Happen: Ripley retains
What I’m Terrified Will Happen: Kaitlyn wins the title
If I Was Booking This And I Hated You: Kaitlyn wins with the help of (still on crutches) Tegan Nox

* NXT Women’s Title:  Kairi Sane (c) vs Shayna Baszler
My Crazy Dream Booking: Part 1 of my major storyline:  Kairi Sane wins when she pins Baszler while Baszler’s foot is under the rope.  Sane is decalred the winner- and Baszler snaps.  From the audience, Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir (two of the other MMA Four Horsewomen, who have been training and having matches in NXT) come out and join Baszler in stomping out Sane, along with Candace LaRae and any other NXT female face who tries to save Sane.  Finally, Rhonda Rousey comes out and calms the other three Horsewomen down.  It’s announced that Baszler has been suspended from NXT

What Should Happen: Sane wins to feud with Io Shirai/  Baszler moves onto the main roster
What Will Happen: Sane wins.  Baszler moves onto the main roster
What I’m Terrified Will Happen: Baszler wins, and the feud continues until Wrestlemania (I like both, but both could use a fresher feud)
If I Was Booking This And I Hated You: Sane wins by submission

* RAW Women’s Title:  Ronda Rousey (c) vs Nikki Bella
My Crazy Dream Booking: Part 2 of my major storyline:  This is the second to last match.  Rousey spends most of the match killing Bella- but Brie shows up and distracts her, allowing Nikki to take control.  Rousey fights back, and the twins pull Twin Magic, substituting Brie for Nikki, and Brie takes control.  Rousey starts to fight back- and they pull Twin Magic again.

Out come Baszler, Duke and Shafir- and they start beating the crap out of Brie (now back outside).  It should walk the line between “Brie is getting what she deserves” and “Man, this is a brutal beatdown- should we be cheering this?”  Nikki is so worried that Rousey catches her and makes her tap out.  As WWE officials finally pull the other Horsewomen off, Rousey and the others celebrate- but Rousey seems a little concerned about her fellow Horsewomen.

What Should Happen: Rousey wins cleanly- if we can’t have my major storyline, Baszler might be her next contender, or Ember Moon, or Asuka
What Will Happen: Rousey wins
What I’m Terrified Will Happen: Nikki Bella wins
If I Was Booking This And I Hated You: Nikki Bella wins and holds onto the title through Wrestlemania

* Smackdown Women’s Title, last woman standing:  Becky Lynch (c) vs Charlotte Flair
My Crazy Dream Booking: Part 3 of my major storyline:  Back and forth match, with both Lynch and Flair beating the hell out of each other.  Several close calls.  The crowd starts out booing Flair and cheering Lynch… but as the match continues, the boos turns into “THIS IS AWESOME” chants.  This should be almost double the time of any other match on the card, and finally wins when Lynch hits a superplex through a table to get the win.

As the referee announces the winner, both Lynch and Flair, barely able to stand- Charlotte hands Lynch the title.  They shake hands- then hug.  Sasha Banks and Bayley come out, group hug, the four standing tall.

Baszler, Duke and Shafir come out and jump the group- with Lynch and Flair already beaten down, they quickly get the upper hand.  From the locker room, Rhonda Rousey comes out, stops the attack… and slams the RAW title belt onto the head of Becky Lynch.  All four of the MMA Horsewomen lock in submission holds on the WWE Four Horsewomen and the WWE official have to swarm in to pull them apart.

For the next year, the major feud, across both brands, will be the MMA Four Horsewomen vs. the WWE Four Horsewomen.  You’ve got a dozen different combinations, especially if tag belts also get involved- and yes, I think Duke and Shafir can hold their own.  Rousey’s awesome- but I think she even works better as the heel champion.

What Should Happen: Lynch wins, and set up a feud with Asuka.  Charlotte wins the Roya Rumble and challenges Rousey
What Will Happen: Charlotte regains the belt.
What I’m Terrified Will Happen: Charlotte regains the belt, and Becky Lynch is forgotten
If I Was Booking This And I Hated You: Carmella finds a MITB briefcase and pins the winner to take home the title.

NBA Predictions: 2018-2019

Eastern Conference:

1.       Boston

2.       Indiana

3.       Philadelphia

4.       Toronto

5.       Milwaukee

6.       Washington

7.       Cleveland

8.       Miami

9.       Charlotte

10.     Detroit

11.     New York

12.     Brooklyn

13.     Chicago

14.     Orlando

15.     Atlanta

Playoffs:

·         Boston over Miami, Indiana over Cleveland, Philadelphia over Washington, Milwaukee over Toronto

·         Boston over Milwaukee, Indiana over Philadelphia

·         Boston over Indiana

Western Conference:

1.       Golden State

2.       Utah

3.       Oklahoma City

4.       Houston

5.       LA Lakers

6.       Denver

7.       San Antonio

8.       Portland

9.       New Orleans

10.     Minnesota

11.     Dallas   

12.     Sacramento

13.     Memphis

14.     LA Clippers

15.     Phoenix

Playoffs:

·         Golden State over Portland, Utah over San Antonio, OKC over Denver, LA Lakers over Houston

·         Golden State over LA Lakers, Utah over OKC

·         Golden State over OKC

More notes:

·         I really want to put Indiana in the Finals; I think the team is great, and I think Myles Turner is going to step up.  But Boston did so well with so many injuries last year- and they have plenty of assets to trade if they want to.  While I still don't know if Kyrie can stay healthy, I have a hard time believing they'll lose him AND Hayward for the playoffs.  

·         The X-Factor?  If New Orleans falls apart early, I could see the scenario where they trade Anthony Davis to either Boston or the Lakers.  If they happens, New Orleans falls to a bottom 5 team and the team that gets him goes into the finals

·         MVP?  I think this one of those years where 5-6 candidates have a good case… I will give it to Steph Curry

·         ROY?  Collin Sexton (though Ayton looks outstanding)

·         Finals?  I wonder if Golden State play five finals in a row without having a string of bad luck injury-wise.... But I can't pull the trigger.  Golden State continues the Dynasty, winning 4 games to 1 

NFL Predictions: 2018-2019

NFC

East:
Philadelphia 12-4
Dallas 9-7

Washington 7-9

NY Giants 5-11


North:
Minnesota 11-5
Green Bay 10-6 (Wild Card)
Chicago 10-6  (Wild Card)
Detroit 4-12

South:
Atlanta 12-4
New Orleans 10-6

Carolina 9-7
Tampa Bay 3-13

West:
St. Louis 10-6
San Francisco 8-8

Arizona 7-9 
Seattle 5-11

Playoffs:
Minnesota over Chicago
St. Louis over Green Bay

Minnesota over Atlanta

Philadelphia over St. Louis

Minnesota over Philadelphia



AFC

East:
New England 11-5
Miami 6-10
NY Jets 6-10
Buffalo 3-13

North:
Pittsburgh 11-5

Cincinnati 8-8
Cleveland 5-11
Baltimore 5-11


South:
Jacksonville 12-4
Tennessee 10-6 (Wild Card)
Houston 10-6

Indianapolis 3-13

West:
Kansas City 11-5 
San Diego 11-5  (Wild Card)
Denver 7-9
Oakland 5-11

Playoffs:
Kansas City over Tennessee
San Diego over Pittsburgh

Jacksonville over San Diego
New England over Kansas City

Jacksonville over New England



Super Bowl: Minnesota 21, Jacksonville 18

One humble suggestion...

Well, LeBron James has gone to Los Angeles.  No complaints from my end; he led the 2016 Cavaliers to Cleveland's first title in my lifetime.  If he wishes to go out the the Lakers, more power to him.  Good luck against the Warriors- they've managed to get even better.

Most of my fellow Cavalier fans want the team to tank- they lose their 1st round draft pick if it's not in the top 10.  But so many teams are tanking that I don't think they can get into the bottom 10 teams.  Instead, I have a suggestion that could make the team interesting, and might be crazy enough to work.

First, understand that the Cavs have a lot of decent players, each with their strengths and weaknesses.  Last year, every player was used as a complimentary player to LeBron.  Now, that worked- they got to the NBA Finals.  But without LeBron, coach Tyronne Lue needs to think differently.

Here's my suggestion:  Two teams, each one getting about half the playing time.  

The first team:

PG- George Hill
SG- JR Smith
SF- Kyle Korver
PF- Kevin Love (spelled by Larry Nance Jr.)
C- Tristan Thompson

These are the starters.  They are the veterans.  Love and Korver aren't great defenders, but it's the best defensive group.  When this team is on, the play slows down.

Lue keeps this group together.  Then, after 8-10 minutes, he swaps out 4 of the players:


PG- Collin Sexton
SG- Jordan Clarkson
SF- Cedi Osman
PF- Kevin Love (spelled by Tristan Thompson)
C- Larry Nance Jr.

Here, you keep Love in... but replace the other four with younger, faster, more athletic players.  And you let them RUN.  It's a radical change of pace when this team is in- basically, a turbo boost.  

You keep Love in most of the time because he's the best player, and because Sexton-to-Love is a great Pick and Roll team.  

Ideally, as the younger players get used to playing together, later in the year they take up more and more minutes.  

But you keep the two teams playing as their units, and use the change of pace to throw off teams.

Will this beat the Warriors?  No.  But I think this team can make the playoffs.

Cleveland Cavaliers draft

The NBA Draft is tonight.  I'm a Cavaliers fan.  Using the same format as my wrestling predictions:

My Crazy Dream Booking: Cavs trade #8, Love and JR Smith for Bradley Beal and Martin Gortat (if LeBron Stays).  Cavs trade #8 and Love to Sacramento for #2 and draft Luka Doncic (if LeBron leaves)

What Should Happen: Cavs draft Wendell Carter, Jr.-  Safest pick in this range.  They keep comparing him to Al Horford

What Will Happen: Cavs draft Collin Sexton- they need guard help

What I’m Terrified Will Happen: Cavs draft Michael Porter, and his injuries continue to hamper him.

If I Was Booking This And I Hated You: Cavs trade #8 and Love for Kawhi Leonard- LeBron goes to the Lakers, and Leonard's injuries keep him out all year

The Cavaliers: Now what?

The Cleveland Cavaliers lost to the Golden State Warriors in the finals.  They were swept, 4-0.

The reason is both simple and maddeningly frustrating- the Warriors are one of the greatest NBA teams of all time.  In 2016, they set the record for the most regular season NBA wins- and then added the second best player in the NBA to that team.  The Cavs couldn't match up- they played defense well, but the Warriors kept hitting three pointers. 

No shame in losing 3 out of 4 to the Warriors- and the 2016 NBA finals will always go down as the highlight for me as a Cleveland Sports fan.

So where do the Cavaliers go from here?

LeBron is a free agent- he can go anywhere.  He might decide that Cleveland can't beat the Warriors and look for another team that can.

He might be right- the Cavs are old and over the salary cap.  They have a couple young players (Cedi Osman, Larry Nance Jr, the #8 pick in this draft).  But they can't pick anyone in free agency.  And while the Cavs can turn it on, and are likely to be better with another year's worth of chemistry- against a Golden State team that is at full strength, how do the Cavs get good enough to beat them?

Of course, that also applies to just about every other team in the NBA- adding LeBron to any team makes them contenders.  But does adding LeBron make them close to Golden State?

I see three scenarios the Cavs can follow:

Scenario 1:  Push All In.  Try to make a trade to get a player or two to push the Cavs above Golden State.  Trade their picks and players for that one last chance.

Is that player available?  Kawhi Leonard wants out of San Antonio.  DeMarcus Cousins might take a one year deal.  Andrew Wiggins is incredibly talented, but still hasn't blossomed- and is about to start a massive contract.  

The problem is- LeBron isn't obligated to sign with the team, even if they push all in.  And if they make a move, it's going to put them in hell for the 3-4 years.

Scenario 2:  Expect LeBron to leave and still try to contend.

Basically, LeBron says he wants to go to team (x).  The Cavs pull a sign-and-trade with (x) for a veteran and see if the team still contend.

Let's say LeBron wants to sign with Boston.  The Cavs sign-and-trade with Boston of LeBron for Gordon Hayward.  The Cavs take Hayward and play him along with Love, Thompson, Jr... 

Is that a team that can contend for a title?  Probably not.  But they are a playoff team, and the Cavs might get lucky while waiting for some of the older players to finish their contract and go into free agency market again.

The problem with this scenario is that it puts the Cavs on a treadmill- too good to get a great draft pick, but not a title contender.

Scenario 3:  Full blow up.

Same idea as the sign and trade- but in this case, the Cavs get insist on draft picks, young players, and/or getting rid of bad contract.  Blow up the team entirely, start over.

That's ugly- the Cavs did that in 2011-2013.  The 76ers did that from 2013-2016.  It CAN work... but it involves a bad number of years.  And I'm not sure who will be willing to be third team, anyways.


The future in unpredictable.

Regardless of what happens, regardless of what LeBron does... we saw greatness.  And we'll always have 2016.