Friday, June 27, 2014

NBA Draft Results

Listed below are the results for the selections in the first round of the NBA Draft. Note: the trades that went on last night was not shown in this list.
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Tuesday, June 10, 2014

WWE and CM Punk: The Benefits of Coating Wrestling With Realism

While doing a research project on why WWE is hated by many and loved by more, I stumbled upon this article from a few years ago. I found this so intriguing and it has a strong underlying message about the state of people as a whole. (Please note. This is written by Ross Rutherford of BleacherReport)

The wrestling world, as of today, is completely and utterly enamored with one man.
After the events of WWE's Money In The Bank pay-per-view, every fan of WWE is sitting on pins and needles, waiting impatiently to see what happens next in the saga involving WWE and CM Punk.
July 17th 2011, CM Punk defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship.
Punk won his fourth World Championship in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois. If that was the most notable thing that happened on that night, then I seriously doubt we as wrestling fans would be this interested in this story line.
You see, it has been long-rumored over the past several months that CM Punk was leaving WWE for good. The fact that he could possibly defeat WWE Champion John Cena and leave with Vince McMahon's Holy Grail has had fans completely captivated.
On top of that, McMahon vowed to fire Cena if he couldn't defeat Punk.

Realism
The fact that the events leading up to this Championship win have felt so "real" is a huge reason so many people have gotten behind CM Punk and this story arc.


The added dose of realism into the WWE product via CM Punk and John Cena's feud really generated interest in WWE among the smug Internet wrestling critics.
The promo that CM Punk cut at the end of Raw on June 27th, 2011 left people shocked and wondering just what this signified.
The promo felt "real," and everything Punk has said and done since then has felt so much more relatable than all of the cartoon-like characters that make up the "WWE Universe."
Fans have been hanging on Punk's every word.
In many ways, this is why Stone Cold Steve Austin found success back in the late 1990s.
He was surrounded by cartoons and caricatures, so instead he made himself the pissed-off rebel. Punk has taken this concept and flipped it on it's head.
Realism has been a part of wrestling for a long time. In fact, that was what the "Attitude Era" of WWE was based on.
Paul Heyman's ECW was built on the fact that all the story lines were kept close to reality.
WWE has spent the past 25 years alternating with the times.

Food for thought:
How do you think realistic story-telling could benefit wrestling?

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In the 1980s and the early 1990s, a majority of WWE's characters were based on fantasy. Eveyone's gimmick was sensationalized and over-the-top.
However, in the late 1990s, the characters got darker and edgier. The stars of the "Attitude Era" were more vicious and realistic. That's what the fans wanted.
In the late 1990s, characters like Triple H, Steve Austin, Undertaker and countless others were the reason WWE managed to get out of their mid-90s slump and eventually overtake WCW for good.
I believe they succeeded in this because the fans were enthralled with the content that WWE was putting out due to the more realistic and interesting characters (obviously Undertaker has never been a realistic character). 
Fans felt connected to the characters who were on their television screens.
Maybe the reason that WWE's numbers are down across the board in 2011 is because people are bored with the over-produced product that WWE has been putting out the past couple of years.
Maybe people feel disengaged by the childish environment that WWE now presents.
WWE is making their business a family-friendly one, keeping their nose clean with the government. There is a reason the word "wrestling" is a dirty word in WWE.
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Monday, June 2, 2014

The 26ers: Why the 76ers Will Be NBA Champs

"Together We Build" is the motto of Sixers this season. There is a lot of building to do. Tying the single season most consecutive losses mark with 26 straight losses is a pretty big accomplishment and the team should be congratulated for inching closer and closer to the coveted number 1 draft pick. Basketball is a little different from other sports, the number 1 draft pick is something you can't give up. In football, you could trade the pick and still get talent as good or better than #1 overall. Sitting 2 games behind the Bucks at the end of the season for the worst team in the league gave the Sixers fans a chance to look at the future brightly. The season was called a success by GM Sam Hinkie, and personally, it was. The NBA draft lottery show which gave the Sixers the third overall pick and the 10th pick in the upcoming draft, puts the 76ers in a good spot. Along with some of my mock draft selections I think the Sixers can land star power forward Jabari Parker with the third pick and somebody like a Gary Harrison out of Michigan State with the tenth pick. Another situation that could go down and one that I would be in favor it would be trading the 10th pick for the seventh pick.
The Lakers who hold the seventh pick are likely to select Kentucky power forward Julius Randle. Randle, the 6'9" 250-pounder seems like you'd be a great fit for Kobe Bryant in his final years to help get a post scorer along. The move from 10 to 7 would benefit the Lakers because they can pick up someone like Aaron Gordon with that pick. Aaron Gordon also plays power forward and has some similar attributes to Julius Randle. The Sixers can complete a low post presence that could be one of the best in the East.
A question I could be asked what would be why give up the chance to select Gary Harrison with the 10th pick he play shooting guard and that's a position that the Sixers need? My answer to that would be is Tony Wroten was a sixth man of the team last year and played shooting guard. He has been effective in that role but the transition to a starting player could benefit him in making his mark in the league, not just the division.
The title of my article is the 26ers: How the 76ers Will Become NBA Champions. I know I talked about the draft, but here is where the rings come in to play. The road to an NBA championship does start here in the 2014 draft I know for a fact the Sixers will not win the NBA title this year but what I can say is that they will be in the hunt in 3 to 4 years. With a lineup of Michael Carter-Williams, the rookie of the year at point guard, Tony Wroten at shooting guard, Wooden Award nominee Jabari Parker at small forward, Julius Randle at power forward and 7 foot center Nerlens Noel. I'm not forgetting Thaddeus Young, I can't forget him either, because he has the most trade stock of any player on this team besides MCW. There is more then a likely chance that Thaddeus Young can be shipped by the time to seasons over. I'm not saying that come draft night Thaddeus Young won't be made available, but I do not think he will be used in a package of some sort. I feel that he would make best as a deadline kind of trade much like the Sixers did with Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes this year sending Spencer to Cleveland and Evan to Indiana, who made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. Some teams looking for a 3-guard or a small forward could use Thaddeus in that role and can benefit a playoff contender come April.
"Together We Build" I started off the article by saying that the motto of the 76ers it's the well and I will reiterate my belief in that saying because the success of the Philadelphia 76ers in the future not just for the season but for the next couple of years really does need some help. In a couple of seasons, I really think the Sixers can turn "Together We Build" to "Together We Built".
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