Author: whodeanny

Niebuhrian? Obama yes, Bush, not so much…

This post is part of an article from
Gregg Easterbrook, an ESPN columnist and the author of The Progress Paradox:
How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse, and other books. He is also a
contributing editor for The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly and The
Washington Monthly.

 

Speaking
to the columnist E.J. Dionne, Barack Obama not only used but correctly
pronounced the word "Niebuhrian," which means, "The thinking of
Reinhold Niebuhr." Most theologians probably cannot pronounce that word!
Though Niebuhr, a religious celebrity of the midcentury, is little-known today,
it is not that unusual to hear him cited by political leaders (who may or may
not actually have read him; Obama surely has). Niebuhr saw the world as a
malevolent place, and argued that although Christ was a pacifist, Christians
serve Christ by fighting evil. Much contemporary "just war"
philosophy is Niebuhrian. His writing and speeches convinced many Christians to
support war against Germany in World War II — war against Japan was
self-defense, while war against Germany needed just-war underpinnings — and
then to oppose Communist tyranny. Before the elder George Bush took the United
States into the 1991 Gulf War, he consulted religious scholars, including
experts on Niebuhr; the soldiers who fought in that war knew their
commander-in-chief was deeply concerned with moral reasoning. Before George W.
Bush took the United States into the invasion of Iraq, did he engage in any
philosophical contemplation at all?

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook/080812&sportCat=nfl

 

Shouldn't even our recent history be instructive? Which Presidential candidate do we trust to make thoughtful, coherent decisions rooted in something beyond political expediency? I hope you have some answer…


TP

TP’s TNA Blog 14August2008

Well okay, Samoa Joe and Kevin Nash start the show off looking cool and
important. They were helpfully nebulous and Lauren seemed more serious than she
typically does. Good intro.

Rock 'n' Rave Infection vs. Christian Cage and Rhino:

Cage and Rhino really seem like they’re becoming a permanent team and a good
one. Their styles complement each other nicely. Jimmy Rave looked good in this
match but Lance Rock seemed uncomfortable wrestling. He was fine while dancing,
strutting and preening but none of that confidence was in evidence while being
physically engaged in the wrestling. The finish was nice as Rhino gores then
Cage frog splashes but it worked so well only because Rave did a great job
rolling out of the Gore into perfect position for Cage to splash him. Again,
well done by Rave.

 

Kurt Angle cuts a strong promo and encourages us to pay
attention to his wrestling and his neck.

 

AJ Styles does a great job of putting himself over from Hard
Justice. He balances his intensity, voice and physical motions better than
usual and comes across as super credible. This is the AJ Styles we’ve been
hoping to see heading back into World title contention and main event status.

 

3 promos in between matches? Well, I’d normally complain but
Matt Morgan makes it a hat trick of good promos. Morgan does a good promo,
hitting all the critical elements and again, working to make himself seem more
credible.

 

Matt Morgan vs. Johnny Devine: 

The physical stature
difference is wonderfully apparent here. My wife’s jaw dropped when she saw how
big Morgan is. She also noticed that he doesn’t look ’roided up. She was
impressed. Again, Morgan uses the squash to appear very impressive. The crowd
is responding and the Hellevator made my wife’s jaw drop again.

 

The run-in by Team 3D made more sense than Don West’s
commentary (a shame because West and Tenay have done a great job putting him
over lately). They’ve been working with Devine for months. I might have liked
to see Morgan fight 3D off without Abyss’ help but this really does make more
sense.

 

As usual, the Beautiful People were excellent during Karen’s
Angle.  Karen Angle as Oprah just
doesn’t work, but Kip James as the Diva manager is likely to be really funny.
My hope is that the ‘ass cam’ doesn’t re-appear but there’s definite comic potential.

 

Jay Lethal appropriately chastises Lauren for her stupid
question. He does a nice job of making sense out of the mess of the love
triangle. Excellent intensity. (I wonder who’s helping with promos? Thanks to
whoever it is.)

 

Sheik Abdul Bashir delivers another intense promo although I
never think the word ‘rape’ should be introduced into a wrestling program. It’s
too serious a reality for such casual usage.

 

Jay Lethal vs. Sheik Abdul Bashir:

Solid but too short match that helpfully establishes Bashir
as the kind of heel fans want to see lose but think may win. He may be a great
X Division champ sooner rather than later. I wanted the Dutt/Lethal scenario to
wind down at Hard Justice but it will be nice to see it come full circle and
end up with Val and Sonjay in a relationship. She’d be a great manager for him;
she’s beautiful, she’s stupid and she’s all about peace even though she works
for a wrestling company. Doesn’t a guru need disciples like that?

 

Booker T does a nice job connecting the dots surrounding
him. He maintains his composure even though he doesn’t want to do so. Excellent
promo.

 

The Hard Justice bonus between STING and Nash is great
because it starts with STING mishearing Nash and thinking he’s being asked
about ‘being confused’ while Nash actually told him he’d ‘lit the fuse’. That’s
exactly how real conversations happen! The idea of a wrestler’s clock ticking
makes perfect sense too particularly as Nash has mentioned multiple times he’s
known STING since 1990.

 

(Wouldn’t it be nice if TNA created a Detroit Rock City
stable? Nash, MCMG, Rhino, Steiner and Williams {from just across the border in
Windsor, Ontario} would make a tremendously interesting and fun group.)

 

3D vs. Kevin Nash and Samoa Joe (c):

So, all is well
with Joe and Nash? I don’t want Joe to continue being hyper paranoid but I do
want to know why he’s apparently sane again.

 

Nash has not wrestled this well in quite some time. He’s not
usually this comfortable selling. Finally, the World champion wrestling and
demonstrating on Impact! why he’s been so lauded by the fans.

 

Okay, nice. Joe isn’t quite sane. Very nice to see. The
reversal of the decision is just ludicrous considering how much interference
there is in TNA but it helps forward the angle.

 

Traci Brooks may have my favorite referee outfit ever. May?
Who am I kidding; I love it.

 

Christy Hemme vs. Taylor Wilde(c) in a non-title match:

West
is doing an excellent job putting over Wilde and the division itself. This is
the best I’ve seen Hemme look in a match. Not excellent but she’s solid. Much,
much better than most of the Divas in WWE at least. And she’s what, the 9th
best female wrestler in TNA? At best? What great depth?

 

Taylor Wilde continues to grow and impress. She has
a great variety of moves and uses her lack of size well.   wow, the elevating kicks into
Hemme’s Matrix duck was just great. The German suplex bridged into a win? Wow.
I wanna see William Regal break that one back out. This is a great way to
showcase Hemme and Wilde.

 

Wow. Awesome Kong really is just that, awesome. She tosses
Brooks with an almost unbelievably casual air.  Gail Kim is still fabulous and has been so good for so long
that she really does look like she can give Kong a match. That being said, she gave Kong a ridiculous chair shot. That just isn't necessary. Ish.

 

I like the way this segment played out because Kim/Kong is a
match that would sell and makes sense while giving Wilde a chance to have
another challenger come at her.

 

Consequences Creed Rough Cut-

 

It’s great that no one makes pretense that his ‘real’ name
is Consequences. He looks like he’s being groomed to be an X

 

LAX still has Hector Guerrero as their spokesman. Just not
good. Hernandez is good enough that he doesn’t need the help. Super Mex has
World champ potential. Really, I think he’d be a fine transitional champ. If
there’s an unanticipated injury or it’s determined that TNA needs to promote
interest with a swerve or upset or even if there’s a tour in Mexico or the
Southwest that needs a boost in attendance.

 

James Storm vs. Hernandez:

Here’s a solid but non-descript match. Both guys are quite
good in their own particular ways but this match had the formulaic double
interference by both Roode and Jackie. That doesn’t help anything but it worked
well enough.

 

Wasn’t there a gold medal challenge (in format at least)
just a few months ago? Okay, whatever. I’m fine with embracing Angle’s
wrestling background and the Olympic tie-in is probably gonna help. Whatever
happened to that vaunted TNA originality?

Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles: 

Never mind. This is a very solidly wrestled contest thus
far. The scoring makes perfect sense and both guys do a great job with the
physical and emotional elements. Of course, now there’s a ref bump. In an
amateur style match. Ish. Never mind, #2. As a set up for STING to ‘interfere’
along with Jeff Jarrett, it all works well. Again, I’m not a fan of ref bumps,
guitar shots (that did not look worked at all), black outs or refs that wake up
as soon as they need to for a finish but this worked really well. Jarrett and
STING are both wild cards and fans buy this zany interference when it comes
from them. TNA has also done an interesting job of planting doubt as to which
side either guy will be on. That’s simply not common. It’s good stuff though. For AJ Styles to get back to back victories over Kurt Angle and win his gold medal, TNA must be (appropriately) hitching their wagon to AJ's star. Very good choice.  

 

 TP

 

Pollstar suggests huge Obama cushion

Doesn’t
this polling data bode incredibly well for Obama’s candidacy?

http://www.slate.com/id/2195956

If
these projections hold something close to form, even if a couple of the lean-to
states fail to go to Obama, McCain would have to run the table by winning every
competitive race, just to throw the outcome into doubt!


TP

 Well folks, 

This is the unmistakbly clear sign that the tennis rating
system is in need of overhaul. http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/tennis/news/story?id=3516178

 

It’s not bad enough that Rafa Nadal doesn’t have to win this
weekend to become #1 but now Jelena Jankovic will become #1 immediately after
losing in straight sets in a quarterfinal match. Ish. 

 

It’s sad on two fronts. 1- the rankings look ridiculous,
arbitratry and fan distant and 2- players should be celebrated when they climb
ladders not have their accomplishments belittled.

 

TP

 

(revised on 8.12.08)

 

TP’s TNA Blog 31July2008

Booker’s king shtick is growing on me I suppose. Oddly, I
think he needs to turn up the arrogance a bit. I’ll withdraw that statement if
TNA intends to turn him soon. Maybe they’ll do a Hart/Austin style double turn
in the weapons match. This would be a great time to give Booker the title via
the DQ rule as happened when Abyss won the belt from STING. It would also lead
to a natural third match that keeps both guys occupied for another month while
STING works with Angle or Styles.

 

Beer Money vs. Christian Cage and Rhino in a #1
contenders match:

Wait a minute, haven’t 3D been dominating Cage and Rhino?
How does that team get excluded from the #1 contenders match? Goodness.

This match reminds me how much I’d like to see a series of
matches between James Storm and Christian Cage. They’re both incredibly
versatile with realistic offense and solid selling. This kind of series could
do what Storm’s truncated program with STING was supposed to: elevate Storm
into a top tier player.

Another match that ends with not just interference but also
with radically incompetent officiating. A 6 on 2? Just not necessary or
helpful.

Christy Hemme busts out with ‘We are living the gimmick.’
That, friends, is an instant classic.


Johnny Devine and the Rock ’n’ Rave Infection vs. Curry
Man, Shark Boy and Jay Lethal:

Gimmickalooza ’08 is upon us. Okay, this is two straight
matches in which women have physically accosted men. Since men can’t hit women
in TNA there needs to be a concerted effort to simply eliminate the physical
interaction between the genders. Wow, Jay Lethal looks absolutely fabulous in
this match. He really is someone they could build the X Division around. Good
outcome too as Lethal needed to get the victory here.

Okay, so apparently nobody on the TNA roster actually
watches the program. Jay seems so stupid here. That’s just unacceptable. I did
like the Heroes reference though.

I still don’t think I understand why Samoa Joe has become
such a hothead. His role as the calculating, destructive machine got him
incredibly over. Watching Joe slide into this new, vaguely unhinged persona has
been jarring at best. He gets much better reactions, even now, when he simply,
concisely states what he intends to do. Finally, the ‘Joe’s gonna kill you’
chant comes back. A 3rd woman hits a guy. Just not necessary,
although Sharmell’s intrusion made sense.

Oh yeah, Sheik Abdul Bashir is gonna be over in a big, giant
way. No doubt.

It was great to see AJ Styles pressing the fans to react
strongly to STING. Styles needs this kind of move to help him seem like a
credible wrestler instead of a glorified stuntman. Angle’s appearance was a
helpful surprise and their interaction was helpfully intense. Even though the
premise of their feud feels tired and a bit silly by this point, (especially
since Kurt didn’t want Karen!) there’s a great dynamic between the two
wrestlers.

The Beautiful People are just great. Shark Boy and Curry Man
are humorous too. So seriously nobody in this organization watches the show?
Embarssing. Lots of fun lines though and great sexual innuendo.

"Rahka, let’s roll." That’s gotta be Petey Williams’ exit
line. By the way, how smart an idea is it to have wrestlers actively making fun
of other wrestlers’ gimmicks? This is two segments tonight in which that’s
happened. Yeah, clearly Consequences Creed is doing an Apollo Creed gimmick but
does it seem so ridiculous as to be mocked? Maybe if there’s some comeback time
for Creed but not if it’s just a one-off comment.

 

Consequences Creed vs. Petey Williams (c) (in an X
Division non-title match apparently):

 

Helpful win for Creed, although I missed it being non-title
until Hermie Sadler mentioned it 2 minutes before the decision. Speaking of
which, Hermie Sadler is competent but only adds to the regional, small time
flavor of TNA. Now if he can bring a few drivers to the table, we’re talking
something different.

Are we really building to a STING turn and a series with AJ
Styles? Super sweet. 

Karen’s Angle would be so much better if she had a distinct
personality. That being said, Kaz handled himself quite well. It must be tough
for him to make that kind of ‘announcement’ while she seems incapable of
intelligent response.

 

Matt Morgan vs. Sal Rinaldo:

Another squash match for Morgan? Probably a helpful idea.
This is going to do wonders toward making Morgan the monster TNA needs him to
be. Wow, that was about 2 minutes. The fans ate it up too. There’ll be some
Mile High Club signs soon.

And now, they feed Tomko to Morgan. The hellevator was
impressive and this was a great way of using Tomko on his way out.

The PJB solves the Val ring case. So sad.

Wow, JB needs to get paid extra. He’s all over this show.

I love these Rough Cuts. They really work for me. Developing
back stories and 3 dimensional wrestlers always helps. There’s just more you
can do with real people than with cardboard cutouts.

 

The Beautiful People vs. Gail Kim and Taylor Wilde:

I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a women’s match featured as
the main event. I seem to remember WWF featuring Wendi Richter in house show
main events when they ran two shows on the same day back in the 80s. This is
clearly different. And I think it works. The fans are really into this match
and the wrestlers are performing well although Velvet Sky is not in the same league as the others. The timing of the finish made
it look a bit too contrived but everyone played it nicely. I think it's great that this 'first' doesn't seem likely to ruffle feathers.

Kong looks Awesome. It doesn’t happen often that the faces
introduce chairs to the ring but it worked well.

Joe on the rampage to end the show? Well, maybe, except
STING has not been presented as a threat to his title. That would be the guy
who laid him out earlier in the show and has him in a cage match in a couple
weeks. Booker is a good enough wrestler and a big enough star that he doesn’t
have to be the secondary contender. Especially if they plan to give him the
belt! <sigh>

 

 TP

 

 

 

The Prinze of WWE

My
primary hope for Freddie Prinze's arrival in WWE is that he can help convince the
McMahons that their fans want to be entertained but not insulted. The car
accidents and McMahon near-death experiences are insulting and can't ever add
more than they detract from the product. Prinze may help convince the McMahons
that even in sports entertainment, plausibility and credibility are important.

 

TP

The Tennis #1

I know there’s a strong chance that Nadal will take over the number 1 ranking in August (if not this week then soon) but will that make him the clear #1 people are suggesting. Will this clearly be the changing of the guard? I think all of this is premature. 

Consider this. As Federer suggested yesterday, winning the Olympics and US Open could take his year from being a good one to being a great one (not by Fed’s standards of the last few years but historically true). Federer is, I think, the odds on favorite to win both those tournaments. The Olympics and Open are both on hardcourts and Federer has won the last 4 Opens. He loves Wimbledon and that’s always been the tournament with which he’s been most associated but his dominance in New York has been almost as complete. 

If 2008 ends with Djokovic winning the Australian, Nadal taking the French and Wimbledon while Federer ends the year winning the Olympics and US Open, won’t we think Federer is the favorite at Australia in ’09? Will most tennis fans think some torch has been passed? 

TP