John Cena is the face of WWE Wrestling right now.  He has been put in that position because of the excitement he generates, both positive and negative.  You either love him or hate him.  I have never seen crowd reactions like his over such a long period of time.  75% cheer him, 25% boo.  It has been this way with him for a very long time.  I don’t think Cena will be around for more than a couple more years.  He is going to go in a different direction, probably acting, much like The Rock did almost ten years ago.

John Cena was born April 23, 1977 in West Newbury, Massachusetts.  He is the second oldest of five boys.  He went to college at Division III Springfield College where he earned All-American status as a center.  Pay attention, Cena wore #54 when he played football, and he wears that number in WWE alot.  He graduated with a degree in exercise physiology from Springfield in 1998.  He made money driving limousines and competed as a bodybuilder before hitting the mat.

Cena’s training took place at Ultimate Pro Wrestling, where he was used as a robot-type character named The Prototype.  While at UPW, Cena held the championship for a little over a month.  WWE signed Cena to a developmental deal in 2001 and sent him to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) to continue training.  Cena held the OVW championship twice and the tag-team championship once while wrestling at OVW.

Cena first popped up on WWE airwaves in 2002, answering an open challenge from Kurt Angle on June 27.  Cena lost a hard-fought contest, but kicked out of Angle’s Olympic Slam before losing.  WWE teamed Cena with Billy Kidman as partners in WWE’s tag-team tournament.  After losing in the first week of the Smackdown branded tournament, Cena turned on Billy Kidman blaming him for the loss and tournament elimination.

The rap image came to be on the Halloweem edition of Smackdown when Cena rapped, imitating Vanilla Ice.  From this point, Cena started cutting all his promos via freestyle rapping.  Into 2003, Cena rapped and wrestled his way to then-champion, Brock Lesnar.  It was during this storyline that Cena unveiled his finishing maneuver, the FU.  The FU has since been renamed to the Attitude Adjustment as WWE continues to strive for moral cleanliness.

Cena beat The Big Show at Wrestlemania XX to earn his first title, the US Championship.  Cena lost the belt to Carlito in an angle which Carlito’s bodyguard, Jesus, supposedly stabbed Cena at a nightclub.  This angle was used to free Cena up to film his first movie, The Marine.  When he returned, he won the belt back from Carlito, and debuted the new “spinning” WWE Championship belt.

During a 2007 match with Mr. Kennedy, Cena suffered a legitimate torn pectoral muscle injury which shelved him for seven months, forcing Vince McMahon to strip him of his title ending what was the longest WWE Championship reign in over 19 years.

Cena is currently involved in an angle with The Big Show.  Cena has beaten Show at Judgement Day and Extreme Rules PPV’s but the feud is still moving forward. 

Cena, with his array of throwback jerseys and incredibly glib microphone skills is in the prime of his professional wrestling career.  Overexposure has to be a concern for WWE, as it seems when healthy, Cena is involved in a major storyline.  Injuries have sort of kept Cena away for periods, but he gets airtime, and ratings.  His Boston loyalty and his name are real.  Look for John Cena to be around as long as he wants to be, and look for a heel turn by the end of this year.

The Indians are still in the crappy divisional AL Central race.  Their bullpen couldn’t get 6 outs in most minor league games without giving up a couple of runs, but the offense is carrying the weight to keep Eric Wedge floating along.  Here are other great stories:

• PSAMP has video footage of Mario Lemieux being made a knight in Quebec, Canada.
• Gunaxin takes a look at the five best fictional golf caddies of all-time.  Bagger Vance and Danny Noonan did make the cut…
• Rip City Project thinks that maybe Brandon Wright could be the “banger” that Portland needs to get over the top.
• Steady Burn recalls his early 90’s trip to Fenway during the Clemens era and what he could remember, good read here!
• Zoner Sports is in Chicago, home of Sammy Sosa.  Zoner reports that even the Chicago faithful do not think Sosa belongs in the Hall of Fame.
• NESW Sports has a good video of Kenny Mayne and Scoop Jackson from a recent episode of Mayne Street.
• Moondog Sports poses the question… Who is leaking the names of the 104 baseball players who failed their drug tests in 2003?
• Josh Q. Public pens a masterpiece on who are the greatest non-users of steroids in the steroid era of baseball.  Check the list, you may not agree with all of the choices, good read here.
• Hugging Harold Reynolds pays tribute to OJ Simpson going nuts 15 years ago.  HHR also has the famous call for the Howard Stern show which Peter Jennings had to bear.
• Intentional Foul looks inside the very steep concession prices at the new Dallas Cowboys stadium.
• My Sports Rumors submitted “Wang’s wife delivers, can he ?”
• Major League Jerk talks of his recent trip to Wrigley Field.

The 2009 Pittsburgh Pirates are overachieving so far this season.  The pitching has been great with the exception of Ian Snell and some shaky middle relief.  The offense has been almost bearable as compared to seasons past.  So where does this team go from here?

With the trading deadline fast approaching and Pittsburgh right there in the hunt, wouldn’t it be cool to see management make a trade to go out and get a big name free agent pitcher?  Show the fans you want to win.  Many Pirates fans are under the impression that the front office has been more concerned about minimizing finacial losses instead of paying people to create on the field wins.

Go back one year.  Jason Bay and Nate McLouth in the outfield.  Bringing up Andrew McCutchen would have given the Pirates one of the strongest outfield trios in all of MLB.  But no…  Bay had to go, he had a contract coming up, McLouth was one of those deals where quantity exceeds quality, and had McCutchen not been a mandatory call-up, they might have left him down just to keep him in the organization at league minimums.

Paul Maholm is the new meter to me.  If they trade this guy less than 6 games out, you know that their hearts are in the pockets instead of on the field.  I would be completely ecstatic to see them do something nobody would expect.  Go get Ryan Spilborghs from Colorado.  Let the hot Delwyn Young play second base and for God sakes, do something with the LaRoche brothers.  Eric Hinske should be the everyday third baseman.  Ryan Doumit will be back in about three weeks, teach Jaramillo to play first and keep Robinson Diaz to back up Doumit.

Shake it up.  Want people in the seats?  Put them there.  A Matt Capps bobblehead doll won’t sell you a seat on a Tuesday night non-promotional game.  Putting a quality product on the field that can win, will put people in the park.  If management is confused, call the Rooney family for tips on how to win wiithout spending millions on free agents.  Call Mario Lemieux and ask him how important it is to snag guys from teams that have no chance to win anything.  They must know something, look what they did in 2009.

This isn’t rocket science to me.  It is not a bocce league where teams don’t usually know much about each other, it is Major League Baseball.  Get busy and try to deal some of these stale prospects from Boston and Atlanta to get some star power back.

Stallone, Hogan, and McMahon.  These three guys were the culture of the eighties.  Rocky movies were flying, Hogan was revolutionizing sports entertainment, and McMahon was and still is a genius.  Here are todays top stories:

• Detroit4lyfe blogs about being in Pittsburgh when the Pens won the cup, and having to attend games where the Pirates beat the Tigers.
• Style Points analyzes the achievements of Phil Jackson and notes that Michael Jackson could have coached Jordan, Shaq, and Kobe to those championships.
• Josh Q. Public takes a look at the Mets great closer, K-Rod.
• Major League Jerk talks about Met losses, and how they really get their moneys worth when they lose.
• No Guts No Glory has video of a fan at the Penguins parade throwing a football an amazing distance through a window.  Dave Wannstedt, sign him to play at Pitt.
• Bootlegger Sports updates the Donte Stallworth DUI plea bargain and what it does to his career.
• My Sports Rumors talks about the possibility of the often-injured Tracy McGrady becoming a Knick.
• The Fifth Corner discusses players pulling themselves out of the NBA Draft using the ACC as an example where 6 players remain in the draft, but 4 have changed their minds.
• Sharapova’s Thigh breaks down a team (Angels) and analyzes their payroll, biggest earners, and worst acquisitions. Very good reading.

When you blog, you meet some good people along the way.  The guys over at Detroit4lyfe and I try to work together by linking to each others stories in hopes of getting an increase in traffic.  Before the cup finals, we started jawing about our hockey teams and ended up betting.  Fortunately, I was lucky enough to come out on the right end of the deal.  Being good sports, Detroit4lyfe stuck to the bet and wrote an article about the Stanley Cup Champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Here is the article:

Before the Red Wings series started with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Paneech came to me seeking a friendly wager regarding the outcome of the Stanley Cup Finals.  After an extensive negotiation process that lasted about 10 seconds, we finally agreed that the loser of the series would have to write a post for the other’s blog explaining why the other’s team won and was deserving of Lord Stanley’s Mug.  Welp, the Red Wings lost so here is me holding up my end of the bargain.

For me it goes back to before this series even started.  The Penguins just swept the Carolina Hurricanes and the Red Wings were trying to take care of a feisty and youthful Chicago Blackhawks.  I had no doubt in my mind it would be the Red Wings representing the Western Conference in this year’s Finals, but I was hoping it would not be the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference.  As everyone knows, the Red Wings took care of the Penguins in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals.  In my opinion, I see no benefit of having a Finals rematch for the winning team as bad things always seem to happen for them.   Sure, winning two Stanley Cups in a row against the same team is great for egos and bragging rights, but that could be construed as just being greedy… and mean.  In the end, yes, it’s still a Stanley Cup and, no matter who you play, winning it is unbelievably great; I just think the bad things that can come from a rematch outweigh the positive.

That’s especially the case with the circumstances that surrounded this rematch.  The Penguins were a younger bunch with two of the game’s brightest stars looking to avenge last year’s defeat against a franchise that has been winning Stanley Cups in the past 15 years like it’s easy.  If that weren’t enough motivation for Pittsburgh, one of their best players signed with the Red Wings during the past off-season because he thought it would provide him with the best chance to win a Stanley Cup.  Certainly the move can come off as a slap in the face to Pittsburgh, who traded for him mid-season of 2008 to help them win a Stanley Cup and once that didn’t happen, offered him a long term contract to help the Pens return to the Finals and redeem themselves for years to come.  Hind sight is 20/20, so after seeing the Penguins win this year, which I’m sure felt sweet for people bitter about Hossa unselfishly passing up on much more money to sign for one-year with the historically better Detroit Red Wings, it was still the right move at the time.  Detroit has won 4 Stanley Cups in the last 12 years and had the talent to easily repeat this year, especially with the addition of Hossa.  I don’t think there’s any denying that the Red Wings were the favorites to repeat all season long.  Hossa wanted the best chance to win a Stanley Cup and I think Detroit probably had the best odds coming in to the season and throughout it.  I think Hossa made the right move and I still believe that, even after Lidstrom’s last second chance to tie Game 7 pounded off of Penguins goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury’s chest and assured Pittsburgh the 2009 Stanley Cup.  I digress.  Pittsburgh’s motivation to get back at Detroit for beating them last year and the opportunity to tell Hossa to shove it for turning down their offer was far more motivating and advantageous to them in the rematch than Detroit winning another Stanley Cup against the same team.  I think that’s the type of thing that can swing a series before it even starts. 

Pre-series concerns aside, it wound up being one hell of a Stanley Cup Finals.  When Detroit jumped out to a 2-0 series lead, it looked all but certain that Detroit would repeat and send Pittsburgh into mourning for the second season in a row.  However, behind Mario Lemieux’s calming speeches and the gritty determination of a now experienced Stanley Cup Finals group, the Penguins showed no quit.  After the Pens won both games three and four on their home ice, it was a new series and the Red Wings were on their heels for the first time of the playoffs. 

Game 5 was all Detroit back at the Joe, but not for a minute did Penguins fans or their team believe this series was over.  I certainly didn’t think so, especially since it scared me that everyone, and even their mothers who moved to Egypt to get away from hockey, believed the Red Wings would win this series after the 5-0 Game 5 humping.  In Game 6, Pittsburgh, once again, bounced back to defend their home ice in what was probably the greatest game of the series.  They eked out a 2-1 victory behind solid goaltending from Fleury who shook off being embarrassingly chased from Game 5.

That took us to Game 7, the rarest and greatest games a Championship series could ask for.  Anything can happen in Game 7s to alter the outcome; a simple bounce, bad call, or anything for that matter, can happen in one team’s favor and finish the other team’s long season of hard work with the snap of your fingers.  In this Game 7, the first Finals Game 7 for the Red Wings since 1955, Pittsburgh dominated for the first 30+ minutes and took advantage of a couple Red Wings’ defensive mistakes to put the puck to the back of the net.  The Red Wings responded finally with their patented lengthy ambushes late in the 3rd, however it was just not enough as Fleury resembled the complete opposite of his Game 5 self.  With six seconds remaining, Fleury was able to stave off one last Red Wings attack and what looked like a tying goal off the stick of Nicklas Lidstrom to secure the Penguins the 2009 Stanley Cup.

Ironically, I was in Pittsburgh for Game 7–a trip I planned months ago for the Tigers interleague series with the Pirates. As the game clock struck zeros, I had to watch 15-20 Penguins fans jump up and down together in a small apartment complex while I sat behind the couch in my Wings hat and classic Yzerman jersey with a blank stare directed toward the HD television set where the entire Penguins players celebrated on the Joe Louis Arena Ice.  One Penguins fan ran up to his room and brought down a tin foil Stanley Cup and began passing it around for his yellow and black dressed friends to kiss and raise as high as the ceiling would allow them to. 

It was at that point I exited the room and took my frustration out on a dry wall in the other room (which I will wind up paying for).  With knuckles as red as the sleeves of my jersey, but the pain in my heart much worse than my battered hands, I came to the realization that the Wings put up a valiant effort and lost to a worthy opponent.  I decided to return to the living room, where Pens fans were still rejoicing, to congratulate all my buddy’s friends on their team winning the Cup.

I’m as big of a Detroit fan as there is and despite the frustration and depression that came with this loss, a true sports fan must swallow their pent up emotions and pride, put all the mid-series trash talking aside, and admit defeat.  This series was a lot of fun to watch, write about, and even exchange some friendly smack talk.  In the end, the team most deserving of hoisting the Cup did and that’s that.  End of story.  Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the 2009 NHL Stanley Cup Champions.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.  Well, my money happened it Vegas, and you can bet that it stayed in Vegas too.  Fresh off of the plane from Vegas, I have some mistakes I made to share with you so if you go you will be better prepared to gamble wisely.  There are smart ways and dumb ways to gamble.  Getting caught up in the moment is not hard to do.  Flashing lights, bells, whistles, free drinks, and so many different ways to lose money contribute to a lack of concentration when you need to be able to.

Having an extra three hour layover in Denver pushed my arrival time from 7:30 to about midnight.  Once I landed at McCaren Airport in Las Vegas, I was just feeling the rush to get checked in, get a players card and get to the casino.  By 1:00 AM, I was gambling.  I started out playing blackjack with Toni Lynn Bisconti, a lifelong friend who shares my joy of gambling.  We were at a $10 minimum table.  After about an hour of back-and-forth wagering, the dealer caught fire.  I was out about $200 in a very short time.  The next day, the craps table, the roulette wheel, and the Captain kicked my ass.

The Captain?  Captain Morgan.  I am not much of a drinker.  At about 9AM, after I had a good breakfast, I settled in at a video poker machine and was getting ready to start playing when a cocktail waitress asked me if I would like something to drink.  I told her that I would take a Captain and Coke.  This turned into an all-day thing.  I’ll bet I killed a bottle myself.  I was in bad shape and needed to sleep by 9 PM.  The group I was with went downtown and had a blast while I watched my room spin.

My final day, I battled a hangover, but won back some money betting on the Penguins to win the Stanley Cup.  I put up $50 to win $90.  People were all over the Red Wings and were putting up $240 to win $100.

Here are some tips:

• If you are a drinker, build your tolerance before the trip so you can keep focus while gambling.  If you are not a drinker, or only drink on special occasions, don’t get caught up being Mickey Mantle while you are gambling.  You will lose more times than you win because of mistakes caused by a lack of focus.
• Find time to go downtown.  Old Vegas is nice because you can play $1 craps or blackjack.  The atmosphere is more fun because your focus is allowed to wander a bit due to the reduced stakes.  The Vegas Strip is a brightly lit trap for the casual gambler.  Downtown is missing that new shine and luster, but offers better play odds and more affordable table minimums.
• If you have a hangover, avoid loud slot machines.  My last day there, I put a twenty into a machine.  On my first spin, I hit one cherry on the payline.  The audio blared at me and almost knocked me out of my seat.  It was louder than a KISS concert, for one cherry.  I cashed out and moved on.
• Plan your days but not each event.  If you want to go to New York, New York on Friday until 5 and then to Rio until 9, and then to Bally’s until 11, leave windows of time, just in case.  If you find something you are really enjoying or winning at, stay.  Don’t cash out at 10 minutes to 5 because you have to be somewhere.  Stay on the roll.  It only happens a couple of times while you are there.
• Player cards are great if you are Mr. Howell from Gilligan’s Island.  You need to drop some very serious cash to have your status moved from gold to platinum on your rating card.  The comp trap is usually good for a free breakfast or a T-Shirt, but never panned out to much else.  I gambled for two days straight and was only a quarter of the way to platinum status.
• Know when to take a break.  If you get your clock cleaned in ten minutes at any game in Vegas, either switch games, switch tables, or take a break.  I was persistent at craps and lost major cash because no one was making a point.  Discipline adds to your chances of winning.

The trip to Vegas is one I will continue to make every year or two.  I don’t want to swim or ride a rollercoaster, I want to gamble. 

Ah… victory.  Congratulations Pittsburgh Penguins!  What a great show of heart in the decisive game 7.  Here are some stories from other great sites.

• Total Pro Sports has video of Sidney Crosby hoisting the Stanley Cup out of the sunroof of the bus while still in Detroit.
• Bootlegger Sports brings footage of Ray Mercer vs Tim Sylvia in a boxing match with MMA surroundings.  See what happens when you piss an old man off…
• Sharapova’s Thigh takes an in-depth look at what is wrong with Johan Santana after the worst outting of his career.
• On the other end of the pitching spectrum, Mighty Matt Cain is having a great year and putting up solid numbers as told by Josh Q. Public.
• Fanhouse has a disturbing video of LA Lakers fans rioting after the championship was decided last night.
• NESW Sports provides an EA Sports video of Tiger Woods clowing around with Scott Van Pelt.
• No Guts, No Glory thinks the Cavs would be making a huge mistake if they obtained Shaquille O’Neal.
• PacMan Jonesin’ found Shaq sending tweets of congrats to Kobe and calling Stan Van Gundy a panicker.
• Sports Rubbish has an entertaining story of an umpire who ejected the entire crowd at a high school game recently.

Things can’t get much worse for the Mahoning Valley Thunder.  Struggles on the road continued as the Thunder dropped to 1-10 losing 62-28 at Albany.  This loss extends the teams losing streak to ten straight and 18th straight road loss. 

The Thunder started new acquisition Brad Roach at quarterback.  Roach was rushed into action because Davon Vinson was banged up but could play if needed.  Roach threw interceptions on his first two drives.  Roach was pulled and Vinson was inserted only to set a franchise record by throwing seven interceptions.  Vinson did manage to find CJ Brewer twice for Thunder scores.

Albany player Alvin Ray Jackson had five interceptions in the game to set a new AF2 record.  Albany recorded 11 interceptions in the game.  He also caught two touchdown passes on offense.  Firebird QB Stephen Wasil threw for six touchdowns.

The Thunder go back to the board this week hosting Manchester.  Kelly Pavlik will be doing a book signing from 6-8 at The Covelli Centre, so get there early, meet the champ and enjoy some football.  See you there! 

I made it back from Vegas in one piece.  Sorry there has not been much content for you guys, I will be working hard this week to catch up.  The sign (shown above) looks a whole lot prettier when you are flying in than when you are leaving.  I will be doing a story later this week about the trip and an editorial to highlight my experiences and observations.  For now, here are the best of the best I could find to hold you over!

• Sports Rubbish provides the visual proof of what an idiot Milton Bradley is as he throws a live ball into the stands and does some stupid dance.  Bet he gets traded soon, we know Sweet Lou wont have it!
• Major League Jerk checks in and talks about how former NBA ref Tim Donaghy may be released from prison earlier because of the beatings he is receiving.  You may remember Donaghy as the ref who fixed games.
• Fansided has pictures of Chad “Ocho Cinco” Johnson’s new face tattoos.
• Zoner Sports makes a valid argument that at this point, a slow start in baseball is now a bad season.  Zoner has a hitters and pitchers article, here are the links for both.
• Gunaxin throws us Playing Dirty, a look at taking the right steps to ensure your fantasy baseball team won’t finish last.
• No Guts, No Glory posts the dirt on how bad the Minnesota Gophers upcoming football season is going to suck worse than usual because the fans have to endure the beatings sober now.
• Steady Burn invites you to hear Alonzo Mourning giving Phil Jackson almost no credit for guiding the Lakers.
• Style Points found a picture of Evgeni Malkin making out with some chick that might is worth checking out by clicking here.
• The Fifth Corner takes an in-depth look at why people hate Duke teams.
• King James Gospel tells us that the Cleveland Cavaliers will stick with Mike Brown as their coach instead of pursuing Pat Riley.
• PacMan Jonesin’ finds that Rick Sutcliffe angered ARod and Teixera by accusing them of cheating.
• NESW Sports hooks us up with some Dwight Howard Vitamin Water commercial outtakes.  Howard will have all kinds of free time now that LA beat Orlando for the NBA title.
• Detroit4lyfe will be submitting a story about how the Pens beat the Wings for the cup this week as part of a friendly wager we made.  For now, enjoy the great writing in a Justin Verlander piece.
• Total Pro Sports has video of the limo done up in Red Wings artwork riding through Pittsburgh.  Maybe he was bringing Sidney or Geno home after he probably lost a bet on the outcome.

If my leg was going in that direction you can bet your nachos I would have dropped that ball.  Lots of good stories from other sites today!

• In Game Now provides a video of Alex Rios blasting the constructive criticim he doesn’t need in a foul-mouthed tirade.
• Steady Burn shows an Australian rugby team quarantined for swine flu potential.
• Detroit4Lyfe brings out the etiquette book for a ball game, pointing out that the “F” bomb shouldn’t be used.
• The UNC gurus on The Fifth Corner looks at Tyler Hansbrough, his blogging, and his experience as a Tar Heel.
• Yanks Go Yard says New York can’t always rely on free agents and needs to have a solid draft to restock the cupboard.
• Gunaxin takes a look at the 2009 MLB Draft with an extensive preview.
• Rip City Project throws up their mock NBA draft preview.
• Josh Q. Public takes a look at Steven Strasburg and the Washington Nationals contract and potential.
• Creation Rex is not a bandwagon Penguins fan declares PSAMP.
• Major League Jerk poses an interesting question.  What hat should Randy Johnson wear when he is inducted in the MLB Hall of Fame?
• NESW Sports dives into technology and brings us a Chris Bosh Bobblehead and iphone app video.
• Sharapova’s Thigh takes a look around the bigs and tell us why the Braves are boosting their chances in the NL East.
• Total Pro Sports finds George Foreman III starting his career as a pro boxer with a devastating win.
• The World of Isaac has the video footage of a fan attacking Roger Federer.