“We are very pleased to welcome Benoit into our organization,” said Panthers general manager Jacques Martin. “He has done a very good job in developing a winning program in Gatineau and he has also experienced great success for Team Canada at the international level.Benoit is a coach that is respected throughout hockey for his ability to get the most out of his players. We are confident that the fans in Rochester will be happy with the work ethic and winning attitude that Benoit will demand from his players next season.”

Groulx becomes the 27th head coach in the 53-year history of the Rochester franchise. He replaces Randy Cunneyworth, who recently accepted an assistant coaching position with the National Hockey League’s Atlanta Thrashers after spending eight years behind the Amerks' bench.

Groulx, 40, has guided the Gatineau Olympiques (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League) to three league titles (2003, 2004 & 2008) in the last six years. This season, Groulx’s team posted a 43-19-6 record and defeated Rouyn-Noranda Huskies to earn the 2008 QMJHL title and advance to the Memorial Cup. He has served as the bench boss for Gatineau since midway through the 2001-02 season.

As a player, Groulx played four seasons (1985-1989) of junior hockey with the Granby Bisons of the QMJHL. In 170 total games with Granby, he recorded 255 points (78+177) and 84 PIM. Groulx also had a two-year stint (1995-1997) with Brest of the French league, scoring 82 points (25+57) while adding 32 PIM in 48 games.

This past June, Hockey Canada selected Groulx to be the head coach of Canada’s national junior team for the 2009 IIHF World Junior Championships in Ottawa. Groulx has twice represented Canada in international competition. He served as an assistant coach under Brent Sutter for the 2007 Canada-Russia Super Series, which Canada won, and he was also part of the coaching staff for the 2004 World Junior Team, which also earned Canada a gold medal.

Falcons name Truitt head coach
Miracle on Ice named top hockey story

Berdasarkan informasi dari Traffic Management Center (TMC) Polda Metro Jaya, peristiwa tersebut terjadi tepat di depan Nata Tour Sriwijaya. Korban berusaha menyeberangi jalan. Namun pada saat bersamaan bus bernomor polisi B 7999 IK Koridor V meluncur dengan kecepatan tinggi sehingga tabrakan tidak dapat dihindarkan.

English Concert, con.T.Pinnock

Tomaso Albinoni

lionel Cordew

Air Sculpture

Amen Andrews

Andy Pickford and Paul Nagle (Binar)

Antenne

Arc

Cantoma

Chinmaya Dunster and Vidroha Jamie

David Arkenstone and Frank Klepacki

Der Spyra

Don Harris

Driftin Thoughts

Earth Trybe (David and Diane Arkenstone)

Equa

Hank Garland

Jose Luis Encinas

Chuck Wild

Manual

Medwyn Goodall and Scott Jasper

Michael Dulin

Nadama

Obo + Jorge

Pavlo

Presser Gabor

Charles, Ray

Richard Clayderman & James L

Robert Almblade and Carolyn Cruso

Steve Oliver

Terra Sancta

Tom Kenyon

Valeo

Narada Lotus

William Aura and Friends

sounds from the ground

Arturo Mantovani and his Orchestra

The Soul Seekerz

Deborah Harry

Jean Ferrat

Louis Prima feat. Keely Smith

R Kelly (Ft T.I. and T. Pain)

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss

Sarah Vaughan with M. Nascimento

Bleed in Vain

Dave Navarro

The Panic Channel

Ekhymosis

Tanya Tucker

Neko Case and Her Boyfriends

Willie Nelson and Ray Price

Joaquin Sabina Y CIA

DJ Envy & Jermaine Dupri

Braxton Brothers

Andre Previn and Russ Freeman

Louis Prima and Keely Smith

The North Sea and the Rameses III

Us 3

Yellowjackets

The Hoosiers

Vision Bleak

Twin Peaks

Fear Nuttin Band

No Remorse

The Nels Cline Singers

Dave Swarbrick and Martin Carthy

Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick

Quincy and Bill Cosby Jones

The Tossers

Ismael Miranda and Nano Cabrera

John Tams

3 Channels

Bill Withers

Rippingtons

Young Knives

Sean Biddle Funky

Abenza

Alan Pasqua, John Patitucci, Vinnie Colaiuta

Austin Leeds And Nick Terranova

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Clint Eastwood

DSG

Chiyoko Shimakura

GenGilles Vigneault

Haendel

Terranova and Austin Leeds Present HI LO

7L and Esoteric

Alan Pasqua

Anchors for Arms

Austin Leeds Pres Tweek Rockers

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Blue Sky Black Death And Hell Razah

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Charley Pride

Charlie Pride

Clint Eastwood and General Saint

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Crime in Stereo

David Jordan

General Echo and Prince Mohammed

Jools Holland

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Kobbe and Austin Leeds feat. Ala

Morgana vs Morgana

Bukaddor And Fishbeck

Los alegres de la sierra

Blue Sky Black Death

Chayito Valdez

Leon Redbone

Ashley & David Macisaac

Enigmania

Esoteric

Eugene Friesen

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Far From Stars

Ferenc

Frederic Mirage

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Fuzzy Logic

Gary Shannon

Amano Tsukiko

Dave Grusin; Lee Ritenour

Wes Montgomery feat. Tommy Flanagan

Ray Charles and Quincy Jones

Quantic Soul Orchestra

Dropkick Murphys VS Business

Acid Junkies and Miss Djax Ep

El Potro de Sinaloa

Enrique Ugarte

Julie's Haircut

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Andrea Bertolini

Allan Banford

Baby shambles

Baggy Bukaddor and Tim Fishbeck

B.Watt and R.Wyatt

Lazy Dog

Big Lokote

Cagedbaby

Chalf Hassan

CunninLynguists

Dj Marky

ENKA

Fidel Rueda

Hakim

Holy Fuck

Hush

Jae Millz

Jaheim

Jan Garbarek with John Abercrombie and Nana Vasconcelos

Mijk van Dijk

Miskate

Re Flex

Stefan Goldmann

Suga Free

Super Flu

DQ1

Tectonic

The Drill

Ursula Rucker

Digital Witchcraft and Habersham

Andy Stott

Dirt Crew

Neil Landstrumm

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Jehst

Issa Bagayogo

Jim Snidero

Joe Gibbs

Lee Scratch Perry and The White Belly Rats

Mathias Schaffhauser

Meko and Kraze

Tony Allen

Denise Lasalle

Abingdon Boys School

Busy Signal

Destroy All Monsters

Emmy Rossum

Guinga

Hurricane Chris

Ivan Ferreiro

Jolie Holland

Blues Explosion

Jools Holland and His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra

Manu Dibango

Organized Konfusion

S.W.A.T. Squad

the Mitchell Brothers

Twisted Black

In Flagranti

Jizzy Pearl

Swat Squad and Alecs Marta

AZ

Braincell

Defari

Kraze

Lors de la rentée littéraire 2005, un livre avait fait parler de lui beaucoup plus que les autres, à la limite de l'overdose. Son auteur, Michel Houellebecq, déjà culte (Extension du domaine de la lutte, Les particules élémentaires, Plateforme…), assurait alors (in)volontairement la promotion du bouquin : une réputation de provocateur visionnaire, un cachet record, du linge sale familial lavé en public… Cette dernière œuvre de l'écrivain controversé, La possibilité d'une île, a été adaptée sur grand écran par Houellebecq lui-même et sort le mois prochain.

Rentrée cinématographique 2008. Le film est dit "très attendu", notamment par un microcosme de fans absolu dont jouit Houellebecq depuis quelques années, mais aussi par la communauté cinématographique et plus largement "artistique", voire "journalistique". Parce qu'il est bon ton de taper sur Houellebecq, celui qui titille nos bas instincts, fait vendre plus que de raison et met ko n'importe quel concurrent en tête de gondole. Car film de qualité ou pas, avouons que le grand écart écriture littéraire / réalisation cinématographique ne doit pas être des plus évidente. La direction d'acteurs non plus. Entre un  MacBook Pro et Benoît Magimel, il y a une différence. A laquelle s'est attelée le bonhomme avec courage, reconnaissons-lui au moins ça. Mais voilà. Le talent ne s'exprime pas toujours de la même façon selon l'expression. Et c'est ce qu'on essaie de nous dire avec ces débuts de bruits de rumeurs de soit-disant…

Présenté le weekend dernier au Festival (suisse) de Locarno, en l'absence du réalisateur et de certains acteurs (ce qui n'aide pas…), le film aurait essuyé une cascade de critiques, de moqueries, de ricanements tous plus acerbes. Nanar… Science et Vie Junior… Philosophie de bazar… Max Pécas… Bide… Intenable… Il semble que la réputation du film soit déjà sérieusement amochée. C'est vrai que la bande-annonce ne laisse guère entrevoir de bonne surprise, mais, ayant été impressionné par le roman, j'irai voir le film. Et j'espère qu'à leur tour, les spectateurs s'écouteront. RDV le 10 septembre.

[dailymotion id=k6pxPCCG7Lbk79HVis]

Synopsis : Plus seul qu'aucun ermite ne l'a jamais été, Daniel25 (le vingt-quatrième descendant, par reproduction artificielle, du premier des Daniel) vit avec son chien Fox dans une cellule souterraine préservée de toute contamination ; les images satellite qu'il reçoit sur ses écrans d'ordinateur lui retransmettent des visions d'une terre désertée. Il se consacre, comme ses prédécesseurs, à la rédaction d'un commentaire sur les événements qui ont conduit Daniel1 à prendre la tête d'une secte qui sera le fondement d'un nouveau culte, et d'une espèce qui survivra à l'espèce humaine. Venu à la rencontre de son père, le chef d'une secte dont il était séparé depuis des années, Daniel1 se rend compte que la secte, qu'il croyait basée sur une banale supercherie, a changé de nature avec le recrutement d'un scientifique de haut niveau et la construction d'un laboratoire. Il se rend compte que la promesse faite aux adeptes (l'immortalité technique par les moyens de la biologie moderne) est en passe d'être tenue. Après la mort de son père, il décidera de prendre sa suite. Vingt-cinq générations plus tard, Daniel25 a survécu aux cataclysmes ayant dévasté l'espèce humaine. Sa vie changera du jour où, guidé par de mystérieux messages apparus sur ses écrans d'ordinateur, il découvrira l'existence, à la surface de la Terre, d'une autre survivante.

S'il ne fallait retenir qu'une date de cette année 2007, ce serait le 26 novembre. C'est ce jour-là que Garance a décidé de pointer le bout de son petit nez... L'accouchement s'est déroulé sans souci majeur, malgré 2-3 petites baisses de tension pour la maman (étonnamment le papa s'est dominé jusqu'au bout) et une sortie à la ventouse. Check-up médical OK, bébé bon pour le service. Mensurations : 50 cm pour 3 kg 660 (plus ou moins, on a un doute sur la pesée).

Ensuite c'est la maternité... Alors là on prévient tout de suite les futures mamans : rien de plus crevant que ces premiers jours où le bébé n'est pas, mais alors pas réglé du tout, où le personnel médical (sages-femmes, puéricultrices, aides-soignantes, médecins...) va et vient dans la chambre, où le téléphone sonne toujours au mauvais moment. Sans oublier qu'on a eu droit à un concerto pour foreuses à béton tous les après-midi (travaux dans l'hôpital). Autant dire que Sophie avait plus que hâte de rentrer à la maison...

La suite en quelques mots : Garance a fait ses nuits très tôt (vers 5 semaines). Elle a passé l'hiver sans aucun ennui de santé (première rhino en... juillet, ça ne s'invente pas). Seule alerte vers Noël, plus de prise de poids ! Après avoir commencé à paniquer comme de jeunes parents inexpérimentés, on a compensé avec des biberons en plus du lait maternel et tout est rentré dans l'ordre. Voici quelques photos de ce chouette début d'année.

Garance vers 1 mois :

Quelques semaines plus tard avec maman :

Départ en balade à 3 mois :

Vers 5 mois, grosse rigolade avec papa :

Dans le parc à 6 mois :

Avec son oncle Tom il y a quelques jours :

Il s'est passé encore plein d'autres choses, les vacances en famille, les 2 mois chez Valérie la nounou... Ca va tellement vite qu'on commence déjà à oublier. Damned, j'aurais dû le commencer plus tôt ce blog !

http://mangemavie.wordpress.com

Mon troisième blog, basé sur le défunt 10/jour de Benoît est en ligne. Je compte sur vous pour me dire ce que vous pensez du concept, etc.

Il ne me reste plus qu'à tenir et à trouver la force et l'envie de le mettre à jour quotidiennement.

This week, we bring you: dueling reviews...

- Adam Platt hates Alan Ducasse's ode to a French bistro Benoit [NYM]. For the record, I do not like Platt, I do not like his writing and I hardly ever agree with him.

- Meanwhile, Frank Bruni doesn't mind Benoit. [NYT]

- Andrea Strong is pleased with Hundred Acres [The Strong Buzz]

- Danyelle Freeman is not pleased with Hundred Acres [RG]

- Julia Moskin takes on NY'ers love of food from trucks in "$25 and Under" [NYT]

Playlist Notes: Imus Jazz / R&B Bumpers have established a recurring Imus In The Morning signature over the course of his broadcast career. The Bumpers are used to intro and outro commercial breaks and program segments. Often instrumental pieces are used as a bed for Imus "live read" commercials.

Full play versions of the bumpers can be found at the iMus iTunes iMix "Imus R&B/Jazz Bumpers" Playlist where you can listen to clips and purchase downloads.

iMus iTunes iMix

Yes, there is a Video Playlist of the Imus R&B / Jazz Bumpers on YouTube!

 
iMus YT Videolist

The professional wrestling industry exists in relative obscurity to anyone who doesn't follow it regularly. Names and affiliations tend to change faster than the companies' TV deals, it seems. A few wrestlers are known to even the most clueless observer, such as Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan and Dwayne Johnson (aka the Rock). Another name now etched into their minds: Chris Benoit. He was a technician without equal, a shaman of the suplex, a paragon of powerbombers, someone whose name was once synonymous with quiet excellence, rigid discipline and relentless perfectionism. All of that is forgotten now.

The death of Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy and son Daniel was the lead story across America at this time last year. The tragedy exploded onto TV screens with seemingly no warning, and fans who had watched Benoit's work over the previous 20 years (ten or 15, from the prespective of American viewers) were left with no explanation outside of the self-interested speculations of WWE or their media apostates, both of whom were quick to present the debacle as the result of one or two isolated factors. The humanity of Benoit and, most troubling, his innocent victims, never really factored into anyone's coverage.

Now, just in time for the anniversary, the new book by Matthew Randazzo V has hit the shelves to the kind of response John Cena gets from the audience: a roughly even mix of cheers and boos. Ring of Hell (Phoenix Books) is written in that "purple prose" one expects from a true-crime author, with enough errors in spelling and grammar to suggest a rush job on the editing, probably to be sure it was out by June. He clearly set out to bury the business in print, but has in fact produced one of the best books ever written about professional wrestling--certainly the best ever written by a non-wrestler.

Author Randazzo has all the right tools for a task of this kind. His parents were both corporate lawyers, and their son works on the legal side of redevelopment projects in his native New Orleans. His main writing gigs tend to center on organized crime, fine preparation for covering an industry with roots, branches and fruit in organized crime. If everything is the book was true, and it's impossible to confirm or deny all of it since so many of the principals are dead, then the author is entirely in his element.

By telling the life story of Chris Benoit, Randazzo tells a story of pro wrestling's evolution over those short but strenuous 40 years. Benoit's sole ambition was to be a wrestler--specifically, a modernized version of his idol, Tom Billington, whose exploits as "the Dynamite Kid" made it possible for shorter, lighter workers to get exposure in the size-conscious American scene. Both men consumed massive amounts of steroids whose salubrious effect on muscle growth was more than balanced by the havoc they wreaked on their bones, connective tissue and their personal lives.

The core of Randazzo's thesis is that Benoit had serious mental issues dating back to the earliest years of his career, issues related to self-consciousness about height, an emphasis on technical perfection bordering on OCD, and a propensity for cruelty whose limits were apparently nonexistent. These issues--the latter, in particular--were only made worse by his indoctrination into the highly political and ultraviolent wrestling subculture, with its PSYOP-worthy pranks and lethal hazing. Randazzo paints his trainers in Stampede and New Japan as professional sadists who took pride in breaking their students' bodies and their will. Benoit learned his lessons well, and would mature into a legendary taskmaster who had no problem making a grown man cry on national television if he felt it was necessary to "protect the business".

Benoit made his bones, as they say, in New Japan as a standout in its light-heavyweight division, and would probably still be there, wealthy and reasonably sane, had he never come to work in America, Randazzo asserts. Instead Benoit and colleagues Dean Malenko and "Latino Heat" Eddy Guerrero played a huge role in the explosion of pro wrestling in the 1990s, with catastrophic consequences for their physical well-being. This is the most entertaining part of the book--the fun and games of ECW and Monday Nitro, when the idea of half the cast being dead in a decade was simply unthinkable, because nothing like it had ever happened before. The combination of prescription drugs, alcohol and steroids killed 50 people and almost killed 50 more. People like Scott Hall, Sunny, Shawn Michaels, Konnan, Juventud Guerrera and Raven--who allegedly rolled on ecstasy for 14 straight days, with the dose doubled daily--are alive practically by accident.

An already-dark story gets darker after the deaths of Brian Pillman in 1997 and Owen Hart in '99. Both had trained with Benoit in Calgary, and they were the first in what would become an unbearable string of losses for Benoit. The clearest contrast is drawn by Randazzo, between the Benoit who wrestled a tribute match to Hart and the Benoit who did the same for Guerrero just six years later, in 2005. After the death of Guerrero, which is still the saddest moment in wrestling history, the death of Benoit was probably inevitable, but the way it happened was too bone-chilling to be believed.

To write Ring of Hell, Randazzo leaned heavily on the research of others, including a lot of the wrestling media, absorbing 22 books, 38 videos and countless websites. He also cites ECW head Paul Heyman as a primary source along with several former WWE writers, whose takes on the company hierarchy are laugh-out-loud funny. It's to be expected that many of his sources, including any active wrestlers he talked to, opted not to be identified; if Bob Woodward can do it, why can't he?

Randazzo's tone and word choices throughout the book make clear not only that he is not a wrestling fan, but that he harbors serious contempt for both the wrestlers and their fans. He seems unable to understand what could drive wrestler to make the sort of foolish sacrifices required for success in the modern wrestling business, although they aren't anything that would be unfamiliar to, say, a pro football player or a musician. The awesome body count that came immediately out of 1960s rock, '90s grunge or the rap scene of the last 15 years makes for an incomplete argument against the music scene (outside of evangelical circles, that is), but the persistence of death among wrestlers is presented by Randazzo as a sufficient reason to shut it all down, or at least to disparage anyone who can still watch the stuff.

Ultimately, what sells this book is the same thing that sells any book about wrestling: the stories. Even the most ardent fan must admit that pro wrestling is one of the shadiest industries this side of the Beltway, and Randazzo offers readers a veritable feast of frighteningly weird tales. One hesitates to go into much detail, since 1) it would be unfair to the author, and 2) paraphrasing does no justice to this stuff. Suffice to say that this ranks right up there with the infamous "wrestling sleaze" thread. Randazzo's abs are probably in their best shape in years, given the hours he may have spent laughing as he wrote some of this stuff, even though it all ultimately wraps up awfulness that still sinks the spirit when read about now.

When first told of her son's plans to become a pro wrestler, Chris Benoit's mother thought "He'll be hurting by the time he's 40." She was right, of course, but Benoit, who excelled in his chosen field, got over one more time on his colleagues. Unlike Pillman, Hart or Guerrero, Benoit actually lived to be 40 years old--for 34 days, at least. In life, as in death, Benoit had a little bit extra.

I found out when my wife and I came home from a walk, and I flipped on WWE Raw. Instead of the normal show, it was a recap of Benoit's best matches. On the ticker, it stated Benoit and his family had died, but no other details were available.

Within a couple of days, it all came out. Chris had killed his son and his wife, and then took his own life, in a double murder-sucicide. Although there have been theories about why Benoit did it, no one knows for sure.

Benoit was my favourite wrestler. I have his Hard Knocks DVD. My favourite wrestling match is when he won the 2004 Royal Rumble, entering number 1 and lasting all the way to the end. He was Canadian and a great wrestler.

Now, one year later, I don't know how to feel about him. The WWE has pretty much eliminated him from all their programming. His pictures aren't on the website. His videos are gone. This isn't something they can continue to do. As they release DVDs and best-of compilations, he'll have to be included. He's in too much programming to ingore him completely.

For example, when they release a best of Randy Orton DVD, they'll have to include his first world championship title. But he won it against Chris Benoit.

But they'll have to bring him back slowly. It would create too much outrage to bring him back all at once. I think they've started by having wrestlers do some of his finishing moves in the ring.

For me, I haven't been able to watch any of his matches since last year. I don't know how I'll react when I do. Can I enjoy the match knowing what he did? Will I be able to forget what he did for 20 minutes? Can I suspend my disbelief and just enjoy the wrestling match for the actual wrestling?

I'm not sure. I don't know if I'll ever be able to watch his stuff again.

En ce qui concerne l'album je vais très vite faire un topo car tout est prêt pour la sortie ... A très vite donc !!!

Last year, the trade I looked forward to the absolute most barely worked out. I was stoked when Chris Benoit was traded to ECW. I knew they would instantly hand him the vacated title. I knew he would then go into a lengthy feud with CM Punk, among others. But I was excited. I was excited that someone might bring some sort of legitimacy to a show that was sorely lacking it. Of course, as we all know, Chris Benoit did not end up with the ECW Title, and he almost ruined the legitimacy of the entire sport (Although, that’s a rant about the media, and I won’t go into that right now). This year’s draft takes place on the anniversary of the Benoit Murder/Suicide. I’m simply hoping it’s not like the Madden Curse…

Does the draft even matter anymore? Every week it seems that more and more stars are crossing from brand to brand, show to show, to feud with one another. CM Punk has been on all three shows at some point in the last few months. Batista and Shawn Michaels visited each other’s respective show to throw down some badly scripted challenges for that “huge match” that they had at Backlash. Every so often, we’re given the “one-night-only” nonsense. The boys in the back seem to be more and more ok with letting talent shuffle back and forth between shows. So is it even necessary to have a draft?

I believe it is still totally necessary. Vince and his crew do the best they can to limit the top spots on each show, but in doing so, they have a very limited talent pool at the very top. With limited main eventers on each show, there are only so many combinations of big matches possible… even if they face each other month after month in crazy specialty matches. Shawn V. Batista is needed (not in the storyline they did, mind you) to give the viewers something a little different than the norm. It adds to that gene pool of creativity and gives us a different match.

ECW is the problem child of the WWE. They brought in even more talent that they had no desire to actually use, simply for name recognition, and screwed it up. Then they turned it into a farm league for the other two shows. The semi-merge of ECW and Smackdown resulted in tag team champions who aren’t even technically on Smackdown. What does it say about Smackdown when ECW guys have their tag titles, while the tag teams on Smackdown have nothing to do? What does it say for ECW when Smackdown guys are feuding over their ECW World Championship? If they’re going to combine them, combine them. If they want to use it as a breeding ground for more talent, than do that. I’m all for guys appearing on different shows, but not taking their titles. Wait. No. Strike that. I don’t even mind them taking the titles, but not for extended periods of time. I like the mix. Again, it adds to the storylines and the talent pool on each show.

“But, James, if you want more talent in the talent pool, why not combine all the shows into one?” Well, sir and or ma’am, I’m glad you asked. You see, I watched wrestling during the supposed reign of a little company called WCW. WCW had two shows, Monday Night Nitro and Wednesday Night Thunder. It was a lot like Raw/Smackdown/ECW in the beginning. Thunder was pretty much the mid to low carders, while Nitro featured the big boys. Then, they slowly attempted to merge into one. They always had people that appeared on both shows, but as time wore on, it became more of a continuation of Monday night rather than its own thing. It would be like if we watched Raw twice a week, rather than once a week.

It was a fucking mess.

The main event picture was overcrowded, but no one wanted to get shut out of it. The title started switching hands constantly, so that everyone could be pleased with the fact that their character was still being pushed. The main eventers started taking up the secondary title, leaving nothing for the midcarders to really feud over. Goldberg, Kevin Nash, Jeff Jarrett, Hulk Hogan, DDP, Booker T, and a million other guys were shoved down our throats constantly. No one wanted to do the job, so matches ended in no decisions. It got so bad they put the gold on Vince Russo and David Arquette, because it literally meant so little to them. Now, I’m not necessarily saying it would be that bad, but remember, Drew Carey was in the Royal Rumble one year. It could.

Even though the talent needs to cross from show to show every now and then right now to keep things fresh, I think that’s a hell of a lot better than every last one of those guys going for the same title at the same time. We’d get sick of the wrestlers faster. No one wants to sit through three HHH 20 minute speeches every week. The top guys are so established that the other top guys, like Orton, Jericho, JBL, and maybe even Cena would have to be demoted to midcarders. The Midcarders would be thrust into crappy tagteams and slowly released. The other jobs would just be terminated, as there’s not enough time for everyone to appear if it’s not mapped out like it is. I guess I see no good that could come of killing the brand extension and allowing such things to happen. We complain we’re bored now. How bored would we be without the extension? Literally, nothing good would come of the deletion of the brand extension. There is nothing that would be instantly fixed, and there is nothing that I can see that makes me think it’s a good idea. It is the appearance of different brands that keep it going.

I think a lot of people forget that the point of the brand extension was to build talent that would not have otherwise gotten a shot. You can’t tell me that CMPunk, MVP, or Elijah Burke would be where they are without the brand extension. People like Jeff Hardy and Randy Orton would not be in the world championship hunt if all of the main eventers were in the same place going for the same belt. MVP would not have had the US Title. CMPunk would NOT have the Money in the Bank Briefcase. Guys like HHH, HBK, Batista, and the Undertaker would be clogging the main event road with their entrances.

I also think that people forget that Vince McMahon is “All about the Mon-Naaaaaaaaaaaay”. The Brand Extension will not end any time soon, because of the cash it brings in. By having two different house show schedules, they bring in double the revenue in ticket and merchandise revenue.

So what does all of this have to do with the draft? Simple. Everything about the Brand Extension is about giving more to the fans and putting more cash in Vinny Mac’s wallet. The draft allows that to keep going. It convinces people that the talent is regulated to where they are. It also allows us to get our “stale” programs changed up in bits and pieces. Vince, as well as the fans, gets to see who works best together, and put their strengths on the show where it is most needed (I said it gives them the chance. I didn’t say he does it). More importantly, it allows for reasons for crossover. Batista and Shawn wouldn’t have faced each other over their storyline if they hadn’t both admired Ric Flair (God, I hate this storyline, but it makes the best sense here). Batista and Shawn had both worked with Ric. It affected Batista, even if he was on the other show. It was a dumb storyline, it provided a back story for the two to be able to cross over and not just give us Shawn Michaels V. HHH for the six thousandth time.

Do I think the draft or the brand extension are perfect? Hell no. But I do think it adds another dimension to the insanity of this supposed sport we all love so much. It keeps a lot of people employed. It keeps a lot of fans seeing their favorites and not getting sick of them nearly as quickly. In essence, the brand extension may have saved a couple careers from burning out too quickly. It’s not wrestlers are barred from appearing on the other shows, so it doesn’t overly mean much, but it could mean big things for the individual wrestlers. A man like Carlito, who seems to hate his job, might be rejuvenated being sent to Smackdown and allowed to compete for the US Title, rather than hanging out with Santino. A man like John Morrison might be relieved of the duty of being tag team champion and be able to make a name for himself on his talent rather than a lame ass gimmick. A man like HHH probably won’t be affected, but what about a man like Jeff Hardy who could be facing Edge for the championship when he’s being held back on Raw? It could make all the difference between champ and almost champ. The lines between the shows may get blurred occasionally, but it’s being done correctly right now. It’s allowing the WWE to make money with brand exclusive shows while bending the rules to make us all a little happier.

So, next week, while all my friends are bitching about how lame the draft is, and how it doesn’t matter, I’ll mark out when they throw me some curve ball. And I’ll be back here the next day with my thoughts on who went where and how I feel about it.

BRING ON THE DRAFT! I’m excited.

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The WWE, using portraits like the one above, all venom, veins and spit, like to convey that this man is the type of man capable of killing his family. Then when he follows through with the concept, everyone acts surprised.

It is also of note that everyone claimed he had rabies.

L’intérêt n’a cessé de grandir dans l’hexagone pour le résultat des élections primaires américaines. En raison d’abord du suspens ; par ses enjeux ensuite. Le choix du futur président des Etats Unis est tout sauf indifférent dans un monde plus menaçant que jamais, terrorisme, prolifération nucléaire, conflit Nord/Sud, réchauffement climatique, bio diversité, etc. Mais il y a aussi les leçons « françaises » que tireront inévitablement journalistes et responsables politiques et, plus particulièrement celles qui concernent l’avenir de la gauche hexagonale, en raison du duel Clinton/Obama.

On n’échappera évidemment pas aux parallèles grossiers qu’imagineront les esprits paresseux, ou opportunistes, pour désigner, en fonction du résultat, l’Obama français ou la Hillary tricolore. Si Barack Obama l’emporte, on trouvera mille raccourcis pour identifier dans le profil « résolument nouveau et moderne » de tel ou telle, le pedigree idéal. Peu importera que ce Obama bleu-blanc-rouge soit le produit du système ; peu importera ses véritables engagements politiques : dans une gauche en crise d’identité, une cure de jouvence politique peut faire office de remède miracle. Et comme Obama, le vrai, a le dos souple, on pourra aussi y voir le succès du candidat contre l’appareil, et ainsi justifier les stratégies de contournement du « vieux » parti socialiste.

Si Hillary Clinton l’emporte, on décrètera venu le « temps des femmes », on vantera la saga d’une femme « seule contre tous ». Dans son recentrage stratégique, on saluera et on distinguera une recette stratégique à succès. On pourra inversement exalter le succès d’une carrière blanchie sous le harnais de l’appareil démocrate et des institutions de Washington. Bref, chacun pourra trouver matière à instrumentaliser la victoire de l’une ou de l’autre, à alimenter les pages désespérément blanches du projet politique de la gauche française.

L’essentiel ? Il est ailleurs, dans la leçon qu’inflige la vieille démocratie américaine aux dirigeants politiques français pressés, au nom de la modernité, d’en finir avec les « archaïsmes. La démocratie américaine conserve, dans ses rites et traditions, une capacité à propager la culture démocratique. Admirable vieillerie que ces primaires où les candidats sont départagés selon le nombre de partisans qui s’agglutinent autour de leur banderole dans le fin fond d’un gymnase ou d’une église. Et pourtant, il ne se trouve aucun candidat défait pour contester, au terme des primaires, la légitimité démocratique du vainqueur.

Ce système permet de brasser le personnel politique comme dans aucune autre démocratie. Tous les quatre ans, le casting change. Il n’y a pas de prime au redoublement. Quel autre système propose-t-il un tel renouvellement ? Là où les élites françaises se reproduisent entre elles d’une génération à l’autre, les Etats Unis sont capables d’élire un marchand de chemises (Truman), un second rôle d’Hollywood (Reagan) et demain, peut-être, le premier leader noir d’une démocratie occidentale. Enfin, l’intérêt de cette élection tient aux thèmes qui structurent le débat politique américain. Cinq exemples :

Les restrictions au libre échange : parmi les démocrates il y a consensus sur la nécessité de maîtriser les échanges commerciaux afin de préserver l’emploi et protéger l’environnement. Hillary Clinton exige une pause dans les accords commerciaux, Obama des barrières pour protéger l’environnement. Et tous deux dénoncent l’hémorragie des emplois liés à une mondialisation mal régulée.

La protection sociale : à l’heure où les modèles sociaux européens font office d’accusé numéro un pour justifier la faiblesse de la croissance, on parle Outre Atlantique de protection de la retraite par répartition et de couverture santé pour tous !

La politique fiscale : les démocrates proposent de renouer avec la progressivité des prélèvements et de supprimer les réductions d’impôts accordées aux plus riches pour financer les nouvelles politiques fédérales. Le Logement : suite à la crise des "subprimes", qui a provoqué l’expulsion de leurs logement des centaines de milliers de ménages surendettés, les démocrates parlent d’intervention de l’Etat pour garantir l’habitat des familles les plus exposées.

La régularisation des immigrés clandestins : les démocrates débattent ouvertement des conditions de régularisation des 12 millions de clandestins ( !)qui travaillent et habitent aux Etats Unis.

Dans un récent ouvrage, « L’Obscénité démocratique » (*), Régis Debray dénonce parmi les nouveaux « spectres » de la démocratie française, « la transparence, l’authenticité et la proximité », ces substituts au clivage droite/gauche, au débat démocratique. Ces spectres n’ont évidemment pas quitté la scène politique américaine. Mais, ici, nous courons le risque de ne retenir de l’élection américaine que le récit d’une "success story". Notre responsabilité, à gauche, est d’affirmer que la modernité politique tient notamment dans la restauration des capacités régulatrices de la puissance publique (nationale ou continentale), dans le renforcement des protections individuelles et collectives, dans une nouvelle redistribution des richesses favorable à la protection de l’environnement, et dans des politiques ouvertes d’immigration. Voilà ce que la campagne américaine nous enseigne.

(*) Flammarion, 120 pages, 12 euros

Jericho, Chris. A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex. Lebanon, IN: Grand Central Publishing, 2007.

A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex is a great book. Divided into fifty-five chapters, it tells the story of Jericho’s career wrestling in several countries, including Japan, Canada, Germany, Mexico, and various wresting promotions in the United States, such as WWE/F, WCW, ECW, and Smokey Mountain Wrestling. I’m not going to go into great detail here, because I think it would really spoil a fabulous book, but here are some of the highlights:

In the author’s note, Jericho says that this book was written before the Chris Benoit Tragedy, and that it is only about his life before the year 2000. As such, it only reflects on the Benoit that Jericho knew up to that point. If you want to know his thoughts on the Benoit tragedy, you have to buy the sequel. (Way to sell a book you haven’t written yet. I’m impressed.)

We start with his childhood in Manitoba, Canada, and get a feeling of how he became obsessed with wresting. Then it’s off to the Dungeon (The Hart Brothers’ Wrestling Camp) to learn to be one of the best in the business. Jericho has good and bad things to say about his time in the Dungeon, but does make it clear that he’s who he is today because of it. He also expressed disappointment that the Hart Brothers weren’t really there. Keith Hart made an appearance the first day and gave the students a speech, but other than that, Jericho never saw any of them while he was there. He says he was later able to get Stu Hart as an instructor, but his first experience in wrestling school was really no different than it would have been anywhere else.

We’re off to Mexico, where Jericho wrestled as “Corozon de Leon” or “Lion Heart” in Spanish. He quickly became friends with two other guys in the promotion, Los Gringos Locos – Art Barr and Eddy Guerrero. Jericho relates the first time he met Eddy in a hotel room. Eddy was drunk off his ass and was being rude to Jericho, and making fun of him. He asked him who he was. Jericho replied, “Corozon de Leon. It means ‘Lion Heart’ in Spanish.” Eddy yelled, “I’m Mexican! I know what it means!” Jericho has a tendency to say stupid things whenever he meets wrestlers more famous than himself, apparently. (Don’t work, Y2J, I’m sure I’d say something way more stupid than that.)

Jericho then relates his time in Germany. He met Fit Finlay while working there. Finlay was working for a competing company. He came up to Jericho, and introduced himself and then asked Jericho to deliver a message for him. He wanted Jericho to go back to his own company and tell them they were a “bunch of cunts”.

He covers Japan next. I don’t even know how to tell you about this part without ruining the book. Just go out and read it. This section is great stuff.

There isn’t a whole lot on ECW. Jericho seems to have really loved his time there, but it was a short amount of time, so there isn’t a whole lot to say. His tales of Heyman’s amazing ability to lie to peoples faces are hilarious.

WCW is next. This is probably the most interesting section to me, because it is where I was truly introduced to Jericho, so it’s what I remember most clearly. He’ll tell you all about the backstage crap, especially his real life feud with Goldberg. But my absolute favorite part is his section on going to Vince McMahon’s mansion for contract negotiations to jump ship to the WWE.

And just like that, the countdown to the Y2J problem began. Too bad we have to wait for part two to read about it!

This book is fabulous. It’s filled with hilarious stories. It’s also got some tearful parts – The deaths of Owen Hart and Art Barr, even how his mother was paralyzed. However, this is a highly energetic, fun read that I literally could not put down.

I also really liked the fact that he didn’t throw a lot of personal shots out there. He had problems with guys like Goldberg and Bischoff, but he was able to still compliment them on what he thought they had done right. I was impressed to learn that his arch-nemesis is Vampiro, who apparently tried to sabotage Jericho’s career at several points in time. Vampiro is about the only person Jericho is truly rude to in this book.

OVERALL RATING: 10/10. It simply doesn’t get much better than this book. Only the sequel might compete. I’ll be here to review it as soon as it’s out.