Trench's Pro Wrestling Report: Good Week for Pro Wrestling

* Jack Hardy's Angry
* Matt Morgan's a STUD
* SummerSlam Match-up?



I've decided to do things a little differently this week and give the report a little more structure.

Smackdown 8/1: I really liked seeing an angry Jeff Hardy. I just wish they weren't using his personal tragedies to push the storyline. I don't see the point of jobbing him out to the Mediocre Khali either. Who does that really help?

Mick Foley's promo on Edge couldn't have been more awesome. Further evidence of why Mick Foley is such a legend. If you haven't seen his greatest promos you need to find his promos as Cactus Jack from the old ECW. (You knew I had to bring that up at least once.) Anyway if we're lucky this is the opportunity that brings back the Edge that we love to hate. Again, it's too bad that this storyline has to be driven by a bad wedding angle.

TNA Impact Replay 8/2: I don't watch TNA on Thursday Nights because Burn Notice is on at the same time so I try to catch the replays on Saturday nights.

Matt Morgan is a stud. They should be building the promotion around him not to mention some of the other younger guys. I mean wouldn't you rather see Samoa Joe vs. Matt Morgan than Samoa Joe vs. Booker T? As much respect as I have for guys like Kurt Angle, Sting, and Booker T, their names aren't exactly increasing TNA's ratings. If I was Jeff Jarrett and Jim Cornette I'd be pushing the young guys to the moon.

TNA loves to do comedy and I think they do it well. Curry Man, Shark Boy, and Super Eric just crack me up. But let's not overdo it. It's a rough transition to go from Shark Boy hilarity to a pissed off Samoa Joe.

The new women's champion is boring and generic. I can't even think of her name off the top of my head. She's a decent wrestler but she doesn't grab my attention. I don't find it believable that she beat Awesome Kong twice either. I'd rather see Roxxi or ODB holding the belt.

WWE Saturday Night's Main Event: I didn't watch it for two reasons. One, I forgot it was on which should tell you how great of a job WWE did in promoting it. Two, while I think Autism is a horrible disease I also think Jenny McCarthy is a tool for spreading fear for blaming her son's Autism on vaccinations. The Autism people may want to find a better spokesperson.

Anyway from what I read SNME was lame.

RAW 8/4/08: I actually like Mike Adamle as the RAW GM. It's something new which is something that wrestling in general is lacking these days.

Santino Morella is comedy gold. TNA should take note on how to do their comedy bits.

I thought it was ridiculous how much praise Lawler and Cole were pouring on Adamle throughout the show considering Michael Cole got his head handed to him last week because of Adamle.

CM Punk vs. JBL at Summerslam? Really? Why is JBL still even on TV? He's not being booed because he's the bad guy. He's being booed because people are tired of him. At least that's what I hope they're booing him for. Jericho vs CM Punk would have been epic but I realize they'll do something with Jericho and HBK at Summerslam. Hopefully Punk will retain and they can have the Punk-Jericho match later.

News: The big story on the dirt sheet sites this week was that WWE has parted ways with Ric Flair. The buzz is that Flair was unhappy with WWE not allowing him to book outside appearances. If I was TNA I'd be offering him whatever they could. Even to have him in a non-wrestling role would be quite the coup for TNA.

All in all a pretty good week. Which means next week should suck hard.

by Trench Reynolds

2008 WWE Draft Report

So, big doings on last night's RAW with the 2008 Draft. Not surprisingly, RAW got the better end of the deal. Since it's the flagship WWE show that was pretty much a given. However, the draft was a dead giveaway for what's going to happen at the Night of Champions PPV. HHH will retain the title and go to Smackdown, if he doesn't get traded back to RAW again. Edge will lose to Batista and Batista takes that title to RAW.



I'm glad they kept the Hardy's on separate brands, but Matt Hardy to ECW? He's about as extreme as wheat toast. Then again, it's still not the real ECW. And yes, I will bring that up every time--thanks for asking. I thought Umaga would have been a better fit for ECW than Matt Hardy.

Speaking of Hardys: if HHH stays on Smackdown, I hope they do a program with Jeff Hardy and HHH. Even with Jeff''s past transgressions, he's over with the crowd like crazy and deserves a chance at the title.

The HBK/Y2J angle went pretty much the way I thought it should. However, they need to make Shawn Michaels' 'injuries' more traumatic to really have impact. When HBK hit his face on the table, it made him look like the most fragile man in the world. If you want to see how to really make an impact with a fake eye injury, look up how Tommy Dreamer and the Sandman did it back in the original ECW. At least they let the heel (Jericho) go out on top. That's how you get the fans to keep coming back.

They'll pay to see the villain get his comeuppance.



Who is more boring on the mic, Randy 'Sominex' Orton or 'Talentless' Ted DiBiase Jr.?

Then, a pretty solid show turned into another typical WWE crapfest with the set collapsing on Vince McMahon. The last time they did an angle like this was right before Chris Benoit killed his family. You'd think they'd stay away from angles like this, just because of the history.

Anyway, I personally would like to see the angles revolve around the
wrestling--and not the soap opera.

by Trench Reynolds
images: Trench Network

WWE: RAW Giveaway Gimmick More Exciting than Action in the Ring

Trench's Pro Wrestling Report



[NOTE:DBKP's Trench Reynolds usually labors in the fields of crime. With this post, he begins a labor of love: reporting on the drama that is pro wrestling.]


My name is Trench Reynolds and I blog about cr...
No, wait. That's a different day.

My name is Trench Reynolds and I've been a professional wrestling fan since 1982. I first started watching wrestling when I caught a rare TV match of Superfly Jimmy Snuka vs. The Magnificent Don Muraco and I've been hooked ever since.

I've seen the glory days of The Four Horseman and the rise and fall of Hulkimania. I watched the WWF go from cartoonish to the Attitude Era. I watched every week of the Monday Night Wars.

I started watching the original ECW when the E stood for Eastern.

So I know a little bit about wrestling. I still haven't figured out where I'm going with these wrestling posts yet, but come along for the ride, won't you?

So last night was the first night of Vince McMahon's million-dollar giveaway on Monday Night Raw. I'll be honest with you: I was glued to the TV and my cell phone was always within arms reach, like a sucker. I only registered once, but I figured that would be enough. So basically, Vince McMahon's gimmick worked: he kept me--and probably millions of other fans--watching his program.

The only problem was that there wasn't much in the ring to keep me watching between giveaways.



For example, Ken Kennedy is probably the most entertaining wrestler on RAW today, but when you put him in there with plain Paul Burchill, it's a snoozefest. Burchill was more entertaining when he was a pirate, but I digress.

Then you throw the usual suspects of John Cena, JBL, and HHH, in there and I could really could've cared less. If Randy Orton had been on RAW last night, I probably would have killed myself due to boredom. The only interesting part of RAW last night was when Chris Jericho threw Shawn Michaels into the TV.

Not exactly Roddy Piper hitting Jimmy Snuka with a coconut, but not bad. I was actually surprised by that. I think it would have been more dramatic if HBK had been bleeding, but from what I understand, he doesn't like to blade all that much.

My point is: if you're going to use a ratings gimmick like giving away millions of dollars to attract eyeballs, you're going to need to do something to keep those eyeballs once they're there.

Right now, RAW is not putting that product on TV--and I don't see it improving anytime soon.

by Trench Reynolds
image: the sun; Trench Reynolds; Ultimate Wrestling Gallery

DBKP Today in Weird History: March 7, 2008

WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTER, POLITICS, PATENTS, PROGRESS, COMING WAR, ASSASSINATION, PRONOUNCEMENTS, JAZZ, LABOR, PRO WRESTLING, SPORTS, JEWS, OH NO, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, HEALTH NAZIS, CIVIL RIGHTS,BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH

GAMES

1933 Game of "Monopoly" invented.

WAR!

1945 during World War II, U.S. forces crossed the Rhine River at Remagen, Germany, using the damaged but still usable Ludendorff Bridge.

1991 Iraq continues to explode oil fields in Kuwait.

TERRORISM

1981 anti-government guerrillas in Colombia executed kidnapped American Bible translator Chester Allen Bitterman, whom they accused of being a CIA agent.

2007 A suicide attacker blew himself up in a cafe northeast of Baghdad, killing 30 people.

DISASTER

2007 Ten people were killed in the Bronx, N.Y., when fire tore through their home.

CIVIL RIGHTS

1965 A march by civil rights demonstrators was broken up in Selma, Ala., by state troopers and a sheriff's posse.

PRONOUNCEMENTS

1908 Cincinnati Mayor Mark Breith stood before city council & announced that, "women are not physically fit to operate automobiles".

SPORTS

1955 Baseball commissioner Ford Frick says he favors legalization of the spitter.

PRO WRESTLING

1940 Ray Steele beats B Nagurski in St Louis, to become wrestling champion.

HEALTH NAZIS

1997 5 sue Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, because his smoking has violated the country's constitution guaranteeing a wholesome life.

OH NO

1981 1st homicide at Disneyland, 18 year old is stabbed to death.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

1993 Diff'rent Stroke actor Todd Bridges arrested for stabbing a tenant.

JAZZ

1917 1st jazz record "Dixie Jazz Band One Step", recorded by Nick LaRocca Original Dixieland Jazz Band, released by RCA Victor in Camden NJ.

LABOR

1932 Riots at Ford-factory Dearborn MI, kills 4.

1967 Teamster president Jimmy Hoffa begins 8-year jail sentence at Lewisburg Federal Prison for defrauding the union & jury tampering (commuted Dec 23, 1971).

KILLERS

2007 Sex offender John Evander Couey was found guilty in Miami of kidnapping, raping and murdering 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford, who was buried alive.

POLITICS

1850 In a 3-hour speech to the U.S. Senate, Daniel Webster endorsed the Compromise of 1850 as a means of preserving the Union.

1975 The Senate revised its filibuster rule, allowing 60 senators to limit debate in most cases, instead of the previously required two-thirds of senators present.

PATENTS

1854 Charles Miller patents 1st US sewing machine to stitch buttonholes

1876 Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for his telephone.

PROGRESS

1926 The first successful trans-Atlantic radio-telephone conversations took place, between New York and London.

JEWS

1977 Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin meets President Carter.

COMING WAR

1774 British close port of Boston to all commerce.

1936 Adolf Hitler ordered his troops to march into the Rhineland, thereby breaking the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact.

1998 Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, speaking in Rome, said the U.S. wouldn't tolerate any more violence in Kosovo, which she blamed on Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

ASSASSINATION

1951 Ali Razmara Shah of Iran (1950-51), assassinated.

BORN

1849 horticulturist Luther Burbank was born in Lancaster, Mass.

BIRTHDAYS

Comedian Alan Sues is 82. Photographer Lord Snowdon is 78. TV personality Willard Scott is 74. Auto racer Janet Guthrie is 70. Actor Daniel J. Travanti is 68. Former Walt Disney Co. chief executive officer Michael Eisner is 66. Rock musician Chris White (The Zombies) is 65. Actor John Heard is 62. Rock singer Peter Wolf is 62. Rock musician Matthew Fisher (Procol Harum) is 62. Football Hall of Famer Franco Harris is 58. Football Hall of Famer Lynn Swann is 56. Rhythm-and-blues singer-musician Ernie Isley (The Isley Brothers) is 56. Actor Bryan Cranston is 52. Actress Donna Murphy is 49. Actor Nick Searcy is 49. Tennis Hall of Famer Ivan Lendl is 48. Actor Bill Brochtrup is 45. Opera singer Denyce Graves is 44. Comedian Wanda Sykes is 44. Singer-actress Taylor Dayne is 43. Rock musician Randy Guss (Toad the Wet Sprocket) is 41. Actor Peter Sarsgaard is 37. Actress Rachel Weisz is 37. Classical singer Sebastien Izambard (Il Divo) is 35. Rock singer Hugo Ferreira (Tantric) is 34. Actress Jenna Fischer is 34. Actress Audrey Marie Anderson is 33. Actress Laura Prepon is 28.

DEATH

322 -BC- Aristotle dies.

1959 Hinsdale Smith developer of roll-down auto windows, dies at 88.

1985 Victor W Farris inventor of paper milk carton, etc, dies.

1988 Divine [Harris Glenn Milstead] transvestite actor (Hairspray, Polyester, Pink Flamingos), dies in Los Angeles at 42.

1999 movie director Stanley Kubrick died in Hertfordshire, England, at age 70.

March 7, the 67th day of 2008. There are 299 days left in the year.

compiled by Mondoreb
image: northstargeneral
Sources:
* Today in History
* Today in History

DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Wrestling's 2nd Golden Age Death Toll

The WWF's 1980s Legion of Death

Andre the Giant
Died 1-27-1993, Age 51
Cause of death: Congestive Heart Failure [Wiki]
Image [Geocities]

The WWF expansion in the 1980s was known as "Wrestling's Second Golden Age". It also racked up quite a death toll, with many of that era's stars dead at an early age. A look at some of the biggest who've passed away.

Although the best-known of the wrestlers then was perhaps Hulk Hogan, Hogan is one of the few still alive today.

We were searching for popular wrestlers from the 1980s and was surprised to find how many of them had passed away. In fact, if you look at the WWF's superstars from the '80s, most are part of the WWF's Golden Age Death Toll.

The 1980s wrestling boom (sometimes referred to as the 2nd Golden Age of Wrestling) was a surge in the popularity of professional wrestling in the United States of America throughout the 1980s.

The expansion of cable television and pay-per-view, coupled with the efforts of promoters such as Vince McMahon, saw professional wrestling shift from a system controlled by numerous regional companies to a system dominated by two nationwide companies: Ted Turner's World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and McMahon's World Wrestling Federation (WWF).

The decade also saw a considerable decline in the power of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), a cartel which had until then domineered the wrestling landscape, and in the efforts to sustain belief in the verisimilitude of wrestling.

WWF in the 1980s was big, brash and mouthy--and expanding across the country at a speed unknown to pro wrestling up until that time.

A salute to the Pro Wrestling Super Stars who are no longer with us.

We'll start with Andre the Giant.

Andre's drinking exploits were legendary.



Andre the Giant was well-known and well-liked among wrestling fans. He was a giant draw to crowds, too.

Wherever he went, crowds of the curious and pro wrestling fans were sure to follow.

For proof of his drawing power, look no further than Wrestlemania III in 1987. The main event was Andre vs. Hulk Hogan. The show drew the first million-dollar gate in wrestling history, set a pay-per-view record that lasted a decade, and set the all-time indoor attendance record for any live event ever—78,000+ butts in seats at the Pontiac Silver Dome in Detroit—destroying the previous record set by some rock band called the Rolling Stones.

His rematch with Hogan two months later, broadcast live on NBC, attracted 33 million viewers, making it the most watched wrestling match ever.

Andre's drinking, as stated were legendary.

But they were no legend. The man liked his alcohol.

The big man loved two things: wrestling and booze—mostly booze—and his appetites were of mythic proportion.

First, consider the number 7,000. It’s an important number, and a rather scary one considering its context, which is this—it has been estimated that Andre the Giant drank 7,000 calories worth of booze every day. The figure doesn’t include food. Just booze.

If Andre were consuming lite beer, that would work out to over 720 beers a day--60 cases of beer.

Sound impossible? Not so fast.

Vince [McMahon]Sr. pondered the situation and arrived at a novel solution. He wanted to keep the big man happy, so he bought a trailer and had it customized just for Andre. With plenty of room to spread out and relax, Andre could now travel in a semblance of comfort, which allowed him to do some serious boozing. During trips Andre consumed beer at the incredible rate of a case every ninety minutes, with bottles of vodka or top-rate French wine thrown in for variety.

It's been reported that Andre's bar bill for a month of shooting the Princess Bride came to over $40,000.

R.I.P. Andre the Giant.

"Sensational" Sherri Martel (with Macho Man Randy Savage)
Died: 6-15-2007, Age 49
Cause of death: Accidental Drug Overdose
Source [Wiki]
Image [images.google]

Other WWF wrestlers from the 1980s no longer with us.

Sylvester 'Junkyard Dog' Ritter
Died June 2, 1998, Age 46
Cause of death: Single car accident [Wiki]
Image [img69.imageshack]

Bam Bam Bigelow
Died 1-19-2007, Age 46
Cause of death: Drug overdose [Wiki]
Image [mcstylin]

Curt 'Mr. Perfect' Henning
Died: 2-10-2003, Age 45
Cause of death: Drug overdose [Wiki]
Image [mcstylin]

Brian 'The Crush' Adams
Died: 8-13-2007, Age 44
Cause of death: Accidental drug overdose [Wiki]
Image [i.a.cnn]

The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith
Died: 5-18-2002, Age 40
Cause of death: Cardiac Arrest [Wiki]
Image [images.google]

'Flyin' Brian Pillman
Died 10-5-1997, Age 35
Cause of death: arteriosclerotic heart disease [Wiki]
Image [images-google]

'Ravishing' Rick Rude
Died: 4-20-1999, Age 41
Cause of death: Heart failure [wiki]
Image [All Posters]

Miss Elizabeth & 'Macho Man' Randy Savage
Died: 5-1-2003, Age 42, Cause of death: Drug overdose
Source [Wiki]
Image [quickstop entertainment]

The Death of Miss Elizabeth

Elizabeth Hulette, or as she was better known as "Miss Elizabeth, was the woman who defined the role of the valet. She died early on May 1, 2003 after Atlanta police responded to a 911 call at the home of Larry Pfohl, better known to wrestling fans as Lex Luger. Hulette was 42 when she passed away.

Hulette was alive when police arrived and later died at a local hospital at a little after 5:30 am. Police reports at the time indicate that Hulette had mixed vodka with painkillers in the hours before she died.

For most of today's core wrestling audience, Hulette was a large part of the early wrestling experience. As Miss Elizabeth in the mid- and late '80s in the then-WWF, Hulette was Macho Man Randy Savage's. manager. She also managed the Mega Powers team of Hulk Hogan and Savage, an angle that thrust her--and the valet role--into the limelight.

Hulette, who debuted in WWE in May 1985, was the first female of the new-look WWE. Her drawing power paved the way for future women to have major mainstream success. Though she was mostly silent in her WWE days, Miss Elizabeth was the gorgeous, petite brains behind Savage's brawny success. She didn't wrestle and didn't get intimately involved with Savage's matches. She was--plain and simple--eye candy. She was good at it, and the fans loved her for it.

Eddie Guerrero
Died 11-13-2005, Age 41,
Cause of death: arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease
Source [Wiki]
Image: Geocities

Although Chris Benoit wasn't part of the 1980s Pro Wrestling Boom, we still included him as part of the Death Toll.

Chris Benoit
Died: 6-24-2007, Age 40
Cause of death: Suicide, murdered his wife & 7-yr-old son
Source [Wiki]
Image [z.about]

The plotlines in the WWF were interesting and fun.

And as always in Pro Wrestling, the most unneeded person in the ring was the referee.

by Mondoreb & LBG
Sources:
* Miss Elizabeth: the Death of Mrs. Macho Man
* Do You have a favorite Drunkard?
* 1980s Wrestling Boom



DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

DBKP's Today in Weird History: February 6, 2008

WAR, DISASTERS, CREEPY, WHISKERS, BOO, RECORDS, PAGE TWO, BANDITS, GAMES, HOBBIES, NANNY STATE, POLITICS, CIVIL RIGHTS, SMOKE NAZIS, PRO WRESTLING, GOLF, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, POPULATION, PIRATES, SPERM CONTROL, JEWS, GEEZERS, CLINTONS, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH


1911 Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, was born in Tampico, Ill.

WAR!

1778 France recognizes US, signs treaty of aid in Paris; 1st US treaty. England declares war on France.

1862 Victory for General Ulysses S Grant in Tennessee, capturing Fort Henry, and ten days later Fort Donelson; Grant earns the nickname "Unconditional Surrender" Grant.

1899 A peace treaty between the United States and Spain was ratified by the U.S. Senate.

2003 Edging closer to war, President Bush declared "the game is over" for Saddam Hussein and urged skeptical allies to join in disarming Iraq.

DISASTERS

1911 Great fire destroys downtown Constantinople/Istanbul Turkey.

1951 "Broker Special" train crashes in Woodbridge NJ, killing 84

1958 7 soccer players of Manchester United die in an air crash at Munich.

1992 16 people were killed when a C-130 military transport plane crashed in Evansville, Ind.

1996 A Turkish-owned Boeing 757 jetliner crashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff from the Dominican Republic, killing 189 people, mostly German tourists.

CREEPY

2003 ABC's "20/20" aired a British documentary on Michael Jackson in which the singer revealed he sometimes let children sleep in his bed.

WHISKERS

1869 Harper's Weekly publishes 1st picture of Uncle Sam with chin whiskers.

BOO!

1956 French premier Guy Mollet pelted with tomatoes in Algiers.

PAGE TWO

1951 Radio commentator Paul Harvey arrested for trying to sneak into the Argonne National Laboratory, Chicago IL.

RECORDS

1990 Steve Briers of Wales recited the entire lyrics of Queen's album "A Night At The Opera" in 9 minutes & 58.44 seconds backwards!

BANDITS

1891 1st great train robbery by Dalton Gang (Southern Pacific #17).

GAMES

1935 Board game "Monopoly" goes on sale for the 1st time.

PRO WRESTLING

1977 Harley Race beats Terry Funk in Toronto, to become NWA wrestling champion.

HOBBIES

1948 1st radio-controlled airplane flown.

GOLF

1968 Former President Dwight Eisenhower shot a hole-in-one.

1971 1st time a golf ball is hit on the Moon (by Alan Shepard).

NANNY STATE

1953 US controls on wages & some consumer goods were lifted.

CIVIL RIGHTS

1956 University of Alabama refuses admission to Autherine Lucy (because he's black).

SMOKE NAZIS



1987 No-smoking rules take effect in federal buildings.

POLITICS

1788 Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

1933 the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, the so-called "lame duck" amendment, was proclaimed in effect by Secretary of State Henry Stimson.

SPERM CONTROL

1997 Diane Blood, 32, in England, won right to use her dead husbands sperm.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

1959 Fidel Castro is interviewed by Edward R Murrow.

POPULATION

1820 US population announced at 9,638,453 (1,771,656 blacks (18.4%)).

PIRATES!

1832 US ship destroys Sumatran village in retaliation for piracy.

JEWS

1902 Young Women's Hebrew Association organized in New York NY.

GEEZERS

1911 1st old-age home opened in Prescott AZ.

CLINTONS

1998 President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair redoubled their pledge to use military force against Iraq if necessary; during a joint news conference in which the subject of former White House intern Monica Lewinsky came up, Clinton said he would "never" resign. President Clinton signed a bill changing the name of Washington National Airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

BORN

1756 America's third vice president, Aaron Burr, was born in Newark, N.J.

1833 James Ewell Brown "JEB" Stuart Major General (Commander of Cavalry, Confederate Army).

1895 George Herman (Babe) Ruth Baltimore MD, baseball great (Yankees).

1912 Eva Braun mistress of Adolf Hitler.

BIRTHDAYS

Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor is 91. Actor Patrick Macnee is 86. Actor Rip Torn is 77. Actress Mamie Van Doren is 77. Actor Mike Farrell is 69. Former NBC News anchorman Tom Brokaw is 68. Singer Fabian is 65. Actress Gayle Hunnicutt is 65. Actor Michael Tucker is 64. Producer-director-writer Jim Sheridan is 59. Singer Natalie Cole is 58. Actor Jon Walmsley is 52. Actress Kathy Najimy is 51. Rock musician Simon Phillips (Toto) is 51. Actor-director Robert Townsend is 51. Actor Barry Miller is 50. Actress Megan Gallagher is 48. Rock singer Axl Rose (Guns N' Roses) is 46. Country singer Richie McDonald is 46. Singer Rick Astley is 42. Rock musician Tim Brown (Boo Radleys) is 39. Actor Brandon Hammond is 24.

DEATH

1804 Joseph Priestley England/US theologist/philosopher/chemist, dies at 70.

1952 Britain's King George VI died; he was succeeded by his daughter, Elizabeth II.

2007 Singer Frankie Laine died in San Diego at age 93.

February 6, the 37th day of 2008. There are 329 days left in the year. Today is Ash Wednesday.

compiled by Mondoreb
images: redstateleader; RidesAPaleHorse
Sources:
* Today in History
* Today in History



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Super Bowl Involved in Scandal,Too?

Could NFL Teams Have Fake Fans?

Controversial Tell-All Book Reveals Wrestling Fans Are Fake

Is pro wrestling alone?

With the Super Bowl about to begin, could pro football also be involved?

by Mondoreb




Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

DBKP Today in Weird History: January 28, 2008

SPACE, WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTERS, CLINTON, OUCH, AUTOGRAPHS, TRY TRY AGAIN, DOMINOES, PRO WRESTLING, EXECUTIONS, TRIALS, IMMIGRANTS, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, REBELS, ABORTION, SPORTS, COLLEGE, POLITICS, 90210, PROGRESS, CREATED, JEWS, ROYALS, BORN, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH



SPACE

1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center, killing all seven of its crew members: flight commander Francis R. "Dick" Scobee; pilot Michael Smith; Ronald McNair; Ellison Onizuka; Judith Resnik; Gregory Jarvis; and schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.

WAR!

1915 1st US ship lost in WWI, William P Frye (carrying wheat to UK).

1944 683 British bombers attack Berlin.

1945 During World War II, Allied supplies began reaching China over the newly reopened Burma Road.

1973 A cease-fire officially went into effect in the Vietnam War.

2003 President Bush, girding the nation for war, said in his State of the Union address that Saddam Hussein had shown "utter contempt" for the world community and had to be held to account.

2007 U.S.-backed Iraqi troops attacked insurgents allegedly plotting to kill pilgrims at a major Shiite Muslim religious festival; Iraqi officials estimated some 300 militants died in the daylong battle near Najaf. (A U.S. helicopter crashed during the fight, killing two American soldiers.)

TERRORISM

1982 US General Dozier freed from Red Brigade of Padua Italy.

DISASTERS

1393 Fire during Royal Ball at Paris, 4 die (Ball of the Ardents).

1978 Fire swept through the historic downtown Coates House hotel in Kansas City, Mo., killing 20 people.

1981 Olympic Glory tanker at Galveston Bay, Texas, spills 1 million gallons of oil in a ship collision.

1994 Helicopter crashes into office building in San Jose CA, 1 dead.

CLINTONS

1998 The day after denying he "had sexual relations with that woman, Monica Lewinsky", President Bill Clinton barnstormed in the nation's heartland, where he was warmly received; accompanying him was Vice President Al Gore, who urged Americans to "join me in supporting him and standing by his side." The day before, Clinton delivered both his denial of the Lewinsky affair and his State of the Union address.

OUCH!

1962 Johanne Relleke gets stung by bees 2,443 times in Rhodesia & survives.

AUTOGRAPHS

1978 Ted Nugent autographs a fan's arm with his knife.

TRY TRY AGAIN

1984 Mr Glynn Wolfe marries for non-bigamous record 26th time, Las Vegas NV.

DOMINOES

1984 Record 295,000 dominoes toppled, Fuerth, West Germany.

PRO WRESTLING

1987 Wrestler Jim Neidhart indicted for assaulting a flight attendant.

EXECUTIONS

1829 William Burke murderer/body snatcher, executed in Edinburgh.

TRIALS

1950 Preston Tucker, auto maker, found not guilty of mail fraud.

IMMIGRANTS

1915 US President Wilson refuses to prohibit immigration of illiterates.




MAINSTREAM MEDIA

1973 "Barnaby Jones" premieres on CBS TV.

1978 "Fantasy Island" starring Ricardo Montalban premieres on ABC TV.

REBELS

1810 Andrew Hofer Tyrolian rebel against French & Bavarians, shot dead.

ABORTION

1935 Iceland becomes 1st country to legalize abortion.

1988 Canada's Supreme court declares anti-abortion law unconstitutional.

SPORTS

1960 NFL announces Dallas Cowboys (1960) & Minnesota Vikings (1961) franchises.

COLLEGE

1878 The first daily college newspaper, Yale News (now Yale Daily News), began publication in New Haven, Conn.

POLITICS

1909 The United States ended direct control over Cuba.

90210

1914 Beverly Hills, California, is incorporated.

PROGRESS

1878 1st telephone exchange (New Haven CT).

1878 George W Coy hired as 1st full-time telephone operator.

CREATED

1915 The United States Coast Guard was created as President Woodrow Wilson signed into law a bill merging the Life-Saving Service and Revenue Cutter Service.

JEWS

1916 Louis D. Brandeis was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson to the Supreme Court; Brandeis became the court's first Jewish member.

2003 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Likud party and other hawkish parties won a resounding victory in Israel's parliamentary elections.

ROYALS

2007 Britain's Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, met with New York schoolchildren as they visited Harlem during their whirlwind American weekend.

BORN

1722 Johann Ernst Bach composer.

1825 George Edward Pickett Major General (Confederate Army), died in 1875.

1853 Cuban revolutionary Jose Marti was born in Havana.

1910 John Banner Vienna Austria, actor (Sergeant Hans Schultz-Hogan's Heroes).

1912 Jackson Pollock Cody WY, abstract artist (Lavender Mist).

BIRTHDAYS

Musician-composer Acker Bilk is 79. Actor Nicholas Pryor is 73. Actor Alan Alda is 72. Actress Susan Howard is 66. Actress Marthe Keller is 63. Actress-singer Barbi Benton is 58. Actress Harley Jane Kozak is 51. Movie director Frank Darabont is 49. Rock musician Dave Sharp is 49. Rock singer Sam Phillips is 46. Rock musician Dan Spitz (Anthrax) is 45. Country musician Greg Cook (Ricochet) is 43. Singer Sarah McLachlan is 40. Rapper Rakim is 40. DJ Muggs (Cypress Hill) is 40. Actress Kathryn Morris ("Cold Case") is 39. Rhythm-and-blues singer Anthony Hamilton is 37. Rock musician Brandon Bush (Train) is 35. Singer Joey Fatone Jr. ('N Sync) is 31. Actress Rosamund Pike is 29. Singer Nick Carter (Backstreet Boys) is 28. Actor Elijah Wood is 27.

DEATH

814 Charlemagne German emperor/Roman Emperor (800-814), dies at 71.

1547 England's King Henry the VIII died; he was succeeded by his 9-year-old son, Edward the VI.

1980 Jimmy Durante New York City NY, comedian (Jimmy Durante Show), dies at 86.

2003 John Philip Thompson, who expanded his family's business into the nationwide 7-Eleven chain, died at age 77.

2007 The Rev. Robert Drinan, a priest who'd represented Massachusetts in the U.S. House during the 1970s, died in Washington, D.C., at age 86.

January 28, the 28th day of 2008. There are 338 days left in the year.

compiled by Mondoreb
image:
Sources:
* Today in History
* Today in History



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

DBKP Today in Weird History: January 26, 2008

CLINTONS, WAR, TERRORISM, DISASTERS, FALLS, NANNY STATE, MAINSTREAM MEDIA, CROWDS, LOTTO, DISCOVERY, ESCAPES, PRO WRESTLING, ROCKS, REST STOPS, PATENTS, JEWS, COMPUTERS, POLITICS, CIVIL RIGHTS, TAKEOVERS, RATIONING, BACK, MASSACRES, MURDERS, ASSASSINATION, NATIONS, SCIENCE, CELEBRATIONS, PARKS, TRIALS, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH


CLINTONS

1998 President Bill Clinton forcefully denied having an affair with a former White House intern, telling reporters: "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."

WAR!

1861 Louisiana seceded from the Union.

1862 Lincoln issues General War Order #1, calling for a Union offensive McClellan ignores order.

1942 The first American expeditionary force to go to Europe during World War II went ashore in Northern Ireland.

2003 Secretary of State Colin Powell, citing Iraq's lack of cooperation with U.N. inspectors, said he'd lost faith in the inspectors' ability to conduct a definitive search for banned weapons programs.

TERRORISM

2007 The White House said President Bush had authorized U.S. forces in Iraq to take whatever actions were necessary to counter Iranian agents deemed a threat to American troops or the public at large.

DISASTERS

1531 Lisbon hit by Earthquake; about 30,000 die.

1932 British submarine M-2 sinks in Channel (60 dead).

1947 KLM Dakota crashes near Copenhagen, 22 die.

1968 Israeli submarine Dakar crashes in Mediterranean Sea, 69 die.

FALLS

1972 Stewardess Vesna Vulovic survives 10,160m (6.31 miles) fall without parachute.

NANNY STATE

1838 Tennessee becomes 1st state to prohibit alcohol.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA

1979 "The Dukes of Hazzard" premieres on CBS's vast wasteland.

CROWDS

1980 175,000 pay to hear Frank Sinatra sing in Rio de Janeiro.

LOTTO

1991 New York Lotto pays $90 million to nine winner (#s are 5-15-30-35-46-50).

DISCOVERY

1788 The first European settlers in Australia, led by Capt. Arthur Phillip, landed in present-day Sydney.

ESCAPES

1920 Amadeo Modigliani's mistress jumps out of a window.

PRO WRESTLING

1987 Hart Foundation beat British Bulldogs for WWF tag team title.

ROCKS

1905 World's largest diamond, the 3,106-carat Cullinan, is found in South Africa.

REST STOP

1995 New Jersey Governor Christine Whitman, dedicates a rest stop to Howard Stern.

PATENTS

1875 Electric dental drill is patented by George F Green.

JEWS

1940 Nazis forbid Polish Jews to travel on trains.

1958 H Laskow replaces Moshe Dayan as Israeli minister of Defense.

COMPUTERS

1998 Intel launches 333 MHz Pentium II chip.

POLITICS

1837 Michigan became the 26th state.

2007 Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a news conference that a congressional resolution opposing President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq undercut U.S. commanders and emboldened the enemy.

CIVIL RIGHTS

1948 Executive Order 9981, end segregation in US Armed Forces signed.

TAKEOVERS

1841 Britain formally occupied Hong Kong, which the Chinese had ceded to the British.

RATIONING

1918 US food administrator Hoover calls for "wheatless" & "meatless" days for war effort.

MASSACRES

1885 Charles George Gordon, British Governor-General, executed (slain with troops by Sudanese in Khartoum) at 51.

BACK

In 1870, Virginia rejoined the Union.

MURDERS

1920 Matthias Enzberger German minister of finance, murdered.

1939 Professor Cristescu Romania's iron guard leader, murdered.

1965 Ali Mansoer premier of Persia, murdered.

1989 Stéphane Steinier Belgian journalist, kidnapped & murdered.

ASSASSINATIONS

1939 Armand Calinescu Romania's PM, assassinated by the iron guard.

NATIONS

1950 India officially proclaimed itself a republic as Rajendra Prasad took the oath of office as president.

SCIENCE

1962 the United States launched Ranger III to land scientific instruments on the moon — but the probe missed its target by more than 22,000 miles.

CELEBRATIONS

1988 Australians celebrated the 200th anniversary of their country as a grand parade of tall ships re-enacted the voyage of the first European settlers.

PARKS

1954 Ground breaking begins on Disneyland.

TRIALS

2007 Nine black youths were convicted in juvenile court in Long Beach, Calif., of beating three white women in a racially charged attack on Halloween night.

BIRTHDAYS

Actress Anne Jeffreys is 85. Actor Paul Newman is 83. Actress Joan Leslie is 83. Cartoonist Jules Feiffer is 79. Sportscaster-actor Bob Uecker is 73. Actor Scott Glenn is 69. Singer Jean Knight is 65. Activist Angela Davis is 64. Rock musician Corky Laing (Mountain) is 60. Actor David Strathairn is 59. Singer Lucinda Williams is 55. Rock singer-musician Eddie Van Halen is 53. Reggae musician Norman Hassan (UB40) is 50. Actress-comedian Ellen DeGeneres is 50. Hockey star Wayne Gretzky is 47. Musician Andrew Ridgeley is 45. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jazzie B. (Soul II Soul) is 45. Actor Paul Johansson is 44. Gospel singer Kirk Franklin is 38. Actress Jennifer Crystal is 35. Rock musician Chris Hesse (Hoobastank) is 34. Actress Sarah Rue is 30. Country musician Michael Martin (Marshall Dyllon) is 25.

DEATH

1979 former Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller died in New York at age 70.

January 26, the 26th day of 2008. There are 340 days left in the year.


compiled by Mondoreb
images:
Sources:
* Today in History
* Today in History



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Today in History: January 18, 2008

WAR!, DISASTERS, EXPLORERS, UFOs, KAISERS, EXHIBITIONS, DRUGS, JEWS, RATIONING, LOTTERIES, PROGRESS, SERIAL KILLERS, CIVIL RIGHTS, RUNAWAY PROSECUTORS, PRO WRESTLING, MUSIC, POPES, SPORTS, DEATH PENALTY, FINANCE, DIVORCE, BIRTHDAYS, DEATH



EXPLORERS

On Jan. 18, 1912, English explorer Robert F. Scott and his expedition reached the South Pole, only to discover that Roald Amundsen had beaten them to it. (Scott and his party perished during the return trip.)

WAR!

1862 Confederate Territory of Arizona is formed.

1919 the Paris Peace Conference, held to negotiate peace treaties ending World War I, opened in Versailles, France.

1943 During World War II, the Soviets announced they had broken through the long Nazi siege of Leningrad (it was another year before the siege was fully lifted).

2003 Top U.N. officials warned Iraq it was running out of time to cooperate and avoid war. Protesters nationwide and overseas demonstrated in opposition to possible war in Iraq.

DISASTERS

1915 Train crashes at Colima-Guadalajara Mexico, about 600 die.

1947 Small river steamer sank on Yangtze River, kills 400.

1988 Airliner crashes in SW China, killing all 108 on board.

EXPLORERS

1778, English navigator Capt. James Cook reached the Hawaiian Islands, which he dubbed the "Sandwich Islands."

UFOs

1644 Perplexed Pilgrims in Boston reported America's 1st UFO sighting.

KAISERS

1871 William I of Prussia was proclaimed German Emperor in Versailles, France.

EXHIBITIONS

1733 1st polar bear exhibited in America (Boston).

DRUGS

1990 Washington DC, Mayor Marion Barry arrested in drug enforcement sting.

JEWS

1943 Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto begin resistance of Nazis.

RATIONING

1943 A wartime ban on the sale of pre-sliced bread in the U.S. — aimed at reducing bakeries' demand for metal replacement parts — went into effect.

LOTTERIES

1986 New York Lotto pays $30.5 million to one winner (#s are 19-20-27-34-41-46).

PROGRESS

1911 1st shipboard landing of a plane (Tanforan Park to USS Pennsylvania).




SERIAL KILLERS

In 1967, Albert DeSalvo, who claimed to be the "Boston Strangler," was convicted in Cambridge, Mass., of armed robbery, assault and sex offenses. (Sentenced to life, DeSalvo was killed in prison in 1973.)

CIVIL RIGHTS

1949 1st US Congressional standing committee headed by Negro (W Dawson).

1966 Robert C Weaver, confirmed as 1st black cabinet member (HUD).

RUNAWAY PROSECUTORS

1990 A jury in Los Angeles acquitted former preschool operators Raymond Buckey and his mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey, of 52 child molestation charges.

PRO WRESTLING

1971 Ivan Koloff beats Bruno Sammartino in NY, to become WWF champ.

MUSIC

1980 Pink Floyd's "The Wall" hits #1.

POPES

1998 Pope John Paul II named 22 new cardinals, including Archbishop Francis Eugene George of Chicago and James Francis Stafford, the former archbishop of Denver.

SPORTS

1951 NFL rules tackles, guards & centers ineligible for forward pass.

DEATH PENALTY

2007 Truck driver Tyrone Williams was spared the death penalty and sentenced in Houston to life in prison for his role in the deaths of 19 illegal immigrants crammed in a sweltering tractor-trailer.

FINANCE

1980 Gold reaches $1,000 an ounce.

1991 Eastern Airlines goes out of business after 62 years.

DIVORCE

1996 Lisa Marie Presley filed for divorce from Michael Jackson in NY.

BIRTHDAYS

Movie director John Boorman is 75. Singer-songwriter Bobby Goldsboro is 67. Comedian-singer-musician Brett Hudson is 55. Actor-director Kevin Costner is 53. Country singer Mark Collie is 52. Actress Jane Horrocks is 44. Comedian Dave Attell is 43. Actor Jesse L. Martin ("Law & Order") is 39. Rapper DJ Quik is 38. Rock singer Jonathan Davis (Korn) is 37. Singer Christian Burns (BBMak) is 35. Actor Derek Richardson is 32. Actor Jason Segel is 28. Actress Samantha Mumba is 25.

DEATH

1862 the 10th president of the United States, John Tyler, died in Richmond, Va., at age 71.

1936 author Rudyard Kipling died in Burwash, England.

1991 Nita Krebs actor (Munchkin-Wizard of Oz), dies of heart attack at 85

1996 Minnesota Fats [Rudolf Wanderone Jr], billiard hustler, dies at 82

1997 Paul Tsongas (Senator-D-MA), dies at 55

January 18, the 18th day of 2008. There are 348 days left in the year.

compiled by Mondoreb
[images:
Sources:
* Today in History
* Today in History



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.