A neat article in The September, 2008 issue of National Geographic.

Visit the site to read the whole story, check out the pictures, and the video!

Bolivia’s Wrestlers
In the wrestling rings of Bolivia, skirts fly as cholitas fight back!
By Alma Guillermoprieto, National Geographic, September 2008

At the largest public gymnasium in El Alto, Bolivia, daylight is fading from the windows, and hundreds of people along the bleachers are growing impatient. They have been sitting for more than two hours now, jeering and whistling and yelling encouragement at the succession of artistas who have faced off in the center of the gym to match wits and perform dazzling feats of strength and skill. But it is growing late, and over the blaring disco music, foot-stomping and impatient whistles can be heard in crescendo: “Bring them on!” The music grows louder, the whistling too; there is a sense that rebellion may be about to erupt, but at last the houselights flash and dim, and the music shifts to the chunka-chunka beat of a modern Bolivian huayno. An announcer emotes into the microphone, the curtains leading to the locker rooms part, and “Amorous Yolanda” and “Evil Claudina,” this evening’s stars, make their longed-for appearance to ecstatic applause.

Like many of the women of Aymara descent in the audience, Yolanda and Claudina are dressed to the nines in the traditional fashion of the Andean highlands: shiny skirts over layers of petticoats, embroidered shawls pinned with filigreed jewelry, bowler hats. Their costumes glisten in the spotlights while they make a regal progress around the bleachers, greeting their public with the genteel smiles of princesses, twirling and waving gracefully until the music stops. That’s the sign for the two women to swing themselves deftly onto the wrestling ring that has been the focus of this afternoon’s activity. Swiftly they remove their hats, unpin their shawls, and … whap, whap, whap! Claudina belts Yolanda one, Yolanda slaps Claudina, Claudina tries to escape, but Yolanda grabs Claudina by her pigtails and spins her around, and WHAM! Claudina whirls through the air, petticoats and braids flying, and lands flat on her back on the mat, gasping like a fish. The audience goes nuts.

Welcome to the delirious world of Bolivian wrestling. In the cold, treeless, comfortless city of El Alto (”high point”), 13,000 feet above sea level, there are one million people, most of whom fled here over the past three decades to escape the countryside’s pervasive misery. The lucky ones find steady jobs down in the capital city of La Paz, which El Alto overlooks. Many sell clothes, onions, pirated DVDs, Barbie dolls, car parts, small desiccated mammals for magic rituals. The poorest alteños employ themselves as beasts of burden. All of them battle hopeless traffic, a constant scarcity of fuel and water, the dull fatigue of numbing labor, the odds that are stacked against them. When they’re done working, they need to play, and when they want to play, one never knows what they will come up with. Lately, they’ve come up with the extraordinary spectacle of the cholitas luchadoras—fighting cholitas—which has given new life to Bolivians’ own version of Mexican lucha libre, a free-form spectacle somewhere between a passion play, a wrestling match, and bedlam.

“Watch out!” the entire audience shrieks. Yolanda has been celebrating her victory, but Claudina, as proof of her evil nature, is about to lunge at her from behind. Yolanda spins too late; Claudina knocks her flat and clambers like a crazy person onto the ropes. “I’m the prettiest!” she yells at the audience. “You’re all ugly! I’m your daddy! I’m the one the gringos have come to see!” Indeed three rows of ringside seats are filled with foreigners, all pop-eyed, but they’re actually irrelevant. It’s their fellow Bolivians the cholitas are performing for.

Claudina, who is officially a ruda, or baddie, has taken a swig of soda pop and is spraying the public with it at the precise moment that Yolanda, a técnica, or goodie, pounces on her and drags her up to the bleachers, sending the spectators there scattering in blissful, screaming alarm. Yolanda wins! No, Claudina wins! No, Yolanda! But wait! The audience screams in warning again because a new menace has silently made his entrance: “Black Abyss”—or maybe it’s “Satanic Death” or the “White Skeleton”; it’s hard to keep track—has leaped into the fray and has Yolanda in a ferocious leg lock. The situation looks hopeless, but no, here comes the “Last Dragon,” out of nowhere, and he’s carrying a chair! And he’s whomping Black Abyss, or maybe the Skeleton, or maybe Yolanda, on the head with it! Even Claudina seems to have lost track of who’s who: She’s taking a flying leap at her own ally, the loathsome “Picudo.” “He is destroyed forever!” the announcer yells frenetically.

Or almost forever: In lucha libre, no defeat is ever final.

“What I want to make absolutely clear,” says Juan Mamani, who fights as a rudo under the lucha name of “El Gitano” and who runs the show, “is that it was me who came up with the idea of the cholitas.” Mamani is a tall, angular man whom it would be kind to call unfriendly. He cuts phone conversations short by hanging up, does not show up for appointments he has been cornered into making, and tries to charge for interviews. His cholitas are terrified of him. “Don’t tell him you called me; don’t tell him you have my phone number!” one of them begged.

I hunted him down near the El Alto gym, and after an unpromising start—he kept trying to duck past me—I said the magic words “Mexico” and “Blue Demon.” The face of Juan Mamani, the ogre, was suddenly wreathed in smiles. “My greatest passion is lucha libre,” he said. “And for us, Mexico is the example. Blue Demon is for me lo mas grandioso”.

Mamani’s wrestlers all hold daytime jobs, and he makes a living from a small electrical-repair shop. But he has invested a good part of his life’s earnings in a huge wrestling ring at home, where his group trains. He pays his wrestlers between $20 and $30 a match and probably doesn’t clear vastly greater amounts himself. “Here in Bolivia it’s impossible to make a living from this great passion of mine,” Mamani said. His dream was to create a Bolivian school of wrestling heroes to equal the feats of the great Mexican lucha legends; their daring leaps and backflips, their unique costumes and regal bearing. Had I seen Blue Demon fight? Really? He shook my hand as I left.

About seven years ago, when he was fretting about the diminishing audience for the weekly lucha libre spectacle at the El Alto gym, Mamani had the inspired idea to teach women to wrestle and put them in the ring in cholita clothes. “Martha la Alteña,” an outgoing luchadora, not remarkably muscular but very strong, was among the 60 or so young women who answered Mamani’s open audition call. Like several of the eight or so who ended up staying, she comes from a wrestling background. “My father was one of the original Mummies,” she said proudly, referring to one of the best loved, or most dreaded, of Bolivian lucha’s creatures.

Amorous Yolanda was also inspired by her luchador father, and even though her parents separated on unfriendly terms when she was an infant, she used to sneak into El Coliseo in downtown La Paz—long since gone—to watch him perform. “But a lot of times men don’t believe in women,” she told me. “Once I heard my father say that he wished he’d had a son instead of me, so he could follow in his footsteps as a luchador.” When she heard about Mamani’s casting call, Yolanda, then still called Veraluz Cortés, raced to audition, leading to a temporary rift with her father. Whether her lucha stardom also contributed to the breakup of her marriage is not clear.

Outside the ring, Martha la Alteña generally wears what is called the senorita style of dress—blue jeans and sweaters—and part of the glamour of her cholita costume is provided by turquoise-blue contact lenses. Yolanda, on the other hand, who is thin and very intense, wears a bowler hat and petticoats and skirts, even when she is knitting sweaters at her day job, and considers herself an authentic cholita.

“Sometimes my daughters ask why I insist on doing this,” she said. “It’s dangerous; we have many injuries, and my daughters complain that wrestling does not bring any money into the household. But I need to improve every day. Not for myself, for Veraluz, but for the triumph of Yolanda, an artist who owes herself to her public.”

Esperanza Cancina, 48, who sells used clothing for a living, has installed her large family and her ample self, in all her petticoats and skirts, in the choice ringside spot behind the announcer’s chair, at a safe angle from the popcorn and chicken bones and empty plastic bottles the audience likes to pelt the fs with. Ringside seats cost about $1.50 each, which is hardly cheap, but Señora Cancina comes faithfully to the show every other Sunday. “It’s a distraction,” she explains. “The cholitas fight here, and we laugh and forget our troubles for three or four hours. At home, we’re sad.”

Around us, the youngest members of the audience, including her fchildren, are skittering around the edges of the ring in an adrenaline frenzy, trying out lucha leaps and swarming after a wrestler who has just been defeated, trying to hug him, touch his costume. The music is booming, and it’s hard to conduct a conversation, but Señora Cancina is amiable and cooperative. She had 12 children, she says, but after a pause adds that six died. How? Her face takes on a distressing blankness. “Scarlet fever, diarrhea, those things … ” she murmurs, and has to repeat the answer over the noise. Would she have wanted to be a luchadora too? Definitely, she says. “Our husbands make fools of us, but if we were wrestlers we could express our fury.”

Over on the long side of the bleachers, in the prime chicken-bone-throwing area, Rubén Copa, a shoemaker from La Paz with an easy, friendly smile, is waiting impatiently for the afternoon’s final match—one in which the “Mummy Ramses II” will take on cholitas yet to be announced. “Bolivian wrestlers aren’t half bad, you know,” he says with a touch of pride. Not even the women? He huffs and waves his hands in protest. “There’s none of that anymore! Every kind of work is for everyone now.” I want to know if it’s true that men come to the lucha libre just to see the cholitas’ (very modest) underpants. For a moment he looks offended, but then he smiles again. “Not at all!” he says. “I come to see them wrestle! You’ll see for yourself how good they are.”

And indeed a few minutes later the Mummy Ramses II is staggering around invincibly in a red-stained jumpsuit and a fright wig, dragging one cholita behind him while another one looks for something to set him on fire with, and the kids are screaming in delicious terror, and Señora Cancina is yelling things at the Mummy that cannot be printed in this magazine, grinning broadly as she does so. The Mummy is slamming his victim against the wall, and it looks tough for the cholitas, as the announcer warns us, in this definitivo y final combate—it looks very, very tough. But something tells me that you can’t keep a cholita down.

Here comes Martha, flying through the air!

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Titans
Cowboys
Cardinals

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Jets
Bills
Bucs
Packers
Giants
Dolphins
Ravens
Colts
Chargers
Patriots
Chiefs
Vikings

Monday, December 1, 2008

Texans

Well a short while back I posted the music video to the American Wrestling Association’s WrestleRock Rumble.  To be sure, that song is an acquired taste!  But The WWF’s entry into the world of music was much better - much better than most of the ‘music’ selling CDs and winning awards today in 2008!

Here’s the lead track from The Wrestling Album, Land of 1,000 Dances!

Would you believe I can name every wrestler in the video?

Would you believe I can name some of the non-wrestlers, like Vince McMahon’s longtime secretary and former Playboy model, Emily Feinberg?

I have sure invested many 1,000s of hours in pro wrestling, huh?

It’s no secret that my favorite series on this blog is Fridays for Friday, my continuing homage to one of my great heroes and role models, Mr. Jack Webb.

Well, I found this excellent verbal reprimand of some long haired liberal punks made soft by their instant orange juice very relevant today!  Enjoy!

In Webb We Trust!

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Steelers

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Texans
Bills
Titans
Dolphins
Cowboys
Buccaneers
Ravens
Bears
Jaguars
Falcons
Broncos
Redskins
Giants
Chargers

Monday, November 24, 2008

Packers

Astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper
STS-126
“Oh, great…”

I gotta laugh that at the core of this story, we essentially have a woman fumbling through her purse and dropping something.

We’ve seen it a million times, but this time it was part of Space Shuttle Mission STS-126, and she dropped her item in low-earth orbit!

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper - “Oh, great. We have a lost tool, uh, I guess one of my crew (air)lock bags was not transferred and it’s loose.”

Kimbrough - “OK, Heide, crew lock bag?”

Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper - “Yeah, See it?”

Kimbrough - “Yeah, we see it,”

“Yeah, we see it.”

Here’s the neat new full-length trailer that’s been running in theaters with the new James Bond movie.  I can’t sign on to this yet, and I have my doubts, but if that’s a young & fit Uhura stripping down to her Starfleet undies, I’ll be there on opening day!

RedHerring.com reports…

TiVo to Serve Domino’s Pizza On Demand

by Lalee Sadighi on 17 November 2008, 15:52

TiVo, the Alviso, California, maker of the eponymous set-top box on Monday announced it teamed up with Domino’s to offer its 3.6 million subscribers pizza on demand.

Those people will now have the ability to order pizza for delivery or pick-up, and track delivery timing right from their TV sets using the service, the companies said in a joint statement.

TV watchers will see an ad for Domino’s and will be able to click “I want it” from their TV remote. Viewers have to pay when the pizza is delivered.

The companies are hoping that the alliance will help with declining sales and customer losses.

TiVo, whose stock plunged 30 percent this year, lost 178,000 subscribers in the second quarter while Domino’s, the second-largest U.S. pizza chain, reported a drop in third-quarter profit and has seen its stock drop 71 percent in the last 12 months.

The set-top box maker already offers customers the ability to buy movie tickets and products on Amazon.com.

AWA WrestleRock ‘86
The Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN
ATT: 23,000

It doesn’t get much better than this, folks.

I’m struggling this year, with less than a 60% accuracy in picking winners this season.  Maybe this will be my banner week!

Thursday, November 13, 2009

Jets

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Monday, November 17, 2008

Bills

Well, folks now and then ask me for advice on preparing a nice Italian dish without much hassle.  Truth is, a meal isn’t necessarily any better because a cook spent a lot of time on it.  Quite the contrary - my favorite rustic dishes aren’t big productions at all.   But, they satisfy!

So my favorite quick and easy Italian dish is my own special spin on Baked Rigatoni.  Prep time is short and and cooking time is 50-55 minutes.  This recipe will have you enjoying a fine meal in no time!

Baked Rigatoni a la Vincenzo

Ingredients

• 1 lb Rigatoni (I like Barilla, but any brand will do)
• 2 28 oz cans of Crushed Tomatoes
• 1/2 cup of Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup of Parmesan, or about the same amount of Shredded Mozzarella cheese
• Kosher Salt, Pepper, and some crushed Red Peppers.

1. Heat up your oven to 400 degrees.

2. While the oven is warming up, get a nice medium sized baking dish.  Place the 1 lb of uncooked rigatoni into the baking dish, and pour about 1/2 cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil on the pasta.  Let it sit for about 15 minutes.

3. After the Rigatoni has absorbed some of the olive oil, open the two 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes and pour all over the pasta, covering the rigatoni completely.

4. Sprinkle some pepper and kosher salt on top of the pasta and tomatoes, to taste.

5. Cover the baking dish with some aluminum foil (ok) or parchment paper (much better).  Place into the oven for about 55 minutes.

6. Check on it after 10 minutes and poke around with an oversized fork or spoon.  Repeat every 5-10 minutes or so until you get to the 50 minute mark.

7. At the 50 minute mark, take the tray out of the oven and sprinkle about 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese (or the shredded mozzarella)  on top of the pasta.  Mix it up just a bit with the oversized fork or spoon, place the foil or parchment back on the coking dish, and cook for another 5 minutes.

8. Remove and let cool for a few minutes.  This is a dish best served hot!  Sprinkle some more cheese to taste, and for those that like a little spark, that’s what the crushed red pepper is for!

Serve with some salad, bread, and red wine!  Enjoy!

A tribute to one of the greatest pro wrestling minds of all time, Captain Lou Albano!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Browns

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Jaguars
Bears
Patriots
Saints
Jets
Dolphins
Packers
Panthers
Chargers
Steelers
Giants
Texans

Monday, November 10, 2008

Cardinals

NATIONAL WRESTLING ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES RULES GOVERNING WRESTLING

PURPOSE
These rules have not been drafted to interfere in any way with the various state wrestling laws but rather to clarify the situation and give the various Commissions a clear, concise and workable set of rules, emphasizing honest wrestling, sportsmanship and ability.

However, these rules as officially adopted by the National Wrestling Association are to be adhered to in their entirety when not in conflict with state law. When conflict does exist, these rules shall be construed to be applicable to all wrestling except the specific provisions contravened by the state regulations in question.

WEIGHTS AND CLASSES
Flyweight                112 lbs.
Bantamweight        118 lbs.
Featherweight        126 lbs.
Lightweight        135 lbs.
Welterweight        147 lbs.
Middleweight        160 lbs.
Light heavyweight        175 lbs.
Heavyweight        All Over.

The following limitations of weights are put on all wrestling bouts:

Between Flyweights        (112 lbs.) 6 lbs.
Between Bantamweights        (118 lbs.) 8 lbs.
Between Featherweights        (126 lbs.) 9 lbs.
Between Lightweights        (135 lbs.)        12 lbs.
Between Welterweights        (147 lbs.)        13 lbs.
Between Middleweights        (160 lbs.)        15 lbs.
Heavyweights - All over 175 lbs. - No limitation.

For example, a flyweight weighing 110 lbs. could not wrestle an opponent weighing over 116 lbs. If he weighs 112 lbs. his opponent could not exceed 118 lbs., etc.

WEIGHING TIME
The contestants in all contests and exhibitions shall weigh-in stripped no later than 2 o’clock of the day of the match in the presence of a representative of the Commission, club representative and the Commission physician, who will make physical examination of the contestants at that tine. In case the contest is held in the afternoon, the contestants shall weigh-in no later than 9 A.M. and the weights shall be announced from the ringside. This rule must be observed regardless of private agreement concerning the match.

MATS AND ROPES
The ring must be not less then 16 by 16 and not more than 20 by 20 feet square; to be built on a smooth platform.

The mats shall be not less than 1″ thick end must he stuffed with hair, felt or cotton and shall extend beyond the ropes not less than 1″.

The ropes shall be three in number and not less than 1″ in diameter, tightly stretched and not more than 2′, 3′ and 4′ above mat. The ropes shall be extended out from the supporting posts not less than 1′ and shall be wrapped in soft material.

It shall also be permissible to use 2 vertical ropes on each side of the ring, said ropes to be spliced to the horizontal ropes equal distances apart for the purpose of preventing the contestants from going through the ropes during the contest.

Over the mat proper, a cover of double faced canvas or flannel, soft side up, well tacked or laced with the rope to the edge of the ring floor. Such covers must be laundered after each using and must be free and clean of any sort of grit, dirt or resin.

CONTRACTS AND FOFEITURES
In order to prevent delays and annoyance to spectators resulting from disputes arising between contestants and between contestants and clubs after bouts have begun, it is required that all contracts between an organization and persons agreeing to be contestants shall be in writing and signed by the parties thereto or their authorized agents, and filed with the Commission at least five days before the bout, before any sanction for such a bout will be issued by the Commission. In case any such contract shall provide for the payment by the organization to any contestant of any stipulated sum or guaranteed amount, a certified check, or deposit, or draft of said amount payable to bearer, shall be deposited with the Commission at the time of signing contract.

In case any such contract shall provide for any such guarantee by any contestant, or some person authorized on his behalf, shall deposit with the Commission at the time of making the contract, a certified check, certificate of deposit or accepted draft, payable to bearer, for the amount of any forfeit agreed in said contract to be posted by such contestant to secure his appearance, his making the agreed weight, if any, and the good faith performances by him of said contract on his part, the amount of said forfeit to be in no case less than twenty-five percent of the amount of the guarantee. In case any contract shall provide for compensation to the contestant on a percentage basis of the receipts only, such forfeit shall nevertheless be so deposited by the contestant in each instance, and the amount thereof shall be fixed by the Commission and named in the sanction issued by the Commission for such bout. If the contestant, by or on whose behalf such check, certificate of deposit or draft will be deposited with the Commission, shall duly appear and in good faith perform all the terms and conditions of said contract, except as he may be prevented from doing by default of the organization or of his agreed opponent, then said cluck, certificate of deposit or draft will be delivered by the Commission personally, or by registered mail, to the person by whom the same was deposited with the Commission promptly after the close of the bout. If the organization, by written notice first serviced on the Commission, shall claim said deposit as forfeited by such contestant, such deposit will be held by the Commission until the parties can be heard and their rights in the matter be determined by the Commission, unless the parties, or either of them, shall appeal to a court of law, in which case the Commission will deliver such check, certificate of deposit, or draft in court, or such action to be awarded by the court to party entitled thereto.

Every such check, certificate of deposit, or draft, so deposited with the Commission by any organization as a guarantee, or by or on the behalf of any contestant us a forfeit, the delivery of which shall be contested before the Commission, will, be held by the Commission a reasonable time, not less than ten days after service, on the parties interest, of notice of the Commission’s ruling or order for delivery of such deposit to enable any party dissatisfied with such ruling or order to institute such legal proceedings us he or it may be advised for the possession of such deposit. Unless notice of such legal proceedings is served on the Commission within the time named in the order, such deposit will be delivered by the Commission as provided in its said ruling or order.

The promoter shall cause to be filed with the Commission an affidavit of agreement properly sworn to and signed by the managers and contestants, together with the promoter, club or association, releasing the Commission from all liability for payment of any such contest where the payment of the contestants shall he on a percentage basis. This requirement shall apply only to cases where in the total guarantee posted with the Commission shall not be sufficient to cover the payment of the purses and ring expense to all contestants and officials.

Any contestant making a contract with an organization and failing to deposit his forfeit money at the time of making contract will, be liable to suspension for such time as the Commission may determine.

If for any reason a bout is stopped or declared no contest for an infraction of the rules of the Commission, or for violation of the provisions, the Commission shall hold all forfeit money and purses of such bout, pending a hearing of the facts, and a decision of the Commission thereon.

All organizations and contestants must enter into written contracts, which contracts shall be executed in triplicate, one of which shall be filed with the Commission. Contract blanks, which must be used for all bouts, will be furnished by the Commission.

Any organization which shall, without sufficient reason, violate or break any contract entered into with the contestant, or contestants, may have its license cancelled or suspended.

Contestants must not willingly violate or break contracts properly consummated between the contestants and organization, and by so doing are liable to temporary or permanent suspension.

Any contestant, or manager for contestant, who has entered into a contract with any organization to participate in a bout, who shall find that for any reason or cause he will not be able to fully carry out his contract, and does not notify the organization and Commission of his incapability to do so, and the reason or cause therefor, may be penalized by the Commission by suspension for a period of not less than sixty days nor more than six months.

“NO SMOKING” SIGNS
There shall be prominently displayed in at least four places in every hail or auditorium of any person, club, corporation or association acting under these rules, the following notice: “NO BETTING ALLOWED” All those holding licenses and permits issued by the Commission will strictly enforce compliance with such notice.

“NO SMOKING ALLOWED” Failure to enforce this regulation will result in the revocation of the license and permit.

Minors under eighteen years of age will not be admitted to any bout or exhibition unless accompanied by parents and guardians.

All individuals, clubs or organizations promoting exhibitions shall furnish a reasonable number of fireman for the enforcement of the “No Smoking” sign, together with adequate policy for protection of the public and shall be responsible therefor.

ELIGIBILITY
Every applicant for permission to wrestle must furnish positive proof that he is the person represented and give a true record of all matches engaged in by him, including wins, draws and losses, for at least two years past in which he participates actively in the sport.

If for any reason the Commission be in doubt as to the contestant’s physical condition and fitness to cope with a proposed opponent, said Commission may at its option order a private try-out with a proposed opponent such as it may appoint for the task, and also to determine the length of the try-out.

Contestants in all matches must be properly trained and in fit physical condition to wrestle at their best. The Commission and attending physician are to be the sole judges of such condition. If not physically fit and not trained properly the Commission shall refuse to sanction such a bout as he proposes to participate in.

Every wrestler holding a championship will be required to defend his title at least once every twelve months in the heavyweight division and once every eight months in all other divisions, providing a suitable purse can be found and a logical contender for the title appears. Failure to comply with this rule will result in immediate suspension of the offender unless for some valid reason satisfactory to the Commission a championship match cannot be consummated. If under these conditions the Commission deems it advisable an extension of time may be granted.

No license will be granted to any wrestler who is over forty-five years of age.

Should a contestant during the course of a match, quit or intimate his desire to concede defeat, or his authorized second throw the sponge or towel into the ring as a signal to the referee denoting the fact that his charge is unable to continue and is willing to concede the match to his opponent, it then shall be solely in the judgement of the said referee whether or not the act is justified or authorized, and it may be at his option whether or not to order the contest continued.

The referee has the right to stop a bout at any time because of injury or the weak physical condition of one of the contestants.

If for any reason whatsoever it becomes necessary to temporarily stop a contest during the course of its progress, such time as may be consumed during the delay shall be added to the wrestling period and thereby complete the full time allowed for the contest.

All contestants skin must be clean and free of grease or any other sort of lotion or foreign substance. The fingernails must be trimmed well below the tips.

COSTUMES
Wrestlers appearing in matches must be properly clothed in neat and clean athletic apparel. Trunks and tights must be well fitting and whole, with a high waist band. If short trunks only are used and limbs bare, the length of the leg of the trunk shall not be less than 3 inches below the crotch and 2 pair, one over the other must he worn. Shoes must be of soft top with soft soles and laced with eyelets only. Contestants must wear shoes in all matches.

HOLDS
Any hold, grip, or trip, is allowed, except as herein described:

Strangle hold, scratching, gouging, hitting, striking, pulling hair, using knuckles, kicking, butting, shutting off air by covering nose and mouth at the same time, and use of profanity shall be declared foul methods and if indulged in, after a warning from the referee, the offender shall he at once disqualified, and the match given to his opponent. The offender shall further be punished by a suspension for not less than three months and not mare than one year. The National. Wrestling Association discourages all intentional and unnecessary roughness and the referee is empowered to disqualify any wrestler for using unnecessarily rough tactics.

When wrestlers are off the mat and under, through, or over the ropes they shall be ordered to the middle of the mat end the wrestler having any obvious advantage at the time of going off the mat, or under, through or over the ropes shall be given the top position with his opponents hands and knees resting on the mat.

If no advantage exists at the time of going off the mat and under, through, or over the ropes, the wrestlers shall be brought back to the center of the mat in an erect position. At no time when parted by the referee or given an order by the referee shall wrestlers resume wrestling until so commanded by the referee, and when advantage or a fall is obtained by disobedience of this rule, such advantage or the fall shall be forfeited by the referee and the wrestlers ordered to resume wrestling in the center of the mat standing up.

FALLS AND DECISIONS
Both shoulder blades momentarily pinned to the mat shall constitute a fall; flying and rolling falls shall not count. By momentarily is meant pinned to the mat for the referee’s silent count of three seconds. Conceding a fall or quitting because of receiving punishment by means of legitimate holds constitutes a fall.

The referee shall slap on the back, or the shoulders, a wrestler securing a fall so that the under man will not be strained by being held too long in a possibly painful position.

Should a wrestler claim injury and refuse to continue a contest at a referee’s command and if, after a physical examination, be is found to be physically unable to continue the bout, then the referee must decide in favor of his opponent. The purse of the loser will be turned over to the Commission until such time as the Commission has secured another physical examination by its medical examiner. Such report will be the basis upon which the Commission will render its decision.

A fall with any part of the body off the mat shall be left to the discretion of the referee. The contestants or their managers mist have an understanding with the official prior to the match as to what is to be considered off the mat.

The officials are instructed not to put their hands under the shoulders of a contestant unless it is absolutely necessary in order to determine a fall.

No contestant shall be permitted to grasp or hang on to clothing, mats or ropes for support. If after being warned by the referee, the contestant repeats this practice, the contestants shall be brought to the center of the mat, the offending contestant shall then be placed underneath on the defensive.

STALLING
If a wrestler persists in stalling while on his feet, after being warned by the referee, the referee is empowered to prevent the continuance of such tactics by placing the offender on his hands and knees in the center of the mat beneath his opponent.

ACCIDENTAL INJURY
If a wrestler is accidentally injured so that he cannot continue, he shall lose the fall and match. In the event of accidental injury the Commission shall grant a reasonable time for the injured wrestler to return to the mat and this power may be delegated to the referee. Under such circumstances the Commission may punish the loser by fine or suspension, but shall not forfeit the purse of the loser if a physical examination reveals inability of the injured wrestler to continue with the match.

No wrestler having trachoma (eye disease) shall be permitted, under any circumstances, to engage in any wrestling contest. The National Wrestling Association recommends that all wrestlers be given a rigid examination for evidence of trachoma before being allowed to enter the ring, and particular attention shall be given to the provisions of this rule.

TIME KEEPER AND REFEREE
The timekeeper shall call out the time at the end of each five minutes period. The referee shall be approved by the Commission and shall submit his qualifications to the Commission in charge. He shall be attired in a neat and clean uniform.

CONTESTANTS, MANAGERS, PROMOTERS
All contestants must be ready to enter the ring immediately upon the finish of the preceding bout. The referee may disqualify a wrestler breaking this rule. All contestants must be in the building or arena where contest takes place at least one hour previous to their bouts.

No contestant in any bout shall be paid for services until the same are rendered, and should it he determined by the referee of the Commission and the Commission that a contestant did not give an honest exhibition of his skill, his services shall not be remunerated except as decided by the Commission after a hearing has been given the offender. Any contestant who shall participate in any sham or fake wrestling bout shall be disqualified and shall be punished or penalized by the Commission as they may, after due consideration of the case, deem just; and any contestant who shall participate in any sham or fake wrestling bout shall be guilty of a violation of these rules.

It shall be within the province of the Commission to suspend, impose a fine, or both, on any contestant, his manager, or seconds, contesting or acting in any capacity in connection with any bout, who is guilty of unfair dealings, ungentlemanly conduct or of violating any of these rules and regulations. Such suspension or fine to be for a period or of any amount within the discretion of the Commission as justified by the facts and evidence of the case.

In case of a substitution, the substitute shall be subject to the same rules for examination by physician as the original contestant. Any contestant who participates in any unlicensed or unsanctioned bout will be barred for a period to be determined by the Commission.

Whenever a licensed wrestler, because of injury or illness, is unable to take part in a contest for which he is under contract, he or his manager must immediately report the fact to the Commission, and submit to an examination by a physician designated by the Athletic Commission to be made prior to the day set for the contest.

No wrestler shall be permitted to use as an assumed name the name of any former wrestler or a name which transpires to be given name of any boxer or wrestler who might subsequently desire to obtain a license in his given name.

At the official weighing-in of all contestants, duly accredited newspaper representatives must upon request be admitted.

No manager will be allowed to have more than two wrestlers engaged on a card of any wrestling show, unless by special permission of the Commission.

Managers of wrestlers or anyone having a financial interest in any matches to be decided by the best two out of three falls to win except as hereinafter provided. Contests and matches under the Graeco-Roman or other rules may be made subject to the approval of the Commission.

All matches shall be limited to two hours of continuous wrestling, except in cases as herein provided. Should neither contestant have a marked advantage after two hours of continuous wrestling, the referee in his discretion, following a five minute rest period, may order the contest continued for an extra thirty minutes. If at the end of the extra thirty minutes the referee is unable to decide a winner, the contest shall be declared a draw.

However, if one of the contestants wins a fall during the extra thirty minutes, that shall be the deciding fall and he shall be declared the winner.

Should there only be one fall in the two hours, the winner of that fall will be declared the winner of the contest. If each one of the contestants has gained a fall in the two hours of wrestling, then the referee may allow the match to continue, after a five minute rest period, for an added thirty minutes and if at the expiration of the thirty minutes neither of the contestants shall have gained another fall and the referee is unable to declare a winner, he shall then declare the contest a draw.

If the contest is declared a draw, these contestants shall not be permitted to wrestle each other anywhere within a period of three months. This applies to matches wherein tie contestants wrestle for a period of two hours and thirty minutes without a winner. Should a contest last less than two hours time and neither of the contestants gain a fall, or should a contest last less than two hours time and each one of the contestants gain a fall, then in such event the referee must award a decision. Strict adherence to this rule must be observed.

Any state may reserve the right to appoint and use at least two judges in any wrestling contest under its jurisdiction. The National Wrestling Association recommends and encourages the use of judges.

The Athletic Commissions shall approve appointment of all officials.

In the short contests of thirty minutes duration or more, where the referee is unable to give a decision in a close match, he shall have the power to declare the contest a draw, if in his opinion this would be a just decision, but where judges are used the majority opinion shall govern.

The referee is given power to conduct the contest end carry out the rules and regulations of the Commission. His verdict shall be final. However, if some circumstances arise not covered by the rules, final decision shall be made by the referee, judges and Commission.

DEFENSE OF TITLES
Each wrestler holding a title recognized by the National Wrestling Association shall defend the same against a logical contender in the list named by the National Wrestling Association at least once every twelve months in the heavyweight division and once every eight months in all other divisions. The right is reserved to prohibit continued meets with the same logical contender and to name the opponent for any champion when deemed necessary or advisable by the National Wrestling Association. or by any Commission, subject to the approval of the National Wrestling Association. Failure of any champion to defend the title possessed by him under the terms hereof shall automatically cause his deposit of money to insure title defense to be forfeited, the title vacated and the individual offending shall be suspended for any period deemed necessary by any Commission of the National Wrestling Association. However, any champion falling to defend his title as provided hereby may present his case to any Commission or the National Wrestling Association and, if the circumstances warrant, the punishment provided hereby may be altered to suit the situation if extenuating circumstances exist.

I particularly like the inclusion of Baby Trig into the costume!

Sunday, November 2, 2008
Vikings
Jaguars
Buccaneers
Browns
Bills
Cardinals
Bears
Titans
Broncos
Falcons
Giants
Eagles
Colts

Monday, November 3, 2008
Steelers

S.D Jones
RIP 1945-2008

SLAM Wrestling reports…

S.D. Jones dies in Antigua
By GREG OLIVER

Special Delivery Jones, one of the regular faces in the World Wrestling Federation heyday of the 1980s, died Sunday in Antigua, following a stroke two days ago. He was 63.

Remembered fondly by fans as a solid competitor who could believably get in the ring with the superstar giants, even if he didn’t win very often, Jones was last seen on a national broadcast at the WrestleMania 22 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony in Chicago, where he inducted “Mr. U.S.A.” Tony Atlas.

Born Conrad Efraim on March 30, 1945, in Antigua, in the West Indies, he befriended Johnny Rodz in New York City while he was still working for the phone company. His wrestling career began in the mid-’70s, working for the WWWF, and heading on the road to the Mid-Atlantic territory, and Los Angeles, where he would win the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship with Porkchop Cash; Jones would later team with Tom Jones (no relation) to win the titles again. For some of the time, he was known as Roosevelt Jones, before the more familiar S.D., or Special Delivery, Jones came into prominence.

Irregardless of his success elsewhere, the 6-foot-1, 260-pound Jones will always be remembered as a quality carpenter for the WWWF and WWF, capable of winning matches or losing believably. Often, Jones would team with bigger name stars, like Andre the Giant or Rocky Johnson to battle some despicable tag teams.

At the first WrestleMania, in 1985 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Jones lost to King Kong Bundy is nine seconds. In March 2004, Jones told SLAM! Wrestling’s Steven Johnson that he was concerned that such a beating in front of a national audience would damage his career.

“I didn’t want to do it,” Jones said. But McMahon persuaded him that a humiliating loss to Bundy would achieve the company’s goal of developing a monstrous rival to the likes of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. After some contemplation, Jones took his medicine. “Bundy was the man then,” he said. On the plus side, Jones was not in the ring long enough to risk injury and, for good measure, “made a big, big, big, big payday.”

In a 2005 interview with SLAM! Wrestling’s Dave Hillhouse, Jones matter-of-factly addressed his career, and his role as enhancement talent. “Everybody knows it’s a show — promoters call the shots. Everybody knows that. Sometimes you don’t care, sometimes you care. Honestly, I knew there was no way I was going to get to that main championship, that’s for sure. I never even thought about it. A lot of us guys, we knew there was no way we were going to get up there,” he explained. “I was comfortable because I knew what they wanted. They want you to be there for Hulk Hogan and Pedro Morales; they want you to be an S.D. Jones, to be a Johnny Rodz. After a while you just get comfortable where you are, and that’s it. You’re doing a job, you’re making a living, and you just keep on going.”

At the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony for Atlas, Jones told stories about being on the road with his “best friend,” including impromptu weightlifting challenges in Egypt, Norway and Spain. No shrinking violet himself, Jones talked about lifting over 500 pounds himself; of course, Atlas could lift over 600 pounds.

Jones and Atlas met in 1980 in Allentown, Penn., and soon were a tag team, aiming for the WWWF tag titles. “We tried and we tried and we tried. I could not do it. I was the one that killed the tag, so I had to step aside,” Jones told the WWE Hall of Fame audience. Rocky Johnson replaced him in the tag and he and Atlas were soon champs — but they couldn’t get along, losing after three weeks.

After 22 years in the ring, Jones called it quits, lost a significant amount of weight, and began working for the New York Daily News, driving newspapers.

About eight months ago, he retired and moved back to his native Antigua. His remains are at Straffie’s Funeral Home in St John’s, Antigua.

‘Flying saucer’ filmed in Turkey

THIS astonishing video footage is claimed to be the “most important images of a UFO ever filmed” – and is said to even depict ALIENS.

The shots were captured by night guard Yalcin Yalman in a compound in Turkey earlier this year.

The 42-year-old and a number of residents claim the UFOs were spotted over a four month period between May and September near the compound in Istanbul.

He said: “I don’t know what these things are. We filmed them several times and they are totally unknown to us. I was very excited when I saw them and I want the world to know that UFOs do exist”.

Almost two-and-a-half hours of footage was filmed featuring a variety of objects ranging from incredible flying saucer-type ‘craft’ to clustering orb-like lights hovering in the night sky.

Genuine

The clips were handed to the Sirius UFO Space Science Research Centre in Turkey who interviewed witnesses and painstakingly combed through the footage frame by frame.

International UFO researcher Haktan Akdogan said: “In this amazing video footage, physical forms of UFOs and their metallic structures are clearly noticeable.

“What is more important is that in the close-up of some footages of the objects, entities in them can be distinctly made out.”

He continues: “We have spoken with all of the witnesses and had detailed analysis conducted on all two-and-a-half hours of footage.

“After conducting all of the analysis we came to the conclusion that this video footage is 100 per cent genuine.

“The objects filmed are structured objects and are not the result of misidentification or natural phenomena, aircraft or astronomical objects.

“They are not the results either of any kind of computer animation. Now is it a time for world governments to acknowledge the reality of UFOs.”

He added: “The images captured on film are expected to have a tremendous impact throughout the world and they are the most important UFO images ever caught on camera.”

The footage will be revealed at the UFO Data Magazine annual conference in Pontefract, West Yorks, on October 25.

And it has earned the seal of approval from British experts.

UFO Data Magazine editor Russell Callaghan said: “This video footage from Turkey, if authentic, represents a serious challenge to science. I can honestly say that this footage is truly unique.”

Well, so far my picks haven’t been panning out this season, so lets turn things around!  I am living down another 7-7 week!  Ugh!  Well, here goes nothin’!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Ravens
Chargers
Jets
Bills
Buccaneers
Eagles
Rams
Panthers
Redskins
Jaguars
Giants
49ers
Texans

Monday, October 29, 2008

Titans

Watch Darth Barack exposed by my LA brother, Twenty Pound Sledge!

The GOP should hire Twenty to do real commercials for them.  And be White House Press Secretary!

Getting close to mid-way into the 2008 NFL season!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Chargers
Steelers
Titans
Dolphins
Cowboys
Giants
Bears
Saints
Texans
Colts
Jets
Redskins
Buccaneers

Monday, Ocober 20, 2008

Broncos

Barry Obama was on the campaign trail, and one of his lines on the stump is to dismiss Joe The Plumber.  Indeed the snarky media is working overtime to discredit Joe - after all, he is just the kind of working class fella that dems consistently tell us they fight for!  So they should keep their mouth shut, know their place, and follow the leader, right Barry?

The fact is, Obama was stung by that little exchange the other day.  He picked the guy from a crowd to speak with him.  This wasn’t a McCain plant or anything ornery.  Obama was just confronted on his policies and was caught flat footed.

After all, how dare a laborer disagree with him?

And back to the clip, just what does that audience find so funny about being a plumber?  Again, liberals will tell you they are for ‘the little guy’ until they are blue in the face, but ultimately they are an obnoxious, condescending bunch.

It doesn’t really matter, really.  He looks like a buffoon no matter what he says or does!

Anyone can make a flub, but Biden does make flubbing up a habit!  And gee, do you think of Sarah Palin made the same gaffe, the media would just overlook it, or would it become late-night tv fodder for a week?

The place, The Philadelphia Spectrum. The day, June 4, 1983.

Big John Studd was facing his arch enemy, the legendary Andre the Giant. After some preliminaries, the action took to the mat for a mind boggling 8 minute, 35 second front facelock.

For years, I was convinced that the notoriously alcoholic Andre had just passed out in the ring and Studd was just stalling, hoping Andre would come to his senses long enough to do an actual finish in the match.  Truth is, we may never know the ’story behind the story’ in this case.

Some insight from the great Mark Steyn on the second McCain-Obama debate, with some genuinely rich imagery!  The Corner at NR…

Keep your sunny side up [Mark Steyn]

Republicans have cause to be disappointed by last night: As everyone says, Obama wins by not losing. He looks more and more as if he’s already the president, while McCain prowling the stage seeking to “connect” looks more and more like Yosemite Sam after the dynamite* failed to go off.

Nevertheless.

Before everyone succumbs to a terminal case of inevitabilititis, it’s worth remembering we’ve been here before. In the last months of the primary campaign, the press kept assuring Hillary fans that Obama’s victory was inevitable and the shriller the media Obamaboppers got, the more bluecollar Dems sat on their hands. In the end all the King’s horses and all the King’s men had to drag the guy across the finish line. You couldn’t replay his spectacular victory in slow-motion because it was already slower than any slo-mo technology ever invented.

So we already know there’s a huge disconnect between the unstoppable Messianic force promoted by the media and the cooler appraisal by actual voters. What’s happened since primary season? The Iraq surge (McCain’s unique selling point) is a victim of its own success and has dwindled away to an irrelevant footnote, and the front pages are full of a supposed economic catastrophe which the crude rules of politics suggest any fool should be able to hang on the incumbent.

Yet Obama still can’t open up a solid lead. After all, why would record numbers of viewers watch the vice-presidential debate if the election’s already over?

Meanwhile, the supposedly damaged Republican brand is proving suprisingly resilient. I see one of the two New Hampshire seats that flipped blue in ‘06 may return to the red fold next month. Where’s the blowout?

(*A lot of the dynamite is well past its sell-by date: Two references last night to Ronald Reagan negotiating with Tip O’Neill. No one remembers who Tip O’Neill is. McCain might as well have been evoking misty watercolor mem’ries of Talleyrand at the Congress of Vienna. Obama, by contrast, is all future - which is understandable, given his past.)

[UPDATE: A reader responds:

Listen, Mark, sunny side up is fine but this one is over easy.]

Howard Stern took to the streets to see just what the voters in New York City had to think.  He found numerous Obama supporters uptown in Harlem, who evidently had no idea what they were talking about.  To be fair, he found one McCain supporter who was comparably clueless, too!

My personal favorite interview is the Harlem woman who insists that Obama had more facts & information and spoke well (not in so many words), but then proceeds to misstate several of Obama’s positions with conviction!

]]> http://www.silverstatechronicles.com/wordpress/2008/10/12/voters-harlem-ny-complete-morons/feed/ http://www.silverstatechronicles.com/wordpress/2008/10/10/victor-davis-hanson-hugh-hewitt/ http://www.silverstatechronicles.com/wordpress/2008/10/10/victor-davis-hanson-hugh-hewitt/#comments Sat, 11 Oct 2008 03:09:37 +0000 Vinnie Vegas http://www.silverstatechronicles.com/wordpress/?p=1511 A Two Hour Expanded Conversation with VDH!

Well, those that know me know that I am a huge fan of classicist Victor Davis Hanson, one of the genuinely brightest minds of our time!  He visits The Hugh Hewitt Show now and thenand his insights are always appreciated!  Well, Hugh talked him into an expanded interview on Wednesday, October 8, 2008, and it was fascinating!

Hugh’s conversation with Mr. Hanson covers the state of the 2008 campaign, the state of the world, the state of the war against radical Islam, and the state of the culture war here in America.  It took up 2 hours of radio time but the commercials have been removed so each part runs about 35 minutes, for a toal of 70 minutes of Hanson wisdom!