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I was shocked by the fact that in watching the bulk of ESPN's unofficial "primetime block" today (their primetime block for news coverage and analysis, not their primetime block for live sporting events), I did not hear one single word about the steroid hearings that took place today, or the proposed conformity with the World Anti-Doping Agency standards of a mandatory two-year suspension for a first-time offense, or anything of that sort. And I watched ESPN from 5:00 to 6:30, so that would include Around the Horn, Pardon the Interruption, and the first half of the Mother Ship of ESPN, the 6:00 SportsCenter.

Hell, they had a story on SportsCenter about a nine-year-old girl in Australia being suspended for grunting too loudly, and yet the steroids hearing wasn't on (or at least not in the first half, but I don't think it was in the second half either because it was not mentioned in any of the "teasers" for upcoming news bits).

This shows that the media whores known as Henry Waxman and Tom Davis were correct in their assessment that they'd only get the media whore coverage they wanted if they brought a major star in to their hearings. Because as today's hearings show, if you've got no major star, you've got no major coverage, even if you have the head of every major sport in the country and you have actual legislation in the pipeline.

Ivan Trembow
PWTorch VIP member

***

After recently reading an editorial on PWTorch website about why Ric Flair should win a World Title and defend it at WrestleMania I could not help but disagree. Now, while I feel that WWE has seriously botched the Ric Flair "retirement" storyline (another story for another time), I also feel that having Ric Flair not only win, but defend a World Title at WrestleMania would have been a huge mistake.

Like many fans, I respect the great accomplishments of "Nature Boy" Ric Flair. His long and illustrious career has been widely considered to be among the greatest in wrestling history. With that said, the fact remains that at 58 years of age Ric Flair is no longer capable of delivering the kind of performance necessary to be in a World Title match at WrestleMania. Thanks in large part to Ric Flair and other wrestlers of his generation (Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, etc) World Title matches at WrestleMania have become something special.

As great as Ric Flair once was, his body simply cannot deliver the performance that it once did. Anyone who has followed WWE over the last five or so years can attest that Ric Flair matches, particularly one's without gimmicks and weapons are often difficult to watch. For evidence of this one need only look at some of Flair's recent matches with MVP and Mr. Kennedy, as Flair seems to have trouble simply getting around a ring, let alone having a performance worthy of WrestleMania World Title bout.

In addition to that, The World Title matches at WrestleMania traditionally showcase younger stars like John Cena or older stars who can still "go" like Triple H or the Undertaker. Ric Flair is neither a young star or an older one who can still perform, so his inclusion in a World Title match would seem somewhat out of place. For a company that has spent so much time in pushing young stars and strategically positioning them to draw money, it would be down right stupid to have someone the caliber of Edge or Randy Orton sitting on the sidelines while the rapidly aging Flair was in a World Title match.

Lastly, while Ric Flair has had an awesome career and deserves go out with a meaningful feud and memorable match at WrestleMania such as against Shawn Michaels, WWE made the right call in not putting him in a World Title match at WrestleMania; to place him there would not only be counter productive, but unfair to talent who have worked hard to be in match of that magnitude.

Bryan Cullers
Chicago, Ill.

***

Some have vowed to never waist another dollar on a WWE pay-per-view, others have cried out in disdain over the blatant ignoring or deaf ears that appear to have fallen over the voices of the fans as of late. Guess what, folks? They hear us loud and clear. The writing staff at WWE headquarters, along with Stephanie and Vince, have started the year off with a trend of suprises similar to the "anything can happen in the WWE" theme of yesterday. It can't be easy for them booking with a healthy roster for the first time in forever (oops, sorry Rey).

But, just as John Cena narrowly survived the Elimination Chamber at New Year's Resolution 2006 and minutes later lost to Edge who cashed in his Money in the Bank title shot, just as Hulk Hogan unexpectedly arrived at WM IX and immediately won the title from Yokozuna after he had just won the belt from Bret Hart, just as a record number of people will order this year's WrestleMania with all of the mainstream attention it's getting, Jeff Hardy will win the Money in the Bank match and go on to immediately capture the title from the winner of the Cena-Triple H-Orton match to end the pay-per-view on a high note. Whether Cena wins, Triple H wins, or Randy Orton retains, the main event according to the voice of the fans will seem anti-climatic.

You can be 99 percent sure that Vince and his crew are aware of this and from the quality and direction of the last two PPVs, the WWE WILL DELIVER on the grandest stage of them all and send every paying fan home with their money's worth. Of course, this gives Triple H the platform to turn heel on Jeff the following night, and main event until Summerslam where he'll probably take the belt and superglue it to his waist.

The Raw roster is top-heavy and it will not be a good year for the most deserving Superstars unless the Draft distributes the weight and balances the rosters including sending a couple of fan favorites to ECW. Wherever HBK goes, his fans will follow! HBK along with Jericho, Rey Mysterio, Matt Hardy, and Umaga could make ECW a must watch show without detracting from Raw or Smackdown and providing fresh new matchups for the slim but talented existing ECW roster.

The fans want Jeff Hardy to represent them around the globe and since we only live once, the time is now and Vince will not miss this opportunity to cash in on this unexpected phenomenom who, like Barack Obama, seems to be in for the year of his life.

Paul Calligan Jr.
Hoover, Ala.

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