Getting Back in the Game

When you dedicate the majority of your life to a specific entity, profession, sport, game, person or activity what happens when you step away? 

 How does one handle things when they decide to turn their back and walk away from something that has always meant so much to them? 

 Where does one go when the place they were once comfortable in becomes the problem? 

Things have been a little odd here in my brain over the last couple of years. I really think the combo of losing my father unexpectedly around the same time of year or "anniversary" that I lost the job that I loved really took a toll on me. 

How long can one fake a smile before they break down and cry? 

The facade that we put on when in public in an attempt to tell the world that we're "all good" gets harder and harder as the days pass. 

How would my family, peers and loved ones react if they saw me breakdown and cry? 

Are men allowed to cry in 2022? 

I don't know the rules anymore. 

I look around at something I loved for the longest time and I don't even recognize it anymore. 

I'm not sure I have thick enough skin to survive in that environment. I tried. 

I gave it all I could but never seemed to be able to stay on that "high" once I returned to my normal dwellings. 

"Fake it til you make it", they say.

 I call BS on that. 

I tried. 

I try. 

I will continue to try. 

It doesn't work. 

There were times over the last couple of years where I was fully ready to just walk away. 

I wanted to just turn my back on my "comfort zone" and figure out a new path but the path I chose was a dead end.

 So what do I do now? 

Do I turn around and walk back to where I started and try again? 

Do I try to find a way out of this dead end without backtracking? 

There is no real answer. There is no real question. 

Sometimes I try to just turn off everything around me and just sit. 

Watch. 

Listen. 

Take everything in and digest it as best I could. 

 I'm no good at that. 

How does one move forward when they're over the consequences of the decisions that they've been making in an attempt to make sure everyone around them is happy? 

 How does one adjust that focus to where they think/care about their own inner happiness while also trying to make sure that everyone around them is happy. 

 

As the calendar flips to December there is so much to look forward to but I, for some reason, can only see darkness. 

 Another Christmas without dad. 

Another wave of birthday celebrations, including dad's, without dad. 

Another month of stressing about any and everything to the point that I make myself sick and ruin any chance of finding my way out of that dead end. 

 My friends and family keep me going. 

My mother is the strongest person I've ever met in my entire life. There are no words to describe the love I have for her. No matter how down, angry, frustrated, petty or depressed I get - she's there. She's there with a hug, an "I love you" and a reminder of why I have to find my way out of this vicious cycle. 

With the support of my family and friends I have started the walk back into the light. 

With the support of my family and friends I know I have things to fight FOR, not against. 

With the support of my family and friends I've started to look at the GOOD things in life rather than always seemingly finding the bad. 

 

Wait, do y'all think I'm talking about bowling? 

 

Naw, I'm talking about life. 

Life in general. I was ready to give up. 

I started to give up. 

To heck with my medicine. 

What's the point? 

To heck with my surroundings. 

Why bother? 

To heck with fighting to survive. I was out of energy. 

I look around sometimes and can't figure out where or who I am anymore. 

 I look in the mirror and don't recognize the person looking back at me. 

 How did I get here? 

WHY did I get here? 

 "You're stronger than that, Chris", I tell myself. But, am I? 

It is so much easier to just give up. 

Let this stupid disease run it's course and just enjoy the time I have left as best I can, right? 

That's where I was. 

Some of you know that, most of you do not. 

 

Naw. I can't let that happen. 

There are so many blessings in my life every day that I willingly turn a blind eye to. 

Why bother looking for or at the blessings when you are ready to quit? 

What's the point? 

 Lost. 

Directionless. 

Stressed. 

Disease-ridden.

 Tired. 

Angry. 

Sad. 

That's how I let myself feel for far too long. 

Naw, I ain't walking into that dead end any more.

All one can do in that situation is realize that they made a mistake, they went the wrong direction and took the wrong path.

 There's no time to stand there and complain about picking the wrong way but there's plenty of time to accept your mistake and correct your path.

 That's where I am now.

 

 I'm getting back in the game. 

The game of life. 

 It ain't over yet and I'll be darned if I just throw my hands up and sit down in the road and wait to get hit. 

 

I have a beautiful wife and daughter that need me. Watching Lillie grow and mature helps motivate me to get out of the dark. She needs me and I need her. My darling wife has had to deal with my insane mood swings and she rarely has a cross word to say back. Instead of judging or giving up on me, she helps me find that light. She helps me realize that we are surrounded by blessings and reasons to keep fighting. I honestly have no idea how she's put up with me over the last couple of years, but she's still standing by my side, holding my hand, and helping to guide me out of this hole I've buried myself in.

I have an incredible family by my side that needs me. 

I have some of the best friends that a person could ever imagine. 

The people in my life mean too much to just walk away. The people in my life are too valuable for me to just give up on. 

The people in my life DESERVE better than what I've been putting out there.

 It's time to get up, dust myself off and backtrack out of that dead end and find the right path. 

Put me in, coach. I'm ready to play. 

Today. 

It's time to play the game. 

I refuse to let 2023 look anything remotely like the last handful of years. 

I refuse to just sit here, waiting to die. 

Time to turn around and work my way out of this hole I've been in. I think it is time for me to get back in the game.

WWE Fastlane Preview and Predictions - Road to WrestleMania

Tomorrow night we get SmackDown Live's last PPV before WrestleMania and there are some pretty fun matches on this card.

While I am currently very uninterested in watching SmackDown on Tuesday nights as the show has become quite awful in recent weeks and they've done a great job of driving away viewers. I now find myself DVR'ing the show and then fast-forwarding through the majority of it. That's quite incredible considering last year THIS was the show to watch.

That was then and this is now though.

Anyway, moving on to the upcoming Fastlane PPV! Here are my thoughts on each match. Please leave some comments and let me know if you agree, disagree, or just think that I am nuts.

Becky Lynch & Naomi vs. Natalya & Carmella

I promise that I am trying to care about this match but it's just not happening. You have so many odd things going on here that I don't even know where to begin.

I get that you're trying to incorporate some of the things from the Diva's show but the whole Natalya loves cats gimmick is already as annoying as the farting Natalya gimmick. This woman is quite talented as an in-ring performer but you continue to give her such lame roles that fans simply can't get behind her. The only time she's been worth watching and getting behind is when she was part of the new Hart Foundation, but that didn't last very long.

You then have Naomi, who is pretty fun to watch in the ring but again, her character is quite annoying and simply drives me crazy when trying to watch.

Carmella looked odd to me Tuesday night. It looks like she had some botox done to her face or something. On a non-wrestling note: women, PLEASE stop doing that to your face. It looks horrible and ends up with an end result exactly opposite of what you want.

Anyway - has there been another Money in the Bank holder that you've ever had less confidence in than Carmella?  Maybe Baron Corbin, but it's a toss up.


Poor Becky Lynch.  Is there any way we can get her back in the main event scene soon?  Becky is one of the easiest women on the roster to like and she continues to be over-looked and booked like just a ho-hum worker.  Turn her heel, have her come out and wallop Charlotte in her match and set up a feud heading for 'Mania (unless there is another contender which I will get to later).

For this match ... honestly ... I don't know or care who wins and I hate to be that way.  They've done very little to make me care about this and it is a match that I would likely FFWD through if I were watching on my DVR.

I will take Becky & Naomi for the win as they both have a bigger need for the victory and WWE tends to de-push the Money in the Bank winner just before they cash in - so it would make sense for Carmella to eat the loss.

Winners: Becky Lynch & Naomi by submission

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Rusev

This match is another that was simply thrown together at the last minute to ensure there were enough matches on the card, I believe.  Zero build, zero "reason" for the match, but this one could potentially steal the show.

Remember when PPV matches were reserved for big feuds and used to either end or progress a rivalry? There is literally nothing here other than Rusev wanting to fight Nakamura for hurting English? Silly.

That being said, these are two of my favorite wrestlers in the WWE right now, so I am looking forward to seeing them square off.

Obviously  they have to have Nakamura win here so that he can seem like a legit threat to take the tile from AJ Styles are WrestleMania.

I am hoping they find a way to make Rusev look strong in defeat and put him in something worthwhile for 'Mania, though it doesn't look likely at this point. Maybe he and English will appear on RAW Monday night to challenge The Bar for the Raw WWE tag titles?!

This figures to be about a 10-12 minute match with Nakamura getting the win, clean, by pin fall.

Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura

United States Championship Match: Bobby Roode (c) vs. Randy Orton

Two guys that I really never expected to see go toe-to-toe at any point, but it should be pretty good.  Neither guy is SUPER exciting to watch, but both are very solid workers that have their moments of greatness.

I am not sure how this one is going to go but you have to expect Jinder to get involved somehow. I'm honestly surprised that this wasn't a triple-threat match but they may be saving that for WrestleMania.

It would appear that that is the current thought process so the winner of this one really doesn't matter that much if they're going to face each other again for the title next month.

Though this one is quite tricky, I am going to go with Randy Orton to win the title here so that he can go to the big show next month as a champion. The future WWE Hall of Fame member deserves to have a belt if, for nothing else, as a form of showing WWE's gratitude for all he's done during his career.

Roode could potentially get it back at 'Mania, but I look for Jinder to get involved and cause a distraction which will lead to Orton hitting the RKO (out of no where) and picking up the win.

Winner: Randy Orton 

SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos (c) vs. The New Day

One thing I did not FFWD past on Tuesday was the in-ring promo between the Usos and the New Day. It was a nice change to see Big E get serious and take some shots at the Usos while also pumping up the road New Day took to get to where they are.

I'm BEYOND tired of the pancakes, the cereal, and all of the other silly shenanigans that New Day continues to do.  I know they sell t-shirts and the kids love it but me, as a grumpy old man, is very annoyed by it all.

For the last several PPV's I have guessed that "this will be the one where the New Day breaks up" and, obviously, I have been wrong every time.

I will not say that for this one, but I do believe there will be some seeds planted about a future break-up, likely at WrestleMania.

The Usos current title run has been quite good and I believe they're working to set up a future feud with the Bludgeon Brothers so I expect them to hold on to the titles here.

Once the New Day break up I believe Big E will go out on is own while Kofi and Xavier will potentially stay together. If that is the case, I will say that Kofi takes the loss here and Big E shows a bit of frustration afterwards before laughing a bit and all leaving together but it would be cool to see all of that happen but Big E "caught" glaring at Kofi a bit as they go up the ramp.

Winners: The Usos by pin fall

SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Ruby Riott

Ruby Riott has upped her game recently, both in the ring and on the mic. This match could surprise some people if they're given some time to work.

Obviously Charlotte is a freak of nature and incredibly athletic, but Ruby is quite an in ring performer that can hold her own vs the Queen.

You have to expect that the Riott Squad will be at ring side so Becky and Naomi will likely also be out there to watch Charlotte's back.

I expect one of two things to happen here, though the winner of the match will be the same either way.

One: As previously mentioned, I could see Becky Lynch either getting involved somehow and distracting Charlotte or attack her post-match as they're in the ring celebrating. It would be fun to see a Becky v Charlotte feud with Becky playing the heel.

Two: Charlotte wins and, as she's celebrating, Asuka's music hits and she comes out to make her official challenge for the SmackDown Women's title at WrestleMania.  Lets not forget, she gets to pick which belt she wants to go after and as of now she has not publicly made her decision. Michael Cole has mentioned a few times recently that he "wondered which champion Asuka will challenge" and I believe that she will pick Charlotte which then frees up the RAW title for a Bliss v Nia Jax match at WrestleMania.

Winner: Charlotte via submission

WWE Championship Six-Pack Challenge:  AJ Styles (c) vs. John Cena vs. Kevin Owens vs. Sami Zayn vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Baron Corbin 

There is so much going on in this match that I could write an entire post just focusing on this.  I will try and keep my thoughts as short and sweet as possible.

Clearly they're moving towards a Kevin Owens v Sami Zayn match at WrestleMania (even though their last PPV match was billed as the last time they'd ever face each other - which we all knew even then that that couldn't possibly be the case) which I'm completely on board for as those two guys always put on a hell of a match.

Poor Dolph Ziggler continues to have absolutely no direction at all, which is a shame.  Two weeks ago he came out and saved Cena and AJ, which closed the show with him looking like a face. This week he looked like a heel. I assume he's just ... kinda ... there. On a side note, if you're not following him on Twitter ( @HEELZiggler ) then you're missing out. He is quite an entertaining dude.
 
Baron Corbin, who was in the dog-house not too long ago, has made his way back to the main event scene, though I don't think there's any chance of him winning the belt just yet. Also, I have no idea what they have planned for him at WrestleMania. If he loses on Sunday then you have just a few weeks to find a feud for him if you plan to have him on the show, and I can't imagine that he'd be in the main event at Fastlane and then not have a spot on 'Mania. I am very curious what they'll do with him.

It has been long rumored that John Cena would be facing The Undertaker at this year's WrestleMania but I have been skeptical of this as Taker has looked really bad the last two years and the way he went out last year was the perfect ending to his career.

So if he is NOT facing Taker, who would he face?

Could he win the title at Fastlane and be in a triple-threat at 'Mania with Nakamura and AJ, just like Cena said in his promo on Tuesday night?

Honestly, I do believe this is a real possibility.

The problem is, I really feel that he needs a win at this year's WrestleMania as it  seems like all he does is lose in big spots recently.  This is also my problem with him facing 'Taker.  Who takes the loss? Cena can't keep losing if they expect people to care about him but you really don't want to bring Taker back and have him lose AGAIN either, do you?

I haven't quite figured out where they go with Cena here, so this match is hard to pick for me. I believe it will be either AJ or Cena, but it's kind of a coin toss for me at this point on which one it will be.

It would be nice to see AJ win, as it would obviously make him look very strong heading into the dream match vs Nakamura at WrestleMania.

I've gone over the rosters a few times tonight trying to figure out who Cena would face if it isn't Taker and he loses at Fastlane ... and I think I have an idea.

I'm going to pick AJ to win tonight and then Cena show up on RAW Monday complaining yet again about not having a "road to WrestleMania" and out comes Braun Strowman to essentially tell him to shut up, setting up a feud between the two leading to a match on the grandest stage of them all.

Now, I know I just told you several times that Cena can't afford another loss BUT, if he is going to lose, getting mangled by the Monster among Men is a perfect spot for him to go down.  I assume Cena has a movie or two to shoot coming up, so it would be a good spot for the two to have a match, as I believe Cena can get a good match out of Braun, even hitting him with an AA or two - but I'd have it end with Strowman completely crushing him at the end. That is my thought on that, but we're talking about Fastlane right now.

I am going to go with AJ to get the pinfall here and I think Corbin will take the loss. The end could even come after Cena hits the "super-AA" on Corbin or Ziggler and then AJ coming in and "stealing" the pin.

Winner: AJ Styles

All in all, this has the potential to be a pretty solid show.  The women's tag match is one that I have zero interest in and honestly it barely worth of a pre-show slot. The rest of the card, however, should be pretty solid. Each time I get my hopes up for a PPV it typically turns out to be awful and I end up disappointed. 

That being said, the Royal Rumble was very good and then the Elimination Chamber PPV was pretty freaking solid too, so maybe the WWE has made some changes for the better when it comes to these shows.

I reckon we'll see, but those are my predictions!  What do you think?  Am I crazy?  Who do you think will win each match and how?  

Let me hear your thoughts!  Either comment below or Tweet your thoughts to me @EBIHester 
 

NBA Youth Movement

With the NBA ratings dwindling  rapidly, this is a great time for another sport to try and make the leap into the power slot that football has owned in recent years.

The NBA has received some scrutiny recently with players taking games off, enforcing minute restrictions, constant complaining over foul and non-foul calls, and the ever increasing salaries and ticket prices.

Just when the status of the league is being brought into question, there is an exciting youth movement making its way to the forefront.

Veteran players like LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant have been showcased in the NBA Finals each year and Russell Westbrook did the unthinkable last season by averaging a triple double but there is an influx of talent making their way onto the scene and grabbing everyone's attention.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, also known as the "Greek Freak", burst onto the scene last year and has come out of the gate full speed ahead so far in 2017.

Through four games this year the 22 year old Giannis is averaging nearly 37 points per game, 10.8 rebounds per game, 5 assists, a block and 2 steals.

The Philadelphia 76ers spent a couple years doing all that they could to tank their season(s) so that they could increase their chances of obtaining the #1 draft pick in order to rebuild their franchise.

This strategy worked according to plan and landed them cornerstones Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz. 

Embiid, who has been playing on a minutes limit, has flashed moments of brilliance and shown that he can be a dominant big man when healthy.

Fultz is battling a shoulder injury which has hampered his shooting ability and prevented fans from seeing his full ability so far this season.  At 19 years old, he has plenty of time to grow into the player many expected him to be when taking him #1 in the 2017 NBA draft.

Ben Simmons sat out the entire season after being selected #1 in the 2016 NBA draft due to a foot injury suffered in a training camp scrimmage.

Simmons burst onto the scene by scoring 18 pts, grabbing 10 rebounds, and dishing out 5 assists in his regular season debut.  The 6' 10" 21 year old point guard smashed the Detroit Pistons on October 23rd as he put up his first career triple double (21 pts, 12 rebounds, 10 assists) to help lead Philadelphia to their first win of the season.

The much talked about team, who urged fans to "trust the process" while going through some miserable losing seasons, are now in position to reap the benefits while putting out a very entertaining squad.

Speaking of "much talked about", the eccentric LaVar Ball yelled, screamed, and hollered to everyone that would listen that his son Lonzo should be the first pick in the draft and any team that passed on him would be a fool.

LaVar became such a media presence that Lonzo had a spotlight on him before he ever stepped foot on the NBA floor.

After being drafted by the Lakers, the media circus just grew larger as now the circus that followed Lonzo was heading to Los Angeles.

With all of this pressure on his shoulders, the  19 year old Ball did not disappoint.

Playing with a fast paced, pass first mentality, Lonzo has brought the "showtime" back to the Lakers.

After three games of his rookie season, Lonzo is averaging 13 points, 9 rebounds and nearly 9 assists per game.

He, along with the 2016 NBA Draft's #2 pick in 20 year old Brandon Ingram, has made the Lakers games "can't miss" as you never know what creative and amazing play they will make next.

Beyond the above mentioned players, there are guys like the Kings' De'Aaron Fox (19 years old) and Buddy Hield (23 years old), Boston's Jayson Tatum (19 years old), Brooklyn's D'Angelo Russell (21 years old), Denver's Nikola Jokic (22 years old) and Jamal Murray (20 years old), Minnesota's Karl Anthony-Towns (21 years old) and Andrew Wiggins (22 years old), New Orleans' Anthony Davis (24 years old), Suns' Devin Booker and Josh Jackson (both 20 years old), and
New York's Kristaps Porzingis (22 years old).

This list only scratches the surface of the plethora of young talent in the league that are looking to become the next "face of the NBA".

They are young, they are hungry and they can ball.

It is an exciting time to be a fan of the NBA and there is a chance that they could sneak up on the NFL in the very near future.

NBA DFS Draft Kings Building Blocks 10/21

Good morning everyone!

I know it is early, and a lot can change before it is time to really start locking in your lineups, but with it being a beautiful Saturday here in the bluegrass state, I wanted to go ahead and get some thoughts down in print before heading out to get some things done around the house.

Today I am going to give you three building blocks to focus a roster around for your NBA DFS teams.

Pricing and focus will be on the Draft Kings model:

High End Player

There are loads of options at the top tier tonight as we see 4 players $10,000 and higher, including a rested James Harden playing without CP3 who could miss up to a month with his knee injury.

My focus, however, will be on the Center position and the Nuggets Nikola Jokic for $9300.

Jokic is coming off of a pretty poor match up in a pace down game vs Rudy Gobert and the Utah Jazz.

Shooting a pretty pedestrian 3-10 from the field,  playing in a poor match up, Jokic still managed to give owners 32.5 DK pts as he just missed a triple double scoring 7 points, grabbing 12  rebounds, and handing out 8 assists.

Tonight the Nuggets take on the Sacramento Kings who will be playing their 3rd game in 4 nights, all of which have been on the road.

Kings' starting center, Zach Randolph, played 30 minutes in last nights bruising match up with the Dallas Mavericks so I would expect him to get some rest tonight, leaving Cauley-Stein and Labissiere to try and handle the versatile Jokic.

In the Kings' opening night match up, playing without Randolph, Houston big man Clint Capella put up 22 pts and grabbed 17 rebounds and he isn't any where near the same level a player as Jokic can be.

I will be locking Jokic into almost all of my lineups tonight as my high dollar building block.

Upper-Mid Price

I'm going a little above what I originally planned for the 'mid-tier' player here but there is almost no way I am having a team tonight without Spurs' PF/C LaMarcus Aldridge ($7,700 DK).

Aldridge's usage over the last two seasons when Kawhi Leonard is out goes up approximately 31% as he becomes the #1 option on offense.

If you like to play the narrative game, like so many DFS players do, LaMarcus was drafted #2 overall by the Bulls back in 2006 before a lop-sided trade sent him to the Portland Trailblazers.

Since then, in 21 games vs the Bulls, LMA has averaged nearly 21 points to go with 8.6 rebounds per game.

Chicago, coming off of a 117-100 loss to the Raptors, are currently running out one of the worst units in the league, so there is always the scare of a blowout.   The good news about a potential lopsided game is that we can expect Aldridge to have quite a strong stat line if the Spurs go up big.

There will be plenty of value plays available tonight so you should be able to play a couple fairly expensive players my teams will start with Jokic and LMA.

Under $6k player

I debated and debated about who I wanted here, as I will be sprinkling a number of under $6k guys in my lineup tonight but, without going into all of them, I want to focus on just one in particular:

JJ Barea, Dallas, $4,200

With Dennis Smith, Seth Curry, and Devin Harris all missing tonight, JJ will look to build off of last night's 29.25 FP effort.

The Mavericks are playing their 3rd game in 4 nights, but JJ saw the court for only 18 minutes on opening night, scoring 25.75 DK pts and then managed 29.25 DK pts last night while shooting just 4-14.

In a major pace-up game for Dallas, taking on Houston, JJ will look to pick up right where he left off.  With Patrick Beverley no longer in HOU, and CP3 sidelined, Houston really struggles to guard the PG position and Barea should have no trouble hoisting up shots during his time on the court.

His minutes increased from 18 in game 1 to 27 in game 2 and I expect him to level off around the 27-28 minute mark again tonight.

At just $4,200 I find it hard to believe that Barea gets less than 5x salary and could easily reach 7 or 8x with just a few things going his way.


There may be more value opening up late, as PHX Devin Booker is now Questionable for tonight's game but, as we saw last night with Eric Bledsoe, you can't always trust what you read about the Suns' players...

Good luck all!

2017 WWE SmackDown Hell in a Cell Preview

The build to this PPV has been quite long and, honestly, a bit underwhelming.  I have very low expectations heading into this Sunday but hopefully the WWE can find a way to under hype and over deliver for once.

PRE-SHOW

Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin v The Hype Bros: The newly formed version of the World's Greatest Tag Team has been quite exciting to watch so far but I'm a little concerned that they've spent a lot of time showcasing Benjamin instead of Gable.  Shelton is at the tail end of his career so one would think the WWE would use him to help push along the younger Chad Gable but so far that isn't the case.  The Hype Bros have been teasing either a heel turn or a break up for the last few weeks and all signs point towards a loss here for Mojo and Ryder.  This match should be fun but will end with a clean and decisive win for Gable and Benjamin.

SKIT

Fashion Files: Instead of diving right into the actual card I figured I would take a minute and talk about the Fashion Files.  The first few "episodes" of this were exceptional and quite clever but this skit jumped the shark several weeks back.  You can only promise a conclusion to an angle and then fail to deliver so many times before people stop caring.

I have officially stopped caring.

Originally I thought this would turn out to be Harper & Rowan but rumors are now that it'll be the Authors of Pain getting their NxT call-ups.
 
Maybe this week they'll actually provide an answer to the "who done it" storyline .... or maybe the won't.  Honestly, it doesn't really matter and this is a waste of PPV space.  It really just furthers my previous point of this show being very underwhelming on paper.

Randy Orton v Rusev:  Hopefully this is a program that helps return Rusev back to the mid-title belt scene in the near future.  Orton's career is starting to wind down and this should be a great time for him to put over a young star such as Rusev.   If pushed correctly, Rusev has the look, the mic skills and the in ring work to be a great US title contender.  That being said, the WWE has proven time and time again that they love them some RKO and they have little to no interest in pushing Rusev, so I fully expect Orton to win here which would be extremely disappointing.

Bobby Roode v Dolph Ziggler:  As I stated a couple weeks back, this whole "flashy entrance" gimmick that Ziggler had been doing was clearly leading to a match up with Roode down the line.  This could easily be the match that steal the show, which is something Dolph has been known to do on PPVs over the course of his career.

Roode will win but I expect this match to be a great back and forth effort with several close pin fall attempts and some really good actual wrestling.  Ziggler, like the aforementioned Rusev, has had so many ups and downs within the company over the last few years and I fear that his best years were wasted due to injuries.   Roode is no spring chicken but the WWE seemingly believes in him at this stage in his career more than they do Dolph.

Baron Corbin v AJ Styles (c) US Title:  Typically when someone loses on the "go-home" show, like Corbin did, they win on the PPV.  I would really hate to see AJ drop the belt here but part of me thinks that they will give the belt to Corbin and return the US title to a mid-card level and then go back to pushing Styles into the main event scene.

I expect some shenanigans, I wouldn't be shocked to see Dillinger get involved but I think that somehow/someway that Corbin walks away with the title here.

Hopefully this gets the belt off of AJ and allows him to win the Royal Rumble this year and challenge the WWE champion at next year's WrestleMania.

Charlotte Flair v Natalya (c) Women's Title:  This is one of the matches on the card that I am just not sure about.  Charlotte will get the belt in the near future, without a doubt, but I just am not sure it makes much sense to take the belt off of Natalya this early into her reign.  For me, right now, this is a literal coin toss but one thing I'm sure of is they won't let Charlotte lose clean.

If Natalya retains I expect it to be by DQ or interference, likely by Carmella.  

Do I think Charlotte is the best person on SmackDown to be champ?  No.  Not at all.  That being said, with all of the rumors swirling of a Rousey v Charlotte at next year's WrestleMania then it simply makes sense for her to obtain the belt before then.  

This match, and I hope I'm wrong, will likely be one that should've been saved for a SmackDown Live show but hopefully they are able to do enough to not embarrass themselves on the PPV.

The Usos v The New Day (c) SmackDown Tag Team Titles:  This has been one of the best feuds going for the Blue Brand and this match will likely continue that trend.   These two teams doing battle inside Hell in a Cell may be something special.  

The Usos have done a fantastic job of transitioning to heels and the New Day continue to do their goofy acts that the younger fans absolutely adore.

The in-ring work between these two teams has also been quite good so it keeps the "smarks" coming back for more too.

Unfortunately, at some point, there has to be another contender for the titles and I simply don't see anyone on the current roster, other than maybe Gable/Benjamin, that could be pushed into the title scene that makes sense.

I believe the New Day retains here for a couple of reasons.   First off, the belt has bounced back and forth so much recently that they NEED to keep it on someone for a bit so that the championship can regain some integrity and meaning.  Secondly, the only team that I can think of that makes sense to enter the title picture after this show would be the former NxT champions: The Authors of Pain.

I could see the AoP destroying Breezango early in the show and then come out after the title match concludes to leave the champions laying in the middle of the ring.

Nakamura v Jinder Mahal (c) WWE Championship:  Please, please, please let this be the end of the Jinder experiment.  It's not working.  

I truly understand why they put the belt on him initially but the numbers aren't increasing as much as they'd hoped in the India markets and the fans are growing VERY tired (and bored) of Mahal.

Not only as the WWE Championship become an obsolete belt recently, but management has done such a poor job of establishing Nakamura as a star that they are really on the verge of ruining his character (see Bayley).

Nakamura NEEDS to win the belt here to help push him up to the level that he deserves and Jinder should move back down the card a little as they continue to try and get his character polished and cleaned up a bit more.

If Shinsuke does indeed win Sunday I could fully see him holding the belt until WrestleMania where he faces his New Japan foe: AJ Styles.

Shane McMahon v Kevin Owens:  There has been a lot of talk in the last week of KO getting shipped to RAW soon.

This would be a HUGE loss (and mistake) for SmackDown.

Owens is really starting to hit his stride as the heel character that he played in ROH and is showing the world just how good he can be as a "bad guy". 

In a dream world, this match plays out pretty simple.  Lots of back and forth.  Shane does something crazy.  Most importantly, Owens beats McMahon down to the point that the match has to be stopped by the official.  

After the match is called, KO continues to pummel Shane until he can no longer defend himself and the locker room empties and pulls him off.

This all leads to Tuesday night where Owens comes out and talks about getting rid of Shane, getting rid of Vince, and how the WWE is now his.

Obviously there is one part of the family left that he hasn't had to come face to face with yet.

HHH.

HHH v Owens at the Royal Rumble.

I would much rather see KO running around like SmackDown is "his show now" until he's confronted by Daniel Bryan, leading to Bryan's in-ring return, but that is starting to look like it will not happen in the WWE, so I'll settle for HHH.

Kris Dunn: Buying into the Hype

Kris Dunn: Buying into the Hype

During the 2016 NBA Draft there were very few players that were being hyped up more than Providence Senior, Kris Dunn.

Coming off of a college career in which Dunn was a two time Big East Player of the year (2015, 2016), two time First Team All-Big East (2015; 2016), and two time Big East Defensive Player of the Year (2015; 2016) Kris was a favorite amongst most draft pundits.

There were rumors before the draft that Dunn could go as high as number three to the Boston Celtics as the top two slots were seemingly destined to be Ben Simmons and Brandon Ingram.

As a fan, I remember watching the pre-draft shows and would listen to expert after expert talk about how big of a fan they were of the polished, matured PG that showed lock down defensive abilities and a knack for finding the basket on offense.

Dunn ended up coming off the board, with the number five pick, to the Minnesota Timberwolves, an up and coming young team that could use a hard-nosed defensive player like Kris to help solidify their rotation.

One of the knocks on Dunn, as there are always people that are looking for what’s wrong with a player, is that he was seemingly injury prone.

During his time at Providence, Dunn tore is labrum just before his freshman year began and then would have shoulder surgery after playing just four games during his sophomore year.

As noted, he was able to battle back from these injuries and rack up a number of prestigious awards during both his junior and senior years.

Just as it seemed Dunn had put the injury bug behind him, he was forced out of the Summer League games, after scoring 27 points in his debut and managing to play in only two games, due to a concussion suffered at the hands of Raptors’ rookie Jakob Poeltl.

After recovering from this injury, Kris went on the have quite a subpar and disappointing year for the T-Wolves.

Stuck behind starting PG, Ricky Rubio, Dunn managed to average a little over 17 minutes a game while shooting under 40% and scoring under 4 points per game.

This was a surprising turn of events as Minnesota head coach, Tom Thibodeau is known for implementing a “defense first” style on the floor and Dunn has proven he strives on that end of the court.

During the off-season there were a number of rumors swirling that Minnesota would be trying to trade Rubio, thus opening the door for Dunn to take the reigns as the new floor general for the team but in a surprise move it was actually Kris that was sent out of town.

The Timberwolves shocked fans when they sent Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine, and the draft rights to Lauri Markkanen to the Chicago Bulls for All-Star Jimmy Butler and the rights to Justin Patton.

After also buying out Dwyane Wade the Bulls find themselves now in the unique ability to throw a bunch of young talent out onto the court and see what happens.

Dunn, most assuredly, will be one of those players.

This will finally give Kris a chance to start on a regular basis and show the NBA what he can do.

Along with Markkanen, Bobby Portis, Jerian Grant, Denzel Valentine, Paul Zisper, Zach LaVine (once recovered from his torn ACL) and veterans Robin Lopez and Nikola Mirotic the Bulls will certainly be an interesting team to watch during the 2017-18 season.

As a fantasy sports player, I will certainly be drafting Dunn in a number of leagues this year, as I firmly believe he could be comeback player of the year and put up multiple 5 x 5 lines this season.

He will be surrounded by shooters, a couple solid big men, and a young star that I feel is vastly over-looked in Markkanen, which sets things up for Kris to be able to control the ball and be the leader he was originally drafted to be.

Call me crazy.