April 8, 2010 | 9:43 am

The Fan’s MVP

Posted by Jeremy Fine

Follow me on

At first I was very upset about the news that fans would be deciding the NBA MVP. I was so ticked off for two reasons. One, the All Star game voting is already a joke. When Iverson and McGrady make All Star teams after playing 3 games in a season (not too mention both 5 years past their prime), every fan who voted for them should be removed from basketball stadiums everywhere. Secondly, it would allow for the same winner or decision every year. Kobe or Lebron? Lebron or Kobe? Boring. In fact if I had a vote I would vote for Kevin Durant. How horrible would Oklahoma City be without him? I mean they would be like New Jersey Nets bad.

But thank God David Stern was not that stupid to allow the fans be the primary voters. Fans equate to a total of ONE of the 124 votes for MVP. Which basically means they want more fan interaction but recognize how stupid NBA fans really are. So now Lebron James will get one extra vote as fans will of course pick King James to repeat as MVP (okay…maybe Kobe will get the fan vote).

But I want to propose something on this site. Why not, since Commissioner Stern is allowing us to, vote for Omri Casspi. Sure he is not this year’s MVP. He is not even this year’s Rookie of the Year, but he has had a huge impact on the game globally (at least in Israel). He made the Rookie All Star team and competed in the H-O-R-S-E tournament. He is a great person for the game. And lets face it he deserves the MVP award more than Iverson is an All Star.

So Jews unite and lets get one strong MVP vote for Casspi.
And Let Us Say…Amen.
-Jeremy Fine
For more Jewish Sports check out www.TheGreatRabbino.com.

April 6, 2010 | 1:15 am

The Jewish Bracket Wins!!!!

Posted by Jeremy Fine

Many of you laughed. Many of you tried to find problems with my logic. But look who is laughing now! The Jewish bracket which I had up about a few weeks ago now reigns supreme (if you don’t know what I am talking about check this out www.thegreatrabbino.com/2010/03/ncaa-bracket-with-jewish-twist.html).

Like I said, Jon Scheyer and the Dukies would win it all. I told you Tennessee was better than you all thought. I told you Syracuse wouldn’t be out in the second round. I told you that God was on the side of the Jewish bracket. And God was. Tomorrow in school when the shekels are transferred over I am thinking of giving a victory speech. I will show everyone how God is in sports. God defeated all of the CBSSportline “experts” and even Barack Obama. How could they not believe me?

But in reality it was all about Jon Scheyer. Critics said it was a mistake to go to the fast pace ACC and they said he was too skinny to play at the next level. But he proved us all wrong. I think Scheyer will be just fine as he now turns his attention to solidifying his status as a first round NBA draft pick.

At The Great Rabbino we will switch our attention to the drafting of Taylor Mays, the rise of the Mets’ Ike Davis, and of course baseball season. But I leave you with two videos (one funny/one unbelievable) of Jon Scheyer. Congrats man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEjogKE7voY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckF5M2HSA0o&feature=related

And Let Us Say…Amen.
-Jeremy Fine
For more on Jewish Sports check out www.TheGreatRabbino.com

0 Comments — Leave your comment

April 3, 2010 | 11:46 pm

Opening Day Starters

Posted by Jeremy Fine

Opening Day is upon us. Yes, even the Pittsburgh Pirates are on top of their division today. As usual my White Sox start the season in the hunt for a division title. And this year the Sox have Jake Peavy and Mark Buehrle, basically two starters worthy of starting opening day.

I noticed this year (thanks to www. Jewsinbaseball.blogspot.com) that Scott Feldman will be the Texas Rangers opening day pitcher. Which means this year there will be two Jewish opening day starters, the other being Jason Marquis for the Washington Nationals. That is really a huge moment for Jewish Baseball fans. It definitely adds to the idea that this is an exciting era for Jewish Baseball. That Sandy Koufax and Hank Greenberg legacies will continue. And we see that with the All Star caliber in players like Ryan Braun, Kevin Youkilis, and Ian Kinsler (unfortunately, Kinsler will begin the season on the DL).

With Feldman and Marquis atop their teams depth chart, we wanted to see which other MLB Jewish pitchers have started for their team’s opening game. Surprisingly, these two are the first since Steve Stone in 1981 for the Orioles to open the season for a team(Stone also opened for the White Sox in 1978). Below are some other opening day starters.

Dave Roberts - Tigers - 1977 and Astros - 1973-74
Ken Holtzman - A’s - 1972
Joe Horlen - White Sox -1968
Saul Rogovin - White Sox - 1953

You know I love White Sox Jewish pride.

So now you are all wondering about Sandy Koufax. I remind you that Koufax pitched with some other great pitchers including Don Drysdale.
Crazy enough, Koufax only started one opening day for the Dodgers in 1964.
As you can see this really is an honor and a day to be proud of our Jewish ball players. Hopefully, in the future others will join them, maybe Aaron Poreda will be an ace soon enough.

Enjoy the season. Lets Go Go White Sox.
And Let Us Say…Amen.
-Jeremy Fine

***Since writing this I have learned that while Marquis was brought in as an Ace he will not be the opening day starter.

1 Comments — Leave your comment

April 2, 2010 | 12:02 am

Imagine Your Rabbi In a Bear Suit

Posted by Jeremy Fine

Ever wonder who is behind your team’s mascot suit? Well, I hate to break this to you but if you went to Brown it might not have been a drunken sports fan or a flexible male dancer…rather it could be your future rabbi. Recently, I caught up with fellow Jewish Theological Seminary Rabbinical Student Ari Lucas, who by the way comes from a great line of Lucas Rabbis, and instead of talking God we talked sport mascoting(?). Ari was nice enough to share his story. Take it from me he is a great guy and gonna be an even better rabbi but undoubtedly his best quality is being a Bear.

INTERVIEW

Hey Ari…

1) Ready to be famous?

Yes.

2) How did you get your position as the Brown Bear?

I was at a basketball game my freshman year and was underwhelmed with the performance of Bruno the Bear. I grew up a Phillies fan and the Philly Phanatic had a huge influence on me (see the attached picture from a bump-in I had with the Phanatic while on Spring Break in Washington DC - he was recording some clips for the Washington Nationals’ first visit to Citizens’ Bank Park.)
I inquired with the athletic department, came to my interview with three pages of brainstorm ideas and was hired on the spot.

3) Did you ever fight with other mascots?

Only once. The bear before me was arrested at a Yale football game for instigating a fight, so I was instructed to keep a low profile, but one time I couldn’t hold back. I had to represent Brown pride. It was a home basketball game against Penn - the winner would win the Ivy League and clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Brown had given out rally towels to the fans and the Penn Quaker got his hands on one. (I don’t know that it was a “he,” but the Quaker costume is a man, so I’ll refer to him as a “he”) He started tearing the towel, so I went up to him and grabbed it out of his hands. The crowd cheered. Then he pushed me, so I pushed him back. Then he hit me, so I hit him back. His head was made of plastic and it hurt my hand. The refs quickly broke up the fight and warned us that they would throw us out if we kept it up.

4) What was your most memorable game and moment?

Skating on the ice at a Men’s Hockey game. My older sister, Dina, came to cheer me on. It’s not easy to skate in the suit. I stood in the goal between periods while some local kids tried to score score goals on me. It was a lot of fun.

5) Was it hot under that Bear suit?

You have no idea. They switched suits my senior year. I preferred the old model because you looked out of the eyes instead of the mouth, but the one advantage of the new model was that it had a fan that would blow air out the top of the head. I used to bring a camelback with me in the suit so I wouldn’t dehydrate. There were a couple freezing football and soccer games when I was happy to have a layer of fur, but for the most part it was sweaty.

6) What did you do on games that conflicting with Jewish holidays?

I was one of 3 bears, so we used to coordinate so that I wouldn’t work on holidays. But sometimes, I would do a basketball or football game on Shabbat. I could walk to the stadium and I wouldn’t log the hours I worked on Shabbat, so that I wouldn’t be paid for those games.

7) What are you doing these days?

Learning for the year in Jerusalem as part of my rabbinical studies at The Jewish Theological Seminary.

8) If you could suit up as any mascot which would it be? Who would your team play against?

I love the Bruno suit and wouldn’t betray him. I will say that I’ve always admired the St. Joseph’s Hawk. He flaps his wings from beginning to end of every basketball game (that’s hard work) and I’m told he gets a full tuition scholarship.
I know this is mixing and matching sports, but I would like to play the Milwaukee Brewers. I always thought their mascott was lame.

Thank you to Ari Lucas. May his Torah be as good as his school pride.

And Let Us Say…Amen.
-Jeremy Fine
For More Jewish Sports visit www.TheGreatRabbino.com.

0 Comments — Leave your comment

March 31, 2010 | 9:00 am

Shameless TGR Plug

Posted by Jeremy Fine

Recently TGR was featured the Chicago Jewish News. We are super excited about the exposure. The Article is below.

At the beginning it mentions how the blog got started. I want to make it clear that I was totally JOKING when I mentioned not having say in my wedding. I did. My in-laws are wonderful people and my wife is the best. Having been my first interview I should have realized that jokes do not always sound as good on paper.

Thanks for reading.
And Let Us Say…Amen.
-Jeremy Fine

A REAL (JEWISH) SPORT…
By CJN staff (03/26/2010)
Like many young Jews, Jeremy Fine always loved sports and was fascinated by Jewish athletes.

But it took a wedding - his own - to lead him into creating what is now a popular Jewish sports blog.

It wasn’t really the wedding but the preparations for it that spurred him into the blog world, Fine said recently in a phone conversation from Israel, where, as a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, he is spending his obligatory year of study.

“I was getting married (last) summer, and my wife was busy dealing with details of the wedding, which didn’t interest me so much or she didn’t let me be a part of,” Chicago native Fine says. “I wanted something to do, so I thought about my two loves, Judaism and sports.”

The two had sometimes been in conflict as Fine had to decide “whether to go to Hillel or go to a sports event” and the like.

He soon started a blog, writing three times a week at first. “I noticed a lot of people were reading it, so I launched it as an official Web site,” he says. “It’s just taken off. Now it has almost 20,000 readers and has been picked up by a lot of other blogs and sites.”

It’s called the Great Rabbino (www.TheGreatRabbino.com), a takeoff on one of Babe Ruth’s nicknames, the Great Bambino, and features a picture of Ruth wearing a tallis on its logo (Photoshopped, of course). “My friends and I were going through names of what we could call it and it kind of just came to me - because I’m going to be a rabbi,” Fine says.

The blog/Web site features news about Jewish athletes and coaches, college and professional, in all sports, as well as interviews that Fine and a few volunteers conduct, such as with the Cubs’ Sam FuldYuri Foreman, plus popular polls where readers can vote for their favorite players, then order a TGR T-shirt. Before the start of the NCAA tournament, for instance, Fine listed all the Jews on teams playing in post-season tournaments. The site also features lists of Jewish sports resources, Jewish sports Web sites, kosher stadiums and more.

“In the Jewish (sports) blog world, there are a few of us, and we talk to each other, confirm who is Jewish, share stories. It’s this kind of social club through the Internet,” Fine says.

“People love following Jewish sports, and I don’t feel there is enough press about it,” he says, adding that fans of the site range from “young people through college age through retired people.”

He recalls that when he wrote a column about Harry Shuman, an obscure Jewish baseball player who was in the major leagues from 1942 to 1944, “his granddaughter wrote in, saying how wonderful it is that people know about him.” His favorite interview, though, has been with , whom he calls “no doubt the greatest Jewish basketball player who ever lived.”

Fine sees sports and Judaism as being alike in many ways.

“Tradition and faith are the two big words,” he says. “In baseball, you always root for the same team; you don’t switch, and you have faith that every year they’re going to win. For Jews right now (the sports world) is so exciting. Omri Casspi (the Israeli basketball player now on the Sacramento Kings, and the first Israeli to be drafted into the NBA) is a huge deal, and in this past Olympics you had two Jewish swimmers.

“If you go back to (Sandy) Koufax, some people consider him the greatest (baseball) player of all time, and there’s a lot of pride in that. Anyone who is Jewish is going to root for the Jewish player,” he says.

In sports, he adds, “it’s an area where your religion, your race, your ethnicity doesn’t matter so much. If you’re a good athlete you’re going to have a chance.” As for Fine, his Chicago baseball allegiance might surprise some, considering his North Side-north suburban cred: He grew up in Deerfield and graduated from Solomon Schechter Day School and Ida Crown Jewish Academy. But his heart belongs on the South Side of the city.

“I’m the biggest White Sox fan you’ll ever meet,” he says. “We had two rules in our house: Marry Jewish, and never bring home a Cubs fan. My wife is not much of a sports fan but she knew the number one rule was, no Cubs clothes. The first present I bought her was a Sox hat, and one of our wedding presents was these amazing White Sox seats.”

His traces his family’s antipathy to the North Siders to his great-grandfather. “He came over to this country and went to Wrigley Field, and there was a sign there that said, no Jews or dogs allowed,” he says. “That was a no-brainer,” he continues. “My ancestors have a lot of Jewish pride, and that was a big one for them.” His family even subscribes to the Chicago Sun-Times because “the Tribune owns the Cubs.”

This year, “I think (the Sox) have a really great chance,” Fine says. “They have a different look and the feel of a real team. They have the best pitching staff in baseball, and their offense is exciting. They have some really young, talented guys who are still pure and haven’t been swallowed up by the game. And they still have (Paul) Konerko and (A.J.) Pierzynski. I see them winning the division and getting into the playoffs, where they would have to deal with Boston and New York. But I don’t think anyone would want to face us.”

As for the Cubs, “they have two Jewish players (Fuld and John Grabow), and I will quietly root for them,” Fine says. “This is the first time since I’ve been alive that they were kind of quiet in the off-season and didn’t spend hundreds of millions of dollars on broken-down players.”

He also likes the Blackhawks’ chances of being in the Stanley Cup finals. “There are some really really good teams they are going to have to face, but this team is set for a while and will be able to compete for many years,” he says. “If they don’t win this year, they’ve got these guys locked down for a long time. I have no reason to believe they can’t do it, that they shouldn’t be at their very best.”

Fine, meanwhile, will be finished with his year of study in Israel this summer and hopes to live in Chicago after his graduation. And then, the Great Rabbino will indeed be written by a rabbi.

1 Comments — Leave your comment

March 28, 2010 | 3:07 pm

Skating With Speed

Posted by Jeremy Fine

At The Great Rabbino (www.TheGreatRabbino.com) we interview Jewish athletes of all kinds. We have interviewed professional wrestlers, major league baseball players, and sports broadcasters. Today we are bringing to the Jewish Journal an interview with Tani Mintz. She is an old friend of mine from way back in the day. Tani is attempting to qualify for the Olympics in Speedskating. Besides being a great athlete she is a nice Jewish girl. Oh yeah did I mention she is sponsored by Powerbar!? Below is my interview with her.

INTERVIEW:
1) Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got involved with Speedskating?
My name is Netanya Shira Mintz, I’m 25 years old, and am extremely proud to say I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois.  I went to private Jewish school my whole life until junior year of high school when I switched to public school.  Athletics and sports have always been essential in my life.  I was a diehard Michael Jordan fan since I can remember.  (The two of us even used to hang out at the Multiplex when the Bulls practiced there!  OK, maybe not hang out, but he knew my name and I hugged his knee. )  In junior high I played basketball and ran track.  I also ran track at the Maccabi Games in 1998 and 2001 and earned a total of 12 medals: 3 bronze, 5 silver, and 4 gold.  And in 1999 I played basketball at the Maccabi Games, and despite having a team of 6 (yes, 6 players total on our team!), we finished in a strong 4th place.

I started speedskating much later in life relative to other speedskaters.  When I was 17 my family and I went to Salt Lake City for the 2002 Olympics.  We all had tickets to see alpine skiing events because we are a family of skiers, but I really wanted to see a short track speed skating event as well.  Admittedly, I totally bought into the Apolo Ohno hype and was super excited at the opportunity to see him live in action.  It was at the Delta Center one night during the Olympics, watching Apolo win the gold, that changed my life forever.  I knew I wanted to be a part of the Olympics.  Now that I had experienced what it was to be a part of the crowd feeding the athletes the energy, I wanted to actually taste the energy.  In an instant, I wholeheartedly believed I would be an Olympian one day.  I would pursue speedskating the second I got home to Chicago, and I would make it happen.

2) What was in like to tryout for the Olympics?
When I first began speedskating in 2002 the thought of competing in Olympic Trials was right up there on the “cool” meter behind actually competing in the Olympics.  I remember the day in 2005 when I qualified to skate in the 2006 Olympic Trials.  It was a blur of emotion because it didn’t sink in when I crossed the line and saw my qualifying time.  It didn’t even sink in when I told myself “Hey, you just qualified to skate in the 2006 US Speedskating Olympic Trials.”  It sunk in when my coach skated by me and said, “Congratulations.  You will be skating in Olympic Trials.”  What takes many skaters a decade or more of hard work to accomplish took me a short four years – albeit a daily routine of intensive training, full-time schoolwork, and a little Starbucks on the side, but a short four years nonetheless.

Two months later in December, I skated my fastest races ever at the 2006 US Speedskating Olympic Trials.  Not fast enough to make the team, but that didn’t matter (well, I can say that now, of course at the time I was a little disappointed).  It didn’t matter because I realized sometime during that competition that I truly was capable of fulfilling my Olympic dreams.  I had just proved to myself that hard work and dedication will lead you to success.  As long as I was in control of my life the Olympic Games would be mine one day.  The 2006 Olympic Trials was just another opportunity to gain some competitive experience so that next time I would be even more prepared.

Fast forward four years later and I’m at the starting line of the 2010 US Speedskating Olympic Trials.  The past four years (2006-2010) had felt the most uncertain and unstable of my life.  The only thing I learned to expect from life was the unexpected.  Having only known a world of constants and stability, I decided to redirect my path along one with more certain outcomes.  I retired from speedskating in 2007 and pursued law school.  Slowly but surely the competitive fire came back, and with a vengeance.  After being accepted to a couple law schools, I decided to put that avenue on hold and come back to speedskating.  In September of 2008 I moved to Utah to train with no expectations of qualifying for any national, let alone international, competitions the next couple years.  Three weeks later I qualified for every single national competition between Sept. 2008 and March of 2010… including the 2010 US Olympic Trials.  I also finished 3rd overall.  Again, I didn’t place high enough or skate fast enough to make the Olympic Team, but I did renew my sense of confidence that the Olympics will be mine… next time. 

3) Are you hopefully for 2014?
Yes. 

4) What do you do in when you are not skating?
I don’t train on Thursdays and Sundays, so those are the days I usually work 5:30am-2:00pm at Starbucks.  (Yes, on my off days I wake up at 5am!)  To be honest though, Starbucks doesn’t feel like a job.  It’s my social life!  And there’s no better place to be at 5:30am than a coffee shop.   And when I’m not at Starbucks or training I’m devoting all of my attention to the cutest, cuddliest, and craziest puppy in the world – Capone.

5) What are some of the coolest/most interesting experiences you have had because of skating?
Another loaded question!  Where to begin?  I remember my first race in Salt Lake City.  I was trying to qualify for the 2003 Junior Nationals.  My best shot was in the 1000m.  I signed up for time trials that weekend.  Saturday rolls around and I take a look at the pair sheet.  Chris Witty – Inner Lane, Netanya Mintz – Outer Lane.  Are you kidding me?  My first race ever in Salt Lake City and I’m paired with the Olympic gold medalist and world record holder in the 1000m?  How cool and ridiculous was that?  I told myself, “Just keep her in your line of vision and you know you’ll be having a good race!”  She did stay in my line of vision (barely), but I just missed the qualifying time by a couple seconds.  Oh well!  Cool experience!

Speed skating also took me to Torino, Italy in 2007 for the World University Games.  Skating on another Olympic track (even if it was a year late!), was very inspirational.  Not to mention the cool opening ceremonies I participated in that felt like a mini-version of what to expect some years down the road…

But probably the most interesting experience I’ve had because of speedskating actually has nothing to do with, well, speedskating.  In 2005 Starbucks began an Elite Athlete Program.  Long story short, I became their sponsored athlete.  When I retired from speedskating in 2007 I asked Starbucks to please keep me involved in any future endeavors they pursue regarding health and wellness.  Passion for my sport may have dwindled, but passion for maintaining a healthy lifestyle never has and never will.  Starbucks realized my dedication to health and wellness and in May of 2008 called on me to participate in the Nike+ 10k Human Race – a race held on August 31, 2008, hosted in 25 cities around the world to benefit three global charities.  More specifically, they wanted me to be Chicago’s ambassador to the program, if you will.  Starbucks partnered with Nike in promoting the race, and Starbucks assigned me the duty of getting as many people in Chicago to run the race as possible.  Through microchipped bracelets and shoe sensors and Nike+ iPods, Chicago racked up the most miles out of the 40 U.S. cities participating in Starbucks’ competition.  Because my city won, Starbucks selected me to fly with Nike on their privately chartered Air New Zealand jet to Melbourne, Australia on August 29, 2008, run the race on August 31 at 8:31am, and then immediately jump back on the jet and fly to LA to run the last leg of the worldwide race beginning at 8:31pm.  All in one day.  Totally awesome one-of-a-kind never to be duplicated again experience?  I’d say so.

6) What will life look like after skating?
What will life look like after skating?  First can I focus on what life will look like tomorrow?  I have no idea what’s in store for me post-speedskating.  I’m sure furthering my education is in my future somewhere.  And as of now I intend on settling down in Chicago again, one day… one day… But ah… so many many things to do before I can commit to one plan, one career, one city.

7) Has Judaism ever played a role in your sport? Has there ever been a conflict?
The biggest conflict I experience regarding Judaism and my commitment to training happens only on Yom Kippur.  I’ve never been shomer shabbos, so racing on a Saturday morning has never been an issue for me.  But since I began speedskating Yom Kippur has always been the one holiday where I feel most connected to my religion, probably specifically because while training I am unable to properly acknowledge the Holy Day – the full 24 hours is a constant reminder of what Jewish laws I am not obeying for the sake of pursuing my dreams.  Although friends and family would never judge me for the religious decisions I make, especially on Yom Kippur, I can’t help but judge myself.  I guess, ironically, Yom Kippur ends up being exactly what it is meant to be – a day of atonement.  I constantly question my decisions on Yom Kippur and battle with myself whether to forego training that morning to go to synagogue, or to stay on track and not lose sight of my goal – not even for a mere few hours at synagogue once a year. Training has always won that battle, but at the heavy expense of extreme guilt the days leading up to and the day of Yom Kippur.

8) You are from Chicago, so what are some of you favorite spots to skate, dine, and hang out?
I love this question.  ESPN Zone.  Niketown.  Millenium Park.  Whether I’m home for a week or a day, these three Chicago landmarks are essential in my visit home.  Ahhhh… thinking about them now makes me feel nostalgic…

If you want to support Netanya for the 2014 Olympics you can email her at netanyamintz@gmail.com.
Thanks to Tani. Best of luck.
And Let Us Say…Amen.
-Jeremy Fine

0 Comments — Leave your comment

March 25, 2010 | 12:47 am

Wrestling with Wrestlemania

Posted by Jeremy Fine

The Great Rabbino recently caught up with Colt Cabana to get his picks for this year’s Wrestlemania. Colt has been traveling the country wrestling and performing his comedy. I plan on hitting up a ROH Wrestling show as soon as possible. Big thanks and shout out to the funniest man in the wrestling business.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
Hello all my fellow Heebs. Can I say Heebs? I assume I can. So I will.
It’s me, you’re favorite Jewish WWE wrestler of all time, formerly Scotty Goldman, Colt “Boom Boom” Cabana.

Currently I’m traveling around the world as a professional wrestler and semi-professional comedian. I can be seen every Monday night wrestling for Ring of Honor (rohwrestling.com) on HDNet.
This coming weekend I’m going to be having three giant shows in Phoenix, Arizona. Friday and Saturday will be a great ROH doubleshot and Saturday night I’ll be on stage telling wrestling jokes with Mick Foley for Total Extreme Comedy (totalextremecomedy.com). The biggest event of the weekend though, of course, is WWE’s WRESTLEMANIA 26.

Jeremy Fine, The Great Rabbino himself picked up his shofar-phone and gave me a call. He wanted to know if I could bless all his fine fans with my WM 26 picks. I consider it a Mitzvah to do it. All I ask is you don’t blame me when you loose all your gelt money when I get the picks wrong! Am I getting too obvious jewey?!!?!...OYE…too easy….ok fine (Jeremy), here you go…

WWE Unified Tag Team Title Match
John Morrison & R-Truth vs. The Miz & Big Show
CC: I think this one’s easy. Morrison & Truth have kinda just been thrown together. I think they’ve done a great job on TV lately though trying to tell you that they’re a legitimate team, but a strong bet would be SHOWMIZ FTW.

Money in the Bank Ladder Match
Dolph Ziggler vs. Kane vs. Christian vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. MVP vs.Jack Swagger vs. Matt Hardy vs. Evan Bourne vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Kofi Kingston
CC: I’d love for it to be my old roomie, Evan Bourne. He’s definitely gonna be the highlight of this match in more than many ways. In my mind it’s a toss up between Christian and McIntyre. Since they’re pushing Drew as the “star of tomorrow”, I’m gonna say Drew McIntyre wins and makes his push as the next WWE champion.

Triple H vs. Sheamus
CC: The firecrotch doesn’t stand a chance. HHH by a landslide.

Triple Threat Match
Randy Orton vs. Cody Rhodes vs. Ted DiBiase
CC: Some interesting ways to think this one. I would hope that Ted Dibiase would get a solid definitive win here and establish himself as the next break out star. Unfortunately, I’ve got a feeling Randy Orton beats them both up the whole match and then grabs himself and easy Wrestlemania victory.

WWE Title Match
John Cena vs. Batista
CC: I wanna make a lot of funny jokes about this one, but I wont. I’m gonna say John Cena stands tall at the end of this one.

World Heavyweight Title Match
Edge vs. Chris Jericho
CC: Edge has really never won the title in a straight up fashion. I think at WM26, Edge gets his first clean championship win. SPEAR!

Career vs. Streak Match
Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker
CC: I think Undertaker’s not quite ready to give his streak up. Shawn will “retire”, go find god aka vacation in Hawaii, and come back with Marty Jannetty for one last Rockers Reunion.

No Holds Barred Match
Bret Hart vs. Vince McMahon
CC: Bret with a Sharpshooter.

Street Fight
CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio
If Mysterio loses, he must join the Straight Edge Society.
CC: I look forward to this one as it’s my boy Punk’s first high profile Wrestlemania match. Punk’s going to win. Mysterio will join the straight edge society, but he’ll get kicked out of both the SES and WWE when he’s found smokin hella weed with RVD in a Jimmy Johns parking lot in Tuscon, AZ.

Those are my picks.
Maybe they’ll be right on, maybe they’ll suck.
Let me know on TWITTER at @DRColtCabana.
Enjoy all of WM weekend and if you’re out there, stop by either TXC or ROH and say hi.
Thanks
COLT
——————————————————————————————————
And Let Us Say…Amen.
-Jeremy Fine

0 Comments — Leave your comment

March 23, 2010 | 12:49 am

Making Your Fantasy Baseball Team Jewish

Posted by Jeremy Fine

Forget about who is the best Jewish baseball player out there. What matters is who is the best Jewish fantasy baseball player out there. Which Jews should you be drafting. Here are the player 2010 player pre-season player rankings from ESPN.com.

Hitters
#4 Ryan Braun- #1 Outfielder
#19 Ian Kinsler - #2 Second Baseman
#38 Kevin Youkilis -#9 First Baseman
#308 - Gabe Kapler
#463 - Sam Fuld
#479 - Josh Whitesell
#619 - Ike Davis
Brad Ausmus - Not Top 1000 - #259 Catchers

Pitchers
#105 - Scott Feldman
#182 - Jason Marquis
#205 - John Grabow
#338 - Aaron Poreda
Craig Breslow - Not Top 1000 (Seriously??)
Scott Schoeneweis - Not Top 1000

Happy Drafting.
And Let Us Say…Amen.
-Jeremy Fine

5 Comments — Leave your comment