Bleacher Report - Articles by Connor Green

Now That Edge Is Injured, What Happens Now With WWE?

Connor Green — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 14:35:29 -0400

As we all know by now, Adam Copeland, aka Edge, was seriously injured at a WWE house show Friday. Doctors say Copeland tore an Achilles tendon, a serious injury that will likely keep him out until next year.

The injury occurred when Edge planted his foot wrong and landed akwardly.

After the injury, Edge got on the mic and apologized for having to cut the match short.

This injury came just five days after Edge won the Unified Tag Team Championships alongside Chris Jericho at The Bash last Sunday.

The question now is what happens to Chris Jericho and the Unified Tag titles? Better yet, what happens to SmackDown in general?

Jeff Hardy, a current Smackdown main eventer, only has a few weeks left on his contract and is undecided on whether or not to renew it. If Hardy chooses not to renew his contract, then who will challenge CM Punk for the World Title with no Edge or Hardy around?

There are a few solutions. First off, WWE could have Jericho simply drop his half of the Tag titles and feud with Punk. However, with WWE apparently trying to make Punk heel, it's hard to imagine Jericho feuding with him.

If that doesn't work out, then why not go ahead and push John Morrison? He and Punk work well together, and we already know that the two can have a nice feud.

Heck, why not throw Rey Mysterio in there? Sure, he'll probably be Intercontinental champion for a while, but that doesn't mean he can't challenge for the World title. He probably won't win it, but it would help fill in the void while Edge is gone.

As far as the Tag Team championships go, the possibilities are endless here.

The easy way out is to just have Jericho find a replacement for Edge. Dolph Ziggler perhaps?

However, a better way, in my opinion, is to settle it is to have a Tag Team tournament that culminates at the Night of Champions on July 26.

It could feature Legacy, The Colons, The Hart Dynasty and Cryme Tyme, along with anyone else that WWE might want to put in.

No matter what happens either way, this is a huge blow to the WWE.

What do you think the WWE will do? Type what you think in the comment section below.

Coming To Your City: 2009 College GameDay Location Predictions

Connor Green — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 16:02:11 -0400

June is not an easy month to be a college football fan.

College football news is rare, and you're stuck right in the middle of the offseason.

You'll do anything to help your college football needs, whether it be watching highlights of your favorite team from last year, making your own preseason rankings, or predicting the week-by-week locations for ESPN's morning college football preview show, College GameDay.

Chances are, if you're a college football fan, you're also a fan of College GameDay.

If not, well, it's basically a show where three guys drive a bus around the country (well, they actually fly, but they bring a bus) and preview college football games each Saturday from a location that is typically hosting the day's biggest game. The show is always live and lasts the whole season.

So, without further ado, here are my predictions of where College GameDay will be stopping each week for the 2009 season.

September 5

The first Saturday of the season has a surprisingly solid slate of games. Oklahoma State will get a chance to show how good they really are as they face a Georgia team that will be experiencing life after Stafford and Moreno.

2009 is supposedly the year that Baylor finally breaks through and gets to a bowl; can the Bears make a statement and upset Wake Forest on the road?

How will Missouri fare without Daniel, Maclin, and Coffman? Find out as the Tigers battle an Illinois squad that had a disappointing 2008 season.

Oklahoma will get a decent early season test against the Cougars of Brigham Young, and a Cal team with potential to win the Pac-10 will get Maryland at home in what could be an interesting game.

But the biggest game of the day will be in the Georgia Dome as two top 10 teams collide with conference pride—and much more—on the line. Alabama vs. Virginia Tech in Hotlanta. It doesn't get any better. The GameDay crew heads to Atlanta for the third time in 372 days.

Location Prediction: Atlanta, GA (Alabama vs. Virginia Tech)

September 12

After a great week 1, week 2 doesn't look so great.

The only game that will draw any national attention is USC vs. Ohio State, Part 2.

Heck, even if there were any other good games on today, I don't think the crew would miss out on Columbus. This has potential to be game of the year.

Location Prediction: Columbus, OH (Southern Cal at Ohio State)

September 19

Week 3 should be exciting.

Games like Texas Tech-Texas, Florida-Tennessee, Florida State-BYU, Oregon-Utah, Nebraska-Virginia Tech, North Carolina-East Carolina and Oregon State-Cincinnati grace the schedule.

The two games that will likely get the most attention are Texas Tech at Texas and Tennessee at Florida.

However, since Florida-Tennessee is scheduled to be on CBS while Texas Tech-Texas is scheduled to be on prime time ABC, I'm thinking that ESPN is going to give itself a little self-promotion and hit up Austin, especially since both teams are more than likely both going to be undefeated at this point.

Location Prediction: Austin, TX (Texas Tech at Texas)

September 26

Once again, we will experience one great week only to have a lackluster schedule the next week.

Cal-Oregon and Penn State-Iowa are the only games that should be worth watching.

I'm giving the nod to Cal-Oregon because the winner of this game will have the biggest chance to one-up USC for the Pac-10 title. Plus, two great rushing attacks will be on display.

Location Prediction: Eugene, OR (California at Oregon)

October 3

LSU-Georgia will turn a lot of heads. It should be a closely contested game between two solid teams.

But I have to go with the west coast again this time. Come on, USC at Cal, with the winner likely in the driver's seat in the Pac-10? How could GameDay not cover this game?

Back-to-back west coast appearances will be a first for GameDay, but it will be well worth it.

Location Prediction: Berkely, CA (Southern Cal at California)

October 10

This day belongs to the SEC, as two pivotal matchups will occur, as LSU takes on Florida and Ole Miss battles Alabama.

Do you know what's strange? The defending national champs have yet to be featured on GameDay so far this year. That will change this week.

The game is in prime time in Baton Rouge, which furthermore makes this somewhat of a no-brainer, as Ole Miss-Alabama is on the front end of a CBS double header.

Location Prediction: Baton Rouge, LA (Florida at LSU)

October 17

New Hampshire at Massachusetts and Villanova at James Madison will be the day's best games.

Nah, just kidding. See you in Dallas.

Location Prediction: Dallas, TX (Texas vs. Oklahoma)

October 24

There are a couple of decent games today, but nothing to write home about.

Boston College-Notre Dame may be a good game, along with Oregon State at USC.

However, I doubt GameDay would go to Notre Dame, and I also doubt that they would go to the west coast three times in a single season.

College GameDay always goes to one non-BCS game each season. So why not go to TCU at BYU? There aren't any great BCS conference games on, and this game would help decide a conference championship.

I'm predicting that the bus will be seen there, because I really don't think there's anywhere else worth going today.

Location Prediction: Provo, UT (Texas Christian at Brigham Young)

October 31

GameDay has four games from four conferences to choose from today.

They could go to Eugene again for the Oregon-USC matchup, but like I said, it's unlikely that GameDay would go to the west coast three times in one season, and it's even less likely that they would go to the same location twice. It's possible, but highly unlikely.

There's always Jacksonville and Florida vs. Georgia, but it all depends on whether or not Georgia is ranked high enough.

Penn State at Northwestern? If the Wildcats are as good as they were last year, this could draw consideration since it may have Big Ten title implications.

My prediction for this week is Texas at Oklahoma State. This could be OSU's best team ever, and it could be a trap game for Texas. This has all the makings of a classic, and this looks eerily similar to the Horns' game at Texas Tech last year...

Location Prediction: Stillwater, OK (Texas at Oklahoma State)

November 7

It's going to be hard to choose between Ohio State-Penn State and Oklahoma-Nebraska.

However, GameDay has yet to show the Big Ten much love this year except for the Ohio State-USC game, and the Big 12 has had 3 games featured so far.

Happy Valley welcomes the bus back with open arms.

Location Prediction: University Park, PA (Ohio State at Penn State)

November 14

Another slow day.

If Baylor is in good position to make a bowl at this point of the season, then I could see GameDay in Waco for the first time ever as the Bears take on Texas.

Another Big 12 game of importance is Nebraska at Kansas in a game that could decide the Big 12 North.

Florida at South Carolina is another possibility.

Of these three, I think I'll go with Nebraska-Kansas. The Big 12 has gotten a significant amount of coverage this year, but hey, what can you do?

Location Prediction: Lawrence, KS (Nebraska at Kansas)

November 21

The only game on the schedule that should attract any attention is LSU at Ole Miss.

It is a game that may decide the SEC West, and could very well be a top 10 matchup. Not much I can say here...

Location Prediction: Oxford, MS (LSU at Ole Miss)

November 28

Georgia-Georgia Tech, Florida-Florida State, and Oklahoma-Oklahoma State should be the three games that will be considered most.

I think that Florida-Florida State will get the nod for one major reason: It is Tim Tebow's last home game as a college football player.

That storyline alone may be enough to bring GameDay to Gainesville. Couple that with the fact that this is supposedly FSU's best team in five years, and you have a nationally attractive game.

While the fact that CBS is broadcasting the game may be a turnoff for the crew, I'm sticking with my prediction.

Location Prediction: Gainesville, FL (Florida State at Florida)

These are just my predictions. ESPN will probably do something entirely different and make me look like a fool, but whatever. Thanks for reading.

A Touch of Magic: Orlando Headed to Finals for First Time in 14 Years

Connor Green — Sun, 31 May 2009 10:52:31 -0400

When the NBA playoffs started, many thought that it was a foregone conclusion that the Cleveland Cavaliers, with the NBA's best record at 66-16 and arguably best player in LeBron James, would breeze through to the finals.

That seemed inevitable after the Cavs quickly disposed of Detroit and Atlanta in just four games each.

The Orlando Magic, on the other hand, had just come off of a six game series with Philadelphia and a seven game series with defending NBA champion Boston.

Surely, LeBron and Cleveland would once again easily win and face Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, right? Well, maybe not.

The Magic defeated the Cavaliers 4-2 in six games to secure their first finals appearance since 1995.

Orlando was definitely the better all-around team. They hit the Cavs outside with Hedo Turkoglu, Rafer Alston, Rashard Lewis, Courtney Lee, and Mickael Pietrus, as well as dominating inside with Dwight Howard and Marcin Gortat. Gortat, Pietrus, and Anthony Johnson all contributed off the bench.

The first two games of this series, in Cleveland, were both thrillers. The Magic took game one, 107-106, after Lewis hit a three with 14.7 seconds left. The Cavs then won game two, 96-95, following a buzzer-beating shot by James.

Games three and four took place in Orlando, and were entertaining as well. The Magic won game three, 99-89, in an incredibly physical game that had 61 total called fouls. Orlando then took a 3-1 series lead in game four in a wild 116-114 overtime victory.

The Cavs pulled away late in game five in Cleveland to win 112-102 and send the series back to Amway Arena in Orlando for game six.

Despite being outscored 50-45 in the second half, an 18 point halftime lead was enough to lift the Magic past the Cavs 103-90 in game six for the decisive fourth victory.

Kobe versus LeBron? Not this year.

Instead, Orlando will face the Lakers in the NBA Finals. Remember, the Magic were one of just two teams to sweep the Lakers in the regular season, going 2-0.

This time, there is much more on the line.

Five Florida Gators Football Games To Watch in '09

Connor Green — Sat, 23 May 2009 12:06:32 -0400

The Florida Gators are the defending national champions. They return the entire two-deep defense from last season's squad, including Brandon Spikes, Joe Haden, Ahmad Black, Carlos Dunlap, Jermaine Cunningham, and Major Wright. The Gators also return phenom Tim Tebow . The only major loss for Florida is WR Percy Harvin. With the incredible team that the Gators have coming back, going undefeated should be no problem, right? Well, maybe not. Despite the great team and the soft schedule, there are 5 games that could potentially give the Gators trouble in 2009. Of course, they could beat each of these teams by 30+ points. But still, these are five games that you should definitely tune in to. So here you go: 5 Florida Football Games to Watch in '09.

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The Top 5 Best Pro Wrestling Entrance Themes, As Voted By You

Connor Green — Fri, 22 May 2009 20:20:04 -0400

Earlier this week, I wrote an article listing my Top 5 favorite pro wrestling entrance themes of all time. Then, I asked all of the readers to list their Top 5 as well.

My list included themes from Ted DiBiase Sr. ("Everybody's Got a Price"), Christian ("Just Close Your Eyes"), Randy Orton ("Burn in my Light"), Edge ("Metalingus"), and Hulk Hogan ("Real American").

The feedback was tremendous, and I found several interesting lists.

I know you're anxious to see the Top 5 most popular entrance themes ever, so I'll quit stalling. Here it is (rankings are judged by amount of #1 votes):

T-5. Undertaker Theme Song/"This Fire Burns" (CM Punk)/"Voodoo Chile" (Hollywood Hogan)/"One of a Kind" (Rob Van Dam)/"The Game" (Triple H) (1 vote each)

T-4. "Real American" (Hulk Hogan)/"Burn in my Light" (Randy Orton)/"Sexy Boy" (Shawn Michaels)/The Rock Theme Song (2 votes each)

3. "Are You Ready?" (DX) (3 votes)

T-2. "Metalingus" (Edge)/"Voices" (Randy Orton) (4 votes each)

1. "Just Close Your Eyes" (Christian) (5 votes)

So there you have it: Christian's "Just Close Your Eyes" is the most popular pro wrestling song of all time.

I'm not surprised that the song is so popular, but I am surprised that my #1, "Real American", didn't get more votes.

A big thanks to all that took part in this. This is Connor Green, signing off.

What Are Your Top Five Favorite Pro Wrestling Entrance Themes of All Time?

Connor Green — Tue, 19 May 2009 19:26:29 -0400

Ah, entrance themes.

They're as much a part of professional wrestling as the wrestlers themselves. They help pump up the crowd and are sometimes just fun to listen to.

In this article I will first list my top 5 favorite entrance themes of all time, and then in the comments section below you will list your personal top five. I will tally up the votes and in an article later this week I will list the top five best entrance themes as voted by you.

The song with the most votes will be deemed the best entrance theme ever. So sit back, relax, and don't forget to comment!

5. Ted DiBiase Sr. ("Everybody's Got a Price")

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY, MONEY, MONEEEEYYYY! The Million Dollar Man's entrance theme has always been a favorite of mine. It's cheesiness may be what makes it so great. Every time I listen to it, the lyrics bring a smile to my face, and that's what brings Ted Sr.'s theme in at number five.

4. Christian ("Just Close Your Eyes")

No matter which version of this song you have listened to, it's likely gotten stuck in your head a few times before. "Just Close Your Eyes" is catchy, and fits Captain Charisma well. I prefer the first version of this song to the newer version, but both are great, and that puts Christian's theme at number four.

3. Randy Orton ("Burn in My Light")

"Burn in My Light" was used by Orton during his Legend Killer days, and fit him perfectly. I much prefer it to "Voices", but whatever. Seeing Randy kick some poor old bastard in the skull and then hearing this theme immediately after always sent a chill racing down my spine. "Burn in My Light" has burned its way to number three on my list.

2. Edge ("Metalingus")

Regarded by many as the best entrance theme today, Edge's song "Metalingus" nearly got the top spot on this list, and for good reason. It is a perfect fit for the Rated R Superstar. Plus, can any of you get the first two verses of this song out of your head? "Metalingus" is always great to listen to, and it has earned the number two spot.

1. Hulk Hogan ("Real American")

Now don't get me wrong: I am not a fan of Hulk Hogan. But "Real American" always gets me pumped up. The song alone was an icon for the glory days of pro wrestling. "Real American" beat out "Metalingus" after lots of consideration. Not only has the song fought for its right, it's fought its way to number one on my list of favorite entrance themes of all time.

So that's my top five. What's yours? Leave a comment below with your top five included, and I will list the five songs with the most votes in an article later on in the week. Thanks for reading. *starts humming "Real American"*

Breaking Down the SEC West's Three-Team Race in Football

Connor Green — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:49:06 -0400

Alabama. LSU. Ole Miss. In 2009, the Southeastern Conference's West Division may be the most competitive sector in college football (Sorry, Big 12 South). Many college football pundits (including myself) believe that the division will come down to the three teams mentioned above. Of course, the SEC West is not limited to those three teams. But more likely than not, either Alabama, LSU, or Ole Miss will make it to Atlanta over Arkansas, Auburn, or Mississippi State. So, without further ado, this is my breakdown of the three-team race in the SEC West this year.

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The Horrific State Of The WWE Tag Team Division Today

Connor Green — Wed, 13 May 2009 16:14:30 -0400

It is well documented that the WWE's tag team division is a train wreck. As of right now, I can honestly only think of 4 tag teams in the WWE (3 if you don't count last night's alliance between Tyson Kidd and DH Smith).

This is a result of a year's worth of breaking up several tag teams, many of which were former Tag Team Champs.

One year ago, while the Tag Team Division was still somewhat of a wreck, there were still more teams than today. Join me as I review the many teams that have been broken up by the WWE in just the last year.

* indicates former Tag Team Champions.

Deuce n' Domino*

Paul London & Brian Kendrick*

Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch*

Jesse & Festus

CM Punk & Kofi Kingston*

Finlay & Hornswoggle

Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly*

Carlito & Santino

The Brian Kendrick & Ezekiel Jackson

The Miz & John Morrison*

Curt Hawkins & Zack Ryder*

That's 11 tag teams, including 7 former Tag Team Champions, that have been broken up in just the last 365 days.

And to think some people wonder why there are hardly any tag teams left in the WWE.

The tag team division has been in a slump for a few years now, but this last year has just been a nightmare for longtime fans of the division.

This year's WWE Draft broke up 5 tag teams and nearly broke up 2 more, proving that in the WWE, no tag teams are safe.