August 18, 2022 News and Notes

• Kazuchka Okada has won his second consecutive G1, and will be the challenger for the IWGP World Championship on a ONE-NIGHT Wrestle Kingdom January 4, 2023-- in which there is some word AEW talent (which is being used to fill out some of the American work) may be involved.
• He defeated Will Ospreay in about 33 minutes.
• New Japan and women's promotion Stardom will have a second crossover event at the Palladium in New York City in October.
• With Wrestle Kingdom going back to one night, chaotic event New Year Dash (where the card is secret until the start of the card and new angles are begun for the next year) returns on the 5th.
• NXT UK has disbanded and a half a dozen wrestlers have been released.  It will reform as a larger full-European project, and the shambles that the sexual abuse by UK wrestlers has left is a large reason why.
• There is some consternation in AEW land toward CM Punk.  Mysteriously, the apparent PPV main event for All Out in September (between him as World Champion and Interim World Champion Jon Moxley) was moved up to a free Dynamite next week, and now word CM Punk almost no-showed last night, and did go into business for himself to blast Hangman Adam Page in a promo during this week's show.  Hoo Boy.
• The final DeShaun Watson verdict is in -- the arbitrator split the difference.  11 games.  STILL NOT NEARLY FUCKING ENOUGH.   
• A $5,000,000 fine has been added to the penalty -- meaning what games he plays until about Week 3 or 4 of next season are for free.
• Some chatter about Tom Brady's "personal matters" and when he might return to the Tampa Bay team.  Highly unusual, yes -- but this IS Tom Brady.
• The US Open tennis tournament will have over $60,000,000 in total prizes, a larger amount for more players in the earlier rounds -- which makes sense, when you think of it.
• A reporter for the Dodgers thought it might be fun to do Bernie Brewer's slide.  Two broken bones in his wrist and six broken ribs later when he didn't take the padding properly...
• The rumored deal for the Big Ten has been signed with NBC, FOX, and CBS.  Billion dollars a year for 10 years, the conference is talking "EXPOSURE" in the press.  Shyeah and right!   
• In the "Well, This Is Interesting..." Department:  A Dominican League game yesterday ended 2-0 (a Cubs affiliate beating a Pirates affiliate).  The interesting part of it is that BOTH TEAMS, technically, recorded no-hitters.  The regulation seven-inning game featured precisely ZERO hits, by either team!   
• Both runs were scored off of walks and throwing errors in the first inning.
• Albert Pujols, saying he was about a month and a half from his retirement, has hit three home runs in the last several days, 690 total...  Think he might come back for 700?  Maybe???   
• And in the "Fucking Sore Loser Bigot Bullshit" Department:  A Utah athlete, without her knowledge, had her gender investigated when the second and third place finishers in a competition last year (before Utah made transgender athletics illegal -- a practice challenged in their courts and now in force in at least 12 states) complained and demanded it after the athlete had defeated them, the Salt Lake Tribune and the AP state, "by a wide margin".  Records going back to kindergarten were examined -- the winner determined completely female.
• Not only the bigotry, but two other problems present itself:  The first is why I believe high school girls' sports are done -- the probability that a good athlete can rout the field like that is far increased in grade and high school levels.
• The second is:  Do you think part of this stupid bigotry is the possibility that this could be another high-testosterone female athlete that "doesn't look 'girl' enough" for the boys or men to grab pussy and all that type of shit -- which more people should know is the main purpose, now, for women's sports in this country?