Well, this is going to be

A Novak Notebook of a different color. This isn't going to deal strictly with wrestling, since wrestling isn't the only thing out there (sorry to disappoint all of you). This is going to be a commentary, along with a year end wrap-up of what happened this year, in wrestling as well as a few other areas. Now some of the views expressed are mine and mine alone, and if you do not agree, you must enjoy being wrong quite a bit.

The year in sports surprised many this year. In football, we saw all kinds of different things, including a number of new teams entering the playoffs and for the second time in three years, the Super Bowl Contenders of the year before fail to even make the playoffs. So, who wants to go to the Super Bowl now? You get a few commercials, but why on earth would you do one where you let the world know your underarms stink?
In baseball we saw the trade of the century not happen, while baseball had a resurgence. They had wonderful playoffs, and a little bit of everything. The old, new and of course a new chapter in the futility of both the Cubs and Red Sox were written. Grady Little had a brain freeze, and Steve Bartman went into hiding with Salmaan Rushdie. Somewhere a goat and Babe Ruth are sharing a good laugh. One question I have though....when was the last time you heard of a player wanting to take a PAY CUT, and nobody would let him because it would be bad for business. Guess the interests of the player matter little to the union who represents him. Guess all the money in the world can't buy a win huh Alex? But at least you have more money than the people watching you will ever make in their entire life. That should account for something.

In basketball, one great retired (Michael Jordan) and a new one took his place (LeBron James). Only time will tell whether this was a good trade off or not.You know, the notebook used to be able to play basketball, but I knew my days of playing were done when I took a shot and the guy who blocked it didn't even have to jump. I just think it's unfair that the shorter you are, the further away you have to shoot. I mean, give me a seven foot body, three foot arms, let me jump five inches and I could slam dunk too.

In hockey, they seemed to have a season, but nobody really noticed. Worse yet women's professional soccer folded and nobody seemed to care. Beckham getting traded and being named in a movie made more news than women's soccer losing to Germany and having their league folded.

In entertainment, everyone is still trying to figure out what the hell the Matrix is, even after two more movies. After Kill Bill, Bill ain't dead. After The Matrix and Kill Bill, it seems doubtful that many more movies and their sequels will come out so quickly, one after the other. Although with the success of Lord of the Rings, it sounds like it might be the future to make movies back to back, and then release them one year at a time.

Elsewhere in entertainment, Britney's smooch with Madonna was the talk of the town. Paris Hilton happens to come out with an "embarassing video" just in time to promote her new show. Bob Hope passes away, along with people like Johnny Cash, John Ritter, and many many others. Orlando Bloom may be the first person EVER to be in two movies released the same year that went on to gross over 300 million dollars each! And he had a pretty big starring role in each, Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. And after all of that, most people probably still don't know who I'm talking about. If you don't know....look it up.

This is a year where this country started a war, because it couldn't find the man responsible for attacking us during 9-11. Now, don't confuse my issues with the war with problems with the troops. I will always supports the troops out there in the world (as everyone should), but I do not like the fact that this country started a war with another country, who wasn't doing anything. Sure, I don't like Saddaam Hussein, and I wouldn't have lost any sleep if a group of guys would've taken him out. But considering the number of terrorists and dictators in countries like Iran, North Korea, China, Vietnam, large portions of Africa and South America, picking out Sadaam was just ridiculous. What had he done to other countries in the last ten years? He was an easy target because our President knew he could tear him apart. What's next? People from another country looks at Bush cross-eyed and Bush orders their country attacked? Does anyone know that most terrorists actually come out of Saudi Arabia? If it were me, I would've just left him in that hole and poked him with a stick every now and then and yell "the Americans are coming!". Anyway, off of my soap box.

Also this year, reality shows have officially saturated television. They have reality that is fake, fake that is real....real is real, until it is faked, then fake people acting real, or something like that. DVD has completely replaced tapes (some stores don't even carry tapes anymore). Now the debate is whether blue laser or red laser DVDs will be the wave of the future. Or is that the pill controversy from the Matrix? Sports cards have featured everything from pieces of uniforms to pieces of an official Babe Ruth bat. What's next? Pieces of Ted Williams' frozen skin on a card? Whatever happened to collecting good players and sets?

Cable has reach 800 channels or something like that, and there still isn't anything on. Every other channel seems to have bass fishing or figure skating. The internet has broadened to unseen horizons. Why just the other day, it was announced there are over 1 million porn sites, with new ones added every day. And, you still can't find what you're looking for unless you type it in exactly, but if you did that, you probably wouldn't need to look it up to begin with.

Compact Discs have started to fall in price, but not much. After only 20 years or so of promises, the record industry was backed into a corner with pirating running rampant, and had to start dropping prices. Places like National Ripoff Mart started to close shortly there after.

The Rock started out as the new action hero to replace people like the Governator!!! and Rocky 6. His stumble with the Rundown hurt him a little, but his next film or two should make the big difference. Jack was as perverse as ever, chasing younger women, but he seems to have broadened his horizons and has started to chase Diane as well. Did Tom Hanks even make a movie this year?? Jack made two. And really and truly...is it any surprise that Arnold got elected by California? I mean they already had one actor as govenor and his co-star was a chimp. Speaking of Ronnie, congrats on being the oldest former President ever, although we could tell you that you are a twelve year old boy and you would believe us (Of course we would have to hold Michael Jackson away from you-unless you were Catholic of course).

The talk of the a new cult movie has emerged with the Suicide Club. An interesting and yet perverse Japanese movie that will leave you talking.

More dotcoms closed their doors, as did more mom and pop stores, while Wal Mart seemed to pop up everywhere and anywhere. I'm waiting for Wal Mart to get into air travel, since that area is already struggling, with more of them closing as well. You can shop on the plane for discount prices, while flying on something that was put together late at night by a whole bunch of people with a fifth grade education. Gives ya a nice warm fuzzy feeling doesn't it?

We've had a year of mudslides, floods, hurricanes, and tornados. But once again, wildfires seemed to have done the most damage in this country once again. Unless you count Elizabeth Taylor getting married again.

I still haven't seen a plan to turn the economy around. Guess the way and capturing Sadaam hasn't gone as well as Dubbya had hoped. His dad did the same thing after the Gulf War. He sat on his posterior for over a year while his approval rating went from an all time high for a sitting President to under 40 %. He tried to promise he would do more in a second term, and I guess a lot of people thought like me and asked the question "Why didn't you do it while you could?" And why is it everytime this George has a speech, he looks like a deer caught in the headlights?

Does this country actually make anything anymore? It kinda makes stuff, ships it out to other countries to have them put it together, then ship it back here? This confuses me til this day. So if nobody actually makes it, then who owns it? Ugh

The church had issues, both the Episcopal Church and the Catholic Church. It does seem odd when you can mention the Catholic Church and Michael Jackson in the same sentence, and it makes sense somehow.

Kobi Bryant is in trouble, but boy does he have good news. Nicole Richie is willing to sleep with him! Wow, you could just bowl me over with a feather with that one. Who wouldn't she sleep with seems like a more important question. I saw her eyeing up that little kid on "Simple Life", but I think she might have to fight Michael Jackson over him. Unless he's Catholic of course.

Has Robert Blake stopped cawing like a bird in court yet?

Oh yeah, there was some wrestling this year too.....

HHH is champ...isn't that where we started the year?
Rock is making movies....isn't that where we started the year?
Hulk Hogan is out of the WWE......again.
Piper's mouth got him into trouble......again.
Kevin Nash is hurt...isn't that where we started the year?
Stone Cold wrote a book, along with Jim Ross' cookbook, and Lita had something written, along with Heenan, Piper, Hogan, and an Unscripted book. Yet the mighty Ric Flair DVD has outsold them all. You can't even find the damn thing. It is hot, and I think the WWE can learn a lot from this. What made this thing sell? First, love him or hate him (Sorry Adam) he is one of the most popular, attention getting, and recognizable figures in wrestling over the last 30 years. Second, his career covers 30 years!!! Third, he has had a lot of great matches, and the DVD takes some of the best from different stages of his career and puts them together. Fourth, even though completist would never be happy with something like this (they will always be missing that one special match), this thing covers over ten hours. That is a lot of time. I mean, you can fall asleep at Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Rings, and wake up at Lord of the Rings: the return of the King and it won't cover ten hours.

Shawn Michaels has actually made a full fledged comeback and unlike others who have come back, he has not embarassed himself while doing it. Many others have come back, yet not to the degree or success with Shawn. And he hasn't looked bad in the ring doing it.

The WWE is still riding high, sort of. It is still the company everyone wants to go to to shine. Yet, since it doesn't have any competition it doesn't seem to have the same spark or flare that it once had. It is a combination of timing, and them losing their top draws (Rock, Stone Cold, Angle) for long periods of time. They can rebound, and they have a good core of young wrestlers to do it (Orton, Cena, Brock, Jericho, RVD) to do it. McMahon may actually be right about this Wrestlemania and let the old guard go, so the new guard can shine.

The new crop of talent for the WWE has certainly established itself over the last year. John Cena has exploded onto the scene, and Brock was launched. He's getting better and we'll see how long he lasts. Orton has taken his bumps and early injuries have hurt his progress, but he looks like someone who could replace Flair for ego. He's a little rough around the edges, but we'll wait and see. We'll have to wait and see how they do over the next year.
Zack Gowen is over and done, which is good in a way. He had heart and talent, but I hate to admit it, but I do agree with HHH. You don't see one legged baseball, football, or hockey players. We've had a one handed baseball player, but that was about it. Actually, if Zack had one hand, he probably would've stuck around, but one leg is just not enough. It makes the WWE look silly. Who's going to lose to him, and what do they do after they do? He can't go far, and he's a side show attraction. I give the WWE their props, because they gave him a shot and tried, but it just wasn't going to happen.

Has any wrestler broken their neck since the beginning of this column? I mean, how many more wrestlers are going to break their necks before they figure out that landing on it might be a bad idea. It's kinda like hitting your head with a hammer. It might show you're tough, but after awhile you aren't going to know your name from your age, because you won't have no brains left.

It looks like Kurt Angle may soon have to hang them up, and that would be a shame. It would definitely be a career that ended too soon. By the contrary, it looks like Goldberg may be ending his WWE run very soon, and it looks like most people won't care. This is a man who could've gone very far in the business, but since his carelessness has cost others their careers(ie: Bret Hart) and his drive for only money has cost him time in the ring, his career has amounted to not much of anything. I mean, really. He was a borderline pro football player, who nobody had ever heard of. He was built up in WCW, and thinks he's something. Dude...a little wake up call...you were MADE. It was given to you, you didn't earn a damn thing. Now falling to HHH would give anyone heartburn, but swallow it, and try and figure a way to get around it. Or take your ball, pout, and run off to Japan. Nobody will know who you are ten years from now, much like it is in football right now.

We've lost many wrestlers over the last year. Too many to name, and I wouldn't do justice to anyone if I just named a few. Some were bigger names in this business than others, yet they were all out there to entertain us the way they knew best. Sure, they got paid to entertain us, but they still had to perform otherwise their careers would be over.Many of them a surprise, a few weren't. My hope for this year is that these surprises just stop. We don't need them anymore. And, if you are not in shape to get into the ring, please don't get in the ring....we don't need another death in the ring because the guy was too old and out of shape to be in the ring.

Has Nash or HHH torn anything since the start of this column?? Has Hogan's fake teeth or Piper's gut fallen out yet? Didn't miss much since the beginning of the column have ya?

My picks for the year.....
Diva of the year, and every year : Stacy Kiebler
Wrestler of the year: Brock Lesnar
Most improved wrestler of the year: John Cena
woman wrestler of the year: Victoria
underachiever of the year: Hulk Hogan (what did he do?)
announcer of the year: Tazz (he can be hilarious at times)
and special props for Flair and his DVD: He's still the man, and nobody has beaten him yet. Wooooooo!

Anyway, that's my picks, rants and raves this time around. Until next time.......when Santa plants a Trish-sized (not Ferrell-sized) elf under the notebook Christmas tree....keep reading,
Sincerely......the Novak Notebook.

Everyone and their mother

Who watches wrestling has matches they would love to see. Dream matches they are called. I am no different. I have seen so many matches over the years that there are plenty of dream matches that I would've loved to see. I wanted to see Piper and Savage team up, destroying everything in their path. I would have loved to see Bret in his prime fight Benoit now. Angle v Backland. Superstar Billy Graham v Jesse Ventura. Big Show in his prime v Vader in his prime. Rey Mysterio v Dynamite Kid. Legion of Doom v NWO falls count anywhere match. These are the types of matches (along with many more) that people dream about, but unfortunately for various reasons, fans will never get to see.

Lately, especially during Wrestlemania, the WWE tries to accomodate those dream matches. They realize people tend to think back to their youth more during Wrestlemania than at other ppv events. They brought back Okerland and Heenan for the gimmick battle royal, Piper, Hogan, NWO, and many others make their return right around the big event. It seems like the WWE is going to try and do that again this year. They're going to try and make a Goldberg/Lesnar match, or a Benoit/HHH match.They're still trying to get something out of Hogan, and the Undertaker's deadman gimmick may see a return. The real question is does it help the Royal Rumble when the WWE starts gearing up for the Wrestlemania event at the beginning of the year? The rumble used to be important, but now is just a stepping stone for Wrestlemania.

Now I'm never one to point fingers, but doesn't this just kind of make the Royal Rumble a moot point. If they can pretty much do what they want with the matches anyway, why worry about who is going to win the Royal Rumble. They change the rules, twist things around, and also have matches at RAW to determine who really wins the Rumble. They actually continue the ppv the next night? Doesn't make sense.

Remember when Jake sitting in the corner during the Rumble was considered a novel idea? Or just getting out of the ring for too long was grounds for not being allowed back in? What has happened to all of that? I know it's all for show and whatever, but you need to at least make it somewhat believable for the fans to like it. You keep having people run out of the ring, disappear for awhile, and then pop back in to win? That is just silly. What they need to do is clamp back down and make the rules relevant again. If they do that, some respect will come back to the Rumble. Not only that but they need to have someone win that people wouldn't expect to win. Add some surprise back to the Rumble. I'm not talking about a complete stiff winning like Hacksaw Jim Duggan, but a little surprise is needed a little bit. I mean when it comes down to Austin, Rock, or something like that every frickin' year......everyone stops caring.

On the flip side, I do like what they are doing with the Rumble. They seem to be playing everyone up in the Rumble. Angle, Benoit, and Goldberg have all gotten serious face time with their bids for the Rumble, and that makes it exiciting when you don't have a clue as to who might win.

Now, since we're talking about dream match-ups, I'm going to put in my dream matches, but they're a bit different. Like the last column, I am mixing wrestling with stuff happening around the world, hopefully with some humor and truth mixed in.

Wolverine v Freddy Kruegar
(Razor wire, and knife wielding match)

Paris Hilton v Pamela Anderson
(Sex counts anywhere match)

Mini Me v Angry Elf (King Kong Bundy referee)
(Angry midgets on fire match)

Hilary Duff v Mandy Moore
(get these two cuties, put them in Hell in the Cell and make it a steel cage death match. If they refuse to fight, kill 'em both)

Johnny English v Inspector Clouseau
(find the bad guy match)M

Pinhead and the Cenobytes v The Seinfeld cast
(just want to see the Seinfeld cast get wiped out)

Mike Ditka v Billy Martin
(This would've been a great match of the most explosive coaches in their respective sports as long as it's an anything goes match, I mean give Billy a baseball bat and he could hang with Iron Mike)

Britney Spears v. Young Madonna
(Who can be the bigger slut match)

George Bush v Anna Nicole Smith
(Who is really the dumb blonde match, the special referee would be Alex Trebek, and if Anna Nicole wins, she gets to run the country. At least she wouldn't invade another country, since she probably couldn't find most of them on a map anyway.)

Bill Clinton v Wilt Chamberlain
(who's your pimp daddy match)

Donald Trump v Bill Gates
(nerdiest billionaire match, loser has to live by the river from the Deliverance for a month, without and of their money)

Michael Jackson v Tammy Fae Baker
(a scrape down that "face" and see what's underneath it all match)

Demi Moore v Cher
(who can get the youngest guy match)

Jennifer Lopez v Howard Stern
(true king of all media match)

Rush Limbaugh v Archie Bunker
(Rush keeps sounding more and more like Archie every time he opens his mouth)

Colin Powell v Oliver North
(biggest patsy match)

N'SYNC v Mennudo
(Who is so yesterday match)

Robert Blake v Phil Spector (OJ guest referee)
(I don't know where the gun is officer match)

Whitney Houston v Steven Seagal
(Bigger disappointment match)

Bruce Lee v Elvis
(I'll be back match)

Christina Aguilera v Lil' Kim
(Best use of least clothing match)

Calista Flockhart v Kate Moss
(turn sideways and disappear match)

Gary Coleman v Tatoo (Webster guest referee)
(Midget with no career match)

Maculay Culkin v Bubbles the Chimp
(best Michael Jackson pet match)

And finally......

Anyone who knows all the Survivor winners
v
People who remember and discuss Bachelor, Bachelorette and Average Joe competitors
(a special line up and be stoned to death match)

**** The preceding matches were inspired by Celebrity Deathmatch, when it first came out.

Well, until I am put in a special threeway match with Trish Stratus and Stacy Kiebler, keep reading.....Sincerely, the Novak Notebook.

Now here we are....

The Royal Rumble is over and the next big thing as far as the WWE is concerned Wrestlemania XX. The WWE has a ppv in February called No Way Out, but should be called No Body Cares. Everything from here on out is gearing up for Wrestlemania and the special feel of that event. There is nothing wrong with that. I think everything should culminate at one big event every year. The World Series, Super Bowl, Stanley Cup, NBA Finals, March Madness or whatever your sport of choice ends up being determined in one major event at the end of that sport's season. Why should wrestling be any different? Well, it shouldn't. Everything should head toward a climatic conclusion at Wrestlemania. With it being the biggest ppv (and first ever) of the wrestling year, everything should point to it.

That is not what this column is about this time around. Now I have had fun with several of my newer columns, and I will continue to do so with future columns as I see fit. Afterall, it is my column and I can do what I want with it. But this time around, I was sitting around pondering some things after the Rumble and thought they may make a good column.

Normally when you read a column criticizing a sport or movie, or something along those lines, the critics tend to rip into whatever they are discussing but they don't offer any better solutions. I have done this, so I am not saying I am better than other writers who have done this. However, I will admit that while I am tearing into something I don't have any solutions to the problems. I am just smart enough to point out the problems, but not smart enough to figure out what to do about them. Usually I try and offer something, since I feel that with over twenty years of watching wrestling, I have something to offer.

In this case I do have something to offer. What is the problem you ask? The WWE is struggling. They don't know what to do, and they feel they have been falling in the ratings for years. As I've said in the past, moving from the USA Network, having no competition, and misusing wrestlers have all been problems in the past. They are still problems, and with the exception of misusing wrestlers there isn't much they can do about them. They have to look at the whole problem in another light.

How do you get the WWE more attention right now? Well take a look around? What does the sporting world have to offer right now? The Super Bowl is coming up, and then after that you don't have much of anything until March Madness. After that baseball season starts and the NBA starts shuffling for playoffs spots. Oh yeah hockey does something around then too, but has anybody watched hockey in like the last two years?

The WWE could take advantage of this prime real estate. They have to deal with the Winter Olympics and things like that, but overall it is a well known fact that between the Super Bowl and Opening Day Baseball is a dead area for big sports fans.

Now I'm not saying that all sports fans are wrestling fans, but when you have sports fans reduced to watching golf and chess, I'm sure they would be willing to tune in to more wrestling.

That's right, I am suggesting more wrestling. RAW has Monday nights for now, and they should take full advantage of it. After football, expand to two and a half hours. Three if they can pull it off, but at least two and a half. Smackdown is okay on Thursday, but each show should start up another show on other days. RAW should have something and Smackdown should have something, and they should both be about an hour and a half long. They could use wrestlers (like on Velocity) they don't use much, create and expand more storylines, and at least have something on for wrestling fans during the week.

They could have wrestling on six days a week. I mean each brand has two shows and I would turn Velocity into something of a week long recap for both shows. I would combine Confidential and Velocity, and intermix the highlights and the behind the scenes stuff. I'm not a big fan of the behind the scenes stuff, but it doesn't look like it's going anywhere so combine the two of them.

Now why did I say six days a week? You have two RAW shows, two Smackdown shows, and a Velocity/Confidential show. You put RAW on Monday and Friday, Smackdown on Tuesday and Thursday and then have the Velocity/Confidential on Saturday but I would move it up to right before SNL and maybe have it as a lead-in of sorts, even though it's on a different network. There you have five days.

Why six? What to do on Sunday? Hmmm, no Football, maybe you can watch Soccer from Europe, or you can always watch the dog show. I don't think so. What you do is run a different type of wrestling program on Sundays until Baseball starts up. Unless the ratings are high then you keep it going until Football starts.

Vince McMahon now has access to more wrestling than anyone could possibly ever watch. Not to mention his own lengthy library involving the WWE, he now also owns the WCW and ECW library. He could showcase the show of shows and keep it going for some time. He is starting to do the right thing with the DVDs, both the Ric Flair and Mick Foley DVDs, but he could also do that with television. They could have a Best of program covering the WWE's past, along with focusing on current WWE stars and their past with other companies.

Every Sunday they could put on a two hour program with themes like the best RAW matches, best Smackdown matches, best Ladder Matches, best of Wrestlemania, best debuts, best last matches, all kinds of things.

People could watch and remember the past, and the WWE could slip some things in about stuff going on now with the WWE, keep fans in touch with now, and have a blast from the past for older fans. The fans could get fuzzy memories and maybe the WWE could point out the positive stuff about what they're doing now. They may pull some people in, but if nothing else they would keep a lot of sports fans entertained during the dark days of the sporting year.

Lastly, the WWE needs to keep releasing the DVDs the way they released the last two. Ric Flair's career did not just begin in the WWE, and the same for Mick Foley (although what does it say when McMahon thinks a character is sleezy like Catus Jack?). They span the career of the person and hit some highlights and key matches from their career. Oddly enough, I think they did the Foley DVD a lot better than the Flair set. It was mostly matches and Foley commentating on them. Flair's was a bunch of different stuff. Two minor things though. First, they need to be put in chronological order from now on. The other thing I would like to see is behind the scenes stuff like what other wrestlers (including the Undertaker) thought about the Hell in the Cell match, or how Flair and Piper were really road buddies and enjoyed working with each other. They need other people talking about those wrestlers and how they worked with them, also what worked and what didn't. What wrestlers worked well with Flair and Foley and which ones didn't. Also why they worked or didn't work well, and things like that. I think those things would be interesting and add more to the DVD. More matches (like Foley-who will replace Flair on the sellout DVD list) and behind the scenes stuff.

Well, that about wraps it up from this end. So until I end up with Elisha Cuthbert spending a grueling 24 with me....keep reading...sincerely the Novak Notebook.

A new Wrestlemania

Is around the corner, and the WWE is suddenly taking notice. Over the last few weeks they started putting together the matches, and despite the haste, the card is actually shaping up to be a pretty interesting card. Some of the matches, to be fair, have been in the works for some time (Undertaker v Kane, Goldberg v Lesnar, Jericho v Christian) but I do have one question for everyone. Is any of this striking you as must watch TV? I mean they are putting together some pretty solid matches, but are any of them of the caliber that you just can't miss them? The only one that is now piquing interest is the just put together handicap match between Evolution and Mankind and Rock. HHH v Michaels v Benoit is going to be interesting just to see if Benoit gets it and he pins HHH to get it. My prediction is that if Benoit wins, he will not pin HHH to do it, and HHH will certainly not tap.

Jericho goes from king of the world to mid-card in Wrestlemania. This guy has had more ups and downs in this company than their stock. He was one of their more entertaining performers and a solid performer in the ring, yet he doesn't go any higher because he got squashed a few years ago by HHH and has been kept there ever since.

Guerrero winning the title, and Benoit going for the title now makes getting the Radicalz way back when a good idea. Even though Saturn bombed and Malenko retired, the other two were the ones McMahon was really shooting for anyway, and now they are reaching their potential. It is good to see them finally get their shot at the big time, and maybe the WWE is realizing that they can't rely on guys like HHH, Austin, Rock, Hogan, Hart and Michaels forever. They need new people to come in and try and hold the title. Quick trivia, who did the Radicalz turn on when they came to the WWF?

Even though the Undertaker is fighting Kane yet again, the WWE has managed to do the unthinkable. They made this 6 year feud fresh and viable once again. It is interesting, and I can't wait to see the Deadman return one more time. Even though the Undertaker isn't the same he was ten years ago, he still has the presence and can pull off a move here and there to get the job done.

Now the WWE is bringing back the Hall of Fame and inducting everyone and Pete Rose into it. My question is does anyone care and does anyone know who is already in the Hall of Fame besides Gorilla Monsoon and Andre the Giant? It is a stupid Hall of Fame, and nobody really cares.

A few things off the top of my head, and some relate to wrestling and some may not, but it's my column so don't care.

American Idol came out with the bad and ridiculous people who actually thought they could sing. They went on American Idol and made a fool of themselves in front of the whole world. Now some just wanted to try it, which is fine, but I really feel sorry for these people who actually thought they could sing. I KNOW I can't sing, and I would never try out for some of those shows, thinking I had a shot. Anyway, the point is they have a guy who went on there named William Hung who can't sing but people love him anyway. People flock to him and girls (?) love him. Ladies and gentlemen, he is the Gillberg of the American idol scene.

And now to wrap things up, a quick where are they now for some of your favorite wrestlers.......

Lex Luger....he decided to try out for baseball before they test everyone for steroids. He needed something to do and he figured if Jose Canseco can come back, he could certainly try out. Plus, be honest, wouldn't you love to see him clothesline some second baseman trying to break up a double play.

Zack Gowen.....went on a self discovery program to see what does happen to a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest. I heard he got a grant around $50,000 to find out.

Sting.....well, he suddenly woke up and realized that unless you're a wrestler stuck in the 80s, or a rock band from the 70s, people don't wear face paint anymore. He went to wipe it off, and there was nothing left. He wiped his face off!!!!! Those weren't all just little Stinger masks (sidebar; Heather is just going to hate this one!)

Ultimate Warrior....ran down to the end of his driveway to get to get his mail, and his chest exploded. His brain was so steroid driven, that he walked back to the house and fell through the trap door in his floor, never to be seen again.

Ric Flair.....didn't he retire yet? Thought that plane wreck from the 70s cost him his career??

Tony Schiovone (spelling?)......went back to announcing baseball games, until they realized he was a weenie there too, and used him as a fungo bat. And it wasn't an accident.

Terry Funk....got arrested after getting a senior citizens discount at an Old Country Buffet, but wrapping himself in barbed wire and biting everyone who beat him to the buffet.

Sabu....not sure, but I'm certain Duct tape is involved somehow.

Jeff Hardy....Got hired by Glidden after falling into a vat of their paint, causing a new color to be created. "Everything Under the sun....and more...." brand will be on sale soon.

Steve Corino.....he got fired from his last wrestling job, and decided to put all of his blood spilling skills to use. He got hired as a crash test dummy.

Sandman....he's......still....trying....to.....get.....to ....the ring......while....his entrance.....music....is still....playing.

Tommy Dreamer.....went home to ponder what went wrong with Beulah....I mean, I can't see letting someone who looked like that go.....

Bruno Sammartino....still doesn't know what year it is, and I hear a rumor that he speeds up as he passes graveyards because two guys always come out and chase him with shovels.

Chyna.....she is anxiously awaiting the arrival of Torrie Wilson so they can start the "former Playboy covergirls, but nobody cares anymore" tag team.

Anyway, that wraps up another edition of the Novak Notebook.....so until Ralph Nader screws up this election (although I did vote for him last time)...keep reading
...sincerely the Novak Notebook.

Well, I have had big problems

Over the years with HHH, and I have expressed them at this site and others before this. Now it is time to give the devil his due. HHH not only dropped the title to someone other than one of his buds (namely Shawn Michaels), but he gave up.

HHH has said on a number of occasions that he would die before he gave up his title. He built it up as more important than breathing. It meant his life, and he would do anything to keep it. He has done anything to keep it on a number of occasions, and unless my memory is wrong, this is the first time he has ever submitted during a title match.

I have said a number of times that HHH is noted for playing backstage politics and throws his weight around worse than anyone. He has held onto the title quite a number of times, which isn't unusual. However, considering he is usually a heel holding onto the title for long periods of time, well that is unusual. Many have wondered why the WWE has lost viewership, and although it wouldn't be fair to place the entire blame on HHH, he is certainly a contributing factor.

As a heel, he has held on to the title longer than most faces that gain the title. He has completely squashed big stars such as Chris Jericho and Mick Foley in their feuds. And through no fault of his own, he just doesn't have the IT factor that other men such as Austin, Rock, and Hogan who did manage to carry the company. HHH is a very solid wrestler and a perfect foil to someone, but he's only as good as the person he's going against. He doesn't have the ability to lift anyone to an amazing performance the way Benoit and Michaels can. He's great as the antagonist, but his character gets rather boring when he is thrust into the main light night after night.

But at the biggest event of the year, Wrestlemania, HHH did something I never thought he would do; He dropped the title. He lost the belt to Chris Benoit, and he not only lost cleanly, but he tapped out. It was a wonderful moment, and hopefully coupled with Eddie Guerrero's recent title victory, this will mark a huge turing point for the WWE.

Benoit will be a great champion for some time. Whether he turns into a guy who can last long term is another question. He doesn't have mic skills to get the crowd wound up, so he will be limited. But I think he will put many people over and make lots of mediocre wrestlers look good, while building toward another HHH feud. He deserved his shot at a title run after making many other wrestlers look good for so long. Here's hoping it's a long successful run.

I honestly never thought HHH would drop the title at Wrestlemania. I am still having a hard time believing it. The only way I thought HHH would lose would be if either Benoit or Michaels pinned each other. I thought he wouldn't lose any of his steam, while maintaining the notion that he never truly lost the title. He would still be able to stake a claim, but maybe others in the front office thought the way I did in that it would cheapen the title if that happened. Maybe McMahon wanted to show that he wasn't going to play favorites even with his new son-in-law, and losing the title was in the best interest of the company.

I'm not sure about this whole lottery thing. I will have to wait and see how this pans out before I make a judgement though. The last lottery started off slow, but did manage to make a few stars such as John Cena whereas they might have gotten pushed to the background otherwise. They definitely need a shake-up considering they lost both Brock and Goldberg, but maybe McMahon is sincere in saying things are going to change.

I like Eric Bishoff, although he's been pushed to the background lately, and Paul Heyman. I think they are good for each show, and since we don't have managers anymore, they kind of act in that capacity.

All I could keep thinking Monday night was how much they paid Molly Holly for shaving her head bald. Here's hoping that she doesn't take the Kurt Angle route and keep it shaved. For all of her talent and skill, she has been shown very little respect since she stopped being the cousin of the Hollys. She has talent and skill, but I'm wondering why she has never gotten more respect. I'm not talking about pushes (some feel she doesn't have the charisma for that, which is fine)....but plain old respect. First they turned her into a prude, then commented on her fat ass (which it isn't, from what I've seen), stripped her down to Granny panties numerous times, and now they shave her head bald.

Who has Chris Jericho pissed off? Losing to Christian at Wrestlemania? I mean, no knock on Christian, but we're talking about the first undisputed heavyweight champ, losing to a midcarder, with help from Trish Stratus. I was actually hoping they would keep them together, to kind of update the Savage-Miss Elizabeth storyline. It would've been nice and cute, but they turned it around. Now this might turn out to be more interesting in the long run, and we'll have to wait and see about that, but I'm not holding my breath anytime soon.

Some sidenotes from the Notebook this week. This is a great weekend to go to the movies. First if you haven't seen the Passion of the Christ, it's spell-binding movie. Next, three new movies have come out that are very good. Taking Lives with Angelina Jolie is a solid thriller, and then there's Dawn of the Dead which updates the whole zombie thing. Not too scary but a very good movie. Lastly, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a wonderful movie. It's being called a great romance, but I don't know what it qualifies as. It was made by the same people who did Being John Malkovich, and it is in the same vein. A wonderful movie from a surprisingly restrained Jim Carrey. And any movie that offers Kirsten Dunst dancing around a bed in a flimsy top and underwear is something worth watching. Seriously a great pic, and well worth the time.

That's about it for now....hope you enjoyed the show. So, until I can get Kirsten Dunst, Elisha Cuthbert, or Kiera Knightley to dance in their underwear on my bed.....keep reading....
sincerely, the Novak Notebook.

The Novak Notebook doesn't really

Have anything specific to talk about, surprisingly enough, so I decided to discuss many different topics involving a wide array of things.

Chris Jericho is doing well with his latest storyline, and like always he is eliciting a strong reaction with the crowd. They love him and he is playing to the crowd to a t, but the WWE is still keeping him at midcard level. I'm not sure whether or not they are trying to elevate Christian or happy with keeping Jericho mid level, but it is confusing to say the least.

HHH does it again. First he dropped the title to Benoit by tapping out and now he is feuding with Sheldon Benjamin. Wonderful, perfect and is a great angle. I love it and think it's a great idea. HHH is showing that he is willing to play along and maybe finally he realizes that others have to move up in order for his matches to mean something. If HHH keeps facing the same people, fans get bored. The WWE needs new blood near the top, and it looks like the men at the top are willing to make the room.

Undertaker is back and the WWE is using him wisely. He doesn't have the stamina he did ten years ago, so he can't maintain the style he once had. He has had many injuries during his career, and so having him wrestle as much as he used to is going to use him up rather quickly. Pacing him and having him pop up here and there is the best way to do it.

I personally think the WWE is doing quite well. They have new champs at the top and it looks like some exciting ones coming through the ranks as well. They are trying to change things up and even if they aren't always successful, I give them a lot of credit for trying.

Brock Lesnar. Goldberg. Ultimate Warrior. Gail Kim. What do these names have in common? Three of them no longer wrestle and the other barely wrestles. The three men shot to the top of the ranks rather quickly and the wrestling world was going to revolve around them. They were the next Ric Flair or Hulk Hogan. They were going to be at the top for the next ten years, and have matches as classic as the ones like Andre v Hogan and Flair v Race. Kim was given the women's title on her very first match. Her first match!!! Where is there to go from there? Way, way down.

The question is what happened on the way to the podium? What happened to these three men and what happened to the future of wrestling? These three are gone and what's left? Hmmm, let's look around. Benoit (19 years in the business)....Guerrero (his life and family in the business)......HHH (ten plus years in the business)....Van Damm (10 or so years).....Jericho (8 or so years)......and do we even need to mention the Undertaker? I mean some of these guys are obviously not the future of wrestling, but they have lasted a lot longer than any of the other three combined. The question is why? Well, the answer might be too much too soon. I mean when you propel someone to the top they have nowhere to go but down. The guys who put in years and years, and then win the title like a Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Eddie Guerrero or Chris Benoit appreciate the business and appreciate the title alot more than any of the others that had it handed to them. I mean who was Goldberg or Lesnar before they were in the WWE? Goldberg was a has been football player who wasn't all that great when he did play and Lesnar was an amateur wrestler. He was good at that, but not much else. Now they think they're something they're not.......they grew too big for their bitches. They think they're Gods gift to the wrestling industry because they had everything handed to them and were told they were God's gift so much they believed it. Whereas all the others worked hard, took their losses for years, won lesser titles and finally won the big one. It means so much more when it is won by someone who deserves it.

Was at Time's Square......saw where the World was at, and it still advertises WWE events. btw: Times Square is the wildest place I've seen.

Trish Stratus as a bad girl? Hmmm, should be interesting. So far it's going well, we'll see what happens when the Jericho angle runs it's course though.

I always liked the World's Greatest Tag Team (although they needed another name) so I'm hoping that the WWE does right by Charlie Haas since it has seen it to do right by Sheldon Benjamin.

Dudley Boys either need Stacy Kiebler back or they need a turn to a really evil side. They need to go around and kick asses again, and use any means necessary.

Hmmm, Elisha Cuthbert as a former porn star in her new movie the girl next door. Gets one drooling just thinking about it doesn't it?

The Whole Ten Yards??? Cute name but why did we need the movie?

Is the war over yet? I mean guys are still dying over there and we still have problems...haven't found an ounce of nuclear material that would remotely qualify as a weapon of mass destruction and yet we still have men over there getting killed. Can anyone say Vietnam, because this is starting to look a lot like that.

Happy birthday Roddy Piper. You had a great career.....and hopefully the movie career will kick back in.

Happy trails Rock......you movie did okay, but it looks like it's fading fast......so what does that mean for the Rock? A future on made-for-television movies??

Where is George the Animal Steele when you need him? Having William Regal manage a retarded relative of Eric Bishoff might play for a few laughs, but it's going to get old real quick.
Well, that's it for now......so until Kerri Russell is willing to dance the Samba with me (rent Mad about Mambo)
...keep reading, sincerely the Novak Notebook.

In this new Notebook,

We will tackle many issues not involved with wrestling. While I still watch and enjoy wrestling, there are many things that still are happening around the world that need to be addressed. This is the issue in which we will address these things. Feel free to disagree with any comments I make, after all everyone is allowed to be wrong once in awhile.

Okay, John Stevens is finally thrown off of American Idol. I have never seen so many people get ticked off over something so stupid. I watch the show, and I am hooked. I still don't know how it happened, but frankly it was interesting to talk about who was going to stay and who was going to go. Some people were getting downright ugly over it. First, this kid is 16 years old and to rip him up and down like some critics were doing is just silly. How many of them were singing in front of millions and millions of people at the age of 16? I doubt very many of them sing, let alone in front of a huge television audience.

I did not think this kid was a great singer, but I was starting to feel sorry for him. People were actually crying race? How many white singers are left in the competition? How many black singers are left in the competition? Doesn't look like racism to me. By the way, who won last year? Race is an issue........sometimes. The problem is when someone doesn't get their way, they cry race and that just isn't right. Race isn't always an issue. By crying race all the time, you actually desensitize people to the times when it actually is a legitimate issue. Something as silly as American Idol, and even mentioning race as an issue is just a stupid thing. Girls liked the guys like John Peter Lewis and John Stevens, and they voted for them. Who knows, maybe with some grooming and five or six more years Stevens may be the next Harry Connick Jr. Maybe not, but to play the race card and rip this kid in every way possible is more wrong than him getting through to the next round.

Pat Tillman is a true hero and someone young kids should look up to. Guys like Eli Manning and Kellen Winslow Jr. are the new "stars" on the block in the NFL. It is sad that on a day when Tillman was honored, you had the new kids crying and whining about the contracts and teams they were ending up with. So wrong. Here is a man who gave up money and a profession he held so dear, yet gave it up fight for his country. A true hero was tarnished by the spoiled brat antics of the new kids on the block.

Whether you agree or disagree with the war, the one thing you should never ever do is confuse the war with the people fighting over in the war. This happened in Vietnam, when people who came back were treated nearly as criminals instead of people who had put their lives on the line so we are able to trash talk the government. In many other countries this type of column, or anything that had been a negative view on the government actions would lead to prosecution if not out and out execution. These people go into battle, and risk their lives every time they go somewhere. We should honor their memories if they have given up their lives, and if you meet someone who is a vet, maybe just walk up and say thank you for everything you've done.

Am I the only one who realizes how much the rest of the world hates us? I mean, think about everything we've done as a nation lately. We wanted a war and the UN said show us something and we'll go along with you. We couldn't show them any reason to go to war, and they couldn't in good conscious support us. We start a war anyway, going around the UN, and look stupid doing it. We don't find any weapons of mass destruction, which we told the world we knew they have, and now have to back peddle on everything we said. Now we turn around and ask the UN for help in restoring a new government in Iraq? Are you kidding me? We spit in their face and then ask them for a dollar? They're probably still laughing at us over that. I am so frustrated over this whole thing, because essentially we started a war with a nation who wasn't doing anything all because our leader didn't like their leader. We can't go back now, so the real question is what to do from here? Maybe a new start?

Just thinking about it the other day when they were talking about Friends ending and Frasier coming to an end as well. In my lifetime, some of the best TV shows ever have come and gone. MASH, All in the Family, Cheers, Hill Street Blues, Seinfeld, Married...with Children, and of course Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. Probably many more than I mentioned, and some sentimental favorites that I certainly left out, but it's just a shame that I watch more ESPN than anything on regular television.

On that note, isn't it time to get rid of most of these reality tv shows? I mean let's get real for a minute here. Once you stick a camera in front of someone's face, it isn't real tv anymore. And why are we seeing Jessica Simpson, Carmen Elektra, and the Osbournes? The Osbournes were funny originally, because they are so strange, but that got old. Reality TV is probably here to stay, simply because it's cheaper than regular shows and they don't have to think about it as much. In case you haven't looked lately, tv has gotten much dumber as of late, because talented writers don't do television anymore. They aren't willing to stick with shows and wait for them to build followings, so writers get out quick, if they go in at all. They work on Broadway, or other areas.

Speaking of entertainment, exactly what is the radio for? Why is it when I turn on a radio station, I either hear fifty songs in a row that I could care less about, or the same twelve songs all day? Again, ESPN radio saves me from not having to rip the tuner out of my car.

The new nickel is out. There will be another new one later this year, and supposedly two new more next year. Also looking to change the dime, maybe get rid of the penny, and more changes to the paper money.

Murder for hire in hockey, Kobe Bryant in basketball, steroids in baseball. Doesn't anyone remember when we used to escape the news by watching sports?

By the way...thumbs up to Phil Mickelson. Way to go to get that gorilla off your back.

Hmmm, let me get this straight. Parents whine about their kids because they don't listen. Kids whine about their parents and adults because they aren't listened to. Kids can divorce their parents and even sue them. Parents discipline kids and have Child Services called on them. Teachers can't control kids anymore. Kids don't learn in school anymore. USA kids constantly end up near the bottom of all kinds of world wide tests. Teacher tries to discipline kid, parents called, teacher apologizes and gets fired. School gets sued. Teacher becomes glorified babysitters. Kids learn if they want to. What does all of this tell us? Kids are in charge of everything?? And people wonder why we're in some of the messes we're in?

Why are we so fascinated by celebrities who really don't do anything? Why do more people know who Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie are than Steven Hawking or Ruth Ginsberg? Does it really matter that Posh Spice got cheated on by David Beckham, yet very few bat an eye when a train full of people blows up? Something is wrong with that.

I personally like Jessica Simpson more than Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera. Even though Britney is gorgeous and Christina is from my home town, Jessica is kind of carving an interesting career path for herself. The way she is heading, she could become the next Goldie Hawn. Portraying a dumb blonde to perfection helped launch Goldie's career, and it has definitely gotten Jessica noticed.

Now for some other stuff...tidbits and recommendations.
Recent movies I liked....The Punisher, Man on Fire, and Hellboy.
DVDs: Pink Panther movies, Kill Bill, Love Actually, Texas Chainsaw Massacre (special two disc edition), Wrestlemania XX.
Oddest DVD I've seen recently: The Singing Detective. A strange movie, yet oddly engaging.
Commercials: I love the new Tiger commercials. He does a great take of Bill Murray from Caddyshack, and he proves he's actually funny.
Music: Dope is good....but their newer album is iffy. Michael Buble is an interesting listen, Bree Sharp is better than ever, and Courtney Love is back.
Guilty Pleasure: ABC Friday Night. Light hearted, goofball comedy after a long week of work is a nice change. Stuff I don't have to think too much about.
Now for some wrestling stuff.
I like the Wrestlemania XX three disc set, but I have one big time major complaint. They actually split the show between the first and the second disc. I couldn't believe it, because they took some of the momentum away. I couldn't believe it. The discs were so great, and there was so much stuff on them, yet to split up the actual event didn't make any sense. They have the technology now where they can fit a four and a half hour event on one disc, yet the WWE decided against it. Doesn't make sense to me.

The new Divas magazine came out, along with the new DVD. Bought the magazine, but I'm skipping the DVD unless I get it cheaped. The pictures are always worth looking at and you can never have enough Trish, Stacy, and Torrie. But the DVD is $20 and it's pretty much the same thing every year. They pose, tell you how wonderful the area is they went to shoot, and show some of their silly side. It's nice at first, but gets boring quick.

Do we really need Eugene around? I mean, I guess William Regal needs something to do, but why couldn't they put him in charge of someone like the Bushwackers or the Bashams, which would be a complete contrast to what he is. It would still be funny, and he does have the greatest reactions in the business, but Eugene? C'Mon!!! If George the Animal isn't available, then don't try to copy him. We just got over Zach Gowen, we don't need RainMan.

Where the hell did everyone on Smackdown go? I mean it's like Eddie Guerrero doesn't have anyone to wrestle, so they have to reinvent Bradshaw. This isn't looking very good at all.

Raw is looking very solid, even without Stone Cold. I don't miss him right now, but sure enough as soon as there is a slump, everyone is going to be saying how they miss Stone Cold. What the WWE needs to do right now (which they seem to be doing) is developing new stars. Having Benoit, Guerrero, Sheldon, and Orton propelled to the top is a good start. Have to wait and see how it works.

And finally, believe it or not I'm actually going to defend the WWE a little bit. After everyone was pressing them to admit they were fake, and they made the mistake of caving in, along with the slew of shows that displayed behind the scenes of professional wrestling, and the movie Beyond the Mat, and the name change taking wrestling out of their name, the WWE has been reeling. They don't have competition, and the reality shows that showed behind the scenes of what they were doing are tailing off in interest. They are kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. Everyone now knows they are fake (which they did before, but at least they had never admitted it, keeping that veil of illusion between them and the fans), and yet showing what they do behind the scenes doesn't hold the interest it once did. What are they to do?

They can't go back, but they need to make small steps. Go back to WWWF, instead of WWE. Get wrestling back into their name. They are already getting rid of Confidential, but that's too late. They can't put that veil of illusion back up, but they now have to promote themselves like a movie. That's why people don't watch with the interest they used to. Why root for someone when they change sides as often as you change socks? They need to make some changes, but it's harder than it is in real sports. In baseball, they went through a slump but McGuire and Sosa brought fans back, along with Cal Ripken. LeBron James catches people's interest in basketball, and Tiger reinvented interest in golf. The stars brought in the fans. Unfortunately, wrestling has to work a little different.

The stars are made by the fans, as Roddy Piper once said. If the fans don't like you, you won't be around long. Rocky Mavia was nearly done when he rebeled against the fans, and all of the sudden he struck a cord with the fans. Stone Cold did the same thing after ditching the ringmaster gimmick. But the WWE is in a bit of a deficit right now. They don't have the stars like Hogan, Piper and Savage to bring in the fans, and they haven't been great at greating new stars the fans are interested in. They've tried, but it becomes harder when you don't have the fans coming in. What the WWE needs to do,which it seems like they're doing, is just keep experimenting with different guys at the top. Keep putting new guys at the top and see who sticks. See who the fans like and who they react against and for, and then move on from there. That's all they can really do, since they've had so many stars leave over the last few years. Foley, Austin, Rock, Hogan, Piper, Goldberg, Lesnar, and a few others have left over the last four or five years, with very few taking their spots at the top. Some of that blame falls on poor planning. Some of it is a rash of critical injuries at bad times. Some of it is backstage politics. All of that together makes it difficult for someone to climb the ladder when the ladder is constantly shifting. Another thing is the rapid build-up to main event status, with a quick fall off to second tier matches. Angle, Jericho and Booker T have been the more recent examples of this type of booking where they get hyped up for the new ppv, then quickly disposed of, only to get mid level matches for a long time. They can't build any momentum by facing people like Val Venis, Goldust or wrestlers like that. If you build them up too slowly, then you don't have much of a ppv. There are only a few wrestlers they have done right lately (most recently, John Cena), and the rush to get the next main event at the next ppv out of the way has stagnated quite a number of careers, while boggling a lot of writer's minds. This is a quandry which doesn't look like it will end any time soon. You would need to build a lot more slowly, which would require less ppv's. Instead, it looks like the WWE is going to actually add a few ppvs for the summer, which is going to make it even tougher to get to the top and stay there. Think about the past stars and what made them stars. It wasn't because they were always on top (after all, Piper did face Bad News Brown at a Wrestlemania), but they stayed near the top for so long that even when they dipped a little lower, no one thought anything of it. This needs to be done again if these stars are going to actually stack up against the stars of yesterday.

Well, that's it for now. So until Stacy Kiebler comes to my place and makes a video with me...
keep reading...sincerely the Novak Notebook.

Well this time around

The Novak Notebook will look at several different things, and this time there might even be talk about some wrestling.

First and foremost as I was doing laundry and eating dinner at the same time (it isn't as hard as it sounds if you're putting stuff in the dryer for over an hour) I was sitting there thinking about things that have adversively affected this country over the last century. Now, I'm not talking about wars or things like that, but inventions and incidences that have changed this country for the worse. So, I'm going to list a few, in no particular order, and explain myself for each one.

1. Fast food restaurants......I don't think this needs much explaining, but here it goes. This country has gotten fat (myself included). We have places to eat where you grab a super sized french fries and suddenly you're not allowed to eat the rest of the day. This is never a good thing.

2. Video games.....this is coming from a closet video game junkie, but I don't think this was the best invention in the world. They are entertaining and they provide great hand eye coordination, however in the long run they isolate kids from the rest of the world, which creates problems when they go out and try and communicate with the rest of the world. They just don't have the social skills they would if they were outside doing something. Also doesn't help the weight issue if you sit in front of a television all day.

3. Fashion and model magazines.....These have just ruined society. Every man wants a girl who looks like that, and every women is supposed to look like that, otherwise there is something wrong with them. This has made it hard on women and made it difficult for any of them to look like anything other than super models. Most of the world doesn't look like that (hell most of the models don't look like that before the air brushing). It has given me fits over the years to see women who look fine the way they are stand there with a straight face and tell me they need to lose weight.

4. Brown v Board of Education.....for those of you who don't know this was the case that outlawed segregation. Now before I get a bunch of hatemail from people who don't even read this let me clarify why this was a bad thing that happened in this country. It wasn't the case itself, but what the case represented. The fact that slaves had been freed for nearly a hundred years by that point didn't matter as they were still being treated as less than equals. It was a sad thing that the need for that case was still needed just a little more than fifty years ago. Hopefully we'll progress much faster in the future.

5. Nixon lying.......this part of history changed the conception of politics forever. When it broke what had happened, coupled with just getting done with Vietnam, the public needed something hopeful to look forward to, and Nixon was looking like he was getting the country out of Vietnam, yet get the country important ties with places like China. Then when he started gaining momentum toward a second term, he got paranoid and bugged the Democratic offices in the Watergate hotel. He came out and said he didn't do it while he was trying to cover it up behind the scenes. He wasn't the first President to lie, nor was he the last. But his lie and resignation changed the face of politics for the worse in this country forever.

6.English teachers who wanted to be authors....I don't have a problem with a good debate. Believe me when I tell you that. But what I have a problem with are English teachers who think they are the most important thing in the world, and their opinion about a book is the only thing that matters. Unless they were the author of the book or married to the author or interviewed the author about the book, their opinion is just that; an opinion. If I've read the book and they've read the book then my opinion is just as important as theirs. Just because they may have read about the book doesn't mean they know exactly what the author is trying to convey. My uncle is an author and he said that if authors put as much thought into the story as teacher's give them, they would never get past the first chapter. Most of these stories were written during a period of time when most of the population was illiterate and quite a number of people didn't go to college. How ironic that we study them there huh?

7. The hot coffee lawsuit....let me get this straight, if I can. A woman buys a cup of coffee, places it between her legs in her car, getting ready to drive off. It spills and gives her a lot of burns. She then receives three millions dollars in a lawsuit, which I believe was later reduced to a million and a half, because she said the coffee was too hot. Whaaaat? Lady, you bought coffee, not iced tea. It's supposed to be hot. And unless you're a hooker or a leg model (which she was like a hundred years old, so I don't think so) you don't make money with your legs, so why do you feel you deserve that much money. But in this country, she won which set a precedent for all stupid and needless lawsuits to come, forever clogging up the legal system forever more.

8. CGI in movies (namely Independence Day).....why is this on here when I am a fan of the big action movies? Good question. Let me ask you a question hotshot. How many good action movies are there that come out every year? Maybe a few. But most movies like that don't have a plot to save their life. Independence Day was the first big budget CGI movie with a mindless plot that I can think of right off the top of my head. CGI completely took creative writing out of most major movies, instead replacing it with mind numbing effects. There are exceptions to this rule mind you, but for every Matrix there are a hundred Godzillas. Instead of relying on chemistry, plot and caring about the characters, we have gotten to the point in movies where the bigger explosion wins the battle. Some are truly great and spectacular (I love the battle scenes in Troy, and Day After Tomorrow looks amazing), but some look overblown (Bad Boys II is a great example, and Chronicles of Riddick could be another. Remember Pitch Black? It was a nice low budget sleeper hit). I understand some of it is needed for movies like Jurassic Park or Spider Man 2, but not for everything. It eventually just dulls the senses unless there is something more to it.

9. All you can eat buffets......see fast food resaurants up above.

10. Last but not least absentee parenting......now, let me first say that I'm not a parent and I don't speak from experience, but from what I've seen around a good number of parents nowadays do not want to take responsibility for the kids they have. They don't even want to be bothered with them sometimes. I understand that some latch key kid situations are unavoidable, however leaving your kids watching Beavis and Butthead while you're doing something else in another room is ridiculous. Then you bitch and whine when your kid burns down the house because he saw them do it on television. Instead of saying you screwed up as a parent by not watching them, watching what they were viewing on television, and making sure they didn't get their hands on matches, it is much easier to blame someone else. That is the big problem in this country. Everyone is a victim. Nobody can take responsibility for what they did. It was their parents fault, or society's fault, or someone else. That is utter nonsense. Just plain ridiculous. Unless someone has a gun pointed at your head, or you are crazy, you are reponsible for what you do. I understand about addictions, but people have managed to overcome them in years gone by. It isn't easy, but I guess it's easier to blame McDonalds for making you fat rather than you eating there five times a week. Give me a break. This started with parents not wanting anything to do with disciplining their kids (now there are so many stupid laws out there, the kids can't be disciplined by anyone) and now everyone is out there claiming they are a victim. Soon, those kids who were someone elses problem are going to be growing up and running things, and they are going to be a problem for us when we get older. This country has got to get back on track with that and soon enough.......or else.

Now to some wrestling......my top ten list in the world of wrestling....the good the bad and everything else.......

10. Two ppvs a month in October for RAW??? Now what has been my main beef over the years with wrestling? Too many ppvs, and now they decide to add a few more. That makes a whole lot of sense. PPVs have been a problem and here's why. It isn't the fact that I want to see them give away great matches for free on regular television. I want to see them built really well for awhile, but I don't mind if they don't give them away. What I do mind is all of the crap that manages to make it to a ppv that years ago would've ended up on a Saturday night somewhere. There are too many feuds that would be very interesting on regular television but that aren't good enough people should be paying to see how they fall out.

9. NWA on television.......that is great. Fox Sports is getting into the wrestling business and NWA is getting on air. Now for the bad news......3 o'clock on Friday afternoons? What were they thinking?? I have this little thing called work that I do from time to time. I don't know if I can skip out an hour and a half every Friday afternoon to come back and watch wrestling. If you're going to put it on at least put it on either in the evening or weekend afternoon.

8. Has anyone noticed something about the major titles in the WWE right now? Most have been held for a good period of time right now. Think about it..... John Cena (US Title) Eddie Guerrero (WWE Title) Randy Orton (Intercontinental Title) and Chris Benoit (World Title) have all held the belt for well over a month....most of them a lot longer. I think the WWE finally realized they needed to have their champions last longer, otherwise the titles would truly mean nothing. These four men have brought meaning back to each of those titles.

7. Why am I more excited about getting a Harley Race autograph from a pack of NWA cards than I was getting a Sparky Anderson autograph from a pack of baseball cards? Don't know, but when I saw old Harley's signature on that card, that was a sure pretty sight.

6. Okay....Eugene is growing on me. I admit it. So there. I wish Stacy Kiebler would be growing on me somewhere right now though.

5. How long before Brock Lesnar comes back to the WWE? Is anyone going to place any wagers on this? I'm going to say eight months, because look at it this way. Most former football players come to wrestle, not the other way around. And think about most of the football players that come in to wrestle....they weren't that great. Mongo and Big Cat Ladd are probably the two best that every were on pro teams, and yet neither was ever the best player on their team. Makes you wonder how long before Brock will be whining his way back to the WWE.

4. Where have all the managers gone? I think the WWE is missing something with this. They have a lot of talented wrestlers right now that can't get over. Most of them aren't that great with the mic, so the fans don't care about them. Why can't they bring back the managers? I realize a few years ago they were going with cliques (DX, Nation of Domination, etc.) and the need for managers disappeared. But now they need them again, and it is the quickest way to get someone over. Think about Cowboy Bob, Mr. Wonderful, and Hercules. Would they have been nearly as well known if not for managers. You get booed quick, and when you turn on the manager you become an instant fan favorite. It is easy, and it is something that has proven to work. They can use the Divas that are sitting around and use a few of them (give Stacy and Torrie stables and they will get cheered, just ask the Dudleys)....then have some other guys like Coach who is good on a mic come up with a stable, and then you have something to work with. I think they could do so much by bringing back the managers.

3. Nathan Jones lasted about ten seconds against Brad Pitt in Troy. Kevin Nash lasted quite a bit longer against Thomas Jane in the Punisher. It's nice to know that these guys have a career of dropping dead quickly (much like they did in their wrestling days) in movies now that their wrestling days are over.

2. Okay....I want everyone to think real hard for a minute about the great style of match invented over the last ten years. There are a lot to choose from so think hard....okay, time's up. This was a fun one to think about, because you have the whole ECW experience, ladder matches, iron man matches and the whole thing. But if I had to choose, I would say the Hell in the Cell matches have been consistently the best over the years. We had the one with the Big Boss Man, but if you throw that one out, each of the others was exciting, and yet they were all a little different. From the first one between Michaels and the Undertaker through the the last few....they have all been a lot of fun to watch.

1. I don't know if this is good or not but the Eddie Guerrero story is coming up soon. Now as many of you know, I'm not the biggest fan of when wrestling pulls back the curtain, and this is no different. While on some levels I applaud Eddie coming out and telling his story, on other levels this smacks of another celebrity out of control and apologizing story. How many have we heard over the years? I swear at one point I thought all of Hollywood had a cocaine problem they had just kicked. I mean when Drew Barrymore comes out and tells us she was drinking and doing drugs at eleven (not to mention what else), why should it surprise us that a wrestler is going through the same things? It's sad, and I am very happy for Eddie that he is cleaned up and moving on, but we all take life one day at a time, as we all should. I guess if you need inspiration then these stories appeal to you, but they never worked for me because I usually can't relate to the people telling them. It doesn't mean I don't sympathize with them because I understand that celebrities have problems just like the rest of us, and they have to overcome them the same as we do too. We just don't all do it on $300,000+ a year to try and get over our problems. I understand money isn't everything, but let's be honest here. If Robert Downey Jr. or Daryl Strawberry or most of the people in Hollywood who have confessed to doing a ton of drugs were normal people, they would be locked away for a long long time. So, while they still may have some problems that an ordinary person faces, being a celebrity certainly does have its advantages. I don't feel sorry for any of them, although I like the story when the person overcomes their demons, because it makes a good human interest story and who doesn't want to see someone overcome their problems. However, with the money that's involved and the lifestyles these people lead, I can never really relate to what they're going through, so I don't know what them telling me their story is going to accomplish exactly. Chances are good I'll never be in their position, and chances are better they aren't in mine. So my basic question is what is the point? Who are you helping by telling your story? Other celebrities?

Well, that about wraps up another edition of the Novak Notebook...so until I can walk into Burger King and order a double Chavo Classic with Cheese (what is it with this...first Lawler now Chavo Sr?)....keep reading, sincerely the Novak Notebook.

Now the Notebook

has explored many areas over the past several months, and in case anyone is wondering, yes the columns are getting further apart at times. Unfortunately, there just isn't as much to write about right now, and since I've pretty much criticized the hell out of the WWE, what else is there to say? I mean, I've given my suggestions, and offered my opnions, however to be fair, I have never run a business let alone a billion dollar company.

1. First, I have never watched the Jarrett run programs. TNA hopefully will do well, and eventually be a solid second place contender, and if nothing else, will give wrestlers another place to go. It broadens the horizon and doesn't allow the WWE to have a monopoly on wrestling. Let's all route for the TNA wrestlers and hope they get it right.

Now on to other matters. I thought about this awhile, and ironically while reading a book called the "Republican Noise Machine" it hit me. Even though the wrestlers get out there somewhat and mingle with the fans, they really don't have a lot of contact with the fans, other than what they do at the arenas. They are pretty much the same as other sports, in that they may give someone a high five while entering the ring, or celebrate with the fans after a victory. They even respond to the taunts and praise of the fans while they talk. But most other sports do that as well. The Lambeau leap, Cal Ripken high fiving everyone, and basketball players getting psyched up or out by the fans. It happens everywhere else, but those other sports have done something else to get the fans further involved with their respective sports.

Most of these sports have realized over the years that the fans can no longer relate to the players playing the games. I mean, c'mon, a "blue collar" team in baseball is still earning millions of dollars a year. Minimum wage in baseball is in the vicinity of $300,000 a year! That's the least you can make (unless you're a September call-up). How can fans making ten dollars an hour relate to someone who gets paid hundred thousand a hit? They can't. People running sports teams realized this so they needed to do things to get the fans further involved with the sport.

Rely on the players? Forget that. They are so involved with themselves they have no time for the fans whom they rely on for their paychecks. People understand this, I would hope the players understand this, but they don't care. They have no time for the fans, so teams couldn't rely on players mending bridges with fans. So what else could they do?

Give the fans an All-Star game, where they could vote for the players they wanted to see. This gets the fans excited, and they can maybe see some match-ups they wouldn't normally get a chance to see. Pedro Martinez pitching against Barry Bonds. Seeing Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Ken Griffey Jr in the same outfield. Three players still playing well, and all of them have over five hundred homers in their careers. Seeing Clemens go back against the teams who he used to face all the time. That is stuff that's great.

It's the same in the other sports as well, although football is a bit different. They seem to be doing well everywhere, and their All-Star game at the end of the season doesn't mean a whole lot. Especially not after the Super Bowl. But other sports have the All-Star games where people can see things and see those match-ups you might never get to see. Even though most All-Star games don't mean a whole lot, there are still some good memories that can come from an All-Star game.

Where is all of this going? I'm glad you asked my fine feathered friend. Wrestling really doesn't do a whole lot to get the fans involved. There is no All-Star ppv for the fans to vote on, barely a few times can vote on different things like favorite matches or stuff like that. Fans can't really do anything to get closer to the wrestlers, and the wrestlers are not really in touch with the fans. Who wouldn't like to pick matches for a fan type of ppv and then see them played out for everyone to see. It would be really cool, and it would make you feel a little closer to the wrestlers. The wrestlers could comment on what it was like to get chosen for the ppv, and what it meant for them to face the person the fans wanted them to face. Not only that, but McMahon could gauge who is working and who is over with the fans by how the voting goes. It could help tremendously, and it doesn't even have to be a ppv. It could be a Smackdown or a Raw every once in awhile. It think it could help everyone involved. now some short points from a short man.

Eddie Guerrero is not to blame for the problems on Smackdown. Just the fact that he doesn't have any competition and there isn't anything going on with Smackdown outside of Angle v Cena (aka Austin v McMahon). It is a boring show and there isn't much of a reason to watch.

Raw is a good show and it seems to be getting better. There are wonderful dynamics on the show and there are so many subplots right now, you have to stay glued to the show.

Other news......
Most interesting book I'm reading; "Republican Noise Machine" by David Brock. Talks about how the Republicans over the past thirty years have manipulated the media to get it the way they want it. Very intriguing so far.

Best movie recently; Spider-Man 2 A great movie, probably better than the first. cool villain, and everyone is given a bit juicier part that was in the first one. Dodgeball was probably my guilty pleasure movie for the summer....slapstick funny.
Guilty pleasure DVD; Wonder Woman season one. Okay, the show wasn't all that great, and it was before special effects really went anywhere, but I had such a crush on Lynda Carter growing up...she looked fantasic in that Wonder Woman outfit, causing grown men everywhere to have dirty thoughts when they were thinking about the Amazon.

Well, that about wraps it up this time, so until some woman comes along and wraps me in her lasso of truth,
keep reading....sincerely the Novak Notebook

Now the Notebook has explored

Many areas over the past several months, and in case anyone is wondering, yes the columns are getting further apart at times. Unfortunately, there just isn't as much to write about right now, and since I've pretty much criticized the hell out of the WWE, what else is there to say? I mean, I've given my suggestions, and offered my opnions, however to be fair, I have never run a business let alone a billion dollar company.

First, I have never watched the Jarrett run programs. TNA hopefully will do well, and eventually be a solid second place contender, and if nothing else, will give wrestlers another place to go. It broadens the horizon and doesn't allow the WWE to have a monopoly on wrestling. Let's all route for the TNA wrestlers and hope they get it right.

Now on to other matters. I thought about this awhile, and ironically while reading a book called the "Republican Noise Machine" it hit me. Even though the wrestlers get out there somewhat and mingle with the fans, they really don't have a lot of contact with the fans, other than what they do at the arenas. They are pretty much the same as other sports, in that they may give someone a high five while entering the ring, or celebrate with the fans after a victory. They even respond to the taunts and praise of the fans while they talk. But most other sports do that as well. The Lambeau leap, Cal Ripken high fiving everyone, and basketball players getting psyched up or out by the fans. It happens everywhere else, but those other sports have done something else to get the fans further involved with their respective sports.

Most of these sports have realized over the years that the fans can no longer relate to the players playing the games. I mean, c'mon, a "blue collar" team in baseball is still earning millions of dollars a year. Minimum wage in baseball is in the vicinity of $300,000 a year! That's the least you can make (unless you're a September call-up). How can fans making ten dollars an hour relate to someone who gets paid hundred thousand a hit? They can't. People running sports teams realized this so they needed to do things to get the fans further involved with the sport.
Rely on the players? Forget that. They are so involved with themselves they have no time for the fans whom they rely on for their paychecks. People understand this, I would hope the players understand this, but they don't care. They have no time for the fans, so teams couldn't rely on players mending bridges with fans. So what else could they do?
Give the fans an All-Star game, where they could vote for the players they wanted to see. This gets the fans excited, and they can maybe see some match-ups they wouldn't normally get a chance to see. Pedro Martinez pitching against Barry Bonds. Seeing Bonds, Sammy Sosa, and Ken Griffey Jr in the same outfield. Three players still playing well, and all of them have over five hundred homers in their careers. Seeing Clemens go back against the teams who he used to face all the time. That is stuff that's great.
It's the same in the other sports as well, although football is a bit different. They seem to be doing well everywhere, and their All-Star game at the end of the season doesn't mean a whole lot. Especially not after the Super Bowl. But other sports have the All-Star games where people can see things and see those match-ups you might never get to see. Even though most All-Star games don't mean a whole lot, there are still some good memories that can come from an All-Star game.
Where is all of this going? I'm glad you asked my fine feathered friend. Wrestling really doesn't do a whole lot to get the fans involved. There is no All-Star ppv for the fans to vote on, barely a few times can vote on different things like favorite matches or stuff like that. Fans can't really do anything to get closer to the wrestlers, and the wrestlers are not really in touch with the fans.
Who wouldn't like to pick matches for a fan type of ppv and then see them played out for everyone to see. It would be really cool, and it would make you feel a little closer to the wrestlers. The wrestlers could comment on what it was like to get chosen for the ppv, and what it meant for them to face the person the fans wanted them to face. Not only that, but McMahon could gauge who is working and who is over with the fans by how the voting goes. It could help tremendously, and it doesn't even have to be a ppv. It could be a Smackdown or a Raw every once in awhile. It think it could help everyone involved. now some short points from a short man.

Eddie Guerrero is not to blame for the problems on Smackdown. Just the fact that he doesn't have any competition and there isn't anything going on with Smackdown outside of Angle v Cena (aka Austin v McMahon). It is a boring show and there isn't much of a reason to watch.

Raw is a good show and it seems to be getting better. There are wonderful dynamics on the show and there are so many subplots right now, you have to stay glued to the show.

Other news......

Most interesting book I'm reading; "Republican Noise Machine" by David Brock. Talks about how the Republicans over the past thirty years have manipulated the media to get it the way they want it. Very intriguing so far.

Best movie recently; Spider-Man 2 A great movie, probably better than the first. cool villain, and everyone is given a bit juicier part that was in the first one. Dodgeball was probably my guilty pleasure movie for the summer....slapstick funny.

Guilty pleasure DVD; Wonder Woman season one. Okay, the show wasn't all that great, and it was before special effects really went anywhere, but I had such a crush on Lynda Carter growing up...she looked fantasic in that Wonder Woman outfit, causing grown men everywhere to have dirty thoughts when they were thinking about the Amazon.

Well, that about wraps it up this time, so until some woman comes along and wraps me in her lasso of truth, keep reading....sincerely the Novak Notebook

Well, another year is winding down,

And how many matches can you name that would be considered for match of the year? Most of the ones I would name probably have Benoit or Angle involved with them somehow. This has been a great year for Benoit, and a good/bad year for Eddie Guerrero. It is amazing what winning the championship does for one man's career and what it does for another.

First and foremost, let's be perfectly honest here. Eddie Guerrero is on a program that's in a lot of trouble. They have lost a few stars and really haven't replaced them in any way. Say what you will about Eric Bishoff being on RAW, but at least he gives RAW a face. Smackdown has had Paul Heyman, Stephanie McMahon, Kurt Angle, and now Theodore Long. I haven't been a fan of Teddy Long's but at least he's been in the business awhile, and he knows how it works. I think he could be a pretty decent general manager, and besides why not use him? They haven't had anyone else work really well as a gm in a long time. They have had too much turnover at the top, and I do think it affects their product, even though it is the same company that owns them. They've lost Brock Lesnar, Show has been out for awhile, and they didn't have a real strong program before those two went out.

Eddie got caught in the middle. He was the champ when the show started to slide, and naturally he gets the heat for it. But the problem has been; who have his opponents been since he faced off against Kurt Angle? Not too many big names to say the least. I mean when you have to promote Bradshaw and give him a face lift to JBL, then your company has problems.

Now, there are some bright spots on Smackdown. John Cena has come into his own, and I will tell you that it is his show to say the least. I like Booker T and especially the way they've thrust him back into a title picture. They still don't know what to do with RVD, but at least they put them out there. The new Bronze Warrior might turn into something, but right now they have a lot of if's and's a buts. Not too many sure things right now.

On the other hand Benoit has been hot, and he is on the clearly better show and was the main event. Although he just lost to Randy Orton, and most likely he will be placed on the back burner somewhat, as long as they keep him sniffing around the title, it will keep things interesting. Benoit had quite a long title run, defeated many of the top names, and had quite a number of clean victories. Teaming him with Eugene was something a little odd, although title holders sometimes do that (Steamboat with the Animal, Hogan with Mr T and Cyndi Lauper, Bret Hart with the Bushwackers) but it didn't tarnish his reign.

He had a great run, and he was part of an idea the WWE finally had. Let's have all of our title holders run with the titles for awhile rather than turning it over every month. I mean, lately unless you name began and ended with an H, as soon as you got a title, you handed it over at the next ppv or two. Benoit has held the title since March. That's nearly as long as I have been in New York. Orton, Guerrero, and Cena also held their belts for an extensive period of time. That was quite an accomplishment for the WWE. Maybe they finally realized that if they didn't care about their belts, the fans wouldn't care either.

I'm glad to hear McMahon is looking into what to do about the WWE and the trouble it is into. At least he is showing concern about the product, but the problem is nobody knows what to do about it. They don't really haven't any answers to the questions that are being asked, but at least the concern and awareness is there. The worst thing in the world would be if McMahon would have the thought that everything is fine and continue down that path. It would surely lead to problems down the road.

I just finished watching the DVD, RAW v Nitro. It started out as the war between the two, but it eventually turned into the demise of Nitro and WCW. The other thing with the video is it didn't go into detail about what McMahon has learned and taken for his own since the demise of Nitro. What is also funny is that McMahon talked about WCW stealing talent and using them, but then McMahon took all of the things WCW created and squashed them. Took Goldberg and turned him into a fool, and he crushed the NWO. Now is he just doing this to feel better about himself, or was he trying to tell his audience that everything they watched over in WCW was stupid and silly?

I liked the DVD, and it went into a lot of depth. I have to give Eric Bishoff props for coming out and admitting that he was an ass as things progressed. McMahon however, still comes off as a victim. I mean some of the things he said about the business practices of the other party make me laugh. He didn't exactly make nice with local promoters in the 1980s, trying to squash as many as he could. He went to rather low tactics himself, and isn't he the one that had Ric Flair bring the WCW belt to the WWF to show up the people over at WCW? I don't exactly feel too sorry for him. If he knew what he was up against, and he didn't do anything about it, that's his problem. The one thing the disc points out rather clearly, is that it was a great time to be a fan, and chances are good we won't see that much in the way of good wrestling programming for years. We're still hoping for TNA to take off, I hope.

I just started reading the Ric Flair book (it was next on a list after a book about the lies of George Bush- it isn't a short book). I skimmed over some of the chapters, and I must say that of all of the WWE promoted books, this one seems to be the most honest of them all. It by no means paints the WWE in a bad manner at all (why is the WWE like a big frat house in all of these books? Then we turn around and here about all of the backstage politics and backbiting? Kinda makes the books ring hollow doesn't it?), but Flair does talk about certain wrestlers, and he isn't always kind. Like I've said, I find it funny that both Mick Foley and Bret Hart have been upset about it, because both of them have made jabs at Flair in the past. Sounds like they are more upset with the WWE because they are promoting it, although when the WWE was promoting Foley's first book and he talked about Flair not being able to tell who Foley was even though he worked for Flair wasn't exactly kind. That was okay. Guess rules are different for different people.

RAW is smoking right now, and with the turn of Orton and wondering who is going to replace him in Evolution should be interesting. If the WWE was smart, they would drag out the replacement of Orton for at least a couple of weeks, maybe even to the next ppv. They should tease that Orton is going to be replaced, have everyone jockey for the position and then replace him with a shocker.

That is one problem with the WWE right now. They can't surprise anyone anymore. There are no shocks, and part of it is the Internet. They get word before anyone else, and before it even hits the tv, everyone already knows. That's too bad, but this is something they could surprise people with if they do it right.

Now, I have an idea for the WWE if they would want to consider it. They have Evolution, which is their version of the Horsemen. Now, what they could do which would be a really interesting angle, is bring back the Horsemen, only Flair would be on the other end. Think about that? Benoit and Orton as the founding members of the new Horsemen, and this could be the kicker. They could bring back Rowdy Roddy Piper, and use him in the role Flair serves in now with Evolution. Piper is close friends with Flair, as evidenced by Flair's own admission in his book, but they always play well off of each other. Since the WWE is sorely lacking in managers, these two could be at the top. Then Orton and Benoit could go through a recruiting of their own to get members, maybe bringing everything to a head on Survivor Series or something. I think that could make things very interesting.

Speaking of surprises, despite the Orton turn being somewhat of a surprise, it had been talked about all over the Internet, much like the supposed Edge turn, so it wasn't all that much of a surprise. I'm going to list the ten things that really surprised me over the years while I was watching wrestling. These are the things that just completely took you by surprise for one reason or another. I'm sure everyone's list is different, and feel free to share your own on the message board. But since everyone is into lists lately, I decided to do this one.....here we go.......

10. Rick Rude on both RAW and Nitro on the same night. Completely surprised me and I kept looking at the tv, not believing what I was seeing.
9. Emergence of both Undertaker and Stone Cold as faces. It wasn't them become the faces, but the way they did it. They were both facing the biggest faces in the business at the time, Hogan for 'taker and Bret Hart for Austin. Despite that, they were both getting cheered as loud, if not louder than the people they were facing, a rarity in the sport.
8. Bob Backland losing his mind. Here was one of the biggest baby faces of all-time, and he was one of the best wrestlers the WWWF had, and for his comeback, he started off like Mr. Vanilla, but then lost his mind against Bret Hart....completely surprising everyone.
7. Rowdy Roddy Piper turning face. He wasn't the first man to turn, hell Paul Orndorff had done it a few years before, but here was the man who had been voted most hated man two years in a row. He came back, didn't change, and the fans loved him. He is the ONLY wrestler to be voted most hated two years running, then turn around and be voted most popular the next year. It is most likely the last time it will ever happen.
6. Superfly jumping off of the top of the steel cage on top of Don Muraco. I'm not sure if it ever had been done before, but this impressed Mick Foley so much he became a daredevil himself. It also launched Superfly into stardom.
5. Undertaker tossing Mankind off of the top of Hell in a Cell. It was King of the Ring, 1998, and it was in Pittsburgh. It was also a match nobody who has seen it will ever forget. Just jaw dropping to say the least.
4. Nash and Hall showing up on Nitro, starting the NWO. It was a great idea, at the perfect time with two of the biggest stars at the time. Everything was in alignment and it was a huge coupe for Bishoff, starting the rise to prominence of Nitro.
3. Vince McMahon screwing Bret Hart. I don't like the fact that Bret didn't want to drop the belt, and McMahon had been burned by a few people by the time Bret wanted to leave, so this was combustible to begin with. Nobody ever expected Vince to do what he did. Even Shawn Michaels was surprised.
2. Hulk Hogan goes NWO. Nobody saw this coming, and this was the biggest turn of all-time. Even though Hogan started his career as a poor man's version of Superstar Billy Graham type heel, very few people remembered him as anything more than the biggest hero going. He was America, Apple Pie, and your best buddy all rolled into one. A huge, huge shocker.
.........And the number one shocker of all-time in my mind.. Eric Bishoff showing up on RAW. Why is this the biggest surprise. Not only did nobody see this coming, but there are a few other things about this as well. First, the whole Internet missed it, and it wasn't reported anywhere at all. Next, everyone figured that Bishoff would never work for the man he tried to put out of business, and McMahon would never want Bishoff working for him. Bishoff was the man over in Nitro, why would he want to be under Vince? So, nobody ever thought about it, speculated about it or anything. The funny thing is that Bishoff has lasted longer than Hogan, the new NWO, and Goldberg.

Some other surprises that get honorable mention; George Steele losing his mind and ability to speak when he ran down to ringside during a Bruno Sammartino v Pedro Morales match. Sgt. Slaughter going Arab was a big shock Rock hitting Mankind with 12 chairshots during their "I Quit" match. We were all yelling hit him again, never thinking he actually would. Flair bringing the WCW belt to the WWF Madusa dropping the WWF woman's title in the trash in WCW the massive flop of most of the ECW talent when they have gone elsewhere. I guess their method of doing matches hasn't translated when they go mainstream.

and finally......Owen's death during a ppv. A terrible shock and tragedy that I know I will never forget. My friends and I just didn't know what to do when they got back on and announced what had happened. The rest of the ppv was awkward to say the least.

Anyway let's move on.....

Now on to other streams of unconsciousness........

Pick up the DVD of The Girl Next Door. On of my favorite hot girls, Elisha Cuthbert is in it, and there is an unrated version. Now she doesn't get naked, but she doesn't need to because she's hot anyway. Another one to get if you can find it is Ichi the Killer, only get the unrated version. Weirdest movie I have seen lately is Revengers Tragedy. Very strange and it may take multiple viewings to figure it out.

Just saw: Open Water.....a great movie, but I have a bad feeling that it is going to get overrated much like Blair Witch did. It is simply a good, smart little film. It is not the second coming of Jaws. It is better than anything that M. Night has put out though. If you want something different, try Collateral. It is a really good, smart movie too. Very well acted and the tension is paced very taughtly as well.

Guilty Pleasure; Bought the complete first season of Sledge Hammer. If you don't remember this show, or if you were too young now is your chance to watch a classic spoof of Dirty Harry. It is funny, well acted, and it actually lasted into a second season.

well, that's it for now......so until I become the next Ansel Adams, keep reading.......sincerely, the Novak Notebook.

Welcome ladies and gentlemen

To a new and improved.....ahhh screw it, it's the same old Notebook that most of you have grown to love or at least read often throughout these months/years. I'm not Vince McMahon and I won't take the reader's suggestions on how to improve my column. Anyway, if I took the suggestions of most of the people who had ideas over the last few years, well let's just say someone can't drop dead that many times. So there.

Vince McMahon has finally gone and done it. Whether people realize it or not, Vince McMahon has put the public who has been squawking about his product on notice. He's essentially telling fans that if they don't like what he's doing with the WWE, then they can run it and see if they do it any better. Although what he is actually doing is giving the fans a false sense of control, McMahon has basically told the fans to put up or shut up. He's giving them choices on opponents, type of matches and it appears a few other things. Let's be honest here though, because if it were truly up to the fans then every match would be a tables, ladders, and chairs match, Hell in a Cell, HHH lose and beaten to within an inch of his life, and all of the Divas would be running around naked. We're going to have limited options, so that the WWE can still control some of it. It still is a pretty good idea, and we'll see if it carries over to any of the RAW or Smackdown programming. I am kind of anxious to see how it plays out.

The first thing that struck me about the ppv is that Taboo Tuesday is going to be held on, well Tuesday. At first many people may take a second look at that, but in reality what difference does it make whether it is Sunday or Tuesday. In actuality, the buy rate may be a little better on Tuesday than on Sunday for one simple reason.....FOOTBALL. Sometimes, I don't even care who is playing, as long as a football game is going on. You have football and baseball playoffs. There is nothing going on on Tuesday, and either way you still have to get up and go to work the next day anyway. So, try it and see what happens.

Well, well, well......a few ideas and storylines are mercifully coming to an end. The whole Diva search is finally over, and hopefully the Lita pregnant storyline will be coming to an end soon. Although I have a bad feeling that now we're going to go through the whole "who hired the schmo to kill Lita's baby" idea. Maybe Rikishi will come back and since he tried to kill Austin, figured he was on a roll.

Tough Enough, the show nobody cared about after the first season, is now coming back giving away a million dollars. Way to go Vince. Way to get fans to come back (it won't) and keep happy faces on your wrestlers (that definitely won't happen). They are busting their asses every day and night getting maybe a quarter mil a year, while some guy or girl is going to walk into the mix and win a million dollars. Let's be honest here.....Tough Enough hasn't exactly met with success. Maven is the only "success" although most true fans still don't view him as a real wrestler. Nidia has done all right, but what about the others. Miss Jackie is slowly disappearing, and the ones from season three or four (lost count) aren't even on television. It was an idea to cash in on the reality tv that just hasn't worked. Time to get rid of it.

I have read most of the Ric Flair book, and although I really like the book there are a few comments I would like to make. First, he really didn't talk a whole lot about the NWA, or before that. He mostly complained and sounded like a know it all, telling people what the promoters what they did wrong. The next thing is the book almost reads like a comic book with all of the pictures in it. I wouldn't mind the pics if they were in a five hundred page book or something along those lines, but in a nearly three hundred page book? It just kind of surprised me.

Now if the fans vote the way true fans watch wrestling, then Chris Benoit will face HHH. Benoit got hosed, no disrespect to Orton, but he should've never lost the belt. He was on a roll, gave the company a lift and was making everyone look good. Okay, Orton wins the belt, but then loses it to HHH a month later? Just stupid.

HHH is now on my list as an ultimate ass. A nine time heavyweight champ, and nobody really cares. Remember the Rock when he was the corporate champion? Well, now we have the real corporate champ. McMahon wonders why the ratings are lower, and I say people are sick and tired of HHH. He isn't a draw anymore, and the only way he was any good was when he had someone like Austin, Rock or Foley to play off of. Benoit was a good foil for him, but he never could carry a match, and he isn't the reason people tune in to watch a ppv. Want proof. Think of WWE stars, and I can name so many more that he wrestled that people paid to see. Austin, Rock, Undertaker, HBK, and Lesnar were all people fans paid to see. Guys like Angle, Jericho, Benoit, and Guerrero are all great wrestlers, but they aren't the attention getters. I think there is a difference, and I don't think the WWE realizes it. Characters carry the headlines, while the other guys are around to make them look good. You want more proof? Hogan and Piper were the two biggest names going in the mid-eighties. Yet neither one would be considered a great wrestler. Both had charisma coming out the ears and each could carry the company with their antics. Yet guys like Tito Santana, Ricky Steamboat, and even Savage carried the workload. They all had their loyal followings and each one was a star, but they weren't the ones carrying the company at the time. They could do the work but you couldn't put the company on their backs and go. With Rock, Undertaker, Austin, Hogan, Savage later one, Piper, Flair, HBK, and many others, you could just strap the company on their backs and let them go. Some were better wrestlers than others, but they all had the personality to keep the company going.

HHH may have been like that for a brief period of time, but for as many times as they have tried to strap the company on his back, he has proven he can't do it time and again. He hasn't dropped the ball, but he can only carry for a little bit of time, and that is basically the problem with the WWE. They have a number of very good workers, but nobody who can carry a team. If not, then how can it be that HHH can ramble on for twenty stupid minutes, and yet Ric Flair can deliver a much more potent speech in less than seven minutes? There have been many times when HHH talks, that I used to go and switch channels, just to see if there was anything else on that was more interesting. But alas, the kissing of HHH's ass continues each and every week on RAW.

It says something when the Divas rip each other to shreds and makes all of the heels look like little pansies. I do agree with HHH on that end of it. If they're going to let the Diva hopefuls do that, they need to let the heels and harder edged faces do that as well.

Finally got back to Pittsburgh for the last ppv, and it was fun to get together with my friends and catch up on old times. Although seeing HHH win for the millionth time was a bummer, hanging out was great. If you have the chance, I always recommend seeing a ppv with a bunch of people. It is always more enjoyable.

Now on to other things to talk about that may or may not involve wrestling.

DVD of the week: Of course it has to be the Star Wars movies. Star Wars was the first movie I went to see in theatres and actually me and the girls up the street went to see it, the younger one falling asleep in the theatre. It was so tremendous, I went on to see it 13 times. Now having it on DVD is a must for anyone who ever wanted them.

Also, if you haven't checked it out, I recommend Mean Girls. I truly funny movie. Tina Fey is a great writer.

Surprise of the month: USA Today raised its price to 75 cents. I would normally comment on a company that would raise its price by 50%, but they have been around since 1982 and have never increased their prices. They said when they came out that they would keep their price at 50 cents for five years, because at the time that was high for a daily newspaper, but they were true to their word, and 22 years later, they raise their prices.

Losing her mind: Britney Spears. I mean, two marriages in less than a year? And then she wonders why people can't take her seriously and question her mental capacity? Hmmm, wonder about that does she? Bet her ear still have smoke coming out of them.

TV to watch: I'm not a big tv guy, but I was intrigued by the show Lost on ABC. I tuned in and was not disappointed. It was an interesting show, held my interest and looks to stay interesting down the road. It could be this year's 24. I definitely like the looks of the show and will continue to watch.

Girl of the month: This could be a rotating thing with Elisha Cuthbert, Kiera Knightley and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Right now however, Hillary Duff (I know she's only 16) has a nice little cover on the new Blender magazine, and Kelly Carlson is on Stuff magazine. Both make you wonder why they bother putting words inside.

Speaking of Sarah Michelle Gellar: She is coming out with a movie called the Grudge. If you like the Ring, this one is one you won't want to miss. The movie is based on a Japanese movie, much like the Ring was based on what, but the novelty item here is that it is the same director that is directing the remake. That is nothing new, as Alfred Hitchcock did it three times (can you name the movies he did this with?) but it isn't all that often that the movie goes from one culture to another and keeps the director. It looks interesting and something to check out.

Well that's it for now boys and girls, so until the Notebook goes Hollywood, keep reading
....sincerely the Novak Notebook.

Welcome ladies and gentlemen

Well, Taboo Tuesday has come and gone, and what have we learned? The real Taboo Tuesday is coming up in a little more than a week, so this Taboo Tuesday will shortly be forgotten.

That is the right word for this ppv event. Forgotten. Not the movie starring the beautiful Julianne Moore, but the wrestlers in the ppv. Not much changed because of this ppv, and the most significant development stemming from the ppv was Eric Bishoff getting his head shaved, which we have already seen. So in reality, not much was that great about this ppv.

In part, that was what was wrong with this ppv. Nothing stood out, and that is becoming the case with all of the ppvs lately. There isn't anything that is a must-see. Remember Must-see TV on Thursday nights on NBC? Yeah, I know it was awhile ago, but think back. Well, the buzz is what made it must-see. There is no buzz around the WWE right now. Even Pat Patterson had to "retire" because of his suggestions and what he told Vince about the problems with the WWE. Vince does not want to hear that HHH is in any way shape or form a part of the problem, and anyone who disagrees is going to run into a major confrontation with Vince.

Is HHH the problem? No. He's a big part of it but he isn't the problem. Does anyone really care that he is chasing Ric Flair's 16 time world champion mark? Does anyone know he on number 9? Would anyone know if he wouldn't keep reminding everyone? I've said it before and I'll say it again; HHH is good when he has someone good to work with who has loads of personality (Austin, Rock, and Foley), but the fans just don't care about him at all when he is in the lead. Plus, with most of the fans knowing he pulls alot of backstage politics, he really isn't liked. Remember when Nitro was beating the snot out of RAW? Why were they doing that? Because Bishoff knew that HHH would come out and do a twenty minute tirade that bored everyone to tears, so he would open the show with a bang and therefore causing people to change the channel. I mean, if Vince was honest with himself, he would see a direct corelation between HHH becoming top dog and the numbers starting to dip down.

HBK v HHH? I voted for Benoit, and I know a lot of other people that did too. The rest of the results were right in line with what I thought they would be, but that one kind of surprised me. HBK v HHH we've seen before a hundred times. Benoit v HHH is always good, and HHH has never beaten Benoit. Edge has never faced him period, so I would've expect that to be a close second. The rest of the results, as I've said were in line with everything I would've expected.

Seriously, where was the buzz? The curiosity factor of how the voting would turn out is the only thing that would draw peoples' attention. Does anyone care about HHH and who he faces? Kane and Snitzkey is interesting but hardly worth a ppv show yet. And other than Flair v Orton, did any of the other matches even register with anyone. Jericho v Benjamin could've been fun, but this is where the voting backfired because with 15 people in the voting, they couldn't develope any heat with anyone of the 15 for an extended period of time.

Here's another theory of mine that came to me as I sit here and watch the Red Sox winning game two. Has anyone considered the price of the ppv as part of the problem? I mean they have remained around $35 per ppv ($50 for Wrestlemania) for a few years now, but the question is with the economy the way it is, do people have the disposable income they once had? I mean $35 times 1 isn't that big a deal, but you multiply it out by 10 or twelve and you start running into some money. I think most of the same people that were watching ppv's a few years ago are watching them now, but they aren't watching as many. They know some of them are going to suck, and why would you want to plunk down $35 for something that you aren't going to enjoy? So, the public has become more selective about the various ppvs they are going to buy. It's no different than in baseball, football, or other sports. If the team is doing well, you'll keep buying tickets. If the team isn't performing the way you would like to see (like the Pittsburgh Pirates stinking out the joint for the last decade plus) then you simply won't go to the games. The WWE has decided that a hundred ppvs a year is the answer to their problems, but they aren't putting out the matches people want to see, they don't have the must-see qualities that they did years ago, and so people are being much more selective than they were. One match can't really carry a ppv anymore. If people are going to spend the money, then there have to be at least several matches that appeal to them, and a few others that the fans are curious to see.

The Diva search was fun and exiciting (not) and has carried on far too long. The Divas in school girl outfits is something I don't mind seeing, but once you see them in the outfits, does anyone pay attention to the matches? Trish Stratus has turned herself into a really good wrestler, when pushed by her opponents, and I do like the way the heel turn has played out. However, she has only three people to wrestle here and there. Since you really don't have that many women to work with, why not just make them (gosh this is original) women? Instead of heels and faces, just make them all women vying for the title. It opens up the division a little better, and they can all appeal to the crowd in their own way. They can each do good or bad, or even naughty if they want. Other than that, it is pretty limited when you have to throw Stacy Kiebler in there to mix things up. Now, don't get me wrong, I like Stacy Kiebler (a lot actually), but she isn't a wrestler. She's making it a little more passable than she used to but it's still obvious that the other women have to play down to her because she can't elevate her game yet.

Now on to a short list by a long winded man;
>Does anyone still watch Smackdown? Just wondering.

>Who the hell has Chris Jericho pissed off when he can never beat HHH, making a feud for the title later on down the road seem impossible (thus killing a serious contender for HHH who has a lot more charisma and likeability with the crowd), and then keeps losing the Intercontinental title, getting buried in mid-card matches after the fact? I've never seen HHH go down to mid-card even for a little while after he loses.

>Who are the women left on Smackdown? I forget.

>Where's George the Animal when you need him?

>In the action figure world, the WWE has been making action figures of their past stars, and in the new line Roddy Piper is going to be in it. It also looks like he is going to have the long hair in this version.

>Piper's Pit is coming back yet again? Let's hope TNA learned from the WWE and doesn't turn it into Vince's Pit.

>So Hulk Hogan wants to have his daughter wrestle with him? If she was smart she would say no, especially if she wants to be taken seriously as a singer. Don't believe me? Ask Cyndi Lauper where her career went after she got involved with wrestling. Her career in music was actually ahead of Madonna's, and she had more hits and a better voice. She got involved with wrestling and the hits died off. Brooke Hogan has a good voice, and although she may get lumped in with the other teenage girl singers out there, I would recommend doing something other than wrestling to get her career off and running. How many celebrities have actually advanced their careers after they got involved with wrestling? I can't remember any.

>What I'm watching? Baseball playoffs and World Series action of course. Hoping big time for the Red Sox.

>What else am I watching? Lost on ABC Wednesday night. It is an interesting show so far and really has grabbed my attention. I really want to see where this goes. It is kind of like Gilligan's Island with bite and without a Professor who knows how to build everything but a boat. I mean, wood, rope, and you can't build a raft or boat??

>Ginger or Maryann? Definitely Maryann. She was wearing the Daisy Duke shorts even before Daisy Duke was around.

>What am I reading? America by Jon Stewart. It looks like a text book but it is hilarious. It is funny, sharp and pokes fun at everyone.

>What am I listening to? ESPN Radio. I hate regular radion stations because they either play the same five songs over and over again, or for every fifteen songs they play, you like two of them.

>What to see? Team America: World Police. It was very funny and worth watching. Also the Forgotten was a very interesting take on abductions.

>Newest Site visited. Motorcycle Hall of Fame and Museum outside of Columbus. Also Buckeye Lake.

>What am I listening to? Joss Stone's newest album. Pretty good. So far a very solid effort. Listening to mostly older stuff though...looking for some greatest hits albums (no not going to get Britney's greatest hits...unless it's like Paris Hilton type video ;-)

>DVD to look out for. Shaun of the Dead. It was a small British movie that came out earlier this year and did okay. When it comes out on DVD I highly recommend it. I got a nice copy and watched it (although I think it was an unrated import) and it was a very good movie.

>Guilty pleasure of the week. My coin collection. Went out and bought a ten dollar gold piece from 1932. Although it took nearly a quarter of my paycheck, it was a nice coin and since I like to shop and buy stuff, I had to add it to my collection.

Well, that's it for now, so until Stacy Kiebler wants to come over and be my French Maid...keep reading.....sincerely, the Novak Notebook.

Well, what have we seen as of late?

I was going to write yet another scathing report on the supposed greatness of HHH, but after viewing a few things recently in the world of sports, I decided to table that argument for another time when I have nothing better to write about.

As many of you are aware, we recently held an election in this country, and one of the central issues focused on the moral fabric of the candidates. Supposedly that was also a major concern among the people voting as well. It wasn't the special interest money, or anything of that nature, but the moral character of the two main candidates. Also supposedly, the more moral character won the election. I'm still working out the bugs of how the re-elected President is so moral, since we have had more freedoms removed or curtailed in the last four years than in any previous Presidential tenure, but that is an argument for another time.

Since we have had the election, we have seen scantily clad white women with African Americans, fights breaking out all over the place, and everyone from coaches to fans trying to either run for their lives, defend themselves, or hold people back. And none of it was in wrestling.

Remember when wrestling was chastized as sleazy and violent without a point. Look who is laughing now. Vicne McMahon did a hilarious skit with the help of Trish Stratus and Sheldon Benjamin ripping into these groups of people who always had thought of themselves as so much higher than the WWE. At least the stuff on the WWE was a show, whether it was in bad taste or not. The Pacers, Pistons, Steelers, Browns, Clemson, and South Carolina were all putting on live performances. Now McMahon is making those people who touted the WWE as trash looking like fools themselves.

Let's take a look at all of these issues, because there is something to be said about most of them.

First the one that makes the least amount of sense. The whole Monday Night Football thing with Terrell Owens and Nicolette Sheridan. I saw it, didn't think much about it, and at the most thought it was mildly amusing. I can't believe people are creating this story out of almost nothing. ABC has the right to promote their programs on Monday Night Football how they want, since they pay a ridiculous amount of money for the program. If the NFL is going to get on a high horse about stuff like this, they can kiss that income goodbye, because it won't be worth it to ABC to carry the programming. Also, they look a little hypocritical when they run adds like the Coors Twins, the Budwieser cat fight a few years ago, nearly everytime they come back from a commercial and nothing it going on in the field of play, they cut to a cheerleader. I mean, c'mon. Who do they think they are kidding. And the people who say they don't want to expose their family to stuff like this, well pull them out of whatever bubble you have them stashed away in, dust them off, and explain the facts of life to them. They didn't see anything worse on that skit than they would see going to a beach or pool, in terms of lack of clothing. As for the suggestiveness of the material, guess they haven't heard of soap operas. And saying that their kids can't tell the difference because they know football is real, and mixing it with this confuses them; I mean are you being serious. Your kids can't tell the difference between reality and fiction. The guy isn't on a football field, so he isn't playing football....hence it is fake. Guess these are the same people who said they couldn't be responsible for their kids lighting matches because they saw Beavis and Butthead do it on TV. Since when is the television the babysitter in this country? Are we so neglectful that we just plop our kids down, walk away and ignore them. What do we say when there is a violent hit in the game and everyone is cheering? Doesn't that confuse the child more? The other thing that really pisses me off about this story was that it was everywhere, yet 51 people died in Fallujah that day over in Iraq. This is a real war and people are dying, yet we are concerned with something that is fake and where nobody got hurt and nothing happened. This wasn't a wardrobe malfunction and nothing happened, other than seeing a naked back of an actress. People need to get off their high horses, turn off their tvs every once in awhile, spend time with their kids, and see that there is a real world out there with real problems that need fixed.

On to the other fights that happened over the past week. Steelers and Browns got into a fight before the game started, Pacers and Pistons fight was so bad they had to call the game, and now we have college kids emulating them. The funny thing is when we had people going out and doing backyard wrestling, it was the WWE's fault because these kids were looking up to the WWE heroes and doing what they saw. Just today I started to hear that the kids were emulating what they saw in the to professional games. Most dismissed it and said it was a poor excuse. I agree. These aren't ten year olds and nine year olds doing this. These kids are in college and should know better. However, if that is the case, then the same can be said for the kids that were doing backyard wrestling. It is no different than someone reading a Superman comic, going and putting a red towel around his neck and jumping out a window, thinking he can fly. People in this country need to grow up and take responsibilty for their own actions. Not everyone is this country is a victim. But the more I listen to some of these lawsuits, and more importantly the ridiculous renderings, the more I am convinced there are alot of people out there who lack any intelligence whatsoever.

What the WWE did last night was hysterical. McMahon was finally able to get back at everyone who has been trashing him all these years. My only complaint was that he should've made it a theme for the evening. He should have drawn it out over the entire night and then done something really raunchy at the end of the evening to prove that he still has what it takes. It would've been funny and stuck it to everyone who complains about his programming.

What I can't understand is through all of this, everyone is saying the right things, but yet wrong things are still being done, showing what is wrong with pro sports. Why are they appealing the suspensions? They won't have that option when these cases go to trial (oh wait, yes they will...remember everyone is a victim). Just accept the suspensions, shut up and let the games heal themselves. NBA had a real opportunity to put itself on the map this year with no hockey. Football is played twice a week, and baseball had everyonce excited for more sports. Basketball could've proved that it was a great sport with great athletes who can do more than jump three inches in the air to put a ball through a hoop. But instead it has done quite the opposite and shown itself to have thugs and miscrients in their ranks, so anyone who might have tuned in here and there will be completely turned off. I feel bad for David Stern because he seems like the best of the big commissioners out there, yet he has a lot of work to do ahead of him. They dropped the ball with this one and their image will be tarnished for quite some time.

Meanwhile, the WWE doesn't look so bad anymore. Haven't had any major problems with fans lately. They still go over and visit in Iraq, whereas I here little of that over in the other major sports. They still try and be available for the fans, even though morale is at an all-time low. You hear about their blow-ups with each other, but you don't see them. Even when the World Wildlife Foundation is still breathing down their neck, because they're whiny and probably lost money when the WWE changed their name, the WWE is still trying to tick along. They will come out of this with the last laugh, if Monday Night RAW is just the tip of the iceberg. What McMahon should do is play this out as long as he can, because he has been beaten on for so long, it's time he gives some back.

Well, that's it for now....so until I get some models to let me photograph them nude.......keep reading....Sincerely the Novak Notebook

Well, the notebook is going to

Have to discuss many different things for awhile, since I can't watch wrestling for the next couple of months. I can read the reports and keep following what is going on. Other than that, I have to keep watching Monday Night Football or something like that.

Right now the Notebook wants to talk about HHH in Blade:Trinity. Now I'm not going to rip HHH about his role or anything like that. I think he took a tremendous risk playing a vampire who likes little dogs. It's cute.

I went and saw the movie the Saturday after it opened. While I'm still recovering from the sticker shock of paying $9.50 for a matinee movie (I would still like to talk to the crack head who came up with that number). I am a big fan of the Blade movies, but this one falls a little flat. And believe it or not, HHH really has nothing to do with the movie falling flat.

The movie was stiff, from Snipes and Biel's acting, to really jokey from Ryan Reynolds perspective. I liked some of the humor, because it was different from the previous movies, but at times there was too much humor, and with the wooden acting from Snipes and Biel, it couldn't overcome it.

Jessica Biel looked great and looked like she was working really hard on her shape, which she did successfully. But she isn't there yet on the acting level. Parker Posey blew her away, even though her humor was sometimes silly as well.

HHH was actually pretty good as a muscle man in the movie. I liked him and I liked the fact he chose this role. Instead of trying to pick up a main role in a small movie, take a second banana role in a mainstream movie. It was a perfect role for a guy his size, and he was able to get his feet wet without the weight of the entire movie on his back.

A funny thing happened on the way to the movies that day however. I also watched Ocean's Twelve, and before the movie started, I saw a preview for one of the Rock's upcoming movies. It's called "Be Cool". It is a sort of sequel to "Get Shorty", with John Travolta and Danny DeVito coming back. The Rock plays a bodyguard, and this could be something which gets the Rock recognized by a bigger audience. It's not an action movie, it is a comedy, and he does the same thing in this movie that HHH did in his. Take a smaller role. Like I said, I think both have a much better chance of breaking into bigger movies if they take their time and work their way in to ensemble casts.

HHH had some interesting things to say in this month's Penthouse issue. He says all the right things, but he also makes it sound like both he and the Rock have been getting scripts forever. He also makes it sound like the Rock jumped, while he wants to be a wrestler first and foremost. He says he didn't jump because the roles weren't right. They sometimes had no lines or one or two lines. Well, you have to start somewhere. Look at the Rock. He started with the Scorpian King with a line or two in another language. It moved on to his own Scorpian King movie. That worked out well for him, although he had some bumps after that.

I'm not sure whether either man, Rock or HHH, will eventually rule Hollywood. HHH says he isn't looking for Oscar nominations or anything like that, but he'll be more than willing to blow anything or anyone up. I kind of like that attitude. He has the look, and he could be a big action hero. Unfortunately, everyone from Brian Bosworth to Dolph Ludgren thought they could be action heroes as well. It depends on what kind of movies they get into.

Which brings us back to both men. HHH might play this right and be in a few small roles first before trying to be in a few bigger action movies. The Rock has already made the jump to lead actor with mixed results. Scorpian King was a hit, the Rundown was a mild hit, and Walking Tall didn't do much of anything. Now the pressure is on for the Rock to produce something big. If the new movie Be Cool is something of a hit, he will get some of the credit. If it isn't, Travolta and a few others may get most of the blame, so it could work out as a no lose situation for him.

And that leads us to Roddy Piper. He has done a little of everything. He was in a cult hit (Hell Comes to Frogtown), was in a number one movie at the box office (They Live), was in a few other movies after that, worked in television on a Burt Reynolds movie and a Love Boat reunion movie. He had a fairly productive career in Hollywood, but what does he do now. He still has the tag of a wrestler who wants to act, even though he has been working in Hollywood since nearly before Jessica Biel was born. But he's barely mentioned, looks like he has nothing in the pipes for down the road, while guys with no talent like Van Damme and Segal still get movies that come out on DVD.

Why did I bring up the Rowdy One? Well, he is the lesson for the other ones that are following. Goldberg, Rock, Austin, and HHH might think they have a bright future ahead of them. They are relatively young, big, bad, and have a fan base. Remember, Piper had all of that back in 1987, and he was coming off being the most hated man of the year and becoming most popular man of the year in wrestling. Where did that get him? Movies like "Buy and Cell", and shows like "Tag-Team". It didn't last too long, even after a hit like They Live. So just as fast as it can arrive, the fame can fade as well, so all of these guys need to remember that when they're picking their roles, otherwise they will end up the next Roddy Piper in Hollywood. Wrestlers who want to act.

So until the Notebook turns in a bestseller, keep reading.....sincerely, the Novak Notebook.

Let me first start off

By saying that HHH won the title.....again.....whoopdee frickin' do. After not really losing it in the first place, he fought valiantly and is now a ten time world champion. Ratings keep falling, fans keep groaning, and the McMahon's and HHH have the nerve to say he isn't part of the problem? Who didn't see this coming? Hasn't this been done a million times before? Is there anybody left who even cares. I mean now HHH has come up with a way to get past Flair's sixteen time title reign without even losing the belt in the first place. When Flair won all of those titles, yes some of them were in a rather short time span, but the overall span was something like a good fifteen years. What's the rush HHH? Afraid someone else is going to come along and you'll never get the title back. Not only does he keep winning the title back, but he also ends up holding onto it the longest. Maybe he figures he needs to get all the title chances in before the steroids do him in. In some ways, I'm glad I can't watch wrestling right now, because I am soooo sick of HHH it isn't even funny.

Now on to other matters. RVD has been ripped by several people, and the up management in the WWE for not going to Iraq in recent weeks with a number of other superstars. I want to make a few points on this matter. First, remember that these are the same people who decided to leave a lucrative USA contract for smaller TNN (now Spike), came out and said they were in the entertainment business, and also changed the name of the company to WWE instead of going to WWWF. Just some food for thought there. Second, if I'm in Iraq and I get to see and hug Torrie Wilson, Dawn Marie, Stacy Keibler, I'm really not going to be too worried about whether RVD is there or not. Gimme Stacy in cammo shorts any day of the week, and RVD can rest all he wants. Third, with the schedule the way it is for the WWE (remember, they are the ones that came out and said that there is no off season in the WWE) maybe RVD was a little banged up and needed some time away, and this was the perfect time to do it. Fourth, it wasn't mandatory. That means you don't have to go if you don't want to. If everyone is getting upset and saying you should've gone, guess what? It was mandatory.

Now I'm not taking sides here for the most part. I applaud what Vince and the WWE do with our troops, which is usually a hell of a lot more than other sports can say. They are over there quite often and entertain and show support which is a wonderful thing. The troops need our support. Whether or not you agree with the war shouldn't matter, because the troops are not the ones who made the decision to go over there. They are doing their job much like many of us do each and every day. We all do things we don't like, but we have to do it anyway because it's part of our job. Their job is the same way, although quite a bit more dangerous. I believe in our troops, even though I think the war is wrong. What the WWE does is show them that they are not forgotten and are very important to the USA.

However, RVD is a human being. He needs vacations and breaks. He needs time off, especially considering the type of wrestling he does. Vince said it was optional to go over to Iraq, which is the way it should be. If you have to go, then the meaning is shallow. RVD took that to mean he could stay or go, so he stayed and probably took some time to refresh himself. I don't have a problem with that. By the same token I don't have a problem if in general the WWE feels disappointed by his decision. Most people should want to go over to support the troops, considering they are protecting what little rights you have left, so I have no problem with Vince feeling a tad upset by the decision. But to come out and say there is heat and friction and all kinds of other stuff on RVD is just stupid. He made a decision. There is no right or wrong here, so there should be no heat. Who the heat should be on is little Mrs. Hunter for why things aren't turning around. Instead of blaming everyone from Pat Patterson to RVD to Paul Heyman is just silly. Isn't this THE VINCENT KENNEDY MCMAHON dammit? Shouldn't he have been able to turn things around by now. I don't even know why RVD took the time off. It could be something as simple as he was dejected and just didn't feel like going. I don't know whether or not I'm okay with that or not, but it is his decision. Like I said, if you wanted him to go, make it mandatory. Since you didn't, leave him alone.

So is the WWE playing with fire once again? Hassan instead of Sgt. Slaughter this time. I think this character is getting a bit of a different reaction than Slaughter did for several reasons. First, this guy isn't nearly as fun to watch as old Searge. Second, when Slaughter did it, he literally became a traitor, whereas this guy is just some poor Arab who wonders why he is being persecuted. Third, alot of people kinda agree with him. Fourth, did I mention how good an actor ol' Searge was? Fifth, this is a real war with over a thousand people dead and many thousands more wounded, whereas the Persian Gulf war was over in about a week with less than a hundred casualties. Big difference. If they want to get this guy over, the WWE is going to have to do some major stuff with him, but they better be really, really careful. With how everyone feels right now, I have a feeling if this guy lit a flag on fire the security guards would have their hands full. It is a sensitive time, so you can't go too overboard with Hassan to get him over, without risking mass chaos or rioting. Vince may want to tread lightly with this one, or someone may be stomping a mudhole in him and walking it dry.

Why hasn't Stephanie come out and taken congrats and handshakes for all the great ideas she's.......oh that's right there haven't been any yet.

The ECW via the WWE DVD that came out made me yearn for the days when you had the Monday night wars and then searched for ECW on Saturday nights. It was a wonderful time in history indeed.

Now I watch 24, Lost, Alias and my Steelers are in the playoffs, hoping they get to the Super Bowl. Tough Jets team this weekend. Picking Steelers v Colts and Vikings v Flacons. Winners get to the Superbowl.

With Randy Johnson pushing cameramen out of the way in NYC, who needs wrestling?

Why not just have a ppv every other week? Wouldn't you even make more money that way? That ridiculous argument was why the WWE went to 14 or so ppvs a year. They don't have the talent to have eight, much less 14. That argument makes about as much sense as running all your change through a blender saying that you'll have more money when it comes out.

Some things you will never see........

>Fozzy winning a Grammy
>Chris Benoit winning a slam dunk contest.
>Hulk Hogan in a tutu.......wait a minute? What do you mean he did that already??
>The Big Show reading close up to children without a blast shield in front of him
>Lita and Kane wearing matching his and hers outfits
>The fans looking bored with Stacy Kiebler
>Torrie Wilson on Jeopardy
>The Undertaker in a Christmas movie
>Kurt Angle doing hair care ads
>Edge without his polygrip
>Christian doing a toothpaste commercial

Some things you should see......

>I like the idea of all of the Divas in Playboy.....I like that idea quite a bit actually.
>Trish and Torrie answering the question "Did you inflate?"
>Ashley Simpson and Lillian Garcia in a sing off loser gets tombstoned from the top of Hell in the Cell
>The return of ECW
>The rise of TNA
>Rodney King guest stars in the Royal Rumble and starts off as number one. Then everyone gets to come in and beat the living crap out of him, until all thirty are in the ring beating him up and he screams "can't we all just get off me?" That would upset quite a few people I think. If you can't scrape ol' Rodney out of the gutter, get Sheldon. He already subbed for T.O....he could do Rodney.
>One of the Divas falls down and her fake boob explodes right there on live TV. That would be a hoot...or an ex-hoot I guess.
>Vince McMahon v George W Bush
>JR v Dick Cheney
>Returns by the Rock and Austin
>HHH banished to the underworld or wherever vampires who love little doggies go. By the way....the movie bombed!!!!
>Stephanie or any of the McMahons actually take credit for any of this mess they are in.
>Brock Lesnar to come back...what? Nobody remembers who he is? Well, they don't remember he was kinda like the Goldberg clone......what? They don't remember him either??
>Success of the wrestling channel, because then we can finally have some good wrestling to watch once in awhile.

and finally.....
the Novak Notebook to become a major force all around the world....so until then keep reading...sincerely...you know who....if not see above.

Well, another time has come and gone,

Although I guess you could just about say that any moment you wanted. But I digress, even though I am not quite sure I was gressing in the first place.

An article popped up in a recent issue of TV Guide that caught my attention. It dealt with the "latest" trend in television where the hot tv show leads directly into the next one, to keep the ratings going. Also it talked about the shows opening with a bang, again to keep the ratings up. The article went on to say that this "new" method of grabbing the viewers attention was working quite well for shows such as 24, Lost, and Alias, and you could expect other stations to start doing this. It not only grabs the viewers attention, but really stops them from changing the channel, just so they can see what is going to happen.

As you may have noticed, I put several words in quotes up above. The reason I did this is because TV Guide got it wrong, and I am mocking them. This isn't a latest trend or something new. We're not talking about the birth of a new direction in television here. Once again, this was used several years ago by the world of professional wrestling, and yet despite all of the harsh criticism they take, they get none of the credit.

During the Monday Night Wars between WCW and the WWF, they were doing things like that all the time. It was actually revolutionary back then, as was the way they watched the top and quarter hours to see when viewers would change the channels. If they saw a weakness in their programming, they would go about installing something in that slot to sure it up.

But if you recall, both programs would try and start off with a bang (either the NWO or Stone Cold), have something happen immediately that would continue through the rest of the night. They would also start something near the top of the hour before they would go to commercial break, so they could ensure that you would return once the commercial was over. It even got to the point when they would watch where each others commercials fell, so they could come back with something hot during the other one's commercial time.

So, not only was the booking of the matches great during this high time in wrestling, but hooking an audience and keeping them through your next commercial break was also vital. It was a clever time during which there were many interesting tactics, to say the least.

When the WWF was taped, WCW would announce the results, hoping to draw viewers away. It worked several times, but it backfired one big time. When they announced Mick Foley (aka Mankind at the time) was going to win the title, everyone and their mother switched over to see it happen. It backfired so badly, that the WCW never tried a stunt like that again.

They would start matches, have them continue throughout the commercial break. They would have someone storm out to the ring, wait around until after the commercial to talk. They would introduce one wrestler, and wait until they came back to introduce the mystery opponent. Surprise appearances would show up at these crucial times. Swerves, big matches, big announcements, and emmotional moments were all tied into what the other person was doing at the time, and then jumping when the time was right. As I said, it was a very clever time during wrestling heyday.

Now on to other important matters. Namely the Divas. I'm all for the likes of Stacy Keibler (believe me I am), Torrie Wilson, and Dawn Marie. They are fun to watch, more fun to look at, and can get someone to be a heel faster than any number of promos. All someone has to do is start slapping them around, and instantly the crowd is against them, by the same token all someone has to do is come down and rescue them, and they are an instant fan favorite. They serve their purpose and they are an enjoyable sideline to the wrestling. But right now there is a problem.

Just when you thought the WWE was going to take the women's division a little more seriously, all of a sudden you have a huge influx of divas that can do little more than shake their ass, smile, and wave. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a hot woman shaking her booty all over the place, but when you look as they cut people like Gail Kim, and the women's division is basically reduced to little more than a few lingerie pillow fights, something is askew. You had the makings of the best women's division in years.

Trish Stratus is still a solid wrestler, and she gets better each time she goes out. Molly is very solid as well as underappreciated. Jazz was the monster when she wasn't hurt. Victoria was pretty flexable, and could go back and forth betweem heel and face. Gail Kim was an up and coming talent. Lita was the high flyer, again when she wasn't hurt. They could've trained this Cristy Hemme and made her another talented wrestler. She seems to have the desire, and the athletic ability to pull it off, but instead they get her to come out and wave and smile, then get in a stupid pillow fight.

And while we're at it, why on earth is the WWE cutting all of these other wrestlers, yet turning around and hiring all of these DIVAS. They're doing the same thing with the girls that they did with the wrestlers. They're not all DIVAS. Some of them are divas, but some of them are glorified Hooters girls. At least the Hooters girls work hard for a living. But this bothered me when the WWE proclaimed that all of their wrestlers were "WWE Superstars". Really? That's a pretty bold claim, considering most of the people of America don't know who 98% of your wrestlers are. Even other sports don't say that every one of their players is a star. Not every actor is on the A list. Not every painter is a Picasso, nor is every photographer an Ansel Adams. No matter what field it is, you have people that are on top of the food chain, and you have many more that are striving to be there. By proclaiming that everyone is a DIVA or a Superstar, you are saying that they have already made it.

With the death of Johnny Carson recently, it got me thinking. If you really think about it, probably anyone under the age of 25 doesn't really know who he is and what the big deal is all about. Their life begins and ends with either Leno or Letterman. Kind of interesting how something like that makes you feel old all of a sudden. I'm going to go through a few things here, so indulge me if you will. I'm going to compare what's happened with me with someone who was born in 1980 (25 years ago).

When I was born, we were in the middle of the Vietnam War, and Richard Nixon was in his first term in office. You take someone who is 25, Vietnam was over for six years when they were born, and Jimmy Carter was President, about to lose the upcoming election to Ronald Reagan. I stayed up watching that election routing for independent candidate John Anderson. NOW; We've had two major campaigns since the Vietnam war, and both Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan have died.

The First movie I remember going to see is the original Star Wars. I saw it thirteen times, and my mother was even bold enough to let her nearly seven year old go into the theatre by himself on a few occasions, and then pick him up after the movie was over. Someone who was 25 was born when The Empire Strikes Back was being released for the first time (I saw that seven times in the theatre). When those people turned 17, they were able to actually go and see the first Star Wars re-released on the big screen, although with some different footage. NOW; we are working on the sixth and final (according to George Lucas) Star Wars movie, which is going to be in theatres this summer.

My Favorite TV shows growing up were MASH and probably Night Court. I also loved the Twilight Zone and stuff like that. The nice thing about DVD is that now all of these classic shows can be watched and treasured by future generations. But someone born in 1980, MASH was nearing the end of its run, while Night Court wasn't even on yet. The big talk around that time was who shot JR on Dallas. NOW; reality tv is front and center in the television world, although I can't understand how it can be considered reality tv. Once you turn a camera on, it no longer is real. But it must be a generational thing.

Also consider in 1980; the first space shuttle wouldn't be launched for another year, the Berlin Wall was still standing, the USSR was still a major force to be reckoned with, the Red Sox still hated Bucky Dent and didn't even know who Bill Buckner was (I think he was with the Cubs at the time, or the Dodgers), the Pirates had just won the World Series the year before, the Steelers were still the dynasty talk, Tom Brady was 2 or 3 years old, Joe Montana was still in Notre Dame I think. Raging Bull was the huge boxing movie instead of a boxing movie about women, while Clint Eastwood was trying something new with his career; comedies. The Cold War was still something that was present, especially with the 1980 summer and winter games. The summer games were boycotted by the US because they were in Moscow, and the winter games had the miracle on ice. By the time someone turned ten that was born in 1980, we had a Bush in the White House, and the Berlin Wall was a thing of the past. In 1980, nobody in this country knew who Mikhail Gorbechev was, and Nelson Mandella was still in jail. South Africa was still heavy into apartheid and Barry Bonds was still in high school.

The big time wrestlers back then were Bob Backlund, Billy Graham, Andre the Giant, and Ric Flair was just starting to emerge. Harley Race was King before he wore the crown, and Dusty Rhodes was bringing it to the pay window. Roddy Piper was a young up n' comer, as was Hulk Hogan. The Rock was barely out of diapers, and Randy Orton wasn't even born yet. HHH wasn't the game, and Austin had all of his hair. The Hart dynasty and the unfortunate tragedies were just beginning in Calgary, while Randy Savage was two or three years removed from being a minor league catcher.

No one had ever heard of ECW, or for that matter WCW. It was the NWA and the WWWF. Ted Turner hadn't even thought about rasslin' at that point, while Vince McMahon Sr. was running things in the WWWF. Nobody had heard of Summerslam, the Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, or even pay-per-view. Nobody thought people would actually pay to see wrestling on tv, much less shell out $35-$50 a month to watch it. And Wrestlemania was still not on the boards yet. Hard as it is to believe, the "granddaddy" of them all is still less than 25 years old. Don't get me wrong, it has had a great run, but just remember that by the time Wrestlemania aired in 1985 (when I was fourteen and a half by the way), you had already had 18 Super Bowls, and 70 World Series. There hadn't been talk of hockey in the south, much less cancelling the season. In fact I think there were still more teams in Canada than in the US at that point.

Yup, hearing about Johnny Carson's death brought back a lot of memories, and hearing younger people asking what the big deal was put things in perspective. Things change, and time moves along. Those of us who cherish wrestlers from the past, such as Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Andre the Giant should cherish those memories fondly, but remember that the kids today most likely aren't going to know who you are talking about. When they see these guys, they were either old when they saw them, or they caught a brief glimpse of them, and it doesn't hold nearly the meaning for them that it did for us, because we were around the first time it happened. By the same token, when they talk about your music being old fashioned, or what you like being out of date, gently remind them (or not so gently) that time does a funny thing. It will make what they like and cherish old and obsolete some day too.

Well, that's about it for now.....so until Heather and I write the mother of all columns....keep reading...sincerely the Novak Notebook...

Well, in honor of Star Trek actually being off the air in some shape or form for the first time since before Next Generation, I figured I'd look back as well as forward. If you're lucky, I'll look sideways too.

The WWE seems to be turning things around, consistently ranking number one in the ratings for cable programs for the first time in awhile. This is on the heels of the WWE kind of making it known that it might be heading back to the USA network. I think this would be a great idea for several reasons. One the WWE has always been bigger than the audience that the Spike network has allowed. While some thought it made sense for them to switch to Spike TV, others (like me) thought it made absolutely no sense, especially considering they had no competition. There was no reason for casual fans to watch to see what was going to happen since the envelope wasn't going to be pushed, so the next logical thing was to be on as many cable stations as you could possibly be on. Instead they move to the Spike network and start having problems with their ratings.

Now Randy Orton is hurt (again) and looks like he may be heading over to Smackdown. While Smackdown can certainly use him, I'm sure Dawn Marie and Torrie Wilson are wondering what they did wrong to deserve him. Although Orton seems to have talent beyond compare, he is already developing a reputation backstage, and has women quitting over him. Not because they love him so much that they can't bare to be around him, but they want to leave because they can't stand him. That doesn't exactly speak volumes of Randy. Now he is young and hopefully he will mature. But let's look at this thing. He isn't in high school, and he is in his mid twenties, so he should know better. He got a run at being champ, and it looks like it went to his head (sounds like Brock right?). Maybe being buried on Smackdown for a little bit might humble him.

Now, I've been a HHH basher for quite some time. I'll admit it that I'm not a big fan of HHH, and I will probably never be a fan of his, but I will say this. From everything I hear, he does seem to carry himself professionally away from the ring. He does have political stroke and he does use it, but it is no different than Nash, Hall, and Hogan doing the same thing. But you don't hear about him getting into fights (Henning and Brock), doing nasty things to the girls as a "joke" (Randy Orton). There are a few professional among the wrestlers nowadays (Undertaker, Benoit, and Jericho) and HHH is right there with them. Like I said, I'm not a big fan, but he does carry himself with class away from the ring, so at least he puts his money where his mouth is.

So, the Rock won't be coming back anytime soon, unless the WWE re-ups his contract? I don't think they should give him the kind of money that he most likely wants for a part time wrestler, if he is even that. Let him make his movies and see what happens. If he has a successful career, great that's wonderful. If it doesn't work, let him come back, but make sure he comes back on a semi-regular basis. The WWE didn't back down from Goldberg and Brock and their ridiculous demands, so they shouldn't do the same with the Rock. They are on good terms with him, they should leave it at that.

Having Piper and Austin in the ring together was great. If only these two were in their prime. That is one feud that could've eclipsed Piper-Hogan or McMahon-Austin. With the antics those two pulled off, people would've tuned in every week just to see what those two were going to do. But, at least we got to see them together, if only for a moment. Wonder if Carlito knows how lucky he was to get his clock cleaned by those two legends?

Been having fun the last few weeks, going to Lake Placid and back to Cooperstown. Plus I have a video game I play at the arcade after work. It's called Derby Owner Cup and it is horse racing. You breed the horses, train them and race them. I've gotten pretty good, where I now have the all-time money leading horse called Rowdy for More (have lots of Rowdy horses-a tribute). Two of my newest horses are also wrestling inspired; the Crippler and the Jobber. The Jobber is climbing into the top twenty all-time, and the Crippler has a track record. This has nothing to do with wrestling on tv, but what can you do.

Well, finally the end is near....according to Revelations on NBC. Anyway, the WWE seems to be making some headway and going back in the right direction. It was down for a few years, and it looks like it is back on the rebound. It is typical of anything that is on for a long period of time. Saturday Night Live, Letterman, ER, all have had slumps and come back and rebounded nicely. It is different with wrestling, since it is on cable, but it's still the same principle. Put out the product, and eventually the people will tune in. They seem to be heading back, so if the WWE just keeps doing what it is doing, everything should be fine.

So, until I win the mega million in New York and retire Lost on my own island...keep reading....
sincerely, the Novak Notebook

Well, in this haunting, thought-provoking,

Challenging, mind wrenching issue of the Notebook we will be able to discuss several different topics.

The Notebook finally got to start watching wrestling again, although the irony is the place I'm staying just outside of Cleveland has the cable stations that carry wrestling, I work so late now that I miss a good amount of the shows. I'm still able to watch enough to give my opinion on those shows, plus a few other topics.

I like the draft. Plain and simple, and I can't spell it out any more simply for that (sorry for some of you out there). It is always good to change things up a bit, and both shows were getting stale. Getting Benoit off of RAW, where he can maybe challenge for the world title again is a good opportunity to turn things around. Smackdown has always been second tier, since the Rock left, and it looks like the WWE is going to continue to make it second tier. They trade over a few good talents, but then the WWE takes away guys like Angle and Cena. That doesn't make any sense at all. I'm not sure what they are trying to accomplish, because they took away two solid draws, and Smackdown doesn't have many to begin with. Like I said, I like the draft, but they have to bolster the roster of Smackdown if they're going to make it work.

Here is something that puzzles me, and believe me if it puzzles me, it is sure to make your head spin. Obviously there is a nitch for a program like ECW. It drew pretty well, and the buy rates were pretty good, I'm sure. It is the type of thing that doesn't necessarily take away from anything that McMahon is trying to do, and can only help him in the long run. Why doesn't Vince just give Paul Heyman a budget, say you can run ECW however you want, just as long as you stay under budget, and see what happens. Paul E. was obviously on to something with ECW, and fans are still passionate about it. Giving it a one night show doesn't really do it justice, and it deserves better. I mean it happens in entertainment all the time. Miramax is a division under the Disney corporation, as is Touchstone pictures. Dimension is a branch off of Miramax, and New Line is under Warner Brothers. Major groups such as Disney own tv stations, and they all act independently of each other. They all have to answer to one big boss perhaps, but they are all still run separate of each other. You will never see Pinhead in a Disney movie, or Quentin Tarantino directing the Love Bug, unless he gets to obliterate it or something. Leatherface will never show up with Dirty Harry, and you'll never see Michael Myers delivering the ABC news. So, why can't we have little branches off of the WWE brand and let them run their own way. We already have OVW and the like, so why not have ECW come back, run by Paul Heyman like it was, and see what happens. The worst case scenario is that it doesn't work, and Vince pulls the plug after a year or so. I think it would be fun, and it could be a great jumping off point for the Benoits and Jerichos of the world.

Saw the Longest Yard and loved it. I hate to admit it but Kevin Nash stole the movie. He was hysterical and he just kept getting funnier as the movie went along. Stone Cold and Goldberg were okay, although they really didn't stick out anymore than anyone else did. But Nash was just plain funny, and the best part of it is that it was a complete surprise. I knew he was in the movie, but since they usually like to show the best parts of the movie throughout the trailers, I figured that was going to be it. I had no idea that there were as many funny scenes in it as there were, and that Nash had so many of them.

The Wrestlemania 21 DVD was great. I finally got to watch most of the matches, and still Stone Cold in Piper's Pit was nearly the sleeper. It was as close to an old Piper's Pit that we're going to get, and both men were at the top of their game. Piper still was better, because he was able to outlast and outwit the entire audience with their whole tepid "What" chant. He is one of the few that actually got them to shut up for a minute when he asked them "What you can't understand him either?" The other thing I liked about the disc was they put the Hall of Fame inductions on as an extra rather than buying as another DVD, which was a great idea. I was going to have to go out and buy the Hall of Fame DVD, just to see what all Piper did, but their sales of previous Hall of Fame DVDs must have forced their hand. It was a nice bonus to get that package.

Another new set of DVDs just came out, starring a bunch of wrestlers from the eighties. It's put out by the WWE "Superstars of the 80s" Hogan, Piper, Flair, Slaughter, Snuka, and a few others are on the 3 disc set. I watched the Piper portion so far, and it looks like it's pretty well put together. My only beef with it is each portion on the wrestler is a little short, although informative, and they don't have many matches, considering the number of stars they are covering.

When is the WWE going to put out a collection of Roddy Piper's stuff? They could do a disc on his interviews and Piper's Pits, another on his matches outside the WWE (NWA, Portland, WCW, and Florida/Georgia career), and another disc for his WWF/WWE matches. I think it would be great, and they would certainly never run out of material.

Well, that's about it for now, so until I get a call from Heather telling her how much she really hates me.....keep reading, sincerely the Novak Notebook

Well, the summer has come and gone,

And there hasn't been so much of a peep out of the Novak Notebook. Normally, I would say the notebook has taken the time off and relaxed, but right now I'm working nights and barely know which end is up most of the time, so I haven't exactly been relaxing.

There has been a lot of things going on over on the wrestling scene, and should get even more exciting in the coming months. RAW has been entertaining and fun to watch, and there have even been a few things on Smackdown worth tuning in too.

RAW has been great, everything from the unexpected retirement of Chris Jericho, to the news that RAW is finally going home, back to the USA network.

Chris Jericho retiring has been a surprise to say the least. I love how they did it and how they handled it. Chris said he was tired of wrestling, and his interests were elsewhere. That's nice and wonderful and I wish him well, but I also happen to think that when he says wrestling wasn't interesting to him anymore, you can read into that he was tired of being used in the second tier. His career started off with a bang when he appeared opposite of Undertaker and the Rock. But the majority of his career, he was basically a glorified midcarder, which didn't make any sense. He didn't miss much time when he was with the WWE, and he was a huge personality, yet he barely registered in the title hunt year after year. It's such a shame, because he is a great talent, and maybe a few years away, he could come back and be even more popular than ever. Who knows, he may even be used correctly.

I also love the title holders switching shows. Batista is a monster, but he would've just bullied Bishoff around. He gives Smackdown a much needed boost, and he really doesn't have to do a whole lot. Cena on the other hand, gets to show off his talent a little more, being on cable he can let loose a little, and with his feud with Bishoff, he can be even a little more interesting. It is a poor man's McMahon v Austin, but it's better than what they had, which was squat. My only question is whether or not HHH is coming back to feud with Cena or finish what he started with Batista.

RAW on the USA network is great for two reasons. One, they go back to where they started and the rules aren't as bad over there. Next is they can maybe go back and grab some of their audience they lost when they left for Spike TV. The other great thing about this is Spike is going out and getting TNA, which will be great for us who haven't seen the product yet. I'm excited and I can't wait to watch their programming. I don't care if they don't have the starpower, but I just want to have someone else to talk about other than the WWE. Maybe the notebook will go back to being something around monthly of bi-monthly if both programs pick up the pace a little.

HHH is coming back. I'm actually glad, although I love what Kurt Angle is doing right now as the top heel. But it was good to get rid of him for awhile, and it won't be bad to see him come back, as long as he doesn't flood the airways the way the NWO did back in the day. People loved it at first, but when you see it all the time, people get tired of it. Let's wait and see what happens.

Please get rid of the Diva search. It is stupid, a waste of time (Not only that, the girl I liked, Elizabeth I think didn't win). The WWE doesn't take the women seriously to begin with, and adding these girls doesn't help. It seems to me that the sole purpose of getting these girls in there is so they can get them into Playboy as soon as they can. Don't believe me, see Christy Hemme. Her fifteen minutes weren't even up yet, and she was already dropping her drawers for Playboy (not that there is anything wrong with that). But please stop wasting time when you could add another match or two. If you want to incorporate a Diva search, have them escort the wrestlers down, and then get into it at ringside.

Benoit has a belt again, and that is a good thing. Not only that the whole angle with Orlando Jones is hilarious, allowing Benoit's comedic side to come out. A great idea.

What happened to Piper's Pit? One Pit and he gets kicked by Shawn Michaels? What's up with that?

Why is Hogan still around?

The New Legion of Doom is growing on me. Having Paul Ellering at ringside wouldn't be so bad, but they could put Stacy Kiebler at ringside too. Use the women as valets rather than in pillow fights.

Well, that wraps this up for now...so when you think you know everything.....turn around and there is probably someone laughing.....hang loose, but hang on tight....
sincerely, the Novak Notebook

The Notebook this week discusses homecoming.

WWE homecoming was billed as something of a ppv for free. You got to see all the major stars, past and present, and see them doing some of the things they do best. This is only going to be good for the WWE to head back to the USA network. Although the commercials were a bit tiresome, the show itself was a major success.

Unfortunately, I didn't get back from work in time to see the beginning of the show. Naturally, that is when they had the Piper's Pit on. I got back in time to watch the rest of the Kurt Angle, Shawn Michaels match. It was great to watch, but the problem with an iron man match on television is that you lose some momentum once you go to commercial. Still, it is fun and with two top performers like Michaels and Angle, it works really well.

Showing all the greats was a wonderful thing, although the one shot showed Greg Valentine looking more than a little bored, or drunk. When they were in the ring that was even better. For us old guys who remember back to the heyday of the eighties, it was fun to see some of these guys that you haven't really seen in maybe five to ten years.

The best thing of the night was Austin stunning the entire McMahon family. It was hilarious, especially when Linda came out and agreed with Steve that her husband was a piece of trash. She messed up her stunner, and the skit was too long at times, but overall very good. My only complaint was why didn't they really let Shane say anything? Is he now the black sheep of the family I wonder?

Hogan challenging Austin is interesting for the fact that you have the biggest draw of the eighties vs the biggest draw of the new millenium. Both are hurt, well past their prime, but both of them can cut a promo better than half of the people the WWE has under contract right now. The whole locker should watch when these two start cutting into each other. If they didn't pay attention when Michaels had his run against Hogan, they should really pay attention now.

I actually like the angle they played against Smackdown. I didn't really want to watch a 6 man tag match that didn't mean much of anything. They all got their pops, and they got their legs cut out from underneath them. It set up a far better angle at the end, and maybe even something later on down the road.

Now for some short points from a short man.......

When did Trish become a face again? Did I miss something?

Ashley almost became a hero by nearly taking off Candace's underwear along with her tights. That would have been a hell of a return to the USA network don't you think?

More Piper's Pit........please

Now that the WWE has moved, can't wait for TNA to get it's footing on the Spike network. Out of everyone who moved to the Spike network (ECW, WWE, and now TNA) this should benefit TNA the best. ECW was hurt by the censorship, and it really limited what they could and couldn't do. The WWE didn't learn from ECW and did the same thing. TNA can manage to gain a bigger audience, without making the same sacrifices either of the other two had to make. They should be able to function a lot better, and at least let more people know what their product has to offer. If they decide to start taking risks and chances, by then they will hopefully be big enough where they may be able to move to another network.

Movies to see......Into the Blue (Jessica Alba is hot)
Lord of War isn't bad
Chaos for all of the brutality. If you can find it, you should see if you can stomach it.
Cry_Wolf actually isn't bad either. It isn't anything great, but it is underrated.

Movie to rent......Prophecy:Uprising. .....continuing the Prophecy franchise without Christopher Walken, this is a cool little straight to DVD movie. Don't expect a whole lot, but it is fun to watch.

Book to read......Bobby Heenan's Chairshots......it's his new book, kind of a guide to wrestling and equating it to life. Pretty good read and fun too. The title was a little too long to write the whole thing.

Well...that's all I got to say about that.....so keep reaching for them stars, and you'll either pull a muscle or have people asking you when you were robbed
......sincerely, the Novak Notebook

Once more with feeling.

It's been awhile since I've written. I am now safely tucked away back at my apartment in Pittsburgh, after my six months in Cleveland. A lot has happened, and I've even been able to start cleaning my apartment, which is a chore in and of itself. But in between the mounds of garbage I'm throwing out, I have been able to watch some wrestling and even write another Notebook. I know how you all sit on the edge of your seat waiting for another notebook to come out, or not, and I am more than happy to oblige.

First and foremost, even though Smackdown has improved some, I still have the feeling that I'm watching the JV when I tune in Smackdown. Switching to Friday nights hasn't helped me either, as I keep forgetting until the last minute. What I have caught, you start realizing they only have five or six top shelf guys and everyone else is fighting for tv space. JBL, Batista, Mysterio, Undertaker, Orton, and maybe throw in Benoit and Booker T. There isn't much beyond that, which is a shame.

What is the end story for Bishoff? It should be interesting to see if they bring him back and see how they bring him back if they do. Despite everything, I liked Bishoff as the gm, and I really liked his interaction between Bishoff and Austin. That was great.

Just watching Kurt Angle, and he is the best thing that the WWE has going on right now. Despite HHH trying to be the biggest heel right now, Angle is the man right now. I love the feud between Angle and Cena and I wish they would go on for some time.

Christy Hemme got fired. I hope Stacy Keibler isn't next. I liked Christy and she was actually getting to be a bit better in the ring. I like some of the women on the WWE shows, and I think they could do a lot with them, but I think it wille eventually fall by the wayside, like everything else does.

HHH hasn't thrown himself right into the mix in search of another title, but you know that's coming. I think he's starting to realize that he can take the title, hold it forever, but it only counts as one title reign. So maybe we'll be getting some smaller reigns, and maybe do somemore chasing as he closes in on Ric Flair's magic number. The funny thing is, he can be the one to have a seventeen time title reign to his credit, but all of his reigns combined will be overshadowed by Steve Austin's, Rock's, and maybe even John Cena's. No matter what he does, he will always be remembered as a man who slept his way to the top.

I just caught Santa's Slay the other day on DVD. Even though Goldberg is no longer in wrestling, I just thought I would bring it up anyway. It was actually a pretty funny movie, from the beginning where Santa wipes out James Caan and Fran Drescher. Then Santa gets nasty. What they did is take the Santa mythology and turn it on its ear. What they did is make Santa the son of Satan (get it?) and he makes a bet with an angel(in the form of a human) 1000 years ago that he can beat him in any game. He loses so he has to be nice and deliver presents for 1000 years. Well, the thousand years is up and Santa comes back pissed off. It was also fun to see Robert Culp in the movie as well.

Now on to more important news. Stacy Keibler is going to be on the new dancing with stars show. Think I might watch? Hmmm, Stacy in nice little outfits, dancing all around the dance floor? She might not be on wrestling tv, but I am going to try and get my fix of Stacy every week, that's for sure. Okay, I guess that might be too much Stacy(although I don't think that's possible).

Now for some of my recommendations for now;

movies to catch in theatres:
Derailed if you can catch it. I thought it was a nice clever little movie.
King Kong (might have heard of it)...it was really long and they could've clipped about twenty minutes from the first half of the movie, but in the end when you see Kong at the top of the Empire State Building, you would swear it was real.

movies on DVD:
Santa's Slay...........read above American Pie presents Band Camp. It was funny, and had former/current....retired/unretired porn queen Ginger Lynn in it. What more do you need?
A Dvd to keep an eye out for American Gothic, the complete series. It was a sleeper show, and very underrated.

Book to read:
Team of Rivals.....it is a book that discusses how Abraham Lincoln dealt with the people who opposed him during the Civil War. Very interesting.