Justin's Take: Stars, Goats & Notes From Week 16 of the NFL

Game of the Week: New Orleans 34  Dallas 31  (OT)
-There weren't that many close affairs this week in the NFL. Cincinnati/Pittsburgh was low scoring and ugly at times. This one had some offense involved and late game heroics from Tony Romo and the Cowboys. But in the end, the Saints were able to pull this one out and put a temporary halt to the Cowboys post-season plans. Drew Brees tore the Cowboys secondary apart, going for 446 yards and 3 TDs. But just when it looked like the game was over, Dallas came back and scored 2 TDs with under 4 minutes to play. Dallas couldn't ride the momentum into overtime, however. It was the most entertaining game from a slate of not so great games.

JC's Take: Stars, Goats & Notes From Week 15 of the NFL

Game of the Week: San Francisco 41  New England 31
-This game was nowhere close to being the game of the week. At one point, the 49ers were up 31-3 on the Pats in the cold and rain in Foxboro. But, you can never let Tom Brady and Co. back into the game. New England came roaring back and tied the game in the 4th quarter. But the 49ers answered with a good kickoff return and a TD less than a minute later. Bill Bellicheck then decided to go for it on 4th and 3 inside their own 30 late, and they failed yet again on Sunday night. It was a gutsy move, but it shows you don't trust your defense to stop the 49ers. Colin Kapernick continues to play well and has brought new life into this 49ers team. They are more dangerous with him under center. The 49ers are still my pick in the NFC to reach the Super Bowl.

The RAW Truth Review for 12/17/12

Tonight is the Slammy Awards Edition of RAW. It is usually one of the worst RAWs of the year. I bet you can't wait!

Gotta Get That Win Back!
Rey Mysterio vs Damien Sandow started the show. Sandow sent Rey to the outside then tossed him into the ringpost. Sandow hit a side Russian leg sweep and then the elbow of disdain for a two count. Rey fought out of an armbar but took him to the corner with some shots to the gut. Rey pushed Sandow off the top rope and hit a seated senton then a hurricarrana and a dropkick for two. Sandow caught Rey with a kick then a neckbreaker. Rey regained control then hit a 619 and a splash for the win.

Match Analysis: Barely a five minute match that didn't amount to anything. Why not make the tag champs look strong instead of giving Rey his win back from last night? I don't get it. Survey Says: 2/5

WWE TLC Results

Keep it here for my LIVE TLC Results tonight. I'm expecting an average show at best. Hopefully, they do something big to get people talking.

#1 Contenders Tables Match: Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara vs The Rhodes Scholars
The faces started by tossing both heels out of the ring. They grabbed a table and brought it into the ring and took out Cody. Sandow ducked the table but ate a dropkick from both. They set Sandow up on the table but Rey was sent to the outside and Cody took out Sin Cara on the top rope. The heels went to front suplex Sin Cara through the table, but Cara countered out. Sandow went flying to the outside but Cody caught Sin Cara with a disaster kick. The heels dominated on the outside. Sandow tossed Rey into the apron. Sin Cara got his leg smashed in between the steps and ring post. The heels set both men up on tables on the outside. Cody went off the ropes but Rey took out Sandow's legs. Rey hit a seated Senton. Sin Cara took out Sandow on the outside. In ring, Rey hit Cody with a 619 and Cody fell on a table. Rey went to the top but Sandow knocked him off. Sin Cara came in and hit kicks to the head on both men. He went to springboard off the top rope but Sandow pushed him into the tables on the outside for the win.

WWE TLC Preview

This Sunday is the final PPV of 2012 for the WWE. And it's a bonus because we get tables, ladders and chairs! But yet again, the WWE has booked themselves into a corner with these gimmick PPVs. The main event was suppose to be C.M. Punk vs Ryback in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match. But Punk is hurt and the match has been changes to Ryback, Daniel Bryan and Kane vs The Shield in a TLC Match where you can win by pinfall or submission. How much sense does that make? It is once again why I don't like these gimmick PPVs. It waters down the match type. Look at Hell In A Cell. It doesn't have the same luster it once had five years ago. But the WWE has to rely on gimmicks because they don't know how to properly build up a PPV.

I wasn't a fan of the build up to the PPV on RAW. Mostly, I hated the lazy "mad chaos' ending that finished the show, putting all wrestlers involved in the top three matches in the ring brawling to end the show. I would much rather be focused on one match to close the show. Put each match into its own spotlight while the show goes on. And they have three hours to do that now! That is just how I personally prefer to do it. To each their own.

JC's Take: Stars, Goats & Notes From Week 14 of the NFL

Team of the Week: Dallas Cowboys
-For the second week in a row, a NFL team had to deal with a horrible tragedy less than 48 hours before their game on Sunday. And for the second week in a row, that team went on the field Sunday and pulled out an emotional victory. The Cowboys came back from down 9 midway through the 4th quarter to pull off a 20-19 win in Cincinnati. It was a game the Cowboys needed to stay alive in the Playoff race. You could see the emotion from the Cowboys players before, during, and after the game. Cameras caught players crying just going through sprints and runs in the early pre-game. But Dallas came up with a strong defensive effort, shutting down a good Bengals offense. And the Cowboys did just enough on offense to get them the win.

The RAW Truth Review for 12/10/12

C.M. Punk is injured. Which means he will probably cut a good promo from either a wheelchair or on crutches. Enjoy.

Promos On A Ladder Rarely End Well
Dolph Ziggler gave a promo from on top of the ladder. He said it won't be a merry Christmas this Sunday for John Cena. He said he will be the coal in Cena's stocking and shut Cena up. And then he is going to cash in his Money in the Bank contract and win the World Title. Sheamus came out and said he won't be cashing in his MITB contract against Big Show. It'll be against him. And he thinks Ziggler is going to lose to Cena. So somewhere down the line it will be Sheamus vs Cena. Big Show came out and said "BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH." Show dared Ziggler to try and cash in tonight. Show said he couldn't decide if he was going to KO Sheamus or knock his pasty white skin off him. Sheamus made a bad joke about Big Show's XMas spirit, then said just because he can't have contact with Big Show, doesn't mean he can't have contact with someone else. Sheamus pushed over the ladder and Ziggler crotched himself.

Segment Analysis: I liked Ziggler's part of the promo enough. And Big Show was funny when he first came out. But Sheamus was just beyond awful yet again on the mic. And did you hear the lukewarm reaction to a possible Cena/Sheamus bout. Yeah, no one wants to see that. Okay opening. Survey Says: 2.5/5

MY Final Wrestlemania 29 Card

We're about one month away from the start of Wrestlemania season. Usually you could say that Wrestlemania season starts with the Royal Rumble. I'm saying it starts in January this year because one of the key players in this year's Wrestlemania, The Rock, will be around in January to build to his WWE Title Match at the Royal Rumble with C.M. Punk.

If you ask me, this is a critical Wrestlemania season for the WWE. The Rock and Brock Lesnar, two stars known outside of just the world of wrestling, will be back and should bring in some more viewers. With ratings down, that could be huge. That also means it is a time for the WWE to try and make some new stars that appeal to the viewers who come back during Wrestlemania season. Make guys like Kofi Kingston, Wade Barrett and Dolph Ziggler more appealing to the casual viewer. Make them seem like interesting guys that you want to watch. That's something the WWE has never done well during Wrestlemania season. Ok, you want your top stars in the big matches. I get it. But make the undercard seem important as well.

JC's Take: Stars, Goats and Notes From Week 13 of the NFL

Team of the Week: Seattle Seahawks
-Seattle has the suspensions of Cornerbacks Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman facing them right in the face. So what do they do? They went into Chicago and beat a very good Bears team, putting them in pretty good shape to make a run at the Playoffs. And the NFC West crown is not out of the question as well. The Seahawks came back in the 4th quarter to take the lead late. After Chicago was able to tie the game, Seattle received the ball first in over time. Russell Wilson drove the offense right down the field against a very good Chicago defense and scored the game winning touchdown on a pass to Sidney Rice. Seattle now has a one game lead for the last Wild Card spot. While Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin get all of the attention, Russell Wilson is quietly putting together a good season in Seattle. No matter what the stats say, anytime you have a winning record this late in the season is a good thing. And kudos to Pete Carroll for doing a great job coaching up this group.

The WWE RAW Truth Review for 12/3/12

What will RAW bring us tonight? More Ryback promos? Will he give us his thoughts on the fiscal crisis the U.S. is facing? Tune in to find out.

Where Is IronMan To Aid The Shield?
Team Hell No came out as The Shield was seen in a box in the arena. Kane challenged them to come down to fight but they stayed where they were. The Prime Time Players came out for a match. After Kane clotheslined O'Neil out of the ring Bryan and Young came in. Bryan hit some kicks on Young. Bryan tagged in Kane who hit a drop kick. Kane worked over the arm of Young. Bryan came in and hit an axe handle on Young's arm off the top. Kane came back in and missed an elbow. Young tagged in O'Neil, who was immediately taken out by Bryan. All members of The Shield slowly started making their way to the ring going into commercial.

The WWE Needs To Change Its Booking Philosophy

For the most part, I enjoyed RAW this past Monday. Anytime there are a couple of good wrestling matches on the show, I feel like it is a decent one. How often do you see two long matches like Cena/Ziggler and Sheamus/Cesaro, to go along with Mysterio/Bryan and Punk/Kane. Those are four very solid matches that each delivered, for the most part, in their own way. And actually, out of all those matches, I enjoyed Antonio Cesaro vs Sheamus the most. Cesaro did not look a step out of place in his match against Sheamus. The guy is definitely a future star for the WWE. I love the way he delivers his upper cut. Cesaro definitely has a lot of potential.

But the key word in that whole paragraph is the one I finished it with: potential. There are a handful of guys on the current WWE roster that have so much potential to be future stars. Antonio Cesaro is just one of them. You also have Dolph Ziggler, Wade Barrett, Damien Sandow, Kofi Kingston, Cody Rhodes and you can even include Ryback in that mix if you really want to. Obviously he doesn't have the in ring talent the others have but his character has at least some potential. A lot of those guys are heels, and that is a problem down the line. But there is no reason a face turn isn't possible for someone in that group. Wade Barrett would be my first choice. I think he could pull off a face turn. But what that list of wrestlers says is that there is some talent on the WWE roster that, if given a true opportunity, could turn into future stars.