An Open Letter to Marty Goldstein

Dear Marty,

Seeing as you banned me from posting on the Moondog Manson forum, I'm forced to address you right here on my blog. You are a bloody disgrace and a coward for the way you have conducted yourself in the matter of the Kerry Brown Tribute & BENEFIT Show.

Never before have I seen such a spineless and ridiculously unaccountable Screw up, as I've seen in the form of you. You ban me from the Moondog Manson forum, and then attempt to continue a debate so that I can't respond and you can have the last word. In reality what you do is attempt to dodge the blame, shift accountability, and avoid the criticisms that you deserve. This could get lengthy as I call attention to your actions. What will your response be? The standard "Mike pay your bill to The Marlborough Hotel." That matter is completely separate to the Kerry Brown Tribute & Benefit show.

You have now stated that I couldn't possibly know what the Net total of the fundraising "Community effort" (as you refer to it) was. On Saturday night November 28th I participated in a very long discussion with Tony Condello. It was witnessed by nearly the entire CWE crew, who believed Tony and I were fighting. Kenny Rogers, Kelly Russell and Kelly's buddy Todd were all sitting at the table, and "the fight" many of the boys witnessed was me taking Condello to task on this event. In the discussion I urged Tony to release a number to the public that was raised and paid to the Brown family. Tony told me that they don't have a final number as of yet, that you, Marty Goldstein were waiting on some ticket revenue from 3 or 4 wrestlers (EZ Ryder's name was mentioned, which I for some reason doubt, I consider EZ to be an extremely honest guy who wouldn't delay squaring up with a fundraising effort). He said at that point, there would still be an invoice to be paid, and then he hoped they could complete the effort with a cheque to Kerry's mother. I pushed to hear a number, and he said he didn't believe he needed to share a number as a private matter. I told him that any effort to not disclose a number to wrestlers who volunteered their services, sponsors who donated products, services or money, fans who bought tickets to support, and concerned individuals in the wrestling community would be downright Scummy. A description you sport rather well Mr. Goldstein.

At that time, under extreme pressure from my line of questioning, and in the presences of the three aforementioned witnesses, and with gentle coaxing from those witnesses, Tony said "If I had to give you my best guess from the numbers I know, I'd say we drew about $1000-$1500 NET". I asked him to clarify that NET suggested that there was bills to be paid from that number, and he said, "Ya sure, there was rent and some invoices to be paid." So we know that Kerry's mother should receive a cheque that will likely not exceed $1500.

Marty, you're effort to dodge and deflect the issue here reflects poorly on only yourself. Condello was more than willing to sit there and be grilled by me. Yet all you will say is "Please call Tony, he handled that." Marty you self serving son of a bitch, you wanted all the glory in all of your boastful press releases, when you talked about all the sponsors that were coming to the table to support this cause. Why wouldn't you do the opposite, and rather than falsely report how well the effort was going, encourage those like myself to step up, by saying something to the effect "We're really working hard, but we've got a long way to go, and need more participation from the wrestling community." No Marty you would have gladly mis-represented this as an unmitigated success if it had not been for people like Ernie Todd, Wayne Stanton, Shane Madison, and myself who are now loudly and clearly saying, wait a minute, we want answers. Your only answer? To cowardly shift all the heat to Tony Condello. If there had been glory, you'd gladly be proclaiming on Slam Wrestling, on your rinky dink College Radio Program, and on Moondog Manson's forum how something was accomplished that had never been done before. I call bullshit. And you are the biggest disher of bullshit I've ever had the misfortune of meeting.

Marty, the most appalling fact of this matter is how in self serving and in patronizing fashion, you chose to cut the legs off of an organized effort by Danny Warren, promoter of CWE. Danny wrestled Kerry in Kerry's last match, and looked up to Kerry as a legend and mentor. Citing politics like a scummy son of a bitch stooge, Marty you said that Danny's free venue (reported to be Maples Community Centre) would not be adequate because it could only hold 300 fans (Marty you fuckhead failure, you didn't draw 300 fans at the Marlborough). In that group e-mail, you thanked Danny for the thought, but suggested the $3000 (simple math of 300 capacity times $10 tickets) would not be nearly adequate to offset the cost of the funeral, which you speculated could cost $10,000 (you did say you were uncertain of the costs of funerals because of your difference of religion and different procedures in different faiths). What Marty didn't realize was Danny had already secured some corporate support in the form of donations/sponsorships that would have guaranteed a number generated was much larger than $3000. But you didn't know, and you didn't ask. You got the title "Event Producer" by kissing Condello's ass and by playing politics, and ensured the success of that event would be nothing short of an uphill battle. Why Marty was it an uphill battle? Because the minute you and your scummy reputation attached yourself to the event, many industry leaders took a step back and a "wait and see" approach. That's the type of leadership and credibility you brought to this effort. Sorry sometimes the truth hurts.

Here's what is most troubling to me.. Yesterday marks the one month anniversary since the event. And we know there was some money generated, as I've reported $1500 net. Irregardless of the actual number, why hasn't a cheque been given to Kerry's family? Not a single cent has been donated to the actual cause? Marty, don't tell me to ask Tony, because throughout this process, prior to the show you badly wanted to be the typical glory hound you have always been known to be, and present yourself as the spearhead of this initiative. I'm asking you Marty, where is the money?

You owe this "Community Effort" transparency. You owe a released statement of what was generated, and at this point you need to release a Financial Statement, so people who contributed financially (IE Bobby Jay, TJ Bratt and Ernie Todd) can audit these numbers and rest assured there was no funny business and false representations. You owe it to the Manitoba Wrestling community to apologize, this is now two "Benefit shows" you've bungled, for arguably the two most respected veterans in Winnipeg Wrestling (the other being Chi Chi Cruz 1994). You and Condello owe Kerry's family a cheque, and more than that, you owe them an apology. And you owe us all some accountability and honesty.

When you can do that, you'll have the right to ask me about the "unpaid bill at The Malborough Hotel", I'll be happy to tell you the story at length when you prove yourself worthy to ask the question.

Marty if you want to debate with me, don't do it on a forum that you have banned me from. Don't do it in online comments that are dodgy, cowardly and mostly scummy. Join me on the Wayne and Shane radio show this Tuesday and debate me, but come equipped with answers. Stop being a coward, and dishonest and start being transparent and accountable.

Life is Good... Life is so Good

This may well be one of the last times I get to blog about local wrestling for a little while, so I think I better make it good. Speaking of good, nothing has been better for me than life. In the last 2.5 months, I've had maybe a combined total of 2 bad days. It's been amazing. But enough about that. Rapid fire, I wanted to make some observations I've noticed about local wrestling.

Granted, I don't listen to 92.9 EVER, but Bushleaguer Martin sure has been quiet since last weeks initial attack on my blog. You know, the attack where the only thing he could do to deflect very good points and questions about his version of a tribute/benefit show, was to bring up a lawsuit against me that was pretty much unrelated to his failed efforts in life. While it's now one week after the show, and still no type of announcement as to what the event generated. I do know that Marty GoldBoroFleckSteinditsky has been calling an actual wrestling promoter (something he will never be mistaken for being) and canvasing for a late donation for the event. I guess the initial numbers are so reflective of failure that now he will guilt whoever he can to try and bump up his and Condello's dismal results. He was even seen on the corner of Logan and McPhillips with a tin can and a sign that said "donate to Kerry Brown (and in very very small print that you could barely read) and Marty Gold".

A quick observation about PCW's website. It seems to be way more about webmaster a notorious tough guy, Jay Walker and much less about the brand itself. I mean he blogs about Scotty Justice and Antonio Scorpio Jr. Then he writes an editorial about the Industry as a whole. In it he criticizes Hulk Hogan and Kurt Angle, two men he'd swallow a load from if they ever gave him the time of day to ask. Young Mr. Walker needs to get his priorities straight, if the concept of the PCW website is to promote the brand, perhaps, and maybe I'm stretching here, he should make it a lot less about himself. Nobody finds you to be an entertaining figure anyway... well unless you're running away from an angry drunk Sanchez brother with your pants full of dump.

Congratulations to my good friend Danny Duggan. He runs CWE, and he was able to secure Desmond Wolf for his next show. Who is that you ask? I said Desmond Wolf... That's right, for the first time ever, a guy leaves an "Indy" for a "Big League" and people actually care less about him, and fewer people know who he is. Apparently his debut in TNA has been so effective, CWE isn't even advertising him as Des Wolf, but instead will be billing him as Nigel McGuinness. I've heard that CWE is launching a brand new website that should be live any day now. Does that really matter? They are already drawing double to triple what any other local outfit can draw.

Shawn "Northstar" Reid is one of my favorite people in the wrestling business ever. He's the 2009 version of Darren Metselaar, aka Steve Stryker. If you want anything kept secret, don't tell this large gentleman. A couple of weeks back he let the cat out of the bag that his home promotion Ringmasters Entertainment was forced to cancel a show because believe it or not, not one single fan showed up to buy a ticket. I say that show should have been forced to go on anyway, to teach the promoters a lesson. This past Saturday, Reid was nice enough to stooge off the company once again, saying that there is a mis-management within the company, and if they want to get things straight, he thinks they should make him (a rookie wrestler with less than 4 matches experience) the booker. I agree totally.

Did I mention the name Condello? I wonder if Ultimate Cage Wars will return anytime soon? Maybe he can again hire his boy Bushleaguer Martin to really do a stellar job in producing such an event? Ya, there's a recipe for success, Marty GoldBoroFleckSteinditsky going around telling trained tough guys "well do you want a typical MMA bullshit production, or do you want a Hollywood production?" Or "Kid, when we were running the Junkyard, for Rough House Rasslin and we were producing a television pilot, we knew what we were doing, not like you guys (condescending emphasis added) who don't know how to create a story in that cage." That's an ass kicking I'd pay oh about $2025.00 in Court judgment fees to see. Poor Martin, just a scummy stoogy unsuccessful jackass.

Question about the Kerry Brown tribute show... Why in the hell did Andrew not raise a stink about Royce and Ozz losing to Chi Chi Cruz in a best two out of three falls handicap match? I'd like to think if I had a two on one advantage and three chances to do it, I'd be on the winning end of a physical conflict. That's one of the stiffest job outs in recent memory.

So to summarize "When's it going to end you piece of shit? I'm tired of this burn the oil field mentality that's killing our business."

Goldstein and Shallcross- A New Coalition of Idiots

BEFORE I START THIS BLOG. THIS BLOG IS MOST DEFINITELY NOT INTENDED TO OFFEND ANYONE WITH EXCEPTION OF THE PARTIES I'M CRITICAL TO IN THIS BLOG. I DO ANTICIPATE SOME LEVEL OF BACKLASH FOR MY OPINION, AND AM PREPARED FOR THAT BACKLASH, BUT I FEEL STRONGLY ABOUT MY OPINION ON THIS MATTER AND WILL STATE IT DIRECTLY WITH NO PUNCHES PULLED. SO HERE GOES...

What is it about the month of November? Last year Andrew Shallcross entered into a failed Promoters Marriage with Ernie Todd, and the results were laughable by many, and stressful for those who had too much vested to laugh. For those of us on the outside looking in, it was a great time to point and ridicule at the chicanery of those two trying to do what their version of "better for the business" was as an alliance. At that time, I coined the term, "Coalition of Idiots" to accurately describe the duo working together.

In the 1990's there was an entertaining tag-team in WWF called Luke & Butch-- The Bushwackers. They were beloved by children and outright mocked by adults. Well in 2009, we have a brand new version of The Bushwackers. They're right here from Winnipeg Wrestling, and their names are Marty and Andrew-- THE BUSHLEAGUERS. Nothing more evidenced this theory than last night's effort by Marty "Gold" Goldstein Boroditsky Fleck and whatever name he used today, to produce the tribute and fundraiser to the late Kerry "Pitbull" Brown. An event promoted by Tony Condello. Now, in the 90s The Bushwackers were lead to the ring by a geek named Jamison... Well this new age version can be lead around by Condello for being the only guy in town that would hire Marty to produce an event in this day in age.

I realize poking fun at Marty using a tribute and fundraiser is an extremely sensitive matter. And I apologize to those in advance for anything that may be taken as offensive. My goal here is to express an opinion, and the mark that Kerry left on the business is definitely respected by me. I hope the show was successful in raising the funds for the family to alleviate any financial burden the much too early death of Kerry caused.

The issue that has arisen to me, was Marty's outright manipulation to get the role of Producer from Condello in the first place. Marty used the logic that Winnipeg is a political hot-bed and if he was not named Producer to this event, some wrestlers would boycott the event, and some guys wouldn't want to do a job, and an "outsider" needed to be brought in to be a "Leader" of an event like this. With his tag-team partner Bushleaguer Andrew closely in tow, Marty demonstrated his incredible leadership by sending out blanket emails enlisting the help of whoever would assist in the event. I've booked talent and produced events for many years, and I don't think I've ever depended on blanket e-mails to unite such a supposed political landscape. Martin, if there was a gap to bridge, why did you not demonstrate your leadership with more than blanket emails? Because you are an idiot that's why.

But lets digress and back on topic. The event, which in his earliest e-mails needed to draw numbers that far exceeded 300 people that any community club could hold was attended by a mere 100-150 supporters. These fans were very quiet, which I guess is understandable given the fact that it was a solemn occasion. Martin the producer, instructed the tape crew to set one hard cam on the ring, and one on the crowd to pick up their anticipated reaction to all the excitement the night of old school bad booked wrestling would bring. One major problem, there was no excitement. As one girl who was there to support a local non-political wrestler who actually helped in the organization of the event told me by text message, "This show is much quieter than the other I've been too." Well that can be sort of attributed to what happens when you put 125 people in a room that's built for 1000. AND you let a guy who would NOT have the foggiest clue of entertainment, oh I don't know lets called him Bushleaguer Martin, produce the event.

Normally, and I anticipate this at any moment, Marty will jump up, puff out his chest and brag about the level of production that this has been, and even go as far as to say it's never been seen before. He will say that critics everywhere are raving, though you won't be able to hear a single peep. I guess everyone just calls Marty personally to tell him of his level of success, but they all choose to keep the compliments secret. I once made the mistake of hiring Marty to co-produce an event I was having at Coyotes Bar and Billiards (now known as Vivid). The pompous jackoff, with absolutely no people skills decided he'd get on a ladder and start rigging their lights to better suit his vision of production. When venue manager Jamie walked up to Marty and asked what he was doing, Marty not so politely told him "Do you want a Hollywood production, or a typical Coyotes production?" in his uniquely and generally revered condescending tone. Yup that Marty GoldBoroditskysteinfleck is one hell of a producer... in his own mind. What was Condello thinking by hiring this loser?

And not to be outdone in the people skill lacking department, there's tag-team partner Bushleaguer Andrew. Before I get too deep into Andrew, who runs not promotes Premier Championship Wrestling, a local outfit that has been run into the ground the same way his ring has been maintained over the last 7 years (it hasn't been maintained at all, just to be clear). When the benefit and tribute show was first discussed, and my very good friend Danny Warren, promoter of CWE who wrestled against Kerry in his last match was going to organize the event (and given his track record this year, he would have vastly outperformed the Goldstein/Condello partnership) I immediately said given my reputation for being a political heat score, I would step back and not be involved in any planning, organization or event day production of the event. Though I fully supported the concept and wished for the best, I did not know Kerry at all and didn't think my involvement could be useful. The exact same thing could be said for Bushleaguer Andrew.

Well... Trust Bushleaguer Andrew to display his ridicularity and lack of ample people skills at the Kerry Brown Tribute Fundraising show. This one left me shaking my head in a disgusting laughter last night when I was told. Andrew the Bushleaguer, actually picked a fight in the back with local wrestler Rob Stardom. By all accounts, Stardom had been veteran like in asserting his position with local wrestling rookies Scott Justice and Sabortooth, both far from being mistaken as superstars in anyone but Bushleaguer Andrew's assessment. Who knows if he was right or wrong, maybe there was a little bit of both at play. However, he was one of Kerry's very good friends, and he loved Kerry like a big brother figure. Something he's told me himself. What does Bushleaguer Andrew do, on a night when Rob was probably a little bit sore inside? You guessed it. He started a verbal altercation that had to be pulled apart and cooled down by veteran Chi Chi Cruz.

Now many will jump all over me. But where in hell did these idiots grow up? Marty is knocking on or past 50 years old. Andrew is knocking on 40. And they perform like this on an occasion as important as this.

Last week before I got banned from a local wrestling discussion board by Bushleaguer Martin, I attempted to debate with him, a local college radio talk show host of all things. I wanted Marty to step up and be successful yesterday. I'd love to admit I was wrong today and Marty drew 400 people, and raised $5000+ (his first e-mail he informed the Winnipeg Wrestling community that he thought they needed to raise double that number at $10,000) and proved me wrong for suggested he handled himself terribly in this all important matter. Unfortunately, Marty lived up to his long-living performance level and only impressed himself.

One thing Bushleaguer Marty mis-represented last week was the notion that all the Industry leaders in Winnipeg were committed to making this event successful and would be "brought together". Well, not including myself because I don't need to refer to myself as a local wrestling leader, some of the following were not there: Mentallo and Kenny Omega (arguably the two best wrestlers based in the province right now and in the last 10 years), Shane Madison (who made a financial contribution but did not attend by choice), Danny Duggan (who just 3 weeks ago drew approximately 500 people to his show was in Thompson on a business trip), Ernie Todd (the last promoter to book Kerry regularly, who chose a shift at a part time job over appearing, though he bought a block of tickets in support), Jon Cutler (recently returned from WWE developmental in Florida, who probably had not even met Kerry). Marty was expected to be a LEADER for this event. Did he reach out to Wayne Stanton? No. Me? No, actually the minute Marty convinced Tony that he was the right guy to be a leader, I immediately got taken off the mailing list, in the off chance that I might want to make a financial or professional contribution.

Tony Condello is a love him or laugh at him kind of guy. But he holds considerable amounts of respect in certain circles locally that exceeds Marty Goldboroditskysteinfleck, but what is truly sad about this event is that it exposed that Tony can't bring Marty up to his respect level, and only diminished his own level of respect amongst the "local industry" by hitching his wagon to The Bushleaguer Martin.

And that's my donation to the cause.

Rarest Occasion-- I WAS WRONG!

Recently, I boldly predicted that the Bombers would finish the season 6 and 12 and wouldn't even get a sniff of playoff football. As any Canadian Football League fan knows as of today, the Bombers finished 7 and 11 and if it hadn't been for a real bad half of football, they very well could have made the playoffs. So, I've been exposed, I'm far from being an expert on CFL Football. (This is me taking away the criticism I'm sure all those Mike Kelly lovers will fire off in my comment section).

Here's the scoop. Mike Kelly has been an embarrassment to the Winnipeg Football Club. Last week cussing out Bob Irving was a whole new low. Missing the playoffs in a division where the Toronto Argonauts finished 3 and 12, should be unacceptable. Being brash, arrogant, over the line of good taste often, is only acceptable when you are delivering championships. When you are missing the playoffs, and giving us the worst loss in a single game in recent memory (remember the Banjo Bowl? I sure do), and then swearing at a local Media Icon (Bob Irving), you should be fired. There should be no post last game of the season interview where you talk about your goals for the off season, you should gracefully call it a day and ride off quietly. No, Mike Kelly won't do this, he's done it his way this long, why change now.

All week long, I said if Mike Kelly matches Doug Berry's mark of 8 and 10 last season, and made the playoffs, let alone host a playoff game, he should get one more season to undo a lot of the wrong that he did this year. But that would require a win against a team that wanted it far worse. I laugh at those who argue Kevin Glenn isn't a worthy starting Quarterback in the CFL. 2 years ago, if it had not been for a broken limb, this guy quite possibly would have ended the long Championship drought that Blue Bomber fans have had to endure (please remember that Ryan Dinwiddie lost that game by a mere 4 points, and completed just 15 of 33 passes). Does anyone doubt that Greg Marshall's defense wasn't more prepared for this game than any other game this season? I wonder if Lyle Bauer watched that game, stroked his goatee and thought to himself "What if? What if I had just left Brendan Taman in charge? And what if he had promoted Greg Marshall to be Head Coach last year?" Those what if answers probably yield far different results. One Brendan knew how to work with the media, and get positives out of stories that could be slanted negatively. And I seriously doubt Greg Marshall ever would have allowed this team be so unprepared as to get humiliated as regularly as it did (Banjo Bowl, in Montreal last week, and today against Hamilton were rough to watch as Bomber fans).

I can't help but also wonder where this team finishes if Mike Kelly hadn't staked his entire existence to an inexperienced Quarterback going into training camp. Lets forgive that Kevin Glenn was released without even getting a training camp to prove himself in the new system. But Michael Bishop was a free agent a month into the season, and former league Most Outstanding Player Casey Printers was a free agent until about 8 weeks ago. You put anyone of those three through a training camp and familiarize them with this set of receivers, and the team probably finishes 9 and 9. And hosts a playoff game. And even with the inconsistent play that plagued Michael Bishop, it would be considered a success story for a rookie head coach to have finished second.

But not to worry. Mike Kelly didn't do the worst job in the CFL this summer. That distinction goes to Bart Andrus who boldly decided that Arland Bruce wasn't bigger than the Argos. Bruce is the single most talented receiver in the league right now. And his chemistry with Glenn is frightening. He is a true bona fide game breaker, and I believe he's the single biggest reason the TiCats finished second, and the Argos finished last.

So what now? In a perfect world, Lyle Bauer would hold a press conference and announce his resignation. The Winnipeg Football Club Executive would lure a worthy candidate to over see the corporate management of the team, and hire a truly qualified person to handle the Football operations. That Murphy fellow who is Director of Player Personnel would be fired for the Pacman Jones fiasco, Mike Kelly would be exterminated for being the irritating and disrespectful louse that he is. And a new direction for this franchise would be adopted immediately and urgently. He's as boring as a bowl of cornflakes but Tom Higgins comes to mind as the perfect choice to run the Football end. And with the impending deal to go to private ownership already well established, why not just name David Asper Chief Executive Officer. Higgins could coach, and coach damn good. The current roster of the Calgary Stampeders demonstrates that Higgins knows how to assemble a winning football program. He's won a Grey Cup as Head Coach in Edmonton. And I firmly believe in the motto "Once a coach, always a coach", he'd leave his post as Director of Officiating to run the program. One major problem though, the mis-management of one Lyle Bauer, has created a crisis where Doug Berry still has one year of pay as FIRED Head Coach. And for some insane reason that only Bauer understands Mike Kelly is allegedly the third highest paid Head Coach in the CFL (behind success stories named Buono and Huffnagel), and Kelly's contract has two more years before expiry. Yeah don't vomit, this idiot named Mike Kelly got paid more than Marc Trestman in Montreal, and Trestman had double the victories plus one this season. He could have loaned the Bombers 3 wins and still finished on top of the CFL East Division. True story!?!

It will be very interesting to watch the off season unfold. If Mike Kelly is retained as Head Coach, what will happen with Corporate Sponsorship? Season Ticket Sales? Free Agency? I am not much of a gambler, and I have no faith in Lyle Bauer's dice rolling skills. So here's hoping today was a stark wake-up call for the local professional football organization. We can only hope Lyle Bauer saw the same thing 1/3 of the fanbase saw, which is that his buddy Mike Kelly is a dismal failure as a pro football coach.

On Final thought... IF YOU GOOGLE MIKE KELLY, YOU'LL SEE HE DIDN'T HAVE SUCCESS AS HEAD COACH OF THE WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS.

Bombers Equal Lame Duck

As a Winnipeg sports fan, I can remember the term "Lame Duck" with utter disdain. In October 1995, The Winnipeg Jets, a team that I loved to the point of crying for on occasion, entered their last season in Winnipeg, and due to the fact it was clear that Richard Burke and Dr. Steven Gluckstern would move the team after that season, everyone referred to that season as "Lame Duck Season". The Jets, led by Keith Tkachuk, Alexie Zhamnov, Teemu Selanne for half of the year, a rookie named Doan, a goalie named Khabby, and a slew of players with under appreciated value went on to defy the odds, and qualify for the playoffs. To me, though as sad as it was, and remains a scar for me to this day, that was a fitting end to a hockey franchise that was never the best in the league, or even top half of the league, but they were an identity for Winnipeggers. Just making the playoffs was a success in my mind.

Since the departure of the Jets, Winnipeggers have embraced The Winnipeg Blue Bombers as their team. There have been tough times, IE The Jeff Reinbold era, or the losing of two Grey Cup games, that we were probably good enough to win, or Jim Daley's tenure where the team just seemed to have no hope. But for those low points, we had Milt Stegall, who will go down as probably the most beloved athlete this City has ever seen in modern times. There was Khari Jones who recorded back to back record setting seasons. There was an atmosphere at Canad Inns Stadium that made you proud to say "These are the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, and they are MY Team". Now fewer and fewer Winnipeggers want to admit that, and whether you thank Mike Kelly, or Lyle Bauer, or Michael Bishop, or a fluke that made this team a laughing stock, its a reality of the current situation.

Since last weeks blog, I've had a few stones thrown at me. Some accuse me of not being a true blue Bomber fan, asking how many games I've been to, to see the team. Some have said that nobody should care about my opinion, because it's just so negative, and nobody needs more negative. To those people I say, you are not "true blue Bomber fans" you are strictly fans of Mike Kelly. And it doesn't make you a better a fan if you go to 9 games and see 6 losses that are painful to watch, you are enabling this franchise to stay the course. If you can't look at this season and admit this guy is a failure, you don't want what is best for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, you want what is best for Lyle Bauer and Mike Kelly. And to those fans I wish you luck, but you will be left heart broken with the results. Google Mike Kelly, he hasn't had good results or even pretty good results anywhere else.

The Bombers have become Winnipeg's newest "Lame Duck Franchise". Its true. David Asper's offer to buy the team has not met a deadline, blamed on the Global recession, and will now have a 6 month extension to secure the funds needed. I personally hope Asper comes through, because he is more than capable of making the Bombers the most well managed franchise in the league, without Lyle Bauer. But as of today, it's anything but a definite. So the team remains community owned, and as long as it does Lyle Bauer will remain club President, with absolutely no fear of accountability from the Board of Directors. Here in lies the problems. The team supposedly cannot afford to make a change at Head Coach, or General Manager even if it wants to. They owe Doug Berry money through next season after firing him on the first year of a three year contract extension. Mike Kelly is the third highest paid football coach in the CFL, behind Wally Buono and John Huffnagel, and his contract carries through the next two seasons after this one. On a side note, I wish that Mike Kelly could deliver even a fraction of the results of Buono and Huffnagel, but it's clear he can't and won't.

So here we are. In dire need of a new and qualified direction for the CFL team. Last week I suggested if we could quote Cher, and Turn Back Time, everything would be better. I was WRONG. Taman is gone, and Bomber fans need to move on. Dave Ritchie is older, and still lovable as a hard ass players coach, that won't build a winner. Khari is a nice guy, but not a solution. And honestly, there won't be an effort to solve this problem, the Community based ownership will not fire Lyle Bauer, and Lyle will not fire Mike Kelly. If he were going to, it would have happened right now. At the end of the season The Bombers won't make the playoffs. In the off-season, The Bombers WILL lose out on every important free agent, whether that free agent be currently on the Bomber roster, or be on the Bombers wish list. Milt Stegall, an ICON in Winnipeg I might add, glanced over the problem yesterday on the TSN broadcast, when he said both Romby Bryant and Arjei Franklin were happy to leave Winnipeg. I think if they quietly asked every member of the Bombers, they'd all agree a change of scenery would be welcomed. Thanks Mike Kelly, you did this. You are the only person who thinks you are a football genius, oops forgot, Lyle Bauer thinks that too. You two didn't contribute to building an East Division power house, you built a complete Lame Duck Franchise that cannot be fixed in the next three years. Nobody, and I repeat NOBODY wants to play for you. Hell, I doubt if Bob Irving wants to interview you at this point.

The Mike Kelly era will be the cherry on the cupcake of the Lyle Bauer era of The Winnipeg Blue Bombers. And just to review, FAILURE!

So a correction from last week, where I said it would be as simple as Taman-Ritchie-Khari, I was WRONG. Those moves would contribute to the Lame Duck status of The Bombers.

Last season, Hamilton put Charlie Taaffe, a far more likable guy than Mike Kelly out of his misery late in the season. They promoted the Offensive Coordinator, Marcel Bellefeuille and they are a team moving in the right direction. I wish Lyle Bauer had the foresight to take a page out of Bob O'Billivich's playbook.

So my newest prediction, Bombers will finish 6-12. That's right, they will win 3 more games this season. The off-season will be spent talking about the few bright spots and the improvement noticed after the Banjo Bowl. Ya that's right, Jim Bender tried to say Winnipeg ran with Montreal yesterday, I guess the beer must have been flowing in the press box in Percival Molson Stadium yesterday. Mike Kelly will coach the team next season. They will suck. David Asper will continue to strive to secure this team, and that will amount to the level of hope that the "Fair Weathered" Bomber fans have.

Was it just me, or did Casey Bramlet do as well as a Quarterback as Mike Kelly has proven to do as a Head Coach?

It's sad. Just sad. I'd rather be a "Fair Weathered Blue Bomber" fan, then ever be mistaken as a "Mike Kelly Loyalist" fan.

So who would make a better coach for this team? Tom Higgins? Danny Barrett? Cortez? The Montreal OC? Does it really matter, it's idle speculation of a turn of events that won't happen. We're stuck with Mike Kelly, so we better learn to live with it.

Those Winnipeggers who want a new identity, try the Goldeyes. My friend Jeff Wallace will help point you in the right direction when it comes to merchandise and tickets.

10 Years That Changed Local Wrestling

Let me say before I even get started on this blog, some of what I'm saying is a shameless put over, and I don't even believe it myself. So I will read every single one of the blog comments that carve me up, and chuckle that you take this blog and yours truly, Mike Davidson even more seriously than I do at times. So fire away and hit me with your best shot.



10 Years in the Making



Jeff Wallace, aka "The Mecca" Shane Madison and I have decided to have a weekend celebration to commemorate the 10 year milestone of knowing each other. This weekend is scheduled from October 16th to the 19th, in Winnipeg, and will be a ceremony of drinking excessively, going to the bar and playing "spot that jobber", and recognizing ourselves for our contributions over the last 10 years and our influence over local wrestling.



The year was 1999, the month October and one of our favorite, if not the favorite promoter Wayne Stanton was promoting River City Wrestling with weekly events at Bumpers Bar on Ellice in Winnipeg, and bi-weekly events at the historic (by local wrestling terms) Chalmers Community Centre. That's right, 6 events per month. A rookie crew, that consisted of Overkill, Johnny Malibu, Big O, Moses Luke, Ronnie Attitude, Mistress Mona Lott, veteran leader Adam Knight, Chris Parys, Plumber Lou Dooley (later known as Carver Gleason), Silverstreak 2000, and a rotating door at booker than included Dave Levinsky, myself and whoever Wayne wanted to elevate to that job on any given week literally. Business was not taking off the way we hoped.



Enter the graduates of Cyrus The Virus



Wayne told me one weekend, that he had booked the two top graduates of Cyrus' training academy to debut at Bumpers this Monday. He referenced "Playboy" Will Damon and Donnie Dicaprio. He could have told me their names were Rod Shithead and Paul Fucknuts, because I wasn't familiar with them, and was told they would be getting a match against each other so that we could gauge if they were any good. Believing that we needed some new blood to the promotion, I was happy to hear that Rod and Paul were coming in.



So around roles Monday night, and the locker room full of locals (the only thing worse than a room full of locals is a room full of rookie locals), and Rod and Paul arrive for the match, and they bring two guys with them. Jeff Wallace, who would in 2000 become Shane Madison, came into the locker room, which was just a regular hotel room with about 15 people crammed in to get into their spandex wrestling gear (as Wallace will point out, those that actually wore wrestling gear), he introduced himself to me as the booker, seeming very polite, he told me he had just finished training in Windsor under Scotty Libido, Scott D'Amore, Professor Maxwell, and Sabu. I thought to myself with so many trainers that must have been a complete wrestling University, as most people in Winnipeg did 20 hours with Vance Nevada or Stan Saxon (not his choice to debut talent that fast) and were quickly debuting on local shows.



So back to the story, gauging Wallace to have a more impressive physique than the entire locker room, I took him and the other Cyrus trainee, JC Derksen, and said you two guys can wrestle each other as well. I walked over to Big O and Moses Luke, two guys with opposite physical appearances, yet equally unimpressive, and said that I was going to have to cancel a match, and that they would be used in other roles tonight. Like two complete stooges they went running and crying to promote Wayne Stanton, crying that they had been bumped off the card with all that entitlement that they felt. Let me be honest, it's not like I bumped Ric Flair for Lance Von Erich, I considered the move to be an upgrade with an infusion of new blood that might catch on (boy was I wrong that JC Derksen would ever catch on, 10 years later and he's still shitty even in a jobber role).



Following the local stooging, the hotel/locker room quickly had an angry bang at the door. Enter promoter Wayne Stanton, in a trademark burst of angry energy, "You don't bump our guys for Don's trainees. You got me? This is why I think you aren't ready to be a booker. Make sure Owen and Peter (Big O and Moses Luke) are booked." And I did, in a match I hoped would be a complete throw and complete demoralize them for being stooges.



Jeff Wallace had an impressive debut. If I remember it correctly, I let them decide a finish, and Wallace actually laid down for Derksen, probably because the victory meant a hell of lot more for Derksen's shallow existence and pride than Wallace's.



Now the moment of gratification. During the main-event of the night, which likely included Adam Knight vs. Overkill or something of that nature, I went to talk with Wayne. "Well (sucking back noise that Wayne makes which has become a trademark of all imitations of him), I guess you were right putting that Jeff Wallace in the ring, he clearly looked better than the entire crew." He continued, "I think you should probably work with him next week, the people are really behind you as a heel, and you can try and get him over as a babyface."



And that's what we did, working a program of about 4 or 5 matches, that resulted in an infamous "Brass Knuckles in a Box Match" which drew an impressive late night Monday crowd of 100+. Wallace and I became fast friends, and over the next 10 years Wallace would prove to have much influence in my career and the sculpting of Winnipeg Wrestling. Here are many of the ways:



-Wrestlers going to the gym, tanning and owning gear

-TRCW hiring me as booker, and business shifting up for the company and us over taking the long existing CWF as number one Locally.

-After being fired in TRCW, Wallace influenced John Nguyen into hiring me to start a wrestling company that Andrew Shallcross would name Pembina Championship Wrestling. I influenced Nguyen to hire Andrew, and many have threatened to kick me in the nuts for years for that over-sight.

-Wallace would later introduce me to Jeff Dyck, and AWE was born, and quickly became available on Pay Per View throughout Canada, and ran a season of TV on The Fight Network.

-Well still in TRCW, Wallace would work a very hot main-event program vs. TJ Bratt, drawing record setting business. In PCW he would main-event with Will Damon and then Mike Davidson, and then Chi Chi Cruz, to cement his legacy as the top drawing main-event wrestler on a local scale in history.

-A journalistic reputation that has drawn comparison's to Dave Meltzer in his ability to not sugar coat the local wrestling scene.

-An infinite wisdom and definite influence over the young stars of local wrestling today, Danny Duggan, AJ Sanchez, Don Douglas.

-A kind and genuine ambassador for local wrestling, which included interaction with youth (ask Jordan Garber), venues (Cary Paul at Coyotes), and media (especially Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer).

So 10 years has led to this. A party to celebrate 10 years of making the local wrestling business better. It will kick off on October 16, carrying through the entire weekend. Details will follow, but one thing is known, if you know Jeff or myself, it will be at least multiple nights of drinking and telling stories, and sharing some real good memories. That in itself is worthy of attendance. Consider this an open invitation, if you've worked with us, for us, against us, or haven't worked a single match well in your life, you are encouraged to attend.

Check out the Facebook Event page and ensure your attendance to this monumental occasion.

In a Perfect Blue and Gold World

Well, wasn't the Banjo Bowl something? I personally consider it a vindication of my opinion on Mike Kelly, and yes, that makes me a "fair weathered" fan. There is only one thing I'd love more than seeing Doug Brown hoist the Grey Cup this year. And that would be Mike Kelly getting fired. And Lyle Bauer for that matter too.

Way back in 2004, Lyle Bauer made the decision to fire Dave Ritchie as Head Coach. It was Dave Ritchie who began the process in 1999 to turn the Winnipeg Blue Bombers around, and Bauer was brought in in 2000, and is widely credited with turning the Blue Bombers Financial books around. This would never have happened if Ritchie, and Brendan Taman had not come to town and did the difficult task of rebuilding a team to respectability that had just completed the tumultuous Reinbold era (to Reinbold's credit, lose or lose, because there was very very few wins, the fans wanted to like this guy, unlike the current coach). In his questionable wisdom, Bauer seemed to push Taman into hiring Jim Daley who was a dismal failure (although it's been speculated that his first choice Jim Barker got cold feet and stayed in Calgary to the shock of Bauer). After Daley, the belief was the team needed an Offensive guy to put an exciting product on the field, and Doug Berry nudged out the more qualified and far more likable Greg Marshall, who agreed to serve as Defensive Coordinator. And despite being Winnipeg's biggest asshole (though Mike Kelly has dwarfed him in that department), Berry had 3 successful seasons all in the playoffs, as Head Coach. So naturally we fire him, and to review last season's brain cramp, hired the 9-9 Edmonton Eskimos' RECEIVERS Coach Mike Kelly.

Mike Kelly has been an even bigger failure than Jeff Reinbold. Remember he inherited a team that won 6 of 8 games last season to not only qualify for the CFL playoffs, but to host a Playoff game (a major accomplishment for the bottom line of the publicly owned franchise). He didn't need to rebuild. What he needed to do was to correct some of the public relations disasters of the Berry tenure. Work with Taman to tweak the roster (something Brendan did very well late last season to turn the ship around and get us to the post season). More than anything, he just had to smile, and passionately promise that the Blue Bombers are his passion, and he's excited to bring the Grey Cup back to Winnipeg.

Instead, what did he do? He puffed out his chest, and shamelessly tooted his own horn at all costs. I'm sure we all remember his bold and critical statement "Nobody touches the quarterbacks but me!". Ironic that the position that is more problematic for the Bombers than anything is QB. But I sympathize for Michael Bishop who has been a capable QB in the CFL, if you've got a gawd awful playbook, even Doug Flutie might look average. Another thing that the bald prick did, was openly tell the media that Kevin Glenn was less than impressive in his impression of the QB depth chart that existed last off-season. Not sure if you've ever played poker, but I don't see the bluff in telling the league that you don't like your starting QB, leaves you with very limited options to trade the guy. So naturally, the team was forced to cut a guy who probably could have brought something back in return if Kelly had sang his praises. I used to sell cars, if I told people that this particular SUV isn't up to the standards of the lot, but I will still sell it to you, most customers would think I had shit for brains (funny, that's what most "fair weathered" fans think of Mike Kelly). So there goes Kevin Glenn to Hamilton, where he started as backup, came off the bench and played exceptionally well, and now is showing some dynamic chemistry with Arland Bruce (apparently Adam Rita called Mike Kelly to inquire if Kelly was interested in Bruce, and Kelly didn't want the attitude that came with the most athletically gifted receiver in the CFL, after all Winnipeg only has room for one outrageous ego, and he's gotta be bald and have a goofy mustache). I could go on and on with the failures of Mike Kelly, Derrick Armstrong, Barrin Simpson, etc, I don't need to rub salt on the wounds of the true Bomber fans who aren't into fair weather. Those fans sit there and live in complete and utter denial. The Dave Petrishen's and Julie Kozak's and Kim Babij's (all of which I love and respect dearly) who sit by the TV or in the stands and believe a miracle will happen and Mike Kelly will wake up tomorrow with a game plan that exceeds those of Wally Buono and John Huffnagel, or Mark Trestman.

Wake up people, Mike Kelly is a FAILURE PERIOD.

Now when you have a very strong opinion, people will say, "Ok wise ass, what would you do, if the Bombers asked you for advice?". And as a fair weathered fan, let me weigh in, on what I would do with the power to run The Winnipeg Football Club. If only in that position one day here's what I would attempt to accomplish.

-Fire Mike Kelly. Not even politely. The press release would read, "The Winnipeg Football Club is pleased to announced the termination of Mike Kelly effective immediately".
-Sever all ties with Lyle Bauer. For every economic step forward the Club has made, he's personally guided the on-field product backwards.
-Hire Brendan Taman as President and General Manager. For 10 years this man did his job in a way that inspired the fan base to believe. He had exceptional media skills (I believe Mike Kelly negatively referred to him as "media darling", funny what happens when you have professional and people skills).
-Encourage Brendan Taman to hire Dave Ritchie as Head Coach with a one to two year term, depending on Ritchie's desire, and assuming he'd come out of retirement. Even if Ritchie is out of touch with aspects of the game, he's like everybody's Grandpa, forgivable, and through a rebuilding phase, would be the perfect guy to sit on the sidelines and groom a successor. He's also very shrewd with the media, and can accomplish wonderful things.
-Hire Khari Jones as Assistant Head Coach, and Offensive Coordinator, and name him as Dave Ritchie's eventual successor. Jones is an icon in Winnipeg, who was appreciated for his two record setting seasons, and his gigantic smile and appreciation for the City. Jones is currently the Ti-Cats QB coach, and they have vastly improved at that position, and Jones deserves the credit. Mike "Pinball" Clemons admitted he wasn't a great football coach, despite a Grey Cup ring, but he was an institution in Toronto, and history will remember his era as Argos head coach favorably.
-Sign Doug Brown to a contract that makes him a Bomber for life. End this ridiculous crap, where fan favorites are being disrespected by under qualified Football coaches.

If I accomplished anyone of those jobs, I'd go to bed that day, feeling like I just slayed a lion, and put the organization on the right track.

This year should not have been a "rebuilding" year for the Blue and Gold, it should have been a year where we aggressively battled Montreal for supremacy in the East. We're currently battling Toronto for the laughing stock of the CFL. Next year and the year following will undoubtedly now be rebuilding years, tough years, years impossible to bring the best free agents to town. Years where you lose an aging vet who wants to hoist a grey cup before they have no years of pro football left. Taman and Ritchie were successful 1o years ago, so I'm sending the SOS back to them.

That's my two cents as a FAIR WEATHERED Blue Bomber fan. And I hate to tell you Mike Kelly loyalists, I just showed you that a good fan, thinks with reason, and not with blind faith.