Jaguar Yokota is now a mommy

It was announced on Japanese TV that joshi puroresu living legend Jaguar Yokota and her husband are the proud parents of a bouncing baby boy. Apparently the baby was born in Hawaii. Mother and child are doing well. Congratulations to the happy parents.

Cheerleader Melissa added to Queen's Cup Tournament

Pro Wrestling WORLD-1 & All Pro Wrestling announced that popular California indy wrestler Cheerleader Melissa has been added to the WORLD-1's Queen's Cup Tournament on Jan. 7 at Pottstown, PA. Melissa is the daughter of wrestler Doug Anderson and is considered one of the top female workers in the US today. She won the recent Chick Fight 5 tournament at APW in California and is also a regular on the very popular SHIMMER promotion. The accompanying picture shows Melissa tying Daizee Haze in knots at last month's SHIMMER taping.

Other announced participants in the Queen's Cup Tournament are Alison Danger, Alere Little Feather, Nikki Roxx, Cindy Rogers & Amber O'Neal. The winner of this tournament will get a shot at Amazing Kong's WORLD-1 Womens Title and travel to Tokyo for the Jan. 14 Pro Wrestling SUN show to challenge Nanae Takahashi for the AWA World Womens Championship. Joshi fans may recall when Melissa spent three months in the now defunct ARSION promotion in 2002 training with Mariko Yoshida. Her time in Japan was a turning point in Melissa's wrestling career as she learned a lot of techniques that she uses today. A Melissa vs Nanae Takahashi match has potential to be good because Melissa is a credible contender. Maybe SUN president Nakamura learned something from the Afrika 55 experiment. Get good gaijin wrestlers first. There are two more wrestlers to be named to this tournament. Stay tuned.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Jimi Hendrix Experience

Song:All Along The Watchtower

Album:Electric Ladyland

Of course many people believe that Jimi Hendrix is the greatest guitarist in rock music history. That's pretty good for someone who wasn't around that long. He was great but it's unfortunate that he abused himself with drugs and died on Sept. 18, 1970 at age 27. Electric Ladyland was his third and final album with the original Experience of Noel Redding on bass & Mitch Mitchell on drums. At this point he started bring in outside musicians like Buddy Miles, Jack Casady & Steve Winwood and would subsequently break up the Experience and form Band Of Gypsies with Miles. Electric Ladyland is a classic and it was a commercial success too. The album was #1 on the Billboard Album Chart and this version of Bob Dylan's All Along The Watchtower was a top 20 single. It's too bad Jimi Hendrix died so young because he had so much more music to offer and we never got to hear any of it. The music that he recorded is still great.

Megumi Fujii wastes no time at Nov. 29 Smackgirl show

Well, you can't say I didn't warn you. Smackgirl held their big Nov. 29 Korakuen Hall show and the incomparable Sambo Queen, Megumi Fujii, took care of her Aussie kickboxer opponent in record time. I guess she doesn't get paid by the hour. The most important thing on this show is there were two matches under full MMA rules. Fujii is a major reason that Smackgirl is headed in that direction. She has told Smackgirl they have to change if they want to be taken seriously around the world. Naoko Ohmuro & Lisa Ward also won their matches.

Australian kickboxer Serin Murray had some pretty strong words for Megumi Fujii the other day. Murray said she'd punch her face in. But Fujii wasted no time in getting her on the ground and applying an ankle lock (pictured). It was all over in 20 seconds. She now has an 8-0 record. Fujii said afterwards that she took one punch from Murray and then took her to the ground and was happy to win decisively. Fujii also challenged Yuka Tsuji for the Smackgirl Lightweight Championship. That match would be the match of the decade. It must happen. Smackgirl says they will try to do it early next year. Fujii says she wants to be champ by the time her AACC team makes their annual trip to Abu Dhabi next year.

The semi main was another full MMA rules match between Masako Yoshida & Naoko Ohmuro. They fought to a draw two years ago. Ohmuro took control in round two and really pounded Yoshida in round three. Ohmuro won by unanimous decision. US fighter Lisa Ward returned to Smackgirl against Misaki Takimoto. Ward controlled round one and then won with an armbar at 3:32 of round two. Smackgirl said that Naoko Ohmuro would get the first shot at the Flyweight Title but Lisa Ward would be right after her.

A couple of pro wrestlers were on the show. Mai Ichii lost a unanimous decision to Emi Fujino and Yuiga won over Mika by KO at 4:02 of round two. Ichii got a bloody nose for her trouble. Berry 15 also had her retirement ceremony. Here's the results of the show. All matches were scheduled for two five minute rounds unless noted otherwise.

SMACKGIRL - 11/29/06 - Korakuen Hall

FRESH FIGHTING SPIRIT BOUT-2 3 min rounds-Anna Saito def. Sayaka Takase by unanimous decision

FLYWEIGHT BOUT-Yasuko Tamada def. Yukiko Seki by unanimous decision

54KG BOUT-Kyoko Takabayashi def. YOKO by unanimous decision

OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT BOUT-HIROKO def. Rie Murakami by unanimous decision

OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT BOUT-Yuiga def. Mika by KO at 4:03 of round two

53KG BOUT-Emi Fujino def. Mai Ichii by unanimous decision

MIDDLEWEIGHT BOUT-Takayo Hashi def. Miki Morifuji by unanimous decision

FLYWEIGHT BOUT-Lisa Ward def. Misaki Takimoto by armbar at 3:32 of round two

FLYWEIGHT BOUT-Naoko Ohmuro def. Masako Yoshida by unanimous decision

54KG BOUT-Megumi Fujii def. Serin Murray by ankle lock at 20 sec. of round one

Pointless heel turn at JD Star

I've been looking at recent JD Star shows and it's becoming more like 2001 ARSION. You all remember REDRUG. I've been trying to forget. So you not only have the usual JD Star Athtress nonsense but we've got bad comedy too. Of course the guy to blame is former ARSION owner Hiroshi Ogawa who is now in JD Star management. He thinks this stuff is funny. So there's a lot of Athtress/Pirates stuff on JD Star's Nov. 25 Shin-kiba 1st Ring show with a pointless heel turn by a wrestler no one cares about. There's even a cameo by a DDT comedy wrestler. At least DDT knows how to do comedy.

The opener had K-Dojo's Apple Miyuki making her first JD Star appearance in seven months. Her opponent is Gutsworld idol rookie Lily Urai. Not surprisingly, Lily is in over her head and Apple puts her to sleep with a martial arts choke hold at 7:53. Next was POP champ Fuuka teaming with Misae Genki against Yuki Miyazaki & rookie Hiroyo Matsumoto. Fuuka pinned Matsumoto after a lariat at 18:26. She'll be back later in the show. Next was a guest appearance by NEO Singles & NWA Pacific Champ Yoshiko Tamura. Her opponent is K-Dojo's Bambi. Tamura wins easily with a diamond cutter (pictured) at 12:12.

The Athtress vs Pirates main event is next. It's Shuu Shibutani, Cherry & masked wrestler Rei vs Caribbean KIM, Caribbean RUM & MORIBE. Fuuka was at ringside. The match was a no contest at 13:34 when Rei turned on Cherry & Shibutani. Rei? All hell broke loose. Fuuka came in and KIM stole the belt. This sets up an impromptu eight person match. Fuuka, Shuu Shibutani, Cherry & Lily Urai vs Caribbean KIM, Caribbean RUM, MORIBE & Rei. Basically, Rei attacked Shibutani and KIM still had Fuuka's belt. This whole thing sets up a POP Title defense for Fuuka against Caribbean KIM next week. The show ended with Fuuka defending her title against DDT's Sanwa Futoshi. Wait a minute. He's not a pop princess. No kidding. That's what Fuuka told JD Star GM Kobayashi. He ignored her. Believe it or not, Fuuka was DQd so she keeps the belt. What is Rossy Ogawa smoking?

Hyuga challenges Tamura for NEO titles

JWP had their latest show on Nov. 26 at the Tokyo Cinema Club. The main thing to come out of this is we might get a triple title match on Christmas Eve. We don't know yet but it would not surprise me. Also, JWP started their junior tournament. Rookies work cheap. And we had some overbooked convoluted nonsense with Sachie Abe & KAZUKI trying to revive their glory days of WANTED at JD with Toshie Uematsu doing her impersonation of The Bloody.





The first two matches were first round matches in the JWP Junior Tournament. Gutsworld idol rookie Lily Urai actually won a match over another rookie called Blue in 7:13 with a diving body press. I don't know who Blue is. Lily's opponent in the semi final will be determined next week. The other match had former A To Z trainee Yasusato Nakajima over a rookie named Hanako Kobayashi in 7:42. I'm not sure but I think Kobayashi may have been making her debut. Nakajima will face impressive Ibuki rookie Kayoko Matsumoto in the semi finals on Dec. 12.





Next was this whole WANTED reunion. This was Sachie Abe's first match back after recovering from a broken arm. It was against Teru. KAZUKI was seconding Abe and Toshie Uematsu seconded Teru. Not surprisingly, there wasn't really a match as Uematsu & KAZUKI got involved. KAZUKI was stabbed in the wrist and it turned into a big brawl. The result is Sachie Abe & KAZUKI vs Toshie Uematsu & Teru on the Dec. 24 Korakuen Hall show. So, there's your WANTED reunion. Aren't you excited? Next was a six person match with Commando Bolshoi, ECO & Manami Toyota vs Tsubasa Kuragaki, Kayoko Haruyama & Kaori Yoneyama. Kuragaki won over Bolshoi with a lariat. Then Carlos Amano came out to challenge Kuragaki to a match and that will be on the Dec. 24 show.






The main event had Azumi Hyuga (pictured) successfully defend her JWP Open Weight Championship over Leon. But the big news is that Hyuga challenged NEO Singles & NWA Pacific Titles champ Yoshiko Tamura to a match on Dec. 24. That match will happen but we don't know yet if it will be on the JWP or NEO Korakuen Hall show. They'll both have shows that day. Tamura hasn't responded yet so we don't know which titles will be up for grabs. It could be all three. Hyuga is a great wrestler and Tamura can be good when she's in the mood so this has potential to be a great match. And Hyuga has held the NEO titles in the past.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Charlie Parker

Song:Sweet Georgia Brown

Album:Bird:The Complete Charlie Parker on Verve

This 10CD box set contains everything tenor sax legend Charlie Parker recorded for Verve between 1946-1954. Parker didn't actually sign with Verve until 1949 so they're actually cheating a little bit with this version of Sweet Georgia Brown from the 1946 Jazz At The Philharmonic. But that's OK because this is some of the hottest music played by some of the greatest musicians ever. This includes Charlie Parker & Willie Smith on alto sax, Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Ventura & Lester Young on tenor sax, Buck Clayton, Dizzy Gillespie & Al Killian on trumpet, Ken Kersey, Mel Powell & Arnold Ross on piano, Irving Ashby on guitar, Billy Hadnott on bass and Buddy Rich & Lee Young on drums. 10CDs is a bit much for anyone. There are a lot of outtakes included. But you can get the 2CD The Complete JATP Performances from Definitive Records. That is a must. Despite his lifelong heroin addiction, Charlie Parker was a great innovator of jazz. But the addiction made him unreliable and put him in an early grave on Mar. 12, 1955 at age 34.

It looks like I'm getting my buzzer back

Recently we've been having trouble with the intercom system at the co-op. It seems it's been dropping some of the programmed entry codes. Lucky me. My code is one of the dropped numbers. This is a pain in the neck especially for my buddy Jon Burnside at Healthy Heart Meals. He comes twice a week and has to phone me from the lobby. It's a safety & security issue too.

It turns out that the intercom is too old to be repaired. It was installed when the building was erected in 1992. So we need a new intercom. The way it works is our maintenance guy Marlon gets three quotes and then as a member of the co-op Board Of Directors, I get to participate in deciding what to purchase. So we had a meeting last night and we're going with a system from Mircom, a manufacturer in Concord, Ontario. They're a very big company. I just went with Marlon's recommendation. He knows what's up. It's very similar to the our current intercom. It's just a newer model. So it should be installed in the next week and I'll get my buzzer back. This was the main topic of the meeting. I don't know if the pictured Mircom intercom is the one we're getting but it's a reasonable facsimile. What do I know about intercoms?

Serin Murray & Lisa Ward arrive in Japan

Australian kickboxer Serin Murray (pictured) arrived in Japan yesterday to prepare for her bout against Megumi Fujii on the Nov. 29 Korakuen Hall Smackgirl show. Megumi Fujii & Lisa Ward were also at the press conference and Smackgirl has added one more bout to the show.

Serin Murray did a wonderful impersonation of a wrestling heel. She said she is very happy to be in Japan and for the opportunity to punch Megumi Fujii's lovely face. She respects Fujii's grappling skill but she believes her karate training and power will prevail. Serin says she will knock Fujii out. Of course Megumi Fujii was typically confident. She knows very little about Serin Murray but is not concerned. She is training very well and knows how to handle a kickboxer.

Lisa Ward said she is very happy to return to Japan. She's fighting in a lighter weight class and the weight loss went well. She says she wants to challenge for a title after she wins this fight. Smackgirl has added a rookie match to the show. All matches are scheduled for two five minute rounds unless noted otherwise. Here's the card.

SMACKGIRL - 11/29/06 - Korakuen Hall

48KG BOUT-Masako Yoshida vs Naoko Ohmuro

48KG BOUT-Lisa Ward vs Misaki Takimoto

53KG BOUT-Mai Ichii vs Emi Fujino.

54KG BOUT-YOKO vs Kyoko Takabayashi

SUPERGIRLS OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT BOUT-Rie Murakami vs HIROKO

SUPERGIRLS OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT BOUT-Yuiga vs Mika

48KG BOUT-Ikuko Tamada vs Yukiko Seki

58KG BOUT-Takayo Hashii vs Miki Morifuji

54KG BOUT-Megumi Fujii vs Sharon Murray

LIGHTWEIGHT BOUT-2 3 min. rounds-Sakaya Takase vs Anna Saito

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Stevie Wonder

Song:Superstitious

Album:Talking Book

By the time Talking Book was released in 1972, Stevie Wonder wasn't Little anymore and had become the multi talented musician we know today. Marvin Gaye's What's Going On should get a lot of the credit for forcing Motown to be less of a music factory. So Stevie took advantage of that and came up with a killer album. Stevie was touring with The Rolling Stones at the time and Superstitious has rock influences he picked up while jamming with them. In fact, legendary British guitarist Jeff Beck is on Superstitious and did his own version of the song on Beck, Bogert & Appice. Stevie Wonder would continue his journey to musical genius with 1976's Songs In The Key Of Life. He seemed to lose his edge in the 80s and hasn't been as productive in recent years. He ended a ten year recording hiatus with the 2005 CD A Time To Love, a song he wrote with protege India.Arie. He also recorded with gospel superstar Kirk Franklin. Maybe he's getting his groove back.

Queen's Cup tournament winner to get AWA title shot

Pro Wrestling WORLD-1 has announced that they will have their very first womens tournament to award an AWA World Womens Championship match. WORLD-1 is owned by Steve Corino and of course he has very close ties to Japan's ZERO-ONE MAX. It will be called the Queen's Cup and will be held on Jan. 7 in Pottstown, PA. Eight wrestlers will be in the tournament and the winner will get a shot at Amazing Kong's WORLD-1 Womens Title and will travel to Tokyo, Japan to challenge Nanae Takahashi for her AWA World Womens Title on the Jan. 14 Korakuen Hall Pro Wrestling SUN show. Alison Danger (pictured), Alere Little Feather, Cindy Rogers, Nikki Roxx & Amber O'Neal are scheduled to appear. Alison has already been bragging that she has this in the bag but there are three wrestlers to be named and I would not be surprised to see SUN President Nakamura pull a rabbit out of his hat. Stay tuned.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Slim Harpo

Song:I Got Love If You Want It

Album:The Excello Singles Anthology

Louisiana blues singer songwriter Slim Harpo was poised to become a huge international star when he died suddenly of a heart attack on Jan. 30, 1970 at age 46. He was born James Moore on Jan. 11, 1924 in Lobdell, LA. His guitar and harmonica playing made him popular in local Baton Rouge clubs and he wrote all his own songs with his wife Lovelle. His style was laid back but that made him more adaptable. He originally called himself Harmonica Slim after his mentor Lightnin' Slim who sent him to see Excello Records owner Jay Miller. When it came time to record him, Miller told him there was already a Harmonica Slim and he'd have to change his name. Lovelle came up with the name Slim Harpo. I Got Love If You Want It was one of his first recordings in 1961 and very typical of Harpo's smooth style. The song has been covered by The Yardbirds & Eric Clapton. He became even more popular when The Rolling Stones covered I'm A King Bee on their first album. He had a Billboard Singles Top 20 hit with Baby, Scratch My Back in 1966 and then had a successful world tour with Lightnin' Slim. He was all set to record and tour again when he died. This 2CD comp released by Hip-O in 2003 is definitive. There's no doubt Slim Harpo would have remained a significant force in blues if he had lived and his music is really good.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Tower Of Power

Song:Man From The Past

Album:Back To Oakland

Oakland, California based group Tower Of Power is world renowned for their funky sound and their horn section. The group was started by sax player Emilio Castillo & trumpeter Stephen Kupka. They reached their stride when they signed with Warner Bros. in 1972 and added vocalist Lenny Williams. They had some very strong records over the next couple of years including 1974's Back To Oakland. It was a great album but didn't have the chart success of their previous records. Man From The Past is very typical of TOP's funky sound with great vocals by Williams. Tower Of Power continues to tour and record though their 80s-90s albums don't compare with their 70s music. Emilio Castillo & Stephen Kupka continue to play on sessions and appeared on Sean "Diddy" Combs' new CD Press Play.

When will GAMI take a hint and retire already?

THE WOMAN had their latest show on Nov. 23 at Shin-kiba 1st Ring. THE WOMAN owner GAMI seems determined to be an active comedy wrestler though a lot of joshi fans would like to see her knock off the bad comedy and retire already. This approach to the wrestling business almost backfired on her on this show. The main event was a Royal Rumble style match but it was overshadowed by fans thinking GAMI had announced her retirement.

The problem with THE WOMAN is every match has comedy elements even if the wrestlers aren't good at it. The opening match was a good example. It had Toshie Uematsu against NEO's Yuki Miyazaki. Now, Miyazaki does do comedy but is lousy at it and Uematsu just isn't a comedy wrestler. Miyazaki said if she lost this match, she'd work at the beer pavillion. So naturally Uematsu won. Next was a rare appearance for LLPW's Takako Inoue against Ayumi Kurihara. It seems Takako may be starting a shtick where she beats up youngsters as that's what she did on a recent NEO show. So that's what she did here though at least they didn't do any comedy. This was followed by the veteran team of Devil Masami & Michiko Ohmukai defeating Atsuko Emoto, Leon & Cherry. There's a gag there somewhere.

This is where GAMI got herself into trouble. She was wrestling NEO's Yoshiko Tamura. Now, Tamura is known to be a bit of a jokester. You have to have a sense of humour to work for NEO for ten years. They were joking around before the match and somehow Tamura got GAMI to say that she would retire if she lost the match. Then Tamura won the match. Nothing was said and fans didn't know if GAMI was really going to retire. Maybe she forgot what she said. The Royal Rumble style main event had Tamura beating GAMI again. Others in the match included Bullfight Sora, Leon, Cherry, Toshie Uematsu, Yuki Miyazaki, Ayumi Kurihara, Commando Bolshoi, Azumi Hyuga, Electric Wave Mask Woman & MAKODA. So fans went home thinking GAMI had announced her retirement. Wait a minute. She says backstage that she withdraws her retirement remarks. Oh well, you can't win 'em all. I think GAMI really did forget what she said.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:John Coltrane

Song:Compassion

Album:Meditations

As John Coltrane's career progressed in the early 60s, his music became less structured. Most of his recordings in the last couple of years of his life were live freeform jams just like this one which was recorded on Nov. 23, 1965. He was also winding down the Classic John Coltrane Quartet by adding musicians. So Meditations does have McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass & Elvin Jones on drums. But he also adds Pharoah Sanders on tenor sax & Rashied Ali on drums. This would be the final Coltrane recording for Tyner & Jones. Compassion is a jam typical of Coltrane's music at that time. Meditations would be the final Coltrane recording released during his lifetime. But plenty of unreleased recordings have surfaced since his death from liver cancer on July 17, 1967. I'm sure I'll look at more great John Coltrane music in the future as he's one of my favourite musicians.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Tamia

Song:Love Me In A Special Way

Album:A Nu Day

Tamia Washington is a very good R & B singer from Windsor, Ontario. She met Quincy Jones at a party and she wound up singing lead on his 1994 hit You Put A Move On My Heart. Eventually she put out a solo record in 1998 but had personality conflicts with the record company and was moved over to Elektra for her second album A Nu Day in 2000. She had a big hit with Stranger In My House. She seems to like working with producer Shep Crawford. Crawford started out in Florida in 1996 as a member of the gospel group The Truthettes. Then he was hired to work with the boy band 98 Degrees. He's produced many R & B acts ever since. He produced this very nice version of the Debarge hit Love Me In A Special Way. Tamia reunites with Crawford on her new CD Between Friends which was released last week. Tamia is also known as the wife of NBA superstar Grant Hill. It seems that Anita Baker played Cupid and introduced them.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Kenny Burrell

Song:Out For Blood

Album:Introducing Kenny Burrell:The First Blue Note Sessions

Kenny Burrell is a very popular jazz guitarist who came out of the Detroit jazz scene of the early 50s. He had already played with Dizzy Gillespie at age 20 and moved to New York in 1956 and signed with Blue Note. Introducing Kenny Burrell was his first released recording in the US but his actual first recording for Blue Note was not released and his third record was only released in Japan. This 2CD comp rectifies this by including all three albums recorded by Burrell in 1956. So this is definitely worth getting. Out For Blood is a great song from the Japan only album called K.B. Blues. Musicians are Hank Mobley on tenor sax, Horace Silver on piano, Doug Watkins on bass & Louis Hayes on drums. Kenny Burrell moved to Los Angeles in 1972 and teaches jazz courses in universities. He also continues to record for Concord Jazz and still has an avid following.

Michiko Ohmukai announces 15th Anniversary show

Michiko Ohmukai held a press conference today to announce that she will celebrate her 15th anniversary in pro wrestling with a show on Jan. 21 at Shinjuku FACE. The show will be titled Egoist Live. The accompanying picture is the show poster. For those who don't know, her retail store is called Crystal Egoist. Ohmukai said the show will be a multimedia extravaganza looking back on her 15 years in joshi puroresu. This will include wrestling, live music and dance. Ohmukai has been working a lot with that wrestling/dance company The Ring so I guess they will be involved in the production of the show.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Bill Evans

Song:Tiffany

Album:Turn Out The Stars:Final Village Vanguard Recordings

Pianist Bill Evans looked more like a college professor than a jazz musician but he was very respected in the industry and his classically influenced style has been very influential on today's young musicians. These Village Vanguard recordings were recorded in June 1980, about three months before Evans' death. You wouldn't know by this performance that he was ill. The young musicians accompanying him are Marc Johnson on bass & Joe LaBarbera on drums. Warner Bros. had planned to issue some of the recordings but by the time they got around to it in 1996, they decided to release all of them in a 6CD box set. There is also a CD of highlights. Tiffany appears to be a new composition as he only performed it in his final days. Bill Evans died of an ulcer & bronchial pneumonia on Sept. 15, 1980 at age 51. His real problem was his cocaine addiction.

Megumi Fujii added to Nov. 29 Smackgirl show

Recently somebody asked me if Megumi Fujii, The Sambo Queen, would be on the Nov. 29 Korakuen Hall Smackgirl show. I suspected that after Fujii finished off the much heavier Tama Chan in 53 seconds in her most recent match, Smackgirl would have trouble finding an opponent for her. Well, they have found a victim...er...opponent. She is Serin Murray from Australia. From what I can tell, she is trained in karate and kickboxing and is making her MMA debut against Megumi Fujii. And like the Masako Yoshida/Naoko Ohmuro fight, this will be full MMA rules. Of course Fujii has a 7-0 record and is considered to be one of the premiere female fighters in the world today. This won't last long.

I forgot to mention previously that the MMA fighter known as Berry 15 will retire on this show with a full retirement ceremony. Berry was KOd by Hisae Watanabe in February and is still suffering from post concussion syndrome. She lost a close fight recently but decided afterwards to retire. Here's the complete card. All bouts are scheduled for two five minute rounds.

SMACKGIRL - 11/29/06 - Korakuen Hall

48KG BOUT-Masako Yoshida vs Naoko Ohmuro

48KG BOUT-Lisa Ward vs Misaki Takimoto

53KG BOUT-Mai Ichii vs Emi Fujino.

54KG BOUT-YOKO vs Kyoko Takabayashi

SUPERGIRLS OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT BOUT-Rie Murakami vs HIROKO

SUPERGIRLS OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT BOUT-Yuiga vs Mika

48KG BOUT-Ikuko Tamada vs Yukiko Seki

58KG BOUT-Takayo Hashii vs Miki Morifuji

54KG BOUT-Megumi Fujii vs Serin Murray

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Stan Getz f/Joao & Astrud Gilberto

Song:The Girl From Ipanema

Album:The Essential Stan Getz:The Getz Songbook

Like a lot of classic jazz artists, it's impossible to cover tenor sax great Stan Getz' career with one CD. I've talked about his Roost recordings of the early 50s. This comp covers his recordings on Verve. There's a few Verve comps out there. Just be sure it includes this 1963 smash The Girl From Ipanema that basically legitimized the Brazilian Bossa Nova movement. Getz had recorded the 1962 album Jazz Samba with guitarist Charlie Byrd. As a follow up, Getz & producer Creed Taylor brought Brazilian guitar legend Antonio Carlos Jobim and singer Joao Gilberto to New York to record Getz/Gilberto. Taylor decided to add Astrud's English lyrics at the last minute. The song was a huge worldwide hit and is still very fresh today. Getz could have lived off this song the rest of his career but didn't. He continued to make great music for years. The only way to explain something like The Girl From Ipanema is sometimes musicians go into the studio and magic happens. Don't try and figure it out.

Toshie Uematsu joins REM at Nov. 16 SUN show

Pro Wrestling SUN held their second show at Shin-kiba 1st Ring on Nov. 16. The plan seems to be to have a smaller show to fill the gap between the larger Korakuen Hall shows. First On Stage will keep the SUN girls busy working on ZERO-ONE Max shows. It remains to be seen if ZERO-ONE style booking will be accepted by joshi fans. Time will tell. They only brought one gaijin over for this show and I don't think she is returning for the Jan. 14 Korakuen Hall show.

It was deja vu all over again as Nanae Takahashi again paid tribute to Animal Hamaguchi accompanied by a video message from him. The opening match was another match between Natsuki*Taiyo and Ayumi Kurihara. This time it was a 15 minute draw. Are these two going to open every show? Do something different. Next was Veronica Simply AKA Simply Luscious against Saki Maemura. Simply had gotten the best of Maemura on a couple of ZERO-ONE MAX shows last week. She again busted Maemura open with what looked like an ice pick but Maemura came back to win with some sort of new finisher at 9:50. The match between Hikaru and Atsuko Emoto was a rematch from last year's Empress tournament. Hikaru injured her neck during that match. So it was a grudge match and Hikaru won with the Lanakila H at 16:32. They shook hands afterwards and the match was reported as better than you might expect from these two.

The main event was a three way match with AWA World Womens Champ Nanae Takahashi, Amazing Kong & Toshie Uematsu. Uematsu was a wild card in this match and as usually happens during three way matches, she turned on Takahashi. Takahashi won the match over Uematsu in 13:48. Afterwards, Uematsu wore an Amazing Kong T-shirt and announced that she is joining the Real Evil Makers heel group. Takahashi had a stunned look on her face and then tried to rally the troops. So that means Uematsu will be on Pro Wrestling SUN's big Korakuen Hall show on Jan. 14. Stay tuned.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Cat Stevens

Song:Father and Son

Album:The Very Best Of Cat Stevens

English singer songwriter Stephen Georgiou was discovered in 1966 by producer Mike Hurst of the folk rock group The Springfields. Hurst sent his demo to Decca and the newly dubbed Cat Stevens was signed to Deram Records. Stevens had some chart success in England but switched to Island Records in 1970. He was on A & M Records in the US. He proceeded to become one of the most popular singer songwriters of the 70s. Father and Son from the 1970 album Tea For The Tillerman is very typical of his music. This Very Best comp is OK but Universal has recently released a 4CD box set called Cat Stevens that covers his entire career in the 60s & 70s. Disillusioned with the music business, Cat Stevens formally became a Muslim on Dec. 23, 1977 and changed his name to Yusuf Islam. He retired from the music business and opened a Muslim school in London. He occasionally recorded Muslim music over the years but has returned to pop music in 2006 with the album An Other Cup as Yusuf Islam. I haven't heard it but Cat Stevens' 70s music still sounds good today.

Jimmie Johnson wins 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup

Jimmie Johnson had things under control going into the NASCAR Nextel Cup finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. With a 63 point lead over Matt Kenseth, Johnson needed to finish 12th to clinch the Nextel Cup Championship. And Matt Kenseth would have to win the race. It looked very good for Johnson but you never know. This race also featured the Nextel Cup debut of F1 star Juan Pablo Montoya. He started 30th. Kasey Kahne won the pole.

Kasey Kahne-#9 Chrysler Financial Dodge jumped out to the lead. Kurt Busch-#2 Miller Lite Dodge crashes for the second time on lap 15. A spring rubber pokes a hole in Jimmie Johnson-#48 Lowe's Chevy grille. He pits to tape up the hole and restarts 39th. This could be trouble as he could get caught up in someone else's wreck. Kyle Busch-#5 Kellogg's Chevy takes the lead on lap 19. A debris caution comes out on lap 44. Everyone pits and Kahne leads. Johnson has moved up to 15th.

After green flag pit stops, Kyle Busch hits the wall on lap 115 to bring out a caution. Several cars pit but Dale Earnhardt Jr-#8 Budweiser Chevy & Martin Truex Jr-#1 Bass Pro Shops Chevy stay out. Earnhardt is faster on older tires. A Dave Blaney-#22 Caterpillar Dodge flat tire brings out a caution on lap 160. Everyone pits and Earnhardt has a lug nut problem on pit road. Truex leads. Robby Gordon-#7 Menards Chevy crashes on lap 188. Most guys pit but five stay out led by Elliot Sadler-#19 UAW/Dodge Dealers Dodge. Mike Bliss-#49 What's Online.com Dodge blows an engine on lap 204. Everyone makes what could be final pit stops with varying strategies. Kasey Kahne takes fuel only to lead. Jimmie Johnson is hovering sround the top ten. He'll be OK if he stays out of trouble.

Greg Biffle-#16 National Guard Ford takes the lead on lap 213. Ryan Newman-#12 Alltel Dodge cuts a tire and spins on lap 246. Everyone pits except J.J. Yeley-#18 Interstate Batteries Chevy. Newman would hit Juan Pablo Montoya-#30 Texaco Havoline Dodge and he has a fiery crash on lap 251. Apparently Newman was upset with Monyoya for the earlier incident. NASCAR should have parked Newman but they will speak to him after the race and likely fine him. NASCAR stops the race so the track can be cleaned up. Greg Biffle takes the lead on lap 256. Yeley runs out of fuel on lap 265. Biffle wins and Jimmie Johnson finishes 9th to clinch the Nextel Cup.

Congratulations to Greg Biffle, crew chief Doug Richert and car owner Jack Roush for the win. Biffle has won this race three years straight. Martin Truex Jr. gets a career best second place finish. Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus and car owner Rick Hendrick on winning the Nextel Cup. That's it for 2006 and things should be very interesting in 2007. Here's the top ten of today's race.

#/Driver/Sponsor/Make/Owner

1.16/Greg Biffle/National Guard/Ford/Jack Roush

2.1/Martin Truex Jr./Bass Pro Shops/Chevy/Dale Earnhardt Inc.

3.11/Denny Hamlin/FedEx/Chevy/Joe Gibbs

4.9/Kasey Kahne/Chrysler Financial/Dodge/Ray Evernham

5.29/Kevin Harvick/GM Goodwrench/Chevy/Richard Childress

6.17/Matt Kenseth/DeWalt Tools/Ford/Jack Roush

7.10/Scott Riggs/Valvoline/Dodge/Ray Evernham

8.99/Carl Edwards/Office Depot/Ford/Jack Roush

9.48/Jimmie Johnson/Lowe's/Chevy/Rick Hendrick

10.07/Clint Bowyer/Jack Daniels/Chevy/Richard Childress

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Yolanda Adams f/Kelly Price

Song:He'll Arrive (Coming Back)

Album:Mountain High, Valley Low

Yolanda Adams is a very popular gospel artist from Houston. Elektra Records president Sylvia Rhone signed Adams in an effort to market her to a secular audience. But she told Yolanda not to change her music. The result was that 1999's Mountain High, Valley Low was a huge crossover hit especially the hit Open Your Heart. Several producers worked on the album. The wonderful R & B singer Kelly Price brought in her production team and did a great job on He'll Arrive. I was not a big Yolanda Adams fan but Mountain High, Valley Low was her best album to date and succeeded in reaching a wider audience.

Todd Bodine wins NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship

Going into the final NASCAR Craftsman truck race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Todd Bodine (pictured) was very fortunate that he was close to locking up the 2006 Championship because he hasn't been running well lately. But mechanical failures at Atlanta & Texas put Johnny Benson behind the eight ball. In order for Benson to win the championship, he would have to win and Bodine would have to finish lower than 28th. Mike Skinner won the pole.

Mike Skinner-#5 Toyota leads the start of the race with David Reutimann-#17 Toyota second. Reutimann takes the lead on lap 11. Skinner tries to pass Reutimann on the low side on lap 13 and gets loose and hits the inside wall. He's out of the race. Joe Nemechek-#46 Ginn's Resorts Chevy gets the lead on lap 23 and Brendan Gaughan-#77 South Point Dodge passes Reutimann for second. Michael Waltrip-#12 Jani-King Toyota spins out on lap 42. Everyone pits and Mark Martin-#6 Scott's Miracle Gro Ford leads after pit stops.

Joe Nemechek gets the lead back on lap 48. Then on lap 65, Bill Lester-#22 Waste Management Toyota is racing David Reutimann and gets loose and hits the inside wall. Everyone pits during the caution but Terry Cook-#10 Powerstroke Diesel Ford stays out to lead. Nemechek gets the lead back on lap 70. Johnny Benson-#23 Exide Batteries Toyota moves up into third. Mark Martin regains the lead on lap 77. Chase Miller-#4 Dodge spins on lap 94. He slides back up the track and clips Benson on the left side. Benson has heavy damage and finishes 26th. His championship dreams are over.

Todd Bodine-#30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota is running poorly too. He has a vibration the crew can't seem to get rid of and limps home in 21st. Mark Martin & Brendan Gaughan continue to battle for the lead but Martin prevails and wins his sixth race of the season. Gaughan finishes second and rookie of the year Erik Darnell is third. Congratulations to Todd Bodine, crew chief Mike Hillman and Germain Racing for winning the 2007 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Championship.

Smackgirl announces two big tournaments

Smackgirl announced their plans for the 2007 Next Cinderella tournaments and an Openweight tournament with the winner to get a title shot against Openweight champ Amanda Buckner. They have added a couple of tournament matches and other matches to their Nov. 29 Korakuen Hall show.

The SUPER GIRLS Openweight tournament consists of six fighters who will earn a match with Yoko Takahashi (pictured). The winner of that match will get a title shot against Amanda Buckner. Two first round matches will be on the Nov. 29 Korakuen Hall show. Yuiga, a pro wrestler known for her days with the DDT fed, will face Mika and Rie Murakami will face HIROKO. The other two fighters are Tama Chan and a fighter TBA. They will fight the winners of these two fights on March 11. The final will be on May 19 and the winner will then face Yoko Takahashi.

Smackgirl also announced that there will be three weight classes in the 2007 Next Cinderella Tournaments. The Lightweight (52KG) division will be added to the already established Flyweight (48KG) & Middleweight (58KG) divisions. Quarter finals will be on March 11. Semi finals will be on May 19. Finals will be on August 8. Here's the card for the Nov. 29 Korakuen Hall show. All matches are scheduled for two five minute rounds.

SMACKGIRL - 11/29/06 - Korakuen Hall

48KG BOUT-Masako Yoshida vs Naoko Ohmuro

48KG BOUT-Lisa Ward vs Misaki Takimoto

53KG BOUT-Mai Ichii vs Emi Fujino

54KG BOUT-YOKO vs Kyoko Takabayashi

SUPERGIRLS OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT BOUT-Rie Murakami vs HIROKO

SUPERGIRLS OPENWEIGHT TOURNAMENT BOUT-Yuiga vs Mika

48KG BOUT-Ikuko Tamada vs Yukiko Seki

58KG BOUT-Takayo Hashii vs Miki Morifuji

Jaguar Yokota 30th Anniversary show March 11

Of course Jaguar Yokota is one of the all time greats of joshi puroresu as a wrestler and a trainer. As fans are aware, Jaguar and her husband are eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child in early December. It was announced on Friday that Jaguar Yokota will celebrate her 30th anniversary in joshi puroresu at the Hotel Laforest in Tokyo on March 11. There will be a wrestling show at 2PM followed by an all star gala at 6PM. This may be the biggest event in the history of joshi puroresu.

Retired wrestlers scheduled to appear include Mimi Hagiwara, Tomi Aoyama & Lucy Kayama. Apparently these three are scheduled to wrestle and the Queen Angels (Aoyama & Kayama) will reunite for the first time since Aoyama's retirement many years ago. Other retired wrestlers scheduled to appear but not wrestle are Maki Ueda, Lioness Asuka & Chigusa Nagayo. Active wrestlers scheduled to wrestle include Jaguar Yokota, Devil Masami, Dump Matsumoto, Noriyo Tateno, Yumiko Hotta, Manami Toyota, Etsuko Mita, Aja Kong, KAORU, Mayumi Ozaki, Dynamite Kansai, Kyoko Inoue, Takako Inoue, Mariko Yoshida, Kaoru Ito, Commando Bolshoi, Cherry, Michiko Ohmukai, Azumi Hyuga, Yoshiko Tamura, Misae Genki, Tanny Mouse, Yuki Miyazaki, Carlos Amano, Chikayo Nagashima, Sachie Abe, Nanae Takahashi, Tsubasa Kuragaki, Kayoko Haruyama, KAZUKI, Ayako Hamada, AKINO, Hiroyo Muto, Kaori Yoneyama, Amazing Kong, Saki Maemura, Haruka Matsuo, Hikaru, ECO, Nozomi Takesako, Natsuki*Taiyo and others. That's right. This is just the start and more names will be added. Holy mackeral!

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Dizzy Gillespie & His Big Band

Song:Stay On It

Album: In Concert

In Concert is Dizzy Gillespie & His Big Band at the height of their run recorded in 1948. This was at a time when bebop was still considered a small group genre of jazz. Dizzy was also the first one to use Cuban influences in bebop. Conga player Chano Pozo is featured on this recording and was a big part of Gillespie's big band until he was killed in a Harlem bar on Dec. 2, 1948 at age 34. Gillespie wrote Stay On It with arranger Tadd Dameron. As he says on the intro, it features Cecil Payne on baritone sax along with James Moody on tenor sax. In Concert is a great recording for jazz fans and it's available on GNP Crescendo Records.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Martha Reeves & The Vandellas

Song:Nowhere To Run

Album:Greatest Hits

As with The Marvelettes, Martha Reeves & The Vandellas were always going be second fiddle to The Supremes as a Motown girl group. But they had some huge hits. And it all happened by accident. Martha Reeves had a group called The Del-Fis. Motown producer Mickey Stevenson took a liking to her and hired her as a secretary. One day Mary Wells missed a recording date. Martha filled in and the rest is history. Most of their hits, including Nowhere To Run, were written and produced by Brian & Eddie Holland and Lamont Dozier, known as Holland/Dozier/Holland. Martha left Motown when they moved to LA in the early 70s. She has recorded occasionally with limited success and works the oldies concert circuit. This Greatest Hits comp was originally released in 1966. It's a little short at 12 tracks and Motown has recently released a 2CD comp called Gold that even includes some post Motown recordings. Martha Reeves was a great singer at Motown and brought her church roots and enthusiasm to their sound.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Duke Ellington & His Orchestra

Song:Take The "A" Train

Album:Highlights From The Duke Ellington Centennial Edition 1927-1973

To celebrate Duke Ellington's 100th birthday in 1999, RCA Records released a massive 24CD box set called the Centennial Edition. This literally has everything Ellington ever recorded for RCA. I have several heavy duty box sets but this is a bit much even for me. This 3CD Highlights comp is more manageable and you don't have to mortgage your house. Besides there's more to Ellington than his RCA recordings though his most popular recordings from the 40s are on RCA. This is the original 1941 version of the Billy Strayhorn classic Take The "A" Train and was recorded by what became known as the Blanton-Webster Band featuring bassist Jimmy Blanton & tenor sax player Ben Webster. Strayhorn was Ellington's longtime writing & arranging partner but rarely played in the Ellington band. So this Highlights comp features the Duke Ellington band at their best and is essential listening.

Hiroyo Matsumoto steps up on JD Star show

The main event of the Nov. 12 Shin-kiba 1st Ring show was supposed to have Mariko Yoshida teaming with Fuuka against Shuu Shibutani & rookie Hiroyo Matsumoto. Unfortunately, Yoshida broke her nose in her match against Yoshiko Tamura and was replaced by Cherry. Oh, well. I guess you get who you can at the last minute. It turned the show into the usual mix of idol wrestling and bad comedy. Better luck next time.

The opener was between veteran Leon vs rookie Yasusato Nakajima. They worked hard but the end was never in doubt. Leon won in 10:25 with a spear and a splash. Next was a tag match with Bullfight Sora and the masked wrestler who is part of the animal army corps against Yuki Miyazaki & Kayoko Haruyama. Of course it was played for comedy and the masked wrestlers won in 10:06. Another comedy match with Caribbean KIM & MORIBE vs Misae Genki & Lily Urai. The Pirate wrestlers are obviously going to go over and KIM used her Caribbean Ram on Urai to win in 11:57.

The main event is Fuuka & Cherry vs Shuu Shibutani & Hiroyo Matsumoto. Obviously the original plan was for Fuuka & Yoshida to win. It doesn't work as well with Cherry. Matsumoto looked good at the end of the match and pounded Fuuka with body slams and an Argentine back breaker. But Fuuka escapes and wins with a high kick at 20:58. My guess is they're going to resume the Fuuka/Shibutani feud. But Matsumoto stepped up and showed some energy. Let's keep an eye on her.

Kandori defeats Hotta in LLPW tournament

Since Shinobu Kandori announced the participants and brackets in LLPW's All Star Strongest Woman tournament, there has been a lot of criticism about who is and isn't in the tournament. Well, DUH. LLPW is Kandori's personal playpen and while I think her vision of the joshi business is filled with delusions of grandeur, it's not surprising and very consistent with her past behaviour. We can only hope that her stupidity will finally put LLPW out of business. But I wouldn't bet on it. LLPW's Nov. 12 Korakuen Hall show included two first round tournament matches. And one of the Glamour Girl Angels transvestite tag team retired. I can 't believe a gimmick like that has lasted for two years.

The show started with Obacchi Iizuka and her stupid grandmother gimmick over Hiroyo Muto in 8:37 with a brain buster. Tomoko Watanabe made her final LLPW appearance. She is retiring on Dec. 29. She teamed with Harley Saito vs Takako Inoue & Noriyo Tateno. Dump Matsumoto, Condor Saito & Kaoru Ito in her ZAP mask were in attendance. Watanabe pinned Tateno after a high kick at 14:06. Next was the retirement of one of the Glamour Girl Angels. The opponents were Eiger & Sayuri Okino. They won the match. It seems uncertain if the transvestite gimmick will continue. I guess they have to find a replacement at Cross Dressers R Us. Mika Nishio, Azumi Hyuga, Commando Bolshoi & Toshiyo Yamada all participated in the retirement ceremony. And they doffed their wigs. Don't they lose them a lot during the matches anyway?

A first round tournament match between Eagle Sawai & Dynamite Kansai was next. Sawai won with a lariat in 11:20. You can complain that Kansai is a better wrestler. But let's face it. They're both broken down old timers at this point and Sawai works for LLPW. This isn't 1996, you know. I'm one of the legion of fans who dislikes Sawai but I expect her to do well in this tournament. She's protected in LLPW. Sawai will face Mayumi Ozaki in the next round.

The main event was a first round tournament match between Shinobu Kandori & Yumiko Hotta. Again, this is the big problem with this tournament. Not only doesn't it look to the future, it's not even looking to the present. This is another 1996 dream match. But nobody cares in 2006. Hotta played the heel and busted Kandori open but of course Kandori came back and made Hotta submit with a cross arm breaker in 7:15. As many fans are aware, Kandori is a member of the Japanese government now. So the media made a big deal about the fact that she dies her hair black for her day job and then dies it blonde to wrestle. She should stick to her day job. Kandori's next tournament opponent is Amazing Kong and she came out to stare Kandori down. AK is very good at that sort of thing. LLPW's All Star Strongest Woman tournament will continue on the Jan. 5 Korakuen Hall show. Aja Kong vs Dump Matsomoto & Harley Saito vs Meiko Satomura will be the other two tournament matches.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Big Mama Thornton

Song:Hound Dog

Album:Hound Dog:The Peacock Recordings

Today when people think of Hound Dog, they think of Elvis Presley's 1957 version. But legendary songwriters Jerry Lieber & Mike Stoller wrote it for blues growler Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton and she hit #1 in the R & B charts in 1953. And at 300lbs, Big Mama was as big as her voice. She had been around the Houston R & B scene in the 40s when Don Robey signed her to Peacock Records in 1951. The legendary Johnny Otis was brought in to produce and Big Mama's growling performance reached the top of the charts. Otis' guitarist Pete "Guitar" Lewis adds a real edge to it. Of course it had sexual innuendo too. Elvis never even heard this version. He was handed a sanitized version by a Vegas lounge singer and that's what he based his version on. Though Big Mama Thornton did get a cult following over the years when Janis Joplin covered her song Ball & Chain, she was never able to reach the heights of Hound Dog again. This comp is definitive. Big Mama Thornton continued to perform in clubs and died on July 25, 1984 at age 57 in a Los Angeles rooming house.

Borat review

In these times of political correctness, Borat is a film that is proudly offensive and hysterically funny. It is the brainchild of British comedian/actor Sasha Baron Cohen. Cohen became popular through his TV series Da Ali G Show. His character Borat is a journalist from Kazakhstan reporting the news in his own unique way. You would think that it would be difficult to take a character normally taken in small doses and turn it into a feature film. But Cohen, Da Ali G Show co-writer Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham and Todd Phillips (Old School) came up with a great concept. Phillips was supposed to direct but left and Da Ali G Show producer Dan Mazer was brought in to help with the screenplay. TV vet Larry Charles (Seinfeld) directed and Jay Roach (Austin Powers) served as producer.

The whole idea behind Borat is to make an absurd character believable. That's why the film was made to look like a Kazakhstan production. Journalist Borat Sagdiyev goes to America to find out what Americans are like with producer Azamat Bagatov (Ken Davitian) in tow. Keep in mind these are the only actors in the film. Things are going OK in New York City when Borat sees Pamela Anderson on TV in Baywatch and becomes obsessed with her. So he tells Azamat that he wants to go to Los Angeles but he doesn't tell him why. The vehicle of choice for this road trip turns out to be a broken down ice cream truck. They also acquire a pet grizzly bear. Doesn't everyone have one of those?

The people Borat encounters on this road trip have no idea he's an actor. So they take him at face value. And a lot of his outrageous behaviour is simply chalked up to cultural differences. But eventually Borat's behaviour gets more outrageous. First he gets booed for singing the supposed Kazakhstan national anthem to the tune of The Star Spangled Banner at a rodeo in Texas. And when a knock down drag out nude fight with Azamat disrupts a convention in a Houston hotel, they get thrown out of the place and they split up. Somehow Borat does make it to Hollywood. He does reunite with Azamat and meets Pamela Anderson but he goes a little overboard. And Pamela Anderson was in on the gag. Borat does live happily ever after with new black wife Luenell. She's an actress, sort of. She's basically playing herself.

Now that Borat is a success, a lot of the people he fooled are coming out of the woodwork complaining about Cohen's methods. A couple of boneheads are even suing. Borat is guerilla theater at its best. It wouldn't have worked if everyone was in on the gag. Everyone's reaction to this foreigner is what makes this funny. Some are revealed at their best and some are revealed at their worst. According to Larry Charles, Sasha Baron Cohen rarely does interviews out of character to protect his characters. So who is he? According to Jay Roach, he's an Orthodox Jew who keeps kosher and doesn't answer the phone on the Sabbath. A lot of the supposed Russian spoken in the film is actually Hebrew. So maybe there's an underlying serious theme in Borat. I don't know but it sure was funny. Cohen's next film will feature his Austrian fashion maven Bruno. And he will continue to act in regular Hollywood films. He just signed on for Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd. He sure hit a home run with Borat.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Lyle Lovett & Randy Newman

Song:You've Got A Friend In Me

Album:Smile:Songs From The Movies

MCA's original plan was to sell Texas singer songwriter Lyle Lovett as a standard country singer. But his music didn't really fit the country music pattern. So he sort of lost the country audience and picked up an audience similar to someone like Randy Newman. In the 90s, Lovett became more involved in acting and he hasn't recorded much in recent years. Smile is a collection of songs Lovett has performed in films. It's mostly standards like Irving Berlin's Blue Skies & Charles Chaplin's Smile. Some of them may have appeared on individual soundtrack albums. But Disney never released a Toy Story soundtrack so this is about the only place you can get this Oscar winning song. It's also on the Disney's Greatest Hits box set. I suppose Lyle Lovett fans might want Smile. I'm not sure about anybody else. But You've Got A Friend In Me is a great performance by Lovett & Newman.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Lee Morgan

Song:The Sidewinder

Album:The Best Blue Note Album In The World

Of course trumpeter Lee Morgan's The Sidewinder is one of the all time classic jazz tracks. Musicians include Joe Henderson on tenor sax, Barry Harris on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass & Billy Higgins on drums. But if you're looking for an introduction to jazz and Blue Note Records in particular, The Best Blue Note Album In The World is a good place to start. You get classic tracks by Horace Silver, John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Lou Donaldson, Cannonball Adderley, Kenny Burrell, Jimmy Smith & Herbie Hancock. You get to sample some of the best Blue Note has to offer and you can figure out exactly what you like and go from there. I don't recommend the CD to experienced jazz fans. They're going to have this stuff already. But it's perfect for newcomers.

Today is civic election day. So I'm off to the polls. I'm still not sure who I'm voting for Mayor. I'm not happy with the main candidates. Miller will win anyway so I am considering voting for a fringe candidate as a protest. I don't normally do that but I really dislike David Miller and Jane Pitfield is not a strong alternative. I am voting for Jem Cain for councillor.

Harvick wins at Phoenix, Johnson close to Nextel Cup Championship

With two races left in the NASCAR Nextel Cup season, all points leader Jimmie Johnson has to do is keep running at the front and he won't be beat anyway. Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Denny Hamlin & Kevin Harvick still have a chance if Johnson stumbles at the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix. That 500 kilometers so that's 312 miles on this one mile race track. Jeff Gordon won the pole.

Jimmie Johnson-#48 Lowe's Chevy started 29th because he was first in qualifying. The other contenders could hope that Johnson would stay back there but why kid yourself? Jeff Gordon-#24 Dupont Chevy & Kevin Harvick-#29 Reese's Cookies Chevy battle for the lead but Harvick gets the lead on lap 4. A debris caution comes out on lap 69. Everyone pits and Johnson moves up to third. There goes that theory.

Jimmie Johnson takes the lead on lap 133. Another debris caution comes out on lap 149. After pit stops, Johnson still has the lead but Harvick passes him on lap 163. A caution comes out when Michael Waltrip-#55 Napa Auto Parts Dodge breaks a rear gear on lap 186. Everyone pits. Harvick still leads. Carl Edwards-#99 Office Depot Ford is second. Johnson drops to 7th when a lug nut gets stuck on his pit stop.

Kevin Harvick is still leading but is having battery problems. Among other things, he turns off his air conditioner. Jimmie Johnson gets past Carl Edwards for second on lap 245. Michael Waltrip's engine failure drops oil on the track on lap 252 to bring out a caution. Everyone makes final pit stops. Mark Martin-#6 AAA Ford takes two tires for the lead. Johnson is second and Harvick is third. Harvick passes Johnson for second on lap 260.

Kevin Harvick takes the lead on lap 282. Johnson moves into second. Martin finished 6th. On lap 298, Jeff Green-#66 Best Buy Chevy crashes to bring out a caution. Carl Edwards misses a gear on the restart and Jeff Gordon almost spins him out. A caution comes out on lap 305 when Casey Mears-#42 Texaco Havoline Dodge crashes. NASCAR throws a red flag to clean the track. Johnson tries to make a move on Harvick but Harvick holds him off for the win.

Congratulations to Kevin Harvick, crew chief Todd Berrier and car owner Richard Childress for the win. Jimmie Johnson was second. Matt Kenseth had a terrible car but finished 13th. Johnson has a 63 point lead going into the final race at Homestead Miami. He wins the Nextel Cup Championship if he finishes 12th. Here's the top ten of the race.

#/Driver/Sponsor/Make/Owner

1.29/Kevin Harvick/Reese's Cookies/Chevy/Richard Childress

2.48/Jimmie Johnson/Lowe's/Chevy/Rick Hendrick

3.11/Denny Hamlin/FedEx Ground/Chevy/Joe Gibbs

4.24/Jeff Gordon/Dupont/Chevy/Rick Hendrick

5.99/Carl Edwards/Office Depot/Ford/Jack Roush

6.6/Mark Martin/AAA/Ford/Jack Roush

7.9/Kasey Kahne/Chrysler Financial/Dodge/Ray Evernham

8.2/Kurt Busch/Miller Lite/Dodge/Roger Penske

9.8/Dale Earnhardt Jr./Budweiser/Chevy/Dale Earnhardt Inc.

10.31/Jeff Burton/Cingular/Chevy/Richard Childress

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Dietrick Haddon

Song:Heavenly Father

Album:7 Days

Dietrick Haddon is a contemporary gospel artist who has been described as the gospel Usher. He also gets a lot of heat from the church for being too secular. He can't win. Haddon is a preacher's kid from Detroit who formed the group Voices Of Unity with his wife Damita Haddon and brother Gerald Haddon on Tyscot Records. Dietrick had to leave Tyscot for Verity Records to get wider distribution for his music and his record sales have taken off. He writes and produces most of his own music with his brother. On his new CD 7 Days, Dietrick gave up full control and enlisted veteran R & B producing team Tim & Bob to give the record a mainstream R & B vibe. Tim Kelley & Bob Robinson started out as producers for Maurice Starr's short lived boy band Perfect Gentlemen in 1989. They established themselves a few years later with acts like Shanice and Boyz II Men. Of course Dietrick has been criticized by the church for working with them but he says he's known them for years and always wanted to work with them. Heavenly Father is among the tracks the three wrote & produced. Dietrick Haddon doesn't apologize for trying to reach a secular audience. He's still a great singer songwriter and his message is still the same.

Matt Kenseth wins Phoenix Busch Series race

With Kevin Harvick already clinching the NASCAR Busch Series championship, we have to talk about other things at the Arizona Travel 200 at Phoenix. With a victory in today's race, Harvick would tie Sam Ard for most wins in a Busch Series season. Matt Kenseth won the pole and with his Nextel Cup car running poorly, we were wondering if he could use his Saturday car to help his Sunday car. Matt said no but he always says no.

Matt Kenseth-#17 Pennzoil Ford led the first part of the race. On lap 58, Bobby Labonte-#77 Dollar General Chevy breaks something and spins out to bring out a caution. Everyone pits and Clint Bowyer-#2 AC Delco Chevy beats Kenseth out of the pits for the lead. Kenseth gets the lead back by lap 70. On lap 104, Scott Wimmer-#66 Duraflame Ford cuts a tire and slams the wall. Paul Menard-#11 Menards Chevy slams into Wimmer. Most guys pit but Stephen Leicht-#90 Citi Financial Ford and five others stay out.

At this point, fuel mileage becomes an issue if the race stays green. Most guys can't make it to the end anyway. Shane Huffman-#88 US Navy Chevy is one of the guys who stayed out and he takes the lead on lap 115. He battles with Clint Bowyer for the lead but Bowyer has fresh tires and gets the lead. Huffman finished 9th. When Paul Menard cuts a tire and hits the wall on lap 171, fuel mileage is out of the equation and everyone pits.

Carl Edwards-#60 Ameriquest Ford gets two tires to get the lead. Matt Kenseth is second. Kevin Harvick-#21 Coast Guard Chevy, Clint Bowyer & Shane Huffman all have trouble on pit road. Kenseth gets the lead back on lap 180. Harvick is second. On lap 195, Kenny Wallace-#22 Auto Zone Ford is bumped into the wall by Jay Sauter-#01 Western Union Chevy and Danny O'Quinn-#60 World Financial Ford is collected. It looks like Sauter wasn't aware that Wallace was on his outside. This sets up a green/white/checker finish and Kenseth holds off Harvick for the win. We'll find out Sunday if this win helps Kenseth's run at the Nextel Cup Championship.

Johnny Benson wins Phoenix Craftsman Truck race

Johnny Benson's mechanical problems in the last two NASCAR Craftsman Truck races have basically killed any chances of winning the championship. He still has a mathematical chance but points leader Todd Bodine would have to collapse completely and that doesn't seem likely. But Benson won the pole for the Casino Arizona 150 at Phoenix and he's not going to quit.

Teammates Johnny Benson-#23 Toyota Certified Used Vehicles Toyota & Mike Skinner-#5 Toyota start in the front row. Of course Benson wants to lead and get five bonus points. But he gets loose on lap 2 and Skinner doesn't give him enough room to keep Benson from spinning out. Fortunately, he doesn't hit anything but Benson does have to go to the back of the field. Car owner Bill Davis expressed his annoyance with Skinner. Skinner continues to lead. Mike Bliss-#16 Strutmasters Chevy passes Skinner for the lead on lap 26 but then pits with a flat tire and goes a lap down.

Rick Crawford-#14 Circle Bar Truck Stop blows a tire and hits the wall to bring out a caution on lap 34. Everyone pits and Mark Martin-#6 Scott's Miracle Gro Ford get the lead. Matt Crafton-#88 Menards Chevy is second and Mike Skinner is third. Johnny Benson works his way through the field and takes the lead from Martin on lap 120. Despite several cautions, Johnny Benson easily wins the race. Todd Bodine finishes fourth and leads Benson by 112 points. One more race at Homestead Miami and Bodine will be the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champ.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:The Marvelettes

Song:Please Mr. Postman

Album:20th Century Masters:The Millenium Collection:The Best Of The Marvelettes

Of course any Motown girl group is going to play second fiddle to The Supremes but The Marvelettes predate The Supremes and Please Mr. Postman was Motown's first number one single in 1961. They had several lineups but Gladys Horton & Wanda Young were the main lead singers. Gladys sang lead on Please Mr. Postman. Smokey Robinson produced a lot of their music including this. This budget comp is fine. It has all their hits on it but there are also a lot of various artists comps on Motown. You might want to get this on one of those. I have the Hitsville USA 4CD box set. The Marvelettes continued to have modest success in the 60s. Gladys Horton left in the late 60s and the group broke up in 1970.

Quick joshi notes

JD Star found a suitable replacement for Mariko Yoshida on this weekend's show. Cherry will team with Fuuka against Shuu Shibutani & Hiroyo Mastsumoto in the main event. Oy! Yoshida posted on her blog that the operation on her nose was a success and it's in a plastic cast to keep it straight.





Futami announced that he was unable to find a partner for Yumiko Hotta on next week's T-1 GP show. So it will be a handicap match, Hotta vs T-1 Mask No. 1 & Shark Tsuchiya. And when Hotta loses, she will be banned from T-1 forever. Well, you know what that means. The rest of the show is lame ass shit that's even worse.




Folks have asked me about Mika Nishio's progress so I just checked her blog. Last week she ran for 20 minutes in the gym for the first time. But she's always careful to caution fans that any progress doesn't mean she's returning to the ring. If she does, great. But she's accepted that it's not likely. Most of her posts are celebrating Atsuko Emoto's birthday, lunch with Bambi, stuff like that.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Neil Young

Song:Southern Man

Album:Decade

Of course singer songwriter Neil Young is one of the great icons of American rock. Wait a minute. He's not American. He was born in Toronto, the son of sportswriter Scott Young. Neil moved to Los Angeles in the mid-60s and became famous through Buffalo Springfield, Crosby Stills Nash & Young and his own solo albums. His early solo albums with the group Crazy Horse are outstanding. Southern Man is from the 1970 album After The Gold Rush. It's a protest song about racism and Young's guitar and Nils Lofgren's piano make it a cut above the usual. Considering that Young has been with Reprise Records for his entire career, it's strange that there is no box set available covering all his music. The 2CD Decade was originally released in 1977 and is perfect if you're interested in his music from 1966-1976. A Greatest Hits comp was released in 2004. One CD is not adequate for an artist of Young's stature. Neil Young has recovered from a 2005 brain aneurysm and continues to write & record. He released the protest CD/DVD Living With War in May 2006. Though not always successful, Neil Young deserves credit for continuing to take risks with his music.

Veronica Simply arrives in Japan

US wrestler Veronica Simply AKA Simply Luscious has arrived in Japan. When First On Stage announced that she was coming to Japan, they said she would be reffing on some ZERO-ONE MAX shows. She's going to be wrestling instead. Veronica won over Saki Maemura on the Nov. 8 Fukuoka show in 11:55 with a finisher they're calling the G Cup Bomb. At the Nov. 9 ZERO-ONE MAX Yamaguchi show, Veronica teamed with Chris The Bambi Killer vs Saki Maemura & Minol Fujita. Veronica & Bambi Killer won in 16:54 when Bambi Killer used his Bambi Guillotine on Fujita. But Veronica & Bambi Killer took this opportunity to gang up on Maemura and bust her open. The Veronica Simply/Saki Maemura match on the Nov. 16 Pro Wrestling SUN show isn't even the main event. Obviously First On Stage wants to justify bringing over gaijins so they want to make a big deal out of Veronica.

Afterwards, Veronica said she wasn't satisfied with busting Maemura open in the match. She says she went to a lot of trouble to come to Japan and all the fans can do is yell about her boobs. She says the visuals are very important in womens wrestling so she got new boobs for the fans. She says she will always win no matter how many times she fights Maemura. She will use her G-Cup Bomb to send Maemura to the hospital and then challenge Nanae Takahashi for the AWA World Womens Championship on Nov. 16. The Nov. 11 Osaka ZERO-ONE MAX show will have a six girl match. It will be Saki Maemura, Hikaru & Nanae Takahashi vs Veronica Simply, Amazing Kong & GAMI. Well, Veronica is doing well as a heel.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:LaVern Baker

Song:Jim Dandy

Album:Soul On Fire:The Best Of LaVern Baker

LaVern Baker was a very popular R & B belter of the 50s who also brought a lot of sex appeal to the table. She was born Dolores Williams in Chicago Nov. 11, 1929 and changed her name to LaVern Baker while working for Todd Rhodes in 1952. She signed with Atlantic in 1953 and several hits including Tweedlee Dee. 1957's Jim Dandy was her biggest hit. It reached #1 on the R & B chart and #17 on the singles chart. LaVern was a little lady with a big voice and was equally adept at rockers like Jim Dandy and ballads. This comp is definitive. All her hits are on it. LaVern's career stalled after she left Atlantic in 1964 and eventually she moved to the Philippines and retired from the music business. She returned to the US and the music business in 1988 for Atlantic's 40th Anniversary Party at Madison Square Garden in New York. She also appeared in the film Dick Tracy. LaVern Baker died on Mar. 10, 1997 at age 67.

A couple of quick notes

I had my first co-op board of directors meeting last night. A lot of it was just getting oriented to the whole process. I have some things I want to do and I'll try to do that at the next meeting on Nov. 27.



Congratulations to Ward 6 councillor candidate Jem Cain for getting the endorsement of The Toronto Star in today's edition. I may have to vote for her.



Congratulations to my pal Godfrey for getting a good job with Ryder Truck Rentals. He starts next week. No, he's not a driver. He will be working on their satellite system.

Smackgirl announces Yoshida/Ohmuro match to be full MMA rules

Smackgirl held a press conference today to add another match to their Nov. 29 Korakuen Hall show. But a more significant announcement is that the Masako Yoshida/Naoko Ohmuro match will be full MMA rules. Smackgirl has always had their own unique rules. This includes a thirty second grappling limit and no punching to the face while on the ground. With Smackgirl's growing popularity over the last year, this is a big step to legitimacy. Japan's best fighters Yuka Tsuji and especially Megumi Fujii have demanded these changes. Many foreign fighters have questioned the rules too. Both Ohmuro & Yoshida have full MMA rules experience and welcomed the change. Smackgirl President Nagao said this is a trial but suggested that Smackgirl would have more full MMA matches in 2007.

Smackgirl also announced a new match added to the show. It will be Mai Ichii vs Emi Fujino. Ichii is a pro wrestler currently training at the Kaoru Ito Professional Wrestling Classroom. This will be her MMA debut. Fujino has a 2-0 record but her last match was in April 2004. All matches are scheduled for two five minute rounds. Here's the card so far.

SMACKGIRL - 11/29/06 - Korakuen Hall

48KG BOUT-Masako Yoshida vs Naoko Ohmuro

48KG BOUT-Lisa Ward vs Misaki Takimoto

53KG BOUT-Mai Ichii vs Emi Fujino.

Fuuka retains POP Title against Lily Urai

The main event of the Nov. 5 Shin-kiba 1st Ring show had Fuuka defending her POP Title against Gutsworld's Lily Urai. Here's another bit of Fuuka news for you. Nosawa is promoting a show called Nosawa Genome on Nov. 8 at Shin-kiba 1st Ring. Fuuka went to the Tokyo Shinbun newspaper and challenged former triple crown champ Minoru Suzuki to a match. That match will happen. It was splashed all over the media the last couple of days so as publicity stunts go, it worked.

The show started with the title match contract signing and the usual cheerleading. The opener had JWP veteran Tsubasa Kuragaki against rookie Hiroyo Matsumoto. Kuragaki controlled the match with her power and experience and won at 11:38 with an Argentine backbeaker. Next was a four way match with Tanny Mouse, Leon, Bullfight Sora & the masked wrestler Animal who is part of the Caribbean angle. Obviously it was a comedy match with plenty of silliness. Leon pinned Animal in 8:49.

This was followed by another comedy match, this one a three way with Shuu Shibutani, Caribbean KIM & Sakura Emi. Emi used a pin attempt by Shibutani to win the match over KIM at 14:21. KIM protested and I guess this is supposed to set up an angle between the two factions. In the main event, Fuuka successfully defended her POP Title over Lily Urai with a high kick in 12:53. Urai was very aggressive at first and even hit a Brainbuster on the arena floor. But Fuuka came back and prevailed. Fuuka said afterwards that she was surprised by Urai's attack and was fortunate to retain the belt. The main event of next week's show was supposed to have Mariko Yoshida teaming with Fuuka against Shuu Shibutani & Hiroto Matsumoto. But Yoshida is having surgery on a broken nose suffered in her match against Yoshiko Tamura. No replacement has been named.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Jill Scott

Song:Try/Love Rain

Album:Who Is Jill Scott?:Words & Sounds Vol. 1

Jill Scott is one of the most talented of what is known as the Philly Neo Soul movement. It's new R & B with old school grooves and jazz influences. Jill started as a poet but was discovered by Roots drummer Amir Thompson and appeared on their 1999 hit You Got Me. Steve McKeever signed her for his new Hidden Beach label and Jill had immediate chart success with this 2000 debut album Who Is Jill Scott?. Jeff (DJ Jazzy Jeff) Townes is the main producer on the album. Of course Jill co-writes a lot of her own material. Try is actually a bonus track. You have to go through a bunch of blank tracks to the end of the CD. It was co-written with keyboardist James Poyser. It's followed by a hidden version of Love Rain featuring rapper Mos Def. That was co-written with drummer Vidal Davis. Both Poyser & Davis are major players in the Philly Neo Soul scene. Jill Scott continues to record with these guys and she's really improved as a performer as she gets more experience. She is a major talent and should be on your required listening schedule.

Health update

Nothing earth shattering. I went to see Dr. Matthews today mainly to get new prescriptions. It was raining but that's why I bought a rainsuit. The bloodwork I had a while back was OK. I figure if there's anything wrong she'll phone me. The doc wants to give me a flu shot and a pneumonia shot. I know there are plenty of people afraid of needles but I'm not one of them. She asked me that and I said it was no big deal. Of course we have to keep a close watch on my blood sugar. The meals I get from Healthy Heart have been great. But I've been eating a Glucerna snack bar after lunch because I'm concerned about my blood sugar getting too low. I start to get dizzy if it drops into the 3s. We eliminated glyburide a few months ago. This time Dr. Matthews decided to cut my metformin in half. We'll see if that works. I'm not really a snacker so I would prefer the blood sugar stay at a consistent level without snacks. She also wants bloodwork as usual along with a cholesterol test. Mainly we're just fine tuning the diabetes so I'm comfortable with it and my blood sugar doesn't get too high or low. So everything is AOK for an old fart like me.

Smackgirl adds Masako Yoshida to Nov. 29 show

Smackgirl has added rising MMA star Masako Yoshida to their Nov. 29 Korakuen Hall show. Yoshida's record is 13-4-5 but she has been on an eleven fight unbeaten streak going back to Sept. 2005. Her most recent win was over Emi Tomimatsu on the Oct. 20 G-Shooto show. Her opponent is Naoko Ohmuro. Her record is 6-4-1 and her most recent match was a win over Shiyo Yamato at the June 30 Smackgirl show. These two fought to a draw on the Sept. 4, 2004 GCM Cross Section show. The pic is from that match. Yoshida has improved tremendously in the meantime and should be the favourite here. For one thing, Yoshida is 5'5" and Ohmuro in 4'11" so Ohmura has an uphill battle. Here's the lineup so far. All bouts are for two five minute rounds.

SMACKGIRL - 11/29/06 - Korakuen Hall

48KG BOUT-Masako Yoshida vs Naoko Ohmuro

48KG BOUT-Lisa Ward vs Misaki Takimoto

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Luther Ingram

Song:(If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right

Album:Greatest Hits

This song was a huge hit in 1972 but Luther Ingram probably didn't have enough hits that most people would want this Greatest Hits comp on The Right Stuff. Ingram was a very good singer from the Memphis area. He originally recorded for his manager Johnny Baylor's Koko Records and went to Stax Records when Baylor used Ingram to get his hooks into the company. (If Loving You Is Wrong) I Don't Want To Be Right was written by veteran songwriters Homer Banks & Carl Hampton who worked together frequently. It's a great performance by Ingram but you might want to get it on a various artists comp like Rhino's 6CD box set Can You Dig It? The 70s Soul Experience or Soul Hits Of The 70s:Didn't It Blow Your Mind! Vol. 8 also from Rhino. I don't know what Ingram is doing today but he hasn't recorded since 1991. This is still a great song.

15 year old debuts on Nov. 3 NEO show

Normally I would talk about the main event on any show but NEO got a lot of press for debuting 15 year old Nagisa Nozaki (pictured) on their Nov. 3 Korakuen Hall show. The main event was Amazing Kong & Kyoko Kimura defending the NEO Tag Team Titles against Misae Genki & Haruka Matsuo. The semi main had Yoshiko Tamura defending her NEO Singles/NWA Pacific Titles against Mariko Yoshida. Of course there's some of the usual NEO foolishness.

A good example of that foolishness had Etsuko Mita feuding with Tanny Mouse. On the Oct. 8 show, a loss forced Mita to change her name to some goofy emoticons. She got a rematch and if Mita loses, she has to change her name permanently. Tanny Mouse even gave out 200 free emoticon signs to fans. Fortunately, Mita won the match so she gets to keep her name. Aren't you relieved? 15 year old Nagisa Nozaki debuted with partner Kyoko Inoue against Dynamite Kansai & Takako Inoue. The rookie took a beating and Takako finished her off with a backfist. Kyoko said she expects Nozaki to be a champion while in her teens. It's more likely she'll be a lazy comedy wrestler.

Yoshiko Tamura successfully defended her NEO Singles/NWA Pacific Titles against Mariko Yoshida. It was the first time they had faced each other in nine years. Tamura won at 27:33 with an elbow smash. Afterwards, Yoshida posted on her blog that the elbow smash broke her nose. She will have surgery this week and will miss next week's scheduled appearance at JD Star. The main event had Misae Genki & Haruka Matsuo winning the NEO Tag Team Titles from Amazing Kong & Kyoko Kimura. Matsuo used a Dragon suplex and an atomic bomb to finish off Kimura in 23:52. This was described as one of Matsuo's best performances. Congratulations to the new champs.