Saki Maemura wins the AWA World Womens Championship

Chick Fights SUN were involved in two shows this weekend. The Oct. 7 show at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium drew 1,500 fans. The Oct. 8 show was a combined ZERO-ONE MAX show at the Gifu Chamber Of Commerce drew 800 fans. There were a couple of title changes on the Osaka show. There was very little REM prescence on the show so we can expect some activity in that area in the next few weeks. The opener had Natsuki*Taiyo defeat Kana with the Iguchi bomb at 13:37. A men's match had Ikuto Hidaka & KAGETORA go to a 15 ninute draw against Minoru Fujita & El Blazer.

Next was Tracy Taylor coming over from Hawaii to defend the EWA Womens Championship against Fuuka. Tracy won this title recently in a three way match over Hikaru & Malia Hosaka. The end came when Tracy missed a kick. Fuuka hit her with the F-Crash and the Doll-F and finished her with a cross arm breaker at 8:43. I'm not particularly surprised that Fuuka won the belt. It gives her something to play with on her Fuuka Matsuri shows. So why did they put the belt on Tracy in the first place? That way Hikaru can lose the belt without losing to Fuuka. It's not like the belt has much meaning in SUN.

Next was a mixed match with Aja Kong, Kohei Sato & American Balloon over Hikaru, Masato Tanaka & Lingerie Muto when Tohei used a half crab on Hikaru at 20:26. Next was Jamie Dee defending the AWA World Womens Championship against Saki Maemura. Obviously no one expected Maemura to win because she's a jobber. So naturally Maemura won. So how did she win? They're calling the finisher "Never Give Up". Of course it's a rollup pin. She wrapped her leg around Jamie's arms and got the pin at 8:17. I guess SUN isn't planning on bringing Jamie back in the future. The problem with putting a title belt on Maemura is it takes more than that to elevate her. Winning with a rollup isn't a good sign.

The main event had Nanae Takahashi against Azumi Hyuga. This is the match that should be the showcase for an important title belt. But it's very typical of the kind of screwy booking Nakamura has been doing for the last year. You're going to let JWP have this as a title match and not do it yourself? That's crazy. It was reportedly a very good match. Takahashi hit a brain buster from the ring apron to the floor. Hyuga hit an avalanche style DDT. It went back and forth with a lot of big moves. The end came when Hyuga hit a knee from the top rope to the back of the head. When she went up to try it again, Takahashi intercepted her and won with the Chanaracka*100 at 27:43.

The Oct. 8 show was presented by the Shin'ya Hashimoto fan club. It was a combined ZERO-ONE-MAX/Sun show. First was a five minute exhibition between Osamu Namiguchi & Naomiki Ueda. Then Kana defeated Tracy Taylor with the Tracy Hunter at 11:01. Then Minotu Fujita & Futoshi Miwa defeated Shota Takanishi & American Baloon when Fujita use the Sasuke Segway on Takanishi at 12:22. Jamie Dee defeated Natsuki*Taiyo with an F5 at 4:12. Masato Tanaka & Ikuto Hidaka defeated Kohei Sato & Tatsuhito Takaiwa when Tanaka used the Sliding D on Takaiwa at 12:59. Nanae Takahashi & Saki Maemura defeated Fuuka & Hikaru. Maemura rolled Fuuka up after Takahashi nailed her with a lariat at 21:47. Considering Sun's booking, don't read too much into those results. Let's see what they do with the tournament next month.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-The Four Tops

Artist:The Four Tops

Song:Reach Out (I'll Be There)

Album:The Ultimate Collection

One of the things that separates The Four Tops from most groups is they never had any personnel changes or ego problems. Levi Stubbs, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson & Lawrence Payton met at a friend's birthday party in 1953 and have been together ever since. Reach Out (I'll Be There) may be their greatest song. They started out as The Four Aims. They signed with Chess in 1956 and the group name was changed to The Four Tops to avoid confusion with the Ames Brothers. They flopped and flopped at three other labels until Berry Gordy signed them to Motown in 1963. Columbia had attempted to sell them as a jazz-like vocal group. Gordy was going to continue that but changed his mind and made them more R & B. He assigned the songwriting producing team of Holland/Dozier/Holland to The Four Tops and they had a string of top hits in the 60s. The 1966 smash Reach Out (I'll Be There) features a fabulous lead vocal by Levi Stubbs. Here's a guy with a wonderful church trained voice good enough for him to be a solo star. But he never left The Four Tops. That's loyalty. This comp The Ultimate Collection has all their hits. The Four Tops remained together until Lawrence Payton's death in 1997. They replaced him with Theo Peoples but that has been the only change. They're still touring and doing great. Here's The Four Tops performing Reach Out (I'll Be There) on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1966.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Byron Cage

Artist:Byron Cage

Song:Rain On Me

Album:Invitation To Worship

Byron Cage is a gospel artist known as the Prince Of Praise. He combines Praise & Worship with contemporary gospel elements and has become very popular in recent years. He was born Dec. 15, 1962 in Grand Rapids, MI. He was music director for the New Birth Cathedral in Atlanta for a decade. He first surfaced as a solo artist with his group Purpose on Atlanta International Records in 1994. He didn't do well and in 1998, Cage became minister of music at Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington, MD. He still did occasional guest shots on records and one of those guest shots got the attention of GospoCentric Records owner Vicki Mack Latandaille. She had the idea of putting Cage together with Kurt Carr for a live CD. The 2003 CD Live At The New Birth Cathedral was a huge success. Rain On Me is from the 2005 follow up Invitation To Worship. Cage works with Paul "PDA" Allen & J. Moss of PAJAM. Cage always records live and the CD will not disappoint his fans. He again worked with PAJAM on his new CD The Proclamation (Live At The Apollo). This was released a couple of weeks ago and has guest appearances by Kelly Price, Kim Burrell & Dave Hollister. Byron Cage is a strong vocal arranger and has become one of the most popular gospel artists around. Here's the video for I Will Bless The Lord by Byron Cage.

FreeVideoCoding.com

Satomura suffers broken orbital bone

Sendai Girls had their latest Zepp Sendai show on Oct. 5 against JWP with 700 fans in attendance. There were a couple of events on this show; one planned, one not planned. And I guess the not planned could affect the planned depending on when they want to do it. I think it will be OK. The opener was Mizhaaya vs ASKA Ohki. Mizhaaya starts with a shoulder tackle. Ohki comes back with a neck throw and a sleeper. They exchange blows and Mizhaaya hits a shoulder breaker, a guillotine and a body ram. But a guillotine from the second rope misses. Ohki hits a missile dropkick but Mizahaaya wins with some sort of shoulder hold called a Fig Tree at 6:38.

Next is Hirenai (Yurie Kaneko) vs Commando Bolshoi. Bolshoi starts out with a chinlock. Hirenai tries to come back with matwork but she unable to control Bolshoi. The end comes when Bolshoi hits a German duplex, a back fist and a triangle choke for the win at 11:31. Next is Sachiko Sendai vs Kaori Yoneyama. Sachiko starts out with dropkicks, a camel clutch and flying tackles. Yoneyama comes back with a DDT, a suplex a swinging DDT and a missile dropkick. But then she misses a senton from the top rope. But Sachiko is unable to take advanrage and Yoneyama hits a German suplex and a diving senton for the win at 8:38. Sendai Girls announces their new trainee Harada will debut on Nov. 18.

Next was DASH Chisako vs Tsubasa Kuragaki. As you might expect, Kuragaki uses her size to wear down Chisako. But Kuragaki misses a top rope moonsault. Chisako hit two missile dropkicks but Kuragaki hits a lariat, a backdrop, a uraken and another lariat for the win at 11:01. The main event was Meiko Satomura & T-Rex Okuda vs Azumi Hyuga & Arisa Nakajima. The match was going along and Satomura & Hyuga were in the ring. Satomura hits a DDT, a German suplex and a Death Valley Driver on Hyuga. Nakajima intrudes and Satomura takes care of her with a Dragon Screw. But it distracts Satomura enough for Hyuga to hit aq German suplex and a missile dropkick. Hyuga hits Satomura with a running knee for the win at 17:57. But Satomura's not getting up. Apparently Hyuga knocked her out by accident and Satomura was taken to the hospital. Meanwhile, Bolshoi got together with Jinsei Shinzaki and announced that Hyuga will defend the JWP Open Weight Title against Satomura at a future date. So obviously there was supposed to be a confrontation between the two. Oh, well. Accidents happen. Satomura has a broken orbital bone. I think she'll return in time for the next Sendai Girls show on Nov. 18.

Pro Wrestling SUN changes name

Pro Wrestling SUN held a press conference Friday to announce an upcoming tournament. But they also announced that they're changing their name from Pro Wrestling SUN to Chick Fights SUN. The reason for the change given by Takahashi at the press conference is that Chick Fights is the worldwide generic name for women's professional wrestling. Really? Paging Chickfights owner Jason Deadrich. SUN president Nakamura isn't any more enlightening on the SUN blog. The likely real reason is simply to distinguish themselves from other wrestling promotions with a more distinctive name. Especially if they're going to have occasional matches abroad. That has to be it because they didn't change the logo.

SUN also announced plans for a tournament to be called Chick Fever J. This will be a round robin tournament The wrestlers will be divided into the Cup Zone and the Coin Zone. All matches will have a 30 minute time limit. There will be two points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss. The tournament matches will be on the Oct. 18, Oct. 19 & Nov. 15 Shin-kiba 1st Ring shows. The winners of the zones will face off in the final on the Nov. 16 Shin-kiba 1st Ring. Announced participants include Nanae Takahashi, Hikaru, Saki Maemura, Natsuki*Taiyo, Toshie Uematsu & Kayoko Haruyama. Yumiko Hotta has been contacted but hasn't confirmed. It doesn't say how many wrestlers will be in the tournament so I don't know if they will bring in any gaijins. But I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Marvin Gaye

Artist:Marvin Gaye

Song:What's Going On

Album:What's Going On

Marvin Gaye's What's Going On is one of the most significant albums in black music history. Gaye was already a significant star but Motown owner Berry Gordy wasn't interested in producing socially relevant music. The recent tragic death of Gaye's duet partner Tammi Terrell and the recent return of Marvin's brother Frankie from a three year tour in the Vietnam War convinced Marvin that he needed to speak out. In late 1970, Obie Benson of The Four Tops brought him a song he had written with producer Al Cleveland. Gaye went into the studio with The Funk Brothers and recorded What's Going On. Benson & Cleveland also wrote Save The Children & Wholly Holy. Berry Gordy refused to release What's Going On because he didn't think it would sell. Gaye went on strike and refused to record until Gordy released it. He finally did and What's Going On hit number two on the pop singles charts in 1971. The album is an all time classic and changed the face of black music. Motown has rereleased What's Going On on CD several times including a 2CD Deluxe Edition featuring a vintage live performance. It's a must for anyone's CD collection. Here's Marvin Gaye with The Funk Brothers performing What's Going On & What's Happening Brother from the 1973 film Save The Children.

Maybe Ohka isn't WAVE's ace anymore

Pro Wrestling WAVE had a bit better attendance for their Sept. 30 Shin-kiba 1st Ring show. The announced attendance was 169. I wonder how many of those paid. Maybe they shouldn't run mid-week shows. It's still no great shakes but at least they broke a hundred. The opener was a mixed match with Kyoko Kimura & Manabu Hara vs GAMI & Daisuke Ikeda. Kimura won the match with a sleeper on GAMI at 14:53. Afterwards, GAMI demanded a singles match with Kimura as revenge. She wants Kimura to put up her afro. Kimura wants to know what GAMI is going to put up. GAMI says the natch will be called Afro Contra & Mortal Combat. she says if she loses, WAVE president Takashi will become a Buddhist monk. I think she was joking. It looks like a loser gets her head shaved match.

Next was Michiko Ohmukai vs Francoise in Diva WAVE. Ohmukai won in 7:00 when she it a Kakuto Drop and trampled Francoise. Apparently Francoise was terrible in the match. Next was Comical WAVE with Mariko Yoshida over Bullfight Sora with a schoolboy at 9:54. Yoshida is the wrong person to put in a comedy match because sheis unable to keep from laughing at Sora's goofy antics. There was also something about GAMI giving Sora a test to see if she is crosseyed.

Next was Shuu Shibutani & Misaki Ohata vs Cherry & Arisa Nakajima. This is Shibutani's final match before her trip to Mexico. They've been doing this angle where Shibutani is learning lucha moves from KAORU. The end comes when Cherry hits Shibutani with a knee to the back of the head followed by a nexk breaker drop from the second rope. But Shibutani reverses a pin with a small package for the win at 23:12. The main event had Yumi Ohka against Hiroyo Matsumoto. There's someone she can beat. It doesn't happem Matsumoto wins with a back elbow at 14:05. Ohka says she's taking this one day at a time and is improving every match. But she's not winning so it looks like GAMI is going to move her "ace" out of main events for a while.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Jill Scott

Artist:Jill Scott

Song:Hate On Me

Album:The Real Thing:Words & Sounds Vol. 3

Holy mackeral! This is the first single from Jill Scott's new CD. She kicks butt. Jill is one of my favourite artists. She was born Apr. 4, 1972 in Philadelphia. She started out reading her poetry in clubs and was spotted by Amir "?uestlove" Thompson of The Roots. He invited her to join them in the studio and the 1999 hit You Got Me was the result. Jill signed with Steve McKeever's Hidden Beach label and her 2000 debut CD Who Is Jill Scott? went double platinum and she was nominated for several Grammys. The Real Thing was released last week. Hate On Me is a rage song. I understand she went through a divorce recently. She co-wrote it with longtime collaborator Adam Blackstone. As usual, she also works with Andre Harris & Vidal Davis. Apparently she also wrote several bedroom songs with the son of 70s soul singer Leroy Hutson. Jill is also appearing in the new Tyler Perry film Why Did I Get Married? Jill Scott is one of the best singers working today. Here's the video for Hate On Me by Jill Scott.

Tuesday's all candidates meeting

So for those of you who read this blog and don't live in these parts, we're having a provinicial election in Ontario on Oct. 10. I live in Etobicoke-Lakeshore which is in the southwest part of Toronto. I can see Lake Ontario from my apartment. The current premier is Liberal Dalton McGuinty. He was elected four years ago on the basic platform that he was going to reverse all the bad things done by Progressive Conservative premier Mike Harris. The problem is he really didn't do that and now he's coming back and asking voters to trust him again. Well, you know what they say about fooling me twice. The other thing is though he attempts to come across as compassionate, every indication is that he's really a prick. Ocasionally this comes out as it did last week in an encounter with a disgruntled cancer patient in Ottawa. He apologized when one of his flunkies told him the guy was right but it just shows who he really is. I'm not crazy about the other leaders so I went to an all candidates meeting at The Assembly Hall on Tuesday to give them all hell.

Of course my main issue is that clients of the Ontario Disability Support Program can't afford to eat. Mike Harris cut rates by 22% and turned the agency into a bureaucratic nightmare. McGinty was elected on promised changes to this and similar social service agencies. He hasn't done that and his silence indicates that he can't be trusted to do the right thing. So let's see what these candidates have to say about the ODSP when faced with a pissed off guy in a power chair. The meeting started with an explanation of the Mixed Member Proposition referendum. I'm not getting into it but I've already researched it and will vote yes. I wasn't interested in the fringe candidates and though I came in just as the Green Party guy started, I don't care about him.

First up was Andrea Nemeth of the New Democrats. I did visit her campaign office last week and I spoke to her on the phone. So she knew I would ask about this. NDP leader Howard Hampton hasn't addressed the issue. I'm not crazy about him because he doesn't know how to go for the throat. Sometimes he has to attack his opponents to score points. When I spoke to Andrea last week, she thought maybe he addressed it as health care. I said it's not a health care issue. The disabled are being subjected to unfair treatment and it's come to a point where a class action lawsuit about the ODSP has been launched against the Ministry Of Community & Social Services because we get no response from the current government. She agreed that it's shameful and said that at the meeting. She's also a co-op person so that's in her favour too. I believe Hampton will make appropriate changes. I doubt he'll win but a minority government is possible.

Next up is Progressive Conservative candidate Tom Barlow. His dad was a politician in Western Ontario. His whole spiel was about John Tory's leadership skills. Nothing he tells us is going to make us trust the PCs because of Mike Harris. Barlow's shtick ain't working. So he's continuing to quote their policy paper but he's not actually saying anything. Then I asked him about the ODSP. And when he continued the same thing, I got pissed and accused him of a non-responsive answer. He got that deer in the headlights look and admitted that he doesn't understand the issue. Gotcha! Afterwards, he asked for my phone number and said he would call. I'm not holding my breath but if he does, I will be fair and post about it. I encountered Andrea Nemeth this morning on Lakeshore and though she wasn't there when this happened, she knew about it because people told her I handed him his head. I just laughed.

Finally we have our current MPP Laurel Broten. She is Minister of the Environment. I've met Laurel before. She's very nice but way too glib for me. I've told her and her staff that I can't vote Liberal because their boss McGuinty is a prick and I don't trust him. She didn't say anything to change my mind. She doesn't understand the ODSP either but I have a feeling I'll hear from her if she gets the Community & Social Services portfolio. I do think she will win. The incumbent always has an advantage unless the leader really pisses off the electorate and she is well liked in the riding. The opposition leaders haven't made enough inroads to win but I'm voting NDP because I'm looking for a minority government.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Janis Joplin

Artist:Janis Joplin w/Big Brother & The Holding Company

Song:Piece Of My Heart

Album:Super Hits

Of course Janis Joplin was a fabulous singing talent overshadowed by her premature death due to alcoholism & drug abuse. She was born Jan. 19, 1943 in Port Arthur, TX. She had been singing blues & folk since her teens but moved to San Francisco in 1966 and got together with a struggling psychedelic group called Big Brother & The Holding Company led by Sam Andrew & David Getz. They were going nowhere until Janis' performance at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival opened record industry eyes. After a false start on Mainstream Records, their Columbia Records debut Cheap Thrills was huge. And Piece Of My Heart is Janis Joplin's signature song. The group heard the song on a record by Erma Franklin (Aretha's sis) and Janis adds so much to the song. This budget comp is a reasonable intro for beginners. She left the group shortly after to go solo. Janis had further solo chart success but I thought her solo records were uneven. And of course her continued substance abuse didn't help and she died on Oct. 4, 1970 at age 27. There's been a stage show about Janis Joplin. Over the years there's been talk of a biopic, most recently to star Alicia (Pink) Moore but it never seems to go anywhere. For a short period of time, Janis Joplin was the greatest singer in the world. Here's Janis Joplin with Big Brother & The Holding Company performing Piece Of My Heart in 1968.

Dario Franchitti to NASCAR

As expected, it was announced today that 2007 Indy 500 winner and IRL Champ Dario Franchitti will drive the #40 Dodge for Target Chip Ganassi With Felix Sabates Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The sponsor hasn't been named. Franchitti received his release from Andretti Green Racing yesterday. He will make his stock car debut in Friday's ARCA race at Talledega. Franchitti said that he spoke to Ganassi about NASCAR last year but Ganassi signed Juan Pablo Montoya instead. It's obvious that Montoya's performance is encouraging NASCAR owners to sign international racing stars. And of course with Franchitti we get to see wife Ashley Judd in the pits. Also, former Indy 500 winner and Formula 1 champ Jacques Villeneuve will make his Nextel Cup debut in this Sunday's race at Talledega. He is expected to drive a Toyota for Bill Davis Racing in 2008. Also announced today is Scott Riggs moving to Haas CNC Racing for the 2008 season. It isn't known which car he will drive. But it does open the door for Gillett Evernham Motorsports to hire former CHAMP Car racer Patrick Carpentier to drive the #10 Dodge next year. He opened a lot of eyes with his performance at Watkins Glen. So after all these years we may have two Canadians driving regularly in NASCAR next year. Here's video of the announcement from Speed TV.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Donnie

Artist:Donnie

Song:Classified

Album:The Daily News

Donnie is another great Neo Soul singer songwriter to come out of the Atlanta scene. He was born Donn Johnson in Lexington, KY in 1975. He grew up in Atlanta and both parents are ministers. Not surprisingly, he sang in the church choir and was heavily influenced by gospel and soul. He performed with India.Arie at a showcase in 1997 and she recommended him to Giant Step Records owner Maurice Bernstein. Bernstein sent Donnie to Los Angeles to work with veteran producer Steve "Scotsman" Harvey. A series of EPs got Giant Step a distribution deal with Motown. Donnie's album The Coloured Section was released in 2002. But Motown did a very poor job of promoting it. Donnie is now recording for Soul Thought Records and The Daily News was released in May. Like the first CD, Donnie's music is a potent mix of gospel, R & B and many of his songs are politically and socially aware. Classified is about folks who can't find work. He reunites with producer Harvey and legendary Earth Wind & Fire guitarist Al McKay makes a rare appearance. Unfortunately he's on a small label so it may not get properly distributed. Here's the video for If I Were You by Donnie.

Devil Masami announces retirement

The Devil Masami 30th anniversary show was held Sept. 30 at Differ Ariake. The show was called Marvelous Night Miracle Game and was promoted by Chigusa Nagayo. The announced attendance was 1,000. You have to love round figures. The show itself wasn't noteworthy. However, there were a couple of notable announcements. Devil Masami announced her plan to retire. I'm not surprised because she hasn't worked much lately. A date wasn't announced but it looks like it will be during Summer 2008. Devil said she's just tired and it's time to go. She says she plans to be a nurse in her home town of Kyushu. Imagine a super heel as your nurse.

The other thing is that Chigusa Nagayo announced that she plans to present an All Japan Women 40th Anniversary show probably in May 2008. The details haven't been finalized yet but one of the Matsunagas was at the show so this will probably happen. The results of the show were Azumi Hyuga over Bolshoi Kid at 9:42 with a Gannosuke clutch, Ayako Hamada & El Blazer defeated KAORU & LTP when El Blazer used the lightning strike on LTP at 11:54, T-Rex Okuda & Mizhaaya defeated DASH Chisako & Sachiko Sendai at 12:56 when Okuda used a diving knee attack on Sachiko, Meiko Satomura, Toshie Uematsu & Chikayo Nagashima defeated Sonoko Kato, Carlos Amano & Ran YuYu at 18:47 when Uematsu used a Solarina on Ran. The main event was Aja Kong, Kaoru Ito & Yumiko Hotta over Devil Masami, Dynamite Kansai & Manami Toyota at 16:46 when Aja used a uraken on Devil.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Robert Randolph & The Family Band

Artist:Robert Randolph & The Family Band

Song:Nobody

Album:Unclassified

Robert Randolph has taken the country music staple pedal steel guitar to a whole new level. He started playing the instrument as a teen in his church in Orange, NJ. Randolph was spotted playing at the Sacred Steel Convention in 2000 and manager Gary Waldman took him on. He got Randolph a gig opening for the North Mississippi All Stars at the Bowery Ballroom in New York. This earned him a gig opening for jazz group Medeski, Martin & Wood. John Medeski liked him so much he asked him to play on the 2001 CD The Word. This led to the CD Live At The Wetlands and that earned Randolph a contract with Warner Bros. 2003's Unclassified was their debut. The band is Robert Randolph on pedal steel guitar, cousin Danyel Morgan on bass, cousin Marcus Randolph on drums and John Ginty on organ. Randolph's music is a mix of a lot of different styles anchored by his gospel roots. His latest CD is 2006's Colorblind. Here's the video for I Need More Love by Robert Randolph & The Family Band.

Fuuka Matsuri debut

Fuuka Matsuri made its debut on Sept. 30 at Shin-kiba 1st Ring with 316 fans in attendance. There were matches on the show but obviously that's not what this show is about. It's mostly about Fuuka doing all kinds of things. The show started with Fuuka leading a rhythmic dance group. This was followed by a talk show with Karate Idol Yuka Kobayashi. This was followed by a recreation of Fuuka's apprehension of the flasher or whatever he did. Finally we had a couple of matches. Atsuko Emoto defeated Kana at 8:45 with the Momo clutch. Arisa Nakajima & Io Shirai defeated Yuri Urai & Mio Shirai when Io used a moonsault press on Io at 11:42.

Fuuka Kid defeated Bolshoi Kid with a rollup at 6:44. At some point, Fuuka and her Fuuka Ranger singing group debuted their song. It was Fuuka, the Shirai sisters & RICA. They even got to give an encore. The main event was a very confusing tag team match with Fuuka, Nanae Takahashi, AKINO & Shuu Shibutani. The gimmick had them switching tag team partners every five minutes. So Fuuka & Nanae Takahashi defeated AKINO & Shuu Shibutani when Fuuka used the F-Crash on Shibutani at 19:08. So it lasted long enough for Fuuka to tag with all three wrestlers. Apparently the match was very difficult for fans to follow. That's never a good thing. Afterwards, Fuuka said she was very happy with the show and she hopes that former JD Star fans are happy with what she's doing. The next Fuuka Matsuri is Dec. 22 at Shin-kiba 1st Ring. Obviously it will be a Christmas themed show. I fully expect Fuuka to come to the ring wearing reindeer antlers.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-New Grass Revival

Artist:New Grass Revival

Song:Big Foot

Album:Best Of

New Grass Revival took traditional bluegrass and mixed it with jazz and other things. The group started in 1972 but became more popular in the 80s when they signed with Liberty Records. Sam Bush & John Cowan brought in banjoist Bela Fleck & mandolinist Pat Flynn. They started appearing on the country charts and the Fleck composition Seven By Seven was nominated for a Grammy in 1987. This comp is a good intro to their 80s music. Big Foot is a Fleck composition from the 1989 CD Friday Night In America. This was their final CD before they split up. Most of the guys do sessions but Fleck has been very successful with his group The Flecktones. New Grass Revival were innovators to the point where this style of music is called New Grass. Here's New Grass Revival performing Seven By Seven on Nashville Now in 1987.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Irma Thomas

Artist:Irma Thomas

Song:I Needed Somebody

Album:Modern New Orleans Masters

Irma Thomas is the Soul Queen of New Orleans. So says the city itself. She's been recording since the 60s and is still making great music. She was born Feb. 18, 1941 in Ponchatoula, LA. She grew up singing in church and after a false start in 1960 with the Ronn label, she went to Minit Records to work with legendary producer Allen Toussaint. Minit was acquired by Imperial Records in 1963. Wish Someone Would Care hit the Top 20 but Irma never had the national success of someone like Aretha Franklin. What always seemed to happen is someone else would do a version of one of her songs and have a hit with it. That's what happened when the Rolling Stones covered Time Is On My Side. It got her respect over the years but that doesn't pay the bills. Irma signed with the roots music label Rounder Records in 1985 and has recorded great music for them ever since. Rounder does a lot of these various artists comps so you can sample their artists. Johnny Adams & Walter "Wolfman" Washington are also on this. Irma's great version of the Ann Peebles song I Needed Somebody is from the 1991 CD Live! Simply The Best. Irma Thomas survived Katrina though her house was destroyed. She was in Austin, TX at the time and continues to record for Rounder. After The Rain was released last year. Though not as well known as other soul singers, Irma Thomas is a great singer. Here is Irma Thomas performing Time Is On My Side with Allen Toussaint on piano.

Irma thomas - time is by my side
Uploaded by mickeynold

JWP introduces two new wrestlers

JWP had what I would describe as a media opportunity to introduce two new wrestlers on Friday at the JWP Dojo. It was set up as a test of the new trainees but it's actually a way to promote the New Year's Eve Junior All Star War. Both wrestlers did various exercises including 200 squats. JWP owner Commando Bolshoi, Azumi Hyuga, Tsubasa Kuragaki & Kayoko Haruyama were judging them and of course they passed the test. There's not much point in testing them and failing them. Kaori Yoneyama & Tojuki Leon were in the ring putting them through their paces including sparring. The first girl is Mayuka Shinzaki. She was born Jan. 16, 1992 in Tokyo. She is 157cm tall and weighs 58kg. The second is a masked wrestler named YUKI. She is 154cm tall and weighs 53kg. Like her boss Commando Bolshoi, she hails from the famed Parts Unknown. That's where all the masked wrestlers live. Bolshoi said aftewards that both wrestlers will debut at the Junior All Star War.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Bud Powell

Artist:Bud Powell

Song:Dance Of The Infidels

Album:The Very Best

Earl "Bud" Powell is one of the all time great jazz pianists and one of the architects of bebop. He was born Sept. 27, 1924 in New York City. He started playing piano at age 7 and was heavily influenced by the great Art Tatum. In the early 40s, he was playing a lot of jam sessions with Thelonious Monk. He was playing in Cootie Williams orchestra in 1945 when he was beaten by police in a racial incident. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital and when he gave his occupation as "pianist & composer", doctors thought he was delusional and he was given shock treatment. Powell would never fully recover from this. This comp is a good intro to his Blue Note recordings of the late 40s. Dance Of The Infidels was recorded in 1949 with Fats Navarro on trumpet, Sonny Rollins on sax, Curly Russell on bass and Art Taylor on drums. Powell moved to Paris in 1959. He continued to be in and out of hospital and died on July 31, 1966 at age 41. Bud Powell's Blue Note recordings are essential. Here's Bud Powell performing Get Happy with drummer Kenny Clarke in Paris 1959.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-The Platters

Artist:The Platters

Song:Only You (And You Alone)

Album:The Doo Wop Box

The Platters were one of the most popular doo wop groups of the 50s. They started out in Los Angeles in 1953 as a standard doo wop group recording for Federal Records. The turning point came when they were discovered by producer Buck Ram. He was born Samuel Ram Nov. 21, 1907 in Chicago. Ram was a big band arranger in the 40s and co-wrote I'll Be Home For Christmas for Bing Crosby in 1943. By the mid-50s, he ran his own agency in Los Angeles. He got together with The Platters and refined their sound by making tenor Tony Williams the lead singer and adding Zola Taylor from Shirley Gunter & The Queens. Mixed groups were very unusual in R & B at the time. Ram got them out of their contract at Federal and moved them to Mercury Records. Only You was written by Ram and it was their first big hit in 1956. The group was presented as very classy & elegant. The Platters had several more hits until Tony Williams left in 1961. There have been various versions of The Platters over the years but Ram owned the name until his death on Jan. 1, 1991 at age 73. This 4CD Rhino box set is the definitive doo wop comp. There are Platters comps available but be sure you get the original versions of their recordings. The Platters' recordings like Only You continue to hold up well today and Buck Ram has a lasting legacy because of that success. Here are The Platters performing Only You in the 1956 film Rock Around The Clock.

Pro Wrestling SUN visits Nikkan Sports

The Pro Wrestling SUN girls were out making the media rounds to promote the Oct. 7 Osaka show. Nanae Takahashi, Hikaru, Saki Maemura & Natsuki*Taiyo visited Lady's Ring & Nikkan Sports and Nikkan has posted the video evidence. They mostly talked about how exciting it is to have a show in Osaka and everybody should come, the usual thing. Takahashi told Lady's Ring that she was very happy to have a ZERO-ONE MAX match on the show for the first time because of the many times the SUN girls have appeared on ZERO-ONE MAX shows. Enjoy the video.



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Interview with Fuuka, the Shirai sisters & RICA

Sportsnavi has posted an in depth interview with Fuuka, Mio & Io Shirai and RICA to promote the Sept. 30 Fuuka Matsuri show. We do get a bit of a clarification about Fuuka's activities. Fuuka was asked about her right knee. She says it's not perfect but it's good enough. There's no pain. She says she wants to be ready for the EWA Womens Title match against Tracy Taylor. She wants to win the title and then defend it at Fuuka Matsuri in December. She was asked about her younger sister Fuuka Kidd. She says they will be reunited after being separated for a long time and it's a taboo subject in her family.

Next is the first Sportsnavi interview for Mio & Io Shirai. Since they are on opposite sides of a tag team on this show, they were asked if they've fought each other before. They said yeah and it's not a big deal. They were asked about the pain of being a pro wrestler. Io says there's pain on Sunday but it's gone by the time she goes to high school on Monday. Io is 17 and Mio is 19 and is in the second year at a special school. They were asked how they got into pro wrestling. Mio says MAHEKEN owner Tomo Hashimoto asked them about it. She went to a show with a friend and decided to try it. Then Io got interested. They didn't know Hashimoto before but it seems he was looking around for girls to train.

They talk a bit about their match at Fuuka Matsuri. Mio wants to pin her sister. Io says she has a really strong partner in JWP's Arisa Nakajima and Io wants to pin her older sister. All four girls get a good laugh from this. Io says there is also an older sister and she designs all their costumes. Mio says they were happy to be invited to be on Fuuka Matsuri. They like to work a lot of shows. They also said that Hashimoto is going away to the US for a couple of months.

Next was a brief talk with RICA. She was asked about the chalk art she's doing for the Fuuka Matsuri show. She says the signboards are already done and they can be seen on her blog. She uses oil paints in school but the chalk art is for fun. The four were asked if they are dancing together at the show. Fuuka said no but they do have a band and are planning to record a CD. She hasn't recorded any songs yet. Supposedly they will debut as a group on the Sept. 30 show. RICA says she's a lead singer in a girl group. Have they decided what instruments they will play? RICA said sort of. Mio says they'll decide somehow. What will Fuuka do? She says she hasn't done any music so she doesn't know. Io says she wants to play drums but has never done that. Mio says she played a little guitar in high school. Fuuka thinks she can play a tambourine. She says she's not worried because RICA can play guitar. Fuuka says they're looking to release the CD in February at her fourth anniversary.

Fuuka says it's not just the four of them on the Fuuka Matsuri debut. Several dancers will appear in the opening of the show. She also has the exhibition with Karate Idol Yuka Kobayashi and Matsuoka Satohaka has wriiten and performed a new theme song for Fuuka called SPEED. She thinks fans will get their money's worth. Fuuka was asked if this group of four has a name. She says Fuuka Ranger. Obviously a lot of the talk about music was just joking around. But joshi has a long history of singing wrestlers mostly from the glory days of All Japan Women. We just haven't seen much of that lately. All four girls said they want to put on the best possible show and make Fuuka Matsuri a success.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-New Direction

Artist:New Direction

Song:Glory Glory

Album:Get Your Praise On

New Direction is a very energetic contemporary gospel choir from Chicago. The two guys behind the choir are brothers Percy Gray Jr. & Jeral Gray Sr. Both acknowledge the late great Milton Brunson as a major influence. Percy has been working with Chicago choirs since 1983 including the Chicago Mass Choir & Milton Brunson's Thompson Community Singers. Jeral had worked in music part time and held a full time job. In 1994, Jeral quit his job and formed New Direction and asked Percy to help him. They have three choirs under the Praise II Choir umbrella; New Direction, Righteous Living & Chapter Ministry Singers. Jeral supervises New Direction. New Direction signed with Word Records' Myrrh label in 1999. Get Your Praise On was their second CD in 2000. It's got great songs and arrangements with a horn section led by sax player Jim Horn and arranged by Lloyd Barry. New Direction moved over to GospoCentric in 2004 and their latest CD Send The Praise was released last year. Most gospel fans will really enjoy New Direction. Here's the video for I Came To Jesus by New Direction. It gives a really good sample of their energy.

Matsuo as underdog champ

So with all the criticism of Haruka Matsuo winning the NEO Singles & NWA Pacific Titles, we're all wondering how NEO GM Koda will book the new champ. The Sept. 24 Itabashi Green Hall show spells it out very clearly. There were 128 fans in attendance. Matsuo had her first post title winning match against veteran Etsuko Mita. Basically, Mita beat the crap out of her for 18 minutes. She kicked her and stomped her and verbally taunted her with "Are you still a champion?" during the match. After all that, Matsuo did something that was described as "cheating" and rolled her up for the win at 18:08. Mita was dumbfounded after the match. Generally speaking, the underdog champ is not very good long term booking strategy because at some point you have to have the champ look like a champ. But it might be fun for a couple of months. I'm sure there are fans that like the idea of Matsuo getting beat up all the time.

NEO is also doing what appears to be a standard veteran vs youngster angle. Toshie Uematsu & Ran YuYu defeated Aoi Kizuki & Nagisa Nozaki when Uematsu used a diving body press on on Nozaki at 17:36. Afterwards, Kizuki grabbed the mic and asked Uematsu if she remembers what it was like when she was a rookie. Why doesn't she wear that green bathing suit she wore in GAEA. Uematsu's reaction wasn't pleasant and I have video from the NEO site for your enjoyment. Other matches on the show had Shuu Shibutani over Asuka Ohki with a Northern Lights suplex at 9:33, Tanny Mouse & Yuki Miyazaki over Mika Mizunuma & Yuiga at 8:48, Misar Genki over Mai Ichii in 10:50 and Yoshiko Tamura over Tomoka Nakagawa with the Pariot Buster at 11:48. NEO announced that Yuki Miyazaki suffered a hip pointer on the show and will miss this weekend's dojo show. And they announced that their 10th Anniversary show will be Jan. 6, 2008 at Korakuen Hall. Here's the video.

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Kyoko Kimura kicks butt in Ibuki

Ibuki had their latest show on Sept. 23 at Shin-kiba 1st Ring with 339 fans in attendance. It had the usual mix of veterans and youngsters. The opener had JWP rookie Asuka Ohki vs Mio Shirai of MAHEKEN. Mariko Yoshida said on her website that Ohki is a little more polished in the ring. Ohki controlled the first part of the match with ground work. Mio came back with a missile dropkick and a face buster. Ohki won with a missile dropkick at 8:07. Next was Sakura Emi & rookie Yuko Motohashi over Misaki Ohata & Hiroyo Matsumoto when Emi used something called a Meow Meow press on Ohata. The match was spotty because of the inexperience of Ohata & Motohashi. Yoshida says Ohata has improved.

Next was the boss herself Mariko Yoshida vs Tomoka Nakagawa. Nakagawa attacked Yoshida at the bell. But Yoshida weathered the storm and attacked Nakagawa's knee and then her arm. Yoshida says Nakagawa is stronger than her. Maybe she's just trying to put her over. Yoshida hit an Air Raid Crash for two count and then made her tap out with a crab at 16:52. Next was Atsuko Emoto vs the teenager NAO. Emoto is more powerful so NAO has to use her speed. But Emoto got her in a stranglehold and finished her with the BB Buster at 13:47. Afterwards, Emoto said she respected NAO and is looking forward to her trip to Mexico.

The main event was Kyoko Kimura & Cherry vs Shuu Shibutani & Aoi Kizuki. Kimura was in a very bad mood and beat up Shibutani & Kizuki for most of the match. Cherry hits a dropkick. Shibutani comes back with a diving Senton and then Shibutani & Kizuki hit a double dive outside the ring. But then Kimura takes control again. While Cherry keeps Shibutani occupied, Kimura hits Kizuki with a jumping lariat and the Big Boots for the win at 23:47. Afterwards, Kimura got on the mic and berated Shibutani. Shibutani started crying but Kizuki grabbed the mic had some words of encouragement. The moral of the story is don't mess with Kyoko Kimura.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Neil Young

Artist:Neil Young

Song:Heart Of Gold

Album:Decade

Neil Young has been one of the more durable singer songwriters over the years. He was born Nov. 12, 1945 in Toronto. He's the son of Toronto Telegram sportswriter Scott Young, famous in Canada for his hockey novels. Neil moved with his mom to Winnipeg at age 12 after his parents divorced. He moved back to Toronto in the mid-60s and started playing folk clubs. He was a member of the Mynah Birds with Rick James & Bruce Palmer. Young & Palmer thought they would do better in Los Angeles. So they went and met up with Stephen Stills and formed Buffalo Springfield. The group was successful but couldn't get along and Young left to go solo in May 1968. He formed Crazy Horse with guitarist Danny Whitten. Young released his first solo album in 1969 and had immediate success. Joining Crosby, Stills & Nash only enhanced that success. The classic Heart Of Gold is from the 1972 album Harvest. Young has continued to have great success in various musical styles over the years. The 2CD comp Decade was released in 1977 and covers Young's music up until 1976. Reprise is finally planning to release a comprehensive Neil Young box set. It will have 8CDs & 3DVDs and is called Archive. That is something to look forward to for all Neil Young fans. Here's Neil Young performing Heart Of Gold in 1971.

Neil Young - Heart Of Gold
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Hikaru & Emoto win ZEAL CUP

Pro Wrestling SUN had two shows on the weekend. It started with the Sept. 22 Shinjuku FACE show. The opener had Kana make her return to the ring against Nanae Takahashi. Kana wore a new costume and had a new theme. Kana gets in some offense but Takahashi blocks a German suplex. Then a missile kick for a two count. Takahashi hits a high kick in the corner for a two count and finally a shoulder block for the win at 10:42. Next was Shuu Shibutani vs Bullfight Sora. These two are going to Mexico together soon. So they discuss Sora's costume for a while. They finally get the match going and Shibutani wins with a flying head scissors at 8:27.

Next was Toshie Uematsu & ZEST.CO vs Natsuki*Taiyo & Fuuka. If Uematsu beats Fuuka, she gets her own photo book. I've seen ZEST.CO's costume and it's impossible to tell who she is. Uematsu stomps on a Fuuka bikini shot. So the match is going along and Uematsu whips Fuuka into the corner and the middle rope breaks. Apparently this wasn't planned so they had to improvise the finish. Uematsu talked Fuuka into letting her win the match at 12:34. Uematsu gets her photo book and the ring was repaired.

Hikaru gets her rematch with Aja Kong. Of course Aja dominated. She nailed her with everything and busted her open with a chair. Aja won with a diving elbow drop at 16:32. The mainevent was Nanae Takahashi & Saki Maemura vs Azumi Hyuga & Tojuki Leon. Of course this is supposed to set up the upcoming Takahashi/Hyuga match. So they weren't in there together much and Takahashi used the Nanarack on Leon for the win at 22:15.

The Sept. 23 show at Aquamarine Kimitsu was for the ZEAL CUP tag team tournament with a prize of a million yen. The teams of Nanae Takahashi & Natsuki*Taiyo and Shuu Shibutani & Kana got first round byes. The first round matches had Kayoko Haruyama & Arisa Nakajima over Saki Maemura & Fuuka at 18:23 when Haruyama used a lariat on Maemura. Hikaru & Atsuko Emoto defeated Aja Kong & ZEST.CO when Aja accidently hit ZEST.CO with the back fist and Emoto used a World's #1 on ZEST.CO for the win at 9:41. In the first semi final, Nanae Takahashi & Natsuki*Taiyo defeated Kayoko Haruyama & Arisa Nakajima at 12:07 when Takahashi used the NANA*MOMO driver on Nakajima. Hikaru & Atsuko Emoto defeated Shuu Shibutani & Kana when Hikaru used a Kusha Rhythm on Kana at 13:19. Afterwards, Kana was told her grandfather died and she dedicated her career revival to him.

So now the final with Nanae Takahashi & Natsuki*Taiyo vs Hikaru & Atsuko Emoto. I guess the idea was to show the SUN teams are stronger than the other teams. It was a spirited battle. The end came when Takahashi's NANA*MOMO driver misfired. Hikaru hit a missile lick on Natsuki*Taiyo while Emoto battled with Takahashi outside the ring. This allowed Hikaru to get the win over Natsuki*Taiyo with the Lanakila-H at 19:50. Hikaru & Atsuko Emoto win the ZEAL CUP tournament. Afterwards, they talked about this being the first time they had ever teamed up and Emoto talked about spending her share of the million yen in Mexico. It's good to see them throw Hikaru a bone once in a while. It was also announced that Kana is now part of the SUN roster.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Jane Monheit

Artist:Jane Monheit

Song:Overjoyed

Album:Surrender

Young jazz singer Jane Monheit is now coming into her own and starting to make waves in the adult contemporary music market. She was born Nov. 3, 1977 in Oakdale, Long Island, NY. In 1998, she won a $10,000 scholarship in the Thelonious Monk Institute vocal competition. She released her debut CD Never Never Land in 2000 and has proven to be equally adept at all kinds of songs. She signed with Sony and got a lot of notice for her 2004 version of Over The Rainbow which was on the soundtrack of Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. It helps that she's a beutiful girl. Jane has now moved over to Concord Music Group and it appears that she finally has a label that will get behind her. Surrender is her latest CD and her Concord debut. This is an excellent version of Stevie Wonder's Overjoyed. She is married to her drummer Rick Montalbano. Jane Monheit has a beautiful voice and she has a bright furure in jazz. Here's the electronic press kit for Surrender.

Disability Action Sept. 26

With the Ontario Provencial election coming up on Oct. 10, it's time to let the politicians know that we're not very happy. So the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty is organizing a demonstration Wed. Sept. 26 at 11:30AM. The demonstration will begin outside the Ministry Of Community & Social Services at 900 Bay St. and proceed to Queen's Park. Hopefully we can make enough noise that someone will finally pay attention. The goal is to get Ontario Works & Ontario Disability Support Program rates raised to a liveable level. If you're on ODSP, you're stuck. Because if you get work, they claw back any money you make. It's the wrong way to do things but the Dalton McGuinty Liberal government has proven to be a pack of cowardly liars to the point that there's even a class action lawsuit pending against the government for their lack of action. Their silence speaks volumes. I'm going to try and attend this event and I hope to see you there. For more info, contact OCAP at 416-997-1562 or check out their website at http://www.ocap.ca/ and here's their video from Youtube.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Don McLean

Artist:Don McLean

Song:American Pie

Album:Singers & Songwriters Vol. 1

Folksinger Don McLean will forever be associated with his much discussed smash hit American Pie. The popularity of the song probably surprised him more than anyone. He was born Oct. 2, 1945 in New Rochelle, NY. He was performing in New York City folk clubs in the mid 60s. He wrote a song about Vincent Van Gogh called Vincent. MediaArts allowed him to record the album Tapestry in 1969. It didn't sell but Perry Como had a hit with the McLean song And I Love Her So and United Artists signed McLean to a contract and American Pie was released in 1971. Not only was the song a huge 8 minute hit on Top 40 radio but the meaning of the song was endlessly discussed. Radio stations were sending lyrics to listeners. The short version is the song is about That day in 1959 when Buddy Holly, Richie Valens & The Big Bopper died in a plane crash and how Rock 'N' Roll died with them. The follow up Vincent was also a smash. After that, McLean went back to being a folksinger to the unending horror of United Artists. He had a bit of a revival in 1980 but except for a self released 2004 Christmas CD, McLean hasn't recorded in years. He still tours. This Singers & Songwriters comp is an OK various artists comp from Warner Special Products including Harry Chapin, Arlo Guthrie & Todd Rundgren. It has the full version of American Pie. Don McLean would probably agree that American Pie's success was a fluke. But it is a classic. Here's the video for American Pie by Don McLean.

Fuuka Matsuri visits Nikkan Sports

Here's a little treat for you. Fuuka, the Shirai sisters and RICA visited Nikkan Sports on Saturday to promote the Sept. 30 Fuuka Matsuri show. Nikkan put together a video clip of their visit.



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Jacques Villeneuve makes NASCAR debut

Canadian racer Jacques Villeneuve made his NASCAR debut at last night's Craftsman Truck race in Las Vegas. Of course Villeneuve is a former Indy 500, Formula 1 and CART champ. He was driving the #27 Toyota for Bill Davis Racing. He qualified 7th and was doing okay when on lap 46 he had a fender bender with rookie Brian Scott. This killed his truck and he went down a lap and finished 21st. Villeneuve said afterwards that he was surprised a minor collision did so much damage. He will race the remainder of the Craftsman Truck series races and Davis says he plans to have Villeneuve in a Toyota in the 2008 Sprint Cup. This is all because of Juan Pablo Montoya's success. 1995 Indy 500 champ Buddy Lazier also made his debut last night. He was three laps down and finished farther back. Travis Kvapil won last night's race. Ron Hornaday had trouble so Mike Skinner leads the points standings by three points.

Though nothing has been announced, 2007 IRL champ Dario Franchitti is supposed to race in ARCA at Talledega in a couple of weeks. Next year he's supposed to drive the #40 for Chip Ganassi and bring his Canadian Club sponsorship with him. And two time IRL champ Sam Hornish Jr. failed to qualify for his first two Nextel Cup races for Roger Penske. Penske says he hasn't made a decision about Hornish's future yet.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Freddie Hubbard

Artist:Freddie Hubbard w/Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

Song:Up Jumped Spring

Album:The Artist Selects

Freddie Hubbard is one of the all time greats of the jazz trumpet. he was born Apr. 7, 1938 in Indianapolis. He played early on with Wes & Monk Montgomery until he moved to New York in 1958. His playing style was very much in the vein of the late Clifford Brown or Lee Morgan. He started recording as a leader for Blue Note in 1960 and then replaced Lee Morgan in Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers in 1961. This 2005 Blue Note Comp consists of 1960s recordings selected by Hubbard himself. Up Jumped Spring is a classic from the 1962 Art Blakey album Three Blind Mice. Hubbard wrote the song and other musicians include Wayne Shorter on tenor sax, Curtis Fuller on trombone, Cedar Walton on piano and Jymie Merritt on bass. Hubbard left Blakey to form his own group and left Blue Note for Atlantic in 1966. He recorded some classic albums for CTI in the early 70s and then Columbia Records tried to commercialize him in the mid 70s. Freddie Hubbard suffered a serious lip injury in 1992 and hasn't been that active in recent years. But The Artist Selects harkens back to the glory days of his youth. It's a good introduction for newcomers. Here's Freddie Hubbard with Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers performing the classic Moanin' in 1962.

Fuuka Matsuri to be multimedia extravaganza

As I said last week when Fuuka announced the matches for Fuuka Matsuri on Sept. 30 at Shin-kiba 1st Ring, There will be more than wrestling on the show. Fuuka went to the Sportsnavi office on Friday to announce some other things for the show. She was accompanied by Io & Mio Shirai from the MAHEKEN fed and a dancer/artist named RICA. Fuuka says she wants to be clear that Fuuka Matsuri will be different from the usual wrestling show. There will be singing and dancing that she hopes fans will enjoy. There will be other things like the exhibition with Karate Idol Yuka Kobayashi. One secret project she is working on is tentatively called Fuuka Ranger. And she also plans to record a CD for March release. She says she wants to be an entertainer who can do anything. Uh huh.

So she's bringing in this girl RICA for a couple of reasons. Though Fuuka wouldn't exactly say, it looks like the show will begin with some sort of dance segment. From what I can tell, RICA is a trained dancer and is the likely choreographer. I can understand the mystery. She wants fans to be surprised. I'm sure it will be OK. RICA is also a noted chalk artist and likes to do murals. She's done a mural of Fuuka and I guess that's how they met. RICA will be doing several chalk art pieces that will be displayed at the show. Fuuka also says there will be some sort of girl group singing on the show but she didn't elaborate. Shh. It's a secret.

Io & Mio Shirai have a match on the show. Mio will team with Yuri Urai against Io & Arisa Nakajima. These two rookies are sisters and work for the MAHEKEN indy fed. They're attractive girls and they're teenagers. What more do you want? Of course they're still green in the ring but they're working a lot and hopefully they'll improve. Part of the problem is MAHEKEN is not on TV and they don't tape their shows. So there's not much footage of them around right now. I saw a couple of matches from the POP Princess tournament. They're still young and learning. Apparently MAHEKEN owner/trainer Tomo Hashimoto will supervise their match on the show. That's probably a good idea. In addittion, it seems the Shirai sisters have a new finisher and have asked fans to come up with a name for it. Entries are supposed to be sent to Lady's Ring magazine. It was announced that Kana's opponent will be Atsuko Emoto.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-The Doors

Artist:The Doors

Song:Light My Fire

Album:In Concert

Of course The Doors were one of the most popular and notorious bands of the 60s. No one ever knew what Jim Morrison was going to do on stage and he was arrested for indecency several times. This made them even more popular. Over the years Doors keyboard player Ray Manzarek has admitted that the band never knew what Morrison would do. Light My Fire was their first and biggest hit in 1967. This extended live version was recorded at the Hollywood Bowl July 4, 1968. The 1991 2CD In Concert takes that recording, Absolutely Live and Alive, She Cried and puts them all in one collection for your convenience. It's a must for Doors fans and it gives a couple of different sides of their live shows. Jim Morrison's mysterious death in 1970 has only added to their legendary status. Here are The Doors performing Light My Fire.

Toshie Uematsu shows off at SUN press conference

Pro Wrestling SUN had another press conference on Thursday to announce various upcoming matches including the card for the Oct. 7 Osaka show which is called Chick & Dog. Hikaru started the press conference by announcing that she lost the EWA Womens Title to Tracy Taylor in the three way match in Hawaii. Typically, she claimed the ref cheated and made a quick count and even compared him to AJW heel ref Shiro Abe. We see a lot of this kind of booking with the virtuous SUN girls getting jobbed by officials. Hikaru says she wants to go after the belt in the future but now she wants to concentrate on Aja Kong. This means that the Tracy Taylor/Fuuka match is for the title. I'll get to that shortly.

Next they announced that the winner of the ZEAL CUP tag team tournament on Sept. 23 will win a million yen. So of course they had comments by the various participants. Nanae Takahashi said that she & Natsuki*Taiyo went to the semi final of the Discover New Heroine tournament but they will win this. She also said she will eat a chocolate parfait with a million yen. Ribbing Takahashi's appetite has been has been a SUN recurring theme. Natsuki*Taiyo said she wants to go to Disneyland. Maybe she'll run into Amy Action there. Fuuka & Saki Maemura said it's their first time teaming and they will win. Fuuka wants to eat pork cutlet. Atsuko Emoto will team with Hikaru and said she wants to have a good result before she goes to Mexico.

The main event for the Oct. 7 Osaka show will be Nanae Takahashi vs Azumi Hyuga. The two basically said the same thing. They both want to represent their companies and win. Saki Maemura said she has a secret plan to win the AWA World Womens Title from Jamie Dee. She always says that. She wants to use her upcoming match against Toshie Uematsu as a stepping stone to the title. I'm sure Uematsu will appreciate that. They will have a contract signing when Jamie arrives in Japan. They also announced a mixed match with Hikaru, Masato Tanaka & Lingerie Muto vs Aja Kong, Kohei Sato & American Balloon. Hikaru crowed that it's another opportunity to beat Aja. She wants to be world champ but has to get past Aja.

Next Fuuka discussed her match with EWA Womens Champ Tracy Taylor. Fuuka said she is very excited especially since the match is in Osaka. She sat down to sign the contract. Toshie Uematsu entered the room and said "What's a SUN press conference without Uematsu?" She tells Fuuka to sign the contract. Takahashi wants to know how it's her business. Uematsu says you'll see. Fuuka signs the contract and Uematsu says it's a contract to put out a photo collection of Uematsu. This was tied to the result of the Sept. 22 tag team match with Fuuka & Natsuki*Taiyo vs Toshie Uematsu & ZEST.CO. I guess if Uematsu wins she gets her photo book. When Uematsu attacks Fuuka, the SUN wrestlers gang up on Uematsu and pull off her t-shirt revealing a bikini top. Uematsu says they've got a deal. If she wins on the 22nd, Fuuka has to publish an Uematsu photo book. And she'll beat up Maemura on the 23rd. The SUN girls laughed and the press conference was over. They also announced a ZERO-ONE MAX men's match & Natsuki* Taiyo vs KANA for the Oct. 7 show. Here's video of the end of the press conference. Uematsu sure is in shape.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Chucho Valdes

Artist:Chucho Valdes

Song:Son Montuno

Album:Bele Bele en La Habana

Jesus "Chucho" Valdes is at the forefront of the Cuban jazz movement. But unlike other Cuban musicians, he still lives there. He was born Oct. 9, 1941 in Quivecan, Cuba. His father is pianist Bebo Valdes. He was musical director of the Tropicana nightclub in Havana. Bebo defected from Cuba in 1960 and moved to Sweden. Chucho stayed behind. Chucho became famous in Cuba as leader and musical director of the band Irakere. He continues to record with Irakere but also records as a solo artist. When Blue Note Records president Bruce Lundvall wanted to sign Chucho, he had to turn into a diplomat. This 1998 CD is his Blue Note debut and coincided with a North American tour. Chucho had to record the CD in Toronto as he was not allowed to record in the US at the time. The band is very simple with Alain Perez Rodriguez on bass, Raul Pineda Roque on drums and Roberto Vizcaino Guillot on percussion. Valdes is simply fabulous. His most recent solo CD is 2003's New Conceptions but he still records with Irakere. Chucho Valdes is one of the best jazz musicians working today. After many years, Chucho and his father Bebo valdes reunited for the documentary Calle 54. Here's their improvisation from that film.

Ai Fujita is a mommy

Retired ARSION star Ai Fujita gave birth to a daughter this week. She discusses the event in her column on the Lady's Ring website. I'm not going to go into detail but she was in hospital for four days. It seems she was overdue and labour had to be induced on the third day. Of course fans will fondly remember Fujita from her days as a regular in ARSION. She first debuted in Mexico and was an always reliable ring performer. Fujita retired in 2004 and she seems very happy with her husband and newborn daughter. Congratulations to Ai Fujita.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Sons Of The Pioneers

Artist:Sons Of The Pioneers

Song:Cool Water

Album:Country Music Hall Of Fame

The Sons Of The Pioneers were pioneers of country music best known for their cowboy songs and intricate harmonies. This comp covers their earlier music with the original lineup. Of course they were also known for launching the career of singing cowboy Roy Rogers. His real name was Leonard Slye. He moved out to California from his native Ohio in 1931 and joined a group called The Rocky Mountaineers. It was here that Slye met Bob Nolan & Tim Spencer. After bouncing around for a while, Slye landed a job with Jack LeFevre & The Texas Outlaws. They had a show on a Los Angeles radio station. Slye got back together with Nolan & Spencer and The Pioneer Trio got a regular spot on the show. In 1934, they added fiddle player and bass singer Hugh Farr and the group name was changed to Sons Of The Pioneers. They signed with Decca in 1934 and this comp covers that period. Of course Slye became the singing cowboy Roy Rogers at Republic Pictures and left the group but he continued to have a close relationship with them. They would appear in his films and he would occasionally record with them. Cool Water is a Bob Nolan song originally recorded in 1941. They did rerecord it in 1948 for RCA. Bob Nolan retired in 1949 and the group wasn't the same. But the influence of The Sons Of The Pioneers is still heard today in groups like Riders Of The Sky. Here's Roy Rogers & The Sons Of The Pioneers performing Dust in the 1948 film In Old California.

Dale Jr's new number is 88

Hendrick Motorsports announced today at a PepsiCo convention in Dallas that 88 will be the number for the car to be driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 2008 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. The sponsors will be the Mountain Dew AMP Energy Drink and National Guard. Robert Yates said he agreed to transfer the 88 to Dale Jr. because his grandfather Ralph Earnhardt used that number and he respects the Earnhardt family. Yates has not announced his new number but he has announced Travis Kvapil as the driver. Dale Jr. was unable to get the #8 from Teresa Earnhardt and that number will be driven next year by Mark Martin & Aric Almirola and sponsored by the US Army. And what about Dale Jr.'s former sponsor Budweiser? They announced yeaterday that they will sponsor the #9 Dodge owned by Gillett Evernham Motorsports and driven by Kasey Kahne. Here's video of the unveiling of the #88.

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NEO GM Koda on the double title change

I wanted to follow up on this because when I wrote yesterday about the Haruka Matsuo winning the NEO Singles & NWA Pacific Titles, NEO general manager Koda hadn't said anything on his blog. He's getting a lot of criticism from fans. Of course he's defensive about it. Fans are telling him that putting the titles on Matsuo is a mistake. He says he doesn't know but fans should give her a chance. Other fans think he's panicking and rushing to put the belt on a younger wrestler. He says there's no need to panic and everything is OK. In other words, he wants fans to chill out.

Haruka Matsuo will have her first match after winning the double titles on the Sept. 24 Itabashi Green Hall show against Etsuko Mita. Matsuo is in a very difficult situation. I'm not sure there is anything that she could do to make fans feel better about the title change. That's a lot of pressure. Other matches include Yoshiko Tamura vs Tomoka Nakagawa, Nagisa Nozaki & Aoi Kizuki vs Toshie Uematsu & Ran YuYu, Midae Genki vs Mai Ichii, Aya Yuki vs Shuu Shibutani and a match being billed as NEO vs IGF Starting The War. I know what you're thinking. Isn't that Inoki's new fed. Nope, it stands for Indiana Girl Fight. Huh? Koda started it in the spring as a training fed but he only ran one show in May. I haven't heard anything about it ever since. The match will be Tanny Mouse & Yuki Miyazaki vs Mika Mizunuma & Yuiga. I'm not familiar with either wrestler and I don't know if Yuiga is the ex-DDT wrestler. This comes out of nowhere.