Kevin Harvick wins Montreal Busch race

Today the NASCAR Busch Series made their debut at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. Like the race in Mexico, the fans were excited especially when home town hero Patrick Carpentier won the pole. A few Nextel Cup guys came up from Pocono and there were several road race ringers like Canadian Ron Fellows & Boris Said. As usual, a road course race comes down to pit strategy and that's what was happening here until a nutty ending turned things topsy turvy.

Patrick Carpentier led the first part of the race. Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton & David Reutimann arrived late from Pocono had had to start from the rear of the field. Edwards had trouble early because of a broken rear end bracket. Eventually, pit strategy would give the lead to Aussie Marcos Ambrose. Steve Wallace's blown engine brought out a caution on lap 37. After some pit stops, Ambrose was in the lead again.

But would he have enough fuel to get to the end of the race. A couple more cautions came out to assist his fuel mileage. Then Kevin Harvick spun out Scott Pruett & Ron Fellows on lap 72. Meanwhile Robby Gordon was trying to pass Ambrose for the lead and was spun out. But when did the caution come out? NASCAR told Gordon he had to go back to 13th place. Gordon thought he was in the lead when the caution came out. He refused to go back and they black flagged him. He spun Ambrose out at the start and Harvick took the lead past a sputtering Andy Pilgrim. Patrick Carpentier moved into second and Max Papis moved into third. Carpentier couldn't quite get to Harvick and Harvick won the race. Ron Fellows was fourth and Stephen Licht was fifth. Gordon was still squabbling with NASCAR afterwards. I don't know what they will do to him. It sucked that he cost Ambrose the race. But as you can see from this clip, Ambrose was still smiling.

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D-FIX reunites

OZ Academy ran Shinjuku FACE on Aug. 2 to set up a couple more angles for the Aug. 16 Korakuen Hall show. We already have Sendai Girls rookie Akari Okuda challenging Aja Kong and matches featuring Meiko Satomura & Sugar Satoh. They're obvioualy trying to stack this show and that was the goal of the Aug. 2 show.

The opener was Sonoko Kato vs Carlos Amano. Lately they've has Kato win matches and she won here in 11:00. Next was Dynamite Kansai vs AKINO. Lately AKINO has been losing. Kansai won with a splash mountain and a boston crab at 16:28. Afterwards, Kansai told AKINO that she's been concentrating too much on Aja and she shouldn't forget about Kansai. AKINO said they should do a tag match on Aug. 16. OZ has been doing a lot of men's matches lately so AKINO told Kansai her partner would be a male wrestler named Suzuki. Kansai said she would partner up with OZ regular El Braza. They also announced that some guy who normally works for Pancrase would make his pro wrestling debut against Daisuke Sekimoto.

Next was Mayumi Ozaki & Chikayo Nagashima vs Aja Kong & Sonoko Kato. This is obviously supposed to set up Meiko Satomura & Sonoko Kato vs Chikayo Nagashima & Sugar Satoh and Kato probably doesn't feel she can trust Aja. After Aja beats up Nagashima for a while, she tags Kato in. Kato is doing OK but Aja gets distracted. Ozaki nails Kato with her chain and wins at 18:50. Ozaki laughs at Kato for trusting Aja. The main event was Mayumi Ozaki, Aja Kong & KAORU vs Dynamite Kansai, Carlos Amano & Chikayo Nagashima. There's a lot of tension between Ozaki & Aja. Aja nails Nagashima with the back fist. As she's about to cover her, Ozaki throws in the chain and distracts Aja. Ozaki hits a Shining Yakuza Kick for the win at 13:38. Aja had a puzzled look on her face. Afterwards, Ozaki told Aja that she doesn't want to team with her anymore and is going to revive D-Fix with Kaotu. They will face Toshie Uematsu & Ran YuYu on the Aug. 16 show.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Otis Redding

Artist:Otis Redding

Song:(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay

Album:Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding

The other night I watched the documentary Respect Yourself-The Stax Records Story on PBS and among other things it reminded me of the greatness of Otis Redding. His death in that plane crash at age 26 is one of the greatest tragedies in music history. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay was his one pop hit and it was released after his death. The Monterey Pop Festival had launched Redding into the mainstream. So he decided to take a break. (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay was written during that break. When Otis returned to the studio, Booker T & The MGs guitarist Steve Cropper fleshed out the song and it was recorded. Cropper has said that was the standard way of working with Otis. He had the lyrics written in a notebook and Cropper would simply assist in the studio with turning his ideas into recordings. Otis Redding died almost 40 years ago and his music is still fresh today. This 4CD box set has everything. Of course Otis never performed Dock Of The Bay live but here he is performing I've Been Loving You at Monterey.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Yolanda Adams

Artist:Yolanda Adams

Song:In The Midst Of It All

Album:The Best Of Me

Gospel singer Yolanda Adams had a huge crossover breakthrough with her 1999 CD Mountain High...Valley Low. She appears poised to do that again with a new record company in 2008. She was born Aug. 27, 1961 in Houston. She did some modelling and was a teacher until her debut album in 1988. She had a following in the gospel market but was also criticized by the church for being too glamourous. The turning point for Yolanda was when Elektra Records president Sylvia Rhone signed her and told her just to make a gospel record and she would market it to the R & B audience. The 1999 CD Mountain High...Valley Low was very successful especially the monster hit Open My Heart. In The Midst Of It All is an excellent song written and produced by Kevin Bond. Yolanda did a live CD The Experience in 2000 and then follwed it in 2001 with I Believe. These weren't as successful. She also had a daughter Taylor. Things went sour when Sylvia Rhone left Elektra for Motown. Elektra was absorbed by Atlantic. So Yolanda didn't have anyone at the record company to champion her. Atlantic released the comp The Best Of Me in 2007. Yolanda Adams has signed with Columbia. She will have a Christmas CD out in October and her next studio CD is scheduled for Spring 2008. I expect Yolanda Adams to make a very strong return to music at that time. Here is Yolanda Adams performing In The Midst Of It All in 2003. Turn up the volume. It's a little low.

Three big matches announced for Aug. 26 JWP show

JWP owner Commando Bolshoi announced three big matches for their Aug. 26 Korakuen Hall show titled Pure Slam. One will be the return of the Junior All Star War tournament. The second will be a JWP vs Sendai Girls event. And the main event will have Azumi Hyuga (pictured) defending her JWP Open Weight Championship against Amazing Kong. This rivalry goes back to a confrontation the two had at the May 25 SUN show. Obviously AK has a big size advantage. But don't underestimate Hyuga. With her speed and agility, she is one of the best performers in Japan and always seems to deliver in big matches. She is a true main event performer so don't expect a squash. I'm looking forward to this.

Bolshoi announced a special JWP vs Sendai Girls event. It's going to be a team event of some sort but the details will be announced later. JWP will be represented by Tsubasa Kuragaki, Commando Bolshoi, Kaori Yoneyama, Tojuki Leon, Arisa Nakajima & ASKA Ohki. It's odd that she would put the rookie Ohki in this instead of Kayoko Haruyama. Sendai Girls will be represented by Meiko Satomura, Akari Okuda, Chisako Kanari, Sachiko Kanari, Ayane Mizumura & Yurie Kaneko. This could be interesting. I expect the Junior All Star War to be a tournament format. NEO, Ibuki, Ice Ribbon, Maheken and the Ito Gym will all participate. That should give you an idea of who might be in it. This tournament has been used in the past to debut rookies so that would not be surprising.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-James Carter

Artist:James Carter

Song:Take The "A" Train

Album:Jurassic Classics

Sax player James Carter is one of today's top jazz musicians. He was born Jan. 3, 1969 in Detroit. He started plying at age 11 and studied with trumpeter Marcus Belgrave. By age 17, he was touring with Wynton Marsalis. He moved to New York in 1988 and spent several years in Lester Bowie's band. Carter became very popular in Japan and signed with the Japanese label DIW in 1993. Jurassic Classics was his second CD in 1994. This version of the Billy Strayhorn classic Take The "A" Train has a lot of energy. Musicians are Craig Taborn on piano, Jaribu Shahid on bass and Tani Tabbal on drums. The CD would be a very good introduction to his music. Carter is capable of performing many different jazz styles. He continues to be very popular. He was on Atlantic Records for several years. His most recent CD is a 2005 tribute to Pavement called Gold Sounds. James Carter has proven to be a very strong young musician and is keeping jazz alive. Here's James Carter & Joshua Redman performing Straight No Chaser at Carnegie Hall from the Eastwood After Dark DVD.

Ito Gym announces first anniversary show

The Kaoru Ito Professional Wrestling Classroom has announced that their first anniversary show will be on October 13 at Shinjuku FACE at Noon.They have also announced some sort of tournament for Dec. 16 but no details yet. They have announced the card for the first anniversary show but first...You all know that Kaoru Ito & Ayako Hamada won the NEO Tag Team Titles on Sunday. The two left yesterday for Mexico and will return on September 4. Who's minding the store? Probably Takako Inoue as she works there as a trainer.

Here's the card for the Kaoru Ito Professional Wrestling Classroom first anniversary show. The main event will be Ayako Hamada vs Manami Toyota. Also scheduled is Yumiko Hotta vs Mai Ichii, Kaoru Ito vs Ayako Sato and Takako Inoue & Iki Uebayashi vs Ayumi Kurihara & Hanako Kobayashi. I wouldn't be surprised to see them add another match and maybe some special guests too.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Dexter Gordon

Artist:Dexter Gordon

Song:It's You Or No One

Album:Doin' Allright

Doin' Allright was tenor sax legend Dexter Gordon's first album for Blue Note and marked his return to jazz. Gordon had just finished several years in jail on drug charges. But this 1961 album Doin' Allright showed that he hadn't lost anything. Of course he gets a lot of help from trumpeter Freddie Hubbard along with Horace Parlan on piano, George Tucker on bass and Al Harewood on drums. It's You Or No One is an outstanding version of the Sammy Cahn/Jule Styne standard. Blue Note rereleased this on CD in 2004 as part of their Rudy Van Gelder remaster series with a bonus alternate take. Van Gelder was the recording engineer on Blue Note recordings. Gordon would record several more great LPs on Blue Note but he moved to Copenhagen in 1962 and signed with the Danish Steeplechase label in 1964. By the 70s he was ready for his next comeback. Here's a trailer from Don McGlynn's documentary about Dexter Gordon More Than You Know.

Everyone into the JWP pool

JWP had another one of their Dojo shows on July 29. These shows mean nothing in storylines and the main event is usually a silly gimmick match. This time it was a Texas Pool Side match, a JWP specialty. There was a large vinyl swimming pool set up at one side of a hall. Sometimes the put a small wading pool in the ring. I guess it makes a mess of the ring canvas and that's why Commando Bolshoi is trying to get fan donations to buy a new canvas. No, I'm not kidding.

The opener had Commando Bolshoi & ASKA Ohki vs Kei'to' & Arisa Nakajima. Apparently the loser of this match will be added to the Texas Pool Side match. Ohki & Nakajima look uncomfortable with this idea. Ohki & Nakajima begin by exchanging dropkicks. Nakajima follows up with a leglock & a battering ram. Kei'to' tags in and hits Ohki with kicks and an elbow. Bolshoi comes in and hits a dropkick on Nakajima. It's pretty even for a while. Then Bolshoi carries Kei'to' piggyback and Ohki hits a missile dropkick. Nakajima hits Bolshoi with a missile dropkick. But then Kei'to' kicks Nakajima by mistake. Bolshoi rolls her up in a cradle for the win at 11:52. So Nakajima is in the pool match.

Next was Azumi Hyuga vs Tojuki Leon in a Two Count match. Leon tries to get a quick pin but Hyuga gets free. Leon hits a pinwheel style back breaker. Hyuga comes back with a German suplex and a knee from the top rop to the back of the head. Hyuga gets the win with a Mexican roll at 10:02. Next is the Texas Pool Side match with Tsubasa Kuragaki, Kayoko Haruyama & Arisa Nakajima vs Kaori Yoneyama, Sachie Abe & KAZUKI. It looks like the object of the match is to drown your opponent. Yoneyama wears a red swim cap to the ring and Abe gives KAZUKI a snorkel. She doesn't use it. The match starts in the ring but of course it winds up in the pool. They go back and forth to the ring. There's a lot of splashing around abut Kuragaki hits a lariat on KAZUKI and holds her underwater long enough for the win at 16:45. Everyone had a swimmingly good time. The other main event theme of these dojo shows is food related. Maybe they'll do noodles next time.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Thelonious Monk

Artist:Thelonious Monk

Song:Pannonica

Album:Monk

It's Thelonious Monk's eccentricities that made him one of the all time greats of the jazz piano. His music is very rewarding. He was born Oct. 10, 1917 in Rocky Mount, NC and grew up in New York. Stride piano legend James P. Johnson was a neighbour and very influential on Monk's style. So by the 40s, Monk's playing style was established and it was unique enough that he didn't have to change. So in the early 50s he wasn't that popular because he didn't play in the standard bebop style. But by the end of the decade he was back on top again. He signed with Columbia in 1962 and made a series of outstanding recordings. Pannonica is an excellent song from the 1964 album Monk. Columbia released it on CD in 2002 with some bonus tracks. Monk's standard quartet at the time was Charlie Rouse on sax, Larry Gales on bass and Ben Riley on drums. They worked very well together and their music is outstanding. Thelonious Monk suffered from mental illness and retired from music in 1973. He died Feb. 17, 1982 at age 64. Thelonious Monk ranks at the top of the jazz elite and his music is essential listening. Here's Thelonious Monk and his quartet performing Round Midnight in Oslo 1966.

Hikaru to Hawaii

Pro Wrestling SUN has posted on their website that Hikaru is going to Hawaii on Aug. 11 to work a match for HCW. Her opponent is "Island Girl" Tracy Taylor. Tracy is married to former WWE developmental talent Mike Taylor. Tracy was under contract and was at Deep South Wrestling until she was released last year. Mostly she accompanied her husband's tag team to the ring and wrestled very occasionally. She's not very good in the ring so Hikaru has her work cut out for herself.

Ito/Hamada win NEO TAG Team Titles

NEO continued their SUMMER STAMPEDE 07 on July 29 at the Creation Pavilion in Ueda. It may be NEO's first show ever in Ueda. The main event had Yoshiko Tamura & Sakura Emi defending their NEO Tag Team Tirles against Kaoru Ito & Ayako Hamada. Tamura has had quite a run over the last couple of years. Is it time for that to end?

The opener was NEO rookie Aya Yuki against Ito Gym rookie Hanako Kobayashi. After several shoulder tackles, Yuki won with a hold down at 7:02. Next was Etsuko Mita vs Tanny Mouse. Mita won with the Death Valley Bomb at 12:12. Next was Haruka Matsuo vs Ray. Ray is becoming popular because of her high flying but Matsuo hits a frog splash for a two count and then a high kick for the win at 11:12. Next was Jaguar Yokota & rookie Nagisa Nozaki vs Misae Genki & Yuki Miyazaki. Apparently Nozaki is from the area. So the fans were really behind her. It didn't help as Genki pinned Nozaki after a lariat at 19:03.

The main event with Yoshiko Tamura & Sakura Emi defending the NEO Tag Team Titles against Kaoru Ito & Ayako Hamada has potential to be good. Tamura hits an ace crusher on Hamada. Emi & Ito tag in. Emi is feeling some pressure because of her comedy rep. This has been an ongoing issue in NEO for a while. Ito hits a lariat and a brainbuster. Then Hamada hits a backdrop. The two exchange moonsaults and Hamada hits Emi with several splashes in the corner. Tamura tries to help but is thrown out of the ring. Ito hits an avalanche style back flip on Emi. Tamura comes back with an ace crusher but Ito hits a power bomb followed by a Hamada missile kick. Tamura tries a plancha outside the ring but nails Emi in error. Hamada hits a quebrada followed by an Ito sliding kick. Back in the ring, Ito hits Tamura with an elbow. Emi hits a reverse DDT on Hamada followed by an avalanche style uraken. Hamada counters with a spin kick on Tamura. Ito breaks up a pin after Tamura's Patriot Buster on Hamada. Then a running elbow and a Patriot Bomb for another two count. Ito hits her diving foot stamp on Tamura and Hamada follows it with an AP Cross. Emi can't break things up and it's all over at 20:29. Kaoru Ito & Ayako Hamada are the new NEO Tag Team Champions after a hard fought match.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Miles Davis

Artist:Miles Davis

Song:Neo

Album:Complete Miles Davis In Person Friday and Saturday Nights At The Blackhawk

This early 60s version of the Miles Davis band isn't as well known as his other bands and these famous 1961 concerts have been released in various forms over the years. This will solve that puzzle. Basically John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley & Bill Evans left the group in 1960. After bringing in sax player Sonny Stitt for a short time, Miles brought in sax player Hank Mobley and pianist Wynton Kelly. Paul Chambers is on bass and Jimmy Cobb is on drums. This 4CD set chronicles Miles' complete date at San Francisco's Blackhawk Club Apr. 21-22, 1961. For years Columbia issued the two nights on seperate CDs and in edited form. But as part of Columbia's ongoing program of releasing Davis' recordings in comprehensive box sets, they gave this concert the appropriate treatment. This band was around until 1963 and then Miles formed his better known band with Herbie Hancock & Wayne Shorter. These recordings are essential for jazz fans. It's OK to compare his various bands but this is great music and stands on its own merits. So this box set is highly recommended to Davis fans. There doesn't appear to be any video footage of this band so you'll have to settle for this 1959 performance of So What.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Ledisi

Artist:Ledisi

Song:In The Morning

Album:Lost and Found

Ledisi is a young R &B/jazz singer set to make a big splash with her major label debut next month. Her name is Ledisi Young and she sang with the New Orleans Symphony at age 8. Her mom sang in local bands. The family moved to Oakland, CA and Ledisi followed her mom's lead. She performed in a San Francisco cabaret called Beach Blanket Babylon. Ledisi formed a band with songwriter pianist Sundra Manning. They got a lot of acclaim locally but were unable to get a record deal so they released the CD Soulsinger themselves in 2000. Ledisi also performed on the Earth, Wind & Fire tribute CD and the Ella Fitzgerald tribute CD & PBS special We Love Ella. She has finally signed with Verve and Lost and Found will be released in August. Sundra Manning continues write and produce with Ledisi and veteran producer Rex Rideout adds that smooth jazz vibe they will need to sell it to jazz fans. I like what I've heard from Ledisi so far and I'm looking forward to more. Here's Ledisi performing Blues In The Night from the PBS special We Love Ella. Take 6 is also on this.

Sebastien Bourdais to NASCAR?

There are two big trends in NASCAR today; mergermania and bringing in accomplished open wheel racers. Yesterday's announcement of the merger between Robert Yates Racing and Champ Car owner Newman Haas Lanigan Racing addressed both issues. Of course we had the Dale Earnhardt Inc./Ginn Racing merger earlier this week and Roush Racing merging with the Fenway Group (Boston Red Sox) earlier this year. And you can expect Ray Evernham to announce his partnership with Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett Jr. shortly.

Robert Yates Racing has been the subject of merger rumours for a while now. The hottest rumours had them merging with Dale Earnhardt Inc. This new team will be called Yates Newman Haas Lanigan Racing. NHL owns the Champ Car team driven by Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais (pictured). Could he come to NASCAR? Doug Yates & Carl Haas told the Tampa Tribune that Bourdais is interested and it could happen. Bourdais is interested in Formula 1 but it doesn't look like he can catch on with a competitive team there. Tom Jensen of Speed TV reports that RYR driver David Gilliland will return in 2008 but Ricky Rudd may not. He also says that M&M's & Snickers won't return as sponsors but Citi Financial probably will. Snickers will sponsor a different team next year.

It's not surprising that Bourdais is interested in NASCAR. He's done everything to be done in Champ Car and he's still a young guy. He also has to look at Juan Pablo Montoya's success in NASCAR and the possibility of Penske IRL driver Sam Hornish Jr. coming to NASCAR full time next year and figures he would be foolish to not come to NASCAR. Nextel Cup has the best racing and the most money. And he would be coming to an established team and could be competitive immediately. The wild card in this may be Busch Series driver Stephen Leicht as Citi Financial may insist that he drive any car that they sponsor. This could be very interesting.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Brenda Russell

Artist:Brenda Russell f/Joe Esposito

Song:Piano In The Dark

Album:Brenda Russell

Brenda Russell has had plenty of success as a songwriter but Piano In The Dark was her only big hit as a performer. She was born Brenda Gordon Apr. 8, 1949 in Brooklyn, NY and moved to Toronto at age 12. She married Toronto born songwriter musician Brian Russell and they hosted the Canadian TV series Music Machine. They moved to Los Angeles in 1973 to work as session musicians. They made records as a duo for Elton John's Rocket Records. Brian & Brenda split up in 1978. Brian married Cheryl Ladd and Brenda signed with A & M. The 1979 LP Brenda Russell was the first of several albums with producer Andre Fischer. He was married to Natalie Cole at the time and has produced a lot of female R & B singers. Brenda left for Warner Bros. in 1983 but returned to A & M in 1988 and Piano In The Dark was a big hit from the album Get Here. It features Joe Esposito from the group Brooklyn Dreams. He was married to Donna Summer at the time. As a songwriter, Brenda has had several hits but Oleta Adams' version of Get Here was monstrous. She never has to work again after that. This 2000 rerelease of the 1979 LP Brenda Russell throws in Piano In The Dark as a bonus track. It's a great album. These days Brenda Russell's music is categorized as "smooth jazz" but she sounds the same to me. Her most recent CD is 2004's Between The Sun And The Moon on Narada Jazz. Brenda Russell is an underrated performer but you have heard her songs by other artists. Here's the video for Piano In The Dark by Brenda Russell.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Brent Jones & The TP Mobb

Artist:Brent Jones & The TP Mobb f/Cheryl "Coko" Gamble

Song:Midnite

Album:Beautiful

The influence of Kirk Franklin's mix of hip hop and gospel has had a big impact on the gospel music industry. Singer writer producer Brent Jones probably wouldn't have tried it himself first. Jones is from Salisbury, MD. He worked a lot as a choir director for the Gospel Music Workshop Of America. At some point, the folks behind the GMWA decided Jones should make his own record. The 1999 song Goodtime did very well and crossed over to the R & B charts with its concept video and traditional gospel style mixed with rap & hip hop. Jones signed with EMI Gospel and the 2002 CD Beautiful didn't do as well because they didn't do a video. That was a big mistake. They should have done a video for this great song Midnite featuring lead vocals by Cheryl "Coko" Gamble of the R & B girl group SWV. The CD is excellent. Brent Jones was based in Los Angeles a while back but he's moved back to Maryland and has a new CD called The Ultimate Weekend coming out in October on Tyscot Records. It's his first live CD. In the meantime, here is the video for Goodtime by Brent Jones & The TP Mobb featuring rapper Eddie Velez.

Ayako Hamada wins Battlefield tournament

Sendai Girls had their first anniversary show July 22 at Sendai SunPlaza. There were 2396 fans in attendance. This featured the final of the Battlefield tournament. The opener had Ayane Mizumura over Chisako Kanari with a diving guillotine legdrop at 9:41. Mizumura was making her Sendai Girls debut but she worked for GAEA in 2004. Then Mizuki Endo, Tsubasa Kuragaki & Kyoko Kimura defeated KAORU, Toshie Uematsu & Yurie Kaneko when Endo used a diving BM crash on Kaneko at 18:02. The first semi final of the Battlefield tournament had Ayako Hamada over Aja Kong with the AP Cross at 16:05.

The second Battlefield tournament semi final had Meiko Satomura over Dynamite Kansai with a crossface at 9:37. Satomura posted on her blog on the Sendai Girls website that she got her bell rung by a Kansai kick to the jaw. I don't think she remembers much of that match after that. She's OK though. Next was a three veterans vs four rookies match. The vets win with Manami Toyota, Devil Masami & Mayumi Ozaki over Akari Okuda, Sachiko Kanari, Ayune Mizumura & Chisako Kanari when Ozaki used the Fire Ballet on Mizumura at 13:15. In the Battlefield tournament final, Ayako Hamada won over Meiko Satomura with the AP Cross at 18:57. Satomura was in tears after the match and wants a rematch with Ayako. What did you expect? The next show is Sept. 8 at Zepp Sendai. It remains to be seen if Satomura will change the promotion's direction. Some fans are eternally hopeful. I'm a little more cynical. She's going to have to show me something different.

JWP sets up title matches

The other day NEO GM Koda was whining on his blog about things being bad in the joshi business. Part of the problem is that some companies run too many meaningless shows. Sometimes less is more. This year NEO has been particularly guilty of this and so is JWP. Commando Bolshoi tends to follow his lead anyway. What Bolshoi is doing most of the time is running filler shows between occasional Korakuen Hall appearances. I'm not talking about their Dojo shows which are supposed to be silly. The July 22 Itabashi Green Hall show was a good example.

Part of the problem was that Tsubasa Kuragaki was working the Sendai Girls 1st Anniversary show and she's part of one of the angles. But they still tried to set up a JWP Tag Team Title match without her. Commando Bolshoi & Azumi Hyuga apologized to fans for her abscence. The opener was Shuu Shibutani vs ASKA Ohki. Ohki doesn't get nuch offense in and Shibutani wins with a DDT, senton, missile kick and Northern Lights suplex at 8:44. Next was your basic rookie match. Aoi Kizuki & Nagisa Nozaki vs Arisa Nakajima & Io. The whole point of the match was to set up a JWP Junior Title match with the champ Nakajima & Kizuki. After Nakajima hits her with a stretch muffler, a missile kick & a diving press, Kizuki comes back with a jumping lariat and a cross arm suplex for the win at 15:10. It seems Kizuki has some sort of belt too so it's being called a double title match on the Aug. 5 Itabashi Green Hall show. There sure are a lot of belts around.

Misae Genki uses several lariats and a G Driver to beat Kei'to' at 12:23. Kaori Yoneyama has worked a bit with Tojuki Leon in tag teams. Now they face each other. Leon knocks Yoneyama off the apron and then hits a plancha to the floor. Then a couple of back breakers. They go to the floor again and Yoneyama comes back with three back breakers of her own. A lot of near falls and blocked moves before the match went to a draw. The main event had Azumi Hyuga, Commando Bolshoi & Ran YuYu vs Kayoko Haruyama, Sachie Abe & KAZUKI. Ran currently holds the JWP Tag Team Titles with Toshie Uematsu. Haruyama & Kuragaki are number one contenders. Can you guess what happened? The was a sprint with Abe & Hyuga flying around a lot. The match comes down to Haruyama & Ran and Haruyama counters a lariat and hits an Orange Hammer for the win at 20:15. The title match will happen on the Aug. 12 Itabashi Green Hall show.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST Song Of The Day-Jaheim

Artist:Jaheim

Song:Could It Be

Album:Ghetto Love

Could It Be was R & B singer Jaheim's first smash hit in 2001. He's had great success and is currently switching record labels. He was born Jaheim Hoagland May 26, 1978 in New Brunswick, NJ. His father died in 1981. Fortunately his grandfather Victor Hoagland was a one time member of The Drifters and encouraged Jaheim to sing. He won the talent contest at New York's Apollo Theatre at age 15. Then his mom died. Jaheim started sending out demos and caught the ear of KayGee of Naughty By Nature. KayGee was just starting his new label Divine Mill Records and Jaheim was his first signing. His 2001 debut Ghetto Love and the first single Could It Be were big hits. Jaheim is a crooner in the tradition of Luther Vandross but he doesn't look like a crooner. Could It Be is a great song and samples an old Willie Hutch song from the 70s. His subsequent CDs have sold well but it seems Jaheim was unhappy with Warner Bros. promotion of his 2006 CD Ghetto Classics so he is moving to Atlantic Records. Both are part of the Time Warner family. Jaheim will continue to be a major player in the R & B market and KayGee has a good handle on his sound. Here's the video for Could It Be by Jaheim.