Candidates Lay The Smackdown
Has anyone seen the promotional videos from Hilary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain that were posted Monday on WWE.com? Apparently the candidates were willing to try anything to get votes in the Pennsylvania primary, even if it meant reading awkward, canned statements littered with professional wrestling clichés. The videos, which were posted on the Web site and broadcast later on WWE’s Monday Night Raw, are part of WWE’s “Smackdown Your Vote!” campaign to encourage young voters to register.
I wonder how much of an impact the videos had, however, because all seemed incredibly inauthentic. It was obvious that they had been fed material from WWE producers. The candidates “named dropped” various WWE pay-per-view events, wrestlers and catch phrases. At one point, a hammy McCain even referred to his supporters as “McCainiacs” as he grumbled his way through his promo like a mix between Hulk Hogan and a senior citizen Ultimate Warrior.
Clinton’s delivery in her segment was stilted; I doubt she even took the time to rehearse what she was going to say. Apparently, her akward delivery didn’t stop her from winning Tuesday’s primary. Obama’s promo seemed the most authentic of the three, but that had more to do with his natural, conversational delivery than with what he actually said. He gave the impression that he was speaking off the cuff, rather than reading off of cue cards. I’ll admit that I even chuckled a bit when he looked at the camera and asked “Do you smell what Barack is cookin’?”
Check out the videos to see for yourself.
So…Hockey?
Early last week, I was going to write something about how jazzed I was when the lineup was revealed forLollapalooza 2008. But, since last Wednesday, there’s been a giant distraction keeping me from getting anything done. While other sports fans have been revving up for the start of baseball season and the beginning of the playoffs in the NBA, I’ve spent the past week glued to my couch, tuned to Versus and NBC, salivating over the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs.
For hockey fans, this time of the year couldn’t be any more exciting. There’s no denying the die-hard passion of both the players and the fans come mid April.
The games, so far, have been exciting, too. The first three in The Colorado Avalanche vs. Minnesota Wild series have all been tough, tense, contests that have been decided by overtime heroics from both teams. What I’ve been keeping a close eye on, though, is the series between the San Jose Sharks and the Calgary Flames. The Sharks finished the last 20 games of the season 18-0-2. But, they have struggled with the speedy and resilient Flames, who have been riding on solid play from big defenseman Dion Phaneuf and team captain Jarome Iginla. Through four games, the Sharks and the Flames have two wins each. Both will try to take control of the series with some early heavy hitting in game five. Blood has been shed at points in the first four games, I’d expect some more to be shed in the fifth.
Of course, there’s much more exciting action in the NHL Playoffs, but I figure that a hockey fan blathering about his love of a niche sport can’t be too interesting to everyone—or anyone, for that matter. I’ll just leave you to check out the rest of the games for yourself.
