The Unknown Poster

Regarding questions of WWE profitability, here is a few words from Dave Meltzer in this week's Wrestling Observer (which is the best news source if you're a wrestling and MMA fan): They also released a chart that if they average 1,000,000 subscribers on a daily basis for the year, profits will be between $17 million and $37 million. That would likely not be enough to cover the annual dividend payments of more than $36 million. From 2007 to 2010, profits were $45 million to $53 million. Due to costs associated with the network and the money lost on the movie division profits declined greatly in 2011 and the company barely broke even in 2013 and lost more than $30 million in 2014. The 1 million subscribers on a daily basis for the year a figure does look like a number they will top this year unless the free months stop working as an incentive to get new people to sign up. Right now I’ve seen Wall Street analysts who are pegging 1.1 million as the figure that will be the average number of paid subscribers on a daily basis in 2015. However, with the increase in TV rights deals, most likely had they never done the network, they should this year be well above the 2007 to 2010 numbers and not below them. Granted, losses early to build the network are nothing to be alarmed at and it’s when the network reaches the point where it’s no longer growing that you can fairly analyze its success or failure. However, their estimates are that if they average 1,500,000 subscribers daily, the estimate is $72 million to $92 million in profits, which would be well above what they were doing pre-network. Again, they should be up to near those levels just because of the increases in TV rights fees, so you can’t say even that makes the network itself a success. That said, it would still be part of the package in making the company its most profitable in history. The company’s all-time most profitable period, in 2000 and 2001, saw wrestling division profits at $69 million and $85 million respectively, but since then profits have never topped $54 million.

he has no prior suspensions in his career. The player wasnt hurt. Its a playoff battle. He likely escapes serious consequences.

I find it very difficult to follow along without looking at every question being asked. Anyone want to summarize the most interesting things?

I have very little insight into drafting but if I had a vote I would take the hometown kid at 2 and the best OL at the next two picks.

There is an argument to be made in starting hutch that goes beyond whether pavs was good or not. Teams sometimes rally around that switch. I'd start pavs again only because now isn't the time for experiments. But I'd have a short leash if the team wasn't playing great in front of him.

Hmmmm he makes a great argument. If the money is available for an event centre but not the arena why would the money be conditional on not buikding the arena at all? What stops Tbay from saying okay you got us we won't build the pro hockey arena. Then they cash in the Feds money, build the event centre and a year later announce plans to build the arena part? Seems like overzealous effort on the part of the Feds to avoid any appearance of funding pro sports. If the deal is dead I wonder what that does to the Jets' AHL plan long term?

Yup. Great leadership move. He owes his team an apology.

Good teams win these games and maintain control of their own destiny. They are proving they aren't over the hump as a good team yet. Maybe we need to bench our top two forwards and top two d-men. They played better when they were missing.

If it does then it's these games they needed to win that will come back to haunt them. They should not be waiting for last game. I'm as hopeful as the next person but they are pissing away their opportunities.

That's just about it.

https://www.facebook.com/events/820973741312503/

Werent people here angry a few weeks ago because there werent enough press releases?

Hmmm that's interesting. While I agree it would be horrible to witness a loved ones last moments, if my loved ones had the state of mind to record something, especially if there was some sort of message, I'd feel honor-bound to view it.

On CNN they were saying he didnt have vision issues. It was all in his head. Thats what I mean. I take the reports to mean he DID have vision issues but there was no physical cause. It was mental. But to him, they were real and he was having trouble seeing. very interesting about the cell phone video. I always wondered why that doesnt happen more often. When I fly, i routinely take video and pics. If I was going down, especially in a pretty controlled way, I'd be taking video. And I'd be identifying who I am and what is happening. And I'd try to send texts and emails and hope that even if they wont send due to where I am, maybe they will when the phone hits a cell tower. I guess panic, fear and adrenalin might make me act differently ofcourse.

Good point. There is also reports his doctor felt the vision issues were directly caused by mental health issues.

Some new info from CNN.com Dusseldorf, Germany (CNN)Video found in the wreckage on a French mountainside shows the nightmarish final seconds of Germanwings Flight 9525, reports said Tuesday. Taken on a cell phone, the video "was so chaotic that it was hard to identify people, but the sounds of the screaming passengers made it perfectly clear that they were aware of what was about to happen to them," according to the French magazine Paris Match, which obtained the video along with the German newspaper Bild. "One can hear cries of 'My God' in several languages. Metallic banging can also be heard more than three times, perhaps of the pilot trying to open the cockpit door with a heavy object. Towards the end, after a heavy shake, stronger than the others, the screaming intensifies. Then nothing," Paris Match reports. The two publications described the video but did not post the video itself. Lufthansa, meanwhile, announced that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz told told his Lufthansa flight training school in 2009 that he had a "previous episode of severe depression." The airline is sharing that information and documents -- including training and medical records -- with public prosecutors. Authorities have said Lubitz purposely crashed Flight 9525 into the French Alps on March 24, killing all 150 people aboard. His girlfriend knew he had psychological issues but "did not know the extent of the problems," a European government official briefed on the investigation into last week's crash told CNN on Tuesday. The girlfriend told investigators the couple were working through the issues together and "were optimistic" they could solve the problems; she was just as surprised as everyone else by what he did to the plane, the source says. The girlfriend also told investigators Lubitz had seen an eye doctor and a neuropsychologist, both of whom deemed him unfit to work recently and concluded he had psychological issues, according to the source. Lubitz complained about vision problems; the eye doctor diagnosed a psychosomatic disorder and gave him an "unfit for work" note, the source said. Investigators are looking into whether Lubitz feared his medical condition would cause him to lose his pilot's license, the source said, adding that while flying was "a big part of his life," it's only one theory being considered. Another source, a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation, told CNN earlier Tuesday that authorities believe the primary motive for Lubitz to bring down the plane was that he feared he would not be allowed to fly because of his medical problems. Too stressed?Lubitz told the neuropsychologist that he was too stressed with work, the European government official briefed on the investigation said. The official said he was not aware of any suicidal tendencies reported by Lubitz to the doctors, but that investigators believe he was suicidal. Airline officials have said that if Lubitz went to a doctor on his own, he would have been required to self-report if deemed unfit to fly. The European government official also reiterated that German media tabloid reports that the girlfriend is pregnant or had major personal problems are all speculation and rumor. The girlfriend and the co-pilot had not, as was widely reported by some media, broken up the day before the crash, the source said. Official: Lubitz had suicidal tendenciesEarlier, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office in Dusseldorf, Germany, said Lubitz suffered from suicidal tendencies at some point before his aviation career. Investigators have not found any writings or conversations where Lubitz shared his motives or confessed to any plans, prosecutor's spokesman Christoph Kumpa said. However, medical records reveal that Lubitz was suicidal at one time and underwent psychotherapy. This was before he ever got his pilot's license, Kumpa said. Kumpa emphasized there's no evidence suggesting Lubitz was suicidal or acting aggressively before the crash. The prosecutor's office confirmed what some media outlets had reported about doctors deeming Lubitz unfit to fly, though there were no physical illnesses found. Recovery efforts continueWhile investigators search for clues to Lubitz's motivation, recovery workers continue the grim task of searching for the remains of those killed in the March 24 crash. Lt. Col. Jean-Marc Menichini, Gendarmerie spokesman for the Provence-Alpes-Cotes d'Azur region, told CNN on Tuesday that a new path has been completed linking Le Vernet, a nearby community, to the mountainous ravine where the plane's debris is scattered. It will be used by rescue teams to access the area, he said. Capt. Yves Naffrechoux, also of the Gendarmerie unit, said Monday that the 1-kilometer path would cut down on the time it takes to reach the crash site considerably. The trip will now take 30 minutes from Seyne-les-Alps, the staging post for the operation, with less walking involved and thus less fatigue, but also with fewer risks than helicopter transfers. Two helicopters are still working in case weather conditions improve and allow them to fly, Menichini said. The remains of at least 78 people on board the plane have been identified so far using DNA analysis. Naffrechoux warned Monday that "it may not be possible to find the human remains of all the 150 passengers, as some of them may have been pulverized by the crash." But French President Francois Hollande, speaking alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, was more positive, saying that it should be possible to identify all the victims by the end of the week. A simple stone memorial has been set up at Le Vernet, where grieving relatives of those killed have laid flowers and held prayers. The opening of the road, which must still be paved, will eventually allow family members also to reach the spot where their loved ones died. Authorities say there are some 26 families of six different nationalities in the area Tuesday. However, Patricia Willaert, head of the Alpes de Haute-Provence district, told reporters that Lubitz's family was not among those to have come since the crash. "There had been some rumors, but they have not come to the site," she said. "The family of the co-pilot has not come. We have no knowledge of information informing us of that." Willaert said some 450 people close to the victims had already traveled to the area, with more expected to come during the Easter weekend. "The priority has been to welcome them in the best possible way," she said. She praised the mobilization of local citizens, who spontaneously offered 2,000 beds to accommodate the victims' families. German investigators and French criminal investigators are due to work together at the crash site Wednesday, Dusseldorf police said. Medical record emergingMuch attention has focused on Lubitz's state of mind, with suggestions that he may have had mental health issues. Lubitz, 27, passed his annual pilot recertification medical examination in summer 2014, a German aviation source told CNN. He had started working as a commercial pilot in 2013, said Lufthansa, the parent company of Germanwings. An official with Lufthansa said that the exam only tests physical health, not psychological health. It's unknown if Lubitz mentioned his problems on a form that asks yes-or-no questions about physical and mental illness, suicide attempts and medications. European pilots must fill out the form to be recertified. Federal aviation authorities, not the airline, issue the form. The form is privileged information, and Lufthansa never sees a pilot's completed form, an airline representative said. The airline would only get a "clear to fly" notice from the aviation doctors alerting the airline that a pilot has completed recertification. Safety investigationFrance's accident investigation agency, the BEA, said Tuesday that the ongoing safety investigation was focusing on a more detailed analysis of the flight history leading up to the crash, based on the audio recovered from the cockpit voice recorder and any other available data. BEA spokeswoman Martine Del Bono told CNN: "A deliberate act by a man with a disturbed psychological profile is a possible scenario. The first step of the investigation is to describe more precisely what happened." This will be based mainly on analysis of the cockpit voice recorder, to be supplemented by data from the flight data recorder if it is found, she said. "But we will also look at other events with possibly similar scenarios, try to understand if there are systemic weaknesses which may contribute or facilitate such scenarios. "We will in particular look at the cockpit door locking as well as the criteria and procedures applied to detect specific psychological profiles." Lufthansa said in a statement Tuesday that it was canceling its 60th anniversary celebrations, planned for April 15. Instead, the company will provide a live broadcast for its employees of an official state ceremony to be held April 17 in Cologne Cathedral for bereaved families and friends to remember the victims, it said.

Paul was also very good at maximizing strengths and hiding weaknesses. He made Justin Credible a top guy. He made Raven a top guy. He made Dreamer and Douglas top guys. None of them were ever better than when they were in ECW. He even had WCW and WWE convinced that Public Enemy were good to the point there was a bidding war for them. Genius.

Article about providing crew with cockpit lock over-ride function: http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/30/opinions/amar-germanwings-give-crew-key/index.html Makes some good points. I guess the counter-argument would be that the purpose of a reinforced cockpit door and pilot lock-out is that a hijacker cannot influence human beings to open it. Whereas a pilot will be focused on his job and has a different way of looking at their responsibility for every soul on board, if someone else on the plane was able to open the door, a hijacker could threaten that person or others to compel the codes to be entered.

The eight man tag last night was Ascension & Cesaro/Kidd vs New Day and Lucha Dragons. Cesaro/Kidd are really good. Cesaro is the former Claudio from Ring of Honor. Kidd is TJ Wilson from the Hart Family. New Day suck but Lucha Dragons are pretty good. This was their debut from NXT.

Tough crowd.

ECW had some ideas that were innovative but it doesnt really stand up to the test of time. The booking was mostly terrible (and I love Heyman) and the work was usually awful. They had a brief golden age where they gave amazing workers their first real taste of the US (Eddy, Benoit, Malenko, Jericho etc) and some really good booking. But a lot of it was hardcore for the sake of hardcore, run ins constantly, and bad wrestling. It had it's moments. A better example of Heyman as a booker is when he had more resources - when he booked Smackdown and it routinely beat RAW in the ratings. It was during this time he ran afoul of Steph because he took seriously the idea of RAW and Smackdown competing and he would listen in on RAW production meetings and other things that annoyed Steph. But the adult nature of ECW was what Shane was trying to push on Vince in the mid 90's when WWE was brutal. It took near bankruptcy and WCW kicking their butts before Vince finally got it. Having Russo come along helped too as the guys Vince had on his booking team at the time were very old-school. My favourite booked show of all time is Survivor Series 98. Amazing multi-layered story-telling and turning the Rock heel is an example of what they should have done with Cena. Chris Kreski took over for RUsso and was booker during WWE's best creative period.

Ya im not to sure. I cant find anything about him buying into it it sounds like he wanted to promote it . And nothing about UFC it was about Pride. Either way ive been trying to get back into the WWE LOL... I watched it all my life from the AWA days but got away from it when i found the UFC. Maybe you can hook me up to one of your shows... a few buddys of mine would like to check it out. If I have time, Ill try to find the info from Wrestling Observer about the Dana meeting. If you want to know about the business of wrestling, thats the only place to get the real story. Or at least, the best place. And absolutely, I'd love to have you guys down to a show!

Lots of fighters are WWE fans and a lot of WWE wrestlers are UFC fans. With the fighters, it usually comes down to age. in other words, being too old to make a run of wrestling. It will depend how long Ronda fights for. Im sure Shane watched Wrestlemania and saw that segment and wondered why it took Vince so long. Im a Shane fan but the story on him quitting the family business had a lot of rumours and speculation. Reportedly, it was very acrimonious. And supposedly, any idea that popped up since to use Shane, Steph nixed. Supposedly, shortly after he quit, some people came to a big WWE show and went backstage looking for him and Steph was very curt in saying he didnt work there anymore. The story is Shane was the heir apparent but it became clear that Steph was more like Vince and once she hooked up with Hunter who is a lot like Vince, Shane saw the writing on the wall and wasnt going to stick around and work for his little sister. Great article on Shane: http://www.buzzfeed.com/golianopoulos/how-pro-wrestlings-scion-is-fighting-to-make-it-on-his-own#.hqno2azdX