Grayson Waller is proven correct and Kendal Grey continues to soar at NXT

Posted on August 7, 2026 by Aaron Yorke

It was a very good thing when Grayson Waller suddenly showed up on NXT last week and announced his intentions of winning the NXT Championship. After all, Tony D’Angelo hasn’t been a very charismatic champion, and he’s a much less interesting character than he was back when he was running the D’Angelo Family. Waller brings a real story to the table because he’s dripping with talent, but his main roster career turned into a flop after he transitioned from half of a tag team with Austin Theory to the third wheel of The New Day. Now, Waller is back to where he made a name for himself and he’s going for the title that evaded him the first time around. That’s a story I can get behind. Plus, it’s true what he said about NXT’s men’s division. It hasn’t been an electric factory since the promotions of Oba Femi, Je’Von Evans, and Trick Williams.

We know Waller is right because there hasn’t been any homegrown talent challenging D’Angelo lately. Naraku failed to win the title after coming over from Japan, and now it’s recent TNA acquisition Cruz Montana and Waller fighting for the number one contender spot. Keanu Carver is someone who could be a future NXT Championship contender, but he’s stuck in a weird feud with EK Prosper that saw Carver pick up a win this week while unlocking a more gentle side of himself that is very different from the intimidating heel he was playing before.

It’s also easy to imagine Saquon Shugars or Dion Lennox challenging for the title once they are done with their own beef, but it would be nice to see them in more singles matches before that happens. Maybe Jackson Drake can emerge as a threat following his lengthy run with the Evolve Championship? Drake has been doing more managing than fighting lately, but maybe that will change after The Vanity Project dropped the NXT Tag Team Championships to Myles Borne and Tavion Heights this week. I was a little surprised to see NXT North American Champion Borne become a double champ, but he’s shown a ton of potential in the ring. I’d love to see how he is as a heel, but it might be a challenge getting heat on a him since being deaf is such a big part of his story.

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Oba Femi doesn’t seem interested in fighting Roman Reigns after SummerSlam

Posted on August 6, 2026 by Aaron Yorke

Before Monday Night Raw went on the air from Des Moines, Iowa on August 3, fans had plenty of questions about what was going to happen following the results of SummerSlam. As a reminder, here are the matches from SummerSlam that featured superstars from Raw.

Women’s World Championship: Liv Morgan def. IYO SKY

LA Knight, Solo Sikoa, and Royce Keys def. The Usos and Jacob Fatu

Hell in a Cell: Oba Femi def. Brock Lesnar

Human Monie$ on a Pole: Danhausen def. Dominik Mysterio

Intercontinental Championship: Chad Gable def. Penta

World Heavyweight Championship: Roman Reigns def. Seth Rollins

It was no surprise that Rollins was absent from Raw one day after failing to defeat Reigns. The fist bump that the former Shield members shared after their epic title fight was a sign that the book was closed on the rivalry, at least for a little while. There was no point of Rollins showing up on Raw after a clean finish that gave no reason to expect a rematch. I’m thinking that Rollins will take some time off and then emerge on SmackDown at some point to reignite his rivalry with CM Punk or whoever is holding the Undisputed WWE Championship at that time.

The other big names to not show up on Raw were IYO SKY and Solo Sikoa. SKY lost her Women’s World Championship challenge fair and square to Liv Morgan, but there was reason to believe that their feud wasn’t over, since SKY had just defeated Morgan to become Queen of the Ring a little more than a month prior. Still, SKY wasn’t on Raw, and it became clear as to why when both Becky Lynch and Stephanie Vaquer returned to action to challenge for Morgan’s title. Suddenly Morgan, who did not have to defend her championship between WrestleMania and SummerSlam, has her hands full with worthy competitors.

As for Sikoa, it was surprising to not see him on Raw because he’s building momentum as hilarious babyface after years of playing an intimidating heel. You’d think WWE would want Sikoa in front of the camera as often as possible in order to keep showing fans his new, entertaining persona.

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Both Mets and Knicks cruise to victory on a very pleasant Tuesday evening

Posted on April 29, 2026 by Aaron Yorke

The Mets earned a much-needed victory on Tuesday night to start their three-game series against the Washington Nationals. Washington might have a better record than the Mets, but this is a franchise that signaled that it plans to continue rebuilding in 2026 with its offseason trade of ace pitcher Mackenzie Gore. Last night, the Mets handled the Nationals like a veteran team should handle a rebuilding one and won 8-0 behind six strong innings from Clay Holmes.

The offense woke up as well with a spark provided by Bo Bichette and his leadoff, opposite-field home run off of struggling Washington starter Zack Littell. New York really got the offense cranked up when Marcus Semien bounced a ground ball to third base with the bases loaded in the fourth inning. It looked like Nationals third baseman Jorbit Vivas had a chance to turn a devastating, inning-ending double play, but the ball slipped under his glove and rolled down the left field line to plate a pair of runs.

That error opened the floodgates for the Mets, as Carson Benge roped Littell’s next pitch into center field to plate Semien. After another single by Ronnie Mauricio and a long sac fly to right field by Bichette, Juan Soto capped the rally with a two-run home run to left field. Now the score was 8-0 Mets, and they cruised to victory thanks to Holmes’ continued excellence.

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Carlos Mendoza is still the Mets’ manager following sweep by Rockies

Posted on April 28, 2026 by Aaron Yorke

Just when it looked like the Mets were moving on from their 12-game losing streak and getting ready to make a serious run at the Postseason, they went and got swept by the Colorado Rockies, sinking to 9-19 for the season. Following two straight win over the Twins on Wednesday night and Thursday night, the Mets were big favorites against Colorado in the series opener on Friday, but couldn’t take advantage due to three ground-ball double plays and staff “ace” Freddy Peralta crumbling in the fifth and sixth innings.

The first double play came in the bottom of the second after Brett Baty doubled and Mark Vientos hit and infield single to set up the Mets for a big inning. However, Marcus Semien ensured the Mets would only score once when he hit a one-hopper to Tyler Freeman at second base that gave the Rockies two outs for the price of one run and allowed Michael Lorenzen to work deep into the ballgame.

That would be the only New York run until the eighth inning, when the Mets would rally against Colorado reliever Jaden Hill. Ronnie Mauricio, Bo Bichette, and Francisco Alvarez all singled to load the bases with one out. Baty then came through with a base hit up the middle to drive in a pair and put the tying run in scoring position. Finally the Mets were stringing some clutch hits together in a game that they needed to have! Colorado changed pitchers to Antonio Senzatela and Citi Field was ready for one more big knock, but instead we got the most brutal double play of the evening. Mark Vientos ripped a line drive to the opposite field, but it went straight into Freeman’s glove, and he easily doubled pinch-runner Tommy Pham off second base to end the inning.

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The Mets’ losing streak hits 12 despite a dominant start against the Twins

Posted on April 22, 2026 by Aaron Yorke

The Mets appeared to be on their way to ending their 11-game losing streak in the series opener vs. Minnesota on Tuesday night. Nolan McLean was dominant and retired the first 15 batters that he faced while Francisco Lindor came up big with a three-run blast to right field that ended up being the only significant offense from the Mets all night. Still, it looked like it would be enough until Byron Buxton took McLean deep over the left field wall just three batters after Matt Wallner became the first Twins batter to reach base with a single to open the sixth inning.

The two-run home run brought Minnesota within one and put some pressure on New York’s offense to add some runs. Instead, the Mets made 12 straight outs against the Twins’ beleaguered bullpen. While the Mets flailed about, Minnesota broke through against McLean again with Kody Clemens hitting a double with one out in the seventh and Luke Keaschall following up with an RBI single to tie the game. Huascar Brazoban kept the score steady until the ninth, which set the stage for Devin Williams to blow a game for the second time in a row.

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Mets blown out in Chicago for ninth straight loss

Posted on April 18, 2026 by Aaron Yorke

The Mets got the offense revved up in the second inning on Friday afternoon in Chicago, but it didn’t matter very much since Kodai Senga was a flaming tire fire for the second time in a row. The Japanese right-hander was one strike away from escaping a jam in the bottom of the first, but then Seiya Suzuki dropped an RBI single into right field and Cubs phenom Moises Ballesteros followed up with a three-run opposite taco. The Mets, who have had trouble scoring more than two runs in a game during this long losing streak were down 4-0 out of the gate.

Even before I could say “it’s over,” the Mets surprisingly battled back against Chicago starter Edward Cabrera. MJ Melendez continued his hot hitting with a scorching line drive single to put two runners on base for Marcus Semien, who ripped a double into the gap to get the Mets on the board. After Brett Baty continued his monster slump with a strikeout, Tyrone Taylor ripped a line drive off the left-center field wall for what could have been a two-RBI double. However, Taylor had to settle for a single since he was thrown out by former Mets draft pick Pete Crow-Armstrong. On instant replay it looked like Taylor might have avoided the tag by Nico Hoerner, but Carlos Mendoza chose not to challenge the play and the rally fizzled out on Caron Benge’s fly out with the New York still down a run.

The momentum didn’t last long, as Senga gave up a two-run blast to Hoerner in the bottom of the inning to make the score 6-3. The Mets wouldn’t score again until the game was well out of hand in eighth inning. The game almost got interesting when the first three New York batters reached base, but then Melendez struck out and Mark Vientos grounded into a double play to doom the Mets to a 12-4 blowout loss.

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Mets blow an opportunity for offense while Dodgers pull away late and complete a sweep

Posted on April 16, 2026 by Aaron Yorke

The very evil and very nice future WWE Hall of Famer Danhausen agreed to uncurse the Mets on Wednesday morning, but New York continued to stumble that night in an 8-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers that completed a three-game sweep. The Mets have now lost eight games in a row and sit in last place in the National League East. Maybe the loss was due to Danhausen’s face not yet appearing on a WWE equipment truck, or maybe the Mets were never cursed and have just been a terrible franchise for the past 40 years. I don’t want to contemplate that second scenario, but after this latest result, it has to be brought into consideration.

Clay Holmes kept the Mets in the game with his third straight solid outing, but hope remained bleak due to the offense’s continued ineptness against Dodgers starter Shohei Ohtani. It looked like Los Angeles might have enough runs to win the game when Hyeseong Kim delivered a two-run home run to the right field seats in the second inning.

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The Mets have lost seven straight games, but Danhausen is here to help

Posted on April 15, 2026 by Aaron Yorke

The young New York Mets 2026 campaign took a turn for the worse after the team defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3 to improve to 7-4 last week. Since then, the Mets have lost seven straight games, and in only two of those games have they scored more than one run. Tuesday night against the Dodgers was a great opportunity to score more than a run because Francisco Lindor led off with a solo home run off of Los Angeles ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto to finally find his first RBI of the season. This could have been the night that the Mets’ offense exploded and snapped the losing skid, but instead Yamamoto settled in and retired the next 20 New York batters in a row before Bo Bichette hit a double with two outs in the seventh inning. With the scored tied 1-1, the Mets had a chance to take a rare lead, but Brett Baty struck out to end the frame.

The Mets were still in the game until late because Nolan McLean proved to be just as brilliant as Yamamoto. He allowed a run in the first when Will Smith hit a double that led to Kyle Tucker scoring on Freddie Freeman’s ground out, but after that McLean was lights out. The most encouraging part was how he stayed in control even when facing the powerful Dodgers lineup for a third time. He even struck out the side in the seventh inning before leaving the game with 95 pitches thrown.

The eighth inning provide another opportunity for the Mets when Carson Benge and Lindor both singled with two outs to finally get Yamamoto out of the game. However, Blake Treinen struck out Luis Robert Jr. to end the threat and the Dodgers pushed a run across in the bottom half thanks to Miguel Rojas’ leadoff walk and Tucker’s bloop single off of Brooks Raley.

Even with Edwin Diaz out of commission due to a decrease in velocity, the Dodgers had no trouble shutting down the Mets in the ninth, as Alex Vesia struck out the side on just 10 pitches. Almost immaculate!

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John Blackwell beats the buzzer for Wisconsin and Nebraska stays undefeated in a rout

Posted on January 14, 2026 by Aaron Yorke

Wisconsin avoided a letdown game following its shocking upset at Michigan when John Blackwell crushed a triple at the buzzer to give the Badgers a 78-75 victory at Minnesota on Tuesday night. The Gophers led 41-30 over their rivals with 18 minutes left thanks to Jaylen Crocker-Johnson hitting a floater plus the foul, but Blackwell answered with a pair of three-point shots to lead Wisconsin on the comeback trail. The Badgers would lead by as many as nine thanks to former Gopher Braeden Carrington knocking down seven triples of his own for a season-high 21 points, but Minnesota refused to go away. Nolan Winter’s missed free throw with 12 seconds left gave Cade Tyson the opportunity to tie the game at 75-75 with five seconds to play, but Blackwell struck right back with his clutch winner.

Blackwell led everyone in scoring with 27 points and added five assists as well. Minnesota had four players in double figures led by Crocker-Johnson with 20 points while Langston Reynolds scored 12 points with 10 of the Gophers’ 20 assists.

Talk about two teams going in different directions. Nebraska wrecked Oregon 90-55 to keep the Cornhuskers undefeated at 6-0 in the Big Ten and 17-0 overall. It’s the biggest blowout Nebraska has ever had over a Big Ten opponent in conference play. This is also the best start to Big Ten play that Nebraska has had since joining the conference for the 2011-12 season. Meanwhile, the Ducks are 1-5 in the Big Ten haven’t started this poorly in league play since they went 1-5 to begin the Pac-12 campaign of 2013-14.

The game didn’t start so lopsided. Oregon center Nate Bittle made a layup to tie the score at 28-28 with four minutes left in the first half, but then Oregon rolled off a 14-2 run to gain a 42-30 lead at halftime. The burst was spearheaded by Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager each making two three-point shots, and they would end up torching the nets by each going 7-for-11 from beyond the arc during the game. That accounted for 14 of Nebraska’s 17 three-point shots. On the other side, Oregon made just six shots from beyond the arc while shooting 26 percent from there.

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Aaron’s 2025 Week 11 NFL picks

Posted on November 13, 2025 by Aaron Yorke

I was terrible last week, but so was everyone else except Abe, who tightened his stranglehold on the ChabDog picks contest by being sharp when everyone else was being square. Abe had New England when the rest of us had Tampa and New Orleans when the rest of us had Carolina. The only good pick I made was Houston, and that was still a loser after the Texans’ miracle comeback! It took a fluke touchdown at the end to get Houston to cover the spread. At least I finished strong with big wins by the Chargers and Eagles.

Abe might be too far gone at this point, but I can still catch the Tank with a solid Week 11.

Jets +11.5 at Patriots

Jets have won two in a row and the Patriots are wearing ugly uniforms.

Commanders +2.5 at Dolphins

This is such a recency bias spread. Marcus Mariota has played well for Washington with Jayden Daniels out.

Panthers at Falcons -3.5

I should pick Carolina since it was such a letdown last week, but I’m back on the Falcons after they blew the cover and the game in European overtime.

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