For the first time in a while, we delve into podcast territory as a follow up on the ongoing saga of C. M. Punk. Tom and Mike discuss the angle and reminisce a bit about sports entertainment days gone by:
Download: The Axis of Ego Podcast 06-30-11
It’s all too easy to dismiss professional wrestling as a mongrel form of entertainment that achieves neither the excitement of legitimate competition nor the imagination of true performance art.
Yet, I’ve always thought those who try to pigeonhole the endeavor as either a fake sport or amateurish acting miss the point entirely. It is that unique combination of athleticism and scripted drama that gives wrestling its singular* appeal for those of us who choose to see that particular glass as half-full, rather than judging professional wrestling for what it isn’t.
I find it fascinating from a sociological perspective, never moreso than when the sport becomes self-aware of its own peculiar conventions. This is a delicate balancing act. Being able simultaneously to maintain the beats of a well-crafted wrestling angle while also injecting a dose of the external reality that underscores the multi-layered nature of the sport without having that reality collapse on itself requires a skilled writing staff and, more to the point, a gifted performer.
Luckily, C. M. Punk has provided just that.
Gene Cox began working at Richmond’s WWBT-12 thirty-three years ago. Today is his last behind the anchor desk.
The native Virginian presided over half a lifetime’s worth of news items, big and small, making them all his own. Especially the small ones.
WWBT has paid tribute to Gene this week by running favorite stories and clips from the past. This certainly isn’t a novel way to honor an outgoing television personality, but I found the effort compelling nonetheless because its wide range of content revealed Gene’s versatility. Always the consummate newsman, he seemed happiest when visiting regular folks in small towns like the ones near and dear to his own Southwest Virginia heart.
Gene posted a bittersweet entry on his personal blog yesterday. Entitled “No Country for Old Men,” he reflected briefly and thankfully on his working life, noting that it was a career spent doing “exactly what [he] wanted to do.”
Yet, rather than slipping into a cliched recitation of how wonderful he feels at this moment, there was an astute and mildly-sad recognition of the reality of the situation in which he now finds himself.
“I do not relish getting up each morning with vague purpose. And because I don’t play golf, or want to, there are some issues that must be faced.”
He later references the Cormac McCarthy work for which he named the entry, noting the simple fact that thirty-three years is a long time in human terms. Life changes. But, more to the point, the world changes around us. Each change is equally inevitable. Trying to stop either is futile.
Finding a purpose is arguably the essence of a happy life, whether it be raising a family, finding the right career, or achieving some tangible goal. There’s a corollary that goes along with that, however: Chances are that even a happy, successful person will outlive his purpose.
The kids move out. You get the gold watch. You win a championship. The question at that point remains the same: “Now what?”
That will be the question Gene answers in the days ahead.
Gene’s retirement is particularly noteworthy on a selfish, personal level as well. It just so happens that Gene entered the Richmond market the same year I entered this world. Put simply, Gene has anchored the news here for literally my entire life.
I won’t pretend that he’s had some profound effect on me personally. I say only that his retirement is yet another reminder of the inescapable reality with which he himself now deals: Everything changes. Everything ends.
His has been a career that is worthy of all its accolades. The conventional wisdom on Gene seems to have come full circle after three-plus decades. Some perceived him to be aloof or even disinterested as time passed. His Twitter feed has reminded us more recently that we shouldn’t confuse a razor-sharp dry wit for indifference.
I certainly would never presume to speak for the rest of Richmond. But, whatever Gene decides to do next, I know two things:
1. He’s earned it.
2. I’ll be watching.
As we roll towards the 2012 presidential election, Sarah Palin’s “One Nation” bus rolls with us. The tour speeds through the country like a patriotic bullet through the collective heart of America’s enemies.
Palin has been customarily tight-lipped about whether she’s officially running for president next year, but it seems obvious to most political observers that the purpose of this star-spangled, cross-country extravaganza is to bolster support for a full-fledged run at the White House in 2012.
The media continues to treat Palin’s bus tour as a novelty.
The truth is, there’s nothing novel about it.
In fact, another ambitious person hoping to win the ultimate prize in his field utilized this precise tactic a generation ago.
That man’s name was Lex Luger.
Despite my frequent ramblings on what some* might call trivial topics including animal-related magic tricks, obscure (possibly apocryphal) entertainment feuds, or professional wrestling, I’m actually quite attentive to politics and current events. I’m simply selective. This is mostly because such issues demand more deliberation in terms of writing style and attention to detail. In short, they’re more difficult.
Sometimes, though, a story comes across my virtual desk that warrants further discussion. An article on Gallup.com this week triggered the requisite alarms.
The poll was a relatively simple one, consisting of a single question: “Just your best guess, what percent of Americans today would you say are gay or lesbian?”
The results were . . . I was going to say “surprising,” but “ridiculous” seems more appropriate.
Tonight marked the much-ballyhooed season finale of the Office as the Carell-less future of the show looms in the fall. Since the Office is the last of the three “SitCombat” regulars to 
wrap for the year, this also means that this will be the final edition of this much-beloved feature until the leaves start to change.
I didn’t want to go out with the Office winning unopposed. I’ve selected some special competition for this final night of the year before we drift off into rerun territory. I’ll begin with the Office.
This was SitCombat for May 19, 2011:
Continue reading
UPDATE (1/27/16) – See the end of this post for some important clarification about what we now know is an urban legend!
Johnny Carson’s name means little to most people under 30, but, for folks of a certain generation (especially comedians), he endures as the gold standard for the late night talk 
format. His was a Tonight Show that existed in a world very different from our own. Not only did he dominate for three decades in terms of his own popularity, but that popularity entitled him to a position as an entertainment power-broker that would be structurally impossible amid the media landscape of 2011 (or, for that matter, 2001).
Carson’s status as a maker and breaker of careers is well-documented. If Carson liked a comedian, said performer instantly had cache and, more importantly, a future in the business. If Carson didn’t like a comic, it was more likely than not that stand-up would be quickly forgotten.
Performers of all kinds who were among Carson’s favorites had a “home” at the Tonight Show. Frequent appearances kept them in the public eye—an invaluable resource in an era with no internet and little cable television.
This is the story of Carson turning on one of his own.
Akin to age-old queries concerning the sound of one hand clapping or a tree falling in a wood devoid of an audience, we now find ourselves faced with an edition of SitCombat without any actual combat.
Well, let me re-phrase: None of the editions of SitCombat feature actual violent conflict. What I mean to say is that two of our usual three participants have finished their respective seasons, thereby depriving us of a true competition. Without so much as an Archer re-run to be found, we’re now in a “Superman III” scenario wherein The Office had only itself against which to compete.
There’s no reason not to review the show, however:
The Office (NBC)
Tonight’s Episode: Dwight gets his inevitable (short-lived) turn as manager.
Good Stuff: “Must be because the stakes are so high” . . . The subtle change to the open as Dwight adjusts his desk samurai . . . Dwight’s portrait . . . Dwight pausing at Kelly’s nether regions and casting a skeptical eye . . . Dwight’s marble desk . . . “Gabe was a great guy, with so many wonderful qualities, but it was a challenge being touched by him” . . . The pirana? Oh, it’s a rescue . . . “As you pale skin and severe bone structure imply, you’ll age swiftly and poorly” . . . “You don’t have to keep wearing those boobie shirts” “THANK YOU!” . . . Toby’s excitement over being able to use the gun violence forms for the first time . . . “I love you guys…but don’t cross me…but you’re the best.”
Non-good Stuff: Hey! Opening the work day with the Pledge of Allegiance and morning announcements seems like a good idea . . . As I’ve said before, “Pathetic Gabe” is “Not Funny Gabe” . . . Five seasons ago, Dwight wouldn’t have taken Jim’s compliment in stride. He would have sworn revenge—and made good on that pledge.
Line of the Night: “If we’ve already fomented insurrection, are we grandfathered in?” – Jim, seeking clarification.
Overall: This one had some ups and downs. Getting a look at what Dwight would be like as manager was an obvious way to go, but, if the goal was to get viewers to think, “Man, that would be horrible,” that wasn’t my response. The staggered lunches and other impediments hit pretty close to home as far as some of my work history goes. That’s a story for a different article. Anyway, I thought more things worked than didn’t. Gabe is a terrible character right now. And the reconciliation between Jim and Dwight at the end of the episode seemed forced. Other than that, Dwight did amusing Dwight things all episode. Jim had his share of good moments. Andy didn’t contribute much this week. Basically, this episode was a close win where one player had to score over half his team’s points: A win is a win, but some other people need to step up. On the other hand, this was a “Dwight” episode, so that sort of imbalance is to be expected, I suppose.
The bigger issue is that this is an increasingly-large cast that just lost its central figure. Yet, I don’t yet get the sense that there’s a structure in place to fill that void. I grant that all of that is being saved for the finale and beyond, but I worry that whatever arrangement the writers come up with may not be suitable for long-term success. I still hold out hope that it can all work. I also still believe Andy will ultimately be the new boss.
GRADE: B-plus
Final Thoughts: I think next week I’ll have to come up with some competition for the
much-heralded Office season finale. They’ve packed it with a bunch of (probably) twenty-second cameos, including Ray Romano, Jim Carrey, James Spader (for some reason), and Ricky Gervais. I should mention that it’s pretty disappointing that Gervais couldn’t even do his cameo in person. At any rate, they’re setting the bar high for the finale. I can’t let that go unchallenged.
WINNER: The Office (retains title by default)
Gather round, Generation Z, and take heed: There was a time when the internet was still the World Wide Web (or, to some, “America Online”). Before Youtube, Facebook, Google, 
and Wikipedia formed the Mount Rushmore of the digital age, we searched for information with something called an “Alta Vista,” and we got our sports news from the “Go.com” family of sites.
Today I share with you a tale from this forgotten era. This is a story from the Internet Graveyard. This is the story of JustATip.com.
The Axis of Ego 
Freedom (of Gluttony)
As a tip of the cap to our nation’s birthday, as well as to the industrious spirit that made our country great, I present one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen on television. Not “greatest shows” or “greatest competitions.” Greatest things.
This is the 2003 showdown between Takeru Kobayashi and a Kodiak brown bear:
I enjoy several distinct aspects of this contest, aside from the inherent enjoyment of seeing a human do battle with a massive animal in an eating contest. Among them:
1. The commentary team treats the event with unironic seriousness.
2. The bear competes under a giant American flag in a show of inexplicable patriotism.
3. Michael Buffer was paid five figures (at least) to participate in this.
4. There’s a post-match interview with Steve Martin(!), bear handler.
Many elements of this spectacle were quintessentially American, making it all the more appropriate on this Fourth of July. First and foremost among them was the idea that, in a pre-Joey Chestnut world, we had to resort to using a bear to defeat the then-untouchable Kobayashi.*
Happy Birthday, America!
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*Of course, there’s about a 30% chance that Kobayashi is actually a highly-sophisticated robot, so maybe this isn’t as unfair as it seems.
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