Welcome to When in Rome, the column that only has two rules: hustle and be on time. Wait, no, those are actually Charlie Manuel’s rules for the now floundering Philadelphia Phillies, and last year’s National League MVP Jimmy Rollins has managed to break both of those rules this past week. Rollins just doesn’t seem like the same player at all this year compared to last. His stats are way down and he just gives off vibes like he isn’t happy. I have no clue what his deal is, but Jimmy’s got to step up and back up his bold claims (like that the Phils will win 100 games this year) if the Phillies are going to make it back to the playoffs this year.

Now, on the wrestling front…


Apocrypha

Well, the Undertaker is returning for Summerslam to face Edge in a Hell in a Cell match. The Edge/Vickie wedding storyline predictably ended with an unhappy couple. What wrestling romance ever does end happily? I’d like to see that happen for a change! Last week Triple H revealed Edge’s cheating ways during the “wedding reception,” last week’s Smackdown. On this week’s Smackdown, Edge apologized to Vickie, who seemed as if she was about to forgive the “Rated R Superstar” when she revealed that she re-instated the Undertaker and booked the big Edge/Taker HIAC match for Summerslam. I do hope that this will be the big, final blowoff encounter for this feud because it has gone on a bit long. Granted, the Taker vacation does make this feud seem a bit fresher, but these guys have basically been feuding for over a year now and I think it would be best to separate them.

My major fear is that Edge/Vickie are going to pull one more swerve and reunite to screw Taker out of the HIAC victory and keep this feud running. Now, I doubt that this will happen, but there is a chance. Hopefully, Taker goes over clean and moves on to feuding with Umaga. That oft rumored feud could be a great one.

Speaking of Umaga, it appears that he and the Big Show are about to begin a program together. Maybe they’ll get a one on one match up at Summerslam. Umaga cost the Big Show a chance to win the #1 contender’s battle royal this past Smackdown when he re-entered the ring after Show eliminated him to deliver the Samoan Spike to Show, leading to Jeff Hardy dumping him over the top with a sweet Hurricanrana type move. I think Show/Umaga will be a great match and I hope it occurs. Often, big man vs. big man matches fail because inevitably one of the hosses isn’t all that great in the ring. But, both of these guys are quite talented for men their size. I think that if they’re given around 12 minutes Show and Umaga could put on one of the better hossfests in history.

In other Smackdown news, the Great Khali is the number one contender for the WWE title after winning a six man battle royal. Yep, anything can happen in WWE… I doubt that anyone saw this coming, but I honestly don’t mind. Khali is much better than he’s credited. He can play the monster role, do comedy, wrestle decently for a guy his size and has the pedigree of being a former World Champion. I can’t really argue with WWE choosing him to face Triple H at Summerslam. Of course, Trips will emerge victorious (I think?) and probably feud with someone else (MVP or Jeff Hardy?) post Summerslam, but WWE could continue with their unpredictable ways and book a Khali win here. But I seriously doubt it.

In Raw news, chaos and CM Punk still reign supreme. Punk survived challenges from Batista on successive nights this past week – thanks to outside interference from Kane at the GAB and JBL on Raw. Some folks in the IWC are not pleased with Punk not getting a clean win over Batista either night and are started to think that WWE is treating Punk much like they did Rey Mysterio a few years back when he played the role of “underdog champion.”

I don’t think that WWE is treating Punk like Mysterio at all. Rey was getting crushed by guys like Khali in non title matches; Punk, while not beating Batista, has not been made to look weak either. Their matches have been back and forth battles; either guy could’ve come out victorious. Now, if Batista would have hit his finish on Punk on successive nights, only to have the three counts broken up by interference, I’d agree that Punk looked weak. But that didn’t happen, and I believe that Punk will start picking up some victories (or at least have some good promos if he doesn’t happen to wrestle in any singles bouts) to lead into Summerslam.

But, what will the World championship match be at Summerslam? Will WWE bust out the Elimination Chamber yet again since Punk, Batista, Cena, JBL and Kane all seem to be intertwined storyline wise at the moment? Or, will WWE run with the Batista/Cena dream match and book a Punk/JBL, Punk/Kane or even a Punk/JBL/Kane match at Summerslam?

I don’t see the EC taking place again this year. It would be overkill. I honestly think that WWE is going to go the Batista/Cena and Punk/JBL route. Now, where that leaves Kane, I really don’t know. Most likely he won’t make the card if this scenario takes place, but I could see him interfering yet again in Batista’s match, It would be pretty lame for Cena/Batista to end without a clear winner, especially at a big event like Summerslam, but if it means that masked Kane makes his return here, I could deal.


Alright, enough babbling – it’s time for…



The Gospel Truth



Ezekiel 43:9

Now let them put away their whoring and the dead bodies of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.



This is a tale that demands telling. Everyone needs to hear it so no one will ever forget the life and work of one Edward Davidson. He was one of the greats.

We don’t know much about Davidson’s personal life, but we know that he was one of the best ever at his chosen profession, internet marketing. Davidson owned his own business which he dubbed “Power Promoters,” and he cut his teeth by marketing for companies that sold watches, perfume and other small goods. But he quickly rose to the top of his industry by selling penny stock for small companies. He became known as one of the “Kings,” joining other notables such as Scott Richter, Robert Soloway and Sanford Wallace. Some may even have deemed Davidson the best of them all – the King of Kings.

Now, Davidson chose a profession that most people lambaste. I have called it internet marketing. Many of you would deem it spamming. But remember, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and Davidson became one of the premier players in his field. Undoubtedly his peers would only have respect for his accomplishments. In fact, I bet they would love to talk about how Davidson turned emails for generic Viagra into millions. They would tell and retell Davidson’s exploits to themselves and anyone who would listen. I bet the rest of the boys loved Davidson. Why wouldn’t they? He set the standard for excellence.

I mean, can’t you imagine the scene that probably took place in the Davidson home when Edward became known as a Spam King? I figure that he was drenched with sweat and physically and mentally exhausted from the tortuous labor of sending out those emails to prospective customers. I can only picture him embracing his lovely wife as tears run down both of their cheeks. They would both be so proud of his accomplishment. He was a King! Can you envision him picking up his small daughter, holding her high in the air as she squeals with delight? She couldn’t have understood the magnitude of her father’s achievement, but she could perceive his joy, so she mirrored it in kind.

Maybe one of Davidson’s close friends was at his home when he became a Spam King. I can only imagine the happiness he would have felt for his friend. I bet that he probably went to Davidson, grabbed his arm and raised it in victory as if he had won a World Heavyweight Championship. In fact, Davidson had become champion in his own world. He was a Spam King and nothing could ever dilute his accomplishment. Even though most will now refer to him as a monster…

Is it even fair to label Davidson a monster? Yes, Colorado Police believe that Davidson escaped from a minimum security Colorado prison and murdered his wife and three year old daughter before killing himself, but is that monstrous in light of his awesome career resume? U.S Attorney Troy Eid called Davidson “a coward,” and I’m sure that others will soon jump on the bandwagon to bash Davidson, but I must appeal that all of you not judge him on the last actions of his life. We must remember that he excelled at his chosen field, and surely, excellence at one’s profession should prevent criticism, right?

Think of the inspiring legacy he left for young spammers everywhere. I’m sure that they will continue to view Davidson as nothing less than a hero because he was great at his job. Sure, he had flaws. He should’ve probably paid taxes on his earnings – that would’ve kept him out of prison in the first place, but hey it’s tough to remain a Spam King. Many spammers would be gunning for Davidson’s place as a top earning spammer, so Davidson had to cut corners a bit to keep his income at an optimal level. Anybody in his situation would do the same thing, right?

Think of the opportunities he gave to millions to try new products. Maybe someone needed a new watch – a Davidson email could have brought him happiness. Maybe someone was having trouble in the bedroom – Davidson’s knock off Viagra could have been his salvation. How can we forget or ignore all the wonderful things Davidson had done for others? Maybe he even helped you personally.

Maybe Davidson had a valid reason for committing this double murder suicide. Maybe his commitment to his job left him incapacitated in some way. Maybe sending out all those emails gave him carpal tunnel syndrome and he just wasn’t the same Edward Davidson he used to be. Maybe staring at a computer monitor for extended periods of time left him brain damaged and unable to tell right from wrong. Who knows? The only thing that really matters is that Davidson was excellent at what he did. The final grisly moments of his life were simply that – moments, right?

I’m sure that Davidson’s actions will lead to a real crack down on spammers everywhere. Hopefully some new regulations are put in place so that this kind of tragedy never happens again. Nevertheless, we must be sure not to erase the legacy of Edward Davidson from our memories. He excelled at his job, became rich and made some people happy.

And that’s all that really matters, right?



Before you go read a…


Proverb


My son, to walk the path of wisdom, you must know when to step aside from the road and read Joey Shinobi’s (or is it Shibobi?) The Shinobi Slam # 6 – Cold Day in the Sun


Well, you’ve just read the uninspired, fallible, opinion only word of Rome. Take it for what it’s worth. I’ll be back again soon with another column for you all. In the meantime check out the the LOP Columns Forum and read some more columns. Write some columns. Have fun.


Want to speak your mind? Send me an email at romes_writings@yahoo.com.


Later all.