After another crazy season of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” (Mon., 9 p.m. EST on Bravo), the women gathered around Andy Cohen for the obligatory reunion special. With the suicide of Russell Armstrong looming over the entire season, it was no surprise when Bravo commissioned three parts to this reunion special. But Cohen wasted no time getting to that topic, hitting it in this first hour.

He asked the women in the room what their first reaction was upon finding that he’d committed suicide. The responses were the typical responses one would hear to such news, ranging from shock to simply not believing it. Taylor Armstrong talked about how that moment consumed her.

“At the time I couldn’t even focus on the show,” she said. “And to be honest at that point it didn’t even matter to me, because I was suffering a tremendous loss.”

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Taylor Armstrong Talks Reaction To Russell’s Suicide On ‘The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Reunion (VIDEO)

Where is Yogi Berra when we need him? There is Iran going back to its old game plan, threatening to ban oil exports. This time shipments of oil to Europe in its head to head with European consumers who are readying their own import embargo on deliveries of Iranian oil, given the standoff on Iran’s nuclear program.

In retaliation, Iran’s Parliament is now working on a plan to stop Iran’s on going oil exports to Europe forthwith in retaliation for Europe’s embargo scheduled to become effective July1st. (“Iran Says It May Cut Off Its Oil Exports to Europe” New York Times 01.27.12).

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Raymond J. Learsy: Iran’s Oil Threat, "Deja Vu, All Over Again"

HBO’s “Luck” is a show that is trying to do a lot of things and nothing all at once. The characters speak all the time, in all different accents, but they’re not really saying much, and whatever they do say is never what they really mean. The bulk of “Luck” — a show that’s about horse racing, on the surface — is that there’s nothing that “surface” about it. Subtext is the mantra, so if you’re not into working hard to be entertained, this one might not excite you right away.

But they say slow and steady wins the race, and while “Luck” definitely starts out slow, with a cast and a pedigree this strong and a premise that has plenty worth exploring, I’m hoping it can speed up to a gallop sooner rather than later in its first season (premieres Sun., Jan. 29 at 9 p.m. EST on HBO).

I, along with a select handful of fellow journalists, sat down with “Luck” stars Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte, creator David Milch and executive producer Michael Mann, all of whom are known for being rather offbeat in their own ways.

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‘Luck’ Interviews: Is HBO’s Horse Racing Drama Destined To Be A Winner?

SANTA ANA, Calif. — For some physicians at a Santa Barbara hospital it wasn’t the arrest of Dr. Julio Diaz on federal drug trafficking charges that surprised them, but the time it took for authorities to make the move.

Diaz was arrested this week by federal agents for allegedly trafficking in huge quantities of powerful painkillers and he was held without bond after a court appearance in Orange County on Thursday.

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Julio Gabriel Diaz, ‘Candy Man’ Doctor Arrested For Drug Trafficking, Was Suspected By Colleagues

The two things I hear most about Gunner is that he is a jobber and that he has no charisma, and I must say that I respectfully disagree. Gunner started off as a security guard then began tagging with Murphy, then got lost in the shuffle for a while. Once they signed new contracts with TNA they began getting more air time, with Gunner starting his singles career. He got a reign as Television Champion and even got a pinfall victory over Sting on Impact, who was the World Champion at the time.

Gunner kept getting more and more of the spotlight and earned his way into the Bound for Glory Series Final Four, where he added another dimension to his character. He was aligned with Immortal and Bully Ray and it showed, but he refused to lay down and teased a turn when he was asked to ‘do the right thing’ and let Bully beat him. The result in the end didn’t matter since Bobby Roode ended up winning the tournament and Gunner went back to being loyal to Immortal, but he still showed progress.

A lot of people may have gotten ticked off that he was getting ‘embarrassed’ by a very green (and undeserving) Garret Bischoff, but he ended up being OK. Gunner got a good amount of heat and was there to make Garret look good, so they must have a lot of faith in him. Garret was taken off of TV following a piledriver by Gunner, so while he was made of fool of a few times, he ended up getting his revenge. Since then he has also injured Jesse Neal and Douglas Williams with DDT’s on the concrete floor and got an endorsement from Ric Flair.

Obviously with Flair being in his corner Gunner will learn a lot and get some help on the mic, but he is also a good worker. Say what you will about Flair, but he has always aligned himself with talented guys from the Horsemen to Evolution to Fortune. He is in a good role and does nothing but help a younger talent like Gunner. Immortal’s roster has gone through a lot of changes, but Gunner has benefitted through it by being a constant focus. James Storm and Bobby Roode have been Impact’s ‘it’ guys over the past few months, and the praise is well deserved, but Gunner also deserves it and should be one of the guys to pay attention to in 2012.

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WZ Presents Superstar Spotlight – Gunner

American women face a stark choice in the Iowa caucuses: re-elect feminist President Barack Obama who has advanced equality or caucus for a Republican who pledges to roll back generations of progress. 

By the time California (where I chair the state Democratic Party’s Women’s Caucus) will cast votes for president, the primary race will already be all but over, so my hope is that Iowa caucusgoers plant a flag for womens rights now when the race begins. What happens in Iowa will say a lot about how American presidential candidates believe they must campaign to capture the feminist vow in November 2012.

Feminism – equality without apology – knows no partisan bounds. Women across the philosophical spectrum make our own choices about our families, our careers, and our politics. But in order to keep the freedom to make those choices, women need feminist leaders at the helm with policies that advance our progress. More important than identity politics are the feminist policies that allow women to make progress. When we look key indicators like economics, health, patriotism, and leadership, American voters have a clear choice: progress for women from President Obama’s policies or repeal and reversal by his opponents. 

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Christine Pelosi: Women’s Rights at Stake: Why Iowa Feminists Should Caucus for President Obama

Wrestlezone readers, welcome back to the Depth Chart! For all you who are familiar, thanks for casting your vote and helping to make this the most interactive, comprehensive ranking system in pro wrestling today! And for all the new readers tuning in, this is the place where the Wrestlezone staff and our beloved readers come together to vote on who the best in WWE and TNA is every single month. This time we take a look at the events following Survivor Series, ending with this month's TLC pay-per-view. Who moved up? Who moved down? Who isn't on the list at all, and who made their Depth Chart debut? Let's get to it…?

10. John Cena – WWE (#8)
? ? ? ? ? ??Fan Vote: Jeff Hardy

Cena drops a few spots after a rather lackluster month and a sacrificing his spot at TLC. I did really like some of his promo work, but with other guys on the rise, the drop had to be done. Sorry “champ”.?

9. Wade Barrett – WWE (n/a)
? ? ? ? ? ? Fan Vote: Wade Barrett

The Barrett Barrage has been on fire, and regardless of his loss to Orton at TLC, he's still going strong! It seems as though the fans agree with us as well! Wrestlezone's own Chris Cash had the following to say:

Chris Cash- Wade Barrett has had a good finish to his 2011 year and I can see why he's made this list. Great look, moves well in the ring and?holds his own on the mic?- Wade Barrett has all the right tools to be a major player. I strongly expect his current push to continue into the new year. In fact, it won't surprise me at all?if Wade Barrett holds heavyweight gold at some point in 2012.

8. Daniel Bryan – WWE (n/a)
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Fan Vote: Kane

I was a little surprised to see Kane on this list, after only one small appearance in comparison to the rest of the industry's month of work. But apparently to the Wrestlezone viewers, Kane's return was enough to catapult him onto this list! Our choice, however, is the new Heavyweight champion Daniel Bryan. Welcome to the list, D-Bry!?

Ken Napzok- All it took was a change of clothes and an alleged legitimate injury to the steamrolling Mark Henry to make Daniel Bryan a World Champion. Well…that and years upon years of back breaking, soul challenging dedication to a dying craft: professional wrestling. Daniel Bryan (who is Still. Gonna. Kiiiiiiillll you.) was supposed to be the first Money int the Bank winner to FAIL to win championship gold. I mean, that had to be the case. There was just no way an ugly beard sporting, veggie eating, Indy darling south of the 200 pound mark was going to be booked to win a world title. U.S. Title? Sure- that's a secondary belt- they even give that to YouTube sensations these days. Yet over the last month Bryan started to look more the part thanks to improved ring attire, then he started to feel the part with a solid cage match against Henry and a false Money in the Bank cash in win, and now, against all odds, he is the part. Daniel Bryan is the World Heavyweight Champion.?

?7. Zack Ryder – WWE (#10)
? ? ? ? ? Fan Vote: Daniel Bryan?

The Woo Woo Kid finally captured gold at TLC, after a very emotional week prior on Raw. I still think his popularity can only go down-hill from here, but in the spirit of fairness, and because you the readers think so highly of him, Ryder moves up several spots! But can he keep it up with solid defences, proving that he wasn't just carried by his opponents? Only time will tell…?

6. Randy Orton – WWE (#5)
? ? ? ? ?Fan Vote: Robert Roode?

Sorry Orton, you just didn't do it for us this month… A win at TLC was impressive (more shocking than anything, considering the Barrett Barrage is in full force), but he really hasn't shown us anything worthy of moving up the list recently!?

5. Robert Roode – TNA (#6)
? ? ? ? ? ? Fan Vote: Zack Ryder

According to you readers, the Ryder Revolution is in our Fav' Five (dawg!). According to us, not so much… But the current TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode certainly has impressed, and continues to be one of the best heels in the business right now. I was skeptical at first of all the shotgunning and orientation changes going on in the Impact main event scene, but I can't say a single thing against Roode's recent performance.?

4. Mark Henry – WWE (#2)
? ? ? ? ? Fan Vote: Mark Henry

Mark Henry had a dominating month, but he falls from the #2 spot due to losing the title at TLC because he pulled his dinky… Hopefully Henry can rebound once he's healthy enough to compete, because the Hall of Pain has been one of the highlights of 2011!?

3. Cody Rhodes – WWE (#4)
? ? ? ? ? Fan Vote: Cody Rhodes

Welcome to the Top 3 Mr. Rhodes. A strong victory over a legend in Booker T is exactly what you needed right now! Unlike Ziggler's time with the US title, Cody has brought a lot of focus to the Intercontinental belt. The redesign was brilliant, but simply defending it and reminding people that your champion every once in awhile helps a lot… What's next for Cody as we head into the Rhode to WrestleMania? (see what I did there?)?

2. Dolph Ziggler – WWE (#3)
? ? ? ? ?Fan Vote: Dolph Ziggler

This was an incredibly difficult decision to make, but it seems like the readers agree. Dolph Ziggler had a fantastic month, but falls just short of the #1 spot. It seems like every match he was in was a possible Match of the Year candidate this month! Ziggler may have lost the US title, and ultimate that's what keeping him from the top spot, but his future is brighter than perhaps any current star in the industry.?

In the Zone: CM Punk – WWE (#1)
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?Fan Vote: CM Punk

For the second month in a row, CM Punk is “In the Zone”! Retaining the WWE Championship in an impressive TLC match, as well as a fantastic bout with Dolph Ziggler and an intriguing sell that made del Rio and Miz look golden was enough to allow the Straight Edge Savior his spot atop Wrestlezone's Depth Chart. Who can dethrone him? A Royal Rumble win for Ziggler or Rhodes would certainly do the trick, but if Punk continues to deliver at the level he has been…we may have Zone full of Punk for a very long time.?

Thanks again guys for making this month's issue of the Depth Chart a success! Remember to check back leading into the Royal Rumble to vote for January's edition as well! As always you can follow me on Twitter @MikeKillam, and remember to click on the links within their name to follow other Wrestlezone writers and contributers that have appeared in this article! Until next time…?

?

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Wrestlezone Presents: The Depth Chart – December Edition

Thanks to Himanshu Doi for sending this in:

I attended the fourth and what might be the?final day of?taping?of the month for the?upcoming wrestling show on Colors “Ring Ka King” at Balewadi Sports Complex, Pune. Here are the spoilers-cum-reports:

- The taping began with a segment involving Jazzy Lahoria who was the “Commissioner of Ring Ka King”, Matt Morgan, Magnus, Abyss, Steiner, Sonjay Dutt, Doctor Nicholas Dinsmore, some Indian wrestlers and Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh. I missed most of this part since I arrived late into the arena and wasn't able to catch it.

- The team of “The Snakes” (Shawn and Arya Daivari) and Raisha Saeed?defeated Bollywood Boyz (Bollywood Lions) and Mickie James.

- Matt Morgan, the Ring Ka King champion,?came out for a promo. Apparently he's a babyface and he started off the promo with a couple of lines in Hindi to get over with the crowd. He says that there was going to be a battle royal later on for the #1 contendership to his Ring Ka King championship. He says he wants to know who was the one who attacked him from behind, so whoever he is must come out now. Abyss' music hits and he comes to the ring. Morgan gets the upper hand at first but Abyss comes back and dominates him. Morgan is helped up to the back by a couple of referees.

- Battle Royal for the #1 contendership to the Ring Ka King championship:

1. Sir Brutus Magnus

2. B Maxx (Indian wrestler)

3. Barood (Indian wrestler)

4. Roscoe Jackson (Trevor Murdoch)

5. Doctor Nicholas Dinsmore

6. Romeo Rapta (Indian wrestler)

7. Isaiah Outlaw (?)

8. American Adonis (Chris Mordetzky/Masters)

9. Chhotu aur Zoravar

10. Mahabali Veera

11. Scott Steiner

12. Aaghori Saaya

Chhotu aur Zoravar is a team that?consists of one short and one really?tall Indian guy, Chhotu being the short one and Zoravar the tall one. Zoravar is a 7-foot plus guy and was jumped on by everyone in the battle royal. Looks like they found their own version of The Great Khali.

Aaghori Saaya had an almost Samoa Joe like character and was in control of the match fighting with Steiner. Magnus attacked Adonis as soon as he entered, but they both teamed up against Aaghori when he eliminated Steiner. In the end, Aaghori managed to eliminate Adonis, but was beaten to the punch by Magnus who became the #1 contender to Morgan's title.

- Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh came out to promote the #1 contenders match. He needed at least 15 retakes.

- Mickie James (w/Bollywood Boyz) defeated Raisha Saeed (w/The Snakes) with the Mickie DDT. The Snakes tried to interfere in the match but were fended off by Bollywood Boyz.

- Jeremy comes out with a female Indian presenter. He says that there is an American businessman Jeff Jarrett?who wants to buy Ring Ka King. He will be here tonight to try and buy the company. The female presenter translates what he said to the audience.

- Pagal Parinda (in the guise of an Indian wrestler but who seemed to be Alex Shelley, I might be wrong) defeated Zema Ion. Pagal Parinda had a bird gimmick and came out with wings. Sonjay Dutt enters the ring after the match and cuts a promo in Hindi, asking him who he thinks he is. The crowd cheers for him at first, so Sonjay Dutt said in Hindi that you're all the crazy ones, not this guy.?Parinda doesn't reply to the Hindi promo which further?leads me to believe that?it?was Shelley. He pulls some punches on Dutt till he falls out of the ring, then hits a diving?crossbody over the ropes?and re-enters the ring to end the segment.

- Jeremy Borash and the female presenter remind us of the arrival of Jeff Jarrett and say he is the same man who brought Steiner and?Abyss into Ring Ka King.

- Scott Steiner and Abyss defeated Barood and Romeo Rapta (both Indian wrestlers). The match was really a squash match but what followed was one of the most amazing sights on a wrestling show you could ever?wish to see. Following the win, Steiner motioned to punch one of the people in the crowd. He then climbed over the barrier and into the crowd. The crowd scattered in opposite directions away from him as if he were a raging bull! He then proceeded to climb to the second tier like f***ing King Kong and those people tried to run away from him too! Great stuff by Steiner! I hope they got it on camera because it is to be seen to be believed!

- We then had the contract signing segment where Jeff Jarrett would try to buy Ring Ka King from the?Commissioner,?Jazzy Lahoria. A red carpet and a table was set?up in the ring.?An Indian presenter introduced Jarrett as the founder of TNA Wrestling?and he made his entrance through AJ Styles' style pyro, followed by Steiner, Magnus, Abyss and Dutt. The Commissioner Jazzy Lahoria was then introduced. Jarrett said that he was impressed that they were able to do what they have done. He said he was the founder of TNA Wrestling, his family was in the business for 70-plus years and that he would be able to take Ring Ka King to another level. After some deliberation, Jazzy said that for th sake of the fans, he would not sell Ring Ka King to Jarrett. Sonjay Dutt then tried to convince him in Hindi to sign the contract. Steiner catches him by the collar and is threatened by Dutt. Just as it seems that he was going to sign the contract, he tore it up. Jeff Jarrett is livid and takes off his suit and throws it to the ground and was almost about to hit Jazzy. He then slowly cools down, wears his suit back on and offers Jazzy a handshake. Jazzy thinks about it and shakes his hand. Jarrett hugs Jazzy, then turns around and punches him down. The entire bunch gang up on him. Steiner hit him with his own walking stick and Abyss takes it and chokes him with it. Harbhajan Singh then enters the ring with an Indian police officer character guy who must've been about 6'5″-6'6″. This causes Jarrett and co. to quietly leave the ring. Harbhajan and the police officer check on Jazzy?who he is helped up by the two and gets a standing ovation from the crowd.

- Bollywood Boyz defeated Broadway (Little Guido/Nunzio) and Hollywood (Joey Ryan) with a double superkick on Broadway.

-? Roscoe Jackson (Trevor Murdoch) defeated Romeo Rapta (Indian wrestler) after a splash off the top rope. Roscoe shook Romeo's hand and raised it after the match.

- Sir Brutus Magnus vs Matt Morgan for the Ring Ka King championship. During the introductions by JB (which was interestingly enough done in kilos instead of pounds), Jarrett appeared in the crowd claiming to have a ticket. Soon after the match began, he appeared in front of the announce table and clapped, distracting Morgan enough for Magnus to capitalize. The action went to the outside with Magnus hitting Morgan's head against the barrier. The action returned to the ring as Magnus stayed in control through the majority of the match. It then came to a sleeper hold by Magnus,?only for?Morgan gets his hand up before 3 and come back into the match. Morgan went for the chokeslam, but it was avoided by Magnus only to get clotheslined. Morgan gets the chokeslam this time. Some Indian guy I didn't recognize distracted Morgan. The Indian police character then returned and hit Morgan?with a baton while the ref was distracted. Magnus then hit the Mag Driver on Morgan?and gets?the 3 count. Magnus becomes the new Ring Ka King Champion. Jarrett then enters the ring and puts the championship on Magnus' shoulders. The police character guy celebrates with?them to suggest that he was bought off by Jarrett, and Dutt, Steiner and Abyss join in the celebration. Some Indian wrestlers try to enter the ring but are attacked by the bunch and thrown out. Harbhajan Singh's music hits and he comes out with a cricket bat in hand leading to?Jarrett and co. leaving the ring. Harbhajan says in Hindi?that it was a mistake to give him a second chance, and that soon he would take his wicket. Magnus celebrates with the championship on the ramp as they leave.

Additional notes:

- The show is being promoted as “Ring Ka King: Wrestling Ka Mahayuddh”, which translates?to “King Of The Ring:Wrestling's Megabattle” in Hindi. The show name in all likelihood was chosen by Endemol and Colors and not TNA.

- This was the first set of tapings for the show and was shot over four days. The next set of tapings will be in January.

- The show?was held at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune, which is?a city?near Mumbai.

- The arena probably had about 1,500 people in, and they might have turned off about a 1,000 more. And that was with zero promotion or advertising.

- In terms of the size of the arena, it was similar to the Impact Zone, but the floor area was filled to capacity till they hardly had any space to move around.

- While in conversation with a lady who had come to watch the show, I found out that like?most TV shows in India with an on-screen audience,?there were a lot of people who were sent by the organizers to watch the show and fill the seats. I'm convinced that with the turnout that they got even without any promoting or advertising in the city, they wouln't have needed to do that had they done some promoting in the city they were taping it in?at least.

- Joe Baath is one of the?two?announcers of the show. Joe Baath has been the presenter for a bunch of TNA Wrestling recap?shows in India?for the past 5 years. The announcing will be in Hindi.

- A lot of the Indian wrestlers were also?used on the previous wrestling show on Colors, “100% De Dhana Dhan”, which involved the South African wrestling promotion WWP.

- The show will air every Saturday and Sunday night on Colors in India, which is available in the US and UK as “Aapka Colors”. Colors is one of the top?three networks in India in terms of ratings.

- It may be possible that Bigg Boss, the Indian version of Big Brother involving Indian celebrities, will be?the lead-in to Ring Ka King.

- The celebrity involvement in?the show is by Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh. Cricket is the most popular sport in India and Harbhajan Singh is among one of the well-known faces of the national team.

- The production values of the show were excellent and may match or even exceed the quality of production in the?Impact Zone. There was a truckload of lighting on the ceiling of the arena?and was definitely much better lit than the Impact Zone. Though the Impact Zone may win in the pyrotechnics department.

- I managed to catch a glimpse of what the arena might look like on TV by the direct feed on one of the TVs in the?”Creative TNA” room. It looks spectacular and will look good on TV too.

- I was not allowed to take photos, but I managed to sneak out my camera and take a few snaps from the horrible?view that I got behind the announcer's table.

- Overall this was a great experience, it being my first time at a wrestling event. All the wrestlers and celebrities involved got a great reaction from the crowds, unlike the usually dead Impact Zone. I'm sure TNA would be pleased with the way the tapings turned out. I was lucky to find a few wrestlers on the hallway outside and I quickly?searched through my bag for a piece of paper, though all I could find was a bank receipt. Oh well. I managed to get a couple of autographs – one from Matt Morgan, who was nice enough to give me an autograph after frantically trying to?get to?the bathroom before asking one of?the crew members “Can you tell me?where is?the shower?” The other was from Luke Gallows, though he did not seem very pleased by my asking him for an autograph. I was dumbfounded and speechless when I saw these guys in front of me, because I've only ever watched these guys on TV. Also it made me realize how big these guys are. Matt Morgan was f***ing huge!

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*Spoilers:* Complete TNA "Ring Ka King" India Taping Report

STICK FLY ** out of ***
CORT THEATRE

The house fly moves so fast that they can’t even be studied in motion by filming them in flight. So apparently entomologists literally glue specimens to a popsicle stick and then use special techniques to capture the insect in action and study it with attention and care. Playwright Lydia R. Diamond uses the time-honored convention of a weekend in the country (in this case, Martha’s Vineyard) to study the privileged upper class Le Vay family. Unfortunately, Stick Fly never delivers on the conventional premise (despite the usual juicy revelations) or gives it a contemporary spin.

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Michael Giltz: Theater: "Stick Fly" Doesn’t Stick

INDIANAPOLIS — This time, Wisconsin got the stop it needed against Michigan State – and a big break to wrap up its second straight Big Ten crown.

Montee Ball scored four touchdowns, including a 7-yard score with 3:45 left in Saturday night’s first Big Ten championship game, giving the 15th-ranked Badgers a 42-39 come-from-behind victory over No. 11 Michigan State.

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Wisconsin Tops Michigan State In Big Ten Championship To Clinch Rose Bowl Berth