"Eck's Factor": Weekly Analysis for 12/30/2011

Instead of doing the usual notes column this week, I decided to make my selections for the best of WWE in 2011 in seven categories.

I welcome your comments and picks at facebook.com/wwe.

SUPERSTAR OF THE YEAR: CM PUNK
Whether he was competing in the ring, cutting a promo or even doing commentary, Punk excelled in 2011. He shook up the WWE in June when he cut a scathing "shoot" promo on Raw in which he made vitriolic remarks about the McMahon family and announced his intention to win the WWE Title on the night his contract expired and leave the company with it. That's exactly what he did, as Punk defeated John Cena for the championship in a fantastic match at Money in the Bank in July in his hometown of Chicago. He returned with a new contract just a week later, however. The angle transformed the villainous Punk into an anti-authority fan favorite. During his brief absence, a new WWE Champion was crowned (Rey Mysterio won a tournament but then lost the title to Cena), but Punk became the undisputed WWE Champion by defeating Cena again at SummerSlam in August. Although he dropped the title moments later to Alberto Del Rio, who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract, Punk went on to regain the championship from Del Rio at Survivor Series in November. At TLC earlier this month, Punk successfully defended the title against Del Rio and The Miz in thrilling Triple Threat TLC Match. In addition to his rivalry with Cena, Punk also feuded with top Superstars Triple H and Randy Orton during 2011, and he remains a thorn in the side of Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim General Manager of Raw John Laurinaitis.

MATCH OF THE YEAR: JOHN CENA VS. CM PUNK (Money in the Bank, July 17)
To steal a phrase from Michael Cole, the atmosphere in Chicago was electric as Punk and Cena engaged in a compelling back-and-forth match for nearly 35 minutes before a raucous pro-Punk, anti-Cena crowd in Chicago. Punk kicked out of two Attitude Adjustments before finally hitting the GTS for the victory. Punk then took the WWE Championship and exited through the crowd, blowing a goodbye kiss to WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon before leaving.

RIVALRY OF THE YEAR: RANDY ORTON VS. CHRISTIAN
It wasn't one of the most even rivalries in WWE history as far as wins and losses (Orton almost always came out on top), but Orton and Christian proved time and again that they are simply incapable of having a bad match together. The rivalry began after Christian finally achieved his dream of becoming a World Champion by defeating Alberto Del Rio in a Ladder Match for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship at Extreme Rules in May. Edge, Christian's longtime best friend, had been forced to relinquish the championship due to a career-ending injury, which made Christian's break-through victory even more emotional. Christian's story-book journey to the World Heavyweight Championship ended abruptly just days later, however, as he lost the title to Orton on SmackDown. Orton and Christian would go on to face each other on four consecutive pay-per-views, with Christian - who turned heel in June over his inability to immediately regain the title from Orton - beating Orton for the title at Money in the Bank in July, and Orton winning it back in a No Holds Barred Match at SummerSlam the following month. The rivalry climaxed with Orton successfully defending the title against Christian in an outstanding Steel Cage Match on SmackDown at the end of August.

TAG TEAM OF THE YEAR: AIR BOOM
It wasn't a great year for tag teams in the WWE, but when Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne joined forces as Air Boom, the division got a needed shot in the arm. The popular high-flying duo captured the WWE Tag Team Title from David Otunga and Michael McGillicutty in August and remained champions for the rest of the year. They successfully defended the title against The Miz and R-Truth at Night of Champions in September and Dolph Ziggler and Jack Swagger at both Hell in Cell and Vengeance the following month.

DIVA OF THE YEAR: KELLY KELLY
It was a breakthrough year for Kelly Kelly, who captured her first Divas Championship when she defeated Brie Bella for the title during the "Power to the People" episode of Raw in June. The blonde bombshell went on to successfully defend the championship against Beth Phoenix at SummerSlam in August and Night of Champions in September before dropping the title to Phoenix at Hell in a Cell in October. Earlier in the year, Kelly Kelly aided Edge in his rivalry with Dolph Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero. On an episode of SmackDown in February, Kelly Kelly teamed with Edge to defeat Ziggler and Lay-Cool in a Mixed Handicap Tag Match with Edge's World Heavyweight Title on the line. Outside the ring, Kelly Kelly continued to be WWE's "it girl," as she appeared on the cover of Maxim and also was named to Maxim's Hot 100 list.

MOST IMPROVED SUPERSTAR OF THE YEAR: MARK HENRY
It seems strange to give Most Improved honors to a 15-year veteran, but Henry raised his game to a level in 2011 - both in the ring and on the microphone - that few believed he could attain. After being drafted from Raw to SmackDown in April, The World's Strongest Man immediately went from happy-go-lucky babyface to no-nonsense monster heel. Over the next several months, Henry displayed his sadistic nature by inducting The Big Show, Kane, The Great Khali and Vladimir Kozlov into his Hall of Pain. Henry solidified his newfound status as a money player when he defeated Randy Orton for the World Heavyweight Title at Night of Champions in September. Henry retained the title in pay-per-view matches against Orton and Big Show before dropping it to Big Show at TLC earlier this month.

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR: SIN CARA
The masked Mexican star experienced his share of ups and downs in his debut year in the WWE, but he definitely stuck a chord with the WWE Universe through his spectacular high-flying style. During the summer and fall, he engaged in a rivalry with an imposter (Sin Cara Negro) that culminated with Cara winning a Mask vs. Mask Match on an October episode of SmackDown in Mexico City. During the SmackDown Money in the Bank Ladder Match in July, Cara took one of the biggest bumps of the year when Sheamus power-bombed him off the apron and through a ladder. Cara's year came to a premature end last month at Survivor Series when he suffered a serious knee injury that required surgery. He is expected to be out of action for six to nine months.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in "Eck's Factor" are those of Kevin Eck alone and do not necessarily reflect those of WWE.

WHO IS KEVIN ECK?

For those who are unfamiliar with me, I come to WWE from The Baltimore Sun, where I was an assistant sports editor and the author of a pro wrestling blog titled Ring Posts. In between two stints with The Sun, I worked as the editor of WCW Magazine from 2000 to 2001.

Follow Kevin Eck on Twitter at Twitter.com/KevinEck_WWE. I will be live tweeting during Raw on most Mondays.

Source: http://www.wwe.com/inside/ecks-factor-12-30-11

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Cocky Simon Cowell vows "X Factor" will improve (omg!)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "X Factor" creator Simon Cowell said on Monday he was probably "too cocky" when he launched the U.S. TV talent show earlier this year, boasting it would overtake his old program, No. 1-rated "American Idol."

But Cowell, who admits being confident by nature, pledged that the two-part 'X Factor' finale this week will be worth watching and any of the three finalists is worthy of the unprecedented prize of a $5 million recording contract.

The acerbic British entrepreneur and "X Factor" judge said that Justin Bieber, rapper Pitbull and R&B singer Ne-Yo would be among the superstars performing on Thursday's finale, before the winner of the first season is revealed.

"The X Factor" launched in the United States in September after months of hype from Cowell, who predicted it would beat "American Idol" as the most-watched show on U.S. TV.

He had his reasons for the boast. "X Factor," after all, has been the most popular TV show in Britain for several years and winners have generally gone straight to the top of the pop music charts. In the U.S., "American Idol" is no different, and Cowell was a key force behind its success.

Yet, 'X Factor' has underperformed Cowell's expectations.

Although it has been a hit for broadcaster Fox drawing about 12 million viewers weekly, its audience is less than half that of "American Idol", which returns to Fox in January.

"I think I probably came here a little too cocky, but I am cocky by nature. I had come off the back of a massive hit in the U.K., had the adrenaline (and) couldn't wait to put the show on here, and it is going to take a little longer than I thought," Cowell said at a news conference ahead of the final.

"But with these three finalists ... this will be the greatest final we have ever been in ... This is $5 million talent here," he said. "We are going to put on a show this week. And it's going to be better next year."

Ballad singer Melanie Amaro, 19, bluesy Josh Krajcik, 30, and rapper Chris Rene, 28, will sing for the "X Factor" prize on Wednesday.

Cowell said each finalist would sing a duet with a surprise superstar as part of Wednesday's competition. The winner will be chosen by public vote and announced after a two-hour finale on December 22.

All three finalists are expected to get recording contracts, but only the winner will be assured of the $5 million deal.

Judge and record producer Antonio (L.A.) Reid said he was proud and happy of the singers who had made it to the final after four months of nationwide auditions and live shows.

"They are all amazingly talented, unique in their own right (and) each one of them has a distinct competitive advantage," Reid said.

"I think they represent us well. They look very modern, big on talent and loads of charisma, so I couldn't be happier."

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_cocky_simon_cowell_vows_x_factor_improve021608973/43953721/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/cocky-simon-cowell-vows-x-factor-improve-021608973.html

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US to meet with NKorea to discuss food aid (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The United States will hold talks with North Korea in Beijing on Thursday on the possibility of providing food aid to the impoverished country, the State Department said.

The Obama administration has been deliberating on the issue for months. The United Nations and U.S. charities say aid is badly needed, but it remains a controversial issue. North Korea has plowed resources into a nuclear weapons program even as its people go hungry.

Special envoy for North Korean human rights issues Robert King and senior aid official Jon Brause will meet with North Korea's director-general for North American affairs, Ri Gun. The American officials arrived Wednesday in the Chinese capital for talks that start the following day.

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Wednesday the two sides would primarily discuss the need for strict and clear monitoring should the U.S. decide to give aid ? amid concerns food could be diverted to North Korea's powerful military and Workers' Party elite.

Nuland termed the possible aid as "nutritional assistance" that as well as regular foodstuffs could include vitamin supplements and high-protein biscuits for malnourished people that would be unlikely to end up "on some leader's banquet table."

North Korean officials "know that we were obviously deeply dissatisfied with the way this went before and that we need more discussions about it," Nuland told a news conference.

The last U.S. food handouts ended in March 2009, when North Korea expelled U.S. charities who were monitoring the distribution. That occurred shortly before the North conducted long-range rocket and nuclear tests that drew stiff international sanctions.

U.S. aid workers who took part in the 2008-2009 program say the monitoring was in fact effective, but they were unable to oversee the distribution of 21,000 tons of food that arrived in North Korea as they were leaving the country. In total, the program sent 170,000 tons during 10 months.

This week's discussions in Beijing come as expectation grows the U.S. could hold a fresh round of talks with North Korea on its nuclear program. There have been two rounds since July ? prelude to possible resumption of six-nation aid-for-disarmament talks suspended in 2009.

North Korea says it is willing to restart the six-nation talks without preconditions, but the U.S. and its allies want Pyongyang to first take concrete action to show it is sincere, such as by freezing uranium enrichment and allowing in international monitors.

Human rights envoy King visited North Korea in May, accompanied by a food assessment team from the U.S. Agency of International Development. The findings of the assessment mission were not made public.

The U.N. reported last month that North Korea had an improved harvest this year despite a harsh winter and summer floods, but malnutrition among children has increased. It said nearly 3 million people will continue to require food assistance next year.

North Korea has suffered chronic food shortages for the past two decades, through a combination of economic and agricultural mismanagement and natural disasters. It suffered a famine in the 1990s that killed hundreds of thousands of people.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/nkorea/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_us_nkorea_food_aid

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Palestinian cooks know that pizazz doesn't always mean better food

At an annual Palestinian cooking competition, the most successful competitors know that more spices and fancier ingredients don't always translate to more success.?

? A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.?

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It?s a national dish that women have cooked for centuries, but Palestinian chef Agustin Shomali says cooks can easily ruin maftoul.

?They go to extremes,? Mr. Shomali says. ?They think ?the more spices, the better.? ?

Shomali was one of five judges at the fourth annual Palestinian maftoul competition, held on a chilly Saturday in early November just outside Ramallah. About 200 people came to see and taste dishes made with the oversized, soft couscous hand-rolled with water and whole wheat flour.

Traditional Palestinian maftoul dishes feature chickpeas, chicken and broth, cumin, a dusting of cardamom ? and not too much else. But the 12 women vying for the $540 prize marshaled ideas from near and far. They added cauliflower, almonds, and even a snowman made of a hard-boiled egg atop an orange. Ultimately, sticking to tradition paid off for Naima Rayed, a mother of seven from a refugee camp outside Ramallah. She cooked a classic maftoul with plenty of chickpeas, pumpkin, and tomato. In addition to the prize money, Ms. Rayed will travel to an upcoming couscous festival in Italy.

Raed Saadeh organized the evening through the Rozana Association for rural tourism. He said the competition united women of scattered villages.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/DtgKVpO4_Tw/Palestinian-cooks-know-that-pizazz-doesn-t-always-mean-better-food

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3-D TV Doesn't Raise Seizure Risk for Kids With Epilepsy: Study (HealthDay)

SUNDAY, Dec. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Children with epilepsy do not appear to face an increased risk for seizures while watching 3-D TV, a new German-Austrian study suggests.

However, the results did reveal that about one in five of these children is vulnerable to other unpleasant reactions when viewing 3-D television, including nausea, headaches and dizziness.

"Normal people have a very low risk to get a seizure while watching 3-D," explained study author Dr. Herbert Plischke, executive director of the University of Munich's Generation Research Program. In contrast, he noted that people with epilepsy --particularly children -- could be expected to have a "higher vulnerability" in terms of overall seizure risk in such a setting.

However, among a group of young people with epilepsy, "we could not see any provoked seizure which was caused by 3-D," Plischke said.

He and his colleagues from the University of Salzburg in Austria are scheduled to present their findings Sunday at the American Epilepsy Society annual meeting in Baltimore.

As a concept, 3-D technology is hardly a cutting-edge idea, harkening back more than half a century to the 1950s Vincent Price classic film "House of Wax." But the experience of donning special glasses to view an "extra-dimensional" effect has undergone a cinematic renaissance in recent years, led by the box-office success of the movie "Avatar."

Jumping on the bandwagon, TV manufacturers have sought to bring the experience right into the living room, with TV sets that are hard-wired to provide 3-D viewing of properly formatted shows.

The move has raised concerns over how the technology may impact various audiences. Recently, some researchers cautioned that nearly one-third of all viewers may be prone to experiencing headaches and/or eye fatigue when viewing a 3-D movie because of poor eye coordination. The resulting strain, they said, could prompt an unpleasant experience equivalent to that of seasickness.

People with epilepsy are a more specific worry, given their sensitivity to the flashing lights and red and blue light alterations contained in certain TV programming and video games. As a result, some TV manufacturers (such as Samsung) have published public warnings, alerting viewers to the potential risk for epileptic seizures or stroke when viewing 3-D technology.

Against that backdrop, the current investigation set out to assess the impact of 3-D on children with epilepsy viewing the technology on TV.

The team focused on 100 children (average age 12) who had epilepsy or were deemed to be at risk for epilepsy.

All the kids underwent a standard test for photosensitivity. Each was then asked to wear 3-D glasses and sit about six-and-a-half feet away from a 50-inch plasma 3-D TV.

During 15 minutes of viewing, only one child experienced a seizure, and that particular child was noted as being prone to routinely experiencing three to four seizures per day.

Symptoms of nausea, headache and dizziness went up during both photosensitivity testing and 3-D TV-watching (in 15 percent and 20 percent of cases, respectively). But the near total absence of seizures, combined with the benign results of EEG readings taken during sensitivity testing and 3-D viewing, led the team to conclude that 3-D TV viewing posed little risk to children with epilepsy.

The team suggested that seizure risk is probably more a function of differences in TV content rather than TV technology, with certain patterns, colors and flickering images raising the threat of seizure more than 3-D images.

Dr. Orrin Devinsky, director of NYU Langone Medical Center's Epilepsy Center, agreed.

"It sounds perfectly in line with what I might expect," he said. "If there was to be a problem, it would be with the content, namely flashing imagery. And that would be a present concern in 2-D or 3-D."

"So I wouldn't expect 3-D TV to be a specific issue," said Devinsky, who is also a professor of neurology, neurosurgery and psychiatry at NYU School of Medicine. "I wouldn't say that no child in ten thousand would have a problem. But I would expect it to be very rare, if it occurs at all."

Research presented at meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

More information

For more on epileptic seizures, visit the Epilepsy Foundation.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/parenting/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111206/hl_hsn/3dtvdoesntraiseseizureriskforkidswithepilepsystudy

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GOP chairman unsure what role Cain may play (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The Republican Party chairman says Herman Cain provided an important voice in the presidential race, but candidates "come and go" during every primary and the field inevitably narrows.

Reince Priebus (ryns PREE'-bus) says Cain's polling numbers were falling and he was having trouble raising money, so the GOP chairman thinks it's "only natural" that the candidate pulled out about a month before the first vote.

But Priebus says the decision was up to Cain, who was battling allegations of sexual harassment and a claim that he had an extramarital affair. The Georgia businessman has denied the accusations.

Priebus says Cain might have a big role to play yet. But Priebus tells NBC's "Meet the Press" that depends on a politician having money and being to get out into the public.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111204/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_chairman_cain

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Syria agrees to Arab observers under conditions (AP)

DAMASCUS, Syria ? Syria said Monday it would agree to allow Arab League observers into the country as part of a plan to end almost nine months of bloodshed, but placed a number of conditions, including the cancellation of deeply embarrassing economic sanctions.

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby swiftly rebuffed Damascus' demands, and the Syrian opposition accused President Bashar Assad's regime of wasting time and trying to trick Arab leaders into reversing punitive measures against Damascus.

"Any announcements made by the Syrian regime while the military crackdown continuous has for us zero credibility," said Bassma Kodmani, a spokeswoman for the Syrian National Council, an opposition umbrella group.

Syria has already failed to meet several Arab League ultimatums to end the crackdown which the U.N. says has killed more than 4,000 people since the uprising against Assad erupted in March.

Damascus' failure to meet a Nov. 25 deadline to allow in observers drew Arab League sanctions, including a ban on dealings with the country's central bank and a freeze on government assets. The bloc also imposed a travel ban on 19 Syrian officials, including Assad's younger brother Maher, who is believed to be in command of much of the crackdown, as well as Cabinet ministers, intelligence chiefs and security officers.

The sanctions dealt a big blow to a regime that sees itself as a powerhouse of Arab nationalism.

Combined with sanctions from the United States, the European Union and Turkey, the Arab League's penalties are expected to inflict significant damage on Syria's economy and may undercut the regime's authority.

Damascus remains defiant, however, and has shown few signs of easing its crackdown. Activists said security forces killed at least 12 people Monday, most of them in the restive central province of Homs. And the military conducted large-scale military exercises over the weekend that appeared to be designed as a warning to the international community not to interfere in the Syrian crisis.

Arab leaders had given Syria a new deadline of Sunday to respond to the League's plan to end the crisis, calling for the regime to halt attacks on protesters, pull tanks out of cities, release political prisoners and allow journalists, rights groups and observers into the country.

Syria's Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem sent a letter Sunday to the Arab League chief in which he "responded positively" to the bloc's request to send observers to the country, ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said.

But Syria's approval was coupled with significant conditions: The Arab League would have to immediately drop sanctions and agree to amendments ? a condition that League officials have previously rejected.

Makdissi also said Syria is insisting that the protocol be signed in Damascus rather than at the League's headquarters in Cairo. He added al-Moallem's message contained some "minor amendments that won't affect the essence of the plan."

But Elaraby said the letter contains "new components which we have not heard of earlier," and told reporters in Cairo that Syria's agreeing to sign the deal will not lead to the immediate lifting of punitive measures.

"These sanctions are in force until another decision is adopted by the Arab foreign ministers," he said.

He said the new Syrian conditions are being "discussed now with the Arab foreign ministers" and that nothing has been decided yet.

Kodmani, the Paris-based spokeswoman for the opposition Syrian National Council, said Damascus was trying to "embarrass" the Arab League, adding there was absolutely no justification for lifting the sanctions within the current crackdown.

On Monday, the New-York based Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the detention of U.S.-born blogger and press freedom campaigner Razan Ghazzawi, and called on Syrian authorities to immediately release her. Ghazzawi was arrested Sunday at the border while on her way to Jordan, according to a statement by the Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression where she worked.

Despite Syria's growing isolation and sanctions, Assad is still in control and has a number of powerful allies that give him the means to push back against outside pressure, although Washington and its allies have shown little appetite for intervening in another Arab nation in turmoil as they did in Libya.

Syria wouldn't have to look far for prime targets to strike, sharing a border with U.S.-backed Israel and NATO-member Turkey.

The weekend maneuvers in Syria appeared to be designed to send this message.

The military exercises, which included missile tests and ground and air operations, were meant to test "the capabilities and the readiness of missile systems to respond to any possible aggression," state-run TV said. Syrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jihad Makdissi said "the maneuvers were routine and planned earlier."

Syria is known to have surface-to-surface missiles such as Scuds, capable of hitting deep inside its archenemy Israel.

State-run news agency SANA quoted Defense Minister Dawoud Rajha as telling the forces that participated in the maneuvers "to be in full readiness to carry out any orders give to them."

___

Associated Press Writer Maamoun Youssef in Cairo, Egypt and Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Lebanon contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111205/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_syria

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