Tmess2

I am assuming that there will be no NXT matches and that all nine titles will be defended.  Since we have four title matches (Universal, WWE, Raw Tag, and Smackdown Women's) announced as of the end of Fastlane (although Daniel Bryant may be added to make the Universal match a three-way match), what is your prediction for the other five titles (U.S., Intercontinental, Raw Women, Women Tag, and Smackdown Tag)?  And what matches will fill out the two nights?  (At this point, only Orton vs. Fiend seems to have been teed up for the non-title matches and Big E vs. Apollo Crews as a likely Intercontinental Title Match.)

I am thinking about who other than Jax and Basler on Raw are currently positioned to be a good heel challenger to Asuka and who could be a credible tag team champion without the tag team championship being held by people who should be wrestling for the Women's titles.  Having Basler and Jax defending the tag team titles seems to keep them from going after Asuka's title.  And having Asuka chase the women's tag title seems to be taking away from having that many defenses of the Raw women's title.

Based on last week's shows, we are looking at Adam Pearce as the challenger for the Universal Title and Bill Goldberg as the challenger for the WWE title.  (That last might be scratched in Drew McIntyre is still in quarantine for the Rumble.)  Given the regular talents on the shows, how can this be "good for business"?

In 2005, when there was an objection to one state, the count finished at around 5:30 p.m.  In 2017, with Biden shutting down all objections, the count finished before 2:00 p.m.   And, of course, if there are objections to multiple states, there is the issue of whether both houses will want to plow through with an all night session (with two hours of debate and then a vote on each objection) or will recess at some point of the evening and resume the count on Thursday.

So I am looking for guesses as to when the count will finish and your reason for that guess.  (In other words, how many states will be challenged and when/if Congress will break for the day on Wednesday evening -- and any subsequent evenings -- and resume the following day -- and if necessary will they have sessions on Saturday and Sunday.)

On Friday SmackDown, the match was changed to a loser leaves WWE match.  I have seen nothing on-line suggesting that the contract of either is about up or that either has asked to be released.  Particularly after the real life events of the past week, I can't see WWE releasing Sonya Deville now, and it would seem like an abrupt end to the Otis-Mandy story line.  

So is there some rumor that I am missing or are we looking at a possible swerve in the match or its aftermath?

For the past several months, wrestling websites have been predicting that WWE is trying to angle toward a blow-up between Sasha and Bailey culminating in a title match at one of the major (Summer Slam, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble, or Wrestlemania) pay-per-views.  The basic theory is Sasha eventually getting frustrated with being the second-fiddle while Bailey hold the Smackdown Women's Title.  How do you see Extreme Rules women's title matches playing into this potential story line?  (I have my own guess which depends on the Bailey-Nikki Cross match going first.)  

For Liverpool, Tottenham, and Chelsea, winning their finals equals a spot in pot 1 instead of pot 2 or 3 in the group draw for the Champion's League. For Arsenal, a win puts them into pot 1 of the Champion's League group draw instead of the group phase of the Europa League. For Manchester City, a chance at a treble. For Watford, a spot in the Europa League (which would otherwise go to Wolverhampton). Even Manchester United could be impacted by the results of the FA Cup (group phase vs. qualifying rounds).

When parliament voted to reduce the number of constituencies in 2011, the new lines were supposed to be done before the 2015 general election. The four commissions issued their recommendations last year and those lines are now waiting for a formal "order in council" (a bill approved by both Houses) to go into effect. Given the government's current struggles, what are the chances that a snap election is called before that process can be completed.

On most bills, a conference committee report is voted up-down with no changes. If either House wants to change it, they have to vote to send the bill back to the conference committee. The Byrd Rule -- however -- limits the content of a bill that is exempt from the rules on cloture (60 votes needed to pass). Has the Byrd Rule ever been used to strip provisions out of a conference committee report without sending the bill back to the conference committee.

Paul has done a good job of being the puppet master this summer, and his fellow houseguests have all but handed him the big prize. But weird things can happen due to the format. What do you see as the most likely way that somebody else could win?

With Christmas's severe foot injury, she will have to sit out many competitions. Some in the house want to get rid of her ASAP because she can't help their game. On the other hand, the first two parts of the final HOH tend to be very physical; so you and your "partner" can bring her as the third to the Final Three, knowing that the two of you will get a pass to go head-to-head in part three.

Assuming that Manchester United wins the EPL Cup today, they will do no worse than a place in the Europa Cup next year. They have two potential routes to move up to the Champions League. First, heading into this weekend's play, they are less than three points out of the top four in the Premier League. Second, they are still alive in the Europa Cup (and the winner of the Europa Cup gets a slot in next year's Champion's League). So should Manchester United rest players for domestic games in an effort to win the Europa Cup or rest players for the Europa Cup and try to move up into the top four of the Premier League?

Four drivers competing for the title. Thirty-nine drivers as spoilers. In their attempt to mimic other sports, NASCAR forgot that other sports don't have eliminated teams on the field for the title game. The champion will be the driver (among the four who finishes highest), but what if the "champion" finishes 20th? What if, due to a wreck or mechanical issues, the champion isn't even on the lead lap?

If it does, will the fan reaction cause NASCAR to reconsider its current point structure that puts too much emphasis on finishing on having a mediocre (instead of terrible day) and not enough on finishing in the top five?

Derek seems to see Victoria as a safe person to keep by his side. With Caleb ineligible for HOH, that means Cody or Derek will probably be the next HOH and if Caleb doesn't win the POV, you will have a final three of Cody, Derek, and Victoria. At that point, it becomes tempting for the winner of the three-part final HOH to take Victoria to the finals.

Also how often do they leave between a president's re-election and the mid-term election?

The US has had twenty-two elections in which the incumbent president has been returned for another term. So for these administrations, how many of their cabinet officials have served the complete eight years. Similarly, how many of the officers have left between the president's re-election and the mid-term elections.

For these questions: 1) I am only considering those Senate-confirmed officials that are cabinet-level by law (e.g. State, Treasury) and not those positions that are "cabinet-level" by whim of a particular administration (CIA director, EPA Administrator); 2) if the President dies and is succeeded by the Vice-President (e.g. Harding-Coolidge), I am treating it as one eight-year administration; 3) for the full-term, if the cabinet officer leaves in the last month or two of the term, I am treating it as serving the full-term; 4) there are two weird situations (McKinley-T. Roosevelt and F.D. Roosevelt-Truman) where the president died after being re-elected, but the VP also got re-elected, treat these as overlapping eight-year terms (1897-1905 for McKinley, 1901-09 for T. Roosevelt, 1933-41, 1937-46, and 1941-49 for F. D. Roosevelt, and 1945-54 for Truman).

(Spoilers in question). Thursday night, CBS had its viewers vote for America's nominee before Judd made his nominations. My presumption is that the Brenchel/Elissa supporters split their votes for the three mean girls (Aaryn, Kaitlin, Gina Marie) while those who hated Brenchel voted for Elissa. Judd nominated Aaryn and Kaitlin and Elissa was first among the remaining contestants in America's vote. Elissa has now won the veto (appears to have been the annual evil Santa contest) meaning that the third nominee will be the next in line with America's vote. Is there anybody from the rest of the house that you think might have stood out enough from the other eight to get more votes than Gina Marie.

The past three weeks, the on-line voters got to pick an MVP who made the third nomination. Being Rachel's sister gave Elissa an edge in terms of a ready-made fan base with the rest of the votes likely to be spread randomly among the other contestants. With 14-16 contestants in the running for MVP, finishing first only takes a low percentage (the average percentage would be around 7%).

Now America is voting for the third nominee, not the MVP. Just as Rachel's fans gave Elissa an advantage for MVP, viewers who hate Rachel will put Elissa at a disadvantage this week. Even if Rachel's fans unite in voting for one of the "mean girls" (Aaryn, Gina Marie, and Kaitlyn), two of those three are likely to be placed on the block by Judd, leaving only a one in three chance that Rachel's fans will have correctly identified whom they needed to vote for (maybe one in two if you assume that Aaryn is certain to be one of the two that Judd nominates).

Four part question:

1) How and when will AJ come to the ring (e.g. at the start, mid-match, by herself, with one of the three wrestlers)?

2) Who will AJ support at ringside?

3) What will AJ's role be in the match (just on-looker, caught in middle, helpful interference, harmful interference, double-crossing interference)?

4) Who will AJ leave with?

My own hunch to get the ball rolling -- AJ will come out by herself shortly after the bell rings. She will apparently be supporting CM Punk but will interfere in the match. Her interference will initially look like it is in support of CM but will actually be to help Kane who will leave with the title and the girl.