got to guard them and be really sound with what you do. When we werent sound, Davis and Gray really made us pay.South Carolinas schedule, with games looming against Louisville, Texas, Duke and U

If you ever wondered the best way to book a monster heel, take a look at how Braun Strowman took over Raw on Monday night.It was close enough to, dare I say, Ruthless Aggression.After months of squash matches throughout a slow build, the recent repackaging of the 6-foot-8 former strongman was made complete as he was fully unleashed on the Raw roster. The fallout was a menacing and destructive message to general manager Mick Foley and the rest of the locker room: Bring me some competition or else.Just in case you were wondering what the or else part was in reference to in this case, Strowman explained himself as he towered over a pair of fallen bodies in the center of the ring seconds before the closing credits appeared.Or else means everyone will fall, he screamed.Strowmans war path was reminiscent to how Kane and The Undertaker were booked during an episode of Raw on Sept. 5, 1999, when The Brothers of Destruction responded to criticism from Vince McMahon by interrupting every match on the card and destroying everything in their wake.Beginning with backstage employees and continuing through a match between Sin Cara and Titus ONeil, Strowman was just as recklessly violent. But his surprise return at the tail end of a tag-team main event of?Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho against Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins was what provided The Abominable Strowman the unquestioned legitimacy his character has lacked up to this point.Strowman grabbed Reigns from the ring apron and choked slammed him hard to the floor with ease. After beating down Rollins in the ring and laying him out for good with a running powerslam, he did the same move to Reigns on the floor.BRAUN STROWMAN!! He attacks @WWERomanReigns as the official calls for the bell! #RAW pic.twitter.com/RgrrgKtyrG- WWE (@WWE) December 20, 2016Seeing a mid-card performer like Strowman allowed to manhandle the top babyfaces on the roster was the best rub his character could have received and the proper next move for Strowman after he was included on the five-man Team Raw roster at Survivor Series and provided a strong performance.Because of how limited Strowman is as a one-dimensional beast (albeit a freakishly athletic one), the WWE may only get one chance to book him as believably unbeatable on the main event level. If that proves to be the case, this was the right way for the creative team to take its full swing.Simply put: Strowman is an absolute freak of nature. He has taken a move like the running powerslam (made famous by The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith) and elevated it to an even higher level, as seen by the ease in which he executed it against a big man like ONeil onto the floor.Strowman not only looked worthy of the push he received on Monday, his surprise appearance in the main event was a welcome antidote to the predictable booking seen the night before to the Owens-Reigns and Rollins-Jericho feuds at Roadblock: End of the Line.Hits and missesHaving taken over the mantle from The New Day as the superstars who can most easily turn weak writing into comedic gold in 2016, Owens and Jerichos skills were again on display during Raws opening segment with Mick Foley. Im not sure, in hindsight, exactly how that segment was able to work as great as it did. But from Jericho cutting a promo on Santa Claus (more on that below) and freaking out after being locked in a shark cage, to Foley rummaging through his fanny pack to unsuccessfully search for the cages key, it got over in a big way. Jericho even threw in a reference to The Hug of Jericho, made complete when he instructed Owens, once again his new best friend, by saying, Bring it in ... man.Seriously, Im still laughing just thinking about Jericho sitting backstage with an oxygen mask, yelling, It was so high! It was so high! in reference to the shark tank as Owens angrily ushered paramedics out of the way, saying, Get this crap out of here. The constant tease of their breakup may have stretched out a few weeks too far, but the consolation of seeing them back together was worth it.Just one night after Charlotte regained her WWE Raw womens championship following yet another memorable bout with Sasha Banks, the two superstars finally appeared to be going their separate ways. Monday kicked off a pair of new feuds as Nia Jax interrupted Sasha Banks doubt-ridden speech (reminiscent of Shawn Michaels losing his smile) to attack her injured left knee, and Bayley scored a sneaky pin victory over Charlotte in a non-title match (improving her main roster record to 3-0 against the champion). While the execution of both scenarios left a few things to be desired -- specifically in terms of the acting chops from both Jax and Bayley -- its the right move for WWE to fight off fatigue, especially if a final blow-off between Charlotte and Banks is in the works for WrestleMania.Speaking of Charlotte, who now it seems is being billed exclusively as Charlotte Flair by WWE, the moonsault she landed on a Bayley was an absolute thing of beauty:MOONSAULT by @MsCharlotteWWE!! ONE TWO NOOOO!!@ItsBayleyWWE #RAW pic.twitter.com/kcZkRqzBL2- WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) December 20, 2016More Austin Aries on commentary, please. The guy gives off nothing but Jesse Ventura feels. And thats an incredibly big compliment.With their new red WWE Raw tag-team title belts around their waist, the team of Cesaro and Sheamus very much looked the part of champions on Monday (including the massive pop Cesaro received after winning an eight-man tag-team match by submission). Thats why its time for WWE to stop this ongoing Odd Couple routine, with both superstars constantly bickering and competing for the crowds cheers. Not only is the act a tired one, it waters down how impressive the duo is from a physical and technical standpoint inside the ring.Everything about this Neville heel turn is working. Dont change a thing.The sensitivity training segment involving Enzo Amore and a cast of assorted WWE characters may have been the highlight of Mondays show from an entertainment standpoint. The recurring skit was not only hilarious, it provided one heck of an exclamation point when Rusev and Lana appeared late to join Jinder Mahal in delivering another savage beatdown of Amore. There were far too many successful one-liners in play to list them all (from Enzos sly 3MB reference while cutting down Mahal to The Skywalker Smacktalker attempting to slide into the DMs of the WWE HR representative, Colleen McCarthy). But the segment also showcased just how hilarious coach Bob Backlund can be when he is given the screen time to explore his crazy character.Move of the nightBraun Strowman not only attempted to single-handedly destroy the entire Raw roster on Monday, he nearly tried to do the same to Christmas in general, by destroying a holiday-themed setup at the top of the ramp. His most vulgar display of power, however, was the ease in which he shot put Sin Cara into a Christmas tree and through a pile of gifts below on the side of the stage..@BraunStrowman just launched @SinCaraWWE through a Christmas tree into a pile of presents!! #StrowmanMassacre #RAW pic.twitter.com/xgOX2woI6k- WWE (@WWE) December 20, 2016Line of the nightLet me bring up Santa Claus. What does Santa Claus do besides hand out gifts and make lists? Let me tell you this, Santa Claus, you stupid idiot. You know what happens when you make lists, Santa? You know what happens when you steal Chris Jerichos gimmick, Father Christmas? You want to know what happens, huh, Kris Kringle? You want to know what happens when you mess with Chris Jericho? Santa Claus ... you just made the list! -- Chris JerichoTom Brady Jersey Super Bowl . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. Tom Brady Jersey New England Patriots . The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. https://www.sportsstarsjerseys.com/ .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. Tom Brady Jersey Michigan . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the passing runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs. Michael Jordan Jersey North Carolina . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division.COLUMBUS, Ohio -- While much of the rest of the nation played at least one game over the weekend, South Carolina waited three more days to get its new season started.After waiting about 20 months to play a game for the Gamecocks, that belated tip came not a moment too soon for Kaela Davis and Allisha Gray. Transfers eligible for the first time with their new team, they had a lot of lost shots to make up for.Behind 37 points from Davis and 24 points from Gray, fourth-ranked South Carolina outlasted No. 7 Ohio State 92-80 for a road win as impressive as any they earned a season ago. By way of Georgia Tech and North Carolina, respectively, Davis and Gray combined to outscore everyone else on their team. The pair scored 61 points and took 39 shots. Their teammates scored 31 points and took 25 shots.Without them, South Carolina would have lost Monday night.With them, well, its fun to imagine what is possible in the months ahead.Youve got to let the players play, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said. For us, weve never been this fortunate in allowing them to make plays. You dont have to control everything. Once you try and do that, you get in the way of everybody.For the first time in a long time, there was no Tiffany Mitchell for South Carolina. One of the programs all-time greats moved on to the WNBA after last season. The surprise Monday was that there was barely any Aja Wilson. Foul trouble limited the All-American to just 16 minutes and five points in a matchup that looked on paper like it would be an early player-of-the-year primary against Ohio States Kelsey Mitchell.Even when Wilson was on the court, Davis wasted little time scoring her first South Carolina points and the first points of the game. Closing a sizable amount of space in just a few steps, she stole an offensive rebound, relocated to the top of the key and knocked down a jumper. By halftime, she had 15 points -- two more than Mitchell. Gray had 10 points and South Carolina had a 44-39 lead.With Wilson getting in foul trouble early, that made it kind of difficult just to get the ball inside, Davis said. I think tonight was just one of those games where we kind of ended up by ourselves and maybe taking certain shots we wouldnt take in other games.While it sounds strange to say about a road game against a top-10 opponent, circumstances set up well for Davis. The Buckeyes want any game to have as many possessions as possible, and even on a night when they were dissatisfied with the pace, the tempo suited a scorer. And without Wilson, there was no awkward dance of deference.As a sophomore at Georgia Tech, Davis averaged 19.2 points per game. She also had the luxury to shoot 36 percent from the floor. She was the offense. She could shoot herself into rhythm. That wont be true at South Carolina, not all the time. Not when Wilson and Alaina Coates need the ball. Not when Gray has a hot hand. But she had leeway to settle in Monday.I think were still learning how to make that fit perfectly, Davis said of finding the balance. Like I said, tonight was a little different just because of the foul trouble situation. But I think it may be a game-by-game thing. Also in practice, were figuring out where that works and during what times to take what shots. Obviouslyy we want to start off with our bigs.dddddddddddd I think theyre some of the best bigs in the country, if not the best. We want to start there and work our way out.But with Wilson again on the bench after picking up her fourth foul midway through the third quarter, Davis took over in a way fans in Columbus are used to seeing -- just not from a visitor. After Mitchell pulled Ohio State within a field goal at 53-51, Davis hit a long jumper. Then after Gray took her turn, Davis hit a 3-pointer. Then another jumper. Then two free throws. The burst pushed the lead to eight points late in the third.When Ohio State again closed the gap, Gray and Davis again supplied the bulk of a run that put the game away. Davis capped it with a high arcing rainbow of a 3-pointer, exactly the kind of shot Mitchell so often makes on the same court.Asked if she was generally comfortable with Davis taking 20-plus shots -- South Carolinas single-game high for field goal attempts last season was 19 -- Staley joked that she was but that her assistants cringed when the shots started flying.Im still feeling them out, Staley said of Davis and Gray. Last year, they practiced with us but they didnt practice within the rotation -- we did it toward the end of the season because we knew we were kind of passing the torch. But Im still learning. Were not going to be the team we were in the past years where the point guard actually controlled the tempo, everything worked through the point guard. Youve got some guards that can initiate the offense and see over defenses, and were going to play off what they do best and not pigeonhole them into what we look like yesteryear.It is not as if Davis or Gray took Ohio State by surprise. One of the last games Gray played at North Carolina was a win in the NCAA tournament against the Buckeyes. And there was ample familiarity with Davis, the second-ranked recruit in her class in 2013.Ive seen them play; I know how good they are, Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said. But I think the biggest thing would be its just hard to focus on any one particular person. You start focusing on them too much and then Aja Wilson and Coates are going to have a field day around the basket. Thats what makes them so dangerous; theyve got so many good players.You can start talking about playing zone or double teaming the post or whatever it may be. But basically, essentially, youve got to get down and youve got to guard them and be really sound with what you do. When we werent sound, Davis and Gray really made us pay.South Carolinas schedule, with games looming against Louisville, Texas, Duke and UCLA, makes it likely there will be a stumble. Maybe two.But to add guards like Davis and Gray, not just scorers but big, strong rebounders and passers from the perimeter, to what the Gamecocks already had in the post?The possibilities are fun to think about.Obviously having Ohio State away as your first game back can be tough ... Davis said of her debut. I was excited to get here and get on the floor and play with this group of girls.It was a long time coming. Now the clock is ticking to figure out how to stop them. ' ' '