Pandemic Report
The latest statistics from WaPo:
The latest vaccine stats from CDC:
Well, new cases have been flat at just under 30K/daily. for the last 2-3 weeks. Whereas the omicron BA.2 variant is now dominant (55% vs. 40%), we haven't seen the kind of surge (yet) that I thought we might, like in Europe and Asia, experience a surge. We still see celebrity infections (e.g., mayors and a Broadway lead actor); The FDA and CDC approved a second booster for senior citizens and older Americans with serious health conditions. NYC is continuing mask policies for toddlers. Federal funding for COVID-19 expenses is running low, but a bipartisan group of senators is working to broker a funding bill. There are more reports of various public policy scandals: one prominent one in Germany is a man who has been vaccinated some 90 times for vaccine cards. We are seeing pandemic lows overall for COVID-19 hospitalizations, but hospitals are still struggling with labor shortages and the consequences of postponed health issue complications from the general public.
More Notes
Well, Wrestlemania weekend is now history. The return of Cody Rhodes as Seth Rollins mystery opponent was so widely anticipated, the only question in my mind was whether they might reveal it early to promote the match (nope). I think Cody developed the "American Nightmare" persona outside of WWE, a clear tribute to his dad, "The American Dream", and brought some of his dad's patented moves, like the bionic elbow. Not a surprise that Seth jobbed the match; the WWE needs another established babyface. and a loss would have handicapped his start.
The hyped "KO Show" with Stone Cold Steve Austin turned out to be more than Stone Cold rebuking Owens and giving him a stunner but an actual match; I thought that might happen but Austin had a lot of ring rust after 19 years and has a perfectionist streak. I was concerned when he took a suplex on the stadium floor (knowing his neck problems)
I particular liked the RAW Women's Championship match with many near-falls and Belair finally won her title back from Lynch. There were other decent matches as well, including Edge-Styles, which ended in part from a novel heel alliance between Edge and Damian Priest.
The Reigns/Lesnar title unification bout ended as expected; I didn't expect them to book a limited schedule Lesnar as champ. I am getting a little tired of the "referee knocked out" gimmick where heel Reigns took advantage, clobbering Lesnar with the belt. But using dirty tactics to enable a Reigns victory.
I did like the Hall of Fame show late Friday. I had been a fan of the Steiner Brothers and Big Poppa Pump and Vader as WCW Champions. I wasn't sure WWE would let Scott Steiner near a mike (he's ranted against WWE). The Undertaker speech was unique and powerful, and he left the door open to a future match with "Never Say Never". However, I wasn't happy they had Steiner son/nephew Bron Breakker lose his rematch for the NXT title Saturday afternoon.
