McMahon discusses competition, MMA as a competitor?

As part of Bloomberg TV's "Enterprise" series, WWE's business model was profiled Wednesday night in a set of interviews with CEO Vince McMahon, top executives Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, and CFO George Barrios.

Specifically related to WWE's business in the present and future, the following statements were made to Bloomberg's Melissa Long, who hosted the interviews.

-- When asked about competition, Vince McMahon quipped, "We have competitors?" He then added there's "no direct competitors. None." Asked a follow-up question about any historical competitors, McMahon said, "Ted Turner and Time-Warner couldn't compete with us with their vast resources.

"This is a unique business and a lot people who totally understand it understand the broader aspects of entertainment. We don't consider ourselves a wrestling company; we're an entertainment company. The basis of what we do is so unique, however, in terms of the characters we create and some of their differences are resolved in the ring in a physical way."

Asked if MMA is a competitor, McMahon offered his standard response about not seeing MMA as a competitor, then offered a fallacy-based statement that one is sport and one is entertainment, as if "sport" and "entertainment" are mutually exclusive.

"Mixed martial arts is not a competitor of ours at all," McMahon said. "They're a sport, we're entertainment. Two completely different points of views and philosophies."

-- WWE TV Network plans were discussed throughout the 30-minute feature on WWE. McMahon said, "It's something we've been thinking about for years, but now is the right time for us to roll it out and we'll roll it out next year."

Asked why it's the right timing, McMahon said, "Because of where we are programming-wise and popularity. And we just completed out first successful reality show (Tough Enough). There are so many different shows we're capable now of producing that we weren't before. We know how to capitalize on these personalities that would make up these television shows."

WWE CFO George Barrios added his thoughts on the Network being a "game-changing" development for WWE, which is similar to what he said in WWE's previous conference call with investors.

"We've talked for over a year on possibility of WWE TV Network," Barrios added before discussing why it's taken that long to get the Network off the ground. "There's a lot of complexity and stakeholders. There are the networks themselves, potential other content providers, and then there's internal work that needs to be done."

The great American road trip

After a year of working in the United States and a month left on our visas, my partner Tim and I decide it's time to leave our jobs in New Orleans and go hunting for the weird and wacky through the US.

Our funds are tight and we have three weeks to cover 5000 kilometres, from California through Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico to Texas and back.

The road trip begins in San Francisco. We pick up the rental car and drive straight to Las Vegas to stay at the cheapest hotel on The Strip: Circus Circus. As soon as I walk through the flashing doors, I am assaulted by the dinging of slot machines, the smell of cigarettes mixed with greasy food and the sight of shabby families.

Las Vegas is the definition of excess and extremes. It's a beacon for people who live the American dream, partying poolside at exclusive resorts, and the down-trodden gambling addicted, who will bet everything to get closer to it. Everywhere there are 50-year-old cocktail waitresses wearing skirts that skim their butt-cheeks, and Hispanic men and women trying to force prostitute cards on to people wandering the streets.

While there are redeeming factors, such as old neon signs in downtown Las Vegas, gimmicky themed casinos like Paris, with an Eiffel Tower replica, dancing water fountains at the Belagio, and a smutty pirate show at Treasure Island, it is depressing and tacky.

I am relieved to move on to New Mexico, in particular the Taos Pueblo Village, a 1000-year-old Native American Village north of Santa Fe, which has tribal sovereignty. Along with lived-in homes, the village also has shops where residents sell their art.

One artist gives me an insight into life there. She says they are all living in poverty and there is corruption and nepotism within the tribe, with members of the same family holding police, court and tribal council positions.

Also in New Mexico is weird mecca Roswell, home to the UFO Roswell Incident of 1947. Mostly, Roswell is just another faceless highway town, but in 1947 it got a point of difference.

There is the International UFO Museum, a few street lights with alien eyes, and shop windows full of alien junk. The museum, probably Roswell's biggest pull, gives a chronological account of what happened in 1947, when locals claimed to have found a UFO and aliens, and the authorities' attempts to dispel and cover up the findings.

Looking at some of the residents, I wonder whether the aliens perhaps bred in the area.

From New Mexico, we drive to Texas, where we stay in Austin.

We visit the Broken Spoke, a charmingly rustic, legendary dance hall built in the 1960s. We walk through the wooden doors and witness old and young couples, dressed in cowboy boots, Stetson hats, blue jeans, checkered shirts and crinoline petticoats dancing with an unexpected slickness, making it seem so effortless.

Tim and I soon find out it's not, and embarrassingly retreat to the outskirts of the floor. The band is made up of Austin's local country heroes, playing a mix of styles, from bluegrass to that earnest, three-women-in-harmony style.

Scheels: 2 stories, 300 employees, 800 parking spaces

The two-story Scheels sporting goods superstore scheduled to open at 9 a.m. Saturday at MacArthur Boulevard and Interstate 72 is the 24th for the North Dakota-based company and the first in Illinois.

Approximately 300 workers have been hired, including 140 who are full time, according to the company.

Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce executive vice president Erich Bloxdorf said, in addition to the short-term effect on jobs and retail sales, Scheels and surrounding developments will bring long-term changes to the local market.

“Certainly, drawing customers from outside our traditional markets will be a benefit to the community and provide an opportunity for our local businesses to capture customers that they might not otherwise be able to reach,” Bloxdorf said. “In addition, the sales tax revenues will be poured back into our community, which will benefit our entire population.”

Springfield police will provide assistance with traffic flow if needed Saturday, and employees have been asked to park off site, said Jason Loney, Scheels vice president of marketing and store development.

The store has nearly 800 parking spots.

“We have a few minor things remaining, but we’re ready to go,” said Loney.

A Toy Story: 'Cars' merchandise ubiquitous

In the Pixar pantheon of animated films remarkable for their appeal to both adults and children, "Cars" is the most purely kiddie affair.

While critics prefer the heartfelt resonance of "Up" or the mortality ruminations of "Toy Story 3," toddlers have been far more amped by "Cars."

Since premiering in 2006, "Cars" has been a high-octane sensation among those whose feet still don't reach the gas pedal, and the "Cars 2" sequel opening Friday is already driving a similar response.

Take David W. Wright, a 40-year-old Floridian and the father of a 4-year-old "Cars" fanatic. Wright estimates he and his son have seen "Cars" "easily a couple hundred times."

"There was a little while after maybe the first 40 times where I was like, "Ah, I can't watch this again,' " said Wright, who blogs about parenthood at BloggerDad.com. "But eventually it comes full circle. I like it."

His son is rewarded for good behavior at pre-school with a new "Cars" toy car. That goes along with his "Cars" shoes, blankets and books.

The Wright family's experience is far from uncommon.

"Cars" has attached itself to kid culture more than any other Pixar film or even most children's movies. While the Pixar connoisseur can trumpet the artistry of "Ratatouille" or the galactic romance of "WALL-E," it's nothing compared to the kiddie-clamor for "Cars."

The film already has earned Walt Disney Co., which owns Pixar, more than $8 billion in retail sales. Disney estimates that merchandising for "Cars 2," which began rolling in May, will this year surpass the $2.4 billion "Toy Story 3" made from retail sales last year.

"It's a phenomenon," said Tony Lisanti, editor-in-chief for License! Global magazine. "It could very well be one of the biggest brand licensing and merchandising programs ever."

Consider that young "Cars" fans can wake up to their "Cars" clock radio, start the day with a "Cars" bubble bath, brush their teeth with a "Cars" toothbrush, spray themselves with some "Cars" cologne for kids, pop a few "Cars" vitamins, toss their "Cars" pajamas into a "Cars" clothes hamper, and snack on "Cars" cereal from a "Cars" ceramic bowl atop a "Cars" placemat.

Different Drummers: Buena Vista Township couple amass Titanic collection

A young woman climbs over the railing of a luxury ocean liner, with only a precarious foothold, and stares at the icy black water below as she contemplates whether to let go.

Fortunately for her, she is soon talked out of it by a handsome third-class passenger who — even more fortunately for her — happens to look exactly like Leonardo DiCaprio. But not before she almost falls, tearing her red evening gown.

In the world of the film, that dress probably ended up at the bottom of the Atlantic — but in real life, the torn gown worn by Kate Winslet in “Titanic" is in the possession of a Buena Vista couple, Lew and Carolyn Vinci, who have amassed one of the most expansive — and expensive — collections of props and memorabilia from the 1997 blockbuster anywhere.

That gown and its companion, a coat worn by Winslet during the first sinking scenes, have been on public display only once, in Branson, Mo. — but as the 100th anniversary of the sinking in April 2012 approaches, the Vincis are looking to partner up for another exhibition to benefit their non-profit Animal Friends Foundation.

“They've literally not been seen on the East Coast," Lew Vinci said. “And next year, it's going to be Titanic mania."

The Vinci's love affair with the film wasn't always total — in fact, Lew wasn't really that interested in seeing it when it first opened.

“I heard it was a chick flick," he said. “Carolyn dragged me. I had to say, there were a little tears going down my eyes."

Vinci was sold. Lew, 48, and Carolyn, 51, had already been long interested in the Titanic and maritime history in general, but items that survived the actual sinking itself are few and far between. Lew showed a 1998 video from the Today Show in which Katie Couric, told that a spoon taken from the Titanic into a lifeboat was priced at $46,000, reacted with a response that can be loosely translated as “Yaghcgh!"

Anything retrieved via submarine is just as expensive — and as for clothes, they might as well have had washing instructions that advised: machine wash warm, tumble dry, avoid soaking in seawater for 100 years.

But James Cameron's film opened a new avenue for collectibles — and being the then-record-holder for the highest-grossing film of all time, it had an historic cachet of its own.

So just a few feet from a signed Steve Carlton Phillies jersey — the centerpiece of the Vincis' other collection — hangs a first class server's jacket from one of the dining scenes. A lifejacket, stained with an actor's makeup, is behind glass in a nearby room, next to replica Titanic dinner plates and utensils — each of which, despite the camera never getting in close enough to see it, bears the engraved emblem of the White Star Line.

“And that's why the movie cost $200 million to make," Lew said.

Of course, no collection is complete without a replica of the jeweled “Heart of the Ocean" necklace — which, unfortunately, is a little too clunky to actually grace a woman's neck, Carolyn said.

“I tried putting it on," she said. “It's so flippy and not practical to wear. I probably would just hold it up to my neck."

At least she still has it, unlike the character of Rose in the film. The elderly woman decided to dump the jewel overboard rather than, say, bequeath it to her granddaughter to pay for her kids' college or something.

But the true heart of the collection, of course, are the two outfits worn by Winslet — both kept in an undisclosed location, safe from thieves and icebergs.

There were seven red evening gowns made for the film — “They always make duplicates in case something gets damaged," Lew said. “Most of them got shredded"  — but according to 20th Century Fox, they said, theirs is the only one in private hands.

It was the tear, they said — ripped in the same spot as in the film — that sealed the deal on the authenticity of the gown, which they purchased through exclusive retailer J. Peterman via his arrangement with the studio.

And on the wool coat they purchased next, there was a seawater stain from when Winslet's character was struggling through water-clogged hallways.

“There was actually a line of demarcation of where it was wet and where it was not," Carolyn said.

That's not all they have of Winslet's outfits. A pair of earrings she wore during the scene at the stern of the ship are displayed in a glass case, having earned a rare — and not particularly wanted — distinction of becoming the most expensive set of costume jewelry ever sold at auction.

“It cost $25,000 for those," Lew said, “a world record for costume jewelry used in a movie. I didn't want to hear (that) ..."

Add a replica pair of the shoes Winslet wore, made in Italy by Peter Fox, and one could say they have everything from that scene except for Winslet herself — and they can almost say that, too, if you include the letter Winslet wrote them in 2004.

“She was very nice," Carolyn said. “She talked about how many times she wore them, how uncomfortable the dress was, how she liked the coat because it was loose. And she actually asked us how much we paid for them. She said, ‘I hope this isn't rude ...'"

So what was the price? The coat came in at $10,000, Lew said, but the evening gown went for a cool $35,000. So one can imagine the distress in the way they ended up receiving it.

The Vincis had already purchased the coat, Lew said, when Lew decided to buy the gown as a Valentine's Day present. Unfortunately, it wasn't ready until a few weeks later.

“I got nothing for Valentine's Day," Carolyn joked. “Not a card, nothing."

“Boy, did I hear it," Lew recalled.

Then, one day, it arrived in a box at their doorstep — in the pouring rain, while both were away.

“I had to ask a neighbor to bring it off the porch," Lew said. “We didn't tell her what was in it."

As a way of thanks, Carolyn added, they eventually allowed the neighbor to wear the dress she unknowingly rescued.

After all that, Lew said their collection could have been even bigger. The purple striped outfit Winslet wore as her character arrived at the dock at the beginning of the movie — and which Couric was wearing when she had her visceral reaction to the spoon — was offered to the Vincis after they bought the first two outfits.

“I figured, ‘Oh, I laid out enough money already, I think I'll pass'," he said. “Then J. Peterman and 20th Century Fox argued, and they pulled it off the market. Now I'm kicking myself in the ass. I should have made the move."

Of course, one might tend to wonder if it was really worthwhile to spend so much on Hollywood costumes. In the end, was all of that really money well spent?

“We appraised it," Lew said of the gown. “It's worth about $300,000 now."

In other words: they're not about to dump it in the ocean any time soon.

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Fitness PR: High Perfomance Running Shoes with BIOM by ECCO

The BIOM running shoe by ECCO is created using biomechanics and is developed by the University of Cologne. The concept of BIOM, inspired by barefoot runners, is perfect for someone looking for a high performance running shoe. ECCO spent three years of research and development to create the perfect design of the shoe. They scanned foot profiles of 2500 runners to create a replica of the human foot and BIOM is the only shoe on the market that uses direct-injection process (which increases the durability of your shoe.)

ECCO uses durable materials like PU which lasts 1.5 times longer than EVA, which is used in many other shoes. The shoe also has a wide toebox to ensure your toes can spread naturally (so important for a comfortable fit.) Moreover, the shoe has high-traction rubber outsole components, which improve grip and decrease the weight of the shoe allowing you to run fast and freely.

The BIOM project has A and B models of the shoe out already and are working on the C model. The BIOM A is produced using traditional textile mesh which allows for greater ventilation while BIOM B is produced using breakable yak leather which has a greater durability. The supply of Yak leather is very limited and ECCO spent two years to develop an efficient yak tanning method.

The BIOM Project provides us with a shoe that is unique in the running shoe market coming that is as close to the biomechanics of your foot and ankle as possible, allowing you to run as nature intended. It is truly for the athlete looking to push limits.

Joey Fatone PIMPS Thundercats Sword in Sale

Joey Fatone is saying bye, bye, bye to the contents of his Orlando home -- in the form of a MASSIVE estate sale this weekend -- featuring all sorts of awesome crap ... like the SWORD OF OMENS!

TMZ has learned the Fatone family is moving and EVERYTHING must go -- including Joey's Death Star replica, his personal Sword of Omens from Thundercats, arcade games, furniture, art, dishes, grill utensils ... all the way down to his clothes and shoes.

In fact ... since everything in the house is marked with price tags -- it looks like the only thing not included in the sale is the kitchen sink.

... unless the price is right.

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'The Goonies' lives on in Astoria

And you thought after last summer's mondo 25th anniversary celebration, Astoria would be all Goonied out.

Think again. As part of the Goonies 25th Anniversary Celebration in 2010, Astoria Mayor Willis Van Dusen declared June 7 to be officially recognized as Goonies Day in Astoria. (June 7 is the anniversary of the day the film was released in theaters in 1985.)

Fans around the world are expected to celebrate the anniversary, said Regina Willkie, marketing manager of the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce and one of the main organizers of the 25th anniversary event. The Chamber is contacting film fans online via email lists, Facebook groups and Goonies fan sites, letting them know about the special deals and activities waiting for them in Astoria Tuesday, June 7.

A ribbon-cutting at 10 a.m. at the Oregon Film Museum will debut the expanded and improved exhibits by the Clatsop County Historical Society. "The new exhibits will bring the museum visitor into the filmmaking process, from location scout to production manager to cast member," said Willkie. You'll also be able to see the replica of the Jeep driven by the Fratellis in the movie. The Chamber and CCHS purchased the vehicle to be part of Astoria's Goonies heritage. CCHS Executive Director Mac Burns is inviting visitors to explore "The Goonies" and other movies filmed in Oregon at the museum, which celebrates the art and legacy of films and filmmaking in the state.

All over town, merchants and organizations will be participating in the Goonies festivities. You'll be able to snag a free truffle at ABECO Office Systems, get a 15 percent discount at Gimre's Shoes for quoting any line from the movie, swoon over a Baby Ruth cheesecake at the Silver Salmon Grille and pick up a Goonie-decorated cupcake at Simply Cakes by Jae.

Grab the gang and dive into a mini-scavenger hunt at Rogue Ales Public House. Then throw back a Truffle Shuffle Stout on tap at Fort George Brewery. Dine on Goonie burgers, pizza, milkshakes, pie and drinks at the Wet Dog Cafe. Then stop by the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce to collect your free 25th anniversary doubloon after you've visited at least five participating locations. Visit www.oldoregon.com for a complete list of merchants taking part.

But don't wait until Tuesday to start getting your Goonie geek on. You can take in the Goonies-themed art show, "This Is Our Time Now," premiering at Lunar Boy Gallery from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 4 at its new location at 240 11th St.

From 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday, June 4, you can dance the night away at the ‘80s Party at the Wet Dog Café (21 and older only). Show up in your Goonies costume for prizes and drink specials.