So, the Red Wings took it in the third overtime period. Gotta say I'm REAL disappointed the overtime streak came to an end - I think they'd won four or five straight, and seven of eight overall. I'm even more disappointed that the Canes seemingly are no better than .500 at home in these playoffs. Gotta grab game 4, or it's as good as done. As a long time suffering Hartford Whalers fan, here's a mental image: That girl you developed a crush on back in Grade 7 and you never had the balls to talk to is BEGGING you to take her now, in your senior year. Win the series - you score. Lose, and you're left with your pants down and her laughing at you. I REALLY want to see Francis hoist the cup once with the Canes before he hangs 'em up.

TONIGHT ON CONFIDENTIAL: The Tough Enough 2 controversy continues, The Rock reveals his future, and the divas go on a shopping spree you WON'T believe!

Gene Okerlund is all by himself on another Saturday night. Since The Rock disappeared some months ago, rumors are running as wild as Hulkamania that The Rock may be staying in Hollywood. Tonight, we'll hear all about his plans. But first, Tough Enough 2.

Last Thursday, Linda and Jackie were declared the winners and the response was extreme. The males were understandably pissed, though WWE insiders say the decision was a no-brainer. Some folks in the media however think at least one guy got hosed - and tonight Jake and Kenny will be on the phone while John "Big" Caburick will be in the studio to explain himself.

Before any of that can take place, let's go behind the scenes of Tough Enough 2 season's finale. Big says the day started real early. They had a production meeting, and all kinds of rehearsals. There was plenty of electricity and tension throughout the building.

Al Snow says the kids were a nervous wreck - and almost no one knows who the winners are. Need proof? Here's Ivory stating she's going to be genuinely surprised when they're announced. She has her favorites, and there are others who she'll shoot herself in the foot if they win. (I noticed she did not have a limp on Velocity.) Al feels confident with his choice. Chavo as usual is afraid to say anything controversial, stating all 4 could have won since they all have their strong and weak points.

Everyone from Tough Enough 1 and 2 were in the house. Nidia picked Kenny to win because he's got a charisma, and Jackie showed passion. Hawk goes with Jake and Linda. Pete likes Kenny, but thinks Jake's in because of his look and size, and Jackie's got the look. Robert thinks Jake has a beautiful body, Kenny's got the attitude - but neither has a personality that stands out so he can't choose either of them and says it's real close. Big says it was a reasonable assumption by the public that they were gonna pick a guy and a girl. Chavo: "You know what they say about assuming right?"

The show kicked off - and here's some of the highlights. Big says it came down to himself, the Tough Enough trainers, and some other WWE executives to choose the winners. MTV didn't know who was going to win - just the people who made the picks.

Linda gets the first contract. Bob Holly said she was determined to win and she's very head strong. Linda says it was her confidence that got her the contract.

Big says it's their job to pick the best - and everyone assumed the male was coming next, even Jackie. Here's a shot of Jackie in absolute tears being consoled by Linda. Big says they probably should have picked a male, but it wouldn't have been the right thing to do, or the fair thing. Al says people jumped to an opinion about winners based on appearances. They assumed Jake would win since he looks like a typical sports entertainer. Ivory says Linda and Jake have a physical presence about themselves. Chavo says it was a shock to himself. Ivory swears they didn't pick two females just to shock people, they deserved it.

Big compares the losers circle to going to the Superbowl and not winning. Kenny is really not very happy, and Jake states he's pissed off. Al says it's simple, they were the best of the four.

STILL TO COME: We find out how Jake and Kenny REALLY feel.

BEFORE THEY WERE SUPERSTARS

This week's profile is Bradshaw. His mother says he's always been a lot of fun. His sister says he was a tad mischievous. His dad swears he was fun.

In high school, Bradshaw had a short teacher who couldn't write notes at the top of the chalkboard, and since he was so tall he'd do it for her. His mother always thought he was funny, and so did his teachers.

He was born in Sweetwater, Texas which is famous for the rattlesnake roundup. Here's his good friend Tom, who rounds up snakes. On the rattlesnake roundup weekend, the population of Sweetwater jumps from 12,000 people to about 40,000. People come from all over the world to get educated. Bradshaw holds a snake in his hands and says that's not the way to handle 'em, but he doesn't care.

As a youngster, he loved sports. He grew up wanting to be a rancher. He was paid $3 an hour to round up cattle - and while he was getting screwed for pay he loved doing it. Football was king. He takes a trip back to his high school - and sits it the stadium. He wasn't very good. His sister: "He was slower than Christmas." Everyday he'd haul ass down at the ranch to get into shape. He'd put weights in his boots, and while picking up the bails of hay he'd run ahead and try to do twice as much work as everyone else. He lifted weights because he loved football more than anything else. The stands were full every game - and everything he did revolved around 10 Fridays a year.

His mother had a bush that she trimmed (get your head out of the gutter), and it was the shape of a duck. A lot of people praised her work - and one day Bradshaw came home and begged his mother to put a football helmet on it.

He was playing in the conference championship, and he wanted to go against the other top linesman. Another guy hit him and snapped his fibula in half. He felt it right away. He promised the Coach he'd be back as fast as he could just to prove how tough he was. He played the rest of the game on his leg. The next week on crutches, he walked into West Texas State and told them he wanted to play once more. He played about 5 quarters on a broken leg. His parents weren't surprised.

He went to the Raiders, then went to the World Football League. He knew at that point he was just gonna be a hanger on, and decided to hang it up. When he went into wrestling, his spirits went back up. He believes he's a happy person - and seeing the world as a wrestler makes him happy.

Why is Shawn Michaels back? And Ric Flair's plan has backfired - hilarity will undoubtedly follow. All this week on RAW.

The Rock is on everyone's A list promises Gene, and he wouldn't lie. He's been everywhere except WWE television. Will he ever return to Smackdown!?

The Rock just awarded Janet Jackson the Readers Choice Award for Entertainer of the Year. She wanted him specifically to do it.

He went off to promote The Scorpion King - which he had to do. The only thing he wanted to do was make a movie that was indicative of his personality, and left fans going home satisfied. El Durado will be his next movie - his third with Universal. It'll be a big action/comedy movie, and Stiffler from American Pie is in it too.

He misses the interaction with the fans on Smackdown! and closes with this thought. "The Rock is coming back."

Gene would give anything to be that guy for a couple of days…or nights.

There are a lot of other people who would love to be like The Rock too. WWE camera people went backstage to get the best impressions from the stars.

Booker T says he can do an impression, yeah. Funaki worries they're setting him up as a joke. Spike sniffs the air and can't lift his eyebrow, even with help from his hand. Christian and Matt Hardy do the Talk To The Hand bit. Al Snow: "I hate doing impressions. I suck." Christian sniffs and raises an eyebrow. Funaki's having real trouble with this. Randy Orton and Big Show both go through the "Finally…" bit. Hugh Morrus does his laugh. Al Snow: "I don't know what I'm gonna do!" Chavo brings up the millions, and D'Lo yells about them. Now Chavo's into it! Hugh Morrus: "WHO in the blue hell…" Chavo: "Are you?" Rico's…not doing a whole lot of anything except looking completely lost. Booker T gives a half assed "If you smell what The Rock is cooking" swearing it's the best he can do. So here's some clips of him last summer doing it a whole lot better. Funaki, Ivory, and Goldust all inhale. D'Lo, Matt Hardy, and Chavo all yell about smelling what they're cooking. Big Show adds the tongue part and winds up hacking up a lung in the process. Goldust and Ivory both do the tongue thing. FAAROOQ RULES! "Can you smell what I'm cooking?" and he promptly closes both eyes trying to raise his eyebrow - with his mouth in a REALLY funny position. "DAMN!" Al Snow does an impression: "IF YA SMELL….damn, I should have never eaten that burrito!" Ivory and Goldust finish off their impressions, and we watch everyone do the eyebrow. Finally Funaki: "If you smewwwwww what tha wok is cookin'!"

WWE CRUNCH OF THE WEEK: Jackie wins Tough Enough 2, and Jake is pissed off.

Welcome back - and John Caburick is live in the studio! Gene: "You've got some explaining to do!" He says everyone's making it out to be a big controversy, but the fact is they picked the best champions. He thinks the men are great people, but as a talent evaluator they felt the women were further along. They'll address them individually.

Jake is chiselled out of stone, and has tremendous ability in the weight room. He is a slow learner though, and the speed you need to pick things up, he didn't have that. Kenny has some physical and mental development issues he needs to address. He needs to fill out and grow up.

Jake's live on the phone in California. Gene wants to know why he left the show before they could ask questions. Jake says he was upset and didn't want to stick around. He didn't need to say anything to burn a bridge. What's up with him? Before he answers that, he asks Big when they decided to pick two women. He feels it's unfair to the guys, and doesn't think the guys would have tried out if they'd known they were gonna pick two women. Big assures him that the best people got chosen, and they could have taken two men if they deserved it. He says Jake and Kenny didn't match up to where Linda and Jackie were. Gene wonders if it's sour grapes - and asks if he'd do it again. Jake says if he'd known they were taking two women, no because he had no shot. Gene offers him luck.

Kenny's in Las Vegas. He feels they picked two great champs, but didn't choose the best ones. Everywhere he goes, all he's been hearing is he got robbed. (Well of course people you KNOW are gonna tell you that! Wake up kid!) He had his own feelings about that, but when it compounds with what he's heard from everyone it hurts. Big says exactly what I just did - and that is that people are never going to tell you to your face they made the right decision. The fact is, Bob Holly, Al Snow, Chavo, and Ivory have many years of experience and they all picked the women - it was unanimous. He wasn't robbed, it was a legit decision, and right decision and one he's proud of.

It's a contest - people lose. I didn't win the 6/49 last week, but I'm not crying about it. I realize this is a tad different, but burning a bridge because you lost is stupid. Anyone who truly wanted in the business would know better.

Gene says Steve Austin single handily redefined the business, and is the most entertaining SOB in WWE. Even when the cameras stop rolling - the show isn't over until Stone Cold says so.

Jim Ross asks Austin why he spends so much more time with the crowd after the show goes off the air. He says it's just a way to keep having fun, and it's a way to send the fans home happy. Here he is meeting the good folk of Nashville. (He has the belt - so I'm guessing he's in heel mode.) He insults everyone who he talks to, and gets a loud laugh for telling the crowd "If there's one thing I can't stand it's a Christian publisher." He goes out there to drink as many beers as they have in the cooler. Mark Yeaton is the timekeeper. Over the years he's thrown Austin hundreds of beers. He goes through about 24 a night. Clips of him drinking beer with lots of WWE personalities. Mark remembers one time they were short of beer, and Austin beat him up.

How to drink a beer the Stone Cold way: Kurt Angle says he always misses a few beers. He opens two at a time - and clangs them together and it goes everywhere. He does a visual where he pours it all over the place - and foams like a mad dog. In real life, he crunches the can and it annoys the crap out of Debra. On TV he never does it though. Kurt says you can't imitate the beer thing - it's Austin's thing, though he wishes he'd come up with it 5 years ago.

Tom Stewart is a camera man. Three or four years ago, Austin stole the camera and put on a show. He knows when Austin gives him that look - that he's gonna get it. Austin swears he's serious when he does it, and he's lucky he's carrying a $60,000 camera because his life means 0. Tom says the crowd loves it when he attacks someone who isn't usual. Earl says the crowd loves watching Austin drink beer because it makes them happy. Debra says everyone else is already gone home, and Austin's still out there, so that shows you his dedication. Austin says he does the send off so the fans want to come back again.

Recently, Mark Henry has been putting on a show of his own. Now training with him, it might be intimidating - but for WWE contest winner Andres Maldanado it was a dream come true.

Andres met Henry at the gym - and they compared arms. Henry told him it would be hard, but fun. Mark's workout is very serious. He plans the whole trip. He runs Andres through the gauntlet - four sets with no rest. Andres has a real hard time keeping up. He says afterwards he'll never do it again. It was a real good experience though.

Torrie Wilson and Stacy Keibler met the Tough Enough kids as we remember - but we didn't see them go on a shopping spree. The guys (Pete, Hawk, Kenny, and Jake) were all forced to try on lingerie or bikinis. Al says he was scarred for life.

Gene says that'll give everyone a good idea why there weren't any male winners.

NEXT WEEK: Bobby Heenan. He had a battle with throat cancer - and next week we'll hear all about his fight.