Not to invade Ron’s space, but when the WWE seems on the verge of something special, it warrants some props. Especially because it really hits home here.

It started about 10 years ago, when a few of us in the sports department were flipping channels and came across a wrestling match where fans were handing cheese graters, pans, and other assorted kitchen utensils to the wrestlers, who were in turn using them as foreign (apologies to Ted Turner) objects in what seems to be perfectly legal means. The wrestlers looked not like chiseled Adonises, but guys you’d see working at a construction site - and nearly as approachable.

Our fascination with ECW resembled a cult following, with similar shock value as Morton Downey Jr. and Andrew Dice Clay. How can New Jack jump 30 feet from a balcony, onto another wrestler splayed out on a table, and live to tell about it? What’s up with this Sandman smoking cigarettes and chugging beer in the ring, and smashing the can against his head and drawing blood BEFORE the match as an exclamation point? And isn’t Terry Funk old enough to be a grandfather, yet still getting wrapped up in barbed wire for entertainment purposes, only?

We all took turns imitating Joey Styles (catfight! catfight!) and his straightforward, deadpan play-by-play that reminded us of a more animated Gordon Solie. We laughed at the edgy, trashy personas of the various valets (Francine was no Diva, but we loved her anyway).

It had that anti-establishment, we’re-not-here-to-entertainment-you attituede that lured me to ECW, and kept me a fan even when the roster started thinning out one-by-one - The Dudleys, Rob Van Dam, Tazz, Shane Douglas, Sabu, Lance Storm ... the list goes on. Paul Heyman was the anti-Vince McMahon - ‘’This is what we are, and if you don’t like it, there’s always the WWE and WCW.’’

So when the WWE started dropping hints at bringing back another ECW One Night Stand - set for June 11 - I marveled at the possibilities. When Styles ‘’quit’’ with an inspired speech that - I’m sure - was half-script, half-truth (’’I’m SICK of sports entertainment’’ - Yes!), I quietly applauded. And when Mick Foley and Edge teamed up to leave Tommy Dreamer a crumpled, bloody mess (OK, so I’m not thrilled with the Foley heel turn and hate to see Dreamer laying face-first in his own blood), I appreciated where they were going.

Styles’ speech - and the second ECW show - have me thinking that the WWE understands the value of offering an alternative to their polished ‘’sports entertainment.’’ Just as any other established product gives consumers a diverse choice, it seems the WWE sees ECW as a potentially lucrative option for wrestling fans who truly want to see wrestling in its raw form.

And here’s hoping the ‘’One Night Stand’’ is a precursor to more shows in the future. Styles, Van Dam, Tazz, Dreamer and Sandman - among others - together again?

E-C-W!