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It’s the first time MMA has made it onto the national networks.
UFC has deals with Spike and Pay Per View, but has never been aired on a network.
This is a huge move in many respects, even putting the sport on a higher scale than boxing which is in relative PPV / HBO abyss. Can you imagine seeing some of the sports biggest stars kick tail. As long as it doesn’t turn out to be some WWE crap, however unlikely, I’m down.
I think I actually feel giddy.
In a release:
“Mixed martial arts is one of the fastest growing sports in the country and a wildly popular entertainment vehicle for upscale, young adult audiences,” Kelly Kahl, CBS Primetime’s senior executive vice president, said in a release.
One question for Roger, are you going to cry like Marion Jones when this is over or are you going to apologize sympathetically, fully understanding the wrongs you’ve committed and the harm you’ve done?
I’ll wait. No, seriously, I don’t think this man has the integrity he claims in any of these stories where he’s questioned. Always talking about how he’s going to handle this the right way.
That’s funny. Nobody ever seemed to tell him the right was telling the truth. Good thing he has friends like Andy Pettitte to help him out.
The same congressional committee tried to enact some legislation back in 2005, but hit a wall with the whole “should we be involved” argument.
Of all people, David Stern has a huge rift with congressional oversight.
“Federal legislation in this area is not necessary for the NBA. Nor do I believe that a uniform, federally mandated approach to drug testing for all sports leagues would be appropriate,” Stern said, a sentiment echoed by others.
Let me make this clear: I am so for this. There’s just no way that professional leagues, especially MLB, can be trusted to work with their player’s association for the best interests of fans and integrity. The two don’t mesh well and the MLBPA is a perfect example of that. (I can remember fondly how former Senator George Mitchell ripped into them. Good times.)
But the buzzword(s) of the day have become “congressional oversight,” leaving little room for detractors to argue anything other than congress’ right to intervene in these matters. A certain congressman has the answer to these folks.
“The purpose of today’s hearing is to restart — and perhaps finish — the legislative process we started” in 2005,” said Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.
“Let me just say, I do resent the elitists, the cynics and cultural critics who dismiss this issue as a populist spectacle,” Rush said in his opening remarks. “I believe that we can move forward in a measure, deliberative and bipartisan manner with legislation that seriously tackles drugs in sports.”
Just look at him. Doesn’t he look evil. In the back of those eyes, I see a scared little child. His story is deserving of a book. Not by me, but somebody who actually knows him and is willing to out this fibber for what he is.
“C’mon Roger. No more tall tales. Time to grow up.”
I’ve been absent from this blog for two weeks plus. There are two reasons why: 1) If I would have been posting in the last couple of weeks every single thing I would’ve written about would have to do with steroids in baseball. 2) Every single damn thing I can think of has to do with Roger Clemens.
The mixture of the two would be deadly to my sanity.
I just want to stop for a minute and list the craziness from the past few weeks via links. The headlines should speak for themselves:
And these are just the highlights. The hearing was pure comedy. Brian McNamee’s cool demeanor was expected. Clemens’ awkward “testimony” was dually expected. The accusations and dissapointment lobbied by the congressmen and congresswomen was theater.
But in the weeks later, what do we have? Not a damn thing. We’re back to square one, meaning cheater No. 1: Barry Bonds. Yup, I’m tying this back to the big fella. I would swear under oath to you right now, BALCO, which spurred the Mitchell report and the Steroids Era itself, will also be the final chapter in the misery baseball has received. Bonds, being the chief investigated proponent of BALCO, will be the final leg of the journey. When he is convicted (and I do say ‘when’), it will be a day of relief for Bud Selig and the MLBPA. It’ll take the shoulder of blame off of these folks and pin it squarely on th donkey who they’ll claim lied to them and their families and friends en route to gain an advantage.
There’s nothing great about these tainted years. Nothing fond to look back on when everyone and everybody is a suspected cheat. There’s no pride in outing these folks. But I sincerely feel, if I cheered for you in some way or another, and you cheated (and therefore cheated my trust) then I have as much right to boo you now more than ever.
I could go on and on, but you’ve heard that story before.
Shaquille O’Neal, the newest and slowest Phoenix Sun, helped start a new rivalry with Bill Walton when he called him a hypocrite. Walton basically questioned Shaq’s effort in Miami, and I can’t blame him. There’s been talk of Shaq being out for the entire season … until he went to Phoenix. Now all of a sudden, he seems ready to go. Good timing. Fortunate.
“Shaq’s arrogance is an insult to people who think,” Walton said.
Shaq implied that Walton faked injuries throughout his career, although my understanding is that Walton played through his injuries, and shortened his career because of that. Shaq, on the other hand, seems to be known for playing half-assed during periods of the regular season and taking time off for mysterious injuries. I’m definitely on Walton’s side on this one. If he can play for Phoenix, he should’ve been playing for Miami, no matter how bad they are.
Either way, there’s only one way for these two to settle this. Have them race during All-Star weekend! 3 1/2 times across the court, just like Charles Barkley and Dick Bavetta did last year. It was by far the best event, and really it’s the only part of it I even remember. I don’t know remember who played in the game or who was MVP, but I clearly remember Barkley backpedaling across the finish line as 67-year-old Bavetta dove to try and catch up. Outstanding entertainment. And you’ve got to look out for the interests of the compulsive gamblers, who are looking to make up for losing the Super Bowl coin toss.
I say yes. I haven’t heard or read too many people that agree with me, but I think it’s a pretty easy choice. First, the biggest upset would have to be in a Super Bowl, there’s more riding on the game.
In the era of Super Bowls that I’ve watched, beginning around 1990, the biggest upsets I’ve seen were the Broncos over the Packers in Super Bowl ?, the Patriots beating the Rams in Super Bowl ?, and now the Giants somehow defeating the Patriots on Sunday.
Many are saying the Jets over the Colts in Super Bowl III is still the best. There was Namath’s guarantee, and the Colts were 17-point favorites. That’s the biggest point spread that’s been overcome, with this year’s Pats being favored by 12, but is that all that matters?
None of the other Super Bowl upsets ruined an 18-0 season. Nobody else beat the unbeatable. That’s what really matters. New England got all the breaks this year, and passed all the tests. All but one. It’s the biggest upset because it’ll go down as the biggest loss in NFL history. Amazing that an 18-1 season can be viewed as a disappointment and failure.
There were no piledrivers or suplexes or chairs to the head (all of which I think used to be legal in UFC). To my disappointment, he didn’t climb to the top of the cage for a flying power bomb, if that’s even a move. But former WWE star Brock Lesnar made a fan out of me in his first major UFC fight on Saturday.
He might have lost, but Lesnar showed he’s for real in a fight with former heavyweight champ Frank Mir last night. Lesnar came out on the attack and physically pushed Mir around, bloodying his face in the process. Mir looked like he was in serious trouble if he couldn’t figure a way around Lesnar’s size and strength. He was caught in a kneebar and tapped out fairly early in the fight, but if this guy can round out his game even a little, he’s going to be a serious threat as a heavyweight contender. Inexperience seemed to be the biggest reason for his loss.
In the main event, Tim Sylvia lost to Minotauro Nogueira for the interim heavyweight championship. Thank God. I really didn’t want to have to see that “Shawn Bradley awkward” fighter be the champ again. I’ll give him credit though, he landed some pretty solid punches and his take down defense was great. But once he did go down, that was it.
And then there were some other fights. People got punched. Punched in the face. It looked like it hurt. That’s all the detail you need on those.
With Lesnar looking like he’ll make some noise, it got me wondering who might be the next WWE star to make the jump to UFC. Earthquake (I haven’t kept up with wrestling) would present problems with his size, and the Undertaker (who attended) has the devil on his side. Don’t underestimate that. I’d vote for the Rock, personally. Mostly cause I’d like to see someone kick the crap out of him.
The New York Giants stunned the world, that is, everybody but themselves on Sunday by beating the previously unbeaten New England Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl 42. Eli Manning threw a game-winning touchdown to Plaxico Burress and an improbable third-and-long to David Tyree in the waking moments of history.
It was the stuff of champions.
But in their most sour moment, the Patriots’ leader turned from good sport to sore loser faster than Britney Spears’ bipolarity kicks in. Coach Bill Belichick, the alleged genius, bolted to midfield, shook Giants coach Tom Coughlin’s hand and then left the field with :01 seconds on the clock.
The thing is, you gotta take your whipping like a man. Step up and swallow your spit. Give props where props is due and keep your chin up. Instead, what we saw was another example of Belichick being over arrogant and under prepared for the thought of losing.
Needless to say, as others have said before me, he didn’t deserve to win. Cocky bastard.
Michael Vick gets to keep his bonus money
Of all the things stripped of Michael Vick (his pride, his endorsements, his freedom), you can’t take away what he’s actually earned.
At least that’s what a federal judge said Monday, giving the embattled quarterback some room to breath with all of his financial woes. The Atlanta Falcons had tried to recoup his bonus money when he pleaded guilty to dogfighting charges in 2007, arguing that he forfeited the money because of his troubles. But the judge ruled that you can’t take away what he’s earned when he had already played three years on his contract.
Every dog has his day. (That was a cheap one, I know.) Vick can find comfort in the fact that he may have some money left over when he gets done with his 23-month jail sentence and he may have a home to return to. But if he gets caught up on those gambling charges in the NFL, he may be done for. Crossing fingers here.
Andy Pettitte is gonna talk but what is he gonna say?
Today, he talked with the congressional lawyers in a deposition. On Feb. 13, he’ll talk before the house committee overseeing steroids in which he’ll either rat out Roger Clemens or exonerate his buddy.
On a scale of 1-to-10, with 10 being Pettitte ratting his boy out and just dumping on him, and one being him going to jail rather than talk, I see a solid eight. Yup, Pettitte will waffle, but he’ll tell the truth. And when the questions become precise and too accurate for him to deny what he knows, he’ll think about Barry Bonds’ perjury case, Dana Stubblefield’s lying, Rafael Palmeiro, Marion Jones and a host of others. I think for him, it won’t be a smart decision, it will be a decision to speak made out of fear.
And, ironically, that may be the smartest decision out of every baseball player that has stepped on congressional hill.
Let’s throw out some numbers: 22.3 points per game, 8.1 assists per game, 4.8 rebounds per game. That’s good for ninth in the Western Conference for points per game and fourth in assists. Throw in 2.45 steals per game (second in the WC) and Baron Davis is getting played worse than a banjo in a fakeass country club.
Add in the resurgence of the Golden State Warriors (28-19, 3rd in the Pacific), led by the dominant Davis and the beloved point guard isn’t the only one getting played. In fact, with the lack of Warriors on the All-Star roster I’m pretty shocked that such a good thing can be overlooked. We got Monta Ellis who is ballin’ outta control right now, Andris Biedrins who is playing like the European sensation and core of overachievers that were left for dead at other teams, including Stephen Jackson.
It’s got all the making of a championship sleeper. (Knock on wood.)
I’m just worried that Chris Webber could screw up the chemistry. But to not have one all-star, including the leader of the crusade is just insane on behalf of the WC coaches who voted. In fact, if you examine the stats thrown out earlier for Baron Davis, every single player who outranks him is on the all-star roster. And then there are the players beneath him who are on the roster. I don’t want to throw any names out there but is David West (19.6 ppg, 9.4 rpg) really deserving? I’m just saying, but this is ridiculous. Your boy (West) doesn’t even have clout on this side of the country. Boom Davis got more fans in the NO.
So while Davis takes a needed rest on all-star weekend, I’m gonna continue to wonder what these WC coaches were thinking when they snubbed this year’s final’s MVP. (Knock on wood.)
There were no piledrivers or suplexes or chairs to the head (all of which I think used to be legal in UFC). To my disappointment, he didn’t climb to the top of the cage for a flying power bomb, if that’s even a move. But former WWE star Brock Lesnar made a fan out of me in his first major UFC fight on Saturday.
