Saturday, April 28, 2007

TUF 5.4

Well, after a great fight last week, what will TUF offer us this week? Another great fight? A one minute squash? Only time will tell.

The show starts with a recap of last week's fight, including mention being made of the fact that Rob Emerson earned people's respect in a losing effort in his fight. This is absolutely true, and I think Emerson, much like Ross Pointon from TUF3 are the kinds of guys that Dana will take care of.

During a Team Pulver training session, Jens calls out Wayne Weems as the weak link on the team. The kid looks like a deer caught in the headlights.

During a Team Penn session, Gabe Rutabaga tells BJ that he thinks that he should be the guy to fight Wayne Weems. Gabe seems oblivious to the fact that:

  1. Team Penn needs to win a fight before they can make the match
  2. He is still twenty pounds overweight, and won't be fighting anybody if he can't shed his excess baggage.
  3. Gabe has done nothing to earn BJ's help, let alone his respect. If Team Penn DOES win a fight, and CAN pick their own fight, what has Rutabaga done to earn the 'gimme' match?
  4. There is no such thing as a 'gimme' match in UFC these days. Just ask Mirko Cro Cop.
  5. Matt Wiman, Rutabaga's nemesis, heard this exchange.
Back at the house, Wiman calls Rutabaga on being a sneaky little crap weasel. He doesn't use that exact phrase, but he should have. It's a good one. Try to work it into conversation this week.

In Pulverland, Jens dresses down Brandon Melendez, who, in addition to suffering from a case of the Rutabaga's, and is carrying around some extra poundage, is also nursing a sore foot, which is keeping him out of practice. Jens thinks Brandon is being a bit of a baby, particularly since Brandon wants to fight next. He tells Brandon that if he can't get down to 160 lbs by the time they announce the fight, Brandon won't get the call. Reasonable decision.

Time for the most entertaining part of this evening's episode. The Adventures of Mr. Indestructible.

Remember last week when I asked 'Who the hell is Marlon Sims?' Well, evidently he's the greatest street fighter since Ken beat Ryu. Hell, motherfucker took down Blanka and Major Bison in a two on one.

Marlon regales his housemates with tales of his street-fighting adventures, which all somehow saw Marlon emerging victorious, no matter the odds. In case you missed it, here's a description. You know that friend who is so desperate for attention and affection that he will make up the wildest, most ridiculous stories, despite the fact that nobody in their right mind could possibly believe them? Yeah, that guy is Marlon.

Rutabaga earns a modicum of respect from me when he calls 'shenanigans' on Marlon's stories.

It's fight announcement time, and evidently Brandon is at 160 lbs, because he gets to call the fight. He calls out Andy Wang, aka the Asian guy who has done nothing to earn any face time.

We get a bunch of stuff about how Andy learned martial arts from his grandfather, interspersed with the kind of random motivational cliches that you find in the offices of companies that offer poor benefits and little job satisfaction.

At the weigh-in, Brandon shocks the world by making weight. He also impresses 55% of the world's population by wearing a banana hammock. The other 45% collectively exclaim, "Man, I did NOT need to see that!"
Andy also makes weight.

Having made weight, Brandon is eating lots of food at home.

At the gym, Team Pulver shows up to find Matt Hughes cleaning the mats. He's there to help train Jens' team. Evidently Jens and Matt are 'family.' My respect for Jens Pulver just plummeted.

The fight starts at 10:40. I'm anxiously anticipating a one-minute KO.

For the first round, Andy decides to throw punches with Brandon. BJ implores Andy to take Brandon down. Andy ignores this. Brandon hits Andy a lot. Andy...not so much.

At the intermission, BJ tells Andy to stop standing and take Brandon down.

When the second round begins, we learn that Andy has decided not to take BJ's advice. Brandon hits Andy for another five minutes.

Brandon wins.

Andy cries. A lot. I'm not talking that acceptable kind of crying. I'm talking snot bubble sobbing. And yet, at the same time, Andy is declaring himself to be a 'warrior.'

BJ doesn't offer his usual condolences. Probably because Andy is a tool who made BJ look like a jackass, and cost Team Penn another fight.

The Good
  • Rutabaga was not the biggest jackass in the house this week. Instead, that honour is split between Andy and Marlon. Congratulations Gabe.

The Bad

  • How can someone like Jens, who seems like a decent human being, be tight with someone like Matt Hughes, who doesn't? I have to reconsider my respect for Jens.
  • Last week's fight was two guys going all out to win, trying to win the fight, and trying to prove themselves. This week's fight was two guys fighting not to lose, trying just to survive another week, and make it to the big television finale. Guess which fight was better?
The Ugly
  • I'm not sure what was worse: Andy sobbing after losing a fight, or the producers showing it. Andy is done. Not only will he have no respect in the house, I don't think he'll have any respect in MMA.
Next week. Actually, the preview for the next episode gave pretty much everything away. Tony DeSousa beats up Noah in practice, Corey challenges Rutabaga, and Rutabaga might die trying to cut weight.




Tuesday, April 24, 2007

MR. UPSIDE

The draft is this weekend.

Who will be featured in this video five years from now?

Thursday, April 19, 2007

TUF 5.3

The commercials for this episode promised the greatest fight in the series' history, so they're setting the bar pretty high.

As with previous episodes, the show starts with a recap of the previous fight, coupled with comments from the other fighters. Marlon Sims offers his evaluation of the Noah/Manny fight.

Who the hell is Marlon Sims?

At the training centre, BJ talks about being worried about Gabe Rutabaga. BJ knows that Pulver is taking down the weak links on BJ's team, and since Gabe is overweight, he is one of those weak links. Gabe suggests getting a colonic to help him drop some weight.

Manny gets the ugly belt thing. Actually, I mock the ugly belt, but I actually think there is something to be said for the symbolic value it holds. It helps to unite the fighters, and provides a physical manifestation for their goals on the show. It's ugly, but it's useful. Besides, at 2 am, even something ugly is good enough.

At the house, Nick Diaz is getting psyched for a fight. He was thinking about challenging Joe Lauzon, but as a result of the...unpleasantness with the Sharpie, he is focusing on Rob Emerson.

At the gym, BJ Penn and coach Tony DeSouza call out Gabe and his perceived lack of dedication. It is suggested that Gabe isn't taking the whole training aspect of the show very seriously.

While Team Pulver trains, Corey Hill transforms into "Bad Corey." "Bad Corey" is the shouting, hyperactive Corey. "Bad Corey" wants to fight Gabe.

Jens Pulver then introduces the special guest coach, Jeremy Horn, who is there to help the team with their grappling. Corey doesn't know who Horn is. Horn takes a shine to Corey, and suggests that Corey should come to train with him. Horn sees Corey as a lump of clay to be moulded. I think Jeremy is on to something.

Gabe goes for his colonic. Before you go getting all freaked out about the deal, I suggest you check this out. While Gabe is doing this, the rest of the team is actually training. Team Penn is getting a little sick of Gabe's schtick, and some believe that all of this is just Gabe's way of putting the attention on himself.

Back at the house, Nick Diaz grows tired of Noah and Rob, who have taken to running around in banana hammocks. Nick makes it clear that he has no problem with guys who are gay, but that Noah and Rob aren't gay, they're just acting gay. For more on this interesting distinction, check out this article.

It's challenge time, and Nick Diaz calls out Rob Emerson. Dana knows we have a good fight coming, because it's a good staredown. Well, Dirty Sanchez and KOS had a pretty good staredown at the weighin, but I don't think anybody is calling that a Fight of the Year candidate.

After the requisite video packages and trash talk, the fight starts around 10:40. My roommate and I decide that the fight either goes two rounds, or they've been reading this blog and have decided to swerve us. I opt for the former.

The first round is standuptastic. Not as good as Bonnar/Griffin I, but still pretty good for an exhibition fight where the guys know they'll have to fight again in a week or two. Diaz is more aggressive, but Emerson has some great takedown defense.

Secound round starts out much the same, with the guys standing and clinching. Diaz finally scores a takedown, but Emerson gets back up, but this time Diaz takes him down quickly. The look of Emerson's face is one of exhaustion and exasperation. Diaz is in total control on the ground. Emerson manages to avoid a few submission attempts, but Diaz finally gets the rear naked choke, and Emerson taps with 15 seconds left.

Dana calls the fight the best in the history of the show, and tells Emerson he has nothing to be ashamed of.

The Good
  • The fight was very good. Not a match of the year candidate or anything, but certainly the best of the recorded fights from the five TUF seasons. (My roommate questioned whether Bonnar/Griffin I is considered part of the TUF canon of fights. My guess is no, simply because all the TUF fights are two round exhibitions, while Bonnar/Griffin I was a 'real' fight.)
  • I like the fact that everyone is sick of Gabe Rutabaga. I particularly like the fact that Tony DeSouza called him out in front of his whole team. Not only does Tony have the best beard in the UFC, but he's now cool too.
  • Rob Emerson earned himself a place on Dana's cool list with that fight. If anyone goes down with an injury, Rob is going to get the first call. Particularly given Dana's announcement this week that he wants exciting fights first and foremost.
  • I like the thought of Jeremy Horn training Corey Hill. I was also impressed with the fact that Corey seemed genuinely interested in what Horn had to tell him.
The Bad
  • The fight started around 10:40. It went almost two full rounds. For the love of all that's good and holy, swerve us! I'm not talking Russo swerving, but just keep us guessing.
  • Dear Spike TV, get some new commercials. I have seen that damn "Sponge Bob No Pants" ad too many times. And I love both Sponge Bob and Burger King.
  • Gabe Rutabaga is the new Johnny Fairplay. Which means that he's using the show to promote himself, and six months after the show ends, no one will know where he is. Nor will they care.
The Ugly
  • That flatscreen TV/eliminated fighter deal that Dana does before every fight announcement is really sad. It doesn't add anything to the show, and just makes the UFC look bush league.
  • Also bad is the Burger King contest. It wants you to pick the fighters for the next fight, and who will win. It's really sad, and if that's the best contest that they can tie in with TUF, then UFC is NOT the major player they are supposed to be.
Next week, a UFC champ shows up to coach. And Jens gets angry. JENS SMASH! And more Rutabaga. Yay.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Priorities

This is a screenshot I took from CNN.com today at 4:55 pm EDT. Look at the story I have circled in red.

33>170?

That is some really interesting math.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

TUF 5.2

The show opens with a recap of last week's fight between Cole Miller and Alan Berube. Again, this is the kind of thing that could be shown AFTER the fight, thereby making it less obvious how long the fight will be. Everyone agrees that the fight was pretty one-sided.

This week's crier is Cole Miller, who ran to the locker room to cry after defeating Berube. Something about achieving his dreams, being a UFC fighter ahead of schedule. Strange, I remember Danny being somewhat derided for calling himself an Ultimate Fighter in Season 3. But I'm sure it has nothing to do with Cole being whiter than a sheet, and Danny being not that.

Cole is also given a "championship belt" that looks like it would be rejected by a backyard fed.

Evidently Dana didn't want to spend money on a second house, because Monster returns to the house to continue to train with his team, and to fill in should someone be injured. It is at this point that the show gets interesting, as there seems to be some heat between Gabe "20 lbs" Ruediger and Matt Wiman. The twist? They're on the same team! Oh what a crazy scenario. The only problem is that there doesn't really seem to be any justification for the "hatred." Instead, one guy just says he doesn't like the other guy, and the other guy concurs.

We head to the gym for the fight selection. Team Pulver has the pick, but Penn tries to shift things in his favour by having Rob Emerson call Corey Hill out, hoping that this will cause Hill to choose Emerson. Pulver sees through this Machiavellian ruse, and Team Pulver's Manny Gamburyan picks Team Penn's Noah Thomas.

Here's what you need to know about the fighters. Noah is/was a Marine. Manny is Karo Parisyan's cousin, and hasn't fought in two years because of a shoulder injury.

Back at the house, some of the boys are chilling in the backyard when they see some women on horseback riding by. They invite the women up to the house, then go to the front door. Just in time to see the horse wipe out on the driveway, after being unable to find traction.

I almost felt bad during this segment. I'm not a big fan of horses. I actually kind of hate the things. (They're too big to be considered friendly animals. Basically, I feel about horses the way Stephen Colbert feels about bears.) The horse is lying on the driveway, and I thought for sure its leg was broken. Luckily for the horse it wasn't, and some of the boys bring out a rug to give the horse some traction. Crisis averted, the horse, and the attractive equestriennes are on their way.

Team Penn is on the way to the gym, and Reudiger and Wiman continue to bicker. Joe Lauzon informs us that they are going to BJ with this, as the infighting is an unwanted distraction. The tension carries over to the training centre, and BJ gathers the group together to try and smooth things out. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. Nothing is resolved. Penn says that if this continues, he'll just tell Reudiger and Wiman to not come to the gym.

Back at the house, Team Penn has some free time. And, as with seasons past, this always results in good times. First, the boys find a shield, and discover that the tiki torches in the backyard make good spears. They intend to play a game of "deflect the pointed object with the decorative piece of metal." Luckily, someone decides to practice with a ball. The result? Bangkok! The game is cancelled.

Then, someone finds a marker. First, a bunch of pro-military grafitti is posted. Basically, picture a post-fight troop shoutout in written form, and you'll find it on the walls. Then, someone decides to write "Team Pulver suck it!" on the wall.

Naturally, this D-Xian scribble leads to the type of homophobic hypermasculine antics that have pervaded previous seasons. Nick Diaz sees it, and challenges the author to fight right then and there. Others follow suit, and soon scribbler Rob Emerson is apologizing, and trying to calm the situation down, while guys like Gabe Reudiger try to stir things up more. At this time I was thankfully distracted by a phone call, and had to miss most of the stupidity.

Before the fight, we discover that Manny hates Noah. Why? Umm, well, yeah, um...Dear God, whats that over there?!

It's inside 8:50, so the fight will be a short one.

Manny pwns Noah. Manny rocks Noah in standup, then takes Noah down. About halfway through the first round, Manny locks in a kimura, and Noah wisely taps.

The Good

  • Umm, I guess its good the horse didn't die. I guess?
  • Manny looked impressive.

The Bad

  • Matt Wiman is getting a raw deal. First Gabe makes him the object of his "hatred" for not apparent reason, then he is forced to be the lone voice of reason during "MarkerGate." I guess its good because it gets Matt some face time without having to act like an idiot, but I kinda feel bad for the guy.

The Ugly

  • The over the top histrionics from these children was pathetic. From Nick Diaz's challenging everyone to fight, to Manny's challenging everyone to fight, to Brandon Melendez's challenging everyone to fight, to the simple act of writing crap on the walls, Matt Wiman summed it up best, calling it a "sad day for all humans." Truly pathetic.
  • Gabe Reudiger needs to go. NOW. Why Team Pulver didn't pick him to fight is beyond me. He won't be able to make weight, and he'll be sent packing. Then he'll have to shut up, because everything he says will be tainted with the stench of failure that surrounds him. He's overweight, and about as popular as a Gazette editor at, well, just about anywhere intelligent reasonable individuals gather. So pick him, weigh him, and ship him home. The world, or at least the show, will be a better place for it.

Next week: Gabe Rutabaga gets a colonic to help lose weight. Well, he is full of shit. I'm sure that joke will be made numerous times next week. Plus, it will allow them to make all sorts of oh so clever anal insertion homophobic comments. Delightful.


Yesterday at 9:30 am, I sat down in a room with five professors, three of whom proceeded to ask me questions about my Master's Thesis. An hour and a half later, they decided they were satisfied, and declared my thesis acceptable, with minor revisions (typos, formatting, abstract). I have now defended my thesis, and once I finish my final term paper, I will have completed all the requirements for my MA in Media Studies.
Up next, PhD.

Friday, April 06, 2007

TUF 5.1

Well, the new season is upon us, and I finally have something to watch on Thursdays from 10-11. Of course, the premiere episode actually aired on a night when NBC was showing their patented 'supersize' episodes of The Office, 30 Rock, Scrubs, Andy Barker and My Name is Earl, which meant that I was torn, but I shouldn't have that problem next week.

Just as the last iteration of The Ultimate Fighter featured the gimmick of fighters trying to make their way back into the show, this season's gimmick is that all the fighters are 155 lbers, as the UFC tries to bolster and promote their lightweight division. As a result, there is only one "six figure" (read $100,000) contract up for grabs, as opposed to two, and all the fighters know they could face any of the others before the season is over.

The show looks to be pretty entertaining, as all of the fighters are off their Ritalin in the house, making for some interesting interaction. As Dana puts it, "155-pounders are crazy motherfuckers." This could be really entertaining, but if it degrades into spaldingcide and "[insert fighter name here] is gay" fights, then I'll be disappointed.

It's a new house this season, as I'm sure the owners of the past houses have enjoyed the smashing of doors, bubble fights, and attempts to bust through a wall to the outside that have all been highlights of past seasons. One thing I did notice is that this new house not only has the pool table, but there appears to be a ping-pong table. Of course, still no television or computer, but at least they can play pub games. Still no word on whether there will alcohol available. Because that never causes problems.

BJ Penn and Jens Pulver are shown at the gym, where Dana does his 'we need to get along' speech before they pick their teams. What's great is they showed footage of the first Penn v Pulver fight from 2002. Man, Penn's head has gotten bigger since then. And I don't mean it in that metaphorical way where references to the size of one's head are used to suggest a sense of ego. I mean the dude's head has gotten bigger. If it was blue, I'd say he had eaten the "three-course-meal" gum after Mr. Wonka warned him not to.

The fighters all work out for Pulver in the morning, and Jens gets a good sense of what these guys are capable of in the ring. By the time Penn arrives for his chance to scope out the new guys, everyone is plum tuckered out. Did Pulver do this to prevent his rival from properly evaluating the fighters? Penn believes this is likely.

The show gets really entertaining when Dana brings everyone together for team selection. He flips the official TUF coin, this time giving the coin toss winner the choice of picking the first fighter, or the first fight. Pulver wins, and decides he wants to pick the fight, giving Penn the first choice of fighter.

Penn then throws down the gauntlet, telling the assembled fighters "If any of you here know for a complete fact that you want to be on my team and give me 100 percent, and you don’t want [anything] to do with Jens Pulver’s team, raise your hand." 10 guys raise their hands. This leads to some great banter between Pulver and Penn, with Dana trying to control the situation. Eventually the teams are decided, and everyone is off to the house to provide the drama and entertainment.

6'4" Corey Hill, Jens Pulver's first selection seems to really respond to the notion of "teams" taking his allegiance to Team Pulver quite seriously, smack talking anyone in a blue Team Penn jersey. As one of the other fighter puts it, "he put on a gold jersey, and turned into DMX." Corey then begins barking like a Ruff Ryders anthem.

We also learn that Team Penn's Gabe Ruediger has come to the show weighing 175 lbs. More importantly, he seems to be gaining weight. I think somebody is in a family way. Gabe's weight issues lead to him crying in front of his teammates.

Team Pulver chooses their fight, and instead of making Ruediger drop twenty pounds, they go with Cole Miller from Team Pulver v Eric Berube of Team Penn. Berube, aka 'Monster' owns a seafood restaurant, while Miller appears to be MMA's answer to Jack Evans. Miller has the experience, and expects to win quite handily. Berube even seems to accept this, as he admits that he was using MMA as a means to promote his restaurant.

Which he does. Berube put forth a valiant effort, but he just wasn't ready to make it to the big show. After first attempting a Kimura and a guillotine, Miller is finally able to catch Berube with a triangle choke, and Berube has to tap.

The Good

  • I think the fighters have some personality, and that should make for good television. I'm particularly looking forward to seeing more from Corey Hill, Nate Diaz (Nick's little brother), and Joe Lauzon.
  • The Penn/Pulver dynamic looks to be really interesting. They don't like each other, they're looking forward to fighting each other, but it seems much richer than the Ortiz/Shamrock relationship from TUF3.
  • It was great watching Dana try to maintain control over the team selection. Constantly telling the two coaches to "shut the fuck up" while they presented their own ideas on how the teams should be selected was hilarious. If this keeps up, Dana could very well lose his mind by the end of the season.

The Bad

  • Ruediger showing up 20 pounds overweight is not good. If things don't turn around in the next episode, Team Pulver should seriously consider picking him to fight, only because he won't be allowed to fight. And even if he does cut weight, I don't think he'll be well enough to compete.
  • Dana, I'm begging you. Give the guys some entertainment. Maybe some books and magazines. A television with limited cable channels. A Sirius satellite radio. All the previous seasons have indicated that the house is as boring as watching a Best of Tim Sylvia tape. So give them something to keep them occupied. This doesn't mean that the drama will end. We could even get some good fights out of who gets to control the remote.

The Ugly

  • The fight didn't start until 10:55. Not exactly surprising that the fight ended in the first round. This has been a major drawback to every previous season of TUF, and it appears that the producers still haven't clued in. If they swerve us just once, and start the fight at half past, only to see it end 1o seconds into the first round, then we won't know what to expect. Every fight needs to start by the 45 minute mark of the episode at the latest, ensuring that we don't know how long the fight will be. Plus, this will make it possible to fit in all the post-fight reflection after the fight.

All in all, TUF5.1 was a great start to the season. The fights might not be the best, but they'll still be better than anything Tim Sylvia is capable of. If we can avoid the mindless destruction of previous seasons, this one could be the best since Season 1.

I Insist You Call Me 'Fantastic Lover'

Well, the new season of The Ultimate Fighter is upon us, and as such, I'm going to again offer my insights into the goings ons in the TUF house

Before that however, I feel it important to discuss the lead-in for TUF5, that being another installment of Ultimate Fight Night, this time headlined by TUF2 champion Joe 'Daddy' Stevenson vs Melvin 'The Young Assassin' Guillard. I thought this was a good show, with Kenny Florian earning a strong submission win over Dokonjonosuke Mishima (btw, kudos to Bruce Buffer for making Mishima's name sound fluid during the introductions).

But any discussion of Kenny Florian must lead to the inevitable discussion of nicknames. Nicknames in the UFC have now officially reached the point of absurdity. Kenny 'KenFlo' Florian is one thing. It sounds like an actual nickname, and the kind of thing that Florian has been called for years. Sure it's a stupid nickname, but at least it doesn't seem contrived or forced. But the second fight on the card featured Antoni Hardonk vs Justin McCully. McCully's nickname? The Insane 1. 1! How brutal is that? And then, when they had some time to kill before the main event, they showed a dark match featuring Nate Mohr vs Kurt 'Batman' Pellegrino. Batman. BATMAN! The guy is calling himself BATMAN! And I won't even get into Pellegrino's post-victory "break dancing" routine

This whole nickname trend in the UFC has to stop. It stopped being cute with Chris 'The Crippler' Leben and Ed 'Short Fuse' Herman. You don't give yourself a nickname unless you're George Costanza, and even then, you're more apt to end up with Coco than T-Bone. Chris Benoit earned the nickname 'Crippler' when Sabu broke his neck on a botched move in ECW. And that was in pro wrestling, where personalities and storylines are part of the SCRIPTED nature of the sport. If the UFC wants to embrace the fake nickname aspect of pro wrestling, then they need to accept all the other baggage that goes along with it.

If Chris Leben wants a nickname he earned, how about Chris 'Overrated Crybaby' Leben or Chris 'Perennial Midcarder' Leben? Same with Ed Herman. How about Ed 'Tito Stalker' Herman, or Ed 'Closet Homosexual Using MMA As A Beard' Herman? All these stupid nicknames just distract from the sport, and in my opinion, make it seem bush league. Names like Randy 'The Natural' Couture or Quentin 'Rampage' Jackson work. But Diego 'Nightmare' Sanchez? Unh-unh. Sorry Diego, it's always going to be Diego 'Dirty' Sanchez.

BTW, The Insane 1 beat Hardonk (in a bout of sophomoric humour, I kept hearing hardon during this fight and giggled like a child) in one of those slow lumbering heavyweight fights that were the trademark of Tim Sylvia's excruciating title reign (speaking of nicknames, any discussion thereof must always include the all too regrettable 'Maine-Iac').

And oh yeah, there was a main event. To be honest, I haven't been that impressed with Joe Stevenson since he was unable to put away Luke Cummo to win TUF2. And Melvin Guillard has seemed pretty good, so I was expecting a good fight. Instead, Joe showed that he is comfortable at 155, even though he really didn't have much time to showcase what he can do. Melvin just made a bad mistake, gave Stevenson his head when getting up off the mat, and submitted to a guillotine choke. Without that mistake, who knows what would have happened, because the match didn't even last 30 seconds. And Guillard will be back. But Joe shut Melvin up, and hopefully the next time we see Melvin, he'll try to be a little less boastful.


What really impressed me about Joe Stevenson was how he conducted himself after the fight. In his interview with Joe Rogan, he was humble, he was funny, and he didn't rub the loss in Melvin's face, even though the trash-talking before the fight would have led you to believe he would. Sure he made the obligatory nonsensical shoutout to the troops for 'defending our freedom,' but hating an American for blindly supporting the military is like hating a baby for crapping in its diaper.


Last night's Ultimate Fight Night wasn't an outstanding show, but it demonstrated the state of the UFC right now. Light guys give entertaining fights, big guys are boring and plodding, and a good time to go to the bathroom. But since UFC cleverly designs all of their events with lots of time and useless filler between fights (last night's show feature 'exclusive' previews of not one, not two, but THREE upcoming releases, those being Grindhouse, GRAW2, and, in an interesting cross-promotion, given the contentious relationship between Spike TV, UFC and WWE, 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin's upcoming The Condemned) finding time to go to the bathroom is never a problem.