By Rick Morris
I missed most of the EliteXC debut on CBS Saturday night (which was breathlessly stated repeatedly by the announcers to be the first MMA card on network prime time -- OK ,we get it already!), catching only bits and pieces prior to the main event because it was going head to head with Game Four of the Stanley Cup Finals. As someone who's only begun to follow mixed martial arts in the past few years, I was interested in the spectacle and really intrigued especially to see how the main event would unfold and I was glad that it came on after the hockey game was done.
Internet sensation Kimbo Slice, perhaps the most polarizing man in the sport, was the man around whom this broadcast was being built. Scoffed at by many UFC superstars and fight purists as an overhyped junkyard brawler, Slice was under the microscope like never before when he stepped in to the ring to face veteran James Thompson.
I would guess strongly that the fight unfolded in a manner that few expected. With confidence bolstered by his training with MMA legend Bas Rutten, Kimbo willingly got on the mat and mixed it up to fairly mediocre results. He almost got choked out at one point and he subsequently almost choked out Thompson, but could not. When on his feet, Slice had some good sequences with punches, but was not able to land a finisher through the first two rounds. To make a long story short, there were a lot of near-misses on both sides through the first two rounds in terms of ending the fight, so that did lead to a certain level of excitement. You could just feel the CBS executives soiling their underwear in fear as Kimbo neared the precipice a few times inasmuch as they staked so much of this venture on his perceived invincibility.
Early in Round Three, Kimbo came out firing and landed a few blows to Thompson's head. One of them ripped his cauliflower ear wide open, causing a gusher of blood. I've frankly never seen anything quite like that; the way that the ear almost seemed to explode with blood and some kind of freaky substance. Don't watch this clip on a full stomach.
Play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson strongly questioned the stoppage, and it may have been somewhat premature, but one wonders how much longer Thompson could have gone on with a freaking bloody alien popping out of the left side of his head.
On CBSSports.com, the event was panned as something of a disappointment in a tribute to the intellectual honesty of the network. Of course, this sets up a rematch scenario with Thompson, which works to their benefit. All in all, while the overall card did not live up to the hype based on all reports I've seen, by Kimbo surviving, EliteXC on CBS at least lives to fight another day. Everyone involved better hope that Rutten can continue to help him become a legitimate all-around fighter if this venture is to have any legs, though.
Showing posts with label UFC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UFC. Show all posts
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Saturday, January 12, 2008
FDH Lounge Show #23: January 13, 2008
By Rick Morris
It's THE ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION of THE FDH LOUNGE on SportsTalkNetwork.com this Sunday night from 8-11 PM EST! As you would expect from the program where "nothing is off-topic," we have a multiplicity of topics that The Dignitaries of The FDH Lounge will be addressing.
In Hour One, after the Opening Statements, we'll be hearing from our good friend Jake Digman, the right-hand man over at the North American Allied Fight Series and Pro Karate Weekly. He'll be discussing several matters with us, including the new NAAFS program coming to STN this Tuesday at 9 PM EST, the rise of MMA as a whole into a huge force in the sports business and what it is like to work with a promotion showcasing some of the hottest up-and-coming amateur and pro fighters. Next, we'll revisit the shocking ups and downs in presidential politics since our last program on December 30 and that will take us well into the second hour.
Then it's time to look back at a year of great FDH Lounge programming. Nobody's ever tried to put on a show as ambitious in scope as this one and we'll revisit topics we covered, as well as overall events between January 14, 2007 and now. This should be another one of our now-legendary free-for-all segments that could verge anywhere and everywhere.
Once we move past that, shortly into Hour Three, we'll be joined by one of our regular guests in The Lounge, dare we say someone verging on Honorary Dignitary status in Russ Cohen. He's the proprietor of Sportsology, a great website dedicated to the vast sports landscape, and he was in Buffalo for the great Winter Classic NHL outdoor game on New Year's Day. He'll tell us exactly what it was like to be there, how it compared to the first NHL outdoor game in Edmonton (which he also attended) a few years ago, what he hears about the future of such events, and much, much more.
We'll wrap up our three hours with The FDH Lounge Pigskin Report, as we take a final look back at the college bowl season, an early glance ahead to the NFL Draft and an examination of the ongoing NFL playoffs and the first Championship Sunday preview you'll find anywhere.
It's been an outstanding first year on The FDH Lounge as we established an ambitious mandate for ourselves creatively and took large steps towards fulfilling it. With this program, we'll celebrate what we've done and continue to demonstrate to you that we're your ultimate source for discussion on anything and everything going on today.
It's THE ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION of THE FDH LOUNGE on SportsTalkNetwork.com this Sunday night from 8-11 PM EST! As you would expect from the program where "nothing is off-topic," we have a multiplicity of topics that The Dignitaries of The FDH Lounge will be addressing.
In Hour One, after the Opening Statements, we'll be hearing from our good friend Jake Digman, the right-hand man over at the North American Allied Fight Series and Pro Karate Weekly. He'll be discussing several matters with us, including the new NAAFS program coming to STN this Tuesday at 9 PM EST, the rise of MMA as a whole into a huge force in the sports business and what it is like to work with a promotion showcasing some of the hottest up-and-coming amateur and pro fighters. Next, we'll revisit the shocking ups and downs in presidential politics since our last program on December 30 and that will take us well into the second hour.
Then it's time to look back at a year of great FDH Lounge programming. Nobody's ever tried to put on a show as ambitious in scope as this one and we'll revisit topics we covered, as well as overall events between January 14, 2007 and now. This should be another one of our now-legendary free-for-all segments that could verge anywhere and everywhere.
Once we move past that, shortly into Hour Three, we'll be joined by one of our regular guests in The Lounge, dare we say someone verging on Honorary Dignitary status in Russ Cohen. He's the proprietor of Sportsology, a great website dedicated to the vast sports landscape, and he was in Buffalo for the great Winter Classic NHL outdoor game on New Year's Day. He'll tell us exactly what it was like to be there, how it compared to the first NHL outdoor game in Edmonton (which he also attended) a few years ago, what he hears about the future of such events, and much, much more.
We'll wrap up our three hours with The FDH Lounge Pigskin Report, as we take a final look back at the college bowl season, an early glance ahead to the NFL Draft and an examination of the ongoing NFL playoffs and the first Championship Sunday preview you'll find anywhere.
It's been an outstanding first year on The FDH Lounge as we established an ambitious mandate for ourselves creatively and took large steps towards fulfilling it. With this program, we'll celebrate what we've done and continue to demonstrate to you that we're your ultimate source for discussion on anything and everything going on today.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Decade's most influential people in sports
By Rick Morris
As mentioned there, my companion post about the most influential people in the world during the decade to date was actually inspired by a question I posed to myself about the most influential in sports this decade. I knew who I would slot #1, and it's a name most would never associate with this list in any capacity, but I frankly don't think people can question my logic.
As with the other list, what is most important is impact for today and the future on the sports world. Honorable mention goes to Bill Belichick (most successful coach/personnel figure of the decade), Peyton Manning (king of endorsements), Barry Bonds (most divisive and thought-provoking person of the decade). With the exception of Bonds (who is one of the figures causing such a public backlash to steroids and HGH that baseball might be forced to clean itself), however, none of them have caused significant, long-term changes to the sports landscape.
Working our way up the list ...
5. Dana White. The UFC president has been on an incredible roll of late, acquiring the assets of his main rival Pride in a deal he compared, only half-ridiculously, to the AFL-NFL merger. Also, in 2006, his organization hired away Marc Ratner, the well-respected executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. This was seen, correctly, as a body blow to what has remained of the credibility of boxing. Almost all of the ills of boxing -- from the lack of a consistent TV presence to the diminishing ability to deliver "dream fights" to the proliferation of too many meaningless titles -- have been eliminated by the kingpin of MMA. He has also cleaned up the sport, instituting needed safety rules and bringing thus bringing needed respectability. In terms of entertainment impact, the UFC has supplanted Vince McMahon's tired empire as the top buyrate engine for pay-per-views. While White has much to do to advance MMA to the top tier of American sports, just the fact that he could plausibly do so in the next few years is breathtaking. Plus, with MMA having great success at the expense of boxing, it has played an important historical role in the sports world, because boxing has traditionally been such a huge part of the landscape in America.
4. Dale Earnhardt, Sr. Death transforms superstars into icons: from Elvis to Knute Rockne to James Dean, the immortality of a constant presence in the culture awaits the gifted who perish before their time. Such is the case for "Big E," whose combination of accomplishment and popularity was unrivaled in his sport. With NASCAR benefiting from the asinine circuit split in the American open-wheel universe, a large and unprecedented national TV contract and huge media attention loomed for the 2001 season even before the tragic, season-starting accident at Daytona. But the tragedy in the final turn took everything to a whole new level and was the final impetus in carrying NASCAR to the top tier of American pro sports.
3. Lebron James. LBJ represented the apex of the high school-to-NBA era, which the Association ended in 2006. But that development didn't change his level of influence at all. He was the first hoops star to be documented so heavily at such a young age; to a certain extent Greg Oden and O.J. Mayo followed in his footsteps by having large media attention so long before college. Others will assuredly follow. But recent comments from Mayo and new crosstown rival Kevin Love about emulating James' media strategies have confirmed what has long been suspected: while Lebron grew up wanting to "Be Like Mike," and admittedly hasn't yet got the titles to match "That #23," stars of these generation are embracing as a model "This #23."
2. Tiger Woods. Doubtless most will find it shocking that this global icon is not tops on the list. He certainly is the most dominant athlete of the decade along with his friend Roger Federer in tennis and has public credibility and advertising dollars out the ying-yang. And although his emergence as one of the top two golfers of all time has helped the PGA to reach a new strata financially, he hasn't had the impact across multiple sports that our top person in sports did, albeit unintentionally.
1. Matt Kenseth. This NASCAR driver won the 2003 Winston Cup championship and is a perennial title threat. But he has a relatively low public profile compared to some other drivers on his talent level. How did he earn our top spot? He did so without trying, actually. His dull 2003 slog to the title in a season in which he won only one race but accrued points in a relentless but uninspiring style was the final straw that pushed NASCAR to institute its current Chase for the Championship playoff format. From 2004 on, the final 10 races of the season have served as a playoff for the drivers who qualify in the first 26 events. This has revitalized late-season fan interest, ratings and media attention as desired and led to the adoption of a playoff format by the PGA and NHRA, both in 2007. It is entirely possible that other circuits may adopt some form of a playoff system at some point, perhaps the ATP, WTA or PBA. Speaking of other circuits, the increased success of NASCAR made possible by the Chase has led to significant defections from both major open-wheel circuits in this country and probably sealed the doom of that form of competition as a major force in motorsports. At any rate, the effects of Kenseth's much-derided coast to the championship in 2003 forever changed NASCAR, solidified it as one of the predominant forces on the American sporting landscape, provided one more body-blow to open-wheel racing, and caused other sports to mimic the revolutionary changes in his own. As such, Matt Kenseth is deservedly the most influential figure in American sports thus far this decade.
As mentioned there, my companion post about the most influential people in the world during the decade to date was actually inspired by a question I posed to myself about the most influential in sports this decade. I knew who I would slot #1, and it's a name most would never associate with this list in any capacity, but I frankly don't think people can question my logic.
As with the other list, what is most important is impact for today and the future on the sports world. Honorable mention goes to Bill Belichick (most successful coach/personnel figure of the decade), Peyton Manning (king of endorsements), Barry Bonds (most divisive and thought-provoking person of the decade). With the exception of Bonds (who is one of the figures causing such a public backlash to steroids and HGH that baseball might be forced to clean itself), however, none of them have caused significant, long-term changes to the sports landscape.
Working our way up the list ...
5. Dana White. The UFC president has been on an incredible roll of late, acquiring the assets of his main rival Pride in a deal he compared, only half-ridiculously, to the AFL-NFL merger. Also, in 2006, his organization hired away Marc Ratner, the well-respected executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. This was seen, correctly, as a body blow to what has remained of the credibility of boxing. Almost all of the ills of boxing -- from the lack of a consistent TV presence to the diminishing ability to deliver "dream fights" to the proliferation of too many meaningless titles -- have been eliminated by the kingpin of MMA. He has also cleaned up the sport, instituting needed safety rules and bringing thus bringing needed respectability. In terms of entertainment impact, the UFC has supplanted Vince McMahon's tired empire as the top buyrate engine for pay-per-views. While White has much to do to advance MMA to the top tier of American sports, just the fact that he could plausibly do so in the next few years is breathtaking. Plus, with MMA having great success at the expense of boxing, it has played an important historical role in the sports world, because boxing has traditionally been such a huge part of the landscape in America.
4. Dale Earnhardt, Sr. Death transforms superstars into icons: from Elvis to Knute Rockne to James Dean, the immortality of a constant presence in the culture awaits the gifted who perish before their time. Such is the case for "Big E," whose combination of accomplishment and popularity was unrivaled in his sport. With NASCAR benefiting from the asinine circuit split in the American open-wheel universe, a large and unprecedented national TV contract and huge media attention loomed for the 2001 season even before the tragic, season-starting accident at Daytona. But the tragedy in the final turn took everything to a whole new level and was the final impetus in carrying NASCAR to the top tier of American pro sports.
3. Lebron James. LBJ represented the apex of the high school-to-NBA era, which the Association ended in 2006. But that development didn't change his level of influence at all. He was the first hoops star to be documented so heavily at such a young age; to a certain extent Greg Oden and O.J. Mayo followed in his footsteps by having large media attention so long before college. Others will assuredly follow. But recent comments from Mayo and new crosstown rival Kevin Love about emulating James' media strategies have confirmed what has long been suspected: while Lebron grew up wanting to "Be Like Mike," and admittedly hasn't yet got the titles to match "That #23," stars of these generation are embracing as a model "This #23."
2. Tiger Woods. Doubtless most will find it shocking that this global icon is not tops on the list. He certainly is the most dominant athlete of the decade along with his friend Roger Federer in tennis and has public credibility and advertising dollars out the ying-yang. And although his emergence as one of the top two golfers of all time has helped the PGA to reach a new strata financially, he hasn't had the impact across multiple sports that our top person in sports did, albeit unintentionally.
1. Matt Kenseth. This NASCAR driver won the 2003 Winston Cup championship and is a perennial title threat. But he has a relatively low public profile compared to some other drivers on his talent level. How did he earn our top spot? He did so without trying, actually. His dull 2003 slog to the title in a season in which he won only one race but accrued points in a relentless but uninspiring style was the final straw that pushed NASCAR to institute its current Chase for the Championship playoff format. From 2004 on, the final 10 races of the season have served as a playoff for the drivers who qualify in the first 26 events. This has revitalized late-season fan interest, ratings and media attention as desired and led to the adoption of a playoff format by the PGA and NHRA, both in 2007. It is entirely possible that other circuits may adopt some form of a playoff system at some point, perhaps the ATP, WTA or PBA. Speaking of other circuits, the increased success of NASCAR made possible by the Chase has led to significant defections from both major open-wheel circuits in this country and probably sealed the doom of that form of competition as a major force in motorsports. At any rate, the effects of Kenseth's much-derided coast to the championship in 2003 forever changed NASCAR, solidified it as one of the predominant forces on the American sporting landscape, provided one more body-blow to open-wheel racing, and caused other sports to mimic the revolutionary changes in his own. As such, Matt Kenseth is deservedly the most influential figure in American sports thus far this decade.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
UFC legend amazes yet again
By Rick Morris
As the UFC continues its move into the American sports mainstream, one of the key factors has been the fact that the marquee fighters have been able to establish a long body of work, comparable to the top athletes in other sports. Certainly, even before last night, three-time UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture had earned a place in the sports pantheon comparable to Peyton Manning or Floyd Mayweather, Jr. based on his accomplishments. But his stunning defeat of young gun Gabriel Gonzaga last night at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas may be the crowning achievement in one of the greatest ultimate fighting careers ever.
Both fighters came into the match with incredible momentum from the first half of 2007. Couture emerged from a year's retirement to upset Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight crown in March, while Gonzaga seized his place at the head of the line in the division with a shocking win over the feared Mirko Cro Cop in April. Fighting a man infinitely younger and more athletic at this stage of the game, Couture's odds were long, but his performance was strong from the outset as he reestablished himself with a flourish as the man to beat in the heavyweight division. As UFC continues to expand into the Big Time of professional sports after the acquisition of its main rival, Pride, it's only fitting that Couture lead the way for the heavyweights.
In other UFC news from Vegas, former welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre shook off the effects of his title loss to Matt Serra in April by upending Josh Koscheck. St-Pierre must now be considered a strong challenger to the winner of the Serra-Matt Hughes championship fight to be held before the end of the year.
On the undercard, there was one figurative black eye delivered to the sport when light heavyweight Renaldo Sobral refused to immediately break a chokehold after defeating David Heath, citing Heath's alleged disrespect before the fight. UFC has come too far in terms of cleaning up the sport and delivering solid regulations for it and has too much potential in the future to tolerate this kind of pathetic conduct from Sobral. He'd be wise to be expect quick sanctions from UFC.
As the UFC continues its move into the American sports mainstream, one of the key factors has been the fact that the marquee fighters have been able to establish a long body of work, comparable to the top athletes in other sports. Certainly, even before last night, three-time UFC heavyweight champion Randy Couture had earned a place in the sports pantheon comparable to Peyton Manning or Floyd Mayweather, Jr. based on his accomplishments. But his stunning defeat of young gun Gabriel Gonzaga last night at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas may be the crowning achievement in one of the greatest ultimate fighting careers ever.
Both fighters came into the match with incredible momentum from the first half of 2007. Couture emerged from a year's retirement to upset Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight crown in March, while Gonzaga seized his place at the head of the line in the division with a shocking win over the feared Mirko Cro Cop in April. Fighting a man infinitely younger and more athletic at this stage of the game, Couture's odds were long, but his performance was strong from the outset as he reestablished himself with a flourish as the man to beat in the heavyweight division. As UFC continues to expand into the Big Time of professional sports after the acquisition of its main rival, Pride, it's only fitting that Couture lead the way for the heavyweights.
In other UFC news from Vegas, former welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre shook off the effects of his title loss to Matt Serra in April by upending Josh Koscheck. St-Pierre must now be considered a strong challenger to the winner of the Serra-Matt Hughes championship fight to be held before the end of the year.
On the undercard, there was one figurative black eye delivered to the sport when light heavyweight Renaldo Sobral refused to immediately break a chokehold after defeating David Heath, citing Heath's alleged disrespect before the fight. UFC has come too far in terms of cleaning up the sport and delivering solid regulations for it and has too much potential in the future to tolerate this kind of pathetic conduct from Sobral. He'd be wise to be expect quick sanctions from UFC.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
The UFC: the success story of pro sports
By Rick Morris
With the NFL under the shadow of the Michael Vick indictment and the criminal element of Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson and the Cincinnati Bengals, MLB bearing the fruits of longtime steroid tolerance, the NBA suffering under a referee fixing scandal, the NHL all but invisible to the TV public because of putrid broadcast deals and boxing continuing its death spiral through the continued irrelevance of its marquee heavyweight division, sports leagues everywhere are going through downward cycles. But the major organization with the most dramatic growth this decade is thriving and took another huge step Friday towards consolidating its gains.
Ultimate Fighting Championship, or the UFC as it is more commonly known, achieved something UFC President Dana White called "the pinnacle of my seven year career in this company" this week when he locked up former PRIDE champion Wanderlei Silva. As my friends at Pro Karate Weekly have chronicled, Silva amassed a legendary career on the PRIDE circuit after an early stint with UFC. When UFC acquired the remnants of the PRIDE organization earlier this year, White made a bold comparison that may have drawn some snickers when he compared the looming new era in ultimate fighting to the AFL-NFL merger. While any comparison to the behemoth in American sport that is the NFL is a fanciful one for the moment, the direction of the UFC since their difficult early years of being labeled as"human cockfighting" by John McCain has been overwhelmingly impressive. Much of this is due to the implementation of safety reforms installed by the UFC brass, the absence of which was holding back the sport from achieving mainstream appeal. This positioned the company to be financially profitable enough to obtain the PRIDE assets when that company faltered due to its own circumstances.
Now that the UFC is taking advantage of the opportunity to snap up all of the world's top fighters under one banner, we will see heretofore unlikely "dream fights" several times per year. Silva joins Rampage Jackson, Cro Cop and others as fighters now able to be paired in combat with any other top-level competitors in the world. With the difficulties of the aforementioned major sports and the boxing world being choked by the politics which have been conquered by the UFC, within 2-3 years we may be speaking of another entity on the top tier of American sports.
With the NFL under the shadow of the Michael Vick indictment and the criminal element of Pacman Jones, Tank Johnson and the Cincinnati Bengals, MLB bearing the fruits of longtime steroid tolerance, the NBA suffering under a referee fixing scandal, the NHL all but invisible to the TV public because of putrid broadcast deals and boxing continuing its death spiral through the continued irrelevance of its marquee heavyweight division, sports leagues everywhere are going through downward cycles. But the major organization with the most dramatic growth this decade is thriving and took another huge step Friday towards consolidating its gains.
Ultimate Fighting Championship, or the UFC as it is more commonly known, achieved something UFC President Dana White called "the pinnacle of my seven year career in this company" this week when he locked up former PRIDE champion Wanderlei Silva. As my friends at Pro Karate Weekly have chronicled, Silva amassed a legendary career on the PRIDE circuit after an early stint with UFC. When UFC acquired the remnants of the PRIDE organization earlier this year, White made a bold comparison that may have drawn some snickers when he compared the looming new era in ultimate fighting to the AFL-NFL merger. While any comparison to the behemoth in American sport that is the NFL is a fanciful one for the moment, the direction of the UFC since their difficult early years of being labeled as"human cockfighting" by John McCain has been overwhelmingly impressive. Much of this is due to the implementation of safety reforms installed by the UFC brass, the absence of which was holding back the sport from achieving mainstream appeal. This positioned the company to be financially profitable enough to obtain the PRIDE assets when that company faltered due to its own circumstances.
Now that the UFC is taking advantage of the opportunity to snap up all of the world's top fighters under one banner, we will see heretofore unlikely "dream fights" several times per year. Silva joins Rampage Jackson, Cro Cop and others as fighters now able to be paired in combat with any other top-level competitors in the world. With the difficulties of the aforementioned major sports and the boxing world being choked by the politics which have been conquered by the UFC, within 2-3 years we may be speaking of another entity on the top tier of American sports.
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