X Games

Took a day off yesterday and went to the X Games. Very cool. They had moto-x practice, FMX jumping practice, Rally car runs, & mens halfpipe practice at Home Depot Center. It was my first time there and I can see why they have had X Games there for so many years in a row now. The place gets set-up like a mini-Olympic venue. There're separate areas for the halfpipe, moto-x & rally car, street and park. All of the events were more impressive in-person, especially the FMX jumping. 50-foot backflips are way more impressive live and in-person. Also the sense of scale for the halfpipe skating is better. Those guys are getting serious air. Rally car translates well to TV, but I got to stand next to the burnout corner (basically, a U-turn that the cars drift around) and you don't get the tire smoke and rubber smell on TV.

 

I also went to the Staples Center events that afternoon. I've been dying to see the mega-ramp in-person and finally did. That sucker is wild. Its cool to have a better sense of scale with the ramp indoors. These guys are basically launching down from the cheap seats. The ramp is at a 60-degree angle. I'm glad I experienced it. I took a ton of pictures with a new camera we JUST got. I didn't even consider that it would be delivered in time. The camera came within 48-hours of being ordered, must have been out of a local warehouse. Expect a link to pictures soon.

Deadline

Still no word from Red Bull.... 

Nervous

No word from Red Bull yet. Still don't know if my Soapbox Racer made the cut. I am supposed to get confirmation around the end of the month; that would be Friday. Keep your fingers crossed.

Here comes Fedor!

Well, Affliction Trilogy is an official bust. It was announced last week, that Affliction was cancelling the event. The bigger news is that the "T-shirt Guy" as Dana White called him, had agreed to work with the UFC, not promote their own fights, and have Affliction advertising back on the Octagon. Wild. So much is back to the future as far as the UFC is concerned. Randy Couture, Affliction and even Tito Ortiz has apparently made up with the biggest game in MMA. You can try to resist, but like the Borg in Star Trek, you will get assimilated eventually.

 

This means Fedor is a free agent?!! Well, kinda. I've read that M-1 Global, his managing partner, has put excessive demands on the UFC. Co-promoting the fight and building an arena in Russia are the common rumors. Sounds like extortion to me. The problem now is Dana White's ego. He doesn't appear ready to bow to anyone. This attitude made the UFC what it is today. But will it ultimately cost the heavyweight division?

 

 

 

Doh!

Well, it turns out that the rumors were true. Barnett tested positive for steroids and was not certified to fight next weekend. There is a fair amount of buzz about who his replacement opponent will be. I've heard anyone from Bobby Lashley and Tito Ortiz to Jeff Monson.

 

They say there is no such thing as bad publicity, but that's probably not true in this case. I think that Affliction has to be hanging on by a thread, in this economy, as a fight league/promoter. UFC fighters can't wear Affliction, so that takes away their signature line of merchandise as a clothing company. This is the last fight that Fedor has under his current contract with Affliction. Barnett has thrown a big wet blanket over the whole event; it has also shown that there aren't a whole lot of legit heavyweight fighters left for Fedor.

 

Vitor Belfort remains a strong possibility. I've already said he's undersized. So is Tito. Lashley is too green. Brett Rogers might be a good fight, but he probably has a exclusive contract with Strikeforce.

 

Ultimately, it's pretty bad for Affliction. Fedor is really the only draw for the promotion. Dana White is probably enjoying this (a little too much), he's already had an issue with Barnett and steroids. If this gets Fedor in the UFC, cool. I'd love to see him dismantle Lesnar.

Mmmm... Burger

I am a sucker for those semi-upscale restaurants that were made fun of in the Carl's Jr $6 burger commercials. The kind of place that is usually a theme restaurant and half of the floorplan is a bar. But the prices are usually a bit crazy for the fact that it is just modified bar food.
The day after my vow to eat a little better, the Family went to Buffalo Fire Department. Its theme is obviously a firehouse, with local fire house tee-shirts on the wall. Because a it is owned by a chef, it has a pretty interesting menu. It is mostly bar food, but with a slight gourmet twist. So, I give you the Thai BBQ Wasabi Sauce Burger.
It was pretty damn good. The wasabi was subtle, but very tasty. Kalani had the mac n' cheese fritter; which was a fried mac n' cheese shaped like a 6" dia hockey puck. It was excellent. I think it had a touch of that Selland Arena nachos, nacho cheese sauce.
If this place wasn't so expensive, I'd be there for lunch once a week. As it is, I bet it's closed down sooner than later. Not too many people willing to pay that price for burgers. But next time I'm trying a dozen of the Suicide Wings.

Affliction Trilogy

So I've heard rumors that the Aug 1 Affliction showdown between Fedor and Barnett may be off. Something about the Calif. Athletic Commission not certifying the fight because of Barnett's drug test. Hmmmm. Maybe another positive for steroids? Not good. I'm glad I didn't get tickets for that one even though it is at Honda Center.

 

The story further goes to say that Vitor Belfort will take Barnett's place. C'mon. Belfort is hardly a heavyweight. I mean the guy is talented and all, but the weight difference alone makes it a miss match. All I can say is that I hope these rumors aren't true.

Red Bull Racer - Update

Nothing major to report, but I did get an email confirmation from Red Bull that they received my entry submission. That was pretty quick. Snail mail was fast (though only going to Santa Monica), but somebody processed it and sent me an email. The wait begins...

Workout of the Day 7/15

Summer is the dead time for me. No NHL. Not much else happening in the world of sport. So I don't have a whole lot to blog about. I shouldn't say that. There are a several good MMA fights next month. The real problem is more likely, a lot of dead time during the day.

I was working on doing a feature of "promotional fast food item of the week". But, my diet has taken a turn for the better lately, so I am less apt to order the nastiest thing on the menu. I've decided to catalog my workouts. Mostly stories from the gym, as there are plenty of interesting and wacky things that happen any given morning.

Today, was a pretty average day. Not very crowded. I was able to hog the smith machine and a loaded barbell for my quasi-circuit workout. No problems.

This will bring me to my pet peeve. Or one of my many pet peeves. It is guys (people) who don't rack their weights. This is when you walk up to a barbell, sled or smith machine and it has weights on it. Hmmm. I don't see anyone using this. Did the guy just get some water or take a leak? Nope. Just left the weights on the bar. I know it seems like an awful lot of work to un-load a barbell when you are done with it, but c'mon you are weightlifting. If nothing else, it is the indicator that you are done with that piece of equipment; so I can hog it myself.

I guess looking at the big picture, it's a nice problem to have. There are so few people that workout in the morning, I can't tell who has left the weights there and if anyone is using it. Pretty cool actually. I've been in plenty of Globo Gyms where you wait in line to use the bench. That sucks. I can't workout that way. Give me inconsiderate-leave-the-weights-on-the-bar-Guy anytime.

Red Bull Racer

After a few hours of work last night, my submission to the Red Bull Soapbox Derby Los Angeles was ready. I just put a stamp on the envelope and put it in the mail. Should hear back by the end of the month, whether we got accepted or not. Keep your fingers crossed.

UFC 100

After a few extra days to think about it, I've decided that Hendo saved UFC 100. Lesnar ground-and-pounded Mir pretty good, but the bigger news was his post-fight rant. It was very WWE inspired. Dana had to be upset that it became bigger than the event itself. GSP dominated Alves. I was impressed. For not having a wrestling backgound, GSP is a 'wrasslin stud. But the highlight of these events are the knockouts; it's what the people remember most. Hendo delivered. It also took Bisping quite some time to regain his senses. Hendo gets brutality points for flying-in with an extra punch to the sleeping Bisping. Kinda cheap, but you never know if a fights over. On the flip side, Bisping was out pretty cold.

 

I'm looking forward to Penn/Florian and Silva/Griffin next month. Those are some interesting fights!

 

 

Red Bull Flugtag

OK. So I'm going to spill the beans about my current project. I know what you are thinking, "Yeah, what else is new? Don't you have a new pet project every few months?" Yes I do. I've joked with my co-worker, we'll call him Mr. Jabronee, that we are the equivalent of Phineas and Ferb. If you don't have young children and/or constantly watch the Disney Channel, hit the link to see what I am talking about.

 

The latest idea is to enter the Red Bull Soapbox Derby. I had never heard of it until Mr. Jabronee brought it to my attention. I had seen the Red Bull Flugtag event, where people create a flying machine and shoot off a ramp into water. Soapbox derby is the street version of that. Points are awarded for creativity, showmanship and speed. So, being fast is not the only objective and costumes are incouraged. I think we have a pretty good idea right now.

 

The first stage is getting accepted. We put in our application this week, which is comprised of a sketch of our mean machine. They only accept 40-50 applicants. So, it is a bit of an honor to: spend money making a vehicle & costumes, risk your well-being in a home-made racer, and make a fool of yourself. If we get accepted, you'll be the first to know.

UFC 100

Tons of coverage for this event. It's pretty cool to see stories in the mainstream media about the UFC and MMA. Unfortunately, it usually centers around Lesnar, who is the cross-over WWE star. In hindsight it was a good move by Dana to bring in Lesnar. The heavyweight division was sorely lacking in talent and like it or not Lesnar has a broad appeal that brings in casual fans.

 

Who do I like this weekend? Mir, Hendo and Alves. I'm going to be pretty partial in all my picks, since I'm basically going with the fighters I like, versus guys I dislike (GSP excluded)

 

I have a hard time accepting Lesnar for all his hype, yet he's a guy that nearly made the Minnesota Vikings on a tryout before he decided on MMA. So the guy is a monster, but an athletic one at that. The most entertaining thing is that he's build like a real world Hulk. His neck looks like the Ram-Man character from He-Man, or Juggernaut from X-men. That said, I like Mir. I don't doubt Brock's smashing power, but Mir should be able to dodge/out-strike Brock on the feet. If it gets beyond the first round, it's all Mir. Frankie should have a gameplan to take Brock into the later rounds and pick him apart, then sub him out when a tired Lesnar goes for a takedown.

 

Hendo seems to be better than Bisping in all but age. I wouldn't argue that Hendo's last few fights were on the boring side. But after losses to Rampage and Silva, I don't blame him for grinding out wins. You lose too many in a row and you're done in the UFC. I guess it's a question of whether Hendo is too old for the sport or not. But the icing on the cake was how much of a "douchebag" Bisping really is. I myself am more of a Hendo-type. So, seeing the overly animated and antagonistic Bisping for 8 weeks was annoying. Smash that wanker's face in Hendo!

 

GSP vs Alves is the true match-up on this card. GSP is one of the best pound-for-pound guys in the world right now. He's demolished a lot of guys (except for Matt "Rocky/Lucky" Serra), and seems to be getting better with every fight. Along with that, GSP has gotten bigger with each fight and pretty much over powered his opponent, albeit with a ton of skill and technique as well. Alves is a true test. The guy will destroy you in the clinch and has heavy hands. I don't think Georgie will throw Alves around like his former opponents. I hope to see GSP put to a real test, and hopefully Alves lands a big shot within the 5 rounds.

 

That said, it's MMA and one punch can end a guy's night. I'm notorious for bad picks. But I recognize that I tend to pick from my heart not my brain. It's more fun for me that way.

 

 

TUF 10

I'm pretty stoked about UFC 100. Two title fights and TUF 9 coaches going at it. But lost in the shuffle was the TUF 10 roster. It's very interesting. A bunch of monsters. Almost all of the guys have college/NFL experience. There's Nelson and Kimbo and a couple of other 1-2 fight UFC guys. I think that shows the lack of talent in heavyweight. But hopefully, this will re-stock the monster division. Going purely by the bios, the muay thai kickboxer dude that trains with Greg Jackson has to be my favorite. I've always thought that you can be athletic and teach wrestling to a point; but born and bred martial artists will hold the respective weight class belts the longest.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=Amag236BTpSIVTeJXmIKK8g9Eo14?slug=mmajunkie-TUF10_fighters_officially_unveiled&prov=mmajunkie&type=lgns

Artest

Just kidding. I don't follow the NBA that closely. But plenty of NHL free agents have found new deals and new homes. I was mostly interested in Kings/Senators/Red Wings deals.

 

The Senators did make a move and signed Alexei Kovalev to a two-year, $10MM deal. I guess this is the secondary scoring they've always wanted. I'm not saying that Kovalev isn't a talented guy. But his inconsistency is legendary. After having to deal with Emery & Heatley, you would have thought the Sens to be sensitive about player character? I think they are doomed to have these problems, much like the Flyers with goaltenders.

 

The Kings traded for Ryan Smyth. They gave away two pretty good puck moving defensemen and a 4th rounder. I thought they paid a lot for an older, character guy that isn't a premiere scorer. But no question what the Kings are getting. Locker room leadership, hardwork and 50-60 points. A pretty safe and smart deal for a younger team. They also got Rob Scuderi. I think he's a solid defender. A good move. Otherwise, a bit quiet for the Kings organization.

 

The Red Wings lost Hossa to the Hawks. He went all-in this time around and signed a 12-year deal or something ridiculous like that. Good for the Hawks. They have a nice, young and dynamic team. Samuelsson left for more money to Vancouver. I'm not sure where the Wings will replace this offense, but they usually find a way.

 

 

 

 

 

4th

I'm exhausted. This morning it seemed like a distant memory the last time I was at work and that was only Thursday. I joked at the thought of not remembering my login password at work. The ironic thing was that it expired today and made me change to a new one.

 

The 4th was great! Kalea's birthday week continued and we had her BBQ on Friday. So, officially she had: cupcakes at daycare on Tuesday, Disneyland trip on Wednesday, (free) Pizza Kitchen dinner on Thursday, family pool party & BBQ on Friday, fireworks at the park on Saturday, & swimming and yogurtland on Sunday. She got a motorized razor scooter from her grandparents. It's a bit much for her to handle right now, but it makes a great excuse for fun tandem rides with Daddy.

 

Kalani is generally afraid of everything, but apparently not of fireworks. He's also pretty bold in the pool as well. So, he enjoyed the weekend festivities and seeing his grandparents.

 

I had a bacon double cheeseburger fresh off the grill on Friday, funnelcake, bacon wrapped hotdog, kettle corn on Saturday and an Italian feast on Sunday. I guess that's why I was pretty sluggish this morning. Very hard to get into the gym.

 

I think my eating was to make up for Kobayashi's loss to Chestnut at the '09 Nathan's Hotdog eating contest. I believe the final score was 68 Chestnut and 64 Kobayashi. That's an incredible number, especially since they went down to 10 minutes from 12 minutes only two years ago and they are already eating more dogs in less overall time.