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.