tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-146016732024-03-13T21:06:55.156-07:00mutable gesturesThese gestures are all mutable.jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-38718868099117129842011-02-21T19:33:00.000-08:002011-02-21T19:34:31.540-08:00What Happened to Place in Pop Culture?<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/agLwIxiEk_c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">While listening to old music or watching antique cartoons I have noticed that certain locations, once visited with great enthusiasm and spoken about wistfully, are no longer talked about and are never the subject of wanderlust romances.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Is that the Chattanooga choo-choo?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">When Glenn Miller and the Modernaires performed this song they broke down the journey like the happy antithesis of Dante.<span style=""> </span>The narrator is telling the listener what to expect on their journey from Penn station to Tennessee and one has the image of some freshly scrubbed yokel, bending his ear to take it all in, eager for every small, banal detail. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">What about that gal in Kalamazoo? </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Does anybody, guy or gal, live in Kalamazoo, Michigan anymore? Perhaps it was the “swing city” in the way Kiss made Detroit “rock city.” Perhaps the song writers (Mack Gordon and Harry Warren) just thought Kalamazoo was just too absurd a name not to write a song about. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Then there is New England. When was the last time anyone dreamily cooed to their loved one about the moonlight in Vermont or falling in love with old Cape Cod? It is hard to get the image - big maple trees and a moon, perhaps a lake. <span style=""> </span>Evidently the later must have meant more than chowder and a drink made with cranberry juice and vodka (a personal favorite) to those who lived in the era when the songs were popular. <span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">I want to speak with someone who danced to the tunes when the tunes were fresh. When I listen to the songs I imagine there must have been a longing in those bobby-sock hearts for some hidden Halcyon or a great American Shangri-La.<span style=""> </span>Those young urbanites and mid-westerners would fork out their cash for those thick, hard 10" records played at 78 rpm, or at least spend hours waiting to hear those songs on the various live ballroom radio shows. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Bugs Bunny was always<span style=""> </span>going on <span style=""> </span>about the wrong left turn he made on his numerous excursions to the mythic land of Pismo Beach. (Always the mal-diversion was at the decidedly uneuphonious <span style=""> </span><i style="">Albuquerque</i>.) The lure was strong enough that his mortal enemy Daffy Duck went along for the ride on at least one occasion (<i style="">"Brother…what a way for a duck to travel…underground!"</i>). Was it the promise of clams? Did the rabbit golf? </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Bugs would have been better off taking Route 66. This now moribund highway is not only a 20th century legend it spawned an even more legendary song that, like Chattanooga Choo-choo, takes the listener on an aural adventure into fabled lands with mid-century American enthusiasm.<span style=""> </span>Plan to motor west? And who doesn't <i style="">motor</i>? I love the verb of it…it puts action back into the now tedious activity of driving. Which would you rather do, drive or motor? No one “gets kicks” anymore, not since Joe Friday arrested those glue sniffers. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">No one kicks anything anymore. Not even bad habits. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">And that mother road, where does it go? They were the ports-of-call of the new interstate voyagers:<span style=""> </span><i style="">St. Louie, Oklahoma City, Gallup, Flagstaff, Winona, Kingman (no idea. Is it near Gorman?), Barstow, San Bernardino</i> (I suppose Bobby Troupe could have used<span style=""> </span>San Berdo, as we locals sometimes call that no mans land east of LA but the proper name sings so great!). These places must have seemed like new frontier, <i style="">terra incognito</i>, to young, impressionable minds. But this was a time when travel and leisure were first being made available to the average Joe and Jane. Your car could take you places and so could that big, beautiful train (ah, there's an American romance. If you listen to baseball players playing jazz on a cross country train trip then you have witness the real melting pot).<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The lands were settled and the cowboys and Indians had all settled down and opened hospitality lodges, motor hotels, and road side cafes.<span style=""> </span>The consumer takes his pleasure on the road the siren that calls him sings travel my way. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">What happened to those destinations?<span style=""> </span>They exist as proper nouns, not fantasies.<span style=""> </span>Bugs Bunny doesn’t dig those burgs any longer.<span style=""> </span>Curiosity was killed by Kerouac and Hunter Thompson pricking the sunny,<span style=""> </span>Howard Johnson placemat of suburban fantasy with hypodermic needles.<span style=""> </span>The best the post-moderns could do?<span style=""> </span>A teeny-bopper Brit named Kim Wilde waxing paranoid about “East California” in the false tension of her New Wave hit <i style="">“Kids in America.”<span style=""> </span></i><span style=""> </span>A place just became <i style="">some</i>place.<span style=""> </span>Close enough.<span style=""> </span>Good enough. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Someone got thrown under the choo-choo. <span style=""> </span>The starving hobos dined on rabbit and duck. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-54579064081592542802011-01-31T19:14:00.000-08:002011-01-31T19:25:01.798-08:00Team Rachel 2011: Why does Jennifer Aniston thrive?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.thecinemasource.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/just_go_with_it_movie_poster-jennifer_aniston-adam_sandler.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 347px;" src="http://www.thecinemasource.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/just_go_with_it_movie_poster-jennifer_aniston-adam_sandler.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Spoiler alert... they don't want to at the start of the film, but by the end, I suspect they will be adopting Haitian orphans and getting their MS certifications. </span><br /><br /><br />Just drove passed a massive billboard advertising a new film starring Jennifer Aniston. I am not sure of the title. It’s one of those vaguely idiomatic, half-clichéd fragments of things people say every day like “While you were sleeping” or “She’s Got it goin’ on!” I am gob-smacked that Aniston continues to get such high profile work as none of her films – with the exception of Marley and Me, where her screen presence disappeared behind a small dog - has ever turned a much more than a marginal profit (when they didn’t outright flop). Her oeuvre is an obnoxious mush of what mainstream Hollywood feels is the leading edge of the modern romance: dumb guys, hopeless women, each with an entourage of ill-advised and ill-advising friends who all seem to know “The Secret.” <br /><br />The nice thing is, you only need to ever watch one of these types of films in your life. Each generation has about 20. The two standouts of my generation were When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle. Beyond seeing those, one can live off the gist of trailer previews and endless commercial loops. Nowadays, the billboard is more than enough.<br /><br />But the question at hand is… how Aniston? At 41 she has racked up 12 films in the past 10 years, all to marginal returns at best, and bona fide bombs at worst. And yet she persists as a “star.” How does this work? Why is she still a going concern? Rachel and “Must see TV” are a long time ago, after all, and that glassly, blank stare and gormless smile is looking less and less fresh-faced as she moves into her forties. <br /><br />Aniston is an example not so much of Hollywood, but of Celebrityville, that place in our culture where celebrities exist for the sake for discussion, to fill air-time between commercials, and to generate fodder for plausible scandals (often so much more interesting than the celebrity’s cultural products). Ansiston is a perfect celebrity in this regard. Her work, were it too good, might get in the way of the public narrative. Her sexiness, were it too profound, would create its own enigma and become less controllable (Angelina Jolie). As she is, Aniston is a kind of pretty, animated, somewhat sentient mannequin. During scandals she is like a deer in the headlights. During interviews she seems totally interested and engaged (“Oh, Adam Sandler is SOOOOO much fun to work with…”) She has a “just happy to be here” attitude, and enough will-to-power to keep herself viable for these dreadful film projects that no one wants to see. <br /><br />This quiet amiability and easy photogenicism allows the various agents of Celebrityville to use her in a number of ways. After the love triangle between her, Brad Pitt, and Angelina Jolie, Aniston was cast as the “victim” or “nice girl” who had her man stolen away by a dark harlot. Jolie’s “oh please!” ersatz-European continence and her formidable insistence on being “important” quickly dismissed herself from the scandal, but Aniston would not, or would not be permitted, such an out. The narrative of “Jennifer Reborn!” quickly followed: “new man… new movie… new life!” makes Aniston the happy maid of redemption. The tone of triumphalism permits her public narrative to take on the aegis of the “model woman.” She’s plain enough to be passable and pretty enough to be dolled up via “make over” for whatever red carpet event she needs to show up at. And because the agents of Celebrityville (a company town for advertisers) think that the female public think of Aniston as a kind of lifestyle model, they keep her on the front pages which in turn allows casting agents to keep her busy. <br /><br />I wonder if the producers of films like “The Bounty Hunter” or “Rumor Has it” ever stepped back after the film had its three week on the market before drifting into obscurity and ask themselves why… I would think they want to make lots and lots of money … make back the budget and some change. It could be that they know they will make only that amount. Maybe it won’t flop. Maybe it will do enough business overseas. I suppose this is the puzzling thing to me. Why greenlight stuff like this at all? Even if art isn’t a consideration (Aniston’s films seem to have contempt for the notion), who is really being served by these films that are just “there”? <br /><br />All that energy, for what? It the one aspect of the Celebrityville/Jennifer Aniston situation that is difficult to come to terms with. But perhaps the producers are caught up in the same manufactured program that Celebrityville generates. The film industry is just a part of the cycle. Why hire Aniston? Because she’s “hot,” she’s in People, she’s on Oprah and the Today show. She’s hosting Saturday Night Live. And plus, she’s been in similar films before. ( She’s only ever been in similar films! Begging the question… why was she in those films? The snake, no matter how long it is, or how hungry, will eventually realize it’s eating its own tail.) <br /><br />Aniston is unique among celebrity actresses in that, unlike Elizabeth Taylor, who for the last 45 years, really is known more for her celebrity than her cultural product, or Lindsey Lohan, who is famous for her scandals, Aniston is known as an actress. She is “Rachel” from Friends. And so endearing was that roll (for some reason) she is mentally “cast” as that sentient coif ever since. Which is why she is permitted to be “bitchy” but will never play a true villain. And it’s also why her films will never become blockbusters. Friends is what people want to see her in. And given syndication endlessly running “the one about this-and-that relationship frustration,” her films haven’t a chance. <br /><br />But she is also unique because the public is not ready to reject her out of hand. They will keep “visiting” Rachel in these movies, but they won’t really get what they come for. But they also won’t feel they are watching a stranger, either. There will be something, some mannerism, a folding of the arms across the chest, a look of tooth-gritting frustration (both over how dumb dudes can be), a way of curling up on the couch with a glass of wine, or an upturned chin just after a passionate kiss that will remind the watcher of the “old” friend they used to know. <br /><br />It’s an improbable way of conducting a career. But Jennifer Aniston seems to be making it happen. She is the most compliant popular celebrity in Celebrityville. She has never shown a moment of resistance in all her years in town. She cultivates her place, tends it like a garden. Tasteful dresses, non-partisan philanthropy (she is against the slaughter of dolphins), and beds schmucky, non-threatening, non-interesting dudes (Vince Vaughan, John Meyer). At this rate, she will be taking starring roles in Hallmark Movie of the Week well into her dotage. <br /><br />Jennifer Aniston is glitter added to gray. Gold-leaf on a phone book. Tap water in a crystal flute.jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-76136605341352798302010-11-09T19:19:00.000-08:002010-11-09T19:23:23.030-08:00The US/Brazil Cotton War: A secret conflict that says much about our political myopia<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.cotton247.com/images/articles/2009%208%20web/US-Brazil.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 214px;" src="http://www.cotton247.com/images/articles/2009%208%20web/US-Brazil.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Tonight while trying to keep my sanity on a gridlocked 405 freeway at rush hour, I had a chance to revisit an old friend, NPR’s All Things Considered. The flagship news program of the American public radio scene, ATC was my co-pilot and information czar during my long commutes from home to grad school. However, since the advent of the iPod, I find I seldom listen to the radio. This night, however, I had forgotten my little metal box and leash so I got get reacquainted with the pleasures of public radio.<br /><br />What shows like ATC do that no other broadcast news medium does (as well) is to find the depth of the topic and explain it to the listener who, it is assumed, is an intelligent critical thinker. Case in point , evidently we are in a kind of trade war with Brazil over cotton. Brazilian farmers were having a hard time competing with American farmers because we are “breaking the rules” by giving subsidies to our cotton farmers. Brazil took the US to the WTO. The WTO found in favor of Brazil. But the WTO has no enforcement power so the US went right on giving subsidies to the cotton farmers. In other words, nothing changed. <br /><br />We should mention that this was the early 2000s, during the W Bush administration . Subsidies are the dirty little secret in the world of Republicans. It is socialism by definition, but some would call it “trade promotion.” <br /><br />Then the Brazilian trade commissioner discovered that the WTO ruling allowed Brazil to retaliate. But how so? The commissioner sent letters to every major American trade association and trade-related politician in the US stating that due to the US’s continued defiance of the WTO’s ruling, Brazil would, in 30 days time, begin to apply taxes on a wide range of American goods exported to Brazil. <br /><br />That rang a few bells. Long story short, the Obama administration got involved. They sent a trade delegation to Brazil to discuss what can be done. Obviously, the Brazilians want the subsidy program stopped. But the thing is, the US is not in a position to do that now. Subsidies are the lynchpin of big agra in this country. For some farmers, the subsidy is all that is keeping them profitable. So while there may be some talk of phasing out subsidies in the future, it’s not to happen overnight. So, another impasse, yes?<br /><br />No. The Americans offered the Brazilians a deal: for as long as we continue to pay subsidies, will pay your farmers, $147 million dollars a year. Not bad considering American tax payers front cotton farmers $3 BILLION dollars a year. $150 million seems like chump-change. <br /><br />What I love about this article is the way it takes a seemingly esoteric trade policy and casts it the black light of explicit irony. These are expenditures hidden in plain sight. No one cares because no one on CNN, MSNBC, or FOX is going to talk about trade policy when it is much sexier to talk about personality politics as a horse race. Think back to all those times that John McCain would groan about ear marks… a few million hear, a few there. Did he ever mention the big fat payout to American cotton farmers who are essentially bribed to plant crops even when prices are low (thus undermining one of the major tenants of capitalism, the law of supply and demand?) <br /><br />Coming out the midterm election cycle where issues and individuals were foisted on the public like the coming of a new fall season of television, I am even more disgusted by the low-regard politicians and pundits have for the American public. It’s as though a conspiracy of silence has been erected to keep real problems from being discussed. $3 billion dollars a year is a scandal. Bribing another country not to tax us is a scandal. Both the Bush and Obama administrations should be called to task. Instead, we get the dumbest of the dumbed down rhetoric from both sides. Politicians presented as celebrities, saviors, or the worst kind of scum. OR, if you live in states unfortunate enough to have an initiative process, you get a chance to vote on complicated and possible unconstitutional potential laws which are described in 20 second TV ads in such simplistic terms, you’d think the State capital is located on Sesame Street. It makes you wonder, perhaps briefly, but indelibly and with slightly sick twinge in the gut, whether we’re really cut out for democracy in this country. At some point we opted for a popular culture rather than a political culture. And yet, we still want to do the dance. We want to feel like we are doing something. And if things are too bad, we can have a do-over in two years. And the change of seats will be to us like the coming of a new dawn. A euphoria will overwhelm us long enough to let us forget that we ever cared at all.jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-4780056566390029072010-09-29T18:39:00.001-07:002010-09-29T19:30:13.907-07:00Brave New World<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/719/070424gliese581c02tm.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 550px; height: 396px;" src="http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/719/070424gliese581c02tm.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Gliese 581 g as it faces its red dwarf sun<span style="font-weight:bold;"></span></span><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100929/ap_on_sc/us_sci_new_earths">Just this week, astronomers have released news that they have found an Earth-sized, extra-solar planet</a>. More importantly, the planet is orbiting its start within the so-called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldilocks_planet">"Goldilock's Zone,"</a> - an orbit that is not too close, nor too far from the star. The temperatures there range from 160 degrees Fahrenheit to 25 below. Neither extreme is unfamiliar to life as we know it. In fact, consider the tubeworms of the Pacific Ocean that thrive (along with dozens of other species) next to super-hot thermal vents spewing sulpher into the surrounding water. According to one scientist, if there is water on this new planet, the chances of life are "100 percent." <br /><br />The planet is 20 light years away, meaning that even communicating at light speed with the critters on the planet would take decades. <br /><br />It is frustrating living in 2010. Meaningful space exploration beyond our neighborhood will not be a possibility for generations. Or at least it looks that way. The moon and Mars and the local asteroids will consume our attention for the next 100 years. Solar slings, fission drives, quarter-light speed engines are just science fiction at this point. It would be nice if our new neighbors in Gliese 581g would send power up their warp drives, take on a two year mission and get their assuredly quadrupedal butts to Sol a deliver a Care package to get us caught up. Naturally, if they are that advanced, they probably know a thing or two about us already. We are no threat to them, but we are also nowhere near being ready for first contact. <br /><br />Do you ever wonder what that day will be like? When we first get "the call," the unambiguous signal from that far out somewhere just beyond the tail of Scorpio saying, <span style="font-style:italic;">"yes, we are here and your are there. We share the same universe"</span> <br /><br />Riots in the street? Break down of civilization? Or, to be optimistic, a wholesale conversion to humanism and an end to all religion and superstition. <br /><br />Both outcomes seem unlikely. I think we all know what will happen:<br /><br />- The news will be sensationalized <br />- Scientists will say they need to study the signal more<br />- One or many conspiracy theories will develop,followed by an equal number of conspiracy theorists and devotees <br />- Religious zealots will see this as science's final attempt to quash their belief by making the greeting correspond somehow to a passage in Revelation<br />- UFO nuts will see this as confirmation of ALL of their ideas - from flying saucers to "Grays" to abductions<br />- Political leaders will make uninspired, ho-hum announcements, none of which will really capture the magnitude of the moment<br />- The Pope will say something along the lines of the opportunity to declare "The Good News" to a whole new group of pagans (as IF!)<br /><br />But the discovery will fall out of the news cycle. Lady Gaga will wear something weird. An American Idol judge will say something stupid A drunk Southerner will ride a John Deer into doughnut shop and steal a dozen glazed Cruellers. The new iPhone App will allow you to send pictures of yourself doing things you haven't done yet. <span style="font-style:italic;">The Sex and the City </span>sequel will be dislodged by <span style="font-style:italic;">The Jersey Shore</span> movie. <br /><br />Seriously, haven't the aliens been watching our sci-fi films? We need dozens of mile-long ships hovering over Washington DC for days on end. We need mind control and menacing silver robots. We need a spectacle, not a candy-gram.jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-26443120107237281412010-09-02T18:41:00.000-07:002010-09-04T18:35:21.478-07:00Sympathy for the Bully: Two recent studies<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:WvV2Q6ytUSjQMM:http://www.uloc.de/screenshots/h/habf12_28_nelson_jimbo.jpg&t=1"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 194px;" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:WvV2Q6ytUSjQMM:http://www.uloc.de/screenshots/h/habf12_28_nelson_jimbo.jpg&t=1" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Why do bullies bully? It is an evergreen question that has age old assumptions to go along with them:<br /><br />- Bullies are from broken homes<br />- Bullies are exposed to booze<br />- Bullies have a low self-esteem <br /><br />A recent article on <a href="http://www.livescience.com/culture/why-children-bully-100825.html">LiveScience</a> reports on a study conducted in the UK which seems conclude that the assumptions about the motivations of bullies are actually pretty much spot on. The study shoes that bullies tended to be from single, or no parent homes, had been exposed to alcohol "in the last seven days," and tended to have a low self opinion. <br /><br />The study was a modest one. Just 666 students at 14 schools. Not nearly as robust as the one reported in July by <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/07/100708160937.htm">Science Daily</a>. SD reported on a meta-study of 153 separate studies conducted over the course of the last 30 years. Similar conclusions resonate with the British study and also seem to chime the bells of conventional wisdom. Bullies are more likely to be boys than girls, and bullies tend to have very poor problem solving skills, and will have low academic performance. <br /><br />An interesting divergence between the British and American studies concerns who actually gets bullied. In the British study, kids who perform poorly in sports <span style="font-style:italic;">and</span> in academics are libel to fall into the cross hairs of the bully. The classic bullied-victim, at least in the American conception, is the high performing male student, the "nerd." However, many of the American studies in the meta-report included both American and European students, so it may be the relatively small sample size of the British report that accounts for this rather specific bully-<span style="font-style:italic;">bette noir</span>. <br /><br />The American study further teased out details about a sub-population of bullies known as the bully-victim. <br /><blockquote>The typical bully-victim ... also has negative attitudes and beliefs about himself or herself and others... . He or she has trouble with social interaction, does not have good social problem-solving skills, performs poorly academically and is not only rejected and isolated by peers but is also negatively influenced by the peers with whom he or she interacts,</blockquote><br /><br />The article doesn't speculate about this profile beyond this assertion, but it is easy to imagine a "pack" of rough kids with an alpha leader and a cadre of betas and omegas. Being among the "in-group" of bullies requires adhering to a hierarchy. The one above steps on the one below, with the lowest order getting the worst of the abuse. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.alicia-logic.com/capsimages/gr_055TravoltaConaway.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 315px;" src="http://www.alicia-logic.com/capsimages/gr_055TravoltaConaway.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Fictional examples of the bullied-bully are numerous. In Grease, Danny Zuko and Kenickie compete for the alpha-dog position within the T-birds. Danny is clearly alpha at the beginning of the story, but as he attempts to win the love of Sandy by trying out for the cross-country team (a violation of the anti-establishment posture of the T-birds), Kenickie seems ready to graduate from beta status at the moment of the big car race. A subsequent injury in Kenickie re-establishes Danny's position in the clique. Meanwhile, the three remaining T-Birds, Doodie, Sonny, and Putzie, remain un-reconstructed omegas through the duration of the story, paring up sexually only with their counterpart omega-femmes in The Pink Ladies. <br /><br />Similarly, in the animated world of The Simpsons, the alpha Nelson has, from time to time, crossed swords with Jimbo for control of the alpha position, while perennial omegas Kearney and Dolph must satisfy their angst by picking on the "nerds" of Springfield Elementary. Nelson is often seen keeping his "boys" in line with punches to the stomach and other acts of brutality. Acts which then filter down to the omegas and, eventually, into the society of victims ranging from Bart Simpson to Milhouse and beyond. <br /><br />-<br /><br />What do bullies do? Do they serve some sort of social function? Presumably, we'd all be a lot better off if we got along and were tolerant of each other. Maybe even the bully would agree, if he thought that "model" was a worthwhile one to follow. It seems that Nelson, et al have little faith in the "program." Already let down by parental units, given academic opportunities which he assumes set him up for failure, and then positioned within a hierarchy that rewards violence with respect (or fear), the bully settles into his role a kind of soft enforcer of social conservatism. The bully punishes the fat boy, the too effeminate kid, the “butch” girl, and the brainy “nerd,” all of whom are also loathed passively by the society at large. The bully concretizes this resentment with his jibes and his closed fists. We punish the bully, yet on some level must recognize that he is only manifesting the intolerance that becomes reflected in the culture through skinny teen models, uber-masculine “dudes,” endless heterosexual porn imagery, and a complacent culture of rampant anti-intellectualism. <br /><br />The bully is society’s Mr. Hyde, its dark reflection. His pig-honesty sees the hypocrisy in our denunciations of him. His perpetual detentions and demerits only serve to underscore an ugly truth about society’s true feelings about itself.jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-18600965192614971402010-07-17T18:51:00.000-07:002010-09-09T13:17:55.531-07:00Bright and Shiny! My new Blackberry!I recently purchased a new mobile phone. A Blackberry Bold 9700. It is the first such purchase I have ever made. I am a very late comer to these devices. The past two models I’ve owned, a Verizon LG, and a Motorola of some sort (the latter being the epitome of compact design in my estimation) came with a packaged set up by my wife. Basically, the deals were pretty good so why not take a phone for emergencies? I have to confess, it only took being broken down and stranded on the 134 freeway at 10:30 at night to make you see the wisdom of owning a piece of cellular technology. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.new-cell-phones.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/BlackBerry-Bold-9700-cell-phone-04.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 250px;" src="http://www.new-cell-phones.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/BlackBerry-Bold-9700-cell-phone-04.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />But recently I’ve noticed increasing number of my friends, colleagues and students have begun preferring text messages to email messages. Still other interlink their home and office email addresses with their mobile devices. Then there are the various functions that mimic or parallel the performance of a computer, such as accessing individual websites, purchasing good and services, getting directions. I realize these aspects of use are probably as interesting as oxygen to anyone under 30. Generation Y and their little brothers and sister in Generation Z increasingly disinterested in sequestering themselves in their rooms when they could be out in the world. But they still over their technology, just as their older cohorts and Gen X elders do. But the new wave of mobile technology allows them to seamlessly integrate their virtual lives with their flesh-and-bone lives. <br /><br />And yes, the attention span does suffer. Focus erodes as capacity increases. It is also unclear how pervasive this trend is. As far as I know, no formal studies of youth behavior have been conducted to account for this almost absurd level of multi-tasking. I sincerely doubt there will be a dramatic decrease in the appeal of “cocooning” one’s self in his or her office and exploring the virtual space unselfconsciously. The youngest cohorts of Gen Y (approximately born around 2000 – 2001) will be entering their teen years shortly, whereas their oldest brothers and sisters are in their late 20s by this point. The middle cohort, hovering in sophomore and junior years of high school, are stuck between the coddling restrictions of the home-place, and the promise of adult freedom of movement. Mobile technology allows for a version of freedom that allows them to feel as if their world is much more expansive than it is. Meanwhile, tech-savvy Gen X parents feel the comfort of “sustained” contact with their children, even though they really can’t be sure if their kid is actually at their friend’s house, or visiting a tattoo parlor and making friends with a 25 year old named Hawk. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.topnews.in/files/teens.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 250px;" src="http://www.topnews.in/files/teens.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I don’t remember who said it… and I don’t even really remember the quote itself, but the gist was that Americans are never happier as when they are on their way to, or leaving from, someplace they want to be. In other words, we are restless. Mobile technology seems designed to placate, endorse, and facilitate this sensibility. The oafish call of “where you at?” is a code for the real question, “are you having a better time than I am?” The technology provides ample opportunities for “escaping” a less-than-desirable destination. How many women have extricated themselves from a bad date by feigning an important phone call? How many dull lectures have students avoided with the plausible excuse of a family emergency? The pantomime of sociability, trumped by the kabuki of far-off, personal matters. <br /><br />Who will be the brave soul who call “Bullshit!” to this practice? He will be honored in Sweden, surely. <br /><br />The long-term implications are impossible to presage, but certainly we will become more adventurous. We have mobility on so many fronts – from the personal vehicles we drive, to the tiny digital devices that allow us to be “stationless” – that we might well simply live totally on the lamb, as it were. We won’t live anywhere anymore, we will simply “crash” where we can. (There almost certainly an app for this for the iPhone.) Perhaps the unborn late cohort of Gen Z (eta, 2015) will grow up to become a vagabond middle class. Working itinerate service-sector jobs. They can do their work from the mobile command ports at Starbucks or Pink Berry. Their social lives will run the clock out. Although, by that point, we can expect neural interfaces to usher in the something like digital pseudo-telepathy. That would such a remarkable development that the paradigm shift that would be wrought can scarcely be imagined. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://chartroose.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/borg76.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 445px; height: 593px;" src="http://chartroose.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/borg76.jpeg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Meanwhile, in mid-2010, I am searching for a tiny SIM-card among the detritus of packaging material that came with my new Blackberry. It seems our shift away from paper has created a physical-world vacuum that will be filled, if not stuffed, with discrete pieces of clear plastic, and black twist-ties.jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-79362620163888148032010-07-15T18:01:00.000-07:002010-07-15T18:17:24.406-07:00Nostalgia & Kitsch: A Review of Bob's Big Boy Restaurant<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://laist.com/attachments/lindsayrebecca/bobsbigboystatueneon.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 310px; height: 330px;" src="http://laist.com/attachments/lindsayrebecca/bobsbigboystatueneon.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The following is a longer version of my Yelp review of Bob's Big Boy restaurant. A new location opened in my area. <br /><br />For those of you unfamiliar with the chain, Bob's is a more-or-less typical middle of the road family dining establishment. The franchise has been around in one form or another since the late 1930s. It had its hey-day in the 60s and 70s as one of a dozen or so popular restaurants that appealed to the post-War generation of parents who, in possession of surplus income, found "eating out" to be a novel family entertainment. <br /><br />Bob's was very appealing to children thanks to its rotund mascot, free comic books, and amble dessert options. <br /><br />The chain went into decline in the late 80s and eventually declared bankruptcy. Subsequent revivals have seen an explosion of interest such that nearly 500 Big Boy's are now a going concern in North America. <br /><br />In the following review, I refer to "The Fat Vegetarian." That is my moniker on Yelp. I write all my reviews from a vegetarian perspective. I try to locate vegetarian options at "regular" restaurants. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pea-Soup Andersens meets Johnny Rockets?</span> <br /><br />The Fat Vegetarian hasn’t always been a vegetarian, but he’s always been fat. (Except for a brief but appreciated growth spurt in the mid-teen years that produced a rail-thin, Bowie-like vision that made him passable for leading a Roxy Music cover band… but I digress.) The fat begins and, evidently ends, with trips to Bob’s Big Boy, that bastion of family dining from the 1970s. Pappy Parker… Big Boy Combos… milk shakes… strawberry pie… and the infamous hot fudge cake, each were soldiers in the army that overthrew my will power for the better part of the Carter administration. (Equal blame can be laid at the feet of Sambo’s, Denny’s, Spire’s, The Park Pantry, The Parasol, JoJo’s, Norm’s, Alphy’s, and once a year, The Velvet Turtle… all those sundry middle-of-the road chains that sprouted up in suburbia between 1960 and 1980 that served predictable, inoffensive food to Boomers and their babies.) Bob’s was ubiquitous enough in the South Bay of Fat’s youth that you could drive from one location to the other and never have to turn left or right off of Hawthorne boulevard. They have always been an average, but enigmatic establishment. From the red relish to the near-perfect Thousand Island dressing, to the odd, pink glyco-gel they use to bind their strawberry pies, you were never unsure about where you were eating. The franchise, from what I can tell, has been through at least three revival attempts since the closures started in the 1980s. The “Hollywood hipster” revivals came in two phases in the 90s and seemed to coincide with the obnoxious Neo-Swing, doofus crowd converging at the Bob’s on Hollywood boulevard, and the old timey car crowd that, for whatever reason, associated Bob’s with car culture and nostalgia. But nostalgia is a poor business model. Just ask the owners of Ed Debevic’s. There has to be value and something you can’t get anywhere else. The reason Bob’s won’t die is because they use nostalgia to get old timers to visit, but they actually do provide a modestly interesting selection of unpretentious American food standards at a price comparable to the infinitely less interesting Denny’s or Carrows. (Has anyone ever desired their last meal to be catered by Carrows?)The newish location in Northridge (why is it listed as Chatsworth?) is immune to hip and keeps the kitsch to a minimum. It’s location predetermines it to be a utility player in the host of eateries up and down Corbin and Tampa. It’s traditional red and white color scheme partners it perfectly with its neighbor, Target, thus creating that all important “synergy” that businesses seek out. Load up at one, then load up at the other. The lack of hipness suggests that this location may be here to stay, and gauging by the packed house evidenced by a causal drive-by, it looks to have sparked the interest of the locals. <br /><br />We went around 2:00 PM on a Thursday afternoon. There was plenty of seating.The interior is clean and bright, with lots of white surfaces and red vinyl seats . Chrome appointments accent the purposely-visible dessert station, thus providing the scene a hint of drive-in, “New Frontier” nostalgia without being pushy about it. The menus are falling apart… strange given how recently the joint opened.<br /><br />From the vegetarian’s perspective, the Bob’s experience in general can be hit or miss. Not all carry veggie patties and most do not list them as an option on the menu. (Burbank being the notable exception.) And if they don’t have said-patties, the options are rather meager. Their grilled cheese sandwich is awful. The bread is never crisp and the cheese is skimpy. That being said, the Northridge location does offer the patty on request and is happy to put it on anything menu item you want. Because I was feeling jaunty I asked for a classic Big Boy combo with the veggie patty. I assumed the waitress would baulk at this idea as the classic Big Boy is a Big Mac-style burger… two patties. (When I have ordered a veggie burger at Burbank, they bring me a single-decker.) But she didn’t even blink, and a few minutes later, I had a double-decker with cheese with lightly cooked veggie and grain patties. Overcooking the veggie patty is usually a concern at restaurants, but here they were perfect. Also, the red relish was present and as tangy and tasty as I remember. I was charged extra for a second slice of cheese, which I thought was a bit cheap. Given the option of fries or onion rings I went with rings. They were fair. But frankly, the sandwich was a lot of food! This meant no room for dessert, but we did get a chance to watch many hot fudge sundaes and shakes being made. The staff looked to be very generous with the fudge sauce. Which is a positive sign. <br /><br />Our waitress was very attentive. I asked for ice coffee (not on the menu) and she went to great lengths to make sure it was made the way I wanted it. She could have just said “no, we don’t do that” but she made a real effort, which is appreciated. <br /><br />This Bob’s also has a modest salad bar that doubles as an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. Those options and the dessert intrigue made us curious to return. I suppose that is something nostalgia can’t provide... a future-tense of a place.jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-69619478823669119312010-07-09T18:30:00.001-07:002010-07-09T19:06:40.627-07:00The Rear-Naked Dope: The MMA Files moves on<a style="font-style: italic;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mmafighteronline.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/pankration.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 418px; height: 288px;" src="http://www.mmafighteronline.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/pankration.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I started writing Mutable Gestures some years ago simply to doodle with ideas that struck my fancy. MG is a clearing house for writing that doesn't quite fit into my usual day-to-day writing concerns. A catch-all for the vagaries of my short attention span. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">More recently, you may note that this space has been almost exclusively devoted to ruminations on the sport of mixed martial arts. This is quite a surprise to me personally for several reasons. I have never been a sports fan of any ilk. I also tend to loath most of the MMA fans I have had the misfortune to communicate with. Boorish oafs, meatheads, and spotty geeks for the most part. And the fighters themselves tend to be nearly as oafish and boorish, and very often come from a place of almost fanatical conservatism and religious zealotry. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The sport itself, the-fighters-as-fighters, and the fans-as-fans, represent a fascinating tripartite intersection of masculine fantasies, masochistic obsessions, and a level of commerce that blends true athleticism with pure spectacle.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Frankly, I can't get enough of it. And to witness a cultural phenomenon like MMA as it moves from awkward adolescence to plausible maturity is the proverbial once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The narrative is compelling, the characters are intriguing, and the opportunities for deep analysis are inexhaustible.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">So it seems I am hooked. I will be writing about MMA in this informal, digressive way (as befits the blog format) now and for the foreseeable future. For that reason I have started a new blog, simple titled </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://themmafile.blogspot.com/"><span>The MMA Files</span></a><span style="font-style: italic;">. Mutable Gestures will continue to be a place of occasional writings and rants. </span>jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-80216284450739836422010-07-08T19:08:00.000-07:002010-07-09T11:43:14.893-07:00The MMA files: The Flipped-Script Blues<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.yorkblog.com/mma/StrikeforceCrestedLogo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 356px; height: 276px;" src="http://www.yorkblog.com/mma/StrikeforceCrestedLogo.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>
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New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:130%;">Scott Coker weighs options post Fedor/Werdum</span></p><p style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The fall-out from Fedor’s loss to Werdum has generated more interest than the fight itself.<span style=""> </span>And while Dana White may rightfully gloat over the unqualified success of UFC 116, where <i style="">his</i> champion redeemed himself<span style=""> </span>by winning<span style=""> </span>a fight that redeemed the UFC’s heavyweight division,<span style=""> </span>he must also take more than a little delight in the problems that plague his competitor,<span style=""> </span>Strikeforce president Scott Coker.<span style=""> </span>Aside from the usual sanctioning complications and money hemorrhaging that new promotions experience, Strikeforce has problems unique to itself.<span style=""> </span>Recently, the company brought MMA middleweight superstar Dan Henderson into the fold in order to remove their home-grown champion,<span style=""> </span>Jake Shields, whose workman like performances and lack of celebrity appeal made him an untenable envoy for a promotion with mainstream ambitions. <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Shields ended up running through Henderson during their match and he retained his belt.<span style=""> </span>Now he is, ironically, UFC<span style=""> </span>bound, and Strikeforce is stuck with an expensive<span style=""> </span>0 and 1 fighter and a vacant middleweight<span style=""> </span>championship.
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">But it was the contracting of Fedor Emelianenko and his subsequent loss that has engendered so much speculation regarding Strikeforce’s plans for itself as a fledgling MMA promotion.<span style=""> </span>The former long-time kick boxing promotion had a great deal of early success when began featuring MMA events in 2006.<span style=""> </span>It set a box office record for an MMA in March of that year when it promoted the Frank Shamrock/Cesar Gracie match in San Jose, the promotion’s hometown. <span style=""> </span>It was also the first MMA promotion to get the sport regulate in the state of California, thus opening a huge market for the sport.<span style=""> </span>But this early success was not immediately followed up with.<span style=""> </span>After the 18,000 – plus attendance of the Shamrock/Gracie card, subsequent events have struggled to approach the 10,000 mark.<span style=""> </span>Buy-rates for PPV events were equally paltry.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">One problem was the lack of named talent in the ranks.<span style=""> </span>It is telling that one of the next major headlining event for Strikeforce after Shamrock/Gracie was a heavyweight match between early UFC chancer Tank Abbott, and journeyman Paul Buentello.<span style=""> </span>(Buentello’s victory over Tank was essentially a “qualifier” for a shot at the then-non-existent Strikeforce heavyweight championship.) <span style=""> </span>Another card with and aging and battered Shamrock as headliner against aging but viable kickboxing phenom <span style=""> </span>Cung Le manage to pull a good gate.<span style=""> </span>It was also the inaugural event for Strikeforce on premium cable, as the fights were broadcast live on Showtime. <span style=""> </span>Nonetheless, the issue of depth-of-talent remained a concern.<span style=""> </span>As the UFC witnessed stars, new and old, thriving in nearly every weight class<span style=""> </span>- thus allowing fight makers more flexibility with creating plausible<span style=""> </span>main-events,<span style=""> </span>Strikeforce continued to struggle with its roster of aging stars and itinerate journeymen.
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">All young promotions go through a period of developing talent, especially as regards the heavyweight division.<span style=""> </span>After all, the aforementioned Tank Abbott was a top contender in the early days of the UFC.<span style=""> </span>The division is hard to keep stable because many fighters are physically better structured for light heavyweight.<span style=""> </span>So you get fighters like Couture and Rashad Evans who can slip between the two.<span style=""> </span>It is not surprising, therefore, that Strikeforce has had not really attracted a lot of big men.<span style=""> </span>To this extent, I suppose one begrudge Strikeforce’s long-time,<span style=""> </span>seldom defending champion, Alistair Overeem's desire to go abroad for several years and fight<span style=""> </span>elsewhere.<span style=""> </span>But once it had Fedor contracted,<span style=""> </span>the question was how can Coker and company build a division that can rival what the UFC has to offer?<span style=""> </span>Strikeforce had its own champion, a popular international star in Overeem.<span style=""> </span>With some Stateside promotion, the good looking Dutchman could become a popular figure in the sport’s mainstream.<span style=""> </span>With Fedor, the had the “uncrowned” king of all heavyweights.<span style=""> </span>For however long he was under their auspices, Strikeforce could be an attractor of new heavyweight talent. They could<span style=""> </span>potentially draw those big, young fighters away from Dana White and company.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The script, therefore, had Overeem returning from the road to defend his title against Brett Rogers and then, eventually, against Fedor.<span style=""> </span>Fedor would probably beat Overeem, but win or lose, the fight had the potential of eclipsing anything Strikeforce had done in the past as far as attendance numbers and viewership were concerned. <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>But for whatever reason, Strikeforce gave Fedor to Werdum, and with one tight triangle choke, made Strikeforce’s script moot.<span style=""> </span>So what do you do if you are Mr. Scott Coker?<span style=""> </span>What revision do you make the narrative?
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">First off,<span style=""> </span>it should be understood that Stirkeforce does not care about concerns for "fairness" and title legitimacy.<span style=""> </span>It wants legitimacy for itself as a promotion, which means it has to draw eyes first and foremost. <span style=""> </span>Post-Fedor loss, the matchmaking scenarios it has in front of them are as follows:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <ol style="font-family: arial;"><li>Overeem/Werdum (for the<span style=""> </span>belt)</li><li>Fedor/Werdum II </li><li>Fedor/Antonio Silva (or possibly Ricco Rodriguez… or a similar non-UFC heavyweight)</li><li><span style=""></span>Overeem/Fedor</li></ol> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Scenario #1 makes sense from a sport's philosophy point of view.<span style=""> </span>Werdum beat the #1 contender.<span style=""> </span>The champion should fight the #1 contender, right?<span style=""> </span>Right, except that match will be a flop for Strikeforce.<span style=""> </span>They haven't built Overeem as a brand.<span style=""> </span>Also, casual and mainstream fans only recognize one heavyweight champion right now, and his name is Brock Lesnar. Names make matches. I don't think this match is really on Coker's radar at all right now.
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Scenario #2 has the ethos of "the rematch" and might do as well or slightly better than the first fight.<span style=""> </span>Winner get's Overeem.<span style=""> </span>A good option would be to have Overeem defend his belt against Silva.<span style=""> </span>“Bigfoot” has experienced some laudable wins in the past several years, including a dominating performance over Andrei Arlovski in May.<span style=""> </span>Silva <i style="">was </i>a nominal world champion, briefly,<span style=""> </span>for EliteXC,<span style=""> </span>the company from which Strikeforce salvaged many fighters.<span style=""> </span>So there is some symmetry there.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">For many of the same reasons,<span style=""> </span>Coker could opt for scenario #3 <i style="">and</i> have Fedor face Silva, the only other plausible heavyweight competition in the promotion. <span style=""> </span>Such an arraignment might make Overeem/Werdum viable as a co-main event.<span style=""> </span>That way, both winners would be on pace to meet each other in four-month’s time (providing neither is injured).<span style=""> </span>Ricco Rodriguez comes up as a possible candidate as both he and Overeem were to meet ostensibly for a match in Japan’s DREAM promotion.<span style=""> </span>The lack of a contract may make the former UFC champion attractive to Strikeforce.<span style=""> </span>But there are dozens of unaligned heavyweights “out there” waiting to be signed, and it may not make much difference to Coker who Fedor faces as long as their<span style=""> </span>names<span style=""> </span>aren’t Arlovski or Rogers.<span style=""> </span>Who’s to say that Coker isn’t also considering Kimbo Slice as a possible acquisition?<span style=""> </span>A Fedor/Kimbo headlining card would certainly draw eyes… as well as derisive howls of ridicule.
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">I think scenario #4, Fedor versus Overeem for the title, <span style=""> </span>is the only match that guarantees Coker two good-to-excellent outcomes.<span style=""> </span>A win for Fedor – who would still be the likely favorite -<span style=""> </span>would give any rematch with Werdum much stronger gravitas.<span style=""> </span>Fedor would be seeking redemption.<span style=""> </span>Werdum would get his title shot as well as a chance to confirm that his first win wasn’t a fluke.<span style=""> </span>It is would make for great drama and easy promotion.
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">While all this is going on,<span style=""> </span>Strikeforce’s legal department is working on getting new verbiage into fight contracts that requires a champion to stay in the promotion as long as he is in possession of the promotion’s title.<span style=""> </span>Coker must know, however, that Fedor as champion is untenable for the long haul.<span style=""> </span>He will defend it to beat Werdum, but<span style=""> </span>he isn’t going to stick around and fight… who?<span style=""> </span>Rogers again?<span style=""> </span>Overeem again?<span style=""> </span>Silva?<span style=""> </span>Even if the strategy works and Strikeforce begins to blossom and attract talent,<span style=""> </span>there would<span style=""> </span>simply not<span style=""> </span>be enough time to arrange and promote an outsider for Fedor to fight.<span style=""> </span>The division would<span style=""> </span>be developing,<span style=""> </span>but far from developed.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">What needs to be understood at this point in the story is that the ultimate destination for Fedor in the twilight of his career is the UFC.<span style=""> </span>Two dominating wins and a division championship is probably exactly what it is<span style=""> </span>going to take for Dana White to get back in the business of Fedor Emelianenko.<span style=""> </span>Of course, now Zuffa’s hand will be much stronger, and M-1’s much more compromised.<span style=""> </span>Fedor will come to the UFC, but he will come as a fighter, not as an enigma.
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Coker must foresee this<span style=""> </span>outcome, too.<span style=""> </span>He can sue Fedor for breach of contract, sure.<span style=""> </span>But Zuffa’s legal team is sure to make this case drip like cold sap through the legal system.<span style=""> </span>There may be a payoff at some point,<span style=""> </span>and Strikeforce may win, but by that point,<span style=""> </span>Fedor will have appeared on <i style="">The Ultimate Fighter, </i>won the<span style=""> </span>belt at a massive out-door main event, and made the White<i style=""> et al</i> millions.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So why not make hay while the sun shines?<span style=""> </span>Or in this case, while the “Russian Tsar” shines?<span style=""> </span>If he<span style=""> </span>can pull off a duo of Fedor cards before the big man bolts,<span style=""> </span>Coker might just have… well, what will he be left with?<span style=""> </span>Two good gates?<span style=""> </span>Decent ratings?<span style=""> </span>But no star.<span style=""> </span>No dream matches.<span style=""> </span>And this gets to the heart of the real dilemma for Scott Coker:<span style=""> </span>without a solid, loyal fanbase, without regular, weekly TV exposure, and without a stable<span style=""> </span>of viable and attractive fighters, it doesn’t matter what direction you send Fedor.<span style=""> </span>He is one fighter with his own destiny.<span style=""> </span>Strikeforce is a business with a future that must be project far past the exigencies of<span style=""> </span>single fighter, a single match, or a single season of cards. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">
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<br /></o:p></p>jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-62680880310861359812010-07-02T19:35:00.000-07:002010-07-02T19:42:39.328-07:00The MMA Files – EXTRA: Werdum beats Fedor! ( And the World Doesn’t End!)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtM-4q3MEinstxPAR_r7O_Q35Og3vzf9tqvrWyvUoxTL5IL3hFhK-l-zWBNGFqdZzkhWbi2chi8TzrBXiIKB_XFTp6hj_UnCCG9aWg3j0uQvAmS8sTpnksQIEJ1OgnDAy7Gu_BAA/s1600/mma_e_werdum_576.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtM-4q3MEinstxPAR_r7O_Q35Og3vzf9tqvrWyvUoxTL5IL3hFhK-l-zWBNGFqdZzkhWbi2chi8TzrBXiIKB_XFTp6hj_UnCCG9aWg3j0uQvAmS8sTpnksQIEJ1OgnDAy7Gu_BAA/s320/mma_e_werdum_576.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489504394558648434" border="0" /></a><br /> <span style="font-family:arial;">Seldom is history ever really made in the world of mixed martial arts. It is a new sport. It has a growing fan base. The competitors tend to come and go. Careers are brutal and very few get to perch on the narrow summit of glory and gold. But Fedor Emelianenko is one of the sport’s legitimate international success stories. He’s been there, he has won the championships, and he has made his money. Fedor has been the #1 heavyweight in the world for nearly a decade, and in the top five of the pound-for-pound standings for nearly as long. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">But what made Fedor the most talked about man in MMA for all these years is one quality that no other fighter could boast as possessing… an undefeated record. With the exception of technical loss due to doctor’s stoppage of a tournament match, Fedor had never lost in 34 matches. That fact alone was his most compelling argument. It was his management team’s leverage. It was his mystique. His calling card and in many ways, his greatest weapon. It created an aura of invincibility and a level of intimidation that no amount of training could every replicate. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">That aura vanished on the night of the Saturday June 26th in San Jose, California as “The Last Czar” was submitted by fellow ring veteran, Fabcricio Werdum in under two minutes of the first round. Fedor came at Werdum with a flurry of wild, looping punches. The salvo sent the Brazilian to the mat and it looked like a quick KO was in the offing for Fedor. But Werdum, a black belt in BJJ, kept catching Fedor’s arms before they could land cleanly. And in the spirit of Beckett’s maxim “try/fail/try again/fail better” Werdum persisted with grappling until he had Fedor’s head in a tight triangle lock. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Werdum had two advantages at this point in the match. One, it was early in the round so the fighter’s bodies were still relatively dry. As matches progress, BJJ holds become increasingly difficult to hold onto. But Werdum and Fedor had not started to perspire, thus the lock had friction to help it “stick.” Second, Werdum is 6’4” with perhaps 40% of that height being in his long legs. Leg-length means more leverage and a “deeper” cinch. Triangle chokes in general favor long legs. Once sunk, they are nearly impossible to escape. The hold also leaves an arm vulnerable, and the head exposed for striking. In other words, properly applied, it is pretty much the worst hold to find yourself in. There is no real “answer” to the hold unless you can create space in the cinch to allow a modicum of blood to continue to flow to the head. Travis Lutter had some success with this defense when he met Anderson Silva. Silva had the triangle totally locked but Lutter was able to work his hand in enough to keep from being choked out. Of course, Silva still had a clear shot at Lutter’s skull, and promptly began bludgeoning him with elbows. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">The point it, Fedor found himself in the worst possible hold for him, at the worst possible time. There was really no chance for escape and the bell would not rescue him. The single tap from Fedor on Werdum’s thigh was a gesture made, not so much out of desperation as resignation.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Implications:</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br />1. Win re-legitimizes Brazilian Jujitsu as strong finishing discipline:</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> The UFC’s emergence as the major league mixed-martial arts promotion has brought with it a host of unintended consequences. Among other things, its acceptance by the American mainstream has meant that fighters tend to want to “end big,” which usually means instigating a striking war. Grappling, once the co-equal partner in the MMA game along with striking, has taken a backseat to flashy, “highlight reel” knockouts. The UFC even has a multi-volume DVD compilation called Ultimate Knockouts. (An Ultimate Submissions compilation was released in 2003, but it has since gone out of print.) It is perhaps an American bias, but if MMA is to truly take root as a wholly-integrated combat sport, rather than a sloppy punch fest, it will need to hold on to its roots. Fedor’s submission at the hands (and legs) of Werdum should go a long way towards reminding fans of the deadly potency of BJJ. The sub should sit alongside Frank Mir’s ankle-lock win over Brock Lesnar, BJ Penn’s gory rear-naked choke of Joe Stevens, and Ryo Chonan’s flying scissor lock submission of Anderson Silva as examples of how exciting submission grappling can be.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >2. Loss suggest massive hole in Fedor’s game: </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Fedor’s long winning streak has essentially been against two types of fighters: wrestlers and kickboxers. The last time he fought an elite, black belt in BJJ was 2004 when fought two grueling matches against a young Rodrigo Nogueira. Prior to those encounters, one was to return to 2003 and “Big Nog” again to see Fedor against a BJJ artist. Further back, and it’s not until 2001, very early in Fedor’s career, that he meets Renato Sobral, another BJJ artist. Finally, in 2000 and Fedor’s forth match as a professional, he met Ricardo Arona. All of those matches went the distance. Fedor picked up wins in all but the single no-contest against “Big Nog.” It is only after the loss to Werdum that we can look back and note how strange it is that an elite fighter could compete for over ten years and only meet four BJJ black belts. Fedor, himself a black belt in judo and a decorated samboiste would seem a natural to fight the legitimate heirs to the judo tradition as represented by the discipline of BJJ. But he simply hasn’t. Was this by design or simple matter of scheduling? Surely Fedor knew Werdum’s pedigree. Perhaps he and his camp read his getting cut from the UFC as evidence of Werdum being in the nadir of his career and therefore an easy entrée before the inevitable and long-overdue title shot against Overeem. Whatever the case, the loss will force Fedor to do something that he has never done before: re-evaluate his game. Indeed, Fedor seems to have already diagnosed his problem. Minutes after the loss, in his in-ring interview, Fedor knew he had over-committed to striking Werdum on the ground without taking his position into consideration. He essentially assumed he could bludgeon his way through Werdum’s guard and break through whatever hold he was contemplating. It is unlikely he would make such a mistake in the future. But once was enough. </span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br /><br />3. Loss may help get Fedor into the UFC:</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> It is no mystery that Dana White has been campaigning to bring the big Russian into the Zuffa fold for years. The acquisition of PRIDE by the UFC seemed a bellwether for a mass exodus of talent from that withering promotion. Many came, but Fedor stayed aloof. Negotiations stalled. Both sides blamed the other for intransigence. While it is possible that White, et al, may not have given Fedor and his management team the degree of deference they may have felt they had coming to them, what has surfaced over the months and years of failed talks is the rather untenable scope of the Russian’s side’s demands. For the privilege of bringing Fedor to the UFC, Zuffa must allow him to continue to compete in amateur sambo events. In other words, UFC would release their potential head-liner and world champion to fight in another combat sport where he could possible get injured. In addition, the UFC would have to give contracts for members of Fedor’s fighting club. That’s right, along with the great Fedor, the world would get to witness the likes of Lassick Shibanov, Dzhamal Kubanov, and the great Maxim Grishin. (I should add that not all the members of the club are regional yokels. Light heavyweigh standout and multi-promotion world champon, Gegard Mousasi also fights under that banner.) And finally, and perhaps the tipping-point for the Zuffa side, all Fedor bouts would have to be co-promoted with M-1 Global, a small promotion out of Holland, co-owned by Fedor. Naturally, the UFC has no interest in diluting its brand after spending nearly two decades establishing it just to get a single fighter under its banner. The enigma of Fedor’s place in the world of MMA, however, meant that the pressure to get Fedor would remain, regardless of who else fought in the heavyweight ranks of the UFC, and no matter how much Dana White railed against the consensus of Fedor as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world. But now that enigma has been compromised it is possible that much of M-1’s leverage has eroded as well. They can no longer pitch Fedor as the invincible monolith. He was beaten soundly in under 90 seconds by a fighter who had been cut from the UFC after a devastating first-round loss of his own. This, combined with the legitimate (and now some would say confirmed) criticisms of Fedor’s lack of real competition since 2005, and the reality that Fedor is only getting older, more injured, and slower conspires to weaken Fedor’s negotiating hand. It is now doubtful whether he will ever gain mainstream acceptance as one of the greatest fighters of all time unless he competes and dominates the UFC heavyweight ranks. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Honestly, it is likely that he would dominate Lesnar, Mir, and Carwin, if he were to sign with the promotion in the next 18 months. Indeed, he would be favored to win the title, recent loss or not. But the ranks of the division are growing exponentially and the younger talent are looking very impressive indeed. If he were to take a contract with the UFC, it is equally likely that he’d receive his second legitimate loss. So, the clock is ticking in more ways than one. The Werdum loss may expedite something that many saw as inevitable years ago. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br />UPDATE: </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">On July 1, Dana White verbally closed the door to the notion of Fedor coming to the UFC in an interview with ESPN radio, suggesting that there was no longer any incentive to sign the Russian after his loss to Werdum. The consensus among MMA pundits and prognosticators is that White is essentially entering into a kind of pre-negotiating stance, anticipating a humbled, hat-in-hand gesture from M-1. Where once Fedor’s management believed they held all the cards, the combination of the Werdum loss and the poor ratings and gate of both the Fedor-fronted Strikeforce events (not to mention the disastrous PPV numbers for the PRIDE event in Las Vegas of 2006), would make it laughable for them to reiterate the same contract demands of previous years. For his part, White would be ill-advised to write off Fedor’s marketability. The UFC greatest asset is its ability to promote itself and its fighters. They could supply the missing piece to Fedor’s legacy, which is mainstream recognition, and pull off the biggest card of its history. One can imagine a July 4th weekend card… perhaps in 2011 or 2012… that sees Fedor fighting for (or defending) the belt against a big American opponent. Lesnar… Carwin… even Randy Couture, the dream match of the ages… red, white, and blue American flags, blue, white, and red Russian flags. Surely White has this image in his head as well. The hard talk is just that, talk. One must remember White’s other “absolutist” statements regarding such matters as Liddell’s retirement after the Rua knockout, and the “Kimbo sucks” comments that eventually led to the big street fighter headlining The Ultimate Fighter in 2008. </span> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /><br /><br />4. Outcome bungles the script for Strikeforce:</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> The plan was to go something like this: Spend the money, bring Fedor into the fold after the UFC balks. Fedor being the biggest name in MMA (at least according to the hype) would help the upstart MMA promotion compete with the UFC for a national audience . Mix network exposure with a heavily promoted premium cable events to get the names out there. Give Fedor a couple of “gimmie” matches. Collect your home-grown heavyweight champion from his globe-trotting. Bring him to the States so he can defend the belt for the first time. After both the champion and Fedor clear out the paltry stable of contenders, start building to a signature event where the two meet. Sure, you took massive losses on the build-up events in 2009 and 2010, but surely Overeem/Fedor would be your promotion’s payday, right? Overnight you would become Burger King to the UFC’s McDonald’s. It was all going to plan. Fedor came and destroyed Brett Rogers. Mr. Rogers then provided Alistair Overeem with his soft defense. No one really watched these bouts, mind you. The ratings were modest to say the least. But what was important was to show that Strikeforce could put on world-class events… even if they had to recycle bodies. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Curiously, the match that most would assume would be forthcoming, Overeem/Fedor, was not in the offing. Timing meant that Fedor would fight once more before “The Big One.” No bother. Here’s another body. Here’s Fabricio Werdum. A ring veteran who had just been cut from the UFC. Naturally, Fedor would walk through him, right?</span> <span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"><br /><br />Not so fast, comrade</span><span style="font-family:arial;">, says the ghost of Helio Gracie from BJJ Valhalla. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Naturally, we were all surprised. So if you’re Strikeforce, what do you do? Do you give Werdum his title shot? To give Fedor a rematch? Do you say “screw it” and give Fedor a title shot anyway? Obviously, Strikeforce doesn’t care about little things like legitimate contention. Overeem won his belt from a 25 and 10 journeyman and the vanished off the scene for three years. Brett Rogers was rewarded for his loss to Fedor with a title shot. (Who else were they going to give it to other than Fedor? Tank Abbott?) Overeem may simmer for another season, waiting for the outcome of Fedor/Werdum 2 because what is important to Strikeforce is creating that BIG payday; that singular event that will carry them over into legitimate competitiveness with the UFC. But even after Saturday’s historic bout, it is doubtful whether many American fans are any more familiar with the name “Fedor” than they were on Friday. And if that’s the case, Strikeforce, the brand, certainly can’t piggy-back off that lack of impact. It can’t build from the assumption that they have a star on their hands. A win for Fedor would have deepened the mystique and enlarged the enigma, but it may not have done much beyond that in the eyes of the casual MMA fans, who, after all, repesent where the real money is.<br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >5. Outcome may cement Brock Lesnar as #1 heavyweight in world (proving he beats Carwin):</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> If nothing else, Fedor’s loss to Werdum will mean that the Russian will likely fall out of the Top 10 overall rankings. Having not won a major promotion title since PRIDE’s closure, Fedor has been the “uncrowned champion” exclusively by virtue of his winning streak. (He does hold a nominal world title under the all-but-defunct World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts sanctioning body, but he is rarely advertised as thus.) Given the dearth of legitimate heavyweight contenders in the MMA in general, the question remains who, if anyone, will take the place of Fedor as the world’s number one heavyweight? </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">There are not a lot of names to choose from. Like the middleweight division (specifically in the UFC) the heavyweight division has had a hard time securing consistent talent. The 265 pound cut-off point for the UFC means that so-called super-heavyweights need not apply, and many fighters have traditionally hovered around the low-end of the scale nearer 205. Thus, viewers have witnessed popular fighters (Randy Couture, Rashad Evans) dropping down to the pack the light-heavyweight division over the years; often leaving the title belt in the hands of less elite, but more legitimately “heavy” fighters like Tim Sylvia and Ricco Rodriguez. (Which, in turn meant that the heavyweight champions would often fight “contenders” like Justin Eilers and Gan Mcgee.) But the scene does seem to be changing, and not just in the UFC. While the Zuffa-owned promotion has grown the division in the past year with heavy promotion of the weight class through their flag-ship program The Ultimate Fighter, the rank-and-file also consists of new talent drawn from more conventional recruiting streams. The new pool consists of “legit” heavies like Cain Velasquez, Junior Dos Santos, and of course Shane Carwin. Meanwhile, long time heavyweight competitor and former champion, Frank Mir, recently bulked-up in preparation for his bout against Carwin (which he evidently assumed was a warm-up for Lesnar, given how devastatingly he lost) suggests that fighters in this division have to make a difficult choice to either bulk up or cut and be large sub-205 competitors. And indeed, Mir has recently contemplated a move down to that division. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;">Regardless of who wins on July 3, the bout cements the new direction of the UFC’s heavyweight division. It will mean smaller heavyweights (those who are 220 and lighter) will struggle to compete against these highly athletic and almost inhumanly powerful men. The division will then become singular and possibly exclusive. Providing the UFC can continue to attract (literally) big talent, it may further affirm the promotion’s dominance in the sport. For his part, Fedor may or may not be able to sustain a consistent winning record in the super-sized heavyweight division of the UFC. Even during his undisputed years of dominance from 2000 to 2005, he seldom fought big heavyweights. When he did fight monsters, they have often been of the “freak show” variety, such as Zuluhinio and Hong Man Choi. Hardly elite fighters. He may find himself staring across the ring at other PRIDE alumni like Mirko CroCop and “Big Nog” Nogueira, lighter heavyweights who haven’t quite found breakthrough success in their new home.<br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >6. Loss may send Fedor into retirement: </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Aging, active, and often injured. This has been Fedor’s life since 2005. Broken hands, injured ankles, and the multiple lacerations are the hallmark of someone who has been in the fight game for over a decade. To be sure, the competition prior to coming to Strikeforce has been prescribed to present Fedor with plausible competition, but without over-taxing his skills. His first fight in Strikeforce against Brett Rogers, though still quick work for the Russian, did bloody Fedor’s face more than he has been in recent memory. The catastrophic, even rookie-level mistake made during the Werdum fight further suggests a dwindling of his powers. A retirement bid at this point might prudent, but it also may be premature. If Fedor can mount a training camp that significantly improves his already formidable skill set, he could legitimately make a run at the UFC belt. We need to keep in mind that the Werdum submission was an error, not an existential fault, like Chuck Liddell softened chin of recent years. And speaking of knock-outs, it should also be noted that Fedor has never been knocked out. The current crop of UFC heavyweights (with the exception of Mir) are not submission specialists. It stands to reason that Fedor would have more than a mere puncher’s chance against Lesnar or Carwin. So while it is true that that he may be nearer the end of this career than the middle, a retirement path would be better plotted out in years rather than months. </span>jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-33697657434292707702010-06-26T19:19:00.000-07:002010-06-26T19:24:38.316-07:00The MMA Files - Part 7 - The Greatest MMA Fighters of All Time (16 – 20)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7K4-_Uw3KmVFPODkkwyyEDSGCqJKNtny4xfIurNfzP1ZbjGlgG32HH0OUxR1ccQ8SWuayrQ5c85qf4ZhzCOBHIP-hyi_xqSmAzMxqPIPfR3LO73CIbTuLrYQ7w690T3r4o6JwZg/s1600/SFSGG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 539px; height: 135px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7K4-_Uw3KmVFPODkkwyyEDSGCqJKNtny4xfIurNfzP1ZbjGlgG32HH0OUxR1ccQ8SWuayrQ5c85qf4ZhzCOBHIP-hyi_xqSmAzMxqPIPfR3LO73CIbTuLrYQ7w690T3r4o6JwZg/s400/SFSGG.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5487273346162221954" border="0" /></a><br /> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">16. Kenzu Sakaraba</span> – Be known for one thing, but be the best at that one thing. “Saku” was good at two things, being challenging to Wanderlai Silva when “The Axe Murderer” was at his deadliest, and defeating Gracie family members in decisively the ring. Sakuraba’s record against the clan is 4 and 2, although even those two defeats must seem disappointing to the Gracie’s as they were both decision victories against a TKO and a submission for the Japanese heavyweight. A definitive defeat of their nemesis would resolve a long-standing goal in the Gracie family history, which is to prove Gracie BJJ as superior to other fighting styles. Whereas a loss to Matt Hughes may be written off as a man beating another man, rather than a show of stylistic superiority (Hughes defeated Royce by utilizing a variety of techniques) Sakuraba remains the one fighter who continues to essentially fight the same catch-wrestling game year after year. So, despite a checkered won loss record (especially in recent years), Sakuraba continues to hold the unofficial title of “Gracie Hunter,” the mongoose to the Gracie’s cobra. The quality that makes Sakuraba such a problem for BJJ practioners (and something of an easy target for muay thai specialist like Wanderlai Silva) is his total lack of regard for his own safety. We could call it supreme courage, or we can call it recklessness, but there is nothing shy or withdrawing about his ring work. He loves nothing more than to have a skilled ground specialists, like Vitor Belfort, on his back and figure out ways of getting into his man’s guard. Watching Sakuraba parry, somersault, and sometimes slam his body onto his prone opponent, risking vicious up kicks and submission attempts, is like watching a man dive into fire. The Belfort fight is especially illustrative of this strategy. For the majority of the first round, Sakuraba had Belfort on his back, all the while standing over him, looking for opportunities to engage on the ground but being careful to avoid the powerful, and often game-ending up kicks from the much bigger and more powerful Brazilian. But he did much more than bide his time. Sakuraba continually punished Belfort’s legs with sharp, digging kicks to the side of the thigh. Within minutes, the leg took on a deep purple hue. Sakuraba was just starting work on the left leg when Belfort left his guard momentarily open. The somewhat lanky Japanese fighter immediately pounced on his man, delivering a sustained salvo of punches to the face before the round ended. The second round was more of the same initially with Belfort taking to the ground, but this time Sakuraba resented the posture and took his anger out on the already heavily damaged right thigh of Belfort. A flurry of kicks were launched in advance of the referee standing two fighters up. Then Sakuraba showed that he was more than a mere puroesu washout by overwhelming Belfort with two highly accurate spinning back kicks to the abdomen. You see, Saku had remembered that he had managed to get off to good downward punches to Belfort’s midsection earlier in round 1. The follow-up is always on Sakuraba’s mind: What damage can I inflict now? The leg, yes, but what about his belly? I haven’t paid a return visit yet. The rest of the round featured a totally clueless Belfort taking to his back on four occasions and Sakuraba, each time, finding more opportunities to torture him. (The usually polite and sedate Japanese crowd, actually booed these antics from Belfort!) As the round closed, Sakuraba, in an attempt to keep the energy level high, flung himself on two occasions, onto Belfort, trying to chop into his head with the heel of his foot. The decision was unanimous for Sakuraba. I am focusing on this early match because Vitor Belfort is one of the very best fighters of all time, and he could not solve the puzzle. By 2001, Sakuraba seemed to have become the fighter to embody the myth of the nearly unbeatable opponent. But the remarkable thing about mixed martial arts, is that it is difficult, if not impossible, to be a totally complete fighter. Each individual discipline has its distinct learning curve and no fighter can realistically achieve mastery of more than a half-dozen during his or her professional career. Therefore, when confronting an experienced practitioner of a fighting style unknown or novel to him, a fighter will be vulnerable. Royce and the other Gracie’s who have met Sakuraba, had little practical experience with catch wrestling at the master level because in most parts of the world, the style is associated with professional wrestling and therefore used more for its theatricality than it’s martial purpose. However, in Japan, professional wrestling, despite its outcomes being predetermined, is taken seriously as a combat style. Thanks largely to the efforts of the legendary Antonio Inoki via the historical intervention of “the god of professional wrestling” Karl Gotch, pro wrestling in Japan has established itself as sport of two worlds, that of kabuki-like theater, and that of the legitimate athletic contest. Catch wrestling and shoot wrestling absorbs and modifies elements of what can be generically referred to as “grappling,” or submission styles of martial arts. The variations are numerous and include judo, traditional jujitsu, BJJ, Tae Kwon Do, and many others. It is wrong to assume that a practioner of one is able to adapt to any other style. Clearly, the problem confronting the Gracie family (as was the case as well with Royce’s match against Matt Hughes) is a degree of arrogance or over-confidence in their mono-style of fighting against a style that already incorporates other disciplines. On top of this, Sakuraba has routinely worked powerful kicks into his game and has enough Greco-Roman savvy to take most of his opponents down at will. Combined with his freakish athleticism, it is perhaps easy to see why he has been such a thorn in the side of the Gracie’s and so many other fighters. But Sakuraba has never fought outside of the closed-system of Japanese promotions. With the exception of handful of early matches against Wanderlai Silva, CroCop, and Rampage Jackson (he lost to all but Jackson, who was a very new fighter at the time) Saku has never really fought the modern elites of his sport. He shows no interest in the UFC (despite winning the promotion’s Japan tournament early in his career) and at the age of 40, it is clear that he is in the nadir of his active career. His loyalties to piroresu and his homeland may have made him a legend in some quarters, but he may ultimately be remembered exclusively by MMA fanatics. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />17. Rich Franklin –</span> Rich “Ace” Franklin recently ended the professional career of Chuck Liddell in a fast and furious match that for all intents and purposes was the equivalent of a “loser leaves town” retirement match. Franklin had gone 20 and 1 in his career before winning the UFC’s middleweight championship. He defended it twice and held the belt for 16 months before receiving one of the most savage beat-downs in MMA history at the hands (and feet) of Anderson Silva. The division being was it was (and remains) – lacking depth due to the heavy competition at welterweight and light-heavyweight – Franklin did not have to wait long for a rematch. Two victories later (including a hard-fought contest against the underrated Yushin Okami) and Franklin would meet Silva again. A year later, but the result was essentially the same. In fact, Franklin actually looked a little worse this time around. Since then, Franklin has been something of an oddity in the UFC. He is a solid, pure middleweight, and would probably be the champion in the division were it not for Anderson Silva. But he clearly can’t beat the man. Two devastating loses support this argument. But he can beat just about everyone else. Light heavyweight does not seem to suit him as well. He struggled with Matt Hamill before stopping him the third round of their match. And though competitive against Dan Henderson, he lost the decision. But still, Franklin is too good to simply take on a journeyman or “gatekeeper” status like Keith Jardine or Joe Stevenson. So what to do? The UFC’s matchmaker, Joe Silva had put Franklin in two “catchweight” matches, meaning that both fighters agreed to meet at a given weight. This was first done to accommodate Wanderlai Silva, who was dropping down to middleweight after an unsuccessful run at light heavyweight. Wanderlai tends to either destroy his opponents or bring out the best in them, and thus was the case with his match against Franklin. The two fought a three round war that saw Franklin taking the decision and the both of them winning “Fight of the Night” honors. Silva opted to return to the catchweight well once more with Franklin in his bought with the returning Vitor Belfort. This time, it seemed the spirit of “The Spider” ran through “The Phenom” as Belfort straight-up beat the hell out of him, taking a TKO victory. The Belfort match’s results aside, it did suggest that Franklin really was an all-around “go-to” fighter for non-title main event fights. He is an exciting, multi-layered fighter, good looking, and, in his own way, quietly charismatic. So what if he can’t beat Brazilians? (He’s 1 and 4 against that tribe. Lyoto Machida was his first loss.) He is still a viable commodity, and, perhaps more importantly, a loyal worker. Thus, when Tito Ortiz pulled out of the main event of UFC 115, and Dana White fired him from coaching duties on The Ultimate Fighter, White had one call to make, and that was his to his “ace” in the hole. It was a short temp position. Just two weeks with his team and then a month before his fight with Liddell. Win or lose, Liddell had the status of a legend and millions in the bank. For Franklin, the stakes were somewhat higher. He is a better, more well-rounded fighter than Liddell, but nowhere near as famous. Franklin still needed to fight competitively, even if it meant doing “odd jobs” for the UFC and biding his time before Anderson Silva loses his belt or retires so he can reclaim the middleweight title. A loss to Liddell may not have meant the end, but probably portended a return to the undercard. Thus, the night of the event, both fighters came out to fight, Liddell looking to win or die trying for the sake of glory, and Franklin to keep himself viable. Liddell broke Franklin’s arm early on in the first round, which meant that he may have had to concede the rest of the match unless he finished Liddell before the end of the round. The focused desperation paid off. Liddell was flat on his back and unconscious from a well-timed Franklin punch, a state Liddell has unfortunately become familiar with in recent years. Franklin, battered and broken, showed more than titles can change hands in the MMA cage. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />18. Ken Shamrock </span>– Ken Shamrock is a steroid apologist; a punchy has-been; a big-mouth shit talker who can’t cash the proverbial checks; a litigious cry-baby, and a fighter who in the past ten years has amassed a record of 4 and 8. His last victory was against a now-deceased, morbidly obese kid who went 6 and 10 in his own brief career. Yes, Shamrock is a man to pity, despise, and ridicule. But it is only half the story. Maybe it’s none of the story, really. Ken (aka “Wayne”) Shamrock was the face of mixed martial arts from 1993 to his main-even loss to Tito Oritz in 2002. He was arguably the sport’s biggest draw in America, perhaps largely due to his long stint in the WWF as “the World’s Most Dangerous Man.” It is undeniable that Shamrock was instrumental in attracting maturing pro wrestling fans to MMA, arguably the legitimate version of the sport. Indeed, Shamrock’s colorful interviews and active promotion of his MMA bouts looked much more like pro wrestling “heat” than true grudges. His skills in the ring tended to focus on the shoot-style, favoring excruciating leg, knee, and ankle locks. This approach made him a feared competitor in the Japanese Pancrase organization where striking was minimized in favor of catch-style techniques. He had less success in the UFC, especially in the mid-2000s as he faced a young group of fighters trained in Greco-roman wrestling and boxing. Ortiz never looked better as when he took Shamrock to school over the course of a rather sad, and excessive trilogy of matches. The decade in general wasn’t kind to Ken. It was a decade that saw him losing at a 50% rate and seldom looking competitive. Why he continues to carry on is a question only he can answer. There is a lot of darkness, abuse, and abandonment in his early life, and he have never gotten along with his brother, the more well-rounded and consistent fighter, Frank Shamrock. By this stage he has lost so many matches in Podunk venues that the “legend” status begins to look tarnished. But Ken Shamrock should not be forgotten, nor should his reputation be tarnished by his recent masochisms. He is one of a handful of individuals who can truly claim to have built a new sport from whole cloth.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">19. Forrest Griffin -</span> Where is Forrest Griffin now? Once the face of the new generation, the group of Ultimate Fighter alumni who would take over the world of MMA from the old guard represented by Liddell and Ortiz. His match with Stephan Bonnar is considered the greatest fight in the history of the sport. He won the light heavyweight title from a ferocious Quinton Jackson, and holds the distinction of putting “Shogun” Rua to sleep via rear-naked choke. All the while, Forrest maintained a self-effacing, “aw shucks” attitude almost totally unknown in the sport. (He shrugged in disbelief when Dana White strapped the belt to his waist after his decision victory over Jackson.) He’s never disparaged another fighter for the sake of heat, and, by all accounts, has no tattoos. And yet he was for several years, arguably be most popular fighter in the UFC after Chuck Liddell. He suffered a weirdly devastating loss to Keith Jardine – never a harbinger of good things to come – before his championship run. Being a title-holder was short lived. Given the stacked nature of the division (then and now) there wouldn’t be the “easy” defense. Half-a-year after beating Jackson, Forrest met fellow-TUF alum Rashad Evans. Evans, perhaps the best boxer/wrestler combo in the sport, got a TKO off of Forrest in the third round. Ordinarily, you might expect a defeated champion to take on someone sub-Top 5 in his division, but he agreed to a main event-status bout against middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, who was looking to further establish himself at light heavyweight. (Truth to be told, Griffin was originally slated to meet the dangerous but manageable Thiago Silva, but Dana White wanted to bring Anderson up after the middleweight champ essentially cleaned out his division.) Griffin was humiliated by Silva who simply out-classed him at every turn. After being knocked down three times in course of a single round, Griffin attempted to mount an offence by attacking Silva with a flurry of punches… none of which landed. While backing off, Griffin was floored by a right from Silva. The punch knocked Griffin out. Later, when he came to his senses, a distraught Griffin ran from the cage and left the building before the ring announcer made his announcement. Overnight, Forrest Griffin went from being the working-class hero of mixed martial arts, to being the avatar of scorn. It was questionable whether he could comeback after not only losing the title, but also his honor. Perhaps the only way to redeem his reputation was to put him in front of a fighter who is even more disliked, and who has disappointed more fight fans than Griffin himself. Thus was the premise of Griffin/Oritz II. Ortiz had taken a close decision from Griffin in their first bout in 2006. The second time around, Griffin out pointed Ortiz with superior striking and took the decision. The real story, though, is the crowd’s reaction to Griffin’s entrance. Wearing black and white trunks (shades of Rocky) and coming out to the strains of “Tubthumper” (“I get knocked down/But I get up again”), Griffin must have had a sense that symbols were important. This was humility wrapped up in determination. As he often says of himself “I’m just a dog.” An animal that can whimper one moment, then bite the neck of grizzly bear the next. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />20. Takanori Gomi – </span>The past several years have not been kind to “The Fireball Kid.” Once considered the lightweight version of Fedor – in other words, an almost unstoppable champion – Gomi has gone from a ten year record of 23 wins, 3 losses, and 1 no-contest, to going 2 and 3 in his last five matches. His last loss, against Kenny Florian, must have been particularly frustrating for the 31 year old Japanese superstar. Despite being touted by some as a “dream match” between arguably the #3 and #4 lightweights in the world turned out to be a route for Florian who put on nothing short of a striking clinic for two rounds before choking Gomi out in the third. In other words, Florian out-Gomied Gomi. What happened? One issue may be the level of Gomi’s competition over time. He has not consistently fought elite, division-ranked fighters. In the world of the PRIDE promotion, matches were often made to either highlight a standout’s prowess, or to generate sensation. To some degree, the same charge has been made against Fedor, who also fought extensively in PRIDE and who, like Gomi, was a dominate champion. (Gomi was PRIDE’s first and last lightweight champion.) This critique does not stand up to scrutiny when it’s applied to Fedor. He has soundly defeated the toughest competition of the mid-2000s. But with Gomi, the slander may stick. He was five years into his MMA career before he fought a truly elite fighter in Joachim Hansen. Gomi lost that match, his first loss in the sport, as well as his next match against BJ Penn. He joined PRIDE at that point and thereafter went on a two year, ten-fight winning streak. Of those bouts, three can be described as “standouts” : his six-second knockout of Ralph Gracie via knee strike; his one-punch knockout of a prime Jens Pulver, and his winning of the PRIDE belt from “Mach” Sakurai. On the basis of those victories alone, Gomi should be remembered by MMA history. However, his subsequent career has been an inconsistent one, both in terms of the quality of his opponents, and his performances in the ring. By the time PRIDE had shuttered, many still believed Gomi to be the natural a #2 lightweight in the world behind BJ Penn, and assumed that with Zuffa’s purchase of PRIDE, a “dream” unification match would be forthcoming. But the match never materialized as Gomi carried on in Japan under the auspices of an upstart MMA organization known as World Victory Road. WVR follows much the same philosophy about matchmaking as PRIDE, the difference being that due to a dramatic fall off in the popularity of MMA in Japan in recent years, they cannot attract the biggest names in the sport. Thus, Gomi fought mid-level journeymen competitors, going 2 and 2 while neither advancing his career, nor developing his game. After one more bout for the SHOOTO organization, Gomi finally signed with the UFC. In interviews, “The Fireball Kid” sounded positively sanguine about his chances in the world’s most successful MMA promotion. He had his eyes squarely on BJ Penn and the Lightweight Championship, as though both were his by birthright. But then he met Florian, and was put through a major schooling. Next up is a bout with scrappy tough guy, Joe Stevenson, a gate-keeper of the sort that Gomi should blow through. But then what? A flood of WEC lightweights may be inundating the UFC in the next year as Zuffa consolidates the redundancies between the two promotions. Any one of that current crop of elite 155s would rival anyone Gomi has fought in the past five years. Still relatively young, there is much Gomi still to do in the sport. The question is, does the “kid” have the will to “grow up” and earn his spot at the top again?</span>jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-76119294148403169872010-06-25T18:40:00.000-07:002010-06-25T19:02:51.646-07:00The MMA Files - Part 6 - The Greatest MMA Fighters of All Time (11 – 15)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFR80BNMgGdKu_WWAf-TVrsRkPH1LWUQGTpHS5GNbc_h1YX0WPwfDDtjWBuNg45-Qo6x3x09mK3MsnmMVz4bY9x2Y0xPkai96LK_Url2Fuw_DDUWC8ABGRBGupsktwDBR2j_3VUQ/s1600/MMA.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFR80BNMgGdKu_WWAf-TVrsRkPH1LWUQGTpHS5GNbc_h1YX0WPwfDDtjWBuNg45-Qo6x3x09mK3MsnmMVz4bY9x2Y0xPkai96LK_Url2Fuw_DDUWC8ABGRBGupsktwDBR2j_3VUQ/s320/MMA.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486896798309079810" border="0" /></a><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >11. Anderson Silva</span><span style="font-family:arial;"> – Why only #11? Isn’t “The Spider” considered by many (Dana White) to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world? Is he not on a four year winning streak? Has he not won, held and defended the title during most of that time? Has he not also fought successfully in the light heavyweight division? All of this is true. Silva is an impressive fighter and athlete. He may be too good for the current crop in the UFC’s middleweight division, a division which, if the truth is to be told, has never been robust, being, as it is, a transitional division between the considerably more popular welterweight and light-heavyweight divisions. Since winning the belt from Rich Franklin - an amazing performance showing a virtuosity not seen before or since in the sport - Silva has seldom been properly challenged The one plausible challenger, Dan Henderson, who bolted the promotion last year to compete in Strikeforce, gave Silva his most crucial test in 2008 in a unification match with Hendo’s PRIDE welterweight title. The first round showed chinks in Silva’s armor. Henderson took him down and controlled the UFC champion. It was a bad round for Silva and one of the few he has lost. Then, Henderson gave up his back to Silva in the second round and tapped to a rear-naked choke. The rest of the ride for Silva at 185 has been an easy one. No one possesses Silva’s very specific skill set. A black belt in BJJ, Judo, and Taekwondo; a master of the Brazilian fighting style of capoeira; a professional-level muay thai kickboxer, and a technical Queensbury boxer, it is difficult to imagine a fighter with more formal training in so many diverse martial disciplines. The Henderson bout was to be his biggest test, theoretically, only because Silva lacks a wrestling base. There was danger in Silva being overwhelmed by Henderson’s power. Likewise, in Silva’s bout against Travis Lutter, Silva looked compromised by Lutter’s ability manage the Brazilian’s offense. (Lutter style is a rough-and-ready form of BJJ that integrates elements of muay thai and Greco-roman wrestling.) But these are the only times in recent memory that Silva has really been tested. Frankly, the UFC has not been able to locate a viable opponent for Silva and has had to allow former victims to climb the ladder to try again. Franklin lost the second time around, and now the trio of Nate Marquart, Chael Sonnen, and Demian Maia have elbowed each other for position. Marquart has beaten Maia, Sonnen has beaten Marquart. Maia has been Sonnen. Due to scheduling issues, Maia got first crack at Silva. He didn’t make much of it. Silva clowned with the BJJ master for five rounds before taking a decision. Indeed, Silva’s recent victories have been known more for his antics than this athleticism. The Thales Leites and Patrick Cote bouts were embarrassments ending with the crowd booing Silva’s bored performance, his shuck-and-jive dances, and his unwillingness to engage. His match against Maia raised UFC president Dana White ire enough to threaten to move his next champion defense to the undercard. The argument being that a champion has to perform as a champion. White is correct. If Silva really is that good; if he really is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, then he needs to come out and do what Fedor does every match, regardless of the level of competition he is given: he needs to win decisively. If he is bored of the fight, then end it early, if he can. Put the blame squarely on promotion. Make them find better opponents. He is clearly an artist when it comes to destructive offensive volleys. His two fights with Franklin prove this beyond doubt. And his dispatch of Henderson, one of the very best of all time, proves how well-rounded he is. But he needs to bring that level of intensity to every match. Until he does, he can never really be considered in the same league as Henderson, Fedor, or even GSP, the fighter whose name is chanted at the end of several of Silva’s recent fights. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />12. Urijah Faber -</span> The mainstreaming of MMA has necessitated a degree of pop sensationalism in the United States. The marketing end of the business, specifically in the Zuffa-owned properties of the UFC and WEC, has seen fit to push a handful of fighters as “heartthrobs.” George St. Pierre’s wild popularity is not simply a function of his remarkable athleticism, but also his clean-cut, model-caliber good looks, as evidenced by his beefcake appearances on the covers of magazines like Men’s Fitness. Likewise, Urijah Faber, the longtime “face” of World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) has similarly been promoted for his “fer shur, dude,” surfer-boy exoticness. To be sure, the guy has the looks and charisma to make help make the WEC a viable player in MMA world. Faber entered the WEC, winning the promotion’s featherweight title in 2006. He held that belt for over two-and-a-half years. Crucial years for the Northern California-based WEC as Zuffa began to establish its new acquisition as an elite bastion of lighter-weight fighters. (WEC dissolved its divisions above Lightweight.) The reconciliation thinned the ranks enough that already popular fighters could truly shine out. Faber was one of these personalities. It is also interesting to note that at the time of his winning the WEC belt, Faber held title belts in two other promotions, King of the Cage, and Gladiator’s Challenge. Retaining the belts may have been a shrewd hedging of bets for young Faber. After all, with PRIDE no longer a contender, and the UFC not recognizing fighters lighter than BJ Penn, the road to MMA success for an ambitious, 145 pound fighter is less than certain, especially amidst the turbulence of the sport’s development. The Zuffa purchase must have made the choice of dropping the other two belts and concentrating on his WEC duties a great deal easier. The gamble, so far, has paid off. Faber was the WEC longest reigning featherweight champion and arguably the face of the promotion then and now. But beyond simply being a pretty face, Faber is a standout athlete in a weight division known for long, fast-paced, matches. While preferring to stand and strike, Faber is a highly decorated wrestler and he packs every inch of his 5’6” frame with thick, stocky muscle, making him the biggest and perhaps strongest man in his division. Though quick and aggressive and obviously successful, Faber’s game is fairly straightforward. He likes to soften up his opponent with kicks and punches and then move in for a choke submission, the rear-naked choke being his preferred means of dispatch. This has meant a lot of shooting in, a lot of takedowns, and a lot of contact. Thus, when both Mike Brown and Jose Aldo defeated Faber, they did so by keeping their distance, at least initially. In the case of his loss to Aldo, over the course of five rounds, the Brazilian stayed just on Faber periphery, launching frequent leg strikes against Faber’s left thigh, resulting in a near-mutilation of Faber’s leg, and thus undermining his ability to shoot in or to kick. This loss, coupled with his two losses to Mike Brown, generated a sense of Faber as a fighter who had reached his plateau. Faber/Brown I demonstrated that Faber was vulnerable. Then, after a what amounted to a warm-up match against Faber’s favorite punching bag, Jens Pulver, “The Kid” returned to face Brown again. This time the two went the distance. The former champion left the ring with two broken hands. The heart of the still-young surfer boy was never in doubt. But what remains unknown is whether or not Faber, who has averaged nearly four fights a year since starting his professional career in 2003, can adjust his now-predictable fight plan and become a fighter who can really compete against the new elite in Mike Brown and Jose Aldo. His recent announcement of returning to bantamweight suggests new horizons, but it also signals a retreat of sorts. The current champion, Domick Cruz, is someone Faber has fought and defeated in the past. The possibility of starting a new run in familiar territory may feel like a sure bet for Faber, but whether the new title comes with the adoption of new skills remains to be seen. But Faber is assured a future hall of fame induction. For the better part of the first decade of the 21st century, he was the face of the WEC, and therefore the face of sub-lightweight MMA.<br /><br /><br /> </span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">13. Mirko Filipovic –</span> A career that never quite lived up to its potential, that is the unfortunate story of Mirko “CroCop.” But it isn’t the only story. The heavyweight kickboxer made a seemingly seamless transition into MMA in 2001 and quickly ran through the competition, essentially bludgeoning his way into PRIDE title contention with strikes and his famous, highlight reel head kicks. By 2003, PRIDE was touting CroCop as their uncrowned champion, even making a rather embarrassing plea for anyone to step up and challenge the big Croatian. A match with luncha libre legend, Dos Caras, Jr. ended in 45 seconds with the masked wrestler falling to CroCop’s mighty left kick. Afterward, it was “Big Nog” for the PRIDE heavyweight belt. Nogueira was, at the time, already a ring veteran, having held the belt before being defeated by Fedor the previous year. It was a highly anticipated bout and one that nearly ended in the first round. After controlling the bout on the feet, CroCop landed a glancing head kick. A shot which, had it come earlier in the round, would have meant the end of the match. But in the second round, “Minotauro” regained control of the action and submitted CroCop with an arm bar. He would go 9 and 1 in his next ten matches, losing to Kevin Randleman and then avenging the loss a few month later with a guillotine choke in a rare show of his submission skills. He eventually worked his way into title contention again, this time in a dream match with Fedor. CroCop found success early in the match, breaking Fedor’s nose and delivering devastating kicks to the body. However, after weathering the initial onslaught, the Russian took his man to the ground and peppered him with brutal body shots. Fedor ended up taking the decision, though it was hardly the blowout of the year that fans were hoping for. A subsequent loss to fellow K-1 fighter Mark Hunt must have been dejecting, and indeed, a “now or never” fever seemed to come over the former Croatian anti-terrorism specialist. He entered a brutal, four-month long open-weight tournament which culminated in a one-night elimination putting him up against two of PRIDE premier fighters, PRIDE middleweight champion, Wanderlai Silva, and King of Pancrase champion, Josh Barnett. The two opponents were essentially unintentional “gifts” for CroCop. Silva, who was subbing for an injured Fedor, had just come off of a hard-fought victory against Kazyuki Fujita. The smaller Silva, visibly tired and banged up from the Fujita bout, was laid out by a CroCop kick just a few minutes into the first round. Meanwhile, Josh Barnett had gone the distance for a split decision victory over Nogueira. The much fresher CroCop, who had already defeated Barnett twice before, beat down “The Baby-Faced Assassin” to win the TKO and the first and (thus far) only MMA title of his career. Of course, it is a tournament championship, not a contested belt, and it was a long time ago. But it was his win, and obviously spurred him along to seek a bigger prize. And with PRIDE closing down, the biggest prize in MMA became the UFC heavyweight title. In 2006, Dana White announced the signing of CroCop to a six fight deal, obviously with an eye towards the dream title fight with then-champion, Randy Couture. But these ambitions were derailed by, of all things, a monster kick from newcomer Gabriel Gonzaga. The young Brazilian sent CroCop to the ground, rendering him unconscious. To add insult to injury, the collapse also damaged his ankle and detached ligaments in CroCop’s knee. The loss was followed by a decision defeat to another young fighter, Cheick Kongo. The lackluster performance seemed an indication that something was essentially wrong with former PRIDE headliner. Speculation was rampant. Maybe he was having a hard time adjusting to the cage environment (PRIDE and K-1 matches are in conventional boxing rings). Maybe his skills had not evolved beyond his potent striking abilities. Maybe he was too arrogant, taking his opponents too lightly. Maybe he was distracted by his government duties back home. Maybe his training camp was to blame. Maybe he really wasn’t that great of a fighter after all. It was during this time that other former PRIDE fighters were also struggling in their new UFC home. Dan Henderson lost both of his title unification matches and Wanderlai Silva also went on a losing streak. But the CroCop situation was particularly confusing to fans who remember the dynamic excitement he brought to his PRIDE fights. He left the UFC for a year to retool his game and to earn some money in Japan. He fought two matches for DREAM, including a sadly anti-climatic bout against Alistair Overeem that ended with the Dutch fighter being disqualified for delivering repeated knees to CroCop’s groin. His return to the UFC the next year resulted in a very mixed bag of results. He defeated journeyman Mustapha Al Turq but had nearly blinded him by poking him in his eyes. He was brutalized by Junior Dos Santos before verbally submitting to strikes in the third round. Recently he fought novice Australian fighter, Anthony Perosh who had signed on to meet CroCop after the original opponent, ring veteran and former IFL champion Ben Rothwell had to withdraw. CroCop dominated the young Aussie and ended the fight in the second round via TKO. In June of 2010 he fought Pat Berry in a touch-and-go match where he got pasted in the first round but rallied back in the second and third rounds before submitting Berry with a choke. His first submission victory since the PRIDE days. He looked like the Mirko of old to some, but he has a long way to go before he can truly call himself a contender again. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />14. Bas Rutten –</span> Rutten is the nicest, most violent man you will ever want to meet. Unlike most “hard” men, Rutten isn’t “intense” or melodramatic. In interviews he is funny, self-effacing, and happy to be the life of the party. In the cage, or more characteristically for his career, the ring, “El Guapo” is fully invested in causing focused, throbbing, devastating pain. Like the pro wrestlers of old, he is known for a single finishing move, the liver strike. A life-time of teetotaling and clean living will not prepare the organ for the battering it will take after Rutten’s fist or foot finds its way there. The move has gone on to become a favorite among fighters as diverse as Rich Franklin and Cung Le. But the big Dutchman is also just as happy to choke, grab a joint hold, or otherwise bludgeon his way to a TKO his way to victory. He was never one to leave it in the hands of the judges. Of his 33 career matches, only four ever went to a decision. It is a testament to his focus and his willingness to do what needs to be done to finish. Of course, many new MMA fans will not know Bas Rutten the fighter. If they know him at all, it is from his long career as color commentator for PRIDE events; more recently, as a coach and commentator for the short-lived International Fight League, as well as the current host of the excellent MMA Insider program on HDNet. Other than a brief return to game in 2006 to make quick work of journeyman Ruben Villareal, Rutten has been retired from MMA since 1999. His final match was a decision victory over Kevin Randleman for the UFC heavyweight title. Afterward, his ambitions not quite satisfied, Butten dropped down to the UFC’s middleweight (now lightweight) division to contest for that title as well. But then everything went wrong: a blown-out ACL, torn biceps, and injured neck, all suffered during training. The injuries were so bad that Rutten was ordered to retire from the sport altogether. The imagination staggers to imagine what the UFC, and mixed martial arts in general, would have looked like in the US had this dynamic , charismatic, and skilled fighter been able to follow through with his plans. His presence may have provided the catalyst to launch MMA into the mainstream years before it would. Instead, it remained for Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, and Forrest Griffin to come along later to begin the process. It is a shame that so much of Rutten’s career is obscured by poor promotion of the Pancrase product outside of Japan. (A “best of” show currently rotates a single episode on the ImaginAsia cable channel is, sadly, short on Rutten footage.) Rutten was the most dominate of the foreign competitors in Japan at the time, and though the style of fighting was more ground-based, (looking more like Japanese “strong style” pro wrestling), “El Guapo’s” presence in the promotion represents a vital link between two eras of MMA. Sadly, now that the sport’s popularity is waning in Japan, it is unlikely that anything like a UFC-style DVD retrospective will ever see the light of day. Thus it remains for curious fight fans to seek out grainy footage on-line if they want to see one of the great transitional fighters in MMA history in his prime. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />15. Royce Gracie –</span> Far beyond the “no list of this sort would be complete without…” sentiment, including Royce Gracie in a list of the best mixed martial artists of all time is simply a recognition of the contributions his family in general, and Royce in particular, have made to the sport. Indeed, it is fair to say that without the Gracie’s efforts in establishing the UFC as a going concern, there would not be an MMA scene as we know it today. The pre-history of MMA, of course, is long, having its ancient origins in Greek pankration matches, and a more modern birthing in Brazils famous vale tudo (no-holds bared) events. The semi-religious, cult-like appeal of specific forms of martial arts has naturally led to rivalries which inevitably led to “style-versus-style” matches. In Brazil, the jujitsu practiced by the Gracie clan dominated over more indigenous styles like Capioera and luta livre. But these bouts, usually occurring in clandestine circles, seldom received the mass viewership and respect that the family so desired. It wasn’t just a point of pride for them, however. Gracie jujitsu had become a burgeoning franchise in the United States where it had to compete alongside more recognized styles like karate, kung fu, and Queensbury boxing. The UFC presented the Gracie’s an opportunity to forward BJJ on a national stage. And, indeed, the Gracie name shined very brightly for several years as the pay-per view buy rates increased, and ranks at the Gracie schools expanded, thanks in large part to the in-cage efforts of Royce. This early success is attributed to several factors. For one, many of Royce’s early opponents had little or no experience dealing with ground fighting techniques of any sort. In the west (then as now) the stand-up game is valued over the ground game. Energy is put into strikes. Greco-Roman wrestling, at least in the early days of the UFC, tended to focus on getting the man down in order to batter him (so-called “ground-and-pound”). Wrestlers by their nature are loath to be on their back, whereas a BJJ practioner prefers the guard. From there, he has a variety of options for applying painful submission locks and eye-closing chokes. It is no wonder, then, that Royce’s first matches in the UFC were against fighters from stand-up disciplines (with a young Ken Shamrock, a shoot-wrestler, being a notable exception). He dispatched these opponents methodically, and helped to create an aura invincibility for BJJ in general and Royce in particular. With the exception of a loss due to a no-show during a tournament, and a draw with Shamrock after a 36 minute, non-judged match, Royce was essentially undefeated in the UFC. At this point, Royce took a five-year break from competition, returning in 2000 to fight for PRIDE in Japan. In a return to the old rivalry between jujitsu and wrestling (specifically, catch wrestling, a submission-based fighting system), the Gracie family targeted Kazushi Sakuraba, a Japanese fighter who had taken out several BJJ practioners, including Vitor Belfort and Royler Gracie, Royce’s brother. The new rivalry culminated in a tournament that saw Royce winning a decision against “Saku’s” stablemate, Takada before taking on the man himself in a grueling, 90 minute bout. (Royce had negotiated special rules for his match with Sakuraba: unlimited rounds, and wins only from knockout or submission.) The now-famous match was an epic and highly entertaining affair that saw the two men essentially stage the equivalent of a “real” professional wrestling bout. Kicks, punches, tumbles, slams, and submissions attempt flew at a pace seldom seen in any match, then or now. However, in the end, Sakuraba prevented most of the ground challenges from Royce and instead concentrated on breaking down the Brazilian’s body with leg kicks and punches from standing position. Then Royler, with ascent from his brother, threw in the towel at the “sixth” round, giving Royce the first real loss of his career. His next match was with Hidehiko Yoshida, a gold medalist in Judo. The bout was again a “special rules” match wherein the participants would only use their respective disciplines. Yoshida won a controversial victory by “gi-choke” which prompted Royce’s abandonment of the uniform in his future MMA bouts. (A subsequent rematch with Yoshida ended in a time-limit draw.) After a spectacle match against the 400 pound former sumo wrestler Akebono (Royce won via omoplata) Royce took one more match in Japan - another draw – before returning to the UFC for a special catch-weight match against Matt Hughes. Hughes, then in his prime as the UFC’s welterweight champion, represented the “new breed” of mixed martial artist. Hughes, though a dynamic Greco-roman wrestler, possesses one of the most well-rounded skill sets in the sport. The match itself was something of an embarrassment for the Gracie clan. Royce was never any threat to Hughes who used his power, his wrestling, and yes, his own jujitsu, to manhandle the smaller fighter. While it is often said that a smaller man can beat a bigger, stronger opponent, the fact is that Hughes was not just the bigger guy, he was also the better fighter. At one point, Royce’s arm was in a deep armbar and very close to breaking. But Hughes, knowing that Gracies never tap, opted to switch to an offensive stance that would take the choice out of his hands: he mounted and bludgeoned Royce with a volley of strikes to the head. The referee had no choice but to stop the carnage. Afterward, Royce, though disappointed, did make a good point. Hughes had had to integrate BJJ into his training, whether as a weapon or to defend against a ground attack. It may have been a kind of spiritual victory, but the fact of the matter is that the game had changed, and no amount of last-minute muay thai training was going to help Royce measure up to Hughes or anyone else of his class. - Despite winning a controversial decision in a 2007 rematch with an also-aging Sakuraba, Royce is essentially retired at this point. But the Gracie family seems to have enough fecundity to produce generation after generation of new fighters. His nephew, Roger Gracie, has gone on a three-fight win streak, recently submitting former UFC champion, Kevin Randleman. </span>jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-55203523654110557752010-06-23T18:53:00.000-07:002010-06-23T19:15:46.483-07:00The MMA Files - Part 5 - The Greatest MMA Fighters of All Time (6 – 10)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBTwXSt7mKU7UK3Ebuj2C99-9oKc3j_-7ViCCuKLtdevjXQBwLsHlDctQhG-GIHcqJcUWFqBmWRR-XKOAa5ZXMpGrusXxH27-kM-Ecnhki8aUAgLjFyLHYj-PKjGIfGlf6j9D0A/s1600/MWDGV.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 219px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBTwXSt7mKU7UK3Ebuj2C99-9oKc3j_-7ViCCuKLtdevjXQBwLsHlDctQhG-GIHcqJcUWFqBmWRR-XKOAa5ZXMpGrusXxH27-kM-Ecnhki8aUAgLjFyLHYj-PKjGIfGlf6j9D0A/s320/MWDGV.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486157718020844098" border="0" /></a><br /> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">6. Matt Hughes</span> - People either hate or love Matt Hughes. He is the proverbial jock from high school. Captain of the football team. He dated the girl-next door. He never smoked or drank, probably went to nice Lutheran church, and got high grades. He was nice to you but there was always a swaggering air about him. Everything seems to come easy. High excellence, long term success. Even when he has lost in the cage, Hughes still looks like he had it all planned somehow. He rarely looks bad. And when he looks good, which is often, the non-flashy ease of his moves makes even experienced fighters look like they are sparing with their coach. Learning to appreciate Hughes as a fighter is a rite of passage for the MMA fan. His pale, oatmeal-like complexion, squat musculature, and relaxed continence combine with his “get the job done” style of fighting (heavy on take downs, jabs, and a handful of BJJ moves) to deliver a factory-made octagon performance suggestive more of a combat machine than a fighter. His nearly five year reign as UFC’s welterweight champion - interrupted only briefly by a defeat to BJ Penn who almost immediately bolted the promotion thereafter, leaving the belt up for grabs – defined an era of welterweights. Since losing the belt, Hughes has been content to take the matches as they come, perhaps feeling that after a 1-2 series against George St. Pierre, and being TKO’d by contender Thiago Alves, he may no longer be in the chase. Hughes has also become something of a Stateside Sakuraba or “Gracie-hunter,” taking down two of the Gracie family’s elite. He dominated both Royce and Renzo Gracie at two distinct periods of his career. There are of course other Gracies to fight, and there may even be more title contentions, but Hughes has carved an indelible space for himself in MMA history, as a true craftsman of the sport. A standard-barer for a true mixing of disciplines. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />7. Wanderlei Silva </span>– Has there ever been a fighter who really struck terror into his opponents the way Wanderlei “The Ax Murder” Silva did? Silva’s muay thai was so vicious that it destroyed Quinton Jackson twice. His knee strikes are like the kicks of Mirko CroCop… left leg: hospital, right leg: morgue. Few possesse his killer instincts or his ring cunning. He is expert at feigning injury to draw his man into his strike zone. But what really sets Silva apart is his athleticism. He is a pure cardio animal, able to motor through a match whether it is PRIDE style ten minute round or a UFC fiver. The guy does not exhaust. He bleeds, he suffers, but he does not gas. Silva dominated the middleweight division of PRIDE for five years, defending the championship belt against strong (mostly Japanese) opponents. (That being said, true title matches were actually rather occasional as Silva also participated in PRIDE’s many “grand prix” tournaments. ) Over the years, he has been willing to fight open-weight and catch-weight matches, including against much heavier Fujita, who he defeated by TKO. Silva lost his belt to Dan Henderson just as the promotion was beginning to dissolve. Less than ten months later, he was back in the UFC after seven years to finally meet Chuck Liddell. The match lived up to its hype, but it added to an on-going losing streak that surely had to make the once dominating cage warrior re-think his career. A “sure thing” win over Keith Jardine was only a small reprieve on the way to a devastating knock-out loss to bitter rival, “Rampage” Jackson, and a disappointing judge’s decision against Rich Franklin. However, he has recently entered into what might be the dawn of a new era for the 33 year old, and new developments may scatter this seemingly dark four year trend of inconsistent performances. His reserved, but still aggressive ring control spelled victory for Silva over the always game Michael Bisping in early 2010. It was easy to note a couple of new qualities in the Brazillian. One, Silva seemed more confident, his energy more focused. And second, he had a transformed face. Years of taking hard punishment had essentially destroyed Silva’s nose. Reconstructive surgery gave him a new face and a dramatically improved ability to take in oxygen, an athlete’s greatest ally. This new Wanderlei was to test his resolve against master judoka, Yoshihiro Akiyama, one of the few Japanese imports who has actually managed to make an impact in the UFC. Sadly, a case of cracked ribs has sidelined Silva and he may not return to action until the end of the year. </span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />8. Dan Henderson –</span> “Hollywood” Henderson has been the “solution” to many a problem in MMA. Specifically, how does the late-middle generation of American fighters, steeped in Greco-roman wrestling and western boxing deal with the Brazilian threat? Brazilian jujitsu is more dangerous and more threatening than its antecedent because it presents opportunities for danger and pain at nearly every interval of the match. A black belt in BJJ can snatch an arm from a standing position, apply massive pressure to the knee in ankle from a seemingly in a bad spot on the ground, and choke a man out while being slammed from the cage. A BJJ practitioner only really has to “defend” against other holds. Every movement is an chance to attack, and patience is a more important skill than muscular strength. For awhile, there seemed no solution for the non-BJJ proficient opponent. A lucky punch, a lucky kick, or a lucky flurry of ground-and-pound was the best fighters could hope for. But Henderson’s wrestling is so strong, and his boxing so crisp, he has managed to out flank BJJ through shear will power. His career in RINGs and PRIDE, though not without defeats, was one of dominance. As graceful as a brick wall, and with all the finesse of a human cannonball, Henderson was for ten years, the iron face of American fighting in the east. His list of accomplishments are daunting, but one accolade truly underscores his talents. He is the only man to have simultaneously held championship belts in two weight divisions (welterweight and middleweight) in the PRIDE organization. He confidently carried both belts into the UFC and fought the only unification matches in the promotions history. He lost both contest to Anderson Silva and Quinton Jackson respectively Since those defeats, Henderson has gone on to win his next three bouts, easily shifting between weight divisions. His Stateside cache expanded in a big way after coaching on the UFC’s flagship program, The Ultimate Fighter. There, despite showing all the charisma and personality of PE instructor, Henderson provide a sober counterpoint to rival coach Michael Bisping who ruthlessly taunted the Yank week after week. “Hendo” got his John Wayne moment, however, when he delivered the fast-talking Brit to the canvas with a shattering right hook. A controversial follow-up punch to the unconscious “Count” aside, Henderson looked to be back with a vengeance. A rematch with middleweight champion, Anderson Silva seemed in the offing. However, with his UFC contract up, Henderson bolted the UFC for the upstart Strikeforce organization, hoping to become a shark in the fish tank of developing fighters. He was immediately given a title shot against middleweight champion Jake Shields. A Henderson victory was essentially assured, and probably hoped for. Strikeforce clearly wants to clear out the “riff-raff” of their promotion and replace their champions with “faces.” Unfortunately for Henderson, someone forgot to send Shields that memo. After nearly winning the match in the first minutes of the first round, Henderson seemed to lose all interest in the fight. Shields had his own answers. He is a world-class wrester, and a black belt in… BJJ. An unusual, but powerful combination. The defeat may have put Henderon’s lofty goals on hold for the moment (he wanted to fight in three divisions in Strikeforce. He wants to fight Mousassi, Fedor, win all the belts, etc.) but don’t look for him to coast for the foreseeable future either. He may have new answers, as well as a few questions of his own for future opponents. UPDATE: With Jake Shields rumored to be leaving Strikeforce for the greener pastures of the UFC, the middleweight belt may yet become a going concern for Henderson. A vacant title would mean a multi-event tournament (a format that Henderson, coming from PRIDE, would be familiar with), which could make for several interesting combinations of fights for Hendo, including matches against Cung Le, Gegard Moussai, and possibly Nick Diaz.</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />9. George St. Pierre –</span> There aren’t many athletes in mixed martial arts who are genuine sportsmen, which is to say a person who represents values beyond personal excellence in competition; someone who represents the sport as a good-will ambassador. So much of the MMA game is about hype, heat, and trash talk, that when someone turns up in the ranks who is humble, self-depreciating, and… well, nice, it is like a revelation. George St. Pierre is a freakishly gifted athlete with a command of an arsenal of fighting styles, including karate, boxing, BJJ, and wrestling, a discipline he essentially learned from the ground up. He wins his matches in a variety of ways. He can submit his opponent (he likes armbars and chokes), pummel effectively with his fists and feet (see his masterful KO of Matt Hughes in November of 2006), and he is more than willing to see a match to its conclusion, confident that his skills are enough to impress the judges. Indeed, four of his last seven victories have gone to the judges. Thus, one can easily see “GSP” as the model mixed martial artist. Three years into his second reign as the UFC’s welterweight champion, St. Pierre has defended approximately every six months, and always against high-caliber fighters. He even deigned to a rematch with lightweight champion, BJ Penn, a dangerous prospect given Penn’s status as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. St. Pierre/Penn II was a watershed moment for GSP’s career. It marked his shift from simply being a great athlete with combat skills, to being a totally complete fighter. Usually, Penn’s opponents have to work around his uncanny takedown defense, which means they will try to trade strikes, a strategy for disaster (see Penn’s match with Joe Stevenson or Diego Sanchez), or they will play the BJJ game with him, thinking that their skills are on par with his. (Kenny Florian, a black belt in two forms of jujitsu, never got his ground game going with Penn, who choked him out in the fourth round.) But in their match, GSP took Penn down at will, bullying him, making Penn play his game. This dominance, which ended with Penn’s corner throwing in the towel in the fourth round, silenced any doubt about St. Pierre’s ability to grow and develop as a fighter. Subsequent title defenses against Thaigo Alves and Dan Hardy suggest that St. Pierre may be close to hitting the UFC’s floor of legitimate contenders. Outspoken and controversial “bad boy,” Josh Koschek will be testing that conclusion sometime later in 2010, but there are whispers of greater glory in store for the young French-Canadian. A possible challenge for the middleweight championship, currently held by Anderson Silva, has been widely speculated for 2011. Dan White’s current antipathy for Silva (“he doesn’t deserve to fight GSP”) may put the kibosh on that dream match. GSP himself has communicated some desire to wrestle for Canada at the 2012 Olympic games (he has since come down from that lofty notion). Many in the lightweight division are looking to move up in weight, and the Zuffa-owned WEC, rumored to be scrapping its lightweight division, may see its one-fifty fives bulking up to meet the welterweight mark. Unlike many in the top ten of this list, GSP has more of his career ahead of him than behind him. His options may be limited by his size, but his ambition to be the greatest mixed martial artist in history suggest a giant in the making</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />10. Vitor Belfort –</span> Belfort was fixture of the developmental years of both the UFC and PRIDE. To say that he has fought “everybody” in the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions would be an exaggeration, but name any elite fighter of those weight classes from the period of 1996 to 2006 and you stand a good chance of seeing Belfort on the other side of that match. Like his long-time rival, Couture, Belfort fought almost exclusively elite fighters for nearly fifteen years. Many of those bouts were championship fights. And like Couture, he has lost a bunch. He has a 42% loss rate, slightly higher than “The Naturals.” But those losses suggest a fighter who is ambitious and willing to test himself at all stages of his career. And one more comparison to Couture, “The Phenom” has continued to develop his style. Although always a dangerous striker, in recent years, Belfort has increased his punching power (perhaps through his association with the Xtreme Couture camp?) to such devastating effect that five of his last nine bouts have ended by knock-out. A major difference between him and Couture is age. Belfort is just 33, having begun fighting professionally when he was only 19. He was unusual in those days because unlike other BJJ practioners at the time (Belfort is also a black belt in judo and a blue belt in karate), he tended to prefer to win via strikes. One might therefore view the Brazilian as a turbo-charged version of his countryman, Wanderlai Silva, who, despite being a BJJ black belt, has scored all of his wins via strikes, kicks, or judge’s decision. But Belfort is comfortable on the ground, and transitions well between styles. In fact, his muay thai and jujitsu complement one another. In an early match with Tank Abbott, Belfort used standing leverage, hooking arms and blocking escapes, in order to fire off his punches. This occurs simultaneously and seamlessly Abbott had nowhere to go and could not retaliate effectively. Belfort can therefore be on the offence and the defense at the same time. But after all this, there is one factor which makes Belfort unique, and that his capacity for focused, and devastating violence. When he wants to attack, he throws everything at you. It is terrifyingly unambiguous and honest. No fighter, save perhaps Fedor or Chuck Liddell in his prime, could come close to his focused intensity. Many fighters who “explode” early in a match gas themselves out in the first two minutes (Phil Baroni comes to mind), but Belfort’s athleticism allows him to sustain the attack through two, three, even four rounds. He is the model for a type of Brazilian fighter who has truly evolved violence into an art form. Befort, Wanderlai Silva, Anderson Silva, and “Shogun” Rua are not brawlers in the conventional sense. They are efficient machines for inflicting injury. Indeed, Belfort may be the king of them all.</span>jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-7357297568113269132010-06-22T18:21:00.000-07:002010-06-22T18:36:59.139-07:00The MMA Files - Part 4 - The Greatest MMA Fighters of All Time (1 – 5)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8EfosrqXaqiDmblESpXCu8oGcIC1bfhPl3t_T5tDczQKFTnGLVAStZYPOuRS4MdBPmh9AKfFAqLKD_0TOuaDuoUbyjsS66hR8sN3qyixZWhOBRf3uAeb-PQeKYZhby9kwJureFw/s1600/CNBJ.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 315px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8EfosrqXaqiDmblESpXCu8oGcIC1bfhPl3t_T5tDczQKFTnGLVAStZYPOuRS4MdBPmh9AKfFAqLKD_0TOuaDuoUbyjsS66hR8sN3qyixZWhOBRf3uAeb-PQeKYZhby9kwJureFw/s320/CNBJ.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485776231092216098" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">Last month I outlined reasons for including Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianenko in the #1 and #2 spots in a hypothetical "greatest of all-time list." For the next week or so, I will be filling in the rest of my personal top 20, and, naturally, justifying why they should be here. For now, here are the top five.</span>
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<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=""><span style="">1.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7pt;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><a href="http://www.blogger.com/The%20MMA%20Files%20%E2%80%93%20Part%203:%20The%20Greatest%20Mixed-Martial%20Artist%20of%20all%20time%20is%E2%80%A6.">Randy Couture</a></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=""><span style="">2.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7pt;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><a href="http://mutegestures.blogspot.com/2010/05/mma-files-part-3-greatest-mixed-martial_07.html">Fedor Emelianenko</a> <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]--></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=""><span style="">3.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7pt;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: bold;">Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira</span>:<span style=""> </span>“Big Nog” is in many ways, the consummate mixed-martial artist.<span style=""> </span>A life-long <i style="">judoka</i>, a highly regarded BJJ practitioner, a world-class boxer, and a decorated world champion in submission wrestling,<span style=""> </span>“Minotauro” is,<span style=""> </span>next to Wandrelai Silva and Royce Gracie, the most recognized Brazilian fighter in the sport’s history.<span style=""> </span>He is also the most accomplished. <span style=""> </span>He was the first PRIDE champion, a UFC interim world champion (the first to hold titles in both promotions), and one of the few fighters ever to take Fedor the distance…. twice!<span style=""> </span>His recent career in the UFC has been somewhat more spotty,<span style=""> </span>however.<span style=""> </span>After an initial spark leading to his winning the interim-heavyweight championship belt (do you need to guess from whom?<span style=""> </span>Tim Sylvia, naturally!),<span style=""> </span>Nogueria was dropped by Frank Mir and demolished by Cain Velsaquez.<span style=""> </span>In between, he fought (and won) a memorable “dream match” with Randy Couture that came pretty close to living up to expectations.<span style=""> </span>But the future looks fuzzy for<span style=""> </span>“Big Nog.”<span style=""> </span>His unique ability to absorb punishment and find opportunities for success in the ring or cage has recently been called into question, especially after the Velasquez match. After having never been<span style=""> </span>knocked out in his career, (he had only ever lost be judge’s decision in the past), Nogueira has been sent to the canvas twice in his five matches with the UFC.<span style=""> </span>Nonetheless, even if he is in the nadir of his career,<span style=""> </span>“Minotauro” has already secured his place among the very best the sport has produced. <!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]--></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=""><span style="">4.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7pt;" > <span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: bold;">BJ Penn:</span><span style=""> </span>Being a laid-back Hawaiian, marinated by a lifetime of wealth and leisure, are not the typical background of a rough and tumble fighter, much less the greatest lightweight in the history of the sport.<span style=""> </span>But BJ Penn is full of surprises. An affable, unpretentious, slightly soft, slightly dopey-looking Penn possesses not only the most dynamic BJJ skill set in MMA (he earned his black belt in under two years before becoming the world jujitsu champion in 2000), he has developed a devastating striking arsenal that has on at least two occasions, torn open the heads of his opponents like a can opener, leading to bloody climaxes.<span style=""> </span>He is only the second fighter (after Couture) to<span style=""> </span>hold UFC championships in two divisions, lightweight and welterweight. He has fought<span style=""> </span>and beaten nearly every major lightweight contender in the UFC, and beaten them soundly.<span style=""> </span>Even his recent title loss to upstart Frankie Edgar was more about Penn’s <i style="">not</i> winning that Edgar “beating” Penn in the cage.<span style=""> </span>His major weak spot seems to be his hubris.<span style=""> </span>After winning the welterweight belt from Matt Hughes in 2004 via choke submission, Penn bolted the promotion, citing a lack of legitimate competition.<span style=""> </span>He was promptly stripped of the title, having never defended it.<span style=""> </span>Hughes, though dominate in the sport, is vulnerable to submissions, especially chokes (both Carlos Newton and Frank Trigg nearly ended Hughes with rear-naked chokes in their contests).<span style=""> </span>Also, it is often said, and well remembered, that a champion is not really a champion until he defends the title.<span style=""> </span>Penn never defended the welterweight belt.<span style=""> </span>And when he has campaigned for the belt in recent years, he has lost.<span style=""> </span>For whatever reason, the higher weight division is a “wall” for him.<span style=""> </span>That being said, it is very possible that no one will ever dominate a single division the way Penn has in the UFC’s lightweight division. <span style=""> </span>His surgical destruction of Sean Sherk in 2008 was a bellwether for all that was to come. <span style=""> </span>No one has come close, and the conventional wisdom has him regaining the belt later this year in his rematch with Edgar.<span style=""> </span>Penn’s fighting toolbox is simply too well stocked, his chin too strong, and his ambitions remain intact.<span style=""> </span>At just 31 years old,<span style=""> </span>Penn may still have layers of talent yet to surface. <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Perhaps he will bring more leg strikes into his game.<span style=""> </span>Perhaps he will become a merciless ground and pounder.<span style=""> </span>Whatever the future holds for Penn,<span style=""> </span>he has a glorious past to access for inspiration.
<br /><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=""><span style="">5.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7pt;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-weight: bold;">Chuck Liddell </span>–<span style=""> </span>When I first began watching MMA,<span style=""> </span>I confess that I did not appreciate the talents of Chuck Liddell. He was too ubiquitous. <span style=""> </span>At the time, he was the poster boy, quite literally, of<span style=""> </span>the UFC. His biker-chic mug appeared on billboards announcing his upcoming bouts with hated rival Tito Ortiz or fellow perennial champion,<span style=""> </span>Randy Couture.<span style=""> </span>“The Iceman”<span style=""> </span>was seemingly everywhere - <span style=""> </span>in Movies, in TV interviews, <span style=""> </span>on magazine covers.<span style=""> </span>For the better part of<span style=""> </span>four years, from roughly 2004 when he returned from a season with PRIDE, to 2008 when he defeated Wanderlai Silva in one of the most anticipated matches in MMA history, Liddell WAS mixed martial arts.<span style=""> </span>Then, after suffering back-to-back losses against Rashad Evans and Shogun Rua,<span style=""> </span>Liddell hesitantly went into a restless retirement.<span style=""> </span>Despite the decisive victory over Silva,<span style=""> </span>Chuck was one and four<span style=""> </span>since 2006.<span style=""> </span>After losing the light heavyweight title to Rampage Jackson via a devastating TKO,<span style=""> </span>he subsequently lost to Keith Jardine,<span style=""> </span>a journeyman who has a habit of beating former champions.<span style=""> </span>Dana White, his boss and long-time friend, essentially forced retirement on Liddell, making confirming statements before the man himself did.<span style=""> </span>Liddell’s hedging is<span style=""> </span>understandable;<span style=""> </span>the four losses make crises of palookaville more legitimate.<span style=""> </span>There is nothing so tragic as a former champion trying and failing to keep up with the competition.<span style=""> </span>Perhaps even worse than the health issues is the harm it does to the legacy of a champion.<span style=""> </span>In the case of Chuck Liddell, this would be very sad indeed.<span style=""> </span>Aside from his<span style=""> </span>natural charisma,<span style=""> </span>there is also the fact that Liddell is no one-trick pony when it comes to MMA .<span style=""> </span>Although he is famous for his one-punch knockout prowess (61% of his 21 wins are by KO or TKO), Liddell has a take-down defense rivaled only by BJ Penn.<span style=""> </span>His ability to sprawl and get off the ground once there, is a testament to his Division I wrestling days.<span style=""> </span>During his famous bout with Silva, Liddell put on a virtual martial arts clinic, essentially doing whatever he wanted within his long-time PRIDE rival, from simple take downs, to low kicks, to spinning back fists.<span style=""> </span>Perhaps his most valuable weapon in the cage, however, is his instinct for attack and his relentless follow-through once there is blood in the water.<span style=""> </span>Liddell’s eyes are like<span style=""> </span>targeting sensors, constantly triangulating and feeding opponent information back to him.<span style=""> </span>Notice that Liddell seldom “dances” in the ring.<span style=""> </span>His movements are deliberated, slightly flat-footed, but elusive. Whether or not these skills remain as sharp as they were pre-Rampage Jackson is up for discussion.<span style=""> </span>The match with Silva may not have been the best test of his powers given that<span style=""> </span>“Ax Murderer”<span style=""> </span>himself has looked less than dominating in the intervening years. <span style=""> </span>The real moral panic with “The Iceman’s” victory over Silva is that it may suggest to some that MMA has a “senior” league of fighters not good enough to contend, but good enough to fight each other.<span style=""> </span>This would be legacy-death by degrees. Now that he has lost a competitive match to Rich Franklin (he broke Franklin’s arm before being laid out by a rather weak left jab), there can be little doubt about his retirement…. except, perhaps, in the mind of “The Iceman.” </p> jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-35610124462493967642010-05-18T18:54:00.001-07:002010-05-18T19:00:15.127-07:00The MMA Files - EXTRA - Alistar Overeem goes "Dutch" on Brett Rogers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.rankopedia.com/CandidatePix/64525.gif"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 370px;" src="http://www.rankopedia.com/CandidatePix/64525.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Do they serve crow in The Netherlands? I know the Dutch eat some interesting food, with interesting names. Horsemeat is a delicacy, and how can anyone forget the famous fact about eating French fries with mayo as relayed by Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction? <br /> Well, if crow is on the menu, vegetarian or not, I am going to have to tuck in. After many, many months of disparaging the talents and the constitution of Strikeforce’s heavyweight champion on this blog and elsewhere, Alistair Overeem returned to the American MMA scene in great style on Saturday, totally overwhelming Brett Rogers and defeating him in just over three minutes. <br />Rogers was never in the contest. Overeem seemed to intimidate the bigger man from the opening bell. After a short, awkward dance with the champion, Rogers repeatedly got backed into the cage. Only once did “The Grim” come forward into the center, and for his troubles, Overeeem rewarded him with an enigmatic, judo-like throw that sent his man to the canvas as though he were stuffed with feathers. From there it was a matter of the champion relentlessly keeping Rogers on the ground with downward strikes, then softening him with vicious knees before unloading with a long (perhaps overlong) volley of wild, slashing punches to the head. Veteran MMA referee, John McCarthy final rescued Rogers at 3:40. <br /> The victory over Rogers accomplishes a small thing and a big thing. The small thing is that it obviously derails Roger’s championship dreams for the foreseeable future. The overheated, often fawning praise for his beating the late-career Andrei Arlovski (who also lost on Saturday night) and the frankly silly hype surrounding his bloodying the nose of Fedor Emelianenko in November created the aura of false contention. The promotion, hungry and desperate for a legitimate heavyweight stable, pushed Rogers into title contention far too early. Now Rogers will have to seriously recalibrate his career trajectory, and address his lacking skill set. <br /> The big thing to come out of Saturday night is the arrival of a true dominating heavyweight champion on the MMA scene to compete with the UFC’s big boys. Zuffa can claim the lion’s share of the elite of the heavyweight world, a boast it could not make even five years ago when PRIDE was still a going concern. Right now, six of the ten heavyweight’s on Yahoo Sport’s divisional rankings are under UFC conracts. In the top five, Fedor stands alone above the UFC’s champ, Brock Lesnar, who is then followed by five UFC contenders. Prior to Saturday night, Overeem was a lowly number nine, just above Fabricio Werdum (Fedor’s next opponent) and under “Big Nog” Noguerira, who is three and two in his last five fights. <br /> In fact, Rogers himself is ranked at number seven. It is damn strange to have a contender who has lost his most recent bout be ranked above the promotion’s division champion. But such has been the long , strange road from winning to defending champion for Overeem, who began his professional combat sports career over eleven years ago competing in K1 kickboxing and small MMA shows in the Netherlands. The Rings promotional organization gave young Alistair (then, just 19) the chance to travel the world to fight. The competition was less than elite until he entered PRIDE, where he initially dominated as a middle and light heavyweight. But his three year, twelve fight winning streak hit a brick wall known as Chuck Liddell during the PRIDE middleweight grand prix of 2003, thus dashing his hopes for his first major MMA title. <br /> Despite the loss, Overeem remained extremely popular in Japan, which was in the throes of a mainstream love-affair with the new sport. The big Dutchman’s flashy strikes, kicks, and chokes provided great fodder for sporting culture that rewards showmanship. <br /> His next run at the middleweight crown took him through Vitor Belfort and Igor Vovchanchyn on his way to the finals and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. However, Overeem was again denied, this time by TKO in the first round. Afterward, even by his own account, “The Demolition Man” entered a kind of professional wilderness. A handful of victories followed by an unprecedented four and five record over the span of 2006 and 2007 seemed to suggest that a once promising career was quickly imploding. Desperate shifts heavyweight then back down to light heavyweight and a return to his K1 roots in the Netherlands generated a sense of a man who was not quite sure where to go in his career. <br />PRIDE now having officially closed shop, Overeem found himself at a critical crossroads. His contract was not optioned by the UFC so he did not make the transition from ring to octagon as had his fellow PRIDE superstars like “Rampage” Jackson, Wanderlai Silva, Mirko “CroCop,” and later, “Shogun” himself. It was during this time that Overeem was offered a fight by the American kickboxing promoter, Strikeforce, to fight for their inaugural MMA heavyweight championship. This time there would be no months-long tournaments. Nor would there be a soul-crushing opponent. Strikeforce gave Overeem Paul Buenetello, an intenerate ring veteran with a 27 and 12 record. It was as close as Strikeforce could come to simply giving their title belt to Overeem. Strikeforce was hungry for a heavyweight star. Up to that time, their biggest name in the division was Tank Abbott. <br />Overeem dominated his man for two rounds before “The Headhunter” tapped due to a vicious knee thrown to his midsection. Thus Overeem earned his first world title. <br />That was November of 2007. It would be two and half years – almost to the day – before Overeem would defend the title. In that time, he toured the world again, taking money fights with punching bag opponents like James Thompson and Gary Gooridge. His one high-profile fight during this time, a long-overdue dream match with CroCop, was declared a no-contest after Overeem repeatedly nailed the Croatian in the groin with his knees. <br />Overeem also returned to K1 fighting with a vengeance in 2009, fighting four matches for the world grand prix tournament (he would eventually lose to Badr Hari). It was during this strange era that Overeem went through a physical transformation, gaining 30 pounds of body-builder quality muscle. Rumors of steroid use, coupled with a delay of his Strikeforce return due to a hand injury, further tarnished the already fading glory of Overeem’s “comeback.”<br /> But then came the night of May 15, 2010. Just two days shy of his 30th birthday, Alistair Overeem entered an American MMA cage in St. Louis, Missouri and showed the world what it a comeback should look like. <br /> It should look like you never left. <br /> Now talk has turned predictably to Fedor, who, for many, is the uncrowned champion of all MMA. After the match with Rogers, Overeem was artlessly asked who he wanted to fight next, a question usually reserved for contenders. Overeem quickly responded “Fedor.” Beating Fedor is much bigger than any title belt, and probably bigger than any single promotion. In other words, the Strikeforce heavyweight championship makes Overeem a contender for a “shot” at the Russian, not for any title, but for his status. It would be the biggest match in Strikeforce history, and may well mean a seismic shift in the sport’s history should “Demolition Man” take out “The Last Czar.” <br />But for now, Alistair Overeem is the defending champion, and the glory is his alone.jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-31360248326772834582010-05-11T19:00:00.001-07:002010-07-07T14:55:03.958-07:00The MMA Files – Part 3: The Greatest Mixed-Martial Artist of all time is….<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.buddytv.com/articles/randy%20couture.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 452px;" src="http://images.buddytv.com/articles/randy%20couture.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>
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<br /><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Chapter<span style=""> </span>IIi:<span style=""> </span>The case for (and against) “Captain America.” <o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >While Fedor was beating the best and the less of the MMA world, <span style=""> </span>Randy Couture himself was reigning, for a third time, as the UFC heavyweight champion, having won the title from (guess who?) Tim Sylvia, and defending it successfully against young-lion Gabriel Gonzaga.<span style=""> </span>But Couture was essentially on the crest of a wave that would come crashing down when he met the force of nature that is Brock Lesnar.<span style=""> </span>The dawning of the Lesnar-era has meant a tidal shift in the UFC’s heavyweight division.<span style=""> </span>With few exceptions,<span style=""> </span>the UFC’s heavyweight champions have been far under the 265 pound weight limit placed on the class (the<span style=""> </span>UFC has no “super-heavyweight” category, as other promotions do.), allowing many fighters to compete in two divisions.<span style=""> </span>And, indeed, Couture has spent enough time in the UFC’s light-heavyweight<span style=""> </span>division to win that belt a total of three times. After being steamrolled by Lesnar, Couture bolted from the heavier division, which had began to be populated by monsters the likes of Shane Carwin,<span style=""> </span>Junior Dos Santos, Cain Velasquez, and an appreciably bulked-up Frank Mir. The new paradigm,<span style=""> </span>underscored<span style=""> </span>by the UFC’s choosing to focus on heavyweights for their 2009 season of <i style="">The Ultimate Fighter, </i><span style=""> </span>suggests that while Couture could continue to<span style=""> </span>fight in the UFC ranks as a heavyweight, he would be smaller than the new breed, and while he has fought big men before, they weren’t the caliber of today’s heavyweights.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Couture has been in professional MMA long enough to have witnessed many of the sport’s major developments.<span style=""> </span>Depending on where you place his ascendency, Couture is either<span style=""> </span>a “late-early” or an “early-middle” generation fighter.<span style=""> </span>He started his career with the UFC at the company’s thirteenth major event in 1997 and became its third heavyweight champion, beating kick boxer Maurice Smith a scant six months<span style=""> </span>after his (Couture’s) debut . The move from pure Greco-Roman wrestling (Couture was a gold medalist at the Pan American games in 1991) to MMA might almost seem an afterthought considering Couture’s amateur hey-day was essentially the early part of the decade.<span style=""> </span>But for an ambitious and still-young athlete like Couture,<span style=""> </span>the UFC was the only viable option for a legitimate professional athletic career.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >American wrestlers, whether they be Greco-Roman or Freestyle competitors, have historically had only two routes for follow after their amateur careers had concluded: couching or<span style=""> </span>“professional” wrestling. Not having the desire or requisite showmanship for the staged theatrics of the WWF,<span style=""> </span>Couture coached for much of the 90s until a viewing of a UFC event convinced him that he could make a go in the fledgling sport.<span style=""> </span>The money could supplement his<span style=""> </span>training for amateur wrestling events and he would have a natural advantage over other opponents without<span style=""> </span>a base in wresting.<span style=""> </span>Sure enough, his first match saw him take down and choke-out a 6’3”, 300 pound Finnish bruiser named Tony Halme, himself a pro wrestling veteran, in exactly one minute.<span style=""> </span>That victory was<span style=""> </span>followed an hour or so later with Couture taking <span style=""> </span>just over three minutes to dispatch of Steven Graham to win the heavyweight tournament.<span style=""> </span>Subsequent events saw more victories in the UFC cage (including securing the heavyweight belt from Maurcie Smith) followed by a pair of losses in Japan. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >The early back-to-back losses, coming after a spate of massive, dominating success,<span style=""> </span>is the pattern of Couture’s career.<span style=""> </span>He is that classic athlete who seems to need a goal in order to perform at the highest levels. (Couture originally trained with Team <i style="">Quest</i> MMA camp.)<span style=""> </span>After the UFC stripped him of his title for fighting for a competing promotion,<span style=""> </span>Couture scored two back-to-back wins in Japan before returning to take the heavyweight belt back from Kevin Randleman. with less than a month’s rest between matches. <span style=""> </span>Another Japanese tournament with RINGS in 2001 was the last<span style=""> </span>anyone would ever see of Couture outside<span style=""> </span>the UFC.<span style=""> </span>Except for a year-long legal wrangle between the promotion and it’s champion,<span style=""> </span>Couture<span style=""> </span>has been<span style=""> </span>loyal to the UFC contract employee ever since. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >This<span style=""> </span>has turned out to be a blessing for Couture’s career because it has meant an essentially uninterrupted string of stable, high-caliber opponents at or near the top<span style=""> </span>of the card.<span style=""> </span>The vast majority of his fights have been main event, championship bouts with either Couture winning, losing, or defending a belt.<span style=""> </span>His most recent matches since losing the heavyweight title to Brock Lesnar in 2008, have all been main event bouts, including a fight-of-the-night <span style=""> </span>“dream match” loss to “Big Nog” Noguiera, and rather sad, dominating win over one-time UFC heavyweight rival, Mark Coleman.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Couture’s record of 18 and 10 obviously therefore does not tell the whole story of the fighter’s career.<span style=""> </span>A<span style=""> </span>near-40% loss rate would be a stunningly poor showing for any other competitor. and indeed, Couture has never managed to win more than four bouts in a row.<span style=""> </span>From this perspective,<span style=""> </span>Fedor bests Couture with a 94% win rate. But if<span style=""> </span>Fedor’s critics can attack the Russian for<span style=""> </span>the lack of depth on his fight resume,<span style=""> </span>Couture advocates can look to a staggering list of top-flight competition to defend the argument that “The Natural” is the “greatest” mixed martial artist in the sport’s twenty-plus year history.<span style=""> </span>Couture hasn’t just fought the big names, he has fought those big names in their<span style=""> </span><i style="">prime</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >The trilogy of fights with Chuck Liddell are considered legendary.<span style=""> </span>Liddell was on the ascendency, and very often seemed to have a precognitive striking ability.<span style=""> </span>Couture has also fought Vitor Belfort (three times), Jeremey Horn, Kevin Randleman, Pedro Rizzo (twice), Ricco Rodriguez, Josh Barnett, Tito Ortiz, Gabriel Gonzaga, Brock Lesnar, Brandon Vera, Noguiera.<span style=""> </span>The variety and breadth of legitimate competition is staggering.<span style=""> </span>From Brazilian BJJ experts, to freestyle wresters, to catch wrestlers, to dominating strikers, Couture has consistently challenged himself against the best of his<span style=""> </span>contemporaries. <span style=""> </span>With the exception of his first professional match, and his unfortunate decision to fight aging boxer, James Toney in the Summer of 2010,<span style=""> </span>detractors cannot<span style=""> </span>make the claim that Couture has ever had a soft match.<span style=""> </span>Even his 2005 post-championship match against<span style=""> </span>fellow “senior” fighter, Mike van Arsdale was a gamble, with van Arsdale coming to the UFC with a four-fight winning streak behind him.<span style=""> </span>(Couture would win that match with a rare display of his submission skills.) <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >The 2008 match with Lesnar suggested there may be an upper-limit to what Couture is capable of.<span style=""> </span>Although he has beaten big men in the past, he has seldom met with someone with Lesnar’s credentials as a wrestler.<span style=""> </span>The enormous strength advantage coupled with uncanny speed and destructive punching ability was simply too much for Couture in 2008.<span style=""> </span>Other losses never seemed to be existential defeats.<span style=""> </span>MMA is very often a sport of capitalizing on opportunities as much as skill. Couture’s defeats are usually the result of mistakes rather than indicative of a problem with his skill set.<span style=""> </span>But against the 6’3”, 300 pound man-monster, the margin of allowable errors seem to be non-existent.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Can Couture beat Brock Lesnar?<span style=""> </span>(Or Shane Carwin, or Cain Velasquez?) It remains to be seen.<span style=""> </span>As is often noted,<span style=""> </span>many have gone broke betting again Couture’s ability to comeback from defeat. And Lesnar, despite his impressive skills, is far from a perfect fighter.<span style=""> </span>Couture, after all, did give Lesnar some problems in the first round of their match. But Couture is known as “Captain America,” not Superman.<span style=""> </span>Age and wear are cruel<span style=""> </span>adversaries of ambition.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Which brings me to the final question… what more does Randy Couture want? He’s had the most title reigns (six times) and is the first to hold belts in two weight divisions. He, along with Liddell, Tito Ortiz, and Forrest Griffin, helped to launch the very notion of a mainstream professional MMA bout through their charisma and promotional acumen. He is arguably the most respected fighter in MMA history and one of the most recognizable faces of the sport. <span style=""> </span>His skills seem undiminished and there still remains a variety of intriguing matches, especially at light-heavyweight. <span style=""> </span>Rashad Evans, “Rampage” Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Wanderlai Silva, CroCop, Dan Henderson, and perhaps even a run at the current champion, “Shogun” Rua,<span style=""> </span>all worthy main-event level matches. All, in some form or another are “dream” matches on the cards of many long-time fans.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >But the upcoming bout with James Toney has all the makings of a sad spectacle.<span style=""> </span>The 41 year old multi-time world boxing champion <span style=""> </span>(he is the current IBA world champion) is a devastating boxer, and perhaps one of the very best of all time.<span style=""> </span>But he has never trained in MMA.<span style=""> </span>Has no ground game. No ground defense.<span style=""> </span>Has never kicked before. Has never dealt with a cage.<span style=""> </span>In truth, Toney would lose badly against Kimbo Slice, a<span style=""> </span>recent UFC brawler who learned MMA from the ground up over the course of three years. <i style=""><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFn4YtJFNyY&feature=related">His <span style="font-style: normal;">first MMA fight</span></a></i> was against another boxer, Ray Mercer, who he choked out in the first 72 seconds of their match.<span style=""> </span>Kimbo is not Randy Couture, and James Toney is not Ray Mercer (who, by the way, knocked out Tim Sylvia in 9 seconds at <i style=""><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUx9OE7DZAo">their <span style="font-style: normal;">match</span></a></i>.<span style=""> </span>I don’t know what this says about Mercer, but it says a lot about Sylvia. Is he the Kevin Bacon of combat sports?).<span style=""> </span>While it is possible<span style=""> </span>that Dana White may know something about Toney that the rest of the MMA fan community doesn’t, conventional wisdom and common sense suggest that the Couture/Toney match will be the most embarrassing moment in MMA in 2010, a year that has already seen its share of <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Daley-loses-to-Koscheck-throws-cheap-shot-after?urn=mma,239661">cringe-worthy</a> in-ring <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcL_y2p_FhE">nonsense</a>.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Win or lose, Couture has little to gain except a lucrative pay-day.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >One blemish on an amazing career.<span style=""> </span>Hopefully, he can recover from it.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-49230688456017272202010-05-07T18:13:00.000-07:002010-05-07T18:17:46.875-07:00The MMA Files – Part 3: The Greatest Mixed-Martial Artist of all time is….<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mmaignition.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/fedor-emelianenko.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px; height: 409px;" src="http://www.mmaignition.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/fedor-emelianenko.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>
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<br /><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Chapter <span style=""> </span>II:<span style=""> </span>The case for (and against) “The Last Emperor.” <o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Two heavyweight fighters who are routinely set up benchmarks for the title of “the best of all time” in MMA, are Randy Couture and Fedor Emelianenko.<span style=""> </span>Both camps have legitimate arguments to make, and we again return to our Ali versus Stribling comparison, in other words, we need to look beyond the official record and take a more nuanced view of the comparison.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Fedor has been fighting professionally for over ten years and possesses a record (as of this writing) of 32 wins, one loss, and one no-contest.<span style=""> </span>The single loss, against an otherwise undistinguished Japanese fighter, is considered by most MMA experts to be a technicality rather than a genuine loss. <span style=""> </span>(The match was declared for Fedor’s opponent after an illegal elbow strike made Fedor’s advancing to the next round of the tournament impossible).<span style=""> </span>To watch his matches is to watch a coiled spring waiting to be released.<span style=""> </span>Cool to the point of looking slightly stupid,<span style=""> </span>Fedor launches into his attacks<span style=""> </span>in a manner that looks like a controlled berserker rage.<span style=""> </span>Wild, looping punches thrown from awkward lunges nearly always find a home on his opponent’s jaw.<span style=""> </span>But what makes Fedor plausibly the greatest fighter is his ability to seamlessly shift from his sloppy, but<span style=""> </span>effective striking game, to a dogged and precise ground assault that combines equal parts judo, BJJ, and his native sambo.<span style=""> </span>(Fedor is, incidentally, a champion in both judo and sambo. Sports he competes in, in his own words, as a “hobby.”)<span style=""> </span>He has taken punishment, including a brutal bloodying at the hands of his most recent opponent, Brett Rogers,<span style=""> </span>but Fedor has never really been in enough danger of losing a match to make anyone consider wagering against him.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>He seems to have a way of making his opponents panic.<span style=""> </span>It is fascinating to see seasoned veteran fighters like Andrei Arlovski become overly excited when they manage to get a punch or kick in on Fedor.<span style=""> </span>It is the pugilistic equivalent of juggling a hot potato. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Over time,<span style=""> </span>Fedor has picked up a smattering of MMA accolades. Notably, he was the last PRIDE world heavyweight champion,<span style=""> </span>a belt he held for four years until the promotion was closed in 2007.<span style=""> </span>Recently, he won the WAMMA world heavyweight belt,<span style=""> </span>a non-promotion-specific championship awarded by a group attempting to create a unified sanctioning body for MMA.<span style=""> </span>(A handful of second-tier promotions recognize the WAMMA belt.<span style=""> </span>It is otherwise considered a bit of an embarrassment in the MMA community.<span style=""> </span>Often, the title is not mentioned in the promotional materials for Fedor’s bouts. )<span style=""> </span>But detractors are quick to point out that Fedor is not a “real” world champion at this point in his career.<span style=""> </span>Even within Strikeforce, the promotion he is currently contracted through,<span style=""> </span>he has not faced heavyweight champion,<span style=""> </span>Alistair Overeem, and nor does his management have much interest in the match-up.<span style=""> </span>Fedor mangager Vadim Finkelstein argues that his man is “beyond title belts,” saying that his legacy has already been cemented.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Which brings up the more existential slander made against the big Russian: <span style=""> </span>that he has won a lot of matches, but has seldom faced “real” competition. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">A cursory glance at Fedor’s list of opponents works to both dispel and support this criticism. <span style=""> </span>Over the years he has met an odd mixture of top talent, marginal journeymen, gatekeepers, and circus attractions.<span style=""> </span>Early victories over now-legends Arona and Sobral are less interesting if one takes into account the relative inexperience of both Brazilians at that stage of their career.<span style=""> </span>Success with wins over the cream of Japan’s<span style=""> </span><i style="">piroresu </i>or pro wrestling elite may support an argument that Fedor dodged legitimate martial artists while in the PRIDE and RING organizations,<span style=""> </span>however it should be understood that<span style=""> </span>the culture of professional wrestling in Japan demands very real, and very potent skill sets beyond acrobatic theatrics.<span style=""> </span>In fact,<span style=""> </span>Fedor has never been in so much danger as when he<span style=""> </span>faced Kazuyuki Fujita in 2003,<span style=""> </span>a veteran of New Japan Pro Wrestling.<span style=""> </span>The big wrestler<span style=""> </span>floored the Russian with a powerful right hook before<span style=""> </span>being submitted with via a rear-naked choke.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">But keeping in mind that an active, high-level MMA combatant like Fedor can realistically only fight two or three matches in a calendar year, it is difficult to defend contracts that have<span style=""> </span>him fighting<span style=""> </span>the likes of professional opponents like Heath Herring and Gary Goodrich.<span style=""> </span>Tough as they might be,<span style=""> </span>they are not the caliber of fighter who should be facing a man who is touted as the best<span style=""> </span>pound-for-pound fighter in the world.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Even harder to defend are Fedor’s excursions<span style=""> </span>into “freak show” territory.<span style=""> </span>Two matches in particular, a 2005 fight<span style=""> </span>against 400 pound Brazilian chancer Zuluzinho that ended in less than 30 seconds with Fedor hammer-fisting his man into TKO, and 2007 match against a 7’2” Korean kickboxer (which took 2 minutes for Fedor to win) are blemishes rather than victories.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Strategically, these “easy” matches seem to<span style=""> </span>be scheduled as Fedor’s second match of the year, and usually come after a Spring time match against a genuinely tough opponent.<span style=""> </span>In the case of Zuluzinho, the fight came after after a grueling 3 round decision victory over Mirko “CroCop,” while the Korean fiasco followed a tough first round win over Olympic wrestling medalist, Matt Lindland. <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Perhaps it is like the artiste actor who alternates those small, indie films with big budget blockbusters.<span style=""> </span>To be sure,<span style=""> </span>Japan has made Fedor a lot of money for less than two minutes of in-ring work against side show attractions. <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span>Compounding the matter is Fedor’s inability to reach agreement with the UFC to fight under its banner.<span style=""> </span>Years of negotiations have thus far resulted in little more than hard feelings and tense words from all parties.<span style=""> </span>The sticking point seems to be Fedor’s demand that his own promotional group, M-1 Global, be given equal standing alongside the UFC.<span style=""> </span>UFC president Dana White has rightly refused this demand which eventually led upstart promotion, Strikeforce, to make their own offer.<span style=""> </span>The resulting contract has Fedor’s matches as joint promotions between Strikeforce and M-1 Global.<span style=""> </span>Thus far, Fedor has only fought a single bout with Strikeforce, a modestly successful prime-time main event on CBS against impressive developing talent, Brett<span style=""> </span>Rogers.<span style=""> </span>Since then, the two promotions have stalled in talks over<span style=""> </span>(wait for it!)<span style=""> </span>promotional exposure for M-1 Global.<span style=""> </span>M-1 complains that their M-1 logo was not sufficiently promoted alongside the Strikeforce banner.<span style=""> </span>The stall has meant that not only is Fedor’s next Strikeforce match <i style="">not </i><span style=""> </span>against the promotion’s nominal world champion (Overeem) but that he may be fighting anyone soon. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span>(Quick update:<span style=""> </span>A match between Fedor and submission specialist Fabricio Werdum, is scheduled for June of this year.<span style=""> </span>Incidentally, Werdum holds a victory over Fedor’s brother</span> <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Aleksandr.) <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span>All this looks to Fedor’s critics as a simple matter of a fighter with an inflated winning streak dodging legitimate challengers in two promotions.<span style=""> </span>However, such an argument fails to take into account the fact that Fedor has fought, and soundly beaten many of the best of the middle-generation heavyweights in their prime.<span style=""> </span>Keep in mind that during the early to mid 2000s, the UFC did not possess a very deep or very stable heavyweight division. Thus, a comparatively <span style=""> </span>small heavyweight like Randy Couture, and a lumbering, one-trick <span style=""> </span>journeyman like Tim Silvia could actually dominate the division for years.<span style=""> </span>Heavyweight fighters went to where the money was circa 2000 to 2006, and that was the PRIDE organization.<span style=""> </span>While it is easy to cherry-pick the Zuluzinho and Hong Man Choi matches for anti-Fedor<span style=""> </span>derision,<span style=""> </span>the majority of his contests have been against elite fighters like Kevin Randleman, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (three times!), Mark Coleman,and <span style=""> </span>CroCop. <span style=""> </span>Fedor defeated these legendary fighters –<span style=""> </span>who, with the exception of CroCop, have all<span style=""> </span>been UFC champions - <span style=""> </span>soundly and in a variety of ways.<span style=""> </span>In the case of Randleman, Fedor survived a devastating suplex to submit the NCAA champion with a kimura,<span style=""> </span>a short encounter that has become an internet sensation.<span style=""> </span>Since these matches, these opponents have collectively struggled to maintain competitive legitimacy (especially CroCop)<span style=""> </span>while Fedor has continued to develop as a fighter.<span style=""> </span>While his recent match-ups have lacked the ethos of his<span style=""> </span>PRIDE days, tarring him as a “dodger” is simply not justifiable. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><span style=""> </span>The real crisis is the loss of opportunities that come with the long lags between negotiations.<span style=""> </span>With the exception of the matches with Nogueira and CroCop,<span style=""> </span>Fedor has not yet really satisfied the “dream match” fantasies of MMA fans.<span style=""> </span>When Zuffa purchased PRIDE in 2007, there were fabulous claims being made about the box office potential of Chuck Liddell/Fedor match.<span style=""> </span>Fedor could come down in weight to meet Liddell (of they could do a catchweight scenario), or indeed any of the great light heavyweights in that stacked division in the UFC.<span style=""> </span>But the match-up that had been touted as the dream-of-dreams was, undoubtedly,<span style=""> </span>Randy Couture versus Fedor.<span style=""> </span>As recently as 2008, Fedor, after his quick dispatch of Tim Sylvia for the inaugural WAMMA belt,<span style=""> </span>said that he desired to fight Couture. <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Though only in his early 30s,<span style=""> </span>Fedor has taken on a lot of damage in his ten years as a professional fighter.<span style=""> </span>MMA is not a sport that rewards long careers.<span style=""> </span>Unlike boxing, American football, and other hard contact sports, MMA distributes the pain and injury over a wider canvas.<span style=""> </span>So, unlike a boxer who has begun to slur his speech due to a ten year career of having his cranium as a target,<span style=""> </span>the mixed martial artist can endure longer, but with the potential for carrying more long-term damage to more places on his body.<span style=""> </span>Joints and soft-tissues could subject the seasoned fighter to daily tortures while he is, ostensibly,<span style=""> </span>still “healthy” enough to fight.<span style=""> </span>As extraordinary a fighter as Fedor might be, his in-ring strategy has usually included taking bumps from his opponents on the way towards (seemingly) inevitable victory.<span style=""> </span>Broken hands, lacerations,<span style=""> </span>cracked ribs, hyper-extended ligaments, and contused kidneys and liver are just a few of the items on Fedor’s resume of woe. <span style=""> </span>( Is it any wonder, then that Fedor has striven to end his matches as quickly as possible?<span style=""> </span>Indeed, a third of Fedor’s 33 matches have ended in the first round, many within the first two minutes.)<span style=""> </span>Fedor is a great fighter, but he is not immortal.<span style=""> </span>His body is still made of meat, bone and muscle.<span style=""> </span>Eventually the wear will catch up to him and he simply will not be able to compete at an elite level.<span style=""> </span>It is a fact<span style=""> </span>of life in all combat sports, and one which may<span style=""> </span>not be immediately obvious to a successful fighter who has fought only six rounds in five years. <span style=""> </span>The clock is ticking on his ever meeting the top-level heavyweight fighters of <i style="">this </i>generation of<span style=""> </span>mixed martial artists.<span style=""> </span>If a move isn’t made within the next twenty-four months,<span style=""> </span>how can he possibly secure a true claim to be “the greatest?” <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-3636330984959621652010-05-05T15:46:00.000-07:002010-05-05T15:56:29.634-07:00The MMA Files – Part 3: The Greatest Mixed-Martial Artist of all time is….<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHMkkcOEZjdGcRV5cL2H6xRmkoq8DtS8aknQfxyFHPO6H8Q91qv6gB_kwdhNNVKqbh86zcMeTlib5ReDEAQPDI05LD733BLjaiAm1YqVkEyhnbjVetixNo0z73EfFyqPqQ3sUopg/s1600/MMA+GENERATIONS.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; 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name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language:EN-US;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; 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class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Chapter I:<span style=""> </span>(<i style="">…but first, some history). <span style=""> </span>Generational Evolution.<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >A professional sport that is in still in its developmental stage like MMA is perhaps too new to have a ranking of “greatest fighter” just yet.<span style=""> </span>We are only now, for example, seeing true <i style="">mixed</i> martial artists winning matches<span style=""> </span>against<span style=""> </span>what we might refer to as “hybrid fighters.”<span style=""> </span>It is a generational shift. The<span style=""> </span>first <span style=""> </span>generation of UFC combatants were strictly discipline (or lack<span style=""> </span>thereof)<span style=""> </span>representatives.<span style=""> </span>Royce Gracie was the Brazilian Ju-Jitsu fighter.<span style=""> </span>Ken Shamrock was the catch wrestler. <span style=""> </span>Patrick Smith was a kickboxer.<span style=""> </span>David “Tank” Abbott was… well, a brawler.<span style=""> </span>And in between you have savate practitioners, sumo wrestlers, judokas, Greco-roman wrestlers, and the occasional samboiste. <span style=""> </span>Very few, if any of these early fighters demonstrated a range of talents beyond their<span style=""> </span>discipline.<span style=""> </span>A boxer could put a man down with one punch, but if a BJJ expert got a hold of him on the ground, it was all over. Likewise, chancers like Tank Abbott, who actually managed to win the occasional match, would often have the advantage of guile in the face of technically superior opponents. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >The original goal of mixed martial arts (in the sense that we know it.<span style=""> </span>There have always been style-versus style events promoted as gimmicks or special<span style=""> </span>exhibitions) <span style=""> </span>was to test style-against-style and settle long-standing arguments.<span style=""> </span>The Gracie family in particular had a vested interest in these early fights because <span style=""> </span>the no-holds barred,<span style=""> </span>bare-knuckle style suited their claim that Brazilian Ju-Jitsu was the most effective martial arts style.<span style=""> </span>Time and again fighters not trained in BJJ would end up dominating the smaller Gracie (usually Royce) initially only to be wind up submitting to a joint lock or by being put to sleep by a choke hold.<span style=""> </span>Because of the open-weight nature of these early bouts,<span style=""> </span>Gracie would often be seen submitting a much larger man, such as Greco-Roman champion Dan Severn, who after keeping Gracie in a compromising position for most the match, ended up being submitted in a triangle choke.<span style=""> </span>The secret seems to the Gracie ability to simply let the other man exhaust<span style=""> </span>his big weapons and allow him to begin to feel overly confident.<span style=""> </span>This in turn would cause him to leave a an opening to the seemingly indefatigable Gracie, who, having conserved amble energy during his “rest” would easily lock his man up in an agonizing pretzel of bone and muscle.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">PICTURE: a visual representation of the five micro-generations of professional mixed martial artist. From right to left: Generation 1: Royce Gracie, Don Frye, Ken Shamrock, Mark Coleman, Randy Couture; Generation 2: Fedor, Tito Ortiz, Wanderlai Silva, Antonio Nogueira, CroCop; Generation 3: Chuck Liddell, Dan Henderson, BJ Penn, Matt Hughes, Quintin Jackson; Generation 4: Forrest Griffin, Rashad Evans, Urijah Faber, George St. Pierre, Anderson Silva; Generation 5: Lyoto Machida, Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, Brett Rogers, Aldo Reyes, Cain Velasquez</span>
<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><span style="">
<br /></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >It is with the next, or middle generation of MMA fighters that we begin to see something like hybrid fighting.<span style=""> </span>Mark Coleman,<span style=""> </span>Tito Ortiz, Fedor Emelianenko, Randy Couture,<span style=""> </span>Chuck Liddell,<span style=""> </span>Kevin Randleman, and many, many other fighters who got their start in the late 90s and early 2000s, were capable and comfortable in a variety of positions.<span style=""> </span>A striker like Chuck Liddell could compete on the ground (and more importantly,<span style=""> </span>defend takedowns),<span style=""> </span>and Fedor, arguably the best<span style=""> </span>samboiste in the world, has a record of wins that balances out dynamic submissions and jaw-shattering knockouts.<span style=""> </span>What these fighters were and are capable of doing is switching between styles in-match.<span style=""> </span>The proportional proficiency in any one style may be suspect (Couture rarely tries for submissions; Liddell<span style=""> </span>is better at defending against the ground than dominating the position, and the rap on Fedor is that he can’t<span style=""> </span>box properly)<span style=""> </span>but the ability to turn on a dime and become Greco-Roman one moment, then transition to a judo or BJJ position, depending on the circumstance, is the hallmark of this generation. These now-seasoned fighters grew into the sport from the perspective of developing an arsenal, rather than focusing exclusively on a native discipline. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >A key match during this era was the 2006 catch-weight bout between Royce Gracie and then-long-reigning UFC welterweight champion, Matt Hughes.<span style=""> </span>The match was billed as old-school vs. new-school and, in truth, showcased a number of changes in the sport since its debut<span style=""> </span>a decade previous.<span style=""> </span>Hughes,<span style=""> </span>a masterful Greco-roman wrestler, easily took Gracie to the ground and essentially kept him there at will.<span style=""> </span>Hughes kept busy, not letting Gracie really settle into his usual game plan.<span style=""> </span>At one point, Hughes landed a remarkable arm bar,<span style=""> </span>a BJJ signature hold, that probably would have broken Gracie’s arm had Hughes not relinquished it.<span style=""> </span>Hughes then mounted the veteran and ground-and-pounded Gracie to the point where the referee had to intervene and stop the match.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >The reason this match is important is not so much for its symbolic value, (“changing of the guard,” and all that) <span style=""> </span>but for the range of techniques Hughes employed to win the match.<span style=""> </span>He transitioned from wrestling, to grappling, and finally to ground strikes effortlessly.<span style=""> </span>The fighters of this middle generation dominated the mid-to-late 2000s and a handful of the first generation have continued to contend as well, adjusting their game and becoming more versatile. (In fact, Hughes recently defeated Royce’s cousin, Renzo,<span style=""> </span>brutally dominating nearly every second of the three-round affair.)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Randy Couture <span style=""> </span>is a prime example of a multi-generational MMA combatant.<span style=""> </span>While still primarily a rather stiff Greco-roman wrestler with a penchant for dirty boxing,<span style=""> </span>over the past several years Couture has added improved strikes and kicks to his game and has even been known to utilize a choke hold.<span style=""> </span>This has been enough for him to collect belts in multiple weight divisions in the UFC.<span style=""> </span>But more on Couture later…<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>The generation currently coming into its prime in the new decade is the first generation to truly adopt MMA as a specific mode of combat unto itself.<span style=""> </span>The difference between a fighter like Hughes and the new generation’s George St. Pierre is the fluidity of the movements and the integration of techniques without really having to transition between them.<span style=""> </span>Hughes <i style="">adjusts </i>whereas St. Pierre <i style="">combines.<span style=""> </span></i>In other words, St. Pierre is not responding to something that isn’t working by employing a different fighting style for the moment, he is using the momentum of each move to set up the potential for the next one.<span style=""> </span>It is like an ultra complex series of flow charts: If he shoots in for take down, he is thinking of a fork in the road:<span style=""> </span><i style="">either my man will go to the ground<span style=""> </span>or he will defend; either way he is going backwards;</i><span style=""> </span><i style="">either way I am moving forward</i>.<span style=""> </span>Looking at GSP’s<span style=""> </span>wins, what is striking is the variety of ways that he has won over the years:<span style=""> </span>punches, elbows, chokes, kimuras, armbars, knees,<span style=""> </span>and a host of judge’s decisions which on their own suggest a strategic dominance as well as an athletic one. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Along with GSP’s athleticism, we may also note a difference in the way the very notion of martial<i style=""> artist </i><span style=""> </span>has manifested itself in this new generation .<span style=""> </span>Fighters like GSP, Anderson Silva and B.J. Penn almost seem to swim through their matches.<span style=""> </span>Silva especially is adept at making the match seem like dance of violence.<span style=""> </span>If you watch any of his better matches, particularly his destruction of Rich Franklin for the UFC middleweight bet, you will get a sense of a fighter who appears to have choreographed<span style=""> </span>the match from bell to bell.<span style=""> </span>His final flurry against Franklin<span style=""> </span>- a series of body blows followed by a vicious muy thai knee strike to the head which then led to powerful head kick and a final volley of punches - <span style=""> </span>was as close as anyone has ever come to making bodily harm look beautiful.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Franklin, a remarkable<span style=""> </span>fighter in his own right, looked positively helpless against Silva. Indeed, their <span style=""> </span>subsequent rematch proved no less convincing of Silva’s powers.<span style=""> </span>He has in fact, seldom looked to be in substantial trouble. <span style=""> </span>His dominance<span style=""> </span>over the second generation of fighters and those in the middle portion of <i style="">his </i>generation of fighter (such as his rather embarrassingly lack-luster defeat of Patrick Cote, and the strangely one-sided affair against fan favorite, Forrest Griffin) suggests that he is <i style="">the </i>watermark for excellence in the sport at this time. The question remains whether someone <i style="">really </i>of his cohort<span style=""> </span>- like GSP or Lyoto Machida – would meet at one another’s weight class. Recent events suggest he may never get that chance, as Silva has devolved in past several matches into unrepentant clowning and showboating. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >We might term this era of MMA the “GSP Generation,” to stand just in front of the “Chuck Liddell Generation.”<span style=""> </span>But we might just as easily call this the “Penn Years,” or “The Forrest Griffin Years” or “The Time of Silva,” or even “The Time of Faber.”<span style=""> </span>There are too many claims to be made, all of them justified.<span style=""> </span>Much depends on the legacy these individual fighters leave for themselves as they consider the direction their careers should take going forward.<span style=""> </span>GSP continues to dominate the welterweight division with style, class, and overwhelming athleticism, but there are still dragons to slay and ambitions to fulfill – including a serious desire to join the Canadian Olympic wrestling team in London in 2012.<span style=""> </span>For<span style=""> </span>Penn, the recent loss to upstart Frankie Edgar resulted in an almost immediate scheduling of<span style=""> </span>a rematch.<span style=""> </span>But even if he wins (and the odds are that he very well might) what more is there him to prove at 155?<span style=""> </span>Another run at GSP for the welterweight belt?<span style=""> </span>Silva has talked about retiring from MMA to pursue boxing.<span style=""> </span>And he may indeed be bored. Having never taken a lot of damage, “The Spider” could make a go at light heavyweight.<span style=""> </span>A division he has so far dominated with lopsided wins over James Irvin and Forrest Griffin.<span style=""> </span>But his recent wins have done nothing to improve his<span style=""> </span>standing among fight fans and promoters.<span style=""> </span>Dana White has gone so far as to threaten to place Silva in the undercard, whether he’s champion or not.<span style=""> </span>And speaking of Griffin,<span style=""> </span>the<span style=""> </span>working class hero and baby-faced star of the first season of <i style="">The Ultimate Fighter </i>, and one-half of the fight that many claim to be THE watershed bout in UFC, if not MMA history when he fought Stephan Bonnar,<span style=""> </span>there are still doubts about his true ambitions in the sport.<span style=""> </span>After<span style=""> </span>a brief tenure as light heavyweight champion, Griffin has gone one-and-three in his recent bouts.<span style=""> </span>A fan favorite, Griffin may be content with his legacy as it stands.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Whoever history smiles on from the post-Liddell generation of fighters, what is clear is that for these men,<span style=""> </span>the book is still being written.<span style=""> </span>For now, we should take the broadest view possible if we are going to locate that elusive “greatest” fighter. <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>So in the next two chapters I will be discussing several fighters who may fulfill the criteria.<span style=""> </span>I will begin with the man who tops most lists… Fedor “The Last Emperor” <span style=""> </span>Emelianenko.<o:p></o:p></span></p> jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-66158234865963994692010-04-26T15:28:00.000-07:002010-04-26T15:32:39.205-07:00Game for art's sake<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/resources/2007/07/eberthed.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 319px; height: 326px;" src="http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/resources/2007/07/eberthed.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a>
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table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-language:EN-US;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="talk"><i style="">For the past several years, film critic Roger Ebert has been conducting an occasional virtual debate on the merits of the video game as art.<span style=""> </span>It all started with Ebert saying that he didn’t consider video games an art form in the same was painting, poetry, or cinema.<span style=""> </span>This in turn led Clive Barker to call Ebert a name, which resulted in Ebert writing more on the topic, and on, and on.<span style=""> </span>The latest volley in this pong of words comes in the form of <a href="http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/04/video_games_can_never_be_art.html">Ebert’s recent entry on his excellent blog</a> wherein he critiques a presentation given by a video game designer who believes that video games are in fact art.<span style=""> </span>Ebert remains, for the most part, unmoved and he explains himself in terms which suggest that the problem isn’t the games or the art works in question, but the definition of art itself. <span style=""> </span>I added my few bytes to the discussion in a reply to Ebert’s blog, but as I was reply number 3061,<span style=""> </span>my vanity demanded its own space… thus… <o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" >This article, if anything, only underscores our already flimsy "catch-all" definition of "art." It's almost as bad as our definition of "pornography." <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" >Those who defend the "video-game-as-art"<span style=""> </span>argument tend to focus on how "cinematic" a good video game can be. True.<span style=""> </span>I recently played Halo: ODST and found the scenes varied in lighting in ways that often appear to be<span style=""> </span>in emulation of film-noir.<span style=""> </span>The score, too, was often equally evocative.<span style=""> </span>But beyond this imitative aspect, the game is ultimately a game.<span style=""> </span>If art is going to be located in the video game, it has to meet it at where it specializes, namely, at the point of interaction. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" >A definition I have enjoyed for a long while (at least since my brief days as a philosophy undergrad) is that art is information + finesse filtered through interpretative subjectivity.<span style=""> </span>The "information" is<span style=""> </span>just the stuff of a game.<span style=""> </span>The rules, the elements of play, and in the case of the video game, it is the visuals.<span style=""> </span>"Finesse" is what the artist brings to his or her medium.<span style=""> </span>It is what the sculptor brings to the clay, what the painter does with the canvas, what the actor does with the words of the page, what the writer does with ink and paper, et cetera .<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" >In the world of games,<span style=""> </span>the gamer himself or herself is the one who brings the finesse,<span style=""> </span>not the designer,<span style=""> </span>developer, or marketer.<span style=""> </span>When confronted with a challenge in the game world, the gamer has a variety of (often very limited) options. How he confronts these challenges seems to be where the actual enjoyment of the game lies and where it stands the best chance of achieving something like an "artistic" imprimatur.<span style=""> </span>A "sick" fighting move,<span style=""> </span>a particularly arduous run-jump-spin-roll move, a certain panache in dispatching a squadron of enemy fighter planes... each activity, in its own way, may allow the player/artist to forward a unique expression of excellence.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" >And, as thousands of youtube videos can attest,<span style=""> </span>particularly worthy game play can be uploaded and screened for an appreciative (or critical) audience. This is the subjective aspect that all audiences bring to any art form.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" >At present, however, I feel that the "finesse" aspect of these games is pretty paltry, anodyne<span style=""> </span>and, frankly, not that interesting to anyone who has sat dry-mouthed while reading Proust or while watching "The Hurt Locker."<span style=""> </span>The best art tends to have more channels for personal expression than the model I propose here for video games. But I definitely think that the potential is there for a true expression of the individual within the game world. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" >The limiting factor at this point seems to be two fold:<span style=""> </span>1) gaming is so wedded to industry that designers are not in a position to think beyond the interests of capital, and 2) the medium itself requires such technical prowess and up-front expense, that an avant-garde, underground, or "indie" movement cannot flourish in the same way as it does in other, more conventional art forms. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" >Will it always be thus? I don't think so. Eventually, technology always trickles down to the masses.<span style=""> </span>Yesterday's $8,000 digital camera is today's $250 Best Buy special. This allows for the furtive 14 year old imagination to explore her world, take in information through her aperture, and, through finesse, generate something new.<span style=""> </span>If<span style=""> </span>such an "aperture" were scaled for the artistically-minded video game designer, then we may actually start seeing something like a true, audience-generated video game arts movement.<span style=""> </span>Until that point, however, we are still in zoetrope mode as far as video gaming is concerned.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-54226978972394752922010-04-25T18:29:00.001-07:002010-04-25T18:43:30.166-07:00The MMA Files – Part 2 The Establishment Clause: Professional Boxing vs. Professional MMA<span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAezanOd5NGdxauyc15nk0ChNTaSeMTME97zj4lHF9cbsriBrmf803hhaszgf4qhkuEmNs_k1PhXN2iuXJ68iUsvt563XX2yd2YsMZnsQE4gIrTjy_byp0EoL5qbfNNdAWNvlh0g/s1600/OLDBOXING.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 166px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAezanOd5NGdxauyc15nk0ChNTaSeMTME97zj4lHF9cbsriBrmf803hhaszgf4qhkuEmNs_k1PhXN2iuXJ68iUsvt563XX2yd2YsMZnsQE4gIrTjy_byp0EoL5qbfNNdAWNvlh0g/s400/OLDBOXING.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464255237547306834" border="0" /></a>
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mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-language:EN-US;} </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapedefaults ext="edit" spidmax="1027"> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapelayout ext="edit"> <o:idmap ext="edit" data="1"> </o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >The world of pro boxing is a fairly convenient place to draw up the foundations of an argument for mainstream combat sport recognition.<span style=""> </span>It is long established<span style=""> </span>has a deep history, and a vast cast of characters. What then of a sport just coming into its late adolescence, like Mixed-Martial Arts?<span style=""> </span>As a young sport, MMA is currently <span style=""> </span>in the process of figuring out what it is going to be.<span style=""> </span>Starting out as a freak-show<span style=""> </span>in the hey-day of pay-per view in the early to mid-1990s, MMA grew into a legitimate sport by the turn of the century, thanks to there being serious athletes involved with the events alongside the chancers and circus geeks.<span style=""> </span>Now, seventeen years after its founding, the<span style=""> </span>Ultimate Fighting Championships has helped to<span style=""> </span>establish the sport’s legitimacy, creating something more than a mere-hybrid combat sport.<span style=""> </span>MMA is now a “style” of fighting unto itself. So much so, that traditional martial arts schools and boxing gyms have began to advertise MMA training on their shingles. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >The boxing mainstream are not particularly impressed.<span style=""> </span>Floyd Mayweather has famously dissed the sport, going so far as to say that MMA is a “fad,”<span style=""> </span>and veteran boxing journalist <span style=""> </span>and pro wrestling historian, Bert Sugar, also panned MMA as a flash in the pan; a sport fit only for those bored of pro wrestling’s antics.<span style=""> </span>Time will tell, but the box office and sell-through numbers for UFC events don’t lie.<span style=""> </span>Arena sell-outs, record breaking pay-per view events, and consistently high ratings for the UFC’s <span style=""> </span>reality show, <i style="">The Ultimate Fighter,<span style=""> </span></i>all speak to the UFC’s commercial legitimacy, at least in the short-term. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >That being said,<span style=""> </span>MMA still has some distance to go before anyone forwards it for inclusion as a demo sport in the 2048 Olympiad.<span style=""> </span>It bears repeating that boxing had to jump through a lot of hoops <span style=""> </span>to become legitimate in the <span style=""> </span>eyes of the general public.<span style=""> </span>In its early days, boxing was a lot closer to human cockfighting than MMA ever was. Bare-knuckles, fights-to-the death, and dank basements where the rules of the day before the Queensbury rules of 1867.<span style=""> </span>The 143 years since Queenbury have allowed a space for professional boxing to develop its mainstream legitimacy.<span style=""> </span>MMA, thanks mainly to sanctioning infrastructure developed by and for boxing,<span style=""> </span>has leapfrogged much of<span style=""> </span>this glacial establishment process.<span style=""> </span>It has, in essence,<span style=""> </span>placed itself squarely in the same culture a professional boxing.<span style=""> </span>Las Vegas is the UFC’s headquarters. It’s smaller cards are in casinos rather than arenas.<span style=""> </span>Ring announcers <span style=""> </span>in tuxes and pretty girls carrying round-number cards <span style=""> </span>are the order of the day.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Nonetheless, a vocal core of boxing devotees continue to minimize the successes professional MMA has enjoyed over the past decade. <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >Why is this?<span style=""> </span>There is the usual upstart rap that goes with every new cultural product, especially a new pro sports venture.<span style=""> </span>Truth to be told, they nearly all fail miserably.<span style=""> </span>Indoor soccer leagues,<span style=""> </span>the XFL, arena football, legitimate professional wrestling,<span style=""> </span>these and others <span style=""> </span>have all been tried, and one is wont to not<span style=""> </span>get fooled again.<span style=""> </span>Americans, and perhaps leisure-based cultures in general, are very conservative when it comes to what professional sports they are willing to watch during prime time.<span style=""> </span>Even hockey, once the forth<span style=""> </span>leg of America’s sports table,<span style=""> </span>has fallen back to second tier status. <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Boxing fans like what they like, and they like the parameters of their culture.<span style=""> </span>MMA is consciously horning in on that cultural space.<span style=""> </span>And, as the UFC’s acquisition of former IBF champion, <span style=""> </span>James Toney suggests, MMA may also threaten to steal away their stars.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" >Oddly enough,<span style=""> </span>boxing seems to be the only combat sport that feels this need to be defensive.<span style=""> </span>I don’t think we hear a lot from the K1 kickboxers or the Greco-Roman Olympians regarding the legitimacy of the fledgling sport. In fact, at least one MMA promotion, Strikeforce, has felt comfortable blending MMA matches with kickboxing contests on several of their cards. <span style=""> </span>Boxing feels threatened because … well, they have never really had competition.<span style=""> </span>The other combat sports have never caught on in the professional ranks in America the way boxing has.<span style=""> </span>Professional wrestling, boxing’s clownish, <span style=""> </span>cousin, has long since relinquished any claim to legitimacy <span style=""> </span>and has<span style=""> </span>even cut itself off from the genuine historical ties it shares with boxing via their historic tradition of co-promotion.<span style=""> </span>Only MMA has displayed true credentials in the market as a competitor to boxing.. It is obvious that it can make money, therefore, critics must attack MMA as a kind of faddish <i style="">non</i>-sport. Usually this involves lobbing easy volleys at the fans themselves.<span style=""> </span>They aren’t sports fans but<span style=""> </span>“spectacle” watchers.<span style=""> </span>The kind of people who rubber-neck freeway crash carnage and play ultra-violent video games.<span style=""> </span>Truth to be told, MMA fandom certainly houses such<span style=""> </span>rabble.<span style=""> </span>But then again, are there not hockey fans who primary interest in the sport is the violence rather than skating or stick prowess?<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:100%;" ><span style=""> </span>And depending on the location,<span style=""> </span>the venue, and the card in question,<span style=""> </span>an MMA event may attract a lot of these people (made more surly by the access to beer).<span style=""> </span>When televised,<span style=""> </span>their numbers are signified by the rampant booing that can be heard when grappling and wrestling are involved in the match.<span style=""> </span>They want to see punches.<span style=""> </span>They want to see strikes.<span style=""> </span>Frankly,<span style=""> </span>they want to see an old timey boxing match!<span style=""> </span>But these people are not the rank-and-file of MMA fans.<span style=""> </span>They are casual fans, and indeed, probably casual sports fans.<span style=""> </span>Ask any MMA blogger his or her opinion on the topic and you will get an essay on what a “real MMA fan” is all about.<span style=""> </span>It has to do with appreciation of the balance of skills that go into making a<span style=""> </span>well-rounded fighter.<span style=""> </span>Strikes, kicks, take-downs, grappling, “dirty boxing,” transitions,<span style=""> </span>defense, recovery, strategy.<span style=""> </span>They will also talk about “dream” matches and how one fighter is up and coming or down and out or ready to make a comeback.<span style=""> </span>They love the narratives and the drama.<span style=""> </span>Long build up to the big match.<span style=""> </span>The obscure<span style=""> </span>under carder who might one day be someone.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t202" coordsize="21600,21600" spt="202" path="m,l,21600r21600,l21600,xe"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" connecttype="rect"> </v:path><v:shape id="_x0000_s1026" type="#_x0000_t202" style="position: absolute; margin-left: 384.1pt; margin-top: 61.95pt; width: 143.4pt; height: 207.2pt; z-index: 251663872;"> <v:textbox> <!--[if !mso]--> <table width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td><!--[endif]--> <!--[if !mso]--></td></tr></tbody></table></v:textbox></v:shape><span style=";font-family:";" ><span style=""> </span>In other<span style=""> </span>words,<span style=""> </span>there is something about passion here, isn’t there?<span style=""> </span>A concern for the display and execution of athletic excellence in the direction of another athlete who may or may not be as prepared, as skilled, or as lucky as the other guy.<span style=""> </span>The passion is something that a lot of “real boxing fans” have or have had for their sport, and it is something this upstart new sport,<span style=""> </span>still in its adolescence,<span style=""> </span>is generating in millions of people around the world.
<br /></span></v:stroke></v:shapetype></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggF8CxnI8sqkT7607DZ5otmdqP18ZqUoJksd_ZzPUWwz9rKZ97BGhNGlsGFvmtthrn4FXyszbN92X1KLmryA89v1fV9ThQShT-pR9B2i6E1CEVz21j2GBriJfhyIE_AZaEBPpc1g/s1600/MMA.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 485px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggF8CxnI8sqkT7607DZ5otmdqP18ZqUoJksd_ZzPUWwz9rKZ97BGhNGlsGFvmtthrn4FXyszbN92X1KLmryA89v1fV9ThQShT-pR9B2i6E1CEVz21j2GBriJfhyIE_AZaEBPpc1g/s400/MMA.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5464255404154735218" border="0" /></a></span></p> jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-1201794149996914072010-04-23T18:34:00.000-07:002010-04-23T22:29:45.347-07:00The MMA Files – Part I : Muhammad Ali and the Calculus of Greatness<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1U4JSonwXRw9EbTxS5ynNY5HeufQeKbLf8i7Dwl8S5Eyl3qYn1IktvaRsf6KKf5cqAqSp7UPbXQ-FG7FZ8umPOdWJjBfzkELQ9jtyGxh6UtFTVIRO0mpekOPGB7Eyh8vewPHPVA/s1600/BOXERSjpg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1U4JSonwXRw9EbTxS5ynNY5HeufQeKbLf8i7Dwl8S5Eyl3qYn1IktvaRsf6KKf5cqAqSp7UPbXQ-FG7FZ8umPOdWJjBfzkELQ9jtyGxh6UtFTVIRO0mpekOPGB7Eyh8vewPHPVA/s400/BOXERSjpg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5463514646882294210" border="0" /></a>
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mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><img src="file:///C:/Users/David/Desktop/BOXERSjpg.jpg" alt="" /></p><img src="file:///C:/Users/David/Desktop/BOXERSjpg.jpg" alt="" /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Sports is beloved of left brain people, rationalists.<span style=""> </span>Facts and stats win arguments.<span style=""> </span>The fastest, the strongest, the most field goals, the most homeruns, the most goals.<span style=""> </span>In our post-modern world of moral relativism and political correctness, there is something refreshing about the binary certitude of won/loss ratios, world records, and absolute percentages.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >But the numbers don’t always tell the whole story. They don’t delineate the difference between “the most” and “the best.” Is Muhammad Ali the heavyweight with most wins during his career? No.<span style=""> </span>That accomplishment goes to a man named Young Stribling, who, in his career of 289 fights, won 256 matches, 128 by knock-out.<span style=""> </span>That is an 88% winning percentage. By contrast, Ali “only” fought 61 matches, winning 56.<span style=""> </span>Only a slightly better winning percentage against far fewer fighters.<span style=""> </span>But what makes Ali “the greatest” heavyweight of all time? 37 KOs?<span style=""> </span>Over <span style=""> </span>60%. That is still only a little better than Stribling.<span style=""> </span>So there must be other factors.<span style=""> </span>Character? For sure, Ali was/is a celebrity.<span style=""> </span>He was colorful in the ring, and charismatic and controversial in public. He was the right kind of sportsman for his<span style=""> </span>time. A man who <i style="">knew </i>how to “sell” his personality and generate a fascinating public narrative.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >This is why we <span style=""> </span>have <i style="">heard </i>of<span style=""> </span>Ali and not Stribling.<span style=""> </span>But does that recognition, and his<span style=""> </span>record, make him “the best?”<span style=""> </span>No.<span style=""> </span>The confluences of circumstance cannot be used to determine who the greatest is. Ali, after all, came into his notoriety just as television was becoming an international phenomenon. Not only could he do great things, more people could see it.<span style=""> </span>Stribling’s only mass exposure came during a 1933 match against Max Schmeling, the first match to be broadcast on radio. <span style=""> </span>That broadcast, and a handful of grainy silent film reels are the only electronic media evidence which have survived.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >What makes any individual athlete “the best,” is his willingness to prove himself against the highest possible caliber of contender in his chosen sport.<span style=""> </span>From Archie Moore, to Sonny Liston twice, to Floyd Patterson, Joe Frazier, George Forman, Ken Norton, Spinks, Holmes, and Trevor Berbick, Ali fought the blue chip fighters of his day, dodging no one who would fight him.<span style=""> </span>Even at the end, when his fire was clearly out, he stood up with the best in waning years.<span style=""> </span>But if anything, Stribling’s record would suggest that he had the more <i style="">challenging</i> record.<span style=""> </span>He fought the world champion twice, and beat the national champions of a dozen countries while maintaining<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>an arduous road schedule at home.<span style=""> </span>His controversial loss to Schmeling in 1933 was his final opportunity to meet the sport’s top dog.<span style=""> </span>Schmeling would go on to fight his historic bout against Joe Lewis<span style=""> </span>a few years later, and by then Stribling was a fading memory in the minds of casual sports fans.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >What accounts for this?<span style=""> </span>Again, we may need to look back to the mass media component, but also consider that in life, more is not always better.<span style=""> </span>There was something about the sheer volume of matches that smacks of a profligate career on Stribling’s part.<span style=""> </span>He was from traveling entertainer stock.<span style=""> </span>He was a born exhibitionist; a sporting vaudevillian.<span style=""> </span>To work was to eat and without a massive promotion machine behind him (Schmeling, after all, had the Nazi state propaganda machine to tout him) <i style="">all </i>Stribling had was talent and energy.<span style=""> </span>In the 20<sup>th</sup> century, that simply wouldn’t suffice. <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >The calculus then might break down along the lines of <i style="">record, character, competition</i></span> and <i style="">timing.</i><i style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >.<span style=""> </span></span></i><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><span style=""> </span>Ali was an elite fighter who fought elite fighters, and he did it over a long enough period of time to establish by repetition and reputation his<span style=""> </span>status as the greatest.<span style=""> </span>His <i style="">character </i>marks him in time, his time.<span style=""> </span>Thus he can’t be stripped of his spiritual title.<span style=""> </span>At least not <span style=""> </span>easily.<span style=""> </span>Finally, Ali was a man of his time, and, by all accounts, defined boxing for the latter half of the 20<sup>th</sup> century.<span style=""> </span>There will be better boxers than Ali, ones who win more fights, ones who fight better opponents, and ones who set the world on fire with their<span style=""> </span>character. But whether or not that will ever come again in a single package remains to be seen. </span><img src="file:///C:/Users/David/Desktop/BOXERSjpg.jpg" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/Users/David/Desktop/BOXERSjpg.jpg" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/Users/David/Desktop/BOXERSjpg.jpg" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/Users/David/Desktop/BOXERSjpg.jpg" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/Users/David/Desktop/BOXERSjpg.jpg" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/Users/David/Desktop/BOXERSjpg.jpg" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/Users/David/Desktop/BOXERSjpg.jpg" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/Users/David/Desktop/BOXERSjpg.jpg" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/Users/David/Desktop/BOXERSjpg.jpg" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/Users/David/Desktop/BOXERSjpg.jpg" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/Users/David/Desktop/BOXERSjpg.jpg" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/Users/David/Desktop/BOXERSjpg.jpg" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/Users/David/Desktop/BOXERSjpg.jpg" alt="" /><img src="file:///C:/Users/David/Desktop/BOXERSjpg.jpg" alt="" /></p> jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-33494864068881889452010-03-24T15:55:00.000-07:002010-03-24T16:35:20.342-07:00Bare-Legs / Black Skin: Nostalgia and the persistence of liberal paternalism<span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" >
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{mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:; mso-level-tab-stop:none; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in; font-family:Wingdings;} ol {margin-bottom:0in;} ul {margin-bottom:0in;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><i style=""><u>Behold! I am a Racist Geek!<o:p></o:p></u></i></b></span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><u><span style=""><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span></o:p></span></u></b></span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="">The latter, never in doubt. Just about every box that can be checked to<span style=""> </span>determine one’s geekiness could<span style=""> </span>be checked on me, and then some:</b></span></p> <ul><li style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="">Comic books?<span style=""> </span><span style="color:red;">CHECK.</span> Ten full boxes.<span style=""> </span>Mostly DC, but a long stretch of Daredevil,<span style=""> </span>too.<span style=""> </span>I’m proud of my complete set of Darkhorse <i style="">Concrete.
<br /></i></b>
<br /></span></li><li style="font-family: arial;"><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><span style=""><span style=""> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="">Star Trek? <span style="color:red;">CHECK</span>. <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>I agonize over who the best captain is.<span style=""> </span>(Right now, Janeway has inched past Picard)
<br />
<br /><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></b></span></li><li style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=";font-size:100%;" ><span style=""><span style=""> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="">Star Wars? <span style="color:red;">CHECK</span>.<span style=""> </span>Wedge Antilles is the true hero of the series.
<br />
<br /><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></b></span></li><li style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="">Video games? <span style="color:red;">CHECK </span>.<span style=""> </span>Pitfall 2 and Star Raiders in my youth.<span style=""> </span>Halo and Eternal Sonata in my dotage.
<br /></b>
<br /></span></li><li style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="">Hate sports but has some appreciation for<span style=""> </span>MMA and pro wrestling because it seems close to gladiatorial combat?<span style=""> </span><span style="color:red;">CHECK</span>. Love me some Jake the Snake vs. Ronnie Garvin.<span style=""> </span>Cry every time Randy Couture loses. <span style=""> </span>Believe Fedor will save us all.
<br />
<br /><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></b></span></li><li style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="">Indifferent to fashion but gets panicky if<span style=""> </span></b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="">my<span style=""> </span>Mike Mignola “Sandman of two eras” Tee-shirt has Taco Bell hot sauce stain on it? <span style=""> </span><span style="color:red;">CHECK</span>.<span style=""> </span>I suppose I will have to stop wearing it at some point.
<br />
<br /><!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></b></span></li><li style="font-family: arial;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="">Every sketch of every Monty Python episode memorized verbatim? (Not to mention scored and ranked!)<span style=""> </span><span style="color:red;">CHECK</span>. And that<span style=""> </span>includes the awkward forth, non-Cleese season.<span style=""> </span>It’s all about Mr. Neutron!
<br />
<br /></b></span></li><li><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="font-family: arial;">Toys?<span style=""> </span>CHECK… and even beyond that</b><b style="font-family: arial;">, likes to modify action figures to make look like <i style="">other</i> characters? Oh… <span style="color:red;">CHECK</span><span style="">, true believers.
<br /></span></b></span><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" ><b style="">The geek thing… well established.<span style=""> </span>My pedigree is probably geek-nerd as I tended do well in schoo</b><b style="">l in non-math related courses and I own many, many books that have n</b><b style="">o pictures in them w</b><b style="">hatsoever.<span style=""> </span>I think </b><b style="">they are called non-graphic<span style=""> </span>novels.<span style=""> </span>I liked metal in high school and </b><b style="">continue to admire its tenacity. So you ca</b><b style="">n stick “metal” to that label, although I </b><b style="">also loved (still love… wrote a 300 page<span style=""> </span>book about ‘em!)<span style=""> </span>Depeche Mo</b><b style="">de which w</b><b style="">ould have gotten me tarred as a “fag” back in the good old<span style=""> </span>days.<span style=""> </span>I also make lists, yep, just like Rob Gordon </b><b style="">in <i style="">High Fidelity</i></b><b style=""> and have well-o</b><b style="">ver 80</b><b style="">00 songs o</b><b style="">n my iPod.<span style=""> </span>S</b><b style="">o add har</b><b style="">mless -ob</b><b style="">session</b><b style="">al to the labe</b><b style="">l.<span style=""> </span>I call it “cine</b><b style="">ma” and “speculative ficti</b><b style="">on”<span style=""> </span>rather th</b><b style="">an “movie</b><b style="">s” or “S</b><b style="">ci-Fi</b><b style="">,”<span style=""> </span>so add </b><b style="">pretentious.<span style=""> </span>You can also tack on atheist, liberal, ske</b><b style="">ptic, vegetaria</b><b style="">n, libertaria</b><b style="">n if that does</b><b style=""> anything to</b><b style=""> expand th</b><b style="">e social defin</b><b style="">ition of<span style=""> </span>your h</b><b style="">umble<span style=""> </span>blogist</b><b style="">s.
<br /><span style="">
<br /></span><o:p></o:p></b></span> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" ><b style="">Fine. I emb</b><b style="">race it.<span style=""> </span>I a</b><b style="">m not sur</b><b style="">e what lives beyond the world of geek.<span style=""> </span>I think it has something to do w</b><b style="">ith wo</b><b style="">rking</b><b style=""> on cars a</b><b style="">nd getting ex</b><b style="">cited about</b><b style=""> “March Madness” and “Rocktobe</b><b style="">r.”<span style=""> </span>The lov</b><b style="">ely thing </b><b style="">about NO</b><b style="">T being </b><b style="">young<span style=""> </span>an</b><b style="">ymore is tha</b><b style="">t you really c</b><b style="">an be DONE</b><b style=""> with being </b><b style="">cool.</b></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> </li></ul><span style="font-size:100%;"><img src="file:///C:/Users/David/Desktop/BARE%20LEGS%20PROJECT/JLA%20BROTHER.jpg" alt="" />
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mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="">But it was only comparatively recently as recently that I discovered that my outer geek has been infiltrated by my inner white racist.<span style=""> </span>You see, I collect toys.<span style=""> </span>Specifically, action figures.<span style=""> </span>MORE specifically, super hero action figures.<span style=""> </span>EVEN MORE excruciatingly specifically,<span style=""> </span>super hero action figures representing the long-running Justice League/Justice League Unlimited cartoon series (as well as a very similar line from The Batman animated series, which is stylistically similar).<span style=""> </span>The line, which began with the release of the “big seven”<span style=""> </span>(Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Martian Manhunter) has expanded to include essentially every character, hero or villain, who has appeared on the show.<span style=""> </span>The “essentially” hedge is important because it plays to a very important aspect of this mania – they haven’t<span style=""> </span>done a figure for <i style="">all </i>the featured characters, only <i style="">most. </i><span style=""> </span>And on top of that,<span style=""> </span>Mattel, the company responsible, recently started to release figures for characters never featured in the series.<span style=""> </span>They may be well-known characters from the comic books or from other super hero cartoons.<span style=""> </span>Which brings me to the focus of this confession.</span></b></span></p><p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="">Mattel released a three figure set comprised of three heroes who were created specifically for the 1970s cartoon,<span style=""> </span><i style="">Super Friends</i>.<span style=""> </span>For those of you who preferred Smurfs at the time or who otherwise missed them when they were on,<span style=""> </span>it was basically a kid-friendly version of The Justice League .<span style=""> </span>At some point during the show’s run, the producers felt the show needed to be more ethnically diverse. The “Friends” were all <span style=""> </span>lily-white. (The green-skinned Martian Manhunter was not used.)<span style=""> </span>But rather than use established comic book heroes (like Black Lightening) the producers opted for “purpose built” characters.<span style=""> </span>Hence, the <i style="">Super Friends</i> welcomed Apache Chief (Native American), Black Vulcan (African American), and Samurai (Japanese).<span style=""> </span>(Later on a Hispanic hero named <span style=""> </span>El Dorado, and a possibly-Brazilian hero called Rima made sporadic appearances as well.<span style=""> </span>The more widely recognized African-American hero, Cyborg joined the “Friends” as a member of the so-called “Super Powers” era. )
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<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style="">So, naturally I had to pick up “The Diversity Trio” <span style=""> </span>to complete my collection.<span style=""> </span>They are, after all, unique to an era and, in their own way, represent the rather slow evolution of awareness within the worlds of animation and comics. <span style=""> </span>However, they arrived at a time when that shelf space for my figure was at a high premium. Currently, there are about 180 figures but space for only about 170 without cramming.<span style=""> </span>There are “teams” of figures, like the Green Lanterns and the Legion of Super Heroes, who cannot be shifted from their perch and main-line figures (like Booster Gold, The Question, Captain Atom) <span style=""> </span>that, frankly, played such an integral role on the show that their absence would create a vacuum.<span style=""> </span>The “Trio” didn’t<span style=""> </span>easily “fit” because they would need to be displayed together.<span style=""> </span>Three other figures would have to move.
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<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=""><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p> <p style="font-family: arial;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=";font-family:";" ><span style="font-family: arial;">So Apache Chief, Black Vulcan, and Samurai have been living far away from general population.</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">They’ve lived on my book case alongside Proust and</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Nabokov; </span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">on my printer, on the window sill, being batted daily by curious felines; then finally they took up residence on my desk where they stared at me accusingly, asking why the entire Batman family (five different Batman figures, various Robins, Batgirls, Nightwings, etc.)</span><span style="font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-family: arial;">have their own shelf, while three figures representing the family of man have to move ghetto to ghetto?</span>
<br /></span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYDS1D7IxoKq_VQ8IrYQB0RNQ5m_cggyLmJes21WtbII_VBb2cz3hlwI9PmwbLlSQgeQApZ7smErX1h5GShgDYRatJa3aYDxhx79EOzHVcBHDWqpw1fralDbjyw36WqY2znYKkA/s1600/BARE+LEG+MENjpg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 650px; height: 261px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggYDS1D7IxoKq_VQ8IrYQB0RNQ5m_cggyLmJes21WtbII_VBb2cz3hlwI9PmwbLlSQgeQApZ7smErX1h5GShgDYRatJa3aYDxhx79EOzHVcBHDWqpw1fralDbjyw36WqY2znYKkA/s400/BARE+LEG+MENjpg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452345848641618882" border="0" /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></v:shapetype></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="">Messrs Chief, Vulcan, and Samurai returned my desk, wondering what their fate would be. Segregated and cut off from the mainstream where even a Martian, a demon, a dead guy, teenage girls, and a robot have been afforded space. <o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="">(UPDATE:<span style=""> </span>With some creative positioning, the “Trio” now have a permanent home back alongside the Patrolers and the Guildsmen)</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="">This is not to say that ethnic minorities are not represented at all in the mainline of my display.<span style=""> </span>To wit:<span style=""> </span>Vixen (African American), Vibe (Hispanic). Fire (Brazilian), Mr. Terrific (African American), Atom Smasher (Jewish), Green Lantern (John Stewart – African American), Steel (African American), Black Adam (I think he is supposed to be Egyptian), and Devil Ray (aka Black Manta, African American) have long since taken a space of the narrow black shelves. <span style=""> </span>But the inclusion of Chief, Vulcan, and Samurai to the collection has more to do with nostalgia for 70s’ political correctness rather than genuine concern for racial diversity.<span style=""> </span>The three are only recognizable to Generation X-ers and possibly very late Baby Boomers who remember those Saturday mornings epics . Every season of the <i style="">Super Friends</i> was more evolved both in numbers and sophistication.<span style=""> </span>The 1970s were a time of imperial guilt and maudlin liberalism which had the not altogether unpleasant or undesirable effect of making American popular culture over as more multi-cultural and outward looking.<span style=""> </span>An “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” kind of vibe. <span style=""> </span>On kids TV this was the time of The <i style="">Big<span style=""> </span>Blue Marble</i>, <i style="">Via Allegre</i>, and an ethnically diverse Justice League.
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<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><o:p> </o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style="">But the weird thing is… the “Diversity Trio” figures all have something else in common besides non-whiteness:<span style=""> </span>They are all bare legged<span style=""> </span>They are the only male action figures in the JLU line (except for B’Wana Beast, who wears a tribal loin cloth and a cheetah-spotted boots.<span style=""> </span>HELLO!)<span style=""> </span>presented this way.<span style=""> </span>In comics, bare flesh suggest a degree of vulnerability.<span style=""> </span>Think of young Robin’s spindly legs, letting the reader know that the Boy Wonder was ultimately subservient to his “guardian” Batman. <span style=""> </span>Think Wonder Woman’s Amazonian bathing suit,<span style=""> </span>forcing the medium’s mightiest female hero into infantile cheesecake fantasies.<span style=""> </span>Adult male heroes, by contrast, are wrapped up tight in gaudy, Technicolor shrink wrap<span style=""> </span>from head to toe, and though some may show off their buff, bare arms,<span style=""> </span>only a select few are stripped of dignity below the waist.<span style=""> </span>Even Aquaman, who presumably would enjoy an <i style="">au naturale </i>trans-Pacific swim, gets a lovely pair of finned green tights to cover his lower body.<span style=""> </span>(Aqualad?<span style=""> </span>Not so much.)
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<br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnH3SKvfl0rUfWLw9MkD1lFTh_W0S-1UgaiAiiMkFUA_LVn8pcB7n27Ylr1_jn2o_CQApE4TRAaWVj747eFO2VaR82Zj4WIq0dKgaVknFl6qvBF_C8fwvv-emL6piVBJ3qOoklmA/s1600/BARE+LEG+WOMENjpg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 585px; height: 283px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnH3SKvfl0rUfWLw9MkD1lFTh_W0S-1UgaiAiiMkFUA_LVn8pcB7n27Ylr1_jn2o_CQApE4TRAaWVj747eFO2VaR82Zj4WIq0dKgaVknFl6qvBF_C8fwvv-emL6piVBJ3qOoklmA/s400/BARE+LEG+WOMENjpg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452346833884510194" border="0" /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
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“Diversity Trio” of the <i style="">Super Friends</i>.<span style=""> </span>The nudity suggests a negotiated proviso:<span style=""> </span><i style="">you may be powerful, and you may have dominion, but<span style=""> </span>know your place. </i><span style=""> </span>The<span style=""> </span>world of super heroes is one of hierarchies, unspoken and otherwise.<span style=""> </span>And though times have changed – one needs only consider the<span style=""> </span>ultra-powerful Steel in his metallic armor, Barda with her Kirby-styled whole-body uniform, the<span style=""> </span>new Blue Beetle’s magic battle suit controlled by a young Hispanic boy -<span style=""> </span>nostalgia has a powerful grip.<span style=""> </span>Geeks in their late 30s and early 40s remember the <i style="">Super Friends</i> with fondness, and whether they care to admit it or not,<span style=""> </span>a part of the appeal of the show was the unspoken and un-subverted power hierarchy that indicates itself in the exposure of skin. <o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">
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<br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><b style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5J9SDc8LdNFPQsLgv-YznFQw-1hIU8KRcHD0lzakf987C6eenKiFiZg0q4Mt7Y-4Kxg4iq46IOzxVtT1GzYdskPOHsvYZbY5_07jbbz_4uelM17dTNeC9QXUuWgG9BWEXHhc2g/s1600/GREEN+LANTERN+GUILT.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 391px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz5J9SDc8LdNFPQsLgv-YznFQw-1hIU8KRcHD0lzakf987C6eenKiFiZg0q4Mt7Y-4Kxg4iq46IOzxVtT1GzYdskPOHsvYZbY5_07jbbz_4uelM17dTNeC9QXUuWgG9BWEXHhc2g/s400/GREEN+LANTERN+GUILT.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5452347492847703698" border="0" /></a></span></p> jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-6480540791826177992010-02-17T17:31:00.000-08:002010-02-17T17:45:58.154-08:00Alan Wilder/Depeche Mode Reunion!<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/n3SY6kccmrU&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/n3SY6kccmrU&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Has hell frozen over? Perhaps not, not it has been 15 years since Alan Wilder gave his walking papers and left Depeche Mode. Wilder joined his old band on stage to play piano behind the classic ballad "Somebody". Afterward, hugs all around... even for Fletch. (But where was Dave?)<br /><br />The reunion was almost certainly the highlight of Depeche Mode's <a href="http://www.teenagecancertrust.org/">charity concert</a> at the Royal Albert Hall. The big question is, of course, "what's next?" Is this just a one-off encounter or might Wilder actually re-join DM? Who knows... probably not. Wilder has a great life now. A family. A creative outlet. <a href="http://www.recoil.co.uk/">A confusing website.</a> He is a man who keeps himself plenty busy. But that doesn't mean there aren't other DM related ventures he could be creatively attached to... perhaps he could take the production helm on Gahan's or Gore's solo projects... or produce a DM vs. style mashup project. <br /><br />But that is for later...for now, DM fans can rejoice in the new thaw.jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-74535925398587813832010-02-06T14:04:00.000-08:002010-02-06T14:10:33.351-08:00Apocalypse Hack: China capable of turning out the lights in the US<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.highposition.net/article/wp-content/uploads/cyber_crime.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 234px; height: 234px;" src="http://www.highposition.net/article/wp-content/uploads/cyber_crime.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>
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name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1107304683 0 0 159 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-1610611985 1073750139 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language:EN-US;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-priority:99; color:blue; 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mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-language:EN-US;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Last week,<span style=""> </span>the long-running NPR talk show, Fresh Air, <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=122958695">featured two men discussing the topic of cybercrime</a>. One of the guests, a journalist named Joseph Menn (author of <i style=""><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fatal-System-Error-Bringing-Internet/dp/1586487485/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1">Fatal System Error: The Hunt for the New Crime Lords Who Are Bringing Down the Internet</a></i>)<span style=""> </span>said something that chilled me to the bone.<span style=""> </span>The interviewer, Dave Davies, inquired about China and its involvement in cyber crime:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" >DAVIES: So what could they do? Could they take down the American electric grid...<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" >Mr. MENN: Absolutely.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" >DAVIES: ...steal our military secrets? Yes?<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in;"><i style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:9pt;" >Mr. MENN: That they have our military secrets, and they could shut down the electric grid. And if you do that for long enough, then you’re talking about stone age conditions. <o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <div style="border-style: none none solid; padding: 0in 0in 1pt;color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color windowtext;"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >After this, the interview more or less was wrapped up.<span style=""> </span>Rather surprisingly, Davies did not follow up on Menn’s comment that<span style=""> </span>A) China could take out our electrical grid, and B) that they have our military secrets.<span style=""> </span>I was gob-smacked.<span style=""> </span>Before this moment in the show, the interview, which also included hacker-turned-cyber-crime fighter <a href="http://blyon.com/">Barrett Lyon</a>, focused mostly on issues of crime as we usually construe it: someone stealing something you own.<span style=""> </span>In this case, hackers accessing credit card accounts on one end of the spectrum, to hackers extorting millions of dollars from companies so they don’t have their businesses interrupted.<span style=""> </span>All scary, all concerning.<span style=""> </span>But what Menn had to say about China near the end of the show makes these other crimes seem positively petty. <span style=""> </span>It in fact makes 9/11<span style=""> </span>seem like playground antics. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Think about it… <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123914805204099085.html">China has access to the US power grid</a>.<span style=""> </span>They can theoretically (and evidently practically) turn off the lights anywhere they please.<span style=""> </span>No electricity means, among other things, no commerce and no communication. Whose light do they turn off?<span style=""> </span>New York City?<span style=""> </span>Los Angeles?<span style=""> </span>Washington D.C.?<span style=""> </span>How about Silicon Valley?<span style=""> </span><a href="http://www.securityfocus.com/brief/944">As poorly integrated as our grid is</a> (owned as they are by private, for-profit concerns which may not necessarily have the nation’s security topmost on their list of <span style=""> </span>priorities), and has dilapidated as our infrastructure is, it wouldn’t take too many days in the dark without access to email, cell phones, ATMs, and credit to send us back to a pre-1900 state of affairs. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Could we “muddle through” somehow?<span style=""> </span>We’re great muddlers.<span style=""> </span>We get through disasters and show a lot courage, but we just go back to the same habits that got us there.<span style=""> </span><a href="http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/library/report/gao/d0848t.pdf">Airline security is still as porous</a> as a ripe Emmentaler even after 9/11;<span style=""> </span><a href="http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=47846">the levees and flood control systems are still weak and inadequate even after Katrina</a>; our financial system is still looking for a way to rebuild the old hedge fund structures <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2009/02/financial-services-members-to.html">even after TARP</a> and the Great Recession.<span style=""> </span>We love our inertia too much to change.<span style=""> </span>We might muddle through a Chinese cyber attack.<span style=""> </span>The difference being that such an attack would<span style=""> </span>result in an existential crisis like we haven’t know since the Bay of Pigs.<span style=""> </span>This time, there is no duck-and-cover drill or even a clear enemy.<span style=""> </span>China is, after all, <a href="http://internationaltrade.suite101.com/article.cfm/chinas_top_trading_partners">a major trading partner</a>.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >So we know China could turn off our lights and cause havoc<span style=""> </span>at NORAD, but <i style="">would </i>they do it?<span style=""> </span>And why?<span style=""> </span>Under what conditions might China choose to launch cyber war?<span style=""> </span>Probably nothing as minor as <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/7162104/US-confirms-Barack-Obama-will-meet-Dalai-Lama.html">Obama meeting the Dali Lama</a>, or<span style=""> </span>some other diplomatic<span style=""> </span>insult.<span style=""> </span>To get China to flip the switch they would probably need a major economic or domestic political reason to do so. Taiwan comes to mind.<span style=""> </span>The<span style=""> </span>US is cool on Taiwan and, at least publically, favors a “one-China” policy.<span style=""> </span>But what if, for whatever reason, China or Taiwan escalate the tension?<span style=""> </span>A charismatic uprising in Taiwan led by a Sino Vaclav Havel or Lech Walensa during a worsening economic situation might inspire China to invade the island and “secure” it.<span style=""> </span>What the US would do in such a situation is unclear, but if China got wind of the US overtly or covertly supporting the Taiwanese with intel or weapons,<span style=""> </span>that may be provocation enough for China to fry our grid.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >More likely however, is the possibility that China could<span style=""> </span>use the threat of a massive cyber attack to implicitly shape policy in its favor:<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Trade tariffs too high?<span style=""> </span>It would be shame if.. San Francisco lost its beautiful night time skyline for a week.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Too many news reports about high levels of lead in children’s toys?<span style=""> </span>Aren’t Chicago’s ERs particularly busy during the winter?<span style=""> </span>And isn’t it terribly cold? <span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in; text-indent: 0.5in;"><i style=""><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Are Hollywood movie executive still complaining about so-called piracy?<span style=""> </span>Well, the City of Angels requires a lot of wattage to keep Tinsel Town going, doesn’t it?<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Such negotiations would never be this shamming or overt.<span style=""> </span>It would simply be understood.<span style=""> </span>Publically denied. Privately affirmed.<span style=""> </span>It is doubtful, however, that China would ever engage in an “all out” cyber war.<span style=""> </span>Simply stated, it would<span style=""> </span>be bad for business. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Foreign_Holders_of_United_States_Treasury_Securities.svg"><span style=""> </span>China owns nearly 800 billion dollars, or<span style=""> </span>nearly a quarter, of our debt. </a><span style=""> </span>(Japan is not far behind. Talk about a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_East_Asia_Co-Prosperity_Sphere">Co-prosperity Sphere!) </a><span style=""> </span>This factor, combined with the still-robust<span style=""> </span>US GDP means that the US is still<span style=""> </span>the best<span style=""> </span>game in town, from an investment perspective.<span style=""> </span>Therefore, any non-military use of the grid for intimidation purposes would probably be pegged to relatively small matters of economic policy.<span style=""> </span>And with the recent Supreme Court decision that <a href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2010/01/supreme-court-corporations-can-spend-what-they-want-in-political-races/1">opens the door to unlimited campaign contributions from corporations</a>,<span style=""> </span>China and other international players will have more access than ever to the US political system. <span style=""> </span>If <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1998/06/29/NEWS2190.dtl">Nancy Pelosi doesn’t like China’s human rights record,</a> then perhaps a few million dollar funneled through American subsidiaries of Chinese companies could be direct toward a suitable China-friendly opponent.<span style=""> </span>In other words, the cyber threat and corporate access to the political process is a kind of one-two punch against US sovereignty.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >What about fighting<span style=""> </span>back?<span style=""> </span>Surely with our technological know-how we must have <a href="http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-220532.html">guys on our side</a>?<span style=""> </span>Where are our cyber warriors? We almost certainly have them, but we are the ones with the dependencies.<span style=""> </span>China is in a growth cycle, we are in a decline cycle.<span style=""> </span>They are building,<span style=""> </span>we are spending.<span style=""> </span>Decadence has generated a culture of political apathy and cynicism, whereas China, with its lock-down philosophy regarding dissidents, and its rising standard of living has generated a populace that is ready to do what it needs to do to achieve hegemony.<span style=""> </span>They won’t wait their<span style=""> </span>turn, but they will bide their time.<span style=""> </span>Much of the cyber war is about stockpiling and keeping the powder dry.<span style=""> </span><a href="http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Google-China-and-the-Anatomy-of-the-Aurora-Attack-255807/">Google may leave China</a>, but China got what it wanted, or at least enough of<span style=""> </span>what it wanted.<span style=""> </span>There is nothing magical about digital technology. They know how to make things work, how to get what they want, and how to make it work for them.<span style=""> </span>The next stage, innovation, will come with time. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >And this may ultimately be what keeps the lights on in Dallas and Seattle. What would China gain by provoking the US (and by extension, the West in general)?<span style=""> </span>We<span style=""> </span>(the US) would retaliate against <i style="">ourselves </i><span style=""> </span>before we come up with a proper counter-measure against the Chinese.<span style=""> </span>We would first look at our own end-users and draw up policies to “secure” our<span style=""> </span>side of the net.<span style=""> </span>But<span style=""> </span>any draconian, punitive change in the laws of computer usage in the US would mean a slowing of innovation.<span style=""> </span>We would do this in the event of an attack.<span style=""> </span>We have a tendency to absorb the evils of our enemies (Germans build concentration camps… the US builds “internment” camps.<span style=""> </span>Terrorists attack us partly because our freedoms are anathema to them.<span style=""> </span>We reign in habeas corpus and illegally detain our own citizens.)<span style=""> </span>I think China realizes this, or at least has some notion of it. My thought<span style=""> </span>is that instead of a massive attack, we may well see “pin-pricks” here and there.<span style=""> </span>Nothing beyond the realm of plausible<span style=""> </span>deniability, but certainly enough to generate a “I-know-that-you-know-that-I-know” moment <span style=""> </span>between diplomats on both sides.<span style=""> </span>And as China becomes more involved in the innovation side of digital technology (it is just a matter of time) they are sure to realize what backlash could mean for them. After all, an entire generation of average Chinese students have grown up using workarounds to access the net in spite of their government’s best efforts to lock out sites and searches.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="border: medium none ; padding: 0in;"><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10pt;" >Will the sky fall? Will China destroy the US?<span style=""> </span>Almost certainly not. But what is transpiring now over the wires is transference of hegemonic power from<span style=""> </span>nuclear anxiety to digital blackmail on a massive scale.<span style=""> </span>Putting aside for the moment the very real <a href="http://www.nationalterroralert.com/updates/2009/11/17/fbi-suspects-terrorists-are-exploring-cyber-attacks/">possibility of terrorists accessing our electrical grid</a> ,<span style=""> </span>it is clear that our notions of American power are vulnerable not just to the deluded goals of religious extremists, but to the pragmatic, long range machinations of an established nation state. <o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14601673.post-55434320984126782312010-01-23T18:30:00.000-08:002010-01-23T18:42:24.678-08:00Whither Conan?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Entertainment/images-2/jay-leno-and-conan-obrien.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 445px; height: 313px;" src="http://scrapetv.com/News/News%20Pages/Entertainment/images-2/jay-leno-and-conan-obrien.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Given that I rarely watch the late night shows (my post-prime-time viewing usually consists of Tivoed Colbert and Jonny Quest) I am rather surprised to find myself having anything to say about the current Leno/Conan flap. But upon closer inspection of my viewing history with the late night crews, I think I know why I feel drawn into the discussion. <br /><br />The Tonight Show never appealed to me as a kid and when Leno took over things changed only slightly. He would occasionally have interesting, more hip musical acts (Depeche Mode, Morriessey) but it seemed an afterthought compared to Letterman’s sincere investment in indie and alternative music. Ditto for comedy. Under Carson’s regime, the old guard, the filter was the mainstream. If you wanted to rise above the brick and the bar, if you wanted a sitcom or a Vegas headlining act, you needed to get on Carson. The Tonight Show of the 70s and 80s was for comedians what getting on the cover of Rolling Stone was for a rock band. It was the golden road to almost certain long-term success. Leno, for the most part has kept with this tradition. The edgier, or what we might call the “alternative” comedy scene, is Letterman’s domain. <br /><br />The tradition that Conan O’Brien held up when he took over the Tonight Show was not necessarily the Carson/Leno tradition. It was the Letterman tradition, and indeed, Conan’s long run as host of the Late Show after Letterman left for CBS, suggests that the specific taste matrix represented by Letterman/O’Brien, is very much tied to that difference of 11:30 versus 12:30. Who stays up late? It is a very different demographic at 12:30, a younger, hipper, more ironic crowd than those who “stay” with a channel after the 11:00 news to “catch” Johnny or Jay. If you are staying up late, you are doing it one purpose. The comedy, the music, and the specific tone of the late night shows is more transgressive, perhaps even punk. But the there are of course subtle difference within the transgressive mode. Letterman is more cranky, more suspicious, and seemingly more put-upon than the gregarious, anything-for-a-laugh O’Brien who seems to thrive on a kind of vaudeville kinetic pace that is at once endearing as it naïve. Letterman, for all his “just plain folks” countenance , can never be accused of being naïve. Nonetheless, both Letterman and O’Brien share a desire to “fuck shit up” within the often stultifyingly censorial confines of broadcast television. We need only cast our minds back twenty years and find Letterman using his difficult working relationship with G.E. (owner of NBC, and therefore Letterman’s boss) as fodder for comedy. This sort of meta-sketch, wherein the curtain between center stage and backstage was and remains a key trope in both Letterman’s and O’Brien’s comedy canon. <br /><br />Leno is not, and never has been, edgy or hip. He is “funny” in the jovial, life-of-the-party way, and may occasionally be possessed of cheek and lasciviousness, but his public persona (belied by his cutthroat competitive nature) is that of the “nice guy.” He does not take his cue from Carson but rather Steve Allen, the first host of The Tonight Show. Despite his strange physiognomy and oft imitated vocal patterns, Leno, has established himself as a kind of “everyman,” who like Allen, seems to hail from the mythic America of the mythic American mainstream. His jokes recognize mainstream banalities and water-cooler ice breakers. His targets are classic American targets – politicians and the privileged. Usually his monologs amount to little more than “have you noticed…” or “can you believe..” observations. <br /><br />I would say the worst part of O’Brien’s tenure at the Tonight Show were his monologs because they attempted to mimic Leno style observation. You could always tells that Conan was not comfortable with this aspect of the gig. He could not maintain the straight-laced, facade cool elegance and fellow-feeling. As often as not Conan would break into a jig, mug, or do his silly nipple rub. Even riding the desk seemed torturously anti-frenetic to him. The constraints on his insufferable , jack-in-the-box nature seemed monumental. But then, it wasn’t like The Late Show was all that different of a format. <br /><br />Leno gets his slot back and may or may not regain the ascendancy with Letterman. Craig Ferguson, Jimmy Fallon, and Jimmy Kimmel seem well ensconced in their late-late shift (although only Kimmel seems comfortable within the gig). Conan will land somewhere else, although in what capacity remains to be seen. $43 million is a lot of money, but it is chump chains in the rarified air of Leno and Letterman. It may or may not be enough to start a production company. It may or may not be enough to retire on. After the shock and hurt mellows, I am sure O’Brien’s native rascality and work ethic will generate a life-after. Frankly, I think that between he and Leno, O’Brien is the only one capable of doing so.jackboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00801143274383188245noreply@blogger.com0