Didn't you LOVE that Patriots column I did? Thought-provoking, witty, one commenter even described how life-altering it was. The story about how it cured his alcoholism was especially touching.
Or perhaps I went completely Web AWOL. One of those two things happened. My bad. Did you miss me?
After five-and-a-half hours of Sox/Halos, I'm too worn out emotionally to be sane in my thoughts RE: the Playoff BBQ de Naz, so I'll reserve comments and allow proper time to reflect. Instead, let's go all the way back to...
Saturday. Nearly a lost day for me sports-wise, due to the nuptials of my friend Ian and his lovely Nicole (congrats, and do what she says, Ian), but I did remember to DVR this weekend's COLOSSAL MMA showdown between Kimbo and Ken Shamr...Huh? What's he doing taking a headbutt on Fight Night?! Considering the way the evening went down, I'm positive I was right to say on my show that Shamrock would have taken this one...
Elite XC has an interesting month or so coming up...Kimbo, who has now been proven to be the all-sizzle no-steak heavy-punching hack many proclaimed him to be, can no longer be the centerpiece of their promotion. Seth Petruzelli is NOT elite. They can ride this story for a month or so, but not beyond unless HE gets fed a beatable "name" fighter who's willing to take a shot at a guy who CAN mix it up a little. I doubt, however that you'd find such a fighter, even Shamrock, who wants a guy like Petruzelli.
On this front, I'll let former co-worker (codename: J-Rod) put the icing on it via email: "Which was better? Kimbo getting knocked out in under 15 seconds by a guy who was 30 pounds lighter, or Gus Johnson going beyond DEFCON 1 into full nuclear play-by-play explosion which included a Rocky drop? In fact I think Gus Johnson's call of the KO was longer then the fight and more energy was exerted..." Yep. We "heart" Gus, by the way.
So what to do now? Though clearly not what the sponsors or organizers wanted when Elite XC came into being, I think it's worth a shot to put the focus on their NEW "most marketable": the lovely Gina Carano. She's 2-0 on free TV, adorable, fights a TV-friendly style, hot, young (that means SHELF LIFE!), and did I mention she looks GOOD to most sane hetero men?
Not to mention she took Kelly Kobold (her "toughest challenge to date") apart for three rounds. And how is there NOT a single bootleg video of her weigh-in striptease? Hasn't technology come far enough? (Ed Note: Uhhh Pat? Here's one. Here's another. You just gotta look under the right rock, my friend.)
I'll pause slightly to see the ratings, but I think that CBS' foray into free MMA is not going well and I'm not sure where else they could turn to keep interest up (if that's even a concern). They need to get creative to avoid becoming Affliction's B-show, which this month's partnership and the supposed talent gap between the two organizations might logically lead to.
Or maybe that's not a bad idea...
Thoughts on Cassel, the Playoffs, and why ESPN Classic prevented me from commenting on the rest of the XC card coming soon...
Pat Spekhardt co-hosts The Shoot Around on Bangor, ME, all-sports leader WZON. In order to get a column on this site, he had to defeat three men in one night, compete against Warren Sapp in a dance-off and admit that Dirty Dancing is one of his favorite movies of all time.
Original Story:
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