My Turf.

Midland St. It's the place I work and major hangout place I frequent. I love this place. It's quaint and quiet in the day. But once the night fell, the place could party like nobody's business. This is basically my turf. My "6 inches of ground". My home.

So imagine my surprise when I found out Art Dore decided not only hold another Extreme Cage Combat on my turf, but also decided to hold a Toughm...I mean Tough Gloves contest a day before the XCC event. If you're reading this, that Piece of Shit boxing contest is still going on or has already happened. What's really funny is that both events will be held in the Hooter's Parking lot. I mean...just look at this.






Now first of all, I had asked some friends of mine how the seating setup was going down. They didn't know. They had heard that the parking lot might be split half in half. But with the seating setup going down like it was, that couldn't be right. There was a lot more chairs to be set up and if all of them were set up, the fight area would take up most of the parking lot. No way were you getting parking close to the area. The parking situation is rediculous. While parking is open at Dore's brew pub, The Lumber Barons, there is not enough space. Independence Park, which was downriver, is out of the question as well. The parking lot is filled with Carnival rides and such. This was leftover from the River Roar, the annual speedboat race we hold. The rides were left there as a carry over for the 4th of July festival later on. So parking is a major problem.



My next question was where they were going to put all the fighters. Where they were going to get ready and tape up. The answer? Dumpster area.



They're housing the fighters....in the dumpster area. The dirty, grimy dumpster area. What the hell!? Are they not concerned with clean areas? What if someone catches infection before or after the fight? What if someone gets cut? This is rediculous.

Finally, I asked my major question. Will there be medical attention at the events. My friends expressed a reluctant "no". They also believe if there was, they have a hell of a time getting in. What my pictures don't show, and I can't believe I didn't get a shot of it. The entrance to the parking lot is like a bottle neck. Sure it looks wide. That's because part of the entrance is a parking area. If the parking situation is like it is, a lot of cars will be parked in the neck, making other vehicles slow up when coming in. This is going to make it difficult for ambulances to get through. One friend of mine suggested that they might be keeping the dock besides the Hooters will be kept clear so Coast Gurard boat could bring medical attention. So instead of getting your ass to the hospital in ten minutes or less, you got to wait double that time because you're crossing the river, on a boat...to get to the hospital.



This is just sad.

And happening on my turf!!

A message for Mr. Benoit...where ever you are.

I Quit.

Pastamania.

That's the first thing that comes to my head when I think about my first experiance with Chris Benoit.

Hulk Hogan was doing a sell for his new food court prospect in the Mall of America and then after that there was this match between two guys. One was Dean Melenko and the other was Chris Benoit. My first thoughts into this match was that "they let rookies have matches on TV now?" They then proceed to blow the doors of the mother. Stuff I recognized from Judo and wrestling was in that match. I got into that match so much, I keep the channel on TNT so as I could see what else WCW was willing to bring us. I followed it from the next Monday and the next and the next.

That was when I became a Benoit fan.

And now that he's gone....I don't know.....I don't know if I can possibly help pro-wrestling by doing it justice any more.

He was one of the only positives the had in drawing the real pro wrestling fans. Without him, now what.

More green, roided up monsters and storylines that really go nowhere.

To me, Benoit is just another victim of a vicious system known as N. American Pro Wrestling. A system that is about cosmetic features rather then athletic ability. A system that rewards who you know and when you know him rather then how hard you bust your ass and how many times you come to work on your own.

A system that hates pro wrestlers.

Instead of somehow putting their feet down, the wrestlers go with the punches. Some become roid freaks. Others become junkies. Some become both. Most don't see their 50th birthday.

And the general populace don't care. I mean, it is "fake" isn't it? That's how well this system operates. The more the cloud of ignorance, the better the system works.

Admit it. If this was a major industrial job or even a movie production house and they start touting the numbers of deaths pro-wrestling had, you'd be all over it like stink to shit. But because pro-wrestling is pro-wrestling. Who cares, right?

I quit.

I quit because I can do all the himming and haw all I want. Still not going to change things.

I can write how rotten it is all I want. Still not going to stop the marks from watching.

I can report every piece of every moment. Still not going to get the press to take notice or stop them to act snobbish about the sport.

What this thing needs is a massive exodus and show the worth of it's product to the people who run it.

Not going to happen though.

I quit pro-wrestling.

Until things get changed, I'm done with it.

End of Story.

Rest In Peace Nancy.

Scatterbrains AKA This Is A Shoot!!

Once Upon A Time In Michigan AKA The Jihad Needs To Mobilize.

Zach Arnold of Fight Opinion fame has put out an interesting article about the bill being formed to legitimize MMA in the state of Michigan.

From the Grand Rapids Press...

The most troubling aspect of the bill: Promoters of mixed martial arts would be required to provide each contestant with minimum insurance coverages of $5,000 for medical and hospitalization, and $10,000 for accidental death, just three years after the legislature approved new minimums of $50,000 each for boxing.

Until boxing was overhauled in 2004, its insurance minimums, set in 1952, were $5,000.

Given that backdrop, why pass a law providing mixed martial artists with one-tenth the medical coverage, and one-fifth the loss-of-life coverage, of pro boxers?

For those who don't don't have the time to read both articles, here's the summery....

The MMA Bill that being mulled around at the moment has an outrageously high license fee and outrageously low insurance premiums.

This will tremendously hurt the MMA community economically, physically and technically.

Everybody and their mom knows that an average sized dojo or MMA school isn't going to have that much bread on them to get a licence and if they put out a loan, they're going to have to pray to their gods that they get a miraculous sellout crowd just to pay it back. Even if there was booster clubs formed, there's no way grassroots promotions is going to get the cash for just a license.

So who's going to be benefiting from this bill?

Why pro organizations and money marks. That's who.

This same bill that's trying to stifle illegal activity is a wide open door with keys for the likes of "The King of Bay City" Art Dore, Neil "The Knife" Helmkay and all of their associates. The economic opportunities I talked about happening once we regulated the sport....not happening. Events sponsored by local businesses will not happen. None will be created. The only things you'll see behind these events is the business ventures of both men which are doing pretty well as it is. All that possible revenue will be pocketed by the people who need it less and the "Know Nothing" Gangs reign triumphant.

If that isn't a piss in the pants, think of the fighters. Without the grassroot support of the schools, they're all under the shadow of the marks. It would totally be worthless to fight in Michigan if this bill passes because you'll never be able to build a quality record here. Quality fighters would be at the mercy of the mark's matchmaker AKA the marks themselves. Forget that your opponent is 15 to 50 pounds heavier then you or that his skill and technique is on the level of a JV high school wrestler or that his cardio will fall out a minute into the match. never mind if the dude a) is big b) can make the bag bend when he hits it and c) his head is far up the mark's ass, you're fighting him or you won't get paid your $200 dollars. You could be a super quality fighter, but the semi-pros will never know it because of all the cans the mark throws at you. Without quality opponents, no one will know the whole picture of the fighter and therefore the fighter will have to retire or move to greener pastures in Ohio or Illinois. This will in turn, create a desolate community without a fanbase and another lost cause in economic growth and communal pride. Sure, some of our fighters will go on to make it big, but who will really know about them.

It's a very frustrating time for the Michigan MMA community.

The Grunts Are Dying While The Generals Have Their Breakfast.

While we're on the subject of fighting money marks, where in the hell is our major media sources on the subject? Yes I'm looking at you Sherdog and MMA Weekly. You went to cover the Tommy Morrison debacle, yet done nothing to expose the promoter as the failed money mark he is. Sure you can crow about "this wasn't regulated" and "It was on an Indian reservation so it wasn't regulated", but anyway you angle it, you dropped the ball. It is your job, nay, your duty to stop marks from being the scum they are and help real MMA promoters grow. You did none of this.

And you expect everyone to take this sport seriously?

How can it do this when the sport's own media hasn't dropped it balls yet and gone for the jugular on these creeps?

Why is it me and others busting our asses to try to make this sport, our sport, safe as possible and to make sure none of this falls to the wayside and become another pro-wrestling while you guys can't even report on allegations of yakuza activity within the halls of DSE and PRIDE, leading to it's inevitable demise?

You guys are supposed to be the masthead of MMA Journalism. You're the be all end all of MMA information. You're supposed to be exposing money marks and teaching a thing or two to the Stick And Ball media about the sport. In the words of George Clooney in From Dusk Till Dawn, you're supposed to be "A motherfucking servant of God".

But you decide to rest on your laurels.

Congratulations. You won. We made it.

Now pretty please, with sugar on top, do your fucking job.

If you don't want to, that's fine. We'll be grateful to pick up the slack and actually try to make something of this sport.

A Worked Fight In PRIDE!? Unpossible!!

I got to laugh at people who got shocked when Rampage to the media that his fight with Sakuraba was supposed to be worked. That has got to be the funniest thing I head the whole day. We're talking about a time frame where the organization was still under the shadow of Antonio Inoki and Nobuhiko Takada was trying to still pas himself of as a "credible" Mixed Martial Artist. if anything, it just makes that whole period of PRIDE a bit more ridiculous.

Now if PRIDE told CroCop to dive for Dos Caras. Then...I'll be shocked.

Just A Thought

So let's count how many fighters we're probably going to be missing on the DYNAMITE card.

Gina Corano is out due to stomach bug.
Antonio Silva is out due to undisclosed reasons
Gabe Ruediger is out due to being "not mentally fit"
Ray Sefo is out due to undisclosed reasons
Marvin Eastman is out due to undisclosed reasons
Choi Mu Bae is out due to undisclosed reasons
Choi Hung Man is out due to undisclosed reasons. The excuse is possibly because he's got Hatton's.

And now Bernard Ackah might be the next to be a victim of "undisclosed"

So out of this whole card, three fights have been pulled with possible fourth happening and two interesting fights have be made trite and unwatchable.

Y'know, I was prepared to be all up in FEG's face for not turning in crucial paperwork at the right time to get properly licenced. But with this many people being pulled of the card....I'm starting to think that FEG got set up all along by CSAC and they're the one pulling this crap.

My Dog Knows Judo

I've got a great mutt at home. He's a Lab. Sometimes, when the day is nice and the day is boring, I take my dog outside for a long run. I also wrestle with my dog sometimes. He's great with his skills on the bottom. He knows how to defend from the choke, he's got a mean spider guard and an equally mean upkick. He does need to work on his top position though. I can easily tie up his head and arms with one arm. He also tends to want to go for the groin shots now and again. That's a big no-no Fido.

So you're wondering why am I talking about my dog's ground skills. Well, I'm thinking of signing him up to do amateur MMA. I'll train him to do a couple leg locks, maybe the anaconda choke, have him run a few ground and pound drills and then set him off. Watch out Rampage! Here comes Poochie!!

You realize how ridiculous that statement was?

Here's another one.

Dogfighting is just like the UFC because both are brutal sports.

Ok. Ok. So if Dogfighting is just like the UFC...where's the athletic commission in this?

What are the rules?

Do dogs get one minute breaks between rounds?

Are there any rounds?

Is there any weight divisions?

Say that we should support both sports because one wants to perceive itself as on the level of the other is really retarded. It's so retarded that even the retards say it's retarded.

I mean, do you see fighters getting shot in the back for having a broken limb and then buried in the back yard? I don't think so.

Saying that dog fighting is on the same level as the UFC is saying that high school wrestling is promoting unmitigated violence.

Yes, you little Jimmy will grow up a killer because he's a state wrestling champ.

I think what it all melts down to is that, when it comes to competitive violence, the US hasn't a clue what that is. We've conditioned ourselves into excepting the hocus pocus of violence and not come to real grasp with the fact that no matter how much you dress it up, competitive violence is just that. Violence.

The UFC brings in that harsh realization and people don't know how to take it. A lot go with the flow. A whole bunch of others slam the hell out of it.

It's this confusion that allows the pro-dog fight lobby to hook on with this petty and silly notion and has the media giving them that leeway and not calling them on their bullshit.

This needs to stop and needs to stop now.

New Dawn Fades

A chance to watch, admire the distance,
Still occupied, though you forget.

-Ian Curtis, New Dawn Fades

The buzz around the MMA community is the new Sports Illustrated cover for this week. Of course I've posted said cover above. The article is also real nice. Go check it out.

Of course this getting everybody hyped now. Everyone dancing, Singing "calu calai" Making love to their people and throwing big bashes.

The general consensus believes that we've finally won. Victory is ours.

Yet all I see are bodies of the fallen.

Yes, this is a great victory...but not MMA. UFC maybe, but not MMA. If this was a big victory for MMA, we would be hearing about more companies beside the UFC.

At first, I thought this was deja vu. Back in 1987, Vince MacMahon had a total strangle hold on the pro-wrestling industry. He was taking the best pro-wrestlers out of the territories and put them in his league, all the while giving syndicated tapes to local channels to compete with the local promotions in their areas. This two headed beast help popularize...you thought I was going to say pro-wrestling didn't you? No, pro-wrestling was stagnate by the end of '87. WWF is what the people wanted. If you weren't WWF quality back in that time, to hell with ya.

Now we're in 2007.

The same thing is starting to happen now. Don't believe me? Quick, tell me the last local event you were at. Be honest.

None right?

Exactly.

And why not?

It's not UFC quality. Correct. You don't know the fighters. Correct. The promoter doesn't sound like a bald headed fifteen year old. Correct.

Don't feel too bad. I haven't gone to any local events either. Of course, unlike you, I have good reason not to.

If this were about MMA, you'd hear more about the IFL, Pro Elite, BoDog, anybody outside of UFC being promoted. Nah. UFC is the big name.

The UFC can have the worst roster in the history of MMA and people will eat it up because they're too lazy to look around and they'll just lash on the loudest and bright. Just like an angler fish.

And this isn't just MMA. I've seen it happen to a lot of different subjects. Even today.

So when do we start to celebrate?

We celebrate when the sport is fully sanctioned in the US and the world.

We celebrate when jerkwater promoters who don't know the difference between a gogplata to a Go Go Gadget Copter are stopped by the full extent of the law for abusing a clause that affords martial arts full autonomy.

We celebrate when fighters get better pay.

We celebrate when Japan cleans it's act up.

We celebrate when there is stable avenues in the sport for a high volume of fighters.

UFC got on Sports Illustrated. Good for them.

It's just a magazine cover.

PS: NASCAR is Pro-wrestling....but with cars.