This past Saturday brought the birth of Live MMA on Network TV in a prime time slot. Was the endeavour a success or did the show flop and give the sport a black eye?
Elite XC aired the first ever live event on NBC this past Saturday. The internet has been alive with comments since and is showing no love for what should be heralded as an amazing step forward for the sport.
The night was filled with questionable early stoppages and poor officiating but the main event with Kimbo Slice vs James Thompson was the icing on the cake. Both the Brett Rogers-Jon Murphy heavyweight bout and the middleweight fight between Joey Villasenor and Phil Baroni were waved off as soon as Murphy and Baroni were dropped to the mat. Kimbo vs Thompson however was a different story, Kimbo weathered several elbows and punches to the face while on his back for 40 seconds near the end of round 2. Then in round 3, Kimbo pops a fluid filled ear on Thompson, lands a few more solid shots and the ref stops the fight with both fighters still on their feet.
Even the Gina Carano-Kaitlin Young fight which in my opinion was the fight of the night could have been argued to have an early stoppage. Then there was the Smith vs Lawler fight stoppage by the doctor, not even giving Smith the allotted time to recover after a accidental finger to the eye.
To say the biggest step forward in making MMA seem legit and break into prime time was a failure would be an understatement in my opinion. While the show did draw record numbers of viewers and the viewership grew as the event broadcast played out, the quality of the show was severely lacking.
The only way to salvage what took place would be to learn a great deal from the first event and make changes to be sure it does not happen in the second event. If Elite XC can not step it up then what was perceived to be a huge step forward for the sport could end up being one of its biggest failures. Only time will tell but as all fans I have to hope for the best.
sexta-feira, 13 de junho de 2008
Success Or Flop?
Arlovski Signs With Affliction
Sources say that at tomorrow's Affliction press conference, Donald Trump will be announcing that former UFC heavyweight champion, Andrei Arlovski, has officially signed with the upstart promotion. The Executive Vice President of The Trump Organization and the Special Counsel to Donald J. Trump, Michael D. Cohen, confirmed the news.
Trump will also announce that he has become an equity partner in the Affliction promotion. When asked what percentage of the organization he now owns, Mr. Cohen would only say "a significant amount."
First, the fight with Ben Rothwell is now officially a go. Second, the UFC has now officially lost another top heavyweight talent. Third, it's hard to speculate so early as to how Donald Trump's involvement in Affliction means for their MMA arm or efforts. I sincerely doubt Trump has the sort of commitment to this sport that Dana White has, but nevertheless, add Trump to the growing list of big money heavyweights throwing their hat in the MMA arena. Perhaps Trump can assist in marketing or television opportunities, but for now, we'll have to wait and see.
Is Matt Hughes Finished?
Georges St. Pierre beat him as if he were a rookie and then submitted him at UFC 79, Matt Hughes admitted that thoughts of retirement had crossed his mind.
Saturday, in the main event of UFC 85, Hughes became a notch on the belt of Thiago Alves as he suffered another defeat in overwhelming fashion.
At the UFC 79 post-fight news conference in Las Vegas, Hughes vowed that he would retire before he'd become anyone's highlight reel but now it has happened 2 fights in a row.
Has Matt Hughes past his prime? Should Hughes hang up his gloves and retire to just teaching his once finely sharp honed skills?
Both the UFC and other promotions are over run with fighters and several are a new breed of well trained, hungry and on the edge fighters. While Hughes was one of the greats, it may be time to cut his losses and retire before he becomes another of the once great fighters who are now stepping stones for the up n comers to make a name off of.
Twist Dutch invades Berne. Again
The number of Dutch fans who invaded Berne for the match against Italy on Monday, was so great that the organization of Euro decided Botar another telão for fans of the Netherlands in the area dedicated to fans without tickets, the Fanzone, Berne. On this Friday, once again there was an orange invasion, but at least the Dutch have more space to attend the match against France. It is estimated that 50 thousand fans from the Netherlands are in the Swiss capital.
The number of Dutch in the city exceeded the expectation and planning of the Prefecture of Berne. And the city is that the Netherlands will also do the final departure of the first phase of Group C, against Romania, on Tuesday. The number of French fans in Bern is greater than that of Italians on Monday, but nevertheless does not compare to opponents of the streets of the capital of Switzerland.
Italy tie with Romania and is a complicated situation in the Euro
Os gols da partida foram marcados por Mutu e Panucci. O atacante da Romênia chegou a desperdiçar um pênalti no fim do segundo tempo.
O técnico Roberto Donadoni ficou decepcionado com a atuação da Itália na derrota para a Holanda por 3 a 0 e decidiu fazer quatro alterações na equipe. Del Piero, uma delas, deu mais força ofensiva à equipe, principalmente por causa da sua movimentação pelos lados do campo.
Os primeiros minutos foram tensos e estudados. Depois, a Itália, até pela derrota na estréia, saiu um pouco mais para o ataque. Luca Toni, enfiado entre os zagueiros romenos, tinha papel importante. Em determinados momentos, ele fazia o pivô, escorando as bolas para as chegadas do meio. Em outros, era a referência na área.
Aos 20, depois que a Romênia acertou a trave em cabeçada de Niculae, um lance assustador. Na disputa de uma bola aérea, Radoi se chocou violentamente com o companheiro Rat e caiu no gramado. O golpe na cabeça deixou o rosto do meia muito inchado e ele precisou deixar o campo na maca (Dica entrou em seu lugar).
A Itália continuou melhor após o lance. A pressão foi grande. Luca Toni teve algumas boas chances para abrir o placar. Na melhor delas, já aos 47 minutos, chegou a balançar as redes após cabecear cruzamento de Camoranesi, mas o árbitro marcou impedimento erradamente, mantendo o 0 a 0 no placar.
Etapa complementar
O segundo tempo começou diferente. Com gols. Aos 9, o lateral Zambrotta falhou ao tentar recuar a bola para o goleiro, e Mutu, livre, chutou no alto, sem defesa para Buffon. E dois minutos depois, a Itália chegou ao empate em lance de escanteio. Chiellini desviou para a pequena área e Panucci escorou para empatar e colocar fogo na partida.
Donadoni mexeu na Itália e pôs o atacante Cassano no lugar do meia Perrotta. A Itália ficou ainda mais ofensiva. Só que a Romênia, com um contra-ataque veloz, também ameaçava. As chances surgiram. A principal delas foi da Romênia, em pênalti de Panucci sobre Nicolita. Mutu cobrou no meio do gol, e Buffon, primeiro com a mão, depois com o pé direito, salvou em linda defesa.
No final, o empate foi pior para a Itália, que fica com apenas um ponto em dois jogos e precisando de uma combinação de resultados para avançar às quartas-de-final.
After Euro, Real paid $ 203 million by C. Ronaldo, English newspaper says
The complaint from Manchester United in Fifa seems insufficient to undermine the dream of Real Madrid to take the craque Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo to the Spanish team. In this edition Tuesday, the British newspaper "The Times" says that Real would be willing to pay € 80 million (U.S. $ 203 million) by the player after the end of the Euro.
The technician of Real Madrid Bernd Schuster also expects a happy ending for the club. The German never tires of praising the Jersey 7 of the Portuguese selection and expressed the desire to have craque for next season.
-- The hiring of Cristiano Ronaldo does not concern me, because it is not an obsession. We must wait to reach Madrid. Obviously it would be a great recruitment. He would not have problem of adaptation in time - say, a Spanish newspaper interview to "make".