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Showing posts from December, 2009

Happy New Year!

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Where to watch UFC 108 in Edmonton and Calgary

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There's another UFC PPV this weekend, and it's gonna be a bottom-of-the-barrel buyrate given the number of matches originally scheduled on it that were scrapped due to injuries. Nonetheless, if you want to go see the show, here's the usual link to the bars in Alberta showing the fights. If this show gets 300,000 buys, UFC should consider themselves lucky. Guess it depends on whether the last season of Ultimate Fighter helped Rashad become a PPV draw against someone who is most definitely not Quinton Jackson. However, that is one of the better event posters I've seen from UFC in quite a while.

UFC Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights Review - Disc 4

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The marathon review of the UFC's Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights DVD set continues wtih Disc 4. It's worth nothing that somewhere in the Disc 3-4 range, they stopped making sure to announce who the refs were in every match. Also notable is that Affliction shirts get blurred out. What is this, WWE? 60. UFC 46: Georges St. Pierre vs. Karo Parisyan: GSP's UFC debut sees him lose the first round to Karo, but then come back in rounds 2 and 3 to win the decision. Good match.  

And we're home!

Another whirlwind Christmas in Manitoba is complete - a few days at  my wife's parents, a few days at my parents, and then a 16-hour drive home. We left Winnipeg just before 5 a.m. Edmonton time this morning, and got home about 30 minutes ago. A fun time was had by all. I ate waaaaaayyyy too much, and will be hitting the treadmill with vigor in the near future. Next on our vacation itinerary: three weeks in Hawaii this summer. Yee-haw!

The Christmas Story

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And...

UFC Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights Review - Disc 3

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After some time off from reviewing these discs, here's Disc 3! The reviews will be shorter than usual, as I watched these fights over several days, mostly in the passenger seat of the car, so they're not as fresh in my mind as usual. 73. UFC 52: George St. Pierre vs. Jason "Mayhem" Miller: This was GSP's first fight after losing his original title shot against Matt Hughes. And like most GSP fights, it's a fun scrappy battle that's never in doubt. GSP wins and continues to impress.

Survivor Samoa - Finale

Natalie: Least-deserving winner ever. Russell totally got jobbed.

On vacation

On vacation for a while, so posting will be slower than usual. I'm also going to miss the Survivor finale on Sunday, so I'll have to catch up on that when I can.

Testing from BlackBerry

Yes, this is like my 27th post today. I'm testing this post from a BlackBerry to see if it's possible... and to see what it looks like when it's published. If it looks OK, great! Opens up new possibilities for updates when I travel.

Survivor Samoa - Episode 14

The penultimate show this season sees Shambo finally get voted out. Otherwise, not much to the episode, really. EDIT: OK, I take that back. There was one big development tonight, and that was the establishment of Brett, to use a professional wrestling term, as the underdog babyface against Evil Russell and his heel team, to win the whole thing. Finale on Sunday and I'm travelling, so no immediate review. Maybe not for days. Sorry.

Bret Hart making a WWE comeback

Is Calgary's Bret 'The Hitman' Hart making a WWE comeback? Will the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be ... be coming back? That’s the rumours making the rounds among wrestling circles, that former Calgary grappler Bret The Hitman Hart has signed a short-term contract that will see him return to the WWE in January, culminating in his March 28 appearance at WrestleMania XXVI. “He’s coming back,” Dave Meltzer, editor of Wrestling Observer, tells the Herald. “My understanding is that it’s a done deal.”

Vancouver votes for MMA. Guess UFC won't be coming to Edmonton.

Vancouver votes for two-year MMA regulatory trial, June UFC event now likely | MMAjunkie.com The Ultimate Fighting Championship's long-anticipated Vancouver event today got a green light. As expected, the Vancouver City Council today voted in favor of a two-year trial for mixed martial arts in the city. UFC president Dana White has long hinted at the possibility of a show in Vancouver, and during this past weekend's UFC 107 event, said a June event would be likely if regulation was adopted.

Brock Lesnar health update

Courtesy his camp. Plus, new photos of him.

Kutless - What Faith Can Do - official video

My favorite song gets a proper video.

The coldest Dec. 13 in Edmonton's history

Edmonton breaks weather record EDMONTON — Sunday marked the coldest Dec. 13 in Edmonton’s history. Environment Canada recorded a frigid -46.1 C, or -58.4 C with wind chill, at the Edmonton International Airport at 5 a.m., Environment Canada meteorologist Pierre Lessard said. The old record of -36.1 C was set last year, he said.

Sunday afternoon humor

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Rare Ivan Koloff vs. Bruno Sammartino WWWF title match

This is the match where Bruno lost the World Wide Wrestling Federation title, ending a seven-year reign.

UFC Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights Review - Disc 2, Part 2

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And here we go, finishing up the second part of Disc 2 of the UFC Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights box set. You can find my reviews of Disc 1 here and here , while Part 1 of Disc 2 is here . 79. UFC 69: Matt Serra vs. Georges St. Pierre: No video packages for this one but the back story, of course, is that Serra was the welterweight winner of that season's The Ultimate Fighter show, which promised a title shot to each of the winners of the show in the 170 and 185 lbs. weight classes.

Survivor Samoa - Episode 13

Sorry for not posting this last night, but I was out for the evening and completely forgot Survivor was even on. So I watched it tonight on the Global TV website. Gotta love that one of the elimination challenges was the traditional Samoan sport of ... bowling? And you gotta love Russell wearing the hidden immunity idol at tribal council basically calling anyone's bluff on voting for him. A double elimination night, as Dave and Monica are voted out.

Where to watch UFC 107 in Edmonton and Calgary

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UFC 107 is this weekend, so it's time for my semi-regular post on where to find a bar to watch the show in Edmonton, Calgary and across Alberta. Details here . While I have nothing against Penn vs. Sanchez as a main event, this was the show that was supposed to have Rampage Jackson vs. Rashad Evans based on the huge The Ultimate Fighter build. Then Rampage quit UFC in a huff . The latest is that Jackson has agreed to come back for the Evans fight down the road, but if the fight was Saturday, it would be an easy million buys show.

Brock Lesnar health update

- TRAINER: LESNAR RECOVERING FROM DIVERTICULITIS- MMA WEEKLY - Mixed Martial Arts & UFC News, Photos, Rankings & more Brock Lesnar’s head coach is telling him to rest and relax, whether he likes it or not. Greg Nelson, a two-time cancer survivor who leads Lesnar’s fight camps along with Erik Paulson and Marty Morgan, said the UFC heavyweight champ is still recovering from a severe case of diverticulitis (an infection in the digestive tract), but wants to get back into the gym. Last Friday, UFC president Dana White sent a Twitter message that Lesnar was "still VERY sick" and the promotion was "unsure about his future." Nelson, who recently returned from teaching several seminars in Spain, gave an update to MMAWeekly.com on Tuesday afternoon. He declined comment on a potential interim heavyweight title posed by White in recent weeks.

Sunday afternoon humor

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The Ultimate Fighter Finale Quick Thoughts

I spent way too long last night watching this program, which I thought was only going to be two hours long. Imagine my surprise when hour three began. Anyway, some quick thoughts ... Sad to see Marcus Jones get KO'd, but his standup was terrible... So lemme get this straight - Jon Jones had a point taken away from him for an illegal elbow strike, Matt Hamill was unable to continue, so Jones gets DQ'd? WHAT? ... Kimbo showed me very little last night beyond the sweet suplex he threw. He got a gift decision only because judges don't think leg kicks mean anything in scoring, which wrecked Houston Alexander's entire strategy ... I love Roy Nelson. Anyone who can fight at that level with a physique that resembles mine is great. ... Chuck and Tito as the next Ultimate Fighter coaches? It doesn't excite me.

UFC Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights Review - Disc 2 Part 1

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And away we go with Disc 2! 87. UFC 54: Chuck Liddell vs. Jeremy Horn: The first of approximately 150 Chuck Liddell fights on the 100 Greatest Fights DVD set, and, well, it's not exactly a barnburner.

UFC Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights Review - Disc 1, Part 2

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And we're finished Disc 1 , so here's the rundown of the rest of the fights: 92. UFC 39: B.J. Penn vs. Matt Serra: So, it only took eight fights on this set to find a match that absolutely did not deserve in any way, shape or form to be a part of the 100 Greatest Fights DVD. Seriously, why was this included? I mean, it was fine , but it didn't blow me away, nor was there any great sequence that merited it being on the list. A three-rounder in the lightweight championship tournament that went to a decision for Penn. Yay. Next!

Survivor Samoa - Episode 12

Survivor returned from its US Thanksgiving-induced hiatus tonight to yet another glorious episode of Evil Russell showing that he is in complete control of the game. Of course, it now appears leading into Day 31 that finally everyone else is catching on to that fact, but I'm really hoping it's too little, too late. And Dave gets to live another day because Russell said so. Instead, John's the subject of this weeks patented Survivor Blindside.

The Ultimate Fighter - Episode 11

After taking a week off, TUF came back last night for a two-hour pre-finale that was hugely underwhelming. The big Kimbo twist (after teasing he'd be back the entire season, he decided his knee was too screwed up to fight again) was given away in the first 5 minutes. Then as soon as the show was over, UFC confirmed the worst-kept secret in the world - that Kimbo is fighting Houston Alexander this weekend at the finale. Whatever. So his knee is either too messed up to fight or it's not. Otherwise, pranks were played, fighters got mad at each other, the coaches continued to build up a feud that will probably not culminate in a match, and we have our finalists for Saturday night - Roy and Some Other Guy Whose Name I Can't Remember Without Looking It Up. Brandon? Brendon? Something like that.

UFC Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights Review - Disc 1, Part 1

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My lack of posting this week has been due in part to the arrival of my UFC Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights DVD box set - 8 discs and about 26 hours of MMA goodness. I'm almost done with Disc 1, so here's a quick review of those fights after the jump. Keep in mind, I'm not taking notes during these fights, and am doing the reviews entirely from memory: