A Fan's Gotta Do What a Fan's Gotta Do

As such, during this dry spell of sports, I'm expanding my horizons just a bit and I just couldn't NOT share with everyone.

UFC 100:
I know I don't write about this a lot, but I've never been a huge fan of UFC. I don't completely hate it or anything, I just never really thought it was legit. Specifically, when I first encountered UFC a few years back, I just thought it was a bunch of crazy "Clint Jester" types who could kick a lot of ass, pounding on each other. And frankly, that's what it was for a while. However, given that (literally) nothing else was on and Butler's wife was out of town, I figured I had to jump on the opportunity.

I must say, I actually enjoyed *some* of it. I'm still more of a boxing fan as a sport (yes, I know, boxing has same level of credibility as the Vatican or Dick Cheney, but I like the sport), but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed some of the bouts. I really enjoyed the martial arts aspect of it - the art form and skill with karate and jujitsu is pretty cool and frankly, I wish I could do that stuff.

What I still don't like about it (and never will) is the fact that you can repeatedly wail on some dude's face or head until the ref comes and stops it.....which often times seems like it's 3-5 punches too late. (Ironically, the exact opposite is the case for the TV bouts - they stop them way too early. I get that though - pay-per-view can get away with a lot more.). Nevertheless, I enjoyed watching the fight and of course was happy to be able to see the Lesnar/Mir puppet show live. Here are some of my main thoughts from the night:

• The physical shape that these guys are in is incredible. And the ability to take what looks like a bone-splitting kick is beyond me. I swear, 60% of the kicks I saw would have snapped my leg in two.
  
• To my above point on the "over hitting" issue: the knockout punch that Dan Henderson put on that Bisping Brit was awesome - textbook knockout placement and power. Bisping was out cold before he even hit the mat, anyone and everyone could see that. But for good measure, Henderson jumps up and comes down on Bisping's unprotected, unconscious face with a VERY hard right elbow to the jaw. It's almost uncomfortable to watch in slow motion. Obviously the ref stopped the fight immediately after that because as I said, Bisping was out cold, but sheesh man, that was brutal. I get that this Bisping cat is a huge trash talker and most hate him, but I just think little things like that will put a ceiling on the amount of legitimacy that UFC can maintain. Again, loved the knockout shot, but the second hit added nothing to the impressiveness of the win.
  
• For those of you that know me well - and I mean really know me well, this next line is going to surprise you. I think I love the Georges St. Pierre dude. Now, here's where those closest to me need to sit down - he's French Canadian. Yeah, I said it, he's French Canadian and I like the guy. He's clearly one of the best in the sport; you can tell he's very disciplined in his training; he's respectful of his opponents; and he's respectful of the sport. And, if you saw the fight last Saturday, he wears extremely tight underwear pants when he fights that makes him look like he's got a garden hose wrapped up in his crotch. I mean, very few people can get away with that, much less your average French Canadian. But this guy can not only get away with it, you almost don't notice it, like he *should* be wearing something like this. If I'm a French Canadian (I just threw up in my mouth a little bit), I'm clinging to this guy as a hero figure as tight as I can.
  
• So after watching this live, I had my initial reactions and then, after reading/hearing so much about it the past week, I'm still struggling with this and unfortunately I'm going to have to ride the fence here. And I'm talking about the Brock Lesnar show inside the show. The question on the table is this - is Brock Lesnar and his bad-boy, villainous antics good for UFC? So there are 2 thoughts here: First, many have argued that any attention is good attention for the UFC right now. I sort of agree with this in the sense that those who tuned in for the fight (in the tune of about $40 on pay-per-view), maybe as first times like myself, will likely tune in again the next time this dude fights. AND, with all of the hoopla around it on espn, talk shows, internet, etc., it's likely you'll attract some new viewers the next time he fights just to see what he'll do. BUT, the million dollar question is this - will you attract any more *fans*? I doubt it. Look, Lesnar is a former WWF guy and as such, he's had this purely entertainment mode he's been in for years so this kind of behavior is what he was getting paid millions to do in his past life so you can't really blame him too much. But, he left that money on the table to join UFC so he could *compete* in real fights and win. Those two may work together fine in the short term, but you can't have both in the long term - not if you want to have that C word for the long haul -credibility. Which brings me to my second point: Dana White and the UFC want to have and maintain a CREDIBLE league of competitors/fighters. In attracting the short-term attention that will most certainly affect short-term revenue growth, I think they may have taken a step backwards in terms of credibility. Whether die-hard fans choose to admit it or not, UFC is a niche sport right now. Becoming a popular niche sport is not near as hard as maintaining and growing a credible sport that sustains over time. That's very hard to make that leap from one to the other. I think that's probably why Dana White chewed out Lesnar after his bout. Can you imagine how sports fans, writers, and talking heads would respond if we saw any one of our beloved mainstream sports stars taunting a beaten opponent like Lessnar did to Mir? They would be absolutely crucified and we all know it. That's what I'm saying - White was right to call out Lesnar the way he did because he's smart enough to know that short-term buzz and revenue gains don't come close to outweighing sustained credibility.
  
• One comment on the business side of this sport - White absolutely has to start upping the purses on these bouts. Mir got $45,000 for this fight. That will not fly. You have to attract and keep the biggest names and best stars and that kind of bread ain't going to do it. They'll get there and I'd like to believe that White is more interested in growing smart vs. just blowing up the purses like boxing did through the 90s and into the 2000s. After all, I can't really argue with what he's done thus far as I think he's done a pretty good job of growing this thing in a smart and controlled way.
  
• Just my personal opinion here....but I think the negative "violent" stigma around this sport would be greatly reduced if you could somehow find a way to NOT have blood stains splattered across the mat in these big-time fights. As small as it may seem, that's a very tough thing to get over for those who don't like the violent aspect of this. I'm just saying....
• In conclusion, let me add.....I'll watch it again. I likely won't tune into the shows too much (although I have once since last Saturday) as they are pretty lame and boring, but I'll most definitely watch a pay-per-view bout again, I promise you that.
  

Tour de France:
So I know I included the special-guest edition of this recently with die-hard tour fan and general nice guy Alan V. giving us insights into the race, but I actually went a step further and sat down and watched some of this for a combined hour last weekend. Ironically, I think it was after the UFC 100, late on Sat. night.

Anyway, here were my initial impressions:

• "Wow, they sure are riding close to each other, that's crazy."
  
• "It would be cool to visit the Pyrenees mountains as it looked pretty. "
  
• "Do these guys ever stop pedaling?"
  
• "I wonder if they can draft each other in cycling." (which I later learned they most certainly can and do)
• ....40 minutes later. "Lord, this gets really boring, how do people watch this so much?"

I certainly won't knock these guys at all because I imagine this is one of the most, if not the most, grueling sporting events on the planet (others for consideration being the Iron Man triathlon and water polo....they're treading water for crying out loud). But, in terms of sheer entertainment for sports fans, I'd rather watch the "highlights" on sportscenter.

With that said, I've been given a heads up by my TdF insider mentioned above on the better, more important stages coming up so I've agreed to meet up with him and watch so he can give me some insights into strategy, etc. And of course I'll be recapping and grading that experience right here. I know you can't wait...

Potpourri:

• Oh Sh*t - Tiger Woods missed the cut in the British Open!! The sky should be falling here any minute now I guess. Look, it's golf and it's a hard game. Even the best don't win every time out. Now I'm going to have to sit through Around the Horn and PTI guys talk about how Tiger's in real trouble and needs to go back to the drawing board. No, he doesn't. He just didn't play well. It happens. Quick, someone name me a golfer (or any great athlete) who was in contention in every single tournament (especially a major). Hell, I don't think Sampras ever made it to the semis in the French Open, and he's like one of the top 2-5 players of all time. Settle down....
• Great, GREAT run by Tom Watson only to have his heart completely ripped out on the 72nd hole. I like Cink a lot, always have, but Watson lost that tournament. Sure, Cink dominated the 4-hole playoff, but there's no way it should have gotten that far. For Watson to miss that par putt on 18 to win it as bad as he did....I don't know, it was just brutal to watch. The putt wasn't even close.
  
• Lamar Odom and his agent are playing an interesting and losing game here in this free agency. Look, if there's one thing you should know by now, you ain't getting 5 years at $10 mil a year. Lakers offered you $10 mil for 3 years which you should have immediately jumped on - you can still sign a mid-level exception after those 3 years and get (likely) in the $6+ mil/year. I still say odds are he's a Laker next year. I don't blame the Lakers one single bit - they've been more than fair....for a player coming off the bench no less.
  
• Will the national league ever win an all-star game again?
  
• Memo to CNN - we don't need a f'ng play-by-play on the Sotomayor confirmation hearings - we just need to know when/if she's confirmed. It's embarrassing watching both parties get up there and pander for their own image and re-election prospects.
  
• For the droves of folks who seem adamant about taxing the rich to pay for health care, consider this: it's not always the case that when the rich get less that their wealth (money) is redistributed to the "not rich". Regardless of profession, if it becomes less lucrative, the rich will get poorer, but no one else will get richer. Also, households making $100,000 or more make up 18% of the population, but generate nearly half of the consumption in this country - which as we've all heard a thousand times by now, accounts for about a third of our economy. Also again, the richest 10% of folks pay over half of all taxes in this country while about a third of people don't pay a dime in taxes. And that's just federal taxes - think about rich folks' tax incomes in a state like New York or California. It's huge. Finally, rich people contribute a far greater percentage in charitable givings than the "rest of us". The point is this - be careful what you wish for - continuing to tax the "richest" households in this country in order to pay for huge programs may not work out so well in the long run. A significant impact on the richest 10-15% of our population can possibly have a devastating impact on the entire US economy. My point is this - perhaps we should demand that we cut govt spending in other areas instead of just increasing taxes on the "rich folks". And don't you find it ironic that Congress will ask a segment of folks to pay for something that they themselves will likely never use? I'm just saying...
  
• Don't be surprised to see the left coasters push harder than ever for legalized pot to help with their cash flow problems.
• Speaking of pot in California, The wife and I recently got hooked on the show Weeds. Great, great show and very addicting in a Mad Men kind of way. Different, very weird and dark at times, but always funny - I recommend it. Timing is good too because there are like 3 seasons on DVD right now so easy catching up.
  
• After getting big thumbs up from everyone I know, finally went and saw The Hangover. Honestly, the first thing I thought when I saw the trailers for this was, "yeah, I've seen this movie like 10 times before with 10 different titles". But not so, it was great.