I Love Knocking Out Rich Franklin

So, the Red Ring Repaired X-Box 360 returned home a couple of days ago and tonight, I finally had the energy to open it up and re-connect it.  I was greatly surprised to discover that a] it's either a new unit or b] they updated the software for me which is greatly appreciated since I do not have an Internet connection within range of it.  They also tossed in a one month free subscription to X-Box Live for my "troubles" which is kinda nice, I guess, but I can't use it at the moment so it's also useless.

I popped in the UFC game finally that had caused this whole scenario to unfold and was immediately taken aback by how nice the opening sequence was.  The menus were straight forward and I was able to figure out what was going on pretty easily.  I skipped the Tutorial because I'm a guy and we hate learning how to do something before we just try to do it.  Duh.

So, in mere moments, I was in an Exhibition fight at the Light Heavyweight level between Kenny "Ken-Flo" Florian and my opponent - I think it was Thiago Alves?  Can't remember.  This one was a slugfest which I knew it probably shouldn't be but it was all my button mashing would manage.  After a hard-fought first round, I looked up how to do a takedown attempt but I kept getting stuffed with it.  I went back to the punches and kicks and scored with an awesome high kick to floor Mr. Serra and end his night in the third round.

I was overjoyed by how beautiful this game is.  Nicely done characters.  Good textures on the skin tones and the little things like ink, blood, and sweat.  Even the cornermen were holding up sponsor sheets.  I didn't get annoyed by the commentary immediately which gives it a plus from most of the WWE games.

I moved on, determined to do at least one match at every weight level before calling it a night [another 7 AM start at work tomorrow.]  The Welterweight division saw me use BJ Penn to KO Matt Serra in the second round.  The Penn character was pretty dead on while the Serra was not so much.

At Middleweight, I absolutely had no choice but to kill Rich Franklin with Anderson Silva... again.  By this point, I was playing with some of the more advanced offense and was trying to hit the Thai clinched knees.  I could get the clinch with ease but couldn't really take advantage of it.  I threw some knees to the body but couldn't score with the big knees I wanted.  On the break, I snapped off a flying knee that made me freak out but I hit nothing but air.  In the end, a big kick knocked Franklin's mouthpiece out as he hit the mat for the KO.

At Light Heavy, I decided Wanderlei Silva needed to get some shots in.  The computer randomly selected Rampage for the opponent so I was a little worried.  I shouldn't have been.  The Axe Murderer ran right through him, finishing him with strikes on the ground.

At Heavy, I was planning to use Lesnar until my old friend Mirko Cro Cop's name showed up.  Being arguably my favorite fighter, I had to give him a workout.  The computer selected Heath Herring for the slaughter... which came in mere seconds with a brutal left high kick.  God, I loved every moment of it.  Even if it's a video game, it's awesome to see Cro Cop dominate again.

I went back for seconds at heavy, beating Gabriel Gonzaga with Lesnar using strikes on the ground.

All in all, I had a blast in the one hour I played it and I'm looking forward to starting the Career mode on it over the next few days.

Oh, and I think there was a real UFC fight tonight too but I was too busy beating up digital copies of those guys.

Egads

Today was one of the most exhausting days ever. Excuse me if my brain
is melty

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Not Exactly Cain vs Abel... or Kane vs The Undertaker

Just a quick one as I have to be at work in just a handful of hours...

Today, the Dodgers informed Jeff Weaver that he would be starting Saturday's game vs the Angels. This is significant because his little brother Jered will be starting for the Angels making it the first brother vs brother starting pitching duel in several years. When asked for comment, Jeff informed the media that his parents cancelled attending a relative's wedding on Saturday to go to the game instead - which seems a little odd to me unless they're really distant relatives and the Weavers were just looking for an excuse not to go.

The more significant part of the quote was when Jeff basically said that the ideal scenario would be that they'd go out of the game tied and let the bullpens decide the game.

No, jackass. The ideal scenario is that you throw a complete game no-hitter which does not require the bullpen while your brother gets lit up like the sky over Disneyland during fireworks.

Keep your shit together, yo. This is business... it's not personal.

I'm In Love

"Hey Iceman, Tell Me How My Ass Tastes!"

Head hurts. Sleep

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Donald Trump?

I know, I know. I'm supposed to write about the Lakers.

But... well...

Donald Trump?

Lemme explain for those non-wrestling fans on the blog. Tonight on Raw, Vince McMahon announced that he had "sold" Monday Night Raw to Donald Trump for a healthy cash payment. Partially, this was used to explain why next week's Raw is going to be commercial free but... what about the other part?

I'm just not sure where this is going. Does anyone want to see another Vince/Trump feud? I'm all in favor of "selling" Raw to attempt to make more of a split between Smackdown and Raw [especially since Smackdown has been much better lately - does anyone else find it odd that Raw is pretty much the worst show these days?] but I would've liked to see someone who made more sense.

Granted, it's tough to find someone you could sell as having enough money to tempt Vince but all of wrestling involves leaps of logic. Who else would have fit this role well?

Eric Bischoff? Could've been a good time to "relaunch" WCW since the Rise And Fall of WCW DVD is coming out soon. JBL? Hogan? Austin?

How about Floyd Mayweather? He suddenly has some free time on his hands.

Mike Tyson? Okay, maybe not.

There must have been someone else to slot into this role that would've been fun to watch. I just can't see Trump being entertaining for more than a week or two. I guess it depends if they just use him as a figurehead and let the GM he appoints do most of the work. Trump as an occasional "it's a big deal when he shows up" owner could be okay.

I just wish it was more exciting. At least they didn't hype it for more than twenty minutes or so.

A Sigh Of Relief

I'll probably write a little recap tomorrow but for tonight...

Congrats, Lakers.

A Shocker

I had every intention of writing a little bit about The Brothers Bloom since we went and saw it tonight (excellent flick, by the by) but while we were at dinner, something came across my Google Reader that made my jaw drop. Apparently I gasped when I read it and startled the Missus.

Mitsuharu Misawa died last night.

The majority of people reading this probably have no idea who that is but suffice to say that if you're a wrestling fan, you know that it's a sad day for the business as one of the all-time greats has fallen.

But deaths in this business aren't usually so shocking. Misawa died in the ring in mid-match. He took a back suplex from an opponent and went into cardiac arrest. They performed CPR in the ring but there was nothing to be done. Misawa who had survived so many lethal looking moves through his career had died inside the squared circle.

Words can't do justice what an amazing in-ring performer this guy was. Soooooo...

Head Trauma

Somehow, someway, I smacked my head into the side of the door frame trying to get to this computer to post for you people.

The sacrifices I make for you!

So, with a slightly pounding head, I come to write...

...and find nothing to say.

How 'bout this one?

Earlier today, I read that former WWE superstar Bobby Lashley - who left the WWE in hopes of being a black Brock Lesnar in MMA instead of a black Brock Lesnar in pro wrestling - had made some comments on Kimbo Slice's addition to next season's The Ultimate Fighter cast. I'm too lazy to go look up the exact quote right now but he said something like, "I would've loved to do it but it would do nothing for my career and my management team wouldn't let me." Wow.

You may recall that I give Kimbo many props and much love for having the balls to stand up to his management team and put his cajones... err... where his mouth was. Sorry for the imagery on that one.

So, Kimbo Slice, a street fighter who probably could've ridden out freak show fights for the rest of his life and made a decent chunk of change doing it, put EVERYTHING on the line for a shot at getting into the biggest MMA promotion on the planet. You've gotta respect the man for that whether you think he's a joke as a fighter or not.

Bobby Lashley who is a former collegiate wrestler and is a genetic freak... well, he thinks it's a bad career move to try to earn a spot in the UFC. He'd rather slap around also-rans, has-beens, and never-weres until Dana notices him. His next fight is sure to make some headlines against Bob Sapp but Sapp hasn't been truly competitive in MMA in years. He was the product of overhype and believing in that hype did his career in as a fighter. So, a win over Sapp isn't exactly going to set the world on fire for Bobby Lashley.

Mr. Lashley, it's time to put your cajones where your mouth is! You want to be taken seriously as a fighter - and I can't believe I'm about to say this - but you need to follow in Kimbo's footsteps.

One To Go...

Like I really was going to talk about anything else tonight.

That was a fun game to watch. Back and forth, runs and droughts, cursing, screaming, and praising. You've got to love playoff basketball.

So, the Lakers find themselves one win away from another Championship which is absolutely awesome... duh.

The game was sloppy at times and got a little chippy at points [about time!] but that didn't make it any less entertaining. A second OT game? Amazing. Derek Fisher with the 3 Pointer Of Absolute Redemption? Incredible. Pau looking like he wanted to throw down with a foo'? Priceless.

Oh, and don't forget that Kobe guy. The best player walkin'.

One more win. One more. The question now becomes do they get too lazy and blow it in Game Five or does the young Magic team fold house like the Nuggets did?

Is Your Favorite Here?

One of my favorite websites had this linked today - a clip of the Top 100 memorable lines in movie history. Anything missing?

Split Decision

Lakers lose but is anyone super shocked by that? At work today, I had
predicted that if the Lakers were going to lose just one, it's be
tonight. They looked pretty good - sloppy at times with a lack of
defensive intensity. They made mental errors - Kobe's missed free
throws, the steal towards the end, etc.

I'm not worried - well, unless they lose Gm 4 too.

Dodgers win again, continuing this nutty season with the best record
in MLB despite being without Manny - who showed up to say hello and
apparently make sure we all know he didn't rape or kill anyone. I
still think they'll need another starter at some point though. 117
pitches for Chad tonight in 5.2 innings? Yikes!

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God Bless America

I laughed my ass off watching this and I'm sure you will too. It actually reminds me of the night Chris Jericho beat The Rock and Austin in the same night to win the Undisputed Title and one of my loyal readers - YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE - threw the mother of all hissy fits and pouted the entire way home from San Diego, even going as far as giving me both tickets to Raw the following night and saying that he wasn't going.

Pure awesome.

The Minor League System

I have no idea how these things happen but I woke up this morning pondering the existence of the minor league system in Major League Baseball. It might be a brief piece I saw the other night on James Loney and the MLB Draft or it might be all the talk of the upcoming Draft.

But in the middle of all this pondering, something stuck in my craw.

Why is it that MLB is the only one of the major four sports that have such a drawn-out and [possibly] bloated minor league system to work through to hit the big time?

NBA? You get drafted, you're on the big team's roster more often than not and sometimes have an immediate and huge impact. The NFL is the same way. Not sure on the NHL but occasionally you do hear about some wunderkind.

But MLB? Someone who gets drafted in MLB may wait YEARS before making the big leagues if they ever make it all. Is MLB that much harder of a sport? Is there that much difference between the sports in the quality gap between high school/college ball and the pros?

I decided to do a little research to see just how this plays out.

Thanks to this super-helpful report on sport participation up on the NCAA website, I can provide the following information...

In 2006-7, the following participation numbers were recorded.

Baseball - 29,846 (in Div I/II/III)
Basketball - 16,640
Football - 62,459
Hockey - 3,957

Okay... so from there, we look at the drafts for each sport...

MLB - 1,502 players were drafted in the 2006 MLB Draft
NBA - 60 players are drafted
NFL - 256 players were drafted in the 2009 NFL Draft
NHL - 211 players were drafted in the 2009 NFL Draft

Now, let's look at slots available for those players (and yes, I realize the math is flawed based on international, non-roster players, etc.) And of course, all of this is quite theoretical.

For the NBA, every team can carry a max of 15. At 30 teams, that means there are 450 jobs available in the NBA. Of the total number of NCAA basketball players, about 3% will get one of those jobs and rarely - and I do mean RARELY - do one of the sixty drafted not play immediately in the NBA.

For the NFL, every team can carry a max of 53. At 32 teams, there are 1696 jobs available in the NFL. Theoretically, up to 3% will also get a job in the NFL. And again, RARELY do those players not immediately play for their NFL team.

For the NHL, every team can carry a max of 20 players. With 30 teams, that makes 600 jobs in the NHL. In theory, about 2% of those college players will get a job. The numbers are probably really off on this one because of the amount of international players in the NHL who don't come through the NCAA system.

And finally, there's MLB...

At 30 teams... and I'll be generous and go with the 40 Man Roster... there's 1200 jobs available at the Major League level. Again, in theory, up to 4% of the NCAA players will end up in the Major Leagues. That's close to the other sports so that makes sense. However, when we look at draft numbers...MLB is the only sport where more players are drafted than are already in the Majors.

The Dodger organization alone carries seven minor league teams... three rookie ball teams, two A affiliates, one AA, and one AAA. That gives the Dodgers a grand total of 131ish listed players in the minor leagues with two teams not listing rosters. If we assume another 25 per team there, the Dodgers creep close to 200 players in their system. Let's say 150 to be conservative. If we assume the rest of the MLB teams do the same, that's another 4500 jobs open in the MLB system for a total of 5700. With 5700 jobs in the system, you can now theorize that about about 20% of NCAA players will get a job in the MLB system.

So, the numbers are fascinating to me but the real question is... why?

Any thoughts?

Fuck Microsoft

It's not exactly what you'd call a secret that the big MS and I don't exactly see eye to eye. I've been using Macs and professing their greatness to all who'd listen for years. Windows is a giant pile of shit compared to OS X whether it's XP, Vista, and I'll go out a limb right now and say it... yes, even the fabled Windows 7. The Zune is an even larger pile of shit that has earned it's place in the Mocking Hall of Fame. Office is... eh.... but it's hard to fuck up a Word Processor.

But the X-Box and I have always been on decent terms. I had an original X-Box pretty early in its inception - my last "big" Christmas gift from the family. I enjoyed it muchly and thought it much more fun than my PS2 that continues to sit untouched as it has been for years. I was pretty enthused about the 360 when I got it as well and used it for a while before all video games went ignored for quite some time.

Those decent terms end tonight.

The UFC game came out a couple weeks ago and after a couple-times-a-week check at Blockbuster to attempt to rent it, I buckled this evening and bought it. About two hours ago, we fired up the 360 for its first usage in a long, long while.

So, the first thing MS decides to do is piss on my parade by informing me that I have to do a system update before I can play the game. Awesome.

Well, no, it's not awesome because I don't have a hard line Internet connection in that room nor did I drop $100 for the overpriced 360 wireless receiver. I scoured the house for an Ethernet cable for which to tether my laptop to it to do the stupid update. Nothing. I even trudged down three flights of stairs to check the garage. Nothing.

I finally decided to take the cable from my Cable Modem to Airport and use that while piggybacking on someone else's connection. Plugged in. Fired it up.

I spot a weird little checkerboard pattern in the corner with a non-responsive controller that starts to make me nervous. Having been the victim of failed logic boards in the past, I have a sixth sense about these things.

Turn it off, turn it back on.



The infamous Red Ring Of Death.

For those unaware, MS describes this as "general hardware failure." It's infamous for a reason as countless X-Box 360 users over the past few years reported it. I'm sure I would have earlier if the unit hadn't gone untouched for months at a time. I immediately declare the situation a "traumatic event" to the scorn of the Missus because apparently we have different definitions of "traumatic."

I go to the Microsoft website for what they somehow have the unmitigated gall to label "support."

Step One - they give me some bullshit about checking the power adapter. Looks good.
Step Two - Turn it off for ten seconds. Brilliant! Like I hadn't already tried that.
Step Three - Welp, you're fucked. Submit an online repair request.

"Awesome," I think. This should be easy and painless.

Apparently the geniuses in Seattle believe that the first thing you should do when you have someone sad about not being able to use their product is to ask them to sign in to their website. Alright, I can dig it.

But I apparently don't have a Microsoft Live ID even though they send me monthly e-mails about X-Box Live - a service I haven't had in over a year [at least.] So, now I have to create a Microsoft Live ID complete with that character recognition bullshit that always takes me four tries to get right.

Yay, I have a Microsoft Live ID.

Time to fill out that service request, right?

Nah. Now these fucking idiots think it's a good idea to ask me to create a "Gamertag" and select an avatar for a game I won't be able to play for no telling how long thanks to their shoddy equipment. Are you fucking kidding me?

Alright... I select the Gamertag of "MakeMineApple" which shockingly is both available and apparently approved. Wocka wocka wocka!

I refuse to pick an avatar because that's how I roll. Surprisingly, they let me continue anyways. Thanks, Mr. Gates!

Okay, this part I'm writing as I go through the rest of this. I had to stop and come here to write because this is how ridiculous this whole thing is.

The next step is to register the X-Box that I plan to send in. Sounds... reasonable, I guess. But I bet they're going to want a serial number that I can't find without going back to the other room and disconnecting the 360. Any takers?

Indeed! The first thing they ask for is the S/N without the slightest hint of where it's at. Jackassery at it's finest.

To further the "Huh?" Factor... they ask me for my e-mail even though I'm signed in under my Windows Live ID which is linked to my e-mail. And they ask for my name again. And where I'm from. Leave no stone unturned. Here's an odd one... they ask for my preferred language and even though the entire page is in English, that's not the first choice. I have to scroll through the alphabetical list to bring it up. Is it too American-centric to ask that they put the language on the screen as the first option?

Okay... off I go to find a serial number...

It's on the back of the unit which is now unplugged. Bizarre thing is I powered it up before unplugging it. No red circle. Now I don't have a clue what's going on.

I'm going to fill this out anyways... just in case...

Standard Warranty Expired. But when you click the Red Ring as the problem, they list a free repair including them paying for shipping. Of course, I'd have to find a box to ship it in but that should be not horribly painful, I suppose.

I'll probably give the thing another shot tomorrow to see if it works but... yeah, not the best customer service support experience so far.

If only I liked Sony any better...

9

Somebody at work showed me this yesterday with a disclaimer of, "This looks soooo much better than Up." Consider me skeptical as I loved the shit out of Up [more on that soon] but I thought I'd take a look.

Now, while it's too hard to tell from this clip if the movie will have the heart of Up, it's definitely in the ballpark visually.

Check it out...

Laker Game Recap

Worked late tonight and I just finishing watching the game. I open tomorrow so I'll make this short...

Complete and total domination was awesome to see. In all of the interviews all week, you could FEEL that Kobe was... pick an adjective... focused, determined, centered, motivated, etc. And he certainly shot right out of the gate tonight to show it.

But the real good sign was the defensive intensity that our boys put out there.

If they can keep it up, things will be looking good. Game 2's are always tough though for the winner of Game 1 - especially in a game like this. It's important to not get cocky and to come out with the same level of intensity.

Sunday should be a lot of fun.

Kimbo Slice - The Ultimate Fighter?

This news broke yesterday and I never got a chance to post anything about it so here it is...

Yesterday, the UFC announced that Kimbo Slice would be a contestant on the next edition of The Ultimate Fighter.

Everybody got that?

If not, let me expand on that. Kimbo Slice, the man who was in the most watched MMA fight in history, will now be relegated to one of sixteen heavyweights fighting it out for the chance to earn a UFC contract. Oh, by the way, he'll be doing this while being coached by either Rashad Evans or Quinton Jackson. If the thought of Kimbo Slice trading words with Rampage doesn't give you a little bit of a flutter, you have no soul... well, MMA soul at least.

My thoughts?

First, this is EXACTLY the kind of thing that will make me watch TUF again after skipping the current season.

Second, like him or not, you've got to give Kimbo MAJOR credit for this. If you are to believe the rumors, he may have gone around his management team to make this deal which is crazy, stupid, and ballsy all wrapped up in a grill-covered ball. He's taking the biggest risk of his life here. If he proves to be a bust and gets KOd in the first round of his first fight, odds are high he'll never get a chance at another major fight. If he somehow works his way through and actually makes the UFC, whew, baby. Katie bar the door because MMA might hit a fresh run of awesomeness.

So, yeah... in short, I'm looking forward to seeing Kimbo on TUF and I just might find myself rooting for him as well.

By the way, this might be the biggest non-losing scenario for a promotion I've ever seen. Dana White remains a promotional genius in the vein of Vince McMahon. If Kimbo fails, Dana gets to mock him forever and show the world that not just any overhyped street fighter can be successful. If he wins, it's the ultimate success story and a chance at some big headlines and buyrates.

I'm suddenly excited about MMA again... for now.

Kobe: Doin' Work

In the quest to finish clearing off all the old TV off our DVR, we decided to watch ESPN's special from a few weeks ago about Kobe Bryant titled Kobe: Doin' Work.

This premise behind the show was that Spike Lee was directing a documentary about Kobe Bryant. For the film, they taped one game - Lakers vs Spurs - from April of 2008 using something like 30 cameras, all aimed at Kobe throughout the game. He was mic'd as well and they managed to get Phil to allow cameras pre-game, halftime, and post-game in the locker room for some surprising access. They also had Kobe provide a running commentary track over the game in January of '09 before polishing it off for commmercial-free airing on ESPN a few weeks ago.

The movie is well-shot, well-edited, and generally well-done.

It's fascinating to me as a basketball fan to hear him break down the action on [and a little bit off] the court - hearing him explain why they're calling certain plays, why he does certain things on the floor like his seemingly OCDish wiping of his hands (he's trying to keep them wet! Who knew?)

It's not your traditional type of documentary. You're not going to gain some huge inside into Kobe Bryant the person. However, if you're a basketball fan, you might gaint a little bit of insight to Kobe Bryant the player and you may see a side of the game you've never quite seen before.

I enjoyed it... and I think other basketball fans would enjoy it as well.