Well, that was a bust.
Just when I thought things couldn't get worse for Elite XC, they have lightning strike them and totally fuck up their world.
The first bit of bad news came in the form of a text message informing me that Ken Shamrock had his head busted open while "warming up" for his fight with Kimbo. He required stitches to close the wound and no doctor would clear him to fight, effectively killing the highly-hyped showdown that EXC was counting on to save their collective asses. Now, why Shammy was having that kind of training on the day of the fight is another story altogether.
The second bit of bad news was the total scramble to fill the spot in the Main Event. Apparently Frank Shamrock was considered but the ultimate decision was made to promote former The Ultimate Fighter contestant Seth Petruzelli off the non-televised undercard into the Main Event - a decision apparently that did not sit well with Kimbo and his camp. This decision wasn't even announced to the arena crowd until ten minutes before they went on the air on CBS. That's just bad business no matter how you try to spin it.
The show itself was okay. A couple decent fights that failed to make absolutely any impact on me to the point where I can't even remember who was in them less than 24 hours later. The women's fight was fun. Gina had a decent showing and set herself up nicely for the big fight with Cyborg at some point in the future. Of course, the show also ran long again. Their time management is atrocious. They can't even manage to cut their video promos when they realize they're running long so of course, my DVR cut out before the Main Event which meant I had to catch all 14 seconds of it on YouTube.
Kimbo gets KTFO in absolutely no time flat.
Where does EXC go from there?
You have to book Kimbo vs Seth II and hype the shit out of it and pray that Kimbo dominates a rematch. There's money in a rematch but if Kimbo loses twice, his days as a cash cow are likely over.
Simple, huh?
My money's on the EXC fucking it up.
Showing posts with label Gina Carano. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gina Carano. Show all posts
2008-10-05
2008-10-03
Shamrock vs Slice + More From EXC
So, a lot is on the line for Elite XC tomorrow night with their latest CBS Prime Time special.
Obviously, their big meal tickets are Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano - so with both fighters in action tomorrow night, this show becomes very important - perhaps key - to their future as a company. There's been a lot of talk that they're bleeding money, big layoffs at the offices, and even some discussion of having to sell the company to save it. Showtime has been rumored as a possible suitor as has a merger with Affliction. But one thing is for sure, if they fail miserably tomorrow night, the offers may dry up completely.
The weigh-ins today seemed to have some excitement - sex and violence. First, the violence. Apparently, all hell broke loose when Kimbo turned his back on Shamrock instead of posing for the obligatory staredown. Shamrock reacted in typical Shamrock fashion, shoving Kimbo from behind and screaming, "Don't you turn your back on me!" or other such nonsense. I guess it serves the purpose of some last minute hype for the fight though. The sex was a lot more interesting though as Gina Carano failed to make weight yet again and was forced to strip down to not a stitch to eventually make the weight.
Awesome.
Anyways, the big deal is the Shamrock/Slice fight and it has obviously drawn some attention from casual fight fans. A few people who I would deem that have asked me about the fight in recent weeks. It's a freak show fight in all honesty that would surprise me if it's worth a damn. This isn't a fight designed to be a masterpiece - it's designed for some star power to collide and ultimately, they hope that it's a big name KO for Kimbo to make people forget the James Thompson debacle.
Hrm.
Shamrock is obviously not Shamrock from ten years ago but I can guarantee you that if Shamrock gets Kimbo down on the ground, he won't fail down there like James Thompson did. I don't think Shammy has what it takes anymore - and I think he'll make the big mistake of trying to stand and throw - so I'm pretty sure that Kimbo takes this one but... well, it may be more interesting than some people expect.
Oh, and Game 3 is on too.
Did someone say there was a fight happening tomorrow night? I suddenly lost interest.
Obviously, their big meal tickets are Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano - so with both fighters in action tomorrow night, this show becomes very important - perhaps key - to their future as a company. There's been a lot of talk that they're bleeding money, big layoffs at the offices, and even some discussion of having to sell the company to save it. Showtime has been rumored as a possible suitor as has a merger with Affliction. But one thing is for sure, if they fail miserably tomorrow night, the offers may dry up completely.
The weigh-ins today seemed to have some excitement - sex and violence. First, the violence. Apparently, all hell broke loose when Kimbo turned his back on Shamrock instead of posing for the obligatory staredown. Shamrock reacted in typical Shamrock fashion, shoving Kimbo from behind and screaming, "Don't you turn your back on me!" or other such nonsense. I guess it serves the purpose of some last minute hype for the fight though. The sex was a lot more interesting though as Gina Carano failed to make weight yet again and was forced to strip down to not a stitch to eventually make the weight.
Awesome.
Anyways, the big deal is the Shamrock/Slice fight and it has obviously drawn some attention from casual fight fans. A few people who I would deem that have asked me about the fight in recent weeks. It's a freak show fight in all honesty that would surprise me if it's worth a damn. This isn't a fight designed to be a masterpiece - it's designed for some star power to collide and ultimately, they hope that it's a big name KO for Kimbo to make people forget the James Thompson debacle.
Hrm.
Shamrock is obviously not Shamrock from ten years ago but I can guarantee you that if Shamrock gets Kimbo down on the ground, he won't fail down there like James Thompson did. I don't think Shammy has what it takes anymore - and I think he'll make the big mistake of trying to stand and throw - so I'm pretty sure that Kimbo takes this one but... well, it may be more interesting than some people expect.
Oh, and Game 3 is on too.
Did someone say there was a fight happening tomorrow night? I suddenly lost interest.
2008-07-09
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!
I've made no secret out of the fact that I believe the new American Gladiators sucks much ass. It's a great disappointment to me as I loved the old school series growing up and was greatly anticipating what could have been. But the over-the-topness of it - the music, the lighting, the pyro, the water, the announcing - all have made it "Must Skip TV" for me.
However...
Every once in a while something happens to change my mind.
God bless Gina Carano because this clip is pure television gold from the horrific "pre-event" promo to the awesome locker room shot at the end. Make sure you watch this all the way through to see why I HEART me some Gina.
However...
Every once in a while something happens to change my mind.
God bless Gina Carano because this clip is pure television gold from the horrific "pre-event" promo to the awesome locker room shot at the end. Make sure you watch this all the way through to see why I HEART me some Gina.
2008-06-15
EXC Returns To CBS
On last night's Elite XC show, they announced their return to CBS. There had been a lot of speculation that CBS wanted them on the air in July - a date that many saw as a problem since their big guns (Kimbo and Gina) were not available that soon.
So, on July 26th, EXC returns to CBS with a rematch between Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith for the middleweight title.
To me, this actually creates a fascinating scenario.
Yes, that is probably the best in-cage fight they could manage to put together on short notice and yes, to people who watched the first show, this could potentially be a big draw.
The trick will be to pick up new viewers without the star factor. This will be a test of EXC and CBS' ability to let people know, "Hey, these are the two fighters who actually had a good fight on our first show - you know, the fight where we had a bullshit decision due to an accidental eye gouge? We're going to do it again and you want to see it!"
The fight inside the cage will probably deliver in terms of action - but can it deliver eyeballs?
We shall see.
So, on July 26th, EXC returns to CBS with a rematch between Robbie Lawler and Scott Smith for the middleweight title.
To me, this actually creates a fascinating scenario.
Yes, that is probably the best in-cage fight they could manage to put together on short notice and yes, to people who watched the first show, this could potentially be a big draw.
The trick will be to pick up new viewers without the star factor. This will be a test of EXC and CBS' ability to let people know, "Hey, these are the two fighters who actually had a good fight on our first show - you know, the fight where we had a bullshit decision due to an accidental eye gouge? We're going to do it again and you want to see it!"
The fight inside the cage will probably deliver in terms of action - but can it deliver eyeballs?
We shall see.
2008-06-01
Gary Shaw's Worst Nightmare
Never have I seen a major sports debut go so, so wrong as last night's EXC prime time network debut on CBS. Almost anything that could go wrong went wrong and I've gotta think they're absolutely reeling this morning in shock.
Timing on the show was absolutely horrific. We saw about twenty-five minutes go by before they went up to the cage for their first fight of the night. That's absolutely unforgivable and had to be a major turnoff for first time viewers. Imagine hearing all this hype about an exciting new television show - and getting nothing but hype and chatter for 25 minutes. They also went over their timeslot by a huge amount. I ended up setting my DVR to go 30 minutes past the scheduled end time and still didn't get the whole show. Thank god for the ability to rewind live TV back an hour or I would have missed the finish to the Main Event.
Match quality was middling at best as well with the women's match and the Lawler/Smith match being right on line with what they needed. Everything else should be considered an embarrassment to EXC and to MMA in general.
I understand the desire to set up matches that they believe will be slugfests. The current view of the MMA novice is that they want to see people stand and throw and have no stomach for the matwork. I get that. But you have to imagine that getting first round knockouts were not what they had in mind.
As I said, the women's match was entertaining - although the announcers selling how badly Gina's conditioning was turned out pretty irritating. But they showed good fighting spirit, decent execution, and it was a fun showdown. The problem with this fight?
You know that's not the image of women's MMA they wanted to present to a world where a lot of people are already squeamish at the thought of two women beating the fuck out of one another. They were hoping for a clean KO with little damage before it or a swank submission but not that.
On that note, the refs/doctors seemed extremely quick on the stoppages tonight - maybe a word in the ear from CBS? Seemed very odd to me.
So, let's see... early KOs, weird stoppages, exciting fights cut short by doctor stoppages, bad timing, very second-rate looking production values, falling waaaaaaay short of their "anticipated" sellout... what else could go wrong for Gary Shaw and EXC?
Oh yes, their meal ticket proved the MMA world completely correct [as well as myself by the way!]
Against an opponent with a well-advertised weak chin - an opponent that was very obviously selected to provide Kimbo Slice with a very public early and impressive KO - the big star of the night got taken down time and time again by someone with relatively little skill on the mat. He got pummeled once he got down there. And no amount of, "Oh, did you see that sweep counter?" or "He had a guillotine locked in!" will make up for the fact that Kimbo Slice is still a freak show fighter who just got badly exposed tonight.
I will admit the man gives a good promo. I will admit he has an image that well sell as well as a backstory to generate buzz.
But right now, he simply does not have the skill to be put in there with anyone who is not going to just stand and throw.
Sure, he ultimately beat Thompson but he didn't get the big KO they wanted. He looked like he was going to pass out after it was over. He was breathing so hard at times, I was legitimately frightened for him. Many think he tapped out... many think it should have been stopped when he was getting pummeled in the crucifix position. Thompson was winning that fight when it was stopped - no doubt.
They need to go back to the drawing board with him. If you can't find someone who won't try to floor him, don't bother until he gets his ground game somewhere approaching passable.
Timing on the show was absolutely horrific. We saw about twenty-five minutes go by before they went up to the cage for their first fight of the night. That's absolutely unforgivable and had to be a major turnoff for first time viewers. Imagine hearing all this hype about an exciting new television show - and getting nothing but hype and chatter for 25 minutes. They also went over their timeslot by a huge amount. I ended up setting my DVR to go 30 minutes past the scheduled end time and still didn't get the whole show. Thank god for the ability to rewind live TV back an hour or I would have missed the finish to the Main Event.
Match quality was middling at best as well with the women's match and the Lawler/Smith match being right on line with what they needed. Everything else should be considered an embarrassment to EXC and to MMA in general.
I understand the desire to set up matches that they believe will be slugfests. The current view of the MMA novice is that they want to see people stand and throw and have no stomach for the matwork. I get that. But you have to imagine that getting first round knockouts were not what they had in mind.
As I said, the women's match was entertaining - although the announcers selling how badly Gina's conditioning was turned out pretty irritating. But they showed good fighting spirit, decent execution, and it was a fun showdown. The problem with this fight?
You know that's not the image of women's MMA they wanted to present to a world where a lot of people are already squeamish at the thought of two women beating the fuck out of one another. They were hoping for a clean KO with little damage before it or a swank submission but not that.
On that note, the refs/doctors seemed extremely quick on the stoppages tonight - maybe a word in the ear from CBS? Seemed very odd to me.
So, let's see... early KOs, weird stoppages, exciting fights cut short by doctor stoppages, bad timing, very second-rate looking production values, falling waaaaaaay short of their "anticipated" sellout... what else could go wrong for Gary Shaw and EXC?
Oh yes, their meal ticket proved the MMA world completely correct [as well as myself by the way!]
Against an opponent with a well-advertised weak chin - an opponent that was very obviously selected to provide Kimbo Slice with a very public early and impressive KO - the big star of the night got taken down time and time again by someone with relatively little skill on the mat. He got pummeled once he got down there. And no amount of, "Oh, did you see that sweep counter?" or "He had a guillotine locked in!" will make up for the fact that Kimbo Slice is still a freak show fighter who just got badly exposed tonight.
I will admit the man gives a good promo. I will admit he has an image that well sell as well as a backstory to generate buzz.
But right now, he simply does not have the skill to be put in there with anyone who is not going to just stand and throw.
Sure, he ultimately beat Thompson but he didn't get the big KO they wanted. He looked like he was going to pass out after it was over. He was breathing so hard at times, I was legitimately frightened for him. Many think he tapped out... many think it should have been stopped when he was getting pummeled in the crucifix position. Thompson was winning that fight when it was stopped - no doubt.
They need to go back to the drawing board with him. If you can't find someone who won't try to floor him, don't bother until he gets his ground game somewhere approaching passable.
2008-05-14
Doubie Posting Wednesday
Just thought I'd drop some more verbage on you before heading out for the Kate Nash show in Hollywood tonight.
In case you haven't noticed, somewhere on the right side of the page, there is now a section where I can leave behind some newsbits that I think you all might enjoy. And I have done so!
To help promote that cool little feature, I thought I'd take a few of those newsbits and give you some thought patterns on them.
NEWS: KCRW Launches Guest DJ Project
THOUGHT PATTERN: That's pretty fucking sick. I don't get to listen to KCRW very much except for their killer Today's Top Tune podcast that you really should be listening to but I do appreciate their efforts to introduce new music to this desolate wasteland of good musical taste that we call the United States. One of the things that I first dug about Indie 103 and that got me listening to them was their efforts to use DJs that were "unusual." Henry Rollins, the Camp Freddy boys, Dicky from the Bosstones, etc. So, the idea of someone like Danny Devito hosting a show on KCRW is pretty boss. Good idea, KCRW! Keep the morning eclectic!
NEWS: Dodgers' Blake DeWitt for ROY?
THOUGHT PATTERN: With his numbers climbing, he's gotta be getting some consideration but the concern remains true - what happens when Nomar comes back? It just seems unbelievable to me that someone doing so well and who is the future of the team will be shoved aside for someone who definitely is the past of the team. I really like Nomar but he needs to be used in a utility/supersub position now. His days as an everyday starter seem to be behind him. Of course, the one monkey in this particular wrench... what about Andy LaRoche? Did LaRoche gets Wally Pipped or does he still stand a shot at grabbing the position that he was the heir apparent to for so very long? Like sands through the hourglass...
NEWS: EliteXC expects sellout for May 31st show
THOUGHT PATTERN: You gotta be shittin' me. They think they're going to fill a 15,000+ seat arena based off Kimbo Slice's name alone? If they manage to pull that off without papering the crowd, I will swallow crow and admit that Kimbo's a hell of a bigger draw than I gave him credit for. For me, the lineup just doesn't look very good. It's another freak show lineup with EXC praying the public will tune in because a] it's free and b] it's got Kimbo and Gina Carano on the show. While that's good enough for me and for the majority of MMA fans, I'm sure, you have to wonder if that's enough for the "general public." And you DEFINITELY have to wonder if it's enough to sell out that building.
NEWS: Charter Communications to share web histories with advertisers
THOUGHT PATTERN: Remember that time you Googled "Miley Cyrus topless photos" looking for those Vanity Fair pics that everyone was talking about? No? LIAR! Well, thanks to the good folks at Charter Communications, soon everyone will know that you performed that search and just what porn sites you ventured to blindly looking for said photos. And as a result? You're probably going to get some very targeted porn ads sent your way. Awesome! Ain't the lethal combination of American business practices and intrusive technology grand?
NEWS: Bryant skips practice again but says he will play
THOUGHT PATTERN: Oh god. Just reading the headline makes me queasy. But there's really no way around it. You don't want him to NOT play because injured or not, I bet the Lakers stand a better chance of winning if he plays than they do if he sits. At the same time, the haunting memories of badly shot jumpers in the 4th quarter from Sunday will not leave my mind until we're out of this round... and probably not even then. A lot of people say that a series really doesn't start until someone wins on the road... that puts the Lakers in a must-win scenario tonight as they haven't proved they can win in Utah this post-season yet. MUST WIN. Phil better write that on the board tonight. Game 6 is going to be a bitch... and having the pressure of being an elimination game is something the Lakers DO NOT need. Game on, Laker fans... game on.
In case you haven't noticed, somewhere on the right side of the page, there is now a section where I can leave behind some newsbits that I think you all might enjoy. And I have done so!
To help promote that cool little feature, I thought I'd take a few of those newsbits and give you some thought patterns on them.
NEWS: KCRW Launches Guest DJ Project
THOUGHT PATTERN: That's pretty fucking sick. I don't get to listen to KCRW very much except for their killer Today's Top Tune podcast that you really should be listening to but I do appreciate their efforts to introduce new music to this desolate wasteland of good musical taste that we call the United States. One of the things that I first dug about Indie 103 and that got me listening to them was their efforts to use DJs that were "unusual." Henry Rollins, the Camp Freddy boys, Dicky from the Bosstones, etc. So, the idea of someone like Danny Devito hosting a show on KCRW is pretty boss. Good idea, KCRW! Keep the morning eclectic!
NEWS: Dodgers' Blake DeWitt for ROY?
THOUGHT PATTERN: With his numbers climbing, he's gotta be getting some consideration but the concern remains true - what happens when Nomar comes back? It just seems unbelievable to me that someone doing so well and who is the future of the team will be shoved aside for someone who definitely is the past of the team. I really like Nomar but he needs to be used in a utility/supersub position now. His days as an everyday starter seem to be behind him. Of course, the one monkey in this particular wrench... what about Andy LaRoche? Did LaRoche gets Wally Pipped or does he still stand a shot at grabbing the position that he was the heir apparent to for so very long? Like sands through the hourglass...
NEWS: EliteXC expects sellout for May 31st show
THOUGHT PATTERN: You gotta be shittin' me. They think they're going to fill a 15,000+ seat arena based off Kimbo Slice's name alone? If they manage to pull that off without papering the crowd, I will swallow crow and admit that Kimbo's a hell of a bigger draw than I gave him credit for. For me, the lineup just doesn't look very good. It's another freak show lineup with EXC praying the public will tune in because a] it's free and b] it's got Kimbo and Gina Carano on the show. While that's good enough for me and for the majority of MMA fans, I'm sure, you have to wonder if that's enough for the "general public." And you DEFINITELY have to wonder if it's enough to sell out that building.
NEWS: Charter Communications to share web histories with advertisers
THOUGHT PATTERN: Remember that time you Googled "Miley Cyrus topless photos" looking for those Vanity Fair pics that everyone was talking about? No? LIAR! Well, thanks to the good folks at Charter Communications, soon everyone will know that you performed that search and just what porn sites you ventured to blindly looking for said photos. And as a result? You're probably going to get some very targeted porn ads sent your way. Awesome! Ain't the lethal combination of American business practices and intrusive technology grand?
NEWS: Bryant skips practice again but says he will play
THOUGHT PATTERN: Oh god. Just reading the headline makes me queasy. But there's really no way around it. You don't want him to NOT play because injured or not, I bet the Lakers stand a better chance of winning if he plays than they do if he sits. At the same time, the haunting memories of badly shot jumpers in the 4th quarter from Sunday will not leave my mind until we're out of this round... and probably not even then. A lot of people say that a series really doesn't start until someone wins on the road... that puts the Lakers in a must-win scenario tonight as they haven't proved they can win in Utah this post-season yet. MUST WIN. Phil better write that on the board tonight. Game 6 is going to be a bitch... and having the pressure of being an elimination game is something the Lakers DO NOT need. Game on, Laker fans... game on.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
