UFC 106 Results

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Let’s take a look at the results from last night’s UFC 106 card:

  • Kendall “da Spider” Grove [12-6] vs Jake Rosholt [6-1].  Rosholt was dominating Grove throughout the first round when suddenly Grove transitioned from bottom to an armbar attempt and then again quickly to a leg triangle.  It was over with Grove getting the win.  My pick – Rosholt making me 0-1.
  • Ben Saunders [7-1-2] vs Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis [21-6].  Saunders dominated the fight earning a KO win in the first round from brutal knees thrown from the head clinch.  My pick – Davis making me 0-2 for the night.
  • Amir Sadollah [2-1] vs Phill “The New York Bad Ass” Baroni [13-11].  Sadollah earned a unanimous decision win.  Okay, my pick – Sadollah giving me my first win of the night and making me 1-2.
  • Antonio Rogerio “Minotaro” Nogueira [17-3] vs Luis “Bana” Cane [11-1-1].  Nogueira came out and bullied Cane, scoring a first round KO!  My pick – Cane in an upset and boy, am I upset with myself for THAT pick since it made me 1-3.
  • Paulo Thiago [11-1] vs Jacob “Christmas” Volkmann [9-0].  Thiago earned a unanimous decision. My pick – Volkmann in an upset win making me even more upset that my record for the night dropped to 1-4.
  • Josh “Kos” Koscheck [15-4] vs Anthony “Rumble” Johnson [8-2].  Koscheck defeats Johnson in the second round via rear naked choke.  My pick – Koscheck takes me to 2-4.
  • Tito “The Hunington Beach Bad Boy” Ortiz [16-6-1] vs Forrest Griffin [16-6].  Griffin scores a split decision win setting up a tie-breaker match somewhere down the line [Ortiz scored a split decision win in their first fight].  My pick – Griffin takes me to 3-4 for the night.

It was a good night for fights, but a bad night for my picks.  Lucky for me I wasn’t betting.

“The Goon” in Thought

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Friday night I watched my dvd extras for “The Mist” and was surprised to see Eric “The Goon” Powell on set with Frank Darabont.  I’ve been an Eric Powell fan for years. So has Frank Darabont.  In fact, Eric Powell did one of my favorite Stallone pieces [thanks again, John Higashi!].

Eric’s work on his creation, The Goon is required reading for all comic fans.  And since we’re speaking of The Goon [okay, technically we’re not speaking and I am writing, but…} did you know that Eric has created an issue of The Goon without word balloons?  The entire comic is made up of silent panels or just shots with thought balloons.  The story involves the Goon, a stolen necklace, a fem fatale and a crazy killer… oh, and no word balloons.  Sounds cool, right?  You can read more about it, here at CBR.com.

UFC 106 Picks

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Tonight’s UFC 106 card is quickly approaching. Let’s take a look at the fights and my picks:

  • Kendall “da Spider” Grove [12-6] vs Jake Rosholt [6-1].  Usually if one guy has a nickname and the other doesn’t, you should go with the guy with the nick.  However… Rosholt has the better record, is a world class wrestler and in his fight submitted Chris Leben.  My pick – Rosholt.
  • Ben Saunders [7-1-2] vs Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis [21-6].  Saunders is primarily known as a kickboxer and Davis a boxer (although half of his wins are by submission).  This should be a competitive fight.  My pick – Davis (well, he does have the nickname).
  • Amir Sadollah [2-1] vs Phill “The New York Bad Ass” Baroni [13-11].  Sadollah won season 7 of The Ultimate Fighter and is a quite, modest guy with a personality that’s hard not to like.  Baroni on the other hand, is just the opposite.  Baroni hasn’t won a fight over an opponent with a winning record in 3 years and many say he is just being brought back to the UFC to give Sadollah a win over a “name”.  Okay, my pick – Sadollah [despite the fact that he doesn’t have a nickname].
  • Antonio Rogerio “Minotaro” Nogueira [17-3] vs Luis “Bana” Cane [11-1-1].  This should be a tough fight.  Nogueira will be the fan favorite and perhaps the fight favorite going in.  He’s also a skilled Muay Thai and BJJ fighter.  Cane is a tough kid who likes to bang.  If Cane can keep out of trouble if it goes to the ground, or better yet, keep the fight standing, he’ll have a good chance.  My pick – Cane in an upset.
  • Paulo Thiago [11-1] vs Jacob “Christmas” Volkmann [9-0].  Thiago is a black belt in BJJ, while Volkmann is a world class wrestler. This should be a great contest.  My pick – Volkmann in an upset win [and, yes, Volkmann does have the nickname]
  • Josh “Kos” Koscheck [15-4] vs Anthony “Rumble” Johnson [8-2].  This has the potential to be the fight of the night.  It’s also a tough one to pick.  [Yeah, both have nicknames.]  Koscheck and Johnson both have strong backgrounds in wrestling, but I’d give the edge to Koscheck.  Both like to bang, and here the edge goes to Johnson.  If Koscheck can take Johnson down, he could have a good chance for a victory. Two things could prevent that: 1] Johnson’s got the height and reach advantage and knows how to avoid takedowns and 2] Koscheck sometimes seems to forgot that his strength is wrestling and instead goes for the knockout.  I look for this to be a great fight.  My pick – Koscheck [despite the fact that his nickname seems like an after thought.]
  • Tito “The Hunington Beach Bad Boy” Ortiz [16-6-1] vs Forrest Griffin [16-6].  This should also prove to be an interesting fight.  Two of the biggest fan favorite fighters [try saying that 3 times fast] squaring off in a rematch [the first ended in a controversial split decision win for Ortiz].  Oritz is primarily known as a wrestler who takes down his opponents and then works them over with brutal elbows.  Griffin projects the image of an unskilled brawler, but in reality is a skilled striker who holds a brown belt in BJJ.  I don’t think that Otiz will be able to finish Griffin early, although he may be able to take him down in the first round.  After the first, takedowns will be much more difficult and Griffin’s superior striking will come into play.  My pick – [despite no nickname] Griffin.


All Time Best 1 Man Armies

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EmpireOnLine.com recently posted their list of The Top 25 Best One Man Armies in the Movies.  Of course, Rambo came in at #1.  Who could argue with that?  The rest of the list can [and should] be debated.  Isn’t that the purpose of lists?  Here are my suggestions for the top ten:

  1. Rambo played by SYLVESTER STALLONE in FIRST BLOOD, RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD, PART II, RAMBO III, RAMBO
  2. Lee played by BRUCE LEE in ENTER THE DRAGON
  3. Bryan Mills played by LIAM NEESON in TAKEN
  4. Geno Felino played by STEVEN SEAGAL in OUT FOR JUSTICE
  5. Creasy played by DENZEL WASHINGTON in MAN ON FIRE
  6. Walker played by LEE MARVIN in POINT BLANK
  7. El Mariachi played by ANTONIO BANDERAS in DESPERADO, ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO
  8. John Matrix played by ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER in COMMANDO
  9. Blade played by WESLEY SNIPES in BLADE, BLADE II, BLADE TRINITY
  10. John Preston played by CHRISTIAN BALE in EQUILIBRIUM

Tampa Con Report

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I finally had some time to post a few pictures from Tim Gordon’s Tampa Comic and Toy Convention. Those two mugs above are John Beatty and I. We’re holding up copies of the Christmas Charity comic that Tim put together. Big J and I did a story for it. John says that since the last story we worked together on was about 30 years ago, we can look for our next team-up somewhere around 2039.

John did some sketches while at the show…

Some superheroes showed up…

And even one that looked like…

Otis Frampton’s Jack Carter

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Otis Frampton is an extremely talented artist who loves drawing for his fans. Every Sunday [okay, ALMOST, every Sunday], Otis has a live UStream broadcast that he calls the 7×7 Sunday. Lucky fans can get a headsketch of ANY character drawn live by Otis on a 7X7 inch bristol board for 7 bucks postage paid. It’s the best deal going.

I’ve been lucky enough to get four pieces from Otis and the Jack Carter shown above is just one of them. I’ll be showing the rest in the coming weeks. In the mean time, check out Otis’ Gallery. Most likely, after seeing more of his work, I’ll be competing against you in Otis’ next 7×7 Sunday.

Meeting Frank Stallone

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On Sunday, November 8, 2009, Frank Stallone dropped by City Line Pizza in Edgewater, Florida. Since the store co-owner, Joe V, is a SZoner, I was given advance notice and made plans to be there. Talk about a cool experience. Frank was totally down to earth and spent the time talking with fans, signing autographs and CDs. Frank has a new reality tv show in the works. Of course we’ll keep you updated as it moves closer to production.

Although Frank and I had exchanged e-mails over the years, it was my first time meeting him in person. Frank was very gracious and thanked me for my efforts with the StalloneZone. He explained that Sly doesn’t mess around on computers much and at first had reservations about someone using his name and creating a website about him. Frank explained to Sly that “Craig is one of the good guys” and the StalloneZone is a positive place for Stallone fans to gather. Frank also wanted to make sure that all SZoners knew how much he and Sly appreciated our support.

I also met a couple of other fans at Frank’s appearance. The first, Stephen Isaia, is a huge Frank Stallone / StalloneZone fan. Stephen flew down to Florida to attend a Frank Stallone concert and come to the store appearance. It was a pleasure meeting Stephen. I also met Mike Tourney who collects autographs and guitar pics. Mike had an original Valentine record album for Frank to sign. Valentine was Frank’s band back in the pre-Rocky days. Talk about rare!

I’ll post more on Frank’s visit next weekend along with a few more photos. The pictures today come to us from Stephen Isaia!

UFC Fight Results

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Here are the results from my predictions for last night’s UFC card:

  • Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson defeated Aaron Riley in round 2 via TKO.  I’m went with “The Real Deal” which made me 1-0 and 100% after the first fight.
  • James “Lightning” Wilks lost to Matt “The Immortal” Brown via TKO in round 3.  I thought “Lightning” would strike, but I didn’t realize it was going to be the lightning fast hands of “The Immortal”.  Suddenly I’m at 1-1 for 50% after two fights.
  • Michael “The Count” Bisping won against Denis Kang via TKO in round 2.  I predicted it would be “The Count” getting the victory and that makes me 2-1 for 66% after 3 fights.
  • Mike “Quick” Swick lost by unanimous decision to Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy.  I’m picked Swick so you could say that “The Outlaw” stole my winning percentage and knocked it down to 2-2 for 50% after 4 fights.
  • Randy “The Natural” Couture beat Brandon “The Truth” Vera by unanimous decision.  “The Natural” was my pick to win and he also makes me a winner at 3-2 for 60% after 5 fights.

The fights were fun… and the company made it even more of a blast.  Hats off to Bartledoo Joey who went 5-0 with his picks.

Big Day Saturday

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Tomorrow should be a great day. I’m starting out at the beautiful JBI studios in downtown Holly Hill.  I’ll be serving as co-host for John Beatty’s $10 Head Sketch Saturday.  John will be drawing live on UStream as fans request their very own sketches.  These broadcasts are a lot of fun, so even if you don’t plan to purchase a sketch, drop on by and join in.  Details are here.

Then after a full day with Big Beatty, I’m going to join my brother, Boobyboo and nephew, Bartledoo, to watch UFC 105 live [for free] on SPIKE.  Let’s take a look at the card and my predictions:

  • Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson vs Aaron Riley.  I’m going with “The Real Deal” for three reasons: 1] I’ve seen him fight  2] He has a slightly better record and 3] He has a nickname.

  • James “Lightning” Wilks vs  Matt “The Immortal” Brown.  I’m thinking that “Lightning” is going to strike and “The Immortal” won’t be.

  • Michael “The Count” Bisping vs Denis Kang.  Kang may go the distance, but it will be “The Count” getting the victory that, uh, counts.

  • Mike “Quick” Swick vs Dan “The Outlaw” Hardy.  It should be a fast paced fight so I’m naturally favoring “The Quick”.

  • Randy “The Natural” Couture vs Brandon “The Truth” Vera.  “The Natural” should score the win and that’s “The Truth”.

Hopefully my predictions will be as good as Beatty’s sketches.

Rambo Changes Course

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Hey SZoners – I just received an e-mail from Sly for all SZoners:

From Sly

Hi Craig,

This is from Sly to your followers:

To all the loyal SZoners out there,

I’m letting you know that Rambo has changed course and the story about hunting the man/beast will be done using another character in the lead. RAMBO himself will be heading over the border to a violent city where many young women have vanished .

There will be blood.

Best,
Sly Stallone

This is great news since it means that we should get two Stallone movies – a new “Rambo” [back to the concept everyone seemed to dig] and what sounds like “Hunter” based on the novel written specifically for Sly by James Byron Huggins. It’s no secret that I and many SZoners have been hoping that Sly would adapt the novel for the big screen. – Craig

$10 Head Sketch Saturday

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John Beatty is gearing up for another $10 Head Sketch Saturday.  So if you missed out on the first one, here’s another chance: Saturday, November 14th starting at about 11am.  You can order your sketch and then watch John draw it live on UStream.  I’ll be there co-hosting the event and even if you’re not ordering, drop in and join the fun!  Details can be found at John’s site.

Hope you can join us!

The Ghoul

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If this description doesn’t get you interested… 

The Ghoul, a monstrous investigator with a reputation for solving the world’s weirdest crimes…

…then perhaps knowing that it’s created and written by Steve “30 Days of Night” Niles with art by Bernie “Frankenstein” Wrightson will be enough to get you to pick up a copy.  Of course you may be a real hard sell and want to see CBR.com’s five page preview before you’re willing to part with your hard-earned cash.

John Beatty’s Quick Carter

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My buddy John Beatty recently did this quick sketch of Sly as Jack Carter. Not too long ago John began doing a weekly Wednesday Night Sketch Session live on UStream. These are full figure pieces and fans have the option of getting them with or without gray tones. Here are a few of examples [with tones /without tones / and again with tones]. Fans get on his list, John let’s them know the date he’ll be doing their piece and they can tune in [along with others] and interact with John as he completes the art. This has been going over so well, that John is booked through the end of the year.

In addition, John set aside a monthly time [usually a Saturday midday] that he goes live on UStream and does Ten Dollar Head Sketches. Because these move at a much faster pace [usually 20 to 30 minutes] and the turnout is so great, I serve as co-host. Here are two of my favorites – Captain America and Two-Face from the last session.

If you’re interested in getting in contact with John, just click here!