Shamrock Goes Out a Winner

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Let’s get this clear from the start, Ken Shamrock lost the fight to Tito Ortiz. Shamrock was stopped in the first round and there was no controversy. Ortiz was clearly the victor.

How then, you might ask, can I title this post, “Shamrock Goes Out a Winner.”? Those of you that saw the fight, probably already know where I’m going with this; but in case you don’t, or you didn’t see the fight, let me explain.

Shamrock came prepared to fight. He was in great shape. When the fight started, Shamrock didn’t rush in. He had a plan. When he and Ortiz came together, Shamrock met him head on. Ortiz went for the big takedown, and Shamrock was able to hold him off… for a bit. When they went to the mat and Ortiz started to ground and pound, Shamrock stayed cool. Ortiz was just too strong. Finally punches began to come through Shamrock’s guard and the fight was stopped.

Ortiz jumped up and began to go into his after fight antics. He did the gravedigger thing that he does. When Shamrock started to come to the middle of the octogan for the announcement of the winner, he reached out to shake Tito’s hand. Instead Ortiz began to flip off Shamrock with both of his hands. In the post fight interview Ortiz made sure to point out that he was wearing a “Punishing Him into Retirement” shirt and then gave the webstie where fans could buy one of their own.

Normally these antics would have sent Shamrock into orbit. But not tonight. Shamrock instead said that Ortiz won and that the stoppage was a good one. Shamrock thanked his fans for the support over the years and said that he wanted to go out with no hard feelings for Ortiz. In fact he wished Ortiz continued success and added “God Bless all of the guys who fight in the octogon.”

Ortiz must have been listening, because he came over and when Shamrock was done speaking, took the mic and apologized directly to Shamrock for his antics after the match. They shook hands and hugged.

Ken Shamrock has probably fought his last battle in the octogan. He went out a warrior. He went out with class. Although defeated, he acted like a winner.

It Ain’t Over Until It’s Over

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We’re just a little over 24 hours away from Ortiz vs Shamrock 3 and while Ortiz is heavily favored to perform a three-peat, it ain’t over until it’s over.

So, what does Shamrock have to do to win?

First of all, he must stay off his back. If Ortiz takes Shamrock down, the fight could be over quickly. That’s because Ortiz is at his best when he’s “groundin’ and poundin’.” If Shamrock can avoid the takedowns and push the fight into the second and third rounds, Ortiz will get frustrated.

The second thing that Shamrock must do is to keep moving and punching. If he stands still Ortiz will take him down. If he doesn’t throw a lot of punches, Ortiz will take him down. [Heck, even if Shamrock is moving and sticking, Ortiz may still take him down.] By constantly changing his angles and throwing hands, Shamrock will force Ortiz to slow his attack. And of course open up the opportunity for Shamrock to land a knockout blow.

So, what does Ortiz have to do to win?

Ortiz needs to be careful when shooting for the takedown. Everyone is expecting Ortiz to go for the big slam, so if Shamrock has trained and is able to execute, Ortiz could get hammered coming in. Ortiz needs to be patient and pick his shots. If he takes Shamrock down, he needs to swing away as fast and as hard as possible. Shamrock can be rocked and will then take a few punches before responding. This could lead to another quick stoppage.

So how do I see the fight going?

I believe that Ortiz is going to win. Shamrock has a puncher’s chance, but odds are against it.

Still… I can’t wait to see how it all goes down because, as we all know, it ain’t over until it’s over.

Two Reasons to Watch

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Tito Ortiz and Ken Shamrock have fought twice. Ortiz has won both fights. Most folks in the know expect him to win again when the two warriors square off in the octagon on Tuesday night. So if everything points to another Shamrock win, why is everyone so interested?

I believe that it’s because of two reasons: 1] They really, and I mean really hate each other and 2] because when anything can happen when two skilled men are trying to knock each other out.

You can see the pre-fight weigh-in on Monday at 8pm on SPIKE. Then tune in to watch the fight for free at 8pm on Tuesday on SPIKE.

Predictions?

"Pretty Boy" Bobby Heenan vs Cowby Bob Ellis

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When I was growing up in the midwest in the late 60’s and early 70’s I was a huge pro wrestling fan. My favorite tag team wrestlers were The Blackjacks [Mulligan & Lanza] with manager “Pretty Boy” Bobby Heenan.

Sometimes Heenan would even get involved in matches [usually against his will]. If you watch today’s video you’ll see a match where Heenan was signed to wrestle crowd favorite “Cowboy” Bob Ellis. Despite the fact that Heenan had recently busted his knee, he went down to the ring on crutches to seek a short postponement… of maybe six or seven months… click below and you’ll see what happens when the match is forced to go on.

 

Gray, Brown and Gone

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Recently some pics turned up from three movies that I’m keeping an eye on.
The first is from “I am Legend” starring Wil Smith. JoBlow.com posted up a shot of Smith in character. Ain’t It Cool News also posted some location shots. I’ve got to say that I’m a bit surprised by Smith’s gray hair. Maybe his character is a bit older [nothing wrong with that] or maybe he’s just trying out the Tom Cruise “Collateral” look.

Meanwhile over at Ain’t It Cool News [again] they’ve posted some location shots of Kurt Russell on Tarantino’s “Death Proof.” Most of you remember [and now all of you know] “Death Proof” is Tarantino’s contribution to his GrindHouse double feature with Robert Rodriguez.

The Baltimore Sun recently posted some shots of Bruce Willis on location filming “Live Free or Die Hard.” I’ve enjoyed all of the “Die Hard” movies. The original even started a whole new sub-genre to the action picture. I hope that “Live Free” is a welcome addition to the others in the series. Willis has never hidden the fact that’s he’s bald and has appeared in movies without a hairpiece… so why do these pictures look so different?

Comments?

Chaykin’s Blade

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If you’ve been keeping up, then you know that I’m looking forward to Howard Chaykin’s art on the soon to be released Blade comic series from Marvel. Heck, you’ve probably read my post about it here and here. And since you’ve been keeping up, you probably already read this interview with Chaykin.

I guess the only thing left is to buy the comic!

 

Today We Die!

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My buddy, John Beatty, and I have been taking trips together since we were teenagers. So about 30 years ago, before we headed off on a short trip to Orlando, one of us looked at the other and said, “I really feel like we’re going to get in a wreck today.” Of course we didn’t, but that didn’t stop the creepy feeling that that simple statement gave us.It became a kind of joke with us. We’d be pulling out for a trip to Orlando, Tampa, Atlanta, or any destination and one of us would say to the other “I really feel like we’re going to get in a wreck today.” Over the years the statement even occasionally changed to “I really feel like we’re going to be killed in a car wreck today.” Of course whoever is driving then has to make sure that the prediction doesn’t come true. So far I’m 100% and John is pretty close to that.

So in honor of a stupid statement that we continue to toss at each other [of course NEVER when my wife or kids are riding with us], I give you Today We Die!