Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
If you’re looking forward to the premiere of Lights Out, the new series on FX that premieres on January 11th, then you’ll probably want to check out the trailer below. If you haven’t heard about Lights Out, give it a look and see if the show might be something you’d like. Since you read this blog, there’s a good chance it will.
As we head into a new year, I always take a moment or two to look back. Since today is the first day of 2011… The top photo is of me taken during the middle of a tough game. I was a sophomore at Mainland High School and played defensive tackle.
This photo is of me and Mike Singletary. The Chicago Bears have always been my favorite pro football team. Mike Singletary is one of my all-time favorite players [and he would have been even if he wasn’t a Chicago Bear]. Singletary was never the biggest player on the field, but he always played with the most heart. I got a chance to meet Mike back in 1993 or 1994. He had been brought in as an inspirational speaker and I was lucky enough to get some face to face time with him afterward. Funny, but my hair doesn’t look as gray in that photo…
Recently UGO listed their choices for The Greatest Professional Wrestlers of All Time. Using just their list, here is my top ten:
UGO’s list is very limited. Where was Dick the Bruiser [my personal choice for #1], Mil Mascaras, Blackjack Mulligan, Wilbur Snyder, and so many others. And yes. Andy, I did see Moose Cholak wrestle many times, but he wouldn’t have made my top 50. Sorry Moose.
UFC110 was Saturday night, so let’s take a look at the fight results and my picks:
Minotauro Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez – My pick: Velesquez by decision. The result: Velesquez wins by KO in the 1st keeping him undefeated. I’m not sure if this says more about where Velesquez or Big Nog. [[My picks 4-3]
Michael Bisping vs. Wanderlei Silva – My pick: Silva via TKO. The result: Silva wins by close decision; 29-28 on all 3 judes’ cards. Good for both fighters! Even though he lost I underestimated Bisping. [My picks 3-3]
George Sotiropoulos v. Joe Stevenson – My pick: Stevenson by submission. The result: Sotiropoulos wins every round on all judges’ cards. This does not bode well for Joe “Daddy” Stevenson. [My picks 2-3]
Keith Jardine v. Ryan Bader – My pick: Bader by KO or TKO. The result: Bader wins by 3rd round KO. [My picks 2-2]
Stephan Bonnar v. Krzysztof Soszynski -My pick: Soszynski by decision. The result: Soszynski wins by 3rd round TKO due to a bad cut. [My picks 1-2]
Brian Foster v. Chris Lytle – My pick: Foster by decision. The result: Lytle wins by 1st round submission due to a knee bar. [My picks 0-2]
Goran Reljic v. C.B. Dolloway -My pick: Reljic by decision. The result: Dolloway wins by close [29-28 all all judges’ cards] decision. [My picks 0-1]
UFC110 is Saturday night, so let’s take a look at the fights and my picks:
Minotauro Nogueira vs. Cain Velasquez – My pick: Velesquez by decision.
Michael Bisping vs. Wanderlei Silva – My pick: Silva via TKO
George Sotiropoulos v. Joe Stevenson – My pick: Stevenson by submission
Keith Jardine v. Ryan Bader – My pick: Bader by KO or TKO.
Stephan Bonnar v. Krzysztof Soszynski -My pick: Soszynski by decision.
Brian Foster v. Chris Lytle – My pick: Foster by decision.
Goran Reljic v. C.B. Dolloway -My pick: Reljic by decision.
If you’d like to see Ryan Cody’s picks and rationale, then click here.
Alexis Arguello and Karl Malden passed on today.
Alexis Arguello, who was a champion in three weight divisions, died at the age of 57 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Arguello, was a charismatic champion who compiled an amazing 82 – 8 record before finally retiring in 1995. Although Arguello never lost a fight 130 pounds he is best known for his first brutal and controversial war against Aaron Pryor in 1982. Arguello moved up in weight with the hope of being the first champion in four weight divisions. Pryor won the fight by knocking out Arguello in the 14th round of the epic fight which had seen both fighters taking and giving as good as they were getting. Arguello seemed to be gaining the advantage, but in the respite before the 14th round, Pryor’s trainer, Panama Lewis, called for a specific water bottle — “the one I mixed” — the mysterious drink seemed to revive Pryor who went on to win. The fight against Pryor was voted Fight of the Year and Fight of the Decade by Ring magazine. Arguello fought for 13 more years and remained a popular figure after leaving the squared circle. He appeared in commercials, carried his country’s flag in the Olympics and was currently the mayor of Managua, the capital of Nicaragua.
Karl Malden, 97, died today from natural causes. An Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actor in 1951 for his role in “A Streetcar Named Desire” which starred Marlon Brando. Malden also appeared with Brando in “On the Waterfront” and “One-Eyed Jacks” as well as several dozen movies without him. Malden had a five year run with Michael Douglas in the popular “Streets of San Francisco” tv series which ran from 1972 – 1977.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families, friends and fans of Alexis Arguello and Karl Malden.
Last night the a bunch of the family met up in DeLand to see my nephew pitch for East Tennessee State University against Stetson. Although hanging with the family was fun, the game didn’t go our way. Josh started as pitcher and went five innings. The score was 4-2 when he was relieved [and two of the runs came after errors]. Things went pretty much downhill after that. ETSU went through four more pitchers as Stetson hammered in a total of 19 runs. Final score Stetson 19, ETSU 4. Arrgh.
After the game, when we went out into the parking lot we discovered that one of the foul balls hit out of the stadium had busted out Josh’s mom’s car’s back window. Sheesh! You can see that Joey was shocked at the look of his Aunt’s car!
Still, the night did have it’s moments. It was fun hanging with family members. And Grandma Peggy came up with a few new ones: “They’ve got more runs than a pair of my old hose” — “That kid is swingin’ like it’s the 60’s!”
Although I loved professional wrestling when I was a kid back in the 60’s and early 70’s, I haven’t regularly watched it since my sons lost interest more than a few years ago. Still, I enjoy seeing clips of old matches/interviews and reading biographies of professional wrestlers. You wouldn’t believe some of the stories — and that’s just the ones that they’ll share!
Last night the WWE Hall of Fame Inductions included “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Ricky “”The Dragon” Steamboat, “Cowboy” Bill Watts, Dory and Terry Funk, announcer Howard Finkle and the Von Erich family.
Here’s a bit of trivia: Did you know that “Stone Cold” Steve Austin is set to co-star with Sly in The Expendables and Terry Funk had featured roles in Sly’s Paradise Alley and Over the Top?
My nephew, Josh Gonzaga, plays college baseball for the East Tennessee Buccaners. Today they had a doubleheader against North Florida in Jacksonville. Since Josh was starting pitcher in the second game, the family decided to drive up. When I say family, I mean family. In attendance were Josh’s mom, dad and brother Justin, my nephew Joey and his wife, my wife, my son Mike and his girlfriend Erin, and Grandma Peggy.
Now the one thing you have to know about Grandma Peggy is that she has little interest in sports and knows even less about them. You could tell her that the pitcher just threw for three touchdowns and she’d not question it. You could say that the batter just earned a TKO and she’d believe you. Grandma Peggy was just there because Josh was playing and she loves being with her family.
As the game got underway there were the normal cheers. “Go Bucs!” “Give him your best pitch!” “Great pitch, Josh!” “Battle back, kid!” “Come on blue, get in the game!” There were also a few new [at least to me] cheers: “Hey Blue, I thought only cows slept standing up!” “Hey Blue, don’t be chicken to call a foul (fowl)!” As the game tightened up and got down to the middle innings it seemed that everyone in the family was cheering something. And that’s when Grandma Peggy yelled:
“That batter swings like a pole dancer!”
Everyone in the family suddenly got quiet and all eyes went to Grandma Peggy who was proudly smiling. “Uh, mom, what does that mean?” I asked. “I don’t know, I just thought it sounded right” came her response. We all busted out laughing. For the rest of the game, every so often, you’d hear someone yell, “That batter swings like a pole dancer!”
So if you’re ever at a baseball game and you hear that cheer… remember you read it here first at the ZONE! [Take THAT, Joey!]
This is pretty funny… especially if you stick around to get a look at the score.
[And a big endzone celebration to Neatorama.com for the link.]
I work as an Assistant Principal at a local high school. A while back I posted about talking to former World Lightheavy Weight Champ, Antonio Tarver at one of our basketball games. Tonight I was working the game as our girls basketball team played for the district title. Kevin Nash [movie actor and professional wrestler] came to watch. Nash is friends of the family of one of the players.
What was cool was that many people recognized him, but no one went over for autographs or to talk to him. Kevin Nash wasn’t there for that and people seemed to realize it. A group of students did walk by to get a closer look, but even they didn’t bug him. Too bad that most celebrities aren’t given the same respect when they are trying to enjoy some time away from the limelight.
Unfortunately our girls lost. The good news is that coming in 2nd place in the district moves us into the regional tournament with a chance to still go to state. If we make it, maybe Kevin Nash will make a return visit.
Last night’s UFC 92 had a few surprises.
Quentin “Rampage” Jackson (28-7) vs Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva (32-8). Because Rampage had met Silva twice before and lost both times, I thought that the third time would likely end with another win for Silva. Boy, was I wrong, Rampage won via a devastating KO in the first round. Rampage is back and although you might think that he’d want a shot at getting his title again, he’s said that he’d rather get the chance to avenge his loss to Forrest Griffin. Now that’s a fighter talking!
Antonio “Big Nog” Nogueira (31-4-1) vs Frank Mir (11-3). Mir had less experience and did not sound confident in pre-fight interviews. That, coupled with the fact that Big Nog gets stronger as a fight goes on [and Mir isn’t known for his conditioning] led me to belive that Big Nog would probably come out the winner. Boy, was I wrong again. Not only did Mir dominate the first round, he continued to dominate in the second and knocked Big Nog out before the 2 minute mark. Mir KO’d a man who had never been knocked out before and he made it look fairly easy.
Forrest Griffin (16-4) vs “Sugar” Rashad Evans (16-0-1). I picked Griffin to win, but was worried that Evans would once again find a way earn the victory. He did. Griffin had a great fight plan which kept the fight off the mat, and Evans at bay with solid leg kicks. Griffin won both rounds one and two and appeared to be on his way to winning the third as well. That’s when Evans was able to catch Griffin’s leg and land a hard shot which put Griffin down. Evans followed up with repeated head strikes until the ref was forced to call it.
So congratulations to Rampage, Mir and Evans.
Tomorrow night’s card for UFC 92 is stacked. Three fights headline the card and they should all prove to be interesting, competitive fights.
Quentin “Rampage” Jackson (28-7) takes on Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva (32-8). Jackson is the former light heavyweight champ, with the emphasis is on former. It’s still fresh in most folks’ minds about Jackson’s erratic behavior following the loss of his title. Many are saying that the shake-ups that followed Jackson’s run-ins with the law led to good things. He started training seriously, he got rid of those around him who were not the best influences and will come into this fight a changed man. He will need to be. Rampage has met Silva twice before and lost both times. I like Rampage, but plan to give the nod to Silva.
Antonio “Big Nog” Nogueira (31-4-1) matches up against Frank Mir (11-3). Again, I like both fighters. Mir has less experience. Plus, if you’ve heard him speaking about Big Nog in interviews, you know that Mir is concerned with the fact that Big Nog gets stronger as the fight goes on… and Mir isn’t known for his conditioning. I think that Big Nog has the advantage going in and unless Mir makes something happen fast, it could be a long night in the octogon with Nogueira coming out a winner.
Forrest Griffin (16-4) puts his title on the line when he squares off against “Sugar” Rashad Evans (16-0-1). Both of these guys are former winners of The Ultimate Fighter show tourneys. Although Griffin is a slight favorite, mainly due to his popularity, Evans is the more technical fighter due to his extensive college wrestling career. I’m leaning towards Griffin finding a way to win, but am concerned that Evans has ALWAYS been able to do just that.
One of the greatest fights of all-time was the third match between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali. Dubbed the “Thrilla in Manila” it was the rubber match between two of the best fighters to ever step into the ring. Ali won the battle, but at a great cost. The fight took such a toil on them that both Frazier and Ali never wanted to watch it again.
Now, thirty plus years later, film maker John Dower uses that epic battle as the framework for his documentary “Thriller in Manila.” Not only does Dower take a close look at the fight, he takes the controversial stance that Ali’s dark side has been glossed over by time and that Joe Frazier was slighted due to the charisma of Ali. Dower uses new interviews with Frazier [who watches the Manila fight for the first time] interspliced with old newsreel footage and interviews to paint a picture of Ali that isn’t pretty.
You can read more about the documentary here.
Tonight, my son, Chris and I are heading over to Orlando to watch the Magic play a pre-season game against CSKA Moscow. Chris is a huge sports fan and the Magic are his favorite B-Ball team, so when I was able to score free tickets, it was a given that we’d go. It’s always a blast to see a game live… even if it is pre-season.
