Enter Blue Guy

Don Rickles

Yeah, Brad May was about the only thing I felt like cheering for.

Fuck, no Jeremy Williams, no production.

At least Kulemin is gone. The amount of senseless drop passes goes down 50%. The only thing keeping the percentage up now is Garbo.

Ha, yeah. It worked for him, though, that's when Jonas decided it was best to slowly back away.

I picked up How I Met Your Mother seasons 1 and 2 not too long ago. Cold purchase. Knew little about the show, but I was looking for something funny to watch, and without watching it, it seemed almost along the lines of a updated and fresh version of Friends.

Started watching season 1 and for a second I was thinking "why the hell did I pick up two complete seasons of a show I have never watched?" before I gave it another chance at got into it. At first I was convinced Ted was way too much of a sappy loser for me to take him serious, Marshall and Lily were overly mushy in every scene, and was not getting into the Robin character at all. Barney was awesome from the first episode all the way to the end. Despite the problems I had with show, it was still incredibly funny, no matter how annoying I found most of the characters, I laughed my ass off enough through out the episodes to look forward to popping in season 2.

I started watching season 2, I dunno whether it got better or I suddenly "got" it all. Probably both. I haven't rewatched season 1 yet to know for sure. Ted is supposed to be an unlame version of Ross from Friends, Lily and Marshall are supposed to be painfully crazy about each other. At first I thought everybody was being over dramatic and sappy just for the sake of it. While watching season 2, I realized the shit that annoyed me at first is supposed be there in spite of the comedy (honestly, I don't know if that last sentence made any sense). And Robin is just too hot to hate. Barney some how managed to up his awesomeness by 10 fold. That game he plays in Atlantic City and the Price is Right scenes are gold. Oh and the Letterman top ten list for names for the van too.

It's breezy enough that I don't have to feel committed to dive into the DVDs, but there is enough story there to keep me interested as the seasons go on. And it is really funny. I'll be looking forward to season 3 when it arrives.

Don't give a shit whether the Leafs deserved to win, but they did. So I'm happy. Fuck, Jason Spezza shouldn't even have been in the game. Regardless of the force he put into that spear, he should have got booted. Either way, it was still a fun game to watch. It's the fucking 08/09 Leafs, we shouldn't be complaining how the wins come.

Frogren's death clutch around Ruutu's neck was amazing.

Confirmed. 2008 Bejing gold medalist winning jukoda, Ishii Satoshi, spoke at the Sengoku show wearing a UFC shirt saying he will indeed fight in the US. He made it known in December that he planned on training at the very reputable American Top Team and expressed his desire to fight in the UFC in the future. Before you know it, there were negotiations, and now the UFC has bagged a much sought after international Judo star in Ishii.

I guess that's pretty cool. At 5'11 and competing in Judo at 240, I'm not sure which division he aims at going for. LHW makes the most sense for his specs, though.

I watched a bit of Sengoku. Too blah for me to watch, but I'll probably check out Santiago/Misaki sometime soon.

My best of 2008

Fighter of the Year: Really hard to pick an undisputed top fighter of 08, between the world's best only fighting once or twice this year, along with the fact it has become clear anybody can beat anybody at anytime in MMA. So bear with me, the names Anderson Silva and GSP are not included here.

3) Frank Mir - Caught the current HW champion with a kneebar, KO'd the once unKOable Nog after dominating him on the feet with relative ease, earned the interim belt in the process.

2) Thiago Alves - Cemented himself as one of the few fighters game enough to truly contend for GSP's belt, beating Matt Hughes, Josh Koscheck, and Karo Parisyan convincingly.

1) Rashad Evans - Brutally KO'd the king of Brutal KO's and former LHW champ, Chuck Liddell, finish Forrest Griffin to become the current champ. Nobody made the most out of two fights in 08 like Rashad Evans did.

Fight of the Year: Every year fights are getting much more entertaining on average. There were so many great fights in 2008 that it is very hard to pick a handful of stand outs to put on a list, but my personal suggestions would go as follows.

5) Eddie Alvarez vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri, DREAM 5

4) Eddie Alvarez vs. Joachim Hansen, DREAM 3

3) Miguel Torres vs. Yoshiro Maeda, WEC 34

2) Jens Pulver vs. Urijah Faber, WEC 34

1) Forrest Griffin vs. Quinton Jackson, UFC 86

Card of the Year:

3) WEC 35 - Thoroughly entertaining, start to finish, topped off with Carlos Condit vs. Hiromitsu Miura

2) WEC 34 - Epic double main event in Torres/Maeda and Pulver/Faber

1) UFC 92 - Rashad is crowned, Mir is legitimatized, Rampage gets redemption. UFC 92 was a classic not for the entertainment value of the fights, but for its three storied main events all delivering in the drama department.

Upset of the Year:

3) Mike Thomas Brown def. Urijah Faber

2) Rashad Evans def. Chuck Liddell

1) Frank Mir def. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

KO of the Year:

3) Melvin Manhoef KO's Mark Hunt

2) Anthony Johnson KO's Kevin Burns

1) Rashad Evans KO's Chuck Liddell

Submission of the Year:

3) Kevin Burns triangle - Burns, a BJJ blue belt, caught world class grappler and BJJ black belt, Carneiro, in an a triangle choke

2) Dustin Hazelett armbars Josh Burkman

1) Shinya Aoki heelhooks Eddie Alvarez - This tops an Aoki gogoplata from earlier in 08, mainly because of Aoki's flawless execution of getting Eddie in position for it, then locking it in. Also, the admission of submission by pain induced scream gives it added marks.

Breakout Fighter of the Year:

3) Demian Maia - 3-0 against very tough opponents, submitting them all, Maia has folks wondering if he could be the answer to the dominance of Anderson Silva by the end 09.

2) Gegard Mousasi - 6-0 in 08, submitted KO artist Melvin Manhoef and Denis Kang, KO'd grappling icon Jacare, en route to winning the DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix

1) Brock Lesnar - Rookie to champ in three fights

Most Overrated of the Year: Takanori Gomi - not exactly sure how Gomi stays in most LW top 10 rankings after doing nothing of note for like two straight years.

Most Underrated of the Year: Yushin Okami

Fighter to Watch in 09: Rousimar Palhares - I liked what he did against Hendo, he did more than I thought he would, considering the vast jump in competition. Will he challenge for the belt in 09? No, most likely not, but if he can progress from the Hendo fight, I really like the direction in which "Paul Harris" is heading.

I don't even remember what it was for sure. The only two avs I can remember are the lovely Ms. Leah and Heath Herring getting kissed on the lips like a homosexual.

Personally, I think Mike Babcock looked fetching in his fedora.

The few profile comment droppers and the countless PMers I've run into must have slept well upon the availability of the photos.

It's Playboy, it's airbrushed crap, but for what it's worth, Rachelle looks pretty sexified.

One of the more exciting world junior games I've seen yet. Dustin Tokarski? Fuck yeah.

The Winter Classic was amazing. Pavel's goal was a thing of beauty. Splits the defense and slides it under Huet's sprawling pad. He should be arrested for being able to pull that off as casually as he did.

I don't know what strategy Quenneville was using, if it was slowing things down and protecting the lead, then that's the worst way to play Detroit. When you play Detroit you keep the foot on the gas pedal as long as you can. As soon as you give them time to think, they beat you.

Now, I see the Leafs are losing. Sexy.

Former UFC heavyweight competitor Justin Eilers has been shot and killed

http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Justin-Eilers-5936

Horrible.

I miss walking up early on Boxing Day and driving out to Millbrook and Little Britain for ridiculous single day hockey tournaments. Actually, at the time I would have much rather stayed home, eaten breakfast in front of tube, and enjoyed the game.

For whatever reason my interest in the tourney has decreased each year since 02 when they broke my heart. That 02 was my favorite WJ team ever, if they would have only won it all. Canada comes out strong, the Russians pull their fat goalie and end up coming back in the third. I couldn't even turn on TSN because I wanted no part of the highlights of the collapse.

The prospect of Canada/Russia still draws me to the tournament enough that I follow it at least on the surface up until the finals.

Some questions I'd like to discuss about UFC 92 and the aftermath of it...

2. Which upcoming fight is the N°1 contender for Light Heavyweight? Jackson Vs Wanderlei Silva? Or Machida Vs Thiago Silva? Or do you guys think the guy of those 4 that makes the best impression will get the shot?

The scenarios I think are likely are;

If Forrest and Page both win, I think Page will get the next title shot, regardless of the outcome of Machida/Silva.

If Forrest, Wandy, and Machida win, then I can see Machida finally getting a shot.

If Forrest wins, Wandy wins, and Lyoto loses, somebody named Silva will get the next title shot... I'm quite proud of coming up with this last one. I'm a deductive reasoning wiz.

I think it's a real toss up who gets the next shot if Rashad walks out with the title.

The UFC and Joe Silva can throw down which ever opponent they want, but I'm sure Rashad's means of victory over Forrest and also how the calender will look in the New Year, which cards need to be filled with what caliber of a bout, would have something to do with it.

Rashad isn't quite the star that Forrest is, so if you are looking for an opponent with name value, it only makes sense that he gets the winner of Silva/Page. Likely a top billed main event in itself, Rashad vs. Silva/Rampage is easily a more attractive sell, with bigger potential gains for Evans, but also greater odds for the new champ. Both Page and Rashad have KO'd Chuck, so that makes even more sense. If Rashad can have success standing again with Forrest, possibly KO'ing him in the end, then going with the scenario of Rashad continuing to showcase his stand up against another skilled striker would add to the intrigue.

Now, Rashad may benefit from getting a crack at a much lesser experienced and tested Machida or Thiago Silva. It would also come at the cost of fan interest and would need to be co-promoted with another main event. Nothing wrong with that, there are enough high profile bouts that should come to life in 09, I'm sure you could find a suitable spot for it. Forrest, much like Machida, has been pegged with description of being "ELUSIVE". If Rashad can go in and physically impose his will, utilize his wrestling skill to control Forrest, and if Machida beats Thiago, then the scenario of Rashad attempting to have similar success against Machida is intriguing as well.

I hope Forrest wins. The story is just too good to end this soon. Forrest Griffin, a nobody to TUF champ, to UFC champ, to successful defending champ. I'd like that. I think it's really the best fit for the UFC. Forrest is the guy UFC wants as it's poster boy. He's not too young, he's not too old, he doesn't look overly threatening, but nobody is going to deny he won't whoop ass, he's got the heart of champion and it gets proven every fight, he's entertaining, he's skilled, he's charismatic, and most importantly, he always comes off as a good ol, everyday, American guy. As great as a road back to the title story is, having Forrest further continue down the road of a legend is much more fun to watch right now. Plus, there are many more elite bouts I'd rather see Forrest in there for five round for than Rashad.

I'm so exciting for UFC 92, I may puke. I remember when Wandy and Page fought for the first time. November 2003. It was awesome, not only was it the biggest grudge match in Japan that year, but it was the finals of the most dramatic and memorable tournament ever held in MMA, in my opinion. Back in 2003, I was a year into watching MMA religious, (Shammy/Tito brought me back to UFC, which opened the doors for MMA of all sorts) Wandy and Page's feud was the biggest deal in 03 in PRIDE. Now both guys are headlining the the biggest UFC card of the year. It's got this kind of full circle feeling surrounding it.

Props to Wanderlei Silva. I'd say the fight were he truly became a star was against Guy Mezger in August of 2000 and he's been one of the dominating fighters in the game since, save for his most recent dry spell. That could easily be put to rest after his epic last year against Liddell, destroying Jardine earlier in 08, and repeating his past successes against Page again this weekend.

Just looking at the card you can see how much the UFC, and MMA in general, has changed in such a short period of time. Former PRIDE champions and stars are fighting and main eventing year end UFC cards, two TUF winners are also headlining and fighting each other for gold, Frank Mir is actually relevant again in the MMA universe. That's just looking at the change from this event. No Chuck Liddell. No Randy Couture. No Matt Hughes. No Tito Ortiz. I can remember discussions years ago about if the UFC could keep doing big business once those guys were no longer the top dogs in the company and their was serious doubt from critics if UFC could attract other world class fighters or create their own stars coming out of TUF.

Jon Fitch: one moment having the longest win streak in UFC and challenging for the welterweight title, next thing he finds himself fired and rehired, and then finds himself on the preliminary card against Akihiro Gono at UFC 94. I mean, Karo Parisyan vs. Dong Hyun Kim or Stephan Bonnar vs. Jon Jones gets on the main card but this doesn't? That's some odd placement.

100% Agreed, Fitzy. Next to the big three fights on the 94 card, Diaz vs. Guida obviously being the 3rd, Gono vs. Fitch is not only more anticipated by myself, but is easily the more important fight compared to Bonnar/Jones and Karo/Kim. Wasn't Jon Fitch the guy who was supposed to beat GSP? Didn't he show more guts, balls, skill, and durability then 98% of the world's other fighters by lasting 5 rounds and still staying competitive against the most motivated GSP ever? Fuck, I love Karo, but Fitch will get another shot at the WW belt before Karo does. Or at least that's what should happen.

I tuned back into the Leaf game just in time to see Luke Schenn's beautiful check to finish the game. That's good enough for me.

Sean Avery cracks me up. Pretty boneheaded move by him before the game, especially when you deliberately find cameras. It makes sense why he got suspended, he went out of his way to make an unprofessional comment about a player on another team, with regards to a person who is in the public eye and who has nothing to with the league at all. Except that she has bung both Sean and Dion. And Mike Komisarek. But all he did was take a shot at his ex and her current Flame.

I'm pretty sure Avery just wants to get his name out there for something beyond hockey so he can cross over to a career that will make his name worth more than it would playing in the NHL.

Either way, I'm really looking forward to his next game against Calgary. Dion Phaneuf seems like a great guy to have pissed off at you.

The only way to settle this is by putting the Vatican somewhere in the middle. Like Kingston.

Of course Leaf fans still have edge because Doug Gilmour would be Pope.

Ok, so Toronto is the Capital of the hockey world. That's where shit gets done, where money and decisions are made. Montreal is the place you go to worship. It's hockey's equivalent to Mecca. The Hockey Hall of Fame remains neutral in this matter. Though MLSE would like to remind it is only 2 minutes away from their home base. And they are watching you.

They should never stop making Die Hard sequels. I bet John McClane could put an end the US economic crisis.

It's a no brainer the Habs are above the Leafs in terms of history and a tradition of winning, above everybody else. There is more respect for the Habs franchise than the Leafs, no argument. As there should be. As liberal as I try to be, I can't deny that the Toronto Maple Leafs are the most visible hockey franchise in the world with a following the is second to none. Which fanbase is more diehard and passionate? There is no fucking way to have that debate, nor is it really relevant to this, but there is no team in hockey team with more eyes on them than the Leafs. Hockey fans all over either love or hate the Leafs. Nobody can deny that the Habs are the gold standard in terms of hockey greatness. Every fan should know that and acknowledge it. For some reason, they are very much a cult fanbase outside of their area.

It seems like the history of failure, along with the desperation, but lack of change over the years in Toronto has rivaled that of the illustrious history of legendary hockey in Montreal. Right now, the prospect of bringing the Leafs back to glory has become a bigger deal to hockey than the celebration of Montreal's legacy of past success. Sad, but true. Well, I live in Toronto, so not that sad for me really.

In the gay, impressive physique kinda way, I'd say Faber and Sherk will probably take the cake.

Cheick Kongo, Shane Carwin, and Brock Lesnar have to be the most physically imposing people ever.

Pulver/Faber II? Could possibly make an even more exciting three round fight, but at the same time could also be the worst thing for Jens. Faber with only three rounds to hold him back could be deadly.

I'd like to see if Jens can put together a more effective game plan for a Urijah Faber he respects standing up going into the fight. Absorbing that big right hand with the side of his head really burned Jens last time, he'd be expecting that from the get go this time, I'd like to see if he can avoid and answer Faber's bombs. Jens is only 33, but man has he been in some hard hitting fights, in recent years he has looked like he has lost his step, those wars he has taken part in most likely a contributing factor to his decline. If Pulver is going to win a three round fight against Urijah Faber, he is going to have to be one step ahead of Faber at all times. I don't know if I have faith in the modern day Jens Pulver doing that.

If I were Faber, I'd just go back to being a GnP machine, try to put Jens down and beat him down as quick as possible. Not only would it be a statement, it would a big time confidence booster for Urijah coming off his title loss.

Hey alright, we won last night. Maybe I'm nuts, but I think it's a shame you can't win with this team because I've never had so much fun watching a team as I have this year. Physical, intense, much improved puck movement, a ton of shots on goal. More Swedish than Finnish, but it's a work in progress. So many nice passing plays have been set up by this team only to be stopped dead. Such a shame when I think about all the highlight reel plays that could be happening if the puck just found it's way into the net. It's always entertaining hockey, win or lose. Except for that Thrashers game this week. That was horrible. But seriously, I love it.

I can't take my eyes off the screen when Grabovsky has the puck. Everytime he carries the through the neutral zone and past the blue line I'm thinking something is going to happen. Even if it's not his own scoring chance, it's a nice pass or a slick move or something.

Say what you want about Leaf fans creaming over Luke Schenn, but he is going to be a stud. He is not looking like a defensive specialist obviously, but he is only going to be as good as the rest of this defense is. And for that, he is doing a damn fine job. I think I smile at least once a game watching Schenn. He's a kid out there, always one of the most physical players on the ice and almost with the same swagger as somebody who has being doing it for years. He is going to be the heart of this team, baby. Maybe no more standing toe to toe with Zdeno for now.

Andre Deveaux has played two games. Please make room for him long term. If this were a pro power skating league, maybe Jason Blake could fit into the mix. Strong skater. Pretty sure he puts on a blindfold once the puck touches his stick. Andre Deveaux is Brian Burke hockey. Jason Blake is... most likely to leave Toronto and start scoring goals. Why wouldn't that surprise me? Point is it's not happening here.

One last thing about a guy who is a likely candidate to be shipped out sooner than later, Alexei Ponikarovsky. In terms of skill, I don't know that Poni is going to get any better, he has got to be close to 30. What has impressed me about the Poni Express this season is how he plays the game now. He is a guy that everybody has been indifferent about for years, everybody can see he has or had the potential, but there was always that lack of physicality, not wanting to go into the corners and battle for pucks. This season he looks like has really bought into the aggressive and intense style Ron Wilson brought in with him. He's not a beast out there, but he is fighting in the corners, he is throwing big checks, he is standing up for teammates, a totally different Alexei. I can see this being a career season for him in points, maybe he'll break 50, which if anything could make him attractive to other teams in the process.

That's all.

PS, please keep Matt Stajan. You'll all be sorry when he picks up the Hart elsewhere.