Bloody Wraps January 4: Chael Sonnen and the Strikeforce Heavyweight Tournament
by Nate Wilcox on Jan 5, 2011 12:12 AM EST
in MMA Analysis
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UFC Adds Insult to Injury by Suspending Convicted Felon Chael Sonnen - As if it wasn't enough that Chael Sonnen pled guilty to felony federal money laundering charges and faces a fine and two years probation, the UFC has now "frozen" Sonnen's contract.
This is the capper to an incredibly up and down 2010 for Sonnen. Jonathan Snowden laid out the whole narrative arc of triumph and tragedy this morning in The Long, Strange Journey of UFC Star Chael Sonnen and what a weird trip it's been.
For me personally it confirms a theory I've long held -- pathological liars are sociopaths and can't be trusted in any way shape or form. Sonnen's brazen lies while hyping his title fight with Anderson Silva at UFC 117 were amusing but fascinated me in a dark way. Sonnen's willingness to lie to Jim Rome on ESPN when it was obvious to anyone listening that he was caught in a lie reflected a kind of post-modern contempt for the truth seen in Sonnen's fellow Republican politicians Karl Rove and Tom DeLay or Democrat Rod Blagojevich. All politicians lie but brazenly lying when the proof you're lying is obvious is fairly rare even in politics.
It made for great schtick when it was limited to Sonnen denying having said offensive things while promoting a fight, but when he popped for an elevated testosterone ratios after the fight, things got serious.
I was darkly amused at the general pro-Sonnen response to his antics at his hearing to appeal his suspension in front of the CSAC. Sonnen's ridiculous claims at that hearing really merit a book length rebuttal but S.C. Michaelson's reaction at the time is as close as we've got.
Now that Sonnen's dishonesty has been shown to have extended into the criminal realm during his real estate career things have gotten even more serious. I'm not surprised that Sonnen cut some corners to sell a house but that sort of shady shit is business as usual in the American real estate "industry". For the Department of Justice to claim in their press release on the case that Sonnen contributed to the epic collapse of our real estate market in 2007-2008 is as absurd as anything Sonnen ever said. Goldman Sachs continues to feast on taxpayer dollars but we're cracking down on small time hustlers in Oregon.
It's good PR for the UFC to suspend Sonnen for a while, but the notion that the man should never fight again because he's a convicted felon is as offensive to me as Sonnen's lies.
We have a system in place for punishing people for wrong doing. It's called the criminal justice system. Once a person has served their sentence that's that.
Moreover combat sports have a long and honorable tradition of giving felons a productive outlet in society. Boxing legends Sonny Liston and Archie Moore, among many others, learned to box in prisons and reformatories. And then there's Mike Tyson.
Sonnen should take a few months off but I'm more than happy to welcome him back to the UFC. Better to have him safely locked in a cage fighting than out trying to sell houses.
Strikeforce's Ambitious Heavyweight Tournament - Strikeforce released the brackets for its long rumored heavyweight tournament today. Considering that the tournament includes seven men ranked in the top 25 of the USAT/SBN Consensus MMA Rankings it's pretty dang epic. #3 Fedor Emelianenko will meet #10 Antonio Silva and #16 Andrei Arlovski will meet the unranked Sergei Kharitonov in February and while he's unranked now, only a couple of years ago, Kharitonov was a staple of top 10 lists. #4 Fabricio Werdum will meet #8 Alistair Overeem and #11 Josh Barnett will meet #12 Brett Rogers at a date to be announced later.
Obviously rankings are inherently subjective and invitations for criticism, but the fact remains that these are eight top heavyweights.
The questions have to do with whether or not Strikeforce will be able to pull it off. But signing Fedor was the biggest obstacle. Presumably they've got their champ Overeem ready to return in the spring. The one I'm most worried about is Josh Barnett who needs to resolve his issues with the California State Athletic Commission before he can be licensed to fight.
Unlike Sonnen who came to his hearing armed with absurd excuses, a poorly prepared doctor and a legal team, Barnett walked in stag to his last hearing and quickly walked out with an appointment to meet them again.
With the UFC's heavyweight division suddenly ravaged by injuries to champ Cain Velasquez and contender Shane Carwin and Roy Nelson's legal troubles, not to mention Brock Lesnar getting exposed and now possibly holding out, Strikeforce has a big chance with this tournament to establish its champ as the undisputed best heavyweight in the world.
The odds are long but I'm glad they're taking chances.
Quick Hits
- Duane Finley interviewed Gray Maynard and his striking coach Gil Martinez and got their thoughts on Maynard's UFC 125 draw with champ Frankie Edgar and the pending rematch.
- Bloody Elbow staffers named the Submission of the Decade and somehow none of us named Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira's arm bar win over Bob Sapp in one of the most watched bouts in MMA history. Maybe we'll do a top ten list to make up for it.
- Leland Roling wrote a love song to Hatsu Hioki that included full video of his bout with Marlon Sandro from Sengoku's Soul of Battle on December 30. That fight is a must see for any fan of top notch grappling.
- Bloody Elbow readers named Herb Dean Official of the Year. Congratulations Herb!
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Why cant Strikeforce at least get the initial matchups for thier tournament correct though? I mean Overeem is fighting Werdum in the 1st round and that just doesnt make any damn sense to me. I would think they would at the least meet in the semis if they were both to win…
I think Strikeforce
made a very smart call to sell this as a tournament but book it like it wasn’t.
They’re booking the best fights they can. Overeem vs Werdum makes sense. It’s the best available fight for both guys. Question is whether or not it’ll be a five rounder.
Fedor vs Antonio Silva makes sense.
Let Barnett or Rogers and Arlovski or Kharitonov rebuild some credibility on the weak side of the bracket and by the time one of them wins two fights they’ll be a credible challenger for the winner of Uberreem/Werdum/Fedor/BigFoot.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
I thin the whole tourny should be 3 round affairs and the final fight be a 5 rounder for the title
This sort of makes Overeem forfeit his belt if he doesn’t make it to the end but he is the champion and should be willing to take on all comers.
It just seems unfair to make Overeem fight nothing but 5 round fights and everyone else trains for 3 round fights and the changing of belts could become ridiculous (If Reem loses to Werdum he becomes champ, Werdum loses to Fedor then Fedor is champ and then he could possibly lose crowing a 4th champ in one tournament) it’s easiest to just make the final fight the fight for the crown and everything else just be 3 round fights, most shouldn’t even go 3 round when you consider Reem, Fedor, Silva, Rogers and Werdum can all finish fights in their own way fairly quickly.
but couldnt' that same number of belt changes happen w/out a tournament?
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
I think mmalogic brought up that this is just good booking placed into a tournament status for whatever reason… This is an actual logical progression of events… they just made it… well, an event. I love it, regardless.
You need to respect the baby... 'cause life is precious... and God... and the Bible.
by timetraveltome on Jan 5, 2011 1:03 AM EST up reply actions
wow nate you're biased
OBOMAs willingness to lie to the American Public on /ABC/NBC during the presidential campaign when it was obvious to anyone listening that he was caught in a lie reflected a kind of post-modern contempt for the truth I’d seen in Obama’s fellow Democratic politicians Maxine Waters, Charles Rangel, Bill Clinton (insert names here)… during my career in DC politics
You gotta pay the troll toll to get into this boy's hole, you gotta pay the troll toll to get in.
only republicans think that statement was a biased low blow
the rest of us know that it was a searingly accurate portrayal of the truth
j/k
people are going to disagree
and this isn’t the place to talk about politics. Since I raised the issue I’ll let this slip and even reply.
Democratic politicians lie all the time but they generally try to get away with it.
What was novel about Rove and DeLay was their willingness to flagrantly lie when everyone knew they were lying.
DeLay once went on TV to talk about his book and when the interviewer asked him about something written in the book he denied it was in there even after the host held up the quote for the camera.
Rove told Ron Suskind of the New York Times the following:
said that guys like me were “in what we call the reality-based community,” which he defined as people who “believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.” I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. “That’s not the way the world really works anymore.” He continued “We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors … and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.”
I fucking wish Democratic politicians had that kind of chutzpah but they’re all tying themselves in knots trying to be reasonable.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
but really the statement wasn't meant to be about all Republicans
just about Rove and DeLay.
Karl Rove once planted a bug in his own office and called a press conference to accuse his candidate’s opponent of planting it.
That’s not your everyday political liar. That’s something special.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
Republicans should be pissed at those two for how much damage they’ve done to the Republican party. Between De Lays corrupt K-Street project and Rove smearing fellow GOPers like McCain in 2000 who needs enemies?
by John Nash on Jan 5, 2011 2:46 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Didn’t we have a couple more comments here? If you deleted them, that’s fine but I’m wondering if I imagined our exchange.
by John Nash on Jan 5, 2011 3:35 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Thanks. I was really starting to wonder if I imagined it.
by John Nash on Jan 5, 2011 3:42 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
That’s not your everyday political liar. That’s something special.
Thats someone who got caught*
Theres a kind of self-important, paranoid, power hungry greediness that is a necessary component to really even desiring to attain higher political office, and that appetite for power is equally present in both of our “representative” government’s parties.
And its a damn shame. Could be such a fuckin awesome country. Already is, in spite of itself.
Moisture is the essence of wetness.
no
it’s not that they got caught, it’s that like Chael Sonnen, they would lie when it was obvious they were lying and dare anyone to challenge their ridiculous lies.
I’ve never seen a major Democrat lie like that. Jim Traficant would be an exception, but he was a pariah, not a party leader and his bad hairpiece was a big clue that he didn’t care who knew he was full of shit.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
Blagojevich?
"Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it."
-Mark Twain
"If I tell you I'm good, you would probably think I'm boasting. If I tell you I'm no good, you know I'm lying..."
-Bruce Lee
"People griping about this matchup need to stop using fight finder as their primary source of MMA information and watch some fights already."
-smoogy2
by The American Ronin on Jan 5, 2011 4:29 AM EST up reply actions
I honestly don’t [pay enough attention, but Charles Rangel seems like a nice democratic asshole if someone wants to throw him in the article to prevent a shitstorm.
He’s not that big, but he used to chair a committee, and he still acts like he’s done nothing wrong even though he’s only the 23rd congressperson to be censured.
ah
Rangel is corrupt in a very pedestrian way but I haven’t seen him clinging to an obvious falsehood. Prevaricate? sure, constantly but not DeLay or Rove level.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
If you're gonna trash the guy...
spell his namely correctly.
You were way more likely to be murdered in Baltimore in 2008 than you were in Tombstone in 1881.
Upon further reflection it makes perfect sense...
Fedor vs. Bigfoot will be a 3-round #1 contender fight.
Reem vs. Werdum will be a 5-round title fight, as will the next round (Fedor/Bigfoot vs. Reem/Werdum) and all subsequent rounds involving this (the “Champions”) side of the bracket.
The other side will be all 3-rounders, culminating in a new #1 contender to face who ever holds the title coming from the “Champions” side of the bracket in another 5-rounder.
With this simple progression Strikeforce goes from having a belt of questionable legitimacy to one with absolute legitimacy.
"Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it."
-Mark Twain
"If I tell you I'm good, you would probably think I'm boasting. If I tell you I'm no good, you know I'm lying..."
-Bruce Lee
"People griping about this matchup need to stop using fight finder as their primary source of MMA information and watch some fights already."
-smoogy2
by The American Ronin on Jan 5, 2011 4:17 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
This is the best explanation so far.
Everybody read this^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
But aren't you risking your real title fight in the 1st round or semis?
1 v 8
4 vs 5
==
3 v 6
2 v 7
Semis, finals. It isn’t rocket science. What’s the promotional advantage of having the ultimate title final be the worst fighter the eventual champ will see? These brackets are so skewed, the final is likely to be over in the 1st round.
You were way more likely to be murdered in Baltimore in 2008 than you were in Tombstone in 1881.
For me, the structure makes it so that MMA fans are getting the fights that we want to see. If injuries or if one of the top fighters lose to an underdog, we won’t get to see the fight. In the Strikeforce pecking order, Overeem is number one, Werdum is number two, Fedor is number three, and Antonio Silva is number four, so disregarding the tournament, you do have the fights that make sense in a rankings standpoint. Also, I’m sure something was negotiated with the fighters because Overeem has made it clear that he only wants to fight Werdum and Fedor as his next fights in Strikeforce, so he got his wish.
I won't jump off the bandwagon just because you lost.
/\ this
the real payoff is right up front, the other bracket is just a way to build up a third challenger for Overeem’s belt.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
The issue with the UFC allowing a convicted felon to fight for them
Is that they fire people for having “bad attitudes.” Is the UFC league representing the sport of MMA, or a venue for the personal entertainment of Dana White and the Fertitas?
Ya.
Im still cant believe this Sonnen stuff man. First steroids now this. He shouldnt be fighting that for damn sure.
The weird thing is
people didn’t want him fired from fighting for cheating in a fight. They want him fired from fighting for being a shady realtor.
"Don’t quote old fucks to me" – Brent Brookhouse
by Chris Barton on Jan 5, 2011 1:29 AM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Daley was ditched from the UFC for breaking a rule post-fight.
Sonnen got busted for drugs (breaking a rule) then busted for fraud (breaking a law) but he’s only suspended.
Koscheck has frosted tips.
People need to stop comparing daley to anyone.
Daley cheap shotted someone, in the cage, at a UFC event, 3 weeks after the Nashville brawl. that is a unique set of circumstances.
Sure it has
I mean not exactly like this of course, but there are previously convicted felons right now playing in the NFL and I believe NBA even now.
There is absolutely no reason someone should be banned from making a living as a professional athlete because they were convicted of a felony, so long as said felony had nothing to do with the sport itself or something which is already a bannable offense even with no criminal charges filed (gambling/fixing related for example).
"Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it."
-Mark Twain
"If I tell you I'm good, you would probably think I'm boasting. If I tell you I'm no good, you know I'm lying..."
-Bruce Lee
"People griping about this matchup need to stop using fight finder as their primary source of MMA information and watch some fights already."
-smoogy2
by The American Ronin on Jan 5, 2011 4:24 AM EST up reply actions
it’s actually a terrible point. Plenty of convicted felons have jobs, plenty of people have been fired for having bad attitudes, why must zuffa be held to a different standard than every other company in the universe?
I think it may be due to the fact that these people are in the ,albeit relatively small, spotlight.
role models and all that junk. But then again, who in hollywood hasn’t been arrested for a dui or drug charge…
by Discman2 on Jan 5, 2011 2:35 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
The “bad attitude” the UFC refers to is “they don’t do as they’re told”. I doubt they’re firing anyone for a lack of character
To save me some time on 25% of all threads, here's the universal answer to the Fedor-debate: Fedor is the most accomplished MMA fighter ever. That is a fact. If he still is the best fighter at this point in time is up for debate.
Is the UFC league representing the sport of MMA, or a venue for the personal entertainment of Dana White and the Fertitas?
They hire whoever they please, fire whoever they please whenever they please, book whoever they please against whoever they please whenever they damn well please (regardless of whether the fight makes an iota of sense)… Need I go on?
UFC is distancing itself from what’s good for the sport every day and becoming more and more the plaything of those who own it.
I don't know much - but I know that I don't.
by Monday Morning Martial Artist on Jan 5, 2011 7:12 AM EST up reply actions
Which is their prerogative.
However, it runs contrary to their claims of having the best fighters in the world. Todd Duffee and Gerald Harris were by no means the worst prospects in the UFC.
Now Sonnen has lost some of his constitutional rights. That’s gotta hurt.
"Negative, negative. I gotta stay lean and lightning and ready to fight." Capt. H.M. Murdock
Such as...
"Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it."
-Mark Twain
"If I tell you I'm good, you would probably think I'm boasting. If I tell you I'm no good, you know I'm lying..."
-Bruce Lee
"People griping about this matchup need to stop using fight finder as their primary source of MMA information and watch some fights already."
-smoogy2
by The American Ronin on Jan 5, 2011 4:26 AM EST up reply actions
In many parts of the United States, a convicted felon can face long-term legal consequences persisting after the end of their imprisonment, including:
* Disenfranchisement (which the Supreme Court interpreted to be permitted by the Fourteenth Amendment)
* Exclusion from obtaining certain licences, such as a visa.
* Exclusion from purchase and possession of firearms, ammunition and body armor
* Ineligibility for serving on a jury
* Deportation (if the criminal is not a citizen)
I thought they lost their right to vote too. Maybe that’s covered under disenfranchisement.
Very true, but
the comment was that
Now Sonnen has lost some of his constitutional rights
And I am unaware of any he will lose in Oregon (although there may be some I am unaware of).
"Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it."
-Mark Twain
"If I tell you I'm good, you would probably think I'm boasting. If I tell you I'm no good, you know I'm lying..."
-Bruce Lee
"People griping about this matchup need to stop using fight finder as their primary source of MMA information and watch some fights already."
-smoogy2
by The American Ronin on Jan 5, 2011 4:34 AM EST up reply actions
the right to vote is a constitutional right
I think they may also be subject to relaxed laws regarding illegal search and seizure which is also covered in the constitution
And, the rights he loses may only be federal rather than state
But in Oregon, the right to vote is not lost based on a felony conviction IIRC.
I am unaware of any relaxation of search and seizure laws based solely on a felony conviction, although that could perhaps be a condition of certain parole or probation agreements in certain cases.
"Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it."
-Mark Twain
"If I tell you I'm good, you would probably think I'm boasting. If I tell you I'm no good, you know I'm lying..."
-Bruce Lee
"People griping about this matchup need to stop using fight finder as their primary source of MMA information and watch some fights already."
-smoogy2
by The American Ronin on Jan 5, 2011 4:44 AM EST up reply actions
apparently what was true when I was in grade school may or may still be true today, lol
Felony disenfranchisement is the term used to describe the practice of prohibiting people from voting (known as disenfranchisement) based on the fact that they have been convicted of a felony or other criminal offence.
Today, only two states, Kentucky and Virginia, continue to impose a life-long denial of the right to vote to all citizens with a felony record
Disenfranchisement is bullshit!
I don’t care what you did. Everybody should have the right to decide who governs them in a democracy.
Here in iowa
you cannot vote as a felong UNLESS you petition for that right to be reinstated to you.
"To resist is to piss in the wind......"
lol but felons get searched more often than non felons
regardless of laws
"To resist is to piss in the wind......"
Depends on the state
In some states, you get it back after probation. In others, like Florida, it’s gone for life with a felony conviction.
You were way more likely to be murdered in Baltimore in 2008 than you were in Tombstone in 1881.
He has a constitutional right to work for a specific corporate entity?
Cite the clause or amendment, please….
You were way more likely to be murdered in Baltimore in 2008 than you were in Tombstone in 1881.
I think this will be good for Chael. He can take some time to sort things out, and maybe have that puberty he’s always wanted to have.
by uwcb on Jan 5, 2011 1:16 AM EST reply actions 2 recs
Correction
It was “Official of the Year”, not “Referee of the Year.” I voted Doc Hamilton for speaking out in his capacity as judge.
In regards to Chael Sonnen,
Above all, we must be resolute that only Republicans lie.
"Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong." - Dennis Miller
by djganesh on Jan 5, 2011 1:59 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
the statement isn't about Republicans in general
it’s about Rove and DeLay. One of whom is a convicted felon.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
and it's not about lying in general
it’s about the specific tactic of lying when everyone knows you’re lying.
All politicians lie.
I’m not talking about Bill Clinton style lying — ie anytime he thought he could get away with it — I’m talking about knowing that you’re not getting away with it and proceeding anyway.
This isn’t about the politics, this is about the communications style.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
fair enough.
While I know this is not a “journalism” site, By that I mean that it is heavily opinionated. I would make the attempt to have balanced that statement out.
"Of course, that's just my opinion, I could be wrong." - Dennis Miller
done
thanks to readers reminding me of the remarkable Democratic liar Blagojevich.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
Sonnen’s willingness to lie to Jim Rome on ESPN when it was obvious to anyone listening that he was caught in a lie reflected a kind of post-modern contempt for the truth I’d seen in Sonnen’s fellow Republican politicians Karl Rove and Tom DeLay during my career in Texas politics.
I hate Rove/DeLay as much as the next RonPaulite, but sorry dude, theres rules against this here. No one listens to what you write so that we can listen to your political ideas. Youre an MMA writer.
Just a few days ago you told me how the rules are meant to discourage explicitly political conversation. It’d be silly for me to say that your hypocrosy is indicative of the kind displayed by your left-wing counterparts who espouse personal freedom but continue to prohibity marijuana legalization.
Its a stupid game and we can all play it, so please, spare us.
Moisture is the essence of wetness.
bollocks
First: he is not making a political statement here, just a reference to other proven liars.
Second: at this point, a thread about Chael Sonnen that doesn’t mix MMA and Politics would be impossible.
I actually agree with Nate on every point he makes, and that is a first. Great job
..!..
the rules for the site's writers and the commenters are different
I agree with you on the hypocrisy of Democrats who support the drug war. Of course so do the R’s.
I’m not a Democrat anymore because they fucking suck but Rove and DeLay were really special.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
by Nate Wilcox on Jan 5, 2011 2:45 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
and Nixon started the drug war
Tip O’Neill made it much worse with the anti-crack laws I’ll admit. But both parties own that shit.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
which is why im against both parties
and love having MMA as a shelter where i can escape real-world suckitude i.e. the political system.
Moisture is the essence of wetness.
A pox on BOTH houses
I’m a self righteous Libertarian so I hate both sides almost equally. (Like Trey Parker once said, “I hate Republicans but I really fucking hate Democrats.”) Nate, I think maybe your world view colors your opinion more heavily against those evil Republicans as the more egregioius liars. I think they are both just as bad and you can go down the list of corrupt Democrats: Burris, Blagojevich, Rangel, Waters, Murtha, Dodd. etc etc. Both parties want to use their power in the government to force their notion of personal behavior on the rest of us, a Republican wing that likes war, deficits, assaults on civil liberties like marriage and drugs, and expanded surveillance, and Democrats that are obsessed with engineering everyone else’s contracts, social relations, diets, and habits. Both sides claim belief in ‘personal freedom’ up until the point a person does something that violates the morals or values of an individual. For some it’s abortion or gay marriage, for others it is eating fatty foods and making too much money. In both cases, groups use law as a means of forcing their moral beliefs onto other people. And they ALL freaking lie about it.
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions.
you pretty much defined the word politics and then stated that politicians from all parties are lying power mongers.
Many people with many different points of view still need to find a way to get along. And, maybe some of us don’t like drug addled anarchists stealing and destroying other peoples property. And, the only way to prevent that is with laws that inherently inhibit acts of free will.
And, the only way to prevent that is with laws that inherently inhibit acts of free will.
OR…with superior firepower
"Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it."
-Mark Twain
"If I tell you I'm good, you would probably think I'm boasting. If I tell you I'm no good, you know I'm lying..."
-Bruce Lee
"People griping about this matchup need to stop using fight finder as their primary source of MMA information and watch some fights already."
-smoogy2
by The American Ronin on Jan 5, 2011 4:31 AM EST up reply actions
Im a Canadian, so my knowledge of Dem/Rep is secondhand
But you seem to be reaching with your condemnation of the left here. War, huge deficits, Judeo-Christian marriage values and constant paranoia seem worse then “everyone should pay there fair share and eat more veggies”.
Just me though.
I'm Dutch-Irish. My Father was from Wales.
by hobbie on Jan 5, 2011 9:03 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
No, me too.
But I’m in Canada as well, so we have a special perspective.
Listening to Republicans lie about things that Canada does great (health care, gay rights, environment, social policy) sure does make it easy to identify who the shittalkers are though.
Koscheck has frosted tips.
yes
I agree they both lie constantly. It’s the style of lying I’m discussing. I forgot about Blagojevich, he lies like DeLay and Rove. I’ll add him.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
Why put Sonnen’s story in the same article as SF’s GP ? I think the latter is one of the bigger MMA story in recent years and deserve at the very least its own article.
Because this is
a wrap-up of all of the day’s news. Both stories got their own posts as well.
by Scott Haber on Jan 5, 2011 8:25 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
there were several articles on both topics
and they’re linked in this article.
This is an end of the day wrap up summarizing what we covered that day.
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
“The one I’m most worried about is Josh Barnett who needs to resolve his issues with the California State Athletic Commission before he can be licensed to fight.”
This is precisely why it was so smart to put him up against Rogers in the first round. If Barnett can’t get his act together (and the smart odds are that he can’t) then they can just put someone else in for Barnett.
Either a real prospect like Cormier, who would really benefit from a win over a big scary looking dude in Rogers, or someone that the Grim can just crush.
I love these brackets. They’ve got all the fights people really need to see in the first or second round, dramatically reducing the chances for things to go wrong. And Barnett has to prove himself at least twice before getting the chance to screw up on the national stage again.
by Lauren J Darkbloom on Jan 5, 2011 10:01 AM EST reply actions
of course he did just that with Affliction
fought twice, no problems. then POP!
Follow me on Twitter @KidNate
Its really beside the point since cheating is cheating, but
I suspect Barnett, like many others who seemingly have WTF test fails, did not receive the product he thought he was buying on the black market.
The various injectable steroids have wildly different time frames they can be detected in (from a few weeks to almost 2 years) and cheaper ones are often substituted for (and labeled as) more expensive products. Moreover (and perhaps even more likely), in the black market people often substitute other products (including steroids) for hGH.
"Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it."
-Mark Twain
"If I tell you I'm good, you would probably think I'm boasting. If I tell you I'm no good, you know I'm lying..."
-Bruce Lee
"People griping about this matchup need to stop using fight finder as their primary source of MMA information and watch some fights already."
-smoogy2
by The American Ronin on Jan 5, 2011 10:58 AM EST up reply actions
I would give him
that benefit of the doubt if he failed only once.
"Don’t quote old fucks to me" – Brent Brookhouse
by Chris Barton on Jan 5, 2011 11:38 AM EST up reply actions
I agree
that is what makes me suspect he was a victim of the black market in a way, although cheating would still be cheating…
"Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it."
-Mark Twain
"If I tell you I'm good, you would probably think I'm boasting. If I tell you I'm no good, you know I'm lying..."
-Bruce Lee
"People griping about this matchup need to stop using fight finder as their primary source of MMA information and watch some fights already."
-smoogy2
by The American Ronin on Jan 5, 2011 12:03 PM EST up reply actions
Do none of this roid users
know of the Whizzinator ? and Synthetic urine? I donno about the kind of UA’s that are done for professional sports. But i do know for a fact they work wonders for pre-employment drug screenings. (although even with those, i know for a fact there are shitty test kits that dont work well)
"To resist is to piss in the wind......"
I suspect
that their samples are observed to prevent that issue…
"Sometimes I wonder if the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it."
-Mark Twain
"If I tell you I'm good, you would probably think I'm boasting. If I tell you I'm no good, you know I'm lying..."
-Bruce Lee
"People griping about this matchup need to stop using fight finder as their primary source of MMA information and watch some fights already."
-smoogy2
by The American Ronin on Jan 5, 2011 10:24 PM EST up reply actions
Hey Did My Comment Just Get Deleted?
And I didn’t even say anything offensive. What’s the deal?
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