– Last night’s fight between Ali Funeka and Joan Guzman was fantastic…until the decision was announced. While Guzman boxed excellently for two and a half rounds, Funeka pretty much dominated the rest of the fight. Inexplicably, two of the judges scored the fight a draw. This was the worst decision I’ve seen in 2009, by far. It’s sad that Funeka traveled all the way from South Africa to America to get jobbed. Whether the judges were inept or corrupt, bad decisions are way too common in boxing and one of the big reasons the sport is no longer as popular as it was.
– I picked up the two Sinestro Corps War
Five Sinestro Corps members went around the universe, murdering the families of Green Lantern Corps members. They collected all the victims’ eyeballs and rained them down on the Green Lanterns. Another Sinestro Corps baddie kidnapped several children of the Green Lanterns. In addition to putting some Greens in anguish, the villain was essentially torturing babies. This was absolutely not what I was expecting from Sins of the Star Sapphire. I was genuinely shocked as I flipped the pages.
– New candidates for the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame include Kevin Appier, Ellis Burks, Andres Galarraga, Pat Hentgen, Mike Jackson, Eric Karros, Ray Lankford, Shane Reynolds, David Segui, Robin Ventura and Todd Zeile. Really?!? I could see Galarraga getting in since he was popular with reporters, but that list is pretty weak. The good news is that the voters tend not to waste votes and will not pick a guy just for the sake of picking someone.
– Anyone catch SmackDown on Friday? Jericho and ‘Taker put on a great match. Kane tried to carry that lame-ass Batista, but couldn’t. My favorite part was the return of Festus, who is now known as Luke Gallows. It looks like he’s going to be CM Punk’s enforcer for a bit. The storyline is that Punk “saved” Festus from substance abuse by putting him on the straight edge path. I like how silly the storyline is, but I love that Festus is back. He’s an underrated big man. I could see him being used similarly to how Kane has been used for the last five years — not a main eventer, but a big man that can put on a strong match.
Robin Ventura could go in as "the man who took an epic beating from Nolan Ryan".
Ventura charged the mound and Ryan just stood there…arms slack. Right when Ventura got to the mound Ryan threw his arm around his head, put Ventura in a headlock and then unloaded with his pitching arm. Too good.
Not one of those guys belong in the HoF. But HoF voters are just as useless as boxing judges. How in God's name did it take Jim Rice so many years to get into the HoF. How is Burt Blyleven not in. If one of these guys goes in over Blyleven, I'm calling some major shenanigans.
@ Smartguy
3 all-time MLB pitchers I would never want to pick a fight with in their primes:
1) Nolan Ryan (You know he's got endurance on top of everything else.)
2) "Rocket" Roger Clemons (With heat like that, you know he's got a mean hook.)
3 Rollie Fingers (You HAVE to be a tough s.o.b. if you're gonna leave the house with 'stache like that. Not to mention the distraction the 'stache would have on my chi.)
I'm sure the Eck was a mean bastard too though, and I'm sure Cy Young could bare knuckle some fools.
Also, Babe Ruth was indeed a pitcher at first, and he outweighed me by alot.
@n8r
david wells was a fatass too
@ Thundercracker
Yeah, David Wells does kinda resemble Bam Bam Bigelow without tattoos.
@ David Wells
I almost called him Cold Stone Steve Austin… but i wasn't sure how many people would get it.
(like the ice cream place?)
@N8R
Yeah, the Eck would probably be a tough fight.
I think Mark Wohlers would be a pain to take out as well.
Most of all (though not a formal pitcher) Ty Cobb. No way in hell.
@ Smartguy
I only left Cobb out because I never thought of him as a pitcher. That dude would take all of my lunch money.
@N8R
I rationalize putting Cobb in there because the old guys did every position it seems. They weren't specialists as like guys today.
Regardless….Cobb would take all of my lunch money after he takes yours.
F Activision. That CoD Zombie game on the App Store is $10!!
Money leaching bastards. They also plug the fact that there will be DLC for it.
As a rule, no Iphone game should cost more than $3.
@Rpad
The Paulie Malignaggi and Diaz fight was pretty bad decision wise, probably the worse I saw this year. Malignaggi's rant after the fight was pretty funny though.
@Insomniacswaltz That was definitely a bad decision, but Funeka/Guzman was much worse. Catch the HBO replay if you can. It was a good fight, but the decision was…disgusting.
I'm watching the Rock 'n' Roll HOF concert… Springsteen and Billy Joel are giving me goosebumps.
@N8R Yeah, I tweeted a bunch about it. I loved Jeff Beck and his hot bass player. Simon & Garfunkel were fantastic. Metallica was fun too. I loved Mariano Rivera being on the screen during "Enter Sandman". So much awesomeness in the show…though I somewhat disagree on Billy Joel. His voice was never great and it has gotten worse with age.
@ R Pad
Yeah, he also fudged the words to Born To Run. NY State Of Mind was tight though.
I'm also a huge Sam and Dave fan so when Sam Moore came out, I almost flipped. Lou Reed is another guy high up on my idol list. Age isn't doing him well either though. Springsteen however, seems to be getting even better with age.
Metallica and Ozzy is a long time coming. Lars is such a tool though. Rob Trujillo (Sucidal/Infectous Groove FTW) saves that band.
But still, I love Springsteen. Easily one of my top 5 favorite songwriters.
@N8R The Boss has definitely aged well. Sam Moore was completely awesome. I'm convinced Lou Reed is undead.
I had a hard time liking Metallica after they made that MP3 stance. It seemed so hypocritical considering they used to encourage fans to boycott their concerts in the early days. I have to support the band because Kirk is part Filipino (my brother has actually played for his family in Hawaii). Bringing it back around, it's kind of weird that Bruce has aged more gracefully than Kirk.
@ R Pad
Lou is still waiting for his man. Although, due to inflation, he needs more than $26 dollars.
if that didn't work:
He's lingering on Pale Blue Eyes.
Kirk is balding a bit. The Napster thing threw me through a loop as well… but Load was what killed them for me. I really don't care about an artist's politics as long as they can still jam. However, Death Magnetic is somewhat redeemable. Just don't download it legally (I bought my copy as a gift for a friend, then ripped it before I gave it to him :twisted:).
I cannot say enough good things about Sam Moore. The whole Stax/Volt sound has influenced the hell out of me. I have a 9 disc boxed set of the complete singles from Stax… '60's soul is my guilty pleasure. If you've never checked out a dude named Joe Tex (Dial Records, brief stint on Chess) he's totally worth it.
The Boss… is an icon. A true hero amongst musicians. He never forgot where he came from, his songs are incredible, but his wife I could care less for.
Who knew Tom Morello could sing (kinda)? He came a c-hair away from butchering Tom Joad though, even though Rage's version is actually pretty cool.
@ Tom Morello
Please don't venture too far out of your arena again. I'd hate to lose faith in such amazing prowess.
I'll just support everything N8R just said, mainly because he seems to know what he's talking about and I have no stance on anything that was mentioned here… short of the Green Lantern/Blackest Night dealie, which I am not caught up on.
Carry on.
@ Larcenous
I wish my wife would think like you do.
(no, that is not a proposal)
@N8R – (Gets up off one knee) Umm…. yeah. *whistles and walks away*
@N8R Kirk is balding a bit?!? He's balding a ton! His recedes will soon reach the back of his head. Yeah, I also that Load was a load. Did you watch Some Kind of Monster? It's crazy that Dave Mustaine still isn't over getting kicked out of the band.
I have a friend that's a huge Springstein fan. I love messing with him by saying how Bon Jovi are the real kings of Jersey rock. I don't actually believe that, but it's fun getting him worked up over the issue.