This week: UFC 196 predictions, XM Hits of the Month, Survivor, and more...
Its pretty easy being green - The pride of Ireland Conor McGregor has spent the past 10 days on turbo mode hyping up and promoting a fight against replacement stiff Nate Diaz. The trash talk between these two, while mostly forgettable jibber jabber, has been unrelenting since both of them recognize the value of a good sales job of a PPV that was in a kamikaze dive towards that fake Eiffel Tower in Las Vegas. Their quickly established blood feud is the essence of the fight promotion industry; create a rivalry, sell it convincingly and the eyeballs will pop up on Saturday night. The fight should be entertaining and might not go exactly the way the brazen McGregor has predicted (although who doesn't love a well-placed, Eddy Gordo capoeira kick??). McGregor by TKO in the second round is my official prediction.
The ladies are gonna throw some bombs - In a strange (and possibly a teeny bit chauvinistic) twist, the co-main event is the lone title fight of this card and it features newly anointed Bantamweight Champ Holly Holm taking on perennial contender and former Strikeforce Bantamweight Champ Miesha Tate. Holm has been riding the wave of fame for the last three months and ironically now faces similar challenges that Ronda Rousey faced entering their November title bout. The chicken dinner and talk show circuit can have some serious impact on a fighter's training, however, Holm's age (34) and maturity give her an edge that a younger fighter might lack in dealing with those distractions. She's demonstrated a commitment to manage her interview/appearance requests and focus on her training. Tate, on the other hand, enters this fight with very little hype and fanfare which could prove invaluable as the fight energy builds and she starts to employ her classic frenetic pace. Both of these fighters are active and like to engage with strikes, particularly kicks with ill-intentions. Most female fighters throw punches for punishment and not KOs. But Tate and Holm have a little more spark in the fists than their colleagues and will likely inflict some bloody damage to each other's faces. Don't overlook Miesha Tate's guile and grittiness. She has waged some serious wars with tough opponents for title hardware before. And while she wound up on the losing end of Rousey's patented armbar in December 2013 she proved she has stiff chin and a robotic resolve as she squirmed free of two seriously close submission attempts. The fight is going to be close as Tate will be far more active than Rousey was and give Holm a much shiftier moving target. It'll be like trying to hit a jackrabbit square in the face whereas Rousey was like a winded grizzly bear after a large meal standing squarely in front of Holm. They'll exchange a ton of strikes as they feel each other out for possibly two rounds, but the fireworks won't pop off until Round 3 when Tate deploys her superior wrestling to get Holm to the mat and submit her via arm triangle. This fight will be really fun to watch.
COMING SOON: Three tribes become two - Survivor is going with the Brains vs Beauty vs Brawn concept this season and it hasn't disappointed as this new-school of social players engage in the social warfare of the game within the first few days. Three weeks, three blindsides. Jenny's motormouth sunk her ship and her scramble to save herself at Tribal was cringingly hilarious. While Brainy Peter's inflated sense of cocky security was textbook Survivor for his ouster. It won't be long before they'll need to merge down to two tribes. But the real "star" so far has been Brainiac Debbie. Oh man, that lady is Phillip 2.0 (Spies R Us); a full-blown whack-a-doodle cuckoo-bird. Whoa. Tune in just to see what zany observation she makes this week.
Chris Rock hosts the Choice Awards - I was ambivalent towards all the controversy with black actors being overlooked for Oscar nominations. It was an issue that affected lots of people far more differently than it affected me. But I was still intrigued to see how Chris Rock aimed to tackle the issue. Would he deflate its overblown merits by ignoring it altogether and stick with the bread 'n butter Billy Crystal-type monologue? Or would he go head-on with it and use the forum as a stump campaign for his fellow black actors and expose the blatant racism in Hollywood? Or would he embrace the gravity of the issue and poke fun at it from various angles? He chose that last one and I was fine with that, however, I was supremely aggravated and disappointed with his preparedness. Regardless of which approach he chose, he had 6-8 weeks of prep time to rehearse a well-crafted 8+ min monologue on one of the most-watched events of the year. And he, instead, did his normal fifth-grade book report, winging it job. His presentation style relies far too heavily on some semi-off-the-cuff ranting with a smattering of forced uncomfortable laughs. My ambivalence aside, that issue deserved much better treatment from an informed and affected representative. Kevin Hart's brief, sincere, casually humorous speech on the topic was a much better testimonial.
XM Hits of the Month - These songs got turnt up in the Sienna this past month. Or, in some cases, listened to very faintly in the driver's side front left speaker only.
- We Be Clubbin' by Ice Cube
- Lean Back by Terror Squad (I feel like a total boss gangsta leanin' in my black minivan with the windows down, sunroof open quietly listening to songs like this during mobile naptime)
- Fat Lip by Sum41
- The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson (little know fact: Eminem did a remake of this song)
- Touch, Peel, and Stand by Days of the New
- Never Say Goodbye by Bon Jovi
- Where'd you Go? by Fort Minor
- Alone Again Naturally by Gilbert Sullivan
- Anvil Chorus by Glenn Miller
- Tuxedo Junction by Glenn Miller (I love me some Glenn Miller)
- Hey Ba Ba Re Bebop by Tex Beneke (been listening to alot of 40s Junction because it makes me think of my Nana)
- Fade into You by Mazzy Star (Channel 34 Lithium needs to be renamed "Lovejoy '97")
- Take Me to the River by Talking Heads
- In the Summertime by Mungo Jerry
- I'll Be Around by The Spinners
- Say it Ain't So by Weezer
- Deeper and Deeper by Madonna
- Can't You See by Total
DraftKings Winning Lineups - Yep, plural!! Of course, I turned $1 into $2 twice but a win's a win and I'm halfway to a Wendy's 4 for $4 deal.
- PG Damian Lillard
- SG Eric Gordon
- SF Doug "McBuckets" McDermott
- PF Draymond Green
- C Karl-Anthony Towns
- G Shelvin Mack
- F Ryan Anderson
- Util Tyson Chandler
- PG D'Angelo Russell
- SG Khris Middleton
- SF Gordon Hayward
- PF Jabari Parker
- C Dwight Howard
- G Evan Turner
- F Amir Johnson
- Util Will Barton
