CBS announcer, Jim Nantz, is getting a divorce from his wife of 26-years, Lorrie Nantz.  Nantz makes roughly $7 million per year calling golf, NFL games, and college basketball.  Nantz cites his wife's lack of support for his career as one of the main reasons for the divorce, and that's not shocking since I imagine he's gone all the time and his wife probably wants some Lorrie time.

Nantz cried during their divorce procedings last week when he talked about how his wife wasn't there for him during one of the biggest moments in his career:

“In 2004, I got the Man of the Year award from the New York Athletic Club. Rudy Giuliani had been the previous year’s winner and it really meant a lot to me,” he said, his eyes welling with tears. “My mother flew in from Houston, but Lorrie wasn’t there.” Nantz said he was given an oil portrait of himself at the dinner, but Lorrie wouldn’t let him hang it in their Westport home. “It ended up in a warehouse,” he lamented.

I can't really explain his wife's decision to not be there for the award (maybe she found out about the 29-year old girlfriend, Jimmy!), but not wanting to put the random oil painting of her husband up in the house is reasonable.

Especially because the painting was done by this guy, and it looked something like this on their mantle:

It was called "Celebration."  It was sexual and violent, and Lorrie did not like it. (I think that's the third reference to this particular part of the movie in the last month.  I need to get some new material, but I figured this would be a better analogy than using Kate Winslet's nude photo from Titanic).

How is this relevant to Detroit sports and not just some gossip, People Magazine, piece?  Uh.... Um.....Jim Nantz calls football games with Phil Simms and Phil Simms says he would rather have Matthew Stafford over Matt Ryan if he were starting a franchise.  Boo ya!

[The Big Lead]

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I don't blame Nelson for his approach. What a lot of fans do not understand is that competing on The Ultimate Fighter forces you to fight with little turnaround time. Nelson is a favorite to win the show and probably has to if he ever wants to be a UFC mainstay. He doesn't fit the mold of what a UFC fighter looks like (maybe some stupid tribal tattoos would help?). His style also doesn't lend itself to producing highlight reel finishes. The pressure to win the show is what made that fight lackluster. Why should Nelson take any chances? One cut to the wrong spot could cost him a spot in the next round. He has bigger things on his mind. no comments

UFC 103 Live Results begin at 6:30pm ET, with coverage of the Preliminary Card. We'll have Full Play-by-Plays beginning at 10pm ET when the PPV gets rolling. As always, this is a perfect time to support our sponsors. A couple clicks will take you ten seconds, but it goes a long way to supporting my addiction to Nyquil.

Tyson Griffin Wins by 2nd Round TKO

-Excellent finish by Griffin. The right that dropped him was perfect and the follow-up ground work was vicious. I'll hold off proclaiming Griffin a title contender until I see him finish a fighter who isn't out of shape and sporting purple hair.

Paul Daley Wins by 1st Round TKO

-A very tough call. Kampmann was just standing there eating big shots. He was going to go down hard soon. I think it was probably a good call. Kampmann didn't need to take anymore punishment.

Junior Dos Santos Wins by 3rd Round TKO (Verbal Submission)

-Weird ending. Dos Santos hit him with a few knees to the head during the round. Then he followed one up with an uppercut that connected flush on Cro Cop's left eye. There was an awkward ten seconds where everyone was just looking at each other then Miragliotta waved his hands to end it.

-Cro Cop immediately left after the fight and went back to the locker room with a towel over his head.

-I think Cro Cop really had trouble seeing and decided he didn't want to get knocked out. Although it was legit, it won't win Cro Cop any fans. We routinely see fighters work through major cuts and injuries. You expect it at this point. Another setback for the once legendary Mirko Cro Cop.

Vitor Belfort Wins by 1st Round TKO

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In other news, Cyborg Santos is set to star in "My Father The Hero II".
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It appears the rumors are probably true and Rampage Jackson will not fight Rashad Evans at UFC 107 in December. MMA Bay is reporting that Rampage has secured the role of B.A. Baracus in the upcoming "A-Team" film. MMA Bay isn't always correct, but there track record with Wolfslair fighters is pretty good. It also makes sense because the UFC recently added BJ Penn vs Diego Sanchez to the card.

As always, I hate this sort of thing. Rampage seems disinterested in fighting right now for whatever reasons. In the spring, he ducked Lyoto Machida in favor of filming The Ultimate Fighter. Now, he's putting off a fight with Evans to film a movie. I say this a lot, but opportunity is fleeting in MMA. You do not get many shots and when they come you better take them. Rampage was the clear cut #1 contender at 205 lbs. His absence will allow other fighters to overtake him. He might think he will dominate Evans, but all it takes is one random punch and Rampage could find himself completely out of the title picture. That's why taking time off is a dangerous proposition for fighters. It puts more pressure on you to perform when you return. We also should not forget that Rampage didn't do too well the last time he came off a long layoff and lost a decision to Forrest Griffin.

The whole acting thing makes me nuts. I understand the motive to make money outside of the cage, but you need to have your priorities straight. Could you imagine Derek Jeter telling the Yankees he wasn't going to play in the World Series because he wanted to be in an episode of "Lost"? Of course not, because it's totally idiotic. Jeter is a baseball player and baseball comes first. For some reason, some fighters don't see it that way. They think they can jump back and forth between fighting and acting (Actually, can we stop calling it acting? That's not what it is. When a fighter is in a movie, it's an appearance.).

Hopefully, movie studios lose interest in MMA, because this crap is getting old.

I have an easy solution for the UFC. They should scrap the Mir/Kongo fight that no one cares about and replace it with Mir/Nogueira II. The winner of Mir/Kongo has nothing to gain. It was a fight put together because there wasn't anyone else available. With Nogueira's reemergence, it makes sense to give him a rematch against Mir. It would also give the UFC a clear cut challenger for whoever wins the Lesnar/Carwin fight at UFC 106.

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Game Unicon's slogan was "game all day, rock all night."  Not only could attendees play any current-gen competitive game, but they could also rock out at a concert on Friday and Saturday night.  Due to hurricanes, tornado warnings, and the Mothman, I was sadly unable to check out The Megas and Freezepop on Friday night, but I was definitely there on Saturday, which went from absolute suck to shreddingly superb over the course of the night.

Hit the link for the full story on Game Unicon's Saturday Night Concert (or click here if you haven't read Part 1 yet).

 

At first, the concert seemed like a train wreck.  My schedule told me that the show started at 4 o'clock, but I heard rumblings that it wasn't going to begin until 5.  Sounded like a perfect opportunity for a nap to me.  After sleeping, I figured I'd have to fight my way through a thick crowd to get a good standing spot, so I got to the concert tent 15 minutes early.  Turns out I should have waited another hour.  The show was originally supposed to start at 4.  Here's what it looked like at the rescheduled starting time of 5:

If no one shows in a few hours, I call that Marshall half-stack

Needless to say, the show's organizers were quite nervous.  "It's five minutes before we're supposed to start and there are no bands here," I overhead one distraught staff member gripe into his cell phone.  About ten past 5, a band member showed up and sound testing began.  As far as I know, sound checks are supposed to be done early in the afternoon, well before the show.  That was yet another train in the proverbial wreck.

The show finally started shortly after 6 o'clock.  The first band up was The Motion Sick, an indie band from Boston.  At first I was wondering why they were chosen to play Game Unicon, but I quickly figured it out as the singer waxed geek with lyrics focused on time machines, satellites, and poor old Aqua Man.

The Motion Sick dance to "30 Lives," acting out the Konami Code

The highlight of their set was especially fitting for the event, paying homage to the Konami Code in their song, "30 Lives."  Mostly indie, a little bit surfy, and totally nerdy, The Motion Sick put on a great set despite the anemic audience.  Check out their song, "30 Lives" in any of the newer editions of Dance Dance Revolution.

Planetoid arrived in their space van shortly after The Motion Sick finished their set.  A three piece band also from the Boston area, these ETs blend classic- and stoner-rock for an unusual and catchy sound.  Yes - unusual is a good word choice here, because these guys paint their skin, wear a clay horn, and don a robot mask, as well as stay in character before, during, and after their set.

Humanoids bent on the domination of mankind, the members of Planetoid referred to their human audience as "meat-bags" and reminded them not to break the stage lights since there were no power-ups hidden in them.  The three aliens were perfectly in rhythm and put on a hilarious show.

Planetoid drummer, Admiral Time was nice enough to grant me, a mere human, a quick interview.  Check it out:

Marc: So what color is your blood?

Admiral Time: I am not a water-based life-form, and thus do not bleed!

Well what color does the blue guy bleed?

I don't know - you're going to have to stab him to find out.

Pluto has recently been demoted to the status of a planetoid.  Do you agree with this deposition?

Pluto is a mere ball of ice and is smaller than standard planets, thus it is logical to call it a planetoid.

What is the current exchange rate between Spacebucks and the US Dollar?

We aliens are far less concerned about petty issues such as money than you Earthlings, but if I had to give you a number, it's about 1 Spacebuck to 500 US Dollars.

If you were a My Little Pony, what color would you be?

Well, is there a silver one?  Because I would have to be silver.

Planetoid were followed by Jesus Candy, the band of Game Universe owner, Jamie.  They played a few covers and a few originals.  Personally, I grew out of playing Blink 182 covers when I was 14, but to each his own.  After working so hard to get Game Unicon off the ground, I suppose Jamie's shameless self-promotion is acceptable.  He probably should have scheduled his band to play first, though.

Finally, the band I had waited all night to see took the stage in a hilariously melodramatic way.  Equipped with Mario-meets-Conan armor, Powerglove played brutal metal renditions of our favorite game songs, like "Still More Fighting" and the Weapon theme from Final Fantasy VII, the Tetris and Mortal Kombat themes, and the intro song to Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.

After a few songs, co-guitarist, Chris, told a heartfelt story of his youth - a youth ruined by an angry robot bird.  The band proceeded to sacrifice multiple stuffed-animal birds while playing Storm Eagle's theme from Mega Man X.

The band also separated the audience into halves, and assigned each side to parts A and B of the Tetris theme.  At the band's command, the two sides clashed in an inflatable sword battle with the Russian melody punishing the PA system.

Powerglove's set was more successful than the others because, being gamers, the audience actually knew most of the songs.  Plus, there were no lyrics to sing along to other than "Go, go, Power Rangers."  And that's not to mention these guys definitely know how to play their instruments.  The crowed loved them so much that they begged for an encore, which went unfulfilled.  That doesn't mean they're assholes, though (even though they never showed up for an interview) - co-guitarist, Alex, was more than happy to talk guitars with me.  I'd say Powerglove were the highlight of the night.

After much anticipation, Bang Camaro, the darling band of Harmonix, took the stage.  These guys (and girl) know how to put on a show - they went all out even though there were less than 60 people in the audience.  On-stage antics included multiple people wailing on the drums, tossing guitars like toys, and jumping off the drum riser.

The best part of being in a band is jumping off the bass drum

Like Powerglove's, Bang Camaro's set was more successful than others since the crowd knew a few of the songs - the ones that are from Guitar Hero and Rock Band, of course.  The band was able to captivate the audience during unfamiliar songs nonetheless due to their arena rock stage presence.

Bang!

Before their set began, an ambulance showed up to the concert tent.  The band announced on stage that their sound tech had a medical emergency and had to be taken to the hospital.  Thankfully, the tech from the other bands' sets was still around and was able to fill in.  Feedback got out of control once in a while, but otherwise it was a good save.

My obsession with Rickenbackers was cemented even further over the weekend

Drenched in sweat, the band left the stage, but the audience wasn't finished with them yet.  They begged and pleaded for one more song, which, unlike Powerglove, the band decided to grant.  Bang Camaro played for a good hour by my estimation, and they put on a great show the entire time.

Bang Camaro want YOU for the Camaro Army

After the show, I was able to interview co-guitarist, Alex, and singer, Morgan Brown.

Marc: So are you guys still working with Harmonix?

Morgan: Oh yeah.

What have you been playing for games lately?

Well, I've been playing a whole lot of Battlefield 1943.  Marvel Vs. Capcom 2, Puzzle Fighter, and Left 4 Dead, of course.

So are you more into the newer stuff or do you like older games, as well?

It's definitely a mix.  I play through Symphony of the Night once a year.

Is it me, or did The Kings of Leon rip off your CD artwork?

Uhh... (looks towards Alex, who is pondering the question)

Alex: Wait a minute - yeah!  They have the black thing, and the red!

Morgan: Oh yeah! I don't think they ripped us off, though.

Really?  I think they ripped you off, guys! [sarcasm]

Alex: You know what? Yeah they ripped us off! [sarcasm]

Morgan: Yeah, they totally ripped us off! [sarcasm]

That's what I wanted to hear!  Anything else you guys want to mention?

Alex: Yeah, we have our music on Madden '10, so definitely check that out.

All in all, the Game Universe concert was a bit of an awkward one, since the crowd was so damn small and because they didn't really know how to act at a show.  Jumping up and down?  Really, this isn't a Fall Out Boy show.  It was a success anyway, though, thanks especially to the stage presence of Powerglove and Bang Camaro.

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To be honest, I didnt even get a quarter of the way through this video when I decided that it must be posted on the site. The video is a clip of an upcoming live action Mario Brothers movie that is made by fans.

The video is funny in a "make you say awww" kind of way as you recognize the various staples that make Mario who he is. Its def worth the slow load time for the video. Just pause it, wait for the video to load and enjoy the Mario magic my friends.

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• I find it ridiculous that Gonzaga did not have a point taken away for the low blow. The problem is the assumption that fighters only kick someone in the balls by accident. For the most part, I think it's accidental. However, there really isn't any incentive not to do it. Referees never deduct a point for the first low blow. If more points were taken away for low blows, you'd see fighters adapt their inside leg kicks. As it is, they have no reason to change anything.

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Reprinted from Shotgun Spratling's USC Annenberg blog:

Finding web sites to routinely follow is just another form of online dating. Though people won't make as many jokes (at least not to your face) as they would were you looking for your one true love online, it is a very similar process to trying to find that unattainable soul mate.

[theblueworkhorse] Many of the same initial questions get asked when trying to decided which sites you want to date (i.e. get your news from) and when you are searching for an online dating service and eventually...members of the opposite sex (or the same, if that's your thing):

Who do I check out? Does it cost anything? Will I get any response?

(Since I'm male and only have experience with females, that is the only bounds I can speak from, so this message of online dating shalt be relayed that way. Feel free to be offended, disgusted, and forget how to scroll down the page.)

Finding women via online dating and finding news sites to even scan can be laborious. You can't just find a service and the first woman you take a gander at will be the one.

The same is true with sites. Just Google-ing your interests and clicking on the top choice won't necessarily get what you are ultimately searching for: balanced coverage that covers the gamut of your interests.

Being an absolute sports nut, about the only news I read about is sports-related. I occasionally glance at the headlines on Yahoo when I go to check my e-mail or take a glance at the top headlines that are instantaneously tracked atop my Mozilla Firefox toolbar.

Realizing the top 10 or 15 sites for "sports," according to Google's wacky algorithm, were all the leading sports organizations (ESPN, FoxSports, YahooSports, Sports Illustrated, etc.) that essentially have the same stories, I decided to diversify.

Just as a varying range of blondes, brunettes, and redheads would be ideal in eventually finding a true love or soul mate, sports are best discovered through a variety of mediums.

The Supermodel - ESPN

 

Instead of just selecting a host of Bar Rafaeli, Marisa Miller, and Adriana Lima's, the glamourous swimsuit and fashion models that are the ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and other big name, large-corporation-backed news sites, I chose just one. I stuck with the self-proclaimed "Worldwide Leader in Sports," ESPN because of their overarching coverage of all the major sports and their strong cavalry of writers.

The Dangerous Girl (Megan Fox) - Deadspin

 

I then chose to try out the mysterious, dark-haired girl covered in tattoos that doesn't mince her words regardless of who is in the room.

In the sports web site world, the Megan Fox is definitively Deadspin. They are vulgar, sometimes vile, don't give a shit what you think, and really difficult not to be attracted to. With Deadspin's propensity to speak freely, break news, and praise or attack the last player on the bench just as they would the star, they do an incredible job of covering sports, and that has led them from a small blog to the largest independent sports site.

Deadspin now has a cult following, which makes it even more difficult to click away from the site. Not only are the articles typically well-written but with one of the strongest communities, it's hard not to get caught up reading and laughing at the collection of off-the-wall comments.

Having a much more liberal filter than a mainstream media site like ESPN, Deadspin is able to cover a broad array of topics -- some obscure, some strange, and some that may not be in the best taste, but they manage to do it well enough to keep their corporate advertisers and readers around.

The Redhead (Christina Hendricks) - Yardbarker

Any attempt to get the full spectrum of women is incomplete without the incorporation of a fiery redhead just like including a site like Yardbarker is necessary to get a complete look at sports on the internet.

Similar to a redhead such as Mad Men's Christina Hendricks, Yardbarker is a site with attitude and some large features unseen on other sports web sites. Unlike ESPN or Deadspin, the Yard, as it is affectionately known to its members, is a portal where users can submit stories of interest found elsewhere online.

Although there are other useful sports portals, including BallHype and Bloguin, Yardbarker's attitude -- their secondary slogan is "Beast Mode" -- and ability to give fans an insider's look sets them apart.

Their insider information comes from the "dozens of top professional athletes [that] blog on Yardbarker." From Superbowl hero Santonio Holmes to former heavyweight boxing champion Buster Douglas to mixed martial arts sweetheart Gina Carano to the 2007 NBA Draft's #1 overall pick Greg Oden, Yardbarker has athletes past and present sharing their opinions on everything from their feelings on other players to politics to relationships.

Like Deadspin, Yardbarker has a vibrant community willing to offer their opinions. Comments in the Yard, however, are more strictly moderated, so it is a much more family-friendly environment.

But like every male fantasy, why choose just one of these sites when you could have a menage-a-trois or a foursome? Instead, getting the penultimate experience requires getting the well-rounded coverage that the three sites together provide, which is why I will be closely following these three sites this semester.

[theblueworkhorse2]

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