MMA - A War of Attrition

I've been on a huge MMA kick lately. Okay, so when am I not? The truth is, I can't talk about it enough. There is still a certain stigma attached to MMA in the mainstream. It's viewed as a barbaric, blood sport rather than what it really is; an art form  As with most things, the more you watch MMA, the more you start to pick up on the finer points of the sport. For that reason, I can't tell you what to look for. That being said, I can tell you what I look for and hopefully give you a head start on your journey to enlightenment.

For me, the most exciting part about MMA is the passion. The audience only gets a short glimpse into the lives of the fighters. What you don't see is the endless hours of hard work in and out of the gym. Between eating right, constantly training, and the final, often brutal, weight cuts before a fight, the life of a fighter is not an easy one. At the end of it all, you get locked in a cage, punched in the face, and often times lose. So what's the point?

Obviously fighters have their individual reasons for doing what they do. There are, however, some universal explanations that seem to bridge the gap between fighters. It's about the technique, the artistry, and the heart. As your understanding of the sport becomes more and more complex, you begin to see these three factors in every fighter. Some guys are disrespectful of their opponents, disrespectful of the fans, and disrespectful of the sport. But it's rare that you see a guy who isn't in love with what they do. To suffer so much for one goal, you simply have to be.

As I said earlier, the only way to truly appreciate the finer points of MMA is to watch for yourself. I recently discovered that netflix has a number of MMA documentaries and am currently working on compiling a list of the best films. There are also a number of free fights on YouTube that I encourage you to check out. A good starting point would be the famed Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar fight that capped off the first season of The Ultimate Fighter reality show. Check that out below and keep it locked to Real Radio and Real Sports for more great MMA coverage.

Bruins Pull Off Amazing Comeback Victory

If you missed game 7 of the Boston vs. Toronto series, then you missed one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I, like many others, figured the series would end in five. The Bruins jumped out to an early 3-1 series lead and were heading back to Boston for what many considered to be a series finale. The Maple Leafs had other plans.

Toronto threw together a couple 2-1 wins over the Bruins, tying the series up 3-3 and forcing a game seven. The Bruins had the talent, but the Maple Leafs had the momentum, and many fans were torn between who to pick for the victory. I was cautiously optimistic that the Bs would pull it off, but once they fell to a three goal deficit, I thought they had blown it for sure.

Luckily, the Bruins were a lot more resilient than I. At the end of the first, the game was tied 1-1. Toronto took a 2-1 lead after the second period. During the second intermission, Naoko Funayama asked Johnny Boychuk if the Bruins had what it takes to overcome the deficit and walk away with a victory. Boychuk said yes, but I doubt he saw it going down the way it did.

Two minutes into the third period, former Bruin, Phil Kessel scored, increasing the lead to 3-1. A little over three minutes later, Nazem Kadri scored on a two on one fast break leading to a put back on a juicy rebound from Rask. Bruins fans stared in disbelief as their team was looking at a 4-1 deficit with only 14 minutes left in their season. All hope was lost for the Bruins.

Then Nathan Horton scored. 

I'll admit, my first thought was "why couldn't this have come earlier," as I felt the game was all but over. In my defense, I wasn't alone in this feeling. With two minutes to go, the bruins were still down by two and had no choice but to pull their goalie.

Then Milan Lucic scored.

At this point, as a pessimistic Boston fan (you can thank the Red Sox for that), I still didn't think we were going to pull it off. Call it a defense mechanism. I was actually a little upset that the Bruins would force me to be invested again just to be heartbroken once again. We were down by 1 goal with 0:51 left in the game.

Then Patrice Bergeron scored.

I sat in silence for some time, completely stunned by what had just transpired. I can't recall a comeback this exciting, under these circumstances, in the history of the NHL; truly unparalleled. But the game wasn't over yet. We still needed to best the resilient Maple Leafs in overtime.

The OT period did not start the way that regulation ended. Bruins seemed to be playing a little timid again, rather than the desperation and scrappiness that took them to OT in the first place. Toronto had some fast breaks. Tuukka had some great saves; a sight Bruins fans are all too familiar with.

Then Patrice Bergeron scored. Again.

The comeback was complete! The Bruins, despite a near monumental collapse, finally got their act together, won the first series of the playoffs, and completely stunned Maple Leafs nation. If you didn't watch this game, I'm requiring that you at least watch the highlights, which are posted below.

There's nothing like playoff hockey.