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.

The True Chael Sonnen

Chael Sonnen is one of my favorite fighters. Unfortunately, this is not an opinion shared by many. Due to his constant trash talking, relentless hatred of Brazil, and recent title shot losses, Chael has made more enemies in this business than friends. I'll admit, these are easy reasons to hate Sonnen, but if you dig deeper, you begin to realize that he's not the self-proclaimed "bad guy" that everyone thinks he is.

For one, the trash talking is clearly an act. Anyone with half a brain can see that it's a character he plays, and the real Chael Sonnen is as humble as they come. I strongly suggest you check out his appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. When he's not in character, he's pretty damn likable. That being said, I think he's pretty damn likable when he's in character too, but that's just me.

Even Chael haters would be hard pressed to claim that Sonnen isn't talented. Aside from being completely outmatched by the young phenom, Jon "Bones" Jones, Sonnen has been a nightmare opponent for everyone he's faced. Even Anderson Silva, a fighter who many consider to be the greatest of all time, struggled immensely at the hands of the famed takedown/ground and pound prestige of Mr. Sonnen.

After two consecutive losses, Sonnen has picked a new verbal target. This time, he has taken to twitter to call out Wanderlei Silva.

2 reasons the fight makes sense:-I want an easy fight;-Wanderlei is broke
— chael sonnen (@sonnench) May 6, 2013

Well, I can't argue with Sonnen on this one. He may have gotten in over his head with Jones, a physical and emotional beating that he readily acknowledged after the fight was over, but Wanderlei is a decidingly easier opponent. If Anderson Silva couldn't stop Chael's takedown, I don't see how Wanderlei would be able to do any better.

Plus, while 'broke' may be a bit of an overstatement, it's true that Wanderlei is a shadow of his former self. I don't see how Silva could win this one. And as a Sonnen fan, I hope that Silva accepts the fight.

What started as a vague call-out via twitter, has recently gotten some more concrete specifications. Sonnen (@sonnench) has changed his twitter background to a mock flyer for the debut of UFC on Fox Sports, set to air August 17th. The card, which already features a highly anticipated bout between Thiago Alves vs. Matt Brown, is promised to be the strongest television fight card the company has ever put on, according to UFC President Dana White. You can view the mock flyer at the top of this post.

Love him or hate him, Chael Sonnen brings in some pretty big numbers in the ratings department. A fight between him and Wanderlei Silva would be an excellent way to kick off the UFC on the new Fox Sports network. Chael gave him 24 hours notice, 19 hours ago. Something tells me Wanderlei won't make the deadline. I'm also fairly confident that Chael will give him an extension. We'll just have to wait and see.

Wand- you have 24 hours to accept. If you do, I will donate 10% of my purse to help schools in your hometown of Curitiba .. I mean, VEGAS.
— chael sonnen (@sonnench) May 9, 2013

Live Chat with Luke Thomas

On an off-week for the UFC, Luke Thomas, the Senior Editor over at MMAFighting.com, takes to Google+ to live chat with fans and answer a ton of questions ranging from the retirement of UFC Heavyweight Shane Carwin to the new Spike TV Fight Master reality show. I thoroughly enjoyed this video, but it's worth noting that this is definitely not for the fair weather MMA fans. It's one and a half hours of dense MMA news; no video clips, still images, or anything of the sort. It's straight dialogue.

The cool part about doing it live, however, is that fans get to ask questions in the comment section. Based on the number of 'thumbs-up' recommendations by readers, the most highly suggested questions dictate the answers Thomas gives on the show. This was really cool and is definitely something to look forward to in the future. Ah, technology.

Check it out below!

The MMA Hour (5/6/13)

While the popularity of MMA is growing exponentially, the sports world remains, in large part, behind the curve. I imagine it's only a matter of time before ESPN and other major media outlets begin launching full fledged MMA analysis shows. Until that time, however, the only place to get great MMA news coverage is via independent broadcasts, podcasting, and, of course, The MMA Hour. Check out the first episode in the brand new studio where host Ariel Helwani talks new-format jujitsu, the rising UFC Women's division, and UFC on FX 8 in addition to a number of other topics with a variety of awesome guests. Check it out, in full, below.

Epicly Later'd: Eric Koston

We posted about HBO's VICE last night, and if you read the post (which I hope you did), then you know the television show simply serves as an extension of "one of the most popular multimedia, multi-platform news outlet in the world." While they are most famous for their international news stories as of late, the featured stories on their site cover a much wider spectrum. A perfect example of such, is their six part series on professional skateboarder, Eric Koston.

While I outgrew skateboarding over the years, I can easily recall being fascinated by the culture, the required-skillset, and the sheer athleticism. However, even if your knowledge of skateboarding is strictly peripheral, there's a good chance you've heard of Eric Koston. Koston is one of the true icons of the skateboarding world, and the embodiment of the new-age skaters that took the torch from the Rodney Mullens and Tony Hawks of the world and paved the way for the Chris Coles and Ryan Shecklers. To be honest, I almost feel guilty saying he paved the way for these skaters as he still competes against them to this day.

The storied career of one of the most celebrated skaters in the history of the sport is one that should be showcased properly. Who better to capture the full story than VICE? In the interest of length, I'll include only the first part below, but beyond that, you should look up the five corresponding parts on your own. Whether you're a Koston fan or not, you should definitely check out this video series. At it's very core, it's a compelling story. That should be enough for an hour of your time.

Vick vs. McCoy

Is the fact that Michael Vick beat LeSean McCoy in a race today more of a win for Vick or a loss for McCoy? To be honest with you, I'm torn on this one. As a Dallas Cowboys fan (I know everybody hates the Cowboys so save your ridicule), I want the Eagles to lose at everything. It is for this reason that I'm leaning towards it being a loss for McCoy. On the other hand, I have to give some props to Vick, because I would never have picked him in a race over LeSean, who has proven to be one of the more dominant running backs in the National Football League. On the other other hand, Michael Vick beats dogs. DOGS! I don't care how many years go by, that is one of those unforgivable crimes. I've never even had a dog, but I simply can't imagine hitting one. Sickening.

Final Decision: Loss for LeSean McCoy. He's got 10 years on you LeSean! You should smoke him!