RavishingRickRudo

And um, Dan Lovranski sucks.

This is my first season watching 24, I am going through Season 1 on A&E every Mondays as well (Jack is escaping with his wife and kid, they are being chased by the baddies through the woods), and JESUS FUCK, I have never seen such a body count. This is just fucking wrong and defying every convention of television set before it. This, clearly, is a direct result of David Fury being a part of the creative process. Think about it, they kept Tony alive *just* so they could let him live, let you breathe a sigh of relief, and then kill him off a lil later on when you don't suspect it. That is pure evil. I hope they don't pay this off like they have done for pretty much every baddie thus far - ie: build up a baddie just so they can have an anti-climactic death to help build up someone else and then just forget they ever existed. There has to be a satisfying period where Jack skullfucks Henderson and this English dude to death - like a full episode long pistol whipping. They can't sacrifice all this and not deliver to the fullest. And I mourn Lynn. It was just the wrong day for him to come in. And he beats Edgar in the Bad Day Dept. Starts off good with him heading CTU and helping Jack out. Goes bad when his druggie sister and her druggie boyfriend jump him and take his keycard and wallet. Then he has those under him go around his back subverting him at very turn. Then theres the mutiny and he's relieved of duty. Then he dies curled up like a bitch saving the very people who screwed him over. Jacks having his period and everyone is like "POOR JACK", fuck Jack. Where is the love for Lynn? Kim walked away like she was going to a fucking mall after the gas was gone. Just throwin her purse over her shoulder and flingin her hair back. Never have I hated someone I really wanted to bonk so much.

Did I mention that I can't stand Dan Lovranski on any level?

I watched a lil bit. I found difficult to get past the commentary, and the shitty 6 man. Mauro was ok on PBP, actually better than the vast majority of commentators, but Lovranski bit it. One, his voice isn't suited for commentary, and two, he didn't know his role and kept stepping on Mauros toes doing PBP. This basically is my problem with Tenay and West, where they are essentially the same person saying the same thing from the same POV, which leads to the question - why are there two of them when they do the job of one man?

I don't think so. This is something the IFL, which is a new fight league (with teams and all), is looking to incorporate. The fighters get paid on a regular basis to help cover training costs and what not. Most fighters don't make enough to fight full-time on their contracts alone, so they look for sponsorship to help cover it. This is why you had so many fighters thanking a long list of sponsors after a fight (which the UFC has put a stop to, yet hasn't compensated their fighters for the loss in sponsorship money - if there ever was a loss). To give you a look at how little sponsorship can cost, Death Valley Driver.com's MMA folder pooled together $500 to get the website stitched on to a fighter's shorts. This wasn't a high profile fighter, but it was one who many consider to be a top ranked fighter in his weight class. In contrast, Chuck Liddell makes shit-loads off his sponsorship deal with Xyience (who has probably been, next to the Fertittas/Zuffa and SEG, the biggest contributor to US MMA in the sports history), which I believe is the first million dollar sponsorship deal in MMA. It was estimated that Chuck made $2 mil all together in 2005, though I don't know how accurate that is.

GSP making more than Franklin doesn't really surprise me, Loiseau making that much LESS than GSP is what does.

In one way, Dana has a point when he says he pays the fighters what they are worth in terms of drawing money. Mark Hominick's worth in regards to how many people paid to see him (few) is probably around $2,000, but there is something inherently wrong in the guy who wins getting $4,000 when the guy who loses gets $8,000. There should be a bonus system in place based on performance and there should be a renegotiation clause in a fighters contract - if Zuffa has the right to cut someone if they lose, then the fighters should get some option when they win. Of course, what they should be doing is exactly what they are doing right now. Fighters are used to getting small paydays, so what Zuffa is offering them is actually higher on the payscale. As long as the fighters don't know any better, and as long as their managers are more focused on not pissing off Dana, there won't be any change soon. The best thing to happen for fighters in competition, which the UFC has been trying to prevent, but it's inevitable. Once investors see how much Zuffa is making off their shows, there will be more events and whatnot which means more demand for the fighters, which means the fighters can actually have leverage. The market will eventually correct the disparity, as it tends to do.

The LAW said that the NOAH show builds towards the Kobashi/Akiyama Tokyo Dome show, and I think something about KENTA being the featured main player on the shows. Tonights eps. has KENTA vs. Akiyama on it.

Here are the salaries for UFC 58 courtesy of mmaweekly.com (via DVDVR) : "Georges St.Pierre not only won his fight against BJ Penn, but came home as the top dog in MMA Salaries according to the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Here is the latest breakdown of UFC 58 USA vs Canada from Las Vegas, Nevada... Tom Murphy - $5,000 to show $5,000 to win. Total $10,000 Icho Laurenas - $3,000 Josh Lambert - $2,000 to show $2,000 to win. Total $4,000 Rob McDonald - $5,000 Sam Stout - $2,000 to show $2,000 to win. Total $4,000 Spencer Fisher - $8,000 Mark Hominick - $2,000 to show $2,000 to win. Total $4,000 Yves Edwards - $8,000 Nathan Marquart - $15,000 to show $15,000 to win. Total $30,000 Joe Doerkson - $5,000 George St Pierre - $24,000 to show $24,000 to win. $48,000 B.J. Penn - $25,000 Mike Swick - $5,000 to show $5,000 to win. $10,000 Seve Vigneault - $2,000 Rich Franklin - $16,000 to show $16,000 to win. $34,000 David Loiseau - $9,000 TOTAL PURSE $209,000 The UFC 57 card was three times the amount as this past UFC 58 card as UFC 57 paid out $666,000 for the total purse. Liddell and Couture combined for $500,000." http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templa...=1718&zoneid=13 It's incredible how little Loiseau made, given that he fought in the main event. Plus, Franklin's purse doesn't add up right, so he made either 32 or 34 grand. GSP now is making more than Franklin does and Marquardt, despite winning only his second recent fight in the UFC is making close to that of Franklin.

Well, the TUF guys are the most well known to the SPIKE audience, so in that way, they are the top teir fighters. In the actual skill way, they aren't.

They just showed a "UFC" fight on Sportscentre up here on TSN. I was freaking out and was going to give it its own thread because coverage on sports shows means legitimacy~! but it wasn't actually a UFC fight (there were ropes and whatnot) and the only reason it was aired was because the fighter was a member of a CFL team.

Let's let this be the only Nicolas Picolas reference in TSM history. AI is proof that 1)Americans don't like Womens Basketball, and 2)Americans don't like articulate black men.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmBe43Hm6wU&search=ufc GSP on Canadian Television. Of course, being Canadian, I understand all of it. What you need to know is this: St. Pierre is on the French Canadian equivalent of The View.

That kind of head dropping is usually done by wrestlers who don't know how to build moves, so they become wasteful because after they are done and after that pop, they go on wrestling the match like it never happened and so the heat goes with it. They do have their place if one uses them well. If the crowd is dead and you want to light a fire under them, it's a spark. I don't mind fans applauding the physical work done in matches. If I see a move, even if it's as simple as a nice punch, that I liked being done I will give a lil applause. This is not really a gut reaction, though. It's not a "jump out of your seat" kinda stuff. There's no emotion behind it. There is a reason why I was applauding a nice punch and that's a bad sign on the part of the guys in the match - it means they were doing a bad enough job in working me, that I was so disconnected from their work, that I was noticing shit like nice punches rather than the anger behind the punches and cheering for the guy who landed it. Of course, this is the ideal and cannot be expected from everyone in every match, I do however think that not enough wrestlers are trying to live up to this ideal and would rather get those "respectful" applauses because, quite frankly, they are easier to get. The vast majority of Duelling Chants I hate with a passion. Because it's the fans taking over the match. The ones that I have heard are done when there isn't really anything being done in the ring to warrant one. They are done at random and when a particular person or group feels like doing it. And you can tell when one will get started because that person or group will say "LET'S GO DRAGON..." and are expecting someone to say "LET'S GO MDOGG!" in return. What is this, a fucking class debate where you take turns presenting your case? The wrestlers need to take control of the crowd and if they have a scenario where the fans are chanting whatever the fans want, then they aren't doing their jobs. The wrestlers should be able to get the fans to chant what the wrestlers want. That's the art of working.

Um. Franklin was originally a lightheavyweight... in the UFC. There, we both win.

Hughes would have to be more aggressive against GSP if he wants to get anything done standing, I think the Penn fight showed a big weakness in Rushes game in that regard. I've never seen Hughes aggressive standing, however. If he lets GSP pick his shots, it will be a long night for Mr. Hughes.

I will preface this by saying that not all wrestling sequences are bad and that they can have a place in a wrestling match. However, the majority of sequences that I have seen have served no other purpose other than showing how many reversals a wrestler can do and don't really build towards anything else other than that solitary, somewhat cheap, pop. I think the very fact that you used the words "sequence" should help shed light on why one can be considered bad. In my view, wrestling should be more organic than that. Sequences are obvious and self-containing for the most part, their very nature takes one "out" of the match. The applause is for the wrestlers effort, and its for both of them. It's a "wow, you guys are working really hard, here's some cheers as a reward" kinda heat, and is that really the kind of heat wrestlers should be working for? Like I said, it does have a place and heat is better than no heat, but there is no real "working" of the crowd being done here, it is anti-work, really. The fans are seeing the mechanics of wrestling, they are seeing Lance Evers and Chris Irvine doing a series of moves rather than Lance Storm and Chris Jericho in a heated battle. There is a disconnect after these sequences, and I am not sure that's where wrestlers really should be.

Fucking seriously, how has no one called you on this bullshit? "You're willing to fall for the belief that that spank-off was dramatic" Willing to fall for the belief? First, what does that even mean? That you are willing to suspend your disbelief? The whole point of wrestling is making the audience believe. Lambasting someone for a willingness to believe is absolutely fucking ridiculous. I'm not an Angle mark, I think his character for the most part sucks and I think he uses his amateur wrestling pretty poorly, he does have his qualities though and those qualities have me enjoying a fair amount of his matches, despite certain things detracting from them. I am in no way an Angle-mark, so how can I enjoy Angles matches? I used to write off Angles matches in similar ways that you do, but that's counter-productive. Angles matches work. They do. Accept that. They may not work for you, but they work for the vast majority of those watching. Why do they work? "They did the rights spots but there was no story" The right spots, which pop the crowd. Which is what wrestling is about. There is nothing in the book of professional wrestling that says there has to be a story. When the first person who said "hey, lets fake this stuff" had professional wrestling in mind, it wasn't to tell a story. Wrestling has always been about making money off those in the audience. There are no Oscars or critical acclaim like there is for film and theatre, there are no pulitzers as there are for literature, and critical success is not tied into the financial wellbeing of a company or wrestlers or anything like that. The goal of the wrestlers in a match isn't to tell a story. A story is something that can exist, it's nice to have it, but it is not necessary for a match to work and effect the crowd. Generally speaking, a very basic story will make the fans happy, and you can find a basic story in every match, even Michaels/Angle. Fans will try to pseudo-intellectualize a very simple thing like professional wrestling and try to elevate it as an artistic piece, but that's really just perverting it. There's nothing wrong with it, but don't fool yourself into thinking this is what wrestling IS, and certainly, don't chastise others for looking at it in a way it's supposed to be looked at. "Angle doesn't have those great matches that keeps you on the edge of your seat" So all those matches where I see the audience going nuts for near falls and the like don't actually exist. What Angle matches have you been watching? I haven't seen anything from Joe that is as brilliant as Benoit/Angle is, though the TNA 3 way would have come pretty close had they not ended it later than they should have. That match is a masterpiece and should be studied by every single fucking wrestler who wants to know how to work an audience. Is Joe worse than Angle? At some things, yes. At other things, no. Joe is a very good wrestler, and while I have certain issues with him (his non-stiff matches are suckish, where Angle does shitty Amateur wrestling moves, Joe does shitty MMA moves), I won't deny that several of his matches made me go crazygonuts, just as some of Angles matches have done. I won't disagree with anyone who says Joe is better than Angle or that Angle is better than Joe, because a strong case could be made for both, I will disagree with those who say there is a great divide between the two when it comes to being workers, cause I don't think there is.

It was Gideons shitty painting. Believe that.

Do what Shawn Michaels did to Marty Jannetty and put the idea of quitting in your buddy-coworkers head and get him to quit and get his hours.

Franklin originally was a Lightheavyweight, it should be noted.

It was just a regular home you'd see in the suburbs. Franklin is probably making well over 6 figures. I read he made $26,000 (13,000 to show, 13,000 to win) for his fight with Quarry, which pretty much everyone thinks is a fucking outrage considering Franklin has been a part of two of the biggest gates in UFC history. Franklin is making more on sponsorship, than anything else. I would assume Dana gives the dude bonus money on the side, cause it's just plain wrong for one of their top stars to be making that little cake. Below is an article from Ivan Trembow linked here http://www.ivansblog.com/2005/12/mixed-mar...aries-fail.html ----------------------------- -While Hughes' lack of a salary increase over the past three years is a bit mind-boggling, the unofficial award for the most grossly underpaid fighter on this show undoubtedly has to go to Rich Franklin. He was only paid $13,000 to fight and an additional $13,000 to win, despite the fact that he was in the main event, and is the UFC Middleweight Champion, and is also just coming off being one of the two coaches on a hit reality TV show. You may wondering how it's possible for Franklin's contract to only be paying him that amount of money when in the past year alone he decimated a huge name in Ken Shamrock on free television with nearly two million people watching, he dominated the Middleweight Champion Evan Tanner to become the champion, and he was one of the two coaches on TUF 2. The reason it's possible is the same reason that it's possible for the TUF winners to be making what they're making: He's locked into a long-term contract. You have to give Zuffa credit: They had the foresight to sign Franklin to a seven-fight contract before the Ken Shamrock fight, Evan Tanner fight, or TUF 2 coaching gig ever happened. Now, Franklin is locked into that contract and cannot seek a more appropriate market value for himself elsewhere. Instead, his multi-fight UFC contract is scheduled to pay him slightly more with each passing fight, but he will still be grossly underpaid for the forseeable future unless the UFC decides to voluntarily give him a new and more equitable contract. While you have to give Zuffa credit for contractually locking Franklin up long-term, you also have to give Franklin credit for being a man of his word. In a situation that was similar in some ways and very different in other ways, Tito Ortiz refused to honor his contract with the UFC just two fights into a six-fight contract, showing that neither his word nor his name on the dotted line really mean anything. Actually, Ortiz was one of the highest-paid UFC fighters even with the contract that he held out to avoid honoring, which is certainly not the case with Franklin. Also, Franklin's contract pays him about one-sixth per fight what Ortiz' contract paid him, and Franklin is still honoring his contract even as he cements his world-class elite status with the first successful UFC Middleweight Title defense in a very long time. I commend Franklin for being a man of his word, but I also hope for his sake that Zuffa voluntarily re-works his contract to pay him more.

This seems to be the only consistent thing the WWE does. They do something EVERYONE knows will fail, it fails, they get rid of it. Isn't not learning from your mistakes fun?

Also, DENIS KANG~! is gonna hit it up. Azeredo/Hansen is going to be dirty. God I hope this doesn't get a month-long delay on PPV.

Ace should be singing Prince, not Michael, but it makes sense for him to be singing Jacko cause the guy has the raw sex appeal of a lawn mower and though he matches stylistically better with Prince tunes, he couldn't pull it off to the full effect. The falsetto was a bit off-putting, but not horrible as some people are sayin here. However, doing it when Sway did it a few weeks earlier isn't a good idea. This wasn't my favourite Taylor performance, I wouldn't buy this song if he released it, but the energy at the end made it memorable and he keeps revealing a lil more every week to make him interesting. Gideons performance went down pretty much like I expected it to. When Michael fucking Bolton puts more soul and sex into a song, there's somethin wrong. He should get enough votes to go through to the next round, though. Chris was a let down. He sorta slept through it rather than go all out. Way too restrained, but nothing offensive. Let's just say, he didn't really seem "broken", in the same way Gideon didn't seem to be singing that song to get laid. Bucky was, well, Bucky. A good song for Bucky, but I for the life of me can't remember a second of it other than a general impression. Not good for the Buckster. Will and Kevin sucked. God Kevin is awful. Elliott did a better job than Simon said, but Simon was right in saying Elliott wasn't fully behind that song. It's a tough song to sing and I think he did the best he could given his voice.