Dear Entourage, Stop Blowing...

We get it, this season Vince is edgy and dates porn stars, but Doug Ellin please get Sasha Grey off Entourage.  Don't get me wrong, I like Entourage and I love porn, but her part on the show seems so forced.  We understand Sasha isn't shallow, she can get gangbanged by five guys, but it's cool because her porn name is from an Oscar Wilde novel.  She could've just used the name of her first pet and street she grew up on like normal people do, but she's deep.  By the way, I would be Rascal Hillside; tell me that doesn't roll right off the tongue.

Getting back on point, it seems the theory behind the show this season is to throw a bunch of cool unrelated shit together and hope it pans out. That's like saying I love football and sex, so I should want to take Bret Favre to pound town every Sunday (and the occasional Monday)...but I don't, not because I'm homophobic. It's because he wears Wranglers.  

We fell in love with Entourage because of the hustle, the first three seasons we were pulling so hard for Vince to crack the A-list and for Johnny Drama to remain relevant.  

But fear not, we can right this ship with five simple changes:

1. Stop product placement raping us with Avion Tequila 

Yes, it's an actual tequila. You can buy it here. Nice idea and everything, but let's wrap this shit up already.  Have Mark Cuban's corpse (seriously, is he auditioning for weekend at Bernie's 3?  He has a permanent half smile that is just creepy) buy out Carlos and make Turtle Operations Manager.  I don't see how Alex will stick around, which is a shame because I was just getting used to my pants becoming uncomfortably tight whenever she was on screen.

2. Scott Lavin (Scott Caan) and E start out on their own

Let's face it, the days of us thinking E is a bad ass are loooooong gone.  His peak was the Seth Green beat down.  The guy isn't built for that role.  He really isn't built to ride most roller coasters.  However, the chemistry he has with Lavin is great.  I'd like to see them give a big fuck you to Murray, like Lavin has alluded to, and form their own company. It'd definitely inject new life into the story line.

3. Make Vince better at hiding drugs 

Small complaint, but are you fucking kidding me?  Lloyd goes searching for more Tequila and finds a couple of kilos of columbian bam bam.  Vince doesn't have a massive drug problem, he has a hiding problem.  

4. Mrs. Ari and the kids die in a plane crash. Fine...if they HAVE to live, Ari has an affair

Preferably with Lizzie Gordon which rips apart the marriage.  In the sex scene she'd have to be on top, because you can now see Jeremy Piven's bald spot from space.

5. Get Drama a fucking mirror

Johnny finally gets a show green lit and he turns it down because it's a gorilla cartoon?  Bullshit story arc.  


Also, I'm tired of E cracking up every time someone reads the 'Johnny Bananas' script out loud.

I don't mean to only bag on the show, but like any favorite child you want to see it reach it's full potential instead of settle for mediocrity like the neighbor's kids.  Stop raining on the parade and please go back to what made your show great, just four friends living the dream in Hollywood.  

Don Draper has a little raucus in him

If you watched Sunday's Mad Men episode you may remember the slogan an absolutely smashed Don Draper gave in his pitch to Life Cereal, "Cure for the common breakfast."

Here at Raucus Nature, we're the cure for the common clothes. So Mad Men has some serious explaining to do. I was going to time travel back to the fictional sixties, have a cigarette and a glass of scotch with Don, then punch him in the face for stealing our slogan. After that I would take Joan to pound town before making the quantum leap back to the present reality. However, I realized the show is fake, so I'll let it slide.  

And for all of you who wouldn't take Joan to Smashville, I call bullshit. And instead of convincing you with a thousand words, I'll save time and just show you a picture of this smokin' hot red head.

Lilahsfurcladadventures.dogspot.com

I'm in. This blog is mine now sucker. What kind of loser sets his password as 'Sharmaisgod'. Nailed it onsight.


First off, what idiot designed this keyboard? Spacebar is freaking killing me. I'd shag a cat for a couple of opposable thumbs about now.


Since I've never been allowed to post before I'll start back as far as my dog brain can go. All the way back to....that's right, when these jokers left me at home for five weeks so they could go traipsing around Europe.


Oh yeah, I knew all about the trip. I saw them planning and packing and the whole time I'm thinking to myself, "This is gonna be bawse!" I was a little worried about the flight so I scored a couple of Qualudes at the club the other night. I'm thinking I pop a few of them mofos and when I wake up "Boom! Where my chiens at!" I was super amped when I heard we were going to France. The crags in France are a dog's dream. Doo doo snacks under every rock! But I let my guard down and those A-holes left me. I was pissed but fortunately my Dogfather Kirk and his main squeeze Krystaaaal came over to party. Kirk took me to work everyday. I was the mascot for New River Mountain guide's kids summer camp. Kickin' it at the crag everyday, ya know what I'm sayin'? Keepin' it real.


I was just settling in to life with my new rents when these two jokers roll back in thinkin' they own the place. I'll hold a grudge man, and I did. Especially cause as soon as they got back, life came to a crashing halt. Days at the crag turned into days on the couch. Super lame. Mama C went pretty much right back to teaching snot nose brats and M-Dub started clacking away at this here keypad. For days. Apparently he started some new job as 'editor-in-chief' at Deadpointmag.com. And believe me he will not let me forget it. I think it's gone to his head. Check this out, you're going to love this:


Ok, Ok, so the other day I'm sleeping on the couch as usual right. It's just me and M-Dub in the house. I hear real faint off in the distance "editor in chief....editor in chief....editor in chief" At first I think I'm dreaming but I'm wide awake now and for sure it's M-Dub whispering it or something. So I real stealth like slip off the couch, creep over, and stick my head around the door. Ok, Ok, seriously, the dude is standing in the bathroom with his shirt off. He's staring at himself in the mirror, flexing his muscles, saying "yeah, Editor in Chief" Dude, I am dying inside. I'm doing everything I can to not bust out laughing cause this is too good. Then, seriously, OK, seriously, he drops his arms down in like some girly pose and puts on some seductive secretary voice and he's like "Mr. Editor in Chief, here's those faxes you asked for. Would you like any more coff...." But right then he sees me staring at him and I lose it. I'm laughing so hard I can't even breath and he slams the door and I can hear him in there sobbing like a little girl. Bwaaahhhahaaa! Dude, what a loser! Can you even believe that!


So this goes on for days, the whole typing thing and he's always bitching about being busy when all he really does is update his Facebook status and reread his 8a.nu scorecard for the millionth time. So one day the phone rings, right? I can here it's Dave Pegg from Wolverine Publishing on the line cause my ears be light years ahead of ya'lls. I immediately start listening in cause I know Bel and Dee Dee are over there and I'm wondering if they're going to give me a shout out. I love Dee Dee. I mean we spent time together man. We ran in front of cars at the Project Wall, we dirted up rope bags in the Arsenal, we tried to steal sandwiches at the Wasteland so we could eat em up and then poop em out at the base of the routes. I mean I'm a dog right? So you know, I got ho's in different area codes, you know what I'm sayin'? But Dee Dee is my bottom bitch. Paws down.


Anyway, Pegg gets down to business and he's like " We gotta get this Ipod app thing on the move." I can tell M-Dub is looking a little overwhelmed cause that's gonna seriously cut into his Facebook time but he's in. I'm thinking I'm screwed. Another week in the house right. You could not be further from the truth. Pegg starts talking about getting GPS coordinates for every crag in the gorge. M-Dub is like "Dude, that is a lot of hiking" My ears perk up cause I love hiking. "By the end of the month? I don't know Dave that might be pushing it but I'll try." I glance at the calendar and that's like ten days away. Baller! We gonna be getting our hike on.


So the next day we hit the proverbial dusty trail which in West Virginia is more like soggy moss and mud. Some of the best days of my life. Let me tell you just a few of the adventures I had. First day we hike all of Bubba City from Rubble Rock to Cat Cliff, all of Endless, all of Beauty, half of Fern Butt, and all of Kaymoor. Money. The perfect day. A couple things happened that day. First I stopped to swim in Fern Creek and M-Dub was down in the water too. He's trying to point at something in the water but all I see is my own reflection. Turns out there is a lobster-sized crawdad down there but I can't see it. Apparently M-Dub sees all this go down. I'm in the water up to my chest so I can drink without moving my neck cause that's what I like. I'm standing there minding my own business and this crawdad walks straight over to my leg and tries to take a chunk out of my paw with his claw-piece. Dude, I jumped straight out of the water a mile high and ran to the shore. I was scared to death and shaking worse than the last time I shit peach pits. But such is a dog's life and we headed on down the mossy trail.


We're strolling along now at a steady clip and I come upon a girl squatted down right next to the trail. I point her out and M-Dub looks embarassed cause she's dropping a deuce right there! No big deal for me. I'm thinking snack time!


Right after that I stir up a yellow jackets nest cause that's what I like to do. I get stung a bunch and it's no big deal but M-Dub is a total sissy about bees. He goes tearing through the woods screaming "They're on me, Macauly Culkin, My Girl, Call 911!" Unfortunately, he didn't get stung at all.


It's starting to roll up towards evening time now and as the lights go down my fellow woodland creatures stir to life. Out around Sunset Point we're real quiet like getting a coordinate for Keeney's Buttress and a trio of young Bucks walk into the clearing. All three are just younguns with some fuzzy racks. I crouch down real low cause I know I'm about to get my chase on. Then boom! It's on. I feel the wild beast in me come forth and instinct takes over. Two bucks break one way and I single out the indivdual from the herd and follow him. M-Dub can hear my howls far off into the distance of the West Virginia wilderness. I chased that deer until we were both blue in the face. I wonder what I would do if I ever caught one?


And that was just the first day! Yesterday we hiked a bunch up around the Gauley River and Summersville Lake. We went and checked out Carnifex Ferry and some toothless old timer stopped to tell us about his guard dog. He said if we went near his house when his wife wasn't home we'd be cool but if she was in there it'd bite us. I kept pulling at the leash cause dude was weird. But M-Dub seems to get off on these types of interactions with real-deal hillbillies.


After that epic hike we made our way out to Gauley Crag. In the parking lot were two people. A parapalegic lying down on a chaise lounge and some lady with a note pad giving him some kind of hypno therapy or something. Dude, this place is weird sometimes. It was 90 something degrees that day and it was killing me. My tongue was dragging the ground I was so hot. M-Dub spent the whole day bitching about the heat and I'm like "bro, your tongue is in your mouth. What do you expect."


So later on we hike out to the Lake and I run into one of my boys, Rupert P Dogface. He's a boxer like me so we played a bit and then I headed down to the Circus Wall. The heat had finally taken its toll and I was feeling it. Out there around Circus Wall I found this sweeeeet mud hole that smelled like feces. Mmmmm. Needless to say, I got all up in it. I rolled on my back and made sure that the doo doo mud was all over my belly and back and on my face. I ran over to M-Dub to show him how pretty I was and how good I smelled and he yelled at me as usual. Man, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince had it right. Parent just don't understand.


So a bit later M-Dub's like "Hey Lilah, you want to go get a drink?" I'm like "Hell yeah I want a drink. I'm freaking parched as a mofo." So we wander down to the lake and M-Dub is like "Oh wow, this water is so cool and refreshing and he's splashing his hands in it but something aint right. I'm a dog you know and I can sense when something is up. I cock my head and shy back a bit but he grabs me up and throws me as far into the lake as he can. I'm airborne bro and I have time to mutter "What the F...!" before I hit that water like a fat kid off the high dive. Skadoosh! Then he jumps in after me and starts dunking my head like a bully at the park pool. I get to wrastlin back but it's no good man. He won. I ended up cleaner than a frog's armpit. I didn't even smell like doo doo anymore. Man....


Here we are today at the Meadow. We hiked the lower Meadow down to sunkist wall where we found this jumbo hornets nest. Apparently, Parker threw a rock at it the other day and tried to knock it down but they just built it back stronger. Tenacious little devils.









I was totally game for knocking their nest down and eating their babies but again, M-Dub is a total sis. I can tell he's having 'My Girl' flashbacks again so I let it be. We hike down to the river and find a crossing.


You have got to be kidding me? Now I'm the sissy. I'm seeing consequence bro.












But I don't live my life in fear. I ain't skeered. Come on, get psyched and....Gap it!



We're on to the other side and M-Dub starts talking about 'projects' again. I am so tired of 'mega proj' this and 'mega proj' that. I swear if he says it one more time I'll lunge for his juggy and latch on with my canines. This rock all looks the same to me. Just another roof blocking my good sun.










I found this graffitti and started laughing my ass off. M-Dub scolded me like he didn't think it was funny. Lighten up bro. And make sure you wear a 'Trojen' Ha! I swear us dogs are smarter than the rednecks around here.

We hit Hedricks Creek and then blasted back across the river and hiked out. Hey, just for the record I am not afraid of turtles. M-Dub will tell you I'm scared to death and will give a wide berth to avoid them. Whatever man, I just respect them that's all. And they smell weird. And they have sharp beaks. And OK their shells kind of stab into my psyche for some reason but I aint skeered though. No way.








Time to sleep.
Do not disturb...unless you're filling my bowl with some Lamb and Rice. Gotta rest up for tomorrow. I never know what we'll be getting into.

Peace out bitches! And I mean that in the most scientific way.

Ficha Limpa

Faltam poucos dias para as eleições 2010. E você, já escolheu seus candidatos?Creio que todos nos temos dificuldades na hora de decidir e escolher um bom representante para votar.

No dia, 02 de junho de 2010, foi sancionada a lei ficha limpa pelo presidente, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a lei foi criada a partir de uma campanha da sociedade civil com o objetivo de melhorar o perfil dos candidatos eleitos e proporcionar maior conhecimento sobre o histórico dos políticos.

Na hora de escolher o indispensável é a informação, a ficha limpa é uma das grandes aliadas para conhecer melhor o político em que votar!
O povo brasileiro esta cada vez mais atento para as diversas situações que regem o destino do país, prova disso é a aprovação do projeto ficha limpa.

Segundo o site MCCE (Movimento de Combate à Corrupção Eleitoral), o projeto ficha limpa contou com cerca de 1 milhão e 300 mil assinaturas o que corresponde à participação de 1% do eleitorado brasileiro. Com tantos votos assim o povo demonstra que quer ver um país administrado por candidatos que gerem confiança e respeito a todos os eleitores.

Alguns partidos políticos receosos tentaram impedir a aprovação da lei, sabendo que o projeto criado pelo povo iria deixar muitos frente a frente com a verdade. Afinal cedo ou tarde muitas viriam à tona. Para o bem da pátria conseguimos a aprovação e muitos já foram barrados pela lei.

Nós que escolhemos o destino do país, não devemos parar de buscar outros meios de participação política, até por que se deixarmos tudo no controle deles, o fariam como bem entendessem, e o direito de voto não seria tão democrático.

Foto: cnbb.org.br

Eleições 2010

A grande e esperada copa do mundo já se foi, são poucos os que ainda falam sobre ela, até mesmo porque o foco agora são as eleições, que irá eleger os futuros ‘’comandantes’’ do Brasil nos próximos 4 anos.

No dia 15 de outubro, nós cidadões brasileiros, vamos decidir quem serão os nossos futuros Deputados, Senadores, Governadores e o Presidente da república. Neste dia temos que ser conscientes, jamais podemos nos deixar enganar por uma boa aparência e algumas palavras inteligentes, (mesmo porque até eu posso ser assim!!!). É sempre assim, quando chega a época de eleição começam as polêmicas as ‘’brigas verbais’’ e é nesta hora que temos que observar e analisar como cada candidato se comporta diante do outro.

O que é bem difícil nesta época é saber quem realmente quer trabalhar por nós. Por isso quero deixar uma dica (que pode até ser um pouco clichê): Não se engane com promessas, não venda seu voto, pesquisem bem o passado dos candidatos, incista bastante na hora de buscar informações sobre eles, há muitas coisas boas que a internet pode informar, mas também poderá revelar grandes verdades.

Sex Drive Thru in Zurich! Put it in the win column...

Found this on TIME, apparently you can have sex with a prostitute at any point during the day or night as long as you park you car in these "covered" parking spots.  Looks like Charles Barkley may be making a move soon.  Check out a quote from the article:

"The boxes will serve as quickie drive-throughs, so-to-speak, and will free up city streets from unsightly acts that haunt Zurich residents whose homes overlook the city's red light district. "They get up to all sorts in broad daylight - and we're sick to death of looking at it," one resident told the U.K.'s Metro. (Silvio Berlusconi and the Politics of Sex)

From the looks of things, the boxes are big enough to conceal vehicles while prostitutes and clients handle business, away from the public eye."

So when there is a line, and you know there will be a line, do you really think these people are going to want to wait?  They say Americans are lazy, these bastards already have a red light district and they can't even get out of their cars to fuck a stranger for money.  I think the best part is that the cops just gave up and decided that if people were going to continue to transfer syphillis in their vehicles, then at least they can do behind three doors.

Lets take a moment to thank the Swiss for their innovation and problem solving skills...

RN

And people say there is a problem with pop culture...

Does this look like a face of someone who has been up all night on a cocaine binger?  Turns out this blonde genius has more friends that are willing to take the fall for her fuck ups.  I wonder if those where some of the questions she would ask the contestants on her shit reality show, Paris Hilton's BFF.  Paris Hilton to the contestant: "If I shoved black tar heroin up my ass before going through airport security in Mexico and got caught, would you be willing to say that you put it up my ass while I was asleep?"  Contestant to PH: "Yes I can." 

No wonder she has a smile on her face...

Bring back the Rock 'n' Roll...

Check out the official video of a great new rock band from Chicago called Bad City.  These guys are really bringing the Raucus.  They are getting ready to head back out on the road with the Smashing Pumpkins for the first part of September and from there they will head up to Canada to play of few shows with an original rocker, Slash, it should be fuckin' awesome!  Their first album, Welcome to the Wasteland, was just released by Atlantic Records and it is packed with high voltage rock baby!

You can check out more on this group at their website, badcitymusic.com, for more videos and photos from the tour.  Also, check out their tour schedule, if they are in a city near you we suggest you get your ass to the show because you won't regret it!

Stay creative,

Raucus Nature

UFC 118: Predictable and then not so much

In what was a highly anticipated fight card, UFC 118 turned out on one hand to be quite predictable, yet on another not so much. The intrigues of the rematch between lightweight champion (155lbs.) Frankie 'The Answer' Edgar (13-1, 2 KO's 3 subs) (pictured at left) and former champ B.J. 'The Prodigy' Penn (15-7-1, 6 KO's 6 subs) proved to be just that, but the outcome was nothing anyone saw coming.

While their first fight was a very close, highly disputed decision win for Edgar, this one was also another decision win for the champ. However, this time there was no disputing the decision. Edgar completely dominated a totally focused Penn right from the start, beating him to the punch, taking him down at will, which no one had ever done so much before at lightweight, and simply outclassed the former champion. Other than Georges St. Pierre @ welterweight (170lbs.), no one had ever defeated Penn so handily.

Edgar silenced the naysayers and solidified his standing as the true champion of the weight class. Up next for the champ, the only fighter to give him a blemish on his record thus far, Gray 'The Bully' Maynard. Maynard (10-0-1, 1 KO) "bullied" (no pun intended) his way to a #1 contender spot, by grinding out a workmanlike unanimous decision over previous two-time #1 contender Kenny 'Ken-Flo' Florian (13-5, 3 KO's 9 subs) who was fighting in his hometown of Boston.

In the co-main event, what was arguably the most predicted outcome of the entire card came to pass as UFC Hall of Famer Randy 'The Natural' Couture (19-10, 7 KO's 4 subs) faced Boxing legend and champion James 'Lights Out' Toney in what was Toney's first Mixed Martial Arts fight. While boxing skills are a significant part of MMA, being solely a boxer would prove no match against an experienced MMA fighter, especially one whose specialty is wrestling.

Couture didn't even take one punch as he shot in on Toney for a single leg takedown and got it within the first 30 seconds. The next two minutes was Toney experiencing his worst nightmare, which was an experienced grappler in mounted position on top of him, raining down punches and working for position. Eventually Couture set up an arm triangle choke, locked it in and Toney immediately waved to the referee to let him out.

To Toney's credit, he weathered the storm a whole lot longer than I expected as I figured he would panic, hyperventilate and tap immediately once Couture got on top of him. He did not and while the outcome was inevitable, he fought back admirably as best as he could. While he did not say that would be his last MMA fight, Dana White said it would be his last in the UFC as he stated he would not experiment with boxers in the cage in the future, regardless of who it is. "I don't care if it's (Floyd) Mayweather or anybody else."

I have a feeling Dana will come to eat those words at some point. While I think he feels content that MMA came out on top and that he has nothing further to prove, he's still a promoter at heart. Thus, first, foremost and ultimately it's always going to be about money. Therefore, if an opportunity to make money with a boxer in the future should present itself, well 'nuff said!

That said, I hope Dana does stays true to his word and never lets another boxer in the cage. I love and respect both sports deeply; thus I don't feel there is any need for either to face each other. Yes, they are both combat sports, but they are two totally different entities. Therefore, this continuing question as to which sport or fighter is more dominant is irrelevant. It is apples and oranges and we should appreciate both for what they are and more importantly for what they bring. To us hardcore fans, that is joy.

Projeto Eco-voluntário

Fotos: Andrey dos Santos

No dia 15 de agosto de 2010, a cidade de Betim colocou em prática um projeto muito bacana, o Eco-voluntário, que surgiu com o objetivo de aprimorar o sistema de coleta seletiva da cidade.

O lixo é um dos nossos maiores problemas ambientais, por isso pensar no consumo racional e na destinação final correta para os resíduos são formas eficientes de se reverter esse quadro. Foi com essa intenção que o município lançou o programa de expansão da coleta seletiva, o “Eco-voluntário”. Com o projeto, os bairros beneficiados agora contam com pontos de entrega voluntária para materiais recicláveis, lixeiras comunitárias onde os moradores depositam o lixo doméstico reciclável para ser recolhido e receber a destinação correta.

O lixo recolhido é direcionado à ASCAPEL Betim (associação dos catadores de papel), onde posteriormente passa por um processo de separação para enfim ser encaminhado à indústria, que finaliza o processo de reciclagem reutilizando esses materiais.


Para o Município, a ASCAPEL além de reduzir o impacto do lixo sobre o meio ambiente, ainda serve como fonte de renda às famílias dos catadores de papeis.

Mas a comunidade deve fazer sua parte, colocar em prática essas medidas. Vamos fazer a diferença em nosso planeta e se alguém tiver de dar o primeiro passo, que sejamos nós. A natureza agradece!

Para entender melhor o Projeto Eco-voluntário, confira a entrevista que fizemos com o Chefe da Divisão de Limpeza Urbana de Betim, Álvaro Rodrigues.

Mengapa Jangan Minum Teh Saat Sahur

VIVAnews - Bukan hanya pilihan makanan yang perlu diperhatikan saat sahur, tetapi juga minuman. Pakar kesehatan asal Swiss, Dr U Barsilus, memeringatkan agar mengurangi asupan teh saat sahur.

Seperti dikutip dari laman Arab News, ia mengatakan bahwa teh bersifat diurektika, sehingga akan membuat orang lebih sering buang air kecil. "Ini tidak menguntungkan karena garam dan mineral yang dibutuhkan tubuh saat puasa ikut terbuang, padahal selama puasa tak ada cairan yang masuk," ujarnya.
Tapi, bukan berarti ia melarang konsumsi teh hangat saat puasa. Hanya, jangan terlalu banyak. Kepekatan teh juga hendaknya diperhatikan. Lebih baik perbanyak konsumsi air putih demi kondisi prima selama Ramadan.
Selain teh, ia juga menyarankan mereka yang berpuasa untuk menghindari makanan berlemak, gorengan, serta makanan mengandung terlalu banyak gula. Porsi makan saat sahur juga menjadi perhatiannya. "Terlalu banyak makan saat sahur sebaiknya dihindari," katanya.
Ia menyarankan konsumsi karbohidrat kompleks saat sahur. Karbohidrat kompleks sangat membantu menjaga kebutuhan energi selama puasa, karena sifatnya lebih lambat dipecah menjadi gula darah. Menu karbohidrat ideal sahur antara lain nasi merah, oatmeal, roti gandum, ubi, jagung, atau singkong.
Selama periode berbuka menuju sahur, perbanyak minum air putih dan jus buah. Dan, jangan lupakan sayur dan buah untuk memaksimalkan proses detoksifikasi. Sebab, puasa justru memberi kesempatan tubuh mengeluarkan racun melalui aliran darah, pori dan organ pembuangan lain. (VIVA News)

Boxing and MMA are still fighting for respect

There is a historical fight taking place @ UFC 118 this Saturday between five-time UFC champion and MMA legend Randy Couture and multiple division boxing champion James Toney (pictured left). Thus, the stage is set for an epic showdown. So why are boxing and MMA still fighting for respect?

Combat sports have probably been around since the dawn of mankind. There are ancient artifacts and historical data that dictate hand to hand combat and certain forms of self-defense have been practiced in one form or another for thousands of years.

Yet, for as long as they've been around, the question has remained, are combat sports an athletic form of competition or nothing more than barbaric brutality? For the sport of boxing, this question has lingered for well over a century, but for the sport of mixed martial arts this debate has only been going on for a little more than a decade and a half. As a fan, proponent and practitioner of both, I'm here to speak on the positive and technical aspects of each. You can call it the beauty behind the brutality.

Now some people might ask, "how can something so violent, be considered beautiful?" To answer this question, one needs to look beyond what they just see and understand the facets of the game. First of all, violence, in terms of sport, is defined as "rough or injurious physical force, action or treatment." Therefore, taking this definition one would have to define a lot of sports as violent.

Some of the most popular sports in this country such as football, hockey, and basketball can be construed as violent. For that matter, not so popular sports such as soccer, field hockey and lacrosse are just as "violent." So why are these accepted forms of competition within our society, but boxing and mixed martial arts are frowned upon by so many?

It goes back to what I stated earlier; it is a lack of knowledge and understanding. On the football field, when a player is gang tackled by a host of players, it is referred to as great team defense. In hockey, when a player is checked hard into the wall or the ice, it is looked upon as exciting. Even in baseball, when a player slides directly into the shortstop or second baseman in an effort to break up a double play, it is understood that this is an accepted part of the game.

Yet, when a fighter throws a jab at another fighter's head, it is considered "barbaric." Many others and I on the other hand look at this as a thing of beauty. It is why boxing has long been referred to as the "sweet science." When heavyweights such as Muhammad Ali can dance gracefully around their opponent's attack or Larry Holmes spitfires a jab through someone's defense with such speed and precision, it is something to behold.

It is a skill and an art form they were able to master after years of long and arduous training. This is to be respected. Granted, back in the days of bare-knuckle fighters there probably wasn't much skill, but that is not the case today. Boxing has had over 100 years to hone its craft and develop a system and standard that should be marveled at.

Yet, after all that time boxing is still fighting (no pun intended) an uphill battle. Like any other sport, it's had its setbacks. The reality that, professional fighters have died or suffered career ending injuries in the ring does exist.

However, I will argue that most of these are due to the ineptitude of referees that are employed by the various states boxing commissions. Independent state commissions are probably the biggest problem; a uniform set of rules and regulations set forth by a national commission needs to and should be implemented.

Mixed martial arts, on the other hand, has only been in existence, as a sport for less than 17 years. It initially developed as a spectacle pitting combatants of various martial art forms against each other to see which self-defense system could be considered the most effective. While I'll admit in the beginning it was nothing short of brutal. Inevitably its initial champions Royce Gracie, Dan Severn and Oleg Taktarov all showed that technique, not brutality, is what eventually would work in a fight.

Their masterful backgrounds in jiu-jitsu, wrestling and Sambo respectively is what worked, yet in time even they realized their skills were limited against someone who knew a little of everything. Thus, cross training in the various forms of self-defense began and "mixed martial arts" was born. Because it takes place in a cage, an eight-sided octagon, versus a ring some observers consider it barbaric and have gone so far as to refer to it as "human cock-fighting." I beg to differ.

I've been training in martial arts for over ten years now. While the base of my training has been in Taekwondo, submission grappling, boxing and Muay Thai, among others, has also been a substantial part of my training. My participation in all these forms of discipline has introduced me to the scientific aspects of each and thus a deep appreciation of what goes on in the cage or the ring.

In respect to MMA, I will say that rules and regulations have been set in place and only two deaths have been documented in its nearly 17 year history. Both of those took place at the lower level of promotion and competition where standards of regulation may have been compromised. Unlike boxing where a fighter depends on the referee to stop a fight, in MMA, besides the ref, a fighter can respectfully and gracefully "tapout," which means they give up, to live and fight another day.

Yet, with all these rules in place along with skill and training involved, many people continue frowning upon these sports as nothing more than simplistic brutal forms of competition. Beyond that, a debate is forming as the media, fans and even the fighters themselves are now beginning to form a divide as they question whether the rapid growth of MMA will supersede boxing in terms of popularity. Some even questions whether MMA will be the death of boxing.

Thus, this weekend's fight between Couture and Toney is not just about two competitors, but rather it has become a fight between the two sports. As a fan of both, I am happy to see each continue to prosper financially because as long as they do, neither of them is going anywhere. Thus, the only battle these two sports will continue to wage is the one against mainstream acceptance of each as such.

Tashard Choice

American Football is a game that played on a grass field, this is known and famous in the United States. The objective of the game is to score and it requires protective gears, training and travel. Their strong body and through advancing the ball into the opposing team. Do you know Who's Tashard J. Choice and what is hes contribution on the American Football Team and all hes achievements on the game. Well he is an American football Player from the Dallas Cowboys and he started hes career and building himself in a good community while hes still studying.

Tashard is a former football player in his high school career played for Lovejoy High and he recorded 40 career all for touch-down and continue his college to Georgia Tech where he took up his major course of History, Technology, and Society and gained All-Big 12 Academic Honor Roll in 2004 with his All-ACC Academic Honor Roll in 2005-2006. He performed well in his academic performance and he even played more and enhance his skills for his football career.

He started his professional career as a football player for the Dallas Cowboys and was selected in the fourth round and as a position of running back. Continue his year still in a Dallas Cowboys and at 2009 he had his a 3 weeks injury received in the Carolina Panthers. That year he even give his 18 carries for 82 yards and one touch-down in a Dallas wins. He even has a million contract worth $2.44 million signed July 23, 2008 carried for 4years it also include $439,000 signing bonus and continuing for the coming year. Like in an online casino it has an entertaing value that people really look forward for each and every game. With all his achievements on the game he already reach his choice as good as he is right now playing and performing the best of his game.

Aborto: a dor da alma.

O aborto sempre foi um tema polêmico e causador de discussões em rodas de amigos, grupos sociais e etc.
Esse tipo de ato considerado assassinato, é denominado aborto que acaba com a vida de inocentes e mata milhares de mulheres por ano, uma ação feita sem pensar que pode trazer muitas conseqüências.
Um crime covarde, pois a vitima não pode se defender. Para a medicina é considerada uma interrupção na gravidez que provoca expulsão do feto, causando a sua morte. Existem vários tipos de aborto; o que quero ressaltar é o aborto causado por pessoas frias e sem coração, chamado de aborto induzido, feito por uma ação terrivelmente covarde. Ele também é denominado de aborto voluntário ou procurado. Em muitos desses casos as conseqüências se resumem em perturbações mental, tentativa de suicídio, perca de alta-confiança e a perda do prazer durante a relação sexual. Muitas sentem a sensação de um vazio interior mesclado com sentimento de culpa consciente.
Onde está o valor humano das pessoas? Quando irão parar de ficar presos em seu próprio “mundinho” e ampliar os olhos sobre o próximo? Aborto é um crime cruel, é assassinato. Neste momento, milhares de abortos estão sendo feitos em todo mundo.
Mas o que fazer? Qual seria a solução? São perguntas que a todo momento surgem em nossas mentes. Como disse o Senhor; “antes que no seio de tua mãe fosse formado, Eu já te conhecia, antes de teu nascimento, Eu já havia consagrado” Jer-1:5

Diga Não ao Aborto. Diga Sim a vida!

Foto:http://migre.me/15Ho0

People are sleeping on the little guys

When I wrote and conducted my MMA mid-year report card on the four major U.S. promotions, UFC, Strikeforce, WEC and Bellator, there was only one that I graded with an A, albeit it was an A-. That promotion was not the Ultimate Fighting Championship, but rather World Extreme Cagefighting.

The WEC, while not as old as the UFC and not as well known among casual fans, has established itself as a top flight promotion that produces action packed cards featuring world class fighters. Yet, with a major event coming up this Wednesday, #50 in their history, I feel they are not getting the publicity and love they deserve and people are sleeping on the little guys.

The reason I say little is because the WEC focuses on the lighter weight classes only. Their organization currently carries fighters in the lightweight (155lbs.), featherweight (145lbs.) and bantamweight (135lbs.) divisions. However, the fighters they carry on their roster are without a doubt some of the best in the world.

With an exciting line-up of fights on tap, headlined by the WEC bantamweight championship, this week's event is sure to live up to the standard they've developed for themselves. In the main event, you have bantamweight champion Dominic Cruz (15-1, 6 KO's 1 sub) in his first title defense against the very tough Joseph Benavidez (12-1, 3 KO's 7 subs). Ironically, Benavidez's only loss is via decision to none other than Cruz a little over a year ago last summer.

Since then all Benavidez has done is win two fights in a row against top flight Rani Yahya via KO and then submitting former champion and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert Miguel Torres back in March. Cruz meanwhile has steamrolled through all his competition, defeating former champ Brian Bowles to win the belt and sustaining his only loss well over three years ago against former WEC posterboy Urijah Faber in the featherweight division.

If that weren't enough to peak your interest, the co-main event is a #1 contender's match in the lightweight division featuring former 3x wrestling All-American Shane Roller (8-2, 2 KO's 5 subs) against exciting Anthony Pettis (9-1, 5 KO's, 5 subs) hence the nickname 'Showtime'. These two will be fighting to win the right to meet lightweight champion Ben 'Smooth' Henderson for the title.

Featuring ten fights in all, WEC 50 has a couple of other intriguing match-ups on the main card including a featherweight tilt between tough Cub Swanson (14-3 4 KO's 7 subs) and undefeated Chad Mendes (7-0, 2 KO's 2 subs). Also, at bantamweight it's Scott 'Young Guns' Jorgensen (10-3, 1 KO, 4 subs) fighting veteran Brad 'One Punch' Pickett (19-4, 6 KO's, 9 subs) with the winner probably getting the winner of Cruz/Benavidez for the title.

So with this very exciting fight card only a day away, why is it not being talked about? UFC 118 is still 11 days away and all you hear about is the rematch between Frankie Edgar and BJ Penn or the MMA vs. Boxing match-up featuring Randy Couture and James Toney. Granted, those four names hold a lot of weight, but don't sleep on the WEC this week.

This is the organization, under the leadership of its President Reed Harris (pictured above), that has given us "hands down" the fight of the year in Leonard Garcia vs. Chan Sung Jung. It is also the organization that features without question one of the top three pound for pound fighters in the world in featherweight champion Jose Aldo and finally they always deliver.

Ask any MMA fan when was the last time they saw a boring WEC card and I don't know if you'll get an answer other than "honestly, I don't remember." With lightning speed at these weight classes, punches and kicks flying, slick submissions and cardio for days, the WEC is pound for pound on par with any organization in the world. On top of all this, you get to see the fights for free live on the Versus network. People are sleeping on the little guys, but I'm not; don't sleep.

10 Penyebab anda tidak beruntung

1. Tak Punya Selera Humor -

Jika Anda tipe orang yang menanggapi segala hal secara serius, maka Anda masuk daftar pertama ini. Mulailah belajar tertawa. Tawa adalah obat paling ampuh dalam segala hal. Jika Anda tak dapat menjadikan permasalahan yang Anda hadapi sebagai lelucon, malah sebaliknya mengeluh panjang lebar tentang masalah tersebut, bisa jadi masalah ini sebenarnya tak seburuk yang Anda pikirkan. Sekali Anda buktikan, maka sepanjang hidup semua masalah tak seburuk yang Anda kira.


2. Menyalahkan Pihak Lain -

Kenapa Anda begitu mudah patah? Bukan berarti mengatakan orang lain tak bersalah, tapi saat menunjuk pada hal itu, Anda akhirnya malah mengubah uang Anda sendiri. Sekali lagi, berhentilah merasa menyesali diri dan berhentilah mengeluh. Jika usaha yang Anda lakukan tak membawa hasil seperti yang diharapkan, maka lakukan hal yang berbeda. Jadi orang yang berbeda sesekali, bisa jadi hal bagus buat diri Anda. Ingat, mulailah dengan berhenti mengeluh, dan berdamailah dengan segala keadaan yang Anda hadapi.


3. Tak Bahagia Dengan Diri Sendiri Saat Melihatnya di Kaca -

Kenapa bis begitu? Dengan standard siapa Anda membandingkan diri sendiri? Anda sendiri atau orang lain? Yang Sebenarnya, Anda bisa menemukan sesuatu dalam diri sendiri yang membuat Anda bahagia, atau melakukan perubahan. Lakukan keduanya jika Anda mau. Tak seorangpun di dunia ini yang dapat menghentikan Anda berpikir bahwa Anda menarik.


4. Tak Punya Harapan Atau Stuck -

Tak seorangpun yang dapat membuat Anda merasa lebih baik selain diri Anda sendiri. Anda tak bisa mengharapkan dunia berubah untuk Anda sebelum Anda mengubah diri.


5. Bertindak Lebih Dari Kemampuan -

Tindakan ini membuat Anda jadi tumpul, dan khususnya tak berarti 'Semua pekerjaan dan tak ada permainan.'


6. Khawatir Berlebihan -

Semakin Anda khawatir, semakin kurang keyakinan Anda kalau segala sesuatunya akan berjalan dengan baik. Bagaimana Anda dapat mengharapkan mendapat tempat dalam kehidupan jika Anda tak punya keyakinan atau rasa percaya diri? Biarkan semua berjalan apa adanya. Rileks.


7. Iri Dengan Keberuntungan Orang Lain -

Kapanpun Anda mendengar orang lain mendapat keberuntungan Anda selalu berseru, 'Orang itu bikin aku sangat kesal!' Mungkin jika Anda ikut bergembira dengan keberuntungan orang lain, maka keberuntungan yang sama bisa menular pada Anda.


8. Menyalahkan Tuhan -

Kadang Anda berpikir betapa Tuhan tidak adil pada Anda. Mungkin sebaiknya mulai sekarang Anda belajar bersyukur dan maka hal-hal baik akan datang menggantikan hal-hal buruk. Anda bisa memulainya dengan bersyukur bangun dalam keadaan sehat di pagi hari.


9. Tak Menghargai Hal-Hal Baik Yang Anda Miliki -

Sebagai contohnya, Anda tak pernah mensyukuri kalau Anda masih bisa bangun pagi ini dan melihat sinar matahari? Benar begitu? Mulai sekarang, Anda bisa menghitung kebaikan yang Anda miliki dalam hidup dari hal-hal kecil yang Anda miliki.


10. Mengeluh Terus Menerus -

Sebenarnya, mengeluhkan satu hal malah akan lebih banyak hal lain yang Anda keluhkan. Dan yang pasti semua orang merasa terganggu dengan orang yang suka mengeluh.
Bagaimana menurut Anda? Jika benar dari 10 hal di atas ada pada diri Anda. Coba lakukan perubahan, dan ketidakberuntungan itu hanya akan tinggal bayang-bayang.

Sumber http://theunik.blogspot.com

Prótese

Aliada a tecnologia, a Medicina inova mais uma vez.



O tempo passa e tudo muda, tudo evolui, tudo avança. Vou comentar um grande salto na medicina. Todo mundo sabe que talvez o maior problema das pessoas com deficiência física, seja o dinheiro. O custo de uma cadeira de rodas, ou de uma prótese, varia entre R$ 300 e 10 mil reais, sem falar nos procedimentos cirúrgicos que também são muito caros.

Mas o que é a Prótese? Prótese é um equipamento que substitui artificialmente uma parte do corpo. Já foram criadas varias próteses para substituírem os ossos, a mais recente, foi desenvolvida para crescer no corpo do paciente, sem haver a necessidade de novas cirurgias. A primeira pessoa a usá-la foi a americana de nove anos, Morgan LaRue.

Morgan sofre de Osteossarcoma, doença causada por um tumor maligno que ataca principalmente os ossos e é mais comum na infância, período em que a criança está começando a formar sua estrutura óssea. Com a implantação da prótese Morgan evitou dez cirurgias que já estavam marcadas.

Quanto ao funcionamento desse equipamento, a prótese é estendida magneticamente através de um cilindro colocado em volta da perna, de maneira que o equipamento acompanhe o crescimento da perna do paciente. A primeira extensão da prótese na perna da menina foi um sucesso, mas a invenção ainda esta em período de teste, e é preciso ter cautela, alguns médicos brasileiros disseram que essa prótese força muito as partes moles do corpo, como tecidos (pele) e músculos.

A nova prótese é uma invenção de médicos britânicos, e ainda não foi aprovada nos Estados Unidos, a família de Morgan teve que pedir autorização especial para realizar este procedimento.

Se aprovada e liberada para comercialização, estima-se que a prótese custará em média U$ 30 mil o equivalente a 50 mil reais. Caso ela seja aprovada, o preço deveria ser mais acessível a todos, pois há muitas pessoas de classe baixa que precisam desse aparelho.

Foto: http://migre.me/13Tmy

Europe can Liechtenstein my nuts

We're back. What a trip. Visiting Europe was amazing but being home again makes me realize just how good we have it here in beatiful West Virginia. I learned some valuable lessons over there and thought that I should write down a few tips for Euro travel.






Note the picture. Does anyone remember what that thing is? That's right, it's a Betamax recorder. If you were around in the 80's you may have even owned one before you got your VHS player. This one happens to be clad in a substance that I can only assume is iron. Yes, in the future when you see this picture you will know that the blog post you are about to read features: IRONCLAD BETA.



Lets begin with ironclad beta on what to pack for a long Euro camping trip. I realize you are smart people and you know to take things like a good tent, sleeping bags, etc. so I will only suggest two items that you may not have thought of.








Camp stove. Here's the deal. The camp stoves you buy in America run mostly on white gas which is widely unavailable in Europe. Propane stoves bought in America have a fitting that will not accept the propane/butane cartridges sold overseas. One option would be to take a Whisperlite International which will run on unleaded, diesel, or just about anything you put in it. Maybe even Jack Daniels. But you end up with clogged fuel lines, nasty fumes, and they cost a hundo. We opted to just buy a Campingaz campstove like this one when we got there. It was easy to find, fuel was easily obtained and it cost about 40 dollars. You can borrow ours if you're heading over. We also bought cheap plastic plates, bowls, mugs, french press for coffee, etc. That stuff was super cheap and we left it at a campground with a FREE sign on it.







Power: In todays world you'll likely be taking about 10 different appliances that need to be charged up. Laptop, camera, video camera, Ipod, cell phone...and all that stuff has it's own power cord. We ended up with an entire bag devoted to cords. The 'bag of cords' we called it. We took a 12v car inverter that was about the size of a paperback copy of Stephen King's 'The Stand'. Everytime we got in the car we'd charge something up as we drove to our destination. Never did we have to worry about oddly shaped plugs, running 220 into a 110 device, or finding plugs to begin with. This is certainly IRONCLAD BETA. And take a laptop. Most cities have free wireless in their town square.













Camping:



Camping in Europe is fully busted. How much would you pay to pitch your tent between the dark blue tent and the trashcan? How's 30 dollars a night sound? How 'bout 50? Seriously it is ridiculous. But 'wild' camping, as they call it, is frowned upon and usually well posted with 'no camping' signs. And you can't claim you couldn't understand cause it's a little picture of a tent with an X over it. I say go for it anyway. Hike your stuff up to the crag and camp under the sicky overhang at the base of your gnarly project. What are they gonna do if you get busted? Fine you? Well, since we paid about 500 dollars to camp in Europe for a month I figure we got fined anyway. Renegade camping is the way to go. At Ceuse the camping was much more reasonable but everywhere else not so much. Of course you could always just stay at my friend Fred's house. Fred Nicole, maybe you've heard of him?






Johny Utah: "They're traveling on the money, going where the waves are.





Angelo Papas: "That's right, the Ex-presidents, rip off banks to finance their endless summa'!





If there's one thing I've learned in this life, it's to NEVER doubt the knowledge that can be gleaned by watching the movie Point Break just one more time. And what's that between Reagan and Carter? Looks like an IRONCLAD BETA recorder to me. The ex-presidents have got it together. You go where the waves are. And similarly if you get to your destination and it happens to be the heat wave, snowstorm, or flood of the century don't be afraid to leave. Especially if it's a 50 year storm!





So there you are wondering where to go next. Hmmm. What possible resource could I use to find my next premier destination? Two words:


JENS LARRSEN


If forced to choose between actually climbing or never logging into 8a again......Sophies choice man. I don't even like to think about it.

8a.nu is amazing. I recently started using the 'ticklist' search function. Type in the name of the crag you want to visit or the name of the crag you're at and it brings up a google map with nearby crags flagged on it. Drag your cursor over the flag and click it. It brings up the name of the crag, a chart showing which month of the year it receives the most ascents (which gives you a good idea of the prime season) and an ordered list of the most ascended routes. These routes are of all grades so you know immediately which routes are the best. 'Best' meaning: high quality or soft for the grade. So if you're looking to go to Switzerland and you type in Voralpse it will show you all the other nearby crags as well. You can pan out a bit if you're looking to travel a bit further. Pan out more and you've got all of Europe with all the tiny flags of every climbing area. Amazing. Then once you pick an area and you're looking at all the routes that have been 'ticked' at an area it will tell you how many ascents of each route. Click on the name of a route and it brings up everyone that has sent it and the comment they made on it. If the route has only been climbed twice by Dani Andrada and Dave Graham and one of the comments is "Hard! a true fight to the finish" it's probably best to pick another. If 20 people have done it and said "so classic! so soft for 7c!" BOOM onsight effort! This will all be in my tactics book but that is a ways off and this information needs to be shared immediately. Just another way that 8a has shaped my life as well as sculpted my guns.

Vilão ou mocinho

Quando a ilusão acaba e a realidade se mostra mais clara que a luz do dia. Quando os olhos se abrem e vêem que aquele mar de rosas se transformou em uma pista de obstáculos cada vez mais difíceis de serem ultrapassados. Quando as cortinas se fecham e você se dá conta de que o show terminou sem um único aplauso...

É nessa hora que a vida perde o sentido e você se sente um “João Ninguém”. Então você acorda e descobre que essa novela é a vida real e que ficar parado não vai tornar o fardo mais leve.

Ah! Lembra da pista de obstáculos? É a sua vida, os obstáculos são impostos por você, a maneira com que você os encara indica o grau de dificuldade dos mesmos. O problema é que nessa peça de teatro você age apenas como figurante assiste tudo passivamente. Não tem protagonizado sua história muito bem.

Do lado prático, você é aquele jovem que se opõe ao sistema, mas omite seus argumentos contra ele. Você é aquele agricultor que reclama a falta de chuva, mas não prepara o terreno para o plantio. Você é o universitário que exige que o poder público invista em educação, mas “mata aula”, para estar em barzinhos com os amigos.

Quem é você afinal? Um figurante mesquinho ou um ator social? A semelhança entre você e o ator da novela das oito, é que ambos vivem uma farsa, uma grande mentira. Essa não é nenhuma trama Hollywoodiana, é a vida real, a sua vida e como autor e protagonista dessa história onde só os fortes sobrevivem, cabe a você escolher que papel irá fazer... Vilão ou mocinho, quero dizer, vilão ou herói.

Saia da zona de conforto em que está e comece a encarar a realidade de frente, para que sua história tenha um final feliz é preciso escrever um final feliz e você tem em mãos o poder para reescrever sua história, para que não só o final seja feliz, mas que toda sua trajetória seja repleta de alegrias e conquistas!

Foto: http://migre.me/13mnF

UFC 117: A tale of many twists and turns

Another exciting night of fights for the UFC as their 117 card featuring the middleweight (185lbs.) championship fight between Anderson 'The Spider' Silva and Chael Sonnen, delivered in more ways than one. Between a last minute surprise ending in the main event, a new "Gracie Hunter" and the fickleness of UFC fans, the card definitely ended up being a tale of many twists and turns.

The show started and ended with a bang, which is much to President Dana White's pleasure as the big boys, literally, heavyweight contenders Roy 'Big Country' Nelson and Junior Dos Santos, began the night with a display of power, skill and pure heart. While Dos Santos ended up pounding out a unanimous decision victory all over Nelson's face and body, 'Big Country' showed that while his body may look soft, he's anything but.

However, it was the way the night ended that captured the essence of the evening. Chael Sonnen, a huge underdog who many felt talked his way into a title fight, I was not one of them, not only talked the talk, but he walked it as well. Doing exactly what he said he would and executing his game plan to almost near perfection, he dominated the champion Silva in a way UFC fans had never seen before previously in 11 fights.

Silva, who had much to prove after his lackluster title defense four months ago against Demian Maia, proved it beyond question; albeit because of Chael Sonnen. Sonnen used his wrestling prowess to continuously take down Silva for four and a half rounds, control him on the ground and pound him unmercifully. Silva to his credit never wavered and showed the heart of a champion as he survived every onslaught round after round and came out swinging at the beginning of each round.

Funny thing though, it was Sonnen who was beating Silva to the punch as he dropped the champion more than once with his strikes as well. It was all but a done deal, as Sonnen was on his way to winning a dominating unanimous decision and fulfilling his dream of becoming a world champion.

Wait a minute, or two as that is exactly how much time was left in the fight, two minutes. Silva, who had been unsuccessful in even attempting a submission off his back all night, quick as a Spider (pun intended) threw his left leg over Sonnen's back and caught him in a triangle choke (pictured above). Squeezing in desperation as he knew this would be his one, last and only chance, Silva grimaced as Sonnen did his best to wrangle himself free. Alas, he could not and while I know it wasn't his intent, lack of blood and oxygen to the brain instinctively told him he had to tap, which he did.

For a brief moment there was a question of whether there was a tap or not, however it was just Sonnen's reality and disbelief in knowing his dream had just slipped from his hands with only two minutes to go. For 23 minutes he was flawless in his approach, but Silva showed why he is a champion. Not because of the way he's dominated his competition up until last night, but because of the way he competed when he was the one being dominated. A truly great fight!

Earlier on the card, former welterweight (170 lbs.) champion and UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes, showed he's far from done as he not only defeated the favored Ricardo 'Big Dog' Almeida, but he did so in surprising fashion. Two minutes into the first round, where Almeida, the Jiu-Jitsu Master and submission grappling wizard, was looking crisp in his boxing against Hughes, got complacent and caught with a counter left from Hughes that dropped him.

Hughes immediately went to follow-up and in the scramble caught Almeida's neck in a north-south position in a variation of a guillotine/D'arce choke. Almeida got to his knees and I figured Almeida's been in this position before, no problem; especially since Hughes was sprawled out, thus he had no leverage to pull and squeeze.

Almeida and I were both wrong as Hughes, who's always been known for freakish farm boy strength at his size, literally put Almeida to sleep, prompting the referee to stop the fight. I think it's safe to say that Hughes, who has now defeated a lineage of Gracie fighters including Royce, Renzo, Matt Serra (although I dispute that one) and Almeida, has now inherited the title of 'Gracie Hunter' from the legendary Kazushi Sakuraba.

Finally, a word on the fickleness of UFC fans. Of course, this is not intended toward the hardcore MMA fans, but the casual fans that just get under my skin and are as fair weather as a sunny sky. At the weigh-ins Friday and at the beginning of the fight last night they booed Chael Sonnen loudly and cheered Anderson Silva proudly. They let it be known whom they were behind, or so I thought.

As the fight began the arena in unison started a chant of Silva, Silva..., yet as it progressed and they saw how Sonnen was dominating Silva, that quickly changed to USA, USA.... It was as though I was watching Rocky IV and Rocky was fighting Ivan Drago in Russia.

These are the same fans that start to boo every time there's a standing clinch or grappling on the ground, all part of the sport and fight mind you, yet begin to ooh and aah as soon as an elbow or submission comes flying out of it. I can't stand it and it gets me angry, but I should understand since I've often listened to Michael Jackson sing, "tell 'em that it's human nature; why, why do they do me this way?"