bigg jay

The Free Press is reporting the Picard signing as a done deal. http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/football/bombers/Bombers-sign-offensive-lineman-Picard-DB-Washington-287657801.html

Dos Caras is 63 years old! I meant the Jr... the one who was knocked out silly by Mirko Crocop http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Alberto-Rodriguez-2269 Strangely enough, Bellator is in talks with Dos Caras Jr AKA Alberto Del Rio.

Etch was about 5th choice for O'Shea. I'm not sure who else was available at the time. The only person I remember hearing about that was pursued by the Bombers before Etch's hiring was Stubler. Who else was in that list? Mark Washington. Buono let Stubler go & promoted Washington before O'Shea could steal him away.

Sony will be releasing the movie (albeit in a limited capacity) afterall. http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/23/media/screening-the-interview/

Without rehashing basically the entire thread... you can say this based on what? Legit skills as a pro wrestler? Without a doubt. Legit skills as a mma fighter? Remains to be seen.

Happens far more than people think. Maybe not out cold (although that happens), but concussions happen a lot. Up until recently, when WWE showed more concern for concussions (notwithstanding Punk's allegations), the sheer volume of injuries and concussions is mind boggling and scary. There is little doubt in my mind that brain trauma at least partially led Chris Benoit to kill his wife and child. Thats pretty scary. There is far more recovery time in MMA. And because that sport is regulated, I think there is more over-sight. In WWE, you're being cared for by the company doctor and as Punk detailed, sometimes that doctor is more interested in how fast you can get back on the road then in making sure you've made a full recovery. In UFC, guys will pull out of major fights if they are hurt. In WWE, the pressure is to get through the next big match. That might change with the canibalizing of PPV revenue in wrestling. Absolutely it happens more than people think, but that goes for both mma and wrestling. The amount of mma concussions (and injuries in general) that are reported are way lower than the actual number for the simple fact that unless you are an upper echelon guy, you don't get paid if you don't fight. There was recently a fairly high level fight in Edmonton where one guy hid the fact that his arm was broken from the commission doctor and went out & fought because he couldn't afford not too. Predictably, he lost and now has been suspended for the fact that he lied about the injury. Now, because he got caught (he was dumb enough to make a pre-fight video talking about it but posted it online after the fight), he's going to be under a lot of scrutiny every time he fights now - at least he should be. He fights mainly in Edmonton and their commission is well known for being a joke so chances are it'll be business as usual for him. A lot of fighters will also tell you that training is way harder than the actual fight & that's where most of the injuries happen. Those will all go unreported unless it's a high profile fighter and the injury is bad enough that they do have to pull out of a fight. Training has gotten better (ie smarter) than back in the day (read up on training at Miletich Fighting Systems for some good "horror stories") but like any sport, the compete level & pressure makes guys perform when they shouldn't.

It's very hard to compare the two in terms of injuries (IMO). MMA the damage & injuries for the most part are immediate from fights/training while accidents aside (like Punk getting concussed from a simple clothsline), wrestling injuries seem to be more cumulative after years of taking bumps. That's not to say they both don't have injuries from the other category, it's just a general observation. As it relates to the last couple posts - no getting the odd potato in wrestling is NOT the same and taking multiple shots from a trained fighter who is trying to take your head off. Taking an unexpected shot or two can definitely do damage but the sheer volume of strikes an mma fighter takes will always outweigh that. Even the most elusive mma fighters get hit (ie Lyoto Machida) and have been KO'd but how often do you see a wrestler legit getting their lights put out?

Definitely unnatural. Look at him in his fight in Pride with Liddell. Barely 205 lbs and a couple short years later he's jacked and has to cut to make 265.

Why not mention that Cain destroys everyone not just Lesnar. Overeem was a monster (at that point) who hadn't lost in 4 years and was the Dream & Strikeforce heavyweight champion. Lesnar wasn't losing to bums.

Really? LOL Good grief Gracie maybe? Lets be real here. Say what you want about him, but Lesnar was a legit star for them. He already had name brand recognition and he fought some of the best in the world with next to no experience. He fought current or former world champions in 4 of his 8 pro fights (while winning the belt for himself & defending it twice). He was a huge ratings draw for them (he headlined or co-headlined 3 of the top 5 selling PPV's the UFC ever had). Gracie was never a huge selling point for the UFC (comparatively speaking). Other than the fight against Hughes, his days as the main star were so long ago (and way before they started doing huge ppv numbers), he is pretty irrelevant to the current product. Dude.... Its not a story. Its not about creating a fake story line to get ratings. Gracie wasent a huge selling point because thats not what its about. Your all about ratings ..... These guys in the UFC are about fighting. Let the UFC promote the fights.. its their job. The fighters should fight. Where did I say anything about a fake story line? Gracie wasn't a draw because there was no audience, not because of his ability. It's also a business and that often takes priority over the sports side of things. The UFC is all about the ratings (if they weren't, we wouldn't be having this discussion and CM Punk would not have a UFC contract). They promote the fights and fighters that will make them the most money, not necessarily the best fights possible. The fighter should (and do) fight but they also need to sell the fight if they want to be a star and make money. Some fighters (Chael Sonnen, for example) truly understand that & can make it happen, while other guys (like the Diaz brothers) don't, but get pissed off when the UFC gives them **** for not doing enough.

Really? LOL Good grief Gracie maybe? Lets be real here. Say what you want about him, but Lesnar was a legit star for them. He already had name brand recognition and he fought some of the best in the world with next to no experience. He fought current or former world champions in 4 of his 8 pro fights (while winning the belt for himself & defending it twice). He was a huge ratings draw for them (he headlined or co-headlined 3 of the top 5 selling PPV's the UFC ever had). Gracie was never a huge selling point for the UFC (comparatively speaking). Other than the fight against Hughes, his days as the main star were so long ago (and way before they started doing huge ppv numbers), he is pretty irrelevant to the current product.

The UFC is trending downwards since many of their biggest stars (GSP, Lesnar, Anderson Silva for example) have either retired, taken a "hiatus" or are at the end of their career. The PPV & TV numbers reflect that so they do need a guy like Punk who will get people talking again (this thread is a good example of that). There's a high likelihood that he does get his ass beat, but that's all up to the UFC and whether or not they feed him a can or feed him to the lions. Either way, people will tune in and that's more money for them.

I wonder what the reaction would be if it was a more high profile movie? Would they be so quick to pull the plug on the Star Wars movie next year?

Originally I figured this was a movie I'd download one day but now I can't wait to see it, if for no other reason than I dislike being told I can't watch something. I hope they do put it out online if theatres are not willing to show it.

There are literally zero rules for how often a fighter can/cannot fight. The only exception is if a fighter is suspended by a commission but even then those only apply to that commission's jurisdiction (a commission will generally honor the suspensions given by other commissions though).

Don't confuse UFC fighters (who fight maybe 2-4 times a year) with a regular mma fighter. There are guys who fight much more often than that (for an extreme example ook-up Travis Fulton - 300 fights since 1996 for an average of nearly 17 fights a year.). Most UFC fighters want to fight more (that's the only time they make money for the most part), but they have no control over that. Also don't forget to account for the travel schedule of a WWE wrestler. Although it's not as bad as it was in the past, there's still not a lot of time for them to recouperate before they're hopping on another plane or jumping in a car to head to their next show. UFC fighters have nothing that would compare to that.

Like TUP said, wrestlers get punched in the face a lot. It won't be new for him. Also, How'd you decide on Nate Diaz for your example? LOL I was thinking the same thing. The Stockton Slap or a straight left from Johny Hendricks are completely different animals. Neither Diaz brother would have come to mind if I was thinking about who I would not want to be hit by.

Differnet mcduffie. Mind.. Blown. Ticats is Quincy McDuffie. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincy_McDuffie Ours is Sam McDuffie. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_McGuffie Ours is actually Sam McGuffie.

He got dropped by a couple big punches he didn't see coming so it's quite possible he's got a concussion (or is at least showing symptoms so they want to be cautious.)

O'Shea also said the new DC will not have free reign on player personnel going forward. I wonder if he's talking about Etch not playing certain guys (like Sears) or him not wanting to bring guys in (like Ted Laurent). Maybe both?

League agrees - 3 game suspension for him.

There's absolutely no redeeming quality to those jersey's at all .. You could put sleeves on them and wear them to an ugly sweater party?

That's actually about as fair of a fight you can give him, if you're going by current UFC fighters. He was on a previous season of TUF so a lot of UFC fans (not so much the casual viewers maybe) will know who he is. Has a nice record but isn't much of a threat (submissions, wrestling or striking). Most of his wins are by decision (8 of 15) and most of his fights are against low level guys.

For those wanting Hall... is he better than Etch? Maybe but when they got rid of him for this reason: I have to wonder why you would want to exchange one coach who likes confusing philosophies for another? I prefer Chamblins thinking myself.

I legit would not pay more than $10 This. And that's only to add it to the collection... not to actually wear or look at it.