Couture Looks For Title Shot

Randy Couture goes back into the cage this weekend at UFC 102 against former PRIDE Heavyweight champion and former UFC Interim Heavyweight champion, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. The event taking place in Oregon is pivotal for Couture. If he wins, he moves closer to a rematch with Brock Lesnar. A loss and the 46-year-old Oklahoma State University alum could be that much closer to retirement.

What's most interesting about the overall card to me? The buyrate. I wonder how strong the interest level is for an event that is taking place at the end of the summer?

Seriously, there are two matches I would like to see: Couture's match and Thiago Silva's fight. The light heavyweight is just dynamic to watch and when he gets his opponent down, they are finished.

Below are the main matches:
Heavyweight bout: Randy Couture vs. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira
Light Heavyweight bout: Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva
Middleweight bout: Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt
Middleweight bout: Nate Marquardt vs. Demian Maia
Light Heavyweight bout: Brandon Vera vs. Krzysztof Soszynski

Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk on Smackdown!

CM Punk will defend the World Championship tonight on Smackdown against Jeff Hardy inside a steel cage. The match was taped on Tuesday night and is said to be a classic!

Also, mixed reviews from what I have seen about the new DVD, The Rise and Fall of W.C.W. I could imagine that the W.W.E. wants to make W.C.W. look bad, which isn't too hard. But I'm not sure why they would want to continue to bury the old promotion since it is now defunct and the video library is fully under their control.

Rey Mysterio's suspension will begin next Wednesday, so that gives the W.W.E. the opportunity to take the Intercontinental Championship off of him, plus add some sort of injury to the mix to make an excuse for his absence.

F.C.W. End of Summer Bash

If I lived in Florida - which I don't - I would be all over Florida Championship Wrestling's "End of Summer" show tonight at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee.

Included is a meet and greet autograph session with the injured and oft-injured, Dave Batista.

The card includes stars from F.C.W., Monday Night Raw, Smackdown and E.C.W.

Incidentally, Dos Caras Jr., who claimed that not only was he not going to W.W.E.'s developmental league, but that they would not change his name was wrong on both counts. Caras not only wrestles for F.C.W. but goes under the name Alberto Banderas. I'm sorry, but the name change is lame.

MSG's Fight Night Classics

Madison Square Garden was for many years considered the mecca of professional boxing, but times have changed considerably for both the arena and the sport of boxing and although matches still take place at The Garden, it doesn't have the same aura that it once did. However, I do have to tip my cap to the MSG Network for airing MSG's Fight Night Classics throughout the summer. According to their Website, the last episode was last night and featured four Hector Camacho matches. It was all part of their summer block party in which they needed to fill air time since the Knicks and Rangers are obviously off during the summer. I hope they continue the boxing show, because there were some real gems that aired this summer. It beats them showing "classic" Knick games from this past season!

Tiger Woods Doesn't Like Liberty

Tiger Woods joked during a recent Pro-Am at Liberty National in Jersey City that "Maybe Tom did this course before his eye operation" in reference to one of the course's designers, Tom Kite.

Liberty's other designed is Robert E. Cupp and cost over $129 million to build. The course is backdropped by the Statue of Liberty and was built on a former landfill.

Incidentally, the same project manager for Liberty National is now at work on Ferry Point Park, which is right next to the Whitestone Bridge and on the site of another landfill.

Ferry Point is the brainchild of former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Rich Calder wrote an article here in the New York Post about how much of a financial disaster the project has been for the City. Consider the course was supposed to be up and running in 2001!!!

The last I heard, they were busy digging up dead bodies from the landfill. Not kidding.

Rey Mysterio Suspended

W.W.E. Intercontinental Champion Rey Mysterio has been suspended for 30 days for violating the company’s wellness policy. Presumably Mysterio will drop the IC title at Tuesday night’s Smackdown tapings to Dolph Ziggler who he was supposed to fight at next month’s Breaking Point pay-per-view. This is disappointing for many reasons, but primarily because Mysterio is incredibly popular with the kids.

Alice in Chains "Squeezebox"

Bands covering other bands' songs is something that can be a tricky thing, because quite honestly, it doesn't always work so well. But this one is pretty cool. Alice in Chains covers The Who's "Squeezebox," which is the correct title of the song and not what it says on the video screen.

Ernie Palladino Leaves Gannett

Ernie Palladino is leaving The Journal News and writes a farewell blog here. I used to buy The Journal News more for their local sports, then pro sports coverage. But, Palladino was one of the guys that was a worthwhile read in his coverage of the Giants. I guess the paper – which is literally smaller physically and in number of staff – is really making some major changes. Here’s hoping that Palladino lands on his feet somewhere.

Fedor's Strikeforce Debut Set

Following a public workout yesterday in New York City, it was announced that newly signed Strikeforce fighter Fedor Emelianenko will have his first fight since January against undefeated Brett Rogers this fall, although the exact date and time has yet to be determined. The bout will be aired on Showtime. Too bad this isn't going to be on CBS so more people can see Fedor in action.

Dixie Carter Interview

Kevin Eck of The Baltimore Sun's Ring Posts' blog has posted an interview with T.N.A. owner Dixie Carter here. I like to plug worthwhile stuff of other people. The fact is that it's lame when people try to put down things that are important to you or they treat you like a red headed step child. Kevin's a good guy and has a very keen sense on what is going on in the business of pro wrestling. In other words, he's no wanker!

A Song For You

I decided to post The Who's "Squeezebox" in honor of all those wankers out there! This song should be pretty easy for you to get, since all you do all day is naval gaze and partake in mental masturbation anyhow. I have no problem with self-promoting but when you show so little regard for other people, then I have a problem with it.

To paraphrase Charlie Brown, "of all the wankers in the world, you are the wankiest" or something along those lines!

Overture

Status of the Day
I'm going to be on television and radio all over the world today and I want you to watch me because everything I do is so important and no I don't care about anyone's feelings but my own. So come buy my CD, listen to my show, read my article in the It's All About Me Journal....What? What's that? Oh I don't have time for you, can't you see how busy I am.

---F'ing wankers!

UFC vs. Mayweather Heats Up

September 19 will be an interesting evening. That's when boxing and mixed martial arts will go one on one. UFC 103 takes place that night in Dallas as does Floyd Mayweather versus Juan Manuel Marquez in Las Vegas.

First, Golden Boy Promotions adds three matches to the undercard of the Mayweather show, then UFC says they will have a one hour lead-in show on Spike TV that evening with a couple of fights added. Now, Golden Boy says the Mayweather-Marquez bout will be seen in 170 movie theaters across the U.S. The promotion adds that this is the first time a fight has been shown in cinemas since "Sugar" Ray Leonard took on Roberto Duran in 1980.

By the way, that match is remembered by many as the "no mas" match. Those words were never actually uttered by Duran, but rather commentator, Howard Cosell.

Boxing is literally on the ropes these days and there is no question that Golden Boy will do everything possible to sell this match.

Joe Hennig Goes "Between the Ropes"

Fantastic interview with Joe Hennig on Between the Ropes last night. Hennig, of course is the son of the late "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig. He currently is wrestling for Florida Championship Wrestling and is reportedly on the radar of the W.W.E. The interview is here. By the way the show airs every Tuesday night at 6.

Hennig talks about an end of the summer show this Friday night in which Dave Batista will be signing autographs.

Top 10 Moves of Bryan Danielson

It would be an understatement for me to say that I am looking forward to seeing Bryan Danielson in a W.W.E. ring. Above are 10 of the best moves by Danielson courtesy of YouTube. I called in last night to Between The Ropes on 1080 ESPN Orlando with Brian Fritz and D-Lo Brown and Brown thought that Danielson will go to either Smackdown or possibly E.C.W. That would make the most sense. He can hone his character on E.C.W. and work his way up, much in the same way that R.O.H. alum CM Punk has done. There are so many guys I am looking forward to seeing Danielson work with such as William Regal, Rey Mysterio, former trainer Shawn Michaels and the aforementioned Punk.

E.C.W. On Sy-Fy

E.C.W. put on a very solid show last night. I’m not sure who is writing E.C.W. on Sy-Fy, but they are doing a fantastic job.

William Regal and Christian put on a match that should have taken place at Sunday night’s SummerSlam. Regal won after help from Kozlov and so William Regal will get a shot at the E.C.W. title soon.

Goldust and Sheamus also fought one another in a very good, hard hitting match that ended with both men getting counted out of the ring.

Shelton Benjamin and Zack Ryder lost to Yoshi Tatsu and Tyler Reks. It is amazing to me that Benjamin is not on the main event level in the W.W.E. I think he is one of the most athletically gifted performers on the roster.

Kim Couture vs. Lisa Marie Varon

Kim Couture, with all of two mixed martial arts bouts under her belt, says that Lisa Marie Varon, better known to wrestling fans as Victoria or Tara, should get her feet wet in m.m.a. before throwing out challenges. The two have been going back and forth in the media over the last few weeks in a feud that is rivaling Rosie-The Donald.

Oddly, Couture and her husband Randy are going through a divorce while he still is helping her out with her m.m.a. career.

Randy Couture gets back into the cage this Saturday night at UFC 102 against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Couture hopes to get the win and then a shot at Brock Lesnar down the line.

Raiding Ring of Honor?

I mentioned in a prior post that there is word that World Wrestling Entertainment (W.W.E.) is going to raid the the roster of Ring of Honor (R.O.H.) I don't know if that is accurate; the signing of Bryan Danielson doesn't necessarily indicate any sort of imminent talent raid. Regardless, if the W.W.E. is looking at R.O.H. there are five names that I would suggest: Tyler Black, Claudio Castagnoli, Jay and Mark Briscoe and Nigel McGuinness.

Tyler Black has all the tools in the world plus "the look." Same with Castagnoli. He's a big guy that has some talent to boot. If the W.W.E. is serious about rebuilding their tag team division then the Briscoes would be a perfect way to provide some real spark. Nigel McGuinness is a tremendous in-ring talent and he also has that good annoying factor where he can really tick off a crowd. I think he would make a tremendous addition to William Regal's stable on E.C.W. to start. The full roster for R.O.H. is here.

By the way, Ring of Honor returns to the New York area with a show at the Hammerstein Ballroom on September 26.

My Status

I just get a huge laugh at some of these wankers that are constantly posting there whereabouts every second of the day on Facebook. I’m on the corner of Smith and Elm…come look for me. I will be on Channel 2, check me out. I have a column in the Journal Star, come read it! Arghh!!!

It has become plain to me that there are some folks on these Websites that are only interested in hawking their products or whatever it is they do. Forget about getting back in touch or anything like that, it is a perpetual advertisement from some folks. It is amazing also that some people don’t show up when they say they will or they take on this incredible sense of self-importance. They expect you to buy their album or read their whatever, yet when it comes to responding to an email their fingers strangely can’t do any walking or when it comes to just being a decent human being they show that they are in actuality, big nothings.

Yes, there are people that I have “hid” on my Facebook account and some that I have just deleted altogether. But after about a year of joining Facebook and a couple of other such Websites, I really have come to question lately if it is a worthwhile experience in my life.

I have no problem with people promoting their stuff, but after a while it becomes really, really draining and in fact, not effective. Because, in reality, it becomes a turnoff and comes across as being quite desperate. Here's a little friendly advice: reciprocation is key. If I buy your album, at the very least you should be a tad bit respectful to me. I don't think it is much to ask.

Pete Townshend Working On New Musical

Pete Townshend wrote on his official blog that he is working on a new project. He writes:

FLOSS is an ambitious new project for me, in the style of TOMMY and QUADROPHENIA. In this case the songs are interspersed with surround-sound 'soundscapes' featuring complex sound-effects and musical montages. Several of the more conventional songs from FLOSS will be featured on a forthcoming Who recording for release in 2010. FLOSS will be heard in concert for the first time in 2011, at a venue and date yet to be established. I am already having talks with producers in New York.

The collected music and sound for FLOSS convey the story of a married couple whose relationship gets into difficulty. Walter, a straight-cut pub rock musician, is able to retire when one of his songs becomes the TV anthem of a big car company. He becomes a house-husband while his wife Floss devotes herself to a riding stables and stud. When he tries to return to music after a fifteen year hiatus, he finds that what he hears and what he composes evoke the ecologically rooted, apocalyptic mindset of his generation. Shaken by this and torn by personal difficulties, he and Floss become estranged. A series of dramatic events in a hospital emergency ward bring them both to their senses.

While Roger Daltrey exercises his ageing vocal chords by embarking on a two month USE OR LOSE IT solo tour, my focus is on FLOSS, which touches on the current issues faced by the Boomer generation. It also addresses their uneasy relationship with their parents, children and grandchildren. As a 19 year old - with My Generation - I wrote the most explicitly ageist song in rock. At 64, I now want to take on ageing and mortality, using the powerfully angry context of rock 'n' roll."

Courtesy of http://www.thewho.com.

Bryan Danielson Signs With W.W.E.

Recently Ring of Honor moved its show on HDNet to Monday nights at 8. Shortly thereafter, word circulated that the W.W.E. was going to raid the roster of R.O.H.

I had a hard time believing that the W.W.E. would do that out of some fear that Ring of Honor was a threat – after all it wasn’t like they were going head-to-head but rather as a lead-in to World Wrestling Entertainment’s Monday Night Raw.

So now word comes down that W.W.E. has inked “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson.

Some refer to Danielson as the "world's greatest wrestler." In fact, Triple H seemingly took a shot at Danielson on Raw during a promo within the last year by clearly stating that you can't be the world's best if you are wrestling in front of no one.

Danielson trained under several prominent names including William Regal and Shawn Michaels. He has a background in many forms of mixed martial arts, as well. He reportedly moved to Las Vegas recently to train at former UFC Champ, Randy Couture’s gym.

Danielson is on his way to the W.W.E., but not before fulfilling his R.O.H. commitments including a stop at NYC’s Hammerstein Ballroom on September 26.

I can only imagine what the crowd will be like.

SummerSlam 2009 Thoughts

Randy Orton vs. John Cena
The weirdest ending to a match that I have ever seen. Brett DiBiase posed as a fan and interfered in the match. Still, Cena and Orton always put on a good show.

Chris Jericho and The Big Show vs. Cryme Tyme
Slow match. I’m more impressed with Cryme Tyme’s in-ring work.

Rey Mysterio vs. Dolph Ziggler
Surprised that Rey won and I’m not sure which direction they will go with Ziggler now.

Jeff Hardy vs. CM Punk Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match
Incredible match; amazing ending. Definitely a candidate for “match of the year.”

D-Generation X vs. Legacy
Surprisingly very good match. Legacy was elevated, despite the loss.

The Great Khali vs. Kane
N/A

Jack Swagger vs. M.V.P.
Swagger lost due to a “rookie mistake.”

Christian beat William Regal
Not much to say; very quick match.

Chris Jericho Interview

Now onto more important stuff...

Very interesting interview with Chris Jericho on Ring Posts this morning. Jericho is pretty honest about the current product and where his career stands. The link is here.

The most notable quote from Jericho:
"When Shawn Michaels came back to Raw, he said, “Whose been built since I left?” On Smackdown we’ve built [John] Morrison and [Dolph] Ziggler and Cryme Tyme. The Intercontinetal title has been rebuilt now with Rey Mysterio. But I can’t tell you on Raw who has been built over the last six months. They better do it soon, because when this generation of performers is gone, who will replace them?"

Jericho is one of a handful of guys right now in W.W.E. that always puts on a good show. Shawn Michaels is also among that group.

M.M.A. News: Carano vs. Cyborg Video; Brock Lesnar's Next Opponent?

I’ve posted the Gina Carano-Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos fight which took place this past Saturday night on Showtime. Spike TV is blowing its own horn by saying that the re-broadcast of UFC 100 (which went up against the Carano-Cyborg match) drew two million viewers compared with the 576,000 that watched Santos beat Carano. The one thing to consider is that Showtime is available in roughly one-fifth as many households as Spike.

Meanwhile, Shane Carwin is rumored to be the next opponent for UFC Heavyweight Champ Brock Lesnar. Carwin was supposed to fight Cain Velasquez at UFC 104, with the winner getting a title shot against Lesnar. Velasquez, though, suffered an undisclosed injury and so the undefeated Carwin has now reportedly been named the man to fight Lesnar at UFC 106 in late November.

Monday Night Raw/E.C.W. Thoughts

Let's start with Monday Night Raw....

I think that Freddie Prinze Jr. did the best job of all the celeb hosts so far because he wasn't the main focus of the show. He played a role and that was that. As much as I like Shaq, I watch wrestling to see wrestling. Kind of a neat concept.

As far as the show goes, I think bell-to-bell it featured the best wrestling of any Raw show this summer. I know that the Internet critics didn't think much of Gail Kim-Mickie James because the ending didn't come off so crisp, but let's face facts, the show is live and there are no do-overs during live television.

Kofi Kingston and Carlito put on a really good match and it's too bad that Miz apparently will be the next challenger for Kingston's U.S. Title. I'd like to see them develop the Kingston-Carlito thing a bit more.

Speaking of Miz, he beat Evan Bourne and it makes me wonder if it would be better for Bourne to be the top dog on E.C.W. or a glorified jobber on the more watched Raw. Right now, Bourne is a small fish in a very big pond.

Legacy crashing the DX reunion was cool and it was a solid step in building Cody Rhodes/Ted DiBiase as a legit heel faction.

If you didn’t blink you would have seen Jack Swagger clobber M.V.P. before being disqualified. Those two will fight each other on Sunday at SummerSlam.

Meanwhile, E.C.W. featured a tag team match that ended with Christian’s partner Ezekiel turning on him and joining William Regal and Kozlov in beating up Christian. Christian will defend the E.C.W. Championship against Regal this Sunday.

Results Of This Weekend's Fights

Junior bantamweight Nonito Donaire defeated Rafael Concepcion by decision to take home the vacant interim junior bantamweight title.

Roy Jones Jr. scored a TKO victory over Jeff Lacy in 10 rounds. Jones will now fight Danny Green for the IBO cruiserweight world title in Sydney, Australia in late November.

Gina Carano lost to Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos with one second left in the first round in a fight that crowned the first Strikeforce women's 145-pound champion. Now all of the talk will be about Carano getting a rematch with Santos - possibly on CBS - and that Gina was rusty since she had not fought in 10 months.

Mark Messier Returns To Broadway

Mark Messier has been hired as a special assistant to Rangers GM Glen “The Savior” Sather, as reported exclusively by the New York Post’s Larry Brooks yesterday. Brooks also stated that Messier interviewed for the head coaching position with Edmonton over the summer, before the job went to Pat Quinn.

It’s interesting to me because on one hand this means that Sather has appointed Messier as his successor. But it could also mean that head coach John Tortorella will be in the shadow of Messier all season. If and when Tortorella wears out his welcome – Christmas time anyone? – the calls for Mark Messier to replace Tortorella will be very loud.

This whole thing could get, uh, messy.

Rich Mancuso on The Sean Kilkelly Show

I was really happy that Rich Mancuso of KeepItInTheRing.net joined me yesterday to talk Mets, Yankees, Boxing and W.W.E. Click me to listen to the show. When Jody MacDonald hosted an overnight show on WFAN, Mancuso was a regular guest with Jody Mac and would talk pro wrestling. This was back some 20 years ago and I’m glad to have found Mancuso.

In other radio news, Charles “Chuck” Costello will be bringing FordhamSportsNet to BlogTalkRadio every Wednesday morning at 11. Here is the link.

Santana "Soul Sacrifice"/ Ravi Shankar "Rain Clouds" Woodstock 1969

These are two of the many legendary performances at Woodstock back in 1969. Santana, was a virtual unknown at the time and in fact their performance at Woodstock earned them a recording contract with Columbia Records.

The second video is of Ravi Shankar perforing "Rain Clouds" while it was actually raining. Shankar was a key performer at George Harrison's charity Concert for Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden in 1971 which was named one of the "50 greatest moments at MSG" and is also noted for being the father of Norah Jones as a result of an extramarital affair.

Woodstock at 40

Forty years ago tomorrow an unquestionably historical moment took place, that being the Woodstock Music & Arts Fair in Bethel, New York. It goes without saying that this was an event which transcended music.

The top photo I took a few months ago of the plaque on the grounds of the concert. To give you an idea, the plaque sits in the lower right hand corner of the bottom picture, which, naturally is an overhead shot of the 500,000 people that made it to Bethel.

I'm not sure if I would have liked being at the original concert. The mud, heat, etc. would be a bit annoying. But to have the opportunity to see all of those great musicians, I think I could have dealt with a little dirt. I mean you look at the list of people that performed there and throw in that the cost of the concert turned out to be essentially free; the experience would have been worth it.

No these weren't coffee shop heroes or people that think they are actually something special but are really nothing more than ego maniacs with a guitar, no these were real, quality musicians. Courtesy of Wikipedia, I have listed the performers below.

VH1 Classics is airing Woodstock: Then and Now tonight and I'm sure it will be repeated. That is among some of the many events that will commemorate the big event that took place in 1969.

Friday, August 15
Richie Havens
Swami Satchidananda - gave the invocation for the festival
Sweetwater
The Incredible String Band
Bert Sommer
Tim Hardin
Ravi Shankar
Melanie
Arlo Guthrie
Joan Baez

Saturday, August 16
Quill, forty minute set of four songs
Keef Hartley Band
Country Joe McDonald
John Sebastian
Santana
Canned Heat
Mountain
Grateful Dead
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Janis Joplin with The Kozmic Blues Band
Sly & the Family Stone
The Who began at 4 AM, kicking off a 25-song set including Tommy
Jefferson Airplane

Sunday, August 17 to Monday, August 18
The Grease Band
Joe Cocker
Country Joe and the Fish
Ten Years After
The Band
Blood, Sweat & Tears
Johnny Winter featuring his brother, Edgar Winter
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
Neil Young
Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Sha-Na-Na
Jimi Hendrix

Inside The Squared Circle: W.W.E. Release, Elijah Burke, Linda McMahon vs. Dodd?

The W.W.E. has released Nick "Eugene" Dinsmore after only hiring him back a couple of weeks ago. Dinsmore used the gimmick "Eugene" which I never liked. Basically he played the role of someone mentally challenged. He also had two strikes against him in regards to the company's wellness policy.

Interesting interview here with Elijah Burke about recently signing with T.N.A. and his match against Chris Benoit, which turned out to be Benoit's last. Burke is a guy that W.W.E. dropped the ball with - in much the same way they are dropping the ball with R-Truth - and should benefit T.N.A. greatly.

Also, W.W.E. COO Linda McMahon is reportedly considering a run against Conn. Senator Chris Dodd.

Roenick Retires, Theo Fleury Returning?

Jeremy Roenick has bid farewell to the game of hockey, while Theo Fleury is reportedly looking to make a comeback. Right now, Fleury is hoping to get a call from a team so he can participate in an NHL camp. He's been out of the league for nearly six years, but Claude Lemieux was able to get back with the Sharks after four seasons on the sidelines so maybe that will serve as inspiration for Fleury.

Roenick, meanwhile, joined Michael Landsberg on Off The Record for some fun.

Women's M.M.A. On The Rise?

The WNBA and women's soccer had their moments in the sun, but never seemed to sustain their popularity for any length of time. Women’s golf has had a very difficult time, despite Annika Sorenstam and others that were appealing to the male eye doing their best to propel the sport. Even women's hockey has gotten some attention - mostly due to Cammie Granato and the U.S. Women's Olympic Hockey team and their games earlier this decade against Canada. Now women’s mixed martial arts is looking to enter the mainstream and seems to be getting some worthwhile attention. This Saturday night Gina Carano faces Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos in the main event of Strikeforce’s Showtime event to determine the first women's m.m.a. champion. Former five-time UFC heavyweight champ Randy Couture is training Carano.

Yahoo! Sports' Kevin Iole writes here that Carano has women's m.m.a. on her shoulders.

He makes some interesting points. Women's sports, in general, gets snickered at and I think it will take more than one female star for women's m.m.a. to flourish, but if a major network like NBC gets behind it, then there is a possibility. But I think the growth potential is limited. I think the problem is there are only so many hours in a week and women’s m.m.a. will have a tough time vying for even a small piece of the “entertainment pie.” Still, I root for the underdog and hope that mixed martial arts for women finds its niche.

U.F.C. "Baba O'Riley"

Before U.F.C. pay-per-view events "go live" a montage is played in the arena to the song "Baba O'Riley." Apparently, the vibe is electric and ESPN advertising execs are said to be extremely impressed with the atmosphere at UFC events. It's just a matter of time before UFC is on ESPN/ABC.

Meanwhile, this Saturday night from 10 p.m. -12:30 a.m., Spike TV will have highlights of UFC 100 including Brock Lesnar's destruction of Frank Mir and Dan Henderson's brutal knockout of Michael Bisping.

Smart move by UFC as it will definitely take away viewers from Strikeforce's event on Showtime.

"Back to the Garden"

Credit Charles "Chuck" Costello over at Forham SportsNet for posting a really good interview that WFAN's Mike Francesa conducted with legendary New York DJ Pete Fornatale. The two discussed Fornatelle's new book, Back to the Garden: The story of Woodstock and their memories of the Woodstock concert which took place 40 years ago this Saturday.

I agree with Chuck that Francesa was at his best with this particular interview. Still, I like to have a little fun with the host of "Mike'd Up" and so I have posted this above video of Mike getting "baba booeyed."

Here is the link to the interview posted on Fordham SportsNet.

Rich Mancuso On The Sean Kilkelly Show

Rich Mancuso will join me this Sunday night at 6 on The Sean Kilkelly Show on BlogTalk Radio.

Keep it in the Ring is the home of Mancuso's website.

Mancuso used to talk wrestling on WFAN back when Jody McDonald did overnights, but his knowledge of sports is vast and I look forward to discussing with him a wide array of sports topics.

W.W.E. Three Counts.

Madusa Miceli, who wrestled as Alundra Blayze, in the W.W.E. has said that she was contacted by W.W.E. for a comeback. This is notable because the 46-year-old is known for throwing the W.W.E. Women’s Championship in the trash on live t.v. when she jumped to W.C.W. at the height of the Monday Night Wars. But I guess if it is good for business, Vince McMahon will do it.

MC Hammer apparently has hinted at hosting Monday Night Raw, while Robert Englund has said he will not be hosting the show.

Finally, F.C.W. prospect Dos Caras Jr. is now known as Alberto Banderas.

Suzyn Waldman Digs Bernie Williams Guitar Playing

There are many media members that wave the Yankee pom-poms, but none do so in a more obnoxious way than Suzyn Waldman.

The above video is the audio of Craig Carton getting a laugh at Waldman's over-the-top response to Bernie Williams performing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" on guitar. Ridiculous.

The Yankees do many things well, but as far as commentators go, that department is painfully lacking.

Pete Townshend & Dire Straits

Once in a while I find a gem on YouTube, this is one of them. Pete Townshend getting together with Dire Straits in the early 1980's to rehearse for a benefit performance.

There's some cool shots in the video of Townshend meeting Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana.

Move Over Danica Patrick, Meet Gina Carano

Gina Carano will be taking on Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos for the inaugural Strikeforce Women's Championship this Saturday night. It's the first time that an m.m.a. promotion - in this case Stikeforce - will have a women's match headline a show. The show comes from San Jose and will be aired on Showtime.

The above video shows Carano training.

Inside The Squared Circle

Not much to comment on in regards to the W.W.E., because quite frankly the product has been pretty stale as of late - particularly on Monday Night Raw. However, it appears that Shaq and Big Show will be stepping into the ring against one another within the next month. The rumor is is that the match will take place on a three-hour Raw.

By the way, Big Show has changed his ring gear since he began teaming with Chris Jericho. I suppose he is taking some fashion tips from old school wrestler, Ludvig Borga.

Bobby Lashley Fighting Scrub; Dana White Watching

Mixed martial arts fighter Bobby Lashley will be facing 44-year-old journeyman Ron Waterman on October 3. The fight is promoted by Prize Fight Promotions, the same promoters of Lashley's last fight against Bob Sapp.

Meanwhile, reports are that U.F.C. President Dana White has taken notice of Lashley. This comes after months of White claiming to have never heard of Lashley.

I suppose White is looking at some heavyweight fighters to sign with the company after being snubbed by Fedor Emelianenko who signed with the Strikeforce promotion.