I point out when cool people endorse Trump, so in the interest of fairness, I’ll pass this along. Old school UFC fighter Pat Miletich has endorsed Rand Paul. There is even Rand Paul Pat Miletich gear if you so desire. Cool pick-up from the state of Iowa for Rand. I guess not all the tough guys are endorsing Trump, just most of them. 😉
I see a lot of people are attributing Ronda Rousey’s loss to the karma associated with her recent endorsement of Bernie Sanders, but this is not the case. It’s really karma for her accepting the Patrick Swayze role in the remake of Road House (something I vehemently denounced here at CHT), the cosmic implications of which are much more significant. That kick to the head was the cosmos’ way of saying “You ain’t no James Dalton, so stop frontin’.”
Yesterday am I awoke to a Facebook feed full of after the fact bellyaching. Mayweather (who is older than Pacquiao BTW) ducted him during his prime. Mayweather is a criminal. Mayweather is a wife beater. Mayweather ran and didn’t engage. Mayweather is a boring fighter. Blah, blah, blah… Yeah, all that and … SCOREBOARD!
I think it is possible that Mayweather ducked him, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he was scared. It’s possible he was just trying to maximize his lifetime earning potential by protecting his undefeated record until near the end of his career. Plus there were all the issues with Showtime and HBO. Both fighters are past their prime, but I suspect the result would have been the same 5 years ago. The morning after the fight is the time to give Mayweather the props he is due. Save the talk about what might have been 5 years ago for a later time when shooting the sh*t at the bar or whatever. Complaining the next day about Mayweather ducking him or being a wife beater or running or whatever, can’t help but come off sounding like sour grapes. It’s the armchair sports pundit equivalent to the polemic obituary. Now is not the time.
Very few things unite Americans of all classes, races, backgrounds, etc. like a big fight. I don’t say that to be all PC, it is just an observation. I overheard women at work today talking about the fight. Problem is, we don’t have big fights like we used to. We haven’t had a really big fight in a couple of decades. People say boxing has fallen, and it has, but there is still a market for boxing when you have big personalities and compelling match-ups. I love the Klitschko brothers, but we need some good American heavyweights and some stars at the lighter weights, like Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler and Tommy Hearns used to be.
I will always love MMA, but I don’t see boxing and MMA as competitors. I see them as complementary. I believe a thriving fight scene will lift all boats.
Anyway, here is my prediction: Floyd Mayweather will fairly easily out box Pacquiao. Mayweather by a rather lopsided decision.
Uh-oh! Perhaps Jon Jones should have stayed in rehab. This doesn’t look good for him.
I don’t even like Jon Jones, but I still want a pair of these. They combine the retro old school “Pump” with a futuristic look.
You have to be a certain age to understand the cultural significance that was once attached to “the Pump.” Now that Reebok has an exclusive contract with the UFC, we’re gonna be bringin’ back the old school cool of a once faded brand.
If you are a man and you watch the Oscars tonight instead of the UFC Fight Night, just go on and turn in your card.
This is an interesting bit of counter-programming if you think about it. Don’t know if the UFC did it deliberately.
Kimbo Slice is coming back to MMA. He has reportedly signed with Bellator. I say Kimbo vs. Ortiz at heavyweight puts eyeballs on TV screens. What say you, Scott Coker?
________________________________________________________________________________
Shhh… don’t tell anyone, but I sometimes post about stuff like this just to tweak the obsessive racialists who don’t think white people should like any sport unless it is lily white or like any black athletes. And those who think we should be 100% serious 100% of the time. Someone on Twitter just scolded me for the Joe Pa post. Should I tweet this one out, or just leave it here?
Since Jones’ positive test was revealed, the MMA blogosphere has been circulating the supposedly informed rumor that the positive test did not come as a surprise to people who know Jones well and that they are frankly surprised he didn’t pop sooner.
Leaving rehab after one day does not bode well for Jones. His positive test was big news and his immediate response to that news of acknowledging a problem and seeking to get help rather than complaining that the test was wrong or whatever, generated a lot of goof will for him. So after making such a public issue out of checking into rehab, it is a big deal and a PR nightmare that he chose to leave after one day. Since I have some experience in the drug rehab business (not as a patient), I have some speculation about what might have happened here, and none of it is good.
First, he might be jonesing (no pun intended) for a fix. For those unfamiliar with the language, jonesing means intense cravings. It is easy to talk about getting clean and sober, but when faced with the reality of doing that the cravings can become overwhelming. The craving mind always says “I’ll just go get one more hit, then I’ll be ready.” The reality is that one more hit turns into many and there is never a good time to stop until you face serious consequences if you don’t. What AA and NA call “hitting rock bottom.”
Second, a good rehab should be a leveling experience. I’m pretty sure Jones checked into a rehab that is used to dealing with celebrities. Those places know how to deal with the press and the sometimes unique needs of celebrities, but if they are good there is still one set of rules that everyone has to play by. This is for the good of the group milieu, and the good of the patient. The celebrity addict is no better than or different from the lawyer addict or the construction worker addict or the homeless addict when it comes to the workings of the addiction. Celebrity livers get pickled just the same as lawyer livers. Celebrity nasal septums get perforated just like construction worker septums. Some people don’t respond well to the rules, and you can imagine how this might be harder for celebrities who are used to being catered to. “What do you mean I can’t have my cell phone?” “What do you mean I can only get a shower between 7 and 9?” Etc.
Third, he may be overconfident in his ability to stay sober and left because he didn’t feel he needed the program. There is always the possibility that this is true, but if you deal with addicts enough you recognize a pattern. The ones who are the most confident in their ability to stay clean and sober, usually the newbies, are the ones you have the least confidence will be able to do it. It’s a good thing to have a healthy skepticism and fear about your ability to stay sober. The ones who have been through the process a few times are more likely to get this. This is why AA encourages the concept of “one day at a time” instead of confident proclamations that “I’ll never drink again.”
Jones apparently made some comment about wanting to see his brothers play each other in the upcoming playoff game. This sounds like typical addict excuse making. Yes watching your brothers play against each other for a chance to go to the Super Bowl is a big deal, but given the circumstances of his admission, does not warrant aborting his rehab. And he didn’t seem to indicate, from what I have seen, that he planned to go back to rehab afterwards.
The overall picture you get is of a hard headed guy who is going to do things his own way. Jones is not stupid, so he had to know that the pressure to stay, from his family, from the UFC, from his camp, etc. was intense, and that there would be a backlash against him leaving. In this context, leaving after one night is even more rash than it otherwise would be.
Let’s pray for the best here. The last thing we need is another extremely gifted athlete whose career is cut short by addiction.
As y’all know, I’m not a big fan of Jon Jones, but he is undeniably talented and no one will be well served if his career is derailed by drugs. I hope he gets the help he needs, and comes back clean and better than ever. And kudos to Reebok for sticking by him and not throwing him under the bus.
Conservative Heritage Times 