Friday, December 30, 2011

UFC 141: Time for Fitch to Make his Run

Jon Fitch's path to an elusive title is clear in 2012.

Jon Fitch has long been the punchline to many a jokes on message boreds boards and forums (my personal favorite is an image of Fitch simply weighing-in with the comment "I'm already bored" under it. Simply, yet, effective, but then again, so is Fitch). His style is grating on his opponents and on the fight viewers who are drawn to the spectacular rather than the methodical.

No Top 10 fighter has been more widely criticized or hated on for simply winning. Georges St-Pierre started to feel some wrath for not finishing lesser opponents in a fashion worthy of a Milan runway, but complaints for GSP can only go so far. He is the most dominant welterweight of all time, a fan favorite, ambassador of the sport, and marketing tent pole for the fastest growing sport on the planet.

Fitch, however, is not a champion. He has had as many title shots as losses (1) while with the UFC, and for a man that prides himself on the notion that hard work will get you what you want, he has grown increasingly perplexed why he has yet to receive another title shot after going 5 rounds with GSP.

While the owner of one of the cooler ring entrances, Fitch has not been considered a fan or perhaps more importantly UFC favorite. He has steadfastly rejected fighting fellow teammate Josh Koshcheck, to Dana White's dismay, and he was also involved in a dust up with UFC management several years ago regarding fighters' rights, which resulted in him being cut for about 24 hours.

He's done things his way, and it's gotten him this far. So that is why he is so stubborn. He shows up to press conferences, makes weight, and wins. There shouldn't be any more requirements to get his title.

Of course, in the UFC world there is always more. The winning, while irrefutable can be easily glossed over by style of wins. KO's and subs get bonuses. Thoroughly wearing down your opponent for 3 rounds on the mat doesn't.

Coming off a long 10-month layoff due to a shoulder injury didn't help things, but as he enters the ring to Johnny Cash's "Rusty Cage" cover to face another Jo(h)n, Johny Hendricks, tonight at UFC 141: Lesnar v. Overeem his path to a title shot and to claim that belt has never been more apparent.

A decisive win over Hendricks would put Fitch in prime position to get the winner of Diaz v. Condit on Feb. 4th. But should Fitch struggle with some rust in the cage, he should immediately get back in for another fight in early 2012. I'm going to assume that Diaz and Condit won't come out of that fight unscathed in enough time for a quick turnaround should Fitch not be given the title shot by Dana White. So with about a 90 day recovery for Diaz or Condit along with GSP being out for 4-5 months from that February fight date, Fitch's window of opportunity is right there.

Beat Hendricks and get the title shot. Or beat Hendricks and take another fight no later than March with a higher ranked opponent to give the UFC no choice but to put him in that Interim title fight some time in early Summer. That will be Fitch's opportunity.

There will be no rematches or GSP in the fold to clog things up. It's win and you're in for Fitch. No doubt, once GSP is healthy he will get a shot to get his belt back, but if Fitch can win (flashy or not) he will be the one holding court, which is where Fitch is at his best.

Fitch isn't regularly on the Top 10 P4P lists by accident. Experts acknowledge Fitch is a tough match-up for pretty much anyone. His size and excellent MMA wrestling allow him to take his opponents down and do what he does...grind them into the Muscle Pharm logo on the mat.

Death, Taxes, and Jon Fitch have been constants over the past several years, and while we may get the same old Fitch tonight, it's time for all of that hard work to pay off. He just has to do what he always has done, whether the fans and the UFC like it or not.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Fantasy Football Hero

Roddy White (#84) was smiling, along with his fantasy owners.


With many fantasy football leagues beginning playoffs this week, no one player loomed larger on Thursday night than Roddy White. He had 10 catches for 135 yards and 2 TD's. A foe to those that went against him, but for his proud fantasy football owners he is...a FANTASY FOOTBALL HERO

Friday, December 9, 2011

UFC 140: Bloodsport II

Bricks may not hit back, but Jon Jones does.
There's a lot to like about UFC 140: Jones v Machida. The mixed martial artistry, the interesting skill match-up of these two unorthodox yet technically sound strikers, seeing if Jon Jones can being a reign at light heavyweight, seeing if the Nog brothers finally pull off the old WWF trick where one rolls under the ring and a fresh "twin" rolls out and wins the match...but for me, it's the Bloodsport comparisons.

"I like the haircut, Lyoto."
While Bloodsport set the bar for tournament fighting movies and pushed the "Based on a true story..." line to its limits, Lyoto Machida has always reminded me of the Jean-Claude Van Damme character Frank Dux. It starts as simple as a disciplined martial arts background. And not a background like most MMA fighters have, what separates Machida is that it seems like you always see him in a gi making karate type motions behind a backdrop of crashing waves, waterfalls, or standing on a floating training ground on the water. UFC publicity or not, this is the image I have. Very zen, very Dux.

Watching Machida fight his way to the light heavyweight belt, I would always make the references to Bloosport, and little things just started to build and build. That from this quiet, respectful individual, fury and violence can come forth and really damage people. Much like Dux's 95 mph kick (again probably false) there was an aura that was following Machida. He was the Rubik's cube of MMA.

Bahhhh-HHHHHHH!
Dux was an undersized and well groomed guy who entered the underworld of the Kumite, all while being chased by the FBI and getting friendly with a hot blonde reporter covering the event! But after some respectable showings, he was gaining steam and impressing the bed sheet wearing judges. I won't spoil it for you, but Dux's final battle is against Chong Li, the return champion and along with being the most muscular Asian ever, has a bit of a mean streak. Good vs. Evil battles, and morals and sports jackets and slacks with no belts win for all.

Ahhhh-HHHHH!



Continuing with Lyoto's Frank Dux-ness, he started exhibiting similar traits like his patented scream face (see above and to the left). A constant bewildered look, and while still maintaining his aura of invincibility, was never quite intimidating, but pulled out the fight in impressive fashion (split and shot to the nuts for Dux; sweep and punching Thiago Silva's face into the ground for Lyoto).





That's all well and good, and it brought me joy, but as I started to move on from my Bloodsport comparison, the more it kept reappearing. Before his title fight against Rashad Evans, there was mention about his father Yoshizo Machida. And wouldn't you know it, but Machida's dad looks like the goddamn master that trained Frank Dux in Bloodsport. I've always liked Machida as a fighter but this just took him to a whole new level of enjoyment most fight fans probably wouldn't care about.


Now as a conclusion, the obvious continuation would be for Machida to beat Bones and steal the night on Saturday in Canada. Machida is a heavy betting underdog, and no one expects him to win against he more formidable Jones. The fans will be chanting for Jones, not Machida, and we all know there will be a hot girl sitting ringside to watch.But there won't be any powder pill, there won't be any triple spinning jump kicks (at least not from Machida),and this time the Chong Li character will win. Only do so respectfully and not by killing a couple guys in the ring and breaking Machida's best friend's leg.

A loss Saturday will probably put a cap on the 33-year-old Machida's shot at winning the title again, but I hope he continues to fight for a bit more. After two poor showings against Shogun Rua, the retirement word was being passed around, but for someone like Machida who has absorbed little damage in his fight career, I hope he exhibits that fighting spirit. Splits on the top of buildings are not necessary.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Han on the LAM

Jose Reyes' arrival in Miami isn't sitting well with former face of the franchise Hanley Ramirez.
With the baseball off-season hot stove at full burn, here's what we can say right now.

  1. The Miami Marlins are spending money like the New York Yankees.
  2. Jose Reyes got paid $100M+ to play about 131 games a year.
  3. Hanley Ramirez's shift to 3B is not going to be easy.
So while that's where we are today, that's not necessarily where we will be by the time the 2012 season begins. It may be fun to speculate what the Miami Marlins line-up may look like with Albert Pujols smack dab in the middle of it, for the purposes of being current what we are looking at is a team that acquired a new $100M shortstop to supplant their current $70M shortstop. And wouldn't you know it, the $70M shortstop might just be better. That's why the announcement of Jose Reyes signing is causing almost as much turmoil down on South Beach as another announcement.

That's good fodder for Buster Olney and Jayson Stark, but what I'm concerned with are the fantasy baseball implications. 

Let's dream Han-Ram is a Marlin in 2012. A happy Marlin.
Two years ago, Hanley was the best player in all of fantasy, let alone best player at the shortstop position. Injuries, questionable behavior, and quite frankly a downturn in production has made this upcoming season a pivotal one for the 27 year old. So, I can understand, coming back from shoulder surgery, supposed to be the face of the franchise, and generally a bad teammate why Hanley is opposed to a move from his natural position even though it seems to make sense (makes the team better, he's a poor fielding shortstop, he's too big to play shortstop).

For the sake of not predicting the future, let's say all of that subsides. Jeffrey Loira works some magic, and Hanley and Jose are happy teammates on the Miami Marlins. Hanley is hitting like 2009 Hanley and all Hanley fantasy owners can rejoice that their frustrating franchise player is back to where he needs to be.

Hanley is the key member of my dynasty league baseball team, so all opinions moving forward are a tinge on the optimistic side.

Here are the Top 5 Reasons why fantasy owners shouldn't panic about Hanley. 
  1. If everything breaks correctly and Hanley is happy and healthy in 2012, he'll be a top 10 fantasy player again and still carry over his SS eligibility from 2011. This won't provide much long-term solace for dynasty fantasy owners, but it's no reason to panic and trade Hanley away so you can draft J.J. Hardy.
  2. Now, if things break like I say, Hanley will be the everyday 3B for the Marlins. This does jeopardize his 2013 SS eligibility, but the good news is, the guy taking his spot is Jose Reyes, who has played in 36, 133, and 126 games each of the past three years due to a nagging hamstring injury. Reyes steals bases and runs...a lot. The likelihood of him re-injuring or getting some rest to stave off injury is likely. Should the Marlins give Hanley those starts, then SS eligibility retained for another year (depending on your individual league's format).
  3. Ok, so Hanley plays 3B is happy, and has Reyes playing SS and batting in front of him. Well, he loses SS eligibility in 2013, but offensively he has Jose Reyes in front of him. Reyes is one of the most prolific leadoff men in the league, and a key part of the line-up that Hanley has been missing ever since the leadoff hitter was Hanley himself. Emilio Bonifacio had a great year, and can be a solid player, but there's no comparison to what Jose Reyes does on the basepaths. Reyes' OBP averages 20 points higher than Bonifacio, and while Bonifacio hasn't scored more than 78 runs or stolen more than 40 bases in his career, Reyes has 4 years of 100+ runs (not including a 99R year) and 40+ steals. That equals run production for run producers. Better pitches at the plate getting statistical payoffs for doing what Hanley does. No more 33 HR 67 RBI seasons for Hanley.
  4. The Great Unknown.
  5. There's a new ballpark. With new ballparks always comes the great unknown. Parks have been built as pitcher friendly only to turn out hitter friendly and vice versa. It has to do with jet streams or something. All indications are the new home for the Marlins, fish tank and all, will be more hitter friendly than the old football stadium they used to pack with 19,000 whole (announced) fans. A better offensive ballpark will help Hanley and his cast of characters.
  6. If all doesn't end well when the 2012 season wraps up, or maybe even earlier, Hanley will be traded. You're not moving Reyes' contract anywhere, and if Hanley can bounce back can fetch a great price for the Marlins to build up their pitching staff. Hanley should be entering his prime years at a fairly sane contract number. Assuming clubs want to plug him back at SS then there should be demand for his services from nearly every team in baseball. Odds are, more likely than not, he will make his way to a contending team and continue where he left off.
The drama in South Beach is just starting, but like the new Marlins logo hints at, sunny times are ahead.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Why Not Kemp?

Matt Kemp's 2011: .329 AVG/39 HR/126 RBI/115 R/40 SB; Gold Glove
Ryan Braun won the NL MVP Award Wednesday, and he probably should have. Braun was the best player on a Brewers team that captured their first division title in 30 years and the first Brewer to win the MVP since Robin Yount. While both have similar hair related issues, they were both deserving MVP candidates.

While the numbers and advanced stats are debatable, what isn't in question is whose team did better, and that ultimately was the biggest factor in Braun getting the nod over Kemp. I heard from an industry insider, ex-girlfriends were not considered as part of a player's MVP-ness, otherwise it might have been a different story.

As a side note, my favorite thing about Kemp's season is that two years ago (2010), when he was dating Rihanna, he had his worst year to date, and was being lambasted as lazy and not capitalizing on his immense talent. You can totally see his thought process, "Hmmm, 100 extra swings in the cage and work on tracking fly balls or head out to see Ri-Ri on a yacht?" Hence you have a WARP of 1.5 as compared to 8.9 this year.

You won't mull over many 0-4 nights if this is waiting at home for you. 

Now for those of you paying attention while the article title appears to speak in favor of Kemp getting the MVP trophy, you may be confused as to why I spent the first two paragraphs saying Braun is the right choice. Well I say, "Why Not Kemp?" simply because the seemingly same criteria that damned his chances benefited his Dodger teammate Clayton Kershaw's Cy Young victory just days earlier.

Not knocking Mr. Kershaw.
Kershaw won 2/3rds of the pitching triple crown (tying wins) and Kemp won 2/3rds of the hitting triple crown (losing to future Miami Marlin, Jose Reyes in batting average). They both played on the same team, and yet the voters were compelled to elect Kershaw the most elite pitcher, but not Kemp as the most elite position player.

The debate between what the 'valuable' means in MVP has been discussed time and time again, but what I'm interested in is that with virtually similar seasonal resumes as pitcher and hitter, one was penalized where the other was not. 

What appears to be the case is that these baseball writers view a pitcher's accomplishments as more of a singular performance, regardless of team, while the everyday position player has the added expectation of carrying that team to a winning record and, more than likely, the playoffs. 

Where does that burden lie? If the feeling is that the position player has more of an impact in a season, then why should Justin Verlander win the MVP (Cy Young was a lock for him)? Shouldn't Jacoby Ellsbury or Miguel Cabrera get more consideration for that added burden?

This NL MVP race was much more "up for grabs" than the NL Cy Young. Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, and Ian Kennedy all had comparable figures to Kershaw, and they were on winning/playoff teams (remember voting takes place at the end of the year, so the Phils collapse would have no impact). This is no knock on Kershaw, as he is probably the best young pitcher in baseball. He'll get many more Cy's to add to this, but I was surprised how these baseball experts treated two similar situations so differently.

There is an innate difference in the way the writers view position and everyday players. Why not Kemp? Because his team did not accomplish what makes a position player the Most Valuable in the league. 




Thursday, November 17, 2011

Slobblog: Oh, You Didn't Know?

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages...
Welcome to the world of Slobfest. One of the key parts I mentioned for starting Lockration. is beginning Slobblog to chronicle my friends and my monthly feast at eateries around Philadelphia. Before I start doing any of that, it only makes sense to provide a brief history of what Slobfest is and how it came to be over a steak at Union Trust.

Slobfest has a godfather; he just wears sweatpants.
Slobfest was the original idea of the Godfather. He moved into the Philadelphia and noticed two things...a group of friends that probably didn't hang out as much as they should and a lot of great restaurants. What do geniuses do when they see two great things that belong together? They combine them into one, even greater thing.

Now, going out to eat with a group of friends on a regular basis is nothing ground breaking. Everyone from soccer mom's to book clubs probably have some sort of culinary concordance. So here's what sets Slobfest apart from cocktails with the ladies.

I guess first thing is, there are no ladies. This is a guys only meal. No wives, girlfriends, escorts, strippers, or hookers. This meal is for guys to hang out and be themselves without women confusing the mix. Hey, I hear it works for Catholic high school.

Second, we rotate the selection of Slobfest locals. Each member of the Slobfest crew selects a place in their given month and then the baton is passed to the next individual. The goal of selecting a great spot is the food, the atmosphere, the drinks (BYO or good cocktail menu), and uniqueness are key.

Last, we try to schedule it for a Wednesday or Thursday so as not to mess with our weekend and avoid big crowds at the restaurant. Also we usually schedule them from the middle to later in the month.

Mmm, Fogo. Yeah, I'll have the whole thing.
With these rather basic ground rules in place, the first Slobfest took place over a year ago at Delmonico's. Since the success of that first encounter, Slobfest has gone all over Philadelphia. Lolita, El Vez, Fogo de Chao, Davio's, Amada, Han Dynasty and many more. There have been good places and bad places. Places that were decent and places that were overrated. But what makes Slobfest so great is that the group of people that come together like to have fun and crack each other up. While the food can be hit or miss at times, the company is what you keep going back for.

Initially, Slobfest was only 5 people, but has expanded to 7, and soon 8. This growing group will add to the good times, but almost certainly make us an even more intolerable group to anyone trying to enjoy their meal around us. It's not that we go out of our way to bother people, but the gathering of all of us just creates such a noise it's probably really annoying. Along with that we have pretty off-color humor which probably doesn't mesh very well with some of the places we go to. All in all, it's a group of guys that just like to rag on each other and enjoy massive amounts of food. The unwritten rule, or rather the implicit rule of Slobfest, is that you eat a lot. No salads or small amounts of food here. You get an app, a main (or two main courses), and dessert. Drinking alcohol is optional, but highly recommended.

That's enough background to whet your appetite. Every month, I'll post the location and some stories and pics from the evening that was had. Jealous? Think it's a good idea? Start your own Slobfest and enjoy.

-Slobs out

UFC 139: The Pride Champ

Silva lasted only a couple of seconds before being knocked out by Chris Leben.

The past year MMA has seen a lot of change over. Legends of the sport have moved on to prevent them from waking up to arena lights with their back on a Safe Auto advertisement. Chuck Liddell, Mirko Cro Cop, Fedor Emelianenko, Randy Couture, and possibly BJ Penn and Matt Hughes have either walked away from the sport that made them famous or were forced to no longer compete at the top level.

Saturday night at UFC 139, the song might remain the same as Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva steps into the octagon to face Cung Le (yes, Cung Le put together spells "cungle") making his UFC debut. While the idea of Wandy’s prolific fight career come to an end at the hands feet of a guy with an IMDb page is a tough one to accept, but it’s a reality that many will have to brace for.

Any fighter and any person can be removed from consciousness if hit "on the button" as UFC commentator Joe Rogan aptly describes it. So losing by KO isn't as much the issue as is the fact that while most fighters' button is the chin or behind the ear, Silva's has become his entire face. Silva came up fighting in bare-knuckle street fights on the, little redundant but, streets of Brazil. He started organized fighting at a very young age in Pride, swung by the UFC when it was still in its infancy, and continued to hard charge his way through the toughest guys in MMA for a decade. And when he wasn't being paid to fight, he was sparring in the roughest MMA gym on the planet, Chute Boxe. Housing some of the craziest Brazilians in the area. 

35 years old.
As the wear and tear and physical abuse mounted on Silva, he still kept his straight forward, vicious striking approach to curb many opponents he faced. However, by the time he joined the UFC after it bought out Pride, the sport was different that what he knew. The fighters were more skilled and diverse in their attacks. Defensive striking became just as important as offensive, and any one that was a one dimensional fighter that left their chin out there was toast. 

While Silva began to realize this and change his training and regiment to become a more contemporary fighter, when the octagon door closed, his natural venom and desire to please the fans overwhelmed anything his coaches and training could have taught him. You don't get nicknamed the Axe Murderer for nothing. The beginning of the end was when he suffered a devastating KO at the hands of Quentin "Rampage" Jackson, who like Silva is primarily a striker. Silva had a game plan to utilize his kicks and pick his spots against Rampage, but wouldn't you know it, within minutes he was trading hooks and ending up on the losing end. 

He just could not change his mentality that he's had since he was a teenager in Brazil, it was all he knew.

It's not unusual for an athlete's body to give out on him. Many times it's the first thing to go. At that point, when an athlete has had a long career professionally succeeding at the highest level the mental side becomes so much stronger. Every athlete that's retired and tried to come back has done so not because he or she can run faster, jump higher, or throw a ball harder than when they were 22, but because their brain tells them they can still do this. In the lead up to this Saturday, Silva is still mentally convinced he is capable of continuing to fight.

“It happened to [Cain] Velasquez last week,” Silva said. “You never know. In the first two minutes, everybody has power. The gloves are very small. “[Leben] punched me in the ear and after that first punch, I didn’t see nothing. I’ve had a couple knockouts, but I feel good. I receive punches stronger than that in the gym and I’m here, you know?” 


For someone that has meant so much to the sport and someone that wants to deliver for himself and his fans, we all want to see Wanderlei end things on his terms and his way. We want him to score that last KO and hop on the fence like he did against Keith Jardine. We want that to happen for him, but Silva knows it will happen. 

A KO loss to Cung Le would hardly be the way any MMA fan would want the Axe Murderer to go out, but should that happen, then the UFC, Dana White, and hopefully Silva himself will realize it's time to go. But maybe...just maybe..he'll get that KO he's searching for.

We're all hoping to see this on Saturday.

Monday, November 14, 2011

UFC on FOX: The Network Debut is Another Nail in Boxing's Coffin


The UFC made its network debut on FOX Saturday night with the heavyweight title of the world on the line. Defending champ Cain Velazquez had his first title defense against the No. 1 contender Junior Dos Santos. All-in-all the fight was over in 64-seconds as JDS was able to drop Velasquez with a big overhand right ending the momentous evening rather abruptly. The hour long special was viewed in 5.6M homes and generally viewed as a success in spite of the quick stoppage.

In the aftermath, there were questions about if this was exciting, good, or something more could have been done. That's all hindsight, but what the night did represent is the beginning of a new era for mixed martial arts and the UFC.


A couple hours after JDS was answering questions at a post fight press conference another combat sport you might have heard of, boxing, was having a rather large fight of its own; the third and final fight between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. Pacquiao is a transcendent athlete that has more star power than any other boxer than maybe his fellow contender for pound for pound boxing supremacy, Floyd Mayweather. The fight, as I've heard, was tightly contested, heated, and entertaining. Everything that boxing can be when it's going well. The problem is boxing hasn't been going well for quite some time.

The travails of boxing have been analyzed and discussed, and whether it is too many titles, not enough stars, long-term health concerns, or money corrupting everything, Saturday night was a night for boxing to show it still has some legs before the UFC swallows it up entirely.

Arum is part of boxing's problem.
Now, I am in the party that agrees boxing and MMA can co-exist in their own realm, but due to boxings exceedingly lack of self-awareness and arrogance, key figureheads of boxing, specifically Bob Arum, one of boxings most powerful promoters and handler of Manny Pacquiao, has drawn this line in the sand where fans have to choose one over the other.

The reason UFC on FOX is so important for the growth of MMA is that it opens up the sport to fans that don't follow regularly or plop down $55 every month on a pay-per-view by airing free, live fights. You know, like boxing did 30 years ago. Even without the love of a network broadcast, UFC has grown year over year with a virtually unlimited potential between the TV shows, PPV, and free fights they are now able to get to the public.

The UFC probably won't have the widespread appeal of the NFL or the rich tradition of Major League Baseball, but what it can be is not only a replacement of boxing for the planet's pugilistic observation sport, but a major sport in its own niche way.

Pacquiao Marquez III was an entertaining boxing match. But over the past 5 years and seemingly for the next 5 years, unless Pacquiao or Mayweather is in the main event, boxing has nothing to interest the casual fan.

Dana White will see his hard work pay off.
What the UFC offers is a great depth of fighters and interesting match-ups. Instead of relying on a couple of marquee names, the UFC has many popular fighters across all weight classes. This leads to interest year round and along with the nature of the sport, a great fight doesn't have to be a main event. Even on Saturday night, the fight of the night wasn't the championship bout, but rather the co-main event Ben Henderson v. Clay Guida that was bumped to Facebook and foxsports.com. The sense of anything can happen at anytime is something boxing just cannot replicate.

As the stars in boxing fade, perhaps a couple more will sprout up to carry the tired legs of an outdated sport. Whereas the UFC hasn't even seen some of the greats of a relatively young sport. More dynamic, skilled, and exciting fighters will build on what past and current fighters have already done for MMA.

The page is turning on boxing. It's a demise which didn't need to happen, but it is survival of the fittest and people like Bob Arum just can't compete with Dana White.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Welcome to Lockration.

Lockration. was started as a way for my friends and I to share their thoughts and opinions about various subjects. By various, I mean largely sports and food. That's like half of life anyway, right?

Previously, I had a blog which stopped, but I just started to write again on the Yahoo! Contributor Network, and I found myself wanting an avenue to post my thoughts quickly and without Yahoo! regulations.

Not coincidentally, a group of my friends and I had the idea to begin posting write-ups of our monthly dinner gatherings, respectfully titled Slobfest. One participant in this dinner volunteered to start up this "Slobblog," but needless to say failed.

That in combination with my new found efforts in writing somethings for Yahoo! led me to create this blog as an all encompassing site for my or any of my friends rants along with a monthly Slobblog review.

Maybe this will grow moving forward, maybe it will stop dead after one or two Slobfests, but at the very least I wanted to get this going and see what happens.

Any topic can pop up on here, but the one commonality will be entertaining stuff put up for everyone's enjoyment. So onward!