“The Contender” to begin second season on ESPN
“The Contender” is an unscripted drama about the lives of 16 professional boxers as they compete for the chance to change their lives. The show will air as part of ESPN Original Entertainment (EOE) programming and be executive produced by “Survivor” creator Mark Burnett, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Sylvester Stallone. Casting and production on the series, which will air in primetime beginning April 2006, will begin immediately.
Ecellent! I really enjoyed the first season — much more than I expected, in fact — so I’m happy to hear it will be coming back. As an added plus, I’ll probably be able to TiVo the show in the middle of the night, since ESPN tends to show everything half a dozen times.
First let me say I was never a big fan of mixed martial arts fighting. I’ve loved boxing since I was tiny, watching Sugar Ray and Marvelous Marvin pound each other with Howard Cossell going nuts down by the apron. I’ve also been a long-time martial arts fan – I got a black belt in Karate when I was a kid in Tennessee. Even taking all that into account, when MMA and Ultimate Fighting first came on the scene, it seemed like little more than barroom cage fights, and I carried that opinion with me until very recently.
The change was precipitated by The Ultimate Fighter on Spike. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t great television. In fact, I usually describe it as “The Real World, except people settle their drama by punching each other in the face.” Nevertheless, I got sucked into the show and developed affinity for some fighters and dislike for others. At that point it’s a lot like professional wrestling: it’s a lot easier to get into when there’s a baby face fighting a heel.
Continue reading ‘The Ultimate Fighter Finale’
I have mentioned kettlebells in this space previously. I first learned of them because one of my favorite boxers, Kostya Tszyu (who is getting geared up to fight Ricky Hatton in June), is a spokesman for an Australian firm that pushes the peculiar lumps of iron. Since the kettlebells have been experiencing an odd spike on the buzz-o-meter lately, I was interested to read this myth-busting article: Kettlebells : An Antidote to the Hype
The author makes several salient points. I, of course, will focus on the most trivial among them:
Kettlebells are Russian
No, they are not. In fact, they originated in the Highlands of Scotland. A popular pastime in the Highlands in winter is the sport of curling. This was originally played using birch brooms and round stones on frozen lakes and river mouths. In freezing temperatures, picking up a round stone covered in frost in the midwinter gloom can be a tricky proposition. Therefore, a cast iron handle was attached to the stones to make then easier to handle. Highland and Cumberland wrestlers then began using the stones during the spring as a training tool (one among many) for the Highland Games. The handle made it easy to pick up for pressing motions, so why not?
This is not a reason not to use kettlebells, but more of a hype-busting exercise. If you want to be an “authentic� kettlebeller, then learn to play the bagpipes and wear your kilt with pride.
That’s the best reason I’ve heard so far to get me some kettlebells! 
Of course, I also have to come to terms with the fact that curling originated in the land of my ancestors.
But then again, so did golf…
Mesi Hearing Tentatively Set for April 18
Mesi (29-0) was the WBC’s top-ranked contender before falling out of the ranking entirely in October. The suburban Buffalo native has been suspended indefinitely, pending a review of his medical records, since winning a unanimous decision over Vassiliy Jirov in Las Vegas in March 2004.
I’ve said it before: Joe Mesi is one of the few interesting fighters currently in the heavyweight division. Hopefully he is healthy enough to return to his career without danger.
It figures the first episode I catch of The Contender is the one featuring and eliminating Najai Turpin, the fighter who later committed suicide by gunshot to the head.
Not to be callous, but Najai came across as severely damaged goods. The lady on the show said he acted like “an animal that had been mistreated”, and it seems she was exactly right.
“Najai wouldn’t sleep on the bed at ‘The Contender’ because he was so used to sleeping under the bed or in the closet for fear of various things between bullets and burglars and robbers and home invasions and the sort of things that no one on this call has had to deal with,� Burnett said.
The people behind the show have created a trust fund for Najai’s daughter Anyae, who appeared to be the only thing in this world that made Najai happy. (Though it’s possible a custody dispute over Anyae may be the root of his self-destruction.)
Aside from all that drama, though, the show is not half bad. The fights are super-produced, with tons of crazy camera angles, slo-mo, and sound effects. This is a little frustrating for “real” boxing fans, I think, but probably great for the average TV viewer.
I’ll check it out again next week, for sure.
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