2011

So, I just realized I hadn't updated with my Christmas Loot. I suck. Here goes:

1. Computer Printer (for Debra and me)
2. Slippers
3. Oscillating Tower Fan
4. Xbox - Enslaved
5. Xbox - Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
6. Xbox - MS Points
7. Xbox - 250 GB Hard Drive
8. T-shirt - Browns
9. T-shirt - OSU Buckeyes
10. T-shirt - Washington Capitals
11. DVD - The History of Ohio State Buckeye Football
12. DVD - Slipknot (sic)nesses - Live at Download
13. CD - Arch Enemy - Wages of Sin
14. CD - Arch Enemy - Anthems of Rebellion
15. CD - Arch Enemy - Rise of the Tyrant
16. CD - Black Label Society - Stronger Than Death
17. CD - Black Label Society - Shot to Hell
18. CD - Chimaira - The Infection
19. CD - Flotsam and Jetsam - Doomsday for the Deceiver
20. CD - Flotsam and Jetsam - The Cold
21. Quicken 2011
22. Visa Gift Card
23. Cash
24. OSU Calendar

It was a good Christmas as I got to spend it with most of my family, save my older brother who couldn't make it. And it was the first Christmas that Debra and I spent together as a married couple. Feel free to share your experiences and what you got in the comments!

And then last night, a few past/present co-workers and/or their significant others engaged in a wing eating contest. Last year, on New Year's Eve, a co-worker/buddy and I competed to see who could eat the most Flatliner wings. He quit after 2 because they're so damn hot. I ended up downing 20 of them, winning easily.

But last night, there were 5 entrants in a contest to see who could eat the highest number of wings, regardless of sauce/heat. I hung tight, ending at 53, but the runner-up last year easily cruised to 61 wings and could have kept going. I could have forced a few more down but I would have literally made myself sick and wouldn't have been able to keep up with him if he kept going. I'll tell you what, I felt like shit this morning though.

We have to come up with a new fun contest for New Years next year - hopefully not wing-related.

And so, tonight brings a conclusion to 2010. It's been a pretty good year. I got married and I ate 53 wings last night. Um, there were probably other highlights but it's about time to start drinking for tonight. Go read through the archives if you're interested; don't be so lazy.

Be safe tonight, chubies. And Happy New Year!

And as an encore, here's Burn the Bridge by Mushroomhead with the lyrics. Great tune!

Christmas 2010

Fa-ra-ra-ra-ra-rah-ra-ra-rah! Merry Christmas from Cleveland, Ohio, motherbitches!

Womyn

This is funny.

Brawl

Wow. I'm all for fighting in hockey. In fact, this website, hockeyfights.com, is fantastically fun. Well, okay, perhaps "all for" is a bit much, but I have no problem with fighting in hockey. It has its place and its purpose unlike in some other sports, but this shit is ridiculous:



Here's the story:

This was the scene in January 2010, when players from Vityaz Chekhov initiated a brawl with members of Kontinental Hockey League rival Avangard Omsk.

Both clubs were fined by the KHL as a result of this fight, and the league warned Vityaz that they could face expulsion from the league if they ever did something like this again.

Over the weekend, the two clubs met again, and it took just six seconds before all you-know-what broke loose.

Just like the first time around, players for Vityaz were clearly the instigators, but the KHL decided not to follow through on their initial threat.

Instead, the league apparently hopes a handful of double-digit suspensions will get the message across.

(Josh) Gratton was given a 15-game suspension, (Ivan) Larin got 14 games, (Sergei) Belokon 13 and (Darcy) Verot 12. They were also fined between 10,000 and 25,000 Rubles (€244-610), sums that will hardly affect their economy. But the suspensions will hurt Vityaz as the club will have to continue paying these players without being able to use them.

Vityaz coach Nazarov was fined 400,000 Rubles (€9,800) for his gesture and Avangard GM Bardin 100,000 Rubles (€2,400) for rule violations.

Avangard Omsk is livid over the events, calling the fight "pre-planned hooliganism." They pointed to the fact that Vityaz had already booked flights to Moscow for some players, even before the fight happened.

League vice president Vladimir Shalayev repeated the league's threat to expel Vityaz without actually following through on it.

"The leadership of Vityaz will be invited to a meeting. We will hold a serious discussion with them," Shalayev told daily newspaper Sport-Express. "Anything can happen [in the case of further incidents], even the exclusion from the KHL. After the meeting, [KHL president Alexander] Medvedev will define the criteria and the club from Chekhov will be informed about them. If they violate the rules of the game, they will probably have to leave. This position is shared not only by the league, but also by most clubs."

Vityaz forward and former NHL discipline magnet Chris Simon told sportbox.ru, "This is hockey, guys! We hate [Avangard] with pride. We will always show emotions in matches against this opponent. This is real fighting spirit!"

Sounds like there aren't many regrets coming from the Vityaz side over the events, which makes one wonder what has to happen to make the KHL actually turn their threats into action.

Apparently, there's a long history between these two teams, including this series of fights (referenced at the beginning of the article above) that culminates in a bench-clearing brawl back in January of this year:



That's crazy. Typically, hockey fights are governed by "the code," which most players/teams adhere to, but apparently much of that goes out the window with these two teams. It'll be interesting to see whether any criminal charges are brought against the Vityaz players.

Are You Serious?

Yes, you stupid, plasticized bitch, we're fucking serious.

And so is U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. FTFA:

RICHMOND, Va.—A federal court ruled Monday that a key part of the health-care overhaul violates the Constitution, dealing the first legal setback to the Obama administration's signature legislative accomplishment.

A federal judge ruled that a central plank of the health law-the requirement that most Americans carry insurance-violates the Constitution, dealing the biggest setback yet to the Obama administration's signature legislative accomplishment. Ashby Jones discusses.

U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson said the law's requirement that most Americans carry insurance or pay a penalty "exceeds the constitutional boundaries of congressional power."

The 42-page ruling doesn't mean states or the federal government must stop implementing the law. But it is expected to give ammunition to a broad Republican assault against the overhaul, which includes efforts in Congress to chip away at it.

Requiring Americans to buy insurance "would invite unbridled exercise of federal police powers," wrote Judge Hudson, a George W. Bush appointee in the Eastern District of Virginia. "At its core, this dispute is not simply about regulating the business of insurance—or crafting a scheme of universal health insurance coverage—it's about an individual's right to choose to participate."

The Obama administration said it was confident higher courts would rule the law constitutional, and said it was weighing an appeal. "Challenges like this are nothing new," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters Monday. "I don't think the decision today and how he decided it was a surprise to anybody here."

The lawsuit, brought by Virginia Republican Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, is the first court ruling against the law since President Barack Obama signed it in March. More than 20 federal lawsuits have been filed against the overhaul, and judges in two of those cases ruled in favor of the Obama administration. The battle is expected to end up at the Supreme Court, though probably not until the 2011-12 term at the earliest.

Judge Hudson didn't grant the plaintiffs their request for an immediate nationwide injunction against the entire law or against the requirement that most Americans carry insurance. That requirement, known as the individual mandate, begins in 2014.

"We've won the first round of this particular fight, but we know there are others to come," Mr. Cuccinelli said. "This lawsuit is not about health care. It's about liberty."

Of course, the legal battle is not over, but I hate to say I/we told you so.

Back

Alright, chubies, time for my UFC 124 predictions. Hopefully I can crap .500 tonight. I believe I've gone 2-3 the last couple UFC events so hopefully I can do a bit better this week. Let's see how it goes!

• Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira - In a battle of Lightweights, Oliveiri is 14-0 and in his 3rd fight in the UFC, 6 wins by (T)KO and 7 by submission. Miller, on the other hand, is 18-2 and 7-1 in the UFC with his only UFC loss coming against Gray Maynard who is undefeated and is fighting for the LW title at UFC 125. I've never actually seen Oliveiri fight but even so, it's hard to pick against a UFC veteran who has defeated consistently solid opposition. I'll take Miller by decision.
  
• Thiago Alves vs. John Howard - Another UFC veteran, Alves is coming off a 2 fight losing streak but those two losses have come at the hands of the dominant UFC Welterweight Champion, George St. Pierre (linked to below) and Jon Fitch who is 23-3 and 21-1 in his last 22 fights with his only loss to St. Pierre. Alves is a tough dude with heavy strikes who tends to gas out over time in his longer fights. Howard is 14-5 with his last 5 fights in the UFC. He's gone 4-1 in his those fights, losing the last one. It's hard to pick against Alves, and I won't. I'll take Alves by TKO in Round 2.
  
• Joe Stevenson vs. Mac Danzig - I hate Mac Danzig. He's a dirty, hippie douchebag. His haircut right makes him look like a lead singer of some faggy emo band. Stevenson has fought 42 times, winning 31 of them. I see Stevenson grasping onto a submission, probably a guillotine choke and getting Danzig to tap like a little bitch. Stevenson by submission in Round 2.
  
• Stefan Struve vs. Sean McCorkle - This is a battle of some big heavyweights. Struve is 6'11" and weighs close to 250. McCorkle is 6'7" and close to 265. McCorkle is undefeated at 10-0 and won his UFC debut by submission against Mark Hunt off his back. Pretty impressive. Struve 20-4 overall and 5-1 in the UFC, winning his last 5. I do not see this fight going the distance. This is probably the fight I'm least decided about. I'm gonna go with the newcomer, Sean McCorkle by TKO in Round 2.
  
• Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck - I hate Koscheck. I fucking hate him. I've never liked him and I cannot root for that asshole. Ever since he's been on The Ultimate Fighter, I've wanted to see him get his face punched in. I also cannot stand St. Pierre, but I do not hate him half as much as I do Koscheck. Unfortunately for Koscheck, we've seen this fight before and St. Pierre may be the most dominant UFC fighter ever. Last time, St. Pierre handled Koscheck easily via decision. I think he earns the stoppage tonight. Koscheck hangs tough for a while but succumbs to St. Pierre's top control after time. St. Pierre by submission to strikes in Round 4.
  

Check back to see how I did, motherbitches!

Actual Results:

• Thiago Alves vs. John Howard - Alves dominated Howard with his stand-up striking and leg kicks. A completely one-sided fight where Alves put the exclamation point on his stand-up domination with a few slams and subsequent ground and pound. - Thiago Alves easily takes the unanimous decision.
• Joe Stevenson vs. Mac Danzig - After a very even first 3 minutes, Danzig clips Stevenson with a short left hook as Stevenson was coming in. A perfect punch and Stevenson is out. Motherfucker. I hate that guy. - Mac Danzig wins by KO in the first round.
• Jim Miller vs. Charles Oliveira - Wow! Great fight. Miller took Oliveira down within the first minute or so and tried to work some ground and pound but Oliveira transitioned from submission attempt to submission attempt keeping Miller on the defensive. While Oliveira was on his back grasping a leg lock, Miller turned the tables and grasped onto his own leg lock, a knee bar and got Oliveira to tap out about halfway through the first round. Good action and a fun finish. - Jim Miller by submission in Round 1.
• Stefan Struve vs. Sean McCorkle - I should have gone with my instincts on this one and picked Struve, but I didn't and I'm back to 2-2. McCorkle took Struve down early and had a couple of submission attempts including a kimura with Struve's arm held behind his back but he was pushed up against the fence so McCorkle couldn't finish. Struve swept the shorter but bigger man and landed in mount where Struve pounded out a referee stoppage. I thought the stoppage was slightly premature but McCorkle didn't protest, nor did his corner. On to the main event. - Stefan Struve wins via TKO in Round 1.
• Georges St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck - St. Pierre unsurprisingly wins this fight going away. He got off his punches earlier, with more power and and barely got touched in the opposite direction. St. Pierre couldn't finish Koscheck even though he poured on some pressure in the 4th and 5th rounds and he takes the decision unanimously and easily. - Georges St. Pierre wins via unanimous decision and retains his Welterweight Championship.

3-2 this time. At least I'm positive for once!

43

SallyMonkeys and I were at this show. Fucking brutal old school Mushroomhead. Good times!

Perhaps my favorite song off the new album:

Six

Six years ago today, in Columbus, OH, Dimebag Darrell Abbott was shot to death by Nathan Gale. Fuck Nathan Gale.

I'm not sure I've seen this before and I sorta wish I could unsee it.



Dimebag Solos:





Hollow:



Last year's tribute to Dimebag Darrell is here.

You should listen to Pantera and Damageplan today in honor of one of the greatest to ever pick up a guitar - one who was stolen from the world way too soon. I will be.

December

Holy shit, I've not updated in almost 3 weeks. Been slacking. And really busy. I need to get back at this - and I will.

Soon.

Sorry to disappoint you chubies with a lack of updates. I'll make it up to you.

Let's start with this:



w00t! Mushroomhead. You're welcome.

Let's separate the users from the whores.

Back soon.