I Have A Mild Clue What Is Going On In The UFC

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Editor’s Note: Introducing Danny Coughlin, who will be our resident MMA guy covering everything from the UFC to the upcoming mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor.

So, a year in it doesn’t take a genius to see things in the largest, and yes, most talent laden MMA organization are just different. It’s a straight up Wizard of Oz situation in terms of exactly why or who is causing it to be this way. Maybe it was like this during the Zuffa era (The Fertittas as owners, Dana White ostensibly had more direct power/say) but I feel like we got to know that regime enough to kind of be able to deduce why they made certain decisions. Not the case with the new owners.

At a high level, or maybe more accurately at a fundamentally business level, there are two separate strategies that are most likely to be causing these changes. One would be if WME-IMG were looking at their new property as a straight up M&A situation. Here they would cut costs by making such moves as reducing non-essential staff (they have) while trying to jack up revenue, which nets out a ballooned profit, which would allow them to flip the company for a higher price than they bought it for. This would also explain letting some non-headliner/PPV buy-driving but subjectively expensive fighters walk to places like Bellator without a fight while putting on more, but (probably, I aint into research) cheaper  (or “watered down” as some bitter fans like to call them) shows. Again, less costs, more revenue.

The other business strategy is just to put together a long term earner of a business, which I think would seemingly be (see below) the more plausible scenario here. Let’s face it – it would take God-fucking-knows-what to make the UFC that much more valuable than $4 billion dollars in order to flip it for a profit when you take into consideration things like interest. On the flip side, putting on a larger amount of cheap, entertaining-enough-to-make-a-solid-nut shows to keep the cash flowing in? Throwing a few top-heavy/pomp-heavy Conor/Jon Jones/Diaz ragers  every year to churn some serious cheddah? Could work….

RECORD SCRATCH. What throws a wrench into strategy/idea two is the fact that if WME-IMG just wanted a profitable ATM of a business then why the fuck would they change what they inherited – A business and entertainment model/example that grew in value from $2 million to $4 BILLION in a fairly short amount of time – in the first place?

The answer to that question is most likely the answer to the overall question of “what the fuck in general is going on?” And the answer is our old friend ego. The same ego that made Bernie Madoff think he could endlessly swindle people out of 31231 kajillion dollars. The same ego that made good ol’ Eldrick Woods think he could piss on every hooker whose named ended in “i” within a 100 mile radius of Jupiter, FL. The same ego that made Det. The Rock and Samuel L think they could survive a quick 20 story leap off a building to expedite chasing down a perp. WME-IMG brass might not have the public swagger of Dana and Lorenzo, (and Frank, Joe Silva, etc.) but remember figurehead Ari Emanuel is the guy they based ARI FUCKING GOLD on. This is more than dollars and sense to him too, just like the Zuffa boys. But different men mean different egos. And WME-IMG want to succeed in their own way.

The best, and most entertaining IMNSHO, way to explain it would be to compare the egos of Moe Green and Michael Corleone. Moe Green wanted to prove to everyone he had the biggest dick and the most cash. He was flamboyant (Mayweather-McGregor), he was stubborn (Letting multiple top-10 guys walk). He cared less about his reputation (fighterpayfighterpayfighterpay) among his peers and the public than he did his bottom line. He rubbed the list of those bottom line accomplishments in everyone’s faces. WME-IMG and Ari might be plotting to do just that.

Michael Corleone was serious, surly even. He was a bit petty, sure (Dana), but in the end he not only wanted to be rich, which he sure as fuck did, but he wanted to be seen as legit (Zuffa) and build the biggest and baddest organization of it’s kind the world had seen. Kind of like how Zuffa stared across the pacific at Pride, tugged on it’s balls and put the UFC on it’s back. Pride fell. Strikeforce fell a few years later. The UFC were the undisputed kings of the realm.

In the end, only time will tell what WME-IMG’s end game really is. This is all just blogger speculation. It’s worth noting that should it happen, it wouldn’t be the first time the Fertitta’s had sold a business only to buy it back once the buyer realized they couldn’t run it as well. The question is by the time WME-IMG sets its strategy in place, will the UFC, or Bellator, or someone new, be the family in charge?

Episode 008 of The 300s Podcast (VIDEO)

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Aaaand we’re back. Episode 008 of The 300s Podcast is hot off the presses and we’re diving into the Celtics offseason, grading Danny Ainge’s recent moves and the Paul George situation. We also debut The 300s Ballpark Reviews with the Miami Marlins, how Aaron Judge has put the fear of god into Red Sox fans, the dominance of Chris Sale and we ask what is wrong with David Price? LETS GET IT.

Paul George Now Says He May Not Sign With Lakers Next Year

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Yahoo – “I grew up a Lakers and a Clippers fan,” George says. “I idolized Kobe. There will always be a tie here, a connection here. People saying I want to come here, who doesn’t want to play for their hometown? That’s a dream come true, if you’re a kid growing up on the outskirts of L.A., to be the man in your city. But it’s definitely been overstated. For me, it’s all about winning. I want to be in a good system, a good team. I want a shot to win it. I’m not a stats guy. I’m playing this game to win and build a legacy of winning. I’ve yet to do that. I’m searching for it. If we get a killer season in Oklahoma, we make the conference finals or upset the Warriors or do something crazy, I’d be dumb to want to leave that.” “It’s too early for L.A.,” he says. “It would have to be a situation where the ball gets rolling and guys are hopping on. This guy commits, that guy commits. ‘Oh s—, now there’s a team forming.’ It has to be like that.”
“I’m in OKC, so hopefully me and Russ do a good enough job and make it to the conference finals and love the situation, why not recruit someone to come build it with us? I’m open in this whole process.”

Live look at every Celtics fan who didn’t want to trade for Paul George without an extension first.

Now I’m sure Paul George is just being smart by not burning his bridges in OKC before he even gets there. Just letting the fans know that if all goes well then who knows, maybe he does stay. So maybe he’s just playing politics here.

But if he’s not…Then this make Danny Ainge look like an asshole. If the Thunder have a good season and George decides to stay because the Lakers are, ya know, still a dumpster fire of a team, then that is a disaster.

Now I wasn’t exactly clamoring for Danny to give up the farm for a guy on a 1-year rental, but man people will have a field day roasting Ainge for that one. I can understand Paul George wanting to go play for his hometown team, but if they’re still a lottery team and if LeBron stays in Cleveland, then why would he want to go there? Go play for your hometown team just to get waxed and not even make the playoffs? Fuck that. Get out of Indy, link up with a new team that actually has a shot of winning and stay there and try and build there. You can always live in LA the other half of the year when you’re not playing basketball. So I guess we’ll see, but if PG13 doesn’t sign with LA next year then the Celtics will have missed a huge opportunity.

The 300s Reviews: Marlins Park

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We’re excited to launch a new series at The 300s today – ballpark reviews. We haven’t been to all 30 parks yet, but we’re working on it. With the MLB All-Star Game taking place in Miami tonight, we’ll kick off this new series with the a review of Marlins Park, home of the Miami Marlins.

 

Walking up to Marlins Park, it’s clear that this place is not trying to be your classic ballpark. It’s not Fenway. It’s not Camden Yards. It’s not even Petco Park. It’s baseball’s first “modern” ballpark to open since the new Comiskey Park U.S. Cellular Field Guaranteed Rate Field opened on the South Side of Chicago in 1991 (as opposed to “retro modern” or “retro classic” ballparks). It’s worth noting, though, that Guaranteed Rate Field underwent extensive renovations last decade to be considered more “retro classic.”

Walking into Marlins Park felt like walking into the future. It was unlike any other baseball park I’ve ever been too. The concourse was brightly colored and well lit, with no bare concrete walls or floors like those seen at Fenway and even newer parks like Miller Park. Lots of contemporary artwork, too. Here’s the back of the home run structure in center field:

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A very cool feature on the concourse was the Bobblehead Museum.

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It featured players from every team, obviously too many to mention individually. But here’s old friend Mo Vaughn!

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The concourse was also filled with really pushy promotions crews. “Listen dude, I’m just in Miami for the weekend. I’m not entering your contest to win a coupon to Publix.”

I forget how hot it was the day I went, but it isn’t really relevant. It was Miami in August so the roof was closed. It wasn’t like I was at a hockey game, but the temperature with the roof closed and the AC on was pleasant. Felt a bit like a dome without a breeze, though.

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The atmosphere definitely left a lot to be desired. It was a mid-week interleague game, but the low-capacity ballpark was still barely half full. The upper deck in the infield was actually literally closed that night. That can’t be a good long-term business move.

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Being in Little Havana, Marlins Park featured many Cuban food options. I went with the pork nachos which were good, but nothing earth shattering. I didn’t take a photo of them, so that might say something too.

I’ve been to eleven ballparks, eight of which are still in use. Of those eight, I’d rank Marlins Park ahead of only Tropicana Field. I wouldn’t say it should be ranked 29th out of 30, I just haven’t been to places like Toronto or Oakland. Yet. Still, these modern ballparks seem to miss the mark.

The last “modern” ballpark to open before Marlins Park was the White Sox’ Guaranteed Rate Field. That ballpark is barely 25 years old and as I mentioned earlier, underwent massive renovations fairly early in its life to stay relevant. We’ll see what happens to Marlins Park going forward.

I didn’t expect Wrigley Field in South Florida, but this stadium felt like something Marty McFly would’ve walked into in Back to the Future Part II.

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Big Z Ballpark Rating – 5.5

Yankees Aaron Judge Just Previewed a Decade of Pain for Red Sox Fans Last Night

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Yankees rookie Aaron Judge put on a goddamn show last night to win the Home Run Derby and it’s time for Red Sox fans to start being afraid. It’s hard to have missed what Judge has been doing this season unless you’re literally refusing to watch baseball until the leaves turn. The Yankees rookie hit 30 home runs in the first half, which already broke Joe DiMaggio’s rookie team record. And he’s well on his way to besting Mark McGwire’s MLB record of 49 home runs as a rookie.

Mac was obviously on the juice for a long time, but Judge is a genetic freak. The guy is bigger than Gronk for christ’s sake. He’s 6/7″ 282 lbs so its not like he’s just peeling the skin off his chicken. He’s built to smash things.

But its hard to really get the fear of god in you just by reading boxscores. Its only when you see that goddamn horse hitting 519 ft home runs do you realize that as a Red Sox fan we are fucked. This guy is going to be hitting moonshots onto the Pike for the next decade. So settle in guys, this guy is going to be the next great Red Sox killer. And the worst part is, Judge hasn’t really done anything yet to earn my ire. As much as I want to, I don’t hate him. Yet. He’s gonna need to legitimately kill a Red Sox fan sitting on the Monster for me to get some hate flowing.

Chris Sale Named Starter for the AL in MLB All-Star Game. The March to a Cy Young Continues

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Not exactly unexpected, Chris Sale has been lights out this year. It’s rare that someone comes exactly as advertised and performs even better than expected (i.e. not David Price). Some guys can’t hack it in a market like Boston. Other guys *thrive* and Chris Sale definitely falls into the latter.

Among pitchers in the American League, Sale is top-3 in WAR, ERA, Wins, WHIP, IP & leads all AL pitchers in K’s by more than 30. Sale has 178 K’s, which is THIRTY strikeouts more than the guy in second. It would have been a slight against god to not give Sale the start.

Lets take a step back though and really examine Chris Sale’s dominance on the mound this year. He’s the most electric Red Sox starter since Pedro. He’s the first guy I will run home to sit down and watch since Curt Schilling in 04. Beckett was dominant for a stretch, Lester was great, Buchholz was infuriatingly amazing and terrible at the same time. But none touch Sale.

Can we also point out that Chris Sale is on pace for 356 K’s this year, which would be the most K’s in a single season since Randy Johnson had 372 in 2001. The Big Unit also won the Cy Young that year (the 2nd of his 3 in a row).

To put that into perspective, here’s the list of pitchers that have had 300 K’s in a season over the past 20 years:

  • Clayton Kershaw (2015)
  • Randy Johnson (99, 00, 01, 02)
  • Pedro Martinez (99)
  • Curt Schilling (97, 98)

Four guys in 20 years. Thats it. Pretty good company to have. Now it’ll be hard to ever top Pedro striking out 5 guys in 2 innings in the 1999 All-Star game at Fenway, but goddamnit Chris Sale will try.

Celtics Sign the Viking Known as Aron Baynes

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Tormund Motherfucking Giantsbane! I am all in on this move. A big man with an undercut and a massive red beard? Sign me up.

In case anyone was unclear, I just want to repeat that the Celtics now have a goddamn viking on the team.

Okay now that we’re clear on that, lets get down to the details. Baynes is a 6’10” center and the Celtics are a team in desperate need of someone who can bang the boards. ESPN compiled these stats in their story on the signing. Baynes isn’t much of a scorer, as he only averaged 4.9 points last year, but he did grab 4.4 rebounds in only 15.5 minutes per game last year. Not to mention the guy “grabbed 21.6 percent of all defensive caroms when he was on the floor last season.” I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty damn good to me.

Detroit averaged a defensive rating of 105.3 last season, which dropped to 98.5 with Baynes on the court, which is huuge. And according to ESPN his overall rebound rate last year was 15.8. The best the Celtics had last year was 13.1 from Kelly Olynyk. And for anyone who watched even a handful of Celtics games last year you know that Olynyk SUCKS on the boards. If Kelly Olynyk can get Pat Riley to pay him $50 fucking million dollars then I can be president. So any upgrade there is money in the bank.

While it may be a bit of a ragtag crew, the Celtics now have Aron the viking, second year big man Ante Zizic and the Daniel Wall himself, Daniel Theis signed out of Germany. Not to mention the Dancing Bear, second year Guerschon Yabusele if the C’s can fit him under the cap and squeeze him on the roster.

Not a ton of star power there, but when you consider who they are replacing (Olynyk and Amir Johnson) there’s nowhere to go but up.

 

Todd Marinovich is Back in Football!

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USA Today – It’s hard not to root for a successful Todd Marinovich turnaround. The former USC and Los Angeles Raiders quarterback prodigy, whose football career and life has famously been derailed by substance abuse on multiple occasions, was in Indian Wells on Friday for a news conference to announce that he is returning to competitive football. The former NFL and college star who just turned 48 on July 4, has joined the desert’s developmental football team the SoCal Coyotes after serving as an assistant coach last season.

Remember the kid you grew up with who played sports year round then went to camps and played travel ball all summer long without any time to be a kid because his dad was a psycho living variously through his kid? Yea thats Todd Marinovich times 1,000.

For anyone who’s not familiar Marinovich was basically bred to be a quarterback by his insane father. Marinovich’s dad is essentially Tim McGraw from Friday Night Lights, an absolute maniac who couldn’t let go of the glory days and drilled his kid into the ground to try and make him a better football player.

Seriously, look at this description of the dad from Wikipedia:

“His father, Marv Marinovich, an openly abusive parent, had been a lineman and a captain for the University of Southern California Trojans during the 1962 national championship season, and played in the 1963 Rose Bowl…After harming his own National Football League lineman career by overtraining and focusing too much on weight and bulk, Marv studied Eastern Bloc training methods and was hired by Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis as the NFL’s first strength-and-conditioning coach. Marv later opened his own athletic research center and applied the techniques to his young son, introducing athletic training before Marinovich could leave the crib and continuing it throughout his childhood and adolescence.”

The dad even had the mother in on it, basically feeding the kid like an olympic athlete.

“During her pregnancy, Trudi used no salt, sugar, alcohol, or tobacco; as a baby, Marinovich was fed only fresh vegetables, fruits, and raw milk…The question I asked myself was, How well could a kid develop if you provided him with the perfect environment?”

That shit is child abuse. This is how serial killers are born, let the kid have a McChicken every once in a while. So no wonder Marinovich is a little loopy himself. Now hopefully he’s getting back into football at the age of 48 because he loves the game and wants to play and not because he wants some side cash to buy some dope. But for anyone who saw his 30 for 30, Marinovich did NOT look like a guy who missed two-a-days.

But ya know thats why the Sandlot is one of the most popular sports movies of all time. Because organized sports and practice and conditioning camp and coaches yelling in your face is not fun. It sucks actually. The fun part is playing ball with your boys. So maybe getting on the High School field and slinging the ball around will be good for the guy. Who knows maybe even Brett Favre will make an appearance in his Wranglers, NOBODY likes backyard ball more than that guy.

NBA Allegedly Updates Its Logo

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I need to reevaluate my career goals and get into graphic design. Whatever the NBA paid some marketing firm to “refresh” and “modernize” its logo was way, way too much.

Seriously, I could’ve done that. I’d haven been happy to do it for no more than $20,000. I have Microsoft Office. I could’ve clicked through every font and made the decision that Arial Narrow worked better than regular old Arial. I would have lobbied hard for Franklin Gothic Medium, but I don’t know that the NBA would have gone for it.

But maybe I should be giving the NBA more credit for showing some restraint. The 1990s were great, but featured some garish NBA uniforms.

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And then there was the Detroit Pistons logo, which is the New Coke of NBA redesigns.

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If you want more information on the NBA’s updated logo, a press release describing the new “taller, leaner typeface” can be found on their website. I bet writing the press release was harder than actually updating the logo. Gotta own the story I guess.

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Avery Bradley Becomes a Cap Casualty, Traded to Pistons

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So first things first, trading Avery Bradley sucks. Especially for pennies on the dollar. Marcus Morris is a decent player. He’s 6’9″, averaged 14 and 5 the past 2 years and is due less than $11M over the next 2 seasons.  Bradley is going to be a free agent after this season and he is going to make $20M+ per year on his next deal. That is going to happen. There was just no way the Celtics were going to pay Bradley that, not with Al Horford and Gordon Hayward on max contracts and Isaiah Thomas needing to get paid too.

Danny wasn’t about to let a guy walk for nothing, not for a team that is playing the long game. Plus the C’s had to trade one of Smart, Crowder or Bradley to clear enough cap space to even make room for Hayward’s contract so everyone knew something was coming. Sucks to see him go, Bradley has been a member of the Celtics since he was 19 when he was a first rounder in 2010. The guy grew to be a key cog and a defensive stud (who got screwed out of All-NBA this year).

Bradley was a defensive pillar when he was in the game, his offense was up and down, but the guy could hit a corner 3 with the best of them. Game winner buzzer beater 3 over Cleveland anybody? And most recently when he went off in the playoffs against the Wizards this year.

But thats when he was on the court as the guy played in more than 64 games only twice in his NBA career. For a player with an ankle and shoulder injury history, it was never a long term deal Danny Ainge was going to hand out.

But Bradley was the only holdover from the Pierce/Garnett/Allen days and I don’t think that can be overstated. He helped bridge the Celtics from being one of the best teams in the NBA to a lottery team in the basement of the league all the way back to the No. 1 seed and playing in the Eastern Conference Finals. Gotta respect that, best of luck in Detroit man.

To steal a phrase from KG, Avery Bradley was all Grit and Balls.