Tag: Madison Square Garden

Not That Anybody Cares But Jordan Burroughs vs. Ben Askren Is Apparently A Done Deal

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So I’m not going to waste a shit ton of ink on this but this is a pretty big deal to anyone that follows amateur wrestling or MMA.

Ben Askren, easily top-5 biggest dbag in MMA but vaunted and decorated wrestler all the same will go up against Jordan Burroughs, long considered one of the better mat men our country has to offer, for the first time ever in May. They will be face off as part of a bigger, Madison Square Garden-centered event for Beat The Streets, an org aimed at directing urban youth towards wrestling. The rest of the event will feature various members of Team USA vs. Various NCAA Champions. Pretty cool stuff all around.

As for this match up, which will definitely be the most marquee, it is an interesting one. Askren, known as a downright confounding grappler in MMA, is actually the less decorated of the two. Using his “funk” style of flow and physical momentum-based wrestling, he was indeed a four-time All American and two-time NCAA champion at Missouri. He also qualified but did not medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. After the 08′ games, Askren by and large stopped competing in wrestling, aside from an occasional tournament, to pursue MMA.

Burroughs, as I mentioned, is one of the bigger names in USA Wrestling point blank period. His collegiate accolades are similar to Askren’s as he was a three time All American and two-time, undefeated NCAA Champion at Nebraska. However their paths diverge post-college. Since graduating from Lincoln, Burroughs has earned one Olympic gold medal as well as four World Championships, with three 3rd place finishes in the Worlds to boot. He also has collected four golds across various Pan-American tournaments as well. I guess it’s important to note that he has a few confusing results, such as his 9th place finish in Rio, but shit happens.

The outlying factor in all of this, really what makes this so interesting, is that Askren is bigger. Burroughs wrestles at 74kg, which is roughly 165 lb. Askren wrestled at 84kg, which is roughly 185lb, so ya. That said, Askren fights at 170lb so maybe he’s slimmed down over the years, but he is used to fighting, and moving. much larger men. Their match will be wrestled at a sort of catchweight of 79kg, or ~174lb. I don’t think this really matters except for the fact that Burroughs might be able to pack on some muscle or, at least, not have to cut down so much.

All in all it’s a cool and intriguing match up for what seems to be a growing sport in wrestling. Hopefully some people catch wind of it and gain some interest.

If you’re still reading this know any good books?

-Joey B.

Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov are Finally Having a Press Conference

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MMAJunkie – To this point, things have been quiet on the promotional front for the UFC 229 lightweight title fight between champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor.

That’s about to change.

The UFC announced today that next week, Sept. 20, a press conference with UFC President Dana White, Nurmagomedov and McGregor will be held at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

There are two, no three, actually four things to consider at the outset of this story:

1.) This very well may be the biggest fight in UFC history.
2.) The UFC has become known for promoting the hell out of their bigger fights; cooking up absolute juggernauts to throw gigantic bankrolls behind in order to reap the even bigger returns.
3.) Conor himself usually subsidizes the UFC’s promotion with his own tidal wave of social media shit talking, interview soliloquy’s, and released, ominous training footage.
4.) There has been precisely MINIMAL promotion for this fight so far. Not from the UFC. Not from Conor. Not from Conor’s “team” (I hate that concept and phrase) who are also usually a promotion vehicle in and of themselves. Virtual radio silence on the part of everyone.

So this press conference was announced this week and by the time it occurs we will be a little more than two weeks out from the fight itself. That is, again, possibly the biggest fight in UFC history. At Madison Square Garden. For Conor to stay quiet is one thing. He has that whole “throwing a dolly at a bus and injuring people” thing to deal with. Sure, he is still Conor Fucking McGregor and so it is a bit odd for him to stay silent because of anything. I can’t help but wonder if he has something saved up his sleeve for when the fight is that much more imminent.

While we have excuses and possible explanations for Conor, for those that follow the business-side of MMA and the art form that is the UFC promoting MMA, the company’s silence is absolutely mind boggling. Barely any social media coverage. No “On Demand” ads that I’ve seen so far. I don’t want to go so far as to question whether or not the UFC has faith the fight will go down, but what the hell else explains this? For Mayweather-McGregor there was a 6 month, international press tour. This may not be THAT big, objectively, but it is the biggest thing MMA has to offer and features 2 internationally born and beloved fighters, so what gives?

I don’t know. I honestly don’t have a clue except to maybe speculate that Conor and the UFC are on the same page and are going to see what happens when they wait for a couple weeks out to both light the fire and throw 310 pounds of gas on it. But is that even enough time to REALLY get people excited? I’m not sure it is.

We can ask, wonder, ruminate, and ponder all we want but in the end on September 20th the two best 155ers in the world will be on the same stage, speaking in wonderfully distinct accents, discussing what should be a monumental fight and a bona fide game changer in terms of the landscape of 155 pounds and beyond. Nothing will be the same after the first Saturday in October.

Here. We. Go.

-Joey B.

 

The Big Ten Tournament at MSG Does Not Look Fun

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The idea of staging the Big Ten Tournament a week early just to play it at Madison Square Garden was a foolish idea from the start. It’s worked out pretty well for Rutgers so far, as the last place Scarlet Knights have already won two games in the tournament with the help of a little home court advantage, but that’s about it.

The Big Ten Tournament was held in either Chicago or Indianapolis every year between 1998 and 2016, before moving to Washington D.C. last year and MSG this year. Thankfully it’s slated to return to Chicago and Indianapolis for the next four years.

I understand trying to expand the conference’s footprint, but at some point the Big Ten has to accept that it is a Midwest conference. If they insist on trying out new tournament sites, Detroit and Minneapolis would be better options next time around. Ya know, cities with Big Ten teams and in driving distance of more Big Ten fans.

I understand that the early games of any college basketball tournament, especially on days with four games, can be sparsely attended. But I don’t seem to remember Syracuse, Villanova, or even Providence or Boston College ever playing in front of that many empty seats in the old Big East Tournament. Maybe that’s because the New York City area is loaded with Big East alumni and not nearly as many Big Ten alumni.

I also don’t remember a Big East tournament ever being played with this little buzz. Maybe that’s because these are the conference tournaments currently underway:

  • Atlantic Sun
  • Big South
  • Big Ten
  • MAAC
  • Missouri Valley
  • Northeast Conference
  • Ohio Valley Conference
  • Patriot League

Which doesn’t belong and why?

Only the Atlantic Sun, Big South and Patriot League started their conference tournaments earlier than the Big Ten Tournament. That’s because those conferences play tournament games at campus sites instead of at one venue. Only the Atlantic Sun, Big South, Missouri Valey and Ohio Valley Conference will crown a champion earlier than the Big Ten.

An eleven-day break might be nice for Florida Gulf Coast, UNC Asheville, or some other automatic-bid team as they prepare to enter the tournament as double-digit seed. But will it be too much time off for a serious national championship contender like Michigan State? If one of the top four seeds in the Big Ten tournament goes down today, they could have to wait two full weeks to play again. The Big Ten better have a good showing in the Big Dance or the experiment to play their conference tournament a week early at an empty Madison Square Garden will look a lot worse than it already does.