Home, this must be the place

Well, I made it through the birthday. Although we will be celebrating this weekend w/ an awesome shindig at our house. Friends from far and near will be coming to help me give myself a shout out!! The awesomely cool Mary Foy and Kayly S. Newcomer will be coming all the way from Pennsylvania. It's always awesome to see those 2 kids, and I promise that I will not be sooo belligerent about the State of Israel. In fact, I promise to Kayly that I will not even voice my opinion on the Israeli settlement issue (although, you'd be surprised), or anything like that !! I'm that magnamimous a party host!! :)

It's weird saying it, as I usually look for the hole in the silver lining, but this place here on Cherokee Ave. is starting to feel very home-like. Vicki has done a great job (and I'm sure that Tobin helped "manage" the tidying and unpacking!) of getting stuff done while I'm at work. She''s amazing. Just a great wife and Mom. I don't say thank you enough to her. She's the best; I'm just so lucky. Thanks for doing your thang, Vick!!

We've met a few people in the neighborhood also. I'm not saying I'm gonna invite them over for the next UFC PPV yet, however. People seem to go out of their way to say hello and talk to you, and they seem to really mean it. There are alot of little kids in the neighborhood. I plan on trying to get Tobin outside as much as possible so he can meet folks, and form his toddler posse out here. I don't want to diss Marcellus, however!! Belynda's little boy is his main man, and those kids are gonna remain BFFs!! They get on so well together! I hear it's very cute to watch.

Work is going ok. Nothing either too bad, or too great going on. Just one foot in front of the other, really. You can develop a way of just keeping your head down, and getting through tyour work day. I'm not saying I didn't wish that work was a bit mor fulfilling or whatever. It's called work, after all as my Dad would say!! It's a bitter pill to swallow, to realize that, but what can you do?

Well, what you can do, is blog to get your creativity out!! That's just what I'm doing here!!!

It's amazing how quickly UFC has put out a better product than boxing. I caught the last HBO "Boxing After Dark", and it was such a snoozer. I remember the days of Kennedy McKinney versus Marco Antonio Barrera on HBO. Sadly those days are gone . UFC knows how to market their fighters, make them stars, so they are the reason you watch/buy the fights. Somehow, boxing has seemed to get lost along the way.

I'm not sure if it if the lack of true personalities in boxing, or what.. However, it is evident. I dont know about you, but I'd gladly watch Frank Mir fight Mirko Cro Cop rather than Sugar Shane Mosely fight Sergio Mora!! I mean puhleeeeeze. Somebody give Bob Arum a smack, and wake him up. Bob, and Don King need to start working hard to catch up to MMA! They're totally getting left behind in the dust!

UFC 113 Results - Ethan doesn't do too badly at picking the winners!!

So, I'm thinking that if I ever decide to leave the purchasing world , I can get one of those jobs on ESPN.com or one of the plethora of MMA website where I can prognosticate my face off!! I think I can go Mens Wearhouse, get myself some suits, and some French Cuff Shirts, and put one of those headset microphone thingys on my face and just rock it!! No one speaks w/ passion on boxing and mma like I do! I think I can just really speak well on the topic. Until Dana White calls , I can only feel confident in my ability while waxing philosphical here!!

I'm soooo ready for my closeup, Mr. Demille!! When is the UFC or Strikeforce gonna call me??? Will it ever happen????? I could so call a fight, and interview the particpants!! Can't you just see me joking w/ Frank Mir, and joshing Jose Aldo??!??!

I picked 2 of the PPV fights correctly, so that was a good thing! Josh Koschek did indeed beat Paul Daley w/ his superior wrestling skills (not to mention Daley's sucker punch after the fight which cost him a job w/ the UFC), and Matt Mitrione did beat the farce (and ratings grabber) named Kimbo Slice. Dana White, being the gangster that he is, immediately fired Kimbo after his losing effort!

Of course, I was way way way waaaaaaaaay wrong in my prediction of the main event!

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua totally dominated and KTFO'd Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida in the very first round!!! It's funny how quickly the tide can turn in the fight game! Just a few weeks ago, people were talking about "The era of the Dragon"!! Now, of course, it's Shogun's Time!!

On the home front, things are groovy. Tobin is just amazing(even though he got cranky at Rob's Bistro last night!)Vicki is one amazing wife, let me tell you, I always have to give her major, major shoutouts all the time!! She is the greatest Mom too. Just the best

Lulu and Fred Sincoff are still 2 dogs w/ attitude!!! They are groovy puppy dogs. They have been under the weather lately in that they got into the garbage, and they ate some bad turkey breast! Poor Lulu has been wimpering for a couple days. She is just now starting to feel like her sassy puppy dog girl self :) At least she is back on the mend. Fred must be a little younger in that he was under the weather for just 24 hrs!

In other fights/MMA news; we have "Strikeforce Heavy Artillery" coming up on Saturday night on Showtime!! It's a fairly okish card w/ some interesting fights/fighters. Andrei Arlovski is fighting, which should be fun (although Vicki said "I could fucking beat him now! Fang mouthpiece or no fang mouthpiece!!") as is Holland's favorite son, Mr. Alistair Overeem. Who, not only is Dutch, but he's black! Which totally rocks! Here's hoping he passes the pre and post fight urinalysis (big steroid rumors) and that he beats the former Sam's Club worker in Bret Rogers!!!

I'd be remiss to not mention we had a rocking picnic w/ Caleb and Lisa!!!!! :) Two groovy new friends! The Sincoff's are rolling "nothin' but 7's!!!"

The Baby and the Bathwater

Tobe took his first tub bath today. I actually thought he kind of enjoyed it! He kind of mellowed out in the suds, and did not scream or act cranky!! I actually think it was kind of success. He was a good boy, and let us wash his hair! What a trooper!!!

The UFC show this past weekend was memorable. A bunch of exciting fights. Seeing Frank Mir KO Nog was a big shock. I always knew that Frank could overcome his motorcycle accident, and return to the guy who was the best Heavyweight in the UFC. To see him do it in such a decisive fashion, was amazing. Nog was never in the fight. He seemed slow and just "off". I think all of those wars caught up to him. Sad.

Vicki was very upset to see Wanderlei Silva get KTFO'D by Quinton Jackson. He was wide open, punching wildly, and got caught flush w/ a counter right hook. What sucked also big time was that the Ref tried to pull Rampage off of Wandy, but Jackson kept on hitting him two or three times more..Not good sportsmanship!!

Rashad Evans won via TKO over Forrest Griffin to get the Light Heavyweight title in a semi compelling fight. Griffin had won both rounds when Rashad just destroyed him w/ strikes from the mount position in the 3rd round. Nice to get some new champs!

My ol' skool buddy Mike "The Man" C. came up to check out the fights. It was awesome to see him again. Also, Susannah, a long time close pal of Vick and I came in from Crooklyn to meet Mr. T. It was awesome cool to see her as well. She should come back again!!!

One more thing about UFC 92

I forgot to say that the 2 other Wanderlei Silva/Quinton Jackson fights were awesome. They were in the Pride organization in Japan, prior to its' bankruptcy. The fights were AMAZING for the most part in Pride. Unfortunately, they did not know how to run a business. The live shows were SO extravagant, SUCH a spectacle, that they just spent themselves into debt. The UFC ultimately bought them for their tape library and dissolved the organization.

So, in honor of that, enjoy this awesome video clip I found from Japanese TV featuring Wandersilva vs. Rampage Jackson #1!!

I'm usually not a techno fan. However the music is SOOOOO appropriate. Dig how many knees my man The Axe Murderer hits Rampage with at the end of this fight! Hang in there, it is worth it!!

I love the Sunday New York Times!

There is this hyoooooge article in the Sunday Magazine called "John McCain- The Making (and remaking and remaking) of the Candidate". It is an incredibly well done article. Basically, it details the multiple directions, the multiple narratives that the McCain campaign has tried to undertake since the Republican Convention. Apparently, there is hyooooge infighting going on behind the scenes! People are pointing fingers at each other. My ol' buddy, Steve Schmidt (who is described as "glowering" "while smoking and checking his Blackberry") seems to have quite the bit of blame levelled at him.

Couldn't happen to a better con man!! I hope that this race ends, Barack Obama gets OVERWHELMINGLY elected to the Presidency, and Steve Schmidt, and Nicole Wallace of the McCain Campaign will NEVER be able to work in politics again!! I'm sure this is naive of me to think that, however. White collar crime, my friends.... No one is ever "untouchable". I'm sure some GOP thingamabob race will hire Steve-o to manage some campaign. That's alas the way the wind blows in DC.

The people in the McCain Campaign are already sending resumes' out, apparently. Kinda like rats jumping off a ship. Love it. Looooooove it!! McCain was on "Meet the Press" this morning, and swore to Tom Brokaw that "I promise you (Tom Brokaw) that you are gonna be up awful late on election night. We will win this." Chuck Todd, who was on the next segment was like "what Kool-Aid is THAT man drinking?" Todd actually showed a map to the 270 electoral votes where Obama could lose Pennsylvania and Florida, if he had to lose them. He's made serious inroads, serious leads in Iowa, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico. Just amazing stuff.

Did anyone else see the cute 5Th grader asking Joe Biden what the Vice Presidency is about in Palm Beach County, Florida? I like Joe's answer, much more than Sarah Palin's. However, why doesn't he mentioned the tie breaking Senate vote that the VP has? Hey, Liberals, keep the faith! You know the writing may soon be on the wall when Karl Rove says McCain has a very steep hill to climb! David Frum, (Mr. Axis of Evil speechwriter) is even writing this election off as well. We shall see.

Of course, Joe Lieberman is now talking about how much he respects Barack Obama!

We have had a pretty groovy weekend. I've managed to chill out, relax, and get some quality nap time in today. I watched UFC 90 Silva vs. Cote last night. There were some decent fights (Thiago Alves vs. Josh Koscheck/Sean Sherk vs. Tyson Griffin) so it was totally worth watching!! However, Anderson Silva, who is one of my favorite fighters, a guy who looks like he is totally dominating his opponents; phoned it in last night against Patrick Cote. Silva ended up winning in Round 3 (first time he has had to go to the 3rd round in the UFC) when Cote tore his Meniscus. However, it was NOT a great performance by "The Spider".

Finally, I have rediscovered a newer version of a show that I was waaaaay into when I was a teen! Yes, I have found "Degrassi-The Next Generation". Yes, I have to admit, it is a guilty pleasure. If you need to kill a half hour, and you want to see the issues that today's (Canadian) teens are dealing with, I totally recommend it. Also, fans of the Original "Degrassi Junior High" will be happy to hear that the character "Spike", yes the chick w/ the Mohawk, is back, is an adult, and HER kid goes to Degrassi now!!!

Yeah, I know I'm gonna be a dad in like, 6 weeks!! I have to chill out sometimes!!

"The World Serious..."

As Bugs Bunny would say is upon us! However, I am not that into it. I am trying to cheer, for my wife, and in-laws sake for Philadelphia, as the Phillies are playing the Tampa Bay (Formerly Devil) Rays at Tropicana Field. Now, folks familiar to me will know that I went to college at Temple University in Philly. I found it a fun, but tremendously UNDERWHELMING town. This is something that I like to remind my friend Mary about all the time! Nonetheless, I will root for the Phillies, to keep everything mellow on the home and in-law front. Why not, right?

Interestingly, the Tampa Bay Rays, have a Japanese infielder named Akinori Iwamura. I've always been fascinated by the idea of the foreign player playing baseball in America. I know the Japanese have a long history of baseball in their own country, but to play here? In a strange land? How does the players (there are several of 'em in the majors now) live? Do they constantly travel with interpreters? I guess the team has to pay them too, right? Do they try to learn English at all? In a parallel sense, former NY Mets Manager Bobby Valentine now coaches in Japan, has learned Japanese, and loves living there!

Sadly, in MMA news, we saw Elite XC go out of business this week. They had very few good fights, and they promoted that Kimbo Slice farce guy which pissed a MMA purist like me off to no end. Apparently they ran up a $55 million dollar deficit in under 2 years! Crazy, huh?.

Looking forward to seeing Anderson Silva fighting on the UFC card this weekend! One thing about "The Spider", he does not play around. He goes for the kill, either to submit, or knock you out. I've never seen an mma fighter so awesome!

The election news keeps on getting better and better. Huffington Post is saying how the NY Times Sunday Magazine will have a big article about the disintegration of the McCain Campaign, and the "Schizophrenic" Leadership of Steve Schmidt! I LOVE IT!!!! I truly will be working for the Weekend now!!! LOL

How gorgeous is this wife of mine?? :)

Look at this gorgeous picture of my wife who is now 32 weeks pregnant w/ Mr. T!! This latest Belly picture was taken last night, and I just had to put it up here. I may be biased, but my wife just looks amazing :)

As she has mentioned on her side of the blog, she can just barely fit behind the wheel of her car!! Pretty soon she is gonna be totally housebound. Not to mention that our street continually is being worked on. That's no fun for sweet, sexy pregnant wives! I wish Mr. T. would take it easy on his Mommy. I've tried to give him a stern talking to thru Vicki's belly, but he has not been listening yet. I will keep on trying. However, nonetheless; VICKI YOU LOOK AMAZING, BABES!!!!

Did everyone catch the debate on Wednesday? I just have to say: THANK GOD THEY ARE OVER!. I just want full speed to election day. I must be not the most perceptive guy in the world, or have no natural instinct for politics. I watched each of the 3 Presidential debates, and the 1 Vice Presidential Debate. I felt that John McCain did well in all of them.

I was trying to be objective, but perhaps a little too objective. The pundits talked about his facial expressions during this last debate, and how he came off as old and desperate. I was kind of embarassed that I did not notice this stuff. Hey, anything that strengthens Barack's case is cool with me!

I thought Barack came off as very Presidential, and very polished. I felt that he confronted McCain about the crowds at his rallies, and the Ayers issue as well. McCain had nothing for him except terse old man type stuff! Fingers crossed til Election Day!

Vicki and I are always worrying about TV shows we like jumping the shark. In fact I may be almost too nutty about this. I was worry as we were watching "The Office", and Jane Levenson was talking about her babies' birth. And, that it was a water birth, she gets asked about if "everything comes out" and she said "Oh yes, even the afterbirth". Creed Bratton, goes, "That musta looked like the Landing at Omaha Beach"

Laugh out Loud Funny!! Hysterical.

"Life on Mars" is still ok. The 2nd episode holds up. Harvey Keitel may just rock in his role.

Shout out to Chris Leben! Hope he wins this weekend during the UFC PPV!!