For the holidays, here is my quick advice, in bullet-point form;

• don’t take anything too seriously- comments, conversations, food, clothes, etc… This is a time to relax and rejoice. Don’t be your own worst enemy by taking things too personally. Things get said; things get dropped; things get broken; obstacles occur. Let things slide off you often and, seriously, forget them. That is the key. You’ll feel better. Start off with understanding and don’t be so rigid you can’t alter things because of the circumstance

• don’t feel that grand gestures are more important than small ones. Everyone is in different positions in this world and is able to do different things. Buy me a 100 presents, draw me a picture, or make me a meal are all equal in my eyes. You don’t need to go broke or stress yourself out trying to make sure a big gesture is made.

• family and friends are important. Go out of your way to personally touch base and contact every person with whom you have a relationship with. Time does move fast and sometimes months (even years) can go by without touching base and/or spending time together. This is a good time of year to take some time to reach out. Social media helps with this but, do me a favor, don’t do it in mass. Email, call, contact each person individually.

• This is a perfect time to examine your life and see how you can help and support those around you. I believe in volunteering, even as little as once a month. I try to do different fundraisers and support the various organizations that need the help (Red Cross, Salvation Army) etc… Beyond all that, try to pay attention to the lives and careers of those close to you. There is always opportunities to support them but so often we think of fast and convenient over friends and family. Drive a little further, pay a little more, buy just because,and spread the word. This is life-affecting and a year-long gift. Again, social media like Facebook are great resources to find out how to do this, as most profiles contain the necessary information.

That’s all for now.

As most of you know, I have a love for movies, and a more specific passion for unique/independent flicks. That being said, there is such a mix of big budget and independent movies that are on my “must see” list, so far, this year. It is funny to admit, but I actually don’t get to the movies that often. Because of the over busy life I lead I end up waiting for the DVD release and then hope to remember all of the “one” on my target list. Start your radar and target the movies below. I’ll include my own reasoning for wanting to see them.

Below is  A) a cheat sheet reminder list for me, and B) a suggestion list for you.

Big(ger) Budget Movies

Karate Kid – June 11, 2010 release. It’s easy to explain this one. Loved the original, love the cast and setting. Looks like an admirable job was done on this remake. Jackie Chan and Jaden Smith in China, practicing Kung Fu make it all the more enticing.

The A-Team – June 11, 2010 release. Huge fan of the series, as a kid. Liam Neeson (Hannibal) , Bradley Cooper (Faceman), and Jessica Biel are a solid cast. Add in UFC Veteran Quinton Rampage Jackson as B.A. Baracus and I’m sold.

Knight and Day – June 25, 2010 release. Yes, I will likely be there opening night to see this one. Most of you who know me know that I worked on this film. I’ve worked on a lot and many (most) I never saw in the theater. I’ll see this one because a) Trailer looks great and b) I saw myself in said trailer- 1st trailer I made it in. Even though my screen time will be limited to seconds, i still think this is going to be a great movie. Cruise and Diaz are exceptionally great to work with.

The Expendables – August 13, 2010 release. Some identical with my DNA cast this movie. WOW! For action movie, martial art, wrestling, ufc, or war movie fans- this one has you covered. Sylvester Stallone stars in this one and directs. He obviously brought in a few old friends. Here is your cast Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Eric Roberts, Randy Couture, Steve Austin, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny Trejo! 6 Stars with martial art resumes (Li, Lundgren, Roberts, Couture, Statham and Danny Trejo Trejo from Marked for Death, Con Air, Heat, Anchorman, Spy Kids), 2 Stars with wrestling resumes (Austin and Rourke) and the of course Stallone, Schwarzenegger, and Willis who have done almost every type of action movie. Add in the late Brittany Murphy and this is one heck of a cast. The trailer seems to show a balance of all of these heavyweights.

Honorable mentions; This means I want to see it  but odds are I’ll catch it on DVD (unless a friend or child pushes the issue)

Ironman 2,      Shrek Forever After,      Toy Story 3,     Megamind,      Grown Ups (Sandler+ a lot),       Dinner for Schmucks (Carell & Rudd),      WallStreet (2) Money Never Sleeps,      Zookeeper (James, Sandler ect..),      Meet the Fockers Sequel.      I would probably catch a lot of grief if I also didn’t mention……..  Twilight’s Eclipse,      Sex in the City 2,      and Eat Pray Love.

Also on there way out this year       Yogi Bear,      Tron (yes the video game & remake),      Gullivers Travels,      Red Dawn,      Jackass 3-D,      Paranormal Activity 2,      Saw 7,       Predators,      Step Up 3     , Marmaduke(yes, the dog), Prince of Pursia (yes the video game) and another Robin Hood

Independent/Lower Budget Movies

Merantau - Very excited about this movie. It is a take off of sorts to the Thai movie phenom Ong Bak, except instead of Muay Thai kickboxing, it is showcasing the Indonesian art of Silat. As a longtime student in Silat, this looks fun. great Trailer — WILL SEE

The Next Three Days - While this is tagged as a remake, I like the plot and cast. Russel Crowe, Elizabeth Banks, and Liam Neeson. Mom in jail for murder, dad trying to hold the family together, mon not doing well 3 years in to the sentence and dad decides to break her out. LIKELY DVD RENTAL

Red - Willis, Freeman, Malkovich, Dreyfus, Miran, Brian Cox and Mary Louis Parker – the cast alone makes this interesting. Talk is that this comedy could turn in to a franchise-style flick.  WILL SEE

The American - George Clooney. An American Assassin hiding in Italy. Has my curiosity peeked. Could be a hidden jewel. LIKELY DVD RENTAL

Warrior - Ok, lets start off with; this is a Mixed Martial Arts movie. The cast has a few people I like such as Nick Nolte (who did a solid job in the Peaceful Warrior), Kevin Dunn, and some MMA guys (Yve Edwards, Anthony Johnson) and wanna-be mma but actually wrestler Kurt Angle.  Has an almost karate kid feel, but with more dirt. WILL SEE

The Switch - Jennifer Aniston and Jason Bateman. I’m a fan of both. This is a Miramax picture (likely one of the last). A few other fun cast members. Unfortunately nothing to original with this one but I foresee the Aniston/Bateman team working well and this being a funny movie. LIKELY DVD RENTAL

The Kids are All Right - This one might be the best of the lot, so far. Likely only in limited release. Solid cast with Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, and Mark Ruffalo. Alternative family drama. Lots of lessons and emotions likely enclosed.  WILL SEE

Mother and Child - Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Samuel L. Jackson, Kerry Washington. Lots of good early reviews about this deep movie about three women and adoption. Likely only in limited release. WILL SEE

Ok, with all of the movies I’ve listed above (and I’ve left a bunch out) there are some great choices. go to IMDB to see trailers or get more information. Mark your calendars. There is no denying though that there are just too many Remakes and Sequels for one year. On this post alone I make mention of 12 sequels and 5 remakes, which doesn’t include the video game-to-movie and the cartoon-to-movie.

Let’s see who can pull it off and make it work.

Here is the simple truth that I’ve found; most people who are vocally against this Healthcare Reform bill don’t exactly know what they are against. 99% of the arguments that are thrown around are just not specific. I truly don’t understand. Why be so vocal against the Issue? The Right Wing says that they are not against a Healthcare bill; just this one. Why, over the previous 10 year Republican control of Washington, did they not do anything to advance this country’s need for Equal Access Healthcare?

The United States is the only Industrialized Country that does not offer any form of Equal Access Healthcare.

 Here are the top what most of those that are against reform say;

• The government screws everything up. They can’t handle Healthcare
• We can’t afford it
• It’s government control, amounting to socialism or communism
• We’re going to lose coverage
• No one wants Government Run Healthcare
• Everyone has the ability to get themselves healthcare
• It’s going to take too long to be affective
• A Government panel is going to be deciding what coverage people get

Here is the short answer (before the long);

• Everything above should be considered incorrect or a flat-out lie!

1. I can’t stand the argument that uses the ‘can’t trust the government’ excuse. This is America. It is our democratically elected leadership. Give it a rest. We give them the power; we take away the power. We also should consider throwing out the entire form of government if we want to use this excuse! We haven’t handled healthcare on our own, without our governments intervention, have we?
2. Who says we can’t afford it? Did you just hear a big number and decide it? The CBO (an independent nonpartisan agency) announced it would reduce the federal deficit by $138 billion over 10 years. Hmm.
3. This Healthcare bill is NOT GOVERNMENT RUN HEALTHCARE! The Government is not running anything related to healthcare. It is an oversight with specific measures, options, and regulations.
4. We GAIN coverage by health insurance companies being forced to no longer deny coverage based on frivolous reasoning
5. See #3
6. People are born in to different situations in life. We’re all not starting from the same line. We have wealthy and we have poor, just like every nation. Healthcare should not depend on your income.
7. What timeline would work for you? Everything takes time to implement; everything. If it is necessary it is worth it.
8. There is no Government panel: period!

Here are some other TRUTHS;

UNDER THE PRESIDENT’S PLAN FOR REFORM:

• If you have health insurance through your employer and you like your plan, you can keep it
• If you’re a small business owner, you’ll receive new tax credits that make it easier for you to provide coverage for employees if you choose to do so
• If you have Medicare, the President’s plan guarantees that your benefits will not be cut, and the Medicare Trust Fund will be extended for more than 9 years
• If you’re uninsured, you could receive a tax credit to help pay for coverage if needed — part of the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history
• Even if you currently have health insurance, there will be new protections from insurance company abuses, and tax credits will make coverage more affordable

THE PRESIDENT’S PLAN GUARANTEES THAT:

• You will never be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions
• You will never again be hit with arbitrary health insurance premium hikes

This legislation is not perfect. Few Bills are. It is necessary. There are pieces of this very bill that may anger people. Be mad at the person that forced their own partisan or self-serving line-item in. Vote them out. 

Ask our leaders to Vote the Bill in, for the benefit of EVERY AMERICAN!

Over the years, working in the media, I’ve paid attention as the lists come across and, like anyone would, also keep a look out for states in my region. With Massachusetts getting a lot of publicity lately regarding politics and healthcare I decided to take a closer look at some of these overall numbers from the past couple years.

What I found was not a surprise to me, but it may be to some people. If you live in the Northeastern part of the country, you are overall living in the best part of this country.

Take a look at some of the random data links below. There are countless sources for each one, and in some cases I included more than one random reference. Again any can be argued but there is a serious consistency that can be see, across the different sources. Consistently in the Top Ten: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Virginia

Here is the result: In the Northeast we’re Smarter, have more Money, have better Schools (including Higher Education), better Sports, better Healthcare, better Crime Rate……. what else is there?

Riches States

http://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/article/109083/the-richest-states-in-america

Highest IQ

http://www.top50states.com/average-iq-score.html

http://www.iqleague.com/group/smartest-state-in-us

Best Education

http://www.statemaster.com/graph/edu_bes_edu_ind-education-best-educated-index

Best Universities

http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/worlds-best-universities/2010/02/25/worlds-best-universities-top-400.html

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/94/colleges-09_Americas-Best-Colleges_Rank.html

Average Income

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/States_of_the_United_States_of_America_by_income

Crime in the U.S.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_States

HealthCare

http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Maps-and-Data/State-Scorecard-2009.aspx

Best States to Live in

http://www.statemaster.com/graph/lif_bes_sta_to_liv-lifestyle-best-states-to-live

Best Sports Cities

http://www.sportingnews.com/general/article/2009-10-06/best-sports-city-list

The overall point; Stay Here, Live Here, Love Here, and for the rest of the country, when we speak or act just follow our lead. We have a solid track record!

I just don’t get it!

I am limiting this post as much as possible, to focus not on Politicians but on the outspoken Media Supporters. I’m not sure if my research is just bias, but I hope not. It appears so lopsided with the stupidity of those supporting the Republican Party versus the Democratic Party. I am focusing on their public actions/words in regard to supporting their political party. Feel free to add names to either list, because I tried to limit it to those most-often in the headlines and on the air.

Here’s my list of those that are at the head the Media News Spotlight for the two parties. I’m trying to be fair and not add easy-targets like Sarah Palin, who is now on the media side.

Republican
Rush Limbaugh-
just can’t seem to stop showcasing himself as being a racist-

http://newsone.com/obama/top-10-racist-limbaugh-quotes/

Glenn Beck
who says Scott Brown could end up with a dead intern- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJfmDqFrc9U

Ann Coulter-
“If we took away women’s right to vote, we’d never have to worry about another Democrat president. It’s kind of a pipe dream, it’s a personal fantasy of mine, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.
Or better
“If I’m going to say anything about John Edwards in the future, I’ll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot.

http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/funnyquotes/a/anncoulter.htm

Sean Hannity-
who EDITS the President speech in the middle to make look like Barack said something he didn’t- http://mediamatters.org/research/200904040003
And did the same to Deepak Chopra –

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/letter-to-sean-hannity-of_b_148971.html

Bill O’Reilly-
who really has great advice to those that don’t share his sexual preference-
That’s my advice to all homosexuals, whether they’re in the Boy Scouts, or in the Army or in high school: Shut up, don’t tell anybody what you do, your life will be a lot easier- http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/b/bill_oreilly.html
Or
“And I don’t want to go on a lynching party against Michelle Obama unless there’s hard facts, that say this is how the woman really feels.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/622025/bill_oreillys_top_ten_dumbest_quotes.html

Karl Rove-
“We will f**k him. Do you hear me? We will f**k him. We will ruin him. Like no one has ever f**ked him.”
“I’ve already said too much.” -to Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper, at the conclusion of a converation in which he told him that the wife of a Bush administration critic worked for the CIA
or
As people do better, they start voting like Republicans – unless they have too much education and vote Democratic, which proves there can be too much of a good thing

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/k/karlrove167571.html

Democratic
Keith Olbermann
Worst I could find- likened FoxNews to Al Qaeda

Rachel Maddow
Worst I could find- once attributed a quote to Rush that he didn’t say

Alan Colmes
Worst I could find- accusing Ann Coulter of anit-semitism. Of course that was in regards to remarks that she made. By the way, his accusation was made directly to her and was regarding Christians having the fast track to heaven over those of the Jewish faith.

Eugene Robinson
Worst I could find- (being an African-American himself) saying that Tiger Woods should’ve slept with more minority women.

Now comes the question- which group would you rather have your children exposed to, if you had to choose? Which people constantly make racial and divisive comments? Which group most often starts off with the personally-insulting position, before getting to the issue?

DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH ON BOTH SIDES OF THIS LIST. USE GOOGLE OR ANYTHING YOU WANT. THIS WAS A LANDSLIDE, WITH THE MAJORITY OF HATEFUL, DISTASTEFUL, RACIST, BIGOT STATEMENTS ON ONE SIDE OF THE ISLE.

The goal list for 2010 is coming along nicely. I always print out lots of copies to make it hard to loose and avoid.

Wishing everyone a terrific wrap up to 2009,

and a 2010 that breaks all of your minds boundaries for wellness, happiness, and success.

*******************************

These are the ones upcoming that I’m interested in:

UFC 105 – Randy Couture vs. Brandon Vera, Dan Hardy vs. Mike Swick, espc. Michael Bisping vs. Denis Kang.

WEC- Definitely Brown and Aldo, but Manny G. versus Razor Rob will be fun.

Next Strikeforce Challenger card has Kim Couture vs. Kerry Vera; Should be weird.

UFC 106 is pretty interesting and deep. Beside Ortiz and Griffin, which is…. i don’t know, Johnson vs. Koscheck is a good fight, really looking forward to Luiz Cane vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Phil Baroni vs. Amir Sadollah, and Dustin Hazelett vs. Karo Parisyan. The Spike prelims are good too and a few undercard fights are solid too.

The TUf Finale with Matt Hamill vs. Jon Jones and Kimbo vs. Houston A: I’m definitely up for this card.

107 is a bit unbalanced and a mess but lots of fighters i’m interested in; just weird match-ups.

*******************************

Let me offer a few more words on UFC 107: Penn vs. Sanchez is ok. Diego earned this shot. I don’t expect to see much out of the fight. Depending on the BJ that shows up, it should be an easy night for him. Sanchez is going to try to stand and bang. It won’t happen.
Florian vs. Guida is another ‘i get it’ fight. This is a natural match-make. Two totally different fighters though, and like Penn-Sanchez, I don’t see an exciting fight coming. I pick ‘strange outcome’ that gives Florian the win.
Paul Buentello vs. Stefan Struve – Made to help Struve; Buentello hasn’t beaten anyone exciting in a long time.
Cheick Kongo vs. Frank Mir - I’m not sure Mir’s head is still in the game but this is made to either paddle-shock his career after the Lesnar loss, or it kills it. The huge Kongo is coming off a loss to the talented C.Velasquez.
Jon Fitch vs. Mike Pierce – Interesting, but in my uneven-card statement, the talented Pierce needs a one or two more UFC fights before Fitch. He has the ability to win, but 1 UFC fight and then taking on a top contenter- i don’t like it.

The uncard has a couple fights that could turn out to be better than the headliners.

The Machida-Rua rematch would be interesting. I think it would be a much different fight and a lot more interesting. Machida tends to be more adaptable. Rua is very good and what he knows. My worry for Machida though is that I don’t want him to fall in to the Jorge Gurgel hole. Gurgel is amazing on the ground, yet he never goes there in his fight because he likes to stand and bang. Too many fighters are sinking in to their comfort areas and not utlizing all of their tools. Machida has to use more tools.

When it comes to Fedor. I think he is definitely among the best pound-for-pound in the world. I am a big fan. I understand why he didn’t sign with the UFC. The UFC takes a sort-of lifetime ownership of you and your career when you sign with them. They basically get permission to use you, your name, and likeness for whatever they want. Their contracts are pretty iron-clad. Their reasoning is that if they are the ones that make you a world-wide popular name then they should benefit forever. I kind of get it. From Fedor’s perspective he a) doesn’t need the money b) doesn’t want to be owned. He also is not a person seeking fame. He definitely does want to fight the best, for himself and the sport, but not at his own expense of selling-himself. Of course Fedor does have a bit of a bad influence with his manager always trying to force this co-promotion bullshit down the UFC’s throat. That is one of the other sticking points. I agree that there is no-way, if I’m the UFC, that I do that.

I do love the way Fedor never lets his emotions get in the way of the fight- before, during, or after. He is the most composed person in the sport. Anderson Silva is also a lot like that. I think Fedor would tear through Brock. Brock has great wrestling and strength but no ability to finish. He is, by far, the worst finisher in the game that is among the top of his division. That hammer-fist thing he falls back to relying on is awful; seen it in every fight. His overall MMA skills are limited and still developing. The fun part of Fedor is that, because he is so unheralded, everyone is expected to beat him- Nogueira, CroCop, Coleman, Hunt, Sylvia, Arlovski, Rogers and he beat them all. I thought someone said it well the other night- I’d love to see Fedor drop a weight class to light heavyweight, which he could easily do. He’s not a big heavyweight. I still want Fedor to fight Josh Barnett (if that can ever happen) at heavyweight. But Fedor would be interesting at LHW- facing the likes of Machida, Rua, Evans, Mousasi etc..
*************************************

1st up is the Main Event of the night: Kenny “Kenflo” Florian vs. BJ Penn for the UFC Lighweight Championship

Kenny fights out of our brother school Sityodtong in Somerville, MA as well as his own new school Florian Martial Arts. In my brief assessment, Kenflo is a constantly evolving fighter, with a smart head on his shoulders, the ability to fight from behind, and the ability to listen to his corner. With each fight he has consistently improved the different aspects of his game. This reminds me of something I recently wrote about Nick Diaz, who is now on a short list of future long time champions.

BJ Penn is known as the Prodigy. This is because in his early days he ended fights in quick and seemingly easy fashion, and has always appeared to fight using the natural gifts bestowed upon him the day he was born. He has fought a lot of impressive names, gaining some significant victories to add to his resume. He is a bigger 155 which gives him a seeming advantage

My Pick: Kenny takes this one in what will be called an upset and walks away with the UFC title. BJ does not fight from behind well, his conditioning is often called in to question, and he will not have the mental edge. In BJ’s last 3 fights he is 3-3, with 2 losses to GSP, with whom Kenflo spent considerable time with, in preparation. BJ also does not come in with a game plan, which is a bit of a mistake for this fight. He will need to get off first in striking, but I hold Kenny with the edge here, training with a next level Muay Thai game. Penn’s next option is the ground. Both are solid on the ground. Penn has ended 4 out of his 5 submission wins with a rear naked choke. That is not something I see Kenny getting caught in, as a BJJ blackbelt. Penn would have to hope to resurrect the now-dead art of ground-and-pound. He is strong enough on the ground and has a shot from side control but I just don’t see Kenny hanging out here. Kenny is also 6-0 in his last 6 fights, and wasn’t picked in his last 4. He has also fought from near submission losses to victory. At a point when Massachusetts is about to fully regulate Mixed Martial Arts, inviting the UFC to Boston, Kenny will be holding a title.

2nd: Forrest Griffin vs. Anderson Silva
In a quick overview I am going out on a limb in calling this one for the upset of the year. Griffin has nothing to loose. He lost the lightweight title already. He is a hard nose loves to slug it out fighter who cares more about leaving it all in the ring. He wants to win, but for all the right reasons. The things against him are the two recent knock-out losses. Once it happens, it can happen easier and easier. Just ask Chuck Liddell. He also needs to fight smarter than he has in the past and not get caught up in Andersons waiting-game style. This is also something that favors Griffin: Anderson has been getting a bad wrap about he recent performances and he will want to look impressive. Griffin has hard-solid recent wins over Shogun Rua and Rampage Jackson to back his ability to pull the upset, as well as other victories over big guys like Travis Fulton and Jeff Monson. Watch the kicks and don’t get caught in the clinch and Forrest takes this one with an early, surprise KO!

3rd: Johny Hendricks vs. Amir Sadollah
Sadollah is the more inexperienced one who has also been on the shelf for the last year, with a series of injury set-backs. Hendricks has heavy hands, a 5 and 0 record, and has fought on a bigger stage, the WEC, and is making the natural step up to the UFC. On paper and on film in every possible way Hendricks should win this fight……….but my pick is Sadollah. I think Sadollah is a naturally gifted fighter who also fights very intellectually. He is like a camillion in his adaptability and that is much more important than heavy hands. The older, wiser Sadollah moves to 2-0 after this.

4th: Ricardo Almeida vs. Kendall Grove
I’m pulling for Grove, who gets the good-guy award in this fight, but Almeida is an under-rated, under-performing talent. Out of his 10 wins, 6 are by decision and 4 by submission. If his standup game is improved and ready to be showcased he should edge Grove. He also has a few very important victories on his record, such as Nate Marquardt, Eugene Jackson, and Yuki Sasaki. Grove does have the height and reach, as well as the abilty to pull off an early win via triangle but I’ll go with Almeida winning by TKO.

5th: Josh Neer vs. Kurt Pellgrino
No offense to either of these guys, but how did they end up on the main card, yet McCrory/Howard and Leites/Sakara are relegated to prelim status. This is the journeymen/gatekeeper fight of the night. Let’s be honest. Neither of these guys will likely be climbing any ladders to a title but they are both talented and hard fighters. The reason I think that this one makes it on the TV side of the card is specifically because it does, on paper, look like it will be an exciting fight between 2 veterans who badly need an impressive victory to maintain a UFC paycheck. I’ll edge Neer in this one via submission in the 2nd round.

6th: John Howard vs. Tamdan McCrory
A preliminary fight I am looking forward to. I think McCrory has what it takes to make people re-notice him in this fight, coming away with an impressive victory in a tough fight. John Howard has natural talent but does not yet have the tools. Howard needs to change camps soon.

7th: Thales Leites vs. Alessio Sakara
Another prelim fight I’d love to see. Sakara has such deep experience, taking on a long list of really talent fighters. The problem is he doesn’t ever find the way to win when he needs it most. Leites is coming off a terrible unanimous decision loss to the current UFC champ Anderson Silva. 5 5-min rounds is a lot to fight against a man thought to be pound-for-pound one of the top three in the world. Leites may get a fight of the night bonus for this one, as he redeems himself in a bloody battle and a TKO win in the 3rd round.

Others……….
Shane Nelson KO’s Aaron Riley AGAIN
Matthew Riddle decisions Dan Cramer
George Sotiropoulos submits George Roop
Jesse Lennox vs. Danillo Villefort — very tough fight to call. Both are stepping up from the WEC with wins. I’ll give it to Villefort via TKO in round 1.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
One of the most amazing books I’ve ever read. Truly inspirational.

There are only a handful of books that I have ever read that I thought were so encapsulating that I didn’t want to put it down until I was done; This is now one of them. The amazing descriptive wording paints a perfect portrait without being left to make assumptions or try to fill in the blanks. I love this. Not enough writers truly embrace this technique. The flow is also remarkable considering that the author moves so quickly from the past to present day and back and forth again without ever losing you. How he accomplished this alone was impressive.

As for the story; It has everything. No holds barred. Brutal honesty with a path blazen for anyone to follow. This is an inspiring story told from a point as low as you could possibly go. Forget all of those self-help Dr Phil fluff filled books. We all want to know that we’re not alone in the unending trials that life puts before us- Rich does that. This book is real. It is human. It is honest. It breathes. It allows you to know that we’re all creating messes that we can find a way through.

At this point in our world, this book comes at a perfect time. This book supports our president’s mantra of Hope in the face of disaster.

View all my reviews >>