UPDATE…

We just became the 1,916,906st Twittee of Ashton Kutcher for no other reason but to type this!

With 16 Kilometers (approx 10 miles) to go Lance Armstrong ate gravel by crashing into some cyclists that had crashed in front of him. During the sprawl Lance broke his collar bone, got some road rash but most importantly may have ended his latest comeback to compete in the Tour de France. When asked about his mindset after the injury he said, and I quote, “I’m miserable… I just need to relax a couple of days and then make a plan.” We really doubt that the record seven-time Tour de France champion will let a little itty bitty injury like this hold him back. I mean when you date Cherryl Crow, a broken bone has to be low on the pain threshold scale!

Tucker Carlson can’t get enough of calling Jon Stewart names. It’s a ratings bonanza!! So today Tucker calls Jon a “partisan hack” and will “end up like Lenny Bruce” (which of course means dead of a heroin overdose) for taking Jim Cramer to the woodshed–which we believe Jim Cramer liked.

A Continental Airlines plane crashed into a home on Long Street in the Upstate NY town of Clarence Center in Buffalo NY. Click here for the direct link to Continental Airlines web site information on the crash. The direct quote from the Continental Airlines Web Site reads “Information regarding Flight 3407 will be updated here as it is made available. Relatives and friends of those traveling on Flight 3407 who want to give or receive information about those on board may contact Continental at 800.621.3263.” News coverage can be obtained here as well as on CNN. There were 48 people on board the plane at the time of the crash and all have been reported dead. The Flight number 3407 was headed from Newark, NJ to Buffalo, NY. The plane is said to be a Bombardier Turboprop. The video coverage on CNN is being reported via Skype. An emergency number has been setup for families 800-621-3263. The plane has reportedly crashed into a single home while it was trying to land. The plane crashed at 10:20PM. It was scheduled to land at 10:25PM.
Uodate: From today’s LA Times.

We just can’t decide on a picture so we posted both!

The Really: Will Brett really retire from football and not unretire in 3 months when he feels good again? All we have to say is, “REALLY!?!”

The news broke once again about Brett Favre retiring from football this morning. One reporter (Peter King from SI) says he heard the news, then text messaged Brett and got a simple “Yeah” to his question of if he was retiring or not. Read the story and make up your own mind. BlogReally.com is going to look for a story that wont change like the Stimulus Bill has this February. Maybe something like, “Michael Vick starts working for the ASPCA.”

That is the report. New agencies are reporting that Chris Brown was arrested and then released on 50K bond for assault of superstar female singer Rihanna. The two were supposedly driving in LA late Saturday night, early Sunday morning when Mr. Brown became irate and attacked Rihanna. Rihanna is said to have received treatment for her wounds at a local hospital while Brown was getting another form of treatment at the local jail. Both were nominated for Grammy’s this at this years award show as well as they were both scheduled to perform. Neither won and neither showed for their set on stage.

Update: TMZ is reporting that the facial injuries were “horrific.”

The Really: Can the sport of Mixed Martial Arts really compete with Major League Baseball or the National Football League?

I’m not sure if Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) will ever become what baseball or football is to Americans but it sure is gaining a strong following. When places like CNN and ESPN are doing feature articles on the sport, one can no longer dispute that it is gaining popularity. Imagine a sport or game where you had to combine baseball, football, hockey, and basketball into one. A sport where you either had to be so good at your particular sport you could win or good enough at all of them to overcome the opponent. This is MMA!

My first reaction to the sport was not a good one. I thought it was horrible. To me, it was humanity at one of its low points. It seemed to say we were going to pay money to become frenzied onlookers to people destroying one another for a few bucks and some TV time. Like the movie Titanic with Leonardo DiCaprio; I protested it for years. I was not going to subscribe to that kind of mindless and senseless entertainment. Years passed without a thought about it. MMA was not very mainstream so I had very little exposure to it besides your normal commercial onslaught around one of the Ultimate Fighting Championship pay per view events. I would roll my eyes with disdain and flip to something more wholesome and politically correct like the movie The Departed or a Chris Rock special on HBO.

Fast forward a bunch of years. Unbeknown to me, MMA was rising at a very fast pace. There was even a reality TV show on Spike Network called The Ultimate Fighter which had really helped spring the sport into the mainstream media. How could a bunch of guys who are willing to beat the crap out of each other and play practical jokes not be a hit TV show? DUH! By this time I believe I had watched a couple of episodes of The Ultimate Fighter half-heartedly. It was more like the TV was on in the background while I was doing something productive.

I don’t know if I liked the actual mixed martial arts or the story line but either way, I kept watching. Then before I knew it, I had the show programmed on my DVR and watched all the remaining episodes. The end of the show’s season came and there was a final fight to decide you know what: who would be crowned The Ultimate Fighter and receive a contract in the UFC. This fight was to take place on national TV amongst a few other bouts. This was to be my first experience of watching a true MMA match. They got me. I mean, how could I not see who won after following the show for a couple off months? I tuned in that fateful night and I have been hooked ever since.

Is MMA going to be as popular as football or baseball? Probably not. Does MMA deserve the attention it is getting? I think yes. To those of us who have a hard time looking past the blood, I ask you to make the effort. Just like baseball and football, these people have trained for years; putting every ounce of energy into their dream. Rather then focusing on the bloodsport, try to focus on what these people can endure, on the dedication to their martial art. MMA is a special sport and I believe it has a special future in our culture.