The Screaming Viking

Disney is reportedly buying Marvel for $4b. Share holders in Marvel would be paid $30/share and gain .745 share of Disney for each Marvel share they own(ed).

I don’t see being owned by Disney actually making a difference in how the comics/movies are handled and developed, but it could potentially slow/stall the movies that are not currently shooting.  I would highly doubt Iron Man 2 will be affected…but there are tons of movies currently casting.  Also, will this delay the expected “avengers team up” flick that is coming down the pipe?

Have to wait and see.

Last night the Bears played their 3rd preseason game against the Denver Broncos.  Given the trade of Cutler and Orton this game had some emotional involvement for the Denver fans.  Cutler came on to the field to some deafening boos.  His first couple of series were pretty bad, he looked nervous and both sides went 3 and out.  A fine punt return by Hester put the bears inside the Denver 5.  Forte quickly made it in to the end zone.  The last Bears drive of the half was orchestrated very well.  Cutler marched the bears from their own 2 into the end zone.  He spread the ball down a little bit, but it seems his favorite target is Olsen.  Cutler has some potential to be a long term solution for the Bears.  He is pretty mobile, has a really nice arm and seems to make decent decisions.  The Bears are going to be hurting for true receivers for a little bit.

The Bears D on the other hand wasn’t all that fantastic.  They are weak in the secondary.  Their rush seems fine, but the linebackers play to shallow and the D backs are not that great.  Against a passing team they will probably get eaten alive.  Someone has picked them going 9-7 if everything clicks just right.  I’m putting them up for an 11 win season and the NFC north champions.  I think just the idea of a solid QB will promote a bit more creativity in the offensive plays and their defense is good enough that 20+ points will win them games.

Today is a red letter day in the history of MMA.  It’s the first time I’ve seen them have a “cover” on si.com.  Over the past several months they have been getting more and more headlines on si.com, but I hadn’t seen them as an actual cover story till now.  I think this is a very good thing for the sport, coverage like this will move it out from the WWE mentality and more in to the prize fighting category.  I’m an MMA fan, and whatever it takes to keep it going and keep the top fighters fighting I’m all for.

I’ve been on wax in the past saying that MMA needs to get rid of all these different regional promotions.  Naturally no one is going to want to do that, too much money changing hands right now to think about it.  IMO to be considered a legitimate sport you can’t just have your contract fighters going after each other, it has to be a “sport wide” title.  If you keep up with these separate promotions you never truly break away from the WWE type mentality.  Add to that the potential to over saturate the market with ppv’s and it is going to be the downfall of MMA.

I also think within the next 5 years there is the potential for the fighters to unionize.  I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing, but it will add some friction between the “owners” and the fighters plus there is the potential for a work stoppage.  From what I’ve seen of the UFC contracts, they seem quite bias towards the company.  I’m all in favor of the guys getting their brains bashed in being the ones taking home the lion’s share of the profits.

MMA and the UFC in particular have kind of impressed me over the years.  They seem to be taking a mix of WWE style sports entertainment and handling it like a legitimate prize fighting promotion.  For whatever reason it appears to be working for them.  I just don’t see this as a long term recipe for success, like the centuries of boxing.

The only draw back to MMA (or caused by MMA) is the impact it seems to have had on boxing.  For years people have been saying that the high contracts in other professional sports have been drawing the poor kids that would have grown up in a boxing gym over to other avenues of professional sports.  With the NBA, NFL and MLB taking on black athletes to the point where the “minority” athlete is in the majority for those leagues boxing has seen a decline in the fighters coming up.  I don’t think it’s over all popularity took too much of a hit till MMA burst on to the scene though.  Suddenly people could see more “brutal” fights (I don’t think MMA is actually less brutal tbh) inside of a cage…which seems a bit savage in it’s own right.  It’s a real shame too.  I don’t think the best MMA fight ever will match the intensity and beauty of boxing.  I think the point of entry as far as skill level is concerned to be semi-successful in MMA is higher than in boxing, but I think the skill required to “master” boxing is significantly higher than MMA.

Another punter smacked the jumbo tron in the cowboy’s new stadium during warm ups.  I expect this will be a very common occurance, if for no other reason than to find out how hard they can kick before they smack the damn thing.

link

ARLINGTON, Texas — Add San Francisco’s Andy Lee to the list of NFL punters who have kicked balls into the video boards hanging over the field at the new Cowboys Stadium.

During warmups before the preseason game Saturday night, Lee hit the boards with one of his last kicks. He had a couple other boots that came close, but most of his 15 or so kicks didn’t.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said this week that the boards that stretch from 20-yard line to 20-yard line and are 90 feet above the field don’t have to be raised this season. If a ball hits the screen in a game, the down is replayed.

Both Tennessee Titans punters repeatedly hit it with ease before last week’s game. Only one punt hit the boards during the game.