I don’t know if Leanord Shapiro is a blogger or whether his work appears in the Washington Post on a regular basis.
What I do know is that this post about Mixed Martial Arts and CBS is absolutely ridiculous and worthless.
Nor do I have any idea what “ Special to washingtonpost.com” means. Does it mean that this is exclusive to the newspaper’s website ? My guess is that in this case it actually describes Mr Shapiro’s reduced faculties and no one wants to use a pejorative adjective. Hence the use of the word “special”.
What I do know is that Mr Shapiro is hopelessly out of touch, and unquestionably uneducated about Mixed Martial Arts and the athletes that participate when he says “You put two guys (usually heavily tattooed) in a ring enclosed by a cage, surrounded by a howling mob, and just watch the blood flow as they pummel themselves into submission, or occasionally break a bone or three. That’s entertainment?”
The he shows his sexist side with ” Oh yes, women will also fight it out on CBS, yet another revolting development.”
Then to show how little mis-informed he is ” Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is getting involved, promoting MMA matches and also airing them on his HDNet channel on DirecTV. For that alone David Stern ought to fine and suspend him. He probably yells at those refs, too “.
Hey Leanord, HDNet is on every smart cable and satellite provider reaching more than 66mm homes. But if you get us on DirecTV, thats great. Maybe you should actually try watching one of our MMA events, or Inside MMA on Friday Nights on HDNet. You might learn what MMA fans have come to love about the sport. Its one of strategy, discipline, athleticism and determination. What I really love about MMA is that anyone can be beaten on any given day. Its not a cliche. The number of undefeated fighters at the top of the ranks are few and far between and even those fighters will tell you it would be tough to stay undefeated. More importantly, the top fighters in the sport from Randy Couture, to Fedor, to St Pierre, to Silva to Jackson and more want to fight the best. Thats what makes this, and any sport fun. Recognizing the best striving to be the best.
To your question “So why is it that nearly any time I happen to surf past the Spike or Showtime cable networks that currently carry MMA events, the combatants are beating the bloody bejabbers out of each other?”
Maybe rather than surfing past the fights, you should actually watch one. Or better yet, since you apparently cover Football, talk to a player on the Redskins or better yet, the team doctor and ask them if they “beat the bloody bejabbers out of each other”. Then ask them this, “are there automatic suspensions for any hints of concussions or injury after every game or simply for precautionary reasons ?” There are after every fight in MMA
In fact, the argument can easily be made that MMA is far more science and humane than boxing has been. In MMA a fighter must know multiple disciplines in order to be successful. In MMA, a fighter need not fight until he or she is knocked out. Unlike the shame of “throwing in the towel” or “No Mas” its acceptable to tapout and avoid injury when a fighter is beaten.
Furthermore, to refer to MMA fans as ” a howling mob ” further proves your ignorance.
I could go on and on about MMA. Its always easy to dismiss what you don’t understand. As you prove.
MMA is easily the fastest growing sport in America. Participation is growing with kids starting classes as young as 6. Its this generation’s equivalent to karate classes for kids of previous generations. Which makes the prospects for MMA even more exciting. Today’s crop of athletes started by learning a single discipline and then adding others. Future generations will learn them all and add their own enhancements. The best is yet to come.