The Next Big Thing.

Well mma has a new champion, kind of. Brock Lesnar is the new UFC champion (Although he still has to beat the winner of Mir/Nog to be the undisputed champion). The question now is this good for the sport. Obviously the he will bring in more viewers to the UFC. However he obviously is not the best Heavyweight in the world. That title belongs to Fedor Emielienko. Since he is fighting for Affliction, the UFC hype machine will be able to convince the public that Brock is the best. However new fans to the sport will begin to see the top fighters in the world that are in the UFC like Anderson Silva, BJ Penn, Forrest Griffin, and George St. Pierre. Many will say that this is the same argument that Elite XC used in the Kimbo Slice debacle. There is however a huge difference. Brock Lesnar is good. He may not be the best, but if he gets past Nogueira (who should beat Mir) he is in the top 3 of the HW division.

Many of the hardcore mma fans don't like Lesnar because of his WWE background. They fear that people who watch fake wrestling will think that mma is fake or that any huge guy can dominate the UFC. However people need to understand that Lesnar is a one of a kind athlete. Remember that he is a former NCAA freestyle wrestling champion. Also at the NFL combine he ran a 4.77 40, did 51 reps at 225lbs, and had a 33 inch vertical. For a man of 290lbs that is amazing. Brock already has the necessary wrestling base for mma. His stand up has improved exponentially from fight to fight. So it's time to give the big man his due, because he is the future of the sport. Fedor, Nogueira, Couture, and Barnett aren't getting any younger. There needs to be an influx of talent into the Heavyweight division in mma, and Lesnar is just the man to do it.

Do I not understand codenames?

Well Obama's Secret Service codename is Renegade. The media knew it right away. I thought codenames or codes were things that people used so that those listening in wouldn't understand what is being said. If everyone knows the code, is it a code? Why don't they just call him president or Obama, since everyone already knows what their talking about.

Obama Nation and Sarah Palin

I've seen many jokes about the rabid Obama maniacs being depressed now that they don't have a cause to fight for. President-elect Barack Obama mobilized a movement of people to volunteer for his campaign. Why? They wanted to change the world. While I believe that he is a change that this country needs, he himself says that he needs our help. I believe there is something he can do now, even though he is not yet commander in chief. He needs to call on his avid supporters to stay mobilized. During the course of this election hundreds of people descended on the city of Gary to get people in this city involved in the political process. It was an admirable thing, but now is not the time for these people to return to the comfort of their suburban and well-to-do neighborhoods. The work is not done. Imagine if Obama called on his supporters to remain volunteers. Want to change the world? Tutor children from poor schools. Mentor kids without positive role models. Clean up and fix a deteriorating neighborhood. Provide support to single parent households. Provide job training for those who need it. Imagine the change we could have if an army of volunteers were willing to do these things. In the words of Senator Obama, "We are the ones we've been waiting for"

Now my last post on Sarah Palin, I think



Now there are two explanations for this and neither are pretty. One is that the Republican party wants to throw the whole blame on Sarah Palin. If it is her fault than the party doesn't need to look at an ideological change. Let me be clear. The change I'm talking about has nothing to do with the Reagan era ideology that calls for small government. That is a platform, I think, they might still be able to win with. Although if the youth continue to show up, it will be difficult. I am talking about courting the far Christian right. I think rather than take a hard look at the party, it's easier to make someone a martyr.

I however think the second solution is more likely. Sarah Palin is not that intelligent. I know we've all made jokes about Bush's intelligence. While I don't think he was "the best and the brightest", I don't think he was ignorant either. Sarah Palin, I'm not so sure. Now if this was a report by MSNBC I would think that it was a complete misquote. For my liberal friends, you should actually look up some of the "terrible things" that the Countdown finds that people have said. Most of it is taken out of context as much as the KKK takes the bible. But this is a FOX News report. Is it possible that she is that ignorant. I could understand if she didn't know that Zaire is now the Democratic Republican of the Congo, but not knowing that Africa is not a continent? I know the arguments that while she may not excel in knowledge, she does in other areas and has proved it on the state level. I want my president to be a great deal smarter than me. Some will say that she was elected to Governor's office for a reason. This of course is the same state that recently reelected a Senator that has been indicted on 8 counts felony corruption.

Either way it goes the Republican party needs to look elsewhere for their new leadership. Otherwise the results aren't going to change for them. Gone are the days of being able to appeal to a small section of "real America" by bible thumping and waving the flag to win an election. In closing, I do think the McCain camp needs to leave Palin alone, especially if they want her to be the future of the party. Even if they don't how can attacking your own party be helpful? Did she help his campaign? No. Did she cost him the election? No, "it's the economy stupid".

The time is now.

Same Cooke said, "I know a change gonna come." Well change is finally here. Last night I admit that I shed a few tears as the results came in. Our country has changed. Obviously a lot of people will talk about the unprecedented black vote. More importantly Latinos, young people who no longer see race as a factor, and the highly educated changed the face of the election. For so long the thought was that small town America and "Joe the plumber" decides elections. We now see that they no longer do. And if the Republican party is to bounce back, they must learn that the America they cater to is shrinking. I have heard from so many that Obama's campaign was a movement, and it clearly was. Who else could have brought so many people of different races together? What else could have unleashed an multiracial army on the city of Gary to help win Indiana for Obama? That was something that gave me a sense of pride and mad me feel like I was a part of it.

Today I went to the Save-more (local grocery store in Gary) to buy a newspaper (all the papers in the city were sold out by the way). Today I was proudly wearing my Obama shirt and buttons. An elderly black man, whom I have never met, came up to me and gave me a hug, and said, "We did it". We not black, not white, but we. The community in which we live has waited for something, anything to give them hope. We have searched for a true leader, not a black leader, but a leader of all people. We have wandered in the desert for some forty years, after we lost our Moses, but we have truly found our Joshua.

As we remember our Moses





We look forward to the future that our Joshua is bringing