Quick Hits

1) With all the stuff going on with UFC they really need a magazine show like the old Inside the UFC show to keep everyone in the loop. I've felt disconnected lately in between shows. It feels like the hype machine dies in between seasons of The Ultimate Fighter. I love Spike but don't always watch non-UFC shows (a back handed slap at TNA) so I often miss the commercials and general marketing of major shows

2) Randy Coture is a freak of nature. Period. It also makes me wonder if heavyweight isn't the weakest division in UFC (for now)

3) Lost in the shuffle with all the Benoit backlash is the run of bad luck with injuries in the WWE. Really HHH and Rey Mysterio couldn't be coming back at a better time. I also realize just how important Edge has become as a performer

4) I'm once again at a point where I am losing interest in pro wrestling my one true guilty pleasure in life. I still watch RAW religiously but have found the story lines just uninteresting. I record Smackdown but rarely rush to watch it. TNA...no comment. What was once a compelling alternative to WWE is now simply a rehash of WCW and that's NOT good. I love Ring of Honor but it's hard to keep up with it unless you buy each and every DVD

5) As usually happens, I simply don't have the time or interest to keep up with non-UFC MMA any more. I know there have been some great matches on Bodog Fight and the IFL but simply not enough hours in the day to watch what is, compared to UFC, minor league product

6) While I prefer UFC rules, I do miss the alternative and the spectacle that was Pride

Time to walk away redux

It finally happened. Arturo Gatti ended his magnificent, entertaining career after once again losing to a fighter who, in Gatti's prime, couldn't have held his jock. It's been sad watching this magnificent warrior being beat like a dog in his last 3 fights and go out looking like a guy who stayed around too long. Poetic justice would have been him retiring after the Ward trilogy (much like Ward did) and have that be people's lasting memory of him. I don't know how well he's manged his money but I get the feeling we haven't seen the last of him. I'm hoping it is simply as a V.I.P. type and NEVER back in the ring. Ever.

Thank you Thunder for keeping this boxing fan enthralled throughout your entire career. The sport is a poorer place without you but the time for you to sit back and reflect on all you've done has finally come

Benoit

I find myself still in a state of disbelief over the horrible double homicide/suicide committed by Chris Benoit. All during the 3 hour "tribute" last Monday I kind of felt queasy and that the company would regret it as news trickled in. I can find no way to figure out would have driven him to do what he did but regardless knowing would make it no different. 3 people are dead and that's just sad.

My first exposure to Benoit was in the 80's reading Apter mags and wondering about this "ben oyt" guy in Calgary. I first remember seeing him on WCW Saturday Night with Biff Wellington in some International tag team thing they were doing and then in his first brief stay in WCW. I remember thinking my god, it's the Dynamite Kid! I loved how it looked like he put 100% into everything he did. I followed him by tape in New Japan and ECW and was elated when for he made the jump to the WWE. From afar he was what most "real" wrestling fans wanted. A solid, believable, hard worker that always entertained. A local radio personality said it best when he said while maybe wrestling as a whole was something to be ashamed with your non-wrestling friends, with Chris Benoit it was just the opposite not only were you not ashamed but felt vindicated in your love for our "thing"

All that changed last Monday and Tuesday. The bottom line is most people never really know anyone behind closed doors. Nearly every ghastly murder is followed by quotes of "the last person I'd suspect" or "he seemed so quiet and normal". There is no telling what is burning out of control behind a calm, quiet demeanor waiting to explode. Personal issues, religion, mental illness, abuse...all and any of these things could lead to this kind of tragedy. To put the blame wholly or in part on steroids or occupation seems short sighted and foolhardy. My 2 favorite wrestlers in ring are now gone in a very short period of time. The circumstances however are totally different.

While my memories of Chris "Pegasus Kid" Benoit will burn long and bright for his in ring performance his name will always live in infamy for this tragedy. Strap in for a long ride wrestling fans this ones not going away for a while. While his name may never be mentioned on WWE tv again this story will go on and on and on