Posts Tagged ‘MMA’

Ontario pulling ahead of BC in the MMA game

Posted by Jonathan Ross

GSP will likely be the man that will front a UFC card in Toronto that should attract over 60,000 fans to the Rogers Centre.

I find it ironic that the weekend news of the Ontario government’s decision to sanction MMA fighting in the province comes in the same week that the BC Medical Association is pushing the Canadian Medical Association to advocate for a national ban on the sport.

And so while Vancouver was first to lift the ban and hold a UFC Pay Per View, it looks as though Toronto and Ontario are poised to overtake our position within the country for a sport that clearly has huge economic impacts attached to it.

The BCMA resolution is likely to have a ripple effect that needs to be addressed early rather than permeating the consciousness of the decision-making powers at both the provincial and municipal levels.

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Showdown Joe’s false reporting taps out to the facts

Posted by Jonathan Ross

CTV Sportsnet's "Showdown" Joe Ferraro might have stepped into an empty octagon before, but that certainly didn't help his credibility last week after falsely reporting that the UFC Vancouver pay-per-view had been cancelled.

He calls himself “Showdown Joe” and ironically, the name of the show he hosts on CTV Sportsnet is entitled “MMA Connected.”  Yet, you would never have known that Joe Ferraro has any knowledge or connection to the sport with the way he inserted himself into the UFC-Vancouver courtship last week, which revolved  around his shoddy reporting that put the now-secured deal in serious jeopardy.

Before I get into the story of how everything went down last week, here are a couple of excerpts from a from an interview Joe did where he described how he broke into MMA broadcasting:

“From there, we started sponsoring fighters at various events and then I met up with some promoters. They fell in love with the knowledge that I had and how I could break down fights into what this guy needs to do to win and what that guy needs to do to win, and then during the fight I would explain what guys needed to do to get out of a position and they said, “Did you ever think about doing commentary?”

“About three or four month in, the guys from Sportsnet started getting into MMA, they started covering the UFC and they decided, “We need an analyst; someone who is involved in the sport and can pick up the phone and call Chuck Liddell or Randy Couture.” So they started looking around and realized that The Fan 590 is owned by the same company as Sportsnet – Rogers Communications – and said, “Who’s this Showdown Joe guy? Let’s bring him in.”

Humble and not at all self-absorbed, as you can clearly see.

Now let’s examine Joe’s breaking news from last week, and his supposed chat with UFC president Dana White, which he still will not confirm with any certainty in spite of repeated emails from me.

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Quick hits

Posted by Jonathan Ross

(the sports edition)

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And the results of the vote are….MMA coming to Vancouver for a 2-year trial

Posted by Jonathan Ross

Louie Against (suggested several amendments relating to indemnity and insurance which were cleared up by a sweeping single sentence amendment by Deal, very concerned about liability issues and protecting the city’s interests, we don’t have enough protection, Moore’s statements do not work against the law as it is currently written, from a legal standpoint it doesn’t work, making the liability issue that much more of a concern, moral component about what we as a city are promoting, and as it stands right now, complete desensitization of violence to children)

Reimer Against (smaller promoters boxed out, Canadian Criminal code, inherent violence in marketing)

Woodsworth Against (not enough time with staff report released yesterday particularly because federal and provincial legislation is on the way, police costs, concussion risk, gang concerns, too many serious questions unanswered)

Jang For (sport has evolved, not all about violence, positive values can be taught to kids)

Deal For (about time to move forward, report answers all possible questions)

Chow For (balances interests of citizens with practicality, and comfortable with trial basis)

Anton For (looks forward to attending the event, staff report was very informative, an in relation to Louie’s amendments, let the legal department do their jobs – Council should not get involved in setting indemnity and insurance dollar thresholds)

Stevenson (finally arrived) For (was at Metro Vancouver meeting, report is thorough and he has thought about the issue for a while, previously ambivalent but now supportive, safety concerns now have been cleared up for him, don’t impose morals on people – this is about proper regulation)

Meggs For (pros should contribute more cash to amateur sports)

The motion passes 6-3. MMA is back in Vancouver for at least two years.

Sat Sep 04, 2010

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FACT OF THE DAY

More than 221,000 people have taken the second Amtrak evening train to Vancouver since the service began last August. It had a record month in July with nearly 25,000 passengers. Ridership on the morning train has also increased 21% in the past year.

Quote OF THE DAY

“Economic power is [dependent] on how fast you move people and goods around. You see China growing right now very rapidly in this direction. This is the direction North America must go.” – California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

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