What’s Eating TNA’s Creative Team?

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, I appeared on Fight Network Radio to talk a little wrasslin’. This time around host John Pollock and I moslty spoke about the mysteries surrounding TNA iMPACT! (including Shark Boy’s “new” gimmick) as well as tonight’s Royal Rumble.

I know the general consensus on the Internet is to bash TNA’s creative so I try to be as positive as I can but, damn, it’s so hard sometimes with this bunch.

I also offered up a pretty good booking idea for the Randy Orton-Jeff Hardy WWE title match. Take a listen – I think you guys might like it.

Fight Network Radio – 01/25/08

Posted in Interview, The Fight Network, Wrestling | 3 Comments »

Saturday In The Park: Rumble Memories

This is the second Saturday In The Park post and you know what? I kind of dig it…sucka (sorry I had to).

First things first, an update on JarryPark.com. The site is getting some major plastic surgery done to it. The doctors are actually working on the new site as we speak and I think you will love it. The reason behind this decision is because I want the site to move away from the blog look.

Don’t get me wrong, I love blogs and there will still actually be a JP.com blog but it will now just be one of the many different options to look at it. The blog will be a place to discuss last night’s PPV, a fight rumor or anything else that has nothing to do with our bread and butter – the interviews. Those bad boys are still coming (and we have some cool things planned on that front too) but will be featured a little differently. In a few weeks, I think The Park will look like a pretty snazzy combat sports site.

Onto the 2008 WWE Royal Rumble. As I mentioned on yesterday’s Fight Network Radio appearance (audio coming tomorrow), I will be attending the real grand daddy of ’em all tomorrow night at MSG. Yes, the RR is my favorite wrestling pay-per-view simply because it’s always a sure bet.

So, since we specialize in combat sports interviews I thought I would help get everyone excited for this year’s Rumble by presenting the top 3 greatest Royal Rumble promos of all-time. Enjoy!

3. 1990: We begin with a compilation of wrestlers giving their thoughts on the Rumble. Now, why doesn’t WWE produce these kinds of promos anymore? They’re so effective and so damn enjoyable. Plenty of juicy cameos in this one starting with a young Tony Schiavone calling the action next to Jesse Ventura wearing a funky Mickey Mouse sweatshirt. I guess no dress code back then. We transition into classic Savage, Fuji, Roberts, Hart Foundation and Hogan.

2. 2000: This might be the best Rock interview of all-time. Who else would start talking about Crash Holly and Headbanger Mosh before a big match? And it wasn’t in the HHH “allow me to bury ever other guy on the roster” kind of way. It was just sweet and funny – nothing more, nothing less. There’s even a classic Y2J promo at the end for good luck.

1. 1992: Without a doubt, the greatest wrestling promo of all-time. There’s really nothing more that I can say. Watching Flair, Heenan and Hennig doing their thing gave me goosebumps 16 years ago and still does to this day. (Love the added effect of the cameras flashing too).

Posted in Royal Rumble, WWE | 12 Comments »

Arianny’s Views From The Best Seat In The House

Remember the last time we featured an interview with UFC Octagon Girl Arianny Celeste? Well, her presence generated the most amount of traffic to Jarry Park…EVER. Seriously, it did. Kurt Angle, Bas Rutten, DDP, GSP – they should all bow down to the queen of the Octagon.

It didn’t take me long to figure out that we should start featuring Arianny a hell of a lot more around these parts so we have “signed” her to stop by The Park after every big UFC event to offer her unique views from the best seat in the house.

This was a particularly busy week for young Arianny as she worked UFC 80 in Newcastle over the weekend and then Wednesday’s UFC Fight Night 12 at the Palms in Las Vegas. We talked about her travels as well her thoughts on:

* The Penn-Stevenson blood bath

* Sean Sherk’s promo after the main event

* The lackluster Burkman-Swick fight at UFN 12

* Why she was eating snacks during Pellegrino-Crane fight

* Her budding singing career

* What special sign she will flash to the Park faithful at UFC 81

We’re just trying to recreate the old high school days when the neighborhood park seemed to be the cool place to go after class.

Arianny Celeste – 01/25/08

Posted in Arianny Celeste, Interview, MMA, UFC | 11 Comments »

Back On Fight Network Radio Later Today

Just wanted to let everyone know that I will be appearing on the great Fight Network Radio later today. We’ll mainly be discussing last night’s episode of TNA Impact and this Sunday’s WWE Royal Rumble.

I am sure most of the Jarry Park faithful have already heard the program but, if not, tune into Sirius Channel 186 at 3 p.m. EST or log onto hardcoresportsradio.com to listen via the Internet. It’s everything The Park aspires to be someday.

If you want to get really pumped up for the show check out some of my past appearances on FNR here and here.

Posted in The Fight Network | 2 Comments »

The Fall And Rise Of Ed Herman…By: Ed Herman

Leading up to The Ultimate Fighter 3, all the hype seemed to surround a fighter from Vancouver, WA, named Ed Herman (left). He would eventually make it to the finals of the show only to lose to Maui’s Kendall Grove but, as we all know, both men were rewarded with a guaranteed UFC contract for their great fight. It seemed as though Grove and Herman were well on their way to UFC stardom.

At first, Grove held up his end of the bargain but Herman surely didn’t. Grove won his next two fights while Herman followed his loss to the Hawaiian with another to Jason MacDonald.

Then, a funny thing happened: Herman regained his confidence and reeled off three victories in a row – most recently at UFC 78 against Joe Doerksen. Meanwhile, the once-dominant Grove is still gathering himself after a bitter loss to Jorge Rivera at UFC 80 – his second in a row. It’s kind of like a TUF 3 bizarro world nowadays.

Up next for Herman is a meeting with BJJ wiz and Abu Dhabi Combat Club vet, Demian Maia. A tough test indeed.

It was initially reported that Herman-Maia would take place at UFC 83 in London but that event has since been scrapped. So, I caught up with the Team Quest member to talk about when and where the fight will go down, his recent wining streak, the fall of Kendall Grove and so much more.

Ed Herman – 01/24/08

Posted in Ed Herman, Interview, MMA, UFC | 3 Comments »

UFC 80 Review, UFN 12 Preview, Arlovoski’s Future & More

The oh-so knowledgeable Jesse Holland of MMAMania.com stopped by JarryPark to help sort out the influx of UFC news from the last few days. No shortage of interesting topics to discuss but here are some of the ones we touched on:

* BJ Penn’s victory over Joe Stevenson

* What to expect from a Penn-Sherk matchup

* The way the Sherk situation was handled on the UFC 80 telecast

* Fabricio Werdum’s place in the Heavyweight division

* The rise and fall of Kendall Grove

* Mike Swick vs. Josh Burkman, Patrick Côté vs. Drew McFedries and the rest of the UFC Fight Night 12 card

* Andrei Arolovski, Mirko Cro Cop and Evan Tanner’s UFC future

A great tuneup for tonight’s Spike telecast and always a pleasure to welcome an astute MMA blogger like Jesse to The Park. Enjoy.

Jesse Holland – 01/23/08

Posted in Interview, MMA, UFC | 10 Comments »

Steve Mazzagatti Continues To Lay Down The Law

Referee Steve Mazzagatti (left) is quickly becoming one of the most recognizable faces in mixed martial arts. He’s worked some of the best fights in MMA history and is currently giving Don Frye a run for his money in the most famous moustache in MMA department.

So, naturally, we had to invite him JarryPark to talk about his illustrious career inside rings and cages across the world. We also talked about:

* The genesis of the ‘stache

* A day in the life of a ref before a big show

* The art of refing a fight

* His take on the Emerson-Maynard decision

* His views on the way MMA fights are scored

* The Sobral-Heath ugly finish

Definitely interesting to hear a side of the fight game we often never hear about.

Steve Mazzagatti – 01/22/08

Posted in Interview, MMA, Steve Mazzagatti | 7 Comments »

Gray Maynard Looks To Bully Dennis Siver At UFN 12

We’re just a couple of days away from UFC Fight Night 12 and if this one’s half as good as UFC 80 then, well, it will be great! And you know what? Top to bottom this card (on paper) looks like it should be better. It’s a safe bet that Mike Swick vs. Josh Burkman, Patrick Cote(!) vs. Drew McFedries and Alvin Robinson vs. Nate Diaz will be exciting but there are tons of great untelevised fights too.

One of the more intriguing ones has Gray “The Bully” Maynard (4-0-1) battling Dennis Siver (11-4-0). And guess what? Maynard was kind enough to stop by The Park to discuss his upcoming bout against Siver. He also spoke about:

* His gameplan going into the fight

* The Rob Emerson fiasco

* His thoughts on the decision seven months later

* His nine-second KO over Joe Veres

* Training at Xtreme Couture

* His thoughts on Couture being sued by the UFC

* Who he would like to fight next

Gray Maynard – 01/21/08

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Posted in Gray Maynard, Interview, MMA, UFC | 3 Comments »

Will Yuri Foreman Make The Switch To MMA?

Yesterday was certainly a great day for MMA and boxing fans. Some get all emotional about which sport is better but not me. I just like it when one event airs in the afternoon and the other in the evening. And based on my expectations prior to each event, I thought both were well worth my time. We’ll discuss them more later in the week.

Speaking of boxing and MMA, pro boxer Yuri Foreman (24-0, 8 KOs) stopped by to discuss his budding career and his last win against Andrey Tsurkan. Last month’s victory of Tsurkan was tremendously important for the Belarusian because he needed a big win following a lackluster performance against Anthony Thompson on the undercard of Judah-Cotto. Whether a win over Tsurkan qualifies as a “big” win is another question but at least he looked dominant.

So what does this have to do with MMA, you ask? Well, take a listen as Foreman discusses a potential switch to mixed martial arts, his Sambo training with Paulie Malignaggi and his thoughts on Fedor. Could Foreman be the first big name boxer to make the leap? Only time will tell but his interest certainly seems piqued.

Yuri Foreman – 01/20/08

(photo courtesy of Robert Caplin of the New York Times)

Posted in Boxing, Interview, MMA, Yuri Foreman | 7 Comments »

Saturday In The Park: Japanese Bug Fights II

If you’re a loyal visitor to The Park you might have noticed some subtle changes around these parts. First, we now present a daily combat sports interview instead of bunching them up on any given day. The reason for this is we like to give our listeners at least 24 hours to digest everything a fighter has to say.

Another exciting modification is this new “Saturday In The Park” post that will conveniently run on Saturdays (also my way of paying homage to that great Chicago song).

So to break up the daily awesomeness of our interviews, The Park will present something light, fun and a bit wacky from the combat sports world each and every Saturday. Today, it’s another amazing installment from the world of Japanese Bug Fighting!

The first time I posted one of these epic clashes, I quietly received a lot of praise for discovering one of the greatest forms of combat sports ever invented. So, here we are again. This time it’s a wasp against a mantis. The bugs are fighting at a catch weight of 0.5 lbs.

This one is a little Randy Couture vs. Tim Sylvia mixed with Roy Jones Jr. vs. John Ruiz. That little wasp – he sure does have a ton of fight in him. Meanwhile, the poor mantis’ head seemed to be elsewhere on this particular evening. Some have called this the 2008 version of David slaying the Goliath. Perhaps, but I just look at it as a wasp executing a tremendous game plan from the get-go.

Oh, and enjoy UFC 80 and/or Trinidad-Jones. Much to the dismay of my wallet I will be watching both. Should be a fun little Saturday in the park.

Posted in Bug Fights | 3 Comments »