I personally think they are heading in the right direction based on reports I have read. First, they have made Gary Shaw take a back seat. This guy is the poor man’s Don King. In the first primetime event, he could be seen whispering in fighters ears immediately after a bought. I suspect telling them to call out other fighters and put on a WWE show. This ended with Nick Diaz confronting the champ KJ Noons at the end of the night and a melee broke out in the middle of the cage. Classy.

They are also getting rid of long ring entrances and dancing ring girls taking us in and out of commercial breaks. Good move, but they also need to upgrade their fights. Everyone likes to see knockouts and submissions, but not when it is clear two people are unevenly matched over and over again. I also think they need to show former WCW/WWE star Bill Goldberg the door. This guy is not a MMA announcer. All he does is take away credibility from the show.

Nevertheless, I hope they are able to incrementally upgrade their offerings and compete with the juggernaut that is the UFC. Tonight’s card has some interesting fights as the EliteXC middleweight champion, “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (15-4), takes on Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith (13-4) in a rematch from the May card. Lawler unintentionally poked Smith in the eye and a No Contest was declared. Up to that point it was a great fight. The current line has Lawler (-275) and Smith (+215).

The other fight I am highly anticipating is between Shayna Baszler (9-4) and Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos (4-0). This is sheer genius. The target demographic for MMA are males between 18-34. Having a nickname like Cyborg guarantees some level of interest from this group. The last EliteXC event featured an awesome bantamweight bought between Gina “Conviction” Carano and Kaitlin Young. If Braszler and Cyborg perform well, then women’s MMA is here to stay in EliteXC. Braszler is a (-260) favorite and Cyborg a (+200) dog.

I received a package in the mail this week from Alexander Kristoff at DisposableFlasks.com. I ripped open the package to find four disposable flasks in various colors. The flasks are very compact and lightweight. There is a screw cap on each one with a seal to ensure it hasn’t been used previously. These look great, but I wondered if they could replace my trusty metal flask I usually carry. The Disposable Flask looks so thin, I couldn’t imagine it could hold the same amount of liquid. So I put it to the test.

The Disposable Flask is supposed to hold 7.5 fluid ounces. This is a pretty good compromise for a flask as most are between 6 and 8 fluid ounces. I filled the Disposable Flask to the top and then poured the liquid out into a measuring cup. I was surprised to see that it was pretty close to 8 fluid ounces.

The next test was to see how it would feel in my pocket and wasteband. As you would expect, the Disposable Flask is rather pliable so it easily fit into my side pocket of my shorts. Next, I tried the Disposable Flask in my wasteband. This was a clear advantage for the Disposable Flask I hadn’t considered. The fact that the Disposable Flask can contour itself to your wastband and body means there is less likelihood it will slip out.

I believe the Disposable Flask has some distinct advantages over their metal counterparts. It holds the same amount of liquid, easily contours to your pocket or waste, and it is much cheaper. The Disposable Flask price ranges from $1.99 to $0.99. They also come in a variety of colors and you can even customize your own.

The t-shirt meteor decided to start its own MMA promotion after the UFC forbid fighters to wear Affliction t-shirts at their shows. The UFC countered with a hastily thrown together card to put up for free against Affliction’s pay-per-view. Now, Affliction has responded by broadcasting the first hour of undercard matches live on Fox Sports Net starting at 8PM. Let’s take a look at highlights from Affliction:Banned.

Affliction: Banned

• Fedor Emelianenko (28-1) vs. Tim Sylvia (24-4) for WAMMA Heavyweight Championship
• Andrei Arlovski (13-5) vs. Ben Rothwell (27-5)
• Josh Barnett (22-4) vs. Pedro Rizzo (16-7)

Announcer: Michael Buffer
Live Band: Megadeth

Affliction really comes out swinging with the best heavyweight fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko. His last match was a short spar against Hong Man Choi in which he dispatched of the giant with an armbar two minutes into the first round. Tim Sylvia is the former UFC heavyweight champion. He has lost two of his last three matches and really wants to prove himself against the best heavyweight in the world. This is the only reason to purchase the pay-per-view.
Arlovski is another former UFC heavyweight champion. Andrei has never really impressed me as an all around fighter. He has recently been talking about entering the heavyweight boxing scene. Something tells me his head is not in the right place for this fight. His opponent, Ben Rothwell, made a name for himself in the IFL. His record gets very little respect entering this fight.

Josh Barnett and Pedro Rizzo are both former UFC fighters. Barnett took his skill over to Japan around 2003 where he fought in PRIDE. He is a well versed fighter with a good ground game. Rizzo was an early superstar of the UFC before taking a number of losses including two by Randy Couture. Rizzo has a kick from the depths of hell and this is his only hope against a more well rounded Barnett.

Megadeth will be playing live at Banned. Really? Megadeth? This wreaks of amateur promotions. Will they also throw in dancing girls like EliteXC? Despite Megadeth, the do have the number one announcer in the fight game, Michael Buffer.

The UFC has thrown James “The Sandman” Irvin (14-4) out for Anderson “The Spider” Silva (21-4) to devour. The only other fight on the UFC card that interests me is Jesse “The Drunk Guy” Taylor (6-2) taking on the Ultimate Fighter second place resident douchebag, C.B. Dollaway (6-1). Taylor was originally scheduled to fight in the Ultimate Fighter finale in June, but due to his antics around Las Vegas he was kicked off the show. Dana White has decided to turn the UFC into a circus with this fight and I have to admit it works for me.

Yes my friends, this weeks product of the week is the Sh*t Box by The Brown Corporation. I am no marketing genius, but it would seem to me that if you want a wide distribution you don’t use the word Sh*t in your product name. Nevertheless, it does look like a functional piece of equipment. The idea came to Richard Wharton (The Big Sh*t) when he needed to take a dump at a rock festival. It was three days into the festival and he didn’t want to use the Port-o-let. He saw a Kleenex box in the corner of his tent and a dream was born.

The basic concept is the Sh*t Box is a collapsable box that you can easily assemble. You then insert a degradable poo bag. Instant toilet! You never have to visit that disgusting Port-o-let again. The box costs around $31 and comes with 10 poo bags.

I think they have a great idea here. I would recommend a name change and probably a different logo, but I admire the cavalier attitude.

Rampage was driving his truck when an officer attempted to pull him over for talking on his cell phone and weaving in and out of traffic. Rampage did not yield and hit three other vehicles before he finally stopped. He has been charged with felony hit and run and felony evading arrest. There are apparently NOT any drugs or alcohol involved in the incident.

Reports also indicate that UFC president, Dana White, is on his way to Orange County to bail Rampage out of jail and assess the situation. Below is a picture of the truck Rampage was driving.

I really like Forrest Griffin. He is a tough guy and works his ass off in the gym. He doesn’t take himself too seriously either. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that he is a graduate from the University of Georgia. I am conflicted in this fight, because although I really like Forrest I am not sure he has the skills to get by Rampage.

During this season of the Ultimate Fighter, Forrest and Rampage coached against each other leading up to this match. It was really strange because I just assumed I wouldn’t like Rampage. It turns out I love the guy. He is hilarious and seems to really care about other people.

These two guys have put on a big facade leading up to this fight. They pretend they are really angry at each other. It is the nature of the business I suppose. There were times during the Ultimate Fighter series that you could tell they really liked each other. Take the video below for example.

Rampage should win this fight. He is a -275 favorite, Forrest is a +215 dog. I haven’t decided which way I will lay down my bet. I have been killed lately betting on the underdog. If Forrest can take this thing into the fourth and fifth round, then I think he has a huge shot. There is always a fighter out there that is a nemesis for another. Could Forrest be that for Rampage?

Other Notable UFC 86 Fights:

• Gabriel Gonzaga (-600) vs. Justin McCully (+400)
• Cole Miller (-130) vs. Jorge Gurgel (Even)
• Josh Koscheck (-315) vs. Chris Lytle (+240)
• Joe Stevenson (-260) vs. Gleison Tibau (+200)
• Patrick Cote (+115) vs. Ricardo Almeida (-145)
• Corey Hill (-215) vs. Justin Buchholz (+175)
• Melvin Guillard (-200) vs. Dennis Siver (+160)

The reason I wanted to upgrade my old HR10-250 DirecTV receiver was driver by two factors. First, the receivers are getting old and I was noticing recording problems. Second, DirecTV has added a ton of High-Def channels to their lineup. My old HR10 receiver would pick up only 12 or so of those HD channels.

The first task at hand was to determine how to install the new dish. I picked up a Slimline dish on eBay for about $60. This new dish is much bigger than the old one. Most people mount the dish on the roof and when I say on the roof I mean screwed to the roof. I’m no carpenter, roofer, or DirecTV installer but putting holes in a perfectly good roof does not sound like a good idea to me.

I picked up a bag of QuickCrete and a six foot piece of galvanized pipe from Home Depot. An hour later I had the pole set and the QuickCrete drying. The key for anyone installing their own antenna is to ensure you have the mount point level. I checked the pipe four or five times to make sure. The other key is to make sure you have a clear view of the southwestern sky.

I felt triumphant. Now all I had to do was to run new cables through the attic. Easy enough, right? Even with my best efforts I ended up spending about an hour in an attic. This wouldn’t be so bad but it was easily 110F in the attic in the middle of the day. Combine that with my anti-insulation suit I created and I was sweating like a whore in church.

When all was said and done, I ran to Best Buy and picked up two of the HR20-600 DirecTV HD DVR receivers. Hooked those up to the dish and verified the signals. This is the point I had been dreading all day. The call to DirecTV support to change my receivers over.

To my surprise, the call went extremely well. I was expecting to talk to someone in the Philippines as is usually the case. However, this time I was lucky enough to reach an English speaking person who knew exactly what to do. Kudos to DirecTV. Now if they would just get rid of that idiotic voice activated system.

I would definitely recommend the upgrade to anyone else considering HD. It was wonderful watching WEC Wreckage last night in HD. I’m also looking forward to the next season of the Ultimate Fighter which I will be watching in HD as well.

1. No Gas Power Generators Allowed. (For safety reasons.) Now come on. Aren’t there gas powered cars everywhere in the parking lot already? If they said no open gas cans, then I am on board.

2. No Kegs, Grills (5-10 gallon Propane Tanks Only) No kegs? Say what? Can someone explain to me the difference in a keg of beer and stacking 48 cans in a cooler?

3. No Glass Containers. Ok, this one I agree with whole-heartedly. It never fails at a tailgate. Some random jackass will proceed to drink too many and start tossing his bottles down in the middle of the lot.

4. Tents In Grass Areas Only. (Due to space limitations.) I have never been to Lenoir-Rhyne College. In fact, I wouldn’t know it if I drove up to the front and puked on the dean. Nevertheless, I have been in my fair share of parking lots for tailgating and I just don’t get this one. So you throw up a 10×10 “tent” to shade yourself and your neighbors. Seems like you are doing everyone a favor to me. What are they going to do? Pack everyone in there so tight you can’t walk between vehicles?

5. No External Stereo Systems (House Stereos) Allowed. Ummm. Do you really think that has any affect in a parking lot where RVs and automobiles can blast radios anyway? This is just one of those things that regulates itself. Not to mention all the “portable” radios with 500 gigawatts of power anyway.

6. Attend The Game. (Tailgating parties suspended at start of game.) I know you are a small school and you need attendance and all, but don’t you think this is setting everyone up for robbery?

7. Behavior. Be respectful to other tailgaters around you. Ok, I agree. Move along.

8. Miscellaneous. Bag your trash, no alcohol in the game, get a designated driver, and provide adequate food for the amount of alcohol being served. Bwaaah? Listen here brother. There is no amount of food that would be sufficient to counteract the alcohol at my tailgates. Maybe it’s just me.

9. Emergencies. In case of emergency call Lenoir-Rhyne Security OR dial 911. Let’s see. My car has just been stolen while I was at the game. A malcontent with a gas powered generator and power saw tore off my door, threw in my neighbors “portable” stereo, and sped through the quad tearing down tents on his way to get a keg. WTF is Lenoir-Rhyne Security going to do for me?

When I setup for a game, I not only have my satellite television, I have high-definition and a 42″ LCD TV. As I stated previously, I am a gadget geek. I currently use DirecTV and an “older” Tivo HD satellite receiver that only gets about 12 HD channels. Today began a new era. I just received a SlimLine HD satellite dish. I bought it from eBay. My plan is to slowly change over to the newer DirecTV HD receiver that offers 92+ HD channels. I will be prepared for next football season.

The real point of this article is to talk about setting up a dish for a tailgate. I would classify myself as an expert on setting up a satellite dish. It’s not that I think I’m smart, it’s just that I have had a ton of practice. There are three very important things you need to setup your dish.

1. Satellite dish. (duh)
2. Tripod for the dish.
3. Weight

The very first thing you need to do is find a spot to place the dish. If you have a good tripod, then the ground does not need to be level. However, you must make sure you have a clear view of the southwestern sky (DirecTV customers). Next, get the tripod level and place the weight to hold it down. I use a brick with an eye-bolt and a bungie cord. I make sure I can rotate the dish in the tripod. This all assumes you already have your dish locked to the proper angles.

Once the dish is sitting level in the tripod, I hook up the television, receiver, and cables to the dish. Crank it all up and go to the satellite strength page of the setup. This is usually shows you one or two meter bars for the satellite signal strength. Now, we are ready to lock it in.

You should have a general idea of where North and South are located by this time. I rotate my dish to South, then start slow rotating it toward the West. If you have done everything properly, then you should see a signal on the meter bars on the television when you hit the sweet spot.

I generally run through each of the different satellites to make sure they are all getting a good signal. If you don’t have a great signal on one of the other satellites, then check another transponder on that same satellite. You will notice in the satellite signal test page, there is a satellite selection and a transponder selection. So, just change the transponder setting.

That’s it. That’s how I roll.

The rest of the undercard is rather intriguing in its own right. For you American Gladiator fans, Gina “Crush” Carano (5-2) is taking on Katlin Young (4-1). Two hot girls fighting MMA? Someone has been screening my dreams.

We also have “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (15-4) and Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith (13-4). Both these guys have plenty of MMA experience and it should be a great match up. Finally, “The New York Badass” Phil Baroni (10-9) is taking on Joey Villasenor (25-6). Once again, two fighters with a ton of experience and EliteXC put them together.

This is a huge step for EliteXC. They have a major network on a Saturday night with some big names. Dana White of the UFC can’t be happy about the fact that a competing entity was able to sweet talk CBS while he is stuck on Spike TV. Likewise, Spike TV must hate the fact a major network is starting to take interest in MMA. UFC is their darling and they wouldn’t want them to go anywhere.

EliteXC and CBS seem to be on to something here. They are also providing LIVE streaming starting at 7PM tonight, so Internet fans can see all the action and even the undercard. Kudos to EliteXC and CBS. I hope they do it right. However, I am a bit skeptical after I heard that Busta Rhymes will be performing during primetime. I like Busta, but wtf is he doing at an MMA match?