It was entirely predictable that the UFC would come back with another lawsuit trying to overturn the ban on mixed martial arts events in the state of New York- especially after the NY State Assembly failed, once again, to vote on legalization.
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One of my favorite college memories involves David Letterman, a website and an intro to logic exam.
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The lawsuit filed by the UFC (through its parent company, Zuffa) and several MMA fighters, including Jon “Bones” Jones, Gina Carano, Frankie Edgar and Brian Stann seeking to invalidate New York State’s ban on professional MMA events came to an end yesterday when U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood of the Southern District of New York threw out the case.
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With the downfall of Sheldon Silver, New York’s powerful Speaker of the State Assembly, MMA enthusiasts and organizations are confident that this will, finally, be the year that New York lifts its ban on professional MMA events in the state. Silver, an outspoken opponent of lifting the ban, was credited with single-handedly stifling multiple bills in favor of ending the ban – bills that have repeatedly passed the State Senate and probably would have passed the Assembly had Silver allowed an up-and-down vote. The logjam has been such that the UFC and several fighters have even tried to challenge the ban in court on freedom of speech grounds.
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Concert Review:
Depeche Mode
September 6, 2013
Barclays Center
The reason I didn’t review the latest Depeche Mode album, Delta Machine, is because Stereogum summed it up better than I ever could:
At this point, Depeche Mode are pretty much new-wave synthpop’s Rolling Stones. They have such a deep and unfuckwithable catalog of hits that they could continue touring arenas until their bodies just completely give up. Nobody really needs them to keep recording new music, and yet they keep doing it.
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Good Samaritan, and Kirkland & Ellis employee, saves a man from an oncoming subway car in New York City. This one was fun to write and was a nice change of pace from my usual stuff.
U.S. district judge Kimba Wood trimmed a lawsuit brought by mixed martial artists in New York arguing that the state ban on MMA events is unconstitutional.
See also: Battleground State: The Battle to Legalize Mixed Martial Arts in New York.
You usually don’t associate sports with the First Amendment. The UFC hopes the courts will do what the NY legislature has failed to do, thus far. On a personal note, this was the first time I’ve written about MMA since my J-School days.
Related posts:
Battleground State: The Battle to Legalize Mixed Martial Arts in New York.
Adapted from my initial concert review on my Livejournal site. The original piece was more of a play-by-play of each song at the show.
Concert Review:
The Police
August 3, 2007
Madison Square Garden
Maybe when Stewart Copeland is done being a drummer, he has a possible career as a political spin doctor.
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Concert Review:
Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood
February 25, 2008
Madison Square Garden
The knock on Eric Clapton is that he plays to the level of the musicians around him. His best days were in bands, surrounded by the likes of John Mayall and John McVie in the Bluesbreakers, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker in Cream, Baker and Steve Winwood in Blind Faith, and Duane Allman, Bobby Whitlock, Jim Gordon and Carl Radle in Derek and the Dominos. As a solo artist, his albums and tours often turn into boring, uninspired affairs unless he’s collaborating with a talented musician that can push him, like a Mark Knopfler, a Stevie Ray Vaughan or a B.B. King.
Or a Steve Winwood. The two took part in the aforementioned Blind Faith, a supergroup whose hype far exceeded its actual output. The band, which began when Clapton and Winwood started hanging out after Cream and Traffic, their respective bands, broke up, was never intended to be anything more than an informal side project between two friends. Then Baker showed up and it turned into a “thing,” a “thing” that touched off a bidding war between record companies, a “thing” that caused riots to break out at their shows, and a “thing” that pushed Clapton away, causing said “thing” to die a premature death.
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This is an old favorite of mine. I originally wrote it for my Livejournal blog and decided it was time to import it over here. Still holds up, except for the fact that the Verve broke up shortly afterwards. That and the Robbie Williams line about not wanting to rejoin Take That.
Concert Review:
The Verve
April 29, 2008
WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden
When the Verve released “Urban Hymns” in 1997, they seemed poised to become the biggest of all the British pop bands that were invading America from across the Atlantic during the mid-90’s. Oasis had great hooks, but they were about as likeable as smallpox. Blur couldn’t escape from the shadows of their biggest U.S. hit, the ubiquitous “Song 2” (currently playing at some sporting event somewhere in this country). Radiohead were too esoteric and were about as interested in promoting themselves as Robbie Williams was in rejoining Take That. The Verve, however, had great songs, a unique psychedelic/rock sound, a loyal and devoted fan base, and a charismatic frontman in Richard Ashcroft.
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I got the scoop on Anthony Weiner’s lawyer.
And here’s a hat tip from the Wall Street Journal.
My original lede was rejected. It said that “Anthony Weiner has been less than frank about his online liaisons with various women.” Everyone else zigged while I zagged.
Concert Review:
Cream
October 25, 2005
Madison Square Garden
Irony must have played a part in Simon & Garfunkel’s decision to call their 2003 reunion tour the “Old Friends Tour.” After all, it was clear that, despite agreeing to work together once again, the pair hadn’t completely moved on from their decades-long feud. Concert reviewers detected a lack of warmth between the two, forced humor that was repeated at multiple shows (they did the “this is the 50th anniversary of the year we met, but the 47th anniversary of our first fight” joke in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C., among others), and noted that Paul Simon looked like he’d rather sink another $6 million into a disastrous Broadway musical than give Garfunkel any praise or credit for his contributions to the group. The only way these two were really “Old Friends” would be if you used the word “old” to mean “former.”
Those shows were a veritable love-in compared to the Cream reunion.
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The biggest soap-opera of the NBA offseason will be resolved on Thursday night as Lebron James plans on announcing his decision during a one-hour infomercial on ESPN. There are many questions that should be answered, not the least of which is how the hell is Lebron going to fill an hour of time? Well, luckily for us, I’ve gotten my hands on a top secret advance script for Lebron’s big special.
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Here’s my Master’s Project for Columbia. It’s fairly long, so I’m splitting it into 6 parts. Hope you enjoy!
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About Me:
- Former Lawyer.
- Current Journalist/Writer/Editor.
- Author of "Nixon in New York: How Wall Street Helped Richard Nixon Win the White House," published in 2018.
- Husband, father and dog-lover.
- Pittsburgh Steelers fan. Manchester United supporter.
- Chicago via Pittsburgh, New York City and several others.