•LeGarrette Blount could be reinstated by Oregon, in another example of a team overreacting to morning-after headlines then backing down when it's out of the news. Or maybe Blount just beat up Chip Kelly until he let him back on.

•Hockey kicked off the season last night, with early favorites San Jose and Boston getting blown out. But Toronto lost too, so at least we know we're not in the bizarro NHL.

•Big surprise: Kimbo Slice is likely to find his way back on The Ultimate Fighter. MMA fans, he's not going to go away unless you stop watching his shows and buying his PPVs.

•Brett Favre says that although Brett Favre would love to beat the Packers on Monday night, Brett Favre isn't motivated by a desire to get revenge on the team that Brett Favre feels mistreated Brett Favre. Where's my Guiness world record?

•Here's a great analysis of the NCAA's new rules regarding letters of intent. They're more ironclad now, so recruits are stuck with their school forever, or until they jump to the NBA after one year. Or to Europe right away. Whichever comes first.

•14-year-old Alexis Thompson is one stroke off the lead at the LPGA Classic. To put that in perspective, that slacker Michelle Wie was in kindergarten when Thompson was born.

•Here's an amazing bowling shot. I did this once, but it was accidental. Also, the people in the next lane weren't nearly as excited as I was.

•Backtracking from earlier comments, Dana White says Kimbo Slice will fight in UFC, whether or not he comes out on top in their reality show. Wonder what changed his mind. *cough*doubledTheUltimateFighter'sratings*cough*

•Milton Bradley apologized for his behavior throughout the year, which led to an in-house suspension and likely the end of his time with the Cubs. But who would trade for him? Even Terrell Owens gives you one drama-free year before melting down.

•Pete Carroll says Matt Barkley will start Saturday, despite a bruised shoulder. After last weekend, I think his arm could fall off and he'd still be their best option behind center.

•Bobby Cox says he'll managed the Braves for one more season, then he's done. If he doesn't go out with an ejection, I'll be sorely disappointed.

•Stuttgart keeper Jens Lehmann was dropped from the lineup for popping in on Oktoberfest after a game. Punishing a German for going to Oktoberfest? That's a bigger insult to cultural pride than naming a team the Redskins.

•It's a shame the season's nearing an end; I was hoping to see if Brad Lidge could finish with more blown saves than successful ones. He blew number 11 last night (and raised his ERA to 7.48!) as Phillies fans shit themselves thinking about the 2007 Mets.

•Finally, this is being billed as the world's longest basketball shot. The fact that most of that distance is provided by gravity only slightly takes away from the hype.

It's a Friday afternoon, and I'm sitting in a corner of Manhattan's musty Fighthouse Gym, determined not to be intimidated by Kimbo Slice, who just walked in wearing a full beard and a gold fist around his neck. I'm joined by a gaggle of reporters trying to cash in on what's left of the Kimbo hype. We're here because Kimbo is about to do what any fading star in America must — appear on reality TV. The Ultimate Fighter 10 premiered Wednesday. The show runs through December and features Kimbo living in a house with fifteen other fighters, duking it out for a UFC contract. The twist? He is fighting for the favor of league founder Dana White, who once famously mocked him as "the toughest guy at the barbecue" — a YouTube street-brawler with no track record and little business fighting in the professional ranks. All of which means that Kimbo, the former marketing juggernaut for failed UFC rival Elite XC, has to once again run the publicity gauntlet and once again endure all kinds of outrageous and idiotic questions from the media.

"Will you," I ask him, "give me a piggyback ride?"

Kimbo has an enigmatic presence. When he walks into the room, flanked by two bodyguards half his size, every head turns to watch him pass. It's scary at first, until he grips your hand with his massive paw, looks you in the eye and flashes a warm smile, his gold teeth twinkling in the light.

It's not what I expected. The first time around, Kimbo was sold to us not so subtly (and, in retrospect, pretty offensively) as the big, angry brotha from the streets. One black ESPN writer described his act as "coonish." Whatever it was, it worked, at least initially. He was the headliner when Elite XC debuted on CBS, and viewers were treated to the bloody spectacle of Kimbo rupturing his opponent's cauliflowered ear. He was a star, the mean face of a mean sport. And then, after 14 seconds in the ring with Seth Petruzelli, he wasn't a star anymore. Fair or not, after just four pro fights, he was deemed a sham and, worse, a symbol of all that's wrong with MMA, a sport trying to shrug off comparisons to pro wrestling's theatrics and boxing's corrupt hijinks. And now, at 35, Kimbo is facing the cold truth that his last fight may very well be fought on reality TV.

He is a long way from his days as a strip-club bouncer in Miami (the stories from which he plans eventually to publish in a book). From his first parking-lot victory, Kimbo sought to make money off his ability to knock people "the fuck out," as he likes to put it. Only he shunned heavyweight boxing promoters looking to capitalize on his size and notoriety, fingering MMA as the more profitable showcase for his brutality because he says it better satisfies America's bloodlust.

"There's better opportunity in MMA because it's way more entertaining than boxing" he says. "You can watch 12 rounds of live boxing and no one's ass will touch the canvas. You're like, 'Damn, I can see that on TV!' When you come to an MMA fight, you're gonna see some blood. You see three or four matches and two of them are gonna be bloody. People are mean. They love that shit, you know what I'm saying? And as fighters, we love doing it, so it all works out."

Lately, however, things haven't worked out for Kimbo. The Petruzelli bout was a singular embarrassment, a 14-second TKO that instantly burst the hype bubble and exposed him as an MMA dilettante. Now, at age 35, he is trying to reinvent himself as a fighter with an array of talents, someone who can fight on the ground as well as he can on his feet. "This is a new year, a new millennium for me," he says. "Now I've got a target on my back. Everyone wants to fight me because they think I'm just a brawler. But now I got a little ground game and a little skills. I got a few more moves here and there."

He better. Shorties gotta eat.

His redemption is now in the hands of Dana White, of all people. Since White scooped him up after the Petruzelli defeat, Kimbo's image has softened considerably. He talks frequently of fatherhood. He's now just another dad trying to make ends meet. "My mind is always at home," he tells me. "To go away and think about training is almost six times as hard because I'm thinking about my babies that I'm responsible for, that I gotta take care of at home. Six different kids, six different lives, all going through different things."

"UFC can make it happen," he goes on. "Yeah, I want to prove that I can still do it, that I can knock top fighters the fuck out, but in the cage there's no room for pride — you gotta check your pride at the door."

Kimbo, a former linebacker, lives vicariously through his 14 year-old son, a standout high school running back in Miami: "My 14 year-old kid's balling now, so I'm living it through him," he says, smiling broadly. "He's already in the papers at Cold Springs High. He's on the varsity team at 14. He already has 200 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2 games.

"When I'm about to fight, it's not just for me, it's for our whole crew, our whole city. Everyone's got butterflies. Their adrenaline is flowing, especially my kids."

My 10 minutes with Kimbo are almost up, and a fan is pushing me aside to snap a picture. The next reporter in line is fidgeting with his tape recorder. "My editor wanted me to take a picture of you giving me a piggyback ride," I say at last. "Will you give me a piggyback ride?"

Kimbo shakes his head. "Nah, man," he says, grinning. "I would, but my daughter would get jealous."

Stencil by Christian at MCDeathbear.

Gross says that Showtime attempted to purchase ProElite but those negotiations fell through and left the company without any more funding options.

What this means for the career of Kimbo Slice, who Fanhouse notes is officially a "free agent" after this , is yet to be seen, but unless the UFC swoops in and makes a good-faith effort to resurrect his career, he's probably back to fighting bums and bouncers back on YouTube.

At least he'll still have his cubicle next to Kige Ramsey.

ProElite, EliteXC shut doors effective immediately [SI]

Photo: MMAJunkie.com

He can’t rebuild his reputation without stepping up in competition from the guy who just beat him in seconds. He can’t headline a card and have anyone believe he’s legit. He can’t claim he, “just got caught” when it wasn’t some wild, roundhouse right or sneaky arm-bar that did him in.

The truth was always coming for Kimbo. Saturday it arrived sooner rather than later, the money train grinding to a halt courtesy of a smaller, less heralded fighter that no one can claim is some elite champion.

Also done-in by the Kimbo knockout is the "Elite XC" mixed martial arts organization, one which banked on Kimbo's oddly compelling star power and mythical status to keep it afloat. It's only hope for survival and keeping CBS interested was hinging upon its menacing, crazy-bearded show pony not losing a fight — especially to a pink-haired journeyman in 14 seconds.

But it was fun while it lasted. Here's to hoping this loss rejuvenates Kimbo's YouTube career by fighting bums or polar bears or whatever he does so he can continue to feed his family. That's probably all he has left.

Final curtain for the Kimbo show [Yahoo!]
Petruzelli makes most of Slice's inexperience and Ken Shamrock's bad luck [ESPN]

A short right to the eye by Petruzelli was enough to momentarily stun Slice causing him to slip and hit the mat face first. The pink haired wonder, realizing he had an opportunity, went into a full ground and pound (my favorite!). Slice, not able to recover and protect his face, was suffering sever blows when the fight was called.

This loss provides some backing to those who feel that Slice is an overrated product of hype and marketing. Admittedly Slice has been working on his form and looks to be in much better shape, but he has a long way to go before he can be considered a top heavyweight.

Gina Carano extended her undefeated streak to 6-0 (and kept her clothes on), by defeating Kelly Kobold in a unanimous decision. Despite a wrestling strategy by Kobold, Carano dominated with her fists and cage control. There has never been a female Elite XC champion, but I think it's about time. The rumors of a match-up between Carano and the dynamic Cris Cyborg would make for a great fight.

Fat heavyweight Roy “Big Country” Nelson was defeated by a flury of punches in the second round by former UFC heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski. Jake Shields successfully defended his title against Cage Rage welterweight champion Paul “Semtex” Daley.

Video via Bloody Elbow
Image via FanHouse

Other key matchups:

• Gina Carano vs. Kelly Kobold has already made news due to some unexpected nudity at the weigh-in. Kobold is far more experienced in MMA but Carano is the more dynamic fighter. Plus she's hot.

• The other heavyweight bout pits former UFC Champion Andrei Arlovski against reigning IFL Heavyweight Champion Roy Nelson. Nothing's better than watching 265 pounders throwing each other around a ring stained with the blood of the men before them.

The excitement starts at 9pm on CBS.

A few of years ago, I went to the Balthazar restaurant in the Lower East Side. I noticed a few playing cards stapled to the ceiling and asked the waitress what the deal was. She rolled her eyes and said, "That David Blaine guy was in here. That's a prop for one of his tricks." Blasphemy!

Well, Mr. staples-cards-to-the-ceiling is in the middle of filming his latest horseshit special where he lights himself on fire hanging 60 stories upside down above a cobra pit for a month or something where he will reveal another trick featuring big-punching extraordinaire Kimbo Slice. Reportedly, Blaine takes a gut punch from Kimbo and Fanhouse's football scribe and resident MMA freak Michael David Smith has the details (via Fightlinker):

The rather physically fit Blaine claims he chose Kimbo because the fighter is one of the few people he fears. From my observation, it does not seem as if the magician is intimidated in conversation. But faced with Kimbo's clenched fist before him, Blaine does look visibly nervous. He asks his audience of gym employees and Kimbo's entourage, "Is this stupid?" Everyone grinned widely back.

I won't spoil the fun but there's no illusion involved to this bit. David Blaine simply stands in the middle of the cage, lifts up his shirt to prove he's not hiding any protective material, and asks Kimbo to punch him. And after? Kimbo is wowed by David Blaine's resistance to his gut shot. Kimbo's manager jokingly asks, "Hey, is this going to make Kimbo look weak?" I don't think so. And I hope after this, Blaine checks in with a doctor.

Kimbo Slice Punches David Blaine In The Gut [Fanhouse]

PHOTO: Fightlinker's Flickr

MMA Junkie relays the whole expletive-filled confrontation:

"I seen some [expletive] today. I seen some [expletive], some garbage-ass [expletive]. I'm a heavyweight, and I feel I'm a true heavyweight. (James) Thompson? Much respect. But I'm saying it like this. Kimbo Slice, man, that was just garbage, man."

The Cousins of Ron Mexico rightly suggest that Kimbo will be a huge underdog going into this bout, but he does have the benefit of a few months of Bas Rutten training still to come.

Kimbo has an uphill battle to garner respect from the rest of the human cockfighting community and he's always one loss away from being relegated back to the streets or, worse, the carnival circuit, wrestling grizzly bears and knocking out mules.

Kimbo Slice To Fight Brett "The Grim' Rogers [Cousins Of Ron Mexico]
Report: Kimbo Slice To Fight Brett Rogers In October [MMA Frenzy]
Kimbo Slice And Brett Rogers Have Altercation At EliteXC Presser [MMA Junkie]

One of the more disturbing and enjoyably gross aspects of Saturday night's EliteXC prime time bloodfest was the inevitable popping of James "Colossus" Thompson's swelled cauliflower ear by the mighty right of Kimbo Slice. As Kimbo's fist kept wailing and wailing on the purple upper region of Thompson's ear, it was only a matter of seconds until the messy pop. It was like watching a crazy person attack a pinata with an aluminum bat.

Writer Ryan Spoon does a wonderful job outlining the sequence of events and offers up this handy little Wiki-nition of the gnarly condition that America witnessed up close and personal Saturday night:

Cauliflower ear is a condition most common among wrestlers, rugby players, mixed martial artists, and boxers. If the external portion of the ear suffers a blow, a blood clot or other fluid may collect under the perichondrium. This separates the cartilage from the overlying perichondrium that is its source of nutrients, causing the cartilage to die. This leads to a formation of fibrous tissue in the overlying skin. When this happens, the outer ear becomes permanently swollen and deformed, thus resembling a cauliflower.

Anybody have the feeling that the more and more popular this sport becomes, Cauliflower Ears will suddenly become sexy? Ladies love a man who's strong, rugged and deformed.

Kimbo Slice Teaches Us About James Thompson's Ear and Cauliflower Ear [Be Recruited Sports Wrap]

do you think Deadspin would be interested in having AJ interview Mr. Kimbo Slice while AJ is in town for the Superbowl? if you guys are unfamiliar with Kimbo, i am including some links so you can see who i am talking about (i think you will understand why discretion and confidentiality are of importance to me). Long story short, Kimbo's employer is a very old friend of a mutual friend of me & Pot Roast. Pot Roast thought it might be a good idea, let me know what you think and if you're interested, i'll talk to my friend and see if this can be arranged.

Lt. Winslow proved invaluable in so many other facets of that week, it is not surprising that he would be so forward-thinking to offer Deadspin a ride on Kimbo's comet tail long before ESPN gave him the cover and he became the uber-popular sideshow power-punching freak he is today. We both passed on the offer. Neither of us were that intrigued by MMA at the time and thought that only the most maladjusted readers would be interested in an interview with what appeared to be, a deranged, violent homeless person who had some sort of connection to a pornography studio. Hindsight mocks us.

Even though Kimbo didn't quickly destroy James Thompson with the scary backalley haymakers that have thus far paved his way to stardom, the fight did nothing to diminish his popularity. Plenty of mainstream sports pages are weighing in on the Kimbo spectacle, confused at what they're watching or why they're watching. Will Kimbo single-handedly destroy the business of MMA — or enhance it.

Kimbo has miles to go before he can conceivably be thought of as an elite technical fighter (James Thompson proved how vulnerable he can be if you get him on the ground), but if he continues to train and challenge himself with better fighters he can only get better. The one thing Saturday night's fight proved more than anything else is Kimbo's supreme marketability; he will fight again — and people will watch.

Mixed martial arts show with Kimbo Slice scores big in Los Angeles [LA Times]
Pulling No Punches, Brawler Wins His Prime-Time Debut [NY Times]
The Legend Of Kimbo Slice Takes 38 Consecutive Blows To The Head [Deadspin]
World, Meet Kimbo [Lt. Winslow]

I can't speak for the other MMA newbs out there, but I learned a few things during the EliteXC broadcast last night: apparently all MMA fights are stopped well before necessary. That and Kimbo Slice might not be living up to his outsize reputation. First, the announcer described internet sensation was saved by the bell at the end of the second round as he was trapped by James Thompson and taking a couple dozen consecutive shots to his baldie pate. Then, of course, Thompson's bolus-ear-thing went splooge all over the ring and that was that.

All in all, even if there very several questionable stoppages, there was no questioning the entertainment value of the event. Gus Johnson was in fine form with his "PUNCH! PUNCH! PUNCH!" See, when I met Gus the other week, this is what I was hoping for (the screaming, not the punching). But nnnoooo, it was all "Look at all these fucking hot women" only in his best indoor voice (even though it was outside).

I wonder if he had the same to say about Gina Carano? I know I did.

Like many who will be tuning in, I'm a MMA neophyte and haven't seen any of the headlining Kimbo Slice beyond the well-circulated YouTube videos. Michael David Smith at Fanhouse put together a handy guide to MMA for the mainstream media, but you don't have to be a clueless newspaper writer to appreciate it (you can be a clueless former newspaper writer, like me).

(Looks like we're back for good - Nibbles done went all squirrelly on us this afternoon).

Dana White, UFC's cueballed, loudmouthed promoter, has also held a negative opinion of Kimbo, but in a phone interview on Friday he said he'd absolutely consider letting Chuck pound on him if Slice got some legit wins.

"If he [Kimbo] fought anybody that mattered, I would book that tomorrow," he said.

White says he knows how much interest would be in that fight, but given Kimbo's weak all-around fighting skills and the fact that he's under contract by EliteXC (a fighting organization which White said, thrives on booking " freak show bouts" ), it would take a little bit of time.

First and foremost, Kimbo has to become a better fighter.

"The fact is, Kimbo's not there yet. He would get destroyed. I heard he just got knocked out by Forrest Griffin last week in a sparring match after a kick to the head, " he said. White said Kimbo's bout with a clearly out-of-shape Tank Abbot last February was proved absolutely nothing.

"Tank Abbott?! I mean, come on. That guy was a bad UFC fighter. A friend of mine said he was out at a bar the week before that fight and he saw Tank there drinking beers. He went up to him and was like 'Aren't you supposed to be fighting Kimbo soon?," White said.

So, for right now, Kimbo Slice vs. Chuck Liddell is a little while away. Slice is scheduled to fight James "Megapunk"Thompson on May 31st on CBS, a bout that will be Kimbo's toughest professional one so far in his short career. If Kimbo takes care of business during that fight and shows some marked improvements, expect the rumors to resurface — and White to reconsider.

"I'd take him [Kimbo] absolutely seriously — but, again, he hasn't beat anybody. In this sport, it's all about 'Who have you beat right now?" And he hasn't beat anbody."

Let's hope Kimbo beats the crap out of Thompson and shows some real skill besides his devastating punching power. Because if Kimbo vs. Liddell actually happened, it would absolutely be the most watched, most hyped, most talked about MMA fight in its short history — even if KImbo gets annihilated in 20 seconds.