Part 2

Whatever you think of Frank Trigg you can’t deny he knows his shit and earns his wage talking MMA. Great stuff here. Trigg talks Fedor, Mir, Lesnar, why he was taken off the Affliction color commentary and who he thinks is the best fighter in the world. Guy is great at what he does.

Part 2

I’ve been pretty luck the last couple weeks.  Ryan Bader did a great interview with the Fukerton.  Jens Pulver killed it with his segment and now we get to hear from Varner.  What a great dude with great head on his shoulders.  Jamie spoke with us about his upcoming title defense against Donald Cerrone and his choice to leave the UFC for the WEC.  Jamie discussed the success of his camp at Arizona Combat, whether MMA fans are racist and does Brock Lesnar deserve his title.  Jamie is a great champion and a nice dude.  At 24, he’s got a long prosperous career ahead of him and I look forward to seeing his continued success.

To start with, I have Indy over Whale’s Vagina.  I like the Eagles to keep rolling over Minny and the AFC champs to stop the flying rats.  Those games could go any place, really.  I think the Dolphins may be the best story in the League for the past 10 years and what the Colts have done after the start they had has been miraculous.  I only differ from Mike Ditka on the Chargers game, so I think if I’m close to Da Coach, I’m in the right ballpark.  I’m only prepared to offer one lock and it is as follows:

Atlanta Falcons vs Arizona Cardinals

I have ties to both teams.  I love Atlanta and I adore Phoenix.  I have been to see both teams in person and watched them mature this season. I could not be more happy for each franchise.  The Cardinals have played as many home playoff games as I have in the past 50 years and the Falcons are in the middle of a race war.   I can honestly say I will be happy for either group if they come out on top, but I am picking the Falcons.  I’ll usually pick a veteran over a rookie, but Matt Ryan is an alien.  I don’t know how he is playing this well, but I do know that Kurt Warner likes to throw interceptions in big games.  I also know that  the “I have no legs” guy from that movie Kids tackles better that the Cards D.  It’s not a legless guy on a skateboard they will be be trying to take down this week, it’s the NFL’s MVP (IMO): Michael Turner . Couple that with Turner’s backup that could start on 50 % of the teams in the NFL:  Jerious Norwood.  

Even without Ryan and his scintillating chemisty with Roddy White, the Cards don’t have the balls to stop the ruthless ground attack that the Falcons possess.  Arizona is in a good spot because they are still vastly ahead of the Rams and Seahawks so they have a chance at the NFC  West crown for years to come. The people in the Valley of the Sun deserve a home playoff win, I just don’t think they are going to get it this year.

Part 2

Part 3

Jens is a class act.  I have lots of issues with my family as well so he is a man I can relate on a personal level.  The shit that this guy is having to overcome right now is unreal.  The emotion he shows in this interview in genuine and should be admired.  It’s rare you find a fighter of Pulver’s caliber that is this honest and forthcoming.  I can’t imagine how he is going to get into the ring with Faber and move past all of these issues, but I know one thing.  I will be pulling for Lil Evil.

If you use this interview, please link the article.  Don’t just embed the video.  Thank you.

David Laux who is the global executive in charge of games and interactive entertainment at IBM. Admittedly it’s not a company you would naturally associate with gaming, but they have a business stake in all of this. The company says its aim is to help the industry leverage IBM’s products in developing games and cutting overall costs.

While this is not mega new, Mr Laux reiterates the fact that the stereotypical spotty loner gamer is far from reality as is the belief that gaming turns people into dead heads.

Of course you realise pretty quickly how hoary that line is when you consider that the Electronic Software Association reports that 65% of American households play computer or video games and that 63% of parents believe games are a positive part of their children’s lives.

Depending on the type of game someone is playing, and the amount of time dedicated to that task, Mr Laux says the gamer will develop certain desirable skills.

“We have found across the board, if you look at different categories of games, they all have the ability to develop unique skills.

“That’s from the casual games which improve memorisation and the ability to discern details, to console games and shooter games that develop rapid decision making and to role playing games like the World of Warcraft that are very unique in producing leadership skills.”

All these skills are “directly transferable to a real life environment,” Mr Laux told me.

To better illustrate his point he talked about his 11-year-old daughter who came up against a problem while playing a game called Zoo Tycoon where the player is “challenged to build the most healthy and vibrant zoo possible.”

“Dad she says, “Should I hire a new janitor for my zoo?” Sure I said, go ahead,” explained Mr Laux.

“And then she said she couldn’t afford it out of her current income but really wanted to invest into capital improvement. She said if she didn’t then people wouldn’t come to her zoo because it will get old.

“And I said well why not hire the janitor and fire him when you are done.

“Well I could do that but if I do that then employee morale will go down and productivity will go down and it may cost more in the long run she said.”

Mr Laux said his daughter was still in grade school while grappling with these real life issues.

“I said holy cow, these are concepts I was having a tough time grasping until I got out into the real world. These kids are learning hard skills like business skills but also soft skills like how to interact with people, to communicate effectively, to articulate quickly and make rapid decisions.”

For the players of the World of Warcraft, Mr Laux is especially complimentary.

“The game produces tremendous leadership skills among players. It teaches you how to evaluate risk, build teams for specific tasks and it also teaches individuals not to over react if they are not selected for a specific task.”

The reason Mr Laux says is because these players “understand their skill set might not be right for the overall success of the whole team. This is about putting the group first and achieving a common goal.”

All of which is tremendously good news to WoW devotees who are getting it in the neck according to a report this week in the New York Times.

It said that players are being told not to mention their love of the game if they are in the market for a new job.

The paper reports that there is a belief that because players log as many as 30 hours a week on the game, they can’t really commit 100% to a job because “their focus is elsewhere.”

With its 11.5 million users, that surely must strike them as stone age thinking right there.

So lick my balls.