Tuesday, May 27, 2008

CAGE POTATO = PAYOUTS FOR UFC 84


Official salary and bonus numbers for UFC 84’s fighters have been released by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Here’s how the guys stacked up:

B.J. Penn: $250,000 ($125,000 to show, $125,000 to win)
Wanderlei Silva: $225,000 ($150,000 to show*, $75,000 for Knockout of the Night)
Tito Ortiz: $210,000
Lyoto Machida: $100,000 ($50,000 to show, $50,000 to win)
Wilson Gouveia: $93,000 ($18,000 to show, $75,000 for Fight of the Night)
Rousimar Palhares: $85,000 ($5,000 to show, $5,000 to win, $75,000 for Submission of the Night)
Goran Reljic: $81,000 ($3,000 to show, $3,000 to win, $75,000 for Fight of the Night)
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou: $80,000 ($40,000 to show, $40,000 to win)
Thiago Silva: $50,000 ($25,000 to show, $25,000 to win)
Rich Clementi: $40,000 ($20,000 to show, $20,000 to win)
Dong Hyun Kim: $40,000 ($20,000 to show, $20,000 to win)
Sean Sherk: $35,000
Kazuhiro Nakamura: $20,000
Ivan Salaverry: $20,000
Shane Carwin: $12,000 ($6,000 to show, $6,000 to win)
Yoshiyuki Yoshida: $12,000 ($6,000 to show, $6,000 to win)
Terry Etim: $10,000
Keith Jardine: $10,000
Christian Wellisch: $10,000
Jon Koppenhaver: $8,000
Antonio Mendes: $4,000
Jason Tan: $3,000
* Wanderlei Silva’s guaranteed $150,000 salary doesn’t depend on a win bonus.

Overpaid: Wilson Gouveia. Looking back on UFC 84 a year from now, is the two-round almost-war between Gouveia and Goran Reljic going to be remembered by anyone? Yes, Reljic’s relentless left head-kicks were pretty, but Gouveia should have eventually figured out that they were coming. (For us, the presence of Mirko Cro Cop in Reljic’s corner was the early tip-off.)

Underpaid: A lot of people — particularly Shane Carwin, whose Knockout of the Night bonus was robbed from him by Wanderlei Silva. The way I saw it, Carwin’s single-punch, mouthpiece-ejecting KO of Christian Wellisch was more deserving then Wandy’s slightly more prolonged ground-and-pound TKO of Jardine, and Carwin could probably use the money more. Other than that, what the fuck is up with the UFC’s newcomers making three, four, and six thousand dollars to show? Goddamned slave wages. The UFC made $3.7 million off of “Ill Will”’s gate; they could certainly afford to establish a minimum base salary of $10,000 for their fighters if they wanted to.

Monday, May 26, 2008

DEF LEPPARDS SECRET TO TIME PROVEN METHODS


DEF LEPPARD frontman Joe Elliott recently spoke to the UK's Times Online about the secret to the group's continued success.

"Everyone's gotta get old," Elliott said. "What we do is extremely physical. Can you imagine someone of 48 in the Premiership? We're still in the Premiership. But you've gotta be sensible if you want to stop it from falling apart. Diet's the thing. I had a bowl of soup when I got here."

He added, "In five years time I'll be 53. Will we still be together? Yes. I mean, I don't know whether it's because we're scared shitless of things falling apart. We come from a working-class background where [adopts old-man Yorkshire drawl] 'You've got one chance, son, take it while you can or you're back to the factory.' So this [he gestures to the empty stage] becomes the Holy Grail and you've gotta cling on to it, baby. But if it all fell apart tomorrow I'm not gonna burst into tears. I'd look at it and I'd go, 'Well, we've won.' Because we got this far. And that's way further than most. I mean, what's better than rock 'n' roll? Exactly. Nothing."

Sunday, May 25, 2008

PENN WANTS ST. PIERRE NOW !!




LAS VEGAS (AP) -B.J. Penn has his sights set on Georges St. Pierre.

After battering former title holder Sean Sherk over three rounds to retain his 155-pound ultimate fighting championship Saturday night, the Hawaiian mixed martial arts fighter asked fans if they wanted to see a rematch with the UFC welterweight champion.

St. Pierre won a split decision at 170 pounds when they met in March 2006.

The sellout crowd of 14,773 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena howled with delight at the idea.

Asked about the matchup at the post-fight news conference, UFC president Dana White said there is one more interesting fight for Penn in the 155-round ranks, presumably the winner of an August bout between Kenny Florian and Roger Huerta. The winner of that fight is supposed to get a shot at the title.

But White said he would not dismiss a Penn-St. Pierre rematch, prompting Penn to clap his hands. St. Pierre, meanwhile, has to get past No. 1 welterweight contender Jon Fitch.

Penn made no secret that neither Florian nor Huerta get him interested.

``We'll watch them go do their thing, but it's obvious what the fans want,'' Penn said.

Penn hurt St. Pierre in the first round of their first fight, cutting him and doing damage. But Montreal-based St. Pierre rallied in the second and third rounds. Penn says he went from the fight to a nightclub, while St. Pierre went to a hospital.

HERRING TO FACE LESNAR AT UFC 87


MMAWeekly has confirmed that Heath Herring has agreed to face Brock Lesnar at UFC 87 (August 9th, Minneapolis), filling in for Mark Coleman, who dropped out of the event after tearing a knee ligament during a sparring session last Friday.
Herring isn’t nearly the underdog that Coleman would have been. One of the most experienced heavyweights currently active, Herring holds notable victories over Mark Kerr, Igor Vonchanchyn, and most recently Cheick Kongo at UFC 82, and has had the honor of being beaten by Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko Filipovic, and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (three times!). Though he’s good with submissions and wouldn’t be giving up a size advantage to Lesnar, Herring’s questionable takedown defense could make this a favorable matchup for the ex-WWE star.

As for Coleman, he’s pretty bummed about his injury, although he’ll only be out of action for six weeks and won’t need surgery.

PENN RUINS SHERKS COMEBACK.


The big question entering last night's Ultimate Fighting Championship 84 lightweight title fight in Las Vegas was whether Sean Sherk could win clean -- and win after being out of the ring for 10 months. Sherk was stripped of his 155-pound lightweight belt (and suspended for six months) after testing positive for steroids following his title-defense win over Hermes Franca last July 7.

His suspension now complete, Sherk, a 34-year-old Minnesota native with 40 fights over the past nine years, stepped back into the Octagon against current lightweight champion B.J. Penn -- and got a rude answer.

Penn, 29, a jiujitsu expert from Hawaii, unleashed a savage knee to the right side of Sherk's head as the third round of the scheduled five-rounder came to a close. Sherk crumbled, received nine blows to the head from Penn as the bell sounded, and then watched from the canvas as the referee stopped the fight. Officially, it ended as a TKO for Penn, who improved to 8-3-1 in UFC fights, 14-4-1 overall.

Except for the opening seconds of the fight, when Sherk briefly took down Penn, the bout was fought on the feet. And a boxing match was not to Sherk's advantage.

With both his right and left eyes bloodied from punches through the first two rounds, Sherk might not even have seen the left-right combination that Penn landed late in the third. Sherk was left reeling, and Penn then leaped into the air, landing the knee that signaled Sherk's demise.

"I finished with the lead punch, and I was thinking, it's got to be finished. I know the time is done [in the round] but I don't want to keep [beating him like] that," Penn said. "Sean Sherk is a great competitor."

With a three-inch height advantage (5 feet 9 to 5-6) and a longer reach (70 inches to 67), Penn came into the fight as the better boxer and striker, Sherk the better wrestler. But Sherk (5-3 UFC, 36-3-1 overall) only made one attempt at a takedown in 15 minutes of fight time.

"B.J. is really hard to take down," Sherk said. "I wanted to establish a striking game before I took the fight to the ground. I thought I was pretty competitive on the feet so I kept the fight on the feet."

Penn is one of only two men in UFC history to hold a belt in two weight classes (welterweight and light heavyweight). Randy Couture won UFC championships in the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions.

Penn has suggested that he may move up to the welterweight division (170 pounds) so that he can get a title shot against champion Georges St. Pierre.

Two light heavyweight (205 pounds) bouts featuring fighters seeking a title shot against Quinton Jackson highlighted the undercard. Brazilian Wanderlei Silva (32-8) defeated Keith Jardine (13-4-1) by first-round knockout, and Lyoto Machida (13-0), seen as the future of the light heavyweight division, defeated Tito Ortiz in a three-round decision. Ortiz, a five-time light heavyweight champion, dropped to 15-6-1 and said following the bout that he would likely leave UFC, though not retire from mixed martial arts. Ortiz nearly had Machida in a submission in the final seconds (by securing a leg triangle around Machida's head), but Machida escaped.

By Dave Yanovitz
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, May 25, 2008; Page D08

Friday, May 23, 2008

COOL, LETS HATE BACK!! DANA WHITE IS MY BITCH!!!!


MMAjunkie wasr eporting at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas about this evening's weigh-ins for tomorrow's "UFC 84: Ill Will" event.

The fighters hit the scales at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT), and none made a bigger splash than Tito Ortiz. Fighting for what will likely be his final time in the UFC, thanks to a heated rivalry with UFC president Dana White, Ortiz was adorned in a T-shirt that read, "Dana is my bitch." (White didn't attend the weigh-ins.)

Ortiz, and the night's other 21 fighters (including headliners B.J. Penn and Sean Sherk), all successfully made weight.
MAIN CARD (TELEVISED)

Champ B.J. Penn (155) vs. Sean Sherk (155)
Keith Jardine (205) vs. Wanderlei Silva (205)
Lyoto Machida (203) vs. Tito Ortiz (205)
Thiago Silva (205) vs. Antonio Mendes (203)
Wilson Gouveia (205) vs. Goran Reljic (205)
PRELIMINARY CARD (NOT TELEVISED)

Rousimar Palhares (185) vs. Ivan Salaverry (185)
Kazuhiro Nakamura (206) vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (204)
Rich Clementi (155) vs. Terry Etim (155)
Jon Koppenhaver (170) vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida (170)
Dong-Hyun Kim (171) vs. Jason Tan (170)
Shane Carwin (252) vs. Christian Wellisch (230)

also...GARY SHAW...kindly put Dana "the idiot" Whites comment in the dumb box too,lol...read tis...
With the company's debut on network television just about a week away, EliteXC Live Events President Gary Shaw has finally used the CBS deal to taunt his rival at the UFC.

During a Thursday conference call with May 31 "EliteXC: PRIMETIME" headliners Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson and James Thompson, Shaw was asked about some critical comments recently made by UFC President Dana White.

White had stated that someone as small as B.J. Penn -- the UFC's 155-pound lightweight champion -- could easily defeat the heavyweight Ferguson in an MMA bout. As expected, Shaw didn't much care for White's fight prediction, calling him -- among other things -- "a complete idiot."

"Dana White is a jerkoff," Shaw said. "That's what Dana White is -- a [expletive] idiot -- and you can quote me on that. If he cared about mixed martial arts and the sport instead of caring about his big ass swimming pool and his own personal gains, he'd understand that statements like that make someone a jerk. First of all, I love B.J. Penn, and he is a friend of mine. Kimbo Slice, with one shot, would knock B.J. Penn out. But they are never going to fight. It is an idiotic statement from a complete idiot."

White made the comments in Wednesday's edition of the Long-Beach Press-Telegram. He managed to insult both headliners when asked how Ferguson, who will fight professionally for just the third time, would fare in the UFC.

"You know what would happen if he fought in the UFC?" White said to the newspaper. "I'd put him in against B.J. Penn, and (Slice) would get annihilated. The guy he is fighting, James Thompson, might get knocked out before he gets into the cage. Kimbo has no credibility at all in MMA. ... I am telling you, B.J. Penn would beat him."

It's those kinds of idiotic statements, Shaw said, that prompted CBS officials to work with EliteXC rather than the UFC.

"If he wasn't an idiot, May 31 would have been the UFC instead of EliteXC," Shaw said. "I rest my case."
Hooray for Gary Shaw!!!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

LEPPARD ROARING BACK , A LOOK AT DEF LEPPARD TODAY


Def Leppard may be seen as Sheffield’s finest sons but talking to singer Joe Elliott, you soon discover the Midlands have played a crucial role in shaping the band into the rock superstars of today.

But you have to back track a long way to get there.

Back past the multi-million selling 1980s success of the Hysteria and Pyromania albums, with legendary producer Mutt Lange shaping the band’s sound and guiding them into the stratosphere.

Past the car crash that cost drummer Rick Allen his left arm, and past the alcohol-related death of guitarist Steve Clark.

Back, in fact, 29 years, inside a building in the Staffordshire countryside designed for agricultural events but which was at that moment filled with 10,000 Midland rock fans.

“Supporting AC/DC at Bingley Hall in Stafford in 1979, that was the first time Mutt Lange ever saw us,” recalls Elliott.

That connection was to prove crucial, as Lange later took the natural talent and raw energy of five northern lads and helped turn it into a global monster, breaking album and concert sales records around the world.

“He said ‘I can see they’ve got something’,” says Elliott, but it was to be a while before band and producer would hook up together.

“By the time we came to do our first record he wasn’t available but by High and Dry (Def Leppard’s second album) he was.”

The rest, as they say is history, with the hit singles Photograph, Animal and Pour Some Sugar On Me among the results of that extraordinary chemistry.

“We also played Wolverhampton Lafayette Club, earlier in 1979 . . . about June,” says Elliott.

On that occasion there was another important music biz contact in the audience, American record company man Cliff Bernstein, who had flown over especially to see the teenage band in action and who would later manage Def Leppard.

But there’s another reason the Lafayette gig sticks in Elliott’s memory.

“I split my trousers seconds before we were due on stage,” he laughs. “I had no option but to go on. I had to literally gaffa tape my trousers together.”

Now Elliott and his bandmates are set for another Midlands connection, an appearance at Birmingham’s NEC Arena on June 18 to promote their new album, Songs From The Sparkle Lounge featuring the single Nine Lives.

The NEC gig sees Def Leppard line up alongside co-headliners Whitesnake, fronted by David Coverdale. But Elliott insists it won’t be all egos and prima donnas.

“We’re both the same size on the poster!” he says for a start.

“I’ve known David for 25 years. There’s no rivalry other than comic rivalry . . . who drinks the most honey and lemon for their vocal cords.

“We must e-mail each other 50 times a week and it’s all comedy, Black Adder jokes and Monty Python.”

The co-headline tour, which also features newcomers Black Stone Cherry, makes a lot of sense, says Elliott, and follows on from successful jaunts in the States with Bryan Adams, Journey, Styx and Reo Speedwagon.

It seems to be a success over here too, with the sold out signs ready to go up at many venues.

“We could do 4,000 seater venues on our own,” says Elliott, “But put us together and we’re doing 10,000 seater arenas.”

When I ask how he feels about having to follow Whitesnake on stage he replies: “I think it will bring out the best in both of us. A lot of people will think it’s a match made in heaven.

“You can’t beat a sold out show. Teams and bands play better to a big audience.”

The new album’s unusual name comes from the “Sparkle Lounge” an area set up backstage before gigs with a few guitars, amps and a small drum kit surrounded by glittering lights to create a suitable ambience for songwriting.

It’s a far cry from the band’s previous recording practices, where the band members have met in the studios with separate riffs, lyrics and ideas and then spent an age starting to mould songs together. This time the songs emerged from the Sparkle Lounge more or less complete, an idea championed by guitarist Phil Collen.

It meant the band entered the studio already knowing the songs inside out, much as they did with their previous album, the covers collection Yeah!

Elliott explains: “We normally finish a tour, take a few months off and then get together. This time we forced ourselves at Phil’s insistence to go into the Sparkle Lounge every day we had something to do.

“We only wrote two or three songs in there but we did filter other stuff in there. Most songs were just started there but they all went through the Def Leppard meat grinder.

“Following the covers album it set us up. We said ‘Wouldn’t it be great to go into the studio with it already written, so we know the songs before we record them.’”

There are myriad influences apparent on Songs From the Sparkle Lounge, from AC/DC to Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Queen and even the Glitter Band, but it all adds up to a sound which is undeniably Def Leppard.

“We tried to make a record that covers all bases,” says Elliott. “It’s the heaviest thing that we’ve done for a long time.

“Nine out of 11 of the songs were written by one guy but performed by five guys. Just like Queen – the songs were all different but they were all Queen.”

With the song Nine Lives, which also features country singer Tim McGraw, Def Leppard are also celebrating making history by being the first band to release a new single as a download through a video game before it’s traditional release. In this case the song is available as a download through the game Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock.

I tell Joe that the Guitar Hero series in particular has introduced my son and stepson to a whole host of classic rock music they wouldn’t have had a chance of hearing on the TV and radio – there’s a whole new audience of youngsters getting into rock.

“It’s great,” he says. “They’ve got kids in America now going round singing Foghat, Kiss and now Leppard. All these opportunities are coming to us because the older people that are running these companies are into us.”

With the current upsurge in live music, a resurgent interest in rock in general and sales of the new album and single performing strongly, things seem to be swinging Def Leppard’s way.

“There’s not much of a downside to being in Def Leppard in 2008,” says Elliott.

“We are not a burned out force. We’re still capable of writing the best song we’ve ever written.”

Saturday, May 17, 2008

UFC TO GERMANY ???


The Ultimate Fighting Championship over the past year has made a significant move into the U.K. The promotion followed that up with a successful debut last month in Montreal where UFC 83 raked in a $5.2 million live gate.

“The Montreal event was big all the way around,” said UFC president Dana White. “We broke records with the venue. I think we broke every record in the venue’s history. Pay-per-views went very well, everything was good.”

It’s no surprise then that with all the success the promotion has had in expanding not only into new states across the U.S., but also in moving into the U.K. and Canada, the UFC will soon be setting up the Octagon in even more countries around the world. Next on the list is Germany.

In a media conference call on Thursday, White was asked of the promotion’s interest in France. He glossed over France heading straight to its neighbor to the North and a few other locals.

“We're focused on Germany, the Philippines, and Australia next,” he stated.

Pressed by Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports about a rumored location in Berlin, White said that it wasn’t a done deal yet. “We’re working on it right now,” he said, adding, “Germany is what we’re looking at next.”

White did not disclose a specific time frame for the move into Germany. He didn’t offer any details on the Philippines or Australia either, but did reinforce the UFC’s intent to promote in both locations.

“The Philippines is definitely happening, we're working on that right now, Australia and Germany, those three are right now,” he stated. “And now we're starting to focus on doing something in Brazil.”

Details on Brazil are far more sparse even than White’s secrecy on Germany. “Probably about three weeks ago, I did an interview and I said, ‘You know what? Brazil isn't even on our radar right now.’ And that's changed actually in the last three weeks. We're seriously looking at Brazil right now because there's a lot of interesting economical things going on down there right now.”

The plans to expand into Germany, the Philippines and Australia only serve to back White’s statements earlier this year, when he stated that the UFC and mixed martial arts in general are global in scope.

On Thursday, White once again used his comparison of the NFL’s troubled attempts to expand its sport into Europe to explain why he thinks that MMA will succeed.

As he said in January of this year, “Look at the NFL. There's nothing bigger in this country than the NFL. They've been spending billions of dollars trying to break into Europe and they can't do it, because nobody gives a (expletive) about football in Europe. They didn't grow up playing football, they don't know about it.

“I take two guys and put them in the Octagon and they can use any martial art they want. It translates through all different cultural barriers, language barriers... people love fighting.”

He continued, “I think that this thing can be global. I think that this thing can be the biggest sport in the world. I already know it's the most exciting sport in the world.”

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

DEF'S JOE ELLOITT PICKS ESSENTIAL TRACKS OF THE LEPPS, PAST AND PRESENT


With new album Songs From The Sparkle Lounge imminent, Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott chooses his essential Leppard tracks, from Photograph and Animal to new song Love
In this Def Leppard interview, vocalist Joe Elliott chooses his essential tracks from both new Def Leppard album Songs From The Sparkle Lounge and the band's extensive back catalogue.

Joe Elliott's Essential Def Leppard Songs
Photograph

From: Pyromania

Joe: “Because for the kind of music we make, it is the classic pop song. It’s got all the right bits to it – it’s got a good storyline, it’s got great heart behind it, great melodies, brilliant guitars and it’s all wrapped up in about three and a half minutes, which all the best songs are. We took a leaf out of the Beatles’ and the Stones’ book and kept it short.”

Animal From Hysteria
Animal

From: Hysteria

Joe: “I think Animal, again, is another classic pop song. It’s got all the ingredients of a song that I would rush out and buy myself if it was done by somebody else and that’s how I normally judge our stuff.”

Eye Of The Hunter

From: Pyromaniac

Joe: “Eye Of The Hunter from Pyromaniac is a great rock track. I love the beginning riff and I know it’s one of Clarkey’s (Phil Clarke, guitar) favourites. I know the lyrics are a little Rambo-esque but it was basically me sitting down right in the middle of the Falklands War and going: ‘This is a bit like Vietnam, isn’t it, but it’s on the other side of the world and it’s the English version.’ We just decided it was a rocky enough track for us to not just write the poppy lyrics but to try something with a bit of an edge to it, which we have done before and we will do again.”

Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad?

From: Adrenalise

Joe: “I think that’s probably one of our better slow songs. It was from the Adrenalise album – I actually preferred it to Love Bites, which was a bigger hit for some reason in America and in England. That said, Love Bites got to Number 1 but the other one actually sold more.”

New Def Leppard Album Songs From The Sparkle Lounge
Love

From: Songs From The Sparkle Lounge

Joe: “I’ve got to take my hat off to Rick Savage and I will take a plaudit for forcing him to do it. I earned it for pushing him and saying: ‘You’ve got to finish that song that you started.’ He may well have done anyway but I definitely gave him a push over the edge. I think it’s the most ambitious thing that he’s ever written and it was certainly a stretch to do. We’d certainly acknowledge the Queen influence on that song but we tried to put our own spin on it. I think a few of the tracks on the new album actually reference other bands – there’s a track on there called Bad Actors which is kind of from the AC/DC book of songwriting but so what, you know? It’s good to do a song like that every now and again.”

New Def Leppard Album Songs From The Sparkle Lounge
C’mon C’mon

From: Songs From The Sparkle Lounge

“This song would absolutely have to be on there because to me that is just like everything that we grew up listening to, all crammed into three and a half minutes. It’s got every aspect of Radio 1 in 1972 to 1973 for me. It’s Slade, T-Rex, The Glitter Band, you name it…it’s all that groovy pop glam stuff and I’m immensely proud of making a record that sounds like that.”

Promises

From: Euphoria

“Again it’s another classic Leps song – it’s got melodies, it’s got all the arrangements and all the subtleties and dynamics. Dynamics is a word that gets used less and less these days but for us they’re very very important. We like the way that songs build then go back down a bit, crescendo back up again. It’s a very important aspect for me and something that you can’t ignore.”

Die Hard The Hunter from Pyromania
Die Hard The Hunter

From: Pyromania

“Eye Of The Hunter from Pyromania is a great rock track. I love the beginning riff and I know it’s one of Clarkey’s (Phil Clarke, guitar) favourites. I know the lyrics are a little Rambo-esque but it was basically me sitting down right in the middle of the Falklands War and going: ‘This is a bit like Vietnam, isn’t it, but it’s on the other side of the world and it’s the English version.’ We just decided it was a rocky enough track for us to not just write the poppy lyrics but to try something with a bit of an edge to it, which we have done before and we will do again.”

From The Inside

From Retro Active/ Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad? B-side

“This song is absolutely not typical for us whatsoever. For me, it’s a bit of a departure in that we actually sat down with an acoustic guitar and we wrote this song. I actually wrote it for a TV show in Ireland but we ended up recording it and putting it on Retro. It was all written about a walk over O’Connell Bridge in Dublin once, where I saw, in the middle of the day, about six kids with needles hanging out of their arms. Just sitting on the floor asleep, brain-dead on heroin. So it was my attempt at writing about the drug from the drug’s point of view, as in ‘From The Inside’ and what it was doing to the kid. It was the first time I’d really written an observational lyric before – this was actually poetry set to music rather than a set of words made to fit a song. And it was sad poetry as well because it was heartbreaking to see. They were all about 16 years old and half of them are probably dead by now, or they’ve wasted half their lives on this terrible drug.”

Def Leppard's Earliest Release
Getcha Rocks Off

From: The Def Leppard E.P.

“I think it’s worth noting a song like this off the Def Leppard E.P., just because of the actual energy and power. That songs was one of those things that we just banged together and it had a natural momentum. It didn’t have a great deal of thought behind it. Pete (Willis, former guitarist) came in with a riff and we went from there. Really, it’s got all the faults that you might expect it would

Monday, May 12, 2008

TIM SYLVIA TO FIGHT AGAIN 2 WEEKS AFTER FEDOR FIGHT.

Despite not having completed their first MMA event, scheduled for June 14th in Chicago, Adrenaline MMA has already announced their second event. Adrenaline MMA President and CEO Monte Cox announced that the promotion will hold its second-ever event on September 6th at the i wireless Center in Moline, Illinois through MMA Weekly.

Opened in 1993, the i wireless center holds 12,000-plus spectators and is located in the Quad Cities region, which includes Bettendorf, Iowa, home of Miletich Fighting Systems.

Miletich fighters Tim Sylvia (24-4) and Ben Rothwell (27-5) have been confirmed as appearing on the September fight card, though their opponents have not yet been announced.

Prior to his September bout, Sylvia is scheduled to face top-ranked heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko at an Affliction-promoted event in July.

DEF LEPPARD WILL TOUR WELL INTO 2009 SAYS JOE ELLIOTT


]
Def Leppard To Tour Well Into 2009

Def Leppard Songs The Sparkle Lounge Tour 2008.

Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliott revealed that the band's world tour could last well into 2009. Joe was speaking during an interview with Virgin Radio's Classic Rock station in the UK along with Phil Collen. They also revealed some details of the next album including at least two new tracks. And that the album could be done in the same way as the Sparkle Lounge.

Interview Highlights:

Phil Collen - "World tour actually - we keep getting these additions to it like South America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand. We've gotta go back to the States. We've gotta fill in the dates we cancelled - Canada."

Joe Elliott - "India we've had to move cause of the elections. We were due to go to India next week but apparently they're not allowed gatherings of more than 15 people! So us and the cricket is off apparently. So that's been shifted so we've got seven weeks in Europe starting 21st May. That's Europe and England obviously and Scotland. Ireland as well. And then we've got the make up gigs in America and Canada that we had to cancel. And then after that I think we've got Japan, New Zealand, Australia, South America."

Joe Elliott - "It's probably gonna go well into next year. Actually I've got a feeling that by the time next summer comes along we'll either be doing some kind of festival thing over here or we're back to the States doing more of those enormodomes."

Joe Elliott - "To us it's just an ongoing thing we're the hamster in the wheel that just keeps going round - it is literally tour/album, tour/album, tour/album that's what we do you know. Until we get really sick of it that's what we will do. We love the idea of making new music. We won't be a nostalgia act. You won't find us going out on tour year in year out when there's no new music. Cos I think it would drive us up the wall. As long as we can stay relevant and the only way to do that is to keep putting new music out and we've just got to reinvent the wheel when it comes to how important the new music is. We probably haven't written our best song yet. That's the way we have to look at it."

Phil Collen - "I think we could have a Sparkle Lounge Two. Because actually there was one track we didn't quite finish. But we got all the backing track done and I think there's a melody...." (DJ asked about a YEAH! part two.)

Joe Elliott - "We just ran out of time - it's like you can either put this record out now or we can labour over this song. It's like let's labour over it on the next album. I mean every record we've ever made has got a leftover from the year before and every band does that. 'Photograph' was something that didn't get finished on High 'n' Dry but nobody else knew that except us. So I'm letting the cat out of the bag but you know it's up to us to be able to say oh it's an old one - it's only a year old and it's not finished so it's still new cos it's a work-in-progress. We've got two or three little things like that."

Phil Collen - "Yeah we had a song we started with Mutt as well and we haven't finished that off either. So I think the way we did Sparkle Lounge is definitely the way to go cos it's keeps you - it's fun and inspiring. And you don't get bored and you actually know what the directions going to be cos you're there on tour. It's great."

Joe Elliott - "And there's more variety because we've all learnt how to write a song over the years. So it's kinda like the way Queen used to do stuff. If you've got the two Roger songs, two Brian, two Freddie's, two John Deacon's."

This is the first mention of New Zealand by a band member and 2009 touring - no mention of China this time. In a recent interview Vivian mentioned touring up to December and taking a break in 2009. This could well happen with touring starting again in the summer.

+ From the Sunday Night Live Show (Joe/Phil recorded Interview)

DJ Ben Jones - "Will you entertain the idea of doing some festivals in the UK next summer? I don't think you're down for any this year.I would love to see Def Leppard at the Isle Of Wight Festival, at the V Festival. I think you'd go down a storm."

Joe Elliott - "Absolutely. If 90,000 people agree with you we'd be the first to turn up. You know it's one of those things unless we've organised our own Lep fest. Like the Ozzfest or the Crue Fest which apparently is happening this year. You have to be invited on. It's as simple as that."

Phil Collen - "We'd love to."

DJ Ben Jones - "I'll speak to people, I'm inviting you now!."

Joe Elliott - "I think there's a way to make it work if Tony Bennet can do Glastonbury, we should be able to play the Isle Of Wight!."

DJ Ben Jones - "It's like going on holiday as well when you go across the Solent and there you are right on the beach. It's lovely."

Phil Collen - "When is that exactly?."

DJ Ben Jones - "It's in June. I mean you're busy this year..."

Joe Elliott - "Well if it's not the Isle Of Wight there's Download, we can do our own but you know the thing is this tour will go into next summer there's no doubt."

DJ Ben Jones - "Well entertain the idea for festivals."

Phil Collen - "Love to, yeah - get it going!."

Joe Elliott - "We've got the British tour, we've got America again, we've got Europe for seven weeks, we've got the Far East and Japan, Australia and New Zealand. That's gonna take us into early next year. Then we'll probably take a couple of months off, just because. And then we've got the summer to see what happens but..."

DJ Ben Jones - "I'm thinking about stuff already."

Joe Elliott - "We like the idea of that."

But do their management?...
Source defleppard.uk

Saturday, May 03, 2008

ADRENALINE 2 IN SEPTEMBER features TIM SYLVIA


(’Oh, hello there. This? Just some stuff I’m autographing because I’m famous. No big deal’)



Cage Potatoe says Monte Cox Announces Adrenaline 2 in September Featuring Sylvia, Rothwell
He may be still trying to fill out the first fight card for his new promotion, but Monte Cox is always looking ahead. The Adrenaline MMA CEO told MMA Weekly that the organization’s second show will take place in Moline, Ill. on September 6, and it will feature both Tim Sylvia and Ben Rothwell.

Of course, this means that Sylvia will be fighting for Adrenaline less than two months after taking on Fedor Emelianenko in their July 19 Affliction bout. When asked about how the suddenly overwhelming demand for Sylvia’s services might be affecting the new promotion and its non-exclusive contracts, Cox played it cool.

“We signed Tim Sylvia to Adrenaline. That’s a great sign for us. Then the Affliction thing comes along, what am I supposed to do? Tell Tim that he can’t fight the No. 1 fighter in the world in one of the biggest fights ever?” said Cox of the decision to allow Sylvia to fight for another promoter. “I’m not gonna tell him that. Why, just because I have a contract for him to fight for Adrenaline?

“We’re not going to do that stuff. If there are better fights out there that they have a chance to fight in and they want to do them and we want them to do them. Then that’s what we’re going to do, we’re going to fight outside of our own event.”

It’s a smart decision by Cox to put Sylvia and Rothwell on the card in the Quad Cities, which we like to refer to as “Miletich Camp Country.” Much will depend on who they can find as opponents, however. Regardless of what happens in Sylvia’s bout with Fedor, his stock is likely to move in one direction or another as a result. Still, it could be a long and busy summer in the world of new MMA organizations, so planning for September may be nothing more than hopes and dreams at this point.

Friday, May 02, 2008

PUT ON SOME MORE MAKE-UP YOU F#*KING BANDWAGONER


It was a seminal moment for mixed martial arts when CBS reached an agreement with EliteXC to put four MMA shows on network television. But it was a moment that the chairman of the board at CBS wishes hadn't happened.



Sumner Redstone, the billionaire who owns a controlling stake in CBS, said yesterday that the network's deal with EliteXC was a mistake, and that it is not "socially responsible" to air MMA on network television. "I'm a lover not a fighter," Redstone said. "I don't like the sport.

"

Of course, CBS routinely shows violent entertainment programming -- heads getting blown off, people being stabbed and shot, that sort of thing. Redstone has no problem with that, as long as the violence gets ratings.



And that's why if the first EliteXC show gets good ratings on CBS, I think we're going to see a statement from Redstone in which he says he was wrong, and MMA is a great sport. And if EliteXC gets bad ratings, I think we're going to see a statement from Redstone in which he says he was offended and has decided to call off the remaining three shows.