Wednesday, January 14, 2009


Assemblyman Bob Reilly Wants MMA Banned in NYS; Also, Crocodiles and Exclamation Points

Assemblyman Bob Reilly has become one of the most vocal dissenting voices in the push to get MMA legalized in New York State. At last month's legislative roundtable he blasted the sport because it "promotes violence", and his rhetoric has bled out into whatever interviews and editorials he can manage (check out MMAWeekly.com for his latest diatribe). But this isn't the first cause that Reilly has championed, and a little digging into official state records reveals the following legislative history:
  • In 2004, Reilly sponsored a bill to ban crocodiles, citing them as "nefarious, untrustable creatures who eat my luggage".
  • Also in 2004, Reilly sought to allow Westchester County to secede from New York State and the United States, effectively making it a country.
  • In 2006, Reilly tried to ban the exclamation point. According to Grammar Committee minutes, he believed the exclamation point to be "too violent". His proposal involved replacing it with a smiley-face emoticon.
  • In 2007, Reilly attempted to knight a constituent. This involved attacking the constituent with a sword.

From his history, it's clear that MMA could very well remain banned in New York State. Um, not.


UFC 93 Fun Facts

On Saturday, January 17th, the UFC returns to Ireland for UFC 93: "Guinness-Flavored Vomit" (cue festive Irish jig music). Anyhoo, here are some fun facts concerning the Dan Henderson/Rich Franklin-headlined event:
  • In the build-up to the main event, Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin have played up the fact that they're indifferent toward each other. In fact, they've never met, and for years Franklin thought Henderson was Matt Lindland.
  • Mark Coleman and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua are rematching after their Pride fight ended with Shogun badly dislocating his elbow. Their respective corners will also be rematching afterwards backstage, with someone standing on Wanderlei Silva's neck and Silva threatening to beat up Phil Baroni, Quinton Jackson and anyone else nearby.
  • Denis Kang is really a future version of Doctor Doom. He's here in this timeline thanks to a time machine.
  • Rousimar Palhares was raised in the jungles of the Amazon by a clan of uacari monkeys.
  • Marcus Davis and Chris Lytle have a gentleman's agreement to only punch each other in the face until they're concussed and brain damaged.