See? See?

It's Sunday.

PROGRESS SOFTWARE PLANAR SYSTEMS PEROT SYSTEMS PALM OSI SYSTEMS ORACLE OPENWAVE SYSTEMS ON SEMICONDUCTOR NVIDIA

An American iPhone In Paris

For the past 10 days, I've been in Paris. A few of us were there to cover the LeWeb conference, which was great, but I decided to stick around for a little while longer as I heard the city is amazing. Spoiler alert: it is. But I wasn't on vacation, I was working. I had all my tech with me ? including the best travel computer ever, the new MacBook Air, and even this thing. And, of course, my iPhone. But there was something peculiar about my iPhone in Paris. It actually worked. Like it was supposed to. All the time.�And it doesn't take a genius to figure out why: there is no AT&T in Paris.

AUTODESK AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING AVNET BHARTI AIRTEL BT GROUP CANON MEMC ELECTRONIC MATERIALS MICROSOFT MILLICOM INTL CELLULAR

GSP can train anyone, even anthropomorphic mascots

This past season on "The Ultimate Fighter," Georges St. Pierre showed off his coaching chops, leading his team to more wins than Josh Koscheck. Both fighters from Saturday's final came from his team.

But that's training humans. How good can he be at training animals?

As it turns out, he's pretty good at that, too. He had the Princeton Tiger and the UConn Huskie Octagon-ready in no time. By the end of the video, it appeared that the Tiger had the upper hand, but that's no shock. Tigers are generally superior animals. 

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TERADATA TELETECH HOLDINGS TECHNITROL TAKETWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE SYNTEL SYNTAXBRILLIAN SYNOPSYS SYNNEX

Disliked more than ever, Koscheck set to help UFC 124 break records

Win or lose this Saturday, Josh Koscheck should get some massive bonuses from the UFC and even Spike. The welterweight title contender took it up a notch during this season's edition of "The Ultimate Fighter."

The heel versus hero angle played well with television audiences. Twelve seasons in, and TUF put up the third highest ratings in the history of the show.

TUF 12 was just behind TUF 3, the season headlined by MMA legends Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz. The highest rated season ever was Kimbo Slice's TUF 10 with Rashad Evans and Quinton Jackson on the verge of brawling in every episode. 

While those four coaches all brought their A-game when it came to trash talking, TUF 12 worked because one guy absorbed all the fan hatred.

Koscheck needled and smirked his way out of the hearts of thousands. 

"Here's what I didn't think going into 'The Ultimate Fighter.' That people could possibly love Georges St-Pierre more than they already did. And that people could possibly hate Josh Koscheck more than they already did," Dana White said. "And that's what happened this season."

Hard to believe St. Pierre could gain more fans, but that's what he did.  

"What I thought could happen was he would eventually snap and get tired of the [expletive] Josh was talking and the stuff he was doing," White said.

"But one of the things about Georges St-Pierre, one of the things that I think makes him not only a great mixed martial artist, a great human being and a great champion is the way this guy carries himself."

Kos has accepted the heel role, and the setting at the Bell Centre in Montreal, as he and St. Pierre square off, should be amazing. GSP's hometown has always turned out for the big UFC cards, but UFC 124 could set records. White expects the crowd to break attendance and possibly all-time gate numbers.

Neil Davidson from the Canadian Press points out that marketing pops like St. Pierre's recent ESPN Sportscenter commercial, his deal with Under Armour and several trips abroad to promote MMA, should also help pay-per-view numbers.

DST SYSTEMS DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES DIODES INORATED DIEBOLD DELL CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR ACCENTURE ACER ADOBE SYSTEMS

Maia cruises past Grove; Story ends Hendricks' unbeaten run

Kendall Grove was in a rough spot against Demian Maia. Sure, he had a big advantage in the standup game, but the 6-foot-6 Grove is so long, he made for an easy target. Maia got Grove to the ground whenever he wanted in the first two rounds and rolled to a unanimous decision victory, 29-28 on all cards, in fight No. 3 on the televised portion of "The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale" in Las Vegas.

After scoring his first takedown just 80 seconds into the fight, Maia ran a ground clinic on Grove. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu master was in constant motion landing some solid elbows and punches while trying to improve his position. Grove actually got mounted with two minutes left in the first, but showed solid ground defense to avoid anything significant in terms of striking or a submission attempt.

Maia (14-2, 8-2 UFC) scored two more takedowns in the second and had Grove (12-8, 5-3 UFC) in defensive mode on the ground for nearly three and a half minutes.

Maia chose to stand with Grove over the final five minutes. He held his own but judges gave the slight edge to Grove, who never really attacked in spite of being down 2-0 on the scorecards. He was hesitant to charge forward or sitdown on his strikes for fear of being planted again. 

STORY EDGES HENDRICKS

Johny Hendricks finally met his match in the grappling department. The former Oklahoma State wrestling star had trouble getting Rick Story to the ground. On the feet, Story wasn't amazing, but he was able to score with some solid body shots. Story took a unanimous decision, 29-28 on all cards. 

"I'm sure it was the attacks to the body," story told UFC analyst Joe Rogan. "When you scramble for takedowns and you're not really effective with it. It doesn't really score too well in the judges' eyes. I was trying to land strikes as he was coming in."  

Story, 26, has now won five straight. They came against grinders like Dustin Hazelett, Nick Osipczak, Jesse Lennox, Brian Foster, and now Hendricks. At 5-1 with the promotion, Story is ready for a step up to the next level of UFC welterweight fighters.

The loss was far from embarrassing for Hendricks (9-1, 4-1 UFC). His game is improving, but he learned tonight that his grappling is only going to take him so far against the best 170-pounders in the world. 

POWERCHIP SEMICONDUCTOR PRICELINECOM QIMONDA QUALCOMM QUANTA COMPUTER RESEARCH IN MOTION ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS SAIC SATYAM COMPUTER SERVICES

Overeem vs. Schilt: Will the K-1 WGP 2010 dream fight go down in flames?

Alistair Overeem's spot in the MMA heavyweight rankings is a hotly debated topic. It's no different in K-1. The hulking Dutchman is viewed as a johnny-come-lately by some kickboxing fans.

He's putting his reputation on the line when he takes on some of the best big men in the world at the K-1 World Grand Prix 2010 Final tomorrow morning in Tokyo, Japan (HDNet on Saturday 2 a.m. ET/11 p.m. PT).

Overeem is trying to beat out legends like Semmy Schilt and Peter Aerts. He's also got to do it all in one night. Schilt is the heavy favorite at minus-135. Overeem is the second choice at plus-205.

Tim Koskuba over at Head Kick Legend says a Schilt-Overeem final is from a lock. HKL thinks the semifinals could be produce some upsets.

Aerts has figured out Schilt in the past, and if someone is going to beat Schilt, it'll likely be a guy that knows how to deal with his lengthy, karate style. Aerts knows Schilt better than anyone else in this tournament, as the two veterans have fought three times before.

[...]Other than Schilt, I think Saki presents the most problems to Overeem in this line-up. If you look at Overeem's past losses in K-1 and MMA, he doesn't deal well when powerful punchers come in and pressure him. Chuck Liddell did it, and knocked Overeem out. Sergei Kharitonov did it, and knocked Overeem out. Badr Hari did it, and knocked Overeem out. Gohkan Saki's biggest strengths are his aggressiveness and his ability to finish guys. If he goes in there, and isn't intimidated by the massive size and power of Overeem, Saki has the skills to finish him off.

The prefight press conference ended a few hours ago and the guy with the most unique slant on K-1 is HDNet announcer Michael Schiavello.

Via Twitter @schiavellovoice, the crazy Aussie said Aerts and Kyotara are polar opposites when it comes to postfight plans.

Head Kick Legend points the Daniel Ghita and Saki fight is the most even matched in the first round. With this injury note, maybe the edge has to go Saki.

The boisterous Schiavello wasn't a big fan of the stoic Schilt.

K-1 World Grand Prix betting odds (Courtesy Schiavello):

Semmy Schilt (-135)
Alistair Overeem (+205)
Peter Aerts (+575)
Daniel Ghita (+400)
Gokhan Saki (+1000)
Tyrone Spong (+1200)
Kyotaro (+1200)
Mighty Mo (+2000)

DELL CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR ACCENTURE ACER ADOBE SYSTEMS ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR ENGINEERING ALLIANCE DATA SYSTEMS ALLTEL AMAZONCOM

Strikeforce undercard highlights: Cummins, Glenn impress in STL

ST. LOUIS -- To kick off Strkeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu, SF feature eight undercard bouts with local fighters and a few promising prospects at the Scottrade Center.

Pat Cummins, a two-time All-American wrestler for Penn St. and a member of the U.S. national team, debuted on Saturday with a bang. He took down Terrell Brown and ground and pounded until he won by TKO at 2:44 in the first round. 

The bout between Justin Lawrence and Max Martyniuk ended in controversy. Lawrence dominated for two and a half rounds, and in the third, threw a right that knocked Martyniuk to the ground. Lawrence followed up with a kick to the head, and the bout was stopped for the foul. The kick was called accidental, and Lawrence won by the judges cards.

Mike Glen mounted an unbelievable comeback, beating Lee Brousseau after he was beaten on for a minute. Brousseau then tried for a guillotine, but gave up the mount. Glen followed up with a barrage of punches, winning by TKO at 2:00 in the first round.

Results from the rest of the undercard bouts:

J.W. Wright def. Josh Epps via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 1:29

Booker DeRousse def. Coltin Cole via TKO (strikes) - Round 2, 3:04

Matt Ricehouse def. Tom Aaron via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28)

UPDATE: Wayne Philips def. Fernando Battega via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)

The scorecard was added up wrong when the result was announced.

SANDISK SALESFORCE COM SAIC ROCKWELL AUTOMATION RF MICRO DEVICES RED HAT RADISYS RACKABLE SYSTEMS QUEST SOFTWARE

Tom Brady Shows Again He's Head and Shoulders Above Competition

Filed under: Chicago Bears, Patriots, NFL Quarterbacks, NFL Analysis

CHICAGO -- They are making fun of Tom Brady now for going to a hair restoration clinic to fight back pattern baldness. Sure, it sounds a little funny in a tough-guy sport, especially for a guy married to Gisele Bundchen, a supermodel. Rumor is, too, that he cuts off all postgame interviews short, never more than five minutes, on the demands of Gisele. And sure enough ...

"I'm done,'' he said, while someone was in the middle of asking a question, after the Patriots beat the Bears, 36-7, Sunday.

Not kidding: It was exactly, 4 minutes, 59 seconds into his interview.

So if you want to question whether he's becoming a pretty boy, or whether he's wearing the pants in his family, fine. But I'll say this about Brady:

He is about as close to perfection as we have.

---

Patriots 36, Bears 7: Quick Hits | Box Score | Recap
Bonkowski: Chicago Still Clinging to Lead in NFC North

---

XILINX WESTERN DIGITAL VOLT INFORMATION SCIENCES VISHAY INTERTECHNOLOGY VIRGIN MEDIA VIEWSONIC VERISIGN VERIFONE HOLDINGS VEECO INSTRUMENTS

More knockouts than you can handle: pictures from Strikeforce

A big night of knockouts means a big night of knockout pictures. Check out Tracy Lee's best work from the Scottrade Center on Saturday night, and check out full galleries here. Check out Paul Daley's big strikes, Robbie Lawler's sportsmanship and Henderson's domination. 

SALESFORCE COM SAIC ROCKWELL AUTOMATION RF MICRO DEVICES RED HAT RADISYS RACKABLE SYSTEMS QUEST SOFTWARE QUANTUM

Jenny McCarthy and boyfriend call it quits

Just four months into her new relationship, Jenny McCarthy has broken up with boyfriend Jason Toohey, In Touch can exclusively reveal. Blond beauty Jenny, who began dating the Las Vegas-based body builder soon after her shocking split from Jim Carrey, kicked Jason, 35, to the curb after she presented at the American Music Awards on November 21. ?He couldn?t handle her fame and the amount of attention she received, so she ended it,? an insider explains. A rep for the 38-year-old model mom tells In Touch, ?They are on good terms and will remain friends.?

ELECTRONICS FOR IMAGING ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS ELECTRONIC ARTS ECLIPSYS EASTMAN KODAK CO EARTHLINK DST SYSTEMS DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES DIODES INORATED

Jaguars Savor Victory Over Raiders

Filed under: Jaguars, AFC South

A huge game awaits the Jacksonville Jaguars.

And while there will be plenty of talk in the coming days about Jaguars' game in Indianapolis and its ramifications in the AFC South, the talk in Jacksonville Sunday was about a 38-31 victory over the visiting Oakland Raiders.

The victory kept the Jaguars (8-5) in first place in the AFC South.

And it kept them very much in range of not only their first playoff appearance since 2007, but their first division title since 1999.

It also gave them their second consecutive victory and their fifth in six games.

Because of all of that, the Jaguars' come-from-behind victory over the Raiders at EverBank Field perhaps did one more thing:

It proved that the Jaguars are very much for real.

"It was a team effort," coach Jack Del Rio said after his Jaguars rallied from a 24-14 second-half deficit to win on Maurice Jones-Drew's 30-yard touchdown run with 1:34 remaining.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

GRUPO IUSACELL HARRIS HCL TECHNOLOGIES HEWLETTPACKARD HIGH TECH COMPUTER HON HAI PRECISION IND HYNIX SEMICONDUCTOR INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES

UFC 124 Predictions

by Michael David SmithIn one of the biggest mixed martial arts fights of the year, UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre will defend his title in his hometown against Josh Koscheck at UFC 124. We've got the predictions right here.

What: UFC 124: St. Pierre vs. Koscheck 2

Where: Bell Centre, Montreal

When: Saturday, the non-televised undercard starts around 7 PM ET and the pay-per-view broadcast begins at 10.

Predictions on the five pay-per-view fights below.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

SYNOPSYS SYNNEX SYMANTEC SYKES ENTERPRISES INORATED SYBASE SUN MICROSYSTEMS STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS SRA INTERNATIONAL SPSS

Letter From Canada: Why Is America So Furious About Wikileaks?

The most baffling thing about the Wikileaks Cablegate kerfuffle is the massive foot-shooting overreaction across the entire American political spectrum. Here in the rest of the world (okay, in Canada), we've already moved on, because (to date) the cables are more shrug-inducing than explosive?but US senators are still in the throes of a bizarre frenzy of rabid chest-beating and tooth-gnashing. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, has called for Julian Assange's prosecution, despite the general consensus that he hasn't actually committed any American crime. Mitch McConnell, a Republican, has a slightly clearer-eyed view; he wants the law changed so that Assange can be prosecuted as a terrorist. Joe Lieberman wants a criminal investigation of not just Assange but also the New York Times.

KDDI KLATENCOR KONINKLIJKE KPN LAM RESEARCH LIBERTY GLOBAL LM ERICSSON LOGITECH INTERNATIONAL LAM RESEARCH L1 IDENTITY SOLUTIONS

Keeping Stiff Upper Lip Is Best Advice for Derek Anderson, NFL Players

by Milton Kent

Filed under: 49ers, Arizona Cardinals, NFC West, NFL Media Watch, NFL Quarterbacks, NFL Analysis, Sports Business and Media

You saw a lot of things in Monday night's blowout in Foxborough, not limited to New England apply an old-fashioned beatdown on the Jets, Tom Brady strengthening his Most Valuable Player credentials, and a half empty stadium by the fourth quarter.

What you didn't see was shots of smiling New York players on their sidelines. Whether that happened as a result of the avalanche of criticism heaped on Arizona quarterback Derek Anderson from his moment of levity on the bench near the end of the Cardinals' loss to San Francisco last week is an interesting question.

A week later, Anderson's sideline chat with lineman Deuce Lutui and his volcanic reaction to being questioned about it after the game are teachable moments for players and the outlets that cover them.

We don't yet know whether Anderson has learned anything, but it appears that ESPN, which carried the game, including the shot of Anderson and Lutui talking and smiling, then plastered Anderson's blow up at the postgame press conference, hasn't.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

DIODES INORATED DIEBOLD DELL CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR ACCENTURE ACER ADOBE SYSTEMS ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR ENGINEERING ALLIANCE DATA SYSTEMS

Giants-Vikings Moved to Monday Night

Filed under: Giants, Vikings, NFC East, NFC North

MINNEAPOLIS -- The NFL has moved the game between the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings to Monday night in Minneapolis. The news was first reported by Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

UPDATE: Snow Caves in Metrodome Roof, Leaves Vikings, Giants, NFL Scrambling

The game will kick off at 8 p.m. ET on Monday night and be broadcast by FOX only in the two local markets. The timing means that the game will go up against the national Monday Night Football broadcast on ESPN featuring the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans. That game is scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. ET kickoff.

The move was made necessary by a storm that dumped 16.5 inches of snow in Minneapolis, closed the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for a time Saturday, and stranded the Giants in Kansas City when they tried to fly into the Twin Cities for Sunday's game. The team is spending Saturday night in Kansas City, and was planning on trying to get to the stadium in time for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff Sunday.

The team chose to move their normal mid-afternoon flight to earlier in the day Saturday in hopes of beating the storm, but instead were trying to fly in as Minneapolis was being hit with the worst of the storm.

Minneapolis sports radio station KFAN reported on Twitter that the move was made for "a variety of reasons," which apparently include the weight of the new snow on the Metrodome roof.

FISERV FIRST SOLAR FINISAR FEI COMPANY FAIRCHILD SEMICONDUCTOR INTERNATIONAL FAIR ISAAC FACTSET RESEARCH SYSTEMS F5 NETWORKS EPICOR SOFTWARE

Sal Alosi, Jets Assistant, Apologizes for Tripping Dolphins' Nolan Carroll

Filed under: Dolphins, Jets, NFL Coaching

Jets assistant Sal Alosi admitted to tripping Dolphins cornerback/kick returner Nolan Carroll and apologized for his "inexcusable and unsportsmanlike" conduct in Sunday's loss.

"I made a mistake that showed a total lapse in judgment. My conduct was inexcusable and unsportsmanlike and does not reflect what this organization stands for," Alosi said in a statement. "I accept responsibility for my actions as well as any punishment that follows."

Alosi, in his fourth season as the Jets' head strength and conditioning coach, stuck his knee out and tripped Carroll on a Jets punt return with 2:58 left in the third quarter. As Carroll ran down the sideline to defend the return by Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes, he was hurt when Alosi appeared to intentionally extend his knee to stop Carroll in his tracks. Carroll remained down for a minute on the field but later would return to the game.

Alosi, at minimum, likely faces a fine for his actions and could be suspended. New York Daily News beat writer Manish Mehta reported that the Jets are reviewing the matter and looking into the appropriate next step for Alosi, according to a team spokesman. Alosi said he also apologized to Carroll and Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano before Miami left.

---

Dolphins 10, Jets 6: Quick Hits | Recap | Box Score

---

VOLT INFORMATION SCIENCES VISHAY INTERTECHNOLOGY VIRGIN MEDIA VIEWSONIC VERISIGN VERIFONE HOLDINGS VEECO INSTRUMENTS VARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATES UNITED ONLINE

'Monday Night Football' Today Isn't Close to What It Once Was

by Milton Kent

Filed under: Sports Business and Media

The notion that the world would first learn of the death of a musical icon during the telecast of a mere football game seems laughable given our modern media sensibilities.

Yet, the confluence of the 30th anniversary of the shooting death of John Lennon this Wednesday - announced late in the fourth quarter of a Monday night game -- and the death Sunday of Don Meredith serves as a reminder that while the New England-Miami clash may have been just another football game, "Monday Night Football" was no mere telecast.

Indeed, the telecast that currently airs each Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET is connected to the four-act drama that kicked off each Monday at 9 p.m. then only by title and by the fact that there's a football game. Nothing else is the same.

The "Monday Night Football" of Dandy Don, Howard Cosell and Frank Gifford was part musical, part comedy, part satire and occasional tragedy with a football game thrown in for good measure.

Gifford, the former New York Giants golden boy, could only have been the sensible center, the Everyman, of sorts, in a world where he was partnered with Cosell and Meredith, the Vaudevillians.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

AMKOR TECHNOLOGY AMPHENOL ANIXTER INTERNATIONAL APPLE COMPUTER APPLIED MATERIALS ARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ARROW ELECTRONICS ASML HOLDING ASUSTEK COMPUTER

GSP can train anyone, even anthropomorphic mascots

This past season on "The Ultimate Fighter," Georges St. Pierre showed off his coaching chops, leading his team to more wins than Josh Koscheck. Both fighters from Saturday's final came from his team.

But that's training humans. How good can he be at training animals?

As it turns out, he's pretty good at that, too. He had the Princeton Tiger and the UConn Huskie Octagon-ready in no time. By the end of the video, it appeared that the Tiger had the upper hand, but that's no shock. Tigers are generally superior animals. 

ATandT AUTODESK AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING AVNET BHARTI AIRTEL BT GROUP CANON MEMC ELECTRONIC MATERIALS MICROSOFT

Giants-Vikings Moved to Monday Night

Filed under: Giants, Vikings, NFC East, NFC North

MINNEAPOLIS -- The NFL has moved the game between the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings to Monday night in Minneapolis. The news was first reported by Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

UPDATE: Snow Caves in Metrodome Roof, Leaves Vikings, Giants, NFL Scrambling

The game will kick off at 8 p.m. ET on Monday night and be broadcast by FOX only in the two local markets. The timing means that the game will go up against the national Monday Night Football broadcast on ESPN featuring the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans. That game is scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. ET kickoff.

The move was made necessary by a storm that dumped 16.5 inches of snow in Minneapolis, closed the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for a time Saturday, and stranded the Giants in Kansas City when they tried to fly into the Twin Cities for Sunday's game. The team is spending Saturday night in Kansas City, and was planning on trying to get to the stadium in time for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff Sunday.

The team chose to move their normal mid-afternoon flight to earlier in the day Saturday in hopes of beating the storm, but instead were trying to fly in as Minneapolis was being hit with the worst of the storm.

Minneapolis sports radio station KFAN reported on Twitter that the move was made for "a variety of reasons," which apparently include the weight of the new snow on the Metrodome roof.

KINGSTON TECHNOLOGY COMPANY KEY JDS UNIPHASE JDA SOFTWARE GROUP JACK HENRY and ASSOCIATES IXYS ITRON IRON MOUNTAIN INORATED IOMEGA

Christian Bale Talks About Role as Boxer-Turned-Drug Addict in 'The Fighter'

by Lem Satterfield

Filed under: FanHouse Exclusive, Sports Business and Media

English-born actor Christian Bale (pictured above, wearing cap), has played a wide range of characters, first catching the public eye as a 13-year-old boy in a Japanese internment camp in Steven Spielberg's World War II-based Empire of the Sun. The 36-year-old Bale has since demonstrated his abilities in diverse roles, including the leads in American Psycho, Batman Begins, Terminator Salvation and The Dark Knight.

But Bale's latest venture, as former boxer-turned-drug addict Dickie Eklund in The Fighter, may be Oscar-worthy. Bale stars as the older half-brother of professional boxer "Irish" Micky Ward (38-13-1, 27 knockouts) played by Mark Wahlberg (pictured above, at right) in the film, an inspirational tale based on a true story that was released Friday in New York, Los Angeles, Boston and other selected areas, and which will be shown nationwide on Dec. 17.

Although Ward is best-known for his three-fight trilogy with the late Arturo Gatti, whom he defeated once before losing twice, The Fighter, is focused on Ward's life in the blue-collar streets of Lowell, Mass., from which he successfully rises to become a fringe world titlist even as he is one of nine adult children in a dysfunctional family run by their hard-scrabble mother.

Formerly known as "The Pride of Lowell," Eklund retired in 1985 with a modest welterweight (147 pounds) record of 19-10 with just four knockouts. The highlight of Eklund's career was a 10-round, route-going effort in July 1978 against Sugar Ray Leonard.

Down three times against Leonard, Eklund claims to have also floored the future multi-world champion, although historians widely dispute Eklund's assertion, saying that Leonard's fall was more of a slip. Bale spoke to FanHouse concerning his role as Eklund, whose quest to live vicariously through his younger brother while simultaneously trying to overcome his crack habit is central to the film's storyline.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

VOLT INFORMATION SCIENCES VISHAY INTERTECHNOLOGY VIRGIN MEDIA VIEWSONIC VERISIGN VERIFONE HOLDINGS VEECO INSTRUMENTS VARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATES UNITED ONLINE