Category: Uncategorized (Page 2 of 3)

If you were like a lot of people in a day and time with no sports to speak of, any sports coverage at all is welcome. Even water skiing squirrels on the Ocho. 

ESPN for its part has delved into its massive library of film, reshowing title games and classic events once relegated to its forgotten sub-channel ESPN Classic. Without the usual bevy of sports programming, the company has struggled with maintaining viewership and ultimately the bottom line. How long these struggles for the network continue rely completely on the mitigation citizens adopt to stem the tide of the pandemic. Our track record on handling it thus far is far from promising.

One of the few buzz-worthy bright spots for ESPN has been the critically acclaimed miniseries The Last Dance, documenting (in sometimes painfully intricate detail) the career of Michael Jordan, with particular attention and focus on Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls in 1997-1998. 

Amazingly, the film crew had an all-access pass to much of the Bulls, from practices to off the court issues, much of it is laid bare, in sometimes unflattering light. But for most of the series, it ranks as a love letter to what most consider the greatest of all time. I admit I am no Jordan fan, I think his callous arrogance chafed my sensibilities about what a celebrity athlete should be. He’ll never be as classy as Peyton Manning, or as genuine as Magic Johnson, and certainly not as charitable as LeBron James.

With two episodes on Sunday, Jordan fans and content-starved sports fans had plenty to watch and discuss. But one thing in particular stuck out to me. Jordan is famous for his competitive nature, arguably one of the fiercest trash talkers of all time, and admittedly will do anything to win. But have you ever seen an athlete at his level be so petty and so bitter?

The man should sit back and enjoy his success. The Last Dance should be a celebration of that, allowing fans and non-fans alike to appreciate the man’s career and his legendary accomplishments. But just like he did in his HOF acceptance speech, here’s Michael Jordan settling old scores in the most trifling and pedantic way possible.

Everyone knows of the heated rivalry between the Bulls and the Pistons. It was a bitter feud, one that saw the Pistons refuse to shake the Bulls hands after the decisive game in the 1991 Eastern Conference finals. And here’s Jordan, nearly 30 years later, still bitter about it. “I hated them,. That hate carries over even to this day.”

What a pretentious spoiled child. Greatest player ever, but surely the sorest winner. It’s been 30 years, Mike. Let it go. But he won’t. He’ll harbor that disdain and anger until the day he dies, as a shriveled shell of a once glorious athlete, emaciated by the bitter petty pills he swallowed.

Maybe that’s why Jordan has failed at everything else other than basketball? Failed at marriage. Failed at social justice. Failed as a team owner. Hate is too strong a word, and too heavy to carry, and perhaps that bitterness and jealousy that drove him for his career is also what haunts him today.

So again… let it go Mike. For goodness sake, let it go.

As we continue in our efforts to flatten the curve during the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall numbers of infections appears to trend down, and the death rate seems to falling, giving us the faintest glimmer of hope. Though, my faith in the American conviction is tenuous at best. (Only three quarters?)

But conditions continue to claim victims, and sadly, the XFL announced they have ceased operations Friday. As I’ve written about here before, I really enjoyed the XFL, and not simply because it was an alternative two the NFL, (though that helped) and not because it was just football in Spring (who doesn’t love free football?).

But the product was thoroughly enjoyable. It wasn’t Arena League ridiculous, and while fun, that league was never about serious football, it was about the gimmicks. It wasn’t just awful footballlike the AAF, a pro league dressed up in Div. II cosplay. And it wasn’t a USFL terribly run $#*%show. There was great football in that league, but it was doomed from the start by mismanagement.

No, the XFL’s ownership structure and league financing were solid and the league was doing well. They had major broadcast partners, a legitimate investment in the league, and most importantly, there were butts in seats. Fans were actually excited about the product.

Really bummed about this. I got to go to a single @XFLDragons game and it was so, so much fun. Spent the game drinking beer in the stands talking with everyone around me about how we can’t afford to go to NFL games. Sad day. #XFL @xfl2020 https://t.co/bsEu54GZGm— Aubrey Scott (@aubreydscott7) April 10, 2020

Though most teams were the second choice in NFL markets, save St. Louis which is ecstatic to have a team again, most football fans are so desperate for action, they’re coming out and tuning in to a subpar product. The TV ratings were not outstanding by any means, but attendance was good and there was a definite buzz about the product.

But the reality of the pandemic was just too much to bear. Vince McMahon had a huge financial stake in the league, he sold millions in WWE stock to finance it. But the fact is, with no product on the field, no timetable to return, and guarantees made to broadcast partners, something had to give.

And as we’ve seen the major leagues enter an indeterminate hiatus, it was unfortunately just a matter of time for the XFL to fold. Bootstrapped on a tight budget as they were, more than any other league, the XFL needed to be on air and playing in front of crowds. Maybe the NBA and NHL can pause their seasons, or eventually come back without fans, but a brand new league with no marketshare to speak of and no salience of year-to-year regularity?

Not a chance.

I hope that everyone involved, from the quarterbacks, (except that one guy) to the PR flacks in the front office, to the popcorn vendors is able to find a way to survive during these uncertain times. The vendors especially, the non salaried hourly workers are often working two jobs, working nights and weekends as event security guards and concession workers just to make ends meet, are especially vulnerable. While I’m put out by the lack of football, I’m more put out that a safety net is not in place for many of these people.

I will mourn selfishly for the loss of entertaining end zone celebration, but I will mourn for these folks even more.

I am not a sports journalist. Although I teach the subject and I have experience both scholastically and professionally as a sports journalist, I am squarely in the punditry side in the field of the sports broadcasting.

I am avowed Detroit Tigers fan.

I make no apologies for this, and as I have just explained, as a blogger/columnist, I am free to advocate for whomever my rooting interest lies. Now, admittedly, I try not to have my educated positions colored by my rooting bias.

But for today? All of that is out the window. Monday April 6 was a devastating day for Tigers fans everywhere as “Mr. Tiger” Al Kaline passed away at the ripe old age of 85. Now, 85 is nothing to sneeze at, what with life expectancy in the United States for men to be 78.6 years, though it has dropped for the last three years in a row. 

There has been no player recognizable with a franchise through thick and thin years after his playing days as Al Kaline was with the Tigers. Maybe Ernie Banks with the Cubs, maybe Tony Gwynn with Padres. Mr. Red and Mr. Met don’t count. C’mon, they’re mascots. 

But Al Kaline was beloved by the Tiger Faithful. Not just because he was in the Hall of Fame, he was one of those first ballot league of his own type players. There were 10 other future Hall of Famers up for the Hall that year, and Kaline was still on 88% of the ballots.

Kaline was generational talent: ten Gold Glove Awards in right field; 18 All-Star Games, including 12 straight from 1955 to 1967; all while putting up incredible numbers even by today’s hitter friendly game. 

• 622 runs
• 3007 hits
• 399 home runs
• 1582 RBIs
• 498 doubles

I wasn’t alive to see Kaline play, other innumerable clips and a few views on ESPN Classic of the Tigers 1968 World Series win over the Cardinals in seven games. He was incredible philanthropist, and donated hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars to charity. But for me, it was Kaline’s warm and inviting voice on color commentary that made my childhood. The man was genuinely joyful at the wonderful life he built. He played the game he loved for 22 years. Immediately after retiring, he transitioned to the broadcast booth for another 28 years. He then worked in the front office until the day he died.

So yes, I am devastated that one of the greatest players in the history of a franchise I grew up rooting for passed away in the fustercluck of year 2020 has been. But I’m also happy that I lived on the same planet at the same time as him.

Al Kaline lived as perfect of life as a human could. He lived a loved life and was loved in return. If ever a man lived a legendary life, it was Mr. Tiger. 

The coronavirus has been remarkable in its efficiency in killing American citizens, with just over 10,000 as of today. This is not a virus that is just going to go away. At least not until it takes thousands of American lives with it.

But it’s not just lives, careers and relationships that COVID-19 is destroying, but chalk up another organization ceasing operation due to the pandemic. Old Dominion University eliminated its wrestling program citing COVID-19 to blame.

The university says it will save $1 million after axing the program from the athletic program, but I’m here to tell you that’s a lie. COVID-19 has given ODU convenient cover to eliminate a men’s non-revenue sport in favor of a women’s non-revenue sport, the tragic consequence of the misapplication of Title IX.

I am a fan of Title IX. It his a worthy and substantial law that has changed the lives of millions of women in this country. It led the establishment of collegiate women’s sports. A greater inclusion of women in the Olympics. And in reality, the WNBA and other professional sports leagues for women. These advances for women’s athletics are nothing to be minimized nor taken for advantage.

What I bristle at is the way universities and colleges apply the law, which declaratively comes at the loss of men’s non revenue sports. It’s not fault of these men’s programs, nor the inclusion of women’s volleyball, gymnastics, or any number of non-revenue women’s sports, These are difficult choices, and I don’t envy those ADs and university presidents who make these decision.

But instead of trimming the head men’s basketball a couple hundred thousand or knocking a few scholarships off the football team, the smaller non-revenue men’s sports like wrestling, swimming and doing, and cross-country get whacked like a guest star on an episode of The Sopranos. The gorilla quite figuratively and literally in the room is football, with its 85 scholarships, economic largesse, and less than stellar reputation as a money maker for departments.

And now the pandemic has given these misallocatiions cover with which to avoid complaint and scrutiny. In the past 20 years as these decisions have increasingly come under fire for disenfranchising male athletes; universities now have a ready-made excuse to affix blame: “It was the pandemic!” Meanwhile, a successful program, established in the 1950s, is now defunct with 32 wrestlers forced to end their careers or transfer to a new school and continue their pursuit of the sport they love.

It’s rather insidious, and in a sense, takes away from the real danger that these college athletes are in. I fear that more administrations will take the coward’s way out in this regard and choose to take advantage of a national tragedy to exact cost cutting measures at the expense of college athletes.

It’s not fair. It’s not right. And now it’s worse as these kids lose their opportunity presented as a lie.

Is it weird that one of my favorite sporting events is the NFL Draft? It’s not really a sporting event in the traditional sense, there’s no real competition. No one is really competing to have Mel Kiper’s best draft grade. Certainly not Bill Tobin. Though it could be argued that Patriots coach Bill Belichick is always trying to collect the most draft picks in some sort of Hungry Hungry Hipposkind of way, snatching as many late rounders as he can, hoping he can foment another “steal of the draft” in the sixth round. 

The NFL for its part has learned that its annual event at creating newly wealthy millionaires is less about the product, and more about the show. Like most televised sports, it’s about getting eyeballson the screen and buzz the web talking about each pick ad nauseum, and whether this pick will make an impact, will this runningback from the Big Ten be great, or will the Bears ever find a true superstar QB. (The answer is no by the way.)

For me and other sports fans and amateur GMs across the country, we get to second guess their picks, flout our superior intellect in knowing who is actually a difference-maker, and spend the following days at the water cooler asking ourselves “What were they thinking?” I’m looking at you, Raiders. 

But this year, as with everything has been as this pandemic has raged unabated across the country, is completely different as to the sleek corporatized product the NFL has been wont to show on ESPN and their own network.

Truth be told, I really like seeing these kids walk across the stage, give a so-awkward-it’s-painful man-hug to the Commissioner Roger Goodell. At that precise moment, their childhood dreams are literally coming true and it’s impossible not to appreciate that, even with the kid who brought his grandmother’s portrait on stage, expletives included. 

This year, we suffered through the buffering of webcams placed in prospect’s homes as each family sat around waiting for their progeny become richer than they could ever imagine. Well, unless you’re a Manning or a Matthews, where NFL stardom seems more like a birthright than a privilege. 

I admit I loved seeing the real emotion on these kids’ faces at that moment. Their cell phone rings, they answer it anxiously, their hand on their brow at the shock of hearing good news, and a girlfriend or momma sits nearby hugging their arm so tight it break. Pride and financial security intermix in strange ways.

As an academic, it was difficult not to notice the disparity in income and wealth in these settings. I wondered how many families met at a location other than their home, in an effort to make for good television, posing in a nice house than the two bedroom apartment they actually live in. 

It was also nerve wracking as some of these draft parties looked to be a bit too large considering the current outbreaks around the country. Most experts suggest keeping family functions and meetings under 10 people hoping to stem the tide of infections, but alas, it’s difficult to temper excitement at such massive news, and now because of the pandemic, the opportunity to appear on television as the athlete’s favorite uncle, friend, or neighbor who lives upstairs.

Part of me cheered inside a little every time I saw people in masks and shuddered when they were in too large a group. 

Sad part is, I doubt we get to a point where any draft returns to the normality of the bright lights and huge pressure of Radio City Music Hall or MSG every again.

With so little going on in the sports world, you might think there’d be so very little to talk about, especially in a twice weekly blog, but alas, how wrong you’d be. In fact, I believe this gives us much clearer opportunities to write about substantive issues moving beyond the daily goings on of sports scores and analysis.

If anything, it allows those outside of sports to the freedom to to voice their opinion regarding the ills of society that sports often became the reactive forum for. How many times have we seen issues of social justice play out on the platform that is sports; be it the power fist of the the Olympic games of the 60s, or Magic and the AIDS crisis of the 90s. No matter how many times political hacks decry athletes utilizing these platforms to address these concerns. Remember shut up and dribble? 

Just a few weeks ago, everything went to crap. The Big Dance was canceled. The event was killed by the pandemic, and though the teams and athletes face an uncertain future, the hourly workers cleaning the facilities, taking tickets, and selling food and souvenirs in host cities around the country are far more certain.

As so often happens in times of economic crisis and societal upheaval, it is the lower caste that suffers the most. The billionaire owners and wealthy executives will land o their feet just fine. I have no doubts Dallas Renegades Bob Stoops will be just fine. Not only is he most likely financially secure, He was making $5.55M in his last season in Norman in 2016. I’m gonna guess he didn’t blow through that five milly in just four short years. Plus he was raking in another $325K a year as the “Special Assistant to the Athletic Director” at OU, in what I can only assume was a largely ceremonial position, glad-handing donors and greasing plasma for the Sooner athletic department.

But an MP in the UK took the fight for the oppressed straight to one of the richest and most powerful leagues in the world, the English Premier League. MP Julian Knight, the chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, blasted the league, teams, and especially the players, whom he derided as living in a “moral vacuum.“

Most of the players in the top-flight league have still retained their full salaries, while most staff and stadium personnel find themselves with a definitive 20% paycut. In fact, the most may of them can make per month is capped just £2500 or roughly $3200. Trust me on this when I write that $3200 does not take you very far in the bustling metropolis of London and her surrounding cities. Housing alone will eat up and average of 70% of that in ole Londontown.

So when Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, joins Knight in his criticism, you should listen. In an interview on BBC Radio 5 Live, Khan argued “My view is always that those who are the least well-off should get the most help.”

Agreed, Mr. Khan. Hopefully, we will listen.

This pandemic is not only going to change lives, and unfortunately end thousands, but it is going to fundamentally change society. We’re only a month into this and already, we’re starting to see signs of massive upheaval in world of sports.

Everyone in the world of sports pundits are immediately focused on the halt the NBA and the NHL, and delay of the start of Major League Baseball, which are all viable topics. But I would argue that he speculation about when and if the seasons will continue or when baseball will return are extremely shortsighted. I think we’re so desperate for things to get better that we’re just fooling ourselves.

I don’t write this to be a Negative Nancy or a Debbie Downer. I actually being a pragmatist. We just don’t have the evidence that things are going to get better, and I think we’re short selling the effect that COVID-19 will have on the world of sports long-term.

One of those signs came from an unexpected source. Unless you’re a MAC alumnus like myself, or just really really into college basketball, and most likely a degenerate gambler, you might have missed this news. Western Michigan, home of the Broncos, just made a head coaching hire that I think is a sign of things to come.

Granted, that is WMU or the guy they hired, Clayton Bates, as head coach, are not marquee billed names. But what is interesting (and why I say precedent setting) is that the school openly admits that COVID-19 played a role in his ascension from clipboard carrying associate coach to the face of the hoops program.

“I decided to change leadership of our program days before the COVID-19 crisis emerged. A comprehensive national search in this time of anxiety, despite exceedingly strong national interest in the position, just didn’t sit well with me,” athletic director Kathy Beauregard said in a statement. ESPN

Steve Hawkins, who retired after 17 seasons, was let go rather abruptly after two losing seasons, with just eight conference wins in those two years and MAC West division finishes of fifth, sixth, and fourth in the last three. But that move just came roughly three weeks ago. That WMU moved this quickly without a true national search is remarkable… and telling.

The school has also suspended external hires and cut funding for the head coach position; Bates is making a lot less money. But here’s the take-away: this is for basketball. Not football. Not the golden sport that college athletic departments depend on or prop up as their reason for existence. This is basketball; which doesn’t start until late October.

And there are still people who think we are going to have football this fall.

It appears that more and more leagues have figured out a way to return to action as this weekend saw both the German Bundesliga and NASCAR return to the pitch and the track respectively. We’ve seen other football leagues return including the K-League which I wrote about just a few weeks ago.

NASCAR held its first race in two months on Sunday in Darlington for the Real Heroes 400, as Kevin Harvick won a hotly contested race announcing the roaring return of motor racing from a coronavirus forced hiatus.

But what struck me in most about the run-up to the race is this desperation to return to normalcy, despite the desperate headlines and rising death toll. Most of the media previewing the race focused not on the action to come, but on what this wmeans withom the larger context of the current crisis.

Cynically, it bothers me.

Don’t get me wrong. From a point purely of WORD self-interest, I’m ecstatic sports are back. Not only is my sports fandom fed, but it certainly makes writing a twice weekly scholarly sports blog much easier.

But what I find disdainful in this drive (pun unintended) to return to normalcy, is the blatant pandering and commercial interest. NASCAR drivers are never one to shy away from promotion but the events this weekend seemed a bit more egregious and frankly crass.

“We know we are on a big stage this weekend,” said Erik Jones, driver of the No. 20 Toyota. “There is not really any other sport out there. … “We have a huge opportunity Sunday to bring a new group of fans in, people who maybe have never watched NASCAR. The pressure is there to keep it clean and put on a good show,” Jones said” (Butler, 2020).

Perhaps I would be less critical if not for this tactless display of opportunism. but NASCAR has a long history of valuing spectacle over safety, despite arguments to the contrary. Jones says as much here despite his acknowledgment of the difficult balance, “keep it clean and put on a good show.” 

In other words, “We know we’re the only show in town, and we hope we can take advantage of that.” Granted, there were no fans in attendance, there changes tro the pit stops, and travels crews were limited by membership, but the overwhelming desire to be visible as the only game in town scoffs at the notion NASCAR values safety above all else. All I’m asking is a very simple question.

Did we really need sports that much?

NASCAR is doing extensive contact tracing, and drivers and crews are constantly tested, but all it takes is one member of one crew to bring the virus to the track and there goes the race, or worse, they take it home and infect someone more vulnerable. And for a league that exists in part due to sponsors, that kind of bad publicity seems a bit too much to take, even if the number 49 car is sponsored by Lysol.

NASCAR desperately wants to take the lead here, especially for a sport that is often mired in its complicated social dynamics, somehow putting them on par with the other major sports leagues beyond their perception of a small regional circuitthey have fought against for decades to overcome. 

The difference is, the wider net cast by those leagues (NFL, NBA and MLB) captures just as many of the progressive left clamoring for sensible approaches to pandemic management as the conservative right hoax-subscribing mouth breathers screaming for everything to return to normal, which to be honest, are far more prevalent within the crowds at Talladega and Bristol. How long before those voices demand NASCAR open up, medical science be damned?

I think you know the way the wind blows on that one.

Week Three of XFL action and I gotta admit, I’m really enjoying the product. It is vastly superior to its previous incarnation in terms of quality of athletes and overall play, and it blows the AAFL out of the water in both regards. And while the previous edition of the XFL was widely criticized for the pro-wrestling entertainment elements, this year’s version is straight-up football and gimmick free.

To be honest, I did enjoy the original version of the XFL in 2001 with all the cartoonish aspects and lack of professionalism in a broadcast product. From the quarterbacks dating cheerleaders to the skycam to the “He Hate Me” players; I took it for what it was, entertainment. 

The NFL is often criticized as the “No Fun League,” something Vince McMahon saw as exploitable. You wanna take away big hits? The XFL encouraged it. Boring logos and mascots? The XFL had teams like the Los Angeles Xtreme and the Memphis Maniax. (It was the X-FL after all…) Loud obnoxious sports personalities? The XFL had Jerry Lawler and Jesse “The Body” Ventura as color announcers.

Everything the XFL did was over the top ridiculousness. No really… ri-dic-u-lous. 

But where the 2001 season of the XFL was defined by the insanity that is the mind of Vincent Kennedy McMahon, the recent launch is much closer to vest, but still intriguingly innovative.

During the Dallas Renegades and Seattle Dragons game in front of 22,000 fans in the Emerald City, the cameras focused on former Seahawk quarterback great now Dragons head coach Jim Zorn called a play late in the fourth quarter in a 21-12 game at home.

“Trips right beta 22 scat levels.”

Forget whether you understand what any of that means, though I absolutely find football terminology fascinating. Who doesn’t love hearing Dice right ice cream alert 6-54 José and each word is a different signal to each player. The wide receivers might be listening for the trips right, while the linemen are listening for the scat levels part of that play call. 

What is most intriguing for me as a media scholar is the unprecedented access this coverage gives us. As a broadcaster, or media producer, we often talk about giving the audience the best viewing experience possible. You want the viewer to feel as close to the action as possible. This is the next best thing being in the huddle.

And that’s the hook for me.

I’ll keep watching not just because I’m addicted to football, (which I am but I’m getting that under control). But this access the XFL is giving us here is exactly why I’ll tune in each week. Football, especially when played at the highest level, is a game of strategy, no different than chess played by a grandmaster or a gamer playing Sid Meier’s Civilization. Getting to spy on the Xs and Os as they happen is every football junkie’s dream. I’m sure it also feeds a few Madden addicts and armchair coaches who think they know the game more than they really do. 

Granted, there will be some hiccups, but as long as the XFL broadcast partners, FOX and ESPN, continue to allow us to listen in the live strategy sessions, I’ll keep watching.

This was certainly a weekend for fighting. UFC held an event in Auckland, New Zealand whilst the biggest heavyweight boxing match since Lewis vs Klitschko in 2003. No, seriously, it’s been that long since there’s been a fight of this magnitude that was this anticipated. 

The boxing match was billed as Unfinished Business, referencing the lackluster draw they fought to last year. Both men came into the rematch undefeated as a result of that draw, and a result would unify the majority of boxing’s alphabet title soup and effectively brand the winner as the most dominant heavyweight champion this era.

For the most part, the heavyweight fight failed to live up to the hype. Fury dominated the fight from bell to bell carving Wilder up like a Christmas candied ham. Fury has often been criticized for limited punching power, with Wilder needling Fury before the fight by saying that his two-year-old punches harder than him. 

In the end, it was that potent punching power that ultimately did Wilder in to the point that his corner threw in the towel. The boxscore will note that Fury defeated Wilder by TKO, but be assured, this was a mercy killing. Wilder’s ear was busted open in the fourth, looking like someone with one of Khan’s earworms burrowing into his brain. In the fifth, Fury backed Wilder into a corner (literally) and just pounded him like he was the dough for a mince pie in Fury’s native Manchester.

So badly beaten was Wilder, that his cornerman and trainer surrendered purely out of concern for their fighter’s health, possibly saving Wilder’s career. Mark Breland’s decision has been criticized by Wilder’s management team and even the fighter himself, but Breland had only Wilder’s best interests and health in mind. Too many boxers in recent years have died from action in the ring, 

Contrast that to the other big fight this weekend. MMA star Karolina Kowalkiewicz. The Polish flyweight has been lauded for her toughness and cheered for her tenacity as one of the sport’s fiercest fighters in the women’s game. But much of the pre-fight press focused on Kowalkiewicz’s fight to stay relevant in a suddenly stacked strawweight division. Kowalkiewicz’s last fights have ended in a first-round knockout and two unanimous decisions. One loss is a hiccup, two is worrisome, and three are a downward spiral. She desperately needed a win.

The result of her UFC Auckland bout with rising star Chinese Yan Xiaonan was anything but pretty. 

Karolina Kowalkiewicz: “First time in my life, after fight, I cannot say I’m OK.” (via @KarolinaMMA) pic.twitter.com/5sAayzKykI— Chamatkar Sandhu (@SandhuMMA) February 23, 2020

Before the start of the second round, the referee nearly stopped the fight. Kowalkiewicz’s left eye had been popped pretty hard, and it was so swollen, it was nearly closed. she begged to continue, but it was very clear she was not in this fight from that point on. She begged the ref to stay in, but at that point, the sport has to step in for her. Even in the fourth when Kowalkiewicz nearly score oh a heel hook submission, Xiaonan was never in danger of losing the fight. She dissected Kowalkiewicz, answering for every strike and taking Kowalkiewicz to the mat at will.

There’s not a lot MMA can learn from boxing, but this is most definitely one instance they can. Someone from Kowalkiewicz corner or a UFC official shouldd have stopped that fight. She has fought too long and too hard to be eviscerated on a live pay per view show simply due to promotion apathy. It belies an abject interest in loyalty and care for the athletes who are literally putting their lives on the line for the sake of your promotional profit. 

Why would you not protect them at all cost?