6 Thoughts
1) If you are going to lose, that's the way to do it: get killed early, and take the suspense out of it so we can all relax. Down 27 - late window-dressing run made the score respectable but Miami never really threatened. Six game home winning streak over. Charlotte lost a surprise game in Indiana, so the Heat didn't lose any ground to them. Chicago losing in Memphis as we write...Let's identify the problems in tonight's game. We'll go quick - no need to dwell on the loss, and we are answering a pressing question tonight down in #6.
2) Miami couldn't get an open, clean look at the basket.
3) When Miami did get an open, clean look at the basket, they couldn't make the shot.
4) Spurs guard George Hill could not miss on a series of early ridiculously tough shots - and he's a not particularly great shooter.
5) It was Noche Latino night, or whatever it is called, in the NBA - and you have to believe Miami got just a little too geeked about once again donning the El Heat jerseys. By the way, even thought it is called Latino night, we are having it again on Thursday - go figure...
6) Okay, that's that, now on to important business...So, of course, the question I keep getting over and over these days is: Why MMA? Why now?
Well, first of all, I am probably going to retire from this blog after the season, so I will need something to occupy my spare time, and mixed martial arts fighting has always been a passion of mine, just one that I didn't talk about much. Secondly, while I am a little bit older now, I do feel like I finally have the muscle maturity to excel at the sport. I am 6’1”, 175 pounds – to be honest, I don’t follow MMA that closely, so I’m not sure how that is going to stack up against some of the big-time competitors, size-wise, but I imagine pretty well. Someone asked me the other day if I am more of a “striker,” or if I rely on my “ground game” – again, I don’t follow the sport that closely, so I’m not too sure what those things are. Basically, my strategy for my fights is to be really physical: I like to get in my opponent’s face and stay there, kind of bully him around the ring. Wait - what? Oh, right…around the octagon. Then, when I have worn him down a little, I will go for the knockout. Seems like that should work. As for training, I am putting in 3-5 hours a week at the House of Pain Gym, in West Palm Beach. I try to go most evenings after work for about an hour, if I’m not too tired. But, of course, never on Friday, because that is the Sabbath. I bring The Captain, and he puts me through my paces – usually about 10 minutes of stretching, then a good 25 minutes of cardio, followed by some super-intense Pilates. We try to stay away from the weights – don’t want to get too muscle-bound. Had my first sparring match last week – The Captain kept screaming at me to “use the Arm Bar,” but I didn’t know what that was, so it was super-distracting, and eventually the girl choked me out. That was just my first fight, though, so I'm not discouraged...
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Another tough game Thursday vs. Orlando, then a huge showdown Saturday against co-playoff aspirant Charlotte.
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