1. Train wrestling to defend take downs and to control opponents along the cage. (important!)

via i22.photobucket.com

2. Train Muay Thai knees. (Extremely important!)

via 2.bp.blogspot.com

3. Find game opponents who won't quit because of a foul.

via cdn.bleacherreport.net

4. In first round, lean on your opponent along the cage, clinch up and knee him in the balls; or in north south position, get up and knee him in the face while he is still down. Point deduction will happen, but don't worry, it is part of the plan. You will win the round but got a point deducted to have the score card marked at 9-9.

via i22.photobucket.com

5. In the second round, repeat step 3. If your opponent isn't out of it yet, don't worry he will be in the third round. You will yet have another point deducted but the scorecard will read 9-9. It is 18-18 at this point.

via www.mmatko.com

6. Finish your opponent, if you can. If you can't, don't worry. He should be dead tired by now or his movement would be severely hindered by his now mega swollen testicles. You should be able to outstrike him and win the round even if you can't stop him.  The scorecard will read 10-9 and you will win 28-27. 

via 4.bp.blogspot.com

*Note: During the course of the fight, ignore referee's instruction to let go of the fence or your opponent's shorts. 

It is the worst start of the team in top flight in 16 years.  The last time we had a worse start was 1994 - 1995 season.  Manchester United was the defending champs and Andy Cole was signed midway of the season for a then record of £7M.  We did not have a win in the first 12 games.  The season is still young but if we continue this landslide, relegation is a very real possibility.

via www.inthenews.co.uk

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With the season just around the corner, it is time for us fans to speculate what will happen to our beloved Blues in the upcoming season.  David Moyes said this is the best squad he has ever, which to me is quite concerning.  Not so much the starting XI but the depth of the squad is worrying me.

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via 3.bp.blogspot.com

Give Chicago credit.  They came into hostile territory and did what they suppose to do and came away with a victory.  They are a talented bunch and I can see them giving San Jose some trouble.  But for Vancouver Canucks, what should they do?  After all we have lost two years in a row to the same team in nearly identical fashion.  What changes need to be made for us to take the next step and become a legit contender?

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Everybody expected another long battle but instead it ended before it even began.  Everybody was shocked, the whole bar was silent for a good minute.  As a huge Machida fan, I believed he won the first fight, even though it was a very very close.  I was felling pretty good about Machida up until the fight.  When I saw Lyoto it almost felt like something was missing.  Was it the mystery of Karate or swagger, or both?  Lyoto looked different to say the least, looking worried instead of his usual calm collected self.  He still had problem dealing with the leg kicks but he was doing way better than the first fight.  He switched stances.  He changed his game plan and took it to the ground.  Even though he wasn't doing much damage, but it was heading to the right direction.  Then it happened.

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Sigh where do I start?  I have been a fan since 1998 and I've seen different versions of Canucks.  At the start of the playoffs I didn't think we had much of a chance.  We got through LA, albeit a little lucky.  I became hopeful again.  But now I'm looking at a familiar picture all over again: early playoff elimination.  The reffing is inconsistent, if Alberts is getting called, Hossa should go to the box on the Burrows hold as well.  A shove from Daniel Sedin warrants a cross check? I don't think so.  So if we can't come back miraculously and win the series, here are the things we need to address:

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There are several issue that we have to address here if we were to tie the series in the next game.  Going back home down 3-1 is too much for us.  Having said that here are the things that I think we really need to evaluate:

1. Net Presence

We are still attacking too much from the perimeter.  We need to crash the net, sacrifice the bodies, set up screens and make it difficult for Quick.  If he sees it, he's gonna stop it.  His regular season success is not a fluke.  They are screening Louie, why don't we do the same?

2. Discipline

We are under the microscope from the Burrows/Auger incident, and as a team that NHL doesn't give a shit about,  we should really be skating hard and not take lazy penalties.  We are without one of our best faceoff men and penalty killer in Johnson, and we can't afford to worsen the situation.

3. Shoot the damn puck

Too much passing, not enough shooting.

4. HIT

Show some character, hit them, drop the gloves, do something!  Let them know we are not going away.  As annoying as they could be at times, I really miss Cookie and Ruutu now.

5. Scratch Demitra

His passing has been abysmal, he is not forechecking hard, he is not playing well on the PP.  Why is he even dressed?!

6. Clear the crease

I know it's easier said than done, but it is frustrating to see us being bullied by the huge LA forwards and can't do anything about it.  Maybe we should get Alberts back in but partner him up with someone who can skate fast enough to save his ass.  At least he can clear the crease.  Watching Salo failed on his crease-clearing attempts on Simmonds is frustrating as hell on Saturday.

7. Luongo

He has to steal games.  Period.  We don't pay you that much money to be good.  We pay you these money to be great.  Earn your money.

In the midst of all the discussion about Big Nog's chin, I started thinking, 'Is it his chin or was a just a perfect shot on the perfect spot?'  Sure, ability to sustain punishment deteriorate naturally with age, and head traumas do accumulate.  But how many fighters can not go down after getting clipped right on the button?  Clay Guida, who was known for bouncing back from devastating shots, went down after getting hit by Kenny Florian who was not exactly known for KO power in his hands.  (I know it was a TKO RNC)  Same with Kongo who was sent to the canvas after Mir's hook connected.  Mir's gotten bigger but I don't believe he has KO power in his hands. 

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Happy holiday season my fellow BE readers!  This is my first fan post.  Enjoy.

This is a list of fighters who I find frustrating to watch.  Some of them are really good fighters but somehow find a way to lose every time.  Some of them have become tentative over time and you know they can be a force again if they put it together.  Some of them just have terrible game plans.  Here is the list:

7) Stephan Bonnar

I love Bonnar but at the same time I realize he will never be a contender.  I understand losing to Jon Jones, but Coleman?  Come on.  From TUF 1 to now, I haven't really seen any improvements from Bonnar.  The striking is still pretty decent but the lack of ability to finish is really hurting Bonnar.  His takedown defense has not shown any improvements either which is one of the reasons contributing to his loss against Coleman.

6) Andrei Arlovski

AA looked really good, and was doing well against Fedor and it happened.  While he was doing well at a distance, I don't know why Andrei chose to launch himself at Fedor.  He could've used strikes to close the distance instead of using the ill-fated flying knee.  The end result might not have been that much different, but Andrei would have few more healthy brain cells instead of KTFO'd.

5) Cheick Kongo

World class striker without ANY ground skills at all.  Kongo has displayed a decent chin, great striking and good GnP.  You know he would be a force if he has better takedown defense, yet for some reasons, we just haven't seen any improvements in that area of his game.  Imagine how scary Kongo would be if he has some ground skills, even just defensively like Bisping. 

4) Mirko Cro Cop

I still think the Gonzaga knockout has done some permanent damage to Cro Cop mentally.  We no longer see the once feared predator, but a tentative fighter who is fighting not to lose instead of trying to win.  Without being able to use the ring to corner an opponent, Cro Cop in UFC is not as effective as the one we saw in Pride.  I love Cro Cop and I would love nothing but see him succeed again.  Hope the sport psychiatrist could really put him back on the track. 

3) Brandon Vera

For whatever reasons, Brandon Vera seems to have lost the killer instinct that brought him much success at the beginning of his career.  Even though Vera has stepped up his conditioning and rededicate himself to the sport, his lack of determination remains his Achilles' heel.

2) Jorge Gurgel

As exciting as he is, one have to wonder how well he could've done if he uses his ground skills even sparingly.  A black belt under Marcus Aurelio, Gurgel has legitimate grounds skills but elects to stand and bang with opponents.  His reluctance to utilize his best weapon results in him being cut by the UFC after several Fight of the Night honours.

1) Denis Kang

Man.  Where do I start?  Being a fellow Canadian from Vancouver and the same BJJ lineage, I became a fan naturally.  When UFC signed Kang, I was so excited, and started telling my friends how great he is and how he is going to be a contender at 185.  First Alan Belcher, and recently Michael Bisping.  Given both are no slouches, these guys are beatable.  Especially when he gained the mount against Bisping, I was literally yelling : 'Come on Denis, finish him!'  Give credit to Bisping for his shrimping and constantly getting back to half guard, but Denis could've done way more damage. And who knows what could have happened then even after Bisping wasn't finished in the first round.  What if he didn't put himself into Mousasi's triangle choke? Argh, what ifs ........

Who is the most frustrating fighter for you?