NOTE from Kid Nate: While we appreciate the sentiment behind this post and realize that we should have addressed the Shane Carwin matter earlier, unless your name is Luke Thomas or he gave you specific permission in advance it's not OK to contact Shane Carwin or any fighter on behalf of Bloody Elbow. 

Sup hombres,  A short time ago  I read a brief comment made by the leader of this fine enterprise that gave me a little concern.  He said that Carwin had lost all credibility to him.   I was dissapointed to see that because I was looking forward to a possible  Carwin Bloody Elbow "exclusive" interview or Q&A.  Also, I thought the reason for this loss of credibility in the eyes of our founder  was more likely due to miscommunication rather than meaningful issues.   Because of this I decided to join the Shane Carwin fan community so i could pop in and pass along our best wishes (Don't worry, I'm sure he's aware that not everyone here shares my fandom).   I'm posting his response to me so that folks can know that Shane is a hella nice dude that seriously commits to make time for fans and people less fortunate.  I also losely associated myself with BE so I figure I'm obligated to share any info I gathered.   I don't know how the hell he does it,but  he got back to me w/in 24hrs.

You wont learn anything you don't already know but you will certainly have your belief confirmed that this is one down to earth dude who just loves to compete.    He may not crack you up like Brock does but is more like the type of dude you want your kids  emulate.  I wish I would have asked him what is the coolest or most interesting thing that has happened to him since being with Zuffa but I'm sure someone else will excell where I have only flailed. 

Shane Carwin:

"I have no problems with Bloody Elbow.  I think the articles you are speaking about were used by a lot of other sites and even misquoted.  I am not worried about you guys and I know you have a job to do.

As for the training and efforts, I think it is a life long effort for me.  I love training and pushing myself to be better at whatever it is i am doing.  I was missing the competition after hanging up the wrestling shoes.  I was feeding the need for competition by coaching wrestling and it really was not feeding the desire.  Ron Watermanasked me to help him prepare for his MMA fights and I was really enjoying the other aspects of the sport.  I was hooked on it immediately and  when Reed Harris from the WEC asked me if I wanted to fight I was really interested in the opportunity and the rest is history.

I have always been taught that if you are going to do something do it to your fullest potential.  My Mom instilled in us Carwin Boys that hard work and dedication are the path to greatness.  I try to apply that to all of the things I do in life.  I was never after fame or recognition, just after making sure I was doing all I can to make the most of my opportunity.

I would say I credit my Mom and the way she raised us and not only by setting great ground rules but also showing us through how she lives her life.  Outside of my Mom I think my College Wrestling Coach taught me a lot of visualization techniques that I use to this day. 

You know I do not see any amount of fame or money changing me.  The one thing about Fame and Money is they never last forever and they have very little impact on the legacy you leave behind.  It is all about how you treat people and do unto others as you want them to do unto you (except when in the Octagon).  I am always going to be working and working hard.

To my question/statement:
Subject: You've got a good image now , but still not adequate to what is deserved.


Brother, your friends and commenters  on Bloody Elbow respect and admire your skills, demeanor, and work ethic. However, I think there has been some miscommunications between writers of the site  and you that may have resulted in some amount of alienation. One example being Snowden's article about the impracticality of doing a lot of individual media requests. I believe his main point was to reaffirm the necessity (and practicality) of your choice based on the high opportunity cost of doing a large amount of interviews. It was NOT to suggest that your comparatively light compensation was the primary motivator. In short I believe the writer's main point was to illustrate that you made the best possible choice under the circumstances. In any event, if no one else from BE is taking the time to ask for a comment then I will. Could you please tell us how you first became motivated to be the best and what  motivated you to spend those long hours training before anyone knew your name?  Why did you strive for excellence in fighting when it was unclear what the benefits would be?   Do you work for excellence in everything you do?  How did this initially come about?  As a salesperson I frequently read and listen to positive messages to keep that winning edge but I don't think you have the time to do that.  Also, how do you plan to continue to stay motivated once you have fame and fortune?

via www.fighterwarehouse.com

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Wassup brohams, you know what this is about already dont you?  That's right, it's about the extreme frustration, humiliation, aggrevation, and emasculation you will feel knowing that you cannot watch a live broadcast of CBS "Saturday Night Fights"   Yes, I know we can find some watchable live stream on the internet but I'm not satisfied with that option and neither are you.  Obviously, this is no small hill to climb and acheiving our objective may take several years.  However,  we do know that our efforts on this issue can only help shorten the time that we remain in the broadcast basement.  I didn't know where to start so  I called my satelite provider to ask them if I can get one of the east coast CBS stations that I see on  my menu.   Their hands are tied.  They legally cannot give us access to another major network affiliate if you are able to receive the broadcast from a local station.   Next I joined the CBS community and made a special request urging them to keep the integrity of a live broadcast.  I didn't suggest that I was a huge MMA fan but just focused on the value of a live broadcast.  You can also watch a few good clips there   (Fedor/Rogers) http://www.cbs.com/sports/video/?pid=Qwn6IdqXaOwW7HWtfnpJRvWGTpYIvakz&vs=Mixed%20Martial%20Arts&play=true.   Next, I went to my local station website (KIRO) and left a detailed request there as well.  To my pleasant surprise they emailed AND called me back to discuss my request.   Naturally, I didn't speak to anyone with any authority in my initial conversation and walked away with the impression that they are counting on CBS to provide the content for the 7-10pm time slot.   It still isn't clear to me if they can access the CBS live feed if they wanted to.  I'll update as learn more. 

I'm hopeful that some folks here can provide some further insight on how to combat this issue.  I've only scratched the surface but am determined to illustrate our concerns to anyone who will listen.   In any event, I think a logical place for us to all start is to go to CBS.com and leave a detailed message indicating how the value of their product is so significantly degraded by the delay.   Also, I think we should pester our local stations  enough to seriosuly consider this issue.   I think we can convince them that our extreme loyalty and gratitude is worth them considering our request.   I believe someday we will all watch a live broadcast on CBS of the greatest MMArtists on earth .  Let's work together to ensure that day comes as soon as possible.   

Obviously we shouldn't overlook the enourmous resources of the SB nation  (whatever they may be).     I dont know how many people frequent their sites but  I hope we all can do our part to make sure everyone knows that this is a problem that we should start addressing.

I had to mess with our more fortunate friends  in other parts of the country a lil bit  so i included option 3 in the poll.