Gina Carano resurfaces for October 4th Fight

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EliteXC's big Showtime fight on October 4th is coming closer, and while Kimbo Slice is the big headlines, many American Gladiator and MMA fans alike will be turning an eye to Gina Carano as well, who is set to fight against Up-and-comer Kelly Kobold on the same card.

This may be one of you last chances to see Gina in action for a while. While American Gladiators is coming back, Showtime has moved to purchased the struggling ELITEXC and if that happens, there is a very good possibility that a competition clause could be brought up that could keep the brunette fighter from making a return appearance on competing network NBC.

Of course that's all still in the works; the real question at the moment is whether or not Gina, who has struggled with making weight in the past, will finally do what she has to in order to keep her weight down. Her opponent has wasted no opportunity to talk smack against Gina, so expect the fight to be a knock-down-balls-bustin' event. Particularly if the rumors are true and this is a set up for a championship bout later next year against Chris 'Cyborg'.

She looked great at the open workout exhibition though. Below is a promo for the Showtime fight. Can I be shallow and say, hi, Gina! Been a while, and you still look great! Go kick some ass.

American Gladiators: 5 Ways to Save This Show from Swallowing It's Own Head

The American Gladiators finale aired Monday Night with a bit of a whimper. While it was great to see the 'Runaway Bride' and the Really, Really Fast Tim Guy win the whole thing, the entire thing felt almost anticlimatic, after a bloated, long season that felt confusing and glittery.

Let's face it, we watch American Gladiators for the cheese. Because it's fun, and we like seeing big guys take on the little guys. We like rooting for the underdog and we've grown attached to the Gladiators (witness my completely blind devotion to Crush).

I love my Gladiators. It's the one show my family can get together and watch. My sister roots for the Gladiators, my grandmother roots for the competitors, and my mother lusts quite obviously over Militia. But there is a limit, and there is only so much fat we can stand before we want to toss away the steak.

Because I don't want to see my gladiators (namely Crush) go away, I've got a couple suggestions (okay, five) for the producers that might tighten up the show, and actually instill some emotion.

A general note? Take a page from the original. It's a classic for a reason. And it's currently airing on ESPN Classic. What American Gladiators was in it's earlier incarnation was a clean, quick sports show that featured sane, viable athletes who were pitted against longtime veteran gladiators who took their job seriously but also were allowed to be themselves. And you know... then there was Malibu.

1. Less filler, more events: why on earth do we have to sit through a ten minute recap of what happened the week before, and endless interviews of contestants blathering on spewing cringe inducing crap, and then watch a thirty second recap of the two events that weren't aired? What is the point? Don't we watch for the events? I mean, really, to watch some 5'2" girl on top of the joust scream that she's going to dunk Crush in the water just makes me roll my eyes when three seconds later, Crush pounds her to a pulp. It's not cute. It's annoying. And you know what happens to all those interviews? We have tivo. We fastfoward them. I'm just saying. There's no point.
2. Enough with the 'theme contestants': Let's discuss the contestants. I'm sure it's truly awe inspiring to have a 52 year old lady get on the show and get her ass kicked by crush, but does she really have a chance in hell of winning? Or how about the really inspiring guy with one leg who could only make it up the travelator when they actually stopped it? Yes, yes, it was super inspiring and all that, but really? Did either of those contestants have a chance in hell of taking the big prize? No. Taking a 'theme' each week (cops! the biggest loser! old versus young! twins!) and running with 'stories' instead of actual contenders made for weak contestants with over inflated egos. It wasn't interesting.
3. Get into the Gladiators! (and cut some): Okay, so I get that last season, there were many, many injuries (Siren, Stealth, Hellga, Militia) and the result was some gladiators having to work harder than others, but did we REALLY need eight more this season? There was so many that they didn't even BOTHER with the promo titles. And what was with the cheesy 'characters'. Like poor Steel, who is NOT a mute, but apparently isn't allowed to speak. Or Panther who... has curly black hair? I don't get it! We expected Rocket and Jet, as first season champions, but honestly, the only truly great Gladiator we got out of the newbies was Phoenix, because she was just awesome and kick ass all around. Having gladiators with specialties just results in us never seeing them, and honestly? If we're going to be stuck with stupid themed contestants, maybe we should focus on the Gladiators as well. Show a little behind the scenes action. SHOW Wolf singing Happy Birthday to Crush. It gives us moments of real depth in all that over inflated sugar rush. We need that. Dentists agree.
4. Rehaul the Eliminator (and some events): We get it. The eliminator is super dooper tough. It's the hardest thing ever. And only those with proportional armstrength and super fast legs and stamina can make it through. Blah blah blah. You know what? We get all that. Drench them and everything gets harder, but honestly, it makes the previous events meaningless. It doesn't matter what the head start is because the little, lean guy is always going to be faster. Even the contestants have figured it out. And let's cut out skytrack. The old skytrak was awesome. Yours? Sucks. As does your hit and run. Just saying. It's silly. And why on earth do we need so much rocket ball?
5. Cut the awesome Hulk (and the canned announcer): The Hulk may be an awesome athlete, but as an announcer he knows like, three words: Awesome, Mania, and 'Let's Hear It' for the Awesome anythingMania. He's wince inducing. And so is the canned announcer, who speaks like a bad cartoon. How about tossing them both and pairing up Laila with a real life commentator who can actually DO interviews and play by plays?

Was I judgy? Perhaps, but it's only because I love you show. I want you to get better. Because spandex makes everything better.

Gina Carano to Fight In October

Gina Carano (63), originally uploaded by The Funky Buddha.

Looks like the partner fight has been set up for the upcoming Gina Carano fight to take place in October for EliteXC. According to Bloodyelbow.com, sources are NOT scouting South American 'Cyborg' Chris Santos, as indicated in the last broadcast fight, but rather Kelly Kobold-Gavin, who is 16-2, but coming off a loss.

Either way, the real question will be if the American Gladiator will be able to cut the weight she needs to silence the dissenters in the MMA community.

Still, any Gina Carano on my television is a blessing, particularly since American Gladiator's finale airs TONIGHT on NBC, and then she'll be off our screens for that weekly fix.

Oh Crush - what will we do without you?

Gina Carano: Crush Kicks Ass

Photo by all_elbows at flickr.

A lot of eyeballs were on Gina Carano, aka 'the Face of Women's MMA' on Saturday Night, when she came into the ring four and a half pounds heavy to fight the underdog opponent Kaitlin Young on the first ever EliteXC Primetime ticket on CBS.

It was a huge deal, and not just because of the fact that Carano's star status had increased dramatically because of her 'Crush' appeal from American Gladiators. She's missed weight for her last three fights, and this coupled with mounting critiscism from hardcore MMA'ers that she's playing her 'pretty face' too much for more than just a fighting career, produced a barage of online lashings that was almost tide turning resentment for the media darling.

Kaitlin Young, a fierce, humble but inexperienced fighter, was getting blog interviews, tons of online hype, and even bloggers warning others to place their bets on her now because they were headed for an upset. Blogger after blogger laid their predictions for the fight stating that Young was the almost sure winner, basing this on Gina not making weight and also her three week training period (Opposed to Kaitlin's 9 weeks).

The result didn't appear to be that surprising. Gina Carano did appear to be winded and out of breath towards the end of her first round and into the second, but her experience as a Muay Thai master and her ever evolving grappling skills became more and more apparent as, even as she began to tire, she delivered blow after blow to Kaitlin Young. Young herself put up a great fight. She fought hard, but Gina kept a steady slew of front kicks aimed right at her mid section that kept her from using her agressive punching form, and Young couldn't recover to readjust her strategy. Gina beat her on the ground, and in a stand up fight, where Young is the strongest, Gina simply out powered her.

Young was saved by the bell at the end the second round, as Gina held her in a rear naked choke that Young refused to tap out of, only for the doctor to call the fight in Gina's favor.

Enough to quiet the dissenters? Probably not. Some people are determined to hate Gina for her success and her inability to make weight (in my opinion, the far more justified critiscm of the two) , but I'll never condemn her for doing more than just fighting. She's bringing a lot of attention to a women's sport that some people still argue shouldn't exist, and whether or not she's the best MMA has to offer, she's certainly the most marketible, and has the skill to back it up. Let her do her video games and her Gladiator, so long as she keeps coming back to the ring, I'll still be watching.

And hey, Kaitlin Young got a new fan as well.

Check out the Fight on youtube: Part 1 Part 2 - the fight was called after round two.

Related Articles:

Crush the Critics
Overhyped: A bloodyelbow's fan analysis of how the Kaitlin Young hype got out of control.
Gina Carano and Kaitlin Young finally give the fans a reason to cheer.
Girl Power: Gina Adds Spice

If I were a Gladiator - Gina Fights Back

American Gladiator fever has struck my household, so much that my little sister has decided on an American Gladiator themed birthday party, featuring a 'come as your favorite Gladiator' dress up. Currently, Crush is being fought over tooth and nail, because, quite simply, she is awesome.

Which you would already know if you were watching American Gladiators this season. The MMA fighter is as yet undefeated on one on one events, and the girl is getting a hell of a work out. Last episode she trounced a former military cop on the pyramid (losing her helmet in the process) and then proceeded to be hit on by a trophy wife (revealing a blush), before pounding the crap out of both trophy girl and army cop, celebrating with a booty dance.

Of course, she may need the exercise. Her upcoming fight with Kaitlin Young is now this weekend, and Kaitlin Young, a fierce Muay Thai girl herself, will pull no punches.

Now that the Gladiator season is done filming, Gina Carano has taken to promoting and training for her sport, and luckily, this much hyped fight is happy to provide training footage.

Will she make weight? Will the lack of training time affect her? Will she kick ass?

No clue.



Of course there's more to the Gladiators than Crush. While there's no sign of Siren, the red-headed vixen, word is out that she had to sit out the first five days due to an injury. Titan continues to dominate the joust, and Wolf is getting better on Hang Tough. The female gladiators have kicked it up a notch. First season champion Monica aka Jet is getting her feel for the arena, but newcomer Pheonix is scarily good at kicking ass, and Venom continues to be the most consistently solid underrated female gladiator.

Hellga continues to be useless.

But your mileage may vary.

Gina Carano on ESPN's E: 60

American Gladiators premiered last night with a two hour revised version of the S1 revamp. There were new Gladiators, including S1 Contestants Evan and Monica, and new events, and of course, the return of some old favorites, including MMA Fighter Gina Carano, aka Crush, who remains undefeated in her events: Pyramid and Joust.

The microscope will be even more focused on her, as she returns to her roots: a fight on MAY 31st against fellow Muay Thai fighter Kaitlin Young, to be broadcast on CBS.

Should be interesting, as she is still filming American Gladiators and has to now train for both.

ESPN is catching the CRUSH Fever, particularly in light of this pretty important fight (how often do you see Women's MMA get the attention that it's getting because of Carano?), and she was featured in ESPN's show E:60. Interesting look, particularly through the eyes of fellow fighter and dissenter Tara LaRosa, aruably the number one female fighter in the world.

Take a look.

The Girl Can't Help It: Crush Cracks Up

Despite the complete cheesiness of the NBC 'All American Summer' promo campaign, there is something quite hilarious that's come out of it - Crush's completely inability to hold a straight face. This commercial aired after 30 Rock last week.



Can Gina Carano be any more lethally adorable?

For more proof, check out this 'taste' test on NBC.com

Bloated Cheese - The Gladiators Return In May

According to a recent zapit.com article, the two hour American Gladiator's premiere of the second season will air in May. In a perfect world, two hours would be dedicated to more events and less talking and use of the word 'brother' by Hulk Hogan but... chances are slim that will happen.

Oh well, more Crush is more Crush.

In related news, there is apparently more than a few casting shake ups with the Gladiators, with rumors abounding that producers are concerned that because of the large size of some of the Gladiators, there is a general assumption that they're all on 'roids. Cause Hellga? Totally natural. Right. Beause of that, they're looking to cast more 'natural' looking Gladiators - what does this mean? Well, we know for sure Wolf and Crush had been officially asked back, but residant mountanous gladiators like Toa, Justice, Mayhem, and Hellga, might be on the bubble.

Take Hellga, Producers, but leave me my Toa.

American Gladiators Finale: It's All About Crush

Oh yeah... and that soccer Mom lady and cutie Evan speeded their way predictably into American Gladiator Championship.

After two hours of insane filler, I was treated to my last glimpse of the awesome, gorgeous, crazy Crush.

Luckily, she has been invited back for the second season (which films in March and April), but until then, here's a few links for my fellow crush fanatics.

News Articles:

Gina Carano in the new Blood and Bones movie.

Update on Gina Carano's next fight. Also, she's the 3rd top search on yahoo's sports section.

Great article on Gina and how she's reacting to the American Gladiator's fan favorite lime light.

5 Reasons AfterEllen.com has a Crush on Crush.

Read a Couple Quotes about Gina from some fighter's Gina's well... crushed:Tonya Evinger and Julie Kedzie

Gina Carano's interview with Inside MMA on hdnet.net will be reaired on February 23 at 3AM. Set your TIVO. Or hope that they make the episode available online.

Gina's Pro Elite Profile. Lotsa pictures. If you're into that kinda thing.

Youtube:

Gina Carano 'Crush' Tribute featuring Paramore.

Fight Girls Webisodes - she's the hottest mentor ever.

Postfight Interview with Gina - in which she winks.

Gina crushes a reporter in joust - and winks again.

Crush puts her foot down - literally.

DirectTV is my anti-drug

Not to say I don't have some problems with my satellite provider, but sometimes, this company is awesome.

Taking a page from TIVO, the company has now linked up DIRECTTV PLus receivers with the DVR Scheduler. What that means is that if you're like me, and constantly forget to set stuff you actually mean to record, you can log in on line, choose the program on your TVlistings and presto! It's recording for you when you get home.

Now that's what I call... well, biting off of TIVO, but also, AWESOME.

In other news, The Terminator chicks continue to be bad ass, if not a little clueless, when in this week's Sarah Connor Chronicles, the soccor moms lose John. This proves to be a nice little learning exercise for Sarah, who realizes she has to loosen the stranglehold she has on her son in order to let him grow into the man who saves the world, and allows John to stop being such a wussy wuss and actually kick some accidental and idiotically planned ass. Meanwhile Cameron gets to torture a guy, strand him in a minefield, call Sarah irrational, visit the place of her birth, and steal a momento from the occassion: a piece of super strong metal from which she is built.

Meanwhile, on that OTHER show that's in the same show - Terminator gets plastic surgery, and turns into THAT guy (Garret Dillihunt), who does all that awesome character work on The 4400 , Deadwood, No Country For Old Men, Life and just about every show you've ever seen. Which means of course that new Terminator guy will be bad ass. And FBI agent becomes the new Mulder, with a strangely more friendly Catherine Dent as his skeptical Skully, as he begins to put together pieces that don't fit. Of course no one believes him, particularly the little pipsqueak FBI agent who keeps trying to undermine him.

Also, on American Gladiators, part II of the semi finals kicks off this Monday, with this week's episode knocking out Siene (who wore out her welcome REAL quick with all her friggin' crying. There's no crying in the Gladiator Arena!) and the cutie fireman, who stood no chance next to cutie salesman Evan, who cleared the eliminator in 1 minute, 20 seconds. Unless the guy pulls a ham string in the finals, he's unbeatable. Crush continues to be awesome, Wolf continues to crack me up, and Titan is the biggest ham that ever hammed. Also? Siren finally proves her worth when she kicks complete ass on the rings.

Left to compete are the muscly minister versus the other guy, and does it really matter since Evan will cream them both? Also: Venus versus Soccor Mom. Venus posted a 3 and a half minute eliminator time, Soccor Mom: 2minutes. Again with the no point.

Gina Carano is a Beast.

Looking at some of Gina Carano, aka CRUSH's fights on youtube, it becomes increasingly apparent why she looks so friggin' easy going during the filming of American Gladiators.

Quite simply, when you fantasize about kicking people in the head as a child, a little rough and tumble with a big ass Q-tip is nothing.

American Gladiators 104: It's a Step, Not a Kick (ballchange)

Monday is here, and that means more cheesy, ball-busting action.

The competitors:

For the Women: A really really annoying lawyer lady who also played women's football and apparently thought that somehow made her special versus a really spunky tiny lady who had been signing petitions to get American Gladiators back on the air.

For the Men: A really really cute hard-bodied 25 year old rock climber who wanted to give his widowed father and brother someone to root for, and an older firefighter with three adorable sons.

Things we learned from American Gladiators THIS time around:

1) It's not a kick, it's a step. - in an effort to disengage the firefighter lady from the platform is 'Earthquake' , Crush saw fit to press her boot onto the firelady's head, forcing her down. And then she laughed about it. Which was kinda awesome. Even more hilarous was her battle with the second contender, who managed to hang out, kick free, and was therefore caught dangling from the platform as Crush held onto her, squishing her and offering her congratulations.

2) When it comes to the pyramid, Wolf sees Red - Wolf can quickly become annoying with that howling he does, but the man knows how to kick some ass. He owned the pyramid, flinging the contender around like he was a piece of candy. It was kinda awesome to watch.

3) Small and spunky wins the race, but only if you're wearing shoes. - Losing your shoe does indeed sabatage any chances for a win. When our petitioner lost her shoe and then decided to fling off the only one she had on, the audience was befuddled. Even worse was the moment when Christine stared up mournfully at the travelater, it became clear to both her and us that her loss of traction lost her the race. It was a sad, sad moment. Particularly because the annoying lawyer lady won. Only because she had shoes.

On the other hand, our other small and spunky contender, the male rock climber, wore shoes, and kicked ass, with a new eliminator time of 1and a half minute. Hooray.

4) Whiners can win. And yet, not really. Lawyer lady pissed me off. For a football lady, she just would NOT.STOP.WITHTHECOMPLAINING. Even before the eliminator started she made a comment to Hogan that she 'wasn't feeling well' because she had been in the water alot. Suck it up, biyotch.

Thank god for small mercies, however. Even though she won, the dreadful eliminator time was just not good enough to pass up Venus, which means she doesn't advance.

Not to be a bad sport, but ha.

American Gladiators 103: Powerball is Bad for Your Health

For the females: A bullrider (and amateur soft porn star, if you do the research) versus a fitness model aka mother of twins
For the men: A shark fisherman versus a BadBoyGoneGood Algebra School Teacher.

For the viewers: A blown leg, a nordic bantam weight bellflopping in a pool, and a female ripping through the elimator in exactly two minutes.

New things we've learned from the third episode of the reinvented version of American Gladiators:

1) Powerball, in any form, is bad for your health. That's the second contestant in three episodes who has busted a knee thanks to the rough and tumble liberties the Gladiators take, tossing them around like pancakes.

2) Crush should always, ALWAYS be the joustmaster. Venom had her turn up there and she was in the water both times. Granted, the first time, the bullfighter DQ'd herself by stepping onto Venom's pedastal and pushing her into the water, but still - you know if she did that to Crush, she would have totally pushed back. Also? She only allowed two points in Powerball, unlike, say... Venom.

3) Titan is the greatest KenDoll ever. Encouraging the audience to cheer for the fallen contestant, and being gracious when he got pushed off the jousting platform, he is the ultimate sportsman.

4) The bigger they are; the better that bellyflop. Watching Hellga fly through the air and faceplant into a pool of water when Bullrider lady hit the target made me wince. Ouchies, Hellga. Aim better next time.

5) Stealth is not so stealthy. The best unintentionally funny part of the episode (other than the Humiliator) was Stealth giving Soccermom the 'come here' fingers on the pyramid and then flopping over her and rolling down the mountain, allowing the girl to scramble up top.

6) God's Okay with TrashTalking. Minister Alternate who was obsessed with working out? Hot as hell until he opened his cocky mouth. Shut it, dude.

7) SoccerMom is a beast. Two minutes for the Eliminator? BullRider/Pornstar lady didn't stand a chance. I want a match up between her and previous winner Sienne.

8) Doing the Winner's interview while the Loser keeps attempting to finish the Eliminator? If you're a masochist, and I am: BEST THING EVER.

Next Week:

Is it just me or did we catch a glimpse of Crush stepping on some poor girl's head during Earthquake?

Awesome.

More Cheese Coming Your Way: American Gladiators Renewed

When people want the silly, they embrace the silly. American Gladiators, in which regular athletes are pitted against each other and monster men and women, has already been renewed, according to TVWeek.

Also? They're planning an animated series and Vegas show. Really? Isn't that a little overkill? What's next, a music video? (Please don't take that as a suggestion, show).

Of course for me, that just means more Crush, which will always be a plus in my book. Gina Carano, aka Crush, is a bad ass, as witnessed by these youtube videos, in which she kicks the stuffing out of all the athletic women brave enough to get into a cage with her.

Also big news? The Sarah Connor Chronicles, which I'd like to gush about, but would rather do it when I have more than five minutes.

A Small Reprieve: Females Kick Ass In January

While there appears to be no end in sight for the writer's strike that is casting a dark, dark shadow on Hollywood (and cutting jobs left and right), there is a small measure of hope.

Scifiwire is reporting 2 new episodes of Chuck (the last of the season that are in the can) will air on January 24th. If you haven't watched Chuck, you should. A funny, smart show with three engaging leads and an entertaining menagerie of supporting characters, Chuck mixes James Bonde-esque satire with an Office Space twist. Some of the plots are a little unbelievable, but the sincerity of both Chuck and his two handlers Sara and Casey more than make up for it. It's just a gem of a show.

American Gladiators appears to be hitting it's stride as one of the more brutal reality shows on the market, and with 9 episodes total this season there's plenty of time for broken bones and patriotic cheesery. In a series of interviews by craveonline, The Gladiators reveal themselves to be a funny, outspoken bunch, and Crush in particular, continues to be a favorite of mine. As the only female Gladiator who doubles as a professional cage fighter, she makes comments about killing people with her bare hands and being bummed out that she can't kick people in their heads. That's bad ass. American Gladiators airs 8PM Monday nights on NBC.

Also coming atcha is the Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, frontlined by a personal favorite Brit actress of mine, Lena Headley. If the rest of the series holds up to what the pilot promised us, we're in for a bang up, hard hitting, ball blasting heck of a show. With two female leads (one android, one human), the show proves that kicking ass and taking names isn't exclusive to the gents. T: The Sarah Connor Chronicles debuts this Sunday on FOX at 8PM before moving to it's regular timeslot at 9PM Monday night.

American Gladiators: Embrace the Cheese

I admit it proudly. I loved American Gladiators. Back when I was a wee little thing I dreamt of growing up and being able to take on Lace (she seemed the weakest one. I was sure I could do some damage).

It was the ultimate family affair. When my sisters and mom went on vacation in Florida, one of the first things they did was go see a live taping. They got a picture with Turbo (Remember Turbo? He was hot).

So it was with some amusement that I announced to my parents and my sister that an All new American Gladiators was airing on the tv. They piled upon my bed (because I'm 28 and I live with my parents, but phooey, it's 400 a month), and we watched the new incarnation in all it's cheese infested glory.

First off? Wolfman? Is stupid. But Crush is hot. As is the Toa guy who looks like a cartoon. Helga is scary, but I guess that's the point.

There was butt flashing, and sweat, and a heck of a lot of water. Apparently American Gladiator's stance on 'wet=sex' is as much as possible. The Eliminator is absolutely hell this time around, though I don't know why there's no deductions for falling off the bike and the water barrel. Didn't the old eliminator feature the gladiators forcing them to wait five seconds if they fell off? I guess the moving escalator thing is enough torture. The guys couldn't get up at all.

Still, the show is just fun enough to bolster that bit of nostalgia and make me want to squeal a little bit.

What more can you ask for, really?

Other than more butt flashes and wedgies, that is.