Ronda Rousey vs Alexis Davis

UFC 175

Wow! Ronda Rousey left no doubt in her title defense last night.  Of course, the UFC does not have a single female in the same league with her, so she continues to fight fighters that are far less skilled than her.  Going into the fight nobody expected this fight to last long.  

Ronda is a legitimate MMA star, but can she continue to ascend with no real competition.  She is a fighter fighting fitness models and other women that were just more athletic than other girls growing up.  No woman in the UFC right now is a legit contender.  

Now, if the UFC can somehow sign Cris "Cyborg" Justino, Ronda will finally have someone on her level.  Hopefully we will see a contract worked out.  I am getting pretty tired of seeing Ronda walk through the current women fighters.  

The man that beat the legend pushed his record to 12-0 last night.  After two straight wins over Anderson Silva, Chris Weidman defended his title against Lyota Machida last night.  Machida made it interesting in the 4th and 5th rounds, but it was a clear cut victory for Mr. Weidman. 

It will be interesting to see what the final PPV numbers are on this UFC card.  The popularity of the sport has been waning the last few years for a variety of reasons.  Perhaps the biggest reason is the UFC completely over saturated the market with their fights.  There are fights on 2 to 3 times a month now, but they lack the star power to consistently draw viewers to the screen.  It will be interesting to see where the sport is in about 5 years.  

Wimbledon

The Men's Singles Final is on today.  It will feature Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.  I would love to see Federer get one more Slam title, but he will have his hands full with Djokovic.  Grass is Federer's best surface, and maybe that is enough to steal a victory today.  If Federer can win one more Grand Slam tournament, it will be hard to say he is NOT the greatest tennis player of all time.  

Beer Cast by Experimental Nonsense

Beer Cast by Experimental Nonsense

Taste Test Beer Podcast

Beer Taste Test

We just recorded a beer taste test podcast.  It will be uploaded shortly.  Here is a list of the beers we sampled and links to their pages:

Coors Original

Budweiser

Miller Lite

Natty Greene's Southern Pale Ale

Flagship IPA

Scrimshaw Pilsner

The beers were delicious, and the podcast was fun.  Enjoy!

Family Vacation by Experimental Nonsense

Family Vacation by Experimental Nonsense

Random Musings

NBA Finals

The NBA Finals are underway, and the Miami Heat are matching up against the San Antonio Spurs.  This is a rematch of last year's Finals where the Spurs were 30 seconds and free throw away from clinching the title.  However, they missed that free throw, and Ray Allen hit a clutch 3 pointer, and the next thing you know the Heat are walking away with the title.  This year's series is shaping up to be another good one.  

Through three games the Spurs are up 2-1.  The Spurs have been dominant in their two wins, but one win came while the league's best player, LeBron James, sat on the bench with cramps.  The second win, which happened to come on the road, featured an unprecedented 1st quarter shooting performance providing them with a comfortable lead.  In the Heat's lone win, so far, LeBron James showed what a transcendent player he has become.  He put the team on his back and carried them to a close victory.  

While the Heat are probably a little disheartened at losing their first home playoff game since last year's finals, they have to realize San Antonio can't shoot lights out every night.  Also, LeBron has had two subpar games already in this series.  Chances are those will be his only two underwhelming performances.  Much has been made of this statistic, 83% of the teams that take a 2-1 lead end up winning the series, but Miami was down 2-1 last year and still came away with the title.  

With fresh memories of last year's Finals in their heads, the Spurs are unlikely to have a letdown.  They seem motivated, and they are by far the best coached team in the NBA.  The ball movement that allows them to find the open man is exactly how basketball should be played.  If they continue to knock down their open jumpers, the Spurs can win this series in 5 games.  

Game 4 will be an exciting game.  My gut is telling me San Antonio will win this series in 6 games.  

NHL Stanley Cup Finals

I am not a hockey fan, but a Stanley cup consisting of the US's two biggest markets has to help the league.  Unfortunately, the LA Kings have a 3-0 lead over the NY Rangers.  It could be a short series.

World Cup Soccer

The World Cup kicks off this week.  The United States made headlines by leaving Landon Donovan off the squad, and with some curious comments from their head coach.  The US's group is pretty talented, so it will be a tough road for them.  Hopefully we will have some exciting games just like this one.

U.S. Open Golf

Tigers Woods is still nursing an injury, but believe it or not, the U.S. Open will still be played this week in Pinehurst, NC.  Can Phil Mickelson win this tournament he covets so much?  He is quickly running out of time.  Are there any players out there that can galvanize the sport the way Tiger did?  We will have to tune in and see.  One thing we know for sure, the course will be ridiculously hard.  

NBA

Heat Rises

Well, Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals has been a complete blowout through 3 quarters.  The Miami Heat are clearly the better team.  I was glad to see LeBron James respond to Lance Stephenson's childish antics with an incredible game.  Sometimes B players need to be reminded who the A+ players are.  

The Heat winning will set up a match-up against one of the two teams they have played in the past two years.  So far the home team has won each game in the San Antonio Spurs-Oklahoma City Thunder series.  Each of these teams has intimate experience with the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. The Spurs lost to the Heat last year, and the Thunder lost to them two years ago.  I believe the Spurs will advance, but either way, the NBA Finals should be extremely entertaining.  

Epic Podcasts

We are planning some incredible podcasts in the near future.  While we are all together for vacation, we have decided to finally do a Beer-centric podcast.  We have tentative plans to sample a different style and brand of beer and give our thoughts on a live podcast.  It should be extremely entertaining.  

Where to Find Our Podcasts

We have our podcasts on iTunes(just search for Experimental Nonsense).  We also just added them to Stitcher.com.  You can also search for Experimental Nonsense on there, or just go here, or download the Stitcher app and search us, or just go to threekbros.blogspot.com and listen to it through our Stitcher widget on the site.  

Amazon

We are excited to announce our partnership with Amazon.  We are officially a member of the Amazon Affiliate Program.  If you want to support us, simply go to our site and click on any of our Amazon banners.  This helps us pay the bills and keep the lights on at Experimental Nonsense.  All of your support is greatly appreciated.  

Random

So, I mentioned at the bottom of a post some time ago that I am addicted to Game of Thrones on HBO. This past week's episode has set up and epic battle between two entirely different styles of fighting.  I wish I could say more, but my partners(brothers) on this site have not watched the series, so I will not play Spoiler.  However, I am incredibly anxious to see the next episode even though HBO is making us wait an extra week for it.

Donald Sterling
There is a lot in the media right now about the Donald Sterling situation in Los Angeles.  The best piece I have read is this LA Times piece by James Rainey.  It provides us with some insight into the craziness of those first few days.

Mark Cuban
Mark Cuban made some controversial statements on race the other day.  Originally, I did not see too much of a problem with his statements, but after talking to a close African American friend I have changed my mind a bit.  I thought he was being honest about his fears, which is laudable.  However, my friend informed me that he could be paving the way for any insensitive/racist remarks he may make in the future.  He wants us to know he may be racist, but doesn't deserve negative consequences. This, of course, plays into the Sterling dilemma in L.A.  He also pointed out that while a hooded black man is routinely profiled, a white guy with tattoos is not generally harassed or vilified to the same extent. While it is great to hear an owner speak honestly about prejudice, it is only in analyzing it further that we can realize that his statements are not nearly as benign as we wish to believe they are.
Mark Cuban may not have meant to offend anyone, and maybe he was trying to speak honestly about his own personal fears. However, in a league dominated by young black men that may have tattoos, is it really appropriate to pass judgement on them?