Tuesday, July 27 11:03 am PT: There are times when chasing the dream of cagefighting is better left alone. Sean Gannon, a Boston police officer, seared his own butt to the third degree in his precinct when footage of his gym fight with Kimbo Slice made headlines in 2004; now The New York Post reports that a NYC firefighter collecting disability is smashing heads in his spare time.
Joe Giuffrida, 42, retired from firefighting seven years ago after doctors declared his work at Ground Zero left him with unresolved asthma; Giuffrida has collected a $75,000 tax-free pension every year since. In attempts to maintain his health, he said, he’s taken up scuba diving and grappling -- the latter with enough determination to earn a bronze medal in the North American Grappling Championships in New Jersey this past spring.
"It is completely different than running into a building that is on fire with a smoke condition and toxins in the air," he told the paper. One “source” put it more succinctly: “He’s scamming the city.”
Giuffrida isn’t doing himself many favors by claiming he’s too ill to perform one grueling activity at the same time he’s doing something even more physically taxing, but he does have a point: chemicals, smoke, and other irritants that could irritate his lung ailments aren’t usually present in grappling competitions. And the Post, which is as objective as a criminal defense attorney, sells him out by declaring NAGA “almost no holds barred.”
He might have fewer friends in the department, but I say that anyone risking their ass to that degree is entitled to stretch the system. A pension shouldn’t sentence you to life on a couch.
Tuesday, July 27 8:12 am PT: In some kind of bizarre delayed reaction, Strikeforce’s Nick Diaz and Jason Miller have spent part of the past week trading insults regarding their April meltdown on CBS. (Refresher: Miller interrupted a Jake Shields post-fight interview to ply his manic-ADD shtick: Diaz and other members of the Cesar Gracie camp proceeded to attack him. Depending on how you respond to Miller’s endless mugging, it was not unpleasant to watch.)
This is a gift-wrapped “grudge” fight for the promotion, assuming the two could arrive at some kind of catchweight, but it’s better to pass: what kind of message does it send to athletes that you can embarrass your employer on national television, suffer a suspension, and then profit from the fallout?
Tuesday, July 27 8:01 am PT: Randy Couture and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin recently visited Camp Pendleton, where the movie “The Expendables” was screened. Couture and Austin star in the film alongside Sylvester Stallone and plenty of other tough guys. Check out the coverage at Heyman Hustle.
Tuesday, July 27 12:15 am PT: The good and bad of Strikeforce is arguable, but one fact remains: the promotion holds their belts in all the high regard surrounding a rotting lump of roadkill.
In addition to championship bouts that make no sense -- fighters coming off losses, fighters with no extended-contract clauses, fighters who disappear for years at a time -- their 135 lb. women’s title was relegated to the undercard during Saturday’s Strikeforce Challengers event. And champion Sarah Kaufman was not pleased. Pre-fight, she grumbled; post-fight, she petitioned for a spot on a marquee Strikeforce card.
