KarateKen

Supertramp - Goodbye Stranger

I'm in season 4 of the show and I am noticing things that I did not pick up on the first time I watched it and seeing how some of the foreshadowing. For season six I hope we see Kreese kill Terry Silver. As Norm MacDonald once said "that is some bad luck right there when the one person who would die for you, kills you. You can't have worse luck than that." It would also be great if Col. Dugan and Julie from The Next Karate Kid were somehow involved in the final season. Not sure if there are any plans for that or how they would be mixed in, just hope to see it.

Congrats to sperki.

Game 7 of the SC Finals happens about 20 percent of the time, so once every five years. The most recent one happened in 2019 when St. Louis won game 7 in Boston. Boston won game 6 in St. L to extend the series only to lose at home in game 7 and see the Blues lift the cup. The last time the Oilers were in the Finals was 2006. They lost to Carolina in seven games. This is the first game seven for the Panthers. The first game 7 of the finals I recall watching was in 1994 when the Rangers beat the Canucks. However, this is more than just a game 7 because Florida had a 3-0 series lead and now the Oilers can win it. This is only the third time in history that a SC Finals team was down 3-0 and came back to force a game 7, the most recent being in 1945. It's been a while. Toronto went up 3-0, Detroit won the next three, and Toronto won game 7. The other time it happened was in 1942. The matchup was also Toronto and Detroit. Detroit won the first three, Toronto came back to force a game seven. Toronto won game seven. It is the only time a team has come back from 0-3 in the SCF to win, 82 years ago. The Oilers are only the 10th team in NHL history to force a game seven after being down 3-0 in any best of seven series, finals or not. The most recent to come back and win game 7 were the LA Kings in 2014, beating the Sharks in the first round. LA went on to win the cup that year. Looking at some other sports, it has only happened one time in Major League Baseball. It was the 2004 ALCS when the Yankees were up 3-0 against the Red Sox and Boston came back to win in seven, taking games six and seven in New York. Boston ended up winning the World Series. The Red Sox had not won a WS in something like 80 years or whatever it was. No team in NBA history has comeback from being down 3-0 however in 2023 the Boston Celtics did force a game 7, losing to the Miami Heat. In my opinion, all the pressure is on Florida in game 7. Losing this game is the type of thing that could take years for the franchise to recover from. All the momentum is with the Oilers as they have been the far better team the past three games. Scoring first is key; I believe whoever scores first will have a big advantage. History shows that in every SCF game seven since 1987, the team that scored first won the game. Trends are not everything, I just see that falling behind for either team is going to be tough, especially Florida because of how well the Oilers have played defensively in recent games. Florida needs to get back to their game and I did not feel like they showed the urgency they needed to in game six. If the Oilers do win, McDavid is the clear MVP, it is a no brainer. If the Panthers win then I think a lot will depend on how the final game unfolds. Either the Oilers will come back from 3-0 to win the cup or the Panthers will lift the cup for the first time. Either way a historic result will be witnessed Monday night in Sunrise. Enjoy the game.

My first Karate belt test was five years ago today (June 22). It was a Saturday and I think we stared at noon. The test was about 2.5 hours from what I recall, and I felt worn out at the end. In a way I find the first test with a new instructor to be the most challenging because I have never tested under him/her before. It causes a lot of anxiety. I remember forgetting stuff that we practiced (specifically club defenses) and trying to sneak a peak at others when we were doing drills that I was confused about. I passed but I did not feel confident that I did so well and remember being worried that I was going to fail. When I learned I passed I was more relieved than excited. I slept well that night. I've always had terrible anxiety before the test. I never sleep well the night before the test and am in a constant state of worry. Did I remember to go over everything? What if I freeze up? What if I get hurt during sparring and can't finish the test? The worries go on and on. Once the test starts I don't notice the anxiety so much, there is no longer a fight or flight option, only fight. But leading up to it is rough, no matter how prepared I am the anxiety is strong, though feeling fully prepared does help curb it a lot. Karate is not my first art, TKD is. I don't recall my first TKD test but I do remember some of the others and there is always self doubt involved. I have never failed a test but I've always been worried that I would. I have seen students fail tests because of several reasons, one being that a college girl in TKD had done well on the test but failed to break the board at the end. This led to her failing the entire test and have to try again next month. She broke down and cried. I also hold rank in Hapkido and Japanese JJ, and every test and every instructor is different, but they all have one thing in common for me. Anxiety. Anyway, I hope to read some of your thoughts, feelings, and memories from your first belt test in any or all of the styles you have trained.

Joe Esposito - You're the Best

I guess Silva did not really try to win? I am not sure. I didn't see much info about it here in the USA but it looks like there was no official winner, though Silva was the better performer.

Now that McGregor is out many of the ticket prices for 303 have been reduced by 50 percent.

It was 40 years ago today (June 22, 1984) that the original Karate Kid movie was released. (Perfectly enough it was also five years ago today that I had my first Karate belt test, but that is for a different post.) When I first saw the movie, it was by accident, I was channel surfing on a lazy Sunday night, and it was on TV. I decided to watch it, having missed the first part, and I loved it so much that as soon as the movie was over, I went to the Blockbuster Video in town and rented the VHS, then went back home and watched the entire film seeing the beach scene and thinking "oh that is why they are fighting." I have never done that before or since. At that time, I had been wanting to get into martial arts and about two weeks later I enrolled in TKD and spend basically all summer at the Dojang, going to every class I could while obsessively working my forms in the back room at work, when nobody was looking and still on the clock. I was also in college at this time and met several college students who trained there who became friends. Over that summer I also obsessively watching the entire Kid movie series and began searching out more martial arts films. To that point I had seen very few of them. I never would have imagined that there would be a Cobra Kai series years later with many of the same actors and characters. All of them were young enough in the 80s to still be able to be alive and working today, other than Morita who passed in 2005. He leaves behind an incredible legacy with the movie series that expands to Cobra Kia, nearly 20 years after his passing. If you have any fun facts about the movie or stories of how it impacted your life, please share them here. If not thanks for reading, this is one of my longest posts and I tried to keep it short.

It just got a lot more exciting. WOWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Game 7 is on Monday.

Mudvayne - Forget to Remember

My pick before the series was Panthers in six, so I am sticking with that, but I do hope that the game is close because if the Oilers are ahead, or this game is tied, after the second period, things are going to get interesting, and if there is a game seven all the pressure will be on the Panthers to make sure they don't blow this thing.

The popularity of Nikki Glazer has exploded since the roast. She was well known before and now has become one of the most popular comedians in the country.

McDavid puts up four points as the Oilers win game five, cutting Florida's lead in the series to 3-2 with game six shifting back to Edmonton on Friday. Final score on Tuesday was Oilers 5 Panthers 3.

Nelly - Ride With Me

Statement from McGregor posted on X: "Very tough to be ruled out of my scheduled return bout. I picked up an injury prior to the press conference that required more time to heal than was available to me. The decision to postpone the fight was not made lightly, but one made in consultation with my doctors, the UFC, and my team. My fans and opponent deserve me at my best for this fight and we will get there! Thank you for the messages of support, I am in good spirits and confident I’ll be back!" IF I was Chandler, I wouldn't wait around much longer. We don't even know what the injury is or the severity of it. If the fight gets rebooked in the next few weeks, then sure, stick it out, but if we get more of this stuff that is kind of "we will see it when we see it" then it might be time to move on, otherwise he could be waiting around another six months only to learn the fight is never going to happen. It's a gamble because if he gets the fight it is a huge payday and the biggest fight of his life, however if he waits around for a fight that never happens, suddenly two plus years of his career are gone with nothing to show for it. Tough spot.

ABBA - Dancing Queen

LOL, as much as I hate to admit it......well not really, I guess I just felt it looked better to start that way.....when I was new to the arts I would kihap at the top of my lungs. Loudest in the class. It was a combination of pent-up anger and wanting to look tough. At the time I was impressed with myself. I was a lot younger and a little bit more immature. I do recall preparing for my first tournament and one of the black belts in class told me that "yelling loud can score you points in the forms or weapons because judges think it shows confidence." Or something like that. So, it was encouraged, at least in that example.

Stunning score in game four as the Oilers crush the Panthers 8-1, avoiding the sweep and sending the series back to Florida Tuesday night.

Dana White has announced that McGregor is out of 303 with an injury. The new main event is Alex Pereira vs. Jiri Prochazka. As of this posting there has been no announcement by the UFC of if/when the fight will be rescheduled.

Panters win 4-3 and take a commanding 3-0 lead in the series with a chance to win the cup Saturday night in Edmonton. The Oilers made it interesting with a late push, down 4-1 after two and getting it to 4-3, but Florida holds on and needs one more victory to win the Stanley Cup for the first time in team history. Ironically, I guess, it was one year ago today (June 13) when the Panthers were eliminated by Vegas and now, they are almost certainly going to win the cup this year after tonight's win. Only once in NHL history has a team come back from three games to zero deficit to win in the Cup Finals, and that was in 1942. Barring a miracle comeback by the Oilers, the Florida Panthers will be the 2023-24 Stanely Cup Champions.

Journey - Anyway You Want It

Stitched Up Heart - Lost

Rumors swirling around the internet over the past week about the fight and if it is still on. As of now the fight will go on as scheduled, less than three weeks out. With the cost of the tickets and, for those out of town, the hassle and cost of traveling to Vegas for this event, it would be extremely frustrating if the fight were to be cancelled or postponed just days before it took place. That is always a risk you taken when you travel for a sporting event or concert, ect, that if the gets called off you can't get reimbursement for your plane tickets, hotel rooms, and what not.

Leon Draisaitl will not be suspended for his illegal hit against Barkov in game two, where Leon left his feet to strike Barkov in the head with an elbow. Panthers coach Paul Maurice has issued a warning to Draisaitl and McDavid saying, "keep your head up." Could get very physical in game three. The hit caused injury to Aleksander Barkov on the play, and he is questionable for Thursday's game in Edmonton.