KarateKen

Penguins fans were chanting "We Want Fleury" tonight since it is likely Fleury will retire after the season and this was his final chance to play in Pittsburg. However, the fans did not get their wish as Fleury sat on the bench the entire game. Penguins won it 4-3.

LA Chargers head coach Brandon Staley has been fired after the embarrassing game on Thursday against the Raiders. Chargers were behind 42-0 at halftime and lost 63-21.

Ovi now has gone 11 games in a row without a goal, the longest streak of his career. He is currently on pace to put in 16 goal this year. If he suddenly got back to his old pace, he would then put in 39, only three short of last season. I'd think something in the middle, maybe 20-28 goals, is more likely. Maybe he can break out of the slump this weekend as the Capitals have two games.

So we talked about Tyson but this week UFC fighter Colby Covington was calling out LeBron James and challenged him to a fight because of his refusal to stand for the national anthem. Political opinions aside, would the 5'11" 170-pound Covington be taking on more than he can handle? Colby is a former UFC interim champion who is fighting for the title belt this weekend, he also was a college wrestling champion and has a BB in BJJ with I think about 16 years of training. Clearly James would have a big advantage in size, weight, and strength, but with a lifetime of training would an elite competitor who is much smaller come out on top? I would think so. To me it is a little like when Jaylen Ramsey said he is such a great athlete that with six months of practice he could play in the NHL even though he has never played hockey or even skated before. Well, no he couldn't. How can someone with six months of practice compete against top level professionals who have been training their entire lives?

Sure. I'd like to present KarateKen with a trophy recognizing his outstanding contributions to KarateForums.com, which I know are recognized by members near and far. Thank you, Ken! 🏆 Congrats, KarateKen!! It is an honor just to be nominated.

St. Louis fired head coach Craig Berube shortly after the Blues 6-4 loss to Detroit on Tuesday night. Berube coached St. Louis to their 2019 Stanley Cup win, a year where the team came out of nowhere to make a title run. The current record for the Blues this year is 13-14-1, sixth place in the division.

Was anyone here inspirited to train martial arts because of the movies? Or a TV show?

Yeah, I am good with that. Generally I prefer people in public to be as far away as possible, especially if they are sick and/or carrying knives.

Those all seem like fair testing prices for sure. I was paying 40 dollars to test when I did TKD 20 years ago and I've heard that some testing fees at schools are up to 500 dollars to test for black belt.

I read the contract only pays 2 million a year for the first 9 years then in the 10th year he makes the rest of it, which I guess is 682 million. I'd be surprised if that was accurate.

For me it's good old chocolate chip.

Sure. I'd like to present KarateKen with a trophy recognizing his outstanding contributions to KarateForums.com, which I know are recognized by members near and far. Thank you, Ken! 🏆

Morgan Barron, a fourth liner for the Jets who is not known to be a goal scorer, now has five goals this season, which is exactly the amount of goal Alex Ovechkin has this year. Not sure why Ovi is struggling to put it in the net (other than the Caps ineffective power play) and I keep waiting for him to break out of this slump and explode but so far it has not happened. In fact he has been stuck on five for a while, not scoring since November 18, going back ten games. He is on pace for under 20 goals this season after putting in 50 and 42 the last two years.

It seems like with a lot of teams so far, we are still trying to figure out who they are. The Bills are not the 7-6 team their record shows; that team could explode and make a deep playoff run. Miami loses another tight one tonight. The previous Super Bowl reps lose big games this weekend that put their playoff seeding in jeopardy. Cowboys are surging ahead with that win.And still a month to play. Sounds right. After the past two weeks I don't think there is a clear favorite in either conference. Things might be as wide open this year as they have in a long time.

I don't think that it's so much that the spazzing white belts are going to make a black belt tap. However, white belts have little to no control and are just trying to get out there and prove themselves. My CI always says that when sparring you're far more likely to get injured when sparring a white belt than a black belt for that very reason. I've often been more comfortable sparring black belts than low ranks. They have much more control and don't need to prove how tough they are. Some white belts are about a half step above the drunk in the bar who throws wild haymakers.

I'm not sure what the actual distance is, I just know it when someone is too close. There seems to be a general social understanding of what that space is even if nobody explained how close is too close.

I am sure the answer will very based on several factors but what price do you think is fair for testing fees and at what point do testing fee costs become excessive and just a rip off?

Can I get a participation trophy?

Patriots' offense looked good in the first half putting up 21 points and held on to beat the Steelers 21-18. Bill Belichick collects win number 301. The Patriots had scored a total of 13 points in the three previous games combined. This is a tough loss for Pittsburgh who is trying to make the playoffs, if they do not make it, I think they look back and this Patriots game as a big missed opportunity.

The point of the steps, for me, is not so much the number but to keep me active. I track it on my phone so if I am active without carrying my phone, like during martial arts training, I do not get credit for the steps. It is just another reminder to stay active and that even walking is good for your health.

What are some songs that get you moving and fired up before and/or during your workout?

What about this year? Does anyone in your family train? Do you buy them a sword or anything?

Morgan Barron of the Jets celebrated his 25th birthday by scoring the game winning goal against the Blackhawks over the weekend. Minnesota is undefeated under their new head coach. The Oilers look to be on the rebound and the Ducks are falling apart. The Rangers might be the best team in the NHL right now as they are Capitals had found ways to win despite not playing well and now they are losing, lost 6-0 to Arizona yesterday. Zona is on a five-game winning streak with all five wins being against the last five Stanely Cup winners! Wild stat there. Alex Ovechkin has been struggling to score this season, no goals in seven games and only five on the year, putting him on pace for 20 goals this season. He was on pace to break Wayne's goals record next season but if his pace does not speed up it won't be until the following year, when he is 40. What looked like an inevitable event when the season started now has some question marks of Alex will get there. I think he will, but it will take longer than expected.

I don't know anything about it but the music sounded pretty good!

There is a fun one in Las Vegas called Pinball Hall of Fame that has a lot of the old school games such as Ninja Turtles and The Simpsons. Of course, it also has a lot of pinball machines. Other than that I have not visited an arcade that stuck out to me since I was a kid.