Since those bouts were exhibition bouts they don't even count towards my record yet, it's a clean slate so far. I train hard (as hard as I can while still prioritizing uni work, that is) and I desperately want to get better. Losing is pretty discouraging because it communicates to me that I didn't put in as much work and sweat as the other guy. I guess it's not that I'm afraid of losing per se, it's that I often feel unhappy with how far I've progressed. It's what fuels me to keep training, but it also frustrates me.



This is good advice. I know because it's working for me. I learned early on that I have a strong left hook and am incredibly good at catching / parrying punches and immediately countering. I've also learned that I can't count on my go-to strategy for different types of fighters (especially taller ones--I'm 5'8") and that observing and adapting is paramount. It boggles my mind. There's so many unique styles, so much depth and skill involved, so many factors that contribute towards being a good fighter. It's a privilege to participate and to learn.

As for looking for feeling like urban superman, no way. I know better. I consider boxing a sport first and a martial art second. In fact, I would almost consider it disrespectful to the sport to train for so long just to justify acting like a total knob in public, looking to fight / impress. It's not like boxing has much applicability in a street-fight situation anyway.

Oh and also, I love how social boxing shows / amateur tournaments are. I've befriended and am still in contact with the guys I've fought. Getting in a ring with an opponent or sparring partner makes me admire and respect him, which is great foundation for friendship I've found.

Chances look pretty good for Leicester City to stay up Great to see a team on a successful rebuild, and hope they'll hang around for many years!

Normally, when a football team does badly they dismiss their coach. And a lot of people ask why it's always the coach, it's the players who play like shit. Well, seems Schalke is the first club in Germany in a long time to agree with that line of thought and dismissed two of their players, suspended a third.

I'm watching the Bayern v Barca game, and it's a lesson on how not to defend from both sides.
Can't complain though, it makes for an exciting match despite the fact that the tie is effectively over for Bayern.
Barca's front three of Messi, Neymar and Suarez is so unfair to other teams

Yaaaaay sad Ronaldo.

Hahaha. It's always fun to see him sad, isn't it?
Scored a penalty and celebrated like he just scored a screamer.
I'm so happy they didn't go through to the final

I'll be rooting for Juventus. How about you?

Yup, same here. But I think Barca's front three might prove too strong for Juve's defense.
Buffon surely deserves to win it at least once in his career

Well, having seen the Bayern game, once Barcelona's offense gets rolling, it's like stopping an avalance.

-edit- A little over an hour to the Europa League semi-finals and we're talking about the Champions League. Yeah, Platini, bloating the Europa League into what it is today really pays off. People are ecstatic about it.

They should never have ended the Cup Winners Cup, IMO.

And it's not just that - Juventus has played SEVEN CL finals and only won two. It's about time they win another one again.

@Drone
Yeah, just thinking about the mouth watering tie between Dnipro... and Napoli gives me goose bumps haha.

I read some crazy stat that Messi, Neymar and Suarez have scored 114 goals this season. That's just unfair.


I just remembered one of the finals they lost was that abomination of a game at Old Trafford against Milan. I wish that game could be erased from history.
Worst finals ever.

After the Champions League final, Messi, Neymar and Suarez will solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The NFL are thinking of moving the convert back to the 15 yard line, to make the play less of a freebie. Where do they get these ideas?

Oh, right: http://m.cfl.ca/article/major-rule-chan ... -governors
Canada did it first! CFL = Creative Football League. NFL = National Followers' League.

The extra point is a joke. It is about time they do something about it. Not sure if kicking from the 15 will be much of a change, but its a start.

Kickers are hitting fifty-yarders right and left, so I don't think going to fifteen is going to make any difference. Personally, I've never been bothered by the near-certainty of the extra-point, so it's not a big deal to me either way.

Anybody see that ESPN commercial where reporter John Clayton gets done with his simulcast and then reveals his Slayer shirt and crashes into his room blasting thrash metal with all those posters of all those bands?

The NFL needs to adopt NFL Blitz rules. Touchdowns are either 7 points automatically or you can try for a two point conversion, netting you either 6 or 8.

Also the ability to dropkick runners and perform three german suplexes like Chris Benoit after the whistle would be pretty rad too.

I want Dortmund and Schalke in the Europa League. Finally Germany will stand a fair chance.

Forget Benoit, they need to go Suplex City like Brock Lesnar on John Cena.

After the past couple of years, it feels so strange to see Dortmund struggling to make Europa League places. They've done quite well to climb up the table though

Soccer needs to stop allowing rebounds of penalty shots as playable balls. You've committed one foul, your opponent gets one shot to redress the missed chance. Logical, yes?

I'd agree, since I've always thought penalties are too easy and very few chances in open play are easier than a spot kick.

I've had quite a few other ideas to improve the game:
-Allow playing on from free kicks like hockey does, having to play to a team-mate first is a huge disadvantage to the fouled team and encourages opportunistic fouling.
-Get rid of the stupid 1, 2, 3 minutes extra time. These televised leagues are billion-dollar affairs and they can't afford timekeepers? Stop the clock every time the ball is out of play and you don't get time-wasting. It's that simple.
-Camera replays, at the very least for every goal and penalty call. Every other major sport has them, and none of their scoring systems are more important than a goal's value in football.

I love the sport, but it's stuck in the 19th century.

The reason you won't see any of those measures being taken is because Platini doesn't want to.

Has nothing to do with Platini. Football is a sport all about tradition. People would riot in the streets if you made such major changes.

If it was all about tradition we wouldn't have seen goal-line technology and vanishing spray come into the game in the last few years. Where were the riots over those? And seriously, how is making extra time go for 2 minutes instead of a more accurate 2.35 upholding tradition in any important way?

Ooooohh, sorry, I misread it as stopping the time of the game like in basketball.

Eh, it amounts to the same thing. Whether you stop the clock when the ball goes out of play or add the (exact) seconds to extra time, you eliminate time-wasting behaviour which is only going to improve the game.

Why can't I shake the mental image of Arjen Robben's face when reading your suggestions?

(Guy famous for dying a horrible, agonising death when you touch him.)

My favourite soccer team, Sporting Clube de Portugal, just won its 16th Portuguese Cup!

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sporting-b ... 14985.html

Champions League finals, anyone?
Barcelona in control at the moment but Juventus not out of it yet. Good game so far

Seeing how the Cavs gameplan was "Lebron save us!" and Kyrie Irving is out of commission, the NBA Finals are over. Shame, I was expecting a close series, but now it's Warriors in 5, maybe even a sweep. I always liked and had faith that the team would be good, but I didn't expect anything half this good. What an amazing season they've had.

It's Belmont Stakes day. American Pharaoh is the favorite to end the long Triple Crown drought.

Which is why I'm picking Frosted to prolong it.

Good final and Barcelona is a deserved winner. Juve had their moments, but they failed to score. It would have been interesting would Juve made the 2:1.

That headband from Neymar.

Yeah, Barca totally deserved that. My heart wanted Juve to win it, and they actually ran Barca closer than I was expecting, but in my heart I knew it was always gonna be Barca's day.
I can't begrudge Lionel Messi another trophy, the guy's brilliant.
100% Jesus!

I've never been happier to be more wrong. American Pharoah ends the Triple Crown drought.

Ugh! Don't brazilians ever get tired of that crap?

Germany just slapped the Ivory Coast at the Womens' World Cup 10-0. First time I've ever seen a soccer team reach double digits.

There had been a 11:1 in the German DFB-cup some years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9ak0I94NP0
A team from the Bundesliga against one from the depths of a lower league. More examples can be found here. There had also been a 15:0 not too long ago.

I watched a bit of Norway v Thailand, Norway totally dominated which wasn't surprising given the entire team consisted of 6+ foot blonde valkyries. I almost felt sorry for the Thais even though it wasn't a thrashing.