Quick Site Update: No More Ultimate Fighter 9 Recaps

You probably noticed I haven’t done a review & recap of TUF 9 episode 9 yet. There won’t be anymore, I’ve had it with iTunes this season. One week the episode’s up on time, next week it takes too long. Take episode 9: Aired last Wednesday night but I could not download it until THIS MORNING. Yet episode 10 was up this afternoon. That’s unacceptable, I don’t want to have to wait a week to review an episode, and with only 2 left it’s not worth it. Maybe it’ll improve next year.
For the record, this doesn’t affect my Finale plans. I’ll still do a full preview & predictions in the next couple weeks, and will remember to update it after the final episode since we won’t know the 4th Final participant until then (we know Damarques Johnson is one Welterweight, we’ll know the Lightweights next week). I also plan to do live results as usual on the 20th.
Sorry for any trouble this might cause but it’s in the best interest of everyone I think.

Rant: Frank Wren Puts Finances Ahead Of Fans, And That’s Bad Business

If you’re a fan of, among perhaps other teams, the Baltimore Orioles and the Atlanta Braves, you know the name Frank Wren. He’s been GM of the Orioles and is currently the Braves GM and shocked quite a few in baseball today when he released 300-game winner Tom Glavine. They claimed it was due to what was best for the team…which allows me to claim groungs for a short-notice rant.

R.I.P. David Carradine, 1936-2009 (Updated)

Fans of the cult classic TV series “Kung Fu” and the 90s remake “Kung Fu: The Legend Continues” are in mourning today, as news has just broke that the star of both shows, actor David Carradine, is dead. Carradine was found dead today in a hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, in what is believed to be a suicide by hanging (details of this are still sketchy based on newspaper reports out of Thailand). He was 72.

Born John Arthur Carradine, he changed his name to David after starting his acting career. While he had notable TV and Broadway play roles in the 1960s, his best-known TV role, at least to those of my generation, is that of venerable Kung Fu master Kwai Chang Caine (aka Kwai Chang, Caine, or Kwai Caine) in the 1970s classic TV series “Kung Fu”. He would revive the role in the 1993-97 TV series “Kung Fu: The Legend Continues”, the series that as a teenager at the time I consider my introduction to the martial arts genre of TV and movies. More recently he also had notable roles as the character Bill in both of the “Kill Bill” movies and continued to do various TV and movie roles, even contributing some voice work to the video game “Saint’s Row”. In more recent years he was also featured in a series of TV commercials for Yellow Book phone directories, playing a character that displayed traits of Kwai Chang Caine along with more monk-like traits. His most recent appearance was in the recent Jason Statham movie “Crank High Voltage”, while he was filming his next movie, “Stretch”, at the time of death. He was part of an acting family along with his father John Arthur and brothers Keith, Robert and Bruce. He is survived by, among others, his brothers, wife Annie, 2 daughters.

John Arthur Carradine aka David Carradine, 1936-2009

R.I.P. David Carradine, a great actor and the man who introduced me to, and was the first to make me a fan of, kung fu and martial arts as a whole. As a martial arts fan thanks in part to him, I solemnly bow in respect and thanks.

UPDATE: According to an updated report by Associated Press (AP), Thai police now suggest the cause of death was accidental suffocation and not suicide. Results of a now-complete autopsy haven’t been released.