Fave Friday: Sports

First thing’s first. As an MMA fan, I would be remiss if I did not mention tomorrow’s big UFC card that will showcase two of our very own, local, Hawaii boys: Hilo’s BJ Penn and Maui’s Kendall Grove.

Local Boys: Lightweight Champ BJ Penn (left) and Middleweight Contender Kendall Grove (right)

Lightweight champ BJ Penn (remember him?) will be defending his belt against top contender Frankie Edgar, while middleweight standout Kendall Grove will take on wrestler Mark Munoz. See bottom for all the details.

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A-ight with that outta the way, let’s get today’s Fave Friday show on the road. Now I know the title says “Sports”, but for those of you who aren’t big fans of the stick and ball kine games, feel free to list “Activities” like hiking or swimming, etc. Here’s my list:

Fave Sports to Watch:

* Baseball – Sooooo happy the 2010 season is under way again! Go “pills” right uncle jimmy? 😛 Don’t know what it is, but I could just sit there and watch a whole game without getting bored at all.
* MMA – I used to be all crazy widit and watch every second of every event, but now, with limited watching hours in my day, I pretty much just focus on the UFC, WEC and some Strikeforce events with spot watching of the other ones like Bellator. Even then, I fast forward through the boring fights. I really do miss HDNet and their MMA coverage, especially with Dream. BTW, while we’re on the topic of MMA and local boys, don’t forget to support Brad Tavares who is reppin’ Hawaii on this season’s cast of the Ultimate Fighter, Wednesday nights at 7PM on Spike TV (Oceanic Cable 559 or HD 1559).
* Basketball – Orlando’s my team, but I’ll watch good matchups sometimes. UH is fun watching live, but it’s been really depressing the last few years. 😦
* Football (I guess) – only to follow my fantasy players. LOL! Live games at UH are fun too, but I like the tailgating more! 😛
* Boxing – used to watch a lot, until MMA came along and killed it! RIP. 😉

Fave Sports/Activities to Do:

* Snowboarding – snowboarding is life. Period.
* Jiu Jitsu – don’t get to roll as much as in the past, but the cognitive part of it is soooo interesting to me.
* Baseball/Softball – my first sport ever = my first love.
* Basketball – played a lot of hoops in high school and college, but kinda slowed down later in life. I should get back into it again.
* Swimming – ever since training for the Tinman, I’ve been itching to get back in the water on the regular. Not only is it a good workout, but you get a mean tan to boot.

So what sports or activities do you like to watch/play? Holla!

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In other sports-related news, what do you think of Nike’s new commercial with Tiger Woods, using his dad’s voice as the narrative?

Tiger Woods’ Nike Commercial

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UPDATE:
Just got shown the new 3-D Channel on Oceanic Time Warner Cable channel 1217 and, lemme tell ya, it looks pretty mean! If you have a new HD 3-D television set, pop on your 3-D specs, turn them on, and tune to channel 1217 to watch some cool, On Demand content – including coverage of the Masters – in crystal clear 3-D. I sound like an infomercial don’t I? 😛

Masters Content in 3-D from Oceanic Time Warner Cable

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UFC 112 Details

UFC 112: Invincible is being held on Yas Island all the way in Abu Dhabi so it will actually air live at a strange 7AM hour for us here in Hawaii, on Oceanic Time Warner Cable’s channel 701 or HD 1701. Hurr’s the official poster:

UFC 112 Poster

… and here’s sistah Bel showing some love for our local boy BJ Penn:

Bel Kissing the UFC 112 Poster

If you’re not a fan of waking up early on Saturdays, Oceanic will be re-airing the fight card at 10AM, with an afternoon airing at 4PM (re-aired at 7PM). Just select the time that works best for you. Click here for streaming UFC 112 content or here for ordering information.

K, pau! Sorry. Commercial ova. Have one awesome Friday and weekend gang, and I’ll see you on Monday K!? Shooooots!

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Spank Me! I’ve Been Naughty…

Spank was the only word in that title that remotely relates to what I’ll be talkin’ ’bout today, but I was hoping that the rest of it would lure you on in. Since you’re here, reading this gibberish, I think it worked. Muhahaha!

OK, so I’ve been watching a lot of sports lately. My Magic are moving on to the Eastern Conference Championships (sayonara Boston!), there’s been some sick action in the MLB, and then there’s always MMA.

One thing I’ve noticed (and experienced), is this ritual we have of spanking each other on the butt after every good play. Where in the heck did this come from and why in the heck did it start? Can you imagine the look on the dude’s face when another dude spanked him on his behind for the very first time in history!? There may’ve been some punches thrown then. Ahahaha!

I can understand the high-five, the arm bash, the chest bump, and even the occasional hug when the adrenaline is a pumpin’, but how one testosterone laden man’s open hand can touch another testosterone laden booty is beyond me. Yet, I see it all the time, without even a second thought. Heck, in the heat of the moment, I’ve even done it or received it with glee!

Is this wrong, and if not, where do you draw the line? Can a male coach do this to his female athletes without worry of sexual harassment? Is it just wrong for a teammate to add an extra pep or squeeze to the booty slap – after a REALLY good play – for extra emphasis? I’ve actually seen one dude kiss another dude on the lips after a grueling MMA match. WTH!?!? That one had me baffled and in stitches all at the same time that I just had to rewind my DVR like 5 more times just to make sure I saw it correctly.

As always, I’ve gone off on a weird tangent, but I just thought I’d throw this one out there. I can’t be the only one axeing these questions can I? 😛

EATS! – Zen Shu

First of all, I’d like to send mad love to errryone who posted comments to yesterday’s “You Know You’re Local If…” blog. It garnered a world Honolulu Advertiser World Wide Ed record setting 100+ comments. First time evah! The record befo’ dat was a whoppin’ 42 (which was also a record at the time). You guys are da bes’! Appreciate.

Not sure when the next triple digit action goin’ be, but I can now die a happy man… Hehe!

OK, so this weekend we went to check out the (somewhat) new izakaya on Kapahulu called Zen Shu (opened back in November where the old Harpo’s Pizza used to be – across Rainbows). I wen’ rush to put the photos together so I could be the first bloggah to write about it up in hurr, but then my bubble was bursted (is that even a word?). I did a search and saw that aunty sistah Melissa already dropped some knowledge on all y’all. Das alright. I’ll present the updated, 2K9 version I guess.

Parking’s pretty much non-existent. Just gotta find um on Kapahulu or Kanaina if can.

Zen Shu – Sake Sushi Sports – Sign

The interior is off the hook! You can tell they’ve spent big bucks to bring the old Harpo’s look up to speed to the year 2000. 😛

A glimpse of the sushi bar when you first walk in

The dining area is on the smaller side, as the other half the establishment is reserved for the sports bar type.

View from the dining area

And then there was the EATS!

Seared Seafood Summer Rolls – Seared Hokkaido Scallop and Shrimp with Alii Mushroom and Sweet Aioli – $9

Probably one of our favorites of the night. Nice, rich, flavor.

Garlic Dusted Sake Scented Edamame – Sake Steamed Edamame (soybeans), Garlic Panko Dust – $4.50

Kinda bland, but ok to munch on while waiting for the rest of our grub to arrive.

Sake Dill Nage Manila Clams – 1 lb. Steamed Manila Clams in Sake Dill Nage – $16

These clams had an odd taste to them. Couldn’t put a finger on it.

Double Stuffed Portobello Mushroom – King Crab, Shrimp, Enoki, Shimegi, Shiitake Stuffed Portobello Mushroom – $12.75

One of the better choices of the night. Liked the little tease of tobiko.

Wok Fried Lemongrass Pork Chops – Wok Fried Thin Sliced Pork Chops – $12.50

Very unique. Never had pork chops prepared like this before. The flavor was really good, but kinda wished there were more “good” pieces and that they weren’t so burnt.

Steak & Eggs – Pulehu Ribeye, Ikura, Wakame Daikon Salad, Yuzu Soy Batablanc – $18

A let down. You would think it would be a winnah. Steak = good. Ikura = Good. Steak and Ikura… didn’t translate well for me.

Hamachi Zukepacho – Marinated Hamachi with Goma, Negi, and Roasted Nori – $12

Hard to ruin raw Hamachi. Was pretty good. Kinda wished they used flavored nori.

Ama Ama Ebi Ebi Apua`a Roll – Amaebi, Ebi Tempura and Shiso – $16.50

Liked the idea of ama ebi and ebi tempura together.

Overall, a decent dining experience. It’s hard because when I think Izakaya, I compare everything to the best one: Tokkuri-Tei. There really is NO competition. I like the ambience however and I like their concept of a sports bar on the side. I would probably come back for that, as well as try stuff from their sake collection. Their bathrooms were clean too, and for those who know me, that’s up there…

Leonard’s Bakery Sign at night

You know we had to go for dessert at Leonard’s aftahwards.

The posse outside Leonard’s Bakery

Good weekend with good friends.

Talk to me!
* Did you eat anywhere special this weekend?
* What did you think of the food (photos) at Zen Shu?
* Interested in trying it out yourself?
* Got any other suggestions for places to grind?

Happy Girl’s Day (and Tuesday) y’all!

Fave Five Friday – Hawaii Television Stations

*yawn* Sorry for the late post, but The Dark Knight took a toll on me last night. If you weren’t one of us nerds who saw it last night, I would recommend watching it. Great action, out of this world acting by the late Heath Ledger (the Joker), and decent storyline. Just prepare yourself for 2 and a half hours of movie time. *stretch*

Anyway, it’s Friday again, and that means the ever-popular (in my own mind) Fave Five Friday. Since we did Hawaii Radio Stations last week, let’s do the next logical thing and do Hawaii Television Stations. I’ll start again… Hurr we go!

1. Spike TV – The Ultimate Fighter, anything UFC, Manswers, need I say more? (Oceanic Digital Channel 0559)
2. HDNet – Inside MMA, HDNet Fights, Mark Cuban owned. Nuff said. (Oceanic HD Digital Channel 1355)
3. ESPN – Anything sports… yeah YEAH! (Oceanic Digital Channel 0222 or HD Channel 1222)
4. Versus – To get my WEC fix, as well as TapouT (Oceanic Digital Channel 0210 or HGOLF 1216)
5. VH1 – When I wanna get my reality on like Donkey Kong (Oceanic Digital Channel 0591)

Other situational favorites include A&E: more reality programming including real estate stuffs (0547 or 1547), the Premium On Demand Channels (HBO On Demand, Showtime On Demand, etc.), Food Network: when I’m hungry or for recipe inspiration (0321 or 1321), TBS: Office reruns, My Boys, etc. (0551 or 1551), OC16 (0016 or 1016), MTV: Hills… did I just say that? (0593), ESPN2 (0224 or 1224), ESPN News (0225 or 1225), Fox Sports Net West (0226 or 1226), CW: Beauty & the Geek! (0093), HD PPV: ordering fights (1700), Starz: good kine movies (0655 or 1655), Comedy Central (0545), and any of the Broadcast Network Channels: news, talk shows, special events (0003, 0006, 0007, 0008, or 1003, 1006, 1007, 1008).

Shoots! Happy Aloha Friday gang! Have a great weekend!

P.S. No fo-get to order and/or DVR the insane weekend of fight programming too (Affliction, UFC Fight Night: Silva vs. Irvin, etc.)! K!