AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ella Mai

Artist:Ella Mai
Song:Boo'd Up
Album:Ella Mai





British R&B singer Ella Mai Howell scored a top five pop hit with Boo'd Up in 2018. And she topped the R&B charts. She was born Nov. 3, 1994 in London, England. Her mom is a big jazz fan so she named her after Ella Fitzgerald. Ella idolized Alicia Keys and other singers as a child. Her family moved to New York City so her mom could take a teaching job. Ella went to high school in Queens. After graduating high school, Ella moved back to England to study at BIMM London. She appeared on X Factor as part of a trio Arize. But they didn't get past the initial audition and then they split up. Then she released the EP Trouble on SoundCloud. This got the attention of producer Dijon "Mustard" McFarlane. He is best known for his work with rappers Tyga and YG. McFarlane signed Ella to his 10 Summers label distributed by Interscope. Ella soon moved to Los Angeles. McFarlane decided to release three EPs mainly to test Ella's music. Boo'd Up was on the third EP Ready released in 2017. It reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it topped the R&B charts. The subsequent single Trip did just as well. The album was released Oct. 2018 and it was certified Platinum. Ella and McFarlane wrote most of the songs on the album and McFarlane produced. Boo'd Up was written and co-produced by Larrance "Rance" Dopsin of 1500 or Nothin'. He has had success producing Justin Timberlake. Ella Mai just finished touring. She opened for Bruno Mars and Ariana Grande and headlined some shows. Boo'd Up won a Best R&B Song Grammy and Ella won three Billboard Music Awards including Best R&B Artist. I expect her to record a new album now that her tour is finished. Ella Mai is off to a great start. Here's the video for Boo'd Up by Ella Mai. Ella's love interest in the video is played by model Donell Blaylock Jr.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Freddy Martin and his Orchestra

Artist:Freddy Martin and his Orchestra f/Clyde Rogers
Song:Johnny Doughboy Found A Rose In Ireland
Album:The Victory Collection





Big band leader Freddy Martin started out in the 30s but he had most of his success in the 40s with WWII songs like Johnny Doughboy Found A Rose In Ireland and also adapting classical compositions. He was born Dec. 9, 1906 in Cleveland. He was raised in an orphanage. Martin learned to play drums and then switched to the sax. After graduating high school, Martin took a sales job with the H.N. White musical instrument company. Of course this gave him an excuse to go see his favorite bands which hopefully would lead to a gig. One of those was Guy Lombardo who liked Martin's band and gave him gigs that he couldn't do. Though Martin first recorded in 1932, he didn't have any success until he signed with RCA's Bluebird label in 1938. He also appeared frequently on radio. Martin started to have success by adapting classical pieces. He added lyrics to Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto in B Flat Minor and Tonight My Love was Martin's biggest hit in 1941. Clyde Rogers was the singer for that and he worked for Martin through WWII. By this time Martin moved to Los Angeles and appeared in films like What's Buzzin' Cousin? and Stage Door Canteen. Johnny Doughboy Found A Rose In Ireland was was written by Al Goodhart and Kay Twomey. Goodhart wrote I Apologize for Bing Crosby. Twomey's best known song was Wooden Heart which Elvis Presley sang in the 1960 film G.I. Blues. It was also a #1 hit for Joe Dowell in 1961. In the 40s, the same song was recorded by several bands and they competed for record sales. Johnny Doughboy Found A Rose In Ireland was a top ten hit for Kay Kyser and Guy Lombardo. Martin's recording reached #16. You can get it on this 3CD budget comp that combines music of the era with WWII history. It was produced by the Smithsonian and RCA Records. Martin's band continued after WWII with Merv Griffin as his main singer. Martin appeared on TV and in the 70s he toured with Big Band Cavalcade. Freddy Martin died on Sept. 30, 1983 at age 76. Here's a video of Johnny Doughboy Found A Rose In Ireland by Freddy Martin and his Orchestra featuring Clyde Rogers.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Rend Collective

Artist:Rend Collective
Song:Counting Every Blessing
Album:Good News





Rend Collective is a Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) group from Ireland. So their music has Irish folk music leanings. Since switching labels in 2015, they have gained momentum and the 2017 single Counting Every Blessing is their biggest hit to date. The group was formed in 2003 at Bangor Elim Church in Bangor, Ireland. They prefer to call themselves a collective. They claim there is more to them than music. The other thing I noticed is there are no individual songwriting credits. All the songs are credited to the group. The music group is led by drummer Gareth Gilkeson. Chris Llewellyn is lead singer. Ari Gilkeson plays keyboards and also sings. Patrick Thompson plays lead guitar and Steve Mitchell plays bass. After releasing a couple of albums independently, Rend Collective signed with Integrity Records in 2011. The wider distribution brought them success. And they were also touring with Chris Tomlin and other big CCM acts. For the 2015 album As Family We Go, Rend Collective started their own Rend Family label distributed by Capitol's Sparrow label. Since then they have picked up momentum. Counting Every Blessing is from the 2017 album Good News. The single was a top ten Christian hit. They aren't on tour right now. But based on their Facebook page, they are announcing a Canadian tour tomorrow. Maybe they have been working on a new album. CCM fans should check them out. Here's the video for Counting Every Blessing by Rend Collective.

Hannah Cifers vs Jodie Esquibel added to Aug. 17 UFC show

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#UFC241

A post shared by Hannah “Shockwave” Cifers (@shockwavecifers) on Jun 15, 2019 at 9:08am PDT

Hannah Cifers posted on Instagram that she will face Jodie Esquibel at UFC 241 Aug. 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. This fight is at Strawweight. I don't think either fighter belongs in the UFC. Hannah is 26 years old from Oxford, NC. Her record is 9-3 and 1-1 in the UFC. Supposedly Hannah is a hard puncher. She had five TKO or KO finishes in regional MMA. She came to the UFC as a late replacement and lost by TKO to Maycee Barber. So maybe she'll be better if she has a full camp. Nope. Hannah won by split decision over Polyana Viana but it was a terrible fight and neither fighter looked good. Jodie is 33 years old. Her record is 6-5 and 0-3 in the UFC. She trains at Jackson Wink in New Mexico. I thought she was awful when she was in Invicta. After losing in the first round of TUF 23, the UFC didn't sign her. But she was needed at for a short notice fight in 2017 and she has lost all three of her fights by unanimous decision. I'm surprised she wasn't released. Jodie is an ineffective points fighter. She doesn't do enough to win fights. The question is can Hannah show some of the potential that she showed in regional MMA. Or is the competition level in the UFC too high for her. I expect the loser to go on a one way trip to Palookaville.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Point Blank

Artist:Point Blank
Song:Nicole
Album:American Exce$$/On a Roll





Point Blank should remind you of Southern fried rock groups like ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd. They weren't as successful though Nicole was a top 40 pop hit in 1981. The ZZ Top connection is not a coincidence as they were managed and produced by Bill Ham who also managed ZZ Top. Point Blank are from Irving, TX. They were formed in 1974 by lead singer John O'Daniel and Rusty Burns and Kim Davis on guitar. The bass and drums changed quite a bit. By the time Nicole was a hit in 1981, Bill Randolph played bass and Buzzy Gruen played drums. After Ham started managing Point Blank, they signed with Arista Records around the same time another Southern rock group Outlaws signed with Arista. The problem was Point Blank was not as successful as Outlaws and Arista dropped them after two albums. They signed with MCA Records and Point Blank went to a more mainstream rock sound. Nicole reached #39 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981. Point Blank was mainly known for constant touring usually opening for ZZ Top and similar bands. But they weren't a headliner. After the 1982 album On a Roll didn't sell, they decided to split up. American Exce$$ and On a Roll are available as a twofer CD. O'Daniel and Burns reformed Point Blank in 2005. They released new music in 2009 and then in 2014 through Kickstarter. Burns died in 2016 and then O'Daniel died in 2018. I guess that is the end for Point Blank. Here's Point Blank performing Nicole at Cardies in Houston July 4, 1983.

Two more women's matches added to Aug. 10 UFC show

Tendremos 3️⃣ batallas femeninas en #UFCUruguay 🇺🇾@TeciaTorres 🆚 @wmmarz
Taila Santos 🆚 @AshleeMMA @veromacedomma 🆚 @rachaelostovich

Pronto se anunciará estelar y coestalar, conoce los precios y dónde comprar boletos https://t.co/rvmUFAm5X3 pic.twitter.com/AnXmIb4N73

— UFC Español (@UFCEspanol) June 14, 2019

Today the UFC announced several matches for UFC on ESPN+ 14 Aug. 10 at the Antel Arena in Montevideo, Uruguay. There was already one women's match I wrote about last week. Two more matches were added. At Strawweight, we have Tecia Torres vs Marina Rodriguez. And at Flyweight, we have Rachael Ostovich vs Veronica Macedo. I guess Tecia is a gatekeeper at this point. After losing to Weili Zhang in her last fight, she certainly isn't a contender anymore. I always thought she was overrated anyway. I wouldn't be surprised if she retires soon because she has a degree in law enforcement. She lives in Colorado with Raquel Pennington. We should get a handle on if Marina is any good. She's 32 years old from Brazil. She was on the Brazilian Dana White Contender Series. Her first UFC fight was a draw vs Randa Markos. And then she beat Jessica Aguilar by unanimous decision. Jessica has since been released. I don't think she's good enough to even be a gatekeeper. So this fight should tell us more about Marina's potential. Rachael and Veronica are both pretty bad. Rachael is 28 years old from Hawaii. I didn't like her when she was in Invicta. But she's hot. Then she was in TUF 26. She's 1-2 in the UFC and she has really looked bad in her losses. I know fans have sympathy for her since her husband/trainer assaulted her. But she's a terrible fighter. Veronica is also terrible. She's 23 years old originally from Venezuela but she lives in France. She came to the UFC in 2016 as a late replacement at Bantamweight. But she also lost her two fights at Flyweight. And she has had two fights cancelled due to injury. So I don't think either fighter belongs in the UFC.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast June 14, 2019

Io Shirai, Dana White Tuesday Night Contender Series preview and new fight announcements.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Blessid Union Of Souls

Artist:Blessid Union Of Souls
Song:I Believe
Album:The Singles





Blessid Union Of Souls scored a top ten hit in 1995 with I Believe. Some of their other songs charted but that is the one memorable song. They were formed in Cincinnati in 1990 by lead singer and pianist Eliot Sloan, guitarist Jeff Pence, bassist C.P. Roth and drummer Eddie Hedges. Sloan and Hedges were previously in the band The Movies. Roth toured with Ozzy Osbourne. Sloan and Pence wrote most of the songs. The band name comes from a line in an episode of M*A*S*H. A demo got them a deal with EMI Records. I Believe was the first single from Blessid Union Of Souls' 1995 album Home. Cincinnati DJs played the song enough that it caught on nationally and reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was produced by Matt "Emosia" Senatore who owned a Cincinnati recording studio. He wrote I Believe with Sloan and Pence. Senatore was involved in Blessid Union Of Souls' development but only as a producer. He was never a member of the band. Blessid Union Of Souls is frequently compared with Hootie and the Blowfish because they are a mixed race band. But I don't think the bands are similar. Blessid Union Of Souls seems to have gospel or Contemporary Christian (CCM) leanings. It might have turned out better for them if they had been in EMI's CCM label Sparrow. Because EMI Records was closed in 1995 and the 1997 album Blessid Union Of Souls was on Capitol. Then they were moved to V2 for the 1999 album Walking Off The Buzz. Bouncing around like that within EMI's corporate maze probably didn't help them get a decent promotion budget. So EMI dropped them after three albums. This comp covers their EMI recordings. Sloan still leads a version of Blessid Union Of Souls. They released a Contemporary Christian album in 2011. Here's the video for I Believe by Blessid Union Of Souls.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Io Shirai and Candice Lerae vs Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir

Here's the match video of Io Shirai and Candice Lerae vs Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir from this week's episode of NXT. This match was taped at a Belair, MD house show. NXT Women's Champion  Shayna Baszler is at ringside. Candice starts the match because Io supposedly injured her shoulder at Takeover. Her shoulder is taped but it's a phony injury. Candice is already over as a white meat babyface so I don't think this was necessary. She gets heat for most of the match until Io finally gets a hot tag. Io wants to send a message to Shayna so she stomps Jessamyn's arm like Shayna does. And Shayna is yelling "Don't you dare". This is followed by a 619, a springboard dropkick and knees to the corner. Io goes to the top for the moonsault. But Shayna pulls Jessamyn to the floor. So Io moonsaults to the floor on Shayna. And then they brawl into the crowd and Candice brawls with Jessamyn and Marina after a suicide dive. No decision was announced. It was announced that Shayna vs Io in a steel cage will be in two weeks. That match has been taped and more is being taped as I write this. So I already know what's coming but I never post spoilers. Just be sure to watch the match and I will post it on the blog. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Joe Henderson

Artist:Joe Henderson
Song:Snap Your Fingers
Album:Birth of Soul





Not to be confused with legendary jazz musician Joe Henderson, this Joe Henderson scored a top ten hit with Snap Your Fingers in 1962. There are probably plenty of music fans who think this is a lost Brook Benton record. Sadly, Henderson died in 1964 at age 27. He was born Apr. 24, 1937 in Como, MS but he grew up in Gary, IN. He was in The Fairfield Four gospel group. Henderson moved to Nashville in 1958 where he met Todd Records owner Paul Cohen. Cohen was the head of A&R at Decca Records Nashville for over 20 years before he started his own label. Todd Records was going nowhere when Cohen moved back to Nashville to run Top Rank's new country label. Todd finally struck gold when Snap Your Fingers reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100. Like I said, Henderson sounds a lot like Brook Benton on this record. It's not unusual for soundalike records to become hits. Snap Your Fingers was written by veteran Nashville session guitarist Grady Martin and songwriter Alex Zanetis. Martin is in the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 1987, Ronnie Milsap topped the country charts with Snap Your Fingers. Cliff Parman arranged and conducted the orchestra. Henderson released an album but you can get Snap Your Fingers on this Kent Records various artists comp. This was the only success Todd Records had. Cohen closed the label in 1964 and became A&R head for Kapp Records' country music division. Henderson signed with Ric Records. He had just recorded an album when he died of a heart attack on Oct. 25, 1964 at age 27. His body was found by his friend and fellow soul singer Arthur Alexander. Here's a video for Snap Your Fingers by Joe Henderson. Thanks to BSN Pubs for the Todd Records and Joe Henderson info.

Two women's Flyweight bouts added to Aug. 17 UFC show

E vamos para próxima parada ... Contrato assinado ... É GUERRA !! 👊🏽🙏🏽💪🏽
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-#teambotelho #novauniao #brasil #ufc #luta #rio #riodejaneiro #rj #kickboxing #muaythai #porrada #strong #polianabotelho #eguerra #wrestling #ufcbrasil #brasileira pic.twitter.com/0ZGisx88kJ

— Poliana Botelho (@polibotelho) June 12, 2019

Two women's Flyweight bouts have been added to UFC 241 Aug. 17 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. The first one reported by Marcelo Barone of Globo will have Poliana Botelho vs Maryna Moroz. Above is a pic of Poliana signing the bout agreement. The second one reported by Tristen Critchfield of Sherdog will have Sabina Mazo vs Shana Dobson. Both Poliana and Maryna started in the UFC as Strawweights but have moved up to Flyweight. Poliana is 30 years old from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She trains at Nova Uniao. Her record is 8-2. She went 2-1 at Strawweight and she won her Flyweight debut over Lauren Mueller. Poliana won the first two rounds and then hung on to win by unanimous decision. She is mainly a striker but she has been training with Ketlen Vieira and that could help her improve her ground game. Maryna is 27 years old from the Ukraine but she now trains at American Top Team in Florida. She's mainly a boxer. She went 3-3 in the UFC as a Strawweight but she moved up to Flyweight for her last fight. She fought at Flyweight before the UFC. She won that fight over Sabina Mazo when she broke Sabina's nose in round one and then hung on for the win. Sabina is 22 years old from Colombia but she trains at MMA Kings in Huntington Beach, CA. She's a former LFA champ and like I said, she lost her UFC debut when Maryna broke her nose in round one. Shana is 30 years old from Arlington, TX. She was in TUF 26 but she lost in the first round. The last time we saw her she lost to Lauren Mueller by unanimous decision Apr. 2018. She was supposed to fight in Nov. but dropped out due to injury. I have not liked what I have seen from her so far. The Flyweight division lacks title contenders. You'd think one of these four could rise up to that challenge. I liked what I saw from Maryna in her last fight.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band

Artist:Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band
Song:Landmarks
Album:Landmarks





Brian Blade is one of today's top jazz drummers. He has led The Fellowship Band since the late 90s. He is also drummer in jazz legend Wayne Shorter's band. And he works a lot as a sideman. He was born July 25, 1970 in Shreveport, LA. His father Brady L. Blade Sr. has been the pastor at Zion Baptist Church for 52 years. His older brother Brady L. Blade Jr. is also a drummer best known for touring with Emmylou Harris. He lives in Sweden. Blade learned to play violin as a child. And then he took up the drums in high school to be like his brother. He got into jazz and after graduating high school, he moved to New Orleans to study at Loyola University. Blade also studied with Ellis Marsalis and Steve Masakowski among others. He was in Masakowski's band for a while. In the mid-90s Blade recorded and toured with Kenny Garrett and Joshua Redman. He started The Fellowship Band in 1998 and signed with Blue Note. Landmarks is from the 2014 album Landmarks. The band membership has been fairly stable since the beginning. The only big change was when guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel left to go solo and was replaced by Marvin Sewell. Other members are Jon Cowherd on piano, Myron Walden and Melvin Butler on sax and Chris Thomas on bass. This album is available as a digital download. Blade has recorded and toured with Wayne Shorter since 2000. Blade has also recorded several albums with Austrian guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel. The latest Fellowship Band album Body and Shadow was released in 2017. They are doing a few dates but this fall Blade and Christian McBride will tour with Chick Corea's Trilogy trio. Here's Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band performing Landmarks at Seattle radio station KEXP Feb. 26, 2016.

Jessica Andrade vs Weili Zhang to main event Aug. 31 UFC show

The champ goes to China 🇧🇷🏆🇨🇳 pic.twitter.com/kq4iX4F9fu

— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 11, 2019

Brett Okamoto of ESPN reported this afternoon that Jessica Andrade will defend her UFC Strawweight Championship against Weili Zhang on UFC on ESPN+ 15 Aug. 31 at the Universiade Sports Center in Shenzhen, China. Raphael Marinho of Combate reports that this has been verbally agreed to. They are just waiting for signed bout agreements. I told you guys last week that Weili would be the main event of the China show. I didn't think it would be a title match because those are usually on PPVs. The first thing to remember is the UFC is investing a lot of money in China. They are building a UFC Performance Institute. So the rankings are secondary. Obviously the first option was a title rematch for Rose Namajunas. Today her manager Brian Butler announced that Rose is nursing an injury and she will pass on a rematch for now. Keep in mind Butler also manages Weili. I suggested Tatiana Suarez for a title shot. But she injured her neck on Saturday and is not available. That leaves two options, Weili Zhang and Michelle Waterson. Michelle was in Chicago on Saturday demanding a title shot. UFC president Dana White told her she wasn't ranked high enough. I don't agree with that. But both fighters beat very similar opponents in their last fights. Michelle beat Karolina Kowalkiewicz and Weili beat Tecia Torres. So I think both are deserving. The big difference is the China show is very important to the UFC's business and Weili was going to be in the main event anyway. A title match there is meaningful to the local audience. I would not have had a problem with Michelle getting a title shot and Weili vs Tatiana in China for the next title shot. But Tatiana's injury took that option away. Besides, Weili has been dominant so far so she is a worthy challenger. I think this will be a competitive fight and other than slurping The Karate Hottie, I'm not sure what the complaints are about. So why didn't they have Weili vs Michelle main event China for a title shot. They don't want Jessica sitting around until Christmas. That's what would have happened.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Kevin Kline

Artist:Kevin Kline w/Peter Polycarpou and Chorus
Song:Be A Clown
Album:De-Lovely: Music From The Motion Picture




Though Kevin Kline is not known for film musicals, he started out in Broadway musicals and won three Tonys. He starred as Cole Porter in the 2004 film De-Lovely. He was born Oct. 24, 1947 in St. Louis. His father was an amateur opera singer and he owned The Record Bar. Kline's Inc. was the family owned department store chain. Kline studied music and theater at Indiana University. And he studied at Juilliard in New York on a drama scholarship. He toured with the City Center Acting Company. His first big Broadway appearance was in the 1978 musical On The Twentieth Century. He won a Tony for that. Then he won another Tony for the 1981 musical The Pirates of Penzance. And he also appeared in the 1983 film version. Kline's first film was the 1982 film Sophie's Choice. He continued to appear on stage. But he concentrated mostly on films after appearing in the Lawrence Kasdan films The Big Chill and Silverado. Kline won an Oscar for the 1987 film A Fish Called Wanda. Though Kline has occasionally returned to the stage, he is best known for his film career. Kline starred as Cole Porter in the 2004 film De-Lovely. It's a biopic of Porter and his marriage to Linda Lee Thomas played by Ashley Judd. The film was written by Jay Cocks and produced and directed by Irwin Winkler. Kline performs several songs in the film including Be A Clown. Peter Polycarpou plays Louis B. Mayer. Porter wrote Be A Clown for the 1948 film The Pirate performed by Gene Kelly. MGM stole the song for the 1950 film Singin' In The Rain. Producer Arthur Freed conceived Singin' In The Rain as a tribute to himself featuring songs he had written with Nacio Herb Brown. Director Stanley Donen told Freed they didn't have a solo number for Donald O'Connor and he wanted something similar to Be A Clown. Freed changed some of the lyrics and retitled Be A Clown as Make 'Em Laugh. And he credited the songwriting to himself and Brown. Donen has described it as 100% plagiarism. It is not known why Porter didn't sue Freed. Speculation is that he thought he owed Freed a favor for hiring him to write songs for MGM musicals like The Pirate and it wasn't worth jeopardizing that relationship over a minor song in his catalog. An odd thing in De-Lovely is there are several musical performances by contemporary artists like Sheryl Crow, Elvis Costello and others who aren't part of the film's story. It makes the film a little disjointed. It looks like this was done to serve the soundtrack album which is available as a digital download. Kline continues to appear in films and he won a third Tony for the 2017 revival of the comedy Present Laughter. Here's Kevin Kline with Peter Polycarpou and chorus performing Be A Clown in the 2004 film De-Lovely.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Elevation Worship

Artist:Elevation Worship
Song:Do It Again
Album:There Is A Cloud





For many years the Praise & Worship (P&W) market in Christian music was dominated by Hillsong and their various spinoffs. Groups like Elevation Worship have emerged in recent years to maybe grab a piece of that pie. I guess the faithful eagerly lap everything up. They don't seem to be a discriminating audience. Elevation Worship was formed in 2006 by Pastor Steven Furtick at Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. For most of their history, Furtick has written most of the songs with Chris Brown and Mack Brock. Furtick isn't in the group so it makes me wonder if he's just taking a songwriting credit for being the boss. That's what record company owners did in the old days. Brown and Brock have been the main musical directors. The membership of these kind of groups is fluid. They are constantly coming and going. After a few independent releases, Elevation Worship signed a distribution deal with Sony for the secular market and Provident for Christian bookstores. Since then their albums have sold well because of wider distribution. Do It Again is from the 2017 album There Is A Cloud. It looks like Brock was the main songwriter. The single reached #5 in the Christian Singles chart and was certified Gold. The album reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 200. And they usually record live. There Was A Cloud was recorded at Elevation's church in Ballantyne, NC. And as you can tell by the video, they aren't messing around. This is a professionally produced product, maybe too professional. I know they are passionate about their music but it's too bland for me. The ten minute video will seem much longer. Mack Brock left Elevation Worship after this album and he released a solo album Sept. 2018. Elevation Worship released a new album in April so I think they will be OK. Here's the video for Do It Again by Elevation Worship.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast June 9, 2019

UFC 238 and Invicta FC 35 reviews and injury replacement.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Katlyn Chookagian vs Joanne Calderwood

Here's the match video of Katlyn Chookagian vs Joanne Calderwood from last night's UFC show in Chicago. Katlyn relies on this keep away strategy that is designed to squeak out a win. The way to beat her is to slow her down. Joanne tried to do that with leg kicks. I think she needed to do other things. And the problem was Joanne ran out of gas and I think that's what cost her the fight. I scored round one 10-9 for Joanne. So did two of the three judges. I don't know how that round is score for Katlyn. I thought Joanne did enough especially in the first part of the round to win 10-9. But all three judges scored the round 10-9 for Katlyn. Round three also was for Katlyn. Two of the judges scored it 29-28 for Katlyn and the third scored it 30-27. I scored it 29-28 for Joanne. This was a real missed opportunity for Joanne. Because now it looks like Katlyn will get a Flyweight title shot. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Yan Xiaonan vs Angela Hill

Here's the match video of Yan Xiaonan vs Angela Hill from last night's UFC show in Chicago. Angela came in on short notice after Felice Herrig blew out her knee and then Angela's teammate Jessica Penne pulled out. She hasn't looked good on her second time around in the UFC. Yan isn't as good as Weili Zhang but she's better than Angela. That's what we saw for most of this fight except in round one when Yan scored a takedown near the end of the round and messed up and wound up in a triangle choke. Time ran out but Angela won round one. The rest of the fight was more typical as Yan was much quicker than Angela and Yan won the fight 29-28. I expect we will see Yan on the upcoming China show. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Alexa Grasso vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz

Here's the match video of Alexa Grasso vs Karolina Kowalkiewicz from last night's UFC show in Chicago. This is Alexa's return from shoulder surgery. Karolina is a former title contender on her way down. Both are mainly strikers. I guess the idea behind this fight is Karolina is a ranked fighter who Alexa can beat. My opinion is Karolina had one big win over Rose Namajunas and is otherwise overrated. The main thing you will see in this fight is that Alexa is much quicker than Karolina. So Alexa won easy by unanimous decision. So now I guess Alexa will have a main card match on the upcoming Mexico show. Karolina has already talked about starting a family. So retirement would not surprise me. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Tatiana Suarez vs Nina Ansaroff

Here's the match video of Tatiana Suarez vs Nina Ansaroff from last night's UFC show in Chicago. The winner of this fight is likely to get a Strawweight title shot. Tatiana is a stellar wrestler and she used that to win the first two rounds. Nina got Tatiana to chase her around in round three and she won the round. She needed a finish but it did show that there is a way to beat Tatiana. But it is questionable if that strategy would work for a whole fight. You can also be sure that Tatiana's coaches will address this flaw. I scored the fight 29-28 for Tatiana and so did the judges. We don't know yet if Rose Namajunas wants a title rematch. Here's a fight that would interest me. The UFC is returning to China on Aug. 31. How about Weili Zhang vs Tatiana Suarez in the main event. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Valentina Shevchenko vs Jessica Eye

Here's the match video of Valentina Shevchenko from last night's UFC show in Chicago. Jessica got the title shot after winning three straight fights. But they were soft wins. Two were split decisions. Then she moved from her home in Cleveland to Las Vegas to train with Gray Maynard at Xtreme Couture. For weeks she claimed to be a new and improved fighter. Fighters lie about that stuff all the time. I don't think she was lying but I have to see it to believe it. Well, it didn't happen. Valentina took Jessica down in round one and controlled her for most of the round. Then in round two Valentina used body kicks to get Jessica to drop her hands to set up a highlight reel head kick for the knockout. That's it. It's over. Brilliant strategy by Valentina. The likely next challenger for Valentina's title is Katlyn Chookagian who won her fight earlier in the show. Another possibility with an upcoming fight is Liz Carmouche. I don't see either doing any better than Jessica. Down the road Maycee Barber is a likely contender. The problem is TUF 26 was a bust so the UFC has to find some decent Flyweights. I think they should look at Rin Nakai who was in the UFC as a Bantamweight. But she's more suitable as a Flyweight. She just returned on today's Deep Jewels show with a win after injuries and an illness. She has skills if she has gotten over that mental block of slow starts in fights. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Candlebox

Artist:Candlebox
Song:Far Behind
Album:The Best Of Candlebox




Candlebox was a part of the early 90s Seattle grunge movement. They were frequently criticized by grunge purists as watered down. But their 1993 album Candlebox went multi platinum and the video was a staple on MTV. They were also the first successful act for Madonna's Maverick label. They were formed in Seattle in 1991 as Uncle Duke by singer and guitarist Kevin Martin and drummer Scott Mercado. After adding lead guitarist Peter Klett and bassist Bardi Martin, the group name was changed to Candlebox after a line in a Midnight Oil song. They released an EP and that got them a deal with Maverick. The 1993 album Candlebox was produced by the band and guitarist turned recording engineer Kelly Gray. Far Behind reached #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the video was a big hit on MTV. The album was certified 4XPlatinum. Martin wrote Far Behind as a tribute to Mother Love Bone leader Andrew Wood who died of a drug overdose in 1990. Martin knew Wood and he was a fan of the band. By the time Candlebox's 1995 album Lucy was released, Kurt Cobain had died and there was already a backlash against grunge music. The album didn't do nearly as well as the first album. Dave Krusen replaced Mercado in 1997. After the 1998 album Happy Pills didn't sell, Candlebox wasn't seeing eye to eye with Maverick. They left and then disbanded in 2000. This comp is a good intro to their music. Sony has released a Candlebox budget CD as part of their Playlist series. But it is a live album. They are not original recordings. Kevin Martin reformed Candlebox in 2006. Though other original members were involved, they no longer are. Klett and Mercado formed the band Lotus Crush. Candlebox's latest album was released in 2016 and they are currently on tour in England. Here's the video for Far Behind by Candlebox.

Marina Rodriguez earns Invicta Flyweight title shot

THANK YOU to the women of @InvictaFights for an incredible night!

Catch the full #InvictaFC35 replay to see anything you may have missed: https://t.co/mMQ6jGsmkp pic.twitter.com/IEw89CWFsR

— UFC FIGHT PASS (@UFCFightPass) June 8, 2019

Last night Invicta FC 35 aired on UFC Fight Pass. The main event of Marina Rodriguez vs DeAnna Bennett was as awful as I expected. Marina won by unanimous decision and she will challenge Vanessa Porto for the Invicta Flyweight Championship. Invicta commentator Julie Kedzie thought DeAnna won. I thought she did too. The problem is neither fighter does anything to win fights decisively. Like her Lobo teammates Alexa Grasso and Irene Aldana, Marina is a striker who doesn't throw enough punches. The only thing DeAnna can do is clinch on the fence. So that's where most of the fight was spent. The funny part is DeAnna was claiming that she changed gyms and she's a new and improved fighter. And then she does the same crap that she always does. And that's why I don't believe fighters claiming improvements. Cage control is a poor strategy to win a fight because a lot of judges don't consider it to be valid. TJ DeSantis pointed this out to Julie. But Marina didn't do enough to win either. That's why I hated this fight in the first place. Both are mediocre. Let's look at the other fights. Viviane Pereira beat Alisha Zappitella by unanimous decision. Viviane fought in the UFC as a Strawweight. This was her first fight at Atomweight. Too bad she missed weight. She better not miss weight again. In a Strawweight bout, Kanako Murata beat Liana Pirosin by first round rear naked choke. Kanako got the performance of the night bonus. She was the best fighter on the show. In a Bantamweight bout, Lisa Spangler beat Katharina Lehner by unanimous decision. In a Featherweight bout, Kaitlin Young beat Faith McMah by third round TKO. In a Bantamweight bout, Chelsea Chandler beat Brittney Victoria by second round TKO. In an Atomweight bout, Kelly D'Angelo beat Jillian DeCoursey by unanimous decision. Kelly missed weight. In an Atomweight bout Loma Lookboonmee beat Monique Adriane by unanimous decision. I didn't see most of this fight as the feed went down. Once it came back, I had no further problems. And in the opening Strawweight bout, Genia Gooden beat Valerie Wong by unanimous decision. Most of the fights were dull. And the main event was awful.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Mudhoney

Artist:Mudhoney
Song:In 'n' Out Of Grace
Album:March To Fuzz




Though not as well known as later bands, Mudhoney established the Seattle grunge sound in the late 80s. They just never had the commercial success they deserved. Mudhoney started out as Mr. Epp and the Calculation in 1980 at Bellevue Christian High School in Bellevue, WA. Lead singer Mark Mclaughlin AKA Mark Arm started the band as a joke on his math teacher. Guitarist Steve Turner joined and they started playing gigs. In 1984 they changed the name to Green River and brought in Alex Vincent on drums, Jeff Ament on bass and Stone Gossard on guitar. They released the 1985 EP Come On Down which is often regarded as the first grunge recording. Turner left because he didn't like the music and was replaced by Bruce Fairweather. Green River split up after a second EP. Ament and Gossard went on to be part of Pearl Jam. Arm and Turner then formed Mudhoney with drummer Dan Peters and bassist Matt Lukin. Arm and Peters wrote songs together. The band is named after a Russ Meyer film. In 'n' Out Of Grace was released as a single. Then they released an EP Superfuzz Bigmuff. After Mudhoney signed with SubPop, all that music was released on one CD. It's still one of their most popular songs and you can get it on this 2CD comp. After releasing the 1991 album Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge, Mudhoney signed with Reprise. They just never had the success there that they should have had and after three albums, Reprise dropped them. Steve Turner says that after Kurt Cobain died, there was a major backlash against other grunge bands especially Mudhoney because they were the first grunge band. Lukin left and was replaced by Guy Maddison. Since then Mudhoney returned to SubPop and they still record and tour. Here's Mudhoney performing In 'n' Out Of Grace at the Berlin Independence Days Music Festival in Berlin, Germany Oct. 11, 1988.

Brianna Van Buren in for Cynthia Calvillo on July 13 UFC show

With Cynthia Calvillo out, @mmabrasil confirms that Livia Renata Souza will now face Brianna Van Buren in UFC Sacramento, on 07/13. https://t.co/D1f7yWSRlJ

— Rafael Oreiro (@rafael_oreiro) June 7, 2019

I have good news and bad news Rafael Oreiro of MMA Brasil reports bad news for Cynthia Calvillo. She pulled out of her UFC Sacramento match vs Livinha Souza with a broken foot. Cynthia is from Sacramento so I'm sure she is very disappointed. The good news is her replacement is Brianna Van Buren who won the recent Invicta Strawweight Championship tournament. This will be at UFC on ESPN+13 July 13 bat the Golden1 Center in Sacramento. Though I didn't like the tournament very much, Brianna looked really good. She is 25 years old from Gilroy, CA. Her record is 8-2. This has the potential to be a really good fight. It might even be better than the original fight.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Space

Artist:Space
Song:Female of the Species
Album:Greatest Hits





Space had success in their native England in the 90s. You may have heard Female of the Species playing over the end credits of the 1997 film Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Space was known for cheeky lyrics so I'm not surprised that Mike Myers is a fan. Space formed in 1993 in Liverpool heavily influenced by The Who. Tommy Scott was lead singer and bassist, Jamie Murphy was guitarist and background singer, Andy Parle was drummer. After releasing a single, keyboardist Franny Griffiths joined. He knew Scott from the group Hello Sunset. They signed with Gut Records and started having success when Female of the Species was used as the theme for the Grenada TV series Cold Feet. It also played over the end credits of the 1997 film Austin Myers: International Man of Mystery. The video played on MTV and it got some college radio airplay. The song has a lounge music vibe influenced by The Walker Brothers theme to the 1967 film Deadlier Than The Male. Space toured after the 1996 album Spiders was released. Bassist David "Yorkie" Palmer was added so Scott could concentrate on vocals. The tour didn't go well. Scott lost his voice. Murphy suffered a nervous breakdown. Yorkie's mother Gladys Palmer died. She was a popular singer in Liverpool. And Parle was replaced by Leon Caffrey. Space's 1998 album Tin Planet did well in England. But when Gut refused to release the 2000 album Love You More Than Football, Space parted ways with them. Scott says Gut did not agree with Space's choice of Edwyn Collins as producer. After the 2004 album Suburban Rock 'n' Roll, Space split up. This comp is a good intro to their music. Scott formed The Drellas. Griffiths was in the band Dust and he also recorded as Subway Showdown. Andy Parle died when he was hit by a car in 2009. Scott, Murphy and Griffiths reunited Space in 2011. They released a 2012 album and toured. They released another album in 2017 and they will tour England this summer. Here's the video for Female of the Species by Space.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast June 6, 2019

UFC 238 and Invicta FC 35 previews and new fight announcements.

Yanan Wu vs Luana Carolina added to Aug. 31 UFC show

Luana Dread vai enfrentar Wu Yanan no UFC China, em Shenzhen, dia 31 de agosto. Luta chegou a ser marcada para o UFC Rio, mês passado, mas chinesa sofreu lesão e deu lugar para Priscila Pedrita no card. #feedmma

— Raphael Marinho (@raphamarinho) June 6, 2019

Raphael Marinho of Combate reported this morning that Yanan Wu vs Luana Carolina has been added to UFC on ESPN+ 15 Aug. 31 Universiade Sports Centre in Shenzhen, China. This fight is at Flyweight. This fight was supposed to happen last month in Brazil. Wu pulled out due to injury. Luana won over Priscila Cachoeira by unanimous decision. Luana is 25 years old from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Her record is 6-1. She was on the Brazilian Dana White Contender Series. She won her fight easily but Priscila is a terrible fighter. Wu is 23 years old and I'm sure fighting in front of her family in China is a big deal. Her record is 10-2. She has fought most of her career at Bantamweight. And she dropped to Flyweight after losing her UFC debut. Her win over Lauren Mueller seemed like a fluke at the time. I haven't seen enough of either fighter to know how good they are. We shall see.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Staind

Artist:Staind
Song:So Far Away
Album:The Singles 1996-2006





Staind scored their only top ten hit with It's Been Awhile in 2001. Their second biggest hit So Far Away was more typical of their mix of alt rock and heavy metal known as "nu metal". Staind are from Springfield, MA. Lead singer Aaron Lewis and guitarist Mike Mushok met at a 1993 Christmas party. They formed Staind in 1995 with bassist Johnny April and drummer Jon Wysocki. They played local clubs and released a 1996 album. In 1997, they got a gig opening for Limp Bizkit. Limp Bizkit leader Fred Durst hated their album cover so much he tried to get them off the show. But then when he listened to them he signed them to his label Flip with Elektra distribution. Durst produced Staind's 1999 album Dysfunction. The album did OK. They were compared favorably to Tool and Korn and Lewis was likened to Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder. Staind toured with Limp Bizkit. They really broke through with the 2001 album Break The Cycle. The single It's Been Awhile reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified 5XPlatinum. For the 2003 album 14 Shades Of Grey, Staind again worked with producer Josh Abraham. So Far Away reached #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the album was certified Platinum. So it wasn't as successful as the previous album. At this point they started to fade though they continued to tour and record until they went on hiatus in 2012. You can get all their hits on this budget comp. Lewis released a solo album. He is currently recording for the country label Big Machine and a new album was released in April. Mushok joined former Metallica bassist Jason Newstead's group Newstead. After they split, he joined Saint Asonia led by Three Days Grace leader Adam Gontier. Staind will reform and tour in September. Lewis said recording a new album is possible but he can't tour full time. Here's the video for So Far Away by Staind.

Julia Avila vs Melissa Gatto added to July 6 UFC show

View this post on Instagram

Ready to get back at it! Two beautiful beasts ready to go to war. 👑 TKO Combat Sports 👑 on Instagram: “Another huge #TeamTKO fight announcement! 🔥 @ragingpandamma is set for her @ufc debut at #UFC239 in Las Vegas! #MMA #WMMA #UFC #ragingpanda #pandanation

A post shared by Julia Avila (@ragingpandamma) on Jun 5, 2019 at 1:17pm PDT

Adriano Albuquerque of Globo reported today that Julia Avila vs Melissa Gatto has been added to UFC 239 July 6 at the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas. This fight is at Bantamweight. Both fighters posted the above picture on Instagram. Julia is 31 years old from Oklahoma City. Her record is 6-1 and 1-1 in Invicta. This is her UFC debut. Her loss was when she broke her finger and the fight had to be stopped. She looked pretty good in Invicta. Melissa will also be making her UFC debut. She is 23 years old from Parana, Brazil. Her record is 6-0-2 in the Brazilian regional circuit. She came to the UFC as a replacement for the injured Jessica-Rose Clark at UFC 237. But she was forced to pull out due to a skin infection. Obviously I haven't seen her before. But I favor Julia because she has more experience and she has fought a higher competition level.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Helix

Artist:Helix
Song:Rock You
Album:Rock It Science





The hard rock band Helix were very successful in their native Canada. And they had success in the US in the 80s with songs like Rock You. A version of Helix still tours. Helix was formed in 1974 for a Kitchener, ON battle of the bands by drummer Ron Arnold. Other members were lead singer Brian Vollmer, guitarists Ron Watson and Rick "Minstrel" Trembley, Don Simmons on keyboards and Keith "Bert" Zurbrigg on bass. Zurbrigg wore a tuxedo on stage. By 1976 only Vollmer and Zurbrigg remained and the other members were Brent "The Doctor" Doerner and Paul Hackman on guitar and Brent's twin brother Brian Doerner on drums. After releasing two albums on their own label, Brian Doerner was replaced by Leo Niebudek and Zurbrigg was replaced by Mike Uzelac. Supposedly actor Michael J. Fox auditioned to play bass but did not get the gig. After Greg "Fritz" Hinz replaced Niebudek, Helix signed with Capitol Records after several rejections. They changed from being a standard bar band to being a hair metal band. They had their greatest success with the 1983 album No Rest For The Wicked and the 1984 album Walkin' The Razor's Edge. Uzelac had drug problems and was replaced by Daryl Gray. Rock You is probably Helix' best known song from Walkin' The Razor's Edge. Helix wrote most of their own songs. Rock You was written by Bob Halligan of the group Kix while the bands were touring together. It was produced by .38 Special producer Rodney Mills. Helix also had success with a cover of the Crazy Elephant classic Gimme Gimme Good Lovin'. Helix recorded for Capitol until 1990. Tragedy struck when their van rolled over while on tour in Vancouver on July 5, 1992. Paul Hackman died in the crash. In 1993 Vollmer recorded a solo album but released it as a Helix album. He now admits that was a huge mistake. Vollmer continues to lead Helix on tour and they record on his label. He's the only original member but Hinz and Gray from the 80s version are still in the band. Vollmer owns the Helix recordings. He licensed them to Perris Records for this comp. They just released a new album Old School and Helix will tour Canada as usual. Here's the video for Rock You by Helix.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Icona Pop

Artist:Icona Pop f/Charli XCX
Song:I Love It
Album:Just The Hits 2013





I Love It was all over pop radio in 2013. You couldn't escape it. The singer is the very popular Charli XCX. This was before she became a solo star. The record is by Swedish DJs Icona Pop. It was a top ten hit and I don't know if they will ever score another hit like that. Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo are from Stockholm, Sweden. They met at a 2009 party and have been working together ever since. They signed with the Swedish label TEN and Atlantic's Big Beat label in the US. They released their debut album Icona Pop in Sweden in 2012. An EP was released in the US but after I Love It became a hit, Atlantic decided to release a reworked version of the album as This Is...Icona Pop. I Love It reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it was a big worldwide hit. The song was a radio staple for over a year. It also appeared on TV shows like Snooki & Jwow, the HBO series Girls and The Vampire Diaries. Not to mention video games and commercials. The song was everywhere. Charlotte "Charli XCX" Aitchison wrote the song with producer Patrik Bergen, best known for his work with Robyn. So if Charli wrote it and sang lead, why didn't she record it under her own name? She told the BBC she visualizes her music in colors and I Love It was the wrong color. Uhhh, right. It hardly matters because she would become a star in 2014 with the single Boom Clap. Though Icona Pop's album is available, most fans will only want I Love It and you can get it on this various artists budget comp. Since then Icona Pop has released a few singles. They have a new album coming out this summer. Here's the video for I Love It by Icona Pop featuring Charli XCX.

Frank Pozen's Big Bad Podcast June 3, 2019

UFC on ESPN+ 10 and NXT Takeover reviews and bonus RIZIN match.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Shayna Baszler vs Io Shirai

Here's the match video of Shayna Baszler defending the NXT Women's Championship from Saturday's NXT Takeover show. They run a video package before the match which illustrates my big problem with this angle. Shayna talks about how all her challengers are gone from NXT. Except they aren't gone. All the them are on the main roster. All this does is remind me that Shayna should have been moved to the main roster last year. It isn't logical. But once you get past the lack of logic, it's a great match. First, Io has a new Titantron. Shayna stomps on Io's arm early in the match. And unlike many wrestlers, Io doesn't forget about that and sells the arm for the rest of the match. Most of the match is competitive as I expected. Then Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir come out. But Candice LeRae comes out with a kendo stick and takes them out. That distraction lands Io in the choke and eventually she is forced to tap out. But after the match, Io beats Shayna with the kendo stick. Then Candice gives her a chair and Io hits Shayna with a chair assisted moonsault. The crowd chants "You deserve it" at Shayna. They are trying to show that cute little Io is as violent as Shayna. And Shayna even complained about that on Twitter. BTW, Rey Misterio Jr. tweeted a thumbs up to Io for her 619. Io was so happy. So obviously this feud will continue. Let's see what they come up with for the next Takeover show in August. This match is definitely worth watching so enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Melissa Etheridge

Artist:Melissa Etheridge
Song:Come To My Window
Album:Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled





Today Melissa Etheridge is probably best known for coming out as gay when it wasn't as acceptable as it is today. And also for her public battle with breast cancer. But she had commercial success especially with the 1993 album Yes I Am and the singles I'm The Only One and Come To My Window. She was born May 29, 1961 in Leavenworth, KS. Her father taught at the local high school. After graduating high school, Melissa moved to Boston to study music at Berklee. She played local clubs. She left Berklee after three semesters and moved to Los Angeles to break into the music business. One of her friends on a women's soccer team told her manager husband Bill Leopold to check her out. This led to Melissa signing with Island Records. She wrote some songs for the 1986 film Weeds. Island owner Chris Blackwell rejected Melissa's debut album as too polished. That turned out to be a great decision as her 1988 album Melissa Etheridge was a big success. The album was certified 2XPlatinum and the single Bring Me Some Water got significant college radio airplay. So now she's established and Melissa continued to have success. But the 1993 album Yes I Am produced by Genesis producer Hugh Padgham took her to a higher level. The album was certified 6XPlatinum. I'm The Only One reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Come To My Window reached #25. It was around this time that Melissa came out as gay. And she won a Grammy. She started to fade after that. You can get all her hits on this budget comp. Coming out probably affected album sale negatively. But Melissa was still a great concert draw and she recorded for Island for many years. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004. And she won a Best Original Song Oscar in 2006 for I Need To Wake Up from the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. Melissa left Island in 2012 to start her own label distributed by Concord. Her new album The Medicine Show was released last month and she is touring to support that. Here's the video for Come To My Window by Melissa Etheridge. The actress in the video is Juliette Lewis.

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Ayaka Hamasaki vs Jinh Yu Frey

Here's the match video of Ayaka Hamasaki vs Jinh Yu Frey from this morning's RIZIN show. Ayaka is the current RIZIN Atomweight Champion. Jinh is the current Invicta Atomweight Champion. This is a rematch from 2016 when Ayaka won by doctor stoppage. I was asked to look at this fight to score it the way fights are scored here. Because in Japan, the entire fight is scored as one unit. So for starters, the first two rounds of this fight are as crappy as any Katlyn Chookagian fight. This kind of light sparring infuriates me because it's impossible to score and it's boring. Round one is so bad I scored it 9-9. Neither of them did anything. Round two wasn't much better so I scored that one 9-9 too. Finally Ayaka takes Jinh down at the start of round three and sits on her for five minutes. I scored that round 10-9 for Ayaka. And based on the Japanese style of scoring, Ayaka won the fight 3-0. A couple of things about Joe Ferraro and Frank Trigg's English commentary. They rightfully pointed out that Jinh would have to win decisively to get a win from Japanese judges. Knowing that, I don't know why her corner told her to fight tenatively. It guaranteed that she would lose. And then Ferraro and Trigg tried to claim that Jinh won the first two rounds and she would have won the fight in America. But it's like I said. There was so little happening in the first two rounds, I scored them as ties. And I do that all the time. Most people think you have to have a winner in each round. It's not true. I also think refs should warn fighters about lack of action. They are supposed to but most of them don't. This is the kind of fight that gives women's MMA a bad name. Road FC Atomweight Champion Ham Seo Hee was in attendance. And I assume she will be the next challenger. But will it happen in Japan or Korea? Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Bea Malecki vs Duda Santana

Here's the match video of Bea Malecki vs Duda Santana from yesterday's UFC show in Stockholm, Sweden. This fight was at Bantamweight. Bea is from Stockholm. She was in TUF 28 for Featherweights. She is training with Sayif Saud at Fortis MMA in Houston. That means her teammate is Macy Chiasson. John Gooden said on the broadcast that Bea has been sleeping on Macy's couch. She lost in the first round of TUF 28 so this is her UFC debut. It is also Duda's UFC debut. She was supposed to be on the Brazilian Dana White Contender Series but she couldn't get a visa. She's only 22 years old so the UFC hired her anyway. Duda wins round one by scoring a couple of takedowns and controlling Bea on the ground. But when Duda tried to take Bea down in round two, she wound up on the bottom and Bea got her back and won with a rear naked choke. A big win for Bea. Now maybe she can get her own place in Houston. Duda looked OK. She was unlucky. We'll see both of them again. Enjoy the video!

Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Lina Lansberg vs Tonya Evinger

Here's the match video of Lina Lansberg vs Tonya Evinger from yesterday's UFC show in Stockholm, Sweden. Lina is from Malmo, Sweden and she trains with ex-UFC fighter Akira Corassani. She's a kickboxer and she isn't good at other areas of MMA. Of course Tanya has been around for years. She has a lot of mileage on her. She had knee surgery last year and I think that has really slowed her down. Normally I would favor Tonya but she ain't who she used to be. Round one is mostly in the clinch so it's fairly even. Lina's elbow cuts Tonya over the eye. She was bleeding a lot but it wasn't that bad. Towards the end of the round, Lina ends up on top and pounds Tonya enough to win the round 10-9. Though it wasn't enough for the ref to stop the fight, I think the pounding took enough out of Tonya that she had nothing left in her gas tank. Lina continued to pound Tonya in round two. Again, it wasn't enough for the ref to stop the fight. I scored the round 10-9 for Lina. A couple of judges scored it 10-8 but I didn't think it was quite a 10-8. So now Tonya needs a finish but round three was more of the same. Lina wins by unanimous decision. I scored round three 10-9 for Lina and I scored the fight 30-27. Two of the judges scored it 30-26 and the third scored it 30-27. This is likely Tonya's final UFC fight. But I don't expect her to retire. She said she will keep fighting until no one will pay her. And I expect Invicta to pay her. This win probably delayed Lina's release. But it didn't make me think she could beat anyone good. Enjoy the video!

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Bryan Duncan

Artist:Bryan Duncan
Song:Blue Skies
Album:Love Takes Time





Bryan Duncan was a member of the pioneering Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) group Sweet Comfort Band. After they split up in 1984, Duncan went on to a very successful solo career. He had a string of CCM hits including Blue Skies in 1997. I would describe his music as blue eyed soul so it does appeal to black and white audiences. He was born Mar. 16, 1953 in Riverside, CA. His father was a preacher so the family moved a lot. He went to high school in North Carolina and that's when he started writing songs. And that led to forming Sweet Comfort Band in 1972. After they split up in 1984, Duncan signed with Light Records. After two albums, he moved to Word's Myrrh label. And he had a lot of success in the 90s. Blue Skies is from Duncan's 1997 album Blue Skies. The album was produced by Word's Nashville A&R head Dan Posthuma. Duncan generally writes all his songs with co-writers. He wrote Blue Skies with Reed Vertelney who had success in the 90s working with Luther Vandross. Duncan left Word after the 1998 album The Last Time I Was Here. Word released this comp in 1999 and it is available as a digital download. Since then Duncan started his own Red Road label. In 2003 he started the Nehosoul Band with bassist and music director Ricky B. Rogers. Duncan continues to record and tour. Here's Bryan Duncan performing Blue Skies 2012.

AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Peggy Gordon

Artist:Peggy Gordon
Song:By My Side
Album:Godspell: Original Off-Off-Broadway Cast





Though I'm sure you have heard of the musical Godspell, the origins of the show are unusual. It started as a student project at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh written by John-Michael Tebelak. The cast were drama students and most of the songs were written by Duane Bolick. After Godspell was performed locally, actor and Carnegie Mellon alumnus Charles Haid brought the show to producer Edgar Lansbury to turn it into a Broadway musical. The first thing Lansbury did was hire Stephen Schwartz to overhaul the music. He scrapped all of Bolick's songs. The only song from the original show to remain was By My Side written by Peggy Gordon who also appeared in the show. The Carnegie Mellon students were still the cast. So Peggy performed her own song. Of course Godspell was a big success and was even turned into a film. And of course the show is still performed today. Some of the original cast were in the film. But Peggy got tonsillitis and was unable to do the movie. Like most of the cast, Peggy was an amateur and she didn't continue in show business. At least she still earns royalties from By My Side. Here's Peggy Gordon performing By My Side on the CBS show Camera Three 1971.