Statistical Punchout, or: A Punchout's Statistics

I always hear folks talking about mixed martial arts vs. boxing vs. the WWE's (formerly the WWF's) brand of sports entertainment. And really, we need to stop doing that. It's a big enough world out there that there's room enough for all three to exist simultaneously. Can't we all just get along for once, and be a fan of all of 'em?!

If y'all are screaming at your computers right now, calling me a hippie or a loser or some other pejorative term like that, then -- OH WELL! -- at least I tried.

*Tips hat like a cowboy, and walks off into the sunset.*

PS: I didn't write a single word past this point (and this is from an online article dated May 2013, so it's a year and a half old already)...

The Sports Business Journal reported on an annual survey which tracked the habits of avid fans of boxing, MMA and professional wrestling. The Scarborough survey polled more than 200,000 residents over the age of 18 in 77 of the country’s biggest markets to find out how avid fans are to their particular sport.

The survey determined that of the 48.4% of the U.S. male population, the UFC (74.6% of males polled) is most popular of the three sports among males with boxing a close second (72.4%) and then WWE (62.8%). However, women (52.6% of the female population) preferred boxing over the UFC with the WWE third.

As one might expect, the UFC did well with ages 18-44 while boxing was more popular among 30-44 year olds. WWE did the best with baby boomers 30-44 years old. But, this does not jive with the polling numbers which state that 51.7% of those WWE fans polled have no children.

Education

Most educated fans of the three sports? Its the UFC with 48.5% (of the 55% of the average U.S. population) stated they attended college. However, more boxing fans attended post-graduate school and/or received a post-graduate degree than both the UFC or WWE fans.

Ethnicity

Spanish/Hispanics favor boxing over the WWE and the UFC. African Americans favor the UFC the least over the three combat sports.

Boxing is big among Spanish and Hispanics due to the many boxing stars in the numerous divisions. One need only see that the big PPVs each year occur Cinco de Mayo (May) weekend and Mexican Independence Day (September).

Household Incomes

18% (of the 20% of the average U.S. population) of UFC fans have household incomes between $100,000 and $249,000. The bulk of its fans, 81% (of the average U.S. population), make between $25,000 and $34,999.

Markets

According to the Scarborough survey, 5.3% of the U.S. population indicated that they are avid fans of boxing. 5.1% are avid UFC fans while 3.7% are WWE fans.

Top 3 Markets for the UFC

1) Honolulu, Hawaii

2) Bakersfield, California,

3) El Paso, Texas

Las Vegas ranked 9th for the UFC and 8th in Boxing. El Paso also ranked second in Boxing markets.

Harlingen-McAllen, Texas ranked first as the top Boxing market and second in WWE’s top market. Little Rock, Arkansas ranked first as the WWE’s top market.

Payout Perspective:

The survey does not really have anything too surprising. The UFC fan base is mainly comprised of the younger demographic while boxing skews to the older generation. This can be attributed to the fact that many grew up with boxing on television. One also may look to the fact that ethnicity plays a big role with boxing fans. Boxing fans are fans of certain fighters because of their ethnicity. One can look to Manny Pacquiao as a recent example of nation pride from many Filipinos. Juan Manuel Marquez and Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. are examples of Mexican fighters that have drawn interest due in part to their heritage.

As for markets, its interesting that Honolulu, Hawaii is the top UFC market among markets polled. This has to be attributed to the big following of BJ Penn. Also,Texas appears to be a focal point for Fight Sports as El Paso and Harlingen-McAllen are at the top of the list when it comes to avid fans of the sports.

One of the more interesting takeaways is that Boxing and the UFC are still neck and neck in fan popularity. Yes, its not a competition between the two but its interesting to note that boxing and the UFC both had 19 telecasts over 1 million viewers in 2012. Boxing had 2 network telecasts over the 1 million mark while all 4 of the UFC on Fox network events went over 1 million viewers.

The Cold Within

Happy new year, everybody!! :)

Now, since I'm both a poetry fan and a stat's lover, I'm going to share both of those things with you on this chilly January morning.

First, the stats. Roughly 75% of the new year's resolutions made by Americans are still going strong right now since we're only on Day 8 of 2015. By the start of next month, that number will be down to roughly 64%, and within six months, it'll be at about the 46% line. By year's end, only 8% of Americans who resolutely made promises to themselves will have actually fulfilled said promises. I am proud to report that I am part of the 17% of Americans who infrequently make any such demands of myself, but the few times I have, I have had a 100% success rate.

Furthermore, in case you're curious, 45% of Americans usually make new year's resolutions, and of that massive group, a whopping 24% of them have NEVER succeeded with theirs. So if you're not hardcore devoted like me and you don't succeed in your year's goal to lose weight, get organized, spend less/save more, enjoy life to the fullest, stay fit and healthy, learn something exciting, quit smoking, help others in their dreams, fall in love and/or spend more time with family, since those are the grand majority of new year's resolutions, you can at least take comfort in knowing that you are just one of 76.8 million Americans to do so, so don't beat yourself up too bad over it. Keep your head up and just try again next year, I suppose.

This year, I did make a resolution for the first time since 2007, and that was to try to make the world a better place in whatever way I could. That said, I will now share a poem with you that I first remember reading a few year's back when I was struggling to make rent and going through a bit of a necessitated frugal spending period. I had just started a new job downtown, and so I was testing out the waters of doing lunch with my fellow colleagues. During the walk back from McDonald's, one of the homeless people downtown came up to us with outstretched hands. I knew I couldn't give away any money because, well, I just couldn't afford to, so I did the next best thing -- I gave the man the hot fudge sundae I had bought to eat later in the day.

No joke, we walked about a block away, and one of my colleagues looks back and tells me that the guy had just thrown that still-unopened dessert in the garbage bin. Apparently, the man just wanted our money, not actual food like he had claimed. It made me really mad that afternoon that I had sacrificed my dessert for a homeless person, who in turn thanked me by throwing it in the garbage, uneaten.

One of my colleagues said, "don't get mad, you still did the right thing as a person," which made me feel better about what had just happened... until it also sparked a debate between her and a male colleague of mine who initially stated, "that's why I don't give anybody anything, ever! Nobody appreciates squat! Plus, if you give them something one day, they'll expect something everyday!!" I kind of just stayed out of that debate because I knew I would be responding emotionally to the situation, rather than logically, and I never want to be THAT guy. Plus, I know myself and I know I'm a giver who would rather give and get hurt than turn a blind eye to somebody in need. The reason I'm relating this story, though, isn't to put myself up on a soapbox. Trust me, I'm just as human as anybody else and make just as many mistakes as the average American, so I'm not really all that special.

Instead, it's to introduce a poem. See, when we got back to the office that day, the female colleague that told me I'd done the right thing e-mailed everybody in that lunch group the following poem. It was the first time I'd ever read this one, so it kind of touched me a bit and made me feel good about my earlier decision again.

So lets kick off 2015 the right way by always remembering that "sharing is caring," and this is just the start of me attempting to fulfill my new year's resolution this year by spreading the good word and opening up the eyes of anybody who reads this. Enjoy, and once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

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"The Cold Within"
By: James Patrick Kinney

Six humans trapped by happenstance
In bleak and bitter cold.
Each one possessed a stick of wood
Or so the story’s told.

Their dying fire in need of logs
The first man held his back
For of the faces round the fire
He noticed one was black.

The next man looking ‘cross the way
Saw one not of his church
And couldn’t bring himself to give
The fire his stick of birch.

The third one sat in tattered clothes.
He gave his coat a hitch.
Why should his log be put to use
To warm the idle rich?

The rich man just sat back and thought
Of the wealth he had in store
And how to keep what he had earned
From the lazy shiftless poor.

The black man’s face bespoke revenge
As the fire passed from his sight.
For all he saw in his stick of wood
Was a chance to spite the white.

The last man of this forlorn group
Did nought except for gain.
Giving only to those who gave
Was how he played the game.

Their logs held tight in death’s still hands
Was proof of human sin.
They didn’t die from the cold without
They died from the cold within.

Early Christmas Present

Since everybody believes in something, I figured I'd give everybody an early Christmas present this year...

If you're a little kid, take a look at Santa flying to Earth to deliver his presents.

If you're a conspiracy theorist, as is video narrator Scott Waring apparently, take a look at aliens flying away from the sun.

If you're just a normal everyday person, take a look at the cool imagery that we can capture these days using NASA's "Solar and Heliospheric Observatory" satellite.

If you're a science-based person, take a look at what is most likely a coronal mass ejection, or a chunk of the sun's surface blowing off.

Either way, I respect you all equally. Keep doing your respective things, so that we can keep this big old world going round and round.

Merry Christmas, everybody!!!

The Curious Case of the Same Name Dame

What would you do if you bought non-refundable around-the-world tickets with your girlfriend, but you two called it quits before the day came to use those? Would you go looking for another random lady with the same name -- in other words, a complete stranger -- to go on that trip with? That'd be a weird, awkward way of dealing with that situation, right? Apparently, not for a Toronto man named Jordan Axani.

Oh, and there's just one more minor detail: the girl he chose is "in a serious relationship" with another dude!

First and foremost, this trip-offering dude's a homewrecking sleezeball. There's no two ways around that one! And, this lady -- I guess she expects her boyfriend to just be okay with her going off and celebrating the entire holiday season and then some (Dec. 21 through Jan. 12) travelling the world with a total stranger and staying in the same hotel as this mystery man? If the roles were reversed, I'm sure the 23-year-old would never stand for her man doing her that way. Am I right? Remember, people, you should always do unto others, as you'd want them to do unto you. Then again, the decisions we make at 23 are not always the best ones. This girl still has a lot to learn in life.

The only person who looks good in this story is the serious boyfriend back home, as he's offered her way more than the normal levels of relationship trust. Clearly, he deserves somebody better than this good-timing gal. I hope he figures that out as he stands all alone under the mistletoe this Christmas, and that he runs for the hills!!

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 30th class of inductees was announced today, and I am elated to see a lot of my go-to musicians make the cut...

Joan Jett: With her jet black hair, spiked collar, leather jacket and all that eyeliner, she has a certain bad-ass look to her, but she can also power chord the crap out of a guitar. One of the first chicks to really push the limits in music, if not for her no-nonsense attitude, there'd probably be no Madonna, Shirley Manson, P!nk, Sleater-Kinney, Courtney Love or Ani DiFranco to speak of today. From her early days with The Runaways to her later days with The Blackhearts to her solo career, there ain't a musical platform she hasn't conquered. This is one chick who truly does love rock and roll, and that's why I'm glad she will be getting inducted into the Hall this April.

Bill Withers: He's essentially the complete opposite of Joan Jett, and yet he's also among my all-time favorites. Whereas she was a fast-paced liberal white girl who was rocking out and becoming famous super early in life, he was a slow-tempoed conservative African-American male who didn't score his first hit until the age of 33 when he released "Ain't No Sunshine." Stick that song between his other mega-hits, such as "Use Me" and "Lean On Me," and you'll have the perfect recipe for a soulful introspection.

Lou Reed: One of two musicians on this list being inducted for the second time -- the other, of course, being Ringo with The Beatles -- Lou and his artsy glam-rock friends led a cultural revolution during his days with the Velvet Underground, before he branched out into a very successful solo career. Not to steal a line from one of his songs, but the day he gets put in there again will be... "such a perfect day." I just wish he were still alive to see it. May you forever rock in peace, "godfather of punk and grunge!"

Stevie Ray Vaughan: Whenever people talk "greatest guitarist of all-time," Stevie Ray's name always comes up alongside the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Eddie Van Halen, Carlos Santana, Jimmy Page, B.B. King, Jeff Beck, Slash, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Ritchie Blackmore, etc. Though that's of course a subjective argument, one other thing's not -- his band, Double Trouble, blazed straight out of Texas in the '70s and into the annals of electrified blues-rock. Simply put, his music's as real and heartfelt as anyone's!

Ringo Starr: Although he's arguably most music fans' least favorite Beatle, people don't realize that the drummer was the first of the group to have significant solo hits after the band's break-up in 1970 with songs like "It Don't Come Easy" and "Photograph." He's also worked behind the scenes discovering talent, producing for other musicians, doing soundtracks for movies and still touring on occasion with his All-Starr Band. This man never stops working, and that's why he's now a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. If anybody deserves it, it's you, Richard Starkey!

Green Day: When I was a kid, three slacker kids with three different neon-colored haircuts (blue, red and green, if I remember correctly) blew up the airwaves with an album called Dookie, which featured such hits as "Basket Case," "Longview" and "Welcome to Paradise." They became such an entertainingly fun mainstream act that this blog writer even stitched the band's patch onto his high school bookbag. Fast forward a full 10 years, and American Idiot was introducing a whole new generation of punky misfits to the now black-clad rock trio sporting red ties, but still not taking themselves too seriously.

For those keeping track, this year's inductees brings the number of acts in the Hall of Fame to 312 in total. Congrats to the newest inductees!

Popular Science

The other day, I took “Betsy,” a.k.a. my car, to the dealership for the experts to sort out all her minor issues. I knew I'd be there a few hours, so I started reading... and reading... and reading.

I read parts of a book my fiancée got for me titled Heaven Is For Real, I read several different sections of the USA Today newspaper that was sprawled about the dealership, I even read a magazine that I probably never would have read had I not been in this very situation, a magazine called Popular Science.

The latter turned out to be one of the cooler things I've read all year, as it contained images and blurbs of the “100 Greatest Innovations of the Year,” some of which I didn't even know had been created and others which made me think how I wished I could get paid to create such things.

The December 2014 edition of that magazine, which was the one I was browsing through that day, really opened my eyes to the fact that scientists have such a cool career. Since I doubt anybody really reads my blog, but yet I still feel inclined to share some of the neat things I learn on my journey through life, here are just a few of those inventions to stimulate your minds.

1. Bionic Arm

Founded by R&D firm Deka and approved by the Food and Drug Administration in May, the Luke Arm is the first prosthesis that allows a person to make multiple movements, such as rotating the wrist and opening the hand, at once. The Star Wars-named product works by using electrodes on the skin near the attachment site to pick up electrical impulses signaling muscle contractions, and then submits those to a computer in the prosthesis. The processor then translates those messages into motion of the integrated elbow, wrist and hand. Users can also coordinate complex movements with a joystick-like sensor on their shoe. Though Deka has yet to announce a price or commercial release date for this product, they did perform a clinical trial, in which 90 percent of the 36 participants were able to do previously impossible tasks, such as unlocking a door or using chopsticks.

Remember when we used to watch The Six Million Dollar Man on television and think Steve Austin's “parts” were so far into the future? Well, Doctor, it looks like it wasn't that far into it, after all, as we humans have now caught up to that technology. What's next: the flying cars from The Jetsons?

Well, sort of...

2. Real-Life Flying Saucer

The Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator – or “LDSD,” for short – is a prototype flying saucer that allows NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to test and improve deceleration technologies, such as parachutes and balloons, in order to best determine what kind of drastic braking system works well at hypersonic speeds. After all, we want to be able to land safely when arriving at alien planets, don't we?

I don't know about you, but the one thought I kept having while reading up on this thing is that maybe this is what people report seeing out in the skies every once in a while, as I'm sure they must've already taken it out for a test drive or two, no? Do the people who have to address alleged UFO sightings have to be told about such innovations and when scientists will be out doing test runs on them? I've so many questions on this creation, but very few answers.

3. Bendable Television

Me, personally, I've never understood what the big deal is with having ginormous-sized televisions, but then again, I know squat about T.V., other than I like watching The Walking Dead on mine. Nevertheless, even I can respect the improbability of having a bendable television screen. I grew up in an era where screens were hard as a rock, so even the mere idea of bending a T.V. never, ever crossed my mind until I saw one in this magazine. Apparently, some people love the idea of a curved television, but many hate that it has a smaller sweet spot, so Samsung went ahead and addressed this minor issue by releasing its Samsung 78-inch UN78S9B, allowing viewers to have it both ways by simply adding a button. Push once, the edges of the semi-flexible LCD curve inward about 15 degrees. Push a second time, the panel returns to its original planar state. Voilà, problem solved, you can now watch Daryl Dixon shoot an arrow through a walker's head the way it was meant to be seen!

4. Unhackable Phone

I bet you that Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Kim Kardashian, Hope Solo and Gabrielle Union, among others, are now wishing that they'd bought the Silent Circle Blackphone, instead of their respective iPhones. Had they, their nude photos wouldn't now be out there for all the perverts of the world to view. Why? Because the hypersecure Blackphone ensures that all communications remain private when being transmitted to and from the device. The phone, which runs on PrivatOS, a custom version of Android, can also encrypt calls and texts in conjunction with an app suite, as well as enable private web browsing and cloud storage. Messages and calls have unique encryption keys, so only the sender and recipient can decode each one. For $629 (including one year of service), you'll never have to put your faith in the data vulnerabilities of a cellular network again. That known, I'm still not going to be taking photographs of my genitalia anytime soon. You're welcome, world!

5. Perfect Steaks

 

After pizza and lasagna, steaks are my next favorite meal. However, a good steak can really go bad quick, if the person making it doesn't know exactly how to do so. Good news at that end, though: the new $180 T-fal OptiGrill!

With it, you'll get a perfect steak every time because it takes the guesswork out of your cookout by answering any questions you might have automatically. The person making the steaks selects the type of meat and the desired cooking level, after which sensors embedded in the top and bottom grill plates detect the thickness of the cut. A processor crunches that data to determine the ideal cooking time.

6. Unbreakable Display                              

Fun Fact: 1 in every 4 iPhones has a cracked screen.

Fun Fact: Lab-synthesized sapphire is one of the hardest materials on Earth.

Fun [Belief]: We now live in a technologically-dependent society.

Knowing all these things, I'm surprised somebody didn't think of creating a virtually indestructible phone using lab-synthesized sapphire sooner. But hey, as the old adage states, “better late than never,” right? Alas, Kyocera debuted one earlier this year with its Sapphire Shield. Nearly impossible to scratch, its display screen can survive a fall from twice the height of what a regular glass display screen would normally be able to survive.

However, I've seen 2001: A Space Odyssey, and I really don't want HAL surviving when we toss him to his doom in order to avoid becoming an even more technologically-dependent society, so lets be careful how and when we use this particular innovation. Cell phones: yes. Computers: no.

'Nuff said.

Warning: Sugar Overload!!!

Did we not learn anything from the Super Size Me film, in which documentarian-provocateur Morgan Spurlock ate nothing but McDonald's food for one month and messed his insides all up by gaining 25 pounds, suffering liver dysfunction and entering into a depressive state? Apparently not, because an Australian filmmaker and TV actor is now following in his destructive footsteps.

Meet Damon Gameau, director of the upcoming That Sugar Film, a man who vowed to follow a strict diet of "healthy," low-fat food with high sugar content for 60 straight days...

Gameau, once a beacon of health, began turning moody and sluggish within the first three weeks of his project, so he went to see a doctor who told him that he was beginning to develop fatty liver disease, the most severe outcome of which is liver failure. At this point, he had already added four inches to his waistline and was on the fast track to obesity.

My words of wisdom to Mr. Gameau had I known him at that time would have been, "You know that can't ever be undone, right? Stop this nonsense immediately!" However, this man just kept right on messing himself up, the end result of which can be seen in Australian movie theaters in February 2015.

Though I certainly wish him well on this endeavor, as I do everyone on theirs, I can tell you right now that I won't be among those watching his documentary for two reasons.

First, I really hate seeing people, especially soon-to-be fathers like Gameau, doing dumb things to themselves and their bodies just for what I feel is their 15 minutes of fame. You have a child on the way, and your silliness might have just cost that child an added number of years with his father. Our actions always have repercussions -- if not immediately, then somewhere down the road. And secondly, do we really need a film to tell us that eating 40 teaspoons of sugar daily, which is what Gameau was consuming during this period, is bad for a person? No, we all pretty much already know that! After all, the American Heart Association's recommended daily amount for men is 9 teaspoons. There's a reason for that.

Before I continue, let me just state that the reason I wanted to post this blog wasn't to chastise Mr. Gameau or put him down in  any way. On the contrary, his intentions seem like they are those of a very kind man wanting to make a difference in this world. In his own words: "The last meal was for all the people out there, especially parents, who are led to believe they are doing the right and healthy thing for their children. They are making an effort, yet are horribly let down by the lack of integrity in marketing and packaging strategies."

Rather, I just wanted to add to the narrative of this whole experiment by saying that we don't need any more men or women directing this type of movie, going out there and risking their own health to prove a point we all already know. We all knew McDonald's was bad, the same way we know sugar has very few upsides to it besides taste.

For future reference, eating solely one thing for a month or two -- no matter what that thing is(!) -- will always be bad for your body. That's why it is recommended that we always "balance" our diet, not binge on any one thing. Now if it's something that's typically bad for you anyway, like "junk food" from McDonald's or sugar which gets people wired on a daily basis and eventually causes their body to crash, the damage will easily be doubled or tripled.

Stop being foolish and risking your health to prove a point that's already been made multiple times by things such as the food pyramid, recommended consumption dosages and dieting books. The fame you might garner from it is just not worth it to your body. That said, now that the damage to Mr. Gameau's body has been done, may he at least get whatever he hoped to ascertain from all of this. I wish you well, Damon, but I refuse to be an enabler (any further than my writing this blog post). Good luck to you, sir!