The Heat and the Shine

Have you ever been told, “you suck”?  You probably have.  Maybe recently.  It is never pleasant and it always causes conflict. When you are great at something, being told, “you suck,” usually means little.  You accept the words, consider the source and move on.  It causes a reaction.  It makes you wish ill towards the person who told you, “you suck,” if only for a moment, but it doesn’t stick.  They suck.  They can’t touch you.  You know it.  They’re not worth it. But what if you’ve never been told, “you suck”?  What if you were a child prodigy who made the state finals in his first year?  What if you won three state championships in high school?  (Think about that.)  What if you won two national championships in junior college, and were a Division I (the highest level of amateur wrestling in the United States) All-American your senior year? What if you were an Olympian? What if you competed for World Championships? What if you won were an MMA rookie as you neared your thirt

UFC must be dreaming.  In a year so wrought with drug failures and sinking buyrates and miniscule ratings, they get Daniel Cormier.  They get the perfect fighter with the perfect personality at the perfect time. It's the silly season of sports.  At no other point in the calendar year would a press conference brawl have found this much of ESPN's oxygen. Cormier is a natural babyface.  He is humble.  Self-efacing.  Aware of his tics and flaws and, importantly, still supremely confident in his abilities. And there's Jon Jones.  For whatever flaws one wants to affix to him, this much is true: He was chosen by God to fight.