Women’s MMA has been getting the spotlight more and more, but old habits die hard and it’ll be long before mainstream media and casual fans adopt this as a sport and not a mere novelty. For an introduction, simply read on and be amazed by these fantastic athletes.

Follow these 3 steps in order:

1.  Read Dave Simon’s piece on Sarah Kaufman, “Sarah Kaufman Is The Champ, Not A Challenger” on RingsideReport.net OR listen to Ringside Report Radio’s interview with her.
2.  Watch her fight vs Roxanne Modafferi on the Strikeforce: Challengers card from last Friday, July 23 OR just watch the highlight video:

3.  Take a moment to take in how awesome that powerslam KO was.

Ok, NOW you can listen to my segment from last night.

As always, don’t hesitate to leave a comment, tweet your questions/comments to me on twitter @metricjulie, or send me an email at info@metricjulie.com to talk MMA or whatever.

Click here to listen to the interview!

What it is

Five Hole For Food started as a hockey trip across Canada but then road hockey enthusiast, and pilot of the trip Richard Loat, thought that it could be so much more. The concept of incorporating some sort of charity to benefit local communities led to a discussion with Winnipeg game host Jimmy Mac who coined the phrase “Five Hole for Food”. From there it has evolved into a social media effort of networks and partners to create a cross country food drive where hockey fans play a variation of the game and the local community benefits.

Five Hole For Food kicks off in Montreal with the help of Kyle Roussel of cowhideandrubber.com next week!

Where: Parc des Éperviers outdoor rink – 204 Rue De la Rivelaine

When: June 29th, 2010

Time: 7:00 PM EST

Food Bank Beneficiary: NDG Food Depot

I’ll be there playing some summer ball hockey and I hope you’ll come see us – either to join in, watch or donate food AND perhaps win an amazing prize donated by the Montreal Canadiens…

Donate food for your chance to win this stick signed by the Habs!!!

I remember when we were gambling to win
Everybody else said better luck next time
I don’t wanna bend like the bad girls bend
I just wanna be your friend
Is it ever gonna be enough?

Is it ever gonna be enough?

Is it ever gonna be enough?

Why did I post those lyrics? Maybe I’m frustrated. Maybe I’m irritated. Maybe I don’t know what the fuck to do anymore. You see, I’m a little confused as to how I am supposed to act lately. There have been issues this week; “feminist issues”, as they’ve been called. I call it having some form of decency and common sense, but whatever let’s not get technical here.

The context

1. Last week on a show I did, we gave our Top 10 MMA pound-for-pound rankings, for funsies. Just to bring something new to the table and perhaps start a debate/get people thinking, I put Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos, a female MMA fighter, in my list at number 10. I was fairly certain no female fighter would get the nod in the others’ lists and I felt like verifying whether female fighters were being considered at all or not. The answer was “NOT”. This then prompted someone to ask me who I thought was hotter between Gina Carano and Sarah Kaufman. A valid question. Because obviously by putting a woman in my list, I am declaring to the world my sexual preferences.
2. Last Tuesday, The Chicago Tribune posted a photoshopped picture of Chris Pronger with the legs of a female figure skater, with the headline reading: “Chrissy Pronger – Looks Like Tarzan, Skates Like Jane.” I brought this up on Game Points and was, to say the least, slammed. “I’d like to see a woman get cross-checked by Pronger, LOLOLOL THAT IS LUDICROUS.” I guess it’s really friggin hilarious and demeaning to call a guy a girl. Because HAHAHAHA GIRLS ARE BAD AT SPORTS, I GET IT I GET IT.
3. Tonight, on Game Points, the host asked the producer for the evening – usually not working on this show/host of another show – why I wasn’t on the Wednesday night show as well as on the Friday night edition, specifying “Is it because she’s not a serious journalist?”

ANYWAY. That’s not the point. Right now, I’m more focused on the bus under which I was thrown all week. It’s a big, ugly bus. It’s a tacky color and it’s loud. Like an elephant. You could call it THE ELEPHANT BUS IN THE ROOM. You know, being a woman in a boys’ club/man’s world has its downsides; I won’t go over these.

Ok maybe I will.

• You are frustrated, you’re PMS-ing.
• You’re sensitive, your boyfriend just broke up with you or you had a fight with him.
• … or you had a fight with your girlfriend, LOLOLOL YOU’RE A LESBIAN.
• If you ever talk about another woman, LOLOLOL YOU’RE A LESBIAN.
• If you’re deemed “acceptable” by social standards, i.e. are not overweight, have no apparent mustache, etc. you’re reduced to being treated like a novelty.

It’s cool; well, it’s not cool. It sucks. But that’s the way it is and I feel I’ve been dealing with it extremely well since stumbling into sports radio last year.

BUT THERE IS A GODDAMN LIMIT.

I’ll admit, I am flustered. Irritated. Tired of feeling like I have to justify why I belong even though I work like a maniac to prove so. I don’t know how to act or what to do anymore. Anything I say can and most definitely will be held against me because I’m a woman. A few months ago I ranted about a female blogger who I thought was being sexist and crazy. This is what I wrote:

Demanding equal rights is one thing, but women are not special because they are women. People are special when they are courageous, inspiring and fearless. Women who continuously single themselves out everywhere they can because they are women are not asking to be treated the same; they are hoping for preferential treatment. I never expect preferential treatment.

I just believe we are past the point where it’s a big deal, and I don’t think that my estrogen should ever be a factor unless we’re talking childbirth or menstruating. I do not consider myself special. I don’t think I am worthy of your admiration. I do my own thing, I am building my reputation, I try to be respected in everything I do and I work just as hard as anyone else.

Not harder because I am a woman.

At the moment, I kind of DO feel I have to work harder to prove myself. I feel like there are already two strikes against me, and everyone is challenging me to prove them wrong. I am 100% NOT trying to single myself out at the moment, but HOLY CRAP what the heck am I supposed to do? The MINUTE I do something that is outside of the boys’ club, I’m labeled.

Feminist.
Burning her bra.
Hates all men.
Is a lesbian.

No matter what I do, it’s tainted by the fact that I’m a woman. Comments or critique directed to me are gender-specific. When and IF it actually pertains to my opinion or something I said on the radio, there’s always some remark that lets you know it’s directed toward a woman. Sometimes it’s my physique (I was told “butterface” the other day and was absolutely horrified when a friend explained what that meant. OW, man.), other times it’s my “sexy voice”. It’s always something.

Anything to bring everything back to me being a woman.

The good news

I’ve somehow built a nice following on Twitter, on my blog and now on the radio. Every time I can, I thank everyone who reads/listens to me. I still do not understand how/why all these people care what I have to say. Or even care about me. It baffles me. My followers are so good to me. SO good to me. The massive outpour this week in response to me flailing like a fish out of water trying to defend myself has been amazing. These people know who they are.

Realizing that A) you have some sort of reach to touch people and B) that you actually DO touch people is incredibly humbling. It makes me want to work a thousand times harder. Which is good, because that’s what I have to do in order to gain credibility and try to prove I belong.

But is it ever gonna be enough?

Watch it, and make sure you check back for more stuff like MMA predictions, sporting event vlogs, MMA event vlogs and the occasional drunk tweet.

Thanks so much for making this a thing I have to update regularly or else people ask me what the heck I’m doing. It’s SO awesome.

Merci.

Also, I entered OhCanadiens.com’s Playoff Beard Contest. Wouldn’t you love to see a woman with a fake beard win it? You can vote here if you want.

PLAYOFFS!!!

I'm really, really, really gross in this picture.

THÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉÉ-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

OK, enough of that. I’m not here to gloat (well, not TOO much) or taunt anyone. Well, not Caps fans. The series is far from over.

What *IS* over is the bet I made with Toronto Mike. If you haven’t heard or read about it, you can do so here.

Although I didn’t doubt I would win, I was nervous. After all, we were swept by Boston last year. That was fresh in my memory, and somehow, Bob Gainey had a soothing, calming effect on me when he was around. Without him, I felt stranded. Alone and afraid. Luckily, the legions of amazing Habs fans kept me warm and safe. Not in a gross way. Well, maybe one or two; but mostly, their undying faith in both the Habs and my bet lifted my spirits and gave me hope. My triumph over Toronto Mike and all Leafs fans is for them; they won me this bet. Well, really the Habs did, but let’s not get technical.

Read the blog post from Toronto Mike owed to me and to all Habs fans: How To Win A Stanley Cup In 1993

Also, congratulations to The Active Stick for winning her bet against Evil PPP.

This is full of WIN

Thanks to all for supporting, participating and generally being awesome. I leave you with some gems from last night’s game from these amazing Habs fans & many other NHL fans. Now, let’s win these playoffs! GO HABS GO!

touteparpillee

theHabituals

speechlessmedia

SmilingGainey

SensDew19

packerswin96

newstouse

lawyergirl77

kyleroussel

joejobs

JJonesey

JeffMarek

ElieAintabi

DHSpeedwagon

Toronto-based blogger & avid Toronto Maple Leafs fan Toronto Mike was on my Team 990 segment a few weeks ago to talk about some fun hockey stuff, and during the interview, I got myself into some trouble again because I’m stupid like that: Toronto Mike made the bold prediction that the Habs would win as many playoffs games as the Leafs, who have been mathematically removed from Stanley Cup contention since, oh I don’t know, NOVEMBER.

Never one to back down, even when not challenged, I stepped up to defend mes Glorieux and all the Habs fans subjected to Toronto Mike’s abuse and proposed we make a bet. The audio from that segment is here:

Team 990 – March 21, 2010 by Toronto Mike
The terms were later determined, as per Toronto Mike’s blog:

I made a statement that’s ruffled a few Habs fans feathers. I confidently predicted that my Toronto Maple Leafs and their Montreal Canadiens would win the exact same number of playoff games this season. In other words, the Habs will be swept in four games in their opening round.

Metric Julie was on The Team 990 at that time, and she proposed a bet to make things interesting. I agreed, and now we’ve settled on the terms.

If the Habs fail to win a playoff game this year, Metric Julie will sing “The Leafs Are The Best” on Montreal sports radio.

Now, you’re probably thinking to yourself, “There is no way such a stupid song exists” because, let’s face it, it sounds made-up. But it’s not. Here it is:

So I will sing this song on air if Toronto Mike wins his bet. However, if I win the bet, Toronto Mike has to post a tribute video to the Habs on his blog and tweet about it. And he can’t just write “I lost our stupid bet so here’s the stupid video.”  I haven’t settled on a tribute video yet – if anyone has any suggestions, I’d be more than happy to consider them. It has to be something really humiliating for a Leafs fan to have on his blog.

To reiterate:

If the Habs don’t make the playoffs or are swept in the playoffs, Toronto Mike wins;

If the Habs win just ONE game or more in the playoffs, I win.

Also engaging in their own bet are Habs fan @theactivestick and Leafs fan @MLSE; read about it on theactivestick’s blog.

Should I lose this bet, I guarantee I will sing the CRAP out of that awful song. I will also most likely be hammered. But it’s all in good fun and Toronto Mike has been a great sport about it.

Wish this Habs fan luck, guys!

I will drink to infinity and beyond if I lose this bet.

I have over an hour to kill in NYC before heading home to Montreal, so I decided I’d write some random/quick thoughts about UFC 111. I was in attendance and will have some pretty cool videos to share with you later tonight when I get home.

Trip down to Newark - It was eventful, to say the least. We were stuck at customs for over 2 hours, and the agent that spoke to me thought I was coming to “beat people up” when I said I was here for UFC. I asked to step aside and asked many questions, much to the dismay of a bus full of people eager to get the F back on the road already.

Arrival in New York – I missed my connection to Newark and was misinformed by 2 different people. Consequently, I was thoroughly confused and arrived 2 hours late for breakfast with Zak of www.watchkalibrun.com, one of my favorite MMA blogs. Thankfully, Zak is a gentleman and a sweetheart and was unfazed by my tardiness and eight-hour-bus-ride smell.

UFC pre-party – Coors Light, Yuengling, Hoegaarden, OH MY! We met some interesting and cool people, as well as some interesting people in the not-so-cool way. I swear, while we were waiting for a cab at the hotel, as a town car approached us, a horrible woman said, and I quote (and Zak can vouch for me, she actually said this) “I’m not getting into an unidentified vehicle with a Hispanic man.” I wish I could have put her in a guillotine choke, but the stink of her perfume and the dye in her hair were so toxic, I probably would have passed out.

UFC 111 – Random thoughts all over the place because I’m tired and don’t care quite as much as I could/should about being coherent right now:

This was my 2nd live UFC event. Balcony > Ringside. SERIOUSLY. Looking into the octagon as opposed to having it right in front of you and having to look UP into it is much, much better. If you’re interested in going to a UFC event, save the cash and buy a $200 ticket in the balcony instead of shelling out anywhere from $300 to $600 for lower seats.

I don’t know if it’s because the two UFC events I’ve attended were in Philly and Newark respectively, and I will preface this by saying I do not mean any disrespect to anyone in those areas, but holy crap were these two crowds full of meatheads and douchebags. The incessant booing any time there is grappling in a fight for more than two seconds, the rude and disrespectful comments constantly hurled toward the fighters and the general misconception of what MMA is – this all takes a lot out of the live UFC experience. All the more reason to save when buying tickets for UFC, in my honest and humble opinion.

There are two decisions I did not get at all. The Jim Miller one and another I can’t remember, Hamman maybe? I must re-watch these fights, because I had the decision win going to the opposite fighter in two cases and don’t really get how they were judged. Maybe I was drunk, but I’m still pretty alert when I drink. Actually, no, never mind. No I’m not. I still think these two decisions were borderline at best.

My favorite fight of the evening has to be the Kurt Pellegrino one. Some sick moves by both fighters and they kept us on our feet.

My least favorite fight was the Matthew Riddle vs Greg Soto one. Disqualifications always suck, but to me it looked like Riddle was fine, the ref motioned to both fighters to regain their corners and was about to start the fight, then Riddle shook his head and looked like he was convincing his corner that he couldn’t fight. But I was way up there in the balcony so I don’t know. Please refer to comment about being drunk above.

I’m so happy my Mir vs Carwin prediction was wrong and that Carwin pulled off the TKO. What the hell happened to Mir? I’m not saying Carwin wasn’t a worthy opponent, but he got ROCKED. Could it be that his obsession with beating Lesnar went overboard and messed with his head instead of making him plain hungry for victory? In any event, Carwin will face Lesnar this summer and I am thrilled. Frank Mir is too smart for some of the shit he says, and I think he lowers himself to unnecessary levels. He lost me as a fan of him as a person, that’s for sure. On the other hand, Shane Carwin is classy, works hard and is one of the good guys. I always appreciate a fighter who doesn’t feel need to convince us that he has balls with ridiculous trashtalk.

And finally, my Georges’ fight. Total domination by GSP (I believe judges scored it 50-43, 50-44 and 50-45) (feel free to correct me). Much like everyone else who watched, I cannot BELIEVE Dan Hardy didn’t tap out to that deep armbar and kimura GSP sinked. During his post-fight interview, Dan Hardy said, “I never tap, I told you this. I don’t know the meaning of the word “tap”.” That was the quote of the night as far as I’m concerned. I have a great deal of respect for Dan Hardy’s heart and determination in this fight. Lasting 25 minutes in the cage with GSP is worthy of anyone’s admiration. On the other hand, I feel bad for GSP who felt like he had to apol0gize to his fans. He mentioned he had made mistakes and would work on them with his coach – is this accurate? I’ll have to watch the fight again to see what there mistakes were. To me, it looked like GSP was on the defensive because there was some booing during his fight and he probably felt bad he wasn’t able to finish the fight. In your defense, mon beau Georges, many a fighter would have tapped in Hardy’s place. He’s still number 1 in my heart and I can’t help but love him more when I see him so dejected about a CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY. Maybe Joe Silva and Dana White need to stop giving him opponents who are good at stand up, and put him up against a grappler to ensure a truly spectacular fight that won’t make ignorant fans boo all the live long day, much like giving Anderson Silva a striker as opposed to a submission artist who just lays there on his back waiting for Silva to step into his guard (Thales Leites anyone?).

Oh, and how’s this for complicated: In order to get back to our hotel, we took a fifteen-minute walk to Penn Station; waited half an hour for a train to the Newark Airport; train + air train to appropriate terminal; half-hour wait then waited half an hour for our hotel shuttle. Moral of the story? Newark needs more cabs, especially around Prudential Center.

Overall this was a night of epic proportions and I want to thank everyone who was included in it in some form. Must run to catch my bus, but follow me on twitter and subscribe to my RSS feed for notification of when pictures & videos of my UFC 111 are up! Thanks to all for the continued support and I hope you enjoyed reading and sorry for spamming you for 3 months about this night!

I am sick of hearing, reading and generally being subjected to women who think they are entitled to some special treatment because they were born with a vagina. The war cry “We want equality!” when it pertains to something as stupid as blogging or anything else as trivial is a waste of everyone’s time. I am obviously not talking about actual important and dangerous sexism, like sexual harassment in the workplace (although might I add that women who dress like a whore to work sort of forfeit the right to cry HARASSMENT just because a male coworker looks leers at them — and I was in human resources in my previous life, so I’ve seen it happen), or sexual trafficking.

I, myself, am admittedly in a man’s world: I have 57,000 male cousins and only brothers, no sisters,I love hockey and MMA, have a gig on sports radio and attend live MMA events. The comments are nasty and the critique is harsh: either I am a slut or I am a man-hating butch. One week I am being asked if not dressing like a ringgirl means I am a lesbian and don’t want men looking at me; the next I’m being included in a “Hockey Hotties” list.

Demanding equal rights is one thing, but women are not special because they are women. People are special when they are courageous, inspiring and fearless. Women who continuously single themselves out everywhere they can because they are women are not asking to be treated the same; they are hoping for preferential treatment. I never expect preferential treatment. Have I gotten it before? Probably. For every male who tells me to get the fuck off the radio and back into the kitchen exists one who will go out of his way to open the door for me. There are polar opposites in anything.

I just believe we are past the point where it’s a big deal, and I don’t think that my estrogen should ever be a factor unless we’re talking childbirth or menstruating. I do not consider myself special. I don’t think I am worthy of your admiration. I do my own thing, I am building my reputation, I try to be respected in everything I do and I work just as hard as anyone else.

Not harder because I am a woman.