‘Iron Chef’ is a crazy Japanese import cooking game show that features accomplished chefs from around the world going head to head in a competition format that’s part Julia Child, part pro wrestling. Even non-foodies are drawn to the show for its sheer entertainment value.

The story behind the show goes something like this–there’s this rich dude, MC Kaga who summons the finest chefs in Japan to do battle in his kitchen stadium. Needless to say, a TV studio wouldn’t suffice for such a production: the kitchen stadium is in Kaga’s castle. Also in residence are three Iron Chefs, each representing a different type of cuisine (Chinese, French and Japanese). The summoned culinary challenger picks which Iron Chef he wants to take a crack at and the contest begins. The show was originally created by the Fuji TV network in the Japan, and the original Japanese title translates literally to The Iron Men of Cooking.

Adding even more ’spice’ to the show–each dish must include the ‘theme ingredient’ which is kept a mystery until immediately before the competition begins. With great pomp and amid smoke and pyrotechnics, Kaga reveals the ‘mystery ingredient’. Sometimes it’ll be something basic like apples or tofu, other times it’s more obscure like ox tail or some otherworldly shellfish.

At that point, the chefs have an hour to prepare a seven course meal, served to a discerning panel of B-List celebrities that usually include a couple of ‘TV Presenters’ and a ‘fortune teller’. The judges rate and discuss each course and declare a winner.

The announcing is what makes the show. There’s a hysterical play by play announcer, an excitable color commentator, and an even more hyperactive sideline correspondent who will break in the commentary frequently with revelations such as observing that a chef is using fresh ginger in a dish or some similar piece of trivia. Apparently one of the announcers is a legit sumo wrestling announcer in Japan, making the strange connection between ‘Iron Chef’ and Japanese pro wrestling even more pronounced.

The dishes that the chefs come up with are always pretty amazing, creative and complex–if not always appetizing. Some of their creations look yummy, but a dessert with a compulsory use of carp isnt exactly my cup of green tea. Nonetheless, the creative process and intensity of the competitors is amazing. Even as challenging as this is, the requirement that a theme ingredient be used in every component of the meal really ups the ante.

The Food Network has recently begun production of a native grown version called ‘Iron Chef America’. It has a similar format, but really loses a lot from the inscrutable original.

Ross Everett is an extensively published freelance writer and a noted authority on sports betting and thoroughbred horse racing. He contributes NFL football betting free picks for a number of media outlets. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a retired racing wombat.

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An early goal gave the United States soccer team hope, but in the end the result of their World Cup Qualifier against Mexico at Azteca Stadium was a familiar loss. Mexico rallied for a 2-1 triumph in front of their home fans, sending the US to defeat for the 23rd time in 24 games at the venue. The US soccer record at the 105,000 seat venue is 0-23-1 with the best result the US has been able to muster on Mexican soil was a 0-0 draw in 1997.

The United States silenced the raucous crowd with a goal just eight minutes into the game. Landon Donovan threaded a perfect pass to a Charlie Davies who converted his four career goal in international play to give the Americans a 1-0 lead.

Mexico would pull even just ten minutes later when Cuauhtemoc Blanco set up Israel Castro, who beat US goaltender Tim Howard to tie the game at 1-1. That set the stage for Miguel Sabah’s goal in the 82nd minute which gave Mexico the come-from-behind victory. Mexico coach Javier Aguirre sounded elated and relived with his post match comments:

“Today is a day to celebrate, drink a few tequilas, and then get back to work. Everybody will go to bed tonight a bit more relaxed.”

US Coach Bob Bradley was philosophical about the loss:

“I think it’s a tight game and a fair score. It’s tough loss to have so many guys work so hard and then give up a late goal. The feeling inside is one of great disappointment.”

US forward Landon Donovan spoke of his teams performance and the difficulty in playing at the high altitude:

“We did a good job starting the game well and scoring. They made one play at the end that made the difference. It’s hard to play here, man. It wears you out. It’s just exhausting.”

The Americans play Sept. 9 at Trinidad and Tobago. Theyll finish up qualifying on Oct 10 at Honduras and at home against Costa Rica on Oct. 14. Mexico will play at Costa Rica on Sept. 5 and host Honduras on Sept. 9. Mexico will wrap up qualifying on Oct. 10 at home with El Salvador and at Trinidad and Tobago on Oct. 14.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on football betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

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The NFL couldn’t have scripted a better ending to the first nationally televised Monday Night Football contest of the preseason. New York Giants rookie Tommie Hill returned a fumble 18 yards for a touchdown with 0:00 on the clock to break a deadlocked game and give his team a 24-17 victory over the Carolina Panthers in NFL preseason action at The Meadowlands.

Carolina’s fourth string QB Hunter Cantwell fumbled the football after his arm was hit on a pass attempt as time expired. Hill grabbed the loose ball and headed to the endzone for the shockingly bizarre finish and a Giants victory.

Afterwards, Hill spoke about his game winning touchdown return:

“I’ve never seen a game end like that, not that way. I’m just a rookie trying to make the team. Anything like that that helps the team win in turn helps me. It was just a fortunate situation and I made the most of it.”

Hill, an undrafted rookie out of Colorado State had already become a favorite of Giants fans due to his tenacious, high impact playmaking. His touchdown will no doubt bolster his efforts to make the NFL roster.

Carolina coach John Fox sounded more bemused than dejected at his teams last second loss:

“Kind of an interesting ending. Both sides have a lot of work, but we have time. We have three weeks to do it

Giants QB Eli Manning played only two series before the backups took over. Still, he put a positive spin on his short night of work:

“We ran the ball really well, hit a couple passes and we got a touchdown. That is always the goal. We did a nice job with it, so I thought we were effective as the first group.”

Carolina will travel to Miami for a game next Saturday against the Dolphins. The Giants will head to Chicago to face Jay Cutler and the Bears.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and noted authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

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The San Jose, CA based Strikeforce MMA promotion recently announced that they have signed Brazilian middleweight Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza to a multifight contract. He is expected to make his Strikeforce debut on the same October event as recently signed Fedor Emelianenko, which will be broadcast on the Showtime premium cable network.

In a statement released by the promotion, Souza expressed his pleasure at the signing:

“I am very excited that I will have the opportunity to fight in STRIKEFORCE amongst many of the worlds best middleweight fighters. STRIKEFORCE has an extremely deep roster of top middleweight fighters. I am looking forward to the challenge and to taking my career to the next level.”

Souza is better known in Japan simply as Ronaldo Jacare. He got the nickname in his hometown of Manaus, Brazil–a Portuguese term for a species of alligator that is common to the area.

He was a runner up in the 2008 DREAM Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament, losing in the finals to Gegard Mousasi. Jacare was in control of the fight until he got caught by a Mousasi upkick that knocked him unconscious. In his last fight, he faced American Jason Mayhem Miller in a rematch of their DREAM tournament bout. This fight ended in a no contest after Mayhem was cut by an inadvertent illegal blow.

Souza began training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at the age of 17 and fought MMA legend Randy The Natural Couture to a draw in a grappling contest in 2006. Shortly thereafter he began training at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. He has since returned to training in his homeland but will reportedly train in the United States at least part time going forward.

MMA fans are already anticipating several excellent potential matchups for Jacare in Strikeforce, including an almost inevitable showdown with another of the worlds top middleweights, Jake Shields. Also of great interest would be a catchweight matchup between Souza and Shields Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu teammate, Nick Diaz.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Southern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

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The bizarre career path taken by Croatian striking machine Mirko Cro Cop will continue on New Years Eve in Tokyo as he faces 72 Korean kickboxer Hong-Man Choi in what should be the final addition to the K-1/DREAM combined show called Fields Dynamite!. The matchup adds even more striking firepower to a lineup that already includes K-1 mainstays Peter Aerts, Mighty Mo, and Semmy Schlit along with top DREAM fighters including Shinya Aoki, Joachim Hansen, Eddie Alverez and Gesias Calvacante.

For Cro Cop, its another stop on what has seemed like a meandering professional course full of much talk and little action since his departure from the UFC. In September 10, 2007, Cro Cop had just won PRIDE’s Open Weight Grand Prix in dominant fashion. In the process, he defeated Wanderlei Silva and Josh Barnett on the same night and some were suggesting that he, and not Fedor Emelianenko, was the best heavyweight fighter in the world.

Cro Cops upset loss to Gabriel Gonzaga changed that and his career his never really recovered. In what was supposed to be a “tune up” bout, Gonzaga smothered Cro Cop and roughed him up on the ground before unleashing his own version of Cro Cop’s signature kick. Mirko never saw it coming, and he crashed to the mat like he’d been shot with his leg folded awkwardly beneath him.

Since the loss to Gonzaga it has been almost impossible to keep up with the various twists and turns in Cro Cops career. After another UFC loss, this by unanimous decision to Cheick Kongo where Cro Cop looked listless and gun shy, his management announced that he had suffered a broken rib in the first round and was having trouble breathing. Furthermore, Cro Cop suffered from a deviated septum that made breathing difficult. After some deliberation, he had surgery to correct this condition and announced that he was ready to re-commit himself to his career as a fighter.

Its been an eventful year for Hong Man Choi as well. 2008 began with a loss to Fedor Emelianeko on the Yarrenoka New Years Eve event, in which the Russian fighting god briefly struggled with Choi’s 7′2″ 330 pound frame before submitting him. In April, he joined the Korean army for his compulsory military service only to be relived from his duties after medical tests discovered a brain tumor. The tumor was removed in June, and Choi was back in the ring in late September.

Tanikawas comments notwithstanding (and with the realization that they may be as much storyline as anything else) Choi is really the same as hes always been. Hes a physical mismatch for any opponent and while his striking style is awkward at best, it has proven to be reasonably effective. His reach is insane, and his size allows him to get a ridiculous among of leverage from his knee strikes. Not sure why Tanikawa is just now realizing that Choi isnt Ernesto Hoost, but hes a surprisingly skilled fighter who uses his unique physical attributes to their best advantage.

This fight isnt about competition as much as it is about commerce. Cro Cop remains one of the most popular foreign fighters in Japan, and with the proven success of freak show matchups this may have been the most attractive opponent for him from the promotions standpoint. Its a fight that Cro Cop should win, and in Japan at least a victory over Choi would have at least some significance.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and noted authority on baseball betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

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