Tuesday, June 29, 2021
"George Orwell, Muhammad Ali, and The Sporting Spirit" on No Holds Barred Patreon Page
My latest piece, "George Orwell, Muhammad Ali, and The Sporting Spirit", is up on the No Holds Barred Patreon page.
A subscription is required to read it, so subscribe today to support independent journalism.
The article is at https://www.patreon.com/posts/george-orwell-53077019.
Labels: boxing, Eddie Goldman, George Orwell, Muhammad Ali, No Holds Barred, sports, The Sporting Spirit
Wednesday, June 23, 2021
"NAFES, NEOM, And Saudi Arabia's Drive To Become A World Sports Capital" on No Holds Barred Patreon Page
A subscription is required to read it, so subscribe today to support independent journalism.
The article is at https://www.patreon.com/posts/nafes-neom-and-52824592.
Thursday, June 17, 2021
How To Watch The 2021 U.S. National Sumo Championships
As has been discussed on No Holds Barred, the sport of sumo in America will take another step forward this Saturday, June 19, when the 2021 U.S. National Sumo Championships take place. The location for this event is Dreamland in Dripping Springs, Texas, about 23 miles west of Austin. This is an outdoor venue, but all seats have been sold out.
To watch it, there will be a live stream. It will start about 9:45 AM CDT/10:45 EDT on Saturday.
The stream will be on the YouTube page of Dark Circle Sumo, one of the hosts of this event.
You can also watch the live stream on the U.S. Sumo Federation.
The YouTube page for this live stream has also been embedded at the start of this article.
The commentators on the live stream with be Leslie and Laurie Collins, the hosts of the Sumo Kaboom podcast, and veteran sumo wrestler Americus Abesamis.
Here also is the schedule, subject to change, of the competition in each weight class. All times CDT:
10:00 AM Lightweight Divisions
11:00 AM Middleweight Divisions
12:00 PM Light Heavyweight Divisions
1:00 PM Heavyweight Divisions
2:00 PM Openweight Divisions
3:00 PM Awards Ceremony
The U.S. Sumo Nationals will determine seeding for the 2021 North American Sumo Championships, which will be held December 11 in Las Vegas, Nevada. In turn, the North American Sumo Championships will be a qualifier for the World Games, which will be held in July 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama. The top three finishers in their weight classes at the North American Sumo Championships will qualify for the World Games. So the 2021 U.S. National Sumo Championships begins a process which will likely see many U.S. sumo wrestlers competing on the world stage. This is especially important, since the 2021 World Championships had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Labels: Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred, U.S. Sumo Federation, U.S. Sumo Nationals
Sunday, June 13, 2021
No Holds Barred: Ed Suczewski on 2021 U.S. Sumo Nationals
We spoke with him by phone Monday, June 7.
Our main topic was the 2021 U.S. National Sumo Championships.
This event will be held Saturday, June 19, at Dreamland at 2770 W Hwy 290, Dripping Springs, Texas 78620, which is located about 23 miles west of Austin. This is an outdoor venue. Tickets are sold out online, and there will be a live stream.
The 2021 U.S. National Sumo Championships will be held at a time when sumo in the U.S. is in the midst of a revival.
"Anytime people are going through something, they look for something else they can turn to. And I think for a lot of people, sumo is that thing," he said.
"Life sometimes can just be full of all kinds of b.s. You put on a fake face at work. You put on a fake face in various relationships. But sumo is the realest, realest thing you can possibly be.
"You step in that ring. It's win or lose. It's ancient, primitive kind of battle. It connects us back to something that's ancient and inside all of us. And I think people turn to that.
"So you're dealing with all this stuff with the pandemic. I think it's got people looking for something, looking for an outlet, looking for an escape. And I think more and more people have been turning to sumo for that, to connect with something a little bit deeper.
"And I think especially now, with the Covid situation sort of improving and more people getting vaccinated, a lot of people have been thinking about coming out of the woodwork and maybe planning on it for the last year or two, now they're finally taking those steps.
"So we've seen more and more clubs popping up. More and more girls in the sport. More athletes coming out to try it."
The U.S. Sumo Nationals will determine seeding for the 2021 North American Sumo Championships, which will be held December 11 in Las Vegas, Nevada. In turn, the North American Sumo Championships will be a qualifier for the World Games, which will be held in July 2022 in Birmingham, Alabama. The top three finishers in their weight classes at the North American Sumo Championships will qualify for the World Games. So the 2021 U.S. National Sumo Championships begins a process which will likely see many U.S. sumo wrestlers competing on the world stage. This is especially important, since the 2021 World Championships had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
We also discussed some of the top athletes who will be competing at the 2021 U.S. Sumo Nationals, the format including weight classes and men's and women's divisions, how sumo is attracting athletes from many martial arts and combat sports and also American football, why we should remember and honor the late sumo world champion Manny Yarbrough, and much more.
Please also subscribe to the No Holds Barred page on Patreon for much more exclusive premium No Holds Barred content.
Now you can also support our independent, No Holds Barred journalism by purchasing items such as T-shirts, hoodies, tank tops, mugs, pillows, masks, and even mini-skirts at the new No Holds Barred with Eddie Goldman shop on Redbubble. (It has also been recommended to me that people choose sizes on the large side, as some items may run small.) You can browse all the items for sale and then place an order here.
You can play or download No Holds Barred on Podomatic and the Internet Archive. If one link does not work, please try another.
No Holds Barred is also available on these sites and apps:
The Podomatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.
No Holds Barred is sponsored by:
LenneHardt.com, the home of Lenne Hardt, the legendary MMA and sports announcer, voice actor, singer, actress, and comedienne. Lenne is also known for her jazz vocals with her Lenne Hardt Jazz Cabaret Band. For more information, to book her, or to order a custom message from her, go to LenneHardt.com.
Skullz Fight Shop, home of the Skullz Double-End Bag, the perfect punching bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve speed, distance, and timing skills. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. Skullz Fight Shop - Advancing combat sports equipment for the next generation of fighters. For more information, go to https://skullzfightshop.com.
Adolphina Studios. Original art prints and handcrafted fine jewelry. For more information, go to https://www.etsy.com/shop/AdolphinaStudios.
Friday, June 11, 2021
"Claressa Shields Pulls It Out in MMA Debut" on No Holds Barred Patreon Page
A subscription is required to read it, so subscribe today to support independent journalism.
The article is at https://www.patreon.com/posts/claressa-shields-52369503.
Labels: boxing, Claressa Shields, Eddie Goldman, MMA, No Holds Barred, PFL, women
Thursday, June 10, 2021
Order from the No Holds Barred with Eddie Goldman Shop, Now on Redbubble
T-shirts! Hoodies! Tank tops! Mugs! Pillows! Even masks and mini-skirts! Yes, these items and more are now available for purchase on the new No Holds Barred with Eddie Goldman shop on Redbubble.
While it was never my intention to become a shmata saleman, I am doing this to supplement the small income I am earning from my media work. Independent, no holds barred journalism, which is not beholden to promoters, networks, sports oligarchs, and the like, is hardly a way to get rich. Hence, this Redbubble project, which also gives my media a bit of publicity.
You can browse all the items for sale and then place an order here.
It has also been recommended to me that people choose sizes on the large side, as some items may run small. Please let me know how the ordering process goes, and when you receive the items you bought, the quality of them.
Labels: Eddie Goldman, No Holds Barred, Redbubble
Wednesday, June 09, 2021
"Claressa Shields's Big Gamble" on No Holds Barred Patreon Page
A subscription is required to read it, so subscribe today to support independent journalism.
The article is at https://www.patreon.com/posts/claressa-big-52284620.
Monday, June 07, 2021
"Waiting for the Heavyweights, June 2021 Edition" on No Holds Barred Patreon Page
A subscription is required to read it, so subscribe today to support independent journalism.
The article is at https://www.patreon.com/posts/waiting-for-june-52201460.
Labels: Anthony Joshua, boxing, Daniel Dubois, Deontay Wilder, Eddie Goldman, Floyd Mayweather, heavyweight, Logan Paul, No Holds Barred, Tyson Fury
Friday, June 04, 2021
Coming soon ....
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Wednesday, June 02, 2021
No Holds Barred: Mariah Holmes on Women in Sumo, U.S. Sumo Nationals, and Why Sumo is Special
We spoke with her by phone Saturday, May 29.
Before starting to train in sumo in 2018, Mariah Holmes was a rugby player. While she no longer competes in that sport, she found that sumo was unlike rugby or any other sport in which she had been involved before.
"To me, sumo is not like every other sport. There's something really special about sumo," she said.
"With rugby, I've done sports before, and so I've always been an athlete. But I think even for people who aren't athletes, they come into sumo and you realize right away, so it's not just physical. Yes, there is a huge physical aspect. So if you're hardcore, you want to have sweating, and you really work your body. Yes, there's a physical aspect, and you hit hard those tachiais [note: the initial charge of the wrestlers which starts a sumo match].
"They're no joke. But there's also this mental aspect that I think a lot of sports are missing. And it's almost like I've heard it described as playing a physical game of chess.
"So you have to be always thinking about your opponent's move and what's going to happen next, and if I do this, what kind of position does it put me in. And so it's a very mental game."
Unlike professional sumo in Japan, women are both permitted and encouraged to participate in amateur sumo at all levels. But, she noted, there are still not enough women training and competing in sumo. Some sumo clubs and training sessions will just have one woman, meaning they must wrestle with men.
"We want to have hundreds of women," she said, and is involved with a women's commission for the U.S. Sumo Federation.
We also discussed the next major event for sumo in the U.S., the 2021 U.S. National Sumo Championships. This will be held Saturday, June 19, at Dreamland at 2770 W Hwy 290, Dripping Springs, Texas 78620, which is located about 23 miles west of Austin.
The next major events scheduled are the North American Championships in December, and the World Games in July 2022, in Birmingham, Alabama.
In addition, we discussed why sumo is such an artful sport, how it can grow its fan base in the U.S., how the sumo culture of respect and calmness sets it apart from most other sports, and much more.
Please also subscribe to the No Holds Barred page on Patreon for much more exclusive premium No Holds Barred content.
You can play or download No Holds Barred on Podomatic and the Internet Archive. If one link does not work, please try another.
No Holds Barred is also available on these sites and apps:
The Podomatic Podcast Player app is available for free, both for Android at Google Play, and for iOS on the App Store.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", which is also available on iTunes by composer Ian Snow.
No Holds Barred is sponsored by:
LenneHardt.com, the home of Lenne Hardt, the legendary MMA and sports announcer, voice actor, singer, actress, and comedienne. Lenne is also known for her jazz vocals with her Lenne Hardt Jazz Cabaret Band. For more information, to book her, or to order a custom message from her, go to LenneHardt.com.
Skullz Fight Shop, home of the Skullz Double-End Bag, the perfect punching bag for your combat sports training. Skullz Double-End Bags provide a realistic striking target, and help improve speed, distance, and timing skills. Hang it and hit it right out of the box! No pump required. Skullz Fight Shop - Advancing combat sports equipment for the next generation of fighters. For more information, go to https://skullzfightshop.com.
Adolphina Studios. Original art prints and handcrafted fine jewelry. For more information, go to https://www.etsy.com/shop/AdolphinaStudios.
Labels: Eddie Goldman, Mariah Holmes, No Holds Barred, U.S. Sumo Nationals, women
