Cat Zingano was going to be the biggest threat Ronda Rousey has ever faced, they said. She's undefeated, she has an reservoir of willpower, and she'll push Rousey like she's never pushed before.
Instead, Zingano became the fastest victim of Rousey's magnificent career.UFC 184, from Staples Center in Los Angeles, was all about the females for the first time ever. In co-main events, bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey faced undefeated challenger Cat Zingano, and UFC newcomer Holly Holm took on Raquel Pennington. As expected, the women did not disappoint, especially Rousey, who broke a UFC record by defeating her opponent in 14 seconds with her trademark armbar after Zingano came out charging. Zingano comes flying in with a knee and looks for a takedown but Rousey reverses her beautifully into top position and grabs an armbar from an awkward angle for the submission in just seconds. Another electric performance by the champion.
Tonight in London, Madonna put her love to the test at the BRIT Awards. Her love failed, or at least her legs did.The 56-year-old singer was standing on a staircase leading to the stage, but because of an apparent costume malfunction with her cape, she was forcefully pulled to the ground. Like a true professional, Madonna continued on and finished the song to close the show.Performing her new single Living For Love and surrounded by dancers, Madonna was shrouded in a cape which, once unfastened, was to be removed by one of the dancers.
But as Madonna fumbled with the lacing around her neck, one of the dancers yanked on it while it was still attached.
Instead of the planned revelation of Madonna's costume, the malfunction resulted in Madge being yanked backwards and her tumbling down a staircase on the stage.We hope Madonna is okay! Right after the fall, she got back up and danced like a total pro.
DALLAS -- Point guard Rajon Rondo did not play the final 20-plus minutes of the Dallas Mavericks' 99-92 win over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night, after a profanity-laced shouting match with coach Rick Carlisle over play-calling responsibilities.
The incident occurred with 8:10 remaining in the third quarter, when Carlisle stormed out on the American Airlines Center court to call a timeout and shouted at Rondo, who appeared to be ignoring a play call from the bench as he brought the ball up the floor.Rondo responded by shouting back at Carlisle. They exchanged heated words for much of the timeout, with assistant coach Jamahl Mosley at one point stepping in front of Rondo to prevent the point guard and coach from getting in each other's faces.Here's what happened. With 8:22 left in the third quarter, Carlisle and Rondo had some sort of dispute. It appeared Carlisle wanted a timeout called, something Rondo ignored, leading to Carlisle calling it himself. As he came to the bench, Carlisle exchanged heated words with Rondo and took him out of the game. He did not return.Carlisle had the highly publicized benching of Rajon Rondo in January. In a podcast around the trade, Grantland's Bill Simmons and Zach Lowe said they heard whispers that Carlisle may not have been totally sold on the trade when it happened. This is unconfirmed and clearly Carlisle signed off on the trade in some form, but it's interesting in this context.After the timeout, Carlisle inserted Devin Harris for Rondo, who remained sidelined for the duration of the game. He finished with four points (on 2-for-6 shooting), four assists and two rebounds in 18 minutes.
“It’s just a coach’s decision," Carlisle said of Rondo's departure. "We’ve talked about these before. I thought it worked out well. The other guys stepped up and we were able to win the game.”This isn’t the first time Carlisle benched Rondo, who was acquired in a mid-season trade with the Celtics. It’s not too surprising Rondo and Carlisle, both of whom can be difficult, have crossed each other. But, now, it’s up to both to move past what could go down as a minor incident.
That should be easier to do with the Mavericks winning. Arguments almost always resolve themselves more quickly after victories.
John Legend and Common performed “Glory” from Selma at the 87th Academy Awards on Sunday, February 22, 2015.
Another stunning performance at the Oscars. Two weeks after the song closed the Grammys, the rapper and the singer performed their song at the Academy Awards, where it was nominated for Best Original Song. After the pair’s performance, which featured a chorus marching behind Common and Legend and practically into the audience, several audience members (including Selma star David Oyelowo and Chris Pine) were visibly in tears.The song itself is a soaring marvel, flying on the wings of John Legends's vocals. But there's also a brutal, brilliant strength to it with Common's rapping.
There's an added level of emotion to this performance. Selma, the movie in which "Glory" appears, was left out of the Best Director and Best Actor categories — a reminder that the Oscars still perpetually struggle with diversity.The anthem about racial injustice -- which touches on everything from the civil rights movement of the 1960s to the recent events in Ferguson, Missouri -- won Best Original Song shortly after the performance. Other nominees in the category include "Grateful" by Diane Warren for "Beyond the Lights"; "Everything Is Awesome" by Shawn Patterson for "The Lego Movie"; "I'm Not Gonna Miss You," by Glenn Campbell and Julian Raymond for "I'll Be Me"; and "Lost Stars" by Danielle Brisebois and Gregg Alexander for "Begin Again."
The UFC returns to Brazil for a rare Sunday fight card featuring a headlining heavyweight fight between Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva and former champion Frank Mir.Mir wasn't ready to quit, however. He felt he wasn't training properly and wanted to give himself one last chance. In addition to preparing better, Mir worked long hours on his boxing with Angelo Reyes.Mir needed only 100 seconds to dispose of Silva Sunday in the main event of a UFC card in Porto Alegre, Brazil, looking very much like the man who once was an elite contender.
Mir, who came out in a right-handed stance after boxing as a southpaw for years, also showed a new punch. Mir was never much of a jabber, but it was his jab which set everything up.
He landed a couple of good shots behind the jab early, and then the jab was the key to the finishing sequence. Mir, who was clearly quicker and more athletic than the ponderous Brazilian, landed a hard jab followed by a quick left hook. The left hook dumped Silva onto his back, and Mir hurriedly finished the job.Frank pounced immediately with several more punches before Mario Yamasaki stopped the fight after Mir plastered Bigfoot with a series of skull-thumping elbows. Official result: Frank Mir def. Antonio Silva via KO (punches and elbows) at 1:40 of round 1.
It's the 8th time that Mir has won a UFC fight within the first 2 minutes of the opening round, and his 15th win inside the Octagon in his 14th year with the promotion. As for Bigfoot, he's now been (T)KO'd 5 times since 2011, and was also knocked down in his no contest vs. Mark Hunt in 2013. Now without a win in 4, that may very well be the last we see of him in a UFC cage.
Rita Ora, who’s currently onscreen as Christian Grey’s sister in the romantic drama, performed the theme song to Beyond the Lights at the Oscars.The 24-year-old entertainer sang the song “Grateful” from the movie Beyond the Lights – the song is nominated this evening.Singing was on point in her "Grateful" performance, the real star of the show was Ora's gown. The black and white gown was structured perfectly, with the high-low pleated skirt being the most stunning part of the ensemble. With her lips painted a bright red and a diamond-encrusted snake necklace around her neck, Ora was the picture of perfection.
As for the actual music, Ora looked and sounded fittingly grateful, smiling and singing with poise that matched her gown. And all the while, Ora was raised on a pedestal, adding drama to the already lovely performance.
Neil Patrick Harris opened the 2015 Oscars with a stunning “Moving Pictures” opening number. He was assisted by Anna Kendrick and Jack Black.
This was NPH’s first time to host the Academy Award.Harris got right to business and open the ceremony by poking fun at the Academy for the lack of diversity in tonight's nominees by saying "tonight we honor the best and whitest .. sorry, brightest!"
Following a few quick jokes, he broke into a comedic song and dance performance about the magic of moving pictures with the help of "Into the Woods" actress Anna Kendrick and comedian Jack Black.Then things got even crazier when Jack Black joined in to perform a spoken-word number from Into the Woods (done in the film by Meryl Streep). Of course, the lyrics were changed to be just a bit more Tenacious D.
"Who will get her statue, the results are coming at you, at the 87th Oscars moving picture show" Harris memorably concluded the number.
