A half-dozen quick hits for a Monday morning (non-wrestling news after the jump): 1. Big time for the little guy. Army Sgt. Spenser Mango recently had his turn as the feature subject of “100 Olympic Hopefuls in 100 Days,” a series put together by our good friends at USA Today. Click over to read about the Greco-Roman Olympian’s path into the Army World Class Athlete Program, his Army duties when he’s not wrestling or training, and how much weight he has to cut to make the 55-kilogram (121-pound) limit. 2. Lester’s homecoming. Mango may have received the national press, but…
Browsing: Dustin West
A half-dozen quick hits for a Friday morning: 1. Painting sports history. LeRoy Neiman, famous for his paintings of sports action and portraits of athletes, died Wednesday at age 91. His link to the military — according to his New York Times obituary, Neiman served in the Army during World War II as a cook in the European theater. His link to military sports comes here: A painting of the final play of the 1946 Army-Navy game entitled “Defending Victory — 1946.” Click that link for more on the painting itself, which was commissioned as part of the rivalry’s centennial…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijpHVSOFGNA[/youtube]Former Marine Capt. Brian Stann won’t re-enter the octagon until April 14, but the Silver Star recipient will participate in the UFC’s next big television event. Stann tweeted that he was heading to Omaha, Neb., to be a part of FUEL TV’s inaugural live UFC card, which airs Wednesday at 8 p.m. Eastern. His duties include sharing the post-fight set with “NFL on Fox” regular Jay Glazer and mixed martial arts journalist Ariel Helwani. The former Marine will be back on FUEL TV for his April middleweight fight against Alessio Sakara in Stockholm, one of four fights slated for the…
A few military-themed (and almost-military-themed) notes before Saturday’s prime-time UFC card. A word from an ‘El Conquistador’ sponsor: Former soldier Jorge Rivera retired last week after stopping Eric Shafer in the second round at the inaugural UFC on FX event. The win wrapped up a mixed martial arts career that began in 2001 and ended with a 20-9 record, according to Sherdog. We could try to recap his time in the cage, but instead, read this from Rivera’s longtime friend and sponsor Nick Palmisciano, the founder of the Ranger Up apparel line. Military Times EDGE has profiled Palmisciano before –…
