#7 Snap

Samuel Eto'o grabs a photographer's camera for a unique celebration after completing his hat-trick in Inter’s Champions League clash with Werder Bremen.

#7 Inspirational Figure - James Dean

September 30^th will mark the 55^th anniversary of James Deans’ death. Born Feb. 8, 1931 Dean was a legendary actor and iconic symbol of the 1950s.

James Dean became a Hollywood legend portraying temperamental, insightful and often rebellious characters. He represented the troubled and misunderstood teens of the 1950s and gained cult icon status after his untimely death at the young age of 24.

Dean got his start in television and stage before starring in the three films, East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant that would catapult him to stardom. His unique style of acting and fondness for race cars didn't sit well with the directors he worked with, but helped fuel his bad boy image.

Shortly after completing work on his third starring feature Giant (1956), the restless Dean drove off in his silver Porsche to compete in a sports car rally in Salinas, California. Speeding down the highway, he crashed head first into a Ford sedan and was killed instantly. Almost immediately, a cult was established and within days of his death he became a film icon. His final film Giant was released more than a year after his death, and the premiere was a fitting tribute to a talented actor who would never realised the full potential of his talents, and the incredible fame that was to come. 

Although James Dean was long before my time he has had a lasting memory on many of my family. Dubbed the iconic bad boy of the 50’s, I wish I had to chance to see what he was all about rather than read it. His short life was certainly as colourful as they come and his long lasting legacy makes him a worthy #7 Inspirational Figure.

#7 Girls - Irina Shayk

Here's the low-down on the incredible Irina Shayk. She made her name in the world of modelling by winning a "Miss Chelyabinsk" contest and regularly featuring in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. She doesn't like football - but her boyfriend, a certain Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't seem to let it affect him. She recently posed for these stunning photos in the September issue of American GQ.

#7 Hall of Fame - Kimbo Slice

Kevin Ferguson, better known as Kimbo Slice was born February 8th 1974. The 36 year olds trademark appearance is a full beard, clean-shaved head and gold teeth.

In his early days, Slice was a star defensive football player for Miami Palmetto High School in the Pinecrest area of Miami, Florida. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew destroyed both his home and school, forcing him to live out of his 1987 Nissan for a month. During this time his focus changed and he starting mixing with the wrong type of people. Despite this, he attended University at Miami studying criminal justice. After a year and a half studying, Slice earned a tryout for the Miami Dolphins but was unable to secure a place in the team.

Frustrated with his rejection from the Dolphin’s, Slice decided that he would look for a job rather than return to education. He found work as a bodyguard for a Miami-based pornography production/promotion company called Money Talks, a site all the lads will be familiar with (High Five).  

While this was paying the bills, Slice sought after other activities to get the adrenaline running. He became an underground street fighter, a hobby which was to make him an overnight sensation. His brutal knockouts took the fight world by storm. Kimbo appeared in eight street fight videos, winning seven of them. His only loss was to Boston police officer, Sean Gannon.

#7 TV Show Review - An Idiot Abroad

Karl Pilkington represents the typical English bloke who is stuck in his ways. He loves what he's used to, and that's all he knows. Before Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant sent him on this trip around the world he'd only ever been to Wales. By his own admission he pays his way in life, has a steady girlfriend and this is all he wants from life.

Gervais and Merchant thought it would be fun to send him around the world to see the Seven Wonders. Merchant claimed that the reason for doing this was because he thought it would be enlightening for Karl, and Gervais honestly states that he knew Karl would hate it.

The result is An Idiot Abroad, Karl puts into words what we all think when we go abroad - for example, public toilets in China have no doors and no toilet rolls. This would also get to me.

The first episode saw Karl visit the Great Wall of China. It was hilarious viewing and I found myself laughing at Karl's misfortune and one liners all the way through. A plus point of the show is that Ricky Gervais has very little to do with it. At first I was expecting him to dominate it and thank god he doesn’t. I can’t wait to see the rest of the series. A huge thumbs up from me. 

Marshall secure their first win of the Season

 

Marshall Thundering Herd Vs Ohio Bobcats

The Ohio Bobcats failed on a two-point conversion attempt on the last play of the game, as the Marshall Thundering Herd survived for a 24-23 win.

Quarterback Brian Anderson led the way in the victory for Marshall (1-3) by completing 21 of 30 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those touchdowns went the way of receiver Antavious Wilson, who caught seven balls for 119 yards.

The game went down to the final play. As time expired, Ohio QB Jackson tossed a 36-yard prayer that was answered by Wide Receiver McCrae, good enough to bring the game to 24-23. It looked like they were heading to overtime, just as it did against West Virginia in game 2. The Bobcats then decided to go for glory and attempted a two-point conversion, but Jackson's pass sailed through the end zone and Marshall took the exciting one-point victory. We are......MARSHALL!

UFC 119

I certainly won’t be hurrying to watch the replay of 119 anytime soon. The lacklustre card was topped off by a poor main event, only rescued by a third round KO by Mir. Dana White's disappointment was clear to see in an unusually short post fight press conference. Fight of the night bonuses of $70,000 were given to Evan Dunham Vs Sean Sherk and Matt Mitrione Vs Joey Beltran. I can only assume that they were awarded due to the close nature of both fights rather than the quality of them. A knock-out of the night bonus was not awarded despite the main event ending in a KO, a move which speaks volume's for the fight. All in all a poor night for the UFC. The results are as follows;

Frank Mir salvaged a terrible fight by knocking out Pride legend Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic with less than a minute to go in their fight with a vicious knee.

Ryan Bader passed a tough test against ‘Lil Nog’ defeating Nogueria via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27). Bader dumped Nogueria on his arse several times and was also able to tag the Brazilian with some big shots.

Chris Lytle put on a decent show for the fans in his hometown of Indianapolis, beating Matt Serra by way of decision, 30-27 on all three judges' cards. This was my fight of the night, they were the only two fighters who took risks all night. 

Holly Madison UFC Magazine Shoot

UFC Magazine recently released its latest issue with Brock Lesnar dominating the cover. Three time Playboy cover girl Holly Madison made a special appearance with a photoshoot and I thought it should be a definite addition to #7. Madison has a good relationship with the UFC, guest starring as an Octagon ring girl at UFC 100. She’s not a girl id usually like but these pictures get the thumbs up from me. I’ll let you make your own mind up.

#7 Inspirational Figure - Rubin Carter

“Here comes the story of the Hurricane.”

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter was boxing's most feared middleweight contender in the early 1960s. Standing only 5' 8" tall and weighing 160 lbs., he nevertheless had one of the most muscular builds in the sport. With a shaved head, Fu Manchu moustache and a set of guns Rich Peaks would be proud of, he sent shudders and shakes through his opponents.

A self-proclaimed wild child, Carter was from a family of four girls and four boys. He spent much of his youth in reform schools. He escaped from Allendale Reformatory in 1953 and joined the U.S. army. He credits the army with straightening him out and made him the person he is today. He served as a paratrooper and was stationed in Europe, where he started fighting for the Army Boxing Team. Carter left the Army with 51 wins in 56 fights, including 31 by KO. He turned pro in 1961, and by June 1963 after only 19 fights (16-3), was rated 10th in the world.

In the early morning of June 17, 1966, two men and a woman were shot dead at the Lafayette Grill in Paterson, New Jersey. Within an hour, police pulled over Carter and an acquaintance, John Artis, who were in a car similar to the one driven by the murderers. They were taken to the police station for questioning.

On August 6 and in the midst of a grand-jury investigation into the homicides, Carter lost his last fight, a 10-round decision to Juan "Rocky" Rivero. Two months later, despite lie detector results, Carter and Artis were charged with the triple murders.

Arthur Bradley and Alfred Bello, both convicted felons, were the prosecutor's main witnesses, and they placed Carter and Artis at the scene of the crime. An all-white jury convicted the two on May 27, 1967. Carter and Artis were each sentenced to three sentences of life in prison.

Beckham & Bush (Old but awesome)

In this Adidas promotion, David Beckham meets Reggie Bush of the New Orleans Saints. As a hero of mine, anything with David Beckham will get my seal of approval, but to see him don the Saints jersey and have a mess around with NFL superstar Bush was particularly awesome. Amongst other things, a highlight is seeing Beckham attempt the record for the longest field goal which is currently 63 yards. Although he just fell short, this is incredible for someone unfamiliar to the sport, even if he is David Beckham. Hope you enjoyed this video as much as I did, and get used to seeing these two sporting legends, they will be a regular feature on #7.

College Football

As the college football season has just started, I and the crew from Richardson’s Ranch picked a team to follow throughout the season. These are the final picks;

Becca Birrell - Ohio State

“I swear I didn’t know they were the second best in the country when I picked them.”

John Forsdyke – Ole Miss Rebels

“Support Ole Miss? Can do.”

Matt Lynam – Princeton Tigers

“I’ll support anyone who isn’t from the south.”

Martin Richardson – Marshall

“We are...... Marshall! I cried at the film and not scared to admit it.”

#7 - Born 24/09/10

“An impressive outlook on popular cultures pressing matters.” – US Weekly

“The most grammatically poor and unacademic blog we are proud to associate ourselves with.” – The Times

“The source which influences me and my family’s everyday life.” – David Beckham

In the unlikely event that this blog will be read, please take it light-heartedly. I’m not a professional writer and have no desire to be one; it’s just a way to look back at what I was interested in when I’m a millionaire a few years down the line. There’s no particular theme to #7, I’ll just post things which interest me, I have an opinion on, and want to remember in the future. Enjoy.