FanHouse Dan LeBatard

UFC President Dana White appeared this week on Dan LeBatard's radio show, ostensibly to promote UFC 86. But thanks to LeBatard's persistent questioning, they spent more time discussing Kimbo Slice than they spent discussing Quinton Rampage Jackson or Forrest Griffin.

White was clearly annoyed that he even needed to discuss Kimbo, and he repeated his assertion that his own lightweight champion, B.J. Penn, could defeat Kimbo. White said he would like to arrange a Penn-Kimbo fight, "So I can start watching him on YouTube again. ... I want to banish this guy back to YouTube. That's where he belongs. He belongs on YouTube."

In other news, White acknowledged that UFC's heavyweight division is in a rebuilding phase, but he said the reason he hasn't signed Fedor Emelianenko is that Fedor doesn't want to fight any high-quality fighters.

I like Dan LeBatard. He doesn't take himself too seriously, he's a solid writer, and he seems to annoy the hell out of Mr. Tony. But while chatting it up with the The Big Lead yesterday, he gave quite possibly the most ridiculous answer to an honest question since Phil Mickelson insisted he's grown an inch in the last year.

Q: LeBatard, what's your views on Tiger and whether or not he's an athlete and if he is, where does he rank among other greats?

LEBATARD: not an athlete.....what he does is a skill, not a sport....it is like being a brain surgeon or a seamstress.....golf isn't a sport....you can't be eating an apple during key moments of athletic triumph.....that said, he's a better athlete than everyone else doing that.....but it isn't a sport when someone carries your stuff and the most grueling thing you do is walk

Wow, that's short-sighted. Maybe LeBatard was joking (Mr. Tony plays golf!), but let's assume he wasn't. What makes an athlete? That's kinda tough to answer, but does anybody consider Dmitri Young more of an athlete than Woods? And is baseball more of a "sport" than golf? I mean, didn't Manny take a water bottle with him to left field a few years ago? Is that any better than eating an apple (or in Young's case, a pizza)?

You may remember that after the new contract extension Ichiro Suzuki just signed was announced, that Marlins president David Samson wasn't too shy about his feelings towards it. If you need a reminder what it was that Samson said, well, here it is.

I would say it's the end of the world as we know it. If Ichiro's worth 20 million a year, I am speechless by that contract, I'm hoping that that report is false. Because there's no chance that a top of the lineup, forget that, there's no chance anybody's worth that. And Ichiro, who's led his team to zero? Nothing? I hope you're wrong, Dan.

Dan being Dan LeBatard who asked him his opinion of the deal. Well obviously the Mariners have heard about Samson's comments, with Mariners president Chuck Armstrong openly questioning why Samson felt a need to make those statements publicly.

Seattle General Manager Bill Bavasi is none too happy with Samson as well, and it's safe to say the two probably won't be eating dinner together anytime soon.

"My mother always taught me that if the only thing you have to say is `[expletive] David Samson,' you shouldn't say anything at all. So I'm not going to say anything at all.''

I know that a lot of Mariners fans arent' exactly big fans of Bavasi, and I myself have openly questioned some of his moves, but that quote just gave me a new found respect for the man and his mother. That's some good parenting right there.

Previously at FanHouse:
Ichiro Signs His Extension
Will Ichiro's New Contract Ruin Baseball?