I’m sorry.

I’m apologizing because I was that guy at the gym tonight. Yes, I was the guy on the treadmill on his cell phone holding a conversation that had nothing to do with working out. As many of you know, I serve on the Board of Trustees for a national foundation. At some point around 7pm tonight, I got on a phone call with the Executive Director of our foundation. Since my back was hurting me this morning when I woke up, I had to go to the gym after work – and since I had that phone call scheduled, that meant that I couldn’t go to the gym until after the call.

But do you ever get on those calls where you just have to stay on the line because the discussion is so good that you need to explore it a little bit further? Well, our Executive Director and I had what I thought was an excellent conversation tonight about a variety of issues (some of which were eye-opening to me). But as the call went on I began to worry about getting my workout in. So I drove to the gym and sat in my car for another hour or so on the phone (one of my roommates actually arrived at the gym after me and left before me while I was taking the call).

Then when it got to be 9pm, I knew I had to get a workout in before I was too tired to do it. So I was that guy on the treadmill on his cell phone, but it was for a good reason. And now I will think twice about those other people who are on their cell phones. On the other hand, though, I was on an important phone call and I kept my voice down. Most of those other people get on their phones and start to talk way too loud and in an obnoxious tone!

By the way, tonight marks 18 days in a row that I’ve been to the gym. Pretty good for a guy who isn’t even on a diet and is just working out for the fun of it.

The movie starts off like any other Christmas movie – a family with its unique ups and downs, a wide-eyed child looking for something more, a parental figure who is too busy to notice some things, etc. You know the drill. Seriously, some of these haphazardly thrown together Christmas movies stick WAY too close to the generic script, but I digress. So there is the standard family that you’ll find in any Christmas movie. Michael Keaton plays the father and does a pretty good job with the role that he’s given: he’s not quite an arrogant jerk, but not quite ready to be the father figure that he needs to be…and eventually he’s the voice of a snowman. Joseph Cross plays the son and I thought he did an exceptional job, as did Kelly Preston in playing the mother.

Again, the movie starts like any other and then Keaton’s band gets a big break and he needs to be somewhere important on Christmas day. Cross gets pissed off, gives him back a magical harmonica (yep), and then Keaton dies trying to rush back to his family before Christmas.

A year goes by, life is miserable for the young kid, he builds a snowman to remind him of the one he and his Dad built a year before, he blows on the magical harmonica, the snowman is infused with his Dad’s spirit. Simple story, right? Cross finds out the snowman is his Dad and he spends the rest of the movie trying to hide this fact from the world – including his mother who now thinks that her son is nuts. If your kid was walking around talking to snowmen, you may think the same thing!

The folks who put this one together attempted to include a bunch of touching scenes throughout the movie, but most of them come off as just awkward. Even through the final scene of the movie (which I won’t be wretched enough to share here) this viewer received more of an awkward feeling than anything else. There is even one moment towards the end of the movie where the bully antagonist (because these awkwardly thrown together Christmas movies always have a bully antagonist) and the young, bright-minded protagonist become friends. Awww… I almost threw up.

If you’re a freak for Christmas and Christmas movies, then you can go ahead and watch this one, but everyone else should run away from this movie.

July 16, 2008 — C.B. Dollaway made a name for himself as a pretty tough dude on UFC’s The Ultimate Fighter. We recently had the chance to conduct an interview with him discussing his upcoming fight with Jesse Taylor, the show on Spike, and current weight-class talk in MMA, among other topics! Enjoy!

C.B., thanks for joining TBLWrestling.com and XHeadlines.com! We’re talking to the finalist of The Ultimate Fighter Season 7, one hell of a fighter who showcased his ability throughout the season.
What was it like being in the house with 15 other dudes for so long?! From what the cameras didn’t show us, who was it that you got along with most, and who did you have problems with? Who did you
feel, besides yourself, was the best fighter in the house?

The living circumstances were not all that bad. You get used to the cameras and other then the fact that the guy you are befriending could be your opponent. I got along with everyone, Pat Schultz and Matthew Riddle were likely the funniest cast mates. I was actually one of the last people on my team defending Jeremy May. I thought the best fighters were Jesse Taylor, Tim Creduer, Gerald
Harris and Brandon Sene seemed tough.

While on the show, Forrest Griffin noted that he couldn’t stand you because you were “cocky, and you backed it up.” How do you respond to his words?

WOW he noticed me? He really was busy with his team and he and I had little to no interaction. Being first pick somehow made me a favorite and from that people thought I was a jerk. I could not control much on that show.

Speaking of Forrest, what did you make of the two coaches on the show? Rampage Jackson admitted in the beginning of the program that he’s never coached before in his life. Did you learn a lot from Quinton, and how do you feel both coaches did in their roles?

I think Forrest did his homework and the results paid off for him. It is impossible to get 8 guys ready (simultaneously) and not know who they are fighting and when. Our coaches did the best they could and what they could not teach us in the ring they taught us from their
life experiences.

How did you feel about having to fight Amir Sadollah twice? Walk us through your two matches, including your strategy and approach. Were you trying to avoid the submission the second time around?

Initially I knew Amir was durable. I go into these modes where I am moving forward and trying to destroy my opponent. I need to pay more attention to them and what they want to do to me at this level. Amir was tough and hung in to win a tough first fight. Second fight. well he caught me again the same way. I worked on not getting into that position but really it all happened so fast. I am focused on doing what I need to do to get better and put the loss behind me.

C.B., one of the most popular topics of discussion when it comes to the UFC and MMA in general these days is the change in weight-classes that has been proposed and “accepted” by some. Dana White has made it clear that the UFC does not support the newly-proposed weight classes. How do you feel about the proposed changes verses what the UFC does?

I leave that stuff up to smarter men then me. I am a fighter and if Dana and my management want me to put on a few pounds and fight at a higher weight I will. I want to fight the best fighters in the world and I thank the UFC for bringing me into the organization where that will be possible.

What do you make of the Jesse Taylor situation, and what are your thoughts on his character?

He really is a funny guy and his poetry was classic. I think he has a problem when he gets drunk and I am glad he got that under control. He said something at the beginning of the show that stuck out to me. He said in life he always gets to the finish line and fucks up. I think doing that on national TV was a turning point for him. I hope he has trained hard, unfortunately for him I have to use this fight to show the world and Zuffa I belong at the UFC.

Finally, speaking of Jesse, we know you have your next UFC bout scheduled for this weekend as you take on him. I know you’ve been working very intensely to be in great shape for the match. What’s your strategy and approach and how do you think the fight will go?

I am a better fighter on the feet and unless I stopped evolving since college and he continued I am the better fighter on the ground. I need to avoid the lay and pray and this fight should go my way.

C.B., we want to thank you for giving us some of your important time as you prepare for this huge fight, and we wish you the best in the octagon against Jesse!

Thanks and thanks to MTX Audio, LG Sports Marketing and AZ Combat Sports.