:boxing: HardDoor's Autumn Boxing Preview - '09 Edition

<--To Summer 2009 Boxing Preview

The slew of issues that plagued this past summer's lineup has turned into the autumn's bounty, as this season is filled with a number of high-profile matches, including the start of the much-anticipated Super Six World Boxing Classic in the super middleweight division (and there's also that Cotto-Pacquiao bout, too). For this preview, I'll be trying out a new format brought on by the concise model used for last season's re-err--preview, which I sort of liked. I'm figuring out a way to still comment on them without using "Boxing Bits", but that's still up in the air. For now, we'll see how this style works. And also...happy viewings!

--HD

:boxing: Boxing Bits - Super Six Edition:: Abraham Destroys, Froch Decisions

The Super Six World Boxing Classic in the Super Middleweight division kicked off to a super start (ugh...) with the King leveling Taylor with bad intentions (yeesh...) and the Cobra slithering away (sigh...) with a close, disputed decision against whatever nickname Dirrell has...

:boxing: Super Six Super Preview Super Bracket!

Today, Saturday, October 17, marks the first set of matches in Showtime's "Super Six World Boxing Classic", pitting six of the sport's best super middleweights in a round-robin tournament to crown the division's undisputed world champion.

IBF Middleweight Champion Arthur Abraham, former champion Jermain Taylor, WBC Super Middleweight Champion Carl Froch, WBA Champion Mikkel Kessler, and top contenders Andre Ward and Andre Dirrel, as part of the agreement, will all face each other at some point in the tournament, and perhaps even more than once in the later rounds due to the format. As a refresher, here is the setup as posted in July (second half):

:anime: HardDoor's Autumn Anime Preview - '09 Edition

<--To Summer 2009 Anime Preview

When I first saw what was airing this fall, I was surprised at the amount of shows that seemed worth noting. Yet when I actually began to compile this season's preview and filter the titles, the girth didn't seem as remarkable, nor did titles themselves. A bit of time passed and I decided to review the list of offerings again, which revealed a whole slew of new ones that were added since then and were noteworthy enough to make it. And so, this year's autumn edition of HardDoor's seasonal anime previews is the largest one to date, featuring 21 shows in the main section, 23 shows "of interest", and six movies debuting in Japan in the "theater" section--a total of 50 works in whole (besting this Spring's record of 39)!.

:anime: And Another One Bites...

Kadokawa Pictures USA, the licensing arm of Japan's Kadokawa Pictures, closed down on August 31, leaving a number of to-be-distributed titles such as Ga-Rei -Zero- and H2O ~Footprints in the Sand~ in possible limbo and becoming the fourth (or third, depending on how you view it) American anime company to dissolve within the year. It's such a shame to hear this news, as their products were of high quality and they seemed to put a lot of effort in ensuring it (as personally observed with The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time). The titles in question may still be in queue if the closing only meant a reallocation of resources and that negotiations would occur through the parent company and not the subsidiary, but as of this moment, there is no word on their fate or of those that have already been released by the likes of Bandai Ent., FUNimation, and Nozomi Ent. I have really enjoyed their work over their too-brief lifespan, and along with their awesome eyecatch, I'll definitely be missing them if this is truly it.

:boxing: Road to the Pacquiao Stakes:: Mayweather vs Marquez

Perhaps the one match-up worth seeing right now that isn't named "Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather, Jr." is "Floyd Mayweather, Jr. vs Juan Manuel Marquez"--well, arguably at least. It may not carry as big a marquee ring to it as the first, but it is as big a fight as that is. The argument can be made that Marquez is the real #1 P4P fighter in the world, having knocked out Juan Diaz in stunning fashion after a brutal war earlier in the year and taking Pacquiao to the brink in their two encounters (and for the record, I thought he won the first and lost the second--both by a round). On the other hand, Mayweather once held the mythical title for a good while, but has last fought nearly two years ago. With a date against the Pacman looming just beyond, he'll need to get by a man that not only fights nearly as well as him, but has his own plans of getting after the fighter.

:boxing: HardDoor's Summer Boxing Preview - '09 Edition

<--To Spring 2009 Boxing Preview

To Autumn 2009 Boxing Preview-->

A funny thing happened on the way to the making of HardDoor's Summer Boxing Preview...

:anime: HardDoor's Summer Anime Preview - '09 Edition

<--To Spring 2009 Anime Preview

To Autumn 2009 Anime Preview-->

It was roughly a year ago that I first started posting seasonal anime previews on HardDoor. It has never been my intention for HD to be an anime review site/blog like so many others and it still isn't, but I really wanted to comment on each of the season's newest shows and movies (or at least the ones that were either major or interested me). It was also because of how the seasonal boxing preview turned out--itself done on part of a whim, part of a want--that led me to try my hand at an anime edition. Over the previous three installments, the format as largely remained the same with a few more details, though creating a template has definitely made compiling such things easier and far less time-consuming. Ironically, like the first, this one comes much later than I hoped for, due to the lack of computer access for the last year, which has made the template all the more valuable in getting this completed in the time that I was able to.

With every season, there appears to be a reoccurring theme or pattern among the new shows--however unintentional or not. This summer has the distinction of featuring a number of things "new": be they a first-ever CGI feature from a particular major studio, a new "solo act" talent, a rare topic matter being covered, and the possible emergence of a great new power in the anime industry. It is also a season of "returns": from old partnerships and series being renewed, to the reemergence of certain individuals back in familiar genres and of certain themes. The strength of this summer's lineup seemed to have caught many by surprise, but it appeared likely from the beginning given how good titles were shaping up to be based on their staff credits and/or premise.

:anime: Free Anime Directory Update! ::For 07.27.09::

Here it is...an epic "Free Anime Directory Update[!]" more than three months in the making! The palpitation can be felt as the excitement and adrenalin washes over the crowd as everyone awaits the news with baited breath! And...and...

Oh, who am I kidding? The notations have been there for months already. The only reason I kept them around so long was because it would make compiling this list and referencing to the Directory more easy. In reality, the feature itself has been kept up-to-date, but I never posted the mid- to late-April "Update" due to the time constraints mentioned in previous posts. So with that placed behind, let's kick off post #202 of HD with [*cough*something that should have happened ages ago*cough*] it!

:boxing: Boxing Bits ::07.27.09:: Vernon Forrest (1971-2009)

The month of July has not been a merciful one for the world of boxing, as another tragedy has resulted in another fighter's life being cut short outside of the ring. Former champion Vernon Forrest was shot and killed Saturday night in Atlanta after being the subject of an attempted carjacking. He, along with his girlfriend's young son, stopped at a gas station to refill a tire on his Jaguar. The details from there vary to some degree among reports (including an account from his manager in the linked article, which is differs from others), but in general, his vehicle was being stolen when Forrest gave suit and chased the attempted robbers until he lost sight of them and headed back, which was when he was fatally shot multiple times by them from behind.

Though it is easy to bring up his accomplishments over the years, from being an Olympian and the first person to defeat Shane Mosley (back-to-back) to returning to form from a few years marred by injuries to win the WBC Light Middleweight Championship in 2007 and regaining the belt from then-undefeated Contender winner Sergio Mora this past September in a rematch (his final fight) after losing it a few months before, what is perhaps of greater importance was his work with children and mentally-handicapped adults, which he seemed to have a great deal of love for. That fact alone makes the unfortunate news so tragic and the act that led up to it all the more shameful. My condolences to his family.