The Morning Column: November 8, 2021
UFC president Dana White was photographed watching the Canelo-Plant pay-per-view while at UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden
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1. Dana White watches Canelo-Plant at UFC 268
Saturday was the biggest fight night of the year with Canelo Alvarez facing Caleb Plant at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas and Kamaru Usman and Colby Covington headlining UFC 268 at Madison Square Garden in New York. The pay-per-view events began within an hour of each other, forcing many fight fans to figure out a way to watch both at the same time.
One of those fans trying to multitask was UFC president Dana White, who was photographed watching the Canelo-Plant fight while Rose Namajunas and Zhang Weili were battling for the UFC women’s strawweight championship in the Octagon just a few feet in front of him.
White said it was a bad idea for Showtime to schedule the Canelo-Plant pay-per-view on the same night as UFC 268 and called Showtime executive Stephen Espinoza an “asshole.” White, however, said he does like Canelo and bet $100,000 on Canelo to win by knockout, which Canelo did in the 11th round. It could be argued that Espinoza got the last laugh on scheduling the Canelo-Plant pay-per-view against UFC 268 when he saw White watching it on a television placed next to the Octagon.
2. On the Air in Los Angeles and Las Vegas
I’m excited to announce that The Arash Markazi Show is not only on the air in Los Angeles and Southern California on The Mightier 1090 but beginning today it will also be on the air in Las Vegas on 98.5 The Fan.
We will be on the air Monday-Friday from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on The Mightier 1090 in Los Angeles and Southern California following The Rich Eisen Show and on 98.5 The Fan in Las Vegas following The Jim Rome Show. The Mightier 1090 has one of the strongest radio signals in North America and can be heard from “Baja to the Canadian Rockies” and 98.5 The Fan is the home of college football and the Los Angeles Chargers in Las Vegas. You can listen to The Mightier 1090 anywhere with your free TuneIn app or ask your smart speaker to “Play The Mightier 1090” and you can listen to 98.5 The Fan anywhere with your free Audacy app or ask your smart speaker to “Play The Fan Las Vegas.” You can also listen to the show after it airs on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.
3. Song of the Day
4. Photo of the Day
5. Odds and Ends Powered by Circa Sports
Here are Week 11 College Football odds if you’re thinking of placing a wager today:
6. Nov. 8, 1990: Darryl Strawberry signs with the Dodgers
On this day in 1990, Darryl Strawberry left the New York Mets as a free agent and signed a five-year, $20.5 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. It was the second richest deal in baseball at the time, trailing only the $23.5 million contract the Oakland Athletics gave Jose Conseco. It was a homecoming for Strawberry, who was born and raised in Los Angeles and went to Crenshaw High School. His return to Los Angeles was marred by injuries and off-the-field issues and the Dodgers eventually released Strawberry in 1994 when he failed to show up to a game.
7. Happy Birthday Nick Punto
Happy birthday to Nick Punto, who is turning 44 years old today. Punto was born in San Diego and raised in Mission Viejo where he went to high school and college. He won a World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011 and was with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 2012 to 2013. Punto came over to the Dodgers as part of a blockbuster deal that saw the Dodgers acquire Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett in 2012. Punto became a team and fan favorite with the Dodgers for famously becoming “Shredder Punto” during walk-off wins. Anytime the Dodgers won in walk-off fashion Punto would race out of the dugout and towards whoever hit the game-winner and tear the jersey off their back. He also famously celebrated on the field with his biggest fan, actor Danny DeVito, after hitting a solo home run to give the Dodgers a win in 2013.
8. Ticket Time powered by TickPick
Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game today:
Charlotte Hornets at Los Angeles Lakers – $35
9. On The Air
4:30 p.m. – Los Angeles Kings at Toronto Maple Leafs – Bally Sports West
7 p.m. – Charlotte Hornets at Los Angeles Lakers – Spectrum SportsNet
10. The Arash Markazi Show
On Friday’s show, we talked about the Lakers blowing another 19-point lead against the Oklahoma City Thunder and if the Lakers can finally turn things around with LeBron James out for at least one week.
Listen to The Arash Markazi Show Monday-Friday from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on The Mightier 1090 in Southern California following The Rich Eisen Show and on 98.5 The Fan in Las Vegas following The Jim Rome Show. The Mightier 1090 has one of the strongest radio signals in North America and can be heard from “Baja to the Canadian Rockies” and 98.5 The Fan is the home of college football and the Los Angeles Chargers in Las Vegas. You can listen to The Mightier 1090 anywhere with your free TuneIn app or ask your smart speaker to “Play The Mightier 1090” and you can listen to 98.5 The Fan anywhere with your free Audacy app or ask your smart speaker to “Play The Fan Las Vegas.” You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.
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That’s it for today. Talk to you tomorrow!