If you are citizen of an European Union member nation, you may not use this service unless you are at least 16 years old.
You already know Dokkio is an AI-powered assistant to organize & manage your digital files & messages. Very soon, Dokkio will support Outlook as well as One Drive. Check it out today!

25 December 2011 Simguy Year End Musings and Questions

Page history last edited by Archer844 12 years ago

Posted by simguy on 12/25/2011, 2:26 pm

FIGHTER SURVEY
Random sampling of standouts from the year. Literally just who-comes-to-mind: not intended to be comprehensive.

VANESSA HUDGENS: Break out year in some respects, but is she too heavily calibrated towards beating Mish?

Minka Kelly: Minka "clutch" Kelly. Gets into a lot of overtime situations, which some would say is a sign of inefficacy; never loses in overtime which no one can argue is an intriguing sign of emotional toughness.

ELISHA CUTHBERT: Finally got her due. She COULD have had this kind of year a few years ago when she was embroiled with Neve/Rachel etc...this year, she won the close fights she lost then. Interesting battle for "type supremacy" between Duff/Cuthbert/Minka...I guess Elisha came out on top for this year.

SUMMER GLAU: This year's Virginie Ledoyen, for her unnerving tendency to beat her betters - sometimes soundly. In a year dominated by sturdy, stocky types at bantam, Summer just didn't fit perceptions or expectations at all. Totally unique; impossible to prep for. Covered HUGE spreads to win against Britney and Serinda, but was nearly always an underdog to some extent for her biggesst wins.

ALY MICHALKA: Probably my favourite image from the past year: helps when you do an FCBA specific bikini photo shoot, while you're on a CW Show about cheerleaders AND you've got kind of a smart/sassy vibe as a counterbalance. Hasn't been as dominant in actuality as she certainly could have been...a few bounces go her way and Aly could be a juggernaut. Even when they don't go her way, perception of Michalka as a rising power seems undiminished.

OLIVIA WILDE: Set to take over? It means Michael-Nunning the likes of Evangeline Lilly; finding a little extra power to cope with Jaime Pressly, but the point is, Olivia's finally in those conversations.

PIPER PERABO: Older gal, but sturdy-solid who seemed to get herself on track with consistent winning this year. Plus: she's as cute as any ingenue in the world, while possessing the strength of a mature woman.

POPPY MONTGOMERY: Conditioning program elevated Poppy from good to great: she's competitive with anyone now. I still think Poppy can make eye-catching cougar bouts while she makes mainstream progress: there's broad matchmaking appeal with Montgomery.

OLIVIA MUNN: Some fighters like Beau Garrett can't seem to get traction (no matter how good I make them on paper) - other fighters are nothing BUT traction. Olivia continues to beat the girls who get put in front of her, and celebrity is starting to rise to the level of her fighting. Beatings of Poppy Mo, Aly Michalka and Jenny McCarthy seem to indicate that Olivia's in position to move on the title.

NINA DOBREV: Can leverage off her prettiness to get fights, but critics wonder if she will ever win enough to break from the pack? With girls like Minka and Leighton constantly tracking her, it'll be tough.

ALI LARTER: Up there with Michalka for allure-value...stirring win against Peregrym balanced by crushing losses to heavy-handed boxer-punchers has pundits scratching their heads.

LAURA VANDERVOORT: A matchmaker's dream in the sense that she's so type-specific: you can always balance out a sleek exotique by pairing her with Laura. Vandervoort's just one of those images that seems to leap to mind as an opponent for a lot of girls.

RACHEL NICHOLS: Seems like an emerging force at lightweight. She's evolved along boxer-puncher lines, with just enough pit-bull in her to make fights with stocky types as well. Good all round performer and probably under-rated.

HAYDEN PANETTIERE: Had a chance to fall back to the back this year because of dangerous challengers like Hudgens, Tisdale and Spearritt. Hayden turned them all back, so 2011 was another uptick for the li'l juggernaut. Still the most targeted fighter in boxing however.

KRISTEN STEWART: Kind of has me believing. We won't see it, but I'd love to see her test against Jamie Lynn: battering Spears would make Stewart seem very aggressive and territorial - traits one can associate with a champion. Of course, losing to Spears would be a pretty big set back.

GRACE PARK: Park's one of those girls who could get a fight every week, because I watch her show every week, and everything she does seems to suggest she would like a fight.

REESE WITHERSPOON: Finally seems to be fighting at a level that matches her celebrity, with a style that suits her public persona for bytchy, take-no-crap competence. It is now, no longer fun to wallow on the inside with Reese Witherspoon.

CANDICE ACCOLA: A lovely second-banana type who comes to mind for a wide number of opponents. Surprising success against cast-mate Dobrev made people wonder if Candice is better than her peer group...I don't think we can say that just yet.

PENELOPE CRUZ: Still the fairest of them all to some extent. No other A-list, Oscar-winning actress gives us so much useful beach-candid reference.

CLAIRE DANES: Still curious to see a move at bantam. Would fit in with A-list types like Beckinsale, Cruz and Wilde from an artistic standpoint.

BEAU GARRETT: The body that couldn't lose; the legs of the millenium...I make her 50-50 in just about every contest, and she can't ever catch a break. Reminds me of Cliche in that regard; Rachel Stevens, many others. If it were up to me, she'd be top 10 without question.

MICHELLE WILLIAMS: Actually grew in popularity after a couple of heartbreaking losses to Vanessa Hudgens. Mishy under pressure is a hot Mish. Age becoming a factor for the first time as the flood of young contenders continues to build.

SCARLETT JOHANNSON: One of the surprises of the year, and the lone (I think) blemish on Hayden's 2011 record. Scarlett's an interest change up in a division filled with whirling blenders: she offers tricky looks, angles, and punch-placement you don't see in sparring.

ANNALYNE MCCORD: Another girl who could get fights every week. Fits with a lot of opponents, and nobody gives the fans more FCBA specific reference on TV. A pugil-stick contest in bikinis? Thanks Annalynne!

BRITTANY DANIEL: With Paula Patton making a move, Daniel almost certainly has a payday waiting for her in 2012: that's a leg-power match up for the ages. ERICA DURANCE is another stronglegged vixen who's probably on the Patton playlist.

JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT: Should make a strong bid for the title while Elisha's champ: always a great fight, and it's a spot where Hewitt could theoretically snag belts. In fact, Hewitt could probably make a good living just keeping LOOKOUT girls down: Duff, Minka, Elisha, Leighton...those are good fits.

KRISTEN BELL: Always seems like a girl who could rise up, take over the division and rule with an iron fist. Still waiting for that level of dominance, and time isn't on Bell's side...but I don't think we've seen the best of her yet.

ADRIANNE PALLICKI: Has come into her own - just needs to get on a bit of a roll to get over the top.

THEMES AND MEMES
RETURN OF THE BOXER/PUNCHER: Adrianne Pallicki's heart-stopping KO of Ali Larter may have signified the end of the so-called "Durance-Class" or "sport-bodied Class" dominance at lightweight. For years, it was the Biel-configured, athletic, compact, sub 5'9" lightweight who seemed to be the prototype for success. Longer girls like Pallicki, Daniela Ruah and Taylor Cole might be swinging the pendulum back to the "Theron Class" days.

HISC REBUILD: Kunis and Portman firmed the HISC line, and resecured the championship which is viewed as an entitlement program in HISC boardrooms. Stable retains it's compact structure and laser focus, with just enough growth to maintain tyranny. Nice.

STOCKY RULES AT BANTAM: Sturdy and curvy dominated the lists at bantam, which means that pressure dominated finesse in the division. There are a lot of good finesse fighters at 110 to 120, so we'll see if the trend holds up.

YOUNG PUSHING OLD: We see it every year, but this year was more dramatically generational than most previous. Disney brats claimed HISC names almost at will, with Danes and Mish falling to the fists of Tisdale and Hudgens respectively. Righetti's stingy performance against Theron felt like youth was the difference.

RIVALRY SURVEY
MISH/HUDGENS: This one had it all; young vs old(er); bratty vs Oscar-winny; trashy vs classy; upstart vs establishment. Mish wasn't supposed to lose...then she was supposed to win the rematch...she finally stopped the bleeding, but the battle line has been drawn well inside HISC territory when you think about it. Another firm push by Hudgens can be expected in 2012, and Mishy's not getting any younger.

CUTHBERT/MINKA: It's almost the perfect bodies-and-faces pairing: two girls of-a-type, but with distinctive markings so you can tell 'em apart. When one wins, it takes food out of the mouth of the other. Elisha's more erratic, but that wild-edge means the amplitude of her performance-curve is a little higher, while Minka seems more stable/consistent. Best of all, this is kind of a "template" rivalry: you can sub in JLH, or Hilary Duff...and achieve similar synergies.

FLYWEIGHT RIVALRY NETWORK
Flyweight's almost a perfect group of fungible goods, any one of which makes a good pairing with any other. Other divisions tend to break down into matchmaking "clusters": flyweight seems much more decentralized.

RIGHETTI/REGAN
Not sure Righetti regards Regan as anything but a troublesome puzzle to be figured out and disposed of, but for now at least, Bridgy Regs gives Big Rigs a reason to keep training hard.

MICHALKA/MUNN
Only fought once, but it's such an eye-catching, perfectly balanced match up that hopefully we'll see increasing friction between the two. I think it's likely: Aly obviously can't let a glaring loss like that go unanswered forever.

Munn/McCarthy
Nobody has done more to unravel the McCarthy mystique than Olivia Munn. It could be a trap for Jenny...not sure she wants to commit to revenge here...but I'm not sure she'll be able to walk away either.

Posted by simguy on 12/25/2011, 3:12 pm

IS JENNY MAC DONE? Bad, bad beats to Poppy Mo and Olivia Munn have many wondering if Jenny's due-date arrived in 2011. Can she retire without answering Poppy and Olivia? If she DOES answer, could THOSE fights ruin her? Tough spot to be in.

WILL FRONTSTREET DROP UNDER-PERFORMERS? F-street's a big stable...not every cylinder is clicking. It hurts good performers to lose card-spots to under-performing sisters, and we know The Wiz is familiar with the 90-10 rule, so...

CAN HAYDEN STAY ON TOP? Another good year for Panettiere, but she's sandwiched between A-listers who own the belts on one hand, and hungry youngsters on the other who know that beating Hayden can be a shortcut to a title fight.

CAN THERON WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP? CT's comeback has been Ali-esque in some respects...but fresh titles still elude her. It's hard for Theron to GET title shots, let alone beat the incumbents, so...

WHITHER MISSY? Peregrym was stymied after a long campaign may have left her a little over-extended. Losses late in the season have her regrouping over the holidays...but now fresh horses are on her heels. If Michalka moves up, and women like Patton prove for real, has Missy missed her best shot at the lightweight straps? Will she be forced into expensive rear-guard actions to protect her turf, or can she mount fresh offensives to secure the titles?

WHITHER MICHALKA? Exciting opportunities await Aly at lightweight, but there's a lot of unfinished business at bantam. Munn is strutting around unchecked. Cuthbert is a champion who matches up poorly against leggy Michalka in some ways...and how good would Aly look with a bantam title before moving up?

CAN HUDGENS RENEW AN OFFENSIVE AGAINST MISH? We don't know the significance of Mishy's win against 'Nessa just yet. It stopped Vanessa from going up 3-0, but is it a turning point or a temporary check? Further - can Vanessa continue to push Mish while facing unprecedented pressure from the likes of Tisdale, Scerbo etc?

IS GARNER DONE? We know she's retiring, but we also know she hadn't planned to go out to Charisma's pounding fists. Is that loss a decisive one, or a blip? Paula Patton's being advised to move on Jen without delay...is that a fight Garner should even consider at this point?

WHAT'S THE BEST FIGHT FOR RIGHETTI? With Theron answered, how does Amanda keep getting herself up for fights. There's Regan of course, but is Regan the natural rival Amanda's been waiting for? The One who can push her to new heights?

IS BIEL FOR REAL? There: I asked it. Many are taking Jessica's re-ascension to the throne for granted, and she was magnificent against a very motivated Missy P. But Jessica's a swaggering bully at heart...those types often gorge themselves while on the throne, and become victims of their own success/excess. We'll see.

IS CASSIDY FREEMAN A DARK HORSE? It's easy to forget that the woman who put Biel on a slide was a little known B-movie and CW starlet with broad shoulders and a bad attitude. Could Cassidy Freeman be the next Olivia Munn type story?

WILL LOOKOUT SELF DESTRUCT? Lookout has some of the best type-rivals in the game under one roof...that could prove explosive, and might leave Lookout bantams vulnerable to attacks from outside their own gymnasium walls.

IS SERINDA SWAN STILL THE HOTTEST? Serinda kind of went away over the 4th quarter and a lot of other woman are claiming they are hot, without even mentioning Swan's name. With Serinda's show renewed for the fall, chances are she'll have to get busy in the ring again.

WILL FRONTSTREET MONEYBALLERS FINALLY GET A TITLE? Fronstreet is world-famous for discovering value at discounted prices, and asylum fights generally pad F-street records...but will all the machinations pay off in gold belts for Fronstreet fighters in 2012?

EXACTLY HOW GOOD IS OLIVIA WILDE? Hopefully we'll find out.

WILL LAURA VANDERVOORT AND MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD SETTLE THINGS IN-RING, IN 2012? They've been circling and snarling for a couple of years now. Foxfire does a pretty good job of diffusing tensions, but this situation hasn't gone away.

WHAT ABOUT KALEY? Jessica Biel's back on top and loving it...where does that leave Cuoco?

WILL EMILY VANCAMP MOVE TO PRE-EMPT WILDE? The mighty EVC had a pretty good 2011, as did Wilde. Certainly a move against Olivia as precursor to a title might be a strong idea.