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Tonight on “Big Nation” radio, King Kamali’s long time friend and trainer, Jim Magnone, reported Shari is currently tipping the scales at 284lbs. King is seven weeks out from the 2008 IRONMAN Pro with hopes of getting a special invite to the Arnold Classic. King and Lonnie at the 2005 IRONMAN PRO. Lonnie “The Swami” Teper weighs all the competitors at a Friday night press conference. How much will King weigh on The Swami scale? Will King qualify for the Olympia by placing in the top five? Will he do well enough to receive a special invite to the Arnold Classic? We’ll have to wait and see. King Kamali at the 2005 IRONMAN. The last time King was on the IRONMAN stage (2005) he weighed in at 254lbs and placed fifth. After the 2005 IRONMAN weigh-in, Ron Avidan reported: “King Kamali weighing in at 254 pounds raised some eyebrows, as this looks like his heaviest weight ever, and since King Kamali is very quiet the day before the show and hardly said anything, he may just surprise us yet.”

The UFC returns to Columbus, Ohio during the Arnold Classic weekend.  There is one confirmed fight thus far; Anderson Silva Vs. Dan Henderson. On Saturday, March 1, one of the biggest questions in all of mixed martial arts will be answered – who is the greatest middleweight fighter in the world? UFC® Middleweight Champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva will take on PRIDE 185 lb. champion Dan Henderson in a pivotal battle to determine the undisputed king of the middleweights. UFC® 82: PRIDE OF A CHAMPION – Saturday, March 1, live on Pay-Per-View from Columbus, OH. TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE! VIP SEATS – US $402.00 FLOOR SEATS – US $402.00 LOWER BOWL – US $202.00 – US $302.00 CLUB LEVEL – US $102.00 – US $202.00 UPPER BOWL – US $52.00 – US $102.00 NATIONWIDE ARENA SATURDAY, MAR 1, 2008 DOORS: 7:30PM 1ST BOUT: 8:15 PM  

Flexonline recently posted this update on their forums on Hidetada: FLEX EXCLUSIVE! Yesterday morning Saturday, Dec 29th at 7am, a friend of the Flex family went to go visit Hide for the 1st time since his arrest on Dec 8th. Hide was in surprisingly good mood and spirits.  He looks good and he said he is really happy about all the support he has been getting from various people incuding the jail guards.  Many are bodybuilding fans and of course know who he is, they have been bringing bodybuilding mags for him to sign on a regular basis, so even in there, Hide is a star.  LOL!! He has been buying tuna cans and hard boil eggs to stay on his diet and he has been doing push ups, sit ups and pull ups with his own bodyweight to sort of keep up with the workouts a little. Right now he has attorneys helping him out through all this so he’s not alone (which is very important, I’m sure you can imagine).  The fact that a lot of people think about him and support him in this time of needs really makes him happy. He is awaiting his 1st trial…

A couple of images for comic fans. Two movies are in the works for 2008 – Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk. From Comingsoon.net: We have received this new photo from director Jon Favreau’s Iron Man, opening in theaters on May 2 and starring Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges. Below it, you’ll find a better-quality version of The Incredible Hulk artwork that was released previously. The latter film opens June 13 and stars Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt and Tim Blake Nelson.       

Some interesting information on opening and owning a Gold’s Gym Franchise. I found this the most staggering number, “While Gold’s is proud of its muscle-bound past, it cannot sustain its gyms with bodybuilders alone in the $17.6-billion fitness club industry.” A decent article and insight on the direction Gold’s Gym is headed. This was published in the Detroit Free Press: Gold’s Gym, made famous in the cult film “Pumping Iron” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno, plans a major expansion in metro Detroit. Plans are in the works for 20 new locations and at least $40 million in investment, said Keith Albright, director of development for the Dallas-based fitness chain. The chain plans to add 200 locations by 2010 for a total of more than 650 U.S. locations. The bulk of Gold’s Gym locations are owned by franchisees. Michigan gyms are now in Ann Arbor, Howell, Battle Creek and New Buffalo. Albright plans a Detroit meeting in January to introduce potential franchisees to the brand. A Gold’s Gym franchise takes a substantial investment, he said. The gyms are a minimum of 20,000 square feet and require a $2-million investment to build and equip. The company requires its franchisees to have…

Flexonline.com broke the story about Hidetada being arrested a while before Christmas at Los Angeles’ LAX airport for possession of controlled substances. According to Flexonline, he is still in custody and could be released on bail in a few days. As seen in the document below, bail is set for $180,000 and his next court date is January 8, 2008. After this news the official Arnold Classic competitor list was updated and Hidetada’s name was removed. Who might take his place???

Bodybuilding.com Announces Free All-Access Webcast Double-Header Bodybuilding.com, the Internet’s most- visited bodybuilding and fitness site and largest retailer of nutritional supplements, has announced a free all-access webcast double-header featuring the 2008 Iron Man Pro and the Arnold Classic. Bodybuilding.com will broadcast live coverage on-stage and backstage at both events. Viewers will enjoy pre-show coverage, videos and interviews with the pros, in-depth profiles, exclusive offers from the Bodybuilding.com Store, contest blogs, and more! The IFBB Iron Man Pro is the biggest and longest-running IFBB professional bodybuilding event on the West Coast. It is the only pro show in Los Angeles, the Mecca of bodybuilding. The top 3 finalists will qualify to compete in the next Mr. Olympia. The Arnold Classic is an annual bodybuilding, fitness and figure competition (named after Arnold Schwarzenegger). It is the most lucrative competition in bodybuilding, with a number of large prizes. Most notably, the first place winner receives $100,000 cash, a Hummer vehicle, a Rolex watch, and some serious bragging rights for the year. The 2008 Iron Man Pro will be webcast live Saturday, February 16th from the L.A. Convention Center in Los Angeles, CA. Men’s pre-judging will start at 9:30 am PST, and the Men’s…

We asked IFBB pro bodybuilder A.D. Cherry how he felt upon learning that he was invited to the 2008 Arnold Classic. Here is his response: I really feel great! I feel like this is an acceptance and and an opportunity to show my look and physique on the pro stage. I couldn’t ask for much more. I have never even been to Columbus before. This whole experience is just going to be great. I woke up today, the day after I learned I was invited, and said ‘I just cant believe it!’. I am really excited, happy and fired up. That is the motivation you need to get ready for this show. This year, I had my first Christmas at my house, with my son and girlfriend, and we had the full Christmas dinner, turkey, stuffing and potatoes. The next evening, we went to the owner of Gold’s Gym Modesto for dinner, and now I am in some serious training, and I have eight weeks to get ready. I am going to do exactly what I did for the NPC Nationals, except to shoot for being 5lbs heavier with the same conditioning, but a little better. I am focusing on…

20th Annual Arnold Classic Competitors List After countless days of waiting, here is the competitors who will be in the 2008 Arnold Classic competitions. Men’s Competitors Melvin Anthony Gustavo Badell Adorthus Cherry Toney Freeman Kai Greene Deshaun Grimez Phil Heath David Henry Dexter Jackson Johnnie Jackson Victor Martinez Desmond Miller Ronny Rockel Silvio Samuel Branch Warren Hidetada Yamagishi Fitness International Competitors Regiane Da Silva Tina Durkin Bethany Gainey Tracey Greenwood Oksana Grishina Jen Hendershott Kimberly Klein Julie Lohre Tanya Merryman Mindi O’brien Julie Palmer Stacy Simons Figure International Competitors Sonia Adcock Gina Aliotti Paola Almerico Catherine Andersen Natalie Benson Monica Brant-Peckham Amy Fry Bernadette Galvan Jennifer Gates Deborah Leung Juliana Malacarne Kristal Richardson Chastity Slone Brenda Marie Smith Briana Tindall Valerie Waugaman Latisha Wilder Nicole Wilkins Ms. International Competitors Lisa Aukland Tracy Beckham Dayana Cadeau Tazzie Columb Iris Floyd Kyle Kristy Hawkins Rosemary Jennings Debi Laszewski Mah-Ann Mendoza Colette Nelson Yaxeni Oriquen Betty Pariso Brenda Raganot Annie Rivieccio Antoinette Thompson Betty Viana-Adkins

“Pro Bodybuilding Weekly” the radio voice of professional bodybuilding, announces a new addition to the IFBB Contest Schedule. “The Pro Bodybuilding Weekly Championships” will debut in Tampa, Florida on August 9th. One of the premier locations on the 2008 IFBB schedule, the contest will take place on Florida’s west coast, just off the Gulf of Mexico. IFBB Pro League Chairman Jim Manion states, “Tampa has always been a hot bed for NPC bodybuilding and I’m looking forward to the first IFBB professional bodybuilding event held there in 2008,” Under the direction of promoter Tim Gardner, The “Pro Bodybuilding Weekly Championships” will be the year’s only IFBB bodybuilding event staged in the Southeast region of the United States. The event will bring professional bodybuilding back to the State of Florida for the first time in 5 years. PBW’s creator Dan Solomon explains, “The creation of the PBW Bodybuilding Championships is a great way for us to give something back to an industry that has helped us popularize bodybuilding talk radio.” Solomon continues, “The State of Florida has produced countless world class bodybuilders. We are excited to team up with one of the area’s top promoters, Tim Gardner, to bring pro bodybuilding…

Congratulations to Isaac Hinds, Bodybuilding.com‘s Photographer of the Year for 2007. This well deserved award shows that the members do appreciate excellent pictures. Isaac shot over 20 various events for bodybuilding.com, as well as multiple photo shoots. Isaac has also been a good friend and it has been fun shooting many events with his humor. Here is a pic of Isaac (Lift Studios) shooting Amy Peters in Dallas at the NPC Nationals.  

The IFBB Houston Pro show, for bodybuilding, fitness and figure, was added to the official IFBB 2008 Contest schedule.  These contests will occur of the 2008 July 4th weekend, and are promoted by Lee Thompson, and Khalid Tibari.  Here is the link for all of the 2008 IFBB pro bodybuilding, figure and fitness contests, updated as of December 23rd. http://www.getbig.com/info/ifbb/ifbb-schedule2008.htm

BSN (Bio-Engineered Supplements and Nutrition) was recently sued by Michael Rivera and Dan Abell, for claiming that their products contain CEM3 (Creatine Ethyl Ester Malate) when it doesn’t contain any. These two are claiming that BSN falsly make claims in their advertisements, falsely claim that they have a patent pending on CEM3, and other statements. They filed the case in the United States District Court, Central District of California, on November 6, 2007. Case # SACV07-1306 JVS, and more looking for a class action complaint Here is BSN’s response to the story. http://www.getbig.com/news/2007/12/20071214bsn.htm 

Checking out the set and meeting all of the American Gladiators again after the last day of shooting was a treat. I had also visited the set on the first day of shooting, and today, the first season was complete, and we had a chance to interview and talk with everyone, including Hulk Hogan and  Laila Ali.  I took a number of pictures, and have lots of fun. For the complete story and pictures, click on the link below http://www.getbig.com/news/2007/12/20071215amglad.htm