Beyond the Gridiron: My Thoughts on American Indian: An American Family's First Year of Life in India

Hello everyone! I hope you are all having a nice day today. As you all know in the intro of my title, it says "Beyond the Gridiron". That means that this is an article that is not sports related at all. I may use other terms such as "Outside the Ropes" or "After the Whistle", but I have not settled into one just yet. Therefore the names of my articles outside sports is still a work in progress.

Anyways, enough about me. This is about my thoughts on a documentary I saw on YouTube called American Indian, which is about a story of an American family living a full year in India. Before I get to everything else, here is a teaser trailer of American Indian:

The documentary American Indian was created by +Ford Seeuws, who is also known as +thesurfingviolinist on YouTube. In this documentary, it chronicles Ford and his family's life living in India, and the cultural adjustments that were made coming from the United States. The positive aspect I liked about this documentary is that it doesn't show India in a negative light at all, unlike most Western media. Rather, it shows that there are positive aspects of India that you would like to see as well. In the documentary, there are footage from his previous YouTube videos that chronicles his everyday life as well as travelling to various places around India. The good news is that it is not only recycled footage from past YouTube videos, there are also footage that is found exclusively in the documentary itself.

What I learned from this documentary is that India has a lot to offer if you ever want to travel in the future to there. One is where there is a restaurant near Jama Masjid called "Karim's" from what I saw sells really tasty naan. If I do visit India in the future, I will make an attempt to visit that restaurant and try it. Another thing I learned is that there are various monuments where some you are free to take pictures and others where you are forbidden to take a single click. Monuments such as Taj Mahal will allow tourists to take pictures, but one place where it is forbidden to take photography is Akshardam. From what I heard, Akshardam is a temple where you take take pictures from outside. However, once you step within the walls of the place, photos are not allowed and the only photo that can be taken is from the official photographer. To me, I find that very ludicrous and complete BS, but every place has a rule and rules has to be followed.

Another aspect I learned has to do with cross cultural communication. There are different cultures throughout the world, and sometimes we assumes that communication with different cultures is sometimes impossible. At the end of the day, we are all people and we all share the same Earth. Cross-cultural communication can be difficult, but not impossible. We all have to make an effort to understand each other. The world is very diverse and not everyone is the same. Everyday, the world is becoming more global and we must learn to adapt to every culture in order to be successful communicators.

Overall, this was a very entertaining and educational documentary. Also, this served as a backdoor pilot to a web series that shares the same name. Check out the web series as well. More information is on The Surfing Violinist's YouTube page.

Anyways, that is all I have to say for now. Please check out the documentary in the link shown here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taNW5IOU9zE. It is free to view, and you don't have to pay any extra money to watch. As The Surfing Violinist would say, "Zabardast Raho! Fatafat!".

- Kalind Patel

1/17/2014- preview of AFC & NFC Championship games, review of WWE Raw, more

Hello everyone! It's been a while since I was on here. I was out of town last week and had no Internet access to work with so I wasn't able to write for the site. Let's cut to the chase, shall we? Here we go!

WWE
The major storyline from this past Monday Night Raw was the saga between Daniel Bryan and Bray Wyatt. As you all knew that in the final Raw of 2013, Daniel Bryan "joined" The Wyatt Family. Bryan and the Wyatts were cohesive last week, but tension started to brew this week. In the main event of Monday Night Raw, the Usos defeated Bryan and Wyatt in a steel cage tag team match. After the match, Daniel Bryan would attack the Wyatts, especially Bray and remove the Wyatt family clothing in favor of his normal ring attire.

The final segment of Raw was critically acclaimed and had many people (including myself) talk about it in various social media outlets. Unfortunately, there is some bad news. Bryan suffered a concussion on the same night, therefore he will be out of action for a while.

Another sad news is that WWE Hall of Famer Mae Young passed away earlier this week at the age of 90. Although her appearances in WWF/E were mostly comic relief, she did play a role in pioneering women's wrestling during her peak. R.I.P. Mae Young, you will be missed.

NFL
The 2013-14 NFL Season is coming to a close as the AFC and NFC Championships, respectively will be this Sunday. The Denver Broncos will host the New England Patriots for the AFC Championship while the Seattle Seahawks will host the San Francisco 49ers for the NFC Championship. Whoever wins these championships will head to MetLife Stadium this February for the Super Bowl. I will be neutral for the NFC Championship, but I am definitely rooting for Denver to win the AFC Championship. Will it be easy for them? No, it will not because it's the Patriots and they are a very tough team.

Also, it was announced earlier this week that New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan had been given a contract extension.

UFC
This past Wednesday, UFC Fight Night took place at The Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Georgia. Overall, there were 12 fights on the card. 2 were streamed on UFC Fight Pass, while the rest aired on FOX Sports 1. Here are the results:

UFC Fight Pass

• Beneil Darmush def. Charlie Brennerman via submission at Round 1
• Vince Pichel def. Garett Whiteley via unanimous decision

FOX Sports 1 Prelims

• Louis Smolka def. Alptekin Ozkillic via unanimous decision
• Trevor Smith def. Brian Houston via split decision
• Elias Silverio def. Issac Vallie-Flagg via unanimous decision
• Ramsey Nijem def. Justin Edwards via unanimous decision

FOX Sports 1

• Cole Miller def. Sam Sicilia via Submission at Round 2
• John Moraga def. Dustin Ortiz via split decision
• Yoel Romero def. Derek Brunson via TKO at Round 3
• TJ Dillashaw def. Mike Easton via unanimous decision
• Brad Tavares def. Lorenz Larkin via unanimous decision
• Luke Rockhold def. Constantinos Philippou via TKO at Round 1

That's all I have to say for now. Have a good weekend!

- NYCKNP

12/31/2013: 2013: A Year in Review of New York Sports

Hello everyone! As you all know, this is the final blog of 2013 since in a few short hours it will be the year of 2014. However, it's already 2014 in other parts of the world, so Happy New Year to those who are reading this on the time zones ahead of GMT. Let's get right to it, shall we? Here we go!

2013 in a nutshell was a year of bad luck. To further explain, no team in New York has made the postseason. For those who ask, what about the Knicks, Rangers, Islanders, and the Nets? Didn't they make the postseason in 2013? Yes they did, but it was part of the 2012-13 season thus their seasons started in 2012. This year, the Yankees were average (which was expected), Mets were still rebuilding, Giants disappointed a lot, and the Jets had a rebuilding year where most people were surprised that they finished 8-8.

Near the end of 2013, expectations were high for the hockey and basketball teams in the area, and it has fallen flat. The Knicks are a really bad team to the point where coach Mike Woodson is losing credibility with the fans and the media, after leading the team to a division title last season. The Brooklyn Nets aren't that much better, despite all of the hype of Garnett, Pierce, and Kidd making his debut as rookie head coach. The Islanders have been falling flat after a surprising run to the postseason last season, Devils are rebuilding due to financial issues, and the Rangers are an "up and down" team.

However, not everything was bad in 2013. There were some good moments. In this year, we got to see the Knicks win a division title for the first time since the early 90s, and the Yankees pay tribute to Mariano Rivera as a thank you for all he has done in his career. Also, we got to see WrestleMania in the Meadowlands, but the very first at MetLife Stadium.

Speaking of WWE, 2013 started off with the rivalry of The Rock vs. CM Punk, and it ended with Daniel Bryan shocking the world by joining the Wyatts. Throughout 2013 in WWE, we got to see AJ Lee become Divas Champion, the return of RVD, the rivalry between Daniel Bryan and the Authority, and of course the changes in the WWE Championship. The best thing that happened this year was that the Spinner Belt was completely dropped in favor of a proper looking belt. Another change was that the WWE Championship and the World Heavyweight Championship became unified and rechristened as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. 2013 was a decent year for WWE, but I believe that there should be more improvements heading into 2014.

In the world of MMA, Bellator moved to Spike full time and started getting brand recognition to the point where Quinton Jackson signed a contract as well as Tito Ortiz coming out of retirement. Originally, Bellator had plans to make their PPV debut with Jackson vs. Ortiz as the main event. However, that idea was scrapped entirely due to injuries. Also, Jackson and Ortiz promoted the proposed PPV on TNA programming, which was a disgusting promotional tactic by Spike and TNA Wrestling. However, that is a discussion for another time. In the mainstream, UFC did over saturate by having too many fight cards, but still managed to gain a profit when they started airing fights on FOX Sports 1 (which is a cable network still in the stages of infancy). Also, it marked an end of an era in the Middleweight Division when Anderson Silva lost the title to Chris Weidman after 6 years of holding the UFC Middleweight Championship.

Outside of sports, I have to say 2013 was a decent year. It started off slow since I was still depressed from the 2012 Jets season and my academics suffered because of it. However, I learned to pick up the slack since depression and burnouts are not an excuse for poor performance. After that, I finished the year strong and my academic performance has gotten better because of it. I hope to improve on that at the start of 2014 since this semester may be my final semester.

Now that 2013 has come to a close, what were your thoughts about this year? Here's wishing for a better 2014 and years ahead. I leave you all with this song.

Have a Happy New Year!

-NYCKNP

12/6/2013- Cano and Granderson: Yankees No More, preview of NY Jets and NY Giants, more

Hello everyone! I hope all of you are having a great week. I didn't do a blog on Monday since I was busy with schoolwork, but I am here today. So let's cut to the chase, shall we? Here we go!

MLB
I usually don't talk baseball in the offseason as I leave that to the professionals at MLB Network, but this is something that needs to be discussed. It was reported earlier today that Robinson Cano has signed with the Seattle Mariners for 10 years, while Curtis Granderson has signed with the New York Mets for 4 years. I have no problem seeing Curtis go to the Mets since he needs a change of scenery from the Bronx to the Queens. However, I am baffled that Cano signed with the Mariners for a 10 year contract worth around $240 million. He's only in his 30s and usually athletes in their 30s don't get better that much. Either this move will bring benefits for the Mariners or set their franchise back for several years.

NFL
This Sunday, the New York Jets will host the Oakland Raiders at 1:05 PM, while the New York Giants will be on the road to face the San Diego Chargers in a 4:25 PM EST slot. Both of these games are going to be very tough. Especially for the Jets since they haven't won a game since November 3rd.

WWE
So it was announced that the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship will be unified at WWE Tables Ladders and Chairs. Earlier this week on Raw, a contract signing took place between John Cena and Randy Orton.

That's all I have to say for now. Have a good weekend everyone!

- NYCKNP

11/25/2013: WWE Survivor Series results, Ravens def. NY Jets, Cowboys def. NY Giants, more

Hello everyone. I hope all of you had a great weekend this weekend. Let's cut to the chase, shall we? Here we go!

Bellator
Bellator 109 took place at the Sands Casino Events Center in Bethlehem, PA. Here are the results of the main card:

• Terry Etim def. Patrick Cenoble via unanimous decision
• Will Brooks def. Alexander Sarnavskiy via unanimous decision
• Rick Hawn def. Ron Keslar via KO at Round 3
• Alexander Shlemenko def. Doug Marshall via TKO at Round 1 to retain the Bellator Middleweight Championship

NFL
Yesterday, the New York Jets were in M&T Bank Stadium to face the Baltimore Ravens at the early game. It was an ugly affair as both sides played bad football, but the Jets played much worse as they lost the game 19-3. The flip-flopping has come to an end, but on the wrong end of it.

Later that day, the New York Giants hosted the Dallas Cowboys and it was an ugly affair for the Giants. Even though the Giants managed to tie the game in the 4th quarter, the Cowboys kicked a field goal to win the game 24-21 at the end of regulation.

An interesting stat to share is that since the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs returned from their bye week, they have been 0-2 after exceeding expectations in the first half.

Also, if the season ended today, who had a more disappointing season? The New York Jets or the New York Giants?

WWE

Last night was the Survivor Series PPV where it emanated from the TD Garden in Boston, MA. Here are the results of the PPV:

Pre-Show

• The Miz def. Kofi Kingston

PPV

• The Shield and The Real Americans def. Team Rhodes, The Usos and Rey Mysterio to win the Traditional Survivor Series match. Roman Reigns was sole survivor

Elimination Order:

1. Dean Ambrose eliminated by Cody Rhodes
2. Jack Swagger eliminated by Jey Uso
3. Antonio Cesaro eliminated by Cody Rhodes
4. Jimmy Uso eliminated by Roman Reigns
5. Cody Rhodes eliminated by Roman Reigns
6. Jey Uso eliminated by Seth Rollins
7. Seth Rollins eliminated by Rey Mysterio
8. Goldust eliminated by Roman Reigns
9. Rey Mysterio eliminated by Roman Reigns

• Big E Langston def. Curtis Axel to retain the Intercontinental Championship
• Team Total Divas def. Team AJ to win the Traditional Survivor Series match. Natalya was sole survivor

Elimination Order:

1. Alicia Fox eliminated by Naomi
2. Cameron eliminated by Rosa Mendes
3. Rosa Mendes eliminated by Nikki Bella
4. Summer Rae eliminated by Nikki Bella
5. Eva Marie eliminated by Kaitlyn
6. Naomi eliminated by Kaitlyn
7. Kaitlyn eliminated by Brie Bella
8. Brie Bella eliminated by Aksana
9. Aksana eliminated by Nikki Bella
10. JoJo eliminated by AJ Lee
11. Tamina Snuka eliminated by Natalya
12. AJ Lee eliminated by Natalya

• Mark Henry def. Ryback
• John Cena def. Alberto Del Rio to retain the World Heavyweight Championship
• CM Punk and Daniel Bryan def. The Wyatts (Luke Harper and Eric Rowan)
• Randy Orton def. Big Show to retain the WWE Championship

After the PPV, Orton and Cena had a staredown. This could be a possible indicator of a unification match in the future. Here is a recap of the event from The Fight Network

Tonight on Raw, former New York Giants player Michael Strahan will be guest starring when Raw emanates from Uniondale, NY.

That's all I have to say for now. Have a good Thanksgiving everybody!

- NYCKNP

11/18/2013- Buffalo def. NY Jets, NY Giants def. Packers, UFC 167 results, more



Hello everyone. I hope all of you had a great weekend this weekend. Let's cut to the chase, shall we? Here we go!

UFC

UFC 167 took place this past Saturday at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas, NV. Overall, there were 12 fights on the card. 3 were streamed online, 4 aired on Fox Sports 1, while the rest aired on PPV. Here are the results:

Online Prelims

• Gian Villante def. Cody Donovan via TKO at Round 2
• Sergio Pettis def. Will Campuzano via unanimous decision
• Jason High def. Anthony Lapsley via unanimous decision

FOX Sports 1

• Erik Perez def. Edwin Figueroa via unanimous decision
• Rick Story def. Brian Ebersole via unanimous decision
• Thales Leites def. Ed Herman via unanimous decision
• Donald Cerrone def. Evan Dunham via submission at Round 2

PPV

• Ali Bagautinov def. Tim Elliot via unanimous decision
• Tyron Woodley def. Josh Koscheck via KO at Round 1
• Robbie Lawler def. Rory MacDonald via split decision
• Rashad Evans def. Chael Sonnen via TKO at Round 1
• Georges St-Pierre def. Johny Hendricks via split decision to retain the UFC Welterweight Championship*

(*)- the fight had a controversial ending since there was a dispute between the judges at the event.

Bellator
Bellator 108 took place on November 15, 2013 at Revel Casino in Atlantic City, NJ. Here are the results of the main card:

• Patricio Freire def. Justin Wilcox via TKO at Round 1
• Marcos Galvao def. Tom McKenna via TKO at Round 1
• Vitaly Minakov def. Alexander Volkov via TKO at Round 1
• Quinton Jackson def. Joey Beltran via TKO at Round 1

Here are the highlights:

NFL
Yesterday, the New York Jets returned to action as they came off a bye week, and they were completely rusty. Not only were they blown out by the Buffalo Bills, they are now the 1st team in NFL history to alternate wins and losses in the 1st 10 games. I don't understand why this team is flip-flopping. It has to stop or someone could get traded or fired. Meanwhile, the New York Giants hosted the Green Bay Packers in the 4:25 pm game, and the Giants won that game. I don't know how, but somehow they manage to win 4 straight games after starting 0-6.

WWE
Tonight on Monday Night Raw will have a Southern theme as "Raw goes Country". This will be the go-home show before the Survivor Series PPV. Here is a recap of last week:

 

 

That's all I have to say for now. Have a good week!

 

-NYCKNP

11/11/2013- NY Giants def. Raiders, preview of WWE Raw, more

Hello everyone! I apologize for my absence during the month of October. I had a lot of school work and personal matters to take care of during that month, but now I am here and am back. Also, I am still looking for sports writers for Wrestling With Green Pinstripes, so if you're interested please let me know ASAP. Let's get to it, shall we? Here we go!

NFL
The New York Jets had a bye week this week so the New York Giants had the undivided attention in the New York Metropolitan area as they hosted the Oakland Raiders. The Giants were trailing early on in the game, but in the 2nd half they managed to come back and beat the Raiders 24-20. Highlights are posted here: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap2000000279962/GameDay-Raiders-vs-Giants-highlights

The New York Jets (5-4) will be back next week to face the Buffalo Bills (3-7), while the New York Giants (3-6) will host the Green Bay Packers (5-4) that week as well.

UFC
UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson took place on Saturday night in Goiania, Brazil. Overall, there 11 fights on the card. 5 fights were streamed online, while the remaining 6 aired on Fox Sports 1. Here are the results:

Online Prelims

• Dustin Ortiz def. Jose Maria Tome via TKO at Round 3
• Adriano Martins def. Daron Cruickshank via Submission at Round 2
• Thiago Tavares def. Justin Salas via Submission at Round 1
• Omari Akhmedov def. Thiago Perpetuo via KO at Round 1
• Sam Sicilia def. Godofredo Pepey via TKO at Round 1

FOX Sports 1

• Jeremy Stephens def. Rony Jason via KO at Round 1
• Ryan LaFlare def. Santiago Ponzinibbio via unanimous decision
• Brandon Thatch def. Paulo Thiago VIA Submission at Round 1
• Rafael Cavalcante def. Igor Pokrajac via TKO at Round 1
• Cezar Ferreira def. Daniel Sarafian via split decision
• Vitor Belfort def. Dan Henderson via TKO at Round 1

Here is a recap of the event:

Bellator
Bellator 107 took place on Friday night at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. Here are the results of the main card:

• Derek Campos def. Martin Stapleton via unanimous decision
• Brennan Ward def. Mikkel Parlo via TKO at Round 2
• Joe Warren def. Travis Marx via TKO at Round 2
• Cheick Kongo def. Peter Graham via unanimous decision

WWE
Tune in tonight to Monday Night Raw to find out what happened after the Big Show was reinstated back into the WWE. Here is a recap of what happened last week in the WWE.

That's all I have to say for now. Have a good week everyone, and please let me know if you're interested in becoming a writer for this site.

- NYCKNP