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The World According to Eddy Z



It's been a long time since a sports team here in Toronto has generated as much electricity as the Blue Jays have in the past 2 weeks or so. In an exciting and expensive trading flurry that's reminiscent of the Pat Gillick glory days, which saw them win back to back World Series in '92 and ’93, they have dealt for some big name stars at the trade deadline. That will ensure that the Jays will be in a legitimate playoff hunt this season. Acquiring all-star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies and then ace pitcher David Price from the Tigers has the city going Blue Jay crazy. These acquisitions have definitely made the team a fearsome force to contend with and already in possession of the most explosive offense in the game should make them one of the favorites to win.

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She is without a doubt not only the #1 draw in the UFC, but the most talented athlete in the sport of MMA. Focused, poised, with an exciting dominating style that pleases all and sells tickets Ronda Rousey has become one of the biggest names in sports today. Problem is that she has been so dominant that they will be hard pressed to find her credible opponents. Her last three opponents all top 5 ranked fighters have basically lasted about a minute and a half combined. Dana White and the UFC brand have a huge problem. In my opinion one of the solutions that needs to be looked at seriously is to set up a match between Ronda and a male opponent. It will become the largest selling fight in UFC history, and trust me Rousey has a solid chance to beat a male or make a great fight of it. Sure it's controversial but it has had a precedent with the dominant kick boxer of her times, Lucia Rijker fighting a male opponent Somchai Jaidee about 20 years ago in a highly publicized Muay Thai tilt and making a pretty good account of her self before getting stopped. Now as good as Rijker was, she wasn't nearly as dominant as Rousey is in their respective disciplines, but was certainly a force in her own right. Laila Ali was scared to death of her and turned down over a million dollar purse to face the 'Hurricane from Holland'. And just to think Ali outweighed her by at least 25 lbs! If Rousey doesn't feel motivated by the promotional opportunities given to her by the UFC you can just bet that she will be making the very natural jump to the WWE that has been openly courting her for months. With Vince McMahon and his giant traveling wrestling circus, Rousey will shine and finally make the huge dollars that an elite athlete of her stature in the sport should. Rousey has a charismatic charm and personality that along with her incredible fighting talents puts her in a position of being one of those rare athletes who is a sure bet to transcend the confines of her own sport. Huge congratulations go out to Caroline Veyre, Mandy Bujold and Arthur Biyarslanov who bought Canada home 3 Gold medals at the recently completed 2015 Pan Am Games. For a sport which is disgracefully underfunded by the Canadian government bringing home 3 Gold and the same number of Bronze medals is a titanic accomplishment, especially competing against the powerful teams from the US and Cuba. I am so proud of all of our Canadian medalists and athletes for a job well done! We Canadians need to take a back seat to no one! Speaking of disgraceful politics in Canadian amateur boxing, it just baffles the mind why Boxing Canada did not appoint well-known Canadian boxing icon Adrian Teoderescu as the head coach of the boxing team at the Pan Ams. Teoderescu is the most successful coach in Canadian amateur boxing history. From Olympic medalists Lennox Lewis, Eggerton Marcus, Marc Leduc to the current Pan Am gold medal winners Arthur Biyarslanov and Mandy Bujold he has been their long time head coach and mentor. All can tell you how vital he was to their careers and accomplishments. To leave him the team was purely a political move and in spite of the team's success not appointing Teoderscu was a disservice to both the athletes and the sport. I am really saddened to hear about the passing of longtime wrestling legend and proud Canadian Rowdy Roddy Piper at the too young age of 61. Without a doubt pro wrestling's greatest villain and iconic performer I always felt that Roddy never really received due credit for making pro wrestling the huge world wide phenomenon it is today. His work on the mike and his promotion as the heel in the very first Wrestlemania was legendary and his vital contribution certainly put Vince McMahon and his fledgling WWF on the world map. I had the great opportunity to meet him on a few occasions and he was a genuine,warm human being. The first time I met the “Rowdy Scot” was truly memorable and will be a column in itself in the very near future. He will be truly missed!! It's great to be back! Until Next Time


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Edward Zawadzki -- Bio and Archives

It is with a heavy heart that I write tonight that sportscaster, ‘King of Fight’ Eddie Zawadzki is gone.  Eddie’s sister, Christine called to tell Canada Free Press (CFP) that Eddie died this morning of a massive heart attack, age 55.

Death of sportscaster ‘King of Fight’ Eddie Zawadzki


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