2013 Prospect of the Year: Billy Joe Saunders

2013 Prospect of the Year: Billy Joe Saunders
Mark E. Ortega
December 27, 2013

A number of young fighters saw their unbeaten records receive their first blemishes, while other young prospects established themselves as potential future stars of the sport. Last year, I anointed Javier Fortuna my Prospect of the Year based on his youth and impressive victories, as well as the fact he maintained an active schedule. Those are all important when it comes to deciding my Prospect of the Year. Here is my choice as well as a few others who were worthy of consideration.

2013 Breakthrough Fighter of the Year - Gennady Golovkin

Breakthrough Fighter of 2013: Gennady Golovkin

Mark E. Ortega
December 25, 2013

A number of fighters enjoyed years in 2013 that may later be traced back to the beginning of their legacies. Here's who I deemed the breakthrough fighters of the year.

2013 Comeback Fighter of the Year - Kiko Martinez

2013 Comeback of the Year: Kiko Martinez

Mark E. Ortega

December 23, 2013

2013 saw a number of fighters being their careers back from the brink of irrelevance, making it more difficult than in other years to determine who had the biggest comeback.

Ironically, my choice for 2013's Comeback Fighter of the Year is a man who began the year in the losing column, and by knockout no less. Where he ended the year made it an intriguing and improbable run worthy of recognition.

Ten Worst Boxing Moments of 2013

Ten Worst Boxing Moments of 2013
Mark E. Ortega
December 20, 2013

Although many consider 2013 to have been a banner year for boxing, it wasn't always smooth sailing. The sport suffered from its fair share of scandal and controversy, not to mention in a few cases just some poor judgment and bad taste. Here I count down the ten worst moments the sport dealt with in 2013.

Hanford Sentinel: Ramirez rookie of the year mention

Local glance: Ramirez rookie of the year

By Sentinel Sports Staff

December 20, 2013

My blog post where I named Avenal, Calif.'s Jose Ramirez my 2013 Rookie of the Year was oddly picked up by a nearby paper to Ramirez, the Hanford Sentinel. Pretty cool.

Click here to read the story...

2013 Rookie of the Year - Jose Ramirez

2013 Boxing Rookie of the Year - Jose Ramirez
Mark E. Ortega
December 19, 2013


I've always wondered why boxing outlets never appoint a Rookie of the Year. To determine rookie status, a fighter must have turned professional in 2013. But, like in baseball, where if you didn't reach a certain amount of plate appearances, for this award you could qualify if you fought twice or less total in years previous.

With that in mind, I thought I would designate my own Rookie of the Year for 2013, adding a couple of honorable mentions.

Ten Favorite Sets of 2013 - Part One

Ten Favorite Sets of 2013 - Part One
Mark E. Ortega
December 18, 2013

In 2013, I had the opportunity and privilege to attend over a dozen concerts, including a two-day inaugural Las Vegas music festival where I saw about two dozen acts. It's the most amount of live music I've ever experienced in one calendar year and it gave me enough of a sample size to decide what my favorites were. With that in mind, I compiled a list of my ten favorite sets of 2013, starting with a few honorable mentions that didn't quite make the cut but were still worthy to discuss. The honorable mentions is where we will begin, and in separate posts, I'll go over the top ten in the coming days.

The Head and the Heart close 2013 solidly

Head and the Heart close 2013 solidly
Mark E. Ortega
Freelance
December 11, 2013

Photo by Ethan Shvartzman. More can be found here.

Seattle folk rock band The Head and The Heart played The Wiltern for the second time in less than a week, putting together sixteen songs that were well received by a near capacity audience on Tuesday night.

Sometimes, when a band plays the same venue in a short period, you worry they're not going to bring it as much on the second night. There was no disappointment as the eclectic folk group brought their best.

Lissie kills it at the Fonda

Lissie kills it at the Fonda
Mark E. Ortega
GrimyGoods.com

December 10, 2013

Last night at The Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, burgeoning singer/songwriter Lissie paid homage both to her hometown of Rock Island, Ill., as well as her former Beachwood Canyon stomping grounds as her and her band enthusiastically rifled through a 17-song set.

Playing tracks that are mostly off her recently released Back To Forever album, Lissie showcased her vocal ability across tracks that both rocked  and ones that broke your heart, often times simultaneously. She proved that her unique voice transcends to a live show, and in fact sounds better than it does on her studio records.

Click here to read the rest...

For the full setlist, click here: http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/lissie/2013/the-fonda-theatre-hollywood-ca-53c40375.html

For a video of Lissie covering Kid Cusi's "Pursuit of Happiness" from this show, click here: http://youtu.be/3Dqa9ej_t3M