There's a fine art to selecting your fighting name. It's got to be something aggressive, but a potential pugilist can't fly off half-cocked and just hurl out a bunch of words. For instance, the novice brawler can't pick something like Tom "Once Ripped Out a Guy's Eyeball in a Bar Fight in Phnom Penh" Smith. That's too specific and cumbersome. Besides, it lacks that certain je ne sais quoi that makes hack ESPN-parroting local sportscasters repeat it ad nauseam on the evening news. Tom "The Cambodian-Killer" Smith, though, is a moniker with some teeth. When you hear that he's coming to the bar -- and that he's pissed -- you flee. Fast.
Well, people of Denver, Joe "Diesel" Riggs is coming to town. So's John "The Annihilator" Cronk. But there's no need to raise the terror-alert level to red just yet. By all accounts, these guys aren't mad at anyone. They are merely going to beat the holy bejesus out of each other. And we get to watch.
That's right, gang: Tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Denver Coliseum, 4600 Humboldt Street, the Worldwide Fighting Championship presents Clash of the Titans, a mixed-martial-arts fighting event that could be the greatest punch-up here since Hickenlooper dropped Mares. Fort Collins's own Jake "Thunder" Hattan will also bludgeon some unfortunate bruiser in the twelve-fight card. Tickets, which range from $22.50 to $250 for VIP tables, are available at King Soopers stores and www.ticketswest.com. So wake the kiddies, rig up Grandma's portable oxygen tank and bring 'em all to the show. The fighters spent so much time picking their nicknames alone, it's the least you can do. For more information, call 720-620-6874 or log on to www.denvercoliseum.com. -- Adam Cayton-Holland
Happy Trails
Epic2 lets cyclists give back.
SAT, 9/24
During Epic2, cyclists can help repair mountain trails, party down and enjoy the fruits of their labor, all in the same weekend.
Sponsored by the Team Evergreen Bicycle Club, among others, the gathering combines a healthy dose of volunteer work with camping, catered food and trail riding. "We want to repeat the event we had last year," says Bob Campbell, a Team Evergreen organizer, referring to the first Epic, which was put together by the International Mountain Bicycling Association.
Work starts today at 9 a.m. at the group campground at Buffalo Creek Meadows, about twenty miles from Pine Junction in Jefferson County. Campbell expects approximately 100 people to come together to restore trails using hand tools and chain saws.
A catered dinner will await participants at the end of the workday. And tomorrow morning, riders will be treated to breakfast before they head off along the renewed Green Mountain Trail, biking in groups according to ability.
"It's a way to give back, and it's lots of fun," Campbell says.
For more information, or to sign up, go to www. triplebypass.org/ epic2. -- Ernie Tucker
Bear Down
SUN, 9/25
Can't bear the thought of competing in public against G.I. Jock, who's up to his neck in military-issue sports gear and macho attitude? Fear not. You, too, can compete at today's Bearable Adventure Race, a contest for those of us with or without thighs of steel and washboard abs. Ordinary competitors in teams of two (male, female, coed and/or adult-youth pairs are acceptable) will swim, float in inner tubes, run and mountain-bike through Bear Creek Park -- at Dartmouth Avenue and South Raleigh Street -- beginning at 8:30 a.m. Meanwhile, the biggest wusses can stand on the sidelines and cheer them on.
The team registration fee is $90; go to www.active.com for details. -- Susan Froyd
All on Board
Ski and snowboard flicks flicker in Aspen.
THURS, 9/22
Normally, groups with names like "Poor Boyz" are simply not allowed into Aspen. First of all, as the name suggests, said clique probably does not nestle comfortably in the upper-class tax bracket. Furthermore, the spelling of the word "boys" with a "z" is way too urban for the Hotel Jerome. Nevertheless, the town fathers of Aspen are pulling back the gilded curtain so that Poor Boyz Productions, Standard Films, Teton Gravity Research, and 1242 Productions & The Communitycan present the newest crop of ski and snowboard films.
Billed as a celebration of snow film and culture, The Meeting kicks off tonight with a 10 p.m. opening party at the Sky Hotel and runs through Sunday, September 25. Movies screen at the Wheeler Opera House, 320 East Hyman Avenue in downtown Aspen. Tickets are $5 a flick or $20 for an all-shows pass. Visit www.aspensnowmass.com for more information. -- Adam Cayton-Holland
