Kimbo & The Derby Girls

Last night I was exposed to two sports that are a bit out of the mainstream....The family and I took in a Roller Derby bout in Yonkers, NY and then got home in time to watch Kimbo slice up the ear of  James (The Colossus) Thompson.

We saw Jane McManus, aka Lesley E. Visserate (below left), the Jets beat writer for the Journal News and a family friend, compete for the Indian Point Sirens in Suburbia Roller Derby at E.J. Murray's Memorial Skating Rink. When she wasn't in the penalty box, Jane was busy taking down opponents from the Country Clubbers and Botoxic Avengers in a three-team exhibition.

When the Derby girls were done with their action, they repaired to Barney McNabb's bar to watch the big mixed martial arts bout making its debut on CBS.

The fight was stopped 38 seconds into the third round after Slice, a former street brawler from Miami whose real name is Kevin Ferguson, hit Thompson with an overhand right to his giant freak ear.

"Man, that (stuff) was wack, yo," McManus said in an exclusive interview conducted Sunday over breakfast.

We have to wonder whether CBS will broadcast this "sport" again considering my man's ear was blown off on live network TV.

Even if it is, the Derby girls won't be watching it.

"We're not above trying to clobber each other," McManus said, "but at least we have rules."

(Apparently CBS didn't think the bout was too violent because the network sent out this self-congratulatory email...)

THE INAUGURAL "CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS" MIXED MARTIAL ARTS EVENT LEADS THE NETWORK TO DEMOGRAPHIC VICTORY AND SIGNIFICANT TIME PERIOD GROWTH

CBS Places First in Key Young Adult and Men Demographics with Triple Digit Percentage Increases Versus the Network's Season Average on Saturday

National Ratings for the Highest Rated Part of the Broadcast—Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson —which Did Not Air Until 11:30 PM, Will Not be Available Until Tuesday

Local Markets Show Ratings Surge in Final Quarter-Hour

        The inaugural CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS mixed martial arts event, live from Newark N.J., led the Network to demographic victory and significant time period growth among all key young adult and young men demographics from 9:00-11:00 PM, according to preliminary Nielsen live plus same day ratings for Saturday, May 31.

         The 9:00-11:00PM portion of CBS ELITEXC SATURDAY NIGHT FIGHTS (2.7/05, 4.30m) was first in adults 25-54 (1.9/06), adults 18-49 (1.9/06), adults 18-34 (1.9/07), men 25-54 (2.6/08), men 18-49 (2.5/08) and men 18-34 (2.6/10).

Editors Note:  Preliminary national ratings for Saturday night only include the 9:00-11:00 PM prime time portion of the broadcast and do not include the highest rated part of the telecast--Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson--which didn't air until 11:30 PM. Full program ratings will not be available until Tuesday.

Also, CBS programming was pre-empted in approximately 5% of the country due to coverage of the Children's Miracle Network Telethon.

The broadcast posted increases in every half-hour in key adult and men demographics:
 
                        Adults  Men     Adults  Men     Adults  Men
                        18-34   18-34   18-49   18-49   25-54   25-54
 
9PM                1.4       1.7       1.4       1.7       1.5       1.8
9:30PM           1.5       2.1       1.6       2.0       1.6       2.2
10PM              2.1       3.0       2.1       2.8       2.1       2.9
1030PM          2.5       3.6       2.4       3.4       2.5       3.4

Compared to the 9:00-11:00PM regularly scheduled programming during the 2007-08 season, CBS was up +36% in adults 18-49 (from 1.4/04), +111% in adults 18-34 (from 0.9/03), +86% in men 25-54 (from 1.4/04), +127% in men 18-49 (from 1.1/03), +271% in men 18-34 (from 0.7/03).

In the 54 metered local markets, the broadcast gained in every half-hour, beginning with a 2.4/5 from 9:00-9:30 PM and peaking at a 4.7/10 from 11:30-11:45 PM during the Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson main event.

Half-hour by half-hour ratings in the 54 metered markets.

·       9:00-9:30pm             2.4/5

1       9:30-10:00pm            2.5/5
2       10:00-10:30pm           3.2/6
3       10:30-11:00pm           3.7/7
4       11:00-11:30pm           4.0/8
5       11:30-11:45pm           4.7/10 

The Top 10 markets from 11:30-11:45 PM (featuring Kimbo Slice vs. James Thompson)

1) Oklahoma City/KWTV            11.1/18
        2) Nashville/WTVF                        10.3/19
        3) New Orleans/WWL                    9.7/15
4) Memphis/WREG                          8.4/14
5) Greenville-Spartanburg-               8.0/15
     Asheville/WSPA
6) Las Vegas/KLAS                        7.5/15
7T) Tulsa/KOTV                   7.3/13
        7T) Miami/WFOR                    7.3/12
        9) Los Angeles/KCBS               7.2/17
        10) St Louis/KMOV                             7.1/13

        SHOWTIME will rebroadcast last night's event on Friday, June 13 (11:00 PM, ET/PT).