I’m back at work after an terrific weekend in Indianapolis. I traveled to Gen Con with Dave and crew on Wednesday for five days in a nerdy paradise. Matt2 flew in from DC and we all stayed at the Super 8. It wasn’t the classiest place I’ve ever stayed, but it was cheap. Considering we’d be staying there for at least four nights, we wanted to stay economical, allowing us to spend more on merchandise. If you’re into card games, board games, video games, nerds in costumes, or any hobby that isn’t quite normal, then THIS IS THE PLACE.

I arrived Wednesday and headed immediately to the Westin, the temporary headquarters for Upperdeck Entertainment. I signed up for the VS Pro Circuit Championship (first prize is $20,000) and then joined a small side tournament to check out the new VS set. After playing with the new cards for a couple hours, we grabbed dinner at Steak & Shake and then headed to the motel to tweak our decks for the big tournament on Thursday morning.

I didn’t fair very good in the 278-person tournament, after five games I hadn’t won a single match. With a bruised ego I dropped out of the tournament with no legitimate chance at making it to Day 2 and joined another side tournament. I managed to go 5-1 in the side tournament and won half a box of cards from the new set which hasn’t hit stores yet. Several of the St. Louis players managed to get the six wins required for advancing to Day 2.

On Saturday we got another shot at taking home money competing in the VS 10K. Upperdeck would be handing out $10,000 in total prize money, a fraction of the prizes from the $100,000 PC, but at least it was something. Matt2 managed to put an amazing win streak together finishing 8-2 and advancing to the top 8 finals on Sunday. Unfortunately he had an early flight the next day and had to drop out, but not before taking home $500.

After a brief drought of MMA with only the WEC to tide us over, things are about to get crazy with 4 UFCs and 1 WEC event all within 30 day run. It all kicks off this weekend with the highly anticipated championship fight between Randy Couture and Gabriel Gonzaga. In his last fight Gonazaga knocked out my favorite fighter, Mirko Crocop. I’m hoping Randy Couture takes it to the Brazilian in what should be a really exciting fight. Here is the rest of the fight card which is completely stacked!

Speaking of the UFC here is the poster for UFC 77 in October. This event features Aaron’s favorite fighter Rich Franklin attempting to win his title back from muey-thai specialis, Anderson Silva. The event is being billed “Hostile Territory” with the fight taking place in Rich’s hometown of Cincinnati, OH.

When you think of Ukranian Gypsy Punk, Gogol Bordello is obviously the first name that comes to mind. Check out their latest performance on Letterman. These guys might seem to be a little off putting at first, but they’re actually pretty dang cool. These guys rock!

A North Caronlina boy has taken an early lead in this year’s Darwin Awards. He made a fatal mistake when he placed his overheated Xbox 360 in a tub of water to cool it down.

So I’m a little late to the Super Smash Brothers party, only having played the game recently on my Wii. This game is super-awesome. Its an addictive little multiplayer fighting game featuring an All-Star cast of Nintendo favorites including: Mario, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Princess Peach, Link, Kirby, Pikachu, etc. In December the Wii is getting its first incarnation of the game, Super Smash Brothers Brawl and much to the pleasure of its fans, Nintendo is giving daily updates about the game until its release. So far 17 characters have been unveiled including the debut of Wario, Pokemon Trainer, and Diddy Kong! This game is going to be awesome!

Even MORE tracks have been announced for Guitar Hero 3 taking the total to thirty-something. This includes songs by Slayer, In Flames, The Strokes, Dragonforce, and a song by Kaiser Chiefs which will soon be stuck in your head for eternity.

First footage from the upcoming Halo movie.  Pretty interesting stuff.  I have my doubts about the authenticity of the clip, but I’m going to go with it.