Mark Hominick Promises to Make Jose Aldo "Back Up" at UFC 129

“People haven’t seen him against a top level striker, he’s dominated everybody and he’s pushed paces on everybody so we will see what happens when he has to take a step backwards.”

That is what Mark Hominick (20-8) had to say to MMA Mania about his upcoming fight against Jose Aldo (18-1) at UFC 129 on April 30^th in Toronto for the UFC Featherweight Championship.

Going into the fight Hominick is a massive underdog as Jose Aldo is one of the most well-rounded and exciting fighters in MMA and is widely considered to be in the Top 10 of the best pound for pound fighters in the world.   

Aldo has a blackbelt in Brazilian Jui-Jitsu and is an incredibly dynamic striker that throws a variety of punches, kicks and knees.  Some people have even taken to calling him the “Anderson Silva” of featherweights and after watching his highlight reel its easy to see why.

Yet as great as Aldo is he has never faced a striker as accomplished and technically sound as Mark Hominick.  Hominick’s nickname is “the Machine” because he rarely shows any emotion when fighting or during interviews but more importantly because his technique is so machinelike.  He throws crisp and accurate punches and his ground game is solid as well.  

Hominick trains under Shawn Tompkins who is a world renowned kickboxing instructor at The Adrenaline Training Center in London, Ontario.  Tompkins also works with other top UFC fighters such as Goran Reljic, Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva.  Hominick has also been working with some of Canada’s 2012 Summer Olympic boxing hopefuls in preparation for what he feels will be a “fight for the ages.”

Aldo is aware of Hominick’s striking ability and although he is no slouch on the feet himself he has brought in a new striking coach to prepare for Hominick.  He has started training with Andy Souwer who is a Dutch welterweight shoot boxer. He is two time K-1 World MAX champion (2005, 2007) as well as the reigning three time Shootboxing World tournament champion.   

With both Aldo and Hominick training primarily with striking coaches fans should expect this to be a standup fight with neither fighter looking to take the fight to the ground.

If that is in fact the case and the entire fight is fought on the feet then one area of concern for Hominick should be Aldo’s leg kicks.  During his fight against Urijah Faber Aldo landed some of the nastiest leg kicks I have ever seen and pretty much made Faber a cripple as he had to be carried to his corner after each round and then carried out of the Octagon after the fight was over.  That doesn’t bode well for Hominick who in the past (case in point early in his fight against Yves Jabouin) has shown an inability to effectively check leg kicks.  That very well could be the difference in the fight.

Many people are overlooking Hominick in this fight but I think he has a decent, yet small, chance of defeating Aldo.  Hominick has never been knocked out by strikes before, he has knockout power of his own, his strikes have pinpoint accuracy, he pushes the pace by always moving forward and his liver punches are hard to prepare for and devastating.  I’m not saying he is a better striker than Aldo but if he can keep it on the feet then at least he has a punchers chance.

However if Hominick is indeed intent on making Jose Aldo “take a step back” then he needs to remember one thing: Jose Aldo trains at Black House with Anderson Silva and we all know what happens when you try and make a Black House fighter back up (just ask Forrest Griffin).

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Phillies Not a "Sure Thing" Just Yet

During the off-season the Philadelphia Phillies signed free agent pitcher Cliff Lee to a new 5-year $120 million contract.  The feeling around baseball at the time was that with the signing of Lee the Phillies had all but booked their spot in the World Series (26 of 45 ESPN baseball analysts that were polled have the Phillies making it to the World Series). 

It seemed like a pretty safe bet as the starting rotation featured some of the best pitchers, not just in the National league, but in all of baseball. I mean with a rotation of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Roy Oswalt, Cole Hamels and Joe Blanton how could the Phillies not be the consensus favorite? 

Yet aside from their phenomenal pitching staff the Phillies have question marks all over the field as injuries and age have caught up to them during Spring Training and are threatening to put a serious hitch in their World Series plans.

So far during Spring Training no team has been as deeply affected by injuries as the Phillies.  All-Star second baseman Chase Utley has a knee injury, closer Brad Lidge has a rotator cuff strain, Roy Oswalt suffered a neck contusion after being hit by a linedrive, Placido Polanco has an elbow injury and outfielder Dominic Brown fractured his right hand.

It's expected that both Polanco and Oswalt will be ready in time for the start of the season but Brown, Utley and Lidge will all start the season on the disabled list.  Lidge is expected to miss anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks as is Brown and as for Utley there is really no timetable for his return as the Phillies don't want to rush him back and risk doing permanent damage to his knee.

Stepping in for Utley will be journeyman Wilson Valdez, who despite hitting .396 so far in Spring Training, is a career .232 hitter and a serious downgrade defensively as well.  But the injury to Utley hurts deeper as he was a valuable part of the batting order and the protection for Ryan Howard.  Pitchers can now pitch around Howard as there is no other real power bat in the line up to worry about and that's where the Phillies are going to miss Utley the most.

As for the injury to Lidge it could expose a real weakness for the Phillies, their bullpen.  Last season Lidge went 1-1 with an ERA of 2.96 and converted 27 saves in 32 tries.  During his time on the DL he will be replaced by either Jose Contreras (pitched 56.2 innings last year with an ERA of 3.34) or Ryan Madson (pitched 53 innings with an ERA of 2.55).  Both are decent replacements for Lidge but if they move to take over the closer role someone else will have to step up and take over the 7th or 8th inning role and that would hurt the team as the Phillies don't have many quality arms in the bullpen.

The injuries are simply one of the problems the Phillies face headed into the new season however as another issue the this team has to be concerned with is age.

The average age of this Phillies team is 30.9 years old officially making them the oldest team in all of baseball.  

Jimmy Rollins is 32 and has been slowly declining for the last few years now as his stolen base numbers have been dropping steadily (47 in 2007 to just 17 during an injury plagued 2010 campaign).  Polanco is 35 and last season saw his offensive numbers drop in hits, stolen bases, runs, doubles, home runs, RBI and walks.  Raul Ibanez who will be playing right field is 38 and last year failed to hit at least 20 home runs for the first time since 2004.  Contreras, who is now the starting closer, is 39. 

Now the Phillies do have some of youth on the team (Brown and pitchers Antonio Bastardo and Andrew carpenter) and in the farm system (shortstop Freddy Galvis and pitcher Yohan Flande) but for the most part those players are all untested and stuck playing behind established players who, unless they get hurt, won't be relinquishing their roster spot anytime soon.

Lastly the Phillies, and those who picked them to make it to the World Series, need to be worried about the batting order as with the loss of Jayson Werth to the Nationals and Chase Utley to the DL its not nearly as imposing as it once was.

Shane Victorino
Wilson Valdez
Jimmy Rollins
Ryan Howard
Placido Polanco
Raul Ibanez
Ben Fransisco
Carlos Ruiz
Pitcher of the Day

That lineup isn't really striking fear into the heart of the opposing pitcher.  Aside from Howard there is no one in the order with any real power and for the most part the rest of the lineup are all contact hitters with a bit of speed.  Now since the Phillies have such a dominant pitching staff they will probably only need 3-4 runs per game to win but that may even be hard to come by if Utley is out for an extended period of time.

If the Phillies really are going to challenge for a World Series then they will probably have to make a trade mid-season in order to acquire at least one or two bats.  That will mean either parting ways with some of their prospects (which would hurt them moving forward and contribute more to the age problem) or trading one of their pitchers, more than likely Joe Blanton which wouldn't be too great a loss since once you get to the playoffs the rotation shrinks to 4 anyways.

So there are some cracks in the Phillies armor.  Their starting rotation may be one of the best ever but is it enough to cover up the glaring weaknesses in the rest of the team?  Will Chase Utley be 100% when he comes back from injury or will his knee hinder his defense?  Can the bullpen survive the injury to Brad Lidge? Can the Phillies hold off the Braves who look to be one of the better teams in the National League and are another favorite to make a deep playoff run? 

Right now I think this is a team that has more questions than answers.  But those questions should be answered quickly as the season kicks off this weekend and the Phillies try and get back to the World Series for the 3rd time in four years.


Random YouTube Video

Georges St. Pierre/Jake Shields: Comparing Training Camps

During the broadcast for UFC Fight Night 24 Joe Rogan interviewed Jake Shields about his upcoming fight on April 30^th against Georges St. Pierre for the UFC Welterweight Championship. The interview itself was pretty standard and I wasn’t really paying attention until Joe asked, “tell us how training camp has gone in preparation for this title fight.”  Jake Shields’ answer to that question is exactly why he is going to lose to GSP at UFC 129 in Toronto.

“So far things are going great man.  Camps going good.  You know we just had Court Mcgee out here last week…we got Chael Sonnen coming out this week things are going good.”

From that one answer every fight fan out there should know that Jake Shields doesn’t stand a chance against GSP and here’s why:

Jake Shields has never fought anyone like Georges St. Pierre before.  Sure he has fought athletic guys and guys that can wrestle but he has never faced a fighter that is even close to being on the same level as GSP.  Yet despite that glaringly obvious fact Jake Shields has not changed the way he has prepared for this fight at all and by his own admission is going about training camp like its business as usual.

Now Shields may be keeping a lid on exactly what’s happening at his training camp but the UFC has planned a UFC Primetime special leading up to this fight so the cameras will be there making lying a waste of time.  Plus I don't really see Jake Shields as a fighter that plays mind games so really I think he is telling the truth.  If that is indeed the case then he is in serious trouble.

Looking at the current champions in the UFC they all have one thing in common, they train with great fighters at great camps.  Anderson Silva trains at Black House alongside some of the best fighters in the world (Jose Aldo, the Nogueira brothers and Junior Dos Santos).  Jon Jones and GSP both train at Greg Jackson MMA as well as Grudge Training Center and Cain Velasquez trains at American Kickboxing Academy.  The champions surround themselves with other elite fighters because they know the only way they can get better is by training with the best.

Jake Shields meanwhile is training for a fight against Georges St. Pierre by wrestling with Court McGee.  Not to rip too hard on Court McGee who is a talented enough guy but he is barely a prospect in the UFC Middleweight division and isn’t exactly well known for being a great wrestler.  So I wonder what could Shields possibly hope to gain by training with him? 

The rest of Shields’ training partners at Cesar Gracie Jiu-Jitsu are a little more respectable as Nick Diaz, Gilbert Melendez and Nate Diaz all train with Shields regularly.  These types of training partners may suffice when preparing to fight guys such as Martin Kampmann and Jason “Mayhem” Miller but when preparing for a fighter like Georges St. Pierre you need to get outside your comfort zone and train with the best otherwise you are just going to get steamrolled.

Now I know that both Nick Diaz and Gilbert Melendez are champions in Strikeforce but I don't put much weight into victories tallied in Strikeforce as I feel that the talent pool and level of competition falls well short of the UFC (an issue I would gladly debate with anyone at anytime).  That also only covers half the issue (good training partners) as the fact that Shields is doing nothing to step up his game for a superior opponent is the main concern I have.

When it comes to training with the best and incorporating new training partners/coaches there is no one better than GSP.  When preparing for his fights Georges is constantly working with different fighters and trainers making sure that he is always evolving as a fighter.  

For example leading up to his fight against Josh Koscheck Georges trained with world renowned boxing coach Freddie Roach in order to improve his striking. Through his training with Roach GSP learned how to better incorporate his jab into his striking.  He then subsequently used that jab to smash Josh Koscheck’s orbital bone and dictate the pace/location of that fight on his way to earning an easy victory.

That’s the kind of effort Georges put into a fight against a wrestler.  He very easily could have outwrestled Koscheck like he did the first time they fought but instead he changed his gameplan and caught Koscheck completely off guard as no one expected Georges to stand and strike with that big right overhand Koscheck likes to throw. 

Jake Shields on the other hand is the same fighter today as he was back in EliteXC.  He isn’t very good on the feet and prefers to take guys to the ground and submit them using his jiu-jitsu.  In his last 3 fights he has gone to a decision and in his fights against Dan Henderson and Jason Miller he was in a dominant position for pretty much the entire fight and couldn’t finish either fighter.  Clearly Shields needs to make some adjustments to his game but it appears that he hasn't done that.

All I know is that if Jake Shields goes about preparing for this fight like its business as usual and treating it like it’s just any other fight where he can take his opponent down and go for submissions attempts he is going to be soundly defeated.  

Random YouTube Video 

UConn On the Verge of History

Lost in the madness that are the Cinderella like runs of the VCU Rams and the Butler Bulldogs has been the story of the UConn Huskies, a team that heading into the Big East tournament on March 8th had lost 4 of its last 5 games and was very much at risk of being left out of the NCAA Tournament.  That losing streak is all in the past now as since that opening game of the Big East Tournament against DePaul the UConn Huskies have won 9 straight games in 19 days and are just 2 wins away from one of the best turnaround stories in College Basketball history.

Head coach Jim Calhoun, who has been the head coach at UConn for 25 years put it best during an interview with the New York Daily News when he said, "I've been fortunate over 39 years to have a lot of teams do a lot of different things, but never could I imagine the team winning nine games in tournament play in 19 days.  These brothers, this unique group of young guys, have just given me a thrill beyond compare."

Even the players themselves admitted that what they have accomplished so far is truly special, "I didn't know what to expect after losing four out of five and everybody's confidence was down," sophomore center Alex Oriakhi said to the Boston Herald. "But we had two great practices before we went off to the Big East Tournament. (Calhoun) said, 'I'm not going to quit on you guys, I'm not going to let you quit.' ... That changed everything."

After winning the Big East Tournament by winning 5 games in 5 nights UConn earned a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament and were immediately targeted by "bracketologists" as being a weak 3 seed and a possible early upset pick.  I remember watching the CBS preview show before the tournament started and hearing Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Seth Davis talk about how UConn wouldn't be able to keep their momentum going as they would be exhausted both mentally and emotionally after winning 5 games in 5 nights.

One of the big reasons so many people were doubting the Huskies is because the team was being carried by player of the year candidate junior guard Kemba Walker all season long.  Walker was looked at as being the only scoring option on the team and it was thought that if you could shut him down then the rest of the team would fold.  There was also concern about the fact that UConn starts 3 freshmen (guard Jeremy Lamb as well as forwards Tyler Olander and Roscoe Smith). Yet so far the freshmen have played great and no one has been able to slow down Walker as he is averaging 26.3 points per game so far during the tournament and has continued to hit clutch shot after clutch shot.

But Walker hasn't had to do it all by himself as other players on the team have stepped up their level of play to take some of the pressure off of him.  Jeremy Lamb, who averaged just 9.6 points per game during the regular season, has blossomed into a legitimate second option and is chipping in with 16 points per game so far in the NCAA tournament.  Even Walker's backup, freshman guard Shabazz Napier, has been effective coming in for Walker during the West title game against Arizona and playing 30 minutes as well as scoring 10 crucial points.

Even Arizona's head coach Sean Miller acknowledged UConn's completeness as a team during an interview with Greenwichtime.com, "for freshmen at this stage to hold their poise with what was at stake is a tremendous compliment and credit to them. That's why they're in the Final Four, because it's not just Kemba Walker. It's the overall team effort and poise that UConn has."

During their current 9 game winning streak UConn has beaten DePaul, Georgetown, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, Louisville, Bucknell, Cincinnati, San Diego State and Arizona.  They are now 30-9 on the season and most impressively 21-0 against non-conference opponents yet they because they aren't a #11 or #8 seed they are being overlooked.  I understand why VCU and Butler are grabbing most of the attention but to overlook a team that has pulled off such a ridiculous run would be doing them a great disservice.

UConn is now just 2 wins away from winning a National Championship and completing a win-streak that seems like its right out of a movie.  A winning streak that would rank as one of the best tournament performances of any team in college basketball history.


Random YouTube Video

Boston Celtics Screwed Without Kendrick Perkins

When the Boston Celtics traded Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Jeff Green the best way to describe the reaction from around the league was shock.  Even the players themselves were taken aback by the trade as it seemingly came out of nowhere.  That trade happened more than a month ago on February 24th but the effects are still being felt today as the Celtics are currently playing some of their worst basketball of the seasons and never seemed to fully recover from the loss of Perk.

From a basketball point of view I can understand why Celtics General manager Danny Ainge made the deal.  Kendricks Perkins has had a history of injury problems and was in need of a new contract that the Celtics more than likely wouldn't have been able to afford.  He didn't have a lot of offensive upside and since Rondo disappears at the end of games that meant that 2 out of the 5 guys on the floor during crunch time were useless on offense.

Another factor to consider was that going into the playoffs the Celtics knew that if they made it to the Finals they would probably have to face the Heat, Knicks and Lakers which means playing against LeBron, Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant.  The only person on the Celtics who can guard those guys was Paul Pierce and if he had to play shutdown defense every game it would have detracted from his offensive game which the Celtics heavily rely on.  So the Celtics needed another solid defender to take some pressure off Pierce.  Jeff Green fits that mold perfectly and I think once the playoffs start he will prove himself to be a solid role player and exactly what the Celtics needed.

Ainge was also banking on Sahquille O'Neal and Jermain O'Neal being able to stay healthy and contribute valuable minutes every night.  With those two, as well as Glen Davis, taking up all of the front court minutes it made Perkins expendable and so he was traded. 

So that's strictly the basketball side of things.

From a team chemistry point of view there isn't a worse trade I could think of as far as the Celtics are concerned.  Perkins was well-loved by the fans as well as everyone on the team and was Rajon Rondo's best friend.  He was a great teammate always sticking up for anyone on the team and he would do anything the coaches asked him to do to help the team win.  The guy bled Green and White and he was shipped out of town with seemingly no warning to either himself or the rest of the team.

The first game after the trade the Celtics played the Denver Nuggets and lost 89-75.  The entire game they  looked disinterested, shell-shocked and lifeless which led Bill Simmons, a lifelong Celtics fan and writer for ESPN, to tweet, "Congrats on the 2011 title, Laker fans. And congrats on making the Finals, Chicago fans."

That game has really been a microcosm for the rest of the Celtics season as they are currently playing with such a malaise that it makes their games really hard to watch.  Rajon Rondo has been awful since the trade showing only flashes of his old self and his body language is terrible as he looks like he is constantly pouting and like he wants to be anywhere but on the court.  Kevin Garnett has had poor shooting nights and doesn't have anyone to growl with and scream alongside anymore.  Paul Pierce has had questionable shot selection and Ray Allen’s role in the offense is almost non-existent now that Green is on the team.

Simply put without Perk the Celtics just don't have the same swagger.

Head Coach Doc Rivers addressed the problem recently during an interview with the Boston Globe, "The way we're playing shocks me," Rivers said. "Our attitude shocks me. We're just not ready to win any games right now the way we play, the way our approach is to basketball games."
 
The Celtics are 9-7 since the trade and have lost some key games to some awful teams including home losses to the Charlotte Bobcats, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Memphis Grizzlies.  They have also lost games to the lowly New Jersey Nets and the Philadelphia 76ers.  Most importantly they have dropped out of the #1 seed in the East and now sit 2.5 games back of the Bulls and only and 1/2 game up on the Heat.  Without the #1 seed the Celtics road in the playoffs is going to increasingly more difficult as they will more than likely have to go through both the Knicks and the Heat to get to the Finals.

But the Celtics shouldn't even be thinking about the Finals right now because without Perk the team must now rely on veterans like Shaq and Jermaine O'Neal who surprise surprise are both hurt.  Simmons also had something to say about that, "I guess you can't blame Danny - there was no way to know that 58 year old Shaquille O'Neal might be injured come playoff time."

Ainge has a different opinion however as in a recent interview with the Boston Globe he had this to say, "these games aren’t lost because Shaq [O’Neal] and Jermaine [O’Neal] aren’t playing.  The guys that are in uniform and playing, we have plenty to be winning games. I think everybody in that locker room will tell you we haven’t been playing as well as we’ve been capable of playing."

Doc Rivers echoed Aigne's feelings to ESPN, "I know what we have in the locker room is good enough to win a title, as far as talent. I also know that right now, in our minds, we're not good enough. Until we move to that next step -- they were there earlier in the year and they were there other parts -- but right now they are not."

Celtic defenders point out that last year the Celtics went through a similar funk after the All-Star break and only played .500 basketball yet still made it all the way to Game 7 of the NBA Finals.  If that's your defense then just remember that Perkins was a big part of that playoff run and the Celtics players themselves have come out and said had Perkins not gotten injured during Game 6 they would have won Game 7 in Los Angeles.  

The window of opportunity is quickly closing for the Celtics as "the Big 3" are all in the final stages of their careers.  If the team doesn't win it this year then they might not get another shot.  I think that Celtics fans will look back on this team 10 years from now and think about what could have been had they not traded away Perkins.


Random YouTube Video

Players are the Solution to NHL Headshot Problem

I am starting to get really fed up with all of this talk about head shots and concussions in the NHL.  There are two exciting playoff races going on in both the Eastern and Western conferences and all anybody can talk about is what to do to "make the game safer."  I understand it's an issue that needs to be dealt with but there is more to hockey then just head shots.  I mean is it too much to ask that Sports Center show the highlights first before going right to footage of the cheap shot du jour?

My real problem is that nobody is offering any real solutions on how to make the game safer or eliminate headshots.  Everyone just makes obvious statements like, "the guys are a lot bigger and the game is a lot faster."  No shit its called evolution and it's happening in every sport not just hockey.  Football is dealing with the same issues but you don't see the NFL Network running a series like Crisis on Ice? like Sportsnet did the other night.  These type of statements don't help anyone and simply make the discussion go around in circles without ever coming to a clear solution.

It's obvious that the new rules and sanctions put in place the NHL are not having an affect on the players as every night there is a headshot in at least one game in the NHL.  So why make your league look foolish by implementing new rules and having the players ignore them making it seem as though the league is a joke and has no real authority over the players?  Why continuously overshadow the game with meetings and conferences where nothing really gets done and people aren't happy with the result?

So I have taken it upon myself to come up with a possible solution to the current epidemic of concussions and headshots and it's so simple I am surprised no one has thought of it yet, and if they have they stole the idea from me.  Now it obviously isn't perfect and it would take a lot to make it happen but if you actually look at the issue its the only way to put an end to the debate once and for all.

What's the one thing current and former players constantly say when asked about outsiders commenting on concussions and headshots?  "They never played the game so they have no idea what they are talking about."  That's a valid point.  I have never played in the NHL so my opinion obviously doesn't carry much weight to the current players of the NHL.

And what's the one thing general managers, owners, fans and members of the media say when they make suggestions on how to fix the game? "It's all about player safety.  We need to ensure that our players can remain on the ice and not have to worry about getting killed out there."  Yet another valid point as fans, owners and general managers don't like it when their players get hurt.

So what's the common connection between both points?  The players.

If players are saying that people outside of the game should shut up because they don't know what they are talking about then obviously the solution to the problem needs to be created by the players.  If owners, general managers and fans want the players to be safer the only people that can actually ensure that the game is safe are the players themselves because really 'safe' is a relative term.  What you and I might consider safe may be completely different from what an NHL player considers safe.  Therefore the only way to put a stop to headshots or at least put a stop to the discussions on headshots are the players.

So here is my solution: at the end of the season gather all the members of the NHLPA and hold a conference discussing concussions and headshots.  Have every single player in the league there and make them sit down and lay out the ground rules for headshots and dealing with suspensions.  At the end of that conference have the players vote on how they would like to punish players or enforce theses new rules.  Whatever decision they come up with is final and cannot be changed by owners, general managers or even Gary Bettman and Colin Campbell.  This way if anything happens to the players the NHL can simply say, "they are the ones playing the game and they are the ones who created the punishments so if they don't like it they have no one to blame but themselves."

This may take away authority from the NHL slightly but really why should Colin Campbell be the one deciding what is right and wrong on the ice?  The players are the ones who are at risk and the ones that actually play the game so why does it not make sense that they have a say in how things are enforced?  A common statement that hockey pundits usually use is that 'hockey players enforce themselves on the ice by fighting guys that hit star players and things of that nature'.  So if that's true why not just make it official and let players enforce the game itself.

If you feel like that's giving too much power to the players then here is a slight compromise or a possible twist on this idea. Replace Colin Campbell with recently retired players and make up a small committee that will be in charge of handing out the punishments.  Get a group consisting of guys like Chris Chelios, Rob Blake, Scott Niedermayer, Brendan Shanahan, Joe Sakic and Scott Stevens.  Combined they have been involved in almost every scenario that could ever happen on the ice and they were all well rounded players with tones of knowledge about the game.  Let them decide how many games Matt Cooke should have gotten or whether or not he should still even be in the league.

Players have a different viewpoint than everyone else because they are the ones on the ice every day.  For example after the Chara/Paciaretty incident a lot of NHL players were asked about their thoughts on the hit.  About 90% of them said it was an accident and that Chara should not be suspended while fans, including myself, and media members wanted Chara to miss at least 1 game.  If the general consensus around the league is not to suspend him then who are we to argue

Hypothetical situation.  Let's say that the the players voted that any headshot of any kind result in a 1 game suspension. So even if it's a dirty hit the payer gets 1 game because that's what the players decided.  Then for arguments sake let's say Steve Ott goes out and just blatantly headshots Danny Heatley as retribution for that dirty elbow he received a week ago.  Under the rule created by the players Ott would receive a 1 game suspension and that's it.  He would no doubt be dealt with next time the two teams played but as far as suspensions go he would get his 1 game.  It wouldn't matter if it was deemed intentional or if Heatley got seriously hurt because that's the appropriate punishment the players voted for. 

Now no one on the Sharks could complain to the league or the media because they would look like hypocrites and pussies which is never a good look in the NHL.  Now the media wouldn't be able to turn the story into a fabricated epidemic and try and grab ratings off of a useless discussion.  The players could focus on the game and the NHL wouldn't have to constantly be answering questions about how they were going to deal with every hit.

Obviously this is a vastly flawed system and some people might take advantage of it but it would at least put an end to all of this annoying debate and discussion.  The NHL can go ahead and make up all sorts of new rules and sanctions about headshots and concussions all they want but unless the players make a change to the way they play then it's all for nothing.  It's up to the players to make the change.  So why not just simply the process and let the players make the new rules and go from there.  The league would avoid a lot of negative publicity and we could go back to talking about hockey instead of concussions.

Seems like a common sense win-win to me.


Random YouTube Video

UFC Fight Night 24 Predictions

I am beyond excited for this event.  After this event the next UFC event will be UFC 130 in Toronto which I will be attending.  Hopefully these fights on Saturday, and then the Strikeforce card in two weeks with Paul Daley and Nick Diza, can sustain me until then.

My predictions for UFC 128 were perfect as I went 5/5.  Then again it was a pretty easy card to pick as there were no real shockers (maybe the way Jon Jones dominated Shogun could be considered a shocker but not the fact that he won).  So I am putting that streak on the line again as UFC has their 24th Fight Night live for free on Spike TV.

Here are my predictions:

Antonio "Lil Nog" Rogerio Nogueira (19-4) vs. "Mr. Wonderful" Phil Davis (8-0)

I am actually kind of pissed about this fight because Phil Davis was supposed to fight on the Toronto card and I was really excited to see him fight as he was being mentioned alongside Jon Jones as one of the best prospects in the UFC.  Now due to a number of injuries Davis will be fight Lil Nog and trying to prove he has the reputation and hype to main event a card.

As for the fight itself there is a lot on the line.  If Davis can beat Lil Nog in a convincing fashion he should make the jump into the upper echelon of Light Heavyweights and put himself one step closer to a future title shot.  As for Nogueira he has not been impressive so far in his first 2 fights in the UFC and if he puts up another dud Dana might have to consider letting him go.  He is already 34 and this may be his last chance to make a run for a title.

Phil Davis has crazy good wrestling and has shown he has some sick submission skills but really lacks a polished striking game so he will no doubt look to take this fight to the ground.  Nogueira has unreal Jiu Jitsu and has a solid boxing background so one would think he would be comfortable on the ground and standing but he can't match Davis' size and if the fight goes to the ground I think he will get overwhelmed.

Prediction: Davis via Decision

Dan "The Outlaw" Hardy (23-8) vs. Anthony "Rumble" Johnson (8-3)

After 17 months Anthony Johnson is finally back inside the octagon.  Before his fight against Josh Koscheck many people were looking at Johnson as a possible contender in the welterweight division but due to his lengthy layoff he has really faded in the minds of most fans.  The biggest test for Johnson won't be on Saturday night it will be Friday afternoon at the weigh-ins as rumors have been circling that Johnson was walking around at 230lbs not more than 10 days ago so that weight cut will be insane.


As for the fight itself it is my early favorite for both 'Fight of the Night' and 'Knockout of the Night' as both of these guys like to stand and throw bombs.  In his last fight Hardy got put to sleep by Carlos Condit which makes it 2 straight losses for the "Bad boy for Britain" (yes I felt really lame just writing that) so the pressure will be on him to perform and get back to his winning ways if he wants to stay relevant at 170lbs.


I am a fan of Johnson and would love for him to pull off the victory but 17 months is a long time to be away from fighting and dropping 50lbs is no joke and I think that's going to kill Johnson.


Prediction: Hardy via KO

Leonard Garcia (15-6-1) vs. "The Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung (10-3)  

This is a rematch of one of the greatest fights of the year, well at least one of the most exciting.  The last time these two guys met in 2010 it was a one of the craziest fights ever as both guys were swinging for the fences the entire fight showing no signs of technique.  I don't expect a repeat performance this time around however as sequels rarely live up to the original.

Neither guy has real knock out power so I think this one goes to the judges scorecards.  In fights like these I usually side with the guy who trains at Greg Jackson's gym just because he does such a great job coming up with solid gameplans and having his fighters implement them.

Prediction: Garcia via Decision

Amir Sadollah (4-2) vs. Damarques Johnson (17-8)

Former TUF competitors face off in a fight where Sadollah's potential opponent has changed 3 times.  It was originally supposed to be kickboxer Duane Ludwig but then he got hurt, then submission wrestler James Wilks was slated to take the fight but also got hurt while training and now Sadollah ends up fighting Johnson who is predominantly a boxer.  That means that in preparing for this fight Sadollah has been training all aspects of his game and not leaving anything out which I feel is a big advantage for him.


Both guys are looking to string some wins together and become mainstays on main cards before their 15 minutes of fame they earned on TUF comes to an end.  Sadollah is a better all around fighter and works with randy Couture which means if he gets into trouble he will clinch and outpoint Johnson which is what I expect will happen.


Prediction: Sadollah via Decision

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NY Jets Benefitting From Lockout

If you're a football fan then no doubt you want the current NFL lockout to end as soon as possible so the league can go back to business as usual and fans can be guaranteed there will be football.  However if you're a New York Jets fan, like myself, you may want to rethink that position as the longer the lockout goes on the more the Jets benefit. Don't get me wrong I still want football this upcoming season but the longer the lockout lasts the more the Jets stand to gain and here's why:

Since there is no current CBA in place there is no free agency.  Players are not allowed to switch teams and they are not allowed to get in contact with anyone from any team in the league.  That means that potential free agents are not allowed to have meetings with perspective teams and neither are their agents.  How does this help the Jets you might ask?

Well of every team in the NFL no one has more key free agents then the New York Jets.  Potential players that could leave the Jets via free agency include: Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards, Antonio Cromartie, Brad Smith, Shaun Ellis, Drew Coleman and Eric Smith.

That list includes the Jets two best receivers (Holmes and Edwards), their second best corner (Cromartie), their return man/wide receiver/wildcat quarterback (Smith), and the longest tenured player on the team who is also a leader in the locker room (Ellis).  If the Jets were to lose all those players, or for that matter even some of them, the team would be decimated and would have a hard time returning to the playoffs let alone winning that SuperBowl Rex Ryan is always going on about.

Yet Jets fans should remain optimistic because if potential free agents can't talk to perspective team its going to make it easier for the Jets to retain their players.  Think about it, if the lockout were to go on until 2 weeks before the season started that would mean teams would have 14 days to negotiate a contract with a player and then get him to camp and teach him a whole new offensive or defensive system in time for Week 1 of the regular season.  I think that would be a major problem for a lot of teams and might cause them to stick with the personnel they already in place as opposed to going out and acquiring a player via free agency.

Another factor to consider is the NFL draft.  Since free agency is currently frozen a lot of teams will be filling the holes on their roster with players from the draft since they can't go out and sign somebody.  So for example if a team needs a cornerback they may be forced to draft one rather than hope a new CBA gets done in time for them to sign a guy like Antonio Cromartie.  And if a team drafts a corner and has to give that player a new contract they will be far less likely to go out and spend even more money on a free agent.

Lastly there is the human element to consider.  One would think that players would be less likely to switch teams so late in the off-season because it would mean uprooting their family and potentially moving them across the country with only a few weeks notice.  Not many people enjoy moving and relocating their entire life at the drop of a hat so that may be a factor when it comes time for Jets players to make a decision about whether or not to resign with the team.

So if you look at it the longer this lockout lasts the more likely it becomes that the Jets will retain their key free agents and as fan of the team you have to like that.  There were a lot of reports that claimed the Jets would let Antonio Cromartie go if it meant keeping both Santonio Holmes and Braylon Edwards but now that may be a moot point because they could potentially keep them all.

The Jets are benefiting in other ways as well.  A few days ago ESPN released a report by Adam Schefter that showed how players would be losing out on their off-season workout bonuses because there was a lockout. Basically players have stipulations in their contract that state if they participate in a certain percentage of team led off-season workouts they would receive a bonus.  Well since there is lockout currently in place the players can't workout with their teams which is costing them money and saving the owners tones.

Here are some of the Jets players that won't be getting bonuses should the lockout continue:

D'Brickashaw Ferguson     $750,000
Bryan Thomas                   $500,000
Mike DeVito                     $350,000
Calvin Pace                       $250,000
Bart Scott                         $250,000
LaDainian Tomlinson         $200,000

That equals up to $2.3 million in savings for the Jets just from workout bonuses that won't need to be paid due to the lockout.  It may not seem like a lot of money but in the end that's $2.3 million that can be put back into the team in other areas that may be more beneficial.

So while most fans are struggling with the idea that there may not be football fans of the Jets should be looking at the silver lining in all of this.   The dream scenario would be that the lockout ends about 10 days before the start of the season which would give the Jets a chance to resign all of their key free agents and get in one pre-season game and some practices before the real season started.  Fingers crossed.


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Jones' Victory Puts GSP/Silva Superfight on Hold

Before this past weekend the fight that almost every MMA fan was taking about was a potential superfight between the current UFC Welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre and the current UFC Middleweight champion Anderson Silva.  UFC President Dana White had downplayed the possibility of the two champions fighting but it seemed inevitable as both fighters had cleaned out their respective divisions and were in desperate need of some real competition.

Then on Saturday night Jon "Bones" Jones put on one of the most dominant performances in recent history on Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.  Now the talk has shifted from GSP/Silva to a possible Jones vs Silva match-up and I for one couldn't be happier.

While it would be amazing to see GSP fight Anderson Silva as a GSP fan I don't think I could handle it.  Both fighters are extremely dominant within their division (Silva is even dominant at Light Heavyweight having stepped up and beaten fighters like James Irvin and Forrest Griffin) but GSP does not possess the size to handle Anderson and I believe if they fought he would get killed.

Anderson cuts to get down to 185lbs and in order for GSP to make weight and be even close to the same size as Anderson he would need to put on some serious muscle which would no doubt hinder his speed, which currently is one of his biggest weapons.  Anderson has shown a weakness to takedowns, which is another area GSP excels, but his size advantage over Georges would counterbalance the takedowns as GSP would struggle to keep the much larger man down.

This is all a moot point now anyways since Jones victory has thrust him into the conversation as a possible opponent for Anderson Silva.

The Light Heavyweight division is one of, if not the most, stacked divisions in the UFC with more potential champions than any other weight class.  Proven fighters such as Shogun, Rashad Evans, Rampage Jackson, Lyoto Machida, and Forrest Griffin have all held the title at least once in the past 3 years.  Plus there are up and comers like Ryan Bader and Phil Davis who if they continue to develop could one day be champion.

Yet all of those fighters, with the exception of Phil Davis, have shown holes in their game and an ability to be dominated by opponents.  Jon Jones on the other hand has walked through each one of his opponents as if he was on easy mode in a video game.  He does what he wants when he wants and his opponents just stand there and take it.

Going into his fight against Shogun many people, including myself, were worried that Jones wouldn't be able to handle the step up in competition.  He quickly put an end to those concerns when not even 60 seconds into the fight he had thrown a flying knee and a front kick to the face that wobbled Shogun.  There is no other way to put it other than Jones beat up Shogun.  It wasn't even really a fight (according to Compustrike.com Jones landed well over 130 strikes while Shogun landed a pathetic 11 strikes).

So now if Jones beats his next scheduled opponent, Rashad Evans, he could very well face Anderson Silva which would be a much fairer fight than if GSP had to take on Silva.  Jones has the longest reach in the UFC (84 inches) and has the height/size to hang with Anderson.  He also has the same freakish athletic ability as Silva which would make the fight real interesting.

If Jones and Silva fought it would more than likely be one of the most entertaining striking battles in MMA history as both guys like to throw crazy unorthodox strikes that really progress the sports.  For instance last time he fought Anderson Silva knocked out Vitor Belfort with a front kick to the face.  When Jones fought Shogun he used that exact same front kick 4 or 5 times in the fight as if he watched Anderson do it and then tried to do it himself.

This would be in stark contrast to a GSP/Silva fight where Georges would need to take Silva down and out wrestle him to earn the victory as on the feet he would be outclassed no matter how much he trains with Freddie Roach.  The fight would still be amazing just because of the fact that it would be two of the best pound for pound fighters in the world but I prefer stand up fights as opposed to fights fought on the ground.

UFC President Dana White recently commented on the possibility of GSP fight Silva when he spoke to Yahoo Sports.  "This fight isn't happening," White said. "It's not a fight yet. It's still a big fantasy fight. There are still things that need to happen in the meantime before we sit down and discuss where this fight would be, what weight it would be at, how it would work. It's all just fantasy yet.  I literally have not talked to Georges St-Pierre or Anderson Silva about this fight."


So it seems that Georges is going to be staying at Welterweight and continue to dominate opponents leaving the only superfight left a Jones/Silva match up.  I still think Jones need to have a few more convincing wins first but if he beats Rashad the way he beat up Shogun and Anderson walks through Yushin Okami then I could see a fight between the two dynamic strikers being a real possibility and possibly the only viable option in terms of seeing how good they both truly are.




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Barry Bonds On Trial Underway But Does Anyone Care?

Today in San Francisco the criminal trial for Barry Bonds, or as its officially known The United States of America vs. Barry Lamar Bonds, case 07-0732, began as the prosecution will attempt to prove that Barry Bonds committed perjury seven years ago when under oath he swore that he had never knowingly taken perforation enhancing drugs.  Bonds told the court that he believed was taking flax seed oil and using arthritis cream which in his openings statement today Assistant U.S. attorney Matt Parrella called "ridiculous and unbelievable."

This trial is the culmination of eight years worth of relentless work by the prosecutors to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that Barry Bonds is a liar and a cheat.  Makes you wonder why they spent so much time and money trying to prove something that everybody already knows anyways.

Barry Bonds used performance enhancing drugs to become a better baseball player, of this there is no doubt.  I don't need a jury of 12 people and a judge to tell me that, nor do I need to hear it from Bonds himself.  The proof that Bonds cheated exists on every website that keeps baseball stats and every image of Bonds that shows how he transformed from an average sized human being to a gorilla almost overnight.

I'm not going to sit here and throw stats at you about how as Bonds aged he got stronger or about how his batting average in August was otherworldly and the grind of the season didn't slow him down like it did to other players even though he was close to 40 (Tom Verducci of SI.com already did that).  If you have followed baseball at all over the past decade you know about all this and by now you, like myself, are unmoved by it.

Before this trial began I don't think I had heard the name Barry Bonds in well over a year.  He is beyond irrelevant as baseball fans have moved on from caring about him and are now once again focusing back on the field.  The fact that these lawyers have been working so hard to prove that Bonds lied back in 2004 is ridiculous.  How much money has been wasted on this trial at this point all for the sake of saying 'I told you so' to the media?  What do these lawyers expect to happen should Bonds be proven guilty, which by the way is next to impossible as the evidence is lacking and his former trainer Greg Anderson refuses to testify?

Fans have already made up their mind about Barry Bonds and have moved on.  No one has been sitting around for eight years waiting for the outcome of this trial to pass their own personal judgment of Bonds. Bonds has already been judged in the court of public opinion and the outcome there is far more severe then any punishment he would receive for perjury.

What I do find really interesting about this trial is that it has been eight years in the making.  Think of the other players who were caught for performance enhancing drugs and how their lives have been affected over the past few years.  Sammy Sosa continued to play for a little while and then quietly retired in 2009 and has been out of the public eye since.  Mark McGwire got burned a bit by the public but has now reinvented himself as the hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Bonds on the other hand has been the target of the authorities for eight years now and has earned the ire of every baseball fan in North America (even people in San Francisco who used to defend him seem to have given up on him now) and I find that fascinating.

When Sosa and McGwire were hitting all their home runs nobody cared, or even wondered, if they were on steroids.  Ignorance is bliss as they say.  But as soon as Bonds starting blasting them out of the park every other at bat people started to wonder why and more importantly people got upset.  Bonds became the face of the steroid era and has never been able to shake the  accusations that he cheated and earned the title of Home Run King' unfairly.

The reason for that, I think, is because Bonds is a prick.  He is cold to the media and just genuinely seems like a real asshole as opposed to Sosa, who is constantly smiling and creating handshakes in the dugout, and McGwire who was nicknamed 'Big Mac' and had an engaging personality and seemed like a decent guy.  Had Bonds been a better person he probably could have avoided a lot of the vitriol and maybe even avoided some of the hassle from the authorities.

But now Bonds is back in the media again and will no doubt be mentioned on PTI everyday for the rest of the week despite the fact that as I mentioned earlier this trial will change the minds of absolutely no one.  I get why the prosecution wants to nail Bonds.  Lying to the grand jury is something that can't go unpunished but at some point an investigation that lasts eight years for a simple perjury crosses the line into theatrics.  This is no longer about whether Bonds lied or not, its now about making an example of Barry Bonds.

The outcome of the trial could take weeks to be decided and I have already lost interest in the whole thing, well that's not technically true as I was never interested in the trial to begin with.  Bonds is a liar and a cheat and it doesn't take eight years and a trial to figure that out.


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New York Mets Eat Cash Despite Being Broke

Over the past week the New York Mets released both second baseman Luis Castillo and pitcher Oliver Perez. Not shocking moves considering that both players were struggling with numerous injuries and were both having awful spring trainings.  What is shocking is that by releasing these two players the Mets will have to eat $18 million worth of salary this season. 

Why is that so shocking you might ask?  Its shocking because as of February of this year the Mets were reported to be $430 million in debt and taking $25 million loans from MLB just to stay afloat.  Its also shocking because Mets owner Fred Wilpon is currently being sued by the victims of the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme for the reported amount of $1 billion (no that was not a type that's $1,000,000,000).

Before going over the financials of the team let's look at these moves from strictly a baseball perspective.  Quite frankly they were moves that needed to be made and in the case of Perez they should have been made a long time ago. 

In 2009 Perez signed a three-year $36 million contract with the Mets after coming off back to back winning seasons where he led the major in fewest walks allowed and posted a decent ERA.  There were signs that he was struggling a bit as his velocity was down from 2008 to 2009 but at the time Mets management thought they could fix it and Perez would be a solid #2 behind staff ace Johan Santana.  Then the wheels fell off as after signing that contract Perez went 3-9 with an ERA of roughly 6.81.  He had lost his velocity as well as his command and had been moved from being in the starting rotation to the bullpen where he was a middle reliever.

Coming into Spring Training this year reports were that Perez was optimistic he could earn a spot in the rotation again.  Unfortunately for Perez however he got his world rocked posting an ERA of 8.83 in just 9 2/3 innings of work.  The final straw came on Saturday when he gave up back to back home runs to minor leaguers.  After that the writing was on the wall he was released on Monday.

Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson had this to say to Sports Illustrated about the decision to cut Perez, "I think it was additional evidence that from his standpoint the velocity was not there, the command was not there.  It wasn't going to work in a starting role. It didn't appear as if it were going to work in a relief role at least any time soon. We are getting down toward the end of spring training so we felt it was time to make a decision."

As for Castillo he was nearing the end of his four-year $25 million contract and was struggling just to stay on the field as he was constantly battling a variety of injuries.  Since joining the Mets in 2007 Castillo only cracked 87 games once and was constantly on the disable list.  When healthy he is a serviceable player who makes solid contact and can steal bases but at 35 years old and with a history of foot/ankle injuries he was no longer needed by the Mets. 

Releasing Perez and Castillo was the right thing to do from a baseball standpoint.  Aside from being hurt and ineffective both were not well liked by Mets fans.  Perez was hated by Mets fans for his apparent apathy towards the game as he never seemed to care if the Mets were winning or if he had just given up a huge home run.  He came to the ballpark, pitched and got his money.  Castillo on the other hand was hated for the infamous error he made against the hated Yankees when he dropped an easy pop fly that would have ended the game but instead allowed 2 runs to score to give the Yanks the win.

So now the Mets are walking away from both of these players and are willing to pay Perez $12 million and Castillo $6 million not to play for them this season despite the fact that their owner is being sued for $1 billion and the team has hundreds of millions of dollars worth of debt.

The financial situation for the Mets has gotten dire.  Due to the massive amount of debt and the possible billion dollar lawsuit Mets owner Fred Wilpon has been actively seeking what he calls a "strategic partner" to buy a percentage of the team, a percentage that at first was reported to be roughly 25 percent but has jumped up to now 49 percent. 

It was reported by the New York Post that Wilpon has already received 12 bids from potential suitors (despite numerous reports mark Cuban is not one of them) and will accepting bids until the end of March at which point he will make a decision.  And making that decision quickly will be of the utmost importance as the Mets are financially strapped and need to make payments.  They have already tapped out their line of credit with MLB which is a reported $75 million and can no longer borrow money from their lender JPMorgan as they have tapped out that line of credit as well.

The timing of the lawsuit combined with the losses form last year ($50 million in losses after paying off interest on the initial loan as well as bonds to New York City for the recently built Citi Field) is what is really hurting Wilpn and the Mets right now.  They need a new investor and they need it as soon as possible if they want to keep paying the players salaries and keeping the lights on at Citi Field.

I have always found it fascinating when a team cuts a player knowing they will have to eat their salary.  Its a public admission of failure but 99% of the team its necessary because the player is often injured/ineffective or in some cases the player can be a symbol for the old regime that is being dismantled by new owners/general managers.  When Sandy Alderson took over as General Manager from Omar Minaya he saw players like Perez and Castillo as symbols of the failure of the old regime and so now he is cleaning house.

This makes complete sense and I think you would struggle to find a Mets fan that didn't agree with Alderson's decision.  I just am baffled at how a team can cut two players and eat $18 million worth of contracts while they are fighting to stay financially afloat and getting loans from anyone that will give them one and are actively looking for someone to buy a 49 percent stake in the team, which by the way at the moment just seems like the investment opportunity of a lifetime.


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Deron Williams and Carmelo Trades Not Working Out as Hoped

Usually when a team trades for a superstar there is a belief that the team will immediately be better.  Sometimes it can take a few games for new players to learn a system or to gel with the rest of the team but for the most part the expectation is always for improvement.  The other expectation is that the newly acquired superstar will actually want to play for your team instead of crossing days off on a calender waiting for the moment when he can jump ship and move to greener pastures.

These are the two issues that are facing the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets as they try and adjust to life with their newly acquired superstars.  Let's start first with the Knicks:

When the trade for Carmelo Anthony was first announced the debate was not about whether he would fit into Mike D'Antoni's run and gun style of offense it was whether or not the Knicks gave up too much to get him. The trade did leave their team somewhat depleted but in my opinion the Knicks still had enough fire power to contend in the East and at least make a push for that 4th or 5th seed yet so far that has not been the case.

The Knicks are just 7-7 since Anthony's arrival on February 22nd and after the initial honeymoon phase where the Knicks beat the Heat and went on a 6-3 run the excitement has worn off with the team losing 4 out of their last 5 games including back to back losses to the Pacers and an embarrassing loss to the lowly Pistons.  Fans in New York are legitimately worried that the team won't make the playoffs (even though they are 7.5 games up on 9th place Charlotte) and even more worried that trading for Melo has ruined the chemistry of the team and may have been the wrong decision going forward.

The problem hasn't been Carmelo adapting to the Mike D'Antoni system because for that to happen the team would have to be using D'Antoni's offense.  Since acquiring Melo the Knicks have completely changed their offensive style as they are now being forced to feed the ball to Melo who is demanding possession in isolation situations and pinning his man in the post, both of which are in complete contrast to what D'Antoni usually does.  This change of play has made the team less explosive on offense and has made Amare Stoudemire far less effective.

"Absolutely, absolutely, that's the way we're going to win," Stoudemire said to Newsday of the need to get back to the uptempo, pick-and-roll style. "That's the way we've proven that works with the team we had before the trade and it can work with the guys we have now. It's just a matter of us buying into it and really trying to understand that our ultimate goal is to make the playoffs and see what we can do."

This is a veiled shot at Anthony as the only things that's changed since the trade are the additions of Anthony and Billups.  Everyone else on the team knows how to run the offense so the task of learning and utilizing the offense now falls on the new guys.  For his part Billups has done a good job and the only time he struggles is when he is forced to feed Anthony the ball.

Billups also spoke with Newsday about Melo and had this to say, ""He'll be fine.  He's a great player. I've seen him get frustrated offensively at times in Denver, playing with him for so long. It happens. You're not going to play awesome every single night. Nobody is. You expect him to because he's a great player, but it just doesn't happen like that. He's going to be fine. No, I'm not worried about Melo at all."

Billups sounds like Michael Cera in Superbad. "I'm not too worried about it, really. I wouldn't worry about it. Don't worry about it. I'm not worried at all."  But he is right.  Melo is a great player and he will eventually come around and the Knicks will be OK.  Despite what some people think the Melo trade wasn't made with 2011 in mind and it was only phase 2 of a 3 phase plan.  Amare was phase 1, Melo was phase 2 and when Chris Paul joins the Knicks in 2012 that will be phase 3.

If the season were to end today the Knicks would end up facing the Heat in round 1 of the playoffs.  Could they win that series?  Not if they play like they are playing right now and getting bounced in the opening round of the playoffs is not what Donnie Walsh, or Knicks fans, had in mind when Melo was acquired.

The Knicks may be having trouble adjusting to life with Melo but at least he wants to be there in New York playing for the Knicks long term.  The same can't be said of Deron Williams and the New Jersey Nets.

The Nets don't have the same problem as the Knicks.  Since acquiring Williams the team has been playing much better, especially center Brook Lopez, and now sit just 6.5 games behind Indiana for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference.  That in itself is not surprising since Williams is an elite point guard and the Nets were awful so really the only place for them to go was up.  What is surprising is that according to many league sources Williams has shown no desire to stay with the team once his contract expires.

The Nets traded away a lot to get Deron Williams (or guard Devin Harris, forward Derrick Favors, two first round draft picks, and $3 million in cash) and if he walks away in 2012 then the Nets are screwed.  I can understand why the Nets made the trade as it not only helps improve the team immediately but will also help generate interest in the team when they move to Brooklyn in a couple years but if Williams doesn't resign then they are screwed as now not only will they not have a superstar to market/build the team around but they won't have any draft picks to rebuild the team.

Now Williams himself hasn't made any official statement about whether he will resign or not but there is some serious evidence to help support the theory he wants to get out of New Jersey as soon as possible.  When the trade was first announced the response from Williams was anything but positive as he said he was upset about the deal and not happy to be leaving Utah, which when compared to New Jersey is understandable.  Even though Williams would then go on to say all the right things at his press conference and interviews it was the initial reaction that were his true feelings I believe.

The other thing to consider is the current roster of the New Jersey Nets.  Aside from Williams and Lopez this is a team filled with mediocre roles players that are overpaid and under skilled.  The team has no 1st round draft picks to rebuild and barely any cap room to go out and get someone so why would Williams stay in a situation like that?  I think its going to take a lot to convince Williams to stay with the Nets and unless the team can pull off something crazy in terms of a trade or free agency I see him walking in 2012, maybe even to the Knicks if they can't get Chris Paul.

So there you have it, the 2 biggest trades of the year, the 2 biggest trades of the past 4-5 years for that matter, and both aren't working out has hoped.  If given the chance would both General Managers make the deals again?  I know I would.  Both deals needed to get done.  Each team was never going to be a contender as previously assembled and both needed to fill the seats and trading for a superstar is often the cure to those issues.


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UFC 128 Predictions

 I really hope nobody reads these and then makes bets based on my predictions, then again that would mean people read what I write so I think I am good on that front, because at UFC 127 I went 1-4 on the main card with my only correct prediction being Kyle Noke beating Chris Camozzi.  So I am looking to rebound this Saturday and it shouldn't be too hard as aside from the main event the PPV card is filled with fights that I feel are a little one-sided.

I know that Dana White has to be thrilled that Jon Jones walked all over Ryan Bader and was able to step in and take this fight against Shogun after Rashad Evans got hurt.  Ever since Jones stepped into the Octagon he has been pegged as "the next big thing in MMA" and Dana knows he can market the hell out of this kid and hopefully stop the revolving door of champions at Light Heavyweight.

This is a stack ass card from top to bottom and I am real pumped for it and even more pumped to go 5-5 in my predictions so here they are:



Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (19-4) vs. Jon "Bones" Jones (12-1)


When this fight was first announced Jon Jones was going off as a 4-1 favorite.  Now that a few weeks have passed the line has come down quite a bit and sits at 2-1 for Jones.  While Shogun is the champion and the more proven fighter I completely understand the betting line here.  Jones is undefeated (that loss against Matt Hamill is complete BS and everyone knows it) and just came off a complete manhandling of previously unbeaten Ryan Bader.

Add that to the fact that no fighter has ever been this hyped before by people within Mixed Martial Arts.  That's what worries me about Jones.  Normally when a fighter is hyped up it is by the UFC itself or fighters from within the same camp but with Jon Jones its literally everyone talking about how insane this kid is.  They all talk about him like he is the LeBron of MMA and is ready to explode on the scene and just dominate the 205lb division for the next 10 years.

Shogun on the other hand is being greatly overlooked.  He is still young in his own right, just 29, and has beaten some of the best fighters in the history of MMA.  His muay thai is insane and he has the most devastating leg kicks in the UFC.  He does struggle a little bit with wrestlers but being that he is Brazilian he came out of the womb knowing how to submit someone so if the fight goes to the ground look for Shogun to remain active rather than lay there and absorb elbows like people think he is going to do.

One of the other great abilities Shogun has is his ability to handle "unorthodox" strikers.  Before he fought Lyoto Machida there were people out there who thought Machida might never get hit again as his elusive and defensive style made him appear invincible.  Yet both times they fought Shogun was able to close the distance and really bring it to Machida eventually knocking Machida out in their second fight.  So I don't think he will have a problem handling Jones' style on the feet.

Where Shogun may have a problem is with Jones' insane reach.  Jones has the longest reach in the UFC and uses it to his advantage.  If he can keep Shogun at a good distance and avoid leg kicks then he should be able to dictate where the fight takes place and if he feels Shogun is too dangerous on the feet he can always fall back on his wrestling background and just take him down.

Where I think this fight really gets decided is in the clinch.  Both of these fighters are great in the clinch as they both employ a lot of muay thai in their attack so whoever can dominate the clinch game will win the fight.  If Shogun can inflict some damage in the clinch and eliminate the reach advantage of Jones then he will pull it out but if Jones can overwhelm Shogun with his superior length and maybe a trip or two via the clinch then its his fight to lose.

The crazy thing is that Jones has obviously never been finished and I have a hard time seeing Shogun getting knocked out by anybody yet at the same time the odds of two exciting fighters like these guys going to a decision must be nonexistent.  I want Shogun to win I just see more ways he loses the fight than ways where he can win.  Jones may be less experienced and may be facing an extreme jump in competition but he seems focused and determined.

Prediction: Jones via Submission

Urijah "The California Kid" Faber (24-4) vs. Eddie Wineland (18-6-1)


Finally Urijah Faber gets to make his debut in the UFC.  For a long time he was the poster boy for WEC and the only reason anyone ever watched one of their events (until Jose Aldo came around and started killing people and getting compared to Anderson Silva).  Now he gets to step into the Octagon and become even more of a household name but in order to do so he has to get by a self proclaimed, "corn-fed hillbilly from Indiana."

Eddie Wineland may not be a household name but he isn't just some dustbag the UFC brought over from WEC just to get beat up.  Wineland is a solid well rounded fighter, although his ground game fails in comparison to Faber, who prefers to stand and has proven in the past that he has knockout power.  A lot of people are viewing him as a stepping stone and an afterthought since its rumored that the winner of this fight will be a coach on the next season of The Ultimate Fighter alongside Dominick Cruz but Wineland has talent.  I mean he did beat Antonio Banuelos.

As for Faber he is as well-rounded as they come and the drop down in weight seems to have suited him perfectly.  By the way I love how in the Countdown show they never showed him losing to Aldo and he never mentioned how he dropped weight to avoid fighting Aldo ever again.  My buddy Josh called him out on this and I somewhat agree but I understand it.  Why would anyone want to be a Middleweight knowing one day they might have to fight Anderson Silva?

Despite Wineland being a legit fighter he is still not on the same level as Faber.  Faber will no doubt look to take this fight to the ground and finish Wineland convincingly.

Prediction: Faber via TKO


Jim Miller (19-2) vs. Kamal Shalorus (7-0-2)


Before George Sotiropoulos fought Dennis Siver I thought he should have fought Jim Miller to determine who the #1 contender for the lightweight championship should be.  Instead Joe Silva matched both of these guys up against fighters who pose a huge challenge for them stylistically.  This was done for 1 of 2 reasons.

1) My theory that the UFC picks and chooses its champions based on their marketability and charisma seems to be gaining steam as fighters like Jon Jones are given title shots without beating top tier talent while guys like Jim Miller are given tough fights that will neither move them up the rankings or get them closer to a title shot. There is no way Jim Miller gets a title shot if he beats Shalorus but if he loses he will need to win at least 2 more fights to get back to where he is now, on the fringe of the title picture.

2) Joe Silva and the UFC wanted to put these two guys against tough fights stylistically to see how good they are against adversity.  Can they game plan well and can they overcome the odds and change their style to beat a tough opponent.  GST failed in his test and now has to work his way back up the ladder.  Will the same happen to Jim Miller?

If you look at Miller's 19-2 record you will see that his only 2 losses came to Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard who are both superior wrestlers.  Shalorus is a superior wrestler to Jim Miller and so if you look at track record you pick Shalorus to win this fight.  I think Jim Miller might be able to adapt better than GST did against Siver and prove that he can beat superior wrestlers. Plus that home crowd in Jersey will be behind Miller and you can never discount that.

Prediction: Jim Miller via Decision




Nate "The Great" Marquardt (30-10-2) vs. Dan Miller (13-4)



Gotta respect Dan Miller for stepping up and taking this fight on almost no notice.  He was scheduled to be on the card anyways so he was physically ready but no way he was mentally ready to fight a guy like Nate Marquardt.  Then again Dan Miller could have 12 months to prepare for Nate and still get murdered.

This is Marquardt's last chance to go on a run and try and win the Middleweight title.  He can't afford to lose anymore fights and have to start at the bottom all over again.  He was supposed to fight Akiyama but because of the tsunami/earthquake in Japan that fight got canceled and Miller stepped up.  Marquardt is the official 'Jack of all trades yet master of none' in the UFC as he exemplifies well rounded but doesn't stand out anywhere in particular.

Dan Miller on the other hand exemplifies a duster.  He beats mediocre fighters (see his last win over Joe Doerksen) and loses to anyone with real talent (see previous 3 loses to Chael Sonnen, Demian Maia and Michael Bisping).  I see no way he wins this fight unless Marquardt has a massive heart attack right after the opening bell sounds.

Prediction: Marquardt via TKO

Brendan "The Hybrid" Schaub (7-1) vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (27-8-2)

I don't like Brendan Schaub.  Never have and probably never will.  Something about him just really pisses me off.  Another thing that pisses me off is that I didn't watch PRIDE during the height of its popularity therefore I have never seen Cro Cop just decapitate somebody with a head kick.  So I am pulling for that tonight and hoping Schaub never wakes up.

Having said that...

Chuck Mindenhall of ESPN put it best when he wrote, "As much as Cro Cop would like to file that Frank Mir fight away as an aberration, the truth is he has slowed down increasingly over the last three years, looking older than his 36 years. Meanwhile, Schaub is just coming into his own, and as he makes his way up into heavyweight contention, this fight will just be a handshake in the stairwell as they go in their own directions."

Prediction: Schaub (but hoping for that left leg to the dome)



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