With the semifinal match ups set, below are my predictions.
Roy Nelson over Justin Wren: I absolutely hate Nelson and would love to see him lose. However, he is case in point the biggest problem with heavyweight MMA fights. A guy as big as Nelson can dominate a fight just because he is impossible to escape from underneath. A better matchup would've been Scoonover, who could have negated his size advantage.
Brendan Schaub over Jon Madsen: Madsen inflicted ridiculous damage in his fight against Abe Wagner, but it really was more of an indictment on Wagner. Schaub is longer and I imagine he will be able to land some shots without getting too close and eventually submit Madsen on the ground.
James McSweeney over Matt Mitrione: Lets face it, Meathead Mitrione had his glory moment already. In his win over Junk, he showed a tremendous lack of cardio, a propensity to leave his hands down, and almost zero takedown/submission know-how. McSweeney should be prepared for this and try and get him gassed quickly.
Marcus Jones over Darrell Schoonover: Im not sure what to think of either of these guys. Both of their wins were impressive, but how good were Wessel and Jensen? Not very. Schoonover is more talented, but Marcus seems to be one the few guys who is very comfortable on the ground. He was able to slip an armbar on Wessel while on his back in 3 seconds, that isn't easy. I expect this to be the best fight of all of them, and I'm really looking forward to an episode filled with more titty comments.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
The Ultimate Fighter: Episode 8 Recap
For the first time, I'll be writing this recap without the aid of a second viewing of the episode. So it might be short, and it might miss some stuff. But its Saturday night and I'm just happy to be getting this on the blog period.
This week starts with everyone talking about Rampages reaction to Scott Junk losing the previous episode. Rampage destroyed a door and Dana White had a classic reaction saying that "it showed how cheap our doors are" and "the last thing you want to be on this show is a door." So with that loss, Marcus Jones was the last hope for Team Rampage to avoid being shut out. He was set to fight Mike Wessel of Team Rashad.
A couple incidents happen before the fight that I suppose are noteworthy.
1. Scoonover and Rampage get at it again. Its the dumbest "feud" ever so I wont elaborate.
2. Marcus freaks out at a drawing done by Brendan Schaub that says Marcus sucks balls. One of the bigger overreactions Ive ever seen by a giant black man.
3. Marcus freaks out over a dead scorpion. The second biggest overreaction Ive seen from the same giant black man.
4. Mike Wessel's wife has cancer and his emotional interviews make you pull for the guy.
Now, the shortest fight recap ever. The bell rings and the guys go at each other. You can tell that Wessel's style isn't going to match up well against a much taller Jones. He very naively decides to try and sweep Jones, who turns it around and drops Wessel on his back. Surprisingly Wessel is able to get off his back, but immediately he lands in an arm bar that forces him to verbally tap about 2 minutes into the round.
So with Team Rampages 1st win, the coaches are set to get together to pick the semifinal fights. Obviously, several of Team Rashad's guys will fight their own teammates and they call the fighters in to offer their opinions on who they'd like to fight. Dana mentions that Roy "Big Country" Nelson rubs him the wrong way during their discussion and I couldn't agree more. They guy is a fat turd.
The match ups are decided and my predictions will follow shortly.
Roy Nelson vs. Justin Wren
James McSweeney vs. Matt Mitrione
Marcus Jones vs. Darrell Schoonover
Brendan Schaub vs. Jon Madsen
This week starts with everyone talking about Rampages reaction to Scott Junk losing the previous episode. Rampage destroyed a door and Dana White had a classic reaction saying that "it showed how cheap our doors are" and "the last thing you want to be on this show is a door." So with that loss, Marcus Jones was the last hope for Team Rampage to avoid being shut out. He was set to fight Mike Wessel of Team Rashad.
A couple incidents happen before the fight that I suppose are noteworthy.
1. Scoonover and Rampage get at it again. Its the dumbest "feud" ever so I wont elaborate.
2. Marcus freaks out at a drawing done by Brendan Schaub that says Marcus sucks balls. One of the bigger overreactions Ive ever seen by a giant black man.
3. Marcus freaks out over a dead scorpion. The second biggest overreaction Ive seen from the same giant black man.
4. Mike Wessel's wife has cancer and his emotional interviews make you pull for the guy.
Now, the shortest fight recap ever. The bell rings and the guys go at each other. You can tell that Wessel's style isn't going to match up well against a much taller Jones. He very naively decides to try and sweep Jones, who turns it around and drops Wessel on his back. Surprisingly Wessel is able to get off his back, but immediately he lands in an arm bar that forces him to verbally tap about 2 minutes into the round.
So with Team Rampages 1st win, the coaches are set to get together to pick the semifinal fights. Obviously, several of Team Rashad's guys will fight their own teammates and they call the fighters in to offer their opinions on who they'd like to fight. Dana mentions that Roy "Big Country" Nelson rubs him the wrong way during their discussion and I couldn't agree more. They guy is a fat turd.
The match ups are decided and my predictions will follow shortly.
Roy Nelson vs. Justin Wren
James McSweeney vs. Matt Mitrione
Marcus Jones vs. Darrell Schoonover
Brendan Schaub vs. Jon Madsen
Raleigh's Best Bets NCAAFB Week 10
3-0 last week...finally
These are going up late. Late night last night and computer problems this morning.
Texas A&M (-3) @ Colorado
Oregon (-7) @ Stanford - Oregon is rolling
Houston (-2) @ Tulsa - I've seen Tulsa a few times on their weeknight ESPN games and have been less than impressed each time. Houston isn't intimidated on the road
Last Week: 3-0
Overall: 12-11-1
These are going up late. Late night last night and computer problems this morning.
Texas A&M (-3) @ Colorado
Oregon (-7) @ Stanford - Oregon is rolling
Houston (-2) @ Tulsa - I've seen Tulsa a few times on their weeknight ESPN games and have been less than impressed each time. Houston isn't intimidated on the road
Last Week: 3-0
Overall: 12-11-1
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Lost in the Shuffle: How to Fix the NBA and NHL
Lost in the shuffle of post season baseball and the NFL season is the fact that two other sports are currently under way. Maybe its just me, but I think the NHL and NBA need to take measures to get themselves some more sports attention. I mean, our blog barely covers those sports, and our blog is the blog. Without much thought or research, here are some suggestions.
1. Reduce the number of games in both the NBA and NHL from 82 to 62. The season is just too long. Alot of moderate fans lose interest early, like myself. If the season were a bit shorter, there would be more juice at the start and in the middle.
2. Start both seasons in early November, instead of October when baseball is peaking. With playoff baseball, I have zero interest in other sports right now. And thats not just as a Yankee fan, its as a baseball fan. Football takes up the weekend, but if they waited until November, weekdays would be all NHL and NBA. Now by the time baseball is over, Ive already missed about 25 NHL games and the first week of the NBA season.
3. Divide the NHL into two divisions, Canada & USA. Currently there are only 6 teams based in Canada, but I have a feeling that could be 15. I have nothing to base that on other than the fact it works for my argument. But dividing the NHL into these divisions would make the Stanley Cup an event of both local and national magnitude.
4. Do not allow players to enter the NBA draft until they are 21. Right now, the NCAA is watered down and the NBA has young talent that isn't sharp. It goes against the rights of the kids to make money, but it would revitalize the NBA if the kids entering the draft were more NBA ready. If they dont want to go to college, they can play in Europe or at Rucker park.
1. Reduce the number of games in both the NBA and NHL from 82 to 62. The season is just too long. Alot of moderate fans lose interest early, like myself. If the season were a bit shorter, there would be more juice at the start and in the middle.
2. Start both seasons in early November, instead of October when baseball is peaking. With playoff baseball, I have zero interest in other sports right now. And thats not just as a Yankee fan, its as a baseball fan. Football takes up the weekend, but if they waited until November, weekdays would be all NHL and NBA. Now by the time baseball is over, Ive already missed about 25 NHL games and the first week of the NBA season.
3. Divide the NHL into two divisions, Canada & USA. Currently there are only 6 teams based in Canada, but I have a feeling that could be 15. I have nothing to base that on other than the fact it works for my argument. But dividing the NHL into these divisions would make the Stanley Cup an event of both local and national magnitude.
4. Do not allow players to enter the NBA draft until they are 21. Right now, the NCAA is watered down and the NBA has young talent that isn't sharp. It goes against the rights of the kids to make money, but it would revitalize the NBA if the kids entering the draft were more NBA ready. If they dont want to go to college, they can play in Europe or at Rucker park.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
3 Days Rest - Did Girardi Make the Right Call?
The hot topic today on WFAN seems to be whether or not Girardi should have pitched A.J. Burnett on three days rest in Game 5 instead of Chad Gaudin.
If the Yankees were down 3-2 instead of up 3-2 then this would be a huge deal. But the fact of the matter is that the Yankees took 2 of 3 in Philly which is exactly what they needed to do and they are still very much in the driver's seat to win the World Series. It's just Yankees fan in panic mode (I would be as well if this were the Mets so it's not a critisism).
As far as I'm concerned Girardi had no choice. Unfortunately for Burnett he had a bad game. I think him pitching on short rest had little to do with it. Pitchers have bad games. In the event that the Yankees do lose the series and you want to complain that they should have used a 4th starter in the World Series then point your finger squarely on Joba Chamberlain. If he proved that he could have been a useful starter, I'm sure he would have been part of a 4-man rotation this post-season and everyone would have been on regular rest.
If the Yankees were down 3-2 instead of up 3-2 then this would be a huge deal. But the fact of the matter is that the Yankees took 2 of 3 in Philly which is exactly what they needed to do and they are still very much in the driver's seat to win the World Series. It's just Yankees fan in panic mode (I would be as well if this were the Mets so it's not a critisism).
As far as I'm concerned Girardi had no choice. Unfortunately for Burnett he had a bad game. I think him pitching on short rest had little to do with it. Pitchers have bad games. In the event that the Yankees do lose the series and you want to complain that they should have used a 4th starter in the World Series then point your finger squarely on Joba Chamberlain. If he proved that he could have been a useful starter, I'm sure he would have been part of a 4-man rotation this post-season and everyone would have been on regular rest.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Raleigh's Best Bets NFL Week 8
Lucked out with the Pittsburgh cover last week, misread the Atlanta/Dallas game but it's still a 2-1 week and I'll take it. My goal is to get back to .500 this week before turning it on in the 2nd half of the season. I'm a back-9 players.
Denver @ Baltimore (-3.5)
Denver does have some nice road wins this year (Cincy and San Diego) but Denver has to throw up a clunker at some point and I think this is the day.
New York Giants (-1.5) @ Philadelphia
The Yankees go up 3-1 on the Phillies tonight but New York's taking over Philadelphia starts with the Giants beating the Eagles in a close game. Eli Manning plays well in philly for some reason.
St. Louis @ Detroit (-4)
I actually went with Detroit in my Survivor Pool this week. St. Louis is bad and Detroit is capable of beating the worst teams at home.
Last Week: 2-1
Overall: 10-11
Denver @ Baltimore (-3.5)
Denver does have some nice road wins this year (Cincy and San Diego) but Denver has to throw up a clunker at some point and I think this is the day.
New York Giants (-1.5) @ Philadelphia
The Yankees go up 3-1 on the Phillies tonight but New York's taking over Philadelphia starts with the Giants beating the Eagles in a close game. Eli Manning plays well in philly for some reason.
St. Louis @ Detroit (-4)
I actually went with Detroit in my Survivor Pool this week. St. Louis is bad and Detroit is capable of beating the worst teams at home.
Last Week: 2-1
Overall: 10-11
Bobs NFL Picks Week 8
What can I say? I am on a roll. 4-0 last week brings me to 14-5 for the season. If anyone out there is using my picks please let me know by commenting on them or becoming a blog follower. Id like to know that my expertise is being appreciated by someone other than myself. That being said, I HATE the lines this week, but will do my best at keeping this train moving.
Tennessee -3 vs. Jacksonville: Boy is this a risky pick. They haven't won all season and in their last game they lost 59-0. Ouch. However, Vince Young takes over the offense this week at home against an average Jacksonville team. Both teams come off the bye, but no one needed it more than the Titans. I see them avenging their week 4 loss. Tenn 27-Jack 20
Minnesota +3 @ Packers: This is a tricky line. The Vikings are the better team but its in Green Bay and that place will be nuts with the return of whats his name. Im not sure who will win this, but it could very easily be decided by a late FG and if you're getting 3 points than you'd be looking at a push at worst.
Texans -3.5 @ Buffalo: I dont love this game at all, but I really dont like Buffalo. I would like this alot better if it were -3, or -2.5, but hey, Im not Vegas.
Last Week: 4-0
Season: 14-5
Tennessee -3 vs. Jacksonville: Boy is this a risky pick. They haven't won all season and in their last game they lost 59-0. Ouch. However, Vince Young takes over the offense this week at home against an average Jacksonville team. Both teams come off the bye, but no one needed it more than the Titans. I see them avenging their week 4 loss. Tenn 27-Jack 20
Minnesota +3 @ Packers: This is a tricky line. The Vikings are the better team but its in Green Bay and that place will be nuts with the return of whats his name. Im not sure who will win this, but it could very easily be decided by a late FG and if you're getting 3 points than you'd be looking at a push at worst.
Texans -3.5 @ Buffalo: I dont love this game at all, but I really dont like Buffalo. I would like this alot better if it were -3, or -2.5, but hey, Im not Vegas.
Last Week: 4-0
Season: 14-5
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