UFC and WEC Merger

The UFC incorporating the WEC was big news this week. I have mixed feelings. The WEC consistently had the best fight cards, in no small part due to their focus on the lighter weight classes. You don't see 155-pound and smaller guys gas out in the 2nd round. However, the fight cards were solid even before the likes of Brian Stann, Carlos Condit and Steve Cantwell were called-up into the UFC. But I wonder if that will translate into a better UFC?

 

The fans lose out on this one. WEC fights were FREE on Versus. Now only Bellator remains as a viable free TV alternative for MMA. And Bellator isn't quite what the WEC was. I'm happy for fighters such as Aldo, Henderson, Cerrone, Faber, Brown, getting more recongition and bigger paydays. But it sucks that I'm not going to see them without shelling out for PPV and I doubt if the WEC fighters themselves will be able to fight as often as before. I also wonder if the average UFC fan will be able to keep up with two extra weight classes?

 

At least there will be an undisputed lightweight champion for the WEC/UFC. I've always wondered where Ben Henderson stacks-up against the UFC's best lightweights, or where Varner and Cerrone stand for that matter. It's just too bad for Urijah Faber that this merger didn't come 3-years earlier. I can't even imagine how huge that guy would be if he was marketed under the UFC banner his entire career!

Shootout Kings

The Kings won their second game of the season via shootout last night. I am not a fan of the shootout. I enjoy watching the skill players vs goaltenders as much as the next guy, but anything which takes away from team play is a negative in my book. At least it gets the NHL on ESPN a little more, via Sportcenter highlights. I mostly dislike having playoff births based partly, or in rare cases entirely, on a skill contest with 3 shooters.

 

It's a good thing that the Kings are good in the shootout. Quick appears to have a good knack for stopping penalty shots. The guy has great feet and flexibility. Kopitar, Johnson, and (formerly) Frolov have the hands to be great shootout artists. In fact, it's the first time all season that I have missed Frolov. I've seen some shootout beauties by that guy. But that's where my appreciation of the guy begins and ends.

 

As long as the shootout doesn't ever make it's way into the Playoffs, I'll be a happy fan of the NHL.

UFC 121

What we learned. Diego Sanchez is not done. I had put a fork in him after he lost badly to Penn and then moved up to 170 and lost to Hathaway. He mentioned going back to 155 after this fight. Bouncing around weight classes is a bad sign, unless you are Anderson Silva. But the "Yes!" Cartwheel Guy proved me wrong and out lasted Paulo Thiago. And it's Thiago that might see his walking papers...

 

Tito Ortiz is done. I figured he might have had a tough fight, but would ultimately get Hamill in a decision. Hamill was too much for Tito. Ortiz hasn't won in years. I've heard about a "rejuvinated" Tito before each of his last 3 fights. He didn't have any injury or surgery excuses this time. Looks like the writing is on the wall. And I don't want to see him fight Liddell a 3rd time either.

 

Jake Shields can be just as boring in the UFC as in Strikeforce. I've read that the weight cut didn't do him any favors and he did look pretty lethargic. But Kampmann should have done us all a huge favor by beating Shields and keeping the UFC welterweight division from becoming Wrestlemania. It wasn't to be. And Shields looks to get a title shot. I'm not impressed.

 

The UFC heavyweight division is a crowded place. Much like the merry-go-round title holders in light heavyweight. Jon Madsen and Brendan Schaub are a part of the future contenders club after their respective wins. I see Velasquez, Carwin, Dos Santos, and Lesnar battling for that belt the next few years. I like Roy Nelson for his mix of toughness, boxing, jiu jitsu and fatness. Also, Stefan Struve for his toughness, jiu jitsu and tallness.

 

It's funny how everyone jumped off the Lesnar bandwagon once he got his face smashed in the last two events and played turtle. Lesnar clearly doesn't handle getting punched in the face very well. Prior to that, Lesnar was a one-in-a-million heavyweight (nearly super heavyweight) that could move like a lightweight. His pure power and wrestling would overcome anybody. I think reality is a mix of both. Lesnar's size and natural athleticism allow him to beat most heavyweights out there, despite limited training. But two consecutive power punchers with wrestling skill were able to thwart Lesnar's wrestling and make him strike. Don't get me wrong, I hate the guy's persona. I don't like that a guy can come in with little-to-no experience and get the title right away. Lesnar's greatest gift to the UFC is not fringe fans, crossover marketability, or bigger PPV. Pushing the heavyweight ranks to overcome this guy and creating a stocked heavyweight division worth watching is what I thank Lesnar for!

 

 

Snow Angels

The only reason I read Puck Daddy is for the occasional, more obscure happenings around the hockey world. This definitely qualifies...

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Video-The-most-adorable-youth-hockey-goal-celeb?urn=nhl-278724

NG Fighters: Game Recap

Once again, I can't help myself from blogging about our last game. This time we didn't have a goaltender. The entire locker room was sort of in denial about it up until the last minute. "He said he was coming." was said about ten times. Well, after the Zamboni got off the ice it was clear that we didn't have a goalie. We played the first 10-minutes or so with a defneseman standing in net. Later, we threw leg pads and a catch glove on our defenseman do play net. It was a bold effort and we almost came back, but fell just a tad short at 5-6. Damn. Winning streak over due to roster issues. That sucks.

Mid-life Hockey

Some guys get a 20-year-old girlfriend, others a sportscar or hair implants. But I've decided to start playing ice hockey as part of my mid-life crisis. It's been great, but also very busy and tiring. It seems like the family is always at the hockey rink on the weekends and typically very late at night. My son has a mid morning gymnastics class that we barely wake-up for. But I wouldn't have it any other way. It's not just being busy for the sake of being busy. I am also at the point where I don't have to ice down my ankle/knees/wrists after every game. I am loving this.

Welcome Back NHL!

The NHL 2010-11 Season is finally here! It seems like it has been an extra long summer. Maybe because my teams didn't do much? Anyway, it's great to have games that "mean something". That's is obviously compared to the pre-season. It's a pretty long 82-game season. The first half is mostly a warm-up. Teams can certainly put themselves out of the playoffs by starting too slowly and yet are not guaranteed a playoff spot by starting fast either.

 

I'm just excited to see some of the new players on the Kings: Shenn, Loktionov, Bernier, Mitchell. Seems like the Kings are the sportwriters' pick for another step forward in development. A young and improving team that's easy to like. A few predict them winning the Pacific Division. As a fan, I feel pressure to live up to those expectations. Lombardi's patient building has been showing signs of paying-off for the last 2-years. If this were still the pre-salary cap era, I think more moves could have been made to speed the re-build. But a mistake made nowadays can hurt you for a long time.

 

Meanwhile, the Senators are a total crapshoot. Some guys have them winning their division, others have them out of the playoffs all together. But, it's a balance. The only reason I even follow the Senators is because 1.) I happened to get Heatley, Spezza and Alfredsson on my fantasy hockey team one year, 2) they are an Eastern team and I can DVR the games and watch them quickly after dinner (unlike west coast games that are watched live) 3.) the Kings went through a brutal phase where their season was over by January & it gave me a team to follow. Nothing would make me happier than having the Kings succeed at the Senators expense (somehow).

 

 

NG Fighters: Game Recap

I'm not into the habit of writing a review for every game the Fighters play. But this one was noteworthy. It had the Fighters starting the season 2-0-0, and also scoring 11 goals. Both are nice accomplishments.

 

First off, the fact that the game was an 11-9 track meet was largely my fault. I can't play defense to save my life or a goal. My positioning was always too aggressive and I got beat back to the net repeatedly. When I stayed back I was too far back. It was a mess. Luckily, our top line of Virags was "on". After the first game I thought that we had ringers on our team. After matching up with a mid-level team from last year, I think we are just fine. We traded goals and lead changes all game. I believe that we came back from 2-goals down, twice. It was a ton of fun, yet also miserable. But a very big lesson for me about playing defense. I suck at it.

B-Sens Shootout Masterpiece

In some pre-season action, Binghamton Senators' player Kaspar Daugavins' scored this creative wonder. I haven't seen anything like this in a while. Most of the "newer" moves involve picking-up the puck and/or hitting it out of mid-air. This one is pretty easy to defend with a poke check, so I doubt that any copycats will be successful. Most of all, as a Senators prospect, I hope that Kaspar has highlights in the NHL and not just 15-seconds of YouTube fame for his entire career.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Video-Kaspars-Daugavins-instant-hockey-legend-?urn=nhl-274370