Category: Sports

  • The MMA Minute – UFC Live 2: Jones vs. Matyushenko

    The page turns on the calendar tomorrow, and with that we leave the slowest month in recent memory (as far as the MMA world is concerned). August is the complete opposite, with a whopping 5 events to keep us occupied. We waste no time getting started as the first event is tomorrow, the first of the month, as the UFC brings us UFC Live 2: Jones vs. Matyushenko. The event will be the second UFC event to be broadcast on Versus; the first being UFC Live: Vera vs. Jones.

    We’ve got a couple interesting things with this card, the least of which is the return of “Big” John McCarthy. He’ll referee this event, the first time he has refereed at a UFC event in almost 3 years. This will be Matyushenko’s 3rd fight since his return to the UFC, and Jones is a very dynamic opponent, especially compared to his previous 2 fights. I’m also curious about how the 2 wrestlers, Muñoz and Ellenberger, will fare in their matchups. With that said, let’s get to the picks:

    Main card

    As good as Matyushenko has been, Jones’ only setback was when he was disqualified for the use of multiple, illegal, 12-to-6 (striking from top of skull and down) elbows so I like Jones to continue to climb the ladder. I’ll also take Muñoz over Okami, Ellenberger over Howard, and Griffin over Gomi.

  • The MMA Minute – A Brief History of the UFC, Part 2

    Last week we covered much of the history of the UFC leading up the purchase by Zuffa. As usual, I want to direct you to the article on Wikipedia, which is where most of this information came from, I simply merged a few articles together and added my two cents for entertainment purposes.

    So the UFC was floundering, it was up against government bans and was hemorrhaging money, unable to keep up without the income from the pay per views. After making some widespread changes to the rules and equipment allowed, they were able to secure U.S. sanctioning, but were on the edge of bankruptcy. (more…)

  • T.W.I.S.T. for July 18-24

    This week wasn’t  nearly as bad as last week, when we were forced to talk about baseball. Here’s the week in sports tomfoolery:

    College Football

    USC got what was coming to them this summer. The school cheated, or at least turned their backs on the cheating at hand, their way to the top, and now they’re paying for it. ESPN says, “USC is cleaning house in its tarnished athletic department, throwing out much of what got the school in severe NCAA trouble. Athletic director Mike Garrett and Reggie Bush’s Heisman Trophy are the first two items to go.”

    Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Bush have his biggest games against nobodies? Meanwhile, Vince Young had his biggest games on the biggest stages, and single handedly took down the big powerful USC team that Bush played for in the National Championship game. Vince Young should’ve won the the Heisman that year, that’s all there is to it.

    The best line I’ve heard about this story was on twitter: “You know things are messed up when USC cuts ties with Reggie Bush, but they’re still all good with OJ Simpson” Now that’s a school that has it’s priorities straight!

    Now that USC got their punishment, the NCAA is really cracking down on all the big dogs, as there are current investigations in Florida and Alabama, and Nick Saban is pissed about it!

    More after the jump. (more…)

  • The MMA Minute – A Brief History of the UFC, Part 1

    We still have over a week until the MMA schedule picks up again. So in order to keep our regular schedule of a weekly Friday post, we’ll delve deeper into MMA and how it’s reached such high levels of popularity.

    In case you’re just joining us now, over the last two weeks I’ve gone over a bit of the history of MMA, with alot of help from Wikipedia. Part 1 and part 2 have covered most of what you’d need to know and I’d encourage you to at least give them a once over if you are still in the learning stages of MMA fandom.

    Wikipedia has some great info, so instead of re-inventing the wheel, I’ll just bring the best it has to offer to you, which is quite a bit. Let’s face it, the UFC is main reason why we have MMA today, so there’s alot to cover here. This week we’ll cover the UFC from it’s first event to the Zuffa purchase: (more…)

  • T.W.I.S.T. for July 11-17

    This is the dog days of summer, so if I want to continue to do a weekly sports summary, I’m gonna be forced to mention baseball. I really apologize about this guys. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

    MLB

    • David Ortiz, who’s hardly been able to hit the broad side of a barn, let alone hit the ball out of the park for the better part of 2 years (*cough* steroids *cough*), apparently has been saving it all for the Home Run Derby, because he cranked out 11 HRs, in the final round to take down Hanley Ramirez and win the competition.
    • George Steinbrenner passed away this week after having a massive heart attack on Tuesday. In 37-plus seasons as owner, Steinbrenner led the Yankees to seven World Series championships, 11 American League pennants and 16 AL East titles. He purchased the Yankees, now valued at $1.6 billion, for about $10 million in 1973.
    • In what is probably the worst rule in sports, the National League locked up home field advantage in the World Series by winning the All-Star game, for the first time since 1996, 3-1.

    And… that’s about it. There were a few good laughs at the ESPY’s though, I’ll include those videos after the jump. (more…)