Sports
The Ultimate Fighter 11 Finale Breakdown
It’s going down June 19th at the Palms Casino in Vegas. Here’s a breakdown of the fights.
Main Event – Matt Hamill vs. Keith Jardine
Always a crowd favorite, “The Hammer” is coming off his “victory” over Jon Jones at the last TUF finale. His always-improving stand up game is backed up by his solid wrestling background. Look for him to box initially to set up takedowns for his ground and pound. Jardine “The Dean of Mean” is coming off three straight losses to some of the LH division elites (Rampage Jackson, Thiago Silva, and Ryan Bader). His unorthodox style of striking can present issues for his opponents and his keys to victory are avoiding takedowns while utilizing effective leg kicks as he did versus Chuck Liddell.
Middleweight Final – Court McGee Vs. Kris McCray
McGee, the now clean former heroin addict, used his grinding never-say-die attitude to surprisingly earn a spot in the final. As an underdog during most of his fights on the show, he earned a clear win over the talented Brad Tavares in the semi-finals and also owns a win over former TUF 9 member DaMarques Johnson. He proved that he can stand and bang or take the fight to the mat. McCray’s season looked to be over after losing to Josh Bryant early, but an injury gave him a second chance at Bryant in the other semi-final. Following new coach Rich Franklin’s advice for preserving energy, the seemingly always gassed McCray got his revenge and narrowly edged Bryant. But can he do more than his standard thai clinch knee and lazy uppercuts? Lets hope so, but look for McGee to emerge victorious.
Other Fights
Aaron Simpson vs. Chris Leben
The A-Train looks to continue his undefeated ways. The former Arizona State All-American wrestler in 1996 & 1998 got a late start in the UFC, but is making up for lost time. Leben, a former TUF cast member, is polarizing as they come. He is most famous for urinating on people’s beds, getting busted for steroids, being on the receiving end of Anderson Silva’s fists and knees, and pretty much the most awesome tattoo in the world (a samurai holding a bloody katana and a decapitated head).
Spencer Fisher vs. Dennis Siver
“The King” appears to be regulated to a lightweight division gatekeeper, while the Russian-German Siver is worth watching for his famous spinning back kicks/punches.
Jun 15th
UFC 115 Vancouver, BC – Rich “Ace” Franklin Mans Up, MANjr Style
Four years ago this would have been hyped as the fight of the decade in MMA. In 2006, Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell had a tight grip on the light heavyweight (LH) division (205 lbs.) after wins against the likes of Randy Couture, Tito Ortiz, and Renato “Babalu” Sobral. Rich “Ace” Franklin had the middleweight (MW) crown (185 lbs) before “The Spider” Anderson Silva began his current annihilation of the division.
Fast forward to 2010 and the newest installment of the Spike TV series “The Ultimate Fighter“ with coaches Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz renewing their rivalry in hopes of completing their trilogy of fights. Oritz, looking for his first win against Liddell, was surprisingly the first coach to ever be fired by Dana White after having to pull out of the Liddell fight during the ninth week of taping due to a recurring neck injury that will require surgery and rehabilitation. Chuck took it in typical Chuck fashion. Here’s the video.
In stepped Franklin to coach the final week of the TV series and fight Liddell. The previously iron-chinned Liddell had been brutally KO’d by Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, “Sugar” Rashad Evans and current LH champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in his recent 1-4 slide since beating Ortiz in 2006. Ace, after being taken behind a woodshed and beaten to near death twice by “The Spider,” moved up to the LH division looking for new competition.
Though not the sexy match up that it would have been years ago, it was still tantalizing enough to be the main event of the evening. Liddell controlled the opening round with precise boxing and great kicks, one of which broke Franklin’s arm just a minute into the fight while he was attempting to block the high blast. Franklin later recalled during his post fight interview with Joe Rogan that his busted limb was clicking and took him out of his game a little, but there was no chance of him not answering the bell for the second round.
It turned out he never had to worry about it, as Franklin landed a short right counter hook on the chin sending the overextended Liddell down to the canvas and out to the hospital with just five seconds remaining in the opening round. Next up for Ace should be a bump in competition in the crowded LH division with possibilities being Forrest Griffin, Rampage Jackson, Thiago Silva or Antonio Rogerio Nogueria. As for Liddell, who has lost five of six and looked every bit like a 40-year-old fighter, hopefully retirement.
Check out the post-fight interviews.
Jun 14th
Link Lovin’
And what’s a soccer tourney without some hooligans (EgoTV)
7 signs that summer is just around the corner (Guyism)
A look at World Cup Twitter trends (Mashable)
Wow, Lisa Morales is smoking’ hot (MankindUnplugged)
Will Wayne Rooney be able to hold himself back from stomping on people? (FHM)
Nothing like a nice video of a graduation brawl to start the weekend (Asylum)
Jun 11th
The Decline of the British Empire
Some stuff to keep in mind
for the U.S. vs. England match tomorrow (Source: www.declineofthebritishempire.com – thanks @wabten!)….
Jun 11th
Watch 2010 World Cup Online – Live Streaming Options
Some of you have jobs and just can’t afford to wake up at 4am and watch three straight World Cup matches while getting drunk on the couch. That’s understandable. The World Cup comes around every four years, but the tournament only lasts a month. By mid-July, you’ll still need a source of income to pay for things like rent, food and bar tabs. So it’s probably a good idea not to quit your job.
If you’re stuck in the office, and you’re looking for ways to watch the 2010 World Cup online, here are some online streaming options that you should check out:
ESPNsoccernet is streaming the games live on the Net. Just go to the ESPNsoccernet homepage and click ‘Watch’ on the top navigation menu.
ESPN3 is also streaming all the games.
Univision is in Spanish, but good alternative if ESPN3 is blocked at your work.
atdhe.net has a bunch of channels and we hear that you can catch the matches there.
CBC Sports is Canada’s national public broadcaster. They’ll be streaming all month long.
BBC Sports will stream all BBC matches live.
Iraqgoals.net Haven’t tried but heard it works
iTV.com,is a U.K. network. They’ll broadcast any matches that they carry.
Here’s the World Cup Schedule if you haven’t tacked it up in your cube yet.
Jun 11th
Link Machine
Marisa Miller with the top 10 reasons to ride a motorcycle (AskMen)
Twitter’s got it’s own fancy World Cup page (Twitter)
Are you ready for singles softball league action this summer? (Asylum)
Some tips on how to make the most of the World Cup with apps, sites, podcasts and more (CrunchGear)
Ever wonder which athletes get the hottest girls? (BleacherReport)
If you don’t have a team in the World Cup, here’s an article that breaks down the likability of every squad (SB Nation)
Waffles McButter outlines the 15 most inappropriate place to ice someone (BroBible)
Yep, Reggie Bush sure screwed over USC (SportsbyBrooks)
Jun 10th
2010 World Cup Betting Odds – Group Stage Matches
Oh ma gad, dude – the World Cup starts tomorrow!
Set your alarms and put the beer in the fridge, the World Cup starts tomorrow! It’s the most anticipated sporting event in the history of your life! Well, until 2014 at least. Anyway, are you ready? Have you accrued enough sick/vacation days at work? Did you stockpile enough booze and snacks to get you through the next month? Did you set your DVR just in case your sorry ass hits the snooze button?
And most importantly, did you place your bets yet?
Here are the latest odds from Sportsbook.com for every match in the Group Stage:
Jun 10th
Golden Tate – Drunken Donut 911 Call
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate has had an interesting week. The first year NFL player was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft, but that’s not the most exciting thing that’s happened to the guy the past week.
This past Saturday, Tate was apprehended after entering a Top Pot donut shop in Bellevue, Washington, stealing some keys and feasting on some warm maple bars. The shop wasn’t open at the time.
The owners of the shop decided not to press any charges, so Tate got off with a “trespassing warning.” Tate later apologized for the incident and then tweeted yesterday that Top Pot sold four times as many donuts as a result of the incident.
Here’s the audio from the 911 call:
Jun 10th
Stephen Strasburg Strikes Out 14 in MLB Debut
So the kid lived up to the hype.
Earlier on Twitter today, @marklavine summed up the expectations for Strasburg’s debut like this:
If Stephen Strasburg doesn’t cure cancer or walk on water tonight, I’ll be disappointed. Just sayin’
So yea man, no pressure. The Washington Nationals drafted Strasbourg number one overall last June, and the sorry-ass ball club needed a big-time lift from the highly touted (and highly paid) prospect.
Strassy didn’t disappoint. The kid tossed 99 mph pitches and finished the game with a ridiculous 14Ks. Yea okay, he gave up a two-run homer, but so what? He allowed just four hits and the two runs over seven innings. He didn’t walk anyone either.
Way to manage expectations, big guy!
Jun 8th
Link Sauce
The 55 sexiest South African women (BroBible)
Bill Simmons NBA Finals Game 3 live chat (NBA.com)
Marion Barber played with torn quad in 2009 (PFT)
Holy bikini cleavage fest! (Planeeths via Dave&Thomas)
Chris Brown banned from Britan (AdventureWorthy)
9 dumb girlfriend conversations (EgoTV)
5 Rules of strip club etiquette (HolyTaco)
Mike Fabiano thinks you should draft QB Aaron Rodgers with your first round fantasy pick (NFL.com)
The best bars in America – 2010 (Esquire)
7 dishes that every guy should know how to cook (Guyism)
Jun 8th
