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UFC 101-Declaration-Previews and Predictions Part 6

155 lbs-Lightweight Championship: BJ Penn vs Kenny Florian
This is a match up that fight fans have been salivating over for years. While this was already a match up of two of the most well rounded fighters in the UFC, it has become more interesting due to the trash talk that has been going back and forth between these two as well as the fact that Florian has been training with the last man to defeat Penn, in George St. Pierre.

BJ Penn is the current UFC Lightweight Champion. He has also held the UFC Welterweight Championship as well as being the first non-Brazilian to win the black belt division of the World Jiu-Jitsu Champion after only 3 years of training. He is known throughout MMA as being one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world. Besides being a black belt in BJJ, he is also known for his phenomenal boxing and his superior takedown defense. He has a professional record of 13-5 with wins over Din Thomas, Din Thomas, Matt Serra, Takanori Gomi, Matt Hughes, Duane "Bang" Ludwig, Renzo Gracie, Rodrigo Gracie, Jens Pulver, Joe Stevenson and Sean Sherk. He has losses to Jens Pulver, Matt Hughes, Lyoto Machida and Georges St Pierre(twice). 5 of his wins have come by KO and 5 by submission with 3 coming via decision. 2 of his losses have been by KO and he has never been submitted. He also has one draw to Caol Uno. In Penn's last fight, he was completely dismantled by GSP. He appealed the fight to no avail due to the fact that one of GSP's corner men greased him during the fight. He will be looking to rebound from his last defeat and return to the Lightweight division for the first time in 15 months.

Kenny Florian was the runner-up for the Middleweight Ultimate Fighter 1 Championship in which he was dominated by Diego Sanchez. He has a career record of 11-3. He is known for being the type of fighter who stops fights! 10 of his 11 victories have come via stoppage, 7 by submission and 3 by KO with only 1 going to a decision. In his 3 losses, he has been KO'd once and lost 2 decisions. He has wins over Kit Cope, Sam Stout, Din Thomas, Joe Lauzon, Roger Huerta and Joe Stevenson. His losses have come to Drew Fickett, Diego Sanchez and Sean Sherk. He is currently on a 6 fight winning streak and will look to improve upon that by defeating Penn to capture the Lightweight Championship tonight at UFC 101. Florian is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai fighter who is incredibly well rounded and will no doubt be looking for the stoppage in this one. This will undeniably be his toughest fight and one he has wanted for quite some time.

Prediction: Penn is a master on the ground as well as on the feet. However, Florian does not appear to be far behind. Florian has made tremendous strides to improve each and every time he steps into the octagon. His progress in the sport is impressive and I'm sure this fight will show that once again. I believe this fight will come down to cardio and that has always been a concern of BJ Penn's. We have seen him gas several times in his UFC career. If Florian can withstand the early barrage from Penn and take this fight into the championship rounds he will come out on top. If not it will be a short night for Florian. However, I am once again going with the upset. I pick Kenny Florian by decision.

I know that this is the 2nd fight in a row in which I have picked the underdogs. These are both incredibly difficult fights to predict and I went with where I feel the greatest weaknesses are which in this case are Silva's lack of size and Penn's lack of cardio. I'm off to watch the fights. Here's hoping for an incredible night of fights!

UFC 101-Declaration: Predictions and Previews Part 5

205 lbs: Forrest Griffin vs Anderson Silva
In my opinion, this fight has the potential to be the fight of the year. We are seeing the current Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva step up in weight once again, to face fan favorite and former Light Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin. Many fans believe that Anderson Silva is a huge favorite to win but he has seemed to lose some steam in his last two fights. Forrest Griffin on the other hand, is coming off of a TKO loss in his first title defense against Rashad Evans. We will see who has the heart of a champion in this fight.

Forrest Griffin is best known as being the lovable, laughable, self-proclaimed dork who ended up winning the original Ultimate Fighter. His fight with Stephan Bonnar during the finale of TUF 1 is regarded as the single, most important moment in the history of MMA and the UFC. He is a Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu specialist who trains with Extreme Couture. He has a professional record of 16-5, with wins over Jeff Monson, Chael Sonnen, Stephan Bonnar(twice), Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Quentin "Rampage" Jackson. His only losses have come to Dan "The Beast" Severn, Jeremy Horn, Tito Ortiz, Keith Jardine, and Rashad Evans. Of his 16 wins, 3 have come by KO, 7 by submission and 6 by decision. Out of his 5 losses, 3 have been by KO and 2 by decision. He has never been submitted. When you take a look at his losses, he lost to Dan Severn who is a member of the UFC Hall of Fame, in what was his first professional fight. He went on to win his next 8 fights before being defeated by Jeremy Horn via TKO. He won one more fight before joining the cast of The Ultimate Fighter. On the show, he defeated Stephan Bonnar to win the show. He then went on to win fights against Bill Mahood and Elvis Sinosic before being derailed by a controversial split decision loss to Tito Ortiz.(Most fans and mma experts feel Griffin won that fight) He then defeated Stephan Bonnar once again. In his next fight, Griffin was caught and defeated via TKO by Keith Jardine. He would then go on to win his next 3 fights against Hector Ramirez, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Rampage Jackson before losing his title at the hands of Rashad Evans by way of TKO. This will be his first fight since his knockout loss and you better believe Griffin is looking to redeem himself.

Anderson Silva is a very well-rounded fighter. He is the current UFC Middleweight Champion, as well as holding the records for most consecutive UFC wins with 9 and is tied for most consecutive UFC title defenses with 5. He is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Tae Kwon Do and Judo. He is a great all-around fighter but is most well known for his vicious striking. He has a professional record of 24-4 with wins over Hayato "Mach" Sakurai, Roan Carneiro, Carlos Newton, Jeremy Horn, Lee Murray, Jorge Rivera, Chris Leben, Rich Franklin(twice), Nate Marquardt and Dan Henderson among others. His losses have come to Luiz Azeredo in his first professional fight, Daiju Takase in a fight he was dominating but got caught in a triangle choke, Ryo Chonan who caught him with a flying heel hook submission and Yushin Okama via DQ due to illegal kick to the head of a downed opponent. Silva is dangerous in all aspects of the fight game. He is widely regarded as one of the top pound for pound fighters in the world. However, his two most recent fights have been very disappointing to say the least. After his last fight, Dana White said that he was "embarrassed" by Silva's performance. Silva will no doubt, be looking to prove the nay-sayers wrong. He has also challenged Roy Jones Jr to a boxing match when his UFC contract is up. There will be added fuel to Silva's fire due to the fact that Jones Jr will be ringside to watch the fight. Silva has stepped up in weight once before to defeat James Irvin via KO but make no mistake about it, Forrest Griffin is no James Irvin.

Prediction: Anderson Silva is the more well rounded fighter and probably the more dangerous fighter. However, I have learned to NEVER doubt the heart of Forrest Griffin. If Silva fights the way he has in his last two fights, Griffin will dominate the fight. If Silva returns to form and attacks like he did against Franklin and Leben it could be a short night for Griffin. In the end, I have to go with the upset and pick Forrest Griffin to win via decision. Griffin is a huge Light Heavyweight and at the weigh-ins yesterday appeared much bigger than Silva who looked as if he had literally just gained fat to take the fight. This could have an immense impact on his cardio and as we have seen time and time again Griffin is a cardio machine. Griffin wins

UFC 101-Declaration: Predictions and Previews Part 4

170 lbs-Amir Sadollah vs Johny Hendricks
This fight marks the long awaited return of Amir Sadollah. After winning The Ultimate Fighter 7: Griffin vs Jackson, he was sidle lined by an infection. Johny Hendricks is a former WEC fighter who will be making his octagon debut.

Amir Sadollah tried out for The Ultimate Fighter without having any professional mma experience. However, the lack of experience did not keep Dana White from choosing him to be on the show. This proved to be a move that Dana White would not regret. Amir made it onto the show by defeating Steve Byrnes by submission. He then went on Gerald Harris(TKO), Matt Brown(submission-triangle choke), and CB Dolloway(submission-arm bar). He then went on to fight CB Dolloway again at the Finale. He once again defeated him via arm bar. Since his stint on the Ultimate Fighter, Amir has not had much luck even stepping foot into the octagon. This will be his first fight since June 21st, 2008. He is a Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Sambo fighter who is currently training at Extreme Couture. We will finally get to see Amir step back into the octagon, as well as how much of a factor the time off will be.

Johny Hendricks is a wrestler with a spotless record of 5-0. 4 of those five wins have come by stoppage(3 KO's, 1 submission). His lone decision win was his most recent fight. Hendricks battled Alex Serdyukov to pick up a unanimous decision victory and win fight of the night honors at WEC 39. As a wrestler, Hendricks was a 4 time All American at Oklahoma State. He was also a three time Big 12 Conference Champion. He is a decorated wrestler and will be a tough test for Sadollah in his return to the octagon.

Prediction: Sadollah has defeated skilled wrestlers in Gerald Harris and CB Dolloway(twice). Although in the Dolloway fights he was in trouble before setting up slick submissions in both fights. Hendricks will look to take this fight to the ground and pound out a victory. Sadollah has the edge on his feet and has a very good ground game as we have seen in his past fights. I predict Sadollah will win via submission.

UFC 101-Declaration Previews and Predictions Part 3

185 lbs-Ricardo Almeida vs Kendall Grove
Ricardo Almeida is a 3rd degree black belt in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. Along with BJJ, he is also an accomplished wrestler and boxer. Along with this feat, he has many other accomplishments in the sport, including being a former Middleweight King of Pancrase. He has a professional record of 10-3, with 4 wins coming by submission and the rest via decision. He has notable wins over Eugene Jackson, Kazuo Misaki, Ryo Chonan, Matt Horwich and Nate Marquardt.

Kendall Grove was the winner of The Ultimate Fighter 3:Ortiz vs Shamrock. On the show he had wins over Ross Pointon, Kalib Starnes and Ed Herman. In his next fight, he defeated Chris Price via submission due to strikes. He went on to defeat Alan Belcher by KO in his next fight. Grove then lost two consecutive fights. He was the victim of brutal knockouts at the hands of Patrick Cote and Jorge Rivera. He has since then rallied to defeat the late Evan Tanner and Jason Day. His professional record is 10-5 with 2 KO's and 6 submissions. All 5 of his losses have come via stoppage. He has been knocked out by Joe Riggs and Hector Ramirez as well as Cote and Rivera who were mentioned above. His only other loss came by submission to Savant Young. He is a very well-rounded Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Muay Thai fighter who has trained with Tito Ortiz and Randy Couture. He is currently training in Hawaii with BJ Penn.

Prediction: This is a very difficult fight to call but I would give the edge to Grove. He has good take down defense and a good ground game. Almeida is not much of a striker and most of his wins have come via decision. Grove has only had a fight go to a decision twice and he has won both of those fights. I predict that Grove uses his reach advantage to pick Almeida apart and eventually wins via decision.

Dana White Bashes Strikeforce!

As predicted, Dana White has verbally lashed out at Strikeforce over their recent acquisition of Fedor Emelianenko. Although, White previously claimed that Strikeforce was running their business properly and that he had nothing but respect for them, that has all changed since they recruited Fedor to sign with their promotion. Dana White recently had this to say when asked about the signing:

"They have no money, no fighters. They're a small town show. Cung Le hasn't defended his title since like 1997. Josh Thomson hasn't defended his belt in like two years. Who's their other champion? Alistair Overeem? He hasn't defended the belt in like two years. It's Strike-Farce. It's a little regional show with no one in it...[Fedor Emelianenko will] put them out of business. They have no money and no distribution. You know how many people watch their fights? Their last fight [on Showtime cable], 245,000 people watched that fight. That's nothing...I offered him a great deal. I guarantee you the Strikeforce deal wasn't in the same universe with ours, it wasn't close. They probably didn't even pay him as much as Affliction was."

While many may call White a hypocrite due to his recent comments about Strikeforce, I actually applaud him for this statement. White is doing what he does best. He is promoting his organization while downplaying the competition. In doing so, many of the UFC's faithful followers may not tune in to watch Strikeforce. White is performing his job to the best of his ability and in doing so has laid down the gauntlet against Strikeforce MMA. Is this just a matter of sour grapes, or is he right as he has been in the past? Nobody can answer that question at the moment, but if he does turn out to be right, it will be another case of Dana White's superiority over the rest of the fight game.

Rashard Lewis Tests Positive!

It was announced today that Rashard Lewis tested positive for a raised level of testosterone and will be suspended 10 days by the NBA. Lewis responded with what seemed to be a sincere apology and took responsibility for his actions. He claimed that he simply took a supplement but did not know what was in it. What turned out to be in it was DHEA. DHEA is the prevalent steroid in the human body. It raises testosterone levels very minimally. Lewis had the drug in his system but it seems to be a simple case of ignorance as opposed to deception. His reaction to the suspension appears to be heartfelt and he is handling it very appropriately. He will miss the first 10 games of the regular season.

Prince Fielder Tries to Take the Fight to the Dodgers in their Locker Room!

Every fan knows that there is no such thing as turning the other cheek in baseball. Time and time again, we see pitchers intentionally plunk batters, which leads to the other team responding in the same fashion. More times than not, it is the team's top batter that falls victim to this baseball ritual, if you will. This practice has often led to bench clearing brawls, suspensions and heated rivalries. However, never has there been a reaction quite like this.

Trouble began brewing(no pun intended) in the seventh inning. With his team trailing by 9 runs, Chris Smith grazed Manny Ramirez with a pitch that sent him to first base. Everything seemed fine until the ninth inning when Fielder stepped to the plate. With two outs in the 9th, and his team ahead by a huge margin, Guillermo Mota returned the favor by pitching at Fielder, which led to his ejection from the game. After being hit by the pitch, Fielder stared out at the mound with a confused expression on his face. The game ended shortly thereafter and that is when the real trouble began.

Immediately following the game, Fielder headed in the direction of the Dodgers' locker room. With his teammates following after him, he pressed forward, unleashing a slew of profanity. He was grabbed from behind by teammates Bill Hall and Casey McGehee as well as being cut off by stadium security. After the game, Fielder responded to the issue by saying, "He came inside. It just got away from him." "It happens. That's baseball. He tried to come inside." This was obviously a sarcastic remark following the events that took place.

While I do not condone pitchers throwing at batters, the reality of it is, it happens. When one of your top hitters is beaned you have to expect retaliation. I understand that it's frustrating but it is a part of baseball. However, in this circumstance it did not appear that Ramirez was thrown at intentionally. Furthermore, the pitch that hit Fielder was thrown by Mota, a former teammate of his. Finally, with the Dodgers up 17-4 was there really a need to throw at Fielder with two down in the final inning? I do not have the answers to these questions but I can certainly understand Fielder's feelings regarding the situation.

With that being said, Fielder is still in no way justified for his actions. Despite the situation, he is still required to maintain his professionalism. This is not the first time that we have seen Fielder explode. One year ago today, Fielder blew up and went after teammate Manny Parra in the dugout after Parra was removed from the game. He had to be restrained by teammates in that incident as well. This is unacceptable behavior and cannot be tolerated.

In conclusion, these two teams will culminate their series tonight and many will be tuning in to see if there are any fireworks involved. When all is said and done, the person that ultimately comes out as the loser in this situation is someone who was not involved in any of it. The player I'm referring to is Ryan Braun. Pitchers are going to back up their teammates, but I don't believe many of them will be lining up to throw at Prince from now on. Sorry Ryan!

UFC 101-Declaration-Preview and Predictions Part 2-Pellegrino vs Neer

155 lbs:Kurt Pellegrino vs Josh Neer
This is a battle between two fighters that consistently put on an amazing show and come to fight each and every time those cage doors close.

Kurt "Batman" Pellegrino specializes in wrestling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He has a career record of 13-4 with 9 of those wins coming via submission. He has a UFC record of 5-3 with wins over Junior Assuncao, Nate Mohr, Alberto Crane, Thiago Tavares and Rob Emerson. His losses have come against Drew Fickett, Joe Stevenson and Nate Diaz. He has been in the cage with some of the best that the lightweight division has to offer and faces a tough test against Neer. Look for Pellegrino to take this fight to the ground and work his jiu-jitsu.

Josh "The Dentist" Neer is a wrestler who also possesses good Muay Thai skills. Neer has been in and out of the octagon on several occasions with varied success. He has a cumulative record of 25 wins with 12 knockouts and 9 submissions. This will be Neer's 9th fight in the octagon and he will be looking to break .500 in this outing. He has wins over Melvin Guillard, Joe Stevenson, Din Thomas and Mac Danzig. His four UFC losses have come against Drew Fickett, Josh Burkman and Nick and Nate Diaz. Neer is a member of Miletich Fighting Systems. He has the ability to finish this fight on the ground or on the feet. I am inclined to think that he would prefer to keep this fight standing and utilize his height advantage, as opposed to rolling with an experienced jiu-jitsu fighter with 9 submissions to his name.

This is an intriguing match up due to the fact that these two have common opponents in Mac Danzig, Drew Fickett, Joe Stevenson and Nate Diaz. Neer defeated Danzig and Stevenson and came out on the losing end against Fickett and Diaz. Pellegrino defeated Danzig but lost to Stevenson, Fickett and Diaz. If this is any indication of how this fight will turn out you'd have to give the edge to Neer. However, mma fighters continue to improve and mature each and every day and we will be seeing two greatly improved fighters when they come to the cage on Saturday night. Will "The Dentist" be able to knock some teeth out of "Batman's" mouth or will Pellegrino play the hero on August 8th?

Prediction: In a very tough fight, which could very possibly win fight of the night, Neer wins by decision. I believe he has strong enough wrestling to neutralize Pellegrino's take down attempts and his stand-up will be the deciding factor.

Strikeforce signs "Jacare"!

Fresh off the heels of the Fedor signing, Strikeforce continues to make moves to improve their roster. They recently announced the signing of Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza. Souza is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner with a record of 10-2 with 9 of those wins coming by way of submission. He has only one loss since 2003 and that came in 2008 when he was knocked out with an upkick that was thrown by Gegard Mousasi. He is widely regarded as the best submission fighter in the sport today. He has trained with Black House as well as Xtreme Couture. He was the 2005 ADCC Absolute Division runner-up, the 2005 ADCC 77-87kg winner, the 2004 and 2005 openweight World Jiu-Jitsu Champion and most recently, the 2008 Dream Middleweight Grand Prix runner up. His most notable fights have come against Jason "Mayhem" Miller. In 2008, "Jacare" defeated Miller via submission. They signed for a rematch in May of this year which was ruled a no-contest due to an illegal kick that cut "Jacare" so badly that he was unable to continue. Souza is also known for fighting to a draw in a submission match against Randy "The Natural" Couture. Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza may not be known by the casual mma fan but he is held in high regard by the hardcore fans. He will not get a chance to showcase his skills in America. Strikeforce continues to add high profile fighters to their roster, which is great for the American mma fans. They are also the only mma promotion that Dana White respects. You have to think though, that White may be growing tired of them signing these top level fighters. With them really being his only competition now, will we soon see White lash out at them as he has done with others in the past? Only time will tell.

Jeremy Roenick to Call it Quits?

There is speculation that Jeremy Roenick will be ending his NHL career in a news conference on Thursday. Jeremy Roenick has played for 5 NHL teams and 2 Olympic teams over the course of his 20 year career. He was drafted in the 8th round of the 1988 NHL Entry Draft and made an immediate impact. He led his team to the playoffs for the first 12 years of his career and made a Stanley Cup appearance in 1992 while playing for the Chicago Blackhawks. He made the U.S. Olympic Team in 1998 and 2002. He has scored 513 career goals, landing him in 36th place for goals scored and making him only the 3rd American to score 500 goals in his career. He also has 703 career assists putting him in a tie for 39th place on the NHL career scoring list with a total of 1216 points.

While his play has always been solid, his attitude certainly has hindered his reputation. Roenick, known as someone who always speaks his mind, has had several outbursts that have landed him in hot water. In 1996, Roenick led his team into battle against the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Semi-Finals. In one particular game, Roenick was tripped on a breakaway, yet no call was made. When asked about the incident, Patrick Roy stated that "I would have saved it anyways." When Roenick heard of this statement he responded by posing the question of "I'd like to know where Patrick was in Game 3, probably up trying to get his jock out of the rafters." What he was referring to was a play in which he had scored a breakaway goal. Roy rebuttaled with "I cannot really hear what Jeremy says because I've got two Stanley Cup rings plugging my ear."

Roenick found himself in the midst of controversy once again during the NHL Lockout of 2004-2005. Certain fans were claiming that NHL fans were spoiled. When Roenick was asked what he thought he told those fans to "kiss my ass" and stated that they were jealous. He went on to ask that those fans never again attend an NHL event or watch the games on tv.

In 2006, Roenick attacked USA Hockey, alleging that they "blackballed" him and were being disrespectful by not inviting him to join the team for the Olympics that year. In February of 2006 it was announced that Roenick was one of the NHL players being investigated in connection to a nationwide gambling ring.

It appears that although Roenick is retiring, he will still be in the spotlight. He had a brief acting stint this year as well as being a co-host on The Best Damn Sports Show. Roenick has had a great career on the ice and whether it was done intentionally or not, has set himself up for a nice career once he hangs up his skates. Love him or hate him, the truth of the matter is, fans love to watch him.

UFC 101-Preview and Predictions-Part 1-The Undercard

155 lbs:Shane Nelson vs Aaron Riley
This fight is interesting due to the fact that these two have already fought once in a fight that has been called by some "the worst stoppage in UFC history". The last time they fought Shane Nelson won via TKO 44 seconds into the fight. It was a controversial stoppage which is why they will be fighting again on Saturday.

Shane Nelson is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu fighter with a career record of 12-3 with 2 knockouts and 3 submissions. His three losses have all come by way of decision. He was a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter:Team Nogueira vs Team Mir. He has a UFC record of 2-0.

Aaron Riley is a well rounded fighter with a green belt in Tae Kwon Do and a green best in Judo. He has a record of 27-11-1 with 18 of his wins ending via stoppage. He has a record of 1-3 in the UFC with a win over Jorge Gurgel and losses to Nelson, Spencer Fisher and Robbie Lawler. He has losses to many top fighters such as: Yves Edwards(twice), Falaniko Vitale, Eddie Alvarez and Ryan Schultz. He has a notable win over Michihiro Omigawa. He is a tough, experienced fighter that has something to prove in this fight. He will be a tough test for Nelson.

Prediction: Riley via decision

185 lbs: Alessio Sakara vs Thales Leites
Oh how the mighty have fallen. Leites went from fighting for the Middleweight Championship to fighting on the undercard of UFC 101.

Thales Leites is a world-class Brazilial Jiu Jitsu practitioner with a BJJ blackbelt under Welton Ribeiro. He has a career record of 14 wins and 2 losses and a UFC record of 5-2. He has wins over Pete Sell, Nate Marquardt and Drew McFedries. His fight with Marquardt was a controversial decision win. Marquardt had points deducted in the 2nd and 3rd round to give Leites the win. Leites' most recent fight was against Anderson Silva for the Middleweight Championship. He lost via decision in a lackluster fight to say the least. After his controversial win over Marquardt and his poor showing against Silva, many fans are wondering if he belongs in the UFC. He will be looking to prove that he is still a dominant fighter who deserves to stay in the Octagon.

Alessio Sakara is a striker by trade but also has BJJ experience. He has a career record of 13-7 with 8 of his wins coming by way of KO and 2 by way of submission. He has also been knocked out 3 times and submitted twice. In his UFC career he is 4-4 with wins over Elvis Sinosic, Victor Valimaki, James Lee and Joe Vepedo. He has losses to Dean Lister, Drew McFedries, Houston Alexander and Chris Leben. His UFC career has been a rollercoaster ride, filled with ups and downs. It seems that everytime he steps up in competition he steps down the UFC ladder. A win over Leites would go a long way to launch him back up that ladder.

Prediction: Leites via Submission

170 lbs: Danillo Villefort vs Jesse Lennox
This is a battle of two UFC newcomers who are looking to find a home in the world famous Octagon.

Villefort is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Blackbelt and a Judo fighter with a record of 9-2 with 3 KO's and 5 Submissions. Both of his losses have come by TKO. He is the god-son of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. His last fight was a TKO win over Mike Campbell in the WEC.

Jesse Lennox is a freestyle fighter with a record of 10-1. All of his fights have ended via stoppage. In his lone loss, he fell victim to a kneebar in the 2nd round. He has 5 Knockouts and 5 submissions to his name. He is a Miletich Fighting Systems fighter who is very well rounded.

Prediction: Lennox via TKO

155 lbs: George Sotiropoulos vs George Roop
In the BATTLE OF THE GEORGE! We have two fighters from The Ultimate Fighter who have also trained together!

George Sotiropoulos made his debut on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs Team Serra, losing to Tommy Speer via KO in the semi-finals. He is a BJJ black belt with a record of 9-2. 6 of his wins have come via stoppage. His only losses have come to Kyle Noke and Shinya Aoki who were both very formidable opponents. His loss to Aoki came via DQ after a groin strike rendered Aoki unable to continue. He is coming off of UFC wins over Billy Miles and Roman Mitchiyan. He will be making his first appearance at 155 lbs in the matchup.

George Roop was a cast member on The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs Team Mir, losing in the semi-finals by way of 2nd round submission to Philipe Nover. He is a wrestler and BJJ fighter who holds a record of 9-4 with 4 wins coming by submission and 1 by way of KO. He is
1-1 in the UFC with win over Dave Kaplan and a loss to Shane Nelson.

Prediction: Sotiropoulos via Submission

170 lbs: Matt Riddle vs Dan Cramer
Riddle and Cramer were both fighters on The Ultimate Fighter 7: Team Rampage vs Team Forrest. They were both on Team Rampage and both suffered losses on the show to Tim Credeur. Apart from that they couldn't have been more different on the show. Riddle was a brash, trashtalker while Cramer was more of the strong, silent type.

Matt Riddle is best known for delivering the most brutal knockout in the history of The Ultimate Fighter. In the fights that determined who got on the show, Riddle faced off against Dan Simmler. In the opening moments of the 2nd round, Riddle delivered a shot to the jaw of Simmler that dropped him to the mat. He then followed up with three shots on an unconscious Simmler. The shot broke Simmler's jaw in two places. He entered The UFC with no professional experience and has since gone 2-0 with wins over Dante Rivera and Steve Bruno. He is a wrestler, boxer and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighter and is currently training with Xtreme Couture.

Dan Cramer also entered The Ultimate Fighter with no professional experience. He is currently 1-1 with a win over Matt Arroyo. He trains with American Top Team and is a boxer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner.

Both of these fighters possess a lot of potential, which should make for an intriguing fight.

Prediction: Riddle via decision

170 lbs: John Howard vs Tamdan McCrory
This fight has the potential to be fight of the night. Both Howard and McCrory have a ton of heart and do whatever it takes to win their fights. This should be a great fight!

John Howard is a relative newcomer to the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He burst onto the scene with a decision win in January over the very tough Chris Wilson. He is a Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu student with an overall record of 11-4. 2 of his wins have come via KO and 6 have come by way of submission. In his 4 losses, 3 have come by stoppage. He is currently on a 4 fight winning streak and hopes to keep the streak alive on August 8th.

Tamdan McCrory is a well rounded, freestyle fighter with a professional record of 11-2. 10 of his wins have come by stoppage with 6 coming by way of KO. He has a UFC record of 3-2 with his two losses coming to Akihiro Gono and Dustin Hazelett via submission. He is a very large welterweight who possesses a great deal of power and heart.

Prediction: McCrory via TKO

Thank you for reading my undercard preview and predictions for UFC 101: Declaration. I will be writing previews of the rest of the fights in the coming days. Check back each day to see a new preview and prediction.

Plaxico Burress Indicted on Two Counts!

After answering two hours of questions and being "honest and remorseful" Plaxico Burress has been indicted on one count of "possession of a loaded gun not in your home and not in your place of business," and one count of carrying the weapon with "intent to use it unlawfully against another." Burress faces a mininum 3 1/2 year prison sentence if convicted of these charges. He has the option of accepting a plea to serve two years or face trial in 2010. His teammate Antonio Pierce was not indicted of any charges and is in no danger of legal penalty.

What does this mean for Burress? While he can play in the upcoming season, it is questionable of whether or not anyone will give him that option. There is also the question of whether or not he will face sanctions by the NFL for these charges. While Burress is incredibly talented, he has found himself in precarious situations for a good portion of his career and would more than likely bring some unwanted attention to the team that signs him.

Not only did Burress shoot himself in the leg but he also unintentionally took yet another shot at the credability of the NFL. He is another example of a great NFL player that let poor decision making effect his career. I hope for the NFL's sake that players start focusing as much on making good plays off of the field as they do on the gridiron on Sundays.

Fedor Signs a Deal with Strikeforce

Fedor Emelianenko has reportedly signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce. This is a great deal for Fedor, M-1 Global and Strikeforce. The question is, is it a great deal for the fans? My answer to this is that it is a good, but not great deal for the fans. MMA enthusiasts have wanted to see Emelianenko fighting in the U.S for years and this deal satisfies those desires. However, fans will be disappointed that they will not get to see the dream matchups of Fedor/Couture, Fedor/Lesnar or Fedor/Carwin. Fedor will have some decent opposition in Strikeforce but the talent level there is nowhere near what it is in the UFC.

Let's look at the potential matchups that Strikeforce has in their bag of tricks. Alistair Overeem is the current Strikeforce Heavyweight Champion and probably the biggest threat to Fedor. He holds an overall record of 29-11 with all but 1 of his wins coming by either KO or submission. However, it seems that everytime he steps up to face top competition he does not fare so well. He has losses to Sergei Kharitonov, Mauricio Shogun Rua(twice), Ricardo Arona, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira(twice), Fabricio Werdum and Chuck Liddell.

Brett Rogers has done very well as of late, boasting a record of 10-0 with all 10 wins coming by stoppage. However, only 1 of his wins has come over a quality opponent and that was his most recent win over former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski. Rogers won that fight by knockout only 22 seconds into the first round. Other potential matchups include two fighters that have been cut by the UFC: Fabricio Werdum and Paul Buentello. These will make for some interesting fights but not the blockbusters that could have been.

While it will be nice for the casual fan to be able to see Fedor live in action, the question that's been debated for several years still remains unanswered. They say that to be the best you have to beat the best and until Fedor steps foot into the octagon of the UFC we will not truly know if he is the best.

A Cycle in Chi-Town?

A rare feat was witnessed Sunday evening as fans got to see Melky Cabrera become the first Yankee since 1995 to hit for the cycle. It all started with a 3 run shot in his first at bat against Mark Buehrle to give the Yankees a 3-o lead in the 2nd. His success against Buehrle continued with a double in the 4th. Cabrera then went on to hit a run scoring single in the 5th. The lone blemish on Cabrera's day at the plate came on a groundout in the top of the 6th inning. When Cabrera stepped up to the plate in the top of the 9th, the feat was possible but would be difficult to complete with the most difficult part of the cycle remaining. If Cabrera was going to complete the cycle he would need to hit a triple. Before coming up to the plate, Cabrera's teammates told him to go for third regardless of the type of hit that came off of his bat. Chances of the feat happening became very real when Cabrera launched a line drive over Jermaine Dye's head in right. He beat the throw and slid into third to become the first Yankee to complete the cycle since Tony Fernandez in 1995. What was equally impressive was that he accomplished this feat off of the man that just fired a perfect game in Mark Buehrle. Not only did Cabrera hit for the cycle, but in doing so drove in 4 rbi's and scored 3 runs, accounting for 6 of the team's 8 runs. Yes you read that right, 6 of the team's runs due to the fact that one of the RBI's that came from his homerun was his own. This marks the 2nd time in a week that Mark Buehrle was involved in a piece of baseball history. Although, something tells me he's probably not as excited about this game as he was to make history in his last outing.

Uncertainty in the Cleveland Browns' Camp?

When asked about the quarterback situation in Cleveland, new head coach Eric Mangini indicated that there was not yet a clear starter and that he was not in any kind of hurry to name a starter. He also indicated that once a starter was named there would be no turning back once a starter is named. He went on to claim that he fully expects both quarterbacks to be in a Browns uniform this season.

When the Browns drafted Brady Quinn they fully expected him to be their QB of the future. However, in 2007 Derek Anderson had a fantastic season! Anderson threw for 3,787 yards with 29 TD's and 19 INT's, while also scoring 3 TD's on foot. He boasted a completion percentage of 56.5%, which called Quinn's future into question. During the 2008 season, Anderson sputtered coming out of the gate throwing 9 TD's and 7 INT's through the first 8 games before being replaced by Quinn. All Quinn could manage was 2 TD's and 2 INT's in 3 games. All of this created a great deal of concern from within the Cleveland Browns' organization. Combine that with a new coach taking over and you've certainly got a reason to be worried.

In this statement, Eric Mangini has done two things. He has let his quarterbacks know that once he chooses a starter he is indeed going to stand by them. This should help their performance and their confidence level by keeping them from looking over their shoulder all season long. However, he has also shown uncertainty by stating that he will be keeping both of these young quarterbacks. I believe that Eric Mangini is unquestionably doing the right thing. He is instilling confidence into each quarterback while also doing what's best for his team. Regardless of what Mangini has said, if the QB that wins this position battle comes out firing on all cylinders, do not be the least bit surprised to see the other quarterback wearing a different colored jersey come season's end.

Fedor to Strikeforce?

After Affliction closed it's doors, MMA fans have been waiting to see what the future holds for many fighters. However, the one fighter on every one's mind is Fedor Emelianenko. For the last week, Dana White has been negotiating with M-1 Global to make Fedor a UFC fighter. However, M-1 Global has repeatedly refused to accept any deal that doesn't include co-promotions with M-1. Dana White has remained steadfast in his refusal to co-promote with any other fight organization. White indicated this weekend that it did not appear likely that Fedor would be signed by the UFC. It appeared that Emelianenko would be headed back to Japan where the competition is weaker and the fights are not televised here in the States. However, Strikeforce has reportedly made an offer for Fedor that includes paying him $1 million dollars per fight and allowing for co-promotion with M-1 Global.

I'd like to take a look at the implications that a deal like this holds for Fedor, Strikeforce, and the fans of the sport. This is a great deal for Fedor! This deal gives him a large purse for each fight and allows him to co-promote, while offering him quality heavyweights to match up against. Strikeforce currently lays claim to a heavyweight roster that includes Alistair Overeem, Paul Buentello, Fabricio Werdum and Brett Rogers. This would give him stiff competition for quite some time, while also allowing him to get the exposure of being a household name.

For Strikeforce this could go either way. On one hand, they're signing the man who is viewed by many as being the top heavyweight fighter in the world. On the other hand, they're paying one fighter $1 million dollars a fight which is similar to the contracts handed out by the now defunct Affliction MMA. Is this another case of a smaller MMA organization paying too much for their fighters, which will eventually lead to their downfall? For many reasons, I don't believe that it is. Strikeforce has been in the fight business a long time, opening their doors in 1985 as a kickboxing operation. They switched from kickboxing to MMA in 2006 and began promoting events. They have a stable of fighters that includes: Phil Baroni, Nick Diaz, Gina Carano, Mitsuhiro Ishida, Robbie Lawler, Cung Le, Gilbert Melendez, Joe Riggs, Kevin Randleman, Benji Radach, Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, Evangelista Santos, Frank Shamrock, Jake Shields, Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Bobby Southworth, and Josh Thompson among others. Affliction was known for putting all of their eggs into one basket by signing a slew of top heavyweights, while leaving their other divisions to suffer with mediocre fighters. That is clearly not the case with Strikeforce. Affliction only had 3 shows scheduled over the course of an entire year. Strikeforce has put on 5 shows this year already and in 2008 had 8 shows. Strikeforce has been around a long time and is in no way a flash in the pan organization such as Affliction. Affliction or "the t-shirt guys" as Dana White called them, jumped into a pool without knowing how to swim. Strikeforce is led by Scott Coker, who has been swimming strong since 1985.

The biggest winner if this deal does happen is the fan of MMA. Strikeforce has deals with Showtime and CBS! That means that we could see Fedor Emelianenko fighting on FREE TV!!! While I would rather see Fedor fighting the top heavyweights that the UFC has on their roster, Strikeforce has the potential to make some very interesting fights that fans would love to see. Though, it appears there will be no Fedor vs Couture or Fedor vs Lesnar, Fedor vs Overeem or Fedor vs Rogers are a pretty good consolation.

Cliff Lee Shines on his First Day as a Philly!

There was a great amount of speculation that the Phillies were making every effort to acquire Roy Halladay prior to the non-waiver trade deadline on Friday. However, instead of meeting the lofty demands of the Toronto Blue Jays, the Phillies made a deal with the Cleveland Indians to obtain the rights of pitcher Cliff Lee. At the time, many Phillies fans expressed disappointment, but after last night's performance, I think it's safe to say that their disappointment did not last very long. Cliff Lee was brilliant last night! He pitched a complete game, allowing 4 hits, one run and two walks while striking out 6 to lead the Phillies to a 5-1 win over the Giants. He had a no-hitter going into the sixth inning and. While this is a very impressive stat line, his night did not end with his performance on the mound. He also went 2-4 at the plate with a double.
While the fans may have initially felt a sense of disappointment when their team was unable to acquire Roy Halladay, they have to be thrilled with the fact that they landed an equally impressive ace without giving up the top prospects that the Blue Jays were asking for! Overall, it was a great night for Cliff Lee and an even better night for the Phillies and their fans.

White Sox Land Peavy!

The Chicago White Sox made a splash in the final moments of the last day of the trade deadline when they acquired Jake Peavy from the San Diego Padres in exchange for Aaron Poreda, Clayton Richard, Dexter Carter, and Adam Russell.
Peavy is a 28 year old, two time all star and Cy Young Award winner who boasts a career record of 92-68 with an ERA of 3.29, and 1348 K's as opposed to 435 BB's. He is currently on the dl and has a 2009 record of 6-6 with an ERA of 3.97. He is currently on the 15 day DL with a strained tendon in his right ankle.
Aaron Poreda is a 22 year old lefty and was regarded as the #3 prospect in the White Sox organization. He is a former 1st round pick from the 2007 draft. He was 1-0 this season while pitching out of the bullpen. He had an ERA of 2.45 with 12 K's and 8 BB's. He is widely regarded as a top pitching prospect.
Clayton Richard is a 25 year old lefty with a 2009 record of 4 wins and 3 losses. He has an ERA of 4.65 with 66 K's and 37 BB's. His last two starts were very promising.
Dexter Carter is a 22 year old righty with a minor league record of 12-3 with an ERA of 2.68, 232 K's and 57 walks in 31 starts.
Adam Russell is a 26 year old righty who was 4-0 in 2008 with the White Sox with an ERA of 5.19, 22 K's and 10 BB's. This year in the minors he is 2-2 with a 3.20 ERA with 55 K's and 18 BB's.
The Padres got some good, young, talented pitchers while the White Sox got a pitcher who is as good as any in the game when he's at his best. Perhaps equally important, the White Sox one upped the Tigers, Twins and Indians in what was a busy day for the AL Central. The division leading Tigers went out and got Jarrod Washburn, while the Twins landed Orlando Cabrera and the Indians landed a slew of prospects along with Justin Masterson. The Tigers currently sit atop the division with a 53-47 record. The Twins are 2 games back and the White Sox are right behind them at 2.5 games back The race for this division should be as tight as they come and a dream ending to a great season for the fans.

Vitor Belfort vs Rich Franklin at UFC 103 in Dallas!

As predicted by Dana White, Vitor Belfort has been signed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and now has his first fight lined up already. He has signed to fight Rich Franklin at UFC 103 in Dallas, Texas. Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort began his UFC career at the tender age of 19. He would go on to win the UFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament that evening. He went on to defeat Tank Abbott via ground and pound before facing "The Natural" Randy Couture in 1997, a fight in which he suffered his first defeat via TKO. He would then go on to defeat Joe Charles and Wanderlei Silva before leaving the UFC for Pride. He lost his first fight in Pride against Kazushi Sakuraba, but then rattled off 5 wins in a row over the likes of Gilbert Yvel, Bobby Southworth, Heath Herring, Daijiro Matsui and Yoshiki Takahashi before returning back to the UFC. In his return to the UFC, Belfort went 2-3 with wins over Marvin Eastman and Randy Couture and losses to Chuck Liddell, Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz. He then went on to try his hand at professional boxing, winning by TKO less than a minute into the first round. After his boxing debut, returned to Pride to face Dan Henderson. He lost via unanimous decision and tested positive for steroids after the fight, causing him to be suspended for 9 months. Upon returning from his suspension, Belfort signed with Cage Rage. While fighting for Cage Rage, Belfort defeated Ivan Serati and James Zikic to become the Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Champion. He then signed with Affliction. While with Affliction, he defeated both Terry Martin and Matt Lindland via KO. After Josh Barnett was forced to step down from his fight with Fedor Emelianenko at Affliction "Trilogy", Belfort was expected to be the replacement. On 24th, Affliction MMA canceled the event and closed their doors. This made Belfort a free agent. White let it be known prior to the closing of Affliction that he was interested in having Belfort in the octagon again and now he had his chance to make it happen. Today, White announced that he had indeed signed "The Phenom" and he will be making his octagon return against Rich Franklin at UFC 103. Franklin was slated to have a rematch with Dan Henderson. Belfort will be replacing Henderson and Henderson is now next in line to challenge Anderson Silva for the belt after his fight with Forrest Griffin. As far as the Franklin/Belfort fight is concerned you can expect a stand-up war between these two fierce strikers! The hardcore fans that have been following MMA from the beginning are very familiar with Belfort and what he can do. The general population and new fans of the sport may not yet know Vitor Belfort but come UFC 103 one thing is for certain, win or lose, everyone will know exactly who "The Phenom" is and the abilities that he possesses.

The Huntington Beach Bad Boy is BACK in the UFC!

Tito Ortiz and Dana White have reconciled and he is now returning to "finish his career" in the octagon. By now we should all be well aware of the heavily publicized feud between Tito Ortiz and Dana White. If you are not familiar with it, allow me to share it with you. When Tito Ortiz was starting out, he was managed by Dana White himself. However, when White took over the organization things went South in a hurry. At the time Tito Ortiz was the light heavyweight title holder and Chuck Liddell was in line to challenge for the belt. White and company believed that Tito was ducking Liddell. The UFC ended up creating an interim title which was won by Randy Couture. Tito fought Randy at UFC 44 to determine the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion. Randy walked away with a decisive win that ended in him literally spanking Tito. Tito eventually faced Liddell not once, but twice, losing to the Iceman both times. Things did not get any better between Tito and Dana. At one point, Tito actually challenged Dana to a boxing match which Dana accepted. It was going to be aired on Spike TV. Tito did not show up to the fight, which made the alleged ducking allegations look even worse. After losing to Lyoto Machida at UFC 84, Tito was not resigned by the organization. He went on to have back surgery that has kept him inactive for quite some time. As recently as UFC 100, Dana White actually banned Tito from appearing at the UFC Fan Expo prior to the event. However, despite all of their previous bad blood, Dana White announced in a conference call with the media that Ortiz is once again a member of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and will "end his career" with the UFC. No specifics of the deal were announced but I know that all MMA enthusiasts out there are salivating at the return of The Huntington Beach Bad Boy. Dana announced that his first fight would likely be against Mark Coleman. This would pit two dominating wrestlers against each other and should make for an entertaining return for Ortiz.

Victor Martinez is Officially a Member of the Boston Red Sox

As predicted earlier in the day, Victor Martinez has been dealt to the Boston Red Sox. However, the terms of the deal are different than I had previously thought. Instead of Clay Buchholz, the Red Sox sent Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price to the Indians. This gives the Indians three young pitchers while giving the Red Sox the big bat they were looking for. We discussed Martinez earlier, so I will now give you some information about the three pitchers that were involved in this trade. Masterson is a 24 year old right handed pitcher with a career line of 9-8 with a 3.76 ERA, a 1.28 WHIP, 135 K's and 65 BB's. Nick Hagadone is a 23 year old lefty with a career minor league record of 1 wins and 4 losses with an ERA of 1.82, a 1.01 WHIP, 77 K's and 28 BB's. Bryan Price is a 22 year old righty with a 4.42 ERA, a 1.372 WHIP, 140 K's and 41 BB's. The Indians completed their search for the fountain of youth and the Red Sox were able to land the power hitter that they were after. In other related news, the Red Sox also dealt newly acquired Adam LaRoche to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Casey Kotchman.

Minnesota Twins Acquire Orlando Cabrera

Just a short while after the Detroit Tigers made a move to acquire Jarrod Washburn, the Minnesota Twins completed a deal in which they received Orlando Cabrera and cash considerations from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for Tyler Ladendorf. Cabrera is no stranger to being traded. He was dealt to the Red Sox back in 2004 and went on to win a World Series as a part of that organization. Cabrera has won 2 gold gloves at shortstop. He won the NL Gold Glove Award back in 2001 and more recently won the AL Gold Glove in 2007. He is a .274 career hitter with 109 homers and 725 runs batted in. He has also stolen 195 bases in his career. He will no doubt provide some infield defense as well as a decent bat to the Twins roster.
Tyler Ladendorf is a 21 year old shortstop who has hit .322 with 4 homeruns, 21 runs batted in and 3 steals with an on base percentage of .403. He has the potential to be a five tool player. The unique blend of power, speed and defense make him a player to watch in the future.
The Twins are not a team that is known for making trades. However, they were being pressured by their players to make a deal that would make them a stronger team. The Twins players should be pleased to see that their organization did not let them down. While he's not one of the top names out there, Cabrera is a solid player that will contribute at the plate and in the field.

Detroit Tigers Acquire Washburn from Mariners

Today, the Detroit Tigers added another arm to their rotation by acquiring Jarrod Washburn from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Luke French and Mauricio Robles. Washburn is a 34 year old left hander who has a career record of 106-106 with a 4.02 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, 1082 K's and 553 walks. This season he is sporting an 8-6 record with an ERA of 2.64, a WHIP of 1.07, 79 K's and 33 .
Luke French is a 23 year old lefty with a career record of 35-43 with a 3.88 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP, 446 K's and 213 walks. In his rookie year with the Tigers, French has made 5 starts and is currently 1-2 with an ERA of 3.38. Mauricio Robles is a 20 year old, left-handed pitching prospect with an overall record of 16-16 with a 3.40 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, 293 K's and 138 walks.
Washburn will join a rotation that includes Justin Verlander, Edwin Jackson, Rick Porcello and Armando Galarraga. This looks like a win-win for both teams. The Tigers get an immediate impact pitcher while the Mariners get a couple of nice pitching prospects. The Tigers currently sit atop their divisions with a record of 53-47. They are two games ahead of the Minnesota Twins. Let's see if this move helps them stay ahead of them and into the pennant race. It will be interesting to see whether Washburn continues the success he's had this year or returns to the inconsistency he has shown in the past.

The Boston Red Sox Trade Deadline Rumors

The Boston Red Sox are attempting to make some waves on the last day of the trade deadline. There are recent rumors that they are working on a deal with the Cleveland Indians that would send Clay Buchholz to Cleveland along with some prospects for Victor Martinez. Without knowing the prospects that are being negotiated makes this deal difficult to interpret. However, when you look at the players involved the goals of each team are very clear.
Like when the Indians sent Cliff Lee to Philadelphia earlier this week, they are clearly trying to build for their long-term future. Buchholz is a 24 year old pitcher who already has a no hitter to his name. In 2007, he had a record of 3-1 with a 1.59 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, 22 K's and 10 BB's. In 2008, he was 2-9 with a 6.75 ERA, a 1.76 WHIP, 72 K's and 41 BB's. This year he is 1-1 with a 3.52 ERA, 11 K's and 7 BB's. While he has shown he has some great stuff, he has also shown a great deal of inconsistency in his young career.
Victor Martinez is a 30 year old catcher who can also play first base. He came into the league in 2002 and since then has a .297 avg with 103 HR's and 518 RBI's. This season he is hitting .284 with 15 homers and 67 RBI's. There is no doubt that VMart, as he is known, is clearly one of the top catchers in the game. However, it appears that the Red Sox are wanting to play him at first base. This move would undoubtedly propel the Red Sox closer to their goal of reaching the postseason in search of the World Series Championship that they are coveting. They currently sit 2.5 games behind the rival New York Yankees. Is this the move that puts them over the top?
The Red Sox have also been linked to rumors involving Roy Halladay, Adrian Gonzalez and trading the newly acquired Adam LaRoche to make room for either Gonzalez or Martinez. The Red Sox are clearly trying to land a big name to add to their stable of quality players.
As in all of these types of trades there is always one prevailing question that comes to mind. Is giving up your long term future worth making a run at an immediate championship? I'm guessing we will soon see how the Red Sox answer that question? In the meantime, I would love to hear your opinions on this possible trade.

David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez Tested Positive in 2003

It was announced today by Michael Schmidt of the New York Times that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez tested positive for performance-enhancing substances in 2003. I don't think that any of us are all that surprised that this news came out about Ramirez due to the fact that he just served a 50 game suspension for violating the MLB's drug policy. However, David Ortiz, lovingly known as "Big Papi" to the common fan was seen by many as being the face of the Boston Red Sox over the last several years. After Alex Rodriguez stated that he had used banned substances, Ortiz said that players that used banned substances should be suspended for one year. It's interesting to me that a player took this stance after having taken performance enhancing substances himself.
I would like to take this opportunity to provide you with some history about David Ortiz. He was signed by the Seattle Mariners in 1992. He played for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers from then until 1996. He was then traded to the Minnesota Twins. Between the years of 1997 and 2002, he bounced back and forth between the Twins and the Salt Lake Buzz. In six seasons with the Twins he hit 58 homeruns. In 2002, Ortiz joined the Boston Red Sox. He hit 20 home runs and 75 RBI's.
In 2003, which is the year in question he hit 31 HR's and 101 RBI's. In 2004, he hit 41 HR's and 139 RBI's and led the Red Sox to their first World Series Championship since 1918. Now join me as I take a look back on the 2004 American League Championship series. The Yankees started the series by winning the first three games. In Game 4, Ortiz won the game by hitting a homerun in the 12th inning. In game 5, Ortiz hit a run scoring single in the 14th inning. The Red Sox would go on to win that series and Ortiz was named the MVP of the series. They Red Sox would then go on to win the World Series in 4 straight games. Manny Ramirez was named the World Series MVP. This was their first World Series win since 1918 and ended the supposed "Curse of the Bambino".
In 2005, Ortiz hit 47 HR's and 148 RBI's. In 2006, he hit 54 HR's and 137 RBI's. During the 2006 season Bud Selig announced that he would be conducting an investigation to see what players had taken performance-enhancing substances dating back to 2002.
In 2007, he hit 35 HR's with 117 RBI's and the Red Sox won the World Series yet again by sweeping the Colorado Rockies in 4 straight. Ortiz had 4 rbi's in the series. Ramirez had 2 rbi's in the series. Since then Ramirez has been traded to the Dodgers and Ortiz has been a shell of his former self. In 2008, he hit 23 HR's and 89 RBI's. This season Ortiz is hitting .224 with 13 HR's and 55 RBI's.
This trend seems to indicate that from the time in question(2003) until the time when the investigation was conducted(2006) Ortiz's numbers were the best of his career. After the investigation Ortiz's numbers have dropped considerably each year.
The question that comes to mind when I think of this whole scandal is are the World Series Championships that supposedly broke the "Curse of the Bambino" now tainted? Personally, I feel that the "Curse of the Bambino" appears to be alive and well in 2009. Though, the Boston Red Sox are not the only team that has been tainted by the scandals that are constantly resurfacing, they may be the one that is most remembered because it brings back all the memories of the "cursed" Boston Red Sox.
I look back at the players I grew up watching and it saddens me to say that a lot of them have been named as being on the list of players who tested positive for banned substances. However, as a fan of the sport, I cannot look back at those times and feel sorrow. I instead, choose to look ahead to the future, to an era of baseball in which steroid tests will be conducted regularly and the game can be played the way it was meant to be played.

Sizing up the Cliff Lee Trade

If you're a fan of baseball then, like many, this time of year you're crossing your fingers that your team will make a big move. Whether you're a fan of a team that's a contender and looking for that final piece to push them into contention or you're a fan of a struggling team that needs to start rebuilding towards the future by selling a big name for prospects, this is an exciting time of year.
If you're a Phillies fan I'm sure some of you are excited and some of you are disappointed with the recent trade that took place. In a deal this week, the Phillies acquired Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco from the Indians for Carlos Carrasco, Jason Knapp, Jason McDonald, and Lou Marson. I'm going to break this trade down on both sides.
First, I will discuss what the Indians got out of this deal. Carlos Carrasco is a right handed pitcher with huge upside. At just 21 years of age, he has made 3 straight futures game appearances and currently has 112 k's to just 38 walks and 66 earned runs. He showcases a 95 mph fastball, a curve and a sinking changeup. Jason Knapp is an 18 year old righthander who currently has 111 k's to 39 walks and 38 er's. He has overpowering stuff but is very young and raw. Jason Donald a 24 year old infielder. In 4 years in the minor leagues he is hitting .286 with a .369 OBP. Lastly, Lou Marson is a 23 year old catcher who recently competed in the Olympics, was an all star selection this season and was invited to the futures game. In 2008 he hit .314 with a .433 OBP. He was regarded as Philly's catcher of the future.
The Phillies received Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco. Cliff Lee was a Cy Young Award winner just last season and currently sports a 3.14 ERA with 107 k's and 33 walks. He is a 30 year old, left handed pitcher who currently has a record of 7-9 as a starter this season due to a lack of adequate run support. For his career, Lee has an ERA of 4.01 with 826 k's and 322 walks. Ben Francisco is a 27 year old outfielder. This season he has a .250 avg with 10 HR's, 33 RBI's and 13 SB's. In his career, Francisco averages .261 with 28 HR's, 99 RBI's and 17 SB's.
Now let's look at the ramifications of this deal. The Phillies landed the ace that they were seeking and now have a rotation of Hamels, Lee, Blanton, Moyer and Happ. Let's not forget they recently signed Pedro Martinez. They also add Francisco to their OF which consists of Werth, Victorino and Ibanez. This immediately improves their team and puts them in place to contend for another World Series Title.
As for the Indians, there is talk that Victor Martinez will be the next to go. They are clearly looking to move big contracts to focus on rebuilding their team for the future. Their rotation now consists of Pavano, Huff, Laffey, Sowers and Carmona. Both the Indians and the Phillies accomplished their goals in this deal and should both be happy with the deal they made.
The Phillies had been in talks with the Blue Jays for Roy Halladay which I'm sure Philadelphia would have been thrilled to have. However, to obtain Halladay they would have had to part with JA Happ, Kyle Drabek and either Dominic Brown or Michael Taylor. They did not want to part with these 4 players and in the Cleveland deal managed to keep all 4 while still getting the ace they so coveted. Kudos to Ruben Amaro Jr. on a job very well done!

The Cause of Affliction's Demise

As the MMA world knows by now Affliction officially closed it's doors as a fight promotion this month. Many say it was due to the fact that Josh Barnett tested positive for steroids, which left him unable to compete in the Affliction "Trilogy" main event against Fedor Emelianenko.
When we look deeper into this was that really the reason? In their short time as an MMA organization, Affliction paid their fighters very well, yet failed to produce the desired results. This was all despite the fact that they had arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world on their payroll.
The reason is folks, that like it or not the UFC is the premiere MMA organization thanks to Dana White. Love him or hate him, he has done wonders for the world of MMA and more notably for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He took a dying sport that was viewed by most as a barbaric street fight and turned it into the fastest growing sport in the world. This was not done by coincidence, nor was it done by luck. Dana White is a savvy businessman who was able to introduce mixed martial arts to the public and present it in a light that made common people want to watch.
Through the Ultimate Fighter, we were able to relate to the fighters. We were able to see what it takes to be a mixed martial artist. For once we saw that it was a legitimate sport and not an organized street fight.
I have watched every UFC event since Royce Gracie entered the octagon for the first time in 1993 and I will continue to watch as long as they continue to put on fights. Never has there been a more exciting time to be a fight fan!
Very few men could have accomplished what Dana White has accomplished. This is displayed every time a rival organization closes their doors. Affliction was not the first and will not be the last organization to tap out to Dana White and the UFC!