It’s December. That means most NHL teams have played around 25 games and everyone has an identity. The San Jose Sharks are the top team in the league, winning 20 out of 24 games. They were my pre-season Stanley Cup pick and they’re going a long way in proving me right. The other team lighting up the league is the Boston Bruins, who are tied with the Rangers for the most points in the league and are 8-1-1 in their last ten games. I’m sticking with my San Jose vs. Montreal in the Stanley Cup Finals pick because what kind of man would I be if I changed directions now?
November 28, 2008
Fact or Fiction (11/26)
Two days late, no dollars short.
I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving. My day consisted of being around family, eating turkey, and watching football. The family stuff is fine except I feel 30 years younger than everyone (and in fact, am 30 years younger than everyone except my cousin, who smartly ducked out most of the day) and I’d rather just relax and watch football than socialize. Unfortunately the football games were about as entertaining as having a conversation with a 80 year old lady. Detriot lost, again. I think every sports fan in America, including Lions fans, should root for this team to go 0-16. They’re going to get the first overall pick anyway, they might as well do it in style. I remember when everyone rejoiced because Matt Millen finally got fired, not realizing that this years team was already screwed and the firing of one guy wasn’t going to fix the years of mistakes. The was examplified when the Lions turned to Dantue Culpepper instead of sticking with Dan Orlovsky and Drew Henson. You’re already going to lose, you might as well lose with young guys and get them experience rather than lose with a retired guy. And after seeing Culpepper for a couple of weeks now, it’s easy to see why he was retired and gained no interest from the league until the Lions came calling.
Anyway, on to Fact or Fiction.
November 27, 2008
MMA Thanksgiving
From this weeks Cardio Freak on 411Mania
Giving Thanks for MMA
Today is Thanksgiving. A day for giving thanks. A day to go to your relatives house against your will, spend hours with people who annoy you, know the best moment of the day will be eating turkey because that’s when no one talks, and try to sneak away to watch football games that have no luster this year. Thanksgiving everyone. Luckily for you, I’m here to put a smile on your face as you sneak away from your relatives in search of peace of mind. So sit back, relax, wipe your hands before scrolling down because you don’t want to get your trackpad/mouse all messy from eating turkey, and enjoy as I give thanks to MMA.
November 24, 2008
NHL Week Preview (11/24 – 11/30)
In the course of two weeks, the NHL lost the top two netminders in the league. Martin Broduer, who will go down as the greatest goaltender ever, is out for months and now Roberto Luongo is out for months. Ask anyone in the NHL and they’ll tell you that you can’t win without goaltending. If you score six goals and your goaltender has an off night and gives up seven, those are six meaningless goals. Goaltending can win or lose you games. For my money, goaltending is the most important position in pro sports. It’s certainly the most important position in hockey. The only other positions that come close are pitchers in baseball and quarterbacks in football. A good defense can lead a mediocre quarterback to a championship though. I won’t argue against pitching because come the post season, I do think having a dominant pitcher is the most important person to having a series. But the loss of Broduer and Luongo isn’t just bad for the Devils and Canucks, it’s bad for the league. Broduer and Luongo always give you a show. Whether it’s Broduer playing the puck or Luongo making a two on one save. They’re just entertaining.
November 20, 2008
UFC 91 Review
From this weeks Cardio Freak on 411Mania
UFC 91: “Pain Arrived” Review
If you didn’t see him after UFC 87, I’m sure you see him now. Then again how could miss that gigantic man in the first place?
Brock Lesnar caused the MMInternet to collapse just after midnight Saturday when he knocked down former UFC Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture and then pounded him out to become the new UFC Heavyweight Champion.
The talk after the weigh ins was that Lesnar was nervous and possibly hiding an injury. He wasn’t his usual cocky self and something just seemed a little off. Even during his walk in he didn’t look to have any type of fire in his eyes. I’m usually the first person to read into these types of things and while I thought something may have been off with Lesnar, I put that doubt away the moment he was smiling and jumping around during the introduction. He worked us. Maybe he was hurt, maybe he wasn’t. But Lesnar showed everyone that you shouldn’t put too much stock into what you see at the weigh ins and walk ins. At least with him anyway.
November 19, 2008
Fact or Fiction 11/19
Now that I’ve taken over FoF duties at 411Mania, I’ve decided that every Wednesday I’m going to answer the FoF questions that I propose to my fellow writers. So this week we tackle Liddell/Couture 4, Lesnar’s chances against Nog or Mir, the impressiveness of Florian, and more.
November 18, 2008
Octagon vs. Ring
I don’t get too many emails asking me to address certain things in columns so when I do, I feel special. I’m always happy to answer emails from readers so don’t hesitate to send them. Here’s an email I received about the difference between the cage and the ring.
“It may not be [relevant] for you to address in your column but you mentioned in the bit about Denis Kang how Japanese guys struggle with the fence/cage rather than ropes. I have heard this said so many times (e.g I think Dan Henderson had it mentioned about him when he first came into UFC) but never really understood the reason for it.”
-Neil from Zurich
November 17, 2008
NHL Week Preview (11/17 – 11/23)
Jordan Staal has always been the red-headed step child in Pittsburgh. You know Crosby, you know Malkin, and you know Fluery. Staal has always been a good 3rd line center who is great at killing penalties. Staal had six points in three games this past week, five of them being goals. This years Penguins are like all those Philadelphia Eagles teams from earlier this century who kept getting close, yet a large window to win a championship, brought in different pieces to the puzzle, and yet never won a championship. I hope the Penguins don’t suffer the same fate as the Eagles and fail to win a championship. Onto the week preview.
November 13, 2008
UFC 91 Preview
From this weeks Cardio Freak
UFC 91: “This deserves to be named after the main event since the main event is Couture vs. Lesnar” Preview
Randy Couture vs. Brock Lesnar.
Did you ever think you would be saying that one year ago? Randy Couture had just resigned from the company as the Heavyweight champion while Brock Lesnar had yet to compete in the Octagon. A lot can change in one year. Randy Couture is now back as not only Captain America and one of the most beloved fighters ever but as the savior of the Heavyweight division. Brock Lesnar is 1-1 in the UFC but has dominated 16:20 of 16:30 minutes of action.
Everyone knows the storylines heading into this fight. Couture is older but experienced, Lesnar is younger but inexperienced. Couture is slower but smarter, Lesnar is faster and stronger. Couture hasn’t fought in over a year, Lesnar has fought twice this year. The only storyline missing is Lesnar coming to the Octagon using a walker as a way to mock Couture. That may top Lesnar’s mariachi dancing in the midst of his feud with Eddie Guerrero.
November 10, 2008
NHL Week Preview (11/10 – 11/16)
A lot of journalists preview the week ahead in the NFL because most games take place on one day and it’s easy to keep track of on a week to week basis. While I enjoy football, I’m more of a hockey guy. Previewing the week ahead in the NFL is an easy out because if you’re a sports fan, you’re likely an NFL fan. The NHL is a tougher draw since, well, it doesn’t draw at all. If hockey were a fighter, it’d probably be Fedor Emelianenko. It’s an exciting sport and a great sport to watch but for some reason it doesn’t seem to register with the public. I’m here to change that. I believe that the power of this blog combined with the five people that read that can put hockey back in the mix as a legit big time sport. Ok, maybe it won’t reach the level it was once at but I’ve got to have enough influence to push it past Major League Soccer, right?
