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UFC 98 Review: Karate Is Back As Machida Beats Evans

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When golf legend Jack Nicklaus was still a young upstart in the sport and only starting to tear up PGA courses, legend Bobby Jones commented following The Golden Bears 65 Masters win that quothe plays a game with which I am not familiarquot. Following his absolute destruction of Rashad Evans in the main event of UFC 98, theres likely a few MMA fighters saying the same thing about the new light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. Machida completely befuddled Evans en route to a 2nd round TKO victory after which The Dragon looked as if hed barely worked up a sweat.The fight started slowly, with each man trying to get a feel for his opponent and wait him out to see who blinked first. Evans, who prefers to counter punch, quickly began to become uncomfortable with facing an adversary who didnt come right at him. Late in the first round, Machida went on offense with frightening suddenness, flooring Evans with a nice straight right hand. Evans was able to recover and survive, but it only delayed the inevitable as Machida used another right hand to send his opponent down again and did so for the third time in the fight with a crisp combination that displayed the handspeed that hadnt before been seen from The Dragon . Evans gamely tried to fight back, but a final right hand from the Shotokan Karate master left him out cold.After the fight UFC announcer Joe Rogan proclaimed the start of the Machida era and this is not just mere hyperbole. Machida is unlike any fighter before him, rooted in mastery of traditional martial arts but with the versatility of a modern MMA competitor. Hes essentially a Mortal Kombat character come to lifein a more realistic cross disciplinary comparison he shares many of the same characteristics as boxing great Floyd Mayweather, Jr. as he combines insane handspeed, underrated stopping power and nearly impenetrable defense into an unorthodox and extremely lethal package. Like Mayweather, hes a tough opponent to prepare for as theres simply no way to replicate his skill set in sparring. In another similarity with boxings recent pound for pound king, Machida has been bred to fight since birth. His father is a first generation Japanese Brazilian and a Shotokan Karate legend, Yoshizo Machida. He began training in his fathers discipline at the age of 3 and by the time he was 12 years old had earned a black belt.The comparisons with the insanely talented but equally insanely arrogant Mayweather end when the final bell sounds. Outside of the cage, Machida is a modest and respectful gentleman who is quick to give credit to his father and his karate teachers for his MMA success. He spent most of his UFC 98 postfight interview not singing his own praises, but imploring others to strive to realize their dreams. In the past, his limited English was seen as a potential marketing liability here in the US but on this occasion he demonstrated vastly improved fluency in the language as a Portuguese translator stood by with his hands in his pockets. Almost overnight hes simply become a marketers dream.An odd trivia note about Machida serves as further repudiation for MMA neophytes who think that the sports kinship with pro wrestling began with Brock Lesnar Machida was discovered by Japanese wrestling legend Antonio Inoki, and became something of his protege. He trained for some time at the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo in Tokyo.Perhaps the most frightening thing about Machida is that hes only now reaching his full potential as an MMA fighter. In other words, hes only going to get better which is a scary prospect for opponents given the fact that hes never lost in MMA competition. Early in his UFC career he had a reputation as a boring fighter, but in his recent bouts hes shown a downright lethal ability to end fights.Machida will very likely face Quinton Rampage Jackson in a future light heavyweight title defense and, with all due respect to the PRIDEUFC veteran, its difficult to see him faring much differently than Evans did. One thing working in Rampages favor is his greater experience and a resume filled with high level opponents of various fighting styles. Still, everyone comes back to the fundamental reality that no one has ever really seen a fighter quite like Machida before.In the comain event of the evening, Matt Hughes defeated Matt Serra by unanimous decision to gain the upperhand in their long running feud. It was a surprisingly entertaining fight, with Serra taking the first round with his power punching before Hughes used his takedown and ground control abilities to win rounds two and three. The two men embraced after the fight so, for now at least, their well known dislike for one another that began during their stint as rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter may have ebbed. After the fight, Hughes backed off his previous talk of retirement after this matchup and clearly indicated that hed like to keep competing in the UFC.Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on lta hrefquothttpwww.oddsbay.comquotgtSuper Bowl bettingltagt. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and lta hrefquothttpwww.oddsbay.comquotgtSuper Bowl oddsltagt sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.categories UFC,mixed martial arts,sports,recreation,entertainment,hobbies

The Sorry Future Of The New York Knicks

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New Yorkers were praying. They said their prayers for Lebron James to announce his move to NY to play for the Knicks, but unfortunately that didnt happen. As he made the announcement to head to Miami, the dreams of Knicks fans were ruined.The future for the Knicks is in the hands of players like Danilo Gallinari and Amare Stoudemire. However, its unlikely that Amare can stay healthy as he gets older. So the Knicks organization just may have to deal with another Marbury situation, as Amare eats up the salary cap.As a Knicks fan, its been rough over the past several years. Expect it to remain this way for another 5 years. The good news is that if you dont get to catch the Knicks very often, youll be able to get tickets extremely cheap until they can make some sort of noise.Other than the cheap tickets for Knicks fans, lets discuss some other things to look forward to. Lebron, Wade and Bosh will eventually come to NY and put on a show. Id imagine that will be something exciting to watch, although it will really hurt for Knicks fans.What else is there to look forward to as a Knicks fan Nate Robinson will return to MSG for the 2nd time. There will also be some words from Marbury. Id love to hear him voice his opinion and share whats going through his head. Its just a matter of time before he starts publicly ripping on the Knicks organization.This Knicks era is going to be very bad. Its going to be worse than the Travis Knight days. I cant believe I just said it, but its the truth. I guess Sir Barkley was right when he said the Knicks would be cursed forever when they decided to trade Patrick Ewing for Glen Rice and Luc Longley.The Knicks organization must know how bad things are looking. Id have to imagine they still try to work some deals, via signandtrade. Some notable players they can reach for are TMac, Eddie House and Al Harrington. The problem with any of these guys is that theyre on their way down.So it doesnt look like it will get much better. They do not have a first round pick in 2012 and Houston has the right to trade picks with them for next years draft. As a Cavs fan, they have it pretty bad too although the Cavs will still be better than the Knicks even without Lebron.Enjoy more of this writers advice regarding products like the lta hrefquothttpbasketballset.netindoorbasketballgoalsquotgtindoor basketball goalsltagt and lta hrefquothttpbasketballset.netbasketballsetquotgtbasketball setltagt.

Patriots Smash Bucs At London’s Wembley Stadium

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Sundays game between the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers was played in an unusual venue, but produced the expected result. In the NFLs third regular season game in London, England the Patriots showed the Wembley Stadium crowd why theyre among the leagues best as they methodically dismantled the Bucs en route to a 357 victory. Oddly, it took a transAtlantic trip for the Pats to get their first road win of the seasonthe Bucs were officially the home team in the contest. New England QB Tom Brady threw for 308 yards and 3 touchdowns, though was picked off twice in the workmanlike victory. Tampa Bay remained winless, slipping to 07 while New England improved to 52.The Patriots easily covered the pointspread as 15 road favorites, and improved their record against the number to 43 on the season. The Bucs have struggled almost as badly against the NFL pointspread as they have straight up, and slipped to 16 versus the money. The 42 combined points scored went UNDER the posted total of 44.Afterwards, Pats QB Brady said that hes enjoying the trip to Englandas well as the victoryquotIm feeling great. I keep rolling. Thats two wins in a row. We went out there and put two touchdowns on the board there in the second half. We had plenty of distractions coming over here, but everybody was really energized. To get the win and fly home and have a bye week off is just great.quotNFL football is still a big deal in soccer mad England, and over 80,000 fans jammed the stadium for the game. League commissioner Roger Goodell has stated that hed like to see multiple regular season games held in London, with a possibility of the city eventually receiving an NFL franchise. Even a superstar like Tom Brady wasnt quite used to the rock star like treatment he received in EnglandquotAll the flashbulbs were going off there before the kickoff. They went on for about 10 minutes, which you dont see in the States too often. I think its a privilege to come over here and get to enjoy this type of experience. It will probably never happen again for us, so well retire 10 internationally.quotEven low key coach Bill Belichick was pleased with the experiencequotIts a great way to end this week. Its been an enjoyable couple days here and glad we could end it on a positive note.quotAnd even in Europe, Bucs first year coach Raheem Morris continued to sound like a man in over his head as he made his weekly excuse filled post game commentsquotTom, hes the guy that changed the game. Hes the guy you worry about constantly. When you have a great quarterback like that, thats what he does and thats what he will do for you.quotThe Bucs have now lost 11 straight games, their longest losing streak since a NFL record 26 game losing run in7677. Welsh boxer Joe Calzaghe served as honorary captain of Tampa Bay, and they could have done worse than to put a real fighter in the lineup on this day. As Brady noted, New England will have a bye next week as will Tampa Bay.Ross Everett is a freelance writer and highly respected authority on lta hrefquothttpwww.oddsbay.comquotgtbaseball bettingltagt. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and lta hrefquothttpwww.oddsbay.comquotgtsportsbook directoryltagt sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

San Fran Tops Denver As New Broncos’ QB Orton Struggles

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New Denver starting QB Kyle Orton, who was acquired from Chicago in the offseason, threw interceptions on each of his first three offensive series. San Franciscos offense didnt exactly light up the scoreboard, but it did do enough to eke out a 1716 NFL preseason victory before their home fans.Despite his three interceptions and a solid backup performance by Chris Simms. Broncos coach Josh McDaniels has been steadfast in his support of Orton. Orton appeared thankful of this fact in his postgame commentsquotThats great. Thats certainly what you need in this league is the support of your coach. Im not worried about it. Ive got a lot of confidence in myself. I think my team has a lot of confidence in me. ... I dont want to make those decisions and throw three interceptions.quotIts been a rough start to Ortons tenure in Denverquothe was even booed during a public scrimmage after throwing an interception.McDaniels put the fact that it was only the first preseason game into perspectivequotI feel very confident in where were at. Theres no reason to start tailspinning into this and that when weve only had one preseason game.quotSan Franciscos rapidly improving defense made life miserable for Orton all afternoon. Even when he got decent pass protection, they were able to disrupt the passing lanes. Niners cornerback Nate Clemens in particular was a huge factor, hauling in one of Ortons three miscues. After the game he commented on the playquotI saw the route and played my responsibility and he threw it. I like seeing all of our defensive backs get interceptions and just making plays because were game breakers.quotThe Niners have yet to name a starting quarterback with both Shaun Hill and Alex Smith under consideration. Hill spoke of his first preseason actionquotWe were able to move the ball and we had a big conversion on third down. That last sack kind of hurt us. That was completely on me. The offensive line did a great job out there. So Id like to have that play back and I feel like we could have gotten seven out of that.quotSmith was just excited to be back on the field after missing the entire 2008 season due to injuryquotObviously, I was raring to go when I got out there. Its been a long time for me, so I was pretty amped up.quotThe Broncos open the NFL regular season on Sunday, September 13th against the Bengals at Cincinnati. San Francisco will get the regular season underway on the same day as they head to Tempe, Arizona to face the Arizona Cardinals.Ross Everett is a widely published freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on lta hrefquothttpwww.oddsbay.comquotgtfootball bettingltagt. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and lta hrefquothttpwww.oddsbay.comquotgtsportsbook directoryltagt sites. He lives in Northern Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

UFC 94 Flashback: GSP Destroys BJ Penn

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Reigning lightweight champ BJ Penn entered his main event battle against welterweight kingpin Georges St. Pierre looking to become the first man in UFC history to simultaneously hold titles in two weight classes. GSP never gave him the chance to make history, as he stopped Penn after four increasingly dominant rounds to retain his belt with a TKO victory.During ring introductions, both men received enthusiastic cheers tempered with a few boos. After the opening horn sounded, however, the Penn backers had little to cheer about . The first round was fairly evenly contested, with St. Pierre trying to get a first hand feel for Penns often unorthodox takedown defense. GSP made several takedown attempts, but had them repeatedly stuffed.Boxing guru Freddy Roach recently praised Penn as the best technical puncher in MMA, but he had no opportunity to bring this weapon to bear as he had trouble finding the range from the outset. GSP mixed up his look perfectly, either staying just outside Penns range using his 6 reach advantage effectively or more often smothering his opponent on takedown attempts. St. Pierre was unable to complete any takedowns during the first round, but easily dictated the pace and style of the bout.GSP began to assert his dominance in round twoquotwith Penn starting to fatigue he was no longer able to fend off St. Pierres single leg takedown attempts by balancing on one leg. GSP got a takedown early in the frame and began to mount a ground and pound assault while moving around in Penns legendary guard almost at will moving from half guard to side control with frightening ease.The eventual outcome was foretold between rounds two and three, as the obviously exhausted Penn required a pep talk from his entourage to continue. Across the cage, GSP calmly sipped water and listened intently to trainer Greg Jacksons instructions looking for all the world that he could go 12 rounds if necessary.Round three was similar to the previous one, with GSP taking his opponent to the mat with a decreasing level of resistance and mauling him with punches and elbows once he got there. His complete control over the BJJ black belt Penn was incredible. That may be the most exceptional thing about Georges St. Pierrequothis willingness to attack his opponents strengths and success at doing so.The fourth round was a wall to wall rout for the welterweight champion, who started by effectively trading strikes with Penn before taking him down once again and resuming his highly successful ground based attack. At this point with GSP moving around at ease and Penn mounting little resistance it was apparent that the challenger was physically spent. St. Pierre almost ended the fight on the ground, as referee Herb Dean repeatedly reminding Penn that he needs to fight back. Penn survived the round on instinct alone, moving around just enough to keep the referee from stopping the proceedings. After the horn sounded to end the fourth round, however, it was evident that Penn had nothing physically or emotionally left and the fight was stopped by Dean on advice from the ringside physician.Displaying his characteristic class, GSP delayed his celebration until he had crossed the cage and kneeled by his vanquished foe to honor his competitive spirit.In the cofeature attraction, Lyoto Machida kept his undefeated professional MMA record intact with a first round TKO victory over Thiago Silva. Silva had no answer for Machidas well rounded skills and unorthodox Shotokan karate based style. Machida may be the best in the world at fighting while backing up, and Silva found his aggressive style working against him. Machida took his opponent down and knocked his opponent down twicequotall counters as Silva was coming forward and Machida backing away. As the first round entered its final seconds, it appeared that Silva started to ease up in anticipation of the horn. Machida used this opportunity for another takedown, and then nailed his surprised opponent with a powerful punch that ended the fight.Ross Everett is a freelance writer and noted authority on lta hrefquothttpwww.oddsbay.comquotgtbaseball bettingltagt. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and lta hrefquothttpwww.oddsbay.comquotgtsportsbook directoryltagt sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Broncos Throttle Host Falcons In College Football Action

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Bowling Green played Boise State tough on their home field this weekendat least for one quarter. Things looked good for the host Falcons at the end of the first quarter, as theyd held the 6 ranked Broncos scoreless and were right in the thick of things in a scoreless game. It was all downhill from that point for Bowling Green, as Boise State exploded for 29 unanswered second quarter points. The Broncos would eventually win 4914.The Broncos easily covered as 16 road favorites. The 63 combined points went OVER the posted total of 51. Boise State needed four plays or less on their first six scoring drives, and amassed a season high 529 yards of total offense. Their defense also forced the Falcons into three costly turnovers. By halftime, the game was essentially over.Boise State coach Chris Petersen had insisted on more quick strike scoring drives in preparing his team for the Bowling Green game. They most definitely delivered, and the coach commented to their performance after the contestquotOn offense, thats always the name of the game. It makes it a lot easier when you dont have those 15 and 17play drives.quotBroncos quarterback Kellen Moore threw 17 completions in 21 pass attempts for a total of 247 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. 195 of his total yards came during the 2nd quarter onslaught, where he completed 8 consecutive passes during one stretch. After the game, Moore indicated that his team wasnt resting on their impressive season to date performancequotTheres a lot of football to go and a lot of things to work on.Coach Petersen concurred with his quarterbacks commentquotThese guys are a fairly mature bunch and if not, we have a staff of mature coaches to keep them focused.Bowling Green head coach Dave Clawson sounded somewhat in awe of the Broncos ability to score so quicklyquotThats what they do. When they have 500 yards of offense, it will always be 10 to 12 plays where half their offense came from.quotThe Broncos looked sharp all around on offense despite the absence of second leading rusher DJ Harper. Harper is likely out for the year after a knee injury.Bowling Green will take a step down in class of opposition next weekend as they host the Ohio Bobcats. Theyll play on the road the next two weeks, traveling to Kent State and Ball State. Boise will return home for a game against FCS opponent UC Davis next Saturday. Theyll play on the road at Tulsa the following weekend, before enjoying a bye week. Theyll be back in action on October 25 as they make the long trip to play the University of Hawaii.Ross Everett is a freelance writer and highly respected authority on lta hrefquothttpwww.oddsbay.comquotgtbaseball bettingltagt. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and lta hrefquothttpwww.oddsbay.comquotgtsportsbook directoryltagt sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.categories college football,football,college sports,sports,recreation