Month: April 2011

mma

The Ultimate Fighter: Season 13, Episode 5: Agent Cope

Posted on by Beau Dure

Len Bentley walks out of Brock Lesnar’s firm but relaxed tirade. He’s coaxed back in. Brock continues to chew out his team with the same tone and body language of someone discussing interior design, sitting back in a comfortable chair and speaking in monotone.

Brock wants someone to “wow” him. Chris did that. Charlie Rader, whose loss has prompted this lecture, apparently did not. Neither did Nordin Asrih, who left such a slight impression in his Episode 1 fight that it’s easy to forget he’s on the show.

Back in the house — Len says he’s not going to stay in the room and let someone he doesn’t care about go name-calling. He hates negative energy.

The fight announcement comes early. Junior dos Santos points out in confessional that his team has already beaten Brock’s top two picks, Len and Charlie. Junior sends Mick Bowman to face Clay Harvison. Chuck O’Neil calls Clay a tough bastard. Len thinks it could be another highlight fight.

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soccer

MLSSoccer.com “Ramos Project” looks promising

Posted on by Beau Dure

Quick impressions on an impressive beta version of MLSSoccer.com:

– Outstanding: Bottom navigation featuring the latest two offerings of regular features such as Talking Tactics, Armchair Analyst, The Throw-In, etc. Finding regular features on the site has been difficult until now.

– Opta stats! Opta stats! And more Opta stats! Very nice. Now if those could be integrated with player profiles, we’d really be onto something.

– Player profiles have game logs that include tell you whether a player started, subbed or was left on the bench. Nice detail, though it’d be nice to know whether a player was omitted from the 18 altogether. And it’d be really nice to know if he was suspended, injured or just out of favor. Some of those details exist in the game notes that MLS has usually made available in massive PDF files, and it’d be great if that data could be available on the site in a more useful format.

– The video highlights didn’t crash Google Chrome! We’ll have to see if Matchday Live also works on Chrome.

As with any beta, we’ll have to see how well it stands up, and you may spot the occasional bug. But it’s hard to label this anything but encouraging progress.

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medal projections, olympic sports

2012 judo: No chops allowed

Posted on by Beau Dure

Sorry, Austin Powers fans, there is no such thing as a “judo chop.” Judo is a grappling sport, with throws, takedowns and submissions from chokes or armbars.

So it’s still a viable component of mixed martial arts, and a few athletes have made the leap from Olympic competition to the cage. Karo Parisyan is the long-standing prototype, but we’ve seen some more accomplished judo athletes such as Rick Hawn and Ronda Rousey make the jump more recently.

Whether the MMA boom sparks more spillover interest into judo, as it has in wrestling, is yet to be seen. Maybe it would help if Japan, the traditional home of judo and still its major power, didn’t have an MMA scene in decline.

As in boxing, we have two bronze medalists per event here, though it’s not quite a simple knockout tournament. If you lose to someone who advances far in the bracket, you’re eligible for a repechage bracket. Fight your way through that, and you can fight for one of two bronze medals. The new format in World Championships and 2012: Losing quarterfinalists square off to start the repechage, with winners facing losing semifinalists for bronze. Still doesn’t quite erase the luck of the draw, but it gives athletes a second chance of sorts.

Unlike a lot of sports, judo is truly global. When we say “Asia” is strong, we don’t just mean “China, Japan and the Koreas.” Mongolia and various countries ending in “-stan” are also strong. Europe also has a diverse group of world-class judokas. North Africa has a few contenders, and the Americas manage to break through every once in a while.

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medal projections, olympic sports

2012 gymnastics: China takes show on the road

Posted on by Beau Dure

Some sports (track and field, most forms of skiing) are big in the Olympics and have well-established international competitions through the year. Some sports wallow in obscurity, even at the Games.

Then there’s gymnastics, one of the biggest sports in the Games but one shrouded in mystery the rest of the time. U.S. gymnasts stay busy with domestic events, some of which attract a couple of overseas athletes, but the sport doesn’t have the weekly showdowns of top names that some sports maintain each year. The international federation keeps world rankings, but Chinese and American gymnasts in particular are underrepresented.

Gymnastics does have an annual World Championship, so we have a few results to check. But don’t ask which countries have the best 15-year-olds training in secret, ready to be breakout stars in London.

China is always strong in gymnastics, but repeating their medal haul from Beijing would be quite an accomplishment.

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mma

The Ultimate Fighter: Season 13, Episode 4: Underestimate this

Posted on by Beau Dure

Team Lesnar’s remaining fighters are “The Four Horsemen”: Tony Ferguson, Chuck O’Neil, Clay Harvison and Charlie Rader.

But Clay struggles in practice and says his head isn’t in it. Brock says Charlie also is lollygagging. Great Bull Durham shoutout.

To the house, where we’ve seen few shenanigans. Chuck is the jokester, clowning around with his buddy Charlie. Chuck also makes Charlie eat his vegetables. “What would I do without you?” Charlie asked. “You’d be at 183,” Chuck says.

Fight announcement comes early. Junior dos Santos picks Ramsey Nijem, whom he calls his No. 1 wrestler, to fight Charlie. Chuck says Charlie was a high school champion wrestler with hard hands. It’s a daring pick, definitely — Charlie has beaten a couple of quality opponents in Bellator and was Lesnar’s second pick.

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medal projections, olympic sports

2012 fencing: My name is Inigo Montoya …

Posted on by Beau Dure

Another sport I covered in Beijing, and I can tell you first-hand that the action is a little faster than what you see in The Princess Bride, as marvelous as those sword-fighting scenes were. (Yes, fencers tend to be big fans of Mandy Patinkin’s work in that film.)

We don’t get another World Championship until October, but fencing persists in having even-year championships as well, so we have results from November. Fencing also has a vast array of World Cups and other events that count toward a world ranking, though such rankings often depend on staying active in little events rather than sitting home training for the big ones.

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medal projections, olympic sports

2012 equestrian: Horse is a horse, of course

Posted on by Beau Dure

Equestrian events tend to be the distant cousin at the Olympics. We’re talking “Hong Kong to Beijing” distant. That’s slightly better than 1956, when the equestrian events were held in Stockholm (yes, Sweden) while the other events were in Melbourne (yes, Australia). Quarantine restrictions and other logistical hurdles often get in the way.

Not so in London. Greenwich Park is pretty close to the center of the action. Equestrian fans might know how to comprehend a venue whose distance in miles from the Games’ epicenter is in single digits, not quadruple.

One major distinction between equestrian and other Olympic events: It includes not only two different species (horse, human) but both genders. Women compete against men. Also, the occasional royal family member might be competing.

Over the past two decades, the equestrian community has built up the World Equestrian Games (WEG) into a big event in non-Olympic even years. It includes the world championships in three Olympic disciplines and many more. The Olympic disciplines also have World Cup circuits and updated rankings, all run by FEI.

Individual dressage: Dutch rider Anky van Grunsven is the three-time defending Olympic champion. Can she stay competitive while maintaining a busy coaching and promotional schedule? Her site has much more news about the sport and her other endeavors than her competitions. Fellow Dutch rider Edward Gal — whose horse, Moorlands Totilas (“Toto”), has his own Wikipedia entry — dominated the WEG, followed by Britain’s Laura Bechtolsheimer (on Mistral Hojiris) and the USA’s Steffen Peters (on Ravel). Yet another Dutch rider, Adelinde Cornelissen, is second to Gal in the world rankings. Bechtolsheimer is next, followed by two separate listings (two different horses) for 2008 silver medalist Isabell Werth.

2008: Anky van Grunsven (Netherlands), Isabell Werth (Germany), Heike Kemmer (Germany)

Projection: Netherlands, Germany, Netherlands

Top Americans: Peters was fourth in 2008. Tina Konyot is ranked 19th.

Team dressage: German and Dutch riders are scattered all through the rankings. Britain upset Germany to take second at the WEG and should have home-soil advantage.

2008: Germany, Netherlands, Denmark

Projection: Netherlands, Germany, Britain

Individual jumping: Gold medalist Eric Lamaze has been consistent — bronze at the WEG, second in the April rankings. Silver medalist Rolf-Göran Bengtsson is third in the rankings, led by France’s Kevin Staut. Belgium’s Philippe Le Jeune won the WEG, followed by Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Al-Sharbatly. Ireland has two riders in the top 10. The World Cup final comes up at the end of the month in Leipzig, Germany.

2008: Eric Lamaze (Canada), Rolf-Göran Bengtsson (Sweden), Beezie Madden (USA)

Projection: Sweden, France, Canada

Top Americans: Mclain Ward is ranked sixth, Madden is 16th, Laura Kraut 19th and Lauren Hough 20th.

Team jumping: The WEG finish: Germany, France, Belgium. Not too surprising, given the current rankings, though the USA is certainly deep enough to be a factor. In 2008, the USA won a jump-off against Canada. Switzerland moved up to bronze after Norway was enmeshed in a doping scandal.

2008: USA, Canada, Switzerland

Projection: Germany, France, USA

Individual eventing: The top three at the WEG: Michael Jung (Germany), William Fox-Pitt (Britain) and Andrew Nicholson (New Zealand). Fox-Pitt leads the rankings ahead of fellow British rider Mary King, followed by Nicholson.

2008: Hinrich Romeike (Germany), Gina Miles (USA), Kristina Cook (Britain)

Projection: Britain, Germany, New Zealand

Top Americans: Plenty in the rankings — Boyd Martin fifth, Phillip Dutton seventh, Karen O’Connor 20th.

Team eventing: Britain has seven of the current top 18 and showed off its depth in winning the WEG. Canada was second, followed by New Zealand. Germany and Australia can call on full four-rider teams from within the top 30 of the rankings.

2008: Germany, Australia, Britain

Projection: Britain, Germany, Australia

 

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soccer

Shots on goal in U.S. games, April 13-17

Posted on by Beau Dure

Home teams first, ranked in order within each league. Make of it what you will.

MLS (median=6; mean for season thru Saturday’s games was 8.39)
New York 9-3 San Jose
Portland 5-5 Dallas
Houston 7-1 New England
Toronto 1-6 D.C. United
Chicago 3-3 Los Angeles
Vancouver 2-4 Chivas USA
Portland 4-2 Chicago (not including one own goal each way)
Columbus 4-2 Kansas City
Salt Lake 2-3 Colorado
Toronto 3-1 Los Angeles
Philadelphia 3-1 Seattle

(Incidentally, in 1998, the average shots per game was 12.98)

WPS (median=13.5)
Atlanta 4-11 Sky Blue FC
Boston 4-8 Western NY

NASL
No idea. So far, they’ve had eight games, 16 goals and 52 saves. So that’s 68 shots on goal (8.5 per game).

USL PRO (median=7.5; adding saves plus goals)
Dayton 3-5 Charleston
Wilmington 4-4 Rochester
Richmond 4-3 Rochester
Charlotte 1-5 Orlando

RANDOM GLOBAL GAMES (median=8.5)
Bolton 5-10 Stoke
Catania 5-9 Lazio
Arsenal 5-5 Liverpool
Pumas 6-4 Queretaro
Deportivo La Coruna 4-5 Racing Santander
Montpellier 3-5 Marseille
Bayern Munich 4-3 Bayer Leverkusen (in 4-1 Bayern win?)
Borussia Dortmund 5-2 Freiburg
PSG 5-2 Lyon
Fiorentina 4-2 Juventus

So … guys? The thing with the net at the end of the field? Yeah. Soccer balls go in there.

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mma

The Ultimate Fighter: Season 13, Episode 3: Turning points

Posted on by Beau Dure

So far, we’ve met some likable guys and seen two forgettable fights. And a lot of shots of Brock Lesnar talking about making chicken salad out of chicken (bleep).

Brock’s team doesn’t find that particularly inspiring. Chuck O’Neil confessional: “Did he call me chicken (bleep)? What the hell?” Lesnar decides to clarify it. “Before you were on the show, you were just one of 2 million. But now, you’re chicken salad. That’s what I’m trying to say.” The team stares blankly, as if Lesnar were ranting on the Canadian health care system.

Team Dos Santos waits for a replacement for the departed Keon, and Zach Davis says he’s worried that someone new might disrupt the team’s solid chemistry. The new guy is Justin Edwards, who breaks the ice by talking about getting confused for Randy Couture all the time. “I look good for 43, don’t I?”

Sherdog check: Edwards is 5-0, with a win over TUF alum Josh Rafferty and another win in Bellator. The Bellator fight clocked 4:12, longer than his other four fights combined. And that’s two guys in this cast who beat Rafferty — the other is Lesnar’s No. 2 pick, Charlie Rader.

As promised, we have conflict on Team Dos Santos within the coaching staff. Lew Polley says everyone is too nice and should start training like men, not kids. Sure enough, we get a big cut on Shamar Bailey’s face. Junior says he doesn’t like screaming and saying bad things. He says people should be nice. Ryan McGillivray: “I’m Canadian, we’re always nice.”

Fight announcement: Lesnar has been worried that top pick Len Bentley is drifting away in training, and he wants to keep him focused by getting him in the cage now. That’s understandable. Less understandable: He sends Bentley against Junior’s No. 2 pick, McGillivray. That’s the toughest matchup available.

Junior says Len has the wrestling advantage, but Ryan has the striking advantage.

Hey! There’s a house on this show! That’s where we learn that Team Lesnar is worried that Chris Cope is spending so much time with the other team and giving away their secret handshake.

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general sports, soccer, sports culture

The effect of arguments

Posted on by Beau Dure

A message came in over Twitter from a private feed (I’ll identify him if he likes), asking a good question: “Why on earth do you engage with complete morons?”

This was in response to last night’s Twitter fight, in which I was arguing with two guys with a combined Twitter followership of less than 50 people about the incident at yesterday’s Masters in which Bergen Record columnist Tara Sullivan was denied entry into the locker room.

No one credible is jumping to say Sullivan shouldn’t have been in the locker room. Her male colleagues rallied to share quotes with her. Augusta National very quickly apologized and pinned the blame on a misinformed security guard.

Don’t confuse the Sullivan case with the question of whether the locker room should be open in the first place. That’s a legitimate question, raised recently by Toronto FC’s Aron Winter. The norm in other countries and many smaller-scale U.S. leagues (including Women’s Professional Soccer) is to keep the locker room closed but make athletes available for interviews in a timely fashion. Some sports handle it better than others, of course. But if the powers that be have decided that the most expedient way to handle interviews is to open the locker room, then barring women at the door is an impediment to their jobs.

As my buddy hoover_dam said: “Either you let everyone in or you do a mixed zone where you let nobody in. Get with it, ya jerks.”

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