Month: January 2013

medal projections, olympic sports

2016 medal projections: Men’s handball

Posted on by Beau Dure

Never too soon, right?

Spain was the runaway winner in the just-concluded World Championship, beating Denmark 35-19 in the final. They lost a group-stage game to eventual third-place finisher Croatia but otherwise won with ease.

Two reasons not to anoint Spain as the 2016 favorites just yet:

1.  Spain hosted the tournament, a big advantage.

2. The tournament, Team Handball News reports, didn’t find teams at their sharpest. Some are rebuilding, some may have tournament fatigue.

That said, Spain is no stranger to the podium and usually makes the knockout rounds at least.

Our likely contenders are:

– Spain: World champion, 2012 Olympic quarterfinalist (lost 23-22 to eventual champion France).

– France: Won nearly everything from 2008-2012 (2 Olympics, 2 Worlds, 1 European), then fell flat in Spain.

– Denmark: 2012 European champions, runners-up in 2011 and 2013 Worlds. Lost to Sweden in 2012 quarterfinals.

– Croatia: 1996 and 2004 Olympic champions. Third place in 2012 Oly and 2013 Worlds.

– Germany: Young team won 2013 group, ran into Spain in quarterfinals. Has the top-ranked domestic league (No. 2 is Spain.)

– Hungary: Ouch. Fourth place in the Olympics five times, with no medal. That includes 2012. Quarterfinalist in 2013.

– Slovenia: 2013 surprise — group winner and semifinalist.

– Russia: The Soviet Union was a handball power, and Russia has had some moments since the split. Not recently.

– Iceland: 2008 silver medalists won 2012 Oly group but fell in overtime to Hungary in quarterfinals. Not a factor in 2013, losing in round of 16.

– Sweden: Semifinalists at home in 2011. Runner-up in 2012 Oly. Failed to qualify for 2013 Worlds.

– Tunisia: Well, not really a contender, but if you want a non-European team, this might be your only choice. European teams tend not to lose to non-Europeans. Great Britain, which doesn’t do much in handball but got in as host in 2012, was one exception. Another was Montenegro, which upset Sweden to reach the 2013 Worlds but then lost all five games, including matchups with Brazil and Argentina. Tunisia won three games in 2013, including one over Germany, but also lost to Brazil.

The IHF theoretically has rankings, but they don’t seem to have been updated in a couple of years.

Projection time:

2012 projection: Denmark, France, Spain

2012 actual: France, Sweden, Croatia

2013 Worlds: Spain, Denmark, Croatia

2016 projection: Denmark, Germany, Spain

 

1
mma

The Ultimate Fighter 17, episode 2: We believe in you … maybe

Posted on by Beau Dure

What we learned from episode 2 of The Ultimate Redesigned Fighting Show …

– The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ cover of Higher Ground, which replaced the original TUF theme as the show’s intro music, has been replaced by … pretty much nothing. No montage of the fighters smiling and grimacing for the cameras. Just quick pictures of Jon Jones, Chael Sonnen and Dana White, in case you forgot what they look like.

– Josh Samman worried that coach Jon Jones made a really questionable fight pick, sending Gilbert Smith against the much taller No. 1 Sonnen pick Luke Barnatt.

– The darker, more cinematic photographer makes the TUF house look bleaker than usual.

– Bubba McDaniels (not a pro wrestler, as far as we know) worried that coach Jon Jones made a really questionable fight pick, sending Gilbert Smith against the much taller No. 1 Sonnen pick Luke Barnatt.

– Gilbert Smith misses his family and weeps in the backyard, staring at the flag of his home state, Colorado.

– Other fighters on Team Jones worried that coach Jon Jones made a really questionable fight pick, sending Gilbert Smith against the much taller No. 1 Sonnen pick Luke Barnatt.

– Chael Sonnen’s coaching staff includes TUF vet/grappling ace Vinny Magalhaes and diet guru Mike Dolce. Jones’ staff include former TUF coach Frank Mir, who says little on camera even when cornered, and John Woods, who talks a lot more.

– Jones’ coaching staff worried that coach Jon Jones made a really questionable fight pick, sending Gilbert Smith against the much taller No. 1 Sonnen pick Luke Barnatt.

– Sonnen’s training seems to be going well, and he’s going to go through it with them so he knows how it feels.

– Sonnen visits the house to tell Uriah Hall he’s the best, and that the coach just wants to make sure he gets through to the next round and avoids a difficult matchup in the first round. It looks a bit like Marmalard oozing elitist slimeball talk to Kevin Bacon at the Omega rush. But Hall insists he wants to fight tough opposition.

– Gilbert Smith worried that coach Jon Jones made a really questionable fight pick, sending Gilbert Smith against the much taller No. 1 Sonnen pick Luke Barnatt. At the very least, he’d like some positive reinforcement.

– Team Jones, in a fighters-only dressing room meeting, confronted Smith about his lack of mental and cardio readiness for the fight. Smith: “If that’s not an ambush, please somebody describe what an ambush is.”

– Jones listened through the door as if eavesdropping on people in the next hotel room, then entered the room to reassure Smith. “As I believe in you, you’ve got nothing to worry about. … Controversy is nothing.”

– Smith strikes a bodybuilder pose at the weigh-in, even turning to show off his rippling back muscles.

– Barnatt has a nine-inch height advantage but only a 3.5-inch reach advantage. Still, he has to reach down to touch gloves.

– Smith buried his head in Barnatt’s torso through much of the fight, occasionally getting a takedown and even flirting with an improbable slam at one point.

– With the new cinematography, we can’t see fighters in the background. Everything outside the cage is dark.

– In the second round, Smith shot for a takedown and ran straight into a flying knee. KO.

– Dana White worried that coach Jon Jones made a really questionable fight pick, sending Gilbert Smith against the much taller No. 1 Sonnen pick Luke Barnatt.

– McDaniels, who worried about Team Jones losing control, tried to goad Kevin Casey into fighting next, figuring that was one way to get some input into the next fight pick.

– Instead, the next fight pick is the fearsome-looking Uriah Hall against Adam Cella. And this is the fight that sends a fighter to an ambulance. You’d think Cella would be the victim, but is that Chael Sonnen running to the cage with a look of concern on his face?

– Coach Jon Jones realizes he made a really questionable fight pick, sending Gilbert Smith against the much taller No. 1 Sonnen pick Luke Barnatt.

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soccer

Soccer Hall of Fame: Can we induct some people this year, please?

Posted on by Beau Dure

The National Soccer Hall of Fame: It’s so exclusive, it doesn’t even exist.

That’s not to make light of the Hall’s current plight. It’s a real pity to have so much soccer history stored away in North Carolina warehouses instead of in display cases somewhere. If the Hall can’t have a permanent building, perhaps we can at least build a “Virtual Hall” with all that memorabilia on a good website, then scatter some of it in various soccer facilities across the country. We do have a few people making tremendous efforts to keep the history alive — I bumped into Jack Huckel at Indianapolis, and Roger Allaway regularly posts mini-histories at BigSoccer. The U.S. soccer history movement is reeling, though, not just from the loss of the Hall but the loss of David Wangerin, whose two books are essential reading.

But as with other Halls of Fame, we have elections to honor people of tremendous accomplishment. And all such elections are controversial. Baseball writers, dealing with a decade or so of inflated numbers through drug use, has elected no one to the Hall this year. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame finally listened to fans (and musicians) and will welcome Rush to Cleveland at long last.

I’ve been a Hall of Famer voter for nearly a decade, and I usually use most of the space on my 10-player ballot. So do most writers who go public with their picks. Yet even with the bar for election lowered from 80% to 66.7% (after people like me whined, and after we had no players inducted in 2008), we’re still electing two or three people per year.

This year, I’d like to offer a challenge. If you have a Hall of Fame ballot, and you’re listing three or fewer people, explain why. Don’t just return a blank ballot and hide out. Tell us why.

In the meantime, let’s go through the annual rite: I’ll list all the players for whom I’m voting, then I’ll guess at which two or three will actually make it …

RETURNING (good data source: Kenn Tomasch’s archive of vote totals)

Last year, I voted for Tony Meola, Claudio Reyna, Marco Etcheverry, Roy Lassiter, Shannon MacMillan, Carlos Valderrama, Joe-Max Moore, Robin Fraser and Jason Kreis. And I hesitated to omit Peter Vermes, Cindy Parlow, Chris Armas and Mauricio Cienfuegos.

The election results: Reyna (96.08%) and Meola (90.20%) got in. That’s it. The rest, in order: Etcheverry, Moore, MacMillan, Valderrama, Parlow, Vermes, Armas, Kreis.

Vermes and Valderrama are no longer on the ballot — they’re up for the veterans committee to consider. That leaves these groups:

– Early MLS international stars (Etcheverry, Cienfuegos). The NASL is represented in the Hall not just by Pele, Beckenbauer and Chinaglia, but also by Willey, Granitza and Child. If Etcheverry and Valderrama don’t make the Hall, it’s going to be impossible to make a case for any foreign player who has played in MLS to date. Including David Beckham. We’ll have to see what the veterans do with Valderrama this year.

– Overshadowed national teamers (Moore, MacMillan, Parlow). Not “the” stars of their national team eras but important players nonetheless. Moore was crucial to several World Cup qualifying campaigns; MacMillan was a supersub who changed the course of vital games for the U.S. women in 1996 and 1999. I left Moore and MacMillan off the ballot a few years ago, but as years go by, I think their accomplishments stand up. I haven’t voted for Parlow, and I hesitate to say that because she’s already teasing me mercilessly about going to Duke and having to be the reporter to ask her about her own goal in the NCAA Tournament one year. Seriously, I’m reconsidering, and I’ll toss it up for discussion: What do you all think of Parlow’s case?

– MLS but not U.S. standouts (Armas, Kreis, Fraser, Lassiter). Ill-timed injuries cost Armas dearly — he was a sure starter before missing out on what turned out to be a great run in 2002. Fraser was one of the best defenders of his MLS years, then in and out of the national team. Kreis is still fifth on the MLS career goal-scoring list, but he never had much of an impact on the national team. I’m at a loss to explain how Lassiter isn’t in the top 10 — maybe the extra publicity from Chris Wondolowski’s pursuit of his scoring record will give him a boost.

I’m once again voting for Etcheverry, Lassiter, MacMillan and Moore. I’ll consider Fraser, Kreis and Parlow.

NEW

It’s a small group of nominees: Wade Barrett, Angela Hucles, Ben Olsen, Tony Sanneh and Taylor Twellman.

Olsen and Twellman had injury problems that robbed them of their prime years. Twellman still scored 101 goals in only 174 MLS games, but the Hall hasn’t been forgiving of other members of the league’s 100-goal club who didn’t break through on the World Cup scene. (See Kreis.)

Hucles and Sanneh had solid careers and one spectacular tournament each. Hucles was a defensive midfielder who moved up to forward after Abby Wambach’s injury in 2008 and became a scoring machine to the shock of everyone but Pia Sundhage. Sanneh bumped around between positions and suddenly became a lockdown defender in time for the 2002 World Cup.

I have room on my ballot for at least three of these players, but I’m not sure I see one who stands out. As with MacMillan and Moore, I could be persuaded. That said, next year’s vote is going to be a logjam — as Roger Allaway points out, we’ll be considering Brian McBride, Kristine Lilly, Briana Scurry, Kate Markgraf, Jaime Moreno, Steve Ralston, Clint Mathis and Eddie Lewis. Yikes.

So what will happen this year?

PREDICTIONS

Like Thomas Dooley and Earnie Stewart before him, Etcheverry is overdue, and I sense that people get that. MacMillan has surged from 27.34% in 2008 to around 50% each of the last three years, and this is an ideal year for her to bump up over the threshold. Moore has been steadier in the high 40s and 50s, and he’s probably a little less likely to make it. That leaves us with yet another class of two or possibly three players from the general voting pool.

I’ll also guess that the veterans committee, which tends to elect U.S. national teamers of the early 90s, will continue the trend and elect Peter Vermes.

MY BALLOT

Marco Etcheverry
Shannon MacMillan
Joe-Max Moore
Roy Lassiter

maybe
Jason Kreis
Robin Fraser
Cindy Parlow

MY QUESTIONS

– If you’re a voter who hasn’t been voting for Etcheverry, can you explain why?

– Out of the MLS-but-not-U.S.-standout group (Fraser, Kreis, Armas, Sanneh, Olsen, Twellman), who would get your vote?

– Is the 2008 gold medal run enough to get Hucles in the Hall?

– Parlow’s World Cup resume: Two Cups, 11 games, four goals — the most meaningful being the first goal in the USA’s 2-0 win over Brazil in the 1999 semis. Overall: 158 caps, 75 goals. Also a decent run in the WUSA with Atlanta. Is that enough?

3
winter sports

Winter weekend: World Championships vs. X Games

Posted on by Beau Dure

Quick peek at the calendar shows us a couple of items to consider for 2014 medal projections:

12-27: Handball, Men’s World Championships
14-27: Tennis, Australian Open
18-27: Snowboarding, World Championships
19-Feb. 10: Soccer, African Cup of Nations
20-27: Figure skating, U.S. Championships
24: Bellator: Askren vs. Amoussou (welterweight title)
24-27: Winter X Games Aspen
25-Feb. 2 Bobsled/skeleton, World Championships

A few details:

SNOWBOARDING (worlds and X)

Reminder of the ever-expanding Olympic snowboarding program: halfpipe, snowboardcross, parallel giant slalom, slopestyle (new) and … parallel slalom (also new)?

The World Championships, underway in Stoneham, Quebec, have all those events, plus big air. The only problem is that a lot of top riders, especially Americans, have skipped the World Championships to prep for the X Games in Aspen, which will be heavily televised.

In slopestyle, the new world champs and runners-up in men’s and women’s slopestyle will make the trip — Roope Tonteri (FIN), Mark McMorris (CAN), Spencer O’Brien (CAN), Sina Candrian (SUI). Just a guess: Shaun White will get a bit more attention.

The men’s halfpipe has the top five from Worlds — Iouri Podladtchikov (SUI), Taku Hiraoka (JPN), Markus Malin (FIN), Christian Haller (SUI), Ryo Aono (JPN). But again, we’ll guess Shaun White will get the attention. And Louie Vito and Scotty Lago.

Do you know me? I'm a world champion at age 16. Photo by Oliver Kraus, FIS via USSA
Do you know me? I’m a world champion at age 16. Photo by Oliver Kraus, FIS via USSA

The women’s halfpipe (or SuperPipe, as they call it) features the big names: Kelly Clark, Elena Hight, Gretchen Bleiler, Hannah Teter and Aussie Torah Bright, who finished third in slopestyle at Worlds. The fourth- and fifth-place halfpipers in Quebec — USA’s Kaitlyn Farrington, Spain’s Queralt Castellet — will go to Aspen, while 16-year-old world champ Arielle Gold is an alternate. As Lane Myer said when he heard Ricky and Monique were speaking “the international language of love,” that makes sense.

But Aspen won’t have the races. The World Championships have snowboardcross, parallel giant slalom and parallel slalom all to themselves. Two-time Olympic snowboardcross champion Seth Wescott is on the U.S. team along with 45-year-old Lynn Ott. Multiple-time world champion Lindsey Jacobellis is recovering from an ACL injury suffered in last year’s X Games.

The other Oly-related events to watch in Aspen: freestyle skiing’s skicross, slopestyle and half/superpipe. Yes, they’re adding a lot of the X events in Sochi.

BOBSLED/SKELETON

Actually just bobsled this week, the Zweierbob Frauen and Zweierbob Manner. There is a Team Wettkampf on Sonntag, so maybe I should translate the official site or check the FIBT site for a full preview and timetable — ah, that’s the bobsled/skeleton team event.

Switzerland’s Beat Hefti is the favorite on home ice, particularly here at St. Moritz, the only natural ice track in the world. Some of its idiosyncrasies are in this fun video, where you can see how it’s carved out of the snow instead of built up like other bobsled runs:

Defending champion Steven Holcomb had a great start to the two-man season but has dropped off considerably over the last two months. The U.S. women have bounced on and off the podium — Elana Meyers is third in the World Cup, Jamie Greubel fifth and Jazmine Fenlator eighth.

The USA also is the defending team champion.

Lolo Jones? Nope, not on the U.S. team for this one. She has done pretty well in her races and kept her sense of humor after a crash:

FIGURE SKATING

No Evan Lysacek, no Johnny Weir, no problem. For your U.S. Championships viewing pleasure, check the TV schedule; for your amusement, keep these predictions in mind:

Men: Jeremy Abbott, Ross Miner, Richard Dornbush

Women: Ashley Wagner, Mirai Nagasu, Gracie Gold (yes, Christina Gao had better Grand Prix results, but Gold has the higher score)

Pairs: Marissa Castelli/Simon Shnapir, Alexa Scimeca/Chris Knierim, Tiffany Vise/Don Baldwin (defending champ Caydee Denney/John Coughlin pair is out injured)

Dance: Meryl White/Charlie Davis, Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani, Madison Chock/Evan Bates

SPEEDSKATING

World Sprint Championships, the least interesting of the three championships the long-trackers hold each year but a fun event to catch if you happen to be in Salt Lake City this weekend.

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mma

MMA weekend: Fast and furious

Posted on by Beau Dure

Can Bellator keep up the momentum after a strong Spike debut last week? Who’s the fastest flyweight in the world? Can UFC get a bang for its marketing buck, particularly with a main card that would stack up quite well against some of the recent pay-per-views?

BELLATOR (main card 10 p.m. ET Thursday on Spike)

Ben Askren (champion) vs. Karl Amossou (tournament winner), welterweight title fight: You can hear Bellator and Spike execs now, praying that this will not be a lay-and-pray win for Askren. The former world-class wrestler has won six straight decisions.

King Mo Lawal vs. Przemyslaw Mysiala, light heavyweight quarterfinals: Winner gets Emanuel Newton. King Mo also has some Spike exposure in his side job as a “pro wrestler,” and he’s the only name left in the 205-pound bracket. A Mysiala win might lead to some weeping.

Welterweight quarterfinals:
– Ben Saunders vs. Koffi Adzisto
– Douglas Lima vs. Michail Tsarev

UFC on FOX (main card 8 p.m. ET Saturday on Fox; prelims at 5 on FX)

One of the deepest free-TV cards in history …

Demetrious Johnson (champion) vs. John Dodson (top contender), flyweights: Certainly the most hyped flyweight bout ever, and Dodson usually brings the excitement.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (lame-duck veteran/former champion) vs. Glover Teixeira (contender), light heavyweights: Will Rampage even show up for his last UFC appearance? I don’t mean physically — I’m sure he will walk out to the cage and participate — but does he even care?

Anthony Pettis (top contender) vs. Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (top contender), lightweights: Two guys who’ve had classic fights with champion Benson Henderson. Surely the betting favorite for Fight of the Night.

Erik Koch (top contender) vs. Ricardo Lamas (top contender), featherweights: Koch was actually signed to fight Jose Aldo for the title at one point, and Lamas was close. Winner should be next up for the Aldo-Edgar winner if everyone stays healthy and sane.

T.J. Grant (contender) vs. Matt Wiman (contender), lightweights: Might be stretching to put Wiman on the contenders’ rungs, but not if he beats the surging Grant.

Clay Guida (contender) vs. Hatsu Hioki (contender), featherweights: Guida often headlines free-TV cards. Now he’s on the prelims. The UFC must have really hated his last fight against Gray Maynard, or maybe they’re not sure how he’s going to fare at featherweight. Both guys are on the line between contender and veteran, and given their mileage, a loss here probably means a title shot is never coming. But aside from ladder impact, this should be a terrific fight. Guida looked dull against Maynard, but it takes two to make a snoozer.

Ryan Bader (contender) vs. Vladimir Matyushenko (veteran), light heavyweights: Again, two guys who could easily be on a pay-per-view main card. Each guy needs a couple of wins to get into serious contention. Bader’s young enough to do it but needs this win just to stay put on the ladder.

Mike Russow (contender) vs. Shawn Jordan (newbie), heavyweights: Jordan lost his last one to Cheick Kongo. Can he hang with Russow?

Mike Stumpf (newbie) vs. Pascal Krauss (newbie), welterweights: I neglected to include these guys on my welterweight ladder. Stumpf is 0-1 in the Octagon. Krauss, from Germany via Roufusport, has a solid 10-1 overall record and is 1-1 in the UFC.

Rafael Natal (prospect) vs. Sean Spencer (newbie), middleweights: Natal gets a fighter making his debut on short notice.

Simeon Thoresen (newbie) vs. David Mitchell (newbie), welterweights: Two more guys I forgot on the ladder. Mitchell‘s interesting — came into the UFC with wins over War Machine and Bobby Green, then lost his first two UFC bouts, the second against Paulo Thiago. So he’s probably fighting for his UFC spot against a Norwegian who is 1-1 in the UFC and was KO’d by Seth Baczynski last time.

0
mma

The Ultimate Fighter 17, episode 1: Sonnen-chanted evening …

Posted on by Beau Dure

Funny: I Googled “sonnen chanted” to see if anyone else had used that, and Google asked me if I meant “sonnen cheated.”

Yes, it’s The Ultimate Fighter‘s 17th season, in which we’ll see if a move to Tuesday nights can re-invigorate the ratings.

First, let’s clear up one misconception: Season 16 was not the worst season of the show. Last season’s fighters were interesting, at least until they got into the cage. Season 13 is still the worst by far — boring fights, boring fighters, boring coaches.

So this season, they’ve re-branded. The intro talks about the tough tournament (Bellator execs surely aren’t amused — they somehow wrangled ad time near the end of this two-hour show and tossed out their “toughest tournament in sports” mantra) and the atmosphere, as if re-introducing the series to viewers. The photography is more cinematic in nature, like a 30-for-30 documentary rather than TUF. The graphics, aside from the TUF logo itself, are redesigned, bold and spare. Dana White looks like he’s speaking into the camera from The Blair Witch Project.

And Chael Sonnen is here, figuring he might at least be able to win a war of words with Jon Jones even if he has no chance in his  undeserved title shot. (I still like the idea of having Sonnen coach against and then fight Forrest Griffin, leaving Jones free to fight an actual light heavyweight contender like Dan Henderson, Alexander Gustafsson or pretty much anyone who has actually won a fight at 205 pounds at a level above Gladiator Challenge.)

One more complaint about this season: The 14-man, single-class tournament with a prelim round and a wild-card bout is the dumbest format this show has ever used. It’s far smarter to use a “wild card” to bring back a talented fighter (maybe Costa Philippou, Che Mills or Ryan Jimmo, to name three fighters the show lost) who loses in the prelims. As it stands now, a fighter can win the prelim, lose in the first round, win the wild-card bout, win the quarterfinal and then step in for his fifth fight in a few weeks. Might as well go back to the UFC 1 format and just have these dudes fight three times in one night.

But I’m writing a book about The Ultimate Fighter, I’m a professional, and I still like this show. Like Saturday Night Live, it’s worth sitting through the low points to see the high points. So off we go (bios at Sherdog and the official TUF site) …

We start at Palace Station casino, as if thumbing our noses at UNITE HERE, the labor group that has taken its dispute with the UFC-owning Fertitta brothers to anti-MMA advocacy. Some lawmakers in New York actually seem to think their objections are related to MMA, making them either gullible or dishonest.

Another change: Family members will be there for the eliminations. Before the show is done, we’ll meet many of them. Some will be in the hotel rooms sharing last-minute bits of inspiration. Some will be cheering for their kids like it’s a Little League game, and the kids won’t get ice cream if they lose. Some will get camera time like A.J. McCarron’s girlfriend.

But we still have our pre-fight coaching awkwardness, with Sonnen and Jones left alone in a room. Except for the camera crew. Sonnen yaps. Jones says little. I think we’ve set a tone.

Fortunately, things get moving in a hurry …

FIGHT 1

Jake Heun (3-2): Lots of friends in his hotel room and the gym. He says on his bio he used to drop Chris Leben in practice.

Adam Cella (4-0): Says he used to be 250 pounds, but then he saw a fight and decided to get in shape. Girlfriend gets screen time.

Heun slips on a kick and looks awkward. He gets Cella down, but Cella grabs the arm and flips to get the armbar. Winner: Adam Cella, armbar, first round

FIGHT 2

Zak Cummings (15-3): Took Ryan Jimmo to five rounds, which isn’t bad.

Nik Fekete (5-1): Michigan State wrestler, like Gray Maynard and Rashad Evans. Camera crew went to his house, another TUF novelty.

Dana’s excited, the coaches are excited, and we … oh, it’s over. Fekete threw a kick and left his hand down, as Sonnen neatly dissects for us afterwards. Cummings lands one punch, and down goes Fekete. It’s stopped quickly, and Fekete is grappling with invisible opponents as he comes to. Didn’t see an exact count, but it’s less than 10 seconds, easily. Winner: Zak Cummings, TKO, first round

FIGHT 3

Eldon Sproat (3-1): He’s from Hawaii and does rodeo. Didn’t mention that on his bio, which will provide 10 seconds of dull reading. He never had a silver platter to eat off of. Maybe that should be the bonus instead of a Harley.

Kevin Casey (5-2): Dude has already fought Matt Lindland? Best friend was Rickson Gracie’s son. Mom is emotional.

Another TUF novelty: After 2-3 seconds, we go to some stylized slo-mo highlights. Casey gets cut over his eye, dripping blood all over, but he’s the far superior grappler. Winner: Kevin Casey, rear naked choke, round unknown

FIGHT 4

Scott Rosa (4-1): Dana’s amused by his prefight show of shadowboxing for every camera on the premises but impressed that he knocked out James Irvin. He also fought Jan. 18, so we’ll guess he doesn’t win here.

Tor Troeng (15-4-1): Swedish academic’s son who looks at MMA as another problem to solve. Fourth fight was a main event against Mamed Khalidov, so some European promoters must think highly of him.

Highlights only — yeah, Troeng solved that problem. Winner: Tor Troeng, rear naked choke, round unknown

FIGHT 5

Clint Hester (7-3): From Georgia!

Fraser Opie (10-5): Sounds like a 70s sitcom character, doesn’t he? Actually from South Africa.

Hester has a boxing background and lands a hard body blow, then wows the coaches with his grappling, including a big slam. Jones likes him a lot and is already coaching him during the fight. Winner: Clint Hester, unanimous decision

Any thoughts about going to the TUF house, Clint? Yeah, he compares it to federal prison, though he points out he’s never been there.

FIGHT 6

Ryan Bigler (9-3): Another fighter to make his way from Guam to TUF. He has a buddy in his hotel room reading an inspirational quote and then mangling the name “Churchill.”

Robert “Bubba” McDaniel (20-6): 26 fights? And he fights for Greg Jackson, where he has often been in camp with one Jon Jones. He weeps after a long hug with his sister.

Bubba’s wrestling and Jones’ coaching carry the day. A man with a huge beard is very happy. No, it’s not Roy Nelson. Winner: Bubba McDaniel, TKO, second round

FIGHT 7

Josh Samman (9-2): Beat Chris Cope. We meet him in his hotel room making out with his girlfriend. Wait, is this Cinemax?

Leo Bercier (7-2-1): Native American, talks about the miserable life on the reservation. Press release says he’s fighting Feb. 15 in Maximum FC, which could bode ill for his chances in the prelims.

Samman takes Bercier down and takes the women’s tennis approach to ground-and-pound, going “Hyuhn!” with every punch. Bercier has no defense whatsoever, and Dana and Jones get a little impatient waiting for Samman to finish it. Winner: Josh Samman, TKO, first round

Sonnen chases after Samman to congratulate him. Jones and Dana smirk, thinking he’s “politicking.” I’m guessing it went like this ..

Hey, great fight. Listen — can you help me with this “pound thing? I have the “ground” part down — I had Anderson Silva on his back for 23 minutes. But then he just submitted me like it was a white-belt grappling contest …

FIGHT 8

Kito Andrews (9-2): Team Alpha Male fighter. We see him with his kids, of whom he just won custody. They cling to him while he tells them to be good kids while he’s gone. He grew up on food stamps, powdered milk and Spam. Even Danny Downes can’t find a way to be snarky about this. We’re going to have to save the snark-offs for Episode 2, when these guys start acting like idiots in the house. (Well, Dana finds a way, saying Andrews must be used to fighting because he’s divorced.)

Kelvin Gastelum (4-0): He’s a bail bondsman and the youngest fighter in TUF history, Dana tells us, at age 21.

Highlights only: Kito’s son gets some interview time, saying Kito has always wanted to be on the show. Kito lands good body shots, but Kelvin does better in Round 2. Sonnen says it was close, but Kelvin wins. We see Kito’s sons react in disappointment. They go over to tell him they’re still proud of him. What a nice family. Seriously. I’m thinking of starting a business so I can hire this guy and coach his kids in soccer. Winner: Kelvin Gastelum, decision

FIGHT 9

Jimmy Quinlan (3-0): Wrestler and jiu-jitsu guy.

Mike Persons (3-0): From Stockton, like the Diazes (not that they’re mentioned), and he works at his friend Steve’s store. Seriously, that’s pretty much all they say about him.

Highlights only: Jimmy is a really good wrestler. So say Jones and Sonnen, and they should know. Like Jones and unlike Sonnen, he also does the “pound” part. This whole bit lasted about as long as an ad. Winner: Jimmy Quinlan, TKO, first round

FIGHT 10

Uriah Hall (7-2): Only losses are to Chris Weidman and Costa Philippou. That’s serious. From Jamaica via Queens, where he was getting teased a lot and went to a counselor who happened to have a martial arts place next door.

Andy Enz (3-0 — the show claims he’s 6-1): Hey, remember the “nap-jitsu” dude who tried to irritate people in the TUF 16 house? No? Well, anyway, Enz beat him.

They devote a bit more buildup to this one, so we get to see Hall’s pecs bounce in slow-motion. I’m not used to the slo-mo, and I’m not used to seeing the dads and granddads yelling at their kids like hockey parents.

As the fight starts, we cut away to Sonnen, who says he just wants fighters with heart and determination, because then we can find a way to get it done. First, apply to the Nevada commission for a therapeutic use exemption …

Hall lands serious strikes, get him down, gets back up, lands more serious strikes, etc. Enz is showing heart and determination, but he’s also getting his butt kicked. (Well, his head and body, to be more precise.) Hall looks like a middleweight Jon Jones — long-limbed and much quicker than his opponent. Enz manages a reverse into Hall’s guard, at least, and he narrowly slips out of a triangle just when it seemed his eyes were in the back of his head. Round 1 ends, and Sonnen stands to yell “Outstanding!” Yeah, it is.

We see more of Enz’s family yelling at him like he’s a soccer player who won’t get orange slices if he loses, and we’re into Round 2. Hall seems surprised Enz is still standing in front of him, and Hall ends up having to pull himself out of a submission or two. Sonnen likes Enz but says he “ran into a hammer known as Uriah Hall.” Winner: Uriah Hall, decision

Hall waits for Enz to finish hugging his family, then sportingly congratulates him.

See, Dana? This is why you do the wild card after the PRELIMS! You could have both these guys in the house!

FIGHT 11

Gilbert Smith (5-1): We start in his hotel room, where he tells his family he has resolved not to be afraid of his dreams.

Eric Wahlin (4-2): Lost his first two, won his next four. He says he doesn’t know how he’s been making his child-support payments, and his house is being taken away from him. Can we take up a collection?

Dana thinks Smith looks like Tyson. No, he looks nothing like Tyson Griffin. Oh, the other one? Yeah, maybe. They’re painting Smith as the overwhelming favorite, which often means we’re going in a different direction.

Not this time. Wahlin shows some submission skills, but Smith turns Wahlin’s head purple with an arm triangle. Dana thinks Wahlin may have been punching rather than tapping, but in Wahlin’s state of consciousness, no one really knows or cares. Winner: Gilbert Smith, arm triangle, first round

FIGHT 12

Nicholas Kohring (3-0): He’s 22. He has braces. He has that Millennial mumble. His fiancee has a Goth vibe. His mom talks a lot.

Luke Barnatt (5-0): Nearly two meters tall. That’s 6-foot-6. Quit a nice job to do MMA and says he’s forgotten what it was like to have money. He’s surprisingly not subtitled even with a thick Andy Ogle-style accent, but the producers must figure that if we can understand Kohring, we’ll understand anyone.

The coaches like Luke’s reach, but Nicholas shows a willingness to get inside and swing. We switch to highlights, and Luke ends the first round flipping Nicholas to the mat. That’s about it — Jones says Luke looks like “top 3.” Nicholas looks like another guy who could’ve deserved another shot. Winner: Luke Barnatt, decision

FIGHT 13

Dylan Andrews (15-4): Beat Shonie Carter in 2010. High school rugby player from New Zealand via Australia. Dana says he grew up in a “marijuana growhouse.” Again, no Diaz reference?

Tim Williams (7-1): “The South Jersey Strangler”? Dana: “He looks like he strangled a few people before he came here.” He has wild scars and close-cropped hair.

Andrews looks terrified of the Strangler, but as Williams charges, Andrew drops him. Strangler fights through it. Dana says if someone needs to be replaced, he may bring back the loser of this fight. Again, Dana … format!

Chael says it was close and could’ve gone to a third round, but … Winner: Dylan Andrews, decision

FIGHT 14

Collin Hart (4-1-1): Californian. Nicknamed “The Dick” to Dana’s amusement. All he does is sleep and train. And work. And go to bars.

Mike Jasper (5-0): Quarterback of a semipro football team, Dana says. Lots of green in his tattoos.

The slo-mo replay starts with a missed kick. Jones says it’s an awesome fight and that Collin’s dirty boxing reminds him of Randy Couture. Before you have time to think this is going to be dull, Hart drags Jasper to the ground and gets the tap. Winner: Collin Hart, rear naked choke, first round

And we’re not done. Coin toss, Sonnen wins, picks first fighter … the bloody Luke Barnatt. Sonnen says he picked him based on conditioning.

Jones answers with Clint Hester.

Sonnen: Uriah Hall (says he likes Jones, but things happen for a reason)
Jones: Josh Samman

Sonnen: Zak Cummings
Jones: Bubba McDaniels

Sonnen: Tor Troeng
Jones: Gilbert Smith (he says he was sending a message “Pick me, pick me,” and Jones must’ve picked it up.)

Sonnen: Jimmy Quinlan
Jones: Collin Hart

Sonnen: Kevin Casey
Jones: Adam Cella

Sonnen: Kelvin Gastelum
Jones: Dylan Andrews, who gets the “last pick” ribbing but says he gets to fly under the radar.

We still have eight minutes left in this episode. Fighters on Team Jones, led by Josh, already have an idea of who they want to fight and in which order.

The fight announcement … after a Bellator ad … is Gilbert vs. Luke. What?

Josh isn’t happy. He says Team Jones can’t sweep the fights if they lose the first one. Check out the big brains on Josh.

But Josh is right. That’s a dumb, dumb strategy. You want to boost morale by taking out the other team’s top pick? OK, but when you lose, you give up control. And the other guy had first pick.

Sonnen rhymes for a bit and makes some speech about fists instead of emotions. But the ace card they’re holding is a big-time knockout, which Dana says is one of the nastiest he has seen in the sport. We see someone loaded into an ambulance.

A seriously injured fighter and Chael Sonnen? Don’t show this to the New York legislature. But the rest of us should be intrigued.

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soccer

Philadelphia Union: The latest team to mishandle Freddy Adu

Posted on by Beau Dure

Start here:

“Candid” is one thing. Another is “telling everyone we have this high-priced player we’re desperate to unload, and if we can’t unload him, we’ll just be eating his salary rather than playing him, but please don’t make us do that.”

Source: “Dear Season Ticket Holders”.

An SB Nation commenter put it well: ” I’m fine with Adu leaving for nothing if it means the Union get his salary off the books, but as it stands, unless Hackworth gets a bidding war going, no team has an incentive not to lowball.”

Another item in that letter that should make the River End shudder:

And I think it’s time to clear up another misconception…
I know that the draft board described him as a forward, but we did not pick Don Anding as one. We picked him because he was literally one of the most athletic players available in the draft and in fact, the fastest player at the Combine.

Via another SB Nation/Brotherly Game post, we get this scouting report: “Technically a little choppy at times but makes up for it with his speed … As a winger he may not have the soccer IQ to man the position.”

It’s 2013, and American soccer teams are still drafting players based on speed and athleticism? Do we need Claudio Reyna to travel down I-95 and whack someone with a copy of the U.S. Soccer curriculum?

No wonder they couldn’t make much use of Freddy Adu.

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Uncategorized

Monday Myriad, Jan. 21: Figure skating fights and chess marathons

Posted on by Beau Dure

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0
mma

MMA wrap: Bisping drops, Markes climbs

Posted on by Beau Dure

Following up on the weekend preview with this week’s changes to the UFC ladders, especially in middleweight, which had the main event and co-main event of the UFC on FX card:

HEAVYWEIGHT

Gabriel Gonzaga def. Ben Rothwell, Sub-2. Not that much at stake, though Gonzaga looked impressive. Back to contender status with another win?

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT

Ildemar Alcantara def. Wagner Prado, Sub-2. Solid debut. Prado is officially 0-2 in the UFC.

Bellator quarterfinals
– Mikhail Zayats def. Renato “Babalu” Sobral, KO-1
– Jacob Noe def. Seth Petruzelli, TKO-1
– Emanuel Newton def. Atanas Djambazov, Sub-2

(Bad night for UFC vets in Bellator!)

MIDDLEWEIGHT

Vitor Belfort def. Michael Bisping, TKO-2. As Jeff Wagenheim eloquently states, this is the third and possibly final time Bisping will come this close to a title shot. Bisping drops from top contender to contender.

CB Dollaway def. Daniel Sarafian, split decision. The Fight of the Night bonus is the biggest reward here. No changes for either guy, though Sarafian looked impressive in defeat and could move to prospect level soon.

Ronny Markes def. Andrew Craig, unanimous decision. Markes dominated for his third straight UFC win. Too soon to move him up the ladder? Nah. Markes rises from prospect to contender.

LIGHTWEIGHT

Khabib Nurmagomedov def. Thiago Tavares, TKO-1. The unbeaten sambo star from Dagestan is close to jumping from prospect to contender. Tavares stays put.

Edson Barboza def. Lucas Martins, Sub-1. Barboza is close to contender status after beating the UFC debutant.

Francisco “Massaranduba” Trinaldo def. C.J. Keith, Sub-2. TUF Brazil alum is 2-1 in the UFC; Keith is 0-2. Trinaldo rises from newbie to prospect

Bellator title fight:
– Michael Chandler def. Rick Hawn, Sub-2. Are we sure the UFC and Bellator are fighting over the right lightweight?

FEATHERWEIGHT

Godofredo “Pepey” Castro def. Milton Vieira, split decision. Both still newbies after this contentious decision.

Nik Lentz def. Diego Nunes, unanimous decision. Big win for the veteran lightweight. Another win or two, and we’ll consider him a contender at his new class.

Bellator title fight:
– Pat Curran def. Patricio “Pitbull” Friere, split decision. Title stays put.

BANTAMWEIGHT

Yuri Alcantara vs. Pedro Nobre, no contest. It’s safe to say Alcantara did himself more favors.

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