Author: Beau Dure

The guy who wrote a bunch of soccer books and now runs a Gen X-themed podcast while substitute teaching and continuing to write freelance stuff.
olympic sports, winter sports

Winter preview: Figure skating

Posted on by Beau Dure
Ashley Wagner (Photo: U.S. Figure Skating)

Figure skating has one of the more interesting competition series, spreading out its best competitors over the course of a season and building toward a couple of big events with the big names. So the big names are frequently active (unlike swimming or gymnastics) but they’re not facing each other every week (unlike skiing World Cup circuits).

It seems that the big names aren’t as American as they used to be. The U.S. men are indeed overdue at the World Championships — they haven’t medaled in the past three, tying the longest drought since the 70s — but Evan Lysacek is the reigning Olympic champion. The women’s results are more shocking — when Kimmie Meissner and Sasha Cohen placed first and third at the 2006 World Championships, who could’ve imagined they’d be the last U.S. medalists of the decade? In 2010, the U.S. women were kept off the Olympic podium for the first time since 1964.

And yet the USA has somehow become a juggernaut in ice dancing, with Meryl Davis and Charlie White picking up the torch from Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto. The USA’s “A” team, which gets full funding, has one man, one woman, one pair and three ice dancing duos.

Storylines

– Comebacks: Olympic champion Evan Lysacek, the ever-entertaining Johnny Weir. Between them and consistent Jeremy Abbott, can the U.S. men make some noise this year?

– The great North American ice dancing rivalry: Meryl Davis and Charlie White (USA) vs. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (Canada).

– Will China return to pairs podium? A decade of dominance ended suddenly at the 2012 Worlds.

– Some consistency from U.S. women? They’ve been through a cycle in which someone steps up, then fades. Then sometimes re-emerges. Meissner was only 16 when she won the 2006 world title. Mirai Nagasu was just 14 when she won the 2008 U.S. title, but she hasn’t won it since. Nagasu was fourth in the 2010 Games, with Rachael Flatt seventh.

The USA continues to have a steady parade of World Junior medalists, including sweeps in 2007 (Caroline Zhang, Nagasu, Ashley Wagner) and 2008 (Flatt, Zhang, Nagasu). Zhang and Wagner medaled again in 2009. Then Agnes Zawadzki took over for 2010 silver and 2011 bronze, followed by Gracie Gold in 2012.

A couple of other events have been kinder. The Four Continents Championship doesn’t have the strongest field, but the USA has managed several top-five finishes in the past five years, with Wagner winning last year. Alissa Czisny won the 2010 Grand Prix Final for the first U.S. podium in that event since 2003, and she was the only U.S. finalist last year.

Events

Grand Prix
Oct. 19-21, Skate America, Kent/Seattle, Wash.
Oct. 26-28, Skate Canada, Windsor, Ontario
Nov. 2-4, Cup of China, Shanghai
Nov. 9-11,  Rostelecom Cup, Moscow
Nov. 16-18, Trophee Eric Bompard, Paris
Nov. 23-25, NHK Trophy, Miyagi, Japan

Dec. 6-9, Grand Prix Final, Sochi, Russia

U.S. Championships
Jan. 20-27, Omaha

World Championships
March 10-17, London, Ontario

Qualifying

For Grand Prix Final: A couple of skaters enter three of the six Grand Prix events, but most will enter two. Points are given for first, second, third, fourth, etc., and the skater’s top two performances are added up. Top six in each discipline make the final. The ISU makes this relatively easy to follow on its site.

For World Championships: The USA can send two men, two women (er, ladies, in figure skating terminology), two pairs and three ice dancing duos. U.S. Championship winners get automatic bids. The rest are selected by committee, based on recent performances in big events.

How to watch

Order a season pass at icenetwork.com before Oct. 22, and you can get a discounted rate of $19.95 (down from $39.95). That’ll give you the Grand Prix events, U.S. championships and several other events — some live, some not, all on demand.

NBC also will have a lot of delayed coverage, including all the Grand Prix events, and the network will go live during the U.S. championships. If you’re lucky enough to get NBC affiliate Universal Sports, you’ll have more options to catch re-broadcasts. The folks at icenetwork.com were kind enough to compile their schedule.

We don’t yet have broadcasting info for the World Championships.

We can only hope the broadcasts include this:

Names to know

Figure skating is one of the few sports to hold a World Championship the same year as the Olympics, sometimes diluting the talent pool at Worlds and letting some surprising names take world titles.

Women

– Yu-Na Kim (South Korea): Olympic champion. Coming into 2012-13 season, had posted the three best scores of all time (or at least since the current scoring system went into effect): 228.56 in 2010 Olympics, 210.03 at 2009 Trophee Bompard, 207.71 at 2009 Worlds). For sake of comparison, Sasha Cohen holds the U.S. record at 197.60 in 2003. She has spent a good bit of time in North America, working for years with Canadian Brian Orser before splitting with him awkwardly. Went on hiatus but is coming back for another run. She’s still skipping the Grand Prix season.

– Mao Asada (Japan): Olympic silver medalist, two-time world champion (2008, 2010). Struggled last season after the death of her mother. Two Grand Prix events: Cup of China, NHK Trophy

– Joannie Rochette (Canada): Olympic bronze medalist in an unforgettable story, competing in her home country just a couple of days after her mother’s death. Hasn’t decided whether to return to competition.

– Carolina Kostner (Italy): World champion after years as a perennial contender. Also won 2011 Grand Prix Final after finishing elsewhere on podium for years. After all that, she plans to skip the 2012 Grand Prix season. Also had controversy in offseason when her boyfriend, former Olympic walking champion Alex Schwazer, tested positive for EPO at the Olympics.

– Ashley Wagner (USA): The only woman on the U.S. A team. 2012 U.S. champion (previous high was 3rd in 2008 and 2010). 2012 Four Continents champion. Qualified for 2009 Grand Prix Final, finished 4th. Like Alissa Czisny, she spins clockwise, a relative rarity in figure skating. Two Grand Prix events: Skate America, Trophee Bompard

– Mirai Nagasu (USA): 4th in 2010 Olympics. 7th in 2010 World Championships. U.S. Championships, 2008-2012: 1st, 5th, 2nd, 3rd, 7th. Switched coaches and training bases, moving away from Frank Carroll, to cut down on commute and get a change of scenery. One Grand Prix event: Cup of China

– Alissa Czisny (USA): 2010 Grand Prix Final champion, the last significant win by a U.S. skater. 2009 and 2011 U.S. champion (2nd in 2012, 10th in 2010). 5th in 2011 World Championships. Hindered by calf and hip injuries in the past year. One Grand Prix event: NHK Trophy

– Caroline Zhang (USA): 2007 world junior champion, then 2nd the next two years. U.S. Championships, 2008-2012: 4th, 3rd, 11th, 12th, 4th. Four Continents: 4th in 2009, 3rd in 2010 and 2012. Has a signature move called a pearl spin. Two Grand Prix events: Skate Canada, Rostelecom Cup 

– Agnes Zawadzki (USA): 2nd in 2010 World Junior Championships, 3rd in 2011. U.S. Championships, 2011-2012: 4th, 3rd. Two Grand Prix events: Rostelecom Cup, NHK Trophy

– Gracie Gold (USA): 2nd in 2012 World Junior Championships. Two Grand Prix events: Skate Canada, Rostelecom Cup

– Christina Gao (USA): 5th in three straight U.S. Championships. Harvard Class of 2016. Two Grand Prix events: Skate America, Trophee Bompard

– Rachael Flatt (USA): 2010 U.S. champion and Olympian (placed 7th). Successful in other U.S. Championships: 2nd in 2008/09/11, yet only on USA’s C-team. Has had some injury problems and was reprimanded and fined for not disclosing injury before 2011 World Championships. 6th in 2012 U.S. championships. Qualified for 2010 Grand Prix Final, finished 6th. Stanford student. One Grand Prix event: Skate America

  • 2006 Olympics: Shizuka Arakawa (Japan), Sasha Cohen (USA), Irina Slutskaya (Russia)
  • 2006 Worlds: Kimmie Meissner (USA), Fumie Suguri (Japan), Cohen
  • 2007: Miki Ando (Japan), Mao Asada (Japan), Yu-Na Kim (South Korea)
  • 2008: Asada, Carolina Kostner (Italy), Kim
  • 2009: Kim, Joannie Rochette (Canada), Ando
  • 2010 Olympics: Kim, Asada, Rochette
  • 2010 Worlds: Asada, Kim, Laura Lepisto (Finland)
  • 2011: Ando, Kim, Kostner
  • 2012: Kostner, Alena Leonova (Russia), Akiko Suzuki (Japan)

Men

– Patrick Chan (Canada): 2011 and 2012 world champion after two years as runner-up. Also two-time defending Grand Prix Final winner. Chinese-Canadian (born in Canada; parents from Hong Kong). Finished 5th in Vancouver. Has posted six of the best scores ever, including the record of 280.98 at the 2011 Worlds.

– Daisuke Takahashi (Japan): 2010 world champion and 2012 runner-up. Also second in Grand Prix Final last year. Three of the top 10 scores of all time.

– Evan Lysacek (USA): Olympic champion – the first U.S. skater to win Olympic gold since Brian Boitano in 1988. Hasn’t skated competitively since then. But he’s back. Also 2009 world champion, 2009 Grand Prix Final winner, 2007 and 2008 U.S. champion (medaled each year from 2005-2010). 4th in 2006 Olympics. Had been entered in Skate America but had to withdraw and might return in a smaller competition.

– Jeremy Abbott (USA): 9th in 2010 Olympics. U.S. champion in 2009, 2010 and 2012 (4th in 2007, 2008, 2011). 5th in 2010 World Championships (8th in 2012). Won 2008 Grand Prix Final. The only U.S. man on the A team, which means he gets full funding. Two Grand Prix events: Skate America, Trophee Bompard

– Johnny Weir (USA): Like Lysacek, making a comeback after a couple of seasons off that included a judging stint on Skating with the Stars. Two-time Olympian (5th in 2006, 6th in 2010). 3rd in 2008 World Championships. Three-time U.S. champion (2004-2006). Two Grand Prix events: Rostelecom Cup, Trophee Bompard

– Adam Rippon (USA): 2008 and 2009 world junior champion, 2010 Four Continents champion, 6th in 2010 Olympics. Best U.S. finish: 2nd in 2012. He can do the Rippon Lutz (watch his arms) and a donut spin. Two Grand Prix events: Cup of China, NHK Trophy

– Yuzuru Hanyu (Japan): 2012 bronze medalist. Did an exhibition skate to a remix of The Doors’ Hello I Love You. Two Grand Prix events: Skate America, NHK Trophy

– Brian Joubert (France): 2007 world champion and frequent world championship medalist, finishing in the top six each year from 2003 onward. Two Grand Prix events: Cup of China, Trophee Bompard

– Takahiko Kozuka (Japan): 2011 runner-up. Two Grand Prix events: Skate America, Rostelecom Cup

– Ross Miner (USA): 3rd in 2011 and 2012 U.S. Championships. 3rd in 2012 Four Continents. Two Grand Prix events: Skate Canada, NHK Trophy

– Richard Dornbush (USA): Big year in 2011: 2nd in U.S. Championships, 9th in Worlds. Two Grand Prix events: Rostelecom Cup, NHK Trophy

– Douglas Razzano (USA): A few years removed from juniors but made Grand Prix debut at last year’s Skate America. Best U.S. Championship: 5th in 2012. One Grand Prix event: Skate America

Breaking it down by year:

  • 2007: Joubert, Takahashi, Stephane Lambiel (Switzerland)
  • 2008: Jeffrey Buttle (Canada), Joubert, Weir
  • 2009: Lysacek, Chan, Joubert
  • 2010 Olympics: Lysacek, Evgeni Plushenko (Russia), Takahashi
  • 2010 Worlds: Takahashi, Chan, Joubert
  • 2011: Chan, Kozuka, Gachinski
  • 2012: Chan, Takahashi, Hanyu

Pairs

– Aliana Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy (Germany): World champion in 2012, 2011, 2009 and 2008. World runners-up and Olympic bronze medalists in 2010. Stuck with coach Ingo Steuer while he was under scrutiny for past links to the Stasi. Savchenko formerly competed for Ukraine. Two Grand Prix events: Skate Canada, Trophee Bompard

– Tatiana Volosozhar/Maxim Trankov (Russia): Two-time world runners-up after pairing up in 2010. Until then, Volosozhar competed for Ukraine. Two Grand Prix events: Skate America, Rostelecom Cup

– Caydee Denney/John Coughlin (USA): The only pair on the U.S. A team, returning for second season together. In first season, won U.S. Championships and placed 8th at Worlds. Denney skated at 2010 Olympics (13th) and won 2010 U.S. title with Jeremy Barrett. Coughlin won 2011 U.S. title and skated at 2011 Worlds (6th) with Caitlin Yankowskas.  Two Grand Prix events: Skate America, Rostelecom Cup

– Lindsay Davis/Mark Ladwig (USA): New pair, with 20-year-old Davis joining 32-year-old Ladwig. With Amanda Evora, Ladwig was a three-time U.S. medalist and 2010 Olympian (10th). Two Grand Prix events: Skate Canada, NHK Trophy

– Marissa Castelli/Simon Shnapir (USA): 5th in last two U.S. Championships; 3rd in 2009 World Juniors. Short program includes Stray Cat Strut, apparently the Brian Setzer Orchestra version. Two Grand Prix events: Skate America, NHK Trophy

– Tiffany Vise/Don Baldwin (USA): U.S. Championships since 2010: 8th, 6th, 9th. Also 6th at 2011 Skate America. A “mirror pair,” inclined to spin in opposite directions. Two Grand Prix events: Skate Canada, Rostelecom Cup

– Caitlin Yankowskas/Joshua Reagan (USA): New pair. Yankowskas won 2011 U.S. title and skated at 2011 Worlds (6th) with John Coughlin. Reagan took a long break from skating after suffering an eye injury. Two Grand Prix events: Cup of China, NHK Trophy

– Gretchen Donlan/Andrew Speroff (USA): Young pair; 4th in 2012 U.S. Championships. One Grand Prix event: Skate America

  • 2006 Olympics: Tatiana Totmianina/Maxim Marinin (Russia), Zhang Dan/Zhang Hao (China), Shen Xue/Zhao Hongbo (China)
  • 2006 Worlds: Pang Qing/Tang Jian (China), Zhang/Zhang, Maria Petrova/Alexei Tikhonov (Russia)
  • 2007: Shen/Zhao, Zhang/Zhang, Aliana Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy (Germany)
  • 2008: Savchenko/Szolkowy, Zhang/Zhang, Jessica Dube/Bryce Davison (Canada)
  • 2009: Savchenko/Szolkowy, Zhang/Zhang, Yuko Kavaguti/Alexander Smirnov (Russia)
  • 2010 Olympics: Shen/Zhao, Pang/Tang, Savchenko/Szolkowy
  • 2010 Worlds: Pang/Tang, Savchenko/Szolkowy, Kavaguti/Smirnov
  • 2011: Savchenko/Szolkowy, Tatiana Volosozhar/Maxim Trankov (Russia), Pang/Tang
  • 2012: Savchenko/Szolkowy, Volosozhar/Trankov, Narumi Takahashi/Mervin Tran (Japan)

Dance

– Meryl Davis/Charlie White (USA): Olympic silver medalist. 2011 World champions. 2010-12 Grand Prix Final champions; unbeaten in last two Grand Prix seasons. 2009-12 U.S. champions (4 times). Posted top three scores of all time and six of top 10. Two Grand Prix events: Skate America, NHK Trophy

– Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir (Canada): Olympic and world champion, reclaiming the title from Davis/White last year. Posted four of the top 10 scores of all time. Two Grand Prix events: Skate Canada, Rostelecom Cup

– Madison Hubbell/Zach Donahue (USA): A-team. Second season together. Last year: 3rd in U.S. Championships, 10th in Worlds, 5th in Four Continents, 6th in Skate America. Two Grand Prix events: Skate Canada, Trophee Bompard

– Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani (USA): A-team. Sister/brother duo was 2nd in 2009 World Juniors, 4th in 2010 World Juniors, then 3rdd at senior-level 2011 Worlds. Dropped to 8th in 2012. Also two-time U.S. runner-up (2011-12). Won 2011 NHK Trophy. Two Grand Prix events: Rostelecom Cup, NHK Trophy

– Anastasia Cannuscio/Colin McManus (USA): 7th in 2011 World Juniors; 6th in 2012 U.S. Championships. One Grand Prix event: Skate America

– Lynn Kreingkrairut/Logan Giuletti-Schmitt (USA): 4th in 2012 U.S. Championships; best finish to date. Competed in three Grand Prix events, finishing 6th in 2010 Skate America and 2011 NHK Trophy. One Grand Prix event: Skate America

– Madison Chock/Evan Bates (USA): Second season together. Last year: 5th in U.S. Championships, 5th in Trophee Bompard, 4th in Skate Canada. Bates skated in 2010 Olympics (11th) with Emily Samuelson. One Grand Prix event: Cup of China

Year-by-year:

  • 2006 Olympics: Tatiana Navka/Roman Kostomarov (Russia), Tanith Belbin/Ben Agosto (USA), Elena Grushina/Ruslan Goncharov (Ukraine)
  • 2006 Worlds: Albena Denkova/Maxim Staviski (Bulgaria), Marie-France Dubreuil/Patrice Lauzon (Canada), Belbin/Agosto
  • 2007: Denkova/Staviski, Dubreuil/Lauzon, Belbin/Agosto
  • 2008: Isabelle Delobel/Olivier Schoenfelder (France), Tessa Virtue/Scott Moir (Canada), Jana Khokhlova/Sergei Novitski (Russia)
  • 2009: Oksana Domnina/Maxim Shabalin (Russia), Belbin/Agosto, Virtue/Moir
  • 2010 Olympics: Virtue/Moir, Meryl Davis/Charlie White (USA), Domnina/Shabalin
  • 2010 Worlds: Virtue/Moir, Davis/White, Federica Faiella/Massimo Scali (Italy)
  • 2011: Davis/White, Virtue/Moir, Maia Shibutani/Alex Shibutani (USA)
  • 2012: Virtue/Moir, Davis/White, Nathalie Pechalat/Fabian Bourzat (France)

 

2
mma

UFC gives Chael Sonnen a title shot he simply does not deserve

Posted on by Beau Dure

Updated below with more comments …

Boxing and MMA promoters have to walk a fine line between hucksterism and sports. The UFC has long walked it better than most.

Dana White didn’t build up Kimbo Slice as one of the world’s best heavyweights — EliteXC did that. White and company instead gave Kimbo a chance to work his way up through The Ultimate Fighter, taking advantage of his notoriety but not treating him as something he wasn’t.

The UFC might make some matchups just for fun. When boxer James Toney barked his way into a UFC shot, White put him on a main card and fed him to powerful wrestler Randy Couture, who duly took him down and demolished him. Last weekend, needing a main event for one of the many injury-rattled cards this year, White put middleweight champion Anderson Silva in a non-title light heavyweight fight against the durable Stephan Bonnar, a classic case of the unstoppable force against the immovable object. (Unstoppable force 1, immovable object 0.)

But title fights? No. Aside from the title shots granted to the winners of the “Comeback” season on The Ultimate Fighter, title contenders have usually earned their shots. Perhaps Brock Lesnar was fast-tracked in the heavyweight division, but he was essentially part of a four-man tournament to settle a weight class unhinged by Couture’s contract dispute. Vitor Belfort got a surprising shot as a late replacement, but he’s a past champion who still has a lot to offer. The UFC just doesn’t hand out title shots to undeserving fighters.

Until now.

Chael Sonnen has no claim to a title shot at 205 pounds. None.

The case for Sonnen: He gave Anderson Silva fits in two shots at the middleweight title, and he has the wit (and willingness to stretch the truth) to sell a fight.

The counterargument, from MMA Mania’s Brian Hemminger: “Chael Sonnen hasn’t fought at light heavyweight since UFC 55 over seven years ago when he was choked out in the second round by Renato Sobral.”

Other reactions:

And here’s the dean of the MMA press corps, Yahoo’s Kevin Iole: “A guy who did nothing to qualify for a title shot is getting one for no reason other than that he’s quick with a quip. The UFC bills itself ‘as real as it gets,’ but this time, it’s nothing but a fairy tale.”

But wait, there’s more …

– As exciting as Sonnen’s hype might be, he isn’t the most exciting fighter in the cage. Through 14 fights in the UFC and WEC, he has exactly one finish — his October 2011 arm-triangle choke win over Brian Stann. Before that, his last finish in the cage was against Kyacey Uscola in SportFight in 2007.

– In his current UFC stint, he’s 5-3. And I’m not convinced he beat Michael Bisping.

– Sonnen got TWO shots at the middleweight title and lost them both. Now he’s supposed to move up and be a contender without fighting anyone else?

– After his really impressive performance in the first loss to Silva, Sonnen’s postfight drug test showed a 16.9:1 testosterone/epitestosterone ratio. It’s supposed to be 1:1. The World Anti-Doping Agency allows for natural variance up to 4:1. Nevada’s commission allows 6:1, even when Sonnen was approved for therapeutic use of synthetic testosterone.

– Other light heavyweight fighters exist.

Sure, the UFC might want to give The Ultimate Fighter a jolt, given the current ratings. (The current season isn’t bad, but for some reason, people just aren’t tuning in. Don’t tell me Friday nights are a problem, unless you’re telling me MMA fans are high school football fanatics. Or players.)

So if the UFC really wants to have Sonnen on The Ultimate Fighter, here are a couple of suggestions:

1. Have Sonnen and Jones fight a non-title catchweight bout. That way, if Sonnen somehow gets lucky and beats Jones, he’s not the “champion” of a weight class in which he has no other notable wins.

2. That Sonnen vs. Forrest Griffin rematch (Griffin beat him via first-round submission in another promotion in 2003) the UFC was planning? Put Sonnen and Griffin on TUF.

Updates: Fighters are speaking up now:

http://twitter.com/SportsMyriad/status/258562862790873088

1
mma, olympic sports

Monday Myriad: Anderson Silva, world’s greatest athlete?

Posted on by Beau Dure

Here’s a great idea for a Google Doodle or an ad campaign: Have a floating picture of Anderson Silva’s head, and tell the user to try to “punch” his head with the pointer. No matter where you point, the head floats away, and you miss.

That’s basically what Silva did to Stephan Bonnar on Saturday. Oh, you want to hit me? OK, give it a try. Here, I’ll back up against the cage. Hands down by my side. OK, go.

When Silva got bored of dodging Bonnar’s blows, he simply knocked him out. Now consider this — Bonnar had never been knocked out, excluding fights stopped because of cuts. Never. He and Forrest Griffin hit each other with everything they could throw, and both guys were still standing at the finish. Now Silva has knocked out Griffin and Bonnar in the first round.

So when we’re thinking of the world’s greatest athlete, where does this guy stand?

Also speaking of the world’s greatest, check out Usain Bolt’s second appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend. (He’s near the end of the clip.)

Other stuff that happened over the weekend:

Soccer: The U.S. men continue their bid to induce panic attacks among the fanbase, getting a 90th-minute goal to beat Antigua and Barbuda. The good news: They just need a draw on Tuesday against Guatemala to advance to the next round.

Cycling (track): No medals for the USA in the World Cup stop in Cali, Colombia. Might be because the USA only sent one cyclist, Cari Higgins, who finished fourth in the omnium.

Not much else happened over the weekend — see the Team USA wrap for more — but everything changes this week: figure skating revs up with Skate America, and the short-track speedskating World Cup starts in Calgary.

 

0
mma

The Ultimate Fighter 16, Episode 5: Lowering the bar on the 10-8 round

Posted on by Beau Dure

The recap of previous episodes reminds us that Nic Herron-Webb was kind of a jerk in the house. Really, you don’t mess with your housemates’ sleep. Mike Ricci in particular took offense.

Back in the house, Matt Secor decides to rub Julian Lane’s nose in his loss. Lane rolls with it for a bit but finally snaps, smashing a bottle and trying to get Secor to hit him. Lane’s teammates come in and calm him. Igor Araujo tells Secor to dial it down, which Secor doesn’t want to hear. Classic bully pretending he hasn’t done anything wrong.

Nelson’s team is still a little concerned about practicing only once a day. Colton Smith has an easy solution — you want a cardio workout? Run while you’re at the house!

Team Carwin has the fight pick. With the next pick … Shane Carwin … selects … zzzzzzzzzzz

What? I’m up! I’m awake! OK, it’s Nic Herron-Webb (remember the foreshadowing?) against Carwin’s Igor Araujo, who leans pretty far into Nic’s face. Igor says something about eating brains.

Bristol Marunde, sporting some nasty facial cuts from his bout with Lane, wants Igor to damage Nic’s mouth so he can’t talk.

Meet Igor Araujo — he’s Brazilian but is now at the Jackson camp in New Mexico. He’s a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, which should neutralize Nic’s strength there. And Igor’s father was a journalist! OK, we’re rooting for him now.

TUF vet Eliot Marshall comes in to work with Igor. To our surprise, Eliot knows a bit of Portuguese. Igor’s pretty happy to hear his home language.

Carwin tells us Igor is truly fighting for bread and milk. This is a good thing, apparently. And yet Carwin does pretty well fighting as a side job from his engineering career. During the next segment, Igor mentions bread and milk again.

About that next segment — Herron-Webb somehow gets Ricci’s bed on top of a gazebo in the backyard. Ricci tells Herron-Webb to go get it, but he has no leverage. He flips Herron-Webb’s hat off, at least, before going to retrieve his bed himself.

Meet Nic Herron-Webb — he’s 22 but has already created “nap-jitsu” and has a 3-year-old kid.

Igor does a tearful confession. He cries before going to sleep, thinking about his family. His son Renzo is turning 2. He says his tears make him stronger.

We get more and more pre-fight talk. Igor again talks about milk. Unlike Bristol, Igor doesn’t care about punishing Nic. Just wants to make him sleep and dream of Alaska and his bears.

Fight time: Steve Mazzagatti reffing. Igor quickly gets a takedown, then slips out of Nic’s active guard and advances to half-guard. Then to mount, though Nic nullifies it by clutching Igor’s torso. Nelson tells him, “You’ve gotta let go if you wanna win.” So Nic lets go and immediately gives up his back, taking punches to the side of the head. That’s not better. But Igor isn’t doing much, and Mazzagatti probably should’ve stood them up.

Round 2: It’s Nic on top. Igor tries to work up for a submission, but Nic maintains control and lands some sharp elbows. Then nothing. Still nothing. Still nothing. For the love of Pete, Steve Mazzagatti, will you please stand them up?! Oops .. Igor reverses. Nelson tells Nic not to fight off his back, which is too bad because he’s not bad at it. His punches force a scramble, and then Nic gets a good grip on a leglock. He can’t get it, but he reclaims top position. Nic tries some ground-and-pound as the round ends, and everyone expects a third round.

Which we don’t get, because two misguided judges think the first round was worthy of a 10-8. Um, no. Dana White visits Team Nelson to say that judging was as bad as it gets.

So it’s Igor by majority decision, and Carwin’s team is up 3-1. But Nelson still has his top two fighters.

Next week, we seem to have a bit more conflict among Team Nelson, and Carwin considers a tertiary career as a voice-over artist for self-hypnosis tapes.

1
soccer

World Cup qualifying: Minnows in!

Posted on by Beau Dure

For the USA and England, today’s World Cup qualifiers mean games against two of the smallest countries in the world. The USA faces Antigua and Barbuda (population 81,799), and England faces San Marino (31,735).

Mismatches, certainly, though Antigua’s record in international soccer is already a bit better than San Marino’s. The Caribbean nation has a couple of wins against fellow Caribbean teams that have played in the World Cup without embarrassing themselves. San Marino has won exactly once.

Perhaps San Marino would do a bit better if the European draw were different. Andorra is only a few places ahead in the FIFA rankings, yet San Marino appears to have never played its fellow European minnow. It has played a couple of friendlies against Liechtenstein, with one of them accounting for the country’s only win.

That seems unfair, but in a sense, Europe’s system is true to the spirit of the World Cup. Pedantic folks will tell you the “World Cup” includes qualifiers, and that the 32-team tournament we see every four years is the “World Cup final.” If you like the idea of every country entering the World Cup if it so chooses (and each time, only a couple of countries pass up the chance), then having San Marino participate in full on the off chance that it might occasionally tie Latvia is a very good thing.

And it leads to wonderful scenes like this — a terrific piece of television from the 90s that some kind person uploaded to YouTube. Learn all about the Faroe Islands:

1
cycling

Lance Armstrong case: Random things you should know

Posted on by Beau Dure

Questions and answers about the massive Lance Armstrong case file the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency released yesterday:

1. Is the case over?

Technically, no. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) says the International Cycling Federation has 21 days to consider case, and then WADA has 21 more. See Article 13.2.3 of the World Anti-Doping Code.

WADA can sometimes take a different approach than USADA. See the sad case of skeleton slider Zach Lund, in which USADA gave a warning but WADA took the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and got Lund kicked out of the 2006 Olympics.

But the point here is clearly reputation, not whether Armstrong is somehow able to overturn a ban when it’s clear he’s not going to contest it himself.

2. What’s the typical process for a doping case?

Positive test, “B” sample test, then a hearing. If an athlete is punished, he or she can take it to arbitrators — first within the country in question, then the international Court of Arbitration for Sport. USADA’s FAQ (“Adjudication Process”) explains it more clearly than the World Anti-Doping Code.

3. How can someone be banned without a documented test failure?

Ah, back to my old USA TODAY timeline of the BALCO case. How many hours did I devote to this page over the years?

Anyway — in May 2004, sprinter Kelli White became the first athlete with a “non-analytical positive” suspension. That’s a fancy way of saying “punished without a positive test.” White accepted her suspension. Later in 2004, Michelle Collins went through the arbitration process to challenge her “non-analytical positive.” She lost.

(For eerie foreshadowing, note June 16,2004. Marion Jones says she won’t participate in USADA’s “kangaroo court.” Seems we’ve heard similar things recently.)

4. Why now?

This wasn’t a typical USADA case triggered by a positive test, nor was there an anonymous whistle-blower as in many of the BALCO cases. USADA dates its interest in the case back to November 2008, when it had a hearing with accused cyclist Kayle Leogrande (no, I hadn’t heard of him, either). That led to some broader questions about cycling, which led to a common thread with Floyd Landis, the former 2006 Tour de France champion. Landis had fought a doping case from the Tour de France (USADA was not involved with that case, which was in the hands of French authorities) but was now in a mood to be forthcoming. (p. 10)

But USADA heard of a grand jury investigation into the U.S. Postal Service team, which included Landis … and Lance Armstrong. USADA backed off to let federal authorities do their thing. (p. 11)

That investigation ended in February, and USADA stepped up. Interviews took place through the spring. On June 12, USADA told Armstrong et al it was opening a formal action.

That notification was confidential, as are most doping cases until a result is announced — at least from USADA’s perspective. But athletes sometimes go public, and Armstrong did. Then Armstrong sued, essentially claiming USADA didn’t have jurisdiction. Honestly, USADA isn’t going to lose a case like that, and though the judge shook his head at some of USADA’s filings, he concluded that the arbitration process was reasonable.

(Note that three others, including longtime team director Johan Bruyneel, have gone to arbitration as per any other standard case.)

5. Back up to the federal investigation — how much of the USADA evidence is from that investigation?

USADA says it asked but didn’t get any. (p. 3)

6. How many riders were clean during Armstrong’s tenure as Tour de France champion?

Not many. USADA counted 36 doping cases among the 45 podium places from 1996 to 2010. (p. 7 and Appendix K)

And those are just the ones we know. Some people may have gotten away with it.

(Update: But it seems there were at least a few clean riders back in the day, according to this IM exchange. They must have been ticked off.)

7. Was the whole U.S. Postal/Discovery team involved?

One guy, Patrick Jonker, says no. But he admits he was on the “B team,” not in Armstrong’s inner circle.

8. How did Armstrong and his whole team get away with it for so long?

The George Hincapie affidavit says doping tests have improved over the years, so it would be more difficult today but wasn’t so hard a few years ago. Out-of-competition testing, when you’re really more likely to catch people, was rare a few years ago but has been stepped up. (In some years, Armstrong simply didn’t compete much in the events leading up to the Tour.) The USADA case spells out some creative evasive maneuvers.

Oh, and then there’s the witness intimidation.

9. What happens to Sporting Kansas City’s LiveStrong Park?

Nothing, KC exec Robb Heineman tells The Guardian (he happened to be in London). “We don’t stick our head in the sand… but it doesn’t change how we feel about the Foundation and the work they do.”

10. Isn’t this all a witch hunt?

What would be the motive?

Um ….

Exactly.

11. Well, what’s the harm? It’s not like people were dying.

Are you sure?

12. So the other guys say they quit?

Yes, and one cyclist, Steve Tilford, calls b.s. But he has made similar claims before, and the rebuttal was strong.

13. Will Armstrong lose his Olympic medal?

Maybe.

14. How did Jimi Hendrix figure into this?

USA TODAY dug that tidbit out. Substitute “EPO” for “Purple Haze.”

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soccer

Next U.S. women’s coach? Safe status quo vs. shakeup

Posted on by Beau Dure

U.S. Soccer faces a major question as it seeks a new women’s coach: Does the team need a tune-up or an overhaul?

Pia Sundhage did a terrific job making incremental changes and managing the big names and big personalities in the core of the U.S. team. The result: Two Olympic gold medals, second place in a classic Women’s World Cup, and all the usual wins in the usual tournaments the USA keeps dominating even as the rest of the world gets more serious about this sport.

The coaching search and speculation are heating up, and we have a couple of terrific analyses this week from Lauren Barker and Richard Farley, focusing on two and a half candidates: Notre Dame/U.S. U-23 coach Randy Waldrum and WPS/WPSL vet Paul Riley as the top two, with former U.S. coach Tony DiCicco also in the mix.

We could be way off in anointing these three as the top candidates, of course, and I’m skeptical of DiCicco’s candidacy. Barker reminds us that he left the Boston Breakers to return home to Connecticut with his family, his camp business and a large international sports network that frequently uses him as a TV analyst. (His current job, Barker says: “”ESPN Soccer Analyst/Person Who Looks Almost Orange Enough on TV To Be The Much Older Lost Jersey Shore Cast Member/Max Bretos and Bob Ley Interrupter.”) He had a fine run as U.S. coach — Olympic gold in 1996, World Cup title in 1999. But he would be in his upper 60s for the next World Cup and Olympics. Why would he want to give it another run?

Foreign coaches also could be in the mix again. Australia’s Tom Sermanni had a bit of buzz when his young team gave the USA a couple of good games. If I were hiring, I’d at least want to chat with German youth coach Maren Meinert, one of the best players in the WUSA a decade ago.

But a Waldrum-Riley race would give us a convenient contrast between insider and outsider. Waldrum, in his U23 role, has been working with many of the young players who will need to replace some of the older players over the next few years. Riley has been on the outside yelling that Pia Sundhage was ruining Amy Rodriguez.

Many fans will have preferences based on how much they love or hate Riley, who has been in the news more than Waldrum thanks to his WPS playoff runs and lively quotes. But from a hiring perspective, it’s as much about the status quo as it is about anything else.

No one thinks Sundhage’s team has been perfect. The defense has been erratic, especially without Ali Krieger. Fans scream on Twitter with every misstep in the midfield. The next coach will have to address those issues, carefully bring in new players to push those who are aging or out of form, and deal with some of the oversized personalities in the locker room.

Even an insider would have to make a few changes here and there. But an outsider could bring a different perspective to everything from the player pool to the team’s image. Would a new coach bring back Leslie Osborne and finally get to the bottom of why Lori Chalupny has been cleared to play for club but not country? If it’s Riley, would we see the return of Tasha Kai?

And what about tactics and style? The younger generations have shown more aptitude for playing the possession game Sundhage preached but never really implemented. Would a new coach press the team’s veterans to adapt?

It’s a stark choice. Which way would you go?

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cycling

Lance Armstrong case: Because you have no plans this evening

Posted on by Beau Dure

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has a long release about the Lance Armstrong investigation at its site.

But wait, there’s more.

The evidence of the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team-run scheme is overwhelming and is in excess of 1000 pages, and includes sworn testimony from 26 people, including 15 riders with knowledge of the US Postal Service Team (USPS Team) and its participants’ doping activities. The evidence also includes direct documentary evidence including financial payments, emails, scientific data and laboratory test results that further prove the use, possession and distribution of performance enhancing drugs by Lance Armstrong and confirm the disappointing truth about the deceptive activities of the USPS Team, a team that received tens of millions of American taxpayer dollars in funding. …

All of the material will be made available later this afternoon on the USADA website at http://www.usada.org.

So … shall we each take 100 pages and meet back here?

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mma

DaMarques Johnson’s UFC cut sends bad message

Posted on by Beau Dure

Let’s say you’re an MMA promoter. In fact, let’s say you’re the biggest in the world.

Your fight cards will inevitably be undercut by injuries and other changes of plans. So you’ll need to have fighters who are willing to step in on short notice.

You may even heap praise among fighters who take such calls. You may question the manhood, dedication, sanity or humanity of fighters who do not take short-notice fights.

So then why would you cut someone from your roster after they step up?

DaMarques Johnson cut from UFC roster – MMA Fighting

Let’s make this clear: Rich Attonito, according to MMA Junkie, passed on the fight against Gunnar Nelson because he was worried about making weight. But Attonito is still in the UFC. Johnson, who always put on entertaining fights and rarely leaves a fight in the hands of the judges, is not.

So let’s switch hats here. Suppose you’re a fighter, not the promoter. And Dana White calls you to say there’s a slot open on a card in four weeks. What would you say?

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mma, olympic sports, soccer

Monday Myriad: Tifo, Kimbo, figure skaters playing hoops!

Posted on by Beau Dure
OK – ready to face Kimbo?

We’re still in that lull between summer Olympic sports and winter Olympic sports, but we have plenty to report from the weekend. Names in the news include Landon Donovan, Chris Wondolowski, Brad Friedel, Kimbo Slice, Lance Armstrong, Lolo Jones, Dana White and Johnny Weir.

MLS

Nearly every game meant something …

– Columbus 1-1 Kansas City: KC only leads the East by three, and Columbus stayed within a point of the fifth playoff seed in the East.

– New York 0-2 Chicago: A massive hurt on the Red Bulls, who have just announced a front-office shakeup and dropped to fourth in the East, not yet assured of getting into the playoffs at all. Chicago‘s up to second and has clinched a berth.

– Toronto 0-1 D.C. United: United stands third, one ahead of the Red Bulls.

– Philadelphia 1-0 New England: The only game of the weekend with no playoff ramifications doomed the Revolution to ninth place in the East. The Union could still move up to seventh.

– Houston 1-1 Montreal: A little controversy, with Brian Ching‘s late goal wiped away on a late offside call. Houston is clinging to the last playoff spot, and Brad Davis‘ absence didn’t help. Summing up the East (all contenders have two games left): KC 59 pts., Chicago 56, DC 54, New York 53, Houston 50 // Columbus 49.

– Colorado 1-4 San Jose: A couple of months ago, I said Roy Lassiter‘s single-season scoring record was unbreakable. Chris Wondolowski is getting dangerously close to proving me wrong after netting a hat trick. The only other suspense for the Earthquakes is whether they’ll clinch the Supporters Shield next week — they have 64 points to KC’s 59.

– Seattle 3-0 Portland: The Sounders drew 66,452 for the big rivalry game, and neither the home team nor the home fans disappointed. Check out the Sounders’ tifo:

– Chivas USA 1-1 Dallas: Huge disappointment for Dallas, now trailing by four points for the last playoff spot in the West.

– Los Angeles 1-2 Salt Lake: From watching the first 30 minutes, you never would’ve guessed the night would end so badly for the Galaxy. But Real made a great comeback, and to make matters worse for the Galaxy (and possibly the USA), Landon Donovan is hurt.

(Highlights and so forth at The Kickoff.)

NASL

The top two seeds are in good shape after the first leg of the semifinals: San Antonio left Minnesota tied 0-0, and Tampa Bay won 2-1 at Carolina.

EUROPEAN SOCCER

Heard Barcelona-Real Madrid was terrific. Sorry to miss it.

And sorry to see the end of an era. After eight years of starting every Premier League game his club played, Brad Friedel finally surrendered the starting spot at Spurs to Hugo Lloris.

Goal of the weekend: Man U’s Tom Cleverley?

TRIATHLON

What? Lance Armstrong isn’t cleared for sanctioned races? Fine — we’ll go unsanctioned.

BOBSLED

Track and field Olympians Lolo Jones, Hyleas Fountain and Tianna Madison joined the fun at the annual U.S. push competition, with all three placing in the top 10 and Fountain barely missing the top three. Rookie Aja Evans took the win. Veteran Steve Langton won the men’s event.

CRICKET

Sri Lanka had West Indies baffled in the World Twenty20 final. The host country held the fierce West Indies batters to 32 runs in the first 10 overs, on pace to score an anemic 64. Then Marlon Samuels played the innings of a lifetime, scoring 78. West Indies scored 137 — still not a great total.

But while West Indies took a while to warm up, Sri Lanka never did. Samuels added a terrific bowling performance to his vital spell with the bat, and Sunil Narine simply mowed down Sri Lanka just as it tried to get going. With defeat all but mathematically certain, Sri Lanka gave up its 10th and final wicket, scoring just 36. West Indies took the championship.

The women’s final was considerably closer — Australia held on to beat England by four runs.

MMA

Big weekend, with cards in the UFC, Bellator, One FC and Invicta. A few of the highlights:

– The UFC’s free cards continue to be pretty good, though Travis Browne‘s injury spoiled a compelling matchup with Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva. And John Dodson is ready for his UFC flyweight title shot.

– Dana White will take a bit of flak for thinking he could bail Jeremy Stephens out of jail in time for his fight with Yves Edwards. But the UFC clearly went above and beyond for Dennis Hallman, who is in the midst of a horrible child custody dispute.

– Remember when Brett Rogers was the man? He was 10-0, having just beat Andrei Arlovski, and he arguably took a round from Fedor Emelianenko? He looked horrible in Bellator against Alexander Volkov.

– All-female Invicta FC delivered another strong card from top to bottom. If you saw a better contest than Michelle Waterson‘s bout with Lacey Schuckman this weekend, please tell me.

The weekend highlights are on a comprehensive Bloody Elbow playlist, along with this …

BOXING

I like Kimbo Slice, having met him a couple of times. But it’s a little painful to see him go from the UFC to boxing matches against guys who fall down every time he hits them. I’m sure Kimbo hits hard, but seriously? The opponent in this case was one Howard Jones, and we have to say things can only get better.

FIGURE SKATING

And finally, from the intentional humor department, here’s a group of figure skaters putting away the glitter and showing us some hoops trickery. This is clearly a parody of something I haven’t seen, but it’s still amusing, and it features nearly every skater who’ll be in the upcoming Grand Prix season (preview forthcoming). Watch the video.

But winter is fast approaching, and several figure skaters tuned up for Grand Prix action at the Finlandia Trophy, with Richard Dornbush second in the men’s competition, Mirai Nagasu third in the women’s event, Madison Hubbell/Zach Donohue third in ice dancing, and the returning Johnny Weir fourth in his first competition since the 2010 Olympics.

More Oly sports in the Team USA roundup: Vincent Hancock is still shooting well, Kim Rhode‘s a little distracted, and Janet Bawcom edged Kara Goucher in a 10-mile run.

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