The legend says that Ken Shamrock has long had a beef about UFC 1, griping that he wasn’t allowed to bring his wrestling shoes into the cage because they were deemed a “weapon,” while Royce Gracie was allowed to wear the gi he used to choke Shamrock into submission.

In the years that followed, mixed martial arts developed the Unified Rules. No eye-gouging, no slippery substances, etc.

And yet, in the course of specifying how many feet of tape can be used to tape a fighter’s hands (10), no one thought to say anything about bringing objects into the cage.

Yes, this came up over the weekend. Ben Henderson allegedly had a toothpick in his mouth during his fight with Nate Diaz. Let Luke Thomas point out all the reasons why this is a really stupid thing to do.

And yet apparently not illegal. Technically, it doesn’t appear to be illegal to bring a chair into the cage and whack someone with it.

The only argument I could see would be that the rules describe “unarmed combat.” If a fighter has a toothpick, is he armed?

Another point from the rules that applies to the Henderson-Diaz fight: “using abusive language” is illegal. Middle fingers seem to be OK. Congratulations, Nate.

mma

The Ultimate Fighter 16: The final recap

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Beau Dure

The final episode of TUF Smashes, the UK-vs.-Australia season, also concluded a few days ago. The last episode featured good-natured toasts between two teams who have come to respect each other, then a stellar submission by Colin Fletcher. Maybe Fletcher’s fight against the far smaller Richie Vaculik looked like a giraffe fighting a gnat, but give actor/surfer Vaculik some credit for taking the fight to him.

We also saw Valentino Petrescu showcasing his juggling skills from his circus days. And a lot of laughter. If you saw any of these guys on a fight card, you’d be likely to root for them.

Back to the USA. Yes, we have to.

Team Nelson seems unhappy. Joey Rivera says he feels “jaded” by Roy’s practices.

The word “jaded” can mean “worn out or worried, as by overwork or overuse,” but the team has griped all season over a lack of practice time, so that can’t be it. Another meaning: “dulled or satiated by overindulgence.” Is that some sort of crack about Roy’s belly?

Rivera also complains that there was no synergy. OK, now we’re in a Dilbert cartoon. Maybe Roy should’ve proactively enabled his team to feel empowered to streamline operations into a client-based operation. Bingo!

Of course, we don’t get much of a discussion of Nelson’s assistant coaches, one of whom is fighting for the UFC lightweight championship Saturday night. Well, maybe a passing reference to the Skrap Pack.

Then we go straight to the fights. Colton Smith fights in the second-tightest shorts ever seen in the Octagon without losing a bet (tightest: Mike Easton) and wears down Jon Manley in the 12th fight out of 13 this season to go the distance. And just as the Knockout of the Season bonus is about to go unclaimed, Mike Ricci knocks Neil Magny cold with an elbow. Magny awakes and starts grappling with referee Steve Mazzagatti, thinking he’s still in a fight.

Ricci says he choked up a bit afterward because he hurt a friend of his. Somewhere in Canada, Michael Hill is throwing a shoe at a TV screen, remembering the days when HE was Ricci’s BFF.

So the final features the ultrasmug Ricci, who threw fellow Canadian Hill under the bus, against Smith, who won his prelim after he faked the traditional touch of gloves at the beginning. In fairness, Smith seemed to be a good guy in the house, but the “liberal tree-huggers” among my neighbors would like a word with him.

The top talent of the season is clearly Danny Downes. No, he wasn’t on the show, but the fighter is a terrific episode recapper.

Someone might surprise us. Smith and Ricci could mature. Magny is one to watch, even if Dana White has followed through on his threat to keep all these guys off the finale. Manley and Sam Alvey have a bit of potential.

But this fall’s TUF experience raises a big question: If the UFC is running a good solid version of The Ultimate Fighter somewhere else on the planet, why do an inferior version at “home”?

olympic sports

How not to play youth sports, Russian hockey version

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Beau Dure

Fighting in the NHL and Canadian junior hockey is governed by a strict code. The parts leading up to the fight are nonsensical — it all has to do with calling people to account for dirty plays, except that it somehow ends up in the hands of two enforcers fighting each other over stuff involving their teammates. But the fight itself is arranged fairly.

You don’t pummel people when they’re down — it’s one thing to do that on a mat in MMA, quite another to do it on ice. And the fight is supposed to be the safety valve that stops you from doing anything dirtier — a shot to someone’s knee, a vicious cross-check — in retaliation.

These Russian kids have seen a few fights, but they haven’t learned the code. And it doesn’t look like anyone’s trying to teach them. And it’s ugly.

olympic sports, winter sports

Myriad Questions for … Holly Brooks, cross-country skier

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Beau Dure

The long-awaited second installment of Myriad Questions features cross-country skier Holly Brooks, who has the typical Olympic story: College athlete who never attracted much attention, then found work coaching in Alaska after graduation. Then after a couple of years, she suddenly realizes she’s starting to get pretty good and ends up in the Olympics, then finishing in the top five in a World Cup and third in a relay a couple of seasons later.

Wait … maybe that’s not so typical. That’s the winter-sports equivalent of The Rookie.

She keeps up a lively blog of the World Cup travel grind, and she answered a few questions for us from somewhere along the road.

(This weekend, though, the World Cup circuit comes back to North America for sprints in Quebec City — USSA will broadcast online at 2 p.m. ET Friday and 1:15 p.m. ET Saturday. The Friday race is a team sprint; Brooks will be paired with Ida Sargent. Next week, the World Cup moved to Canmore, Alberta, which will feature some of the distance races — Brooks’ strength.)

1. Top five in an individual World Cup! And third in a relay! Could you have imagined that three years ago?

ABSOLUTELY NOT. Three years ago I was coaching junior skiers…. I had no real race aspirations of my own and I certainly wasn’t a member of the USST, attending World Cups, etc. Three years ago I was just starting to compete nationally. I was a regular in the Anchorage Cup Town Series. The opening weekend in Gallivare blew my mind. If I can be fifth in a World Cup then I’m pretty sure it can happen to anyone!

2. Can you describe the “reindeer chair” in which you were sitting while you had the lead?

It’s basically a chair, covered in blankets and furs….. it’s stationed right at the finish line so you can have a view of all the current splits, see different shots from around the race course and get an idea of whether your time will hold up or not. I’ve never sat in that chair before and the night before the race when I heard I was bib #6 I made it a priority to land there! I thought I would be there for five minutes… not 25 minutes so I didn’t change out of my wet race clothes or anything. It was one of the more exhilarating moments of my career as a skier!

3. Who came up with the mismatched striped socks for the relay?

Our team picked them up at a convenience store in Germany in the middle of the Tour de Ski last year. Our team was actually stopped in a small town in order for me to get a removable cast (I broke my wrist on Christmas four days before Tour de Ski – then finished 9 races with broken bone!) ….. We wore them for the first time in the Czech Republic relay when we had our “best ever” 5th place….. after that, they became a staple. We like to spruce up the relays with face paint, face glitter & socks. There is certainly a correlation between having fun and skiing fast – both of which are priorities for our team.

4. You had a lot of banners supporting you at the Olympics. Have you had some support on the World Cup circuit this season?

The Olympics were awesome because Vancouver was half way between where I live – Alaska – and where I grew up – Seattle. I had friends, family & people that I coached… I must have had 40 people specifically cheering for me in the 30k. The World Cup isn’t quite the same because it’s so far from home. I’m really looking forward to the World Cups coming up here in Canada because we’ll have a bunch of people specifically cheering for us. “Home Course” advantage!

5. Aside from fans and family with banners, do you have a lot more support for your career now that you’ve been in the Olympics and have World Cup experience?

I have some really supportive sponsors who have joined up to help fund me. At this point I am an entirely self-funded athlete. This winter on the World Cup is forecasted to cost me $25,000 and I couldn’t do it without help from Carlile Transport, The Rhyneer Clinic, Northern Fruit Company & Conoco Phillips. All of our European competitors are horrified when they find out that a handful of us are self funded – and that we’re away from our homes for five months, November – March.

6. What’s the dirtiest tactic a fellow skier has used in competition?

For the most part cross country skiers have great sportsmanship. Perhaps my favorite part of the sitting in the Reindeer Chair in Gallivare was the fact that most competitors came up to shake my hand and congratulate me on my good race. It was an incredible experience and I was really impressed! As far as dirty tactics, cutting you off, blocking, shoving….. it can get aggressive out there!

7. Which cross-country skier would be best in roller derby?

I would put my money on Ida Ingemarsdotter of Sweden. She’s really big and really, really aggressive.

8. Brussel sprouts? Really? You like Brussel sprouts?

Yes – NO JOKE. I LOVE brussel sprouts to the extent that I actually bought some at the grocery in Sweden and hauled them to Finland where we had a cabin and I could cook them up. Having a “little taste of home” can do wonders for making you feel more comfortable on the road. Plus, brussel sprouts are an amazing source of iron which is important for energy levels.

9. What’s the worst food you’ve had on your travels?

The food was horrendous last year in Rybinsk, Russia. I like to call the buffet on the world cup the “food trough.” It’s kind of like pigs coming to feed…. sometimes you just entirely lose your appetite. I’m not a big fan of raw beef… that was rough.

10. You actually update your website, unlike a lot of athletes I could mention. Do you get a lot of feedback on it?

Yeah, I do. It’s my way of keeping in touch with friends and family back home. I don’t have a phone or anything that works in Europe so things like Facebook and my blog are really important for not dropping off the face of the earth. I try really hard to update my site but internet can be scare. I’m hoping that someday a big sponsor will drop out of the sky and fund an international, world wide cell phone. I’m married and five months away from my husband is a bit rough at times.

11. Are the ads on European television funnier than the ads on American television?

I absolutely LOVE seeing my fellow World Cup competitors on TV in ads. Sometimes they’re funnier or maybe even cooler, partially because you can’t understand what they’re saying. I really wish that I spoke German or Swedish because we really miss out on a lot of the “media stuff” not being able to understand.

12. What was the most inconvenient timing you’ve ever experienced on a drug test?

Two minutes after you’re peed in the morning is pretty darn inconvenient. I’ve shared entire pots of coffee with testers trying to drum up a sample… This fall in Park City USADA came for urine and blood for at least 10 athletes on the team. That equated to a wasted morning of training delays.

13. Who’s the best athlete in Alaska history?

That’s a really difficult question. I suppose it depends on what sports you value and what accomplishments you think are most notable. We have incredible dog mushers in Alaska…. but I’d be tempted to say that my teammate Kikkan is high on the list. I admire people who set big goals and attain them – especially when they do things that have never been done before.

Follow Holly Brooks on Twitter at @brooksha1

olympic sports, track and field

Sorry we’re late, Adam — here’s your gold medal

Posted on December 6, 2012 by Beau Dure

Those of you who complain about drug-testing authorities going back and stripping away most of Lance Armstrong’s career accomplishments should enjoy seeing the other side of the process: U.S. shot putter Adam Nelson is now the gold medalist in the Athens (2004) Olympics, thanks to a re-test of Yuriy Bilonog’s thawed urine. That sequence of events sounds more archaeological than medical, but the IOC has acted to reassign the medals.

One irony here: In 2004, Adam Nelson had one of the funniest stories about USADA out-of-competition testing. Who knew my hometown of Athens (Georgia, not Greece) was such a party town?

So Nelson gets the medal. But he can never re-create the medal ceremony from ancient Olympia, surely the most amazing atmosphere for a shot put competition in the last millennium or two.

But with a little creativity, sponsors can make up for the marketing opportunities he missed. Maybe Nelson can be at line at the DMV: “You think this is a long wait? I waited eight years to get my gold medal!” Or he could stand alone at Olympia humming the national anthem to himself. Or a shoddy delivery service can hand him a beat-up package with a medal inside, and Nelson can say the IOC should’ve used FedEx.

Maybe combine generations in an ad. It’s about time something impressed McKayla.

soccer

Bradenton residency, Class of 1999: Where are they now?

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Beau Dure

Is U.S. Soccer’s Bradenton program adequately preparing players for soccer careers? Or college? Or anything else?

Those questions popped into my head in thinking about several youth sports and college sports questions. Some of my Twitter buddies seem convinced that college sports (“big-time” college sports, at least) are nothing more than a holding pen for people trying to go pro, apparently not buying the NCAA ads in which a bunch of perky people with microscopes say they’re going pro in something other than sports.

As U.S. soccer “academy” programs drift downward in age groups, perhaps we need to be asking more questions. What happens to players who give up significant chunks of their childhoods for soccer?

We won’t be able to track every single player who passes through the Development Academy. But we can take a look at a few specific groups, particularly from the U-17 residency program in Bradenton, and see how they fared.

So what better place to start than the original Bradenton class?

A few of these players don’t require any detective work. We know where to find Oguchi Onyewu, Kyle Beckerman, DaMarcus Beasley and Bobby Convey. There’s also another guy named Donovan who may have been in the news recently.

And then I’m not the first person to try this. Soccernet checked in on the Spring 1999 players in 2008. So all I’m doing here is updating and adding the players added in the fall. LinkedIn helps.

For other info, I’m open to crowd-sourcing. If you find anything about these players that I’ve missed, please mention them in the comments. I was going to list each player’s youth clubs, but their bios tend to start with Bradenton and mention a high school but not a club. Funny how things change.

Nelson Akwari: Went to UCLA, then through an assortment of MLS and USL teams — MetroStars, Columbus, Real Salt Lake, Charlotte, Charleston, Vancouver (pre-MLS), Los Angeles Blues. Didn’t play in 2012, but an RSL blog caught up with him and found him finishing school, starting a family and considering a return at some point.

DaMarcus Beasley: Funny how everyone frets about Donovan not playing in Europe, and then few people pay attention to Beasley, who did it in a big way. After a good run with Chicago, he went to PSV and started in a Champions League semifinal. He went on a yearlong loan to Manchester City, but injuries started to take a toll. He moved to Rangers instead and played less and less each year, eventually moving to Germany’s Hannover and all but disappearing. Now building his career back up with Mexico’s Puebla and looking for a national team return, having already played in three World Cups.

Kyle Beckerman: Brief stop with Miami, where he spent much of his time on loan to the Project-40 team for young reserves that played in the A-League (now USL, not Australia!). Then a long stay with Colorado before hopping over the Rockies to Real Salt Lake, where he has been a cornerstone of a successful team. Also gets occasional national team calls.

Danny Bolin: Spring 1999 only; didn’t play in U17 World Cup. Wikipedia sometimes puts things so well: Bolin is listed as a “former U.S. soccer midfielder and current helicopter pilot in the United States Air Force.” Sums it up pretty well. He started out at soccer power Wake Forest, then transferred to the Air Force Academy and moved into the military from there. Don’t say Bradenton didn’t recruit overachievers. The most recent substantive Wikipedia edit, which isn’t sourced, is from 2011. Any update?

Filippo Chillemi: Spring 1999 only; didn’t play in U17 World Cup. Went to Notre Dame and injured his ankle in practice, colliding with fellow residency grad Greg Martin, the Soccernet roundup reports. Still got a bit of pro experience in Italy before deciding on his fallback career — medicine. Again with the overachievers. Looks like he’s a resident at South Alabama now, unless there are two young orthopaedic surgeons in the USA named Filippo Chillemi.

Jordan Cila: Went to Duke and took some flak for not going pro right away. Finished up at school and went undrafted, then clawed his way onto MLS rosters at Colorado, Real Salt Lake and New York. Now he’s an analyst at Goldman Sachs. That “college degree” thing seems to be working for him.

Bobby Convey: The youngest MLS signee at the time, joining D.C. United at age 16. Went to England and helped Reading win promotion to the Premier League. Then came the knee problems. He returned to MLS with San Jose and then Kansas City.

D.J. Countess: Goalkeeper had a stellar youth career and a good year at UCLA before briefly to the MetroStars and then to Dallas, where he seemed to be the goalkeeper of the future. Then off to Chicago, where we wound up as a backup, then to expansion Salt Lake, where he was shelled. Stops in Sweden, Chile and Argentina followed, and a wrist injury ruined his career. The Offside Rules found his 2009 wedding video, calling it “100% baller” and “an advert for affluence.” I’m surprised it wasn’t on MTV. The production quality is unreal. I can find absolutely no record of him after that, including any confirmation of the anonymous rumor on The Offside Rules’ comments that they did not live happily ever after.

Steve Cronin: Goalkeeper went from Santa Clara to San Jose (briefly) and then to Los Angeles, where he was the backup on the MLS Cup-winning team of 2005. He started for the 2008 Galaxy, then moved into the USL with Portland. After bouncing back and forth between Portland and D.C. United, he went clubless in 2012. His Twitter feed has given a few updates — he’s a father, he’s retired and …

What's up tweople. Been a bit absent, but I have been worminghard and I can now announce….I am going to be a State Farm Agent!

— Steve Cronin (@Cronin_Keeper) April 14, 2012

Kenny Cutler: Went to Clemson and had a few years with Real Salt Lake and then the USL’s Richmond Kickers. Then he disappeared and … oh, nope — like Cila, he’s at Goldman Sachs, except that he’s based in Salt Lake City.

Justin Detter: Fall 1999 only; didn’t play in U17 World Cup. Played at Notre Dame along with Chillemi and Martin. Made the Kansas City roster but didn’t get above developmental level. Now a facilities manager in Michigan.

Landon Donovan: Whereabouts unknown. For the moment, anyway.

Adolfo Gregorio: To UCLA, then England’s Darlington, then Real Salt Lake, for whom he played six games in 2005. Went back to run Pro Soccer shop in Modesto and was profiled in the local business press this year for taking advantage of lower property values. Sharp guys in this class.

Bryan Jackson: Made the rounds in Europe, getting a rough start to his career, before retiring to be a sports performance coach in New York. One woman from his class left a review calling him a “cutie who reeks of euro-cool.” But he’s also a tough trainer, apparently.

Kellen Kalso: Played at Michigan State and spent a few years managing restaurants. This fall, he moved to ESPN as a sports development manager. Twitter account says he’s going for an MBA and is an aspiring pro golfer.

Greg Martin: Notre Dame captain went into the energy field. This year, he founded a company called EdgePoint, which “represents the next generation of smart grid solutions.”

Oguchi Onyewu: Starting defender for Spain’s Malaga, which won Champions League Group C ahead of his former team, Milan. Take that! Also has a reputation for reducing Mexican forwards to tears and frustration. Just look at this picture. And he and Jay DeMerit will be forever famous for shutting down Spain in the 2009 Confederations Cup semifinals.

Raul Rivera: Spring 1999 only; didn’t play in U17 World Cup. NSCAA junior college All-American (a division below Dane Richards and Omar Cummings). Spent a lot of time with the PDL’s Fresno Fuego but took 2010 off to work on his degree. Showed up for Fuego preseason in 2011 but wasn’t on season roster. The Soccernet piece said he was also working with van customizer SportsMobile. Found nothing after that.

Matt Roberts: Spring 1999 only; didn’t play in U17 World Cup. Declined to be interviewed for Soccernet piece. Went to Maryland and made the ACC honor roll.

Abe Thompson: Fall 1999 only but DID play in U17 World Cup. Went to Maryland, played a few years in MLS with Dallas, Kansas City and Houston, played a bit for the NASL’s Fort Lauderdale Strikers and then retired this fall to move into the USL’s administrative ranks.

Seth Trembly: Might be best known for missing a Colorado Rapids game to go to his prom. Played a bit with Colorado and Salt Lake over the next few years and was RSL’s Humanitarian of the Year in 2006. Moved into youth coaching with Colorado Rush and now with Albion Soccer Club in San Diego.

Peter Withers: Fall 1999 only; didn’t play in U17 World Cup. Played for Ohio State and went on to work for adidas, where he’s now soccer sports marketing manager.

Alexander Yi: Went to UCLA, then Belgium’s Royal Antwerp, then FC Dallas. Hamstring problems ended his career, and he went back to school — first at Dayton, where he also started coaching, then back at UCLA, where he also works with the Galaxy’s academy program.

So leave any other updates and observations in the comments. Which class should we do next?

olympic sports

Olympics back to Utah? Yes, please

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Beau Dure

Sure, I’m biased. I have souvenirs from the 2002 Olympics all over my house. I was thrilled to get the opportunity to go back to Utah a few years later.

But the fact remains: Few cities around the world are ideally suited to host the Winter Olympics. Most host cities are vaguely close to some mountains. In Salt Lake, it’s all right there. And it’s all in great shape — Utah Olympic Park (sliding track, ski jumps) and the speedskating oval are still in steady use.

Cross-country skiing and biathlon is the one exception, requiring a trip out to Soldier Hollow so the skiers aren’t up in the mountains without any air. Curling and one hockey venue were farther away in 2002 — a closer arena this time would make the Games even less of a logistical problem. (Hockey in Rio Tinto Stadium? Probably not, but it’d be nice to throw Sandy something.)

The downside of Utah in the IOC’s eyes is that U.S. investigators laid bare the culture of bribery in the bidding process. (Switzerland may also have paid the price for harboring a whistleblower.) At some point, the dignitaries who expected whining/dining/bribing as part of the bidding process will be out of the picture. Time wounds all heels.

Here’s the story: Salt Lake City wants to host Winter Olympics again.

mind games, olympic sports, soccer, winter sports

Monday Myriad: Old Norway, overcome with joy

Posted on December 3, 2012September 8, 2017 by Beau Dure

From the chessboard to the cross-country ski trails, Norway had a very good weekend.

Tora Berger was a mild surprise. She’s one of the world’s best biathletes, with a handful of Olympic and World Championship gold medals to prove it. But biathletes typically don’t win three races in the same weekend, which is exactly what she did in neighboring Sweden.

Marit Bjoergen, on the other hand, does this sort of thing on occasion. She won most of the cross-country skiing events contested the 2010 Olympics and 2011 World Championships. She, like Berger, took the natural hat trick this weekend.

But for epic all-time greatness, the big Norwegian winner is Magnus Carlsen, who can now stake a claim to being The Best Chess Player of All Time, at least unofficially. By rating, he has now slightly surpassed Garry Kasparov‘s record rating of 2851. Not bad for a guy who just turned 22. (If you like to dive into the methodology, start at this roundup of various attempts to rate the best ever, then call Nate Silver.)

Also, Aksel Lund Svindal leads the men’s Alpine World Cup standings over the USA’s Ted Ligety. He won it in 2007 and 2009. Seems like he’s been around forever, but he won’t turn 30 until later this month.

Here’s what else happened over the weekend while we were mourning Georgia’s SEC loss and watching Beckham’s back-to-back …

ALPINE SKIING

Women’s World Cup, Lake Louise, Alberta: Lindsey Vonn — the same Lindsey Vonn whose general health was in serious question a couple of weeks ago — won a downhill. And another one. And then a super-G. Vonn is the first skier to win three races at the same venue in two different seasons.

Here she is:

If you’d prefer to see her scramble out of trouble, check this one:

And more U.S. women were in the mix — Stacey Cook was second in each downhill, Julia Mancuso was second in the super-G, and the USA had six of the top 20 in the second downhill (Vonn, Cook, Mancuso 9th, Alice McKennis 11th, Laurenne Ross 18th, Leanne Smith 20th).

The USA has four women in the World Cup top 10: Vonn 3rd, Cook 5th, Mancuso t-6th, Mikaela Shiffrin 10th.

Men’s World Cup, Beaver Creek, Colo.: Ted Ligety joked after Saturday’s super-G:

Have to smile. Another superg wooden spoon. Good crowd on hand. http://t.co/JVoRjoLr

— Ted Ligety (@tedligety) December 1, 2012

Isn’t the wooden spoon typically last place, not fourth? In any case, he can quit fretting about it now: He won Sunday’s giant slalom so convincingly that his rivals called him “unbeatable” in the event.

The speed events were much better for the Italians than the Americans: Christof Innerhofer won the downhill, and Matteo Marsaglia won the super-G.

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING

World Cup, Kuusamo, Finland: Unique format this weekend — a three-race mini-tour with a sprint, a short freestyle (5k women/10k men) and a classical pursuit (10k/15k). Maret Bjoergen took away the need for any math by winning all three events on the women’s side.

Among Americans — Kikkan Randall has suddenly flipped from contending in the sprints to contending in the distance races, finishing second in the freestyle and holding on for fifth overall despite being knocked out in the sprint semifinals. Ida Sargent also made the sprint semis and took 18th overall. The others were all in the top 24: Liz Stephen 17th, Holly Brooks 22nd, Jessie Diggins 24th.

In the men’s event — yet another Norwegian? Yes, it was Petter Northug taking the overall. Only three of the six Americans finished the last event. Noah Hoffman had the only top-20, finishing 19th in the freestyle.

SKI JUMPING

World Cup, Kuusamo, Finland: No Americans made the trip. Germany won the team event and the individual (Severin Freund).

NORDIC COMBINED

World Cup, Kuusamo, Finland: France’s Jason Lamy Chappuis, while American Bryan Fletcher kept up a string of promising performances with a 14th-place finish.

SPEEDSKATING

World Cup, Astana, Kazakhstan. Shani Davis was the only U.S. skater competing, and his win in the 1,500 meters broke up a Dutch men’s sweep. Jorrit Bergsman won the 10,000; the Netherlands won the team pursuit.

Canadian women had two wins — the team pursuit and Christine Nesbitt in the 1,500. The Czech Republic’s Martina Sablikova won the 5,000.

SHORT-TRACK SPEEDSKATING

World Cup, Nagoya, Japan: Not a great weekend for U.S. women — none made a final, and Jessica Smith‘s seventh-place finish in the 1,500 was the top result.

A but better for the men: J.R. Celski (2nd, 1,000 and 7th, 1,500) and Travis Jayner (3rd, 500) made finals. Jeff Simon made a pair of semifinals.

BIATHLON

World Cup, Oestersund, Sweden: Jean Philippe Le Guellec is the first Canadian man to win a World Cup event, shooting cleanly to win the sprint. For the Americans, Tim Burke showed some signs of snapping into form, finishing 18th in the sprint and 15th in the pursuit. Susan Dunklee was the only U.S. woman to qualify for the pursuit, finishing 39th.

Tora Berger (see above) won all three women’s events; France’s Martin Fourcade won the men’s individual and pursuit.

LUGE

World Cup, Koenigssee, Germany: The host country swept the men’s podium, with Chris Mazdzer 16th and Taylor Morris 22nd. And they took four of the top five places in the women’s race, interrupted only by Canada’s Alex Gough in third. American women finished in pairs: Erin Hamlin and Emily Sweeney 11th/12th, Kate Hansen/Julia Clukey 20th/21st.

And in the doubles, it was … Germany, 1-2. Matthew Mortensen/Preston Griffall finished 11th; Jake Hyrns/Andrew Sherk 17th.

CYCLING

Cyclocross World Cup, Roubaix, France: It’s all about Katie Compton, who came back on the last lap for her third win of the World Cup season.

GYMNASTICS

World Cup, Stuttgart, Germany: Elizabeth Price, an alternate for the 2012 Olympic team, won the all-around. Danell Leyva had the highest score on horizontal bar and placed fifth in the all-around.

WEIGHTLIFTING

American Open, Palm Springs, Calif.: This was held. Not sure what’s up with results.

MMA

Bellator: Andrey Koreshkov, whose name sounds like a former Yes keyboardist but isn’t, remained unbeaten in winning the welterweight tournament final over Lyman Good. And we welcome Kala Hose back to … what? Knocked out in 22 seconds by Doug Marshall?

BAMMA: Alex Reid — to my knowledge, the only MMA fighter to fare better on Celebrity Big Brother than on The Ultimate Fighter — is back with a win.

KSW: UFC veterans Kendall Grove and Rodney Wallace traveled to Poland and lost. Grove at least lost to a strong opponent — Mamed Khalidov, the highest-ranked middleweight outside the UFC and Strikeforce.

Cage Contender: TUF alum Martin Stapleton won an old-school, one-night tournament that would never be allowed in the USA today.

RUGBY

Sevens World Series, Dubai: Samoa beat New Zealand 26-15 in the final. The USA beat Spain and put up good fights against France and South Africa but was oddly blown out by Canada.

Friendly: One of England’s “great victories in their history,” the BBC’s Tom Fordyce says, as New Zealand fell 38-21.

JUDO

Grand Slam, Tokyo: Didn’t see any Americans in the top eight.

mma

The Ultimate Fighter 16, Episode 11: Blame Canada!

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Beau Dure

Time for the showdown of friends and teammates — Jon Manley and Joey Rivera. They praise each other and hug. And Team Carwin thinks Team Nelson hasn’t bonded …

Colton Smith is cornering Manley. Cameron Diffley is cornering Rivera. Dana White is giddy. Denny’s is the sponsor. Herb Dean is the ref. They’re both 7-1. We haven’t heard anything from Julian Lane yet. This is exciting stuff.

After some standing exchanges, Manley rushes into Rivera and pushes him to the cage. Smith and Diffley keep up steady streams of positive reinforcement, like coaches who just walked out of a Positive Coaching Alliance workshop. (Hey, it’s a good program. Based on John Wooden’s ideals, so you can’t say it’s not old-school.)

Rivera reverses and gets a grip on a guillotine, but Manley reverses and finally gets the takedown. But somehow, he ends up in awful positions. The momentum swings back and forth like a table tennis referee’s eyes following the ball. (Sorry — I’ve seen that “bad high school analogies” meme maybe 10 times this week on Facebook.) Rivera gets Manley’s back and goes for the choke. Manley slips out and gets back on top. Rivera gets a triangle attempt. Manley escapes. Rivera goes for an armbar. Manley gets side control. That’s where Round 1 ends, and that probably means Manley took it 10-9.

In Round 2, Rivera spends the first 3:30 showing off his outstanding takedown defense. Manley finally gets the takedown and gets in side control. Somehow Rivera gets a triangle attempt. But Manley slips out.

Dana White recap: Rivera looked like he was on Xanax.

Jarman had it 19-19, but the other two judges correctly scored it 20-18 for Manley. Not a great fight — the friendship certainly played a factor. Manley, who has THE ONLY FINISH SO FAR THIS SEASON, is disappointed in his performance despite the win.

Then we go to the former best buds from Canada, Mike Ricci and Michael Hill, who start arguing in the house over something having to do with sauce being sabotaged. This leads to one of the dumbest trash-talk exchanges in TUF history.

Ricci: “You’ll get your chance.”

Hill: “You’ll get YOUR chance.”

Then we have an ad for the U.S. Marines, with Mike Ricci. Who’s Canadian. This is the most embarrassing moment for Canada since Bryan Adams released “Summer of ’69.”

Hill actually reminds us of a mulleted Bruce McCullough character from Kids in the Hall.

The fight starts with some modest fireworks, and Hill lands one or two decent shots. But when Ricci gets Hill to the ground, Hill’s defense sags. Ricci looks like he’s posturing up to try the Michael Scott “spit in Dwight’s mouth” technique, which is indeed illegal under the Unified Rules of MMA.

But instead, Ricci does a bit of damage. The horn sounds before he can do any significant work toward a submission.

In Round 2, Ricci gets it to the ground quickly and takes Hill’s back. Hill stands, but Ricci drapes himself on Hill’s back as they do the Pilobolus. They fall to the mat with Ricci punching away, and coach Roy Nelson is reduced to profanities. Hill manages to stand again, but Ricci gets a good solid grip on a rear naked choke and … loses it. Hill actually stands and lands a couple of consolation strikes before the horn sounds.

Judges couldn’t get it wrong if they tried. 20-18 x3 for Ricci.

Shane Carwin speaks for the first time in the episode. Don’t remember what he said. Dana White isn’t impressed with Hill’s ground game.

In the three remaining minutes, we get the semifinal pairings:

Jon Manley (Nelson) vs. Colton Smith (Nelson). Another buddy vs. buddy.
Mike Ricci (Carwin) vs. Neil Magny (Carwin)

On the next episode … the semifinals. And they say one thing is for sure — there will be a knockout. That means there’s another thing for sure — a semifinalist is getting the Knockout of the Season bonus, unless they give it for one of the prelims.

But before we leave, let’s forget about Ricci and Hill, remembering some of the many good things about Canada:

Sarah McLachlan
Rush
Whistler
Kids in the Hall
Toronto
Dwayne De Rosario
Christine Sinclair
Kara Lang
Health care
European candies not available in the USA
The CBC
Curling

Duresport.com