NBC Sports has a great clip on former Strikeforce Lightweight Champion Gilbert Melendez, which gives you an inside look at his title defense against Josh Thomson. If you’re a fan of MMA, you’ll find the video worth your time. Check it out below:
Month: August 2008 (Page 25 of 50)
-Dodgers’ Outfielder Andre Ethier hit a two-run walk-off homer on Sunday against the Brewers in a wild 7-5 game. The home run came in the bottom of the ninth after an error-filled top of the ninth that saw the Brewers come back from a 5-1 deficit. The win has put the Dodgers into a first place tie in the NL West with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who were shutout in their game at Houston. Roy Oswalt was masterful, going eight innings, and allowing just one hit. The Astros scored all of their three runs in the first inning, and it was more than they needed.
–The Cubs went on a hitting spree against the Marlins. They scored seven runs in the eighth inning, and were able to extend their lead over the Brewers in the NL Central.
-Speaking of hitting sprees, the Baltimore Orioles were one of five teams in the American League Sunday to score in double figures. They managed to put 16 runs on the board. The Twins (11), White Sox (13), Yankees (15), and Blue Jays (15) round out the rest of the double-digit scorers.
A source told ESPN.com that Vikings’ quarterback Tarvaris Jackson suffered a sprain MCL in Minnesota’s 23-15 victory over the Ravens on Saturday.
The MCL injury could keep Jackson out of the Vikings’ preseason game next Saturday against the Steelers but the injury isn’t considered serious enough to sideline him for the start of the regular season.
Vikings coach Brad Childress labeled the injury a contusion. Jackson was hit in the knee while making a run toward the right sidelines in the first quarter of the game.
Jackson, who was seven of 11 passing for 82 yards, stayed in the game a couple of plays before the pain in the knee forced him to the ground.
Viking fans can probably breath a sign of relief, but Jackson has had knee problems before. This is arguably Jackson’s make or break season and with such high expectations, it would be a shame if he wasn’t healthy to start the season. Hopefully this report is right and the injury isn’t serious.
In the weeks leading up to the kickoff the 2008 NFL Season, I’ll take a look at position groups that could potentially lift teams to new heights, or bury them and their postseason hopes. Today I take a look at what the Seattle Seahawks’ backfield situation will be like this year without Shaun Alexander.
For the past eight seasons, Shaun Alexander has carried the Seattle Seahawks’ running game. But after years of being the Hawks’ rock in the backfield, Alexander succumbed to injuries in 2006 and 2007, which ultimately led to his release in April of this year. Free agents Julius Jones (Cowboys) and T.J. Duckett (Lions) were signed this offseason to compete with Maurice Morris to be Alexander’s replacement.
In four seasons with Dallas, Jones rushed for 3,484 yards on 885 carries (65.7 yards per game) and 18 touchdowns. Over the last two seasons, he split carries with Marion Barber, who often stole Jones’ touchdown opportunities when the Cowboys reached the goal line.
Duckett spent the last two years in Washington and Detroit after sharing a backfield with Warrick Dunn in Atlanta from 2002 to 2005. He was hobbled by nagging injuries most of last year, but he did rush for 102 yards on 15 carries in the Lions’ Week 16 victory over the Chiefs, flashing the kind of speed and power that made him a first round draft pick in 2002.
While splitting time with Alexander last year, Morris finished with 628 yards on 140 carries and four touchdowns in 2007. Until Jones and Duckett were signed, Morris was the favorite to start for Seattle, and still might be.
A potential sleeper candidate that could emerge is 2008 sixth round pick Justin Forsett, who rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown in the Seahawks’ second preseason game against the Bears. Forsett showed decent power running between the tackles and excellent quickness when he saw daylight. He was also effective on kick returns as well, and while one preseason game doesn’t make or break a player, Duckett might be on the outs if Forsett continues to flash this kind of potential.
Can Jones, Morris or Duckett/Forsett carry the Seahawks’ running game this year? All indications out of Seattle this summer have been that the Seahawks will go with a running back-by-committee in 2008. All three of these backs can be effective in doses, but none has shown the capabilities to carry a rushing load on their own. (Although in fairness to Jones, he did rush for 1,084 yards on 267 carries in 2006, which was good for a 4.1 YPC average.)
Seattle was so effective when Alexander was carrying the ball 300-plus times a year, so it’ll be interesting to see how head coach Mike Holmgren uses his backfield this season. There’s no question that quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has mastered Holmgren’s West Coast Offense, but will the running back-by-committee work or will one back have to emerge for the Seahawks to make a Super Bowl run this year? The results have been mixed so far in preseason and although the NFC West once again appears to be Seattle’s for the taking, one has to wonder if their backfield situation will cost the Seahawks a chance to make a deep run in 2008.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t on in primetime in the States (and unfortunately I missed it), but Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh dispatched Brazil in two sets, 21-18 and 21-15.
It figured to be the toughest opponent yet for the Americans, but an unheralded team from Belgium actually gave them a stiffer test in the round of 16.
Then again, this isn’t your typical Brazilian team. The No. 3 seed overall entering the tournament, yes. But it wasn’t these two women together who earned that ranking. Ana Paula is a replacement for Larissa’s regular partner Juliana Silva, who landed awkwardly in a match and injured her knee earlier this season. She declined immediate surgery in hopes of seeing her first Olympics, but two days before competition in Beijing was set to begin, Juliana withdrew. Thus, Brazilian rivals were asked to keep their country’s tradition strong.
You can’t fault a 25-year-old for desperately desiring her Olympic debut, but Juliana’s late decision appears to have ended up hurting her partner. Ana Paula arrived in China a day before the Opening Ceremony to begin training with a woman whom she had never played a prior match.
Confusion plagued the two throughout. At times it looked like Ana Paula wanted to lead, being the being the more-experienced of the two, but this was Larissa’s team. Ana Paula would have been at home watching if it weren’t for Larissa. Late in the second set, Larissa sat on a wall next to their bench to turn her whole body toward Ana Paula and lecture. No matter the reluctance a two-Olympian might have in getting instruction from someone 10 years younger, it was too little too late.
NBC will have coverage of the Americans’ next match in primetime on Monday night. In other action, Elaine Youngs and Nicole Branagh fell to Xue Chen and Zhang Xi of China in straight sets, eliminating the possibility of an All-American final.
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