Month: April 2010 (Page 15 of 64)

WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber Picks and Predictions

April 24, 2010 / Drew Ellis

World Extreme Cagefighting breaks into the Pay-Per View market on Saturday for WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber, presented by AMP Energy, from the Arco Arena in Sacramento, California.

The main card features five fights, including two title bouts. Here is a look at each fight and my expected outcomes.

WEC Featherweight Champion Jose Aldo (16-1) vs. Urijah Faber (23-3): This fight is a big one. Not just for the WEC, but for MMA as a whole. Aldo is the young phenom at 24, who has dominated his opponents in a quick and explosive fashion. Faber is the former champion who was considered an unstoppable phenom years ago. Now, at 30, a loss for Faber could change the entire outlook on his career. He will have the bonus of fighting in his hometown, but that won’t matter in the cage. Look for this fight to be explosive but for Faber to utilize his strength and wrestling to get the fight to his advantage. If Faber can survive the opening explosion from Aldo, the fight is his. I suspect Faber will survive and earn a submission win in the fourth round.

External Sports, Mixed Martial Arts, UFC

AMP Energy Anthony Njokuani Antonio Banuelos Ben Henderson Donald Cerrone Jose Aldo Manny Gamburyan Mike Brown Scott Jorgensen Shane Roller Urijah Faber WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber WEC Featherweight Championship WEC Lightweight Championship WEC World Extreme Cagefighting

Pete Carroll putting imprint on Seahawks, trades for LenDale White & Leon Washington

April 24, 2010 / Anthony Stalter

One of the reasons Pete Carroll left USC for the Seattle Seahawks in mid January of this year was because he would have the authority to determine how the franchise played football. In other words, Carroll could wipe the slate clean and bring in the type of players and staff that he wanted for his team.

On Saturday, the Seahawks acquired running backs LenDale White (Titans) and Leon Washington (Jets) in two separate draft day trades. In the acquisition of White, Seattle swapped fourth and sixth round picks with Tennessee and also acquired defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson. In the acquisition of Washington, the Hawks sent the No. 138 pick to New York and also received a seventh-round selection in the process.

White has been chopping at the bit to get out of Tennessee and now reunites with the head coach that best found ways to utilize him on the field. While at USC, Carroll used White as his physical, early-down masher and he’s expected to use the running back in a similar role in Seattle.

Many draft pundits thought that the Seahawks would draft C.J. Spiller with one of their two picks in the first round. But after acquiring Washington from the Jets (which was a steal), they got a cheaper player with a similar skill set to that of Spiller. Plus, by not drafting Spiller, the Hawks were able to nab the top rated offensive tackle in the draft in Russell Okung and the second best safety in Earl Thomas. Washington and White should work very well together in Seattle, albeit at the likely expense of Julius Jones.

It still remains to be seen whether or not Carroll can succeed in the NFL like he did at SC, but one thing is clear: he’s going to construct his team the way he wants.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

2010 NFL Draft Earl Thomas Julius Jones LenDale White Leon Washington NFL Draft Pete Carroll Russell Okung Seattle Seahawks

Raiders are a solid fit for Jason Campbell

April 24, 2010 / Anthony Stalter

Jason Campbell is getting the opportunity to start fresh. It might not be in the most ideal NFL situations, but it’s certainly a great fit for him.

On Saturday, the Redskins traded Campbell to the Raiders in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2012. There are several media outlets reporting that Campbell already has a deal in place that will pay him $3.14 million this year and $4.5 million in 2011.

Oakland is one of the few places in the NFL where players would probably rather swim in shark invested waters than go to, but this really is a great match for Campbell. He’s not an elite quarterback by any means and he certainly needs a strong supporting cast around him in order to succeed, but he should have no problems beating out JaMarcus Russell and Bruce Gradkowski for the Raiders’ starting quarterback job. He has the strong arm that Al Davis covets and has a couple of players in Zach Miller, Chaz Schilens, Darren McFadden and Michael Bush at his disposal to help him succeed in Oakland’s offense.

I don’t expect Davis to outright release Russell without at least giving him one last chance to win the starting job. But if history is any indication, even the acquisition of Campbell won’t motivate Russell enough to work hard this summer. He just doesn’t have the mental fortitude, the drive or the passion to succeed in the NFL and will likely be out of the league soon enough.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

External Sports, NFL, NFL Draft

2010 NFL Draft Bruce Gradkowski Chaz Schilens Darren McFadden JaMarcus Russell Jason Campbell Michael Bush NFL Draft Oakland Raiders Washington Redskins Zach Miller

Benavidez excited for WEC’s future, ready for title fight

April 24, 2010 / Drew Ellis

Joseph Benavidez isn’t on the card for Saturday’s WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber pay-per view, but the bantamweight fighter knows that it is an important night in his career.

As World Extreme Cagefighting jumps into the PPV world, a successful card on Saturday can lead to big things for the promotions other fighters, including Benavidez, who is one of the WEC’s brightest young stars.

“This is huge. It is the start of the WEC growing as big as the UFC,” Benavidez said of the PPV. “I am really excited about it because I know it is going to do well and it is going to give us more respect and it is going to get the fighters more money. I have gotten two bonuses from the WEC for my fights and I know it isn’t anything compared to what the UFC does. We have some great business minds running this organization, so things will be fine. I just need to stay patient and things are going to work out the best for me.”

AMP Energy sponsors Benavidez and allowed Bullz-eye to get a chance to speak with him fresh off his victory over former WEC Bantamweight champion, Miguel Torres.

External Sports, Mixed Martial Arts, UFC

AMP Energy Dominick Cruz Jose Aldo Joseph Benavidez Miguel Torres Mixed Martial Arts MMA Sacramento Arco Arena UFC Ultimate Fighting Championship Urijah Faber WEC WEC 48: Aldo vs. Faber World Extreme Cagefighting