Month: July 2010 (Page 46 of 62)

      Brock Lesnar: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly of his UFC 116 Victory

      July 8, 2010 /
      Nov 15, 2008 - Las Vegas, Nevada, USA - UFC's BROCK LESNAR celebrates his victory over Champion RANDY COUTURE in their title fight Saturday, Nov. 15, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV. Lesnar won the title and the fight in 3:07 of the second round after the referee stopped the fight Photo via Newscom

      I wanted to chew on UFC 116 for a few days before I really made any statements about it. The event took place last Saturday and featured the heavyweight collision between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin.

      Lesnar won the fight by second round submission after taking a pummeling from Carwin in round one. It was a compelling fight and very entertaining, but I think Lesnar is garnering a little too much praise for his performance. While you have to give credit where credit is due, as he won the fight, Lesnar looked far from polished. Here is a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from his title defense.

      The Good: Obviously the good came in the win. He survived a hail storm and still came out in the second round and was aggressive. Lesnar also showed improved skills on the ground, as he scored a takedown and transitioned into mount and then into a head-and-arm choke from side control. These were all things he probably couldn’t do two years ago. I was also impressed with the way Lesnar handled himself after the fight. He seems to have embraced a little humanity since his health scare in November.

      Continue reading »

      External Sports, Mixed Martial Arts, UFC

      Fan falls from second deck at Rangers game, but is doing okay

      July 7, 2010 /

      During Nelson Cruz’s at bat in the fifth inning of the Rangers-Indians game on Tuesday night, a 25-year-old fan fell 30 feet from the second deck of Rangers Ballpark in Arlington as he tried to reach for a foul ball. The man was immediately strapped to a stretcher and taken to a Dallas hospital, where he remains responsive.

      From the Dallas News:

      Nelson Cruz was batting with two outs against Justin Masterson when he lofted a foul ball down the first-base line. The ball sailed some three rows aboveMorris’ head and caromed back toward the field of play.

      He lost his balance as he reached for the ball. He appeared to land on his right side as he came down on a couple seated in section 35, directly below his seat. On his way down, he also struck a man in the shoulder, and he hit a boy in the face with his shoe.
      They were all treated at a first aid station at the stadium, Ryan said, and stayed for the rest of the game.
      Emergency personnel was quick to respond and had removed the man within 10 minutes. Four other fans who were injured by his fall were treated at the first-aid station in the ballpark and were not transported to the hospital.
      The game was stopped for 16 minutes, and several players on the field looked shaken.

      Here’s a live video of the on-field reaction by the fans and players. While it doesn’t show the man falling, it’s still terrifying to listen to the announcer and watch the reaction of people in the stadium.

      External Sports, MLB, Video

      Adrian Wojnarowski evicerates Team LeBron

      July 7, 2010 /
      REFILE - CORRECTING YEAR Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James looks on during the second quarter of Game 1 of their NBA Eastern Conference playoff series against the Chicago Bulls in Cleveland, April 17, 2010.REUTERS/Aaron Josefczyk (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT BASKETBALL)

      Rather quietly, Wojnarowski has turned into one of the best NBA writers out there. Here are the first three paragraphs of his column about the current state of Team LeBron. (Parents may want to ask the kids to leave the room.)

      The Championship of Me comes crashing into a primetime cable infomercial that LeBron James(notes) and his cronies have been working to make happen for months, a slow, cynical churning of manufactured drama that sports has never witnessed. As historic monuments go, this is the Rushmore of basketball hubris and narcissism. The vacuous star for our vacuous times. All about ‘Bron and all about nothing.

      James is throwing a few foosball tables at Boys & Girls Clubs, an empty gesture out of the empty superstar. He’s turned free agency into the title of our times, a preening pageant of fawning, begging and pleading. Hard-working people are dragged into municipalities and told to hold signs, chant scripted slogans and beg a diva who doesn’t care about them to accept a $100 million contract.

      Privately, Dwyane Wade(notes) and Chris Bosh(notes) weren’t pleased on Wednesday morning with the belief that James’ camp was responsible for leaking their plans to a television partner, but then again it makes perfect sense: This isn’t about Wade and Bosh choosing the Heat. It’s about LeBron getting the stage to himself on Thursday night.

      Read the rest of the column here.

      Wojnarowski has never been much of a fan of Team LeBron or its relationship with ESPN. I suspect, deep down, every non-ESPN NBA writer who has sources of his own but still can’t get any solid info probably feels this way.

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      Bulls land Boozer

      July 7, 2010 /

      Per ESPN.com…

      Carlos Boozer is the latest domino to fall, agreeing to a five-year, $80 million contract with the Chicago Bulls, a source close to the negotiations told ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher on Wednesday.

      Looks like the Bulls read my post-Wade/Bosh offseason blueprint. This is a big contract that averages $16 million per season, but as John Hollinger notes, there’s enough room to sign LeBron outright on the off chance that he utters “the Bulls” tomorrow night.

      $80 mil deal has cap figure of $13.8M, which should leave juuuuust enough for LBJ if no cap surprise tonite. S&T drops 1st year to $13.2M.

      Bulls fans can’t say the team didn’t react quickly to the Wade/Bosh news. Signing Boozer would seemingly put the Bulls back in the picture for LeBron, but even if it doesn’t, it was the next logical move for a franchise with cap space and a need for low post scoring. He will be a nice fit alongside a defensive, offensively-challenged center like Joakim Noah. He will also fare well in the pick-and-roll with Derrick Rose after running so many with Deron Williams over the years.

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      One down, three to go: Jets re-sign Ferguson

      July 7, 2010 /
      HEMPSTEAD, NY - JULY 30: D'Brickashaw Ferguson #60 of the New York Jets signs an autograph for a fan during New York Jets Training Camp on July 30, 2006 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

      So much for the notion that the Jets don’t take care of their own.

      On Wednesday, New York agreed to terms with left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson on a six-year, $60 million extension, which also includes $34.8 million in guarantees. Da Brick will receive $73.6 million over the next either years, which exceeds the five-year, $57 million deal that the Dolphins gave former No. 1 overall pick Jake Long.

      Along with Long and Cleveland’s Joe Thomas, Ferguson is among the best left tackles in the league and it was vital for the Jets to keep him in New York. But while fans can sleep a little easier tonight knowing that Ferguson will be around for a long time, GM Mike Tannenbaum still has plenty of work cut out for him.

      Cornerback Darrelle Revis, center Nick Mangold and linebacker David Harris are all still seeking extensions themselves. Tannenbaum will likely turn to Revis next, seeing as how the cornerback will probably receive the richest contract in Jets history (at least on a per year basis).

      Whether or not new deals are on their way for Revis, Mangold and/or Harris, it’s nice to see that the player who didn’t openly complain to the media got paid first. Ferguson has been a total professional this entire offseason and he was just handsomely rewarded for it. Maybe Revis should take some notes.

      External Sports, NFL

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑