Month: August 2012 (Page 2 of 7)

      UFC cancels UFC 151, conveniently puts all blame on Jon Jones

      August 23, 2012 /

      In case you have been under a rock today, UFC 151 has been cancelled.

      The short story is Dan Henderson injured his knee and couldn’t fight next Saturday, prompting the UFC to offer Jon Jones a replacement opponent of Chael Sonnen. Jones, after speaking with his team, declined to take the fight on such short notice.

      So, the UFC, instead of finding a new main event, or just running with the card they setup sans the main event, decided to just axe the event altogether.

      In the process, they completely threw the light heavyweight champion under the bus.

      Normally, I am on Dana White’s side of things. He is a hot head, no doubt, but he usually tells it like it is.

      However, blaming Jones for the canceling of an event is simply a convenient way to take the blame off of himself and the UFC.

      First off, canceling an entire UFC event is a big deal. It impacts the fighters, the venue, the host city and those that would be working the event.

      Many fighters rely on a small paycheck from fighting on the under card simply to make ends meet. Due to the UFC’s venom spewed at Jones, many of those fighters are now taking their anger and frustration out on the champion as well.

      But, let’s all take a deep breath and take into consideration two things:

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      Mixed Martial Arts, News, UFC

      MLB Playoff Predictions

      August 23, 2012 /

      This may well be my last post for a while on The Scores Report, so I figured what better way to go out than with some way-too-early playoff predictions? I’ll forecast each of Major League Baseball’s six division winners as well as each league’s two wild card teams. You know, so all my readers can come back and mock my wild inaccuracy in two months time.

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      MLB

      Pete Carroll’s big gamble with Russell Wilson

      August 22, 2012 /

      Pete Carroll announced that Russell Wilson will get the start over Matt Flynn in the team’s third preseason game. Carroll acknowledged NFL conventional wisdom of using the third preseason game as a dress rehearsal for the starting quarterback to get him ready for the regular season, but Carroll isn’t ready to name a starter, and he wants to see Wilson play with the first-teamers in order to make a final decision on the quarterback battle.

      I do admire his willingness to toss conventional wisdom and do what he thinks is best for his team, but I’m a little shocked he would interrupt Matt Flynn’s preparation for the regular season just because Russell Wilson has looked good playing against third-string defenses.

      Flynn has not played poorly, and he threw a beautiful bomb last week that Terrell Owens dropped. Seattle invested a lot of money in Flynn, and he’s certainly earned the opportunity to start for the Seahawks.

      Meanwhile, Wilson dropped to the third round for a reason. His size is a huge disadvantage, and he’s also a rookie who has a lot to learn. For a team that’s presumably battling for another playoff appearance, this comes across as Carroll trying to outsmart himself. We’ll see who ultimately gets the start, but Flynn has lost out on a lot of the reps he’ll need to be ready for the opener.

      NFL

      Luck looks good again

      August 20, 2012 /

      Yes, he’s human. Andrew Luck threw a couple of picks tonight against the tough Steelers defense, but he also rebounded to throw some great passes throughout the ballgame. Like all of the rookies he’ll go through some growing pains, but we can see many of the tools that have had scouts excited for years.

      Meanwhile, Robert Griffin III had a tougher evening the other night as he took some sacks and coughed up a fumble. Naturally, everyone got overly excited by his performance in his first preseason game when he face little pressure, but the Bears weren’t as accommodating, and Griffin seemed to rely too much on his feet as he felt pressure. Fans shouldn’t overreact to these setbacks in preseason just like they shouldn’t overreact to his first game, as the coaches will be hammering Griffin to make better decisions. He was able to rely on his feet in college from time to time, but he’ll probably get banged up quickly if he tries to keep that up in the pros. Shanahan will push him to be very selective on when he decides to take off.

      With fantasy football and 24-hour Twitter comments, fans can’t help but hang on every preseason pass, but time is a critical component in the development of NFL quarterbacks, and the amount of time needed is usually hard to predict. Luck seems to be the most ready as everyone expected, but we’ll have to see how it plays out. For some fantasy football owners, both Luck and RG3 will seem very tempting during the draft, but I’ll probably focus on a proven quarterback instead.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Ryan Howard working to get back old form

      August 20, 2012 /

      It’s been a miserable year for the Philadelphia Phillies. With the success in Philadelphia in recent years, the expectations of Phillie fans has been in the clouds, but reality set in for the 2012 season. Too many things have gone wrong to mention, but the absence of Ryan Howard and Chase Utley for a huge chunk of the season will usually lead any such discussion.

      Fortunately for Philadelphia fans, both players are back, and both seem to be making significant progress towards reclaiming their leadership roles.

      With Ryan Howard, the hill to climb is particularly steep as he works his way back from a serious Achilles injury. We’ve seen some incredible hitters in this generation, but Howard immediately started to put together a Hall of Fame caliber career from his first season when he won the Rookie of the Tear award. The next year, he put together one of the all-time great offensive seasons on the way to winning the MVP award. In 2006, Howard hit 58 home runs, drove in 149 runs and hit .313 with a 1.084 OPS! After only seven full seasons he was already closing in on 300 home runs and on the fast track to the Hall. Along the way he helped the Phillies to two World Series appearances and one title, so regardless of what happens next the fans in Philly will always love him.

      Now coming off the injury last season, Howard doesn’t seem to be full strength, but he still has that beautiful swing. While the 2012 season is lost for the team, it’s giving Ryan a chance to work his way back into top form. Utley is also working his way back, so things should be looking up for 2013.

      As for Howard and the Hall of Fame, it will be hard for him to replicate his unbelievable stretch from 2006 to 2009, when over four seasons he averaged almost 50 home runs and over 145 RBIs per season. But he should easily get back to his numbers of recent years with over 30 home runs and over 100 RBIs, and if he keeps that up for a while he’ll waltz into the Hall of Fame.

      Howard is one of those players that most people root for. He’s had some fun with his celebrity status, like making an appearance on Entourage as on of the prospective investors in Turtle’s business ventures, but he’s stayed grounded. He’s in the middle of a long-term deal, so he’ll probably be in Philadelphia for a long time. Let’s hope he ends his career there.

      MLB

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