Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 786 of 1503)

      Saturday MMA Review: 7/11

      July 11, 2009 /

      Here’s a weekly rundown of MMA content from Ben Goldstein of CagePotato.com:

      – Quinton “Rampage” Jackson’s dry-humping of a female reporter became the year’s most uncomfortable MMA viral video.

      – Saturday’s monumental UFC 100 show will feature “Girl Next Door” Holly Madison as a celebrity Octagon Girl, and two very worthy additions to the UFC Hall of Fame.

      – With the bookings of Alistair Overeem vs. Fabricio Werdum and Nick Diaz vs. Joe Riggs, Strikeforce’s “Carano vs. Cyborg” mega-card will now feature four title fights.

      – In other Diaz Brother news, Nate Diaz is headlining the next UFC Fight Night event, despite having lost his last two matches, and plans on getting knocked dead this time.

      – The UFC’s new stance on sponsorships is taking money out of the pockets of their fighters.

      – After screwing the UFC by defecting to DREAM, MMA legend Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic has decided to screw DREAM and return to the UFC.

      – The full cast of “The Ultimate Fighter: Heavyweights” was revealed. Does Kimbo Slice have a chance?

      – Swing by CagePotato tonight (Saturday) beginning at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET for our liveblog of UFC 100, in which Brock Lesnar clashes with Frank Mir for the second time, Georges St. Pierre defends his belt against Thiago Alves, and Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson battle for a middleweight title shot. Get hyped for the historic event by watching this unofficial tribute, and this official one.

      Mixed Martial Arts

      Giants can’t be quick to trade Jonathan Sanchez now

      July 11, 2009 /

      If you were to have gotten Giants general manager Brian Sabean all liquored up in a private setting (I know you’re probably weirded out by the start of this sentence, but stay with me here) and asked him which players he wouldn’t mind giving up in a trade to acquire a bat, he almost certainly would have uttered this name: Jonathan Sanchez.

      Hell, there’s a great chance he would have uttered that name first. But that was before Sanchez’s no-hitter against the Padres on Friday night, when he struck out 11 batters and was a Juan Uribe-error away from throwing a perfect game.

      The Giants had been waiting for that kind of performance all season out of Sanchez. Granted, they weren’t expecting that good of a performance, but they did have high expectations for him coming into the 2009 season.

      He did show flashes of brilliance earlier this season, most notably in a two-hit, 2-0 win over the Diamondbacks on April 17. But ’09 has mostly been a season of massive frustration for not only Sanchez, but also a Giants organization that had hoped the 26-year-old lefty would be the third leg of a tripod that also featured pitching sensations Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain.

      Sanchez has always been a strikeout pitcher, but for much of this season he struggled mightily with his control and he seemed to be racking up K’s only because he was wildly effective. And when he would start to struggle during games, he appeared to be a mental midget on the mound and could never recover.

      Continue reading »

      MLB

      Are the Rams the NFL’s sleeper team of ’09?

      July 11, 2009 /

      Mike Tanier of the New York Times must have been hitting the sauce the past couple days, because he’s suggesting that the Rams will be one of the NFL’s surprise teams in 2009.

      It turns out that Spagnuolo isn’t the only reason for optimism in St. Louis. Many statistical indicators suggest that the Rams are close to rising again. One is their fumble recovery percentage: the Rams forced 17 fumbles last year but recovered just 5, a sign that with better luck and a dose of Spagnuolo’s coaching, their defense will create a few more turnovers.

      The Rams were one of the worst teams in the league in red zone running, and it takes only a slight improvement in that area to make a big difference on the scoreboard. The Rams lost many of their starters to injuries in 2008 and can get better just by getting healthier.

      One other major factor works in the Rams’ favor: their division. The Seahawks are rebuilding. The 49ers haven’t had a winning season since 2002. The Cardinals won the conference, but they are no powerhouse. With a few slight improvements, the Rams could easily go 4-2 or 5-1 against the N.F.C. West. Those wins alone would give them their best record in three years!

      I like the direction of this team under Spagnuolo more than I do Scott Linehan, but this is still a bad football team, even in a weak division.

      Steven Jackson is a beast, but the Rams’ offensive line is brutal (remember that Jason Smith hasn’t taken a snap in the NFL yet) and Marc Bulger checked out years ago. He plays with zero passion and even if he were into the games, the offensive line will get him stomped anyway. The defense has some nice young pieces to build around in Chris Long, Ron Bartell, Adam Carriker and James Laurinaitis, but there are still a ton of holes on that side of the ball, too.

      Will the Rams be improved in ’09? Maybe. Will they be a sleeper? Pass me whatever Tainer is drinking and I’ll let you know.

      NFL

      Giants’ Sanchez throws a no-hitter against Padres

      July 10, 2009 /

      A San Francisco Giants’ starter has thrown a no-hitter.

      It must have been Tim Lincecum right?

      Nope.

      Matt Cain?

      Nope.

      Randy Johnson?!

      Nope.

      It wasn’t Barry Zito was it?

      Absolutely not.

      One night after Lincecum flirted with a similar feat, 26-year-old Jonathan Sanchez, coming off a recent demotion to the bullpen, threw a no-hitter against the Padres on Friday night as the Giants beat San Diego 8-0 at AT&T Park in San Francisco. It was the first no-hitter of the 2009 Major League season and the first Giants’ no-hitter since John Montefusco threw one in 1976.

      In his nine innings of domination, Sanchez struck out 11 batters in obviously his most dominant performance of his career. He did allow a base runner, but it was due to a Juan Uribe fielding error in the eighth inning. Had Uribe not booted the play (he misplayed a bad in-between hop), Sanchez could have had a perfect game.

      Speaking of fielding, Sanchez got an amazing gift from centerfielder Aaron Rowand in the ninth as he went back on a ball that was crushed by Edgar Gonzalez, leaped against the wall and made a terrific catch. Shortstop Edgar Renteria also made a fine play in the hole the play earlier.

      What’s amazing is that Sanchez wasn’t even supposed to pitch tonight (relatively speaking, that is). He was taken out of the starting rotation at the end of June and replaced by Ryan Sadowski after he started the season 2-8 with a 5.54 ERA. But an injury to Johnson gave Sanchez a start tonight and he obviously took full advantage of it.

      This was supposed to be Sanchez’s breakout season, but instead he struggled considerably with his control and would often get flustered after bad innings. His strikeout numbers have been consistently good, but he has been more wildly effective than anything. His name has even come up in numerous trade rumors, although considering Johnson’s injury and the fact that the Giants are in the thick of the NL Wild Card chase, they might hang onto Sanchez for the second half.

      No matter what Sanchez’s future holds, this was an amazing accomplishment. The Padres don’t exactly have the most potent offense, but Sanchez isn’t exactly Cy Young either. He was absolutely phenomenal and for a young man who has had so many struggles this season, he deserved this tonight and maybe he’ll use this performance as a stepping-stone to turn things around and have a great career.

      On a personal note, I was fortunate enough to watch every pitch of this game and it was absolutely thrilling as a baseball fan. They said on the broadcast that Sanchez’s dad, who had never seen his son pitch in the majors before tonight, flew to San Francisco yesterday to watch the game and was able to celebrate with Jonathan in the dugout afterward. It was a great scene.

      Congratulations to Jonathan Sanchez.

      MLB

      Braves trade Francoeur to Mets for Church

      July 10, 2009 /

      The Braves and Mets swapped outfielders on Friday, as Atlanta sent struggling right fielder Jeff Francoeur to the Big Apple for the equally struggling Ryan Church.

      The clubs make this trade essentially hoping that they can each find success turning the still-promising young outfielders around. Francoeur has struggled the past two years, but the Mets must feel as though he offers more offensive potential than Church, who, for whatever reason, has never been given a fair shot by manager Jerry Manuel.

      The Mets could also obviously use the upgrade defensively, where trained circus monkeys could perform better than what New York puts on the field on a nightly basis. Francoeur might have his struggles at the dish, but he’s got a cannon for an arm and will certainly be a welcome sight in right field for the Mets’ pitching staff. He also offers more power potential than Church.

      Church, meanwhile, should love the new scenery in Atlanta. He’ll give them a significant boost in terms of on base percentage and he seemingly has a better chance of turning his offensive misfortunes around than Francoeur does.

      It’ll be interesting to see who got the better end of the deal at the end of the year.

      MLB

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