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      Saturday MMA Review: 8/29

      August 29, 2009 /

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

      – Strikeforce announced that Fedor Emelianenko’s first opponent in their organization would be undefeated brawler Brett Rogers. Fedor responded to the news with a piss-poor jump-rope display.

      – Gina Carano came out of hiding to thank her fans and give props to the woman who wrecked her two weeks ago. Speaking of Cris Cyborg, the Strikeforce women’s champ will be helping to revive the once-fearsome Chute Boxe name with her own gym in California.

      – Shane Carwin doesn’t like Brock Lesnar’s attitude, *or* his taste in light beer.

      – Could the UFC have a network television deal in the works?

      – We watched the fastest knockout in MMA history, a kickass DREAM highlight reel, and Tito Ortiz’s latest lunkheaded video blog.

      – New UFC Octagon Girl Natasha Wicks hasn’t given up her day job as a golf-caddy.

      – Chuck Liddell began his training for “Dancing With the Stars.” God help us.

      – UFC 102 goes down Saturday night in Portland. Check out our analysis of the card here and here, and come back to CagePotato.com at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT for our liveblog of the pay-per-view broadcast.

      Mixed Martial Arts

      Is Geovany Soto this season’s biggest disappointment?

      August 29, 2009 /

      Soto

      Answer: yes. After the best rookie season posted by a catcher since Mike Piazza hit 35 home runs in 1993, Geovany Soto has mutated into a bench player making a B line straight for the minors. This isn’t just a sophomore slump — this is Puff Daddy’s Forever, “Caddyshack II,” season 2 of “Heroes.” This is Daniel Baldwin.

      In 2009, Soto played in 141 games, hitting .285 and racking up 23 dingers, 86 RBIs, and 66 runs. He quickly established himself as the fourth offensive threat on the Cubs behind Derek Lee, Aramis Ramirez, and Alfonso Soriano. As of this writing, Soto is hitting .218 with nine long balls, 31 RBIs, and 21 runs. He’s also losing playing time to a guy named “Koyie,” who has a career batting average of .211 and had never played over 36 games in a season before 2009. Sweet Lou has even lost faith in young Geo, sitting him every other game.

      So what’s wrong? Is it a nagging oblique strain? Is it all that pot he was smoking? Even the fantasy experts are at a loss, citing that Soto is still hitting for contact and working better counts. Personally, I think it’s a confidence issue. Chicago is a tough place to play. Though Cubs fans are affectionate to those who earn it, they can be ruthless if you are currently the definition of “suck.” I specifically remember them booing Kosuke Fukudome in last year’s NLCS. (Yet, this year they love him, despite putting up mediocre numbers. Beats me.) Milton Bradley is another fine example. However, it seems like Cubs fans want Soto to succeed and are holding out hope that he can get it going down the stretch. After all, it’s damn hard to come by a consistent, young catcher who’s skilled both offensively and defensively. Look at how many teams employ a rotating duo of catchers based on their opponent that day. That irritates me and it’s a pain in the ass for fantasy owners. Even though Russell Martin is working through some struggles this year, the kid has the genuine talent that will carry him through. He, Joe Mauer, Jorge Posada, and Brian McCann are the definition of what a premier catcher should be in the MLB. I like Soto, and I want him to get back to this level.

      For the record, there’s a big difference between “disappointment” and “bust.” People had high expectations for Soto and he’s not meeting them. Milton Bradley and Pat Burrell are inconsistent, overpaid busts.

      I apologize to Daniel Baldwin. He was cool in “The Sopranos.”

      MLB

      Mikey’s MLB power rankings

      August 29, 2009 /

      Pennant races this season are not quite as exciting as last season, but that doesn’t mean we won’t have a few good races in September. The power rankings this week have not changed much, but the Rockies and Rangers swapped places. The Rays, who were on the cusp of cracking the Top 10, traded Scott Kazmir to the Angels yesterday, making us all scratch our heads and wonder if they are conceding the race.

      1. New York Yankees (80-48)—The first team to 80 victories is officially in cruise control. The question is, can they carry it over into the postseason? Because we all know how you-know-who performs in October.

      2. Los Angeles Angels (76-51)—If newly acquired Scott Kazmir stays healthy, this scrappy Angels team could be wearing new jewelry. Then again, October has been none to kind to them recently as well.

      3. St. Louis Cardinals (75-55)—The Cardinals now have a 9 game lead on the woe-as-me Cubs. The good franchises always add the right parts when they are in a pennant race, and Matt Holliday and John Smoltz are those guys for the Redbirds.

      4. Philadelphia Phillies (74-52)—The Phils may have given the slightest ray of hope to the Marlins and Braves, but then they remembered that they were the world champs.

      5. Los Angeles Dodgers (76-53)—Their lead over the Rockies shrunk to 2 games this past week. It’s now back to 4, but this NL West race is not going to be a landslide as everyone thought. In fact, it’s now a 3-team race.

      6. Boston Red Sox (74-54)—Don’t think the Sox can’t still catch the Yankees. If not, they should be able to hang on to the wild card, and adding Billy Wagner certainly doesn’t hurt their chances.

      7. Colorado Rockies (72-57)—The wild card is not what these Rockies have in mind, and they just keep right on winning and closing the gap.

      8. Texas Rangers (71-56)—Slipping in the power rankings and slipping in their quest for a wild card berth.

      9. San Francisco Giants (70-59)—Got a big lift from Lincecum last night against the Rockies, but Giants need to sweep this weekend if they want to remain in contention.

      10. Detroit Tigers (68-59)—T-men hanging tough, but watch out for the surging Twins, is all I’m sayin’.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, MLB

      2009 CFB Preview: Ohio State Buckeyes

      August 28, 2009 /

      Check out our other 2009 college football previews.

      Preseason Ranking: No. 6 in AP Top 25; No. 6 in USA Today Poll.

      Key Returning Players: Terrelle Pryor (QB); Daniel “Boom” Herron (RB); Dane Sanzenbacher (WR); Jake Ballard (TE); Michael Brewster (C); Bryant Browning (OT); Jim Cordle (G); Thaddeus Gibson (DE); Cameron Heyward (DE); Doug Worthington (DT); Kurt Coleman (S); Chimdi Chekwa (CB); Anderson Russell (S); Ross Homan (LB).

      Key Losses: Chris Wells (RB); Malcolm Jenkins (CB); Alex Boone (OT); Marcus Freeman (LB); Brian Hartline (WR); James Laurinaitis (LB); Brian Robiskie (WR); Nader Abdallah (DT); Rory Nicol (TE); Ryan Pretorius (K); Steve Rehring (G); A.J. Trapasso (P); Donald Washington (CB).

      Player to Watch: Terrelle Pryor, QB.
      After dazzling Ohio State and Big Ten fans with his dual-threat capabilities last year as a true freshman, Pryor enters his second season looking to become a more complete quarterback. Pryor completed 60.6 percent of his passes last year and amassed 1,311 passing yards with 12 touchdowns. He also rushed 139 times for 631 yards and six touchdowns. With a full season under his belt, the sophomore should have a better understanding of Jim Tressel’s dynamic offense. In fact, Tressel has waxed poetically about Pryor’s development this summer, claiming that his sophomore signal caller is the same athlete he was last year, but 10 times the quarterback. If that’s true, the Big Ten is in massive trouble.

      Continue reading »

      College Football

      Industry Insiders Fantasy League: Round 10

      August 28, 2009 /

      To start with Round 1 (and see the scoring system and roster requirements), click here.

      My team so far: 1. Chris Johnson, 2. Steve Smith, 3. Ronnie Brown, 4. Marshawn Lynch, 5. Santana Moss, 6. Tony Romo, 7. Greg Olsen, 8. Jerricho Cotchery, 9. Fred Jackson

      Having secured Marshawn Lynch’s backup, I felt pretty good about my stable of running backs. So as the draft moved into Round 10, I was looking to bolster my WR corps by finding a diamond in the rough. Looking through my list of late-round WR gems, a couple of names stood out: Domenik Hixon and Josh Morgan. (If you’re wondering about the other guys in my top 5, Chaz Schilens and Nate Washington are injured, Ted Ginn was already drafted and Davone Bess has been usurped by Brian Hartline.) I also added Percy Harvin to my list, mainly due to this Rotoworld article which issues glowing reports about Harvin’s fantasy prospects this season.

      My mind is telling me that Hixon will have the best numbers of the three, so I drafted him, right? Wrong. I ended up going with Harvin, figuring that I would end up with Hixon in several other leagues (that matter more financially), so why not go with the sexy pick instead? If Harvin blows up, I’ll look like a genius. If he flops, oh well.

      Seriously, if the Vikings use him the way that the Rotoworld piece says they will, then he should have a very solid season in PPR leagues.

      Round 10, Pick 5: Percy Harvin, WR

      Here’s how the entire round went: 109) Laurent Robinson, 110) James Davis, 111) Carson Palmer, 112) Matt Ryan, 113) Percy Harvin, 114) Julius Jones, 115) Brett Favre, 116) Josh Morgan, 117) Sidney Rice, 118) Trent Edwards, 119) Domenik Hixon, 120) Tim Hightower

      It may be a while (as this draft is ongoing), but I’ll be back after it’s complete with a quick rundown of the rest of my picks.

      Click here to see all of my round-by-round picks.

      Fantasy Football

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