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      Fade Material: Super Bowl XLVI Prediction

      February 5, 2012 /
      New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (L) talks to head coach Bill Belichick during the NFL AFC Divisional playoff game against the Denver Broncos in Foxborough, Massachusetts, January 14, 2012. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Technically the Giants aren’t favored for Super Bowl XLVI but they might as well be.

      New York doesn’t have the most marketable player (that would be Tom Brady) or the most wins between the two teams this season, but the Giants are the hotter squad and have already proven that they won’t cower to New England in any situation. They have the pass rush to once again slay Brady, a vastly underrated passing game and a quarterback in Eli Manning that doesn’t get nearly the respect he deserves for what he does for this New York team.

      From a betting standpoint things look awfully good for the Giants as well. They’re 5-1 against the spread in their last six games versus the Patriots, 8-0 ATS in their last eight playoff games as an underdog and 8-1 ATS in their last nine playoff games overall. New England, meanwhile, is 1-7 against the number in its last eight playoff games and 1-6 ATS in its last seven playoff games as a favorite.

      Every bone in my body says that the Giants are going to win tonight. But I don’t think they will.

      I think the Giants have managed to become overconfident the past few weeks and an overconfident Giants team is a losing Giants team. I think Rob Gronkowski is healthier than people think and he’ll have a big game. I think Bill Belichick will once again take away what an opponent does best and in this case, that’s the Giants’ passing game. I think Tom Brady will have one of those Tom Brady-esq games where he throws for 375 yards and three touchdowns all while being unstoppable in the fourth quarter. I think the Patriots will win.

      I’m siding with my gut over my head: Patriots 23, Giants 20.

      External Sports, NFL, Super Bowl

      UFC 143 Results & Recap: Condit Out-Points Diaz

      February 5, 2012 /

      Nick Diaz doesn’t like politics and he doesn’t like losing.

      He especially doesn’t like losing over what he thinks is politics.

      In the main event of UFC 143 on Saturday night in Las Vegas, Diaz lost a unanimous decision to Carlos Condit for the UFC Interim Welterweight Championship.

      It was a close bout from start to finish with Diaz getting off to a fast start and then Condit finding his groove in the later rounds. Each round was debatable, but Condit inflicted more damaged and controlled the pace for the final three rounds. The judges scored the bout 49-46, 49-46, and 48-47 for Condit.

      Following the fight, Diaz said he was quitting MMA because he felt he won the fight and Condit did nothing but run from him. Instead, how I saw it was Condit used footwork to stay out of the pocket and then hit Diaz with leg kicks and hooks to win rounds.

      Now, with Diaz out of the picture, Condit will face Georges St. Pierre to unify the UFC titles once GSP returns from a torn ACL.

      In the co-main event, Fabricio Werdum made a big statement with his dominant decision win over Roy Nelson in the heavyweight division. Known for being a submission specialist, Werdum used his striking to get the victory on Saturday night. Werdum locked Nelson up in a thai clinch in the first round and then worked some powerful knees to Nelson’s face and body that took “Big Country” out of the match.

      Over the final two rounds, Werdum did enough to win the round against a tired Nelson. The win was an impressive one for Werdum, who now legitimately thrusts himself into the top 5 of the division alongside Junior dos Santos, Alistair Overeem, Cain Velasquez, and Frank Mir

      For complete results from UFC 143, check out the jump.

      Continue reading »

      Mixed Martial Arts, News, UFC

      Outside of Gronkowski, injuries shouldn’t be a factor heading into Super Bowl XLVI

      February 4, 2012 /
      New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) talks with reporters on Media Day during Super Bowl week on January 31, 2012 in Indianapolis. The Patriots will face the New York Giants on February 5 in Super Bowl XLVI. UPI/Brian Kersey

      For all intents and purposes, the Giants and Patriots will both be healthy when Super Bowl XLVI kicks off on Sunday.

      Rob Gronkowki’s ankle remains the biggest injury concern for the Patriots, as the team has officially listed him as questionable. But the Pats also list nine other players as questionable and none are in danger of missing the game.

      Safety Patrick Chung, offensive tackles Marcus Cannon and Sebastian Vollmer, linebackers Dane Fletcher, Rob Ninkovich, Tracy White and Brandon Spikes, receiver Wes Welker, defensive lineman Kyle Love, and guard Logan Mankins were all limited in practice this week but are expected to play. Outside of Gronkowski, all of those players were also listed as questionable for the AFC championship game and they all played.

      As for the Patriots’ counterparts, the Giants are relatively healthy as well. Running back Ahmad Bradshaw, receiver Hakeem Nicks, defensive end Osi Umenyiora, cornerback Corey Webster, and linebacker Jacquian Williams were all limited in practice this week but are expected to play. Bradshaw is perhaps the team’s biggest concern as he skipped the Giants’ final practice because of soreness in his right foot, but again, he’ll play.

      Getting back to Gronkowski, at this point there’s no doubt that he’ll play. How effective he’ll be is another question, especially after halftime when he’s been off the ankle for 15-plus minutes.

      External Sports, NFL, Super Bowl

      The recruiting wars

      February 3, 2012 /
      Urban Meyer. REUTERS/Matt Sullivan (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Urban Meyer made quite a splash with a monster recruiting class at Ohio State, but some of his fellow coaches in the Big Ten weren’t too happy that he came in and “flipped” players. The whining from Bret Bielema and Mark Dantonio seemed a bit much according to David Whitley, who pointed out that recruits had every right to change their minds after a coach of Meyer’s caliber joined Ohio State.

      But Whitley makes a larger point – that the Big Ten has much more honorable recruiting practices than the SEC. Yes, the SEC is currently winning all the titles, but Whitley points out some pretty pathetic actions by Les Miles and Nick Saban. The oversigning has gotten out of control.

      Hopefully the push by the Big Ten towards 4-year scholarships will put even more pressure on the SEC to clean up its act.

      College Football

      Super Bowl XLVI By the Numbers

      February 3, 2012 /
      Helmets of the New England Patriots and New York Giants rest on both sides of the Vince Lombardi Trophy before a press conference at the media center 2 days before the Giants and Patriots meet in Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, IN on February 2, 2012. UPI /John Angelillo

      1 – Number of Super Bowls that Eli Manning has won. Ironically, it’s also the same number of Super Bowls that Tom Brady has lost.

      3 – The opening point spread at most sports books of this year’s Super Bowl. (Patriots –3, that is.)

      3.5 – Number of sacks that Osi Umenyiora has compiled this postseason, which ties him for the most along with Houston’s J.J. Watt and Brooks Reed.

      4 – Number of defensive ends that the Giants can lineup at the same time. (Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora and Dave Tollefson.)

      9 – Combined number of Pro Bowls that Manning and Brady have appeared in.

      12.5 – The number that the Patriots were favored by the last time they played the Giants in the Super Bowl.

      16 – Number of top-seeded teams from the AFC that have made the Super Bowl since 1977. (Only four were crowned champions, although the Patriots were one of those four in 2003.)

      18 – Number of touchdowns Rob Gronkowski compiled during the regular season, second only to Philadelphia’s LeSean McCoy (20).

      20 – Teams that fail to score 20 points in the Super Bowl are 1-22 since 1977. The only team since 1977 to score less than 20 points and still win? The 2008 Giants, who beat the Patriots, 17-14.

      46 – Well, this one is pretty obvious…it’s the number of passes Brady attempted in the Patriots’ Week 16 win over the Dolphins.

      55.5 – The total that most sports books opened at for this year’s Super Bowl.

      75.4 – Brady’s passer rating against the Giants in the Patriots’ 24-20 loss in Week 9 of the regular season.

      199 – The pick that the Patriots used to select Brady in 2000.

      335 – Number of receiving yards Hakeem Nicks has compiled this postseason (best in the NFL).

      3,982 – Average price, in dollars, of one Super Bowl ticket.

      13,000 – Hotel rooms in Indianapolis. All are booked for the weekend and some at a 1,700% higher price than the conventional fee.

      68,000 – Capacity at Lucas Oil Stadium after it was expanded from 63,000 for the big game.

      3,500,000 – The cost of a 30-second commercial for this year’s Super Bowl.

      50,000,000 – Estimated cases of beer consumed by fans on Super Bowl Sunday.

      1.25 Billion – Apparently this is the number of chicken wings that will be consumed on Sunday. God we’re fat…

      External Sports, NFL, Super Bowl

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