(This picture brought to you by the words "lopsided", "mismatch" and "beating")
1) Floyd Mayweather really needs to fight someone in his own weight class: Not trying to take anything away from "Money"'s performance against Marquez, because that was a technical boxing clinic if I've ever seen one. CompuBox stats had Mayweather landing a staggering 59% of his punches, while Marquez was made to look like an amateur with his 12% (!). Sad to say, but Max Kellerman put up a better fight trying to keep the microphone away from "Money" in the post-fight interview than Juan Manuel Marquez did in 12 rounds. There was absolutely no shock to the unanimous decision win for Floyd, but it does show that he really needs to take on a high level welterweight if he wants to be considered an all-time great. Yes he is undefeated, and yes he has some good wins, but the truth is he hasn't really fought someone qualified to be in with him since Carlos Baldomir in 2006. Oscar De La Hoya was at the end of his career at the time of the Mayweather bout, and Manny Pacquiao pretty much showed the world that Ricky Hatton cannot compete with the upper echelon of boxers.
The optimal solution: have Floyd fight the winner of Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. The problem: that fight won't happen for another 9-12 months if it ever will. The interim solution: have Floyd fight Shane Mosley early next year. The problem: Mosley has turned down a fight with Mayweather before and HBO has already booked him against Andre Berto in January. What this mean for fans: Another year of Mayweather crowing about being the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world while he waits for a big money fight with another blown up lightweight.
2) Quick UFC 103 Recap - Underdogs rule the day: I'm not really sure what it is about undercard fights that causes me to struggle with picks. Maybe it's a lack of broad knowledge about the fighters; maybe it's pure bad luck; maybe it's just total apathy towards the majority of the fights on the undercard (leaning toward this one). Whatever it is, undercard fights have been destroying my pick record as of late. On the main card at 103, I went a respectable 4-1 with proper methods of victory in 2 of the bouts (Old Vitor is back!). The undercard, which was more sizable than usual as a method of countering Mayweather-Marquez; a positively atrocious 3-4 with one method of victory. Why did that happen?; of the 4 losses, 3 came at the hands of underdogs.
As for the card, there's only a few things I can take away from this card. 1) With Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt waiting in line for a middleweight title shot, there's almost no question that Vitor Belfort will be next for Anderson Silva. 2a) Cro Cop is done and, 2b) Junior Dos Santos is very close to contender status. This kid is a seriously talented fighter. 3) I grossly overestimated Martin Kampmann striking abilities. Jake Shields laid the blueprint to beat Daley and Kampmann burned it. There goes his title shot. 4) Mike Goldberg needs to buy a copy of Grey's Anatomy (the book, not the painfully overrated mess of a television show). Apparently, "gonads" is not a medical term in Goldy-land. I think a small part of my brain caught fire from that gem.
3) To be a fly on the wall...: ...at ESPN and see Mark May's face when Washington knocked off his true love, USC. This section of the blog is slowly devolving into a weekly "Mark May makes my head hurt" article. Due to a golf tournament that required I miss most of the day in college football, I am deeply saddened that I was unable to see the aftermath of the fall of Troy. If anyone has knowledge of any waterworks that may or may not have occurred on the set of ESPN, for the sake of my sanity I must know about them. As for the game, don't say I didn't say that Steve Sarkisian would do good things for the Huskies. You could see it in the LSU game to open the season; there is a new attitude in Spokane this season. What is it about another coach being able to maximize the potential of Tyrone Willingham recruits? (see: Quinn, Brady; Locker, Jake)
4) If he isn't already, Jahvid Best should be the front runner for the Heisman: After a weekend that saw both of the favorites for the Heisman, Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy, struggle mightily against opponents they should have handled easily, the Golden Bears' running back personally dispatched Minnesota. Best rushed 26 times for 131 yards (a 5.0 average) and 5 TD's to spoil the Gophers' opening of their new stadium. He's not exactly a household name (as evidenced by CBS's sports desk hosts' inability to even pronounce his name), but if you look at the numbers objectively, he almost has to be the favorite. So far this season, Best has accounted for 8 TD's on the ground and 1 receiving. His 9 total TD's is more than 1 more than Tim Tebow (air and ground), and 2 more than Colt McCoy (air and ground). Add this to the fact that he didn't get to pad his stats against teams that are barely considered FBS teams like Florida and Texas, and I think we've got a new leader. If the Heisman is truly given to the player who is the best in a single season, as opposed to an entire career, as of right now it's hard to argue against Jahvid Best.
5) Notre Dame's schedule doesn't look so weak anymore does it?: Am I allowed more than one Mark May barb in one week? Actually, I don't really care if I am or not, I'm sending out another one. Remember that awful schedule the Irish have that a high school varsity football team should be embarrassed to be playing? Take another look at it now; it almost seems that Boston College is the easiest game on the schedule now. Better than expected UConn and Stanford, a Navy team that took THE Ohio State to the wall, USC and the team that just knocked them off, Washington? Not loaded with a ton of cream puffs any more is it? It's a shame that the Irish had to lose Michael Floyd for the season now because their BCS hopes may have rested in his very capable hands.
6) Penn State...National Title game...mark it down: Another week, another Nittany Lions win. None of the other contenders to make it to the title game have really impressed me enough to back off my pick. The march to Pasadena rolls on...
7) I can't imagine why San Diego fans hate Norv Turner?: For some reason I just can't put my finger on it. Could it be the decision to kick a field goal on 3rd and goal with :10 seconds left? Maybe it was the decision to get Darren Sproles planted by Ray Lewis on 4th and 2 with the game on the line? Is it the ability to squander 400+ passing yards from Philip Rivers? Someone help, the lack of understanding is killing me.
8) If the Saints are going to make the playoffs, it isn't going to be easy: Is there a more fun team to watch in the NFL than the Saints? Drew Brees goes out and tosses the ball around like there is only 8 men on defense every week, even against good defenses, and the defense does just enough to win. However, the road to the playoffs may be a bit treacherous for Drew Brees and company. The Saints have the Jets, Giants, Falcons (twice), Dallas and New England standing between them and a postseason berth. The good thing about playing these teams; with the exception of one game versus Atlanta, all of these games will be played at the Superdome. It's a tough road ahead, but if New Orleans can perform well in these games, not only will they make the playoffs, they could be the favorites to win it all. Extra note: Darren Sharper's pick-six against the Eagles was the slowest interception returned for a touchdown I've ever seen. Not sure what was worse about it; Sharper's geriatric dash to the endzone or the Eagles being completely unable to actually catch and tackle him.
9) With the 1st pick in the 2010 NFL Draft...: ...the Cleveland Browns select ____. Wow is this team bad. The 0-19 streaking Detroit Lions think the Browns are awful. The Rams think Eric Mangini's offense is inept. Kansas City's defensive coordinator thinks their defense is too porous. Ok, I'm done, you should get the point by now. This team couldn't find the endzone if every o-lineman had a GPS installed on the back of their helmets. 6 points against Denver's defense? Not surprising when Brady Quinn is getting run over almost double digit times a game and Jamal Lewis is their #1 running back. Maybe this guy could have helped. Isn't hindsight fun?
10) Herschel Walker signs with Strikeforce MMA...: I demand Walker versus Ryan Leaf as the under card to Fedor vs. Brett Rogers on CBS! Winner fights for the "Former Pro Athlete Determined to Embarrass Themselves in a Sport They Have No Business In" world title against the reigning champion. There's a pretty good precedent for this sort of thing; guess how it ended?
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