Boredom Alert: UFC 106 Live Blog/Chat

Now that I know how to use Cover It Live, might as well put it to good use (translation: I'm dying to use it again because it's easier than constantly updating posts). Starts around 10 PM; give it a look for in-fight analysis, smart-ass comments about Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg's commentary, and massive amounts of discussion about Marc Laimon's "Star Wars" inspired ECKO hoodies.

UFC 106 Picks

Another week, another MMA card that demands picks. Despite the shear number of cards and potential for disaster (aka UFC 105), the record is still slightly above .500 during a busy month with 15 W, 12 L; one big "w" coming from the phenomenal new WEC champ, Jose (pronounce the "J" please Versus announce team) Aldo. With the number of injuries and bizarre withdrawals from this card, my personal excitement for this card has reached the exact opposite of a fever pitch. Therefore, the fight breakdowns remain only in my head and the final predictions will be here...

Main Card Bouts

Tito Ortiz (-115) vs. Forrest Griffin (-115) - Forrest Griffin by unanimous decision
Josh Koscheck (+105) vs. Anthony Johnson (-135) - Josh Koscheck by TKO - Round 3
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (-140) vs. Luis Cane (+110, and it's pronounced Cah-ney, Rogan and Goldberg) - Antonio Rogerio Nogueira by split decision
Amir Sadollah (-250) vs. Phil Baroni (+190) - Amir Sadollah by submission (armbar) - Round 2
Paulo Thiago (-175) vs. Jacob Volkmann (+145) - Jacob Volkmann by unanimous decision

Undercard Bouts

Marcus Davis vs. Ben Saunders - Marcus Davis by TKO - Round 2
Kendall Grove vs. Jake Rosholt - Jake Rosholt by unanimous decision
Brock Larson vs. Brian Foster - Brock Larson by TKO - Round 1
Caol Uno vs. Fabricio Camoes - Fabricio Camoes by unanimous decision
George Sotiropoulos vs. Jason Dent - George Sotiropoulos by submission (RNC) - Round 2

Official Picks: Recommended single plays on Koscheck, Rosholt, and Davis. Josh Koscheck is an absolute steal if you can get him in "+" numbers. Really no reason the #5 welterweight in the world should be the underdog to a man with 10 pro fights.

Official Parlay: Volkmann+Koscheck+Sotiropoulos+Larson

High Risk/Reward Parlay: Camoes+Saunders+Baroni+Cane - All 4 fighters are underdogs with major potential to win their fights. If all the fighters remain in "+" numbers, the 4-fight parlay payoff would be pretty substantial, even with a small wager.

Looking for an "Answer": Who could use A.I.

The New York Knicks informed their fans today to save their money on buying tickets, because Allen Iverson is not coming to town. While the Knicks compete with the Nets for the title of worst basketball franchise in the New York metropolitan area, the man formerly known as "The Answer" is now trying to latch with any team that will take him (and start him, unlike Memphis). So who's it going to be? Well, there's a few teams out there that could probably use the help...


Charlotte Bobcats: There's a little bit of reservation with this destination because of the recent acquisition of Stephen Jackson. A.I. is probably has a personality for Charlotte to handle by himself; with Jackson's ego included, it could be an absolute disaster. That said, the only person who has ever been able to get Iverson under control and really bring out the best in him was Larry Brown, the Bobcats current head coach. It's possible he could run the point and start over Raymond Felton, but it might be a challenge for him to get the number of shots he would want due to the sheer number of good scorers they already possess. An unlikely scenario, but it would be interesting to see A.I. try and use Gerald Wallace, Tyson Chandler, or Stephen Jackson to rack up assists and open up scoring opportunities for himself.

Toronto Raptors: A less than ideal destination, but a decent situation for both parties involved. The Raptors have some very talented pieces (Bosh, Turkoglu) but are a bit lacking in the SG department. Rookie DeMar DeRozan is starting at shooting guard, and is backed up by 3rd year player Marco Belinelli; not exactly world beaters. In fact, Belinelli is averaging more points (9.8) than the DeRozan (5.8) so far this season. Even if he has lost a step, Iverson can still average well over 10 points per game. With the shooting threat of Turkoglu and the monster in the paint that is Chris Bosh, A.I. would get some decent looks and persumably could use Bosh to clear the lane for him to drive. Again, this will probably never happen, but it might be the best option available.

Los Angeles Lakers: Why? The better question is "why not"? If people were actually discussing LeBron James joining the Lakers, why not a guy who would show up for about 1/15th the asking price? He would more than likely be earning less than Derek Fisher (which is where he would play because their SG is pretty much entrenched there) and could easily put up bigger numbers than the suddenly offensively challenged Fisher. This is completely unrealistic, but if Ron Artest can behave playing along side Kobe, why not throw Iverson in the mix? Plus, it would probably lead to a really good book about managing giant egos by Phil Jackson.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Michael Wilbon endorsed this move right around the time A.I. took his leave from Memphis, and I tend to agree with him that the Cavs would be a great place for him. It has already become abundantly clear that the Shaquille O'Neal move was mostly a lateral move in terms of a post presence, and if the Cavs are going anywhere it's going to be because of LeBron. Anthony Parker and his 9 ppg isn't a exactly a great complementary piece, and Delonte West is always going to be a question mark. This would a huge pick your poison situation for opposing teams. Do you put all eyes on LeBron and take your chances with A.I., or do you try to watch them both at the same time and risk getting highlight reeled by a LeBron alley-oop? Probably won't be too much driving for A.I. as Shaq's statuesque presence (not in a good way) in the lane pretty much limits that, but he's always a threat from the outside. Missing piece of the puzzle for the Cavs? Maybe, but every other time we think that, it ends with LeBron leaving the court without shaking hands with the other team.

How does this live chat thing work?

I see everyone else getting in on the live chat thing on their blogs, so I decided to give it a shot. Very low expectations for people to actually be involved with it but I'm just going to throw some comments out there. College b-ball, MLB awards, MMA judging nonsense, my Cleveland Browns obsession, whatever comes to mind...

(Rollover to read/contribute)

Weekend Recap; Where the wheels come flying off

- Thank God it was a busy weekend in sports because now I can semi-gloss over my John Blutarsky level prediction percentage from the weekend in fights. There should be a reflecting pool and eternal flame associated with my tragic 4-8 (33.3%, woot, woot!) record with picks. So, what did we learn...

1) Pacquiao is incredible, but he probably still loses to Floyd Mayweather: The beginning of my weekend lunacy came when I declared that Miguel Cotto would beat the wrecking machine that is Manny Pacquiao. My pick looked great up until the third round when Cotto got floored and the bout took a total nose dive for the former WBO champ. Cotto had his chances make this a closer fight, specifically when he had the "Pacman" backed up on the ropes and simply stood there instead of unloading to the body. It's no guarantee it would have swung the fight in his favor, but it may have slowed Pacquiao down a bit in the later rounds where his speed simply overwhelmed Cotto. Huge respect to both men; Cotto for hanging in there as long as he did and Pacquiao for being an absolute terror, and possible all time great.

But why do I think he would struggle with Mayweather? It's fairly simple (to me at least), styles make fights, and Floyd's style is a nightmare for Pacquiao. As technical as "Money" is, he is also extremely unusual in how he fights. He leans back to keep his head away from his opponent at all times, but he is somehow able to deliver quick punches despite appearing off balance. As we've seen from Pacquiao in the past, most notably against Juan Manuel Marquez, boxers with superior hand speed who understand his tendencies and can time his punches have success counter punching. As we saw in the Mayweather-Marquez fight, Floyd is a far superior counter puncher than JMM, and even with the misconception that he doesn't have power, he can plant you on the canvas if he times it right.

I love people like Skip Bayless who clearly cannot see past the persona of Floyd Mayweather, or simply know absolutely nothing about boxing, and realize that he would be a heavy favorite against Pacquiao. Well, uh, Pacquiao walked right through Cotto's big shots so Manny has an iron chin and Mayweather can't hurt him. He will duck the fight and he should be shaking in his roller skates (respect the 24/7 reference). Well Skip, seeing as you've clearly never seen a Mayweather fight other than his last one (maybe), allow me to educate you. If you'll allow a horrid Chuck Norris joke; Floyd is like Chuck Norris, he doesn't sleep, he waits. Mayweather isn't going to do what Cotto did (stand directly in front of Pacquiao, try to land hooks to the head, and get popped with no answer), he will do what he always does; hang back, make "Pacman" come to him, dodge his overly telegraphed left straight, circle away, and look to use his length to counter.

Don't get me wrong, I can't stand Mayweather and I'm actually a supporter of Pacquiao's. However, personality doesn't win fights (in most cases) and Mayweather is a superior boxer. I would love to see Manny knock Floyd off his high horse, but if I had to make a bet, my money would be behind "Money".

2) The UFC 105 Debacle: So, yeah, I kinda went 4-7 with my picks. I'm going to go sit in the corner now. But before I do, I'll address one thing; Brandon Vera got screwed bad against Randy Couture. Know why? Because he was fighting Randy Couture, that's why. Here's a note to anyone looking to become a fighter and wants to know how to sway judges in your favor. 1) Be Randy Couture, 2) Clinch your opponent against the cage for extended periods (aka, hug them until the bell sounds) and don't try to land a single strike, 3) Get outstruck horribly and almost get finished multiple times. Oh, did I forget to add that the only way to win on the judges' cards doing numbers 2 and 3 is to be Randy Couture? I didn't? Sorry, that part is super important.

I scored the fight 30-28 with the 1st round a draw. Sorry "Captain America", I'm not scoring the 1st 10-9 for you when all you did was pin Vera against the fence and hold him there without doing anything. Rounds 2 and 3 go to Vera for almost finishing Couture (2nd and 3rd) and maintaining mount to end the fight. The sad thing is, as soon as the final bell rang I knew what was going to happen. That fight was in the bag for Couture as long as he didn't get finished and no one can tell me otherwise. This is the second time in about a month that PPV headlining fights have ended with controversial decisions, and both times the more marketable fighter came out on top. Coincidence? Probably, because conspiracy theories are for forum posters and people with tin foil hats. However, this is the type of nonsense that led people away from boxing.

I'm really not sure what to make of the rash of horrid decisions in MMA lately. Part of me believes that it does have something to do with the more popular, or marketable, fighter getting favor in the judges' eyes. The more optimistic side of me believes that it is more likely a result of the sport still being somewhat young in America. Usually, MMA fights judged by men or women who are usually boxing judges. With MMA being a far more layered sport than boxing, it's possible that there just aren't that many judges who fully understand MMA. Yeah, I think that and then I see Couture get dismantled with strikes and resort to hugging Vera to make the bad man stop en route to a decision. Maybe it's just one of those things I'm not supposed to understand, like how the hell Randy Couture can still even give himself a chance to win at his age.

3) No more BCS, we need a playoff NOW: It's getting to be a tired topic, but this year more than probably any other showcases the foolishness of not having a multi-team playoff. At this point it has become abundantly clear that the National Championship will go to either Texas or the SEC champ and all those other pathetic undefeated teams that clearly aren't as good as those two teams will just watch. By pathetic I mean extremely talented teams that all have huge wins over legit teams and won't get a chance to prove that they can hang with the big boys because of a shameless money grab by the NCAA while the higher ups hide behind the facade of the "student before athletes" concept, but I'm sure you already figured that out. There is a distinct possibility there will be 5 undefeated teams (UT, Cincy, TCU, BSU, and either UF or 'Bama) and the 1-loss SEC title game loser at the end of the season. What makes Texas or Florida more deserving of a chance to be called champs, because they're Florida and Texas? Boise State and Utah have already proved that smaller programs can beat the supposed "top teams" but yet they are basically second class citizens, so to speak. Yes, while Florida goes out and battles powerhouses Florida International and Christian Ponder-less Florida State to close the season and Texas trembles before the fighting Manginos of Kansas and bottom feeding Texas A+M, Cincy has to take on top 10 Pittsburgh in their final game. And while Florida struggles with South Carolina and Mississippi State, and Alabama needs a miracle from Terrence Cody to beat Lane Kiffin's G-Unit, TCU is embarrassing pretty much the same Utah team that stomped 'Bama last season.

It's fairly simple from where I stand; NCAA football is a sport and the BCS is a business. Football is a fun, enjoyable game, the BCS is shady business that favors names over competition. It's probably never going to change, but if ever there was going to be a year where the outcry against the BCS is too loud to ignore, it's this year.

4) 2-minute Drill: A bunch of random thoughts...

- Congrats to Ole Miss for finally realizing Dexter McCluster is absolute freak and maybe, just maybe, he's more apt to win you games than Jevan Snead.

- Iowa's luck is terrible. If Ricky Stanzi gets hurt 2 weeks before Ohio State, James Vandenberg is probably better prepared to play the Buckeyes.

- Any particular reason USC is still in the top 25? And for that matter, why does Vegas still think Oklahoma is a top 5 team? College football is wacky

- Ndamukong Suh should win the Heisman. No question, he is the best player in college football. But, because he plays for Nebraska and is a d-lineman, he doesn't have a shot.

- I'm 50-50 on the Belichick decision on 4th and 2. I don't necessarily agree with the move, but I can understand why he did it. And no, it wasn't an ego thing.

- LOL at Skip Bayless for calling Peyton Manning overrated. He's willing to praise Favre all day, but because Manning has mediocre playoff numbers, OVERRATED! Guess who else doesn't have killer playoff numbers? Brett Favre (14 TD's, 15 INT's since 2000).

- I laughed at fantasy owners when Brian Westbrook took a knee at the 1 instead of scoring the TD. I don't that's funny anymore. Thank you MoJo Drew for being smarter than most running backs, I demand an extra TD this week to make up for last week.

- The Bengals are a serious threat in the AFC, but I still think the Steelers would beat them in the playoffs.

- No team in the NFC with the exception of the Saints (maybe) would stand a chance against an AFC team in the Super Bowl. What a mediocre conference.

- T.O. is not the reason the Bills are horrible. If he played QB, o-line or any position other than Jairus Byrd's, then go for it. Can you really blame him for being upset when whichever QB the Bills throw out there heaves the ball 15 feet over his head into triple coverage?

- The Browns. Wow. That's all I can say.