Expanding the horizons and expanding the parameters. Expanding the rhymes of sucker M.C. amateurs.
Steelers - 20 Cardinals - 16
--Is Luis Scola the oldest sophomore to ever be in the rookie/sophomore challenge? I assume the rookies will be asking Luis to buy the beer.
--Wow, Rangers, you've really outdone yourselves.
--Blake Griffin might be good. He did single-handedly outrebound Oklahoma State 19-18 on Monday. Austin Johnson getting better and more confident each time out is not a good sign for the rest of the Big 12.
--Of course, Fred Taylor's son, Kelvin, made All-State RB in Florida. No big surprise, what's that? As an 8th-grader. Oh. Oh my. Dynasty League Alert!!
--Garrett Mock is my new favorite former Coog. The Nationals pitcher coached the Columbia Angels last fall here. D.C. Sports Blog with an awesome interview full of fantastic coaching tips. For example, his team rolling another team 17-0 when one of his favorite kids stepped up to the plate and bunted. Mock didn't like showing up the other team like that and that's what he told the kid. Mock told another coach to ask his fastest-throwing pitcher to plunk his kid so he could learn his lesson. Mock tells the tale:
"He gets up there--and I told him he was gonna get hit but I didn't tell him when--he gets up there, he sees the kid's warm-up pitches, and he kind of looks at me. And I'm over there dying, I'm just trying to hold it in. Everybody in the dugout is just crowded around me, we're all waiting on it. First pitch, the guy throws it right down the middle, the [hitter] backs up out of the box and I was like, 'What are you doing?' I was like, 'You're ready to hit, let's go!' Got him to forget about it. Next pitch, BOOM, right in his ribs. He stopped, and I told him whenever you get hit make sure you look at the other coach of the team we just beat, I want you to go tip your hat to him, tell him you're sorry. So after the game I told his parents, I was like, 'Look, I don't want y'all to start suing me or doing whatever happens nowadays.' I was like, 'The kid needs to learn a lesson.' I said he's not gonna die today, he learned a lesson.
--How many guesses did it take for you to guess who AJ Abrams tied for most career three-pointers in Big 12 history? We were looking for Jeff Boschee, Jeff Boschee from Kansas back at the turn of the century.--Duke/Wake was a helluva ballgame as yet another #1 fell. This Monday possible #1 UConn takes on a very, very good Louisville team after The Killers concert. Gonzaga/St. Mary's is a nice late nighter Thursday on ESPNDos.
Quick Hitters and Random Thoughts
--PETA got a Super Bowl ad pulled?! Apparently lingerie models working it with vegetables is too risque.
--No way it can be as good as the first (said same about Battlestar, was wrong), but ABC gave the greenlight to a V series.
--Donny Osmond in on Dancing with the Stars. Yay.
--I can't wait for UFC 94 for the obvious Penn/GSP fun, but Nate Diaz and Clay Guida is going to be an outstanding start to the night. Brawl Sports Blog predictions after the jump, damn I don't have a jump. Well below the rest of this then. Oh and mark your calendars. July 11 = UFC 100.
--Duh, Evan Rachel Wood and Mickey Rourke. Defamer is saying Mickey is ditching WrestleMania. Wise move. Does Pete Rose still get a piledriver from Kane?
--It's not even February and I think it's safe to say we have our Mistrial of the Year already. San Diego is where the fun was earlier this week. We're dealing with 37-year-old Weusi McGowan, a home invasion robbery suspect. Seems Weusi didn't like the Public Defender assigned to him so he did what clients do in that situation. Yep, after a mid-morning break he came back, opened up a plastic bag filled with his feces and proceeded to smear it on his attorney's hair and face. Then for good measure Weusi flung the dung towards the jury box. The sh** shot was denied by Juror 9's briefcase (Juror 9 did not jump up and scream, "Get that sh** outta here!!!" But holy crap, that woulda been funny). Yeah the judge went ahead and dismissed the jury and Weusi will get a new attorney. Weusi's suspected home invasion didn't involve feces. All it involved was him making a noise outside some guy's apartment so when the guy came out Weusi hit him upside the head with a rock in a sock and then stole a bunch of stuff including the guy's car. Genius. Well, until Weusi was arrested 20 minutes later.
--Let's see...sports radio, a movie, Dallas sucks theme. Oh yeah, I'm in for Big Fan. Cinematical has a review.
.jpg)
--GI Joe trailer is in for the Super Bowl. Now you know...
--No, Megan Fox is not going to be the next Tomb Raider. Yes, this was just a reason to show a pic of Megan Fox.
--Waiting for Guffman is gonna be on Broadway? Out-standing.
--I read that noted movie critic John Granato liked Slumdog Millionaire. Raheel not so much, but probably a little more than one of the slum dwellers who said, "We will burn Danny Boyle in effigy in 56 slums here." Apparently India's version of RottenTomatoes is a little more hardcore than America's.
--I finally got started on Californication and I wouldn't have thought Red Shoe Diaries would one day become the 2nd most nudity-filled show David Duchovny would ever be in. Nice to see Crazy Eyez Killa again. And holy crap the little girl from Hand That Rocks the Cradle and The Nanny (from what I hear, I mean who watched The Nanny) is all growns up. Ms. Madeline Zima.
--Because I'm stupid I had no idea that Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence's wife is Jordan/Christa Miller.
--Apparently Ashlee doesn't like people making fun of Jessica's expanding waistline.
Ashlee:
"I am completely disgusted (really because now you're the pretty one) by the headlines concerning my sister's weight (what headlines, haven't heard). A week after the inauguration and with such a feeling of hope in the air for our country (this relates to your sister eating how?), I find it completely embarrassing (like getting a nose job embarrassing) and belittling to all women to read about a woman's weight or figure as a headline on Fox News (Ashlee watches Fox News?). All women come in different shapes, sizes, and forms (form of old Jessica was very popular) and just because you're a celebrity, there shouldn't be a different standard (actually, yes). Is this something you would say to your wife, daughter, mother, grandmother, or even a friend? I seriously doubt it (duh, they're not celebrities)."
--I must be missing out because Jay Leno is America's favorite TV personality. Running through the rest of the annual Harris Poll....at 10 we find Mark Harmon and then we finally get to someone worthy, if not underranked, Stephen Colbert. His boy Steve Carell is 8 while Charlie Sheen is 7. Of course I'd have Jon Stewart higher than 6 as we David Letterman is 5th favorite. 4th is Oprah. 3 is Ellen while Hugh Laurie is 2. Kinda thought Tina Fey might be on this list. At the very least Murray and/or Padma. The three people who dropped out of the top 10 Bill O'Reilly, Rachael Ray, and Homer Simpson.
--I had never heard of Bill Hicks, but apparently he was a comedian and back in 1994 at the age of 32 he passed away due to cancer. Five months before that time he got a huge break and was on Letterman. Unfortunately CBS thought his routine was too controversial and pulled it. Friday to mark the 15th anniversary of Hicks' unaired appearance Letterman is going to air it and have Hicks' mother on the show. Sounds like DVR-time.
Questions, comments or if you're pretty sure beer battered macaroni and cheese bites are going to kick ass...
Current Line: Georges St-Pierre -185 vs. B.J Penn +166
In a superfight of epic proportions, UFC welterweight champion Georges "Rush" St. Pierre will rematch UFC lightweight champion B.J. "The Prodigy" Penn in the main event at UFC 94.
In their first meeting, Penn dominated GSP in the first round, but "The Prodigy's" conditioning gave way and GSP was able to comeback and pull off a razor-thin split decision victory.
With a victory in the rematch, Penn could become the first fighter in UFC history to simultaneously hold belts in two different weight classes.
"This may be the most anticipated rematch in UFC history," said UFC President Dana White.
Brawl Sports Panel Predictions:
Danny Vara: Apparently these two have a history and the world of MMA has been looking forward to this dream match-up for months. Who knew?
Seriously, even if the octagon girls were in a tag team match against Megan Fox and Angelina Jolie a few feet away, every pair of eyes (well maybe not every) would still be glued to GSP/Penn.
GSP brings his belt along with his tremendous physique into the octagon to face B.J. who has his own belt and while not the physique, B.J. brings in as much natural ability as any one man in the sport.
Penn has strong jiu-jitsu, but I think his best bet is to keep this standing up and utilize his punches and kicks like he did in the first round last time these two met.
It's really hard to find question marks with these guys, but the usual ones for Penn are where is his head and where will his stamina be if this goes long?
For GSP, will he be able to maintain the aggressiveness and full bore intensity he's shown since that loss to Matt Serra? Will GSP ask Penn to tell me how your blood tastes? Yes, yes he will.
Prediction: St. Pierre via strikes in round 4.
Jeremy Botter: I'm not the biggest fan of either of these guys. It's certainly not a fighting skills issue, because they are two of the top five fighters in the world regardless of weight class. I think B.J. Penn is disgusting because he licks the blood of his opponent off his gloves, which almost always makes me want to throw up in my mouth. I dislike St. Pierre because it's always uncomfortable watching him sprawl around in tiny spandex shorts; those things should be outlawed by every single athletic commission in the world. I mean, why would you choose to wear spandex when fight shorts are perfectly comfortable?
In all seriousness, this is a landmark fight with two of the best in the world colliding in their prime. For all the (warranted) talk about how big Brock Lesnar vs. Frank Mir is going to be, it doesn't hold a candle to this fight from the perspective of a pure sporting contest. While it won't do the same kind of PPV buys that Lesnar/Mir will do, it will do far more to advance the sport aspect of mixed martial arts than that fight could ever hope to do.
Outside of a few minutes with Matt Serra, Georges St. Pierre has been absolutely perfect over the past few years. He's fought top competition time and time again, and he's handily beaten that very same top competition time and time again. He's the prototype of the next generation of fighters, the mold that will be used time and time again to create the superstar athletic fighters of the future. He's well-versed in every single aspect of the fight game, with precision striking and a wrestling game that is shockingly good for someone with no real amateur experience. He's also a big welterweight and will probably step into the cage at around 183 pounds, if not heavier.
But B.J. Penn isn't nicknamed "The Prodigy" for giggles. Many consider Penn to be the best fighter in the world, and for good reason. He's a jiu-jitsu world champion, a precision striker and an outstanding wrestler. When he's focused, he can destroy anyone in his path, as witnessed in his 2008 wins over Joe Stevenson and former lightweight champion Sean Sherk. There's nobody in the lightweight division, not even the very good Kenny Florian, who is remotely close to Penn's skill level.
Penn is going to give up a lot of weight to St. Pierre, and his cardio is going to be a question mark. This isn't the ripped and conditioned Penn from the lightweight division; it's a heavier and likely slower Penn who put on weight to make this fight happen. As I mentioned before, St. Pierre is going to be a lot heavier coming into the cage, and since that's his normal weight his cardio will be excellent.
Most experts are going with St. Pierre on this one, but I'm going against the grain. I think Penn is ready for this fight He's more focused than ever, and I believe he's going to dominate St. Pierre standing and on the ground. This is a fight where legends will be created, and I'm just not willing to bet against a focused, determined B.J. Penn.
Prediction: Penn via submission in round 2.
Jared Barnes: It's finally here! GSP vs. Penn II: The greatest event in the history of mankind. OK, maybe that's overstating it a little, but it's a fight that fight fans have been waiting for since the judges announced GSP beat Penn by split decision at UFC 58 and I can't wait to see it.
I'm not going to get into how GSP's boxing stacks up to Penn's or how Penn's wrestling compares with GSP's because all the technical attributes of these guys have been debated about for months ad nauseam.
This is the biggest fight of both these fighter's careers and they're keenly aware of that. Penn is not going to come in out of shape and GSP is not going to have another mental lapse like he did against Serra.
Because both fighters' skill levels are so comparable across the board, I don't believe the deciding factor in this fight is going to be that one fighter just out classes the other in any one aspect of the game. I think the difference is going to be size and strength so I'm giving the nod to the Canuck.
Prediction: St. Pierre via TKO in round 5.
Bonus Prediction: St. Pierre will lick Penn's blood of his gloves after the fight has been stopped and Penn will not like that one bit.
The Brawl Sports Panel picks St. Pierre 2-1.
