Daily Loaf

This weekend is college football’s calm before the storm, so if you need to get some yard work done, this is the weekend to do it. Unless of course, you’re a Michigan or Ohio State fan. The three kings, Florida, Alabama and Texas, all have two regular season games, then a conference championship to determine who will play for the BCS title. This week, those three are such huge favorites against Florida International, Kansas and UT-Chattanooga that Las Vegas doesn’t even have a point spread in the ‘Bama-UTC game. Perhaps the Mocs are hoping Terrell Owens will once again suit up for his alma mater. The Buffalo Bills might secretly be hoping the same thing. In the NFL, Super Bowl contenders are starting to separate themselves from the early draftees, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have a few choice matchups to watch. One includes an undefeated team as a road underdog and two other conference games that could determine who gets into the playoffs and who stays out.

(10) OSU at Michigan – (Saturday, 12:00 pm – ABC – OSU minus 12)

Let’s face it. A Rose Bowl berth doesn’t mean anything to Ohio State if they don’t beat they’re arch rival. Losses in this series get coaches fired. Just ask John Cooper. (I probably just lost three Buckeyes readers for merely mentioning Cooper’s name.) Speaking from personal experience, the only thing more enjoyable than watching college football’s most storied rivalry with a drunken Buckeye fan is hearing him or her explain in excruciating detail how this is college football’s most storied rivalry. So they have that going for them… which is nice. Whoops, just lost three more Buckeye readers. Michigan is 1-6 in the Big Ten this year and Jimmy T has never lost to Michigan, so the Buckeyes have nothing to worry about this year, right?

(11) Oregon at Arizona – (Saturday, 8:00 pm – ABC – ORE minus 6)

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Sport has its array of thrilling moments. Major League Baseball has its game-saving catches and walk-off home runs. The NFL has its big hits and its hail maries. But there’s something about an NBA slam dunk that lifts fans out of their seats.

Right now, the Association boasts a number of athletes that can jump clear out of the gym. So for those of you who don’t have the good fortune of watching basketball highlights with Sportschump-like regularity, I’d like to present three dunkalicious reasons to love this game.

Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby give you Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and 5’11” Ty Lawson rudely introducing themselves to Paul Milsap, Anderson Varejao and DJ Mbenga: Read the rest of this entry »

The mixed martial arts (MMA) heavyweight fighter, Brendan Schaub, is now one step closer to winning a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as he advances to the semifinals after defeating his team mate, Jon Madsen, last night on episode ten of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season ten.

Madsen put his wrestling skills on display by taken the 4-inches taller Schaub down twice during the first round without effectively controlling him on the ground. Schaub, on the other hand, relied on his boxing skills and kept dishing out punches including two powerful right hooks in round two which quickly sent Madsen  to the floor resulting in a win via knockout for Schaub.

Being a former football player for the University of Colorado, Schaub is no stranger to employing an effective game plan. He revealed after the fight that his strategy included to let Madsen wear himself out with his wrestling moves and then to just finish him off with solid punches in order to avoid being at the judges’ mercy. Interestingly, this was Schaub’s first MMA career fight that actually made it past the first round as he won all his previous five bouts via TKO in round one.

Watch Schaub’s impressive knockout of Madsen after the break: Read the rest of this entry »

I’m a sports snob. I strongly believe there’s only a handful of truly great sports movies. It’s just too difficult for filmmakers to recreate the drama that takes place on the field. So when the Creative Loafers asked me to review The Blind Side, a sports movie I would never see starring an actress I really don’t like, I was skeptical.

I fell into my comfy leather chair at the Cobb Theater Cinebistro in Wesley Chapel, fully expecting to pan everything about the movie. Then a strange thing happened. The film turned out to be pretty good.

Read the rest of this entry »

Things are looking up for the Bucs and their new quarterback, so what better way to celebrate than with this kickin’ good item from the team and Miller Lite? The prize includes: four tickets on the Miller Lite Party Deck to the Jan. 3, 2010, game against the hated Atlanta Falcons; three complimentary Miller Lites for each guest and concession gift certificates; four Miller Lite/Bucs t-shirts; and maybe best of all, four pre-game sideline passes, which get you on the field before the game while the team warms up.

Estimated value: $750.

Current High Bid: $50

Place your bid below:

What makes a successful head coach? Or perhaps a better question is… what makes a once successful head coach suddenly forget how to coach?

Last week, the New Orleans Hornets announced that the services of their head coach and former NBA coach of the year, Byron Scott, would no longer be needed. The Hornets had gotten off to a less than satisfactory 3-6 start and someone had to be held accountable. It certainly couldn’t be ownership.

Scott has since been replaced by Jeff Bower, the team’s general manager. Tim Floyd, who coached the Hornets to a 41-41 record in 2003-4, has also been added back to the staff.

The Bower-Floyd combo hasn’t fared much better since taking over for Scott. In their home debut, the Hornets lost to Portland by 12. In that game, they lost their superstar Chris Paul for two-four weeks with a sprained ankle. In their first Paul-less game of the season, the Hornets lost to the Atlanta Hawks by 23.

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Last week the St. Petersburg Times’ Michael Kruse and Eric Deggans wrote about how in this era of lower ratings for television programs due to  splintered audiences, the  National Football League’s ratings have ascended in recent years.

Days like yesterday demonstrate why pro football has such a grip on the mass public’s attention.

In a triple header for viewers in the Tampa Bay area, the hometown Buccaneers, who have struggled mightily all season long and seen home attendance plummet in recent weeks, suffered a heartbreaking last second loss to the Miami Dolphins yesterday, 25-23.

The loss occurred despite field goal kicker Conner Barth’s record tying three field goals of 50 yards or longer, as well as a spirited effort by number one draft choice, quarterback Josh Freeman, who was lauded today by Times columnist Gary  Sheldon as giving Buc fans now “a reason to believe” (also depressing some who are hoping the team continues to falter to be in position to have the number one draft choice in 2010).

But speaking as a fan of two teams who in recent years spent boatloads of money on the number one selection in the draft, it sometimes ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Because of TV and NFL scheduling, viewers in the Tampa market were treated to a game between two of the worst teams in the league, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders, at 4:05 p.m. on the local CBS affiliate, WTSP.  (Channel 10 had only one game to show yesterday, and wisely programmed that at 4 p.m., so as not to run head to head against Tampa/Miami).

Being a native of the San Francisco Bay Area and a passionate fan of both the 49ers and Oakland Raiders, I was happy not to have to go to a local tavern to watch the game.  But I suppose in retrospect that the only benefit of watching from home  was that at least I could hear the  home town boos.

The Oakland Raiders committed over $25 million in guaranteed money a couple of years ago to JaMarcus Russell, their number one quarterback selection from LSU.  The problem is: he’s terrible, and doesn’t appear to be working very hard at geting better.

A good friend of mine has season tickets to the Raiders, but informed me that not only would be not be attending yesterday’s game, but also made sure not to give them away to friends.  He wanted to make a statement by having tv cameras glide over his empty seats.

While those 2 games featured some lackluster play, they still had some drama, particularly in Miami.

But the big event of the day (and of the season) took place in Indianapolis, where the New England Patriots/Indianapolis Colts have developed the fiercest rivalry in all of sports, and as great as the Dallas/SF rivalry of the 90’s (and yes, go ahead and invoke Al-Frazier for the ultimate rivalry).

The Colts won in stunning, dramatic, last second fashion last night, 35-34, but the big news today is the radical move by Pats head coach Bill Belichick not to eschew a punt and go for a first down on his own 28 yard line with just over two minutes to go.

The Pats failed to get the first, and Peyton Manning soon had the Colts in the end zone.

The call will be debated for time immemorial, but one thing is for certain: Outside of New England and other spots on the globe were Patriot Nation dominates, fans across the country are reveling in Belichick’s faulty move this morning.

Although Belichick’s decision will be debated until the next time the clubs meet, Peyton Manning’s brilliance in the 4th quarter demonstrates why he may soon win an unprecedented 4th MVP later this year.

TAMPA, Fla., Nov.13, 2009– The Real Fighting Championships (RFC) lightweight title belt is moving to the U.K. after challenger, Jason Ball, defeated defending champion, Edson Berto, during five grueling rounds last night at a sold out A La Carte Pavilion.

Berto surprised Ball with an unprecedented level of aggressiveness and a whole new fight strategy that included a ground game as much as a well-rounded stand-up arsenal of kicks and punches in the first round.

It took Ball until the end of the first round to adjust to Berto’s new and more intense style, which he then countered: for every one of Berto’s punches Ball shot back at least five of his own. While Berto was unloading his fists on Ball at a rate of a semi-automatic weapon, Ball unleashed the fire of a machine gun on Berto.  Read the rest of this entry »

Wanna bet?

Las Vegas sports books have been taking a bath lately and I don’t mean comfortably inside a lavish Bellagio hot tub. Weeks ago, Vegas reported its biggest losses in years. The reason? The disparity between the haves and the have-nots in the NFL is so broad that when these teams play each other, bookmakers can’t set the lines big enough for gamblers to bet on the underdogs.

In the NFL, a 14-17 point spread generally indicates one team is significantly better the other. But even with lines that high, the stronger team has still been covering the number.

Read the rest of this entry »

A-Rod redeemed: How to win a World Series in ten days

Okay… deep breath. Congratulations to the New York Yankees for knocking off the Phillies en route to their 27th World Series title. There… I said it. Now Red Sox hat placed firmly back on my head.

A particular congratulations to Alex Rodriguez who proved us all wrong by showing he could become part of a championship team. He hit .365 this post-season with 6 home runs and 18 RBI. Nice numbers if you can get ‘em.

The media’s been hard on A-Rod over the years but the golden boy is now having the last laugh. His 2009 Yankees were confident, relaxed and businesslike, even more so as the season progressed. They proved without a doubt they were the best team in the majors by out-hitting, out-pitching and out-fielding the Philadelphia Phillies. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s rare that we at SportsChump.net are blessed with a photo that needs no doctoring or no explanation. It stands alone on its own freakish merit.

Such is the case this week.

Most of the major names surrounding baseball’s steroid scandal, i.e. Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Rafael Palmeiro, have disappeared into obscurity… until recently, when sports fans were shocked to see the emergence of a new-look Sammy Sosa.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that’s him.

Read the rest of this entry »

The curtain is closing on college football’s regular season. The top three teams in the nation are all double-digit road favorites (Florida at South Carolina, Alabama at Mississippi State, Texas at Baylor), but they are slowly running out of opportunities to stumble. Nobody expects them to lose but stranger things have happened. The NFL is starting to provide fans with a little separation between the playoff-bound and the also-rans. This Sunday, we’ll witness a key clash between the top two teams in the NFL’s best division as well as two legendary quarterbacks squaring off once again.

(25) West Virginia at (5) Cincinnati – (Friday, 8:00 pm – ESPN – Cincy minus 9)

Cincinnati just might do it. With three games left, they might make it through a perfect season. Pittsburgh might have something to say about that on December 5, but so will Noel Devine and West Virginia this Friday. Devine is second in the Big East in rushing, averaging over 112 yards a game. Zach Collaros has filled in admirably for the injured Tony Pike. Collaros will start but Pike is expected to see some playing time after being out a month. Cincinnati hasn’t lost at home in two years. The last team to beat them there? The Mountaineers.

(10) Iowa at (11) Ohio State – (Saturday, 3:30 pm – ABC – OSU minus 16.5)

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In episode nine of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season ten Roy “Big Country” Nelson defeated Justin Wren via split decision (20-18, 20-18, 19-19) in the first quarter-final bout of the season. Nelson now advances to the semi-finals where he will most likely face one of the other members from Team Rashad.

While Wren seemed to dominated Nelson for most of the first and second round, Nelson went into over-drive at the end of the second round, apparently leaving a favorable impression on the judges. In lieu of calling a draw and adding a third round to the bout, they awarded Nelson the win via split decision, proving once again that judges are only human and certainly not perfect.

Watch the fight video (after the break) and decide for yourself:

Read the rest of this entry »

Rated as best mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter pound-for-pound worldwide, Fedor Emalienko proved that bigger is not always better when he defeated the five-inch taller Brett Rogers via TKO at 1:48 in round two during the Strikeforce main event at the Sears Center in Chicago, Ill. last night. The event was also broadcast live on CBS.

Rogers did not just roll over and play dead, however. In fact, it looked like the fight was going his way when he landed a devastating punch to Fedor’s nose early in the first round. As a result, Fedor had trouble breathing and missed a few shots aimed at Rogers while the blood flowed freely from the cut on his nose.

Naturally, Fedor took the fight to the ground to avoid Rogers’ powerful fists and to finally gain the advantage in this bout by submitting Rogers with an arm bar. But Rogers proved to be an escape artist just as the first round came to a close.

Watch round two of Fedor vs. Rogers in the fight video after the break: Read the rest of this entry »

Remember those sharply dressed fellows in last week’s What to Watch? You know … the ones desperately trying to gain entry into that South Beach BCS night club? Their names were Iowa, TCU, Cincinnati, Boise State and LSU. Well, the lights are coming on and last call is rapidly approaching. This weekend, one of those teams has the opportunity to finagle its way to the front of the line. The others must continue to sit back and watch, hoping the BCS voters who work the door look favorably upon them, which is unlikely if Florida, Texas and Alabama continue to handle their business. The NFL doesn’t rely on doormen, but its season is no less exciting. This Sunday, the NFL reaches its midseason. As one avid SportsChump reader pointed out, we have six games pitting over-.500 teams against each other this weekend, a rarity for this late in the season. Sounds like a separation Sunday worth watching. Read the rest of this entry »

The 28-year-old mixed martial arts fighter, War Machine, a.k.a. Jon Koppenhaver announced his official debut as porn star, War Machine XXX, on twitter last month. He was last seen in Tampa at the mixed martial arts event, XFC 9, where he defeated Mikey Gomez (fully clothed) via TKO in round three. Maybe his loss to David Mitchell at TPF 1 on Oct. 8, 2009 inspired him to start a new career doing what he loves most next to fighting: adult entertainment.

“I’m a full time Alpha Male. I get paid to fight and to fuck….what more could I ask for,” War Machine states in his twitter bio.

With a fight record of  10 wins and 3 losses after almost six years as professional fighter War Machine might just hang up his gloves for good. His career highlight was the win over Jared Rollins at TUF 6 Finale in Dec. 2007 immediately followed by his devastating loss to Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 84 in May 2008.

Ever since, his MMA star has been falling while he floated around regional MMA events without leaving his mark or earning a title. As much as he claims to love fighting, he seems to lack the direction to take his career to the next level.

Watch the fight video of War Machine vs. Mikey Gomez at XFC 9 after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

The former Tampa Bay Buccaneer, Marcus Jones, defeated the UFC veteran, Mike Wessel, on episode eight of The Ultimate Fighter season ten (TUF 10) last night. After two months of restless waiting Jones finally got his chance to prove his worth in the octagon as the last fighter on Team Rampage, after being labeled as ’softy’ and ‘drama queen’ by his coach, Rampage Jackson.

Maybe Coach Rampage wanted to save the best for last, as he finally put some effort into preparing Jones for his upcoming fight against Wessel by sharpening his submission techniques. Rampage’s extra attention pays off when Jones sets a shining example for Rampage’s coaching skills by swiftly submitting Wessel in round one via arm bar.

Watch the video of Jones paying tribute to TUF 10 after the break.

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The Tampa based mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter, Real Fighting Championships (RFC) is offering Jason Ball from the UK a shot at the the RFC lightweight title on Nov. 13, 2009 at the A La Carte Pavilion in Tampa. If Ball defeats current RFC Lightweight Champion, Edson Berto from Winter Haven, Fla., the belt might move to England for the very first time in Tampa MMA history.

The match up of the two professional MMA fighters, however, is not a first time by any means, since they already faced each other at RFC 18 last July. In spite of Berto’s home turf advantage Ball took the win via split decision after a three-round slug fest that could have very well taken place in a boxing ring as a stand-up battle of fists.

Watch the Ball vs. Berto fight video (RFC 18) after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

The upcoming mixed martial arts (MMA) event, Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers, on Nov. 7, 2009 is one of the most anticipated fights in MMA history, as it is expected to reveal whether the Russian MMA fighter, Fedor “The Last Emperor” Emelianenko is indeed the best heavyweight in the world pound-for-pound. His challenger, Brett “The Grim” Rogers may only have a third of Fedor’s fighting experience, but he has a knock-out power to be reckoned with as his spotless record of ten wins and zero losses proves.

The only blemish on Fedor’s record is the loss to Tsuyoshi Kosaka at Rings: Kings of Kings in Dec. 2000 due to a cut, which hardly makes anyone question his superior fighting skills. Aside from that he has been stacking up 30 victories over high-caliber opponents including Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski while fighting for the MMA promoters Pride, Affliction, as well as Bodog Fight. Not one single opponent truly challenged Fedor who seems to lack any weaknesses on the ground or in his stand-up game.

Watch the preview video after the break.

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Former World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) bantamweight champion, Miguel Torres, will host a mixed martial arts (MMA) seminar at World Class Martial Arts in Tampa on Nov. 12, 2009 from 8-10 p.m. Cost is $50 per person.

The seminar is open to anyone regardless of gym affiliation and experience. Torres, who is one of the best MMA fighters in the world pound-for-pound,  teaches some of the most effective MMA stand-up and ground techniques. He has over 15 years of fighting experience and an impressive professional fight record of 37 wins and only two losses. These numbers don’t include his equally amazing amateur fight record, though.

Torres only recently lost his bantamweight throne to Brian Bowles at WEC 42 in August of this year after an 18-months-reign and three successful title defenses against Yoshiro Maeda, Manny Tapia and Takeya Mizugaki. Rumor has it that he might change weight class and fight for the UFC in the near future. Other speculations include a rematch and de-throning of Brian Bowles, of course.

Watch the WEC highlights video of Torres after the break. Read the rest of this entry »

Caroline Portugal has exactly four more months to make her dream  of becoming a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter a reality as she is getting ready for her professional debut at the Real Fighting Championships (RFC) event in February 2010.

Needless to say, her almost daily training is no walk in the park. Aside from learning new submission techniques she also works on becoming a more well-rounded fighter by perfecting her stand-up game.

Staying injury-free and healthy in spite of the high impact during long and sweaty work outs at the gym are, however, crucial for any professional athlete. Maybe even more so for MMA fighters who deal with a variety of components in their daily training, like ground work (jiu jitsu, wrestling), stand up game (jiu jitsu, boxing, kick boxing, judo), and last but certainly not least conditioning for maximum endurance during a 15-minute fight.

Being a life-long martial artist and fitness competitor has helped Portugal develop her own methods to counter-act the stress from her high-impact training. Here is what she revealed during some Q and A. Read the rest of this entry »

With college football’s home stretch slowly coming into view, this Saturday offers fans another batch of important games that will lead us closer to clarity. Two national championship contenders hit the road against ranked teams while several other hopefuls remain locked outside the top of the BCS like single guys waiting fruitlessly to get into an exclusive South Beach nightclub. The NFL also has several key division matchups as well the league’s most surprising undefeated team looking to stay perfect on the road.

And there’s also a little thing called the World Series going on, so make sure your cable bill is up to date.

Georgia at (1) Florida (Jacksonville, Fl.) – (Saturday, 3:30 pm – CBS – UF minus 15)

Don’t call it the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party anymore. The powers that be don’t like the image it portrays. As if the 75,000 fans that pile into the Gator Bowl this Saturday won’t be imbibing their favorite brand of bourbon. On the bright side, that’s more fans than have seen a Jaguars home game all season. While still undefeated, Florida is a far cry from the offensive powerhouse it’s been in years past, particularly in the red zone. The Gators have scored only 16 touchdowns in 36 red zone attempts this season, not exactly reminiscent of their national championship runs. The good news for Florida is that they’re still controlling time of possession and their defense ranks among the best in the nation in most categories. A Gator victory could seal the SEC East but the Bulldogs won’t roll over, even though they’ve lost 16 of the last 19 meetings. Most Gator fans remember the Georgia’s end zone celebration two years ago. Florida exacted its revenge by winning 49-10 the following year, calling two timeouts in the final seconds to rub it in. Look for Urban Meyer to give Tim Tebow very chance to break Herschel Walker’s all-time conference rushing record against the school he played for.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Now you know how it feels,” says the tagline on this video. Watch after the break.

After two weeks of practice and a few rain delays, game day is finally here.
The sun is playing peek-a-boo behind just a few clouds in an otherwise clear and bright blue sky. An autumn breeze doesn’t lower the temperature too much, still in the high 80s, but I sit in the shade and feel comfortable. Never a big sports fan, I’m now transformed by my children’s enthusiasm.
I’m ready to see my youngest son get out there and enjoy himself.
Baseball is the great American pastime, after all, requiring skill and the kind of good hand-eye coordination I never got from drama and dance classes.
Yes, listening to the crack of the bat and kids cheering on their teammates is just about as good a gig as you can find on a Saturday afternoon.
Which is why I’m suddenly surprised.
Head Coach is screaming at his players, 9- and 10-year-old boys.
“Lazy. You’re being lazy!”
“Are you a spectator or a ballplayer?”
“Dive for the ball!”
“Can any of you catch?” Read the rest of this entry »

Tampa police officer, Chris Baten, delivered an almost hulk-like performance while trying to thwart CT Turner’s powerful and relentless attacks during the main bout of the mixed martial arts (MMA) event, Rumble at Robarts 4, which was hosted by the Sarasota based promoter, Art of Fighting (AOF) on Oct. 23, 2009. But ultimately, his opponent CT Turner fought like the indestructible Superman and took the win via unanimous decision.

Turner dominated Baten equally well during the stand up portion of the fight, as well as on the ground throughout all three rounds. His cobra like attack-punches were always followed by a quick retreat in order to evade Baten’s counter punches. On the mat he wrung Baten through several submission attempts including one vicious arm bar that made it seem like Baten was made out of rubber. When Baten was not busy defending himself against Turner’s serial attacks he dished out a few hard punches of his own, which hardly rattled Turner. At the end of the three-round war the bout went to the judges’ scorecards, who awarded Turner the win via unanimous decision to no one’s surprise.

See the complete fight card results and more fight pics after the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

This Saturday’s college slate gives us a quick breather from the top-ranked, head-to-head matchups we’ve seen so much of lately. The weekend features only one contest between ranked teams and a number of distinct favorites squaring off against theoretically lesser opponents. That doesn’t mean we won’t see our fair share of surprises. It does mean that if you like betting money lines, you stand to make a nice chunk of change if your underdogs hit. In the NFL, the three remaining unbeatens all hit the road, two of whom will be playing in very hostile environments.

Once again, here’s what you should be watching….

Clemson at Miami (10) – (Saturday, 3:30 pm – ABC – UM minus 4.5)

If you like speed, this could be the game to watch. At 3-3, Clemson still has a chance to win the ACC’s Atlantic Division but any effort the school put into hyping CJ Spiller as a Heisman candidate could have been better invested in junk bonds. Spiller has only scored three touchdowns this season. The Tigers face a Miami team which is ranked 10th in the BCS but 4th in their own division. Go figure. Clemson has yet to win a road game and Miami has yet to lose at home this season which means the Hurricanes should definitely win this game, right?

Tennessee at (2) Alabama – (Saturday, 3:30 pm – CBS – Bama minus 14.5)

Read the rest of this entry »

The NFL has a lot of bad teams. Entering Week Six, nine teams, the Bills, Lions, Panthers, Bucs, Rams, Browns, Titans, Raiders and Chiefs all had a combined five wins, and some of those teams had played each other. Any NFL preview of those teams at the beginning of the season turned out to be a tremendous waste of ink and cyberspace.

In the spirit of conservation and outright decency, sportschump.net’s NBA preview has decided to spare you the wannabes. We have chosen only to highlight those teams that have a legitimate chance to win the O’Brien Trophy. As is the case every year, the NBA will showcase a bunch of solid contenders. Unfortunately, they’ll also parade out there a bunch of teams taking up arena space until real entertainment comes to town.

Note the odds of each team winning an NBA title are listed in parentheses.

Read the rest of this entry »

Jokes don’t win fights. But strategies do. In the sixth episode of the mixed martial arts (MMA) reality show The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season ten Coach Rampage focused on being funny and entertaining his fighters at the expense of Team Rashad. Coach Rashad, however, chose the high road and delivered his punch line in the octagon through Darrill Schoonover’s victory over Zak Jensen.

Schoonover went into the bout against Jensen with a spotless fight record of 10-0 and the full moral and strategic report of his TUF 10 coach, Rashad Evans, in spite of some performance issues during training.

Zak Jensen, on the other hand, had a fight record of seven wins and three losses prior to TUF 10. He did not seem to  be too popular with the other fighters on the show. His coach, Rampage Jackson, only showed limited support when Jensen decided to fight Schoonover in spite of the cut he suffered during training shortly before the bout.

Coach Rampage’s strategy to mess with Schoonover’s head by ridiculing him verbally before the fight almost escalated into a brawl between him and Schoonover, which Evans and Jensen prevented in the last minute. Watch a video excerpt of the verbal abuse by Rampage after the break.

The actual MMA match between Schoonover and Jensen seemed like a deja vu experience of last week’s bout between Justin Wren and Wes Sims as Schoonover followed Wren’s example and swiftly submitted Jensen via triangle choke in round one. Read the rest of this entry »

My company recently sent me to attend a three-day work conference. I won’t elaborate as to which city hosted the conference as I’d hate to incriminate this fine town for its legal and moral shortcomings. Suffice it to say, the city boasts casinos, and prostitution is against the law… I think.

As I sat in front of my video poker machine, feeding it crisp twenty dollar bills with regularity and relishing in the fact that bourbon was free, I was eventually accosted by two young ladies and a gentleman. It was late at night (i.e., early in the morning) and it clearly seemed at first glance, even in my somewhat intoxicated state, that these two women could be “ladies of the evening.” They featured many characteristics often associated with the common call girl: short skirt, low-cut shirt, knee-high boots, heavy make-up, doused in perfume, toting a small purse, chewing bubble gum…

Aside from the fact that I was suddenly being solicited by two call girls in a country where prostitution is still illegal, there was something else askew with this picture. What was up with the guy they were with? He couldn’t be their pimp, could he? Read the rest of this entry »

TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 20, 2009– Tampa police officer, Chris Baten, will headline the mixed martial arts (MMA) event Rumble at Robarts 4 hosted by the MMA promoter, Art of Fighting (AOF), at Robarts arena in Sarasota this Friday. He will face Tampa native and MMA veteran, CT Turner, who recently made his debut in the boxing ring.

Both fighters aim at silencing any critics after their controversial last bouts at AOF  3 and AOF 4 earlier this year. While Baten suffered a loss due to a possibly premature fight stoppage against Kimbo killer, Seth Petruzelli, Turner earned a victory via the disqualification of Jamie Yager due to an illegal kick to Turner’s head on the ground.

The co-main event of the evening features two super heavyweight fighters, Imanee Lee and Salvatore Fernetti, who both tip the scales at 310 lbs and 285 lbs respectively. Lee is a former K-1 and WWF fighter while Fernetti has six professional MMA fights under his belt. Read the rest of this entry »

The mixed martial arts (MMA) World Light Heavyweight Championship bout between defending champion, Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida, and his challenger, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is upon us this Saturday at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will air this epic match on Pay-Per-View (PPV) along with four other fights on the main card at 10 p.m. ET. Some of the under-card bouts will be aired for free on Spike TV from 9 -10 p.m. If you would rather spend your hard-earned cash on beer and food instead of PPV, you can watch the UFC 104 for free at any of the following locations in the Tampa Bay area.

1. Read the rest of this entry »

For decades, athletes from Walt Frazier and Joe Namath to Derek Jeter and Dwyane Wade have graced us with a sense of style and pizzazz off the field. Due to uniform restrictions in most professional sports, it is much more difficult for athletes to fashionably express their individuality on the field. Some athletes, however, have still managed to find a style uniquely their own, simply by using their heads. From hats to facemasks, eye black to visors, these 12 have established their own personal trademarks by sporting headgear that makes them utterly recognizable. Where do they rank on your list?

12 ) Brett Favre’s Stained Baseball Cap – Nothing screams John Deere quite like a Brett Favre press conference. The on-again, off-again, gun-slinging, formerly retired quarterback of the Green Bay Packers…. I mean New York Jets…. wait, no, the Minnesota Vikings made a lot of press lately with his most recent return to the NFL. When Minnesota officially announced his latest comeback, Favre looked like he had just gotten off his riding lawnmower. A slave to fashion he’s never been, but don’t tell that to the marketing brass at Wrangler jeans. Favre has a style all his own, no matter how tired we all are of seeing it. What other Hall of Fame athlete could get away with wearing a torn, oil-slicked baseball cap while announcing he was about to earn $12 million at the age of 40?

11) LeBron James’s Headband – LeBron James has made the sweatband fashionable again in the NBA. Never before has a man wearing a headband been so intimidating. Only King James could rock the headband and make it look cool. Well, he and John McEnroe back in the day, but LBJ has considerably less hair. You go ahead and tell the league’s brightest talent that headbands are lame. Just be careful he’s not dunking over you in the meantime. Read the rest of this entry »

Getting a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Guzzo brothers’ mixed martial arts (MMA) movie Caged Dreams really makes MMA fans appreciate all the hard work that goes into each fight scene. It also proves that team work is necessary to accomplish any great task.

Local MMA talent on set included former UFC fighter and owner of Gracie Tampa South, Matt ‘No Regard’ Arroyo, former TUF contestant, Allen ‘Monstah Lobstah’ Berube, pro fighters, Mike Greeson and Frank Santore, and last but not least XFC ring announcer, Christopher James. Read the rest of this entry »

If you thought last weekend featured the only big-time tussle in the bayou, think again. While this weekend’s college slate might at first glance pale in comparison to Florida-LSU, don’t be fooled. Three of the top-five teams in the nation square off against ranked opponents. If they’re not careful, they can easily be knocked from their perch. While the NFL powers-that-be separate themselves from the dregs of the league, two unbeatens go head-to-head in yet another bayou battle for supremacy.

(20) Oklahoma at (3) Texas – (Saturday, 12:00 pm – ABC – UT minus 3.5)

After one bum shoulder and two Sooner losses, the Red River rivalry might not hold the anticipation it was supposed to at season’s beginning, but don’t tell that to the school’s alumni. With losses to Miami and BYU, any Oklahoma hopes of returning to the BCS title game are pretty much out the window, but they can still win their conference and dehorn Texas whose championship hopes are alive and well. On the other hand, an undefeated season would earn Texas a first class ticket to Los Angeles in January. Texas won this matchup last year, but lost to Michael Crabtree and Texas Tech, denying them a title shot and opening the door back up for Oklahoma. Even though Bradford and Colt McCoy are the best of friends, the revenge factor in this game is big. Expect nothing but fierce competition and quality quarterback play at high noon on Saturday.

(11) Iowa at Wisconsin – (Saturday, 12:00 pm – ESPN – Wisc minus 1.5) Read the rest of this entry »

Size and experience do matter, but apparently not to Justin Wren who put the UFC veteran and giant, Wes Sims, to sleep in about 60 seconds flat with an arm triangle choke on episode five of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) season ten. Subsequently, Team Rashad maintained the lead over Team Rampage with a score of 5-0.

The 6′10” tall Sims might have underestimated the seven inches shorter Wren, who wasted no time eliminating Sim’s reach advantage by immediately attacking and pinning him against the octagon fence. He then closed the deal with a successful take-down and perfectly executed arm triangle choke that left Sims unconscious about one minute into the fight.

UFC president, Dana White, was quite perplexed that the fight was over before it even started. Coach Rashad was not surprised about the outcome, however, since he picked all his fighters based on their technical skills rather than their physical size. Read the rest of this entry »

For most professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters training for upcoming bouts means much more than working towards payday. It is a form of self-discovery and quickly becomes their way of life. MMA fans are usually not aware of the dedication and hard work, not to mention long hours that go into the preparation for a professional fight in the octagon.

The female MMA fighter, Caroline Portugal, reveals first-hand what it takes to get a shot at the limelight and how she prepares for her upcoming pro-debut at the Real Fighting Championships (RFC) event in Feb. 2010 in Tampa, Fla. during some Q & A as first part of a new weekly MMA training series.

Q: How has your training changed since you started getting ready for your first professional fight?
A: Before I knew I was going to fight (professionally) I just trained for (amateur) tournaments every other day. Now, five months before my first pro fight, I’m doing something everyday. I’m either working with my conditioning coach, Alan Molina, at either of my dojos, World Class or Spartan Gym. I’m doing something six to seven days a week. If I’m not at the dojo working on technique or sparring, I’m doing sprints or weights at home. I’m focusing on impact conditioning. My diet is 3000 calories a day. I try to spar with everyone while staying injury-free. Read the rest of this entry »