Enter Blue Guy

January 31, 2009

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=H1x86nGb68Y

Greatness starting at around the 6:40 mark. THE Doug Gilmour highlight.

Tonight should be amazing. Let's try not to lose. That would be pretty cool too.

January 31, 2009

Maybe it's television magic, but I think only GSP really knows that this is the biggest statement fight of his life. I see GSP slowly wearing out BJ, breaking him down, eventually finishing him. Two keys to victory for GSP; Don't like let BJ get too comfortable on his feet and make sure he is the one controlling the pace of the fight on both levels, ground and standing... by he, I mean GSP of course. Technically, obviously GSP is going to need to have the quicker hands and crisper combos, while proceeding with caution of course, BJ has got mean, powerful hands of his own to respond with. I'm thinking if GSP he can connect early and make BJ swing for the fences in return, it could start to wear BJ out mentally. Even if he can't take BJ totally out of the fight, he can definitely frustrate him, and if GSP can roll with that momentum, he can take clear control of the fight and wear BJ down physically as well... GSP by whatever he wants in the 4th round.

EDIT: I know that was a pretty square breakdown of a GSP victory, but there aren't many flaws in BJ Penn's game.

January 30, 2009

No doubt there will be mention of this. They'll do the usually pre-show memorial photo, probably mention it briefly in the broadcast at some point.

From everything I've heard from Helio, he seems the most level headed of all the Gracies. Because God knows the other member of his family have been known to take a dip in the delusional pool every once in a while.

RIP Helio.

January 30, 2009

Holy shit, Kulemin was a beast out there. I don't think he has finished as many checks all season as he did last night. Him and Garbo still pass a little too much and way too wonky for their own good some times, but it seemed liked their average turnover ratio was down last night. At least now Kulemin is throwing decent checks. At this point, I'll buy into anything.

+3 for Schenn last night, the game's highest rating. Yay!

January 29, 2009

Sloppy seconds. Consolation winner.

I actually work right beside the Cup's house. He never calls anymore and the few times we've bumped into each into each other, it was just plain awkward.

January 27, 2009

Ouf I've been in the GTA for the last 5 days(god have mercy on my soul). All I've heard from people is how Montreal rigged the all-star game by having overly enthusiastic fans and that Price is a terrible goalie because he gave up 9 in a 3 on 3 game haha. Um, well his 16-5-4 record is pretty great so far and only after his first game after injury did his streak of not losing in regulation end... at 14 games.

The all-star game was a lot of fun to watch. I thought that TSN while flattering with their heaps and heaps of praise for Montreal, sort of tried a little too hard to push the centennial. Kovy with the MVP and a sweet fucking goal during the game. Christ, what was that like a fucking change up?
Where in the GTA?

FUCK. YES. POGGE IS BACK!

I know this is old news, but I wept when Robbie Earl was dealt. My hopes and dreams of a black man making the 82 game roster is shot down.

Jamal Mayers?

In my defense, it's not like Jamal Mayers ever sticks out. Unless it's in the middle of a scrum. In that case, there are 50 other guys around too.

January 27, 2009

Ouf I've been in the GTA for the last 5 days(god have mercy on my soul). All I've heard from people is how Montreal rigged the all-star game by having overly enthusiastic fans and that Price is a terrible goalie because he gave up 9 in a 3 on 3 game haha. Um, well his 16-5-4 record is pretty great so far and only after his first game after injury did his streak of not losing in regulation end... at 14 games.

The all-star game was a lot of fun to watch. I thought that TSN while flattering with their heaps and heaps of praise for Montreal, sort of tried a little too hard to push the centennial. Kovy with the MVP and a sweet fucking goal during the game. Christ, what was that like a fucking change up?

Where in the GTA?

FUCK. YES. POGGE IS BACK!

I know this is old news, but I wept when Robbie Earl was dealt. My hopes and dreams of a black man making the 82 game roster is shot down.

January 27, 2009

WEC 38

Spoiler: Click here to view

Faber's win was perfectly definitive. I haven't been on the net for more than 15 minutes today, but apparently KID was there last night. SPECULATION!

Anyways, Cerrone vs. Varner was fucking rocketbuster until the end. Jesus, a perfect FOTYC and it all ends with a knee grazing Varner's eye. Fuck.The knee was as much of a grazing blow as you could imagine, it could have cut slices of turkey so thin you wouldn't even been able to see them. I was giving Varner the benefit of the doubt, it looked weak, but it wasn't me on the receiving end of it. But post fight, I'm almost convinced Varner is going to win an Oscar next year. He seemed too over the top in trying to convince everybody he couldn't see.

Both men were impressive, classic striker vs. wrestler/GnP vs. grappler. The fight was Varner's on the scorecards, the take downs giving him the slight edge, IMO, but the ending does not sit well with me at all. Cerrone still seemed to have enough zip on the feet that if he was going to turn it on in round 5, he could have possibly pushed for the finish. At least we get an excuse for a rematch very soon.

Tremendous fight. Disappointing ending.

Regardless, still worth watching if you can

January 26, 2009

I think Soko just needs to ease himself back into the game. Beating Lil Nog, then Arona, was the best and worst thing that happened to his career. He went from fighting lower tier fighters to being catapulted into facing competition levels above guys he fought before. The shift happened after only three fights.

The jump up clearly happened way too soon, by no fault of his own. On the bright side, Soko is only 24 and has solid experience against quality opponents. As long as he keeps working and stays focused, the best of Soko is probably yet to come.

January 25, 2009

WEC 38 tonight! Come for Faber/Pulver II, stay for Cerrone/Varner. Jose Aldo is on the main card too, he could very well be a big deal in the making. All in all, WEC rarely disappoints in the entertainment department. What they lack in names, they make up for in the fighter performances.

January 25, 2009

That poor goalie could not look like he was trying any less, but still did a damn good job of keeping his save percentage respectable.

Props to Ovie, Doan, and Tim Thomas. Out of everybody there, nobody looked like there were having more a fun then those three guys.

Malkin prepping Alex was very cool to watch, Tim Thomas seemed determined to put on a show in net, and Doan looked like he was having a blast in the elimination shootout. Great way to end of the usual exhausted skills comp, with Doan winning with his daughter on the bench. Ovechkin's enthusiasm was very contagious, if it wasn't for him, we probably wouldn't have watched past the Breakaway Challenge.

Oh and Schenn looked good in that 3 on 3 pond hockey showcase... No, but he did look good. And he scored a goal. Hurrah. Actually, Rinne was pretty impressive in goal for the rooks.

January 25, 2009

Spoiler: Click here to view

Fedor is clutch. Always. He's a master of countering any early shortcomings with one, swift movement, whether it's striking, from the ground or feet, or just a well timed pivot. It's like his brain is working two steps ahead of his opponent's and doing all the the calculations to find the exact moment to end the fight. He's timing and execution are flawless.

Andrei should get consideration for another shot and showed could very well win if he keeps it in his pants until the appropriate time, but there needs to be Andrei vs. Josh at the very least before either of those guys gets Fedor. Josh looked very meh against Pedro and Yvel, and Andrei had his chance and lost, this time he'll need something more than Rothwell or Nelson to warrant taking a short cut back to Mount Fedor. It only makes sense Barnett vs. Arlovski comes next.

Thank Jesus Vitor knock the jock stank off of Matt "The Law...zzzz" Lindland. Matt is one of the most unlikeable guys in the sport, IMO. Not a horrible human being, but he doesn't give anybody outside of Team Quest much, if any, respect. Vitor was my first favorite fighter, any time he scores a comeback win, I find it very hard to shake the notion that THIS is the time for him to take the next step to greatness. I mean he rarely follows up, but it at least it gives me a reason to yell "MOMMA! WE BACK! WE BACK!" for the time being.

January 21, 2009

Not sure what he is doing right then and there with it, but tractor tires, or whatever tires they are, are pretty common in training for conditioning and shit.

January 18, 2009

Vesa, you drive me nuts. I want another Pogge game, just another peek. Everybody always says Vesa needs something to push him to play his best, give Pogge a shot in Minnesota or Colorado. Of course if he gets bum rushed, all that does is further cement Vesa as the only goalie in T.O. for real, but my heart aches for at least one Pogge-manned game soon.

EDIT: Fuck Minny or Colorado, I just remembered the Leafs are playing the Canes tomorrow. Play Pogge at home TOMORROW! STATEMENT GAME FOR THE FUTURE!

January 18, 2009

Photos of Semmy Schilt and Alistair Overeem actin' all chummy with Mr. President.

A few of them are here ----> http://www.mmanews.com/other/Photos:-Alist...Dana-White.html

Bigger photo ops have been taken with less aftermath, but it's kind of a random event to invite Alistair and Semmy to, in Dublin, assuming the trip was courtesy of the UFC. Anyways, the more notable things about the photos, besides posing with an ecstatic Dana White, is the that Alistair seems to have arrived in a kimono, while Semmy looks like he is ready to hit up the singles bar. Note the Dana White impersonator in the Overeem picture.

Spoiler: Click here to view

Never really paid much attention to Martin Kampmann's move down to 170, but I'm glad he won. I think Kampmann could be a true force as a six foot welterweight. I've very much become a fan of his over the last few years. He doesn't get much hype, I'd put money on Martin changing that at 170. I keep on forgetting about the dude, but Kampmann, more often than not, impresses and I like his stock to rise this year.

January 17, 2009

Spoiler: Click here to view

Hendo by split D. First round, Hendo. Third round, Ace. Second round was a close call, Franklin had some time to score on the feet, but Hendo was able to take control for what seemed like a more than half the round on the ground in top position. I'd love to see these guys hook up again, great fight.

Side note: Hendo caught Franklin with an accidental headbutt in the first which marked up Ace nicely and then caught Rich with an accidental eye poke in the final half miniute of the third round, just as Ace was getting ready to try to finish it. Franklin wasn't really able turn it on in the dying portion of the fight after it.

January 17, 2009

Spoiler: Click here to view

Shogun did not look good. Accurate striking, but very sluggish, gassed half way through the 2nd, kept his hands low, allowing Coleman to answer with jabs. Even with Mark exhausted, Coleman was still able to get some good take downs and get dominant positions.

Coleman asks for another rematch, I say give it to him. Shogun did not look good. I say if Coleman wasn't a beaten up, middle aged man, that was his fight to finish.
Hopefully for Shogun this was just cage/ring rust, because his stock does not go anywhere with this win at all.

Also, Joe was pretty annoying going on about Jeremy Horn's ability to defend himself in the fight. Palhares has 10 fights, a grappling-MMA crossover, just finally starting to face good competition, on his way to convincing victory over Horn, very well rounded fighter with maxed out experience, all Joe can talk about is how good of a job Horn was doing of surviving. Clearly Palhares is on his way to big thinks, exceeding expectations against Hendo and now handily putting away Jeremy Horn. Would have been more fitting to drop a few more pro-Palhares comments as the fight wore on.

Anyways, Hendo vs. Franklin is on now

January 13, 2009

If Hughes wins, Serra has to deliver an array of pasta dishes to Hughes' door. If Serra wins, Hughes has to serve the entire Serra clan a nice, hearty, country breakfast. Mmmm, heaps of raw back bacon.

So basically what Ace said.

Matt Serra reminds me so much of one of my friends. A cocky, little, Italian dude who is obsessed with jits. It's always saved a place for Serra in my heart because of that.

January 11, 2009

I thought Jason Blake scored with the Islanders because there was nobody else to it for them. I mean, somebody has to score your goals.

Honestly, I never paid any attention to Jason Blake until the Leafs signed him. Then I was like "wait, Jason Blake scored 40 goals last season?" What journey it has been since then.

January 11, 2009

Ah, I see what you are saying. I think if Maia can handle Sonnen in short order, the UFC will bump up his competition. You think with Okami, the winner of Hendo/Ace, if Nate beats Wilson, you've got a nice four man eliminator if you throw Demian in the mix too if he wins, but that's a scenario for a perfect world.

January 11, 2009

Agreed. It gets really annoying when Hagman and Garbo cycle the puck beautifully, only to have it end up being on fanned, shot wide, or shot right at the goalie's chest.

THIS is where you need Darcy Tucker. Just stationed there in the crease, cashing the cheques. I really think that's a role Jason Blake could thrive in. He can often get in front undetected, he has got a quick release, but he just doesn't think before he shoots, he is always looking at the puck instead of where he wants to put it. He's doing too much for the type of player he is. If Jason Blake could calm down, take the Darcy Tucker role of finish sequences and being the garbage man, I think a Blake-Garbo-Hagman line could entertaining and help you put points in the board. Now, I have no faith in Jason Blake relaxing the fuck out anytime soon and he's looking better now than he ever did last year, so why fuck with him now? Just random thoughts.

January 11, 2009

Maia seems to be going in the wrong direction for my liking at the minute. I want to see him fighting more established fighters as I'm really hoping for a title shot at Silva sometime soon.

I think Sonnen is a great opponent for Maia. A solid, all around fighter, good enough on the ground that he shouldn't be quickly subbed by Maia. If anything, Sonnen will be a as much as a test as MacDonald was for Demien (EDIT: even though I don't think Sonnen is crazy enough willingly take it to that mat like Jason did) . Give Sonnen some credit, he did just beat the previously 16-0 Paulo Filho. Though I suspect the new Paulo Filho is some kind of faulty replicate sent from Brazil after the old Filho disappeared.

January 11, 2009

According to MMAWeekly, Shinya Aoki. These are their rankings, not mine.

January 11, 2009

Just to give everybody a refresher on what's coming up in the first few months of the new year, here is the projected notable MMA calender for early 09, stolen from MMA Weekly, all in one convenient post.

UFC 93: JANUARY 17, 2009
venue: O2 Arena in Dublin, Ireland

Main Card Bouts:
-Rich Franklin (#9 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Dan Henderson (#7 Middleweight in the World)* in a light heavyweight bout
-Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Mark Coleman
-Denis Kang vs. Alan Belcher
-Rousimar Palhares vs. Jeremy Horn
-Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle

Preliminary Bouts:
-Martin Kampmann vs. Alexandre Barros
-Ivan Serati vs. Thomasz Drwal
-Tom Egan vs. John Hathaway
-Nate Mohr vs. Denis Siver
-Eric Schafer vs. Antonio Mendes

AFFLICTION 2: JANUARY 24, 2009
venue: Honda Center in Anaheim, California

Pay-Per-View Bouts:
-Fedor Emelianenko (#1 Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Andrei Arlovski (#4 Heavyweight in the World)*
-Josh Barnett (#2 Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Gilbert Yvel
-Matt Lindland (#3 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Vitor Belfort
-Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
-Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
-Paul Buentello vs. Kiril "Baby Fedor" Sidelnikov

HDNet Bouts:
-Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (#6 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
-Jay Hieron vs. Jason High
-Mark Hominick vs. L.C. Davis
-Antonio Duarte vs. Albert Rios
-Brett Cooper vs. Patrick Speight

WEC 38: JANUARY 25, 2009
venue: San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California

-Jamie Varner vs. Donald Cerrone
-Urijah Faber (#2 Featherweight in the World)* vs. Jens Pulver
-Danillo Villefort vs. Mike Campbell
-Jose Aldo vs. Rolando Perez
-Ed Ratcliff vs. Anthony Njokuani
-Hiromitsu Miura vs. Edgar Garcia
-Dominick Cruz vs. Ian McCall
-Scott Jorgenson vs. Frank Gomez
-Blas Avena vs. Jesse Lennox
-Charlie Valencia vs. Seth Dikun

UFC 94: JANUARY 31, 2009
venue: MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada

Main Card Bouts:
-Georges St. Pierre (#1 Welterweight in the World)* vs. B.J. Penn (#2 Lightweight in the World)*
-Lyoto Machida (#4 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Thiago Silva (#10 Light Heavyweight in the World)*
-Karo Parisyan (#10 Welterweight in the World)* vs. Dong Hyun Kim
-Nathan Diaz vs. Clay Guida
-Stephan Bonnar vs. Jon Jones

Preliminary Bouts:
-Jon Fitch (#2 Welterweight in the World)* vs. Akihiro Gono
-Jake O'Brien vs. Christian Wellisch
-Chris Wilson vs. John Howard
-Manny Gamburyan vs. Thiago Tavares
-Matt Arroyo vs. Dan Cramer

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 17: FEBRUARY 7, 2009
venue: USF Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida

Main Card Bouts:
-Joe Lauzon vs. Hermes Franca
-Cain Velasquez vs. Denis Stojnic
-Amir Sadollah vs. Nick Catone
-Mac Danzig vs. Josh Neer

Preliminary Bouts:
-Rich Clementi vs. Gleison Tibau
-Anthony Johnson vs. Luigi Fioravanti
-Kurt Pellegrino vs. Rob Emerson
-Jake Rosholt vs. Dan Miller
-Matt Grice vs. George Sotiropoulos
-Steve Bruno vs. Matt Riddle

UFC 95: FEBRUARY 21, 2009
venue: O2 Arena in London, England

-Diego Sanchez (#8 Welterweight in the World)* vs. Joe Stevenson in a lightweight bout
-Josh Koscheck (#4 Welterweight in the World)* vs. Paulo Thiago
-Nathan Marquardt (#5 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Wilson Gouveia
-Chael Sonnen vs. Damien Maia
-Junior dos Santos vs. Stefan Struve
-Dan Hardy vs. Rory Markham
-Shannon Gugerty vs. Jeff Lawson
-Justin Buchholz vs. Terry Etim
-Troy Mandaloniz vs. Paul Kelly
-Neil Grove vs. TBA

UFC 96: MARCH 7, 2009
venue: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio

-Gabriel Gonzaga (#8 Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Shane Carwin
-Gray Maynard vs. Jim Miller
-Dustin Hazelett vs. Ben Saunders
-Kendall Grove vs. Jason Day
-Aaron Riley vs. Shane Nelson
-Brandon Vera vs. Mike Patt
-Jason Brilz vs. Tim Boetsch

-David Bielkheden vs. TBA
-Matt Brown vs. TBA

WEC 39: MARCH 1, 2009
venue: TBA in Corpus Christi, Texas

-Mike Brown (#1 Featherweight in the World)* vs. Leonard Garcia (#10 Featherweight in the World)*
-Carlos Condit (#9 Welterweight in the World)* vs. Brock Larson
-Rob McCullough vs. Marcus Hicks

UFC FIGHT NIGHT 18: APRIL 1, 2009
venue: TBA location: Nashville, Tennessee

-Efrain Escuedero vs. Jeremy Stephens
-Junie Browning vs. Cole Miller

WEC 40: APRIL 2009
venue: TBA

-Miguel Torres (#1 Bantamweight in the World)* vs. Brian Bowles (#2 Bantamweight in the World)*
-Jeff Curran vs. TBA

UFC 97: APRIL 18, 2009
venue: Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada

-Anderson Silva (#1 Middleweight in the World)* vs. Thales Leites
-Keith Jardine (#7 Light Heavyweight in the World)* vs. Luiz Cane
-David Loiseau vs. Ed Herman
-Jonathan Goulet vs. Tamdan McCrory

January 11, 2009

I am getting pretty psyched for the trade deadline for the Leafs. Should be entertaining. I hope we come out of it with at least 2 first round draft picks in tow.

Same. Being in full rebuild mode, the trade deadline is like our post season.

It's going to be weird. The off season will be more intriguing than the regular season, trade deadline day and draft day are more important than any game or stretch of games the Leafs will play. And who knows how many years this will go on for. I'm all for rebuilding and this should continue by any and all means necessary, but I'm getting antsy half way through year one, in a couple years my playoff sack will be the size of the dog's from Van Wilder. I'll get over it, I'm definitely not used to this.

It's going to be the hockey equivalent to cabin fever. Cellar fever.

Whatever, Luke Schenn is still proving he is awesome and will continue to grow into his awesomeness to become one of the league's premier awesome d-men one day.

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