wrote a book, die hard Falcon fan, always make snarky remarks, love fake & real violence, Music is my true love. Also I write a blog.
This isn't from strangers, these are people that I know mainly. If a stranger talks to me, they'll probably interested in what I have to talk because of my info box. They might be a Falcons fan or a UFC fan or a WWE fan or music which is great. Its just funny when women or even family members just go to me like "why do you talk about fighting so much"? This is something that I've loved for years which makes people think I'm some lunatic or bully. I want to make it clear that I love the art of the sport whether it's the physical brutality of UFC or the art of wrestling in WWE with athleticism or entertaining. I'm down to watch anything that revolves around something that will make me say wow on a consistent basis. That's why I don't watch boxing because it gets so redundant and lame. I'm not a bully at all, its just something that I love doing and watching. If that makes me a lunatic, well then your judgmental and don't know me. I think I've gotten into one legit fight in my life and that was freshman year when I was a legit lunatic. Now I've calmed down and only retaliate to things when people threaten me. It was just last Thursday when some guy was cursing at people and started to walk to my buddy Shane's car. He was screaming for a fight even though he was pretty frail in size and had that thick Long Island accent. I just went up to him and was like "calm down, what's the problem". He kept screaming "you want to go" challenging me and I wasn't really drunk at all. He's cursing out everyone and just being a complete nuisance. His two friends luckily were calming him down but he was not shutting up. He was getting close to the car even more so I eventually told him to "f*** off" and go home. His other friend apologized to me and everything went away. I've said this repeatedly and I'll always say it that nothing good happens after 2 in the morning if you are on any kind of street. You either stay in the place or house or outside the boundaries of the place. Anytime you are on a street corner, bad things usually happen. From having my glasses being taken by a drunk Polish girl, Long Island goof trying to act hard, annoying girls, and people running around, it was a night that I just put my hand over my head and made sure not to have any outburst. I think I remember putting that in my book, maybe I should have put more morals instead of stories revolving around getting wasted.
Anyway this blog is moved to Monday because I really want to talk about the amazing UFC 146 card. I can't wait till Wednesday and I also want to preview the Celtics Heat series. I'm not getting to anything crazy today other than that so its similar to Friday but just reaction to what happened. I gave you a nice little preview up there so that's about it in terms of my personal life.
UFC 146 Heavyweight Explosion
It was no contest
I was going crazy about this card all over twitter before it started and it didn't disappoint. My predictions were pretty poor despite going 3-2 but I thought three fights were going to decision. That wasn't the case what so ever with five clean finishes which is always awesome to see. It was a terrific card and it was easily the best one I've seen in a while. I didn't go anywhere crazy to watch it since people were away for Memorial Day weekend but I caught it with my boy Kevin who came in the clutch and we were going pretty crazy for it. The card was good that some of the preliminary fights caught my interest. I'm a huge Dan Hardy fan since I got into the sport because he had the cool mohawk and always was a very vicious competitor. He's gone on a brutal losing streak that has stretched to two and half years now but he finally won beating Ludwing in a first round knockout. He went back to his strong point by using his strong left jab that hit him square in the face. It was great to see Hardy back and it looks like he'll stay in UFC are being on the chopping block of getting cut. I'm not sure where Hardy goes from here but it looks like he'll be back on September when UFC goes to the UK. The other main part of the preliminary round was Jason "Mayhem" Miller losing again and getting cut from UFC. Miller is another guy that I really enjoy mainly for his creation of the Bully Beatdown show which was awesome. He's rejoined the UFC after being a big star in Strikeforce and has been cut in less than a year. Its pretty sad but I don't blame Dana White what so ever. He was put in the main event of the Ultimate Fighter card which is still a big deal and he got dominated by Michael Bisping. The fight was so bad that he went to preliminaries and pulled some more antics which pissed off Dana. Then he lost by decision badly which was a really boring fight. Even though I really like Mayhem and his humor, I don't have sympathy for two awful fights he delivered showing poor durability and dumb antics before the fight and after the fight. It has been reported that Mayhem started something backstage which led to his cut happening quicker so I can't see how Mayhem fans have any sympathy for him. I wish him the best though, let's get to the main card.
I didn't see the first fight completely other than the end highlight but it was nice to see Struve win. He has loads of potential while Lavar Johnson never really impressed me other than looking like he's related to The Rock. Lavar got dominated from the start and has a broken arm after being favored by plenty of people. It surprised me because Struve is so lanky and can use his reach to cause problems which he did quicker than I expected. It was a nice win for him and he'll be expected to stay on main card from here on out after some debate. The next fight I didn't see live but I saw immediately when I went home because of Stipe Miocic and the support I show for him. He's Croatian like me so that's immediately must watch but a few things came up so I missed it live. It was great to see him get this win even though he needs some improvement because his flaws showed. His defense was shaky at first and Del Rosario was tagging him with kicks. He said it didn't affect him a lot but against someone that isn't out of shape it will hurt him. Del Rosario showed some serious rust despite some strong kicks but his take down defense was an absolute joke. Miocic took him down with ease and Del Rosario had no answer to fore arms being struck right into his eye. Stipe got the win in the 2nd round on his first main card which will give him a huge boost. This will him grow and hopefully he'll add more to his arsenal because I still think the poor conditioning and rust from Del Rosario led to the knockout. Croatians won't be happy but it's my opinion. If he goes up against someone like Gabriel Gonzaga or Ben Rothwell, he'll get decimated if he doesn't defend better. The next fight was a feel good moment even though it really caught me by surprise. After being fully convinced that Roy Nelson would finally be finished, he shuts me up with a first round knockout. It was full of force and impact with the right haymaker that smashed Dave Herman in the face. At first I thought Mazzagati called it too fast, but it was clear Herman showed no attempt to defend himself falling in an Indian style fashion. Nelson picked up his first win since October which was huge for him. It saved him from possibly getting cut and earns him at least another fat. He's a huge fan favorite which gives him pull to possibly earn another possible co-main event in the future. I'm very critical of Nelson and his body but he's becoming someone that you can't hate. He's a 35 year old guy that loves living the country life style that means lots of eating and drinking. Nelson isn't a threat to main event or get a title shot so if he wants to fight and try to knock people out, I'm all for it. As for Herman he's in some trouble after losing his 2nd straight fight. He was the replacement to Gabriel Gonzaga so it was a gift he even got on the card. I'm not sure where he goes from here but this was really disappointing after being awarded this chance to win on a big stage.
The co main event was something that I was really looking into. It had two fighters that really needed a win to stake their claim back. You had Antonio Silva who was making his debut in UFC after becoming a legend in Strikeforce while Cain Velasquez was out to prove that his 64 second loss to Junior Dos Santos for the heavyweight championship was a fluke. I expected a war that would go to decision that Velasquez would win. Instead it was completely one sided with Cain absolutely destroying Silva within 10 seconds into fight. It took one slip up from Silva going for a kick and Velasquez catching him. Once Cain gets on top of you, it's very difficult to break out of the mount. He showed that against Lesnar and he proved it again on Saturday. He was using his fore arms to perfection and took his time in dissecting Silva. It was an absolute blood bath which left Silva knocked out in a pool of his own blood. It was a huge statement for Velasquez to quiet down the critics for being a possible one hit wonder. He came out with a purpose looking slimmer and wasted no time on getting on top of a serious threat like Silva. I'm very happy for Cain because this guy is the real deal being 10-1 now and I don't want people criticizing someone who's the complete package. The card was going by so fast with 3 first round finishes which is really impressive. The main event was finally here and I was really excited. Frank Mir came out to Amazing by Kayne West which got me even more rowdy for Frank. I'm not a Kayne West fan but that song is awesome and it fits Frank well. Sadly it was the only bright spot for Frank all night as he was quick work for Junior Dos Santos. My 2nd round knockout for Dos Santos was the right prediction which was nice but I was sad to see Frank lose so easily. He's a two time champion that is considered a legend by so many but to see him lose that badly was tough to watch. I loved the attempt to take Dos Santos down 10 seconds into the fight but after that it went downhill. It was great attempt but Dos Santos clearly had it scouted. It turned into a boxing match and everything went downhill. Dos Santos began to pick his spots and eventually had Mir stuttering by the end of the 1st round. The end was near after Mir was just going for leg kicks to soften him up for a take down but Dos Santos had enough and ended up quickly into the 2nd round. It was a dominant victory for a great champion like Dos Santos. The end fight interview was cool with Dos Santos bring a special guest who was 8 years old and a close friend to Dos Santos. It was a really cool moment and it showed how much class Dos Santos has. Even though I wasn't rooting for him, this guy is awesome as a human being as a competitor. He could become a dominant champion in a division that usually lacks a true dominant champion. Nobody has gone over two title defense victories in the division's history but Dos Santos could very well do it.
It was an absolute blood bath to say the least, a one sided blood bath
Overall the show was really brilliant and it will be tough to beat. I do think UFC 148 headlined by Anderson Silva versus Chael Sonnen is going to be special and it could top it but it will be tough. This show lived up to the hype of heavy hitting and huge knockouts. My MVP goes to Cain Velasquez though because I didn't expect him to look that dominant. He shocked me and looks like he's primed to go for the title again. The most disappointing fighter is close but I'm going to go with Dave Herman. Antonio Silva was a really close pick but Herman really should have done better against Roy Nelson who has looked terrible in the past few fights. He has been disappointing since joining the UFC to say the least. A few things for the future that has people buzzing other than Mayhem Miller getting cut is from the heavyweight division. I would be shocked if we don't see Cain Velasquez face Junior Dos Santos by the end of 2012. Dana White hinted at it and it seems like the ideal matchup. Nobody in the heavyweight division has really stepped up to be a legit contender and Cain looked amazing. I would like to see Fabrico Werdum get a shot eventually but he has to get through Mike Russow at UFC 147. Dos Santos vs Velasquez would be a huge main event and get people buzzing so it should happen anytime other than November because that's the month they'll have Carlos Condit versus George St.Pierre for the undisputed welterweight title. The last note from this UFC was the appearance of Brock Lesnar which was cool to see. Obviously we all know Lesnar is in the WWE now and will be with them until next April but rumors are flying around that he might make a comeback. I love Brock and will always support him but I find it a bit lame. He said he was retiring in Decenber then to come back just like that would be a bit annoying to me but people have done it before (Hey Brett Farve, how ya doing). Also Lesnar doesn't look the same like he did a few years ago when he was the champion of the division. After seeing him get decimated by Overeem and Velasquez, I don't think it would be smart for him to come back. The only thing would be cool is to see him face Frank Mir one more time to settle the score. They are tied one a piece and I think everyone would love to see who's the better man. That would be the only thing that would interest me otherwise I would have really low expectations on Lesnar returning. If he loses to Mir, then he's obviously done but if he won, then he'll prove me wrong and could do something more in the division. Its not official though so will just have to wait until next year.
Conference Finals
Based on the whole UFC recap I just did, its clear that I didn't see any of the Game 7 showdown in Boston with the Celtics beating the 76ers like most would expect. Based on analysts like the great Bill Simmons (huge Celtics fan) and some highlights, Boston won an ugly game and the 76ers were exposed for their lack of efficient scorers. It didn't surprise me to see Boston go through but it was pretty shocking to see them shoot so poorly. The loss of Avery Bradley is going to sting even more going up against Miami. Also I'll recap Game 1 of last night's Western Conference games. Its too early to talk about the future of series or give an MVP of the series so it will be jut a recap. Just for format purposes, I would give Rajon Rondo the MVP award in that semifinal series against Philadelphia even though Kevin Garnett is right next to him. Garnett struggled a bit late in the series but he's still been a huge factor to why Boston is in the position they're in.
Rivalry keeps on growing.
2. Heat vs 4. Celtics- This series would have been incredible if both teams were healthy instead it might quick again. Boston looks like a dead team after that seven game war with Philadelphia while Miami looks rejuvenated and ready to make that push to the finals. They are playing with confidence again with their captain Dwayne Wade back to playing like the top five player that he truly is. If they can get guys like Chalmers and Miller to shoot consistently then this team will be unstoppable. I do think that will see Chris Bosh at some point in this series. My prediction will be in Game 4 because he's starting drills now. It could be a stretch but it wouldn't surprise me to see him make an appearance. Even without Bosh, they will win the series no matter what. Boston has no bench right now and Ray Allen is barley hanging on. It doesn't help that Allen has to guard Dwayne Wade who is on top of his game. They might try to put Rondo on Wade but Wade can post him up and give him serious problems. Also Chalmers is starting to get more confident in driving so Allen seems like a liability everywhere on the court. For Boston to be a threat in this series, they'll need Kevin Garnett to continue his run of putting up huge numbers. They will need to exploit Miami's weakness down low although I could see Miami dropping Shane Battier back to the bench. If Miami learned anything from Game 6 is that when teams targeted Battier while playing power forward, he was a massive liability. Since Garnett isn't like David West and is a focal point of Boston's offense, he should be the guy they would look for. I think Pierce will struggle in this series though and Rondo is going to have a lot of pressure to perform. Boston gave Miami serious problems in regular season but with no Avery Bradley and a beaten up team, I don't give Boston much of a chance. This is a stretch pick because I could see it going six, but I'm going to pick Miami in five because they'll have no answer for the dynamic duo and Boston will struggle to score at times once they double team Garnett or possibly use Haslem to guard him. My original prediction was obviously Chicago and Miami playing but that ended. I'm not too concerned about this series but things could change in a heartbeat if you saw what happened last series.
1, Spurs vs 2. Thunder- The series kicked off last night and it wasn't down to the wire but it was really impressive. After controlling the game all three quarters, Oklahoma City simply coughed up the game with awful shot selection. The moral from the game had to be how many jump shots that they take a game and how they can't rely on it all the time. They need to drive more and get inside the paint to maintain leads and get possible easy buckets. This loss has to hurt because they had the Spurs where they wanted them. Spurs outscored the Thunder by 12 in the last quarter thanks to precision passing and using their time of possession wisely. It took way too long for the Thunder to set up their offense in the 4th quarter once the intensity picked up even higher. My theory of the Thunder winning in six because of how Durant has the more favorable matchup didn't really go well tonight despite Durant having a terrific game. Durant scored 27 points and 10 rebounds last night along with making plays all around. He's really developing into a more complete player when they need him because everyone else was struggling. Russell Westbrook was dreadful in the 2nd half and eventually stopped shooting. He went 0-6 on an occasion during the 4th quarter missing layups on drives badly and taking way too many three pointers with a man right in his face. He looked flustered and didn't seem to be confident with his shot late in the game. Serge Ibaka did a nice job defensively but he needs to make more of an impact on offensive end which was missing tonight. The one bright spot had to be the shooting of Derek Fisher who was awesome most of the night with 13 points. James Harden was struggling through out the game so Fisher had to step up and hit some rainbow like jump shots over Spurs defenders to keep their 3rd quarter streak alive. Eventually the poor shooting started to really come alive and the Spurs took over. They didn't get a lot of production out of Duncan or Parker but that's why they got Manu Ginobili. Ginobili was the different maker with 26 points on a 9-14 shooting which is very impressive. His driving skills really impressed me even against the lanky Thunder defense. He got to wherever he wanted to and broke down the Thunder defense on a consistent basis. He was uncontrollable and it was the boost they needed off the bench. Gary Meal and Tiago Splitter played well in their bench role It amazed me how the game changed so fast with the Spurs penetrating and passing out getting easy buckets rather than relying on certain guys to score on isolation plays. It was a poorly coached game by Scott Brooks and they look rattled once they lost that 11 point lead. This will sting for about a day but they'll need to get focused for Game 2 to avoid going down 2-0 which is going to be difficult. Both teams shouldn't be all impressed with their play because it seemed like certain stars were really under performing and seemed to be rushing with their shots. I'm expecting better shot selection from the Thunder and for the Spurs not to start out cold again.
Final Word/Plugs
I've said it before but I'm going to say again and wish everyone a happy Memorial Day. I don't tend to post on holidays but with the way things set up in the sports world sometimes its needed. I'll be back either Thursday or Friday with another one covering the playoffs as usual also who knows maybe something will come up. I've done a lot of yelling in public lately, maybe I'll bring up how I should be a lawyer and beat everyone in court. I don't know but what I do know is that in nine days, I'll posting the Euro Cup 2012 preview. It will be on June 6th that it will be posted on full Euro Cup preview and predictions. Also I'm possibly going to be doing a podcast with a guy I've mentioned before from Manchester England, the man I like to call "Crazy" Joe Craven because it has a nice ring to it. If we do and I get the link, it will be posted. It will be a half hour each and we mainly only like two things in the world of sports/entertainment which is soccer and wrestling so were trying to separate both topics so you can listen to what you want to listen to. Anyway I'm already annoyed the gyms are closed so I'm about to go look around my house to see what I can work out. I'll be back by sometime later in the week, take care.
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