Slide!!!

Haha

Please Keep Frozen

Over the past couple of years, Mixed Martial Arts has exploded across the globe. A big big big reason for this is because of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which is better known as UFC. I for one, hopped on that train my sophomore year of college when my roommate at the time got me into the UFC reality TV Show: The Ultimate Fighter. TUF is basically your average reality show except with cage fighters as the entertainment. I remember back in the days when I was a young'in and the UFC was basically bar room brawling where there were basically no rules what so ever. The modern UFC, for those who still look at MMA as "human cockfighting" such as the runner up for President of this fine nation, is very well officiated and is extremely techincal. I used to be a boxing fan when I was younger, however now like the rest of the world I've moved on. Boxing can still be called "the sweet science." I think MMA could be deemed "the sweet rocket science." I, for one, am extremely excited about the upcoming UFC Video Game, too.

Now as much love as I have for MMA, I must take the time and oppertunity to say that as much as we all love him as a fighter, Chuck Liddell: you need to retire.

Now I know UFC President (and UMass alumni) Dana White said after his recent loss to Mauricio Rua at UFC 97 that Chuck was retired, however personally I have yet to come across anything that says that HE says he has retired. It is a little disheartening. His career record is 21-7 and he has lost four of his last five, meaning. before that downfall he was 20-3. I personally was never the biggest fan of the Iceman, but I definitely respected him as a fighter. His fights were always extremely entertaining and one way or another when you watched a Chuck Liddell fight, you knew that somebody would be getting knocked out. Unfortunately, in his last two fights, he was on the wrong end of that stick. I think everyone would honestly love to see one more Liddell fight, however as a fan of the sport, I just don't want to see anyone get injured.

It is time to step down Chuck. Thanks for the great fights.

The Patriots Draft and More...

Here are some thoughts about the Patriots draft a couple days after the fact:

• I'm excited for Patrick Chung. He will be the type of player that will bare down and bring his lunch pail every day. It may take him a year or two, but I see him being the next Rodney Harrison.

• I'm very happy about Darius Butler as well. The kid is just a pure athlete. He played both ways in college. Sure probably about 10 plays per game at most on offense, however he is just a pure athlete which I love. He has crazy hops too.

• Brandon Tate from UNC is a great pick. Sure he was injured his senior season and only played 6 games. And yeah he has been found to be a bit of a headcase. But Bill Belicheck has consistantly brought in headcases to New England and straightend them out(see: Harrison, Rodney; Dillon, Corey; Moss, Randy). I think this kid could eventually take over the 3rd WR spot for the Patriots. We need someone other than Sam Aiken out there.

• Bye bye Ellis Hobbs. I'll take two future picks for him any day. If you talk to anyone that knows me they will probably tell you that too. Yeah, hes actually not half bad and he is a great kick returner, but he bugs me. He gets burned a lot, and the rare time he doesn't and he tips a ball away he celebrates like he just discovered gold. A lot of that is the NFL's fault, as they don't allow excessive celebration for offensive players, but not defensive. I don't get it. And knowing the genius that is Belicheck, he will find a way to trade those two picks for something great, like two second rounders for a first rounder next year?

Overall I think the Patriots came out of the draft very strong.


Congrats to Randy Moss for his first win with Randy Moss Motorsports


And guys, high school is over. Sure, I'd love to strap the hat on for one more game of glory but really? You're 30 some odd years old, stop trying to pretend you're still the stud you thought you once were.

Some Quick Hits

So according to a simulation done by TSN sports, the Boston Bruins are the winners of this years Stanley Cup. Kinda cool, at least to have EA Sports on our side, I guess. I don't really follow or track these kinds of things too closely, but they are kind of fun to look at considering I am a big time video game player.




While we're on the subject of Video Games, the EAFL is starting another season in Madden 2009 and I am currently in the E2 division of the EAFL which is a minor league. The EAFL is pretty much the Premier league for online Madden Gaming. It is a great league where it is freestyle game play (go for two if you want every time, drop 11 defenders into coverage every play if you want, etc.) which is great. There are some rules such as not being allowed to milk the clock and some other rules like that which keep it fun and are actually good rules, however for the most part its pretty much "lets just pick up the sticks and play." Last season I sneaked into the playoffs with the Browns with a 7-9 record and the previous season I had done the same with the Jaguars. This season I am going to battle with the Arizona Cardinals and am looking forward to being able to toss the ball to Larry, Anquain, and Steve. I will be posting some results from my season along with my statistics (as in the league you are required to keep statistics, only I love stats and keep more stats than the normal person.) Last season with Brady Quinn I threw for around 2,700 yards, however my TD:INT was something close to 17:25. My goal for this season is to throw with a 3:1 TD:INT ratio, if I can do that I can see myself making some noise, otherwise it could be another 7-9 season where I pray I make the post season.


Oh, I forgot to mention: The Red Sox are on a 10 game winning streak of which they just swept the New York Yankees. Thank God, because they were awful at the beginning of the season. I know there are about 130 some odd games left this season, however it is nice to be doing well. Thankfully David Ortiz is coming back around and finally Jacoby Ellsbury is getting on base and oh yeah, he straight up stole home.

And for your veiwing pleasure(yes, this is a real story):

How Sweep it is!

Last night the Bruins took out the garbage and swept the Montreal Canadiens by embarrassing them with a final score of 4-1. The Bruins have moved on to the second round of the NHL playoffs for the first time since 1999. This is causing Bruins fans all around to finally breathe a breath of fresh air. Even though they did take out the lowly 8 seed in the playoffs, anything can happen in a series against Montreal.

One main reason I more happy than normal is because the Montreal fans have absolutely zero class. Boo our anthem and you know what you get? Swept the rival Boston Bruins man handle you.

Last one out, hit the lights.

Milan Lucic Suspended for Game 3

So if you've been watching the NHL postseason like I have, then you should have heard that Boston Bruins young gun Milan Lucic(right) has been suspended for game 3. The NHL deemed his actions against Maxim LaPierre of the Canadiens late in the third period. As a Bruins fan I am pretty upset and aggravated about it based on the fact that you don't want to see a player who plays the way Lucic does not in the game espically when the game is being played in rival Montreal. Check out below to see the play that gave Lucic the suspension:



My initial thoughts: What a bunch of BULL. It does not look like Lucic is going for his head with his stick but rather proteching himself from getting swarmed by the whole line of the Hab's. But then after thinking about it for a little bit longer, the referees made the right call in doing what they did simply because they have to police the game. I am a high school Lacrosse refree and trust me there are plenty of times where a game is getting out of hand and you see the kids wave their sticks around like they're a gladiator with wreckless abandon and even though what they're doing is within the rules, if you toss a flag at them and put them in the penalty box it sends a message to everyone that you can't be cowboys out there.

With that being said, I think what the people in the NHL offices are doing is sending a message to the players of the Bruins and the Habs, and for that matter the rest of the league. The players are out there to play hockey, not fight and crosscheck and play beyond the rules of the game. While I hate how a Bruin player has to be the one to fall on a grenade and take the suspension. Lucic isn't the best Bruin, however the intensity he brings to the ice is so big for the team. I just hope that him not being on the ice tonight is the reason that this series takes a turn for the worse.

One of my Favorite Parts of the NHL Playoffs

Well it is that time of the year again. The NHL Playoffs are starting up tomorrow. Anyone that you ask will tell you that I am not the biggest NHL fan on the planet, however I love my Boston Bruins and one of my most favorite traditions in all of sports: The Playoff Beard.

I think one of the reasons I am not so big into Hockey as i am into other sports is that I have never ever played an organized form of the sport. Growing up I played Little League Baseball, Pop Warner Football, Town Recreation Basketball, and I grew up skiing and later moved onto Snowboarding and even eventually dropped baseball (because I couldn't hit a curveball for the life of me) and picked up Lacrosse.

As mentioned before, I am not the biggest hockey fan on the planet, but I love rooting for and watching the Bruins. I can't really explain it, but I would never be able to watch two random teams play one another in a regular season NHL game, however I could watch random teams play one another during the playoffs. Playoff hockey is awesome, and the Playoff Beard is one of the pieces of that puzzle.

Nothing says 'Man' like a great beard, and by the time the Conference Championships roll(or should I say: glide) around there are approximately forty players on the ice and on the bench that have amazing beards. It is fantastic, and I love it.

In 24 hours the puck will drop on Game 1 of the Bruins vs. the Canadians, in which will be a emotional series due to the rival nature of the two teams. I for sure will be watching, sporting my B's t-shirt and having a couple brewskis, but one thing is for sure: I will be shaving very diligently tomorrow morning in preparation for my glorious own playoff beard. Hopefully it will last long into the playoffs...

Go Bruins!!!!