UFC 129 - Biggest MMA Event in North American History

The fight has not even happened, and yet the experts and the fickle mixed martial arts fans have already counted out Jake Shields at the UFC 129 event held at The Rodgers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

According to odds makers Georges St. Pierre is a 3-to-1 favorite, once again, making Jake Shields the underdog. Why the odds are against Jake Shieldsagain, defies reason but what is certain is that UFC 129 is set to be a extravagant event. To give you an idea to the magnitude of UFC 129: roughly around 30,000 tickets to the event sold out in less than an hour. The demand was still so high that Dana White, president of the UFC, added roughly 15,000 more seats, and once those seats were available, they sold out immediately. 55,000 tickets were sold, making UFC 129 the biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) event in the history of all North America. 

Why chose Toronto to host such an event? MMA recently passed legislation making it legal to host events in the province of Ontario, which is where Toronto lies, and it is been said the province is 'UFC crazy'. The original allotted seat capacity was around 25,000 to 30,000, but the Ontario fan base is gargantuan and is unheralded to the rest of the world, so more seats were needed to be available to satisfy the incredible demand. Another thing that is certain about this event is that the people of Ontario love their MMA. Consequently, the fight card is filled with the 'who's-who' in mixed martial arts and as the event made history, so will the fight card.

From L to R: Couture, Machida, GSP, Shields

The fight card consists of a slew of recognizable fighters such as Nate Diaz, Ben Henderson, Mark Bocek, Mark Hominick, and Jose Aldo. But the fighters that the fans and all the MMA community have paid and will pay to see are Lyoto Machida, Randy Couture, Jake Shields and George St. Pierre. If these names are not enough to consider this event a huge spectacle than, I don't know what is. The fighters mentioned have a track record of, not only winning, but of putting on a great show for the fans. Not one of these fighters has a had a 'boring fight'; only in the eyes of the fans that aren't interested in the technical part of the sport but only the knockouts, have found them less stellar. To give it that 'home feel', some fighters identify Canada as their home country - Mark Hominick, Mark Bocek and, of course, the most recognizable one of them all, Georges St. Pierre. 

Before the main event, Randy Couture will fight Lyoto Machida in a non-title bout. The significance of this fight lies with Randy because he has said that he will retire after this fight. "It's been an ongoing transition for me," he said. "I kind of want to go out on my own terms and decide when enough is enough. I think that time has come." Even though, this will be his last fight, no one should count out the 5x UFC Champion in two divisions. Lyoto Machida knows this as well and has said that he will evade the clinch game with Randy and will instead, create angles for his unorthodox karate style to be imposed on the ageless wonder. 

"Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiits Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime", Bruce Buffer announces emphatically to the roaring cheer of all 55,000 Torontonians. What to expect from the #1 contender, Jake Shields, which he's said in an interview...“Me and Georges have mutual respect, but come fight time, we’re going to be going hard at each other. I’m certainly going to be going after him, and I hope he does the same.” If these words come to fruition, than ladies and gentleman, expect this fight to be filled with fireworks. As for the champ, most fans know what he says about opponents, almost robot-like - "This test against [insert fighter's name here] will be the toughest of my career", but one thing is for certain GSP will try his darndest to not let his home country down. GSP's previous fights have been in his home country, which for some, seem unfair because he always fights with the whole crowd behind him. During an interview, Jake Shields was asked how he felt about fighting in front of a 'Pro-GSP' crowd, he said :

“The home country, of course, it helps [St. Pierre] a little bit, but it’s really not that big of a deal. I’ve fought lots of people in their hometowns and home countries. It’s going to be me and Georges in there, fighting. The crowd can do whatever they want, but it doesn’t bother me that much.”

Why those fickle fans and experts have already counted out a man who has not lost since 2004, has a 15 fight win streak and has defeated opponents equal, if not better, than the ones GSP has fought defies reason. Come April 30, 2011, it will be the day of reckoning for GSP or a day of jubilation for Jake Shields!! Who are you rooting for?

What Would You Do After Winning A Major Sports Event?

 Sergio Ramos Kissing Before or After the final?

If you just won or got something you have been wanting to acquire for 18 years, how would you react? Would you be rational enough to think of a plan on how to go about such a glorious day? Would you ignore such an accomplishment and just continue on with your day? Or would you emotionally celebrate the feat, which has eluded you for 18 years, with friends? 

After Cristiano Ronaldo (CR7) scored the winning goal in the first half of overtime, and knowing how good a defense Real Madrid was playing, Barcelona succumbed to the jaws of defeat. If history has shown us anything about teams that Sergio Ramos plays for, it is when he wins a major event whether for the Spanish National Team or Club Team, Real Madrid, it is that he not only celebrates it but enjoys every second of it without consequence. Before the Copa Del Rey victory, Sergio Ramos is here celebrating Spain's 2010 World Cup victory in the airplane with his fellow teammates. Even though they played a grueling and physical final game against The Netherlands in South Africa, Sergio Ramos and company celebrated till they couldn't no more (bare in mind that from South Africa to Spain, it is a seven hour plane flight). 

Guess Who Dropped the Cup?

Although the Copa Del Rey is not quite as big as winning the World Cup, it is the most sought after trophy in Spain, making it a great accomplishment. So when Real Madrid won the cup, and knowing how Sergio Ramos is when he is part of a huge accomplishment, one can only guess what he would do. Most, if not all, the Real Madrid team were on top of their bus at around 4am (local time) celebrating, and at the helm of the festivities, he was there holding the cup, over the railing. One can only imagine the state of jubilation, he and the team, were in but what we all know is that Sergio Ramos was celebrating hard. The picture to the left depicts the events leading after, him holding the cup over the bus's railing. Yes, he dropped the prestigious, the most sought after, the precious, the magnificent, the marvelous, Copa Del Rey trophy. No one was hurt from this travesty, of sorts, only the trophy suffered 'injuries', and maybe his pride. 

Accomplishing something that hasn't been done in almost 20 years, and being part of something bigger than yourself is something to be extremely proud of, and should warrant a grand celebration. One knows that when emotions of happiness overcomes the mind and takes its course on the body, it is quit difficult to think of the consequences of actions; but as history would teach a player that holds a trophy over a moving vehicle anything in times to come, it is not to do it. But it is easier said than done, so I pose this question: What would you do after winning a major sports event?

What Do You Call An Underdog Defeating A Favorite?

Upset Defeating Man O'War

This past weekend was a gambler's worst nightmare. For most gamblers, they usually put money on the favorites, and in this case, it was in the NBA Playoffs but was not limited to just basketball. However, when the teams projected to win, do not, it is considered an upset. The word upset originated in the sport of Horse Racing, during its golden era, around the early 1900s. Story goes: A horse by the name of Upset defeated Man O'War, a horse that had an unblemished record and was considered to be unbeatable, in a race that had gamblers dumbfounded of the outcome. The outcome had many people, not only gamblers, scratching their heads asking each other how was that Man O'War lost to a 'no name.' As a result of such a gran feat, the word upset later became to mean - to defeat unexpectedly. Upsets are what exactly happened in the first round of NBA playoffs and in a highly touted boxing bout. 

All across the NBA, in the Eastern and Western Conferences, there were upsets. Two upsets occurred in the Western Conference and one in the Eastern Conference. The two teams in the West that were upset were the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs. The reason behind the 'shock' of these two teams losing were the fact that both teams had some of the best records in the NBA, and losing to 'lesser' teams in the first game of a five game series, was by many experts not expected. The Memphis Grizzlies were the team that everyone wrote off because their record was below average, but as they proved, records mean nothing. Paralleling the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs efforts, were the Orlando Magic. But the Orlando Magic did not have that 'shock' factor because they were playing a team, in which, according to the NBA seeds were 'equal.' 

The NBA Playoffs were not the only sport that upsets happened, for an upset also happened in Boxing. The magnitude of the upset that occurred in boxing can be paralleled to the Memphis Grizzlies defeating the San Antonio Spurs. In this case, Andre Berto would be that of The Spurs and Victor Ortiz would be that of The Grizzlies. As with both The Grizzlies and Ortiz, no one, especially gamblers, gave them the chance to defeat such 'giants' in their respective sport, because of their previous outcomes. Unblemished record, top three fighter in the weight class, Andre Berto was the heavy favorite against Victor Ortiz, especially after Ortiz's previous fight, in which, he 'quit', but as the sports world knows and what this article insinuates; being the favorite is merely a praise and not a guarantee. 

The favorites should not underestimate any opponent because, as history has shown, an upset can occur to anyone and/or any team at a moments notice, which would give way for Freddy Krueger to stalk the dreams of those gambler's, who put money on the favorites to win.

El Clasico 2011

El Clasico 2011

When two of the most influential and popular sports teams in the world play each other, it is a game not to be missed. When two of those teams are from the Spanish League, La Liga, then it is certainly should not be missed. When the game between these two sporting giants has a title-El Clasico-then it must not be missed for any reason whatsoever. It goes without saying to every soccer aficionado, that this game is between Barcelona of Catalunya and Real Madrid of the capital, Madrid. These two heated rivals play each other twice a year within their league but is not limited to just two, because they might play for the Copa Del Rey and/or in the coveted UEFA Champions League, in which in 2011 seems to be the case.

On November 29, 2010 at Camp Nou in Barcelona, it was a game that Real and their supporters, Madridistas, want to put behind them. Barcelona imposed their style of play, which is ball possession or colloquially speaking, keep away from Real; as a result, Real got frustrated and started to lose their composure. An example of the frustration was when Cristiano Ronaldo pushed Pep Guardiola, Barcelona's coach, when he went to throw the ball back into play, after it went out-of-bounds. Within the first ten minutes of the game, Xavi scored for Barça, then Pedro scored in the 18th; feeling left out, David Villa scored two of his own in the 55th and 58th minute, and so did, Jeffren, in the 90th minute. Not only did Real feel embarrass for their performance and left the pitch with their heads down, certain players took out their frustration on Barça players, once the game was over. All throughout Camp Nu, Los Cules (Barcelona supporters) gave the TV audience-around the 200 million mark-the impression that five goals was not satisfying but enough to beat their bitter rivals.

Now on April 16, 2011 at Estadio Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, the second game will be played between these two enormously popular soccer club teams. The players that will try to take over are the usual for both teams: Spearheading the attack for Barcelona are Messi, David Villa and Pedro and for Real Madrid are Benzema, Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo. The players mention are not what a soccer aficionados would call usual, rather, call them the best soccer players in the world especially Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The one thing that is for certain, the second game will provide a lot of fireworks from both teams and will be watched by hundreds of millions of people. Jose Mourihno, coach of Real Madrid, has stated "...that the 2nd leg will be different than the 1st", well for all Madridistas, this is music to their ears but as we all know, "talk is cheap." 

For The Love or Money?

Show Me the Money...lots of it!

No matter what kind of sports fan you are whether its only Football, Baseball, Soccer or whichever, the one thing that all sports fans want to see is the fight between Floyd 'Money' Mayweather Jr Vs. Manny Pacquiao. The reason behind this is simple - they are the best boxers in the world and arguably 1st ballot Hall of Famers in Boxing. Both parties are interested in making this 'instant classic' bout happen but the only, and I use the word only very loosely, issue is of how much of money does each boxer get? As his nickname and picture to the right depicts Floyd Mayweather Jr. wants the promoters to 'show him the money', and he wants them to show him quite a lump sum of money. To be exact, he rejected 50 million dollars for his services but considers 100 million just right for his services, just for ONE FIGHT!!!!

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is not the only professional athlete that wants to get 'cashed out' for his tremendous talents, every professional athlete with tremendous talents more or less the potential for tremendous talent, want to get 'cashed out' for their services. For instance, the players in The National Football League are notorious for such antics. Many experts call The NFL 'a copycat league', meaning, that everyone follows suit after each other ranging from types of defenses/offenses to contract negotiations. Consequently, if a player 'holds out' (the process of not showing up to work to achieve a lucrative contract) for an X amount of time or a certain player gets X amount of money, then the next player observes what happens and tries to 'copycat' him. It is understandabe trying to maximum monetize the efforts but when they constantly tell the media 'It's not about the money, I love this game and would play for free', it irks the fans and they begin to question the motives of professional athletes.

The major contributors to these athletes are the fans. The fans are what make these athletes lucrative through the purchases of player jerseys, stadium tickets, team paraphernalia, and etc. Once the fans have shown support and talent is proven, the front office sees the popularity of the athlete among the fans, and more than likely a lucrative contract is signed. However, if the fans begin to not purchase player jerseys, stadium tickets, team paraphernalia, even with the talent proven, the front office will have doubt on whether this athlete will create revenue, because the fans have shown that they will not purchase team paraphernalia more or less, the athletes gear. In the end, do these athletes really love their sport or the money that is to be made in their sport?

Opening Day For The 2010 World Series Champions

1st since 1954

Before the first game on April 8, 2011 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California was played, Brian Wilson raised the World Series Championship banner in right center field. For the teams such as the New York Yankees or the Boston Red Sox, raising a World Series banner has become somewhat routine every opening day but for the San Francisco Giants it has never been a routine, because it is their first championship since moving out west in 1954. As for many Giants fan it was a day that they have been dreaming and obsessing about since they moved out west, since they were born, since they became a fan and even for those that aren't fans but are residents of this great city. 

The San Francisco Giants were hosting the St. Louis Cardinals and their All-Star first baseman, Albert Pujols. The Giants had help from their opponent from one of the sure handed defensive players in the entire Major League Baseball, Albert Pujols. Albert dropped the ball on what fans and commentators call a 'routine out', and because of this error, the inning was extended thus giving the Giants more opportunities to win the game. The game went to extra innings with the Giants prevailing on a walk-off hit by Aaron Rowand in the 12th inning. Some Giants fan were probably asking themselves if this really happened again because Rowand was also the player at helm of the victory in extra innings during 2010 season opener, and to answer those fans question: Yes, he did it again!! 

As the saying goes "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." But on April 8, 2011, not only did they learn from their recent history, they repeated it with the exception of winning in the 12th not 13th inning. The scenario was the same as the 2010 season opener - two outs, Aaron Rowand makes contact and the winning run scores and the Giants Fans go into a frenzy. If it is going to be another 2010 season, then I have to be able to sustain such torture until the post-season where they were flawless, and eventually became the World Champions. Lets Hope So!!

Complacency in All Levels and Sports

It happens all the time in all levels and sports. It happens in High School Sports, College Sports and even Professional Sports. Yes, athletes that get paid to perform at the highest level get complacent especially when they have reached the pinnacle game or series of their respective sport. It happened to The Texas Rangers when they played The San Francisco Giants in the 2010 World Series. They were projected to win The World Series by many experts but it was obvious that every Ranger was happy to be able to participate in their first World Series in the history of their franchise and seemed like they forgot that a final series still needed to be made in order to be consider champions. However, The San Francisco Giants had the mentality that they were going to achieve a feat that had not been accomplished since the move from New York to San Francisco in the 1950s, in which they did.

It happened again to Butler during the 2011 NCAA Basketball "March Madness" Finals against UCONN, and I could not help but to question Butler's mentality! I understand if a team gets beaten but if a team beats themselves which causes the opponent to come out as victor because of some sort of complacency, then their is a problem. That is what it seemed to happen to Butler, after reaching their second straight NCAA Finals Game. Butler seemed to be content to be in the Finals whereas UCONN seemed the opposite. UCONN had a sense of urgency and knew what the stakes of winning or losing this chance that for some schools is once in a lifetime and it was evident that they were not going to let Butler defeat them more or less beat themselves. In sports, when an opponent gets beaten that usually means that the victor was better prepared/coached and simply imposed their will but when an opponent beats themselves that usually means that the victor was not better but kept their composure, made less mental mistakes and simply wanted to win more than their counterpart. That is what happened at the 2011 NCAA Basketball Finals. UCONN did not beat Butler, Butler beat themselves, thus giving way for UCONN to capture the 2011 Championship. However, this is not the first time a team gets perceived as being complacent in the most important game in their respective sport and levels.

Not to take anything away from anyone because it is an accomplishment to make it to the finals but making it to the finals does not make you a champion, it only gives you a sense of pride saying that your a finalist. Every team has a goal to capture a championship but until that very last game or series is completed, no one is a champion. A champion is crowned once that game or series is completed and the score is higher than the opponent only than will you achieve the goal that was set at the beginning of the season. Which leads me to ask: Why do teams get complacent once they have reached the pinnacle series or game of their sport?