Are the San Francisco Giants A Lucky or Good Team?

San Francisco Giants World Series Champions

“I don’t know how they won the 2010 World Series because they weren’t the best team in Major League Baseball (MLB) but they were the luckiest!”  - Everyone except Fans of the SF Giants

To any San Francisco Giants fan, they have heard that quote said in many different variations, in many different languages, and in good or bad grammar; but the one thing they will not have heard outright is that the San Francisco Giants won the 2010 World Series. The perpetrators of that nonsense are usually the fans of the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers (how is that team doing financially and competitively, by the way?) and especially the Philadelphia Phillies. Not only were the fans of these teams hesitant to admit that the San Francisco Giants rightfully won the 2010 World Series Championship but they always have an example as to why they shouldn't have. The examples that these opponents to the SF Giants use to plead their case is the fact that the SF Giants were given the National League (NL) West Division from the San Diego Padres due to their end of the season meltdown. Should have the San Francisco Giants given it back?  The other popular example comes in the form of the Atlanta Brave’s second baseman Brooks Conrad and his pivotal errors. Should have the Giants returned the “errors?”  The most outlandish example is the fact that the Philadelphia Phillies team just did not show up to play in the NL Championship Series. Well than whom did the Giants Beat in the NLCS?  But every manager or coach knows that the team that always wins is the team that makes the least amount of errors and in the 2010 (end of regular season and in the post season) it was the San Francisco Giants, which is why they won the World Series Championship. So in 2011 are they still a lucky team or a good team?

The phrase that is popular among other baseball fans is “proof is in the pudding.” In the 2011 MLB season the San Francisco Giants are 39-34, a record that according to many experts and fans alike is not a record of World Champions. Well if that is not a record of World Champions, than what is? Is there a guide that says what should be the record of World Champions? Just because the record is not indicative of World Champions does not take away that they reached the pinnacle of the sport. However, many people still regard the 2010 World Series feat a fluke and they vindicate their claim through the 2011 Season, which is something silly. If that was the case than all the teams that do not repeat their championship or have a “World Champions Record” the season after, will be seen by opposing fans as a fluke. The San Francisco Giants are going through a rough patch, some may say that they go through many rough patches that champions do not go through (then they bring up the Philadelphia Phillies, whom, in recent memory, have always had great regular season records). Due to other factors that are not in the control of the whole team, the Giants are struggling to have a “Champion Team Record.”

So far in the 2011 Season, the backbone of the Giants team is not performing to their optimal level. Tim Lincecum & Matt Cain haven’t pitched like themselves since the glory days of Motley Crue, Jonathan Sanchez has more walks than a crosswalk at Times Square and on June 22, 2011, Madison Bumgarner gave up more hits in the 1^st inning to the Minnesota Twins team than a aggressive kid on soda playing Whac-A-Mole.  On top of key players not performing at high levels, the team has suffered major setbacks, in the form of injuries - Buster Posey, Freddy Sanchez, Mike Fotenot, Brandon Belt and Mark DeRosa. All players can contribute immensely to the team when healthy but when not, it’s a huge blow to the team. Although the 2011 team is the same from the World Series Champion Team with the exception of Edgar Renteria and Juan Uribe, the core has not been tampered with. The differences from last year to this year are the injuries to key players and every MLB is out to prove their worth by defeating the world champions. The one common theme between the 2010 and 2011 seasons is that San Francisco Giants Baseball is "torture."  So to say that the San Francisco Giants are a lucky team is incorrect and to say they are a good team is also incorrect but to say that they are a resilient, solid, smart, and a mentally tough team is about right. But if it has to be between lucky or good, than like Vernon Louis “Lefty” Gomez always remarked – “I’d rather be lucky than good.”

NFL & MLB Athletes Training Mixed Martial Arts

What does Baseball and American Football have in common with Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), besides the fact that they are sports? If the answer is absolutely nothing, try again. If the answer is everything, that is correct. In order for someone to get paid millions upon millions of dollars to play a kid’s sport, says a lot of the hard work of the athlete. Upon the copious amount of necessary skills that a professional athlete must possess, there are two that are the most vital to a player’s success in their respective sport. In MMA, conditioning and mental toughness are the core of the MMA fighter’s spirit, and without them, their time in the sport will be short lived. However, in order to be successful in Baseball and American Football, a player, above all, needs to have dedication and talent to have a prominent career in their respective sport. Now with MMA promotions such as the UFC/Strikeforce and Bellator gaining popularity among masses, professional athletes included, many are drawn to the many benefits. A good reason why professional athletes participate in MMA training - a monumental component of it - is to further develop their conditioning and mental toughness. After the completion of MMA training and leading to their respective season, the athletes that cross trained with MMA have had successful seasons.

Atlanta Falcons Team 

A prime example of MMA training proving successful for pro-athletes was seen in the 2010 Atlanta Falcons. Their overall record for the 2010 season was 13-3, one of their best seasons in franchise history. The whole team was introduced to MMA training prior to the 2010 season by the general manager, Thomas Dimitroff, implementing a program catered to MMA. “This was something we were comfortable with as far as conditioning but even more importantly the idea of having MMA help the players with their leverage, hand quickness, and things that could help them within the trenches taking on blocks and battling inside.” Implementing such a program proved to be an excellent idea for the organization and the fan base because the team made it to the post-season and was given the 2010 first-seed with home field advantage due to their outstanding season. A major contributor to the consistency all season long can be attributed to the mental and physical stress the players endured during training; for example, when the 4^th quarter of a highly contested game was in front of them, the players would feel fresh since MMA training made them feel as if they were there on a daily basis, and taught them to ‘push-through.’ “You get some great conditioning out of it,” Lofton has said after a workout inside the Falcons field house. “Plus, there’s a lot of carryover to what we do on the field.

Patrick Willis

Although there are many American Football players who train MMA such as Clay Mathews, Jared Allen, Mercedes Lewis, the one player that merits his own paragraph is Patrick Willis of the 5x Super Bowl Champions San Francisco 49ers.  When the name Patrick Willis is said, many people will simply refer to him as a “Beast” – a term given to anyone who performs at a higher level than their constituents in their respective craft; in this case, Patrick Willis is a “beast” in his position as Middle Linebacker. Since his inauguration into the NFL in 2007, he has been selected to the Pro-Bowl 4x, 3x NFL Linebacker of the Year, and AP Player Defensive Rookie of the Year. When he incorporated MMA training to his regime that is when Patrick Willis started to become “more human than human” and everyone started to pay him more attention. A scout stated that, "Nobody in the NFL plays their position better than Patrick Willis, and that is saying a lot." His predatory instincts and good positioning on the gridiron (American Football Field similar to a Football Pitch) goes back to his MMA training and the similarities he saw between the two sports. “I see a fight and a guy goes to grab somebody and you look at how the other guy leverages, it’s just like football,” Willis commented. “You would think a lot of times a guy that’s 250 pounds and comes in on a guy that’s 235 pounds and just de-cleat him, but if he’s got good pad leverage you’ll just ricochet off him, and that’s what happens in (MMA).”

Batter Rushing the Mound

Just like in American Football, Baseball is another sport where MMA training is flourishing for any player in different positions. “Adam Dunn of the Chicago White Sox, Brad Penny of the Detroit Tigers and Russell Martin of the Yankees have used the sport’s punches and kicks to improve their throwing and swinging.” In addition, since Baseball is known for batters rushing the pitcher especially if the batter felt it was thrown with malicious intent, the pitcher should have the confidence to defend himself from the batter. MMA fighter and coach, Dan Henderson stated “it might give Brad [Penny] a little more confidence when he’s pitching inside…And he’s prepared in case anyone rushes the mound.”

Beside the physical aspect of Baseball, each individual athlete should mentally prepare themselves for the strenuous schedule, injuries, and etc, that is the Baseball season. “In addition to improving overall fitness, Martin said, mixed martial arts can make an athlete mentally tougher.” With the long grueling season that Baseball teams are subjected to each and every year, the most important transferable skill that MMA training instills is, as what Russell Martin said, the mental toughness. Consequently, training MMA gives the player the mental capacity to overcome the injuries or days when the player isn’t feeling 100%, since they already know that nothing will compare to the training.

For those Baseball and American Football players who incorporate MMA training to their off-season workouts, will see improvements in their overall performance. Whether it shows on the stat book or in the clubhouse/sideline, the impact will be felt. Since the core of MMA training is to develop endurance and mental toughness, the benefits are usually shown at the end of the game, when most players are sluggish; but those who went through MMA training would still have their ‘fresh legs,’ meaning they will most likely be victorious. One does not like to have a liking to MMA but one does have to have respect for the training that a professional fighter endures, for that is what separates the champions from the non-champions – the training. Hence, many professional athletes participate in MMA training because they want to be champions in their respective sport. With that being said: Hard Work on 3, Hard Work on 3 - 1….2….3….HARDWORK!!

UFC 131 – Clash of Some Titans

Junior Dos Santos vs Shane Carwin

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 131 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada will be the second consecutive event that the card has been changed because of injuries. However, UFC 130 had both main event fighters, Frankie Edgar and Grey Maynard, pull out of the card because of injuries, whereas UFC 131 only has one – Brock Lesnar. As seen from the UFC 131 poster above and the awareness of the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) community, the original main event was going to be the culmination of the thirteenth season of the Ultimate Fighter coaches – Brock Lesnar vs. Junior “Cigano” Dos Santos- fighting or, as the famed referee “Big” John McCarthy has said many times “GET IT ON.” The UFC asked fellow heavyweight, Shane Carwin, if he would be willing to step in to fight Junior Dos Santos in the main event card; Shane willingly agreed to a dream opportunity, he once had but was stopped by his lack of conditioning (even though Brock Lesnar submitted him with an arm-triangle, it was evident that Shane was the superior fight but because of lack of condition and strategy, Brock capitalized and finished him) but now has a chance at redemption fighting in the main event at UFC 131. 


The reason why Brock Lesnar withdrew from the fight was by an opponent that no fighter can submit or knock out. Brock Lesnar did not suffer any injury in his fight preparation; rather he suffered a debilitating illness from a deadly opponent that has made Brock “tap out” (not Frank Mir) in the past called Diverticulitis. This time around, the medical condition “knocked him out cold,” in a sense that he needed to have surgery that had 12-inches of his colon removed and repaired. As a result, he withdrew from the main-event bout and was replaced by the behemoth that is Shane Carwin, whom also had surgery last year to repair back and neck issues and was on the UFC 131 card fighting promotional newcomer – Jon Olav Einemo of Norway. But like that saying goes: “One man’s joy is another man’s sorrow.” In this case, while Brock is in pain, Shane is enjoying the opportunity of a lifetime; as aforementioned, Shane has been in this position before - to be the heavyweight number-one contender and to fight the eventual Heavyweight Champion, if successful, but will his conditioning defeat him again (it’s worth mentioning that with his new nutritionist, he’s slimmed down tremendously) or will the hands of “Cigano” Dos Santos knock the conditioning out of him? The world will find out on June 10th, 2011 in Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada. Also on the UFC 131 card, there are a few notable fights that are worth watching.

Rogers Center in Beautiful Vancouver

On the preliminary card shown on Facebook/YouTube and Spike TV, there a few fights that are a must see which are Michihiro Omigawa vs. Darren Elkins and Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Mike Massenzio but as fight fans that do not have access to Spike TV should watch all the “online” fights on Facebook/YouTube. The preliminary fight card shown on Spike TV is Jesse Bongfeldt vs. Chris Weidman and Sam Stout vs. Yves Edwards, which should be an entertaining pair of fights leading up to the main card on Pay-Per-View (PPV).

The main card on PPV other than the main event is above average. The bout that is preceding the main event has an interesting story. It is between Kenny Florian vs. Diego Nunes to decide who will fight Jose Aldo, reigning UFC Featherweight Champion, for the belt. It is interesting because Diego Nunes is Jose Aldo’s teammate; meaning that if Diego were to win on June 10th, 2011, then logic says that he will fight his teammate for the belt. But as the MMA community is well aware, most teammates will not fight each other except if it is Jon Jones (who was slated to fight his now former teammate Rashad Evans but pulled out because of an injury). However, Jose Aldo has stated that he will not fight Diego unless the UFC makes him an offer (monetarily speaking) that he simply cannot refuse but until then, it is a NO. Other fights that could be possible fight of night are: Mark Munoz vs. Damian Maia, Daniel Cerrone vs. Vagner Rocha and promotional newcomer, Jon Olav Einemo vs. Dave Herman. UFC 131 is scheduled for June 11th, 2011 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada, which will be the return of the UFC (first time was UFC 115 – Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin).

Should Plaxico Burress get another chance in the NFL?

NFL is the governing body of the most popular sport in the United States of America, and it stands for the National (American) Football League; but many players and fans alike, aptly call it the “No Fun League.” A big reason for the “No Fun League” is for the player violations of the rules- ranging from excessive celebration, using social media in meetings, pre-game, during game, after game and amending the rules of the game in any given Sunday to favor certain positions. In essence, the “No Fun League” was coined to critique the league for the many rule changes that inhibits the players from having “fun”. But at times, the NFL has been a forgiving league, especially to previous players who have been in serious trouble with the law. Examples of this can be seen with the likes of Michael Vick, Donte Stallworth, and Ray Lewis. A potential reason as to why, might be their personality and the age of the player – all have been in their mid to late twenty’s. The NFL gave them a second chance to resurrect their American Football career. The most recent NFL player, Plaxico Burress, who was just released from prison from his charges, has been said is “a monumental risk for any team;” which can only lead to the question of –Should Plaxico Burress get another chance in the NFL?

Speaking on behalf of Michael Vick's 2nd Chance

Plaxico Burress, with his large frame of 6’5 (1.96m) and 232 (105kg), and before he was incarcerated, was Eli Manning’s favorite target in the end zone. He is best known for catching the winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII that derailed the New England Patriots chance of being the second team of having a perfect season and winning the Super Bowl (only team is the 1972 Miami Dolphins). One might ask: what happen to the man that ruined the honeymoon of Tom Brady and Bill Belichick? Well, after this career highlight, Plaxico started to become involved with the law, not for the right reasons but all for the wrong reasons. But the one legal trouble that he could not run from or juke was the accidental shooting at a New York Nightclub. If this story is not familiar to someone, it will be hard to understand, not because of the concept is difficult but for the act of imbecility of the perpetrator. While he was going upstairs, Plaxico Burress managed to shoot himself in the thigh with his concealed firearm.  Yes, he shot himself in the thigh, resulting in his incarceration due to the strict New York’s Gun Laws. Consequently, he lost two prime years of his career, two years with his family, missing his baby being born and most important, he left his American Football career in limbo. He now becomes a high-risk player for several reasons; the first being of his criminal past, his difficult personality, and now his age (he entered prison at 32 and left at 34, which is seen as old in NFL standards).

Super Bowl XLII TD Catch

The only thing good that is coming out of the NFL Lockout (if that makes any sense at all) beside Chad OchoCinco’s tweets and endeavors is that the fans truly know now that the NFL is a business first than the fans. The NFL is comprised of thirty-two teams with thirty-two owners, whom invest their money into the team, management, players and so forth.  With so much money invested into the team; the owners need to protect their investment and they do so by micromanaging the organization and choosing the people that are a perfect fit for their organization. That being said, would an owner of a team invest millions of dollars into a player who has been known to be difficult with management? A player who has been in legal trouble in the form of civil lawsuits? A player who is unaware of the State of New York’s laws, which can translate into now being aware of team rules? A player who is two years removed from his tremendous contribution to a Super Bowl winning team? A player who is 34 years old or a younger player? Does his 6’5 (1.95m) and 232 (105kg) frame and his skills still warrant to be on a team or has his skills diminish while he was away? As with any investment, especially if it’s a large sum of money, a lot of questions have to be answered before the investor decides whether or not, there will be a return of investment.  One thing is for certain, the players aforementioned in the introductory paragraph learned from their mistake and have been given a second chance but should Plaxico Burress receive his second chance in the NFL?