2009 July 09 | The 3rd String Safety

Couture To Cover EA Sports MMA

July 9, 2009, at 6:30 pm

This might be the greatest stare down in the history of Sports Business. Here’s the story from our good friend PastaPadre via First Cuts:

Former five-time UFC champion Randy Couture is believed to be the only fighter currently under contract to Zuffa who will appear in the EA version. “The Natural” managed to ink an exclusive deal during his 11-month courtroom fight with the UFC. Couture, who is expected to appear on the game’s cover, told SI.com he attempted to bring both sides together after falling back in favor with the UFC, but a compromise placing UFC fighters in the EA game never materialized.

For those who missed it, it’s assumed that the UFC is threatening fighters who sign with EA with lifetime bans from the world’s richest fighting organization. Couture, who was embroiled in a legal battle with the UFC when fighters were signing those exclusive lifetime deals, is a UFC Hall of Famer. Is Dana White willing to release a fan favorite HOF fighter to prove his point?

Picture courtesy of Sporting News.com's First Cuts

This is going to be really fun.

MMA

Anthony’s UFC 100 Predictions!

By Anthony De Franco

July 9, 2009, at 4:53 pm

2 people had their say - chime in!

Undercard

Jon Jones (8-0) v. Jake O’Brien (11-2)

For those of us who don’t come to this site regularly, I have a bit of a bromance going with Jon Jones. I think that he has as much potential as just anyone in the UFC. That being said, Jason has gone out his way to tell me that he won’t be surprised if O’Brien if gains a lay and pray victory here. Jason puts way too much value into O’Brien being the bigger man. I’ll take Jonny Bones everytime.

Prediction: Jon Jones via TKO Round 1

Mark Coleman (15-9) v. Stephan Bonnar (13-5)

This fight is literally both men’s UFC lives. For Bonnar, his goodwill for the fight with Forrest Griffin popularizing the sport is beginning to run out. He was caught taking steroids a while ago, and clearly hasn’t been the same since. He lost to Jon Jones in his last fight, and clearly has to impress to stay employed. As for Coleman, he made his comeback against Shogun Rua and was stopped in the third round at UFC 93. Coleman is a UFC Hall of Famer but he is 44 years old. He didn’t age as gracefully as Randy Couture and I look for Bonnar to pull this one out. If it goes to decision, it will be a huge win for Coleman, and it will be because of his wrestling.

Prediction: Stephan Bonnar via TKO Round 2

Mac Danzig (21-6-1) v. Jim Miller (13-2)

Danzig is fighting for his UFC life as well. The former Ultimate Fighter winner is in danger of being forgotten as he has dropped two in a row against Josh Neer and Clay Guida. Danzig never reached the ceiling that a ton of people thought he would reach after he won season 6. Miller is a strong Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner who is coming off a loss to Gray Maynard. This fight is a desperate attempt for Danzig to keep his job, and he’ll pull it off.

Prediction: Mac Danzig via submission Round 2

Rest of the Undercard:

Matt Grice d. Shannon Gugerty via Unanimous Decision

Dong Hyun Kim d. TJ Grant via Unanimous Decision

CB Dollaway d. Tom Lawlor via submission Round 1

Main Card:

Yoshihiro Akiyama (12-1-0, 2 NC, UFC Debut) v. Alan Belcher (14-5, 5-3 UFC)

Belcher is an interesting case of how weak this middleweight division is. He is only 5-3 in the UFC, yet he is considered an intriguing prospect to eventually fight Anderson Silva. Coming off wins over “Super Korean” Denis Kang, and Ed Herman, Belcher could cement himself as a contender with a win. Akiyama is making his UFC Debut, and that never ends well for most.

Prediction: Alan Belcher via Unanimous Decision

Jon Fitch (18-3, 9-1 UFC) v. Paulo Thiago (11-0, 1-0 UFC)

Jon Fitch is awesome. He tied the record for consecutive wins in the UFC with eight before he lost to Georges St. Pierre. He came back and won a decision against Akihiro Gono. There are some questions abnout Fitch’s ability to finish, as most of his wins have come by decision. Thiago was very impressive during his UFC debut against Fitch’s American Kickboxing Academy teammate Josh Koscheck. Thiago wins most of his fights by submission, and Fitch loves to be on top. Expect Fitch to grind Thiago into submission and win a decision.

Prediction: Jon Fitch via Unanimous Decision

Dan Henderson (24-7, 4-2 UFC) v. Michael Bisping (17-1, 7-1 UFC)

The battle between the two Ultimate Fighter 9 coaches might be the best of the night. Henderson is known for being the only man to simultaneously hold two PRIDE titles. He’s an olympic wrestler who has the ability to control the pace of the fight. He also has a very powerful right hand, but doesn’t have the sharpest boxing in the world. His advanced age also doesn’t bode well, he’s going against a national champion kickboxer in Bisping. If the fight stays on the feet, it’s a huge advantadge to Bisping. If Henderson takes him down and tries to grind out a decision, he’ll take it. I think that Bisping’s stick and move strategy will get him his title shot against Anderson Silva.

Prediction: Michael Bisping via TKO Round 3

UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre (18-2, 11-2 UFC) v. Thiago Alves (16-3, 9-2 UFC)

St. Pierre is my pick for the best pound for pound fighter in the world right now. His absurd wrestling and ability to instantly pass guard allows him to ground and pound his opponents into submission. As if that wasn’t enough, he also possesses solid stand-up and unbelievable cardio. Alves is a dangerous Muay Thai striker that possesses knockout power. He is a huge 170 pound fighter that can easily overwhelm most welterweights. However, the only way that I can see Alves winning this fight is standing up. St. Pierre can outwrestle Alves, ground and pound him, and submit him. GSP’s versatility is going to be too much for Alves to handle.

Prediction: Georges St.Pierre via TKO Round 3

UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar v. UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir

This may be the main event of the card, but don’t make the mistake of thinking that it will be the best fight. As much as Lesnar has improved since he and Mir met the first time, his strengths haven’t changed. He’s a huge man that can devastate people with his wrestling and lunchbox sized hands. His boxing is sloppy, and once he’s on the ground he has no idea how to pass guard or defend submissions. Mir is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt who has shown improved striking over his last few fights. Mir has made it clear that he intends to strike with the man-beast, and I hope that he is kidding. While it may be a scary thought, the best place for Mir to win this fight is on the ground with Lesnar in his guard. Expect another quick submission and Mir to walk away with his second UFC Heavyweight belt.

Prediction: Frank Mir via submission Round One.

Jason will bring you his prediction’s tomorrow at noon.

NHL

Ales Kotalik…

By Zach Schiff

July 9, 2009, at 3:38 pm

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Well, he’s no Alex Tanguay, but Ales Kotalik is now a New York Ranger. He comes fresh off a 43-point season (in 75 games), but he scored 11 in 19 after being sent to Edmonton from Buffalo. In fact, he’s had 2 43-point seasons in a row and has only cracked 60 once, in 2005-06, where he had 25 goals. That was the only season of his career where he’s had a full docket of 82 games also.

So another injured player for the Rangers, another 3rd liner for John Tortorella’s “system,” but I do like him. It’s an upgrade over Aaron Voros, Donald Brashear, and Mark Bell.

The term is suspect though – 3 years, $9M. Are 43 points really worth $3M per year? (His Cap hit was $2.333M last season.) I hope this doesn’t screw the team at the trade deadine, when they’ll need to get a scorer on the market to make a push for the playoffs. I’m afraid they won’t have any cap room to get a player they need, because they also need to make atleast one more medium-sized signing this offseason (a center or a defenseman, I would guess). To be honest, I was hoping for a 2 year, $4M contract (or maybe $5M for a Cap hit of $2.5M per).

He is 30, will be 31 in December, but he’s a fast player and he’s big. He’s 6′1″, 230 pounds. He also plays the power play – of his 43 points last year, 23 were on the power play. (For comparison, Scott Gomez had 17 of his 58 on the power play, and he played nearly every power play.)

I’m not upset about this at all. Nik Zherdev will be gone, a right winger who can pot 20-25 can be a positive move. Hey, there were worse options out there, right? And while he had a -5 on the 2006-07 Sabres, his +/- was better in 05-06 than Chris Drury’s on the same team.

But now, the real rivalry begins. Who will wear #21, Kotalik or Chris Higgins?

NFL

An Interview With Washington Redskins Beat Writer Ryan O’Halloran

By Anthony De Franco

July 9, 2009, at 12:00 pm

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Ever wonder what beat writers think about Dan Snyder? Wonder just what kind of impact DT Albert Haynesworth will have? Spend some time thinking about how badly QB Jason Campbell has been crapped on this offseason?

So did we. That’s why we called in an expert on all things Redskins. Ryan O’Halloran of the Washington Times phoned in to answer some of our questions. Check it out.

Ryan O'Hallaran Interview: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

NBA

NBA Owners Can Learn A Lesson From Mark Cuban

By Jason Comack

July 9, 2009, at 4:09 am

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Sure he’s foul mouthed and often controversial but Mark Cuban is one of the few NBA owners who actually gives a crap. Most owners in the NBA care about the bottom line. They are in it to make money, not to win. If you don’t think that’s true than you’re blind. Look at all the lopsided trades in the NBA this off-season, Carter for junk, Jefferson for junk, Shaq for junk, those weren’t basketball trades they were economic trades.

Cuban very easily could have re-signed Kidd this off-season and called it a day. The Mavs already had one of the highest payrolls in the NBA and are well over the luxury tax (that means that Cuban is paying double salary for any additional salary over the tax limit [$69.92 million].) He could have gone into the 2009 season with Kidd, Terry, Howard, Dirk, Dampier as his starting five and limped into the playoffs and most likely would have lost in the first two rounds. The team would have been competitive but not championship caliber. Instead Cuban said “eff the economy let’s win a title.” He signed Marcin Gortat to a full mid-level exception deal (5 years/$35 million) and traded for Shawn Marion. Cuban didn’t lose any valuable pieces in the Marion trade, he only lost a ton of money.

Now the Mavs have a formidable and versatile lineup. They can go big with Kidd, Howard, Marion, Dirk and Gortat. They can go small with Kidd, Terry, Howard, Marion and Dirk. It’s a lineup that’s going to give any team in the NBA headaches and it only cost money to assemble.

Outside of the Spurs the Mavericks have improved their team the most this off-season. A pretty remarkable feat considering they were at the cap limit at the outset of the off-season. The 2009 Mavericks are going to cost roughly $82 (really closer to $100 million when you factor in the luxury tax) but Cuban doesn’t care. Say what you want about the man but every owner in the NBA can learn a lot from Mark Cuban.

NBA

Breaking Down A Complicated Trade

By Jason Comack

July 9, 2009, at 3:45 am

3 people had their say - chime in!

“It’s been a long day of looking at spreadsheets, reading NBA cap rules and rubbing my eyes” – Mark Cuban

Usually a four team trade is a giant blockbuster. Today’s four team trade between Memphis, Toronto, Dallas and Orlando was a blockbuster in circumventing the NBA cap.

The Mavericks to acquire Shawn Marion (via a sign and trade) and Kris Humphries from Toronto and Greg Buckner from Memphis. Marion will receive a five-year contract worth an estimated $39 million.

The Grizzlies acquire Jerry Stackhouse from Dallas, Quincy Douby from Toronto and a substantial cash payment to buy out Stackhouse’s contract. Only $2 million of Stackhouse’s $7.25 million salary next season is guaranteed, as long as he is waived by Aug. 10 (make no mistake the Grizz will buy him out.)

The Raptors will receive Devean George and Antoine Wright from the Mavericks and Hedo Turkoglu from the Magic (via sign and trade) Turkoglu will receive a five-year deal worth an estimated $53 million.

So why did this need to be so complicated? Since the Mavericks are over the cap the only way they could bring in a free agent is by using their mid-level exception (a contract as long as five years starting at $5.8 million.) The Mavs intend to sign Marcin Gortat with their mid-level exception therefore the only way to acquire Marion was via trade. The Mavs enlisted the help of the Grizzles to facilitate a trade. In exchange for buying out Stackhouse (which the Grizz are getting paid for anyway) Memphis gets to dump Buckner’s bad contract and acquire Quincy Douby.

No here’s where things get even more complicated. Instead of just singing Hedo Turkoglu outright he was signed and traded from the Magic to the Raptors. Why would the Magic agree to do this? Since the Raptors, were, under the cap the Magic get a valuable $10 million trade exemption. The exemption allows them to trade for any player who’s starting salary is $10 million or less without giving up anything in return. So say, for example, at the deadline the Clippers are looking to shed salary the Magic could trade this exemption straight up for Marcus Camby.

This works out better for the Raptors as well. By sign and trading for Turkoglu they won’t have to renounce the rights to players to fit him under the cap (i.e Carlos Delfino.) They also acquire expiring deals in Wright and George who can be used in future trades. The final caveat for Toronto is they retain their mid-level exception which will allow them to bring in another free agent this year if they so choose.

After all the dust has settled all the teams in the deal got better.

The Mavs added Gortat, Marion and resigned Kidd to a team that won 50 games last year. They can start Kidd, Howard, Marion, Dirk and Gortat with Terry and Dampier off the bench. They also now can go small with Kidd, Terry, Howard, Marion and Dirk. That’s going to be a tough lineup to defend. For a team that was up against the cap the Mavs got an awful lot better by spending an awful lot of money this off-season.

Toronto shelled out a lot of money this off-season and they are certainly better…but are they a legit contender? Their starting five is Calderon, DeRozan, Turkoglu, Bargnani and Bosh. It’s Euroball at it’s finest and while it’ll be fun to watch in the long run I’m not sure where it gets you.

Turkoglu’s big contract made the Vince Carter trade make a lot more sense for the Magic. As long as their owner doesn’t get stingy the trade exemption can be used to push this team to the next level.

And as for Memphis…There still going to be terrible but at least they saved some money.

The NBA where economic turmoil happens.

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Couture To Cover EA Sports MMA

Anthony’s UFC 100 Predictions!

Ales Kotalik…

An Interview With Washington Redskins Beat Writer Ryan O’Halloran

NBA Owners Can Learn A Lesson From Mark Cuban

Breaking Down A Complicated Trade

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