Average | The 3rd String Safety

It’s Maia: Damien Takes on Anderson at UFC 112…

February 13, 2010, at 3:54 pm

It’s the best striker in MMA versus the best grappler in MMA. Anderson Silva will step into the cage with Vitor Belfort in Abu Dhabi, replacing the injured Vitor Belfort.

From the horse’s mouth at UFC.com:

“It’s always tough when a top fighter like Vitor Belfort has to pull out of a big title fight, but we have found a high quality replacement,” said UFC President Dana White. “Top contender Chael Sonnen was not available due to injuries sustained in his fight with Nate Marquardt, so top six middleweight Demian Maia will step in to fight for the title. Maia is an Abu Dhabi grappling champion, a five-time Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, and he is 12-1 in MMA and coming off a win over Dan Miller at UFC 109. Anderson Silva vs Demian Maia will be a matchup between MMA’s best striker and MMA’s best grappler.”

The difference? Maia’s standup remains well below average and Anderson Silva’s ground game is still above average. Silva will and should be a huge favorite in this fight, as Maia has much less of a chance of defeating Silva than Belfort did.

This does raise other questions about the middleweight division though. Will Vitor Belfort receive a title shot upon getting healthy or will he have to re-earn number one contender status. If he faces Chael Sonnen, there is no guarantee that he’d win. Most of Vitor’s losses are to guys who were able to put him on his back.

MMA

Kimbo Slice “305″ TapouT Signature Tee

By Anthony De Franco

February 3, 2010, at 9:00 am

One comment so far

Kimbo Slice is a ratings juggernaut. There is simply no other way to describe it. He’s fought twice on Spike TV and he’s been over 5 million viewers each time. That is just insane.

While Slice as a fighter is still developing at the advanced age of 35, he is a brand all to his own, and the UFC is giving him an avenue to make even more cash.

Kimbo’s newest TapouT shirt uses the area code of his Miami digs. When did repping your area code become cool? Was it when Reggie Bush started wearing “619″ on his eye black? Dethrone also has an area code shirt. I gotta get me a “516″ shirt.

MMA Warehouse can help you rep yo’ hood for 27.99. Slice’s shirt’s are always a litter cheaper than average.

For more Kimbo gear, check out The 3rd String Store.

NFL

Where Are The Jets Going?

By Anthony De Franco

November 18, 2009, at 10:26 am

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With the last loss that the Jets suffered, the season is pretty much over. In order to get to 10 wins, the team will have to win six of their final seven games. With a rookie quarterback, a rookie head coach, and a team that is seemingly snake bit, I don’t that it’s going to happen.

However, I’m not so sure that this season is the only issue the Jets face. With Mark Sanchez at the helm of this team, there is a misconception that this is a young team that is going to get better as their movie star-esque quarterback does. The problem is that the rest of the team around him isn’t nearly as young as him, and in fact, might be considered an aging experiment that isn’t really working.

In the backfield, Thomas Jones is a back running on borrowed time. He’s 31 years old and has has over 2,000 career carries. He’s going to inevitably break down in the coming season, and when it happen slowly. It’s going to look a lot like the train wreck that the Chargers are currently going through with LaDanian Tomlinson. He’s going to fall off a cliff. Behind him, you have Leon Washington who is going to be coming off a devastating leg injury that might effect him for the rest of the career, and Shonn Greene, who has some potential, but lacks big play ability.

At receiver, Braylon Edwards is a huge problem. It’s not just that he is dropping two point conversions that are costing the Jets games, it’s what going to happen after the Jets play their final game this year. Edwards is going to be a free agent after the season. He’s going to demand that kind of contract that a receiver like Andre Johnson or Larry Fitzgerald has. Is anyone crazy enough to think that Edwards has proven he’s in that tier of wide receivers, or has earned cash of that magnitude? If you give him that huge contract, and add his deal to the big free agent pay days that they gave too of players like Kris Jenkins, Calvin Pace, Damien Woody, not to mention the contract extension that they will have to give super cornerback Darelle Revis and the Jets find themselves in a situation where they may HAVE to keep Edwards, but will be crippling themselves for the future in the process.

As for the defense, the key to it remains the previously mentioned Jenkins. In the past two years, there has been two different Jet teams. When Jenkins is on the field, the defense has been as good as any in the league. He stuffs up the middle of the field and allows for the very average Jets linebacking corps to make plays. Not the mention the fact that he is one of the few 3-4 nose tackles in the league that can actually push the pocket and get sacks. The problem is that he just can’t stay healthy. In two seasons, he’s played at one hundred percent in roughly six games. The Jets also have not built quality depth behind him, meaning he can’t come off the field. What they have now is a 31 year old player who can’t stay healthy at a position where players break down quickly who is making 15 million dollars over the next three years.

Those are just a few players on the Jets that are going to be seeing their careers on the downswing over the next few years. Add an aging offensive line, and a linebacking corps that is expensive, but not very good and the Jets are not a team that is building something.

They are a team that might be in serious trouble.

After another loss, Jets’ Ryan says, ‘It’s on me’ (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Why Defeat to the Buffalo Bills Could Define the New York Jets’ Season (bleacherreport.com)
Can The New York Jets Accomodate The Loss of Jenkins (bleacherreport.com)

NFL

How To Sound Like An Idiot: Larry Johnson

By Anthony De Franco

October 28, 2009, at 10:09 am

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We’ve pretty much kept these articles limited to people making stupid comments about Mixed Martial Arts, but I think I’m going to start expanding. A bunch of people have said some pretty dumb things over the last couple of weeks. As a matter of fact, we might even do two of these today…

Anyway, how about this Larry Johnson character? For a guy, who has a season average of 2.7 yards per carry, he’s got a pretty big mouth. Here’s what he wrote on Twitter over the last couple of days:

“my father got more creditentials than most of these pro coaches. … google my father!!!!!!!”

“My father played for the coach from “rememeber the titans”. Our coach played golf. My father played for redskins briefley. Our coach. Nuthn”

Wow. I guess he’s got a right to say to say it after he ran for a whopping 49 yards on Sunday. For those who are under a rock, he’s talking about Chiefs head coach Todd Haley. He also spelled “Briefly” in a truly awesome way.

To make it even worse, he got into a pissing match with some fans on Twitter.

Jared Launius: Interesting comments by Larry Johnson ( @toonlcon ) about “coaches.” Hey LJ, is it Haley’s fault you fall when D-Linemen blow on you?

Larry: “@jaredlaunius Sorry ur a cornball n ur mom birthed u broke. But I’m cakn patna. While u work or school for 5 dollas n hour. Ha!”

Jared Launius: “Apologies. His Twitter alias is @toonicon whatever the hell that means. Probably something about spitting in women’s faces.”

Larry: “@jaredlaunius think bout a clever diss than that wit your fag pic. Christopher street boy. Is what us east coast cats call u.”

“@DrewK30 got nuthn to do wit hiring my father. But u wouldn’t know cuz u don’t play either so keep on the sideline lil gril n cheer.”

“@KD2407 then don’t reply then. Still richer then u. Keep goin. Come play our game ooops forgot u can’t.”

First off, if you are a fan, and you have nothing better to so than hate on athletes on Twitter, then you have a problem. If you have a legit question or want to send support, more power to you. That’s part of what makes Twitter so great. However, if you think that tell an athlete he sucks makes you funny or cool, you sir, are very wrong.

Second, if you are Larry in this situation, why can’t you just delete the message from the idiot that sent it and go on with your life? Yes, we know that you’re rich, but if you start telling people that you are, you end up in this class of moron that is all too common these days.

So, let’s count all the funny, bad things that are happening to Larry now.

1. He’s in hot water with his team. They told him not to show up to practice and has basically been exorcised from the Chiefs. Many reports are suggesting that he will be off the team relatively soon.

2. The Gay and Lesbian activists groups are all over him. They wanted the Chiefs and the NFL to fine him for his use of the word “fag.”

3. Everyone knows that he’s an idiot.

Is all of this worth the fact that you were frustrated with your boss? This just proves that some people shouldn’t be allowed to post your thoughts on the Internet.