April Big Month for UFC

With three nights of fights scheduled over the span of just 17 days, April is looking to be the most exciting month the UFC has seen in a very long time. The first fight, UFC Fight Night Live, takes place on Thursday, April 5 and is free on Spike TV. Just two days later, UFC 69: Shootout is live on Pay Per View from the Toyota Center in Texas. Just two weeks later, we go live again from a new location—but this time free on Spike TV—from the M.E.N. Arena in England for UFC 70: Nations Collide.

With 28 fights scheduled, you’d think we’d see three or four title bouts. Unfortunately, you’d think wrong, because we only get one title shot, for which the outcome was pretty much decided the minute Season 4 of The Ultimate Fighter came to a close. The winner of TUF4, Matt Serra, “earned” a title shot with his split decision victory over Chris Lytle, and now—barring major catastrophe—is due to step into the Octagon just long enough to get his ass handed to him by the Welterweight Champion Georges St. Pierre. Let’s hope Dana White and the UFC don’t make the mistake of granting TUF winners title shots again anytime soon.

That said there are some bright spots in the three fight cards coming up, along with one or two fights that we here at SteelSkins are still scratching our heads about. And here they are:

UFC Fight Night Live – Thursday, April 5

LW: Joe “Daddy” Stevenson (31-7) vs. Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard (39-6-3)
The winner of this fight should be launched into the Top 5 of the Lightweight Division, along with #1 Contender Hermes Franca, B.J. Penn, Spencer Fisher and, arguably, Din Thomas (we say “arguably” because we don’t think most people agree with us in saying that Din Thomas is Top 5 material, but that’s a conversation for another time). Regardless, the headlining fight of UFC Fight Night Live will surely be a great fight between two fighters whose combined IQ just nudges out their combined wins. Ouch.

LW: Dokonjonosuke Mishima (17-5-2) vs. Kenny “KenFlo” Florian (7-3)
Another Lightweight fight that SteelSkins is looking forward to for two reasons: 1. The highly touted Mishima was given a rude welcome to the UFC via submission by Joe Stevenson back in November. He’s got something to prove, namely, that he belongs in this league. And 2. Coming off a loss of his own to Lightweight Champ Sean Sherk, Florian has, potentially, even more to lose, because a loss would kick his UFC record down to 3-3 and make doubters out of the few UFC faithfuls who have defended the league’s decision to give him a title shot in the first place. We think they both belong here, but let’s wait until after the fight before we carve that into stone.

WW: Keita “K-Taro” Nakamura (13-1-2) vs. Drew “The Master” Fickett (30-5)
Very similar to the Mishima/Florian fight, both these fighters desperately need a win. In his UFC debut, Nakamura was handed a unanimous decision loss to Brock Larson back in December, while if Fickett—who has Octagon wins over Josh Koscheck, Josh Neer and Kurt Pellegrino—loses this one, it will be his third loss in four fights. Time to reconsider your UFC future at that point.

Other fights scheduled for this night include:
HW: Justin “The Insane 1” McCully (7-3-2) vs. Antoni Hardonk (5-2)
LW: Wander “The Quiet Warrior” Braga (16-0) vs. Kurt “Batman” Pellegrino (15-2)
WW: Forrest “The Meat Cleaver” Petz (18-3) vs. Kuniyoshi Hironaka (10-3)
LHW: Seth “The Silverback” Petruzelli (10-4) vs. Wilson Gouveia (7-4)
WW: Roan “Jucao” Carneiro (10-5) vs. Rich “No Love” Clementi (34-11-1)
LW: Naoyuki Kotani (17-5-5) vs. Thiago Tavares (14-0)

UFC 69 – Saturday, April 7

As expected, the first of two UFC major events for the month of April boasts a stronger overall fight card than the Fight Night warm-up. But two fights in particular have the full attention of SteelSkins:

WW: Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez (19-0) vs. Josh “Kos” Koscheck (10-1)
This is an unbelievable match-up. With rumors of MySpace insults flying and a history between these two fighters (Sanchez barely beat Koscheck on his way to winning Season One of The Ultimate Fighter—NOTE: because that fight was considered preliminary, it does not count on either fighter’s record), there is no love lost between these two premier Welterweights. This fight more than makes up for the less-than-stellar title bout between St. Pierre and Serra, and has more UFC enthusiasts talking than any fight in the month of April. In addition to being undefeated, if Sanchez wins, he’ll be the only fighter in the UFC to boast a 20-fight win streak. But Koscheck is no pushover and could just as easily submit Sanchez.

MW: Mike “Quick” Swick (10-1) vs. Yushin Okami (20-3)
This is one of the best match-ups we’ve seen slated for a long time. Okami is 3-0 in the UFC with increasingly difficult competition, including Rory Singer and Kalib Starnes. He has a lot of weapons and can end the fight via submission or via ground and pound. On the other side of the ring, Swick is one of the smartest fighters in the UFC, with “Quick” first round victories over Joe Riggs, Steve Vigneault, Gideon Ray and Alex Schoenauer, along with a unanimous decision win over former #1 Contender David Loiseau. Swick might have even more weapons than Okami and can win via submission or knock out at any time during the fight. If Swick wins, there is just no question that he deserves a title shot—something that SteelSkins has argued he’s already earned by now. If the fight goes Okami’s way, he is a true force to be reckoned with and deserves top 5 consideration.

Our Lunch with Dana

If Dana White were to have lunch with SteelSkins, which is never going to happen in a million years, we’d draw his attention to one fight on this fight card: that of MW Marcus “Bring the Pain” Haynes (9-6) vs. WW Luke “The Silent Assassin” Cummo (7-4)—we’re assuming Haynes will drop to Welterweight. While we are a huge fan of Luke Cummo
for his heart and grit in the ring, we can’t say the same for Haynes. It’s not that we have anything personal against Haynes, it’s just that we really like Nick Diaz, who, we would remind White, was let go from the UFC (according to White in an interview with NBCSports) because Diaz “lost so many times.” Never mind the fact that Diaz had posted back-to-back wins in the Octagon before leaving for PRIDE and was 6-4 overall. No Dana, never mind that. Let’s just apply that same rationale to all your signed fighters, like Haynes here, who is 0-2 in the UFC and 9-6 overall. Not a good enough example? We’ll remind you again in about five paragraphs. Pass the salt.

Other fights scheduled for UFC 69 include:
WW Title Bout: Georges “Rush” St. Pierre (13-1) vs. Matt “The Terror” Serra (15-4)
MW: Alan “The Talent” Belcher (9-2) vs. Kendall “Da Spyder” Grove (9-3)
LW: Roger “El Matador” Huerta (18-1-1) vs. Leonard “Bad Boy” Garcia (13-1)
MW: Thales Leites (9-1) vs. Pete “Drago” Sell (7-3)
HW: Heath “The Texas Crazy Horse” Herring (26-12-1) vs. Brad “The Hillbilly Heartthrob” Imes (6-2)
WW: Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis (15-4) vs. Pete “The Secret Weapon” Spratt (16-7)

UFC 70 – Saturday, April 21

Finally a UFC event in England, where men were born to drink and punch each other. Oh wait, that’s Ireland. The English just match their socks and give back-handed compliments. Close enough. Despite no title bout—and despite SteelSkins’ favorite Forrest Griffin pulling out from his fight against Lyoto Machida with a nasty staff infection in his knee—there are some good fights at UFC 70, including:

HW: Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (22-4-2) vs. Gabriel “Napao” Gonzaga (7-1)
I just can’t wait to once again watch Cro Cop walk around like Michael Myers (or insert other calm psychopath from classic horror films), patiently dismantling his opponent’s defense until he kills them. Of course Gonzaga’s no pushover, and if this fight goes to the ground, Cro Cop could have his hands full. Or you can go with the safe money and bet Gonzaga’s head lands in the third row after a first round high kick to the head.

HW: Andrei “The Pit Bull” Arlovski (12-5) vs. Fabrico “Vai Cavalo” Werdum (9-2-1)
I’ll be honest. I don’t know much about this Fabrico Werdum, other than the fact that he’s supposed to be tough. But I do know this: before losing back-to-back fights, along with his Heavyweight belt, to Tim Sylvia, no one thought you could stop Arlovski, who had six straight UFC wins, including one over Sylvia. I’d like to see The Pit Bull get back to his winning ways. Specifically, I’d like to see him rip Werdum’s throat out and eat his larynx in front of thousands of screaming Brits. Nothing against you, Fabrico.

LHW: David Heath (9-0) vs. Lyoto Machida (9-0)
It’s no Griffin vs. Machida fight, but it’s still two 9-0ers going head-to-head. It gives us a chance to see which one of these guys is for real.

Our Lunch with Dana Part II
Hey Dana, remember us? We were those guys you ate lunch with who promptly skipped out on the check. We just thought we’d point out two more examples of absolutely pathetic jokers you’ve agreed to let fight (one of which is not by coincidence named “The Joker”). They’re featured in these classic? Match-ups:

LHW: Michael “The Count” Bisping (13-0) vs. Elvis “The King of Rock n Rumble” Sinosic (8-9-2)
The logic White gave for not re-signing Diaz clearly needs no further rebuttal than just pointing to Sinosic and mouthing the words “Him? You signed him?” The man knows losing in the Octagon better than he knows his own mother. At an ultra impressive 8-9-2, you could give him half points for his draws and he’d still only bat .500. He’s 1-5 in the UFC (which includes back-to-back-to-back-to-back-to-back losses). This man should not be in the UFC, he should be headlining a Tough Man Contest at Hara Arena—as the ref! I feel bad for Bisping, who’s going to have to live with himself after he knocks Sinosic’s head off.

WW: Dennis Siver (10-3) vs. Jess “The Joker” Liaudin (10-8)
We said there is no further rebuttal needed, but just in case you missed it, Jess Liaudin is new to the UFC. That’s right, Dana White went out and signed this guy. Something about being 10-8 was impressive to this man. Thank god White gave his real reason for why he fired Diaz. Now we can actually trust White’s logic in future negotiations. Tell us this—why didn’t he just say, “I don’t like Diaz. He’s an asshole who wanted too much money.” SteelSkins would fully accept that. Clearly “The Joker” was signed so that British fans everywhere can watch Dennis Siver kick a French guy’s ass.

Other fights scheduled for UFC 70 include:
LW: Junior Assuncao (5-2) vs. David Lee (5-2)
HW: Assuerio Silva (32-4) vs. Cheick Kongo (19-3-1)
LW: Matt “The Real One” Grice (9-0) vs. Terry Etim (9-0)
LHW: Victor “The Matrix” Valimaki (8-3) vs. Alessio “Legionarius” Sakara (14-4)
WW: Ediberto Crocota (10-0-1) vs. Paul “Relentless” Taylor (7-1-1)

Mike Tomlin to Steelers: You Can't Take It With You

Yeah, Orlando has heat and humidity that sheds pounds, while Arizona has heat and altitude that expands lungs, but in Pittsburgh, you got football. And that sheds the fakers from the makers, and expands championships. Hopefully. So I do like what I'm hearing.

Wilson said Tomlin told them that "you can go train in Orlando or you can go train in Arizona where it's a nice climate, whatever, but you can't get out of those places that you can get here and that's football."

Because at Heinz Field in December, you'll be glad you stayed.

Two Articles of Import on Chemicals and Physiology

Where are the steroids/HGH horror stories? You don't hear about players dying--or killing others--from too much 'roids like you did all the time in the 80s and 90s. Could it be that they are safer to use, or that athletes use them more responsibly? Or are they so undetectable we attribute their actions/deaths to something else? What does that mean for sports and competition in general?

Chuck Klosterman ponders the issue of steroids on ESPN.com.

Meanwhile, other revolutionary technologies are being developed that are just as effective as steroids...there's The Glove, which cools down your muscles, making you just as strong for your last set as you are for your first.

Fascinating technology, fascinating dilemmas we face.

Worst Sports Website TV Blog EVER

Is here. This guy, who's not even the author featured at the top of the page, is like a young Peter King, who in turn is like a young Larry King. An excerpt on his "love" of Friday Night Lights:

Oh, no. I admire its originality and willingness to stick to side plots -- Jason Street would simply go away in any other network show. I love that football action is secondary, but that football philosophy is everywhere. I respect that I can relate to the storylines, or at least try to. I see Kyle Chandler (Coach Taylor) and Connie Britton (Tami Taylor) as an Emmy-worthy duo. And I'd take Aimee eagarden/Zach Gilford over Seth Cohen/Summer Roberts or any combination of 90210-ians any day of the week. That's Florida-versus-Jackson State easy.

And your analysis, my dear sir, is Joakim Noah wearing a dress stupid. Kudos to you for your trenchant "side plots" comment. Because I can't tell you how many times I've watched ER's 4,000 strong ensemble cast and wondered to myself, "Couldn't I just once see them away from work, perhaps in a relationship with another doctor or paramedic, I mean, just once?!" It's infuriating, I know, and thank God for FNL breaking that mold. But it gets worse. On Blades of Glory:

In one word: better. I spent 10 minutes on the phone with Will Arnett for a Q&A this week, and now I'm convinced that he can single-handedly lift this movie out of the gutter. He plays a pairs figure skater alongside his wife Amy Poehler, who is every bit as cute as she is funny.

Will Arnett: Playing GOB, but on skates, will save this movie. Amy Poehler: As cute as she is funny. I don't think cute means what you think it means, brother. But it gets even worser:

Not good. The movie, which comes out March 30, has Will Arnett, which is grand. My Arrested Development-loving bretheren are psyched. But it’s got Napoleon Dynamite, too, which can’t be good. Look at the guy's track record. He’s not funny unless he’s spoon-feeding Chef Boyardee to llamas, essentially. And it's got Will Ferrell, which concerns me the most given that this could easily turn into Talladegha Nights II. On the upside, I’ve heard Ferrell won’t be doing the Blades press circuit in character, which got really old really fast when Talladegha Nights opened. I’ll read the in-character Q&As in Stuff magazine if I want bad jokes that didn’t make
the movie.

I keep forgetting that the funniest part of Napoleon Dynamite was the "llama eating Chef Boyardee." I thought it was the "5 minute dancing sequence in front of the whole high school," and because this movie is about "ice dancing", well, maybe I would give it a chance. But if there's even the remote threat that Will Ferrell might try to liven up the press circuit, which I am sure is a laugh riot as is, what with the actors being barraged with stupid questions from all quarters, by acting "in character," well sir, then I am out.

I can't wait to hear this guy's thoughts on Til Death....: "Brad Garrett turns the tables on his "Ray" persona with an endearingly cynical turn, while the "Tantric" Guy from American Pie singlehandedly raises this comedy to sublime levels...I keep expecting him to pork Brad Garretts' wife, and for Brad Garrett to drink monkey sperm!! Keep up the good work!!!"

Joey Porter Finally Beats a Left Tackle

Too bad it couldn't have happened on the football field...in 2006...instead of in Las Vegas, at a blackjack table.

Pens stay in Pittsburgh.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes...or a Penguin from the arctic waters, the Pittsburgh hockey team will remain in the Three Rivers! Link here.

This is makes me feel almost as happy as that one time that a Flyers front office guy said the Pens would never win a Stanley Cup merely because the name "Penguins" wasn't inspirational or masculine enough. I believe he said that in 1990 or so...

Dolphins Redskins South? Not Even!

According to profootballtalk.com, the Redskins had zero interest in signing former Pittsburgh Steeler linebacker Joey Porter. Why is that news? Well, as Florio says:

Need more evidence that the Fins overpaid for linebacker Joey Porter? We're told that the Washington Redskins, who never met a big-name free agent to whom they didn't want to give a sack full of large bills, had zero interest.

On behalf of Boss Hawg, I want to congratulate the Skins for their restraint. It's always the little steps that put you on the road to recovery. I believe that Porter actually could have a good year, playing opposite Jason Taylor, but was he worth the $20 million in guaranteed money the Dolphins gave him? I doubt it. And it's a given that if he signed with the Skins he would have stunk.

Joey Porter Will Be Barking Up Another Tree Come 2007

The Steelers released OLB Joey Porter, realizing that he earns too much money to justify his status as "Most Laughably Featured as 'Most Feared Player in the NFL' in Sports Illustrated's 2006 NFL Preview Issue."

I trully believe Porter would make a good 4-3 weakside backer, a la Derrick Brooks, but it looks like the Steelers will be making a slow transition in the 4-3 direction. However, Porter does not fit the 3-4, either--he just can't rush the passer anymore.

Plus, Coach Mike Tomlin is clearing away the deadwood, and the Steelers have been known for keeping around key players well past their prime--Jason Gildon, Jerome Bettis, Brett Alexander, Lee Flowers, etc.

This move virtually guarantees that the Steelers will go with a pass rusher in the 1st round, but I think there's enought talent there at 15 that tipping their hands in this way won't be that big a deal.

Another reason to be glad Cowher's Gone

This article seems to suggest that the coaches knew Roethlisberger was gunshy and still let him play. Given the rumors about Cowher's control over his assistants, I can't imagine that it was him who made sure Charlie Batch stayed on the bench while Big Ben INT'ed his way to a crappy season. Thanks, Bill.

SteelSkins UFC Power Rankings

In a previous blogpost “UFC Gives Too Many Title Shots to Newcomers,” we here at SteelSkins argued that there seems to be a growing trend by UFC President Dana White to promise early title shots to UFC newbees in exchange for them switching from a competitor league like Pride or K-1. While this practice is understandable from a marketing perspective, if overused, we argued, it could lead to frustration among UFC loyalists (and their fans), who might ultimately abandon the league.

Since posting the blog about a month ago, UFC 67 has came and went, and the fight cards for UFC 68 (March 3 in Columbus) and UFC 69 (April 7 in Houston) have been finalized, as well as the announcement that the next installment of UFC Fight Night will take place April 5 and UFC 70 will take place just two weeks later (April 21) in the U.K. April will indeed be a busy month for the UFC.

Since the last post, SteelSkins has also learned of NBC Sports’ UFC Power Rankings [http://www.nbcsports.com/ufc/1049219/detail.html]. While we don’t agree wholeheartedly with NBC’s rankings, we are glad to see them, as they attempt to shed more light on who really deserves a title shot.

SteelSkins has been working on a similar project over the last several months—namely the “SteelSkins’ UFC Contenders Database.” This database, catalogued by weight class, features data on every fighter for which the UFC website provides a bio page [http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=fighter.allfighters]. Most of these fighters have fought in the UFC during the last year, while a few—like former UFC legend Vitor Belfort—have since moved on to competitor leagues and are, therefore, listed as inactive (or “N/A”) in the database rankings. The sole purpose of the database: To accurately single out true title contenders by ranking each fighter in their respective weigh classes based on overall MMA record, record inside the UFC Octagon, frequency of fighting in the UFC and UFC opponents faced. (In the future, SteelSkins would like to update the database to feature all opponents faced—both inside and outside the UFC; however this is a tall order and one that is difficult to keep up-to-date for SteelSkins, who has a full-time job that doesn’t include tracking down MMA fighters.)

While every fighter who has fought in the UFC during the last 12 months has been ranked according to the above criteria, it would be impossible to completely match Dana White’s thinking over who most deserves a title shot. As our previous blogpost argued, he has marketability to factor into the equation—something SteelSkins does not concern itself with, as we prefer the title shot to go to the fighter who most deserves it. Additionally, he’s Dana White, and SteelSkins…well…isn’t. White’s knowledge of MMA fighters is vastly superior to our own.

That said, White’s superior knowledge will not preclude SteelSkins from criticizing some of his decisions—not out of personal spite, but for the betterment of the league. As such, there seem to be some inaccuracies in some (but not all) of White’s upcoming fight selections, which we’ll get to in just a moment.

First, in White’s defense, the UFC features 222 fighter bio pages. By our count, there are approximately 45 fighters who we list as inactive (N/A) in the UFC, leaving 177 fighters who have fought in the UFC in the last 12 months. [The breakdown, in case you’re interested looks like this: 29 HWs (14 N/As), 30 LHWs (9 N/As), 43 MWs (9 N/As), 39 WWs (9 N/As) and 36 LWs (4 N/As). For practical purposes, SteelSkins is assuming that all 45 N/As do not have unfulfilled contracts signed with the UFC, and that many, probably a majority, of the remaining 177 fighters do. We’ll say an even 100 do, just for simplicity’s sake.

Now I understand that it has got to be extremely difficult managing 100 fighters’ contracts. Knowing that fighters need some down time to recover from fights and training injuries, and trying to coordinate fights for fighters who have been waiting for their time in the Octagon has got to be a monumental task. To make it more difficult, certain fighters train together and do not prefer fighting each other. It is therefore expected that, occasionally, you are going to see fights scheduled between fighters who have no business fighting each other. For example, you will undoubtedly see a fighter considered to be in the top 5 or 10 fighters in his division having to fight some schlump in the bottom tier, just because there are scheduling conflicts and a host of other problems preventing him from taking on a closer-matched opponent.

That said, included below is a close comparison of SteelSkins’ rankings compared to NBC Sports’ Power Rankings, compared to upcoming fights already announced by Dana White. While NBC Sports only ranks 5 fighters in each class, along with occasionally name-dropping a few fighters on the cusp of breaking into the top 5, SteelSkins has included extended looks into each division, where relevant, to show how we rank NBC’s top picks.

Heavyweights
SteelSkins................NBC Sports.............Announced UFC Fights
1. Tim Sylvia..................1. Tim Sylvia.................3/3 Sylvia vs. Couture
2. Randy Couture...........2. Mirko Cro Cop..........4/7 Herring vs. Imes
3. Andrei Arlovski...........3. Brandon Vera...........4/21 Cro Cop vs. Gonzaga
4. Brandon Vera............4. Andrei Arlovski
5. Mirko Cro Cop...........5. Randy Couture
6. Jeff Monson...............6. Jake O’Brien
7. Jake O’Brien..............7. Gabriel Gonzaga
8. Gabriel Gonzaga........8. Heath Herring
9. Marcio Cruz
10. Cheick Kongo
11. Frank Mir
12. Eddie Sanchez
13. Heath Herring

The Heavyweights are an interesting bunch. While Sylvia’s 1-2 record against Arlovski clearly has him at a huge advantage, no one else in the division has proven themselves worthy of de-throning Arlovski’s #1 Contender status (that is until Couture’s comeback was announced). But now that Cro Cop is in the UFC, we fully expect him to rise to the #1 Contender spot (and to win the belt) in a matter of months (we just hope White schedules Cro Cop’s rise fairly, by first going through one or two of the Top 5 to get to that #1 spot).

This is why the 4/21 fight against Gonzaga is so surprising to us. Why pit Cro Cop against a fighter who anyone would rank below him (and by “anyone” we mean us and NBC Sports), if you know Cro Cop is going to rise to the top quickly? A much more exciting fight—and one that is sure to win more U.K. fans over, and thus has more marketability—is to pit Cro Cop against one of the Top 5 fighters ahead of him—namely Arlovski or Vera (who haven’t fought since December and November, respectively). No offense to Gonzaga, but he would be better served whipping O’Brien up (which he would do) or trying to get past Monson’s ground and pound before he faces a devastator like Cro Cop. We give this fight a disappointing “6 Whites” out of a possible 10 on the “Dana White Scale of Fight Selections” (10 being “best decision”).

Similarly, the 4/7 Herring vs. Imes fight is equally disappointing. We rank Imes at #24 among the 29 active Heavyweights due to his 0-2 UFC record and 5-2 record overall. His only marketability is that he was The Ultimate Fighter Season 2 Runner-Up, which gives you about as much bonus points in the SteelSkins world as a cold cup of coffee. Everybody’s talking about Heath Herring as the UFC’s next big thing, only his debut fight against Jake O’Brien was a three round snoozer (both fighters performed badly). If White and the rest of the MMA world want to see Herring rise to the top of the Heavyweight division, he should be fighting Frank Mir, who equally has a lot to prove. The bottom line is, the only reason Herring is facing Imes is to have “The Texas Crazy Horse” fight “The Hillbilly Heartthrob” in Houston, which is about as nauseating as you can get, even for Texas. SteelSkins gives this one a freakishly bad “3 Whites” on the White Scale of Fight Selections.

The 3/3 Sylvia/Couture fight isn’t a bad match-up because Couture will likely dethrone Sylvia. However, Couture should have first faced Vera or Arlovski before being given the title shot. That said, what’s done is done, and we look forward to Couture winning his belt back. We give this fight a solid “9 Whites.”

Light Heavyweights
SteelSkins...............NBC Sports................Announced UFC Fights
1. Chuck Liddell............1. Chuck Liddell................3/3 Lambert vs. Sobral
2. Tito Ortiz..................2. Rashad Evans
3. Rashad Evans............3. Tito Ortiz
4. “Babalu” Sobral........4. “Rampage” Jackson
5. Keith Jardine............5. “Babalu” Sobral
6. Forrest Griffin...........6. Keith Jardine
7. Jason Lambert..........7. Michael Bisping
8. “Rampage” Jackson
9. Michael Bisping

We don’t disagree much with NBC Sports’s Top 5 scale for the Light Heavyweights. We just think they are guilty of what White himself is guilty of in regards to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Jackson’s a keeper for this league, no doubt about it, and SteelSkins likes his moxy. But in the end, we believe he has to earn his shot at the title just like everyone else. Providing him with an early title shot just because he’s Chuck Liddell’s only unavenged loss would do a disservice to the UFC loyalists ranked ahead of him (including Forrest Griffin and Keith Jardine), to Jackson himself (who we believe will put up more of a challenge for Liddell the more Octagon wins he has under his belt), and to the league as a whole. We’d love to see Rampage fight Jardine next.

Being the most exciting fighter out of England, Bisping is sure to fight on the 4/21 U.K. ticket, and well he should. SteelSkins suggests having him face Forrest Griffin. This might be the best move Dana White could make for these two exciting fighters with huge followings, and we’d give this fight, should it occur, “10 Whites.”

As for the U.K. fight’s as-of-yet-unannounced title shot, it will surely come from this division, as the Heavyweight, Middleweight and Welterweight belts would have just recently been defended, and Lightweight Champ Sean Sherk is disappointedly expected to be out until July with a shoulder injury. Liddell holds recent wins over Ortiz and Sobral, leaving the overwhelmingly deserved choice in Rashad Evans. At 5-0 in the UFC and 15-0 overall, The Ultimate Fighter Season 2 Winner holds wins over Jason Lambert, Stephen Bonnar and Sean Salmon, who SteelSkins ranks 7, 10 and 16, respectively.

Unfortunately, we fully expect Dana White to announce shortly that the title shot will not go to Evans but to “Rampage” Jackson. This would be the typical White move, at least. We urge White to give Jackson more time to earn his title shot, and not to risk a meaningless Evans’ loss in the meantime to some schlump who gets lucky with an armbar.

Oh, and the Lambert/Sobral fight? SteelSkins likes White’s decision on this one, big time. We give it “9 Whites.” Way to go, Dana.

Middleweights
SteelSkins...............NBC Sports................Announced UFC Fights
1. Anderson Silva..........1. Anderson Silva...............3/3 Franklin vs. MacDonald
2. Rich Franklin...........2. Rich Franklin................4/7 Swick vs. Okami
3. Mike Swick...............3. (tie) Nate Marquardt
4. Nate Marquardt.......3. (tie) Mike Swick
5. Travis Lutter............5. Jason MacDonald
6. Jason MacDonald

NBC Sports is nearly right on the money with the Middleweights. Only again they are guilty of what White himself is guilty of (along with the rest of the MMA world) with regard to Nate Marquardt, and that is ranking him above (or even neck-and-neck with) Mike Swick.

Following a win over Dean Lister (who SteelSkins ranks 14), White reportedly said that Marquardt would get a title shot in ’07, which has since been reported as occurring in June—most likely Silva’s next opponent. While Marquardt is the only fighter ever to be a 7-time King of Pancrase champion, SteelSkins is tired of hearing about how his 4-0 UFC record earns him a title shot. Mike Swick is 5-0 in the UFC and 11-1 overall, with his only loss coming at the hands of Chris Leben. Marquardt has been beaten 6 times with 1 draw on his way to racking up 28 wins, which is very respectful, sure. But Swick holds UFC wins over Joe Riggs (currently ranked 9th as a Welterweight) and the then-#1 Contender David “The Crow” Loiseau as he came off his own title shot loss to Franklin (SteelSkins currently ranks Loiseau 8th among Middleweights). No matter how you slice it, beating Riggs and Loiseau far outweighs beating Lister.

But beyond this, the true misfortune is if White grants Marquardt the title shot even if Franklin beats MacDonald on March 3 in Columbus. With six straight MMA wins (including most recently over Chris Leben), MacDonald is a formidable opponent for Rich Franklin, who is finally recovered from a devastating broken nose he received at the hands…er…knees…of Anderson Silva. Should Franklin beat MacDonald, he deserves a rematch with Silva, hands down. Should MacDonald win, that title shot should be given to Swick. It’s not out of the realm of possibilities to give it to Marquardt at that time, but SteelSkins thinks the league is better served if it’s given to Swick, and let Marquardt face Lutter.

SteelSkins applauds the 3/3 match-up between Franklin and MacDonald, giving it “8 Whites,” but the 4/7 fight between Swick and Okami is only good if Swick is then granted (or shortly thereafter) a title shot, should he beat Okami, who we rank 11th among Middleweights. We give this fight a cautionary “7 Whites.”

Welterweights
SteelSkins...............NBC Sports.................Announced UFC Fights
1. Georges St. Pierre.......1. Georges St. Pierre..........3/3 Hughes vs. Lytle
2. Matt Hughes.............2. Matt Hughes.................4/7 St. Pierre vs. Serra
3. Diego Sanchez...........3. Diego Sanchez...............4/7 Sanchez vs. Koscheck
4. Josh Koscheck...........4. Karo Parisyan
5. Karo Parisyan............5. Josh Koscheck
6. Matt Serra.................6. Matt Serra

Ranking Parisyan (24-3) ahead of Koscheck (9-1) is arguably a smarter move—after all, Parisyan beat Drew Fickett (who we rank 10th), and Fickett submitted Kos. But we like Kos’ 6-1 UFC record over Parisyan’s 6-2. We also do not like Parisyan’s unanimous decision loss to Diego Sanchez, and we think Koscheck has a good shot at outperforming “The Nightmare” when they face each other on 4/7—a fight we give “10 Whites” to Dana for what should be the best fight of the night.

Also that night, we have a title fight between St. Pierre and Serra. We understand Serra “earned” this fight by winning The Ultimate Fighter Season 4, but we are bored with reality series and cannot wait for this fight to be over and done with. We give it a piddly “6 whites.”

The 3/3 fight between Hughes and Chris “Lights Out” Lytle, on the other hand, is not understandable at all. Lytle—who we rank 16th as a gift to him, is 2-5 in the UFC (21-13-5 overall). We here at SteelSkins think that champions who lose their belts are best served by facing a Top 5 or Top 10 contender, in order to see if they deserve an immediate rematch with the title holder (as is best illustrated by the Franklin/MacDonald fight). Matching Hughes up with Lytle—who has lost to Serra, Riggs and Parisyan, all of whom Hughes either has beaten or could beat—screams of schlumpiness and is like making Couture’s first comeback match-up be against Anthony “The Hippo” Perosh. If you don’t understand this comparison, trust us, it makes total sense. We give this fight a pathetic “2 Whites” and long for the day when either Sanchez or Hughes get theirs.

Lightweights
SteelSkins..............NBC Sports.................Announced UFC Fights
1. Sean Sherk...............1. Sean Sherk....................4/5 Stevenson vs. Guillard
2. Hermes Franca........2. Hermes Franca..............4/5 Florian vs. TBD
3. B.J. Penn.................3. B.J. Penn
4. Kenny Florian..........4. Melvin Guillard
5. Spencer Fisher.........5. Spencer Fisher
6. Din Thomas
7. Joe Stevenson
8. Melvin Guillard

Finally, the Lightweights. We’re disappointed to see Guillard ranked so high on NBC Sports Power Rankings, especially when no mention is made to Joe Stevenson, Kenny Florian or Din Thomas. But beyond that, we’re excited to see B.J. Penn fighting again in the Lightweight division and fully expect him to dominate it by the end of the year, shortly after Franca gets his title shot against Sherk, which we agree he earned by beating Fisher.

We give the 4/5 Stevenson/Guillard fight a perfect “10 Whites” and hope that Dana White pits a deserving opponent up against Kenny Florian, who is coming off his own title shot loss to Sean Sherk. Because Penn is slated to face former Lightweight champ Jens Pulver (who we rank 11th) at The Ultimate Fighter Season 5 Finale, we would love to see Florian face up-and-comer Mark Hominick or Joe Lauzon, while we would pit Fisher up against Thomas.

Something smells fishy...oh wait, that's just my AIDS

So apparently, Tommy Morrison (aka Tommy "Machine" Gunn from Rocky V) is NOT, in fact, HIV positive, as he once...er...claimed.

http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/story/6488410?MSNHPHMA

Morrison, who once tested positive in 1996, effectively ending his promising boxing career at 46-3 (actually, he fought at least once more later that year in Japan, but whatever), now says it was a misdiagnosis and he has since tested negative multiple times.

The West Virginia State Athletic Commission is cool wit it. Of course the appalachian state lacks mandatory blood testing for boxers (as well as for cousins/candidates for marriage licenses, apparently). Morrison is now contracted for 8 fights.

Said Morrison: "The rug was yanked out from under my feet by a misdiagnosis. All I want to do is fight. ... It's unfinished business."

During the decade that went by since Morrison last fought, Tommy might not have died from AIDS, but the sport of boxing sure did. Nearly the entire pool of fresh talent has swam over to the world of MMA, leaving boxing with little to promote. This sounds like either one of the biggest medical screw ups in sport's history or a cry for help from a corrupt sport right before it hits the concrete on its fall from grace.

Said every boxer in the world: "I ain't fightin' that guy." No offense.

Steel Skins tried to reach Sly Stallone for comment, but he was too busy filming his next picture, Rambo IV (No, I'm not joking). You see what you Rocky Balboa fans have done? You give a senior citizen a can opener, and he'll open up the entire can of worms.

Tim Hardaway: Let me nip my bud right here, right now. Do not make gay jokes about me, despite my name and my devestating crossover

Hello, my name is Tim Hardaway. I used to have a devestating crossover that enabled me to blow past my man's defense and slam my ball into the hole. Repeatedly. Other times I made passes through the back door. Early and often.
But I am not gay. No way, no how. And I am going to give you a way to remember.

Just think of my name. And thing of Don Ameche's name. Or John Amaechi, whatever. It's this: "We can do this the "hard-a-way" or, we can do it the "Amaechi-way." Got it? Hard a way is for the ladies, Amaechi-way is for the guys. The gay guys. And I am not gay, so I do it the hard-a-way. That's right, I'm hard.

2007 Mocking Draft

You picked who now? Gaydy Quinn? That guy wears his sister's clothes and writes love poems to AJ Hawk! He will never see the field, unless they redo Field Turf in pink.

JaMarcus Russell? The poor man's Byron Leftwich? They timed his 40 yard dash with a sundial!

Ted Ginn, Jr.? The first black serial killer to run a sub 4.3 40? I heard Cinncinnati called dibs on him.

WHAT!!! THE STEELERS DIDN'T PICK A PASS RUSHER IN THE 1ST ROUND?? WHAT THE F??!? ARE YOU F'IN WITH ME? DON'T PLAY NOW, BECAUSE...YOU'RE F'IN WITH ME, RIGHT? RIGHT? FOR SERIOUS? MAN, THAT AIN'T COOL. DON'T PLAY LIKE THAT.

I, Archie Manning, have finally been avenged.

I, Archie Manning, have for years now waited in the shadows, waiting, waiting, waiting. TO CONQUER!! All those years not making the playoffs, running for my life, beaten down by big, manly, bear-like men, having to seek solace night after night in the arms of New Orleans best transvestite hookers...My pride stepped on, just like my right ankle, because my right guard had a tendency to trip me up because he was so damn quick and I was so damn slow.

I had 3 sons, just like Vito Corleone. Cooper, the impetuous one, chose to reject my legacy, chose to play Wide Receiver. The Gods punished him, and it was just. Peyton, the whiny weak one. I wrote him off. Eli, the Michael to Peyton's Fredo. He was the chosen one. He went to Ole Miss, followed exactly in my footsteps. He would win me back my glory.

But no! Peyton! I knew it was you! You have won me back my honor! I no longer dream of taking you out fishing and coming back alone. I thought you were whiny and weak, which you were, but you were also brainy and obsessed. You trained and trained and trained like a circus elephant until the neurons in your head snapped and just kept snapping. You beat the odds, didn't you, my lovely middle child, because, as they say, even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and again. That and the thousands of dollars I gave to the NFL Referee Retirement Association to actually call pass interference every once in a while. I didn't look at it as a gift, but rather as an investment. In our future.

I, Archie Manning, am avenged! ye Gods, having smiled so smilingly down upon me, now I can come out of the closet in peace and go live with my Salvadoran lover off the coast of the Biminis, just as I so long have dreamed.

Wait...does this sound right?

It's cool to hate Bill Simmons these days. I understand. The first article of his I read he was trashing the Steelers, so I got mad. But he is pretty darn funny, and while it is easy to parody his schtick, it is effective nonetheless.

But if you want to barrage his comments thread, because he said something bad about your blog, maybe, I don't know, but maybe you shouldn't be such asswipes about the comments on your own blog. This isn't a case of the Noonans vs. the Judge Smails, nor underdog vs. overdog, but rather a catfight between two competing brands.

Pussies.

This is just silly

ESPN's Page 2 tries to rank all the Super Bowl teams from strongest to weakest. Isn't this what they invented video games for?

Who is that guy?

If you were lucky enough to watch both games of New England's playoff run, you could catch a glimpse of some of the other NE coaches besides Belichick, including one coach wearing a winter hat, a full beard, and the trademark crappy sweatshirts that Belichick has popularized, which on him looked like a winter jacket. In San Diego. And the RCA Dome.

I can only imagine that Coach Belichick picked another motivational tool out of his "I Am the World's Biggest, Most Slovenly--and Most Successful--Tool" box and told his charges that "We have the home field advantage. We are at home. We are not the visiting team. This is OUR house!" In order to better convince his players, he made his coaches dress up like it was a New England winter.

I have scoured the InterWeb looking for a snapshot of this guy, likely Brian Daboll, the Patriots Receivers Coach, but haven't found it. But I can attest that it resembles the accompanying picture quite closely.

Grimm and Grimmer

So how mad do you think Russ Grimm is over not getting the Steelers coaching job?

Pro Football Talk is circulating a rumor that Roger Goodell intervened in the Steelers' coaching search, advising Dan Rooney to hire Mike Tomlin over Russ Grimm, given that Rooney instituted the "Rooney Rule" wherein a minority coach must be interviwed for each coaching position.

The one thing this rumor does is provide a possible explanation for the competing reports over Grimm and Tomlin being hired last weekend. Mike Prisuta of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review wrote an article that Grimm had been offered the job and accepted--meanwhile both SI.com and ESPN reported that Tomlin was the hire. Many observers have noted that a local reporter has much more to lose by burning his sources or being caught spreading rumors himself...so it does seem less than plausible that Prisuta was merely making stuff up. And having Grimm leak to a reporter before the deal is set in stone is the type of high-risk, bridge-burning move that could ensure that a coach doesn't get hired anywhere--so I doubt that happened...unless your name is Nick Saban.

Whatever the case, it is clear that at some point in the process, Grimm thought he got a job with the Steelers, and he didn't. So somebody messed up. Whatever the shenanigans, I for one am happy that Tomlin got hired. I am sure that Grimm deserves his chance, and wonder why Dallas hasn't come calling after him. But he will be a head coach sooner rather than later.

Tomlin is the Man!!

The Steelers have selected 34-year old Dungy Defensive Wunderkind Mike Tomlin as their new head coach. Go to any Steelers board and the impending loss of the 3-4 will be mourned. Given that the Steelers basically gave up developing 3-4 linebackers after 2003, I don't know why everyone is so messed up about this. Personally, I think it's time to revamp NFL defenses in response to the pass-happy ways of many NFL offenses. Could you develop a run-stopping nickel, I wonder? A 4-2-5 perhaps? Maybe with 4 big DLs, a run-stuffing ILB who is a good interior blitzer, another ILB who has pass coverage skills and good pursuit speed, plus a safety or two who could play like a linebacker? Hmmm...who could have the personnel for that?

DL: Smith-Hoke-Hampton-Keisel

LB: Harrison-Porter
Farrior-Haggans
Foote

DB: McFadden/Taylor/Extra CB/Polamalu/Smith
OR
DB: McFadden/Taylor/Polamalu/Smith/Clark

You could run 3 corners two safeties or 2 corners 3 safeties, play Cover 2 with a roaming safety (Troy) or play Cover 3 with two safeties in the flats. And in run situations sometimes the down linemen may be called on to 2 Gap as in the 3-4, and of course our guys are trained for that.

Just thinking out loud here. Probably badly, but hell who cares? That's what a blog is for!

So...

now that the Steelers have completed their melodrama, can we get an update on something far more important: The Steelskins Playoff Pool standings?

Who is the Steeler Coach? Scorecard

So many people are saying different things about who the Steelers have selected as the next coach, so I thought I would keep score a little bit.

Michael Silver, SI.com: Tomlin
Chris Mortensen, ESPN: Tomlin
Mike Prisuta, Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Grimm
John Clayton, ESPN: Grimm, or not Tomlin
Steelers: No one
Tomlin: Not me
Random Stiller Yinzer: Joe Paterno

We will keep you updated as more confusing news comes in.

UFC Gives Too Many Title Shots to Newcomers

“The Natural” is Back!
Recently, UFC legend Randy “The Natural” Couture announced that he was ending his 11-month retirement to return to the Octagon—only this time he was going after the Heavyweight title (currently held by Tim “The Maine-iac” Sylvia), rather than the Light Heavyweight belt (held by Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell, who was Couture’s final loss before retirement, back in February 2006).

Couture has held both belts at one time or another, so he’s no stranger to the Heavyweight division, which, some have argued, currently lacks a true #1 Contender and by all accounts should welcome Couture’s return. After all, since regaining his title over the seemingly unbeatable Andrei “The Pit Bull” Arlovski, Sylvia has beaten Arlovski again, followed by outlasting Jeff “The Snowman” Monson in five rounds. Additionally, Sylvia holds a recent victory over Assuerio Silva, and his only un-avenged loss is to Frank Mir in June 2004—a fighter who has not yet proven he can stand with the big boys, following a less-than-stellar re-emergence into the MMA world after a near-career-ending motorcycle accident. When it comes to fresh competition, the Heavyweights could always benefit.

Indeed, Couture’s announcement to return on January 11th’s “Inside the UFC” with Joe Rogan sent shockwaves through the MMA world based on its potential to make the Heavyweight division once again as competitive with the other four divisions. That night, Couture announced he had signed a two-year, four-fight deal and would have his debut at UFC 68 on March 3. It was also announced that Couture’s debut would be against the champ himself, Sylvia. No easing into this division, no lead up for Couture to first take on one of the top 10 contenders, his first fight back is a title shot.

Couture’s Title Shot Too Early?
Now it should be noted that Couture is one of only four fighters who have the honor of being named to the UFC’s Hall of Fame. He is the only fighter to have held the title in two different divisions in his career. At 14-8 (11-5 in the UFC), Couture has consistently been at the forefront of both the divisions he’s fought in, and remarkably, all but four of his 16 UFC fights have been for or in defense of the title. No other UFC fighter comes close to this level of stakes-per-fight. This man is no stranger to pressure.

But what happens if Couture loses on March 3? Is he really going to want to stick around for his remaining three fights, knowing that he probably doesn’t deserve another title shot? Wouldn’t it therefore make more sense to throw the guy an easier opponent to serve as a stepping stone while proving he belongs in the division? After all, the guy is 1-2 in his last three fights.

Promising Early Shots at Title—A Growing Trend
Moreover, the Couture vs. Sylvia announcement follows a growing trend of decisions by UFC President Dana White to grant title shots to fighters who have not proven themselves in the UFC—or at the very least, have not proven themselves recently. Oftentimes, these fights are given to fighters who hold wins over a current champion from much earlier in their careers, and are used as a means to avenge those losses. However, in the fastest growing sport in the world, beating someone several years ago definitely does not guarantee that you can beat them again today, as has been proven time and time again, most recently by the Georges St. Pierre vs. Matt Hughes fight at UFC 65. While 11 months is not several years, 11 months of not fighting is a lifetime in this sport.

Other examples* of this precedent include:
1.) Anderson “The Spider” Silva was given a Middleweight title shot after only one UFC fight. Granted, in that debut, he destroyed up-and-comer Chris “The Crippler” Leben and then went on to destroy then-Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin. Silva is also generally considered to be one of the top fighters at 185 lbs. in MMA, and his decision to sign with the UFC was a coup felt round the MMA world. Following his victory over Leben, the UFC briefly posted a poll on its website, asking fans to select Silva’s next opponent, and the majority of voters chose Middleweight Champ Franklin. However, it is unknown what bearing that poll had on White’s decision to give Silva the title shot and is generally assumed to have had only marginal influence at best.
2.) Another Silva, Assuerio Silva, came thisclose to a title bout after only one UFC fight. His UFC debut was against Tim Sylvia, and the winner was to face then-Heavyweight champ Arlovski. Sylvia won, and Silva has since followed up his debut loss with another loss to Brandon “The Truth” Vera, making a chance at a title shot any time soon rather slim.
3.) Yet another Silva, Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva, also came thisclose to a title bout after an absence from the UFC for more than six years. At UFC 61 on July 8, White announced that Silva would face off against Liddell in “a UFC event in November,” assuming Liddell beat his next opponent, Renato “Babalu” Sobral, which he did with ease. However, since then, there has been barely a blip on the UFC radar regarding Silva’s return. Silva is just 1-2 in the Octagon, but has made quite a name for himself in Japan’s PRIDE Fighting Championships, UFC’s largest competitor, where he is the current PRIDE Middleweight Champ. The most obvious reason that negotiations for Silva’s return have dwindled is because Silva was knocked out during PRIDE’s Open Weight Grand Prix semifinals on September 10 by Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipović, who went on to win the tournament. In fact, White cited this loss as the reason Liddell will not be fighting Silva anytime soon in the PRIDE ring—a challenge offered by Silva to Liddell on October 21.

*It should be noted that this writer assumes this trend is not limited to UFC newcomers with the last name of “Silva” and that these examples are merely coincidental. I also do not believe any of these men are related to one another, but that “Silva” is Brazil’s “Smith.”

Certainly not every title bout is between a reigning UFC champion and a virtual UFC newcomer, but in the race to capitalize on UFC’s new-found worldwide fame and to set it apart from competitors like PRIDE and the upstart International Fight League, White has seemingly made many offers to give famous fighters who are in high demand by most leagues a quick rise to the top of the UFC, assuming they win their debut.

Identifying Next #1 Contender is Anybody’s (or just White’s) Guess
Clearly such promises are needed in order to secure the best talent and make the UFC the most competitive MMA league out there. But with recent announcements by White that the UFC has signed such names in the world of MMA as Jason Reinhardt (17-0), Chad “The Grinder” Reiner (13-1), Sean Salmon (9-1), Heath “The Texas Crazy Horse” Herring (26-11-1), Quinton “Rampage” Jackson (25-6) and now Mirko Cro Cop Filipović (21-4-2), one wonders when UFC loyalists like Brandon “The Truth” Vera, Rashad Evans, Mike “Quick” Swick, Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez or Hermes Franca will get their well-deserved title shots in their respective divisions.

The signing of Jackson—a Light Heavyweight and the only un-avenged loss on Chuck Liddell’s record, occurring in November 2003—and Cro Cop—a Heavyweight and arguably the UFC’s biggest signing coup thus far—alone signal two definite title shots in the first half of 2007, assuming they win their debuts. Both are making their UFC debuts at UFC 67 on February 3, and Liddell has already called out Jackson as his preferred next opponent. Cro Cop, at 218 lbs. is easily the lightest Heavyweight in the UFC, making a drop to the Light Heavyweight division anticipated, assuming Sylvia defends his title against Couture. Such a move would draw even more fans to the UFC, as MMA fanatics have been calling for a Cro Cop/Liddell match up for years.

Who Really Deserves the Title Shot—A Look at Each Division
All this is exciting for the UFC, yes, but at what cost to those UFC fighters who have been eagerly anticipating their own title shots, as well as to the UFC fans who follow them. While no one can deny Randy Couture’s amazing talent, nor his ability to draw a crowd, his unchallenged rise to the #1 Contender in the Heavyweight division begs the question: What of Brandon “The Truth” Vera? At 9-0 (4-0 in the UFC), he has destroyed his last three UFC opponents, the longest lasting 2:39 of the very first round, and none of which were pushovers (Justin Eilers, former #1 Contender Assuerio Silva, and former Heavyweight Champion Frank Mir).

And should “Rampage” win his debut, or Salmon his, do they get title shots against Liddell, despite the already thick competition in the Light Heavyweight division made up of the likes of Rashad Evans (9-0, 4-0 in the UFC), Keith “The Dean of Mean” Jardine (12-2-1, 4-1 in the UFC), Forrest Griffin (13-4, 4-2 in the UFC) or Michael “The Count” Bisping (12-0, 2-0 in the UFC)?

Or in the Middleweight division, in winning The Ultimate Fighter Season 4 reality series, Travis Lutter earned a promised title shot against Anderson Silva, even though everyone knows it will be no contest, and despite Lutter’s 2-2 UFC record. Why not give that shot to Mike “Quick” Swick (11-1, 5-0 in the UFC), who actually earned that spot by beating #1 Contender David “The Crow” Loiseau and by dominating respected fighters like Joe “Diesel” Riggs? Or if not Swick, then why not former Middleweight Champion Evan Tanner (36-7, 11-4 in the UFC)?

Similarly, in the Welterweight division, Matt “The Terra” Serra was promised a title shot after winning his weight class of The Ultimate Fighter Season 4, which means he’ll face Georges St. Pierre whenever the champ can stay healthy for more than six weeks at a time. Serra has a dismal 5-4 UFC record (13-4 overall), and no one expects him to win. Why make these promises when the Middleweight division is absolutely stacked with talented contenders? Why not instead give that title shot to Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez (18-0, 6-0 in the UFC), Karo “The Heat” Parisyan (24-3, 6-2 in the UFC) or Josh “Kos” Koscheck (9-1, 6-1 in the UFC)? The overwhelming majority of UFC fans would rather see any of these contenders get that title shot—not Serra.

And finally, in the newly re-introduced Lightweight division, where White could actually do the most good by introducing more talent, will recently signed UFC newcomers Jason Reinhardt (17-0), Leonard “Bad Boy” Garcia (9-1) and Gabe “Godzilla” Ruediger (10-2) earn faster title shots than UFC veterans Hermes Franca (16-6, 4-2 in the UFC), Spencer “King” Fisher (19-2, 4-1 in the UFC) or Joe “Daddy” Stevenson (30-7, 3-1 in the UFC)?

The practice of giving UFC newcomers—no matter their talent—instant title shots alienates UFC’s existing talent, which in turn could force them to leave the UFC altogether. There is a price you pay to be the best; exercising respect for loyalty will surely do as much for the UFC as recruiting fighters with non-avenged losses to what is already the best, most exciting MMA league in the world.

Will someone call the Steelers bluff?

The Steelers have named three finalists to replace Bill Cowher: Russ Grimm, current Steeler Oline coach and Assistant head coach, whatever that means. Mike Tomlin, defensive coordinator for the Vikings and a Tony Dungy protege. Ron Rivera, defensive coordinator for the Bears.

The longer the Steelers wait the more obvious it becomes that Rivera is their man, since they can't talk to him until the Bears season is over. But if the Bears win Sunday, the Steelers will probably have to make a pick among Tomlin or Grimm. What's to stop Tomlin and/or Grimm from withdrawing their names from consideration, knowing that another opportunity will be coming down the line for them? And the longer the Steelers wait, the better bargaining position Rivera has when contract talks arise. Especially if he's the only candidate left standing.

If Grimm doesn't get the job, he is likely to be fired by the new coach, whoever he is. So he may withdraw his name from consideration if he feels he is being passed over. But perhaps he doesn't want the last coaching job on his resume to be an underperforming Oline one year after a Super Bowl win. Maybe Whisenhunt will take him on in Arizona. Tomlin has nothing to lose either way.
He has job security right now and will be a top candidate in future years, especially with the Rooney Rule in place.

I have to wonder: is the Steelers job that coveted? I like Art Rooney II's no nonsense style, but that may also mean that the days of sticking with a head coach through hell and high water are over, and the Steelers head coaching position may soon become just another job, which automatically causes the position to lose much of its appeal, as the Steelrs are notoriously penny pinching and don't go after name-brand free agents...or is AR II going to change that too?

Boss Hog Movie Review: Children of Men

Quick take: Excellent movie. Go see it.

How it would have been different if Joe Gibbs had directed it instead of Alfonso Cuaron: It would have starred Mark Brunell instead of Clive Owen as the hero, and the woman who becomes the first pregnant woman in 20 years would have been played by Clinton Portis in drag. The film would not have worked nearly as well.

What it can tell us about the future of the Redskins: Well, the movie is set in 2027, and cities around the world are in chaos. There is a shot of New York burning and in rubble, which indicated to me that the Redskins had just been in town playing the Giants and, as usual, the outcome had been disastrous. But maybe I was reading too much into it. There was no explicit mention of the Redskins, which says to me that even in 2027 they likely still suck.

Noll vs Cowher

Alot of people think the Coaches are just schemers, when in reality they are responsible for everything about the player--ensuring that each player knows his role, is comfortable with it, and can perform at his utmost in big games. This interesting evaluation of Cowher's legacy, versus Noll's, indicates that maybe the Schottenheimer coaching tree only knows how to scheme...money quote:

The difference between Noll and Cowher was the simplest, most basic charcteristic, trust. Noll taught and trained his players to execute and then trusted them enough to put the ball in their hands come Sunday. He required them to produce under pressure or cut them loose. Cowher thought he could win the game from the sidelines with gimmick defense and gutless offense. Cowher's systems never required the players to win the games, just not to lose them, which works well until the second season comes around. Is it any wonder that Noll's guys raised their game in January? Is it any wonder that Cowher's guys didn't excel in January?

Oh yeah, this should fix everything

So the Skins announced the shit-canning of LB coach Dale Lindsey yesterday. Lindsey is best known for having an enormous man-crush on Warrick Holdman and publicly dissing former Skins star Lavar Arrington just prior to the Giants game last October. For the record, the Skins showed much support for Lindsey's bravado, by promptly going out and getting their jocks handed to them by Lavar and the G-men (twice, in fact).

Joe Gibbs neglected to hold a press conference to announce the firing, choosing instead to send both interested reporters a micro-cassette recording of himself saying "He coached his guts out" over, and over. And over. And over.

In any case, it is clear now that last season's utter disappointment was entirely this clown Lindsey's fault, and now that he is gone, the Redskins are in great position to make a Super Bowl run next season. Just so long as Brunell is healthy enough to start come the season opener.

Fare thee well, Good Sir Lindsey. You coached your guts out, and around here, that's all we ask.

If Tina Fey keeps the 3-4, the job is hers to lose!

What's the big deal with the 3-4? If you have the right personnel, it works. If you have the right personnel for the 4-3, it works too. And let me venture to say that if you have the right personnel for the 3-5-3, it would probably work also (unless you are THE Ohio State Buckeyes)

The Steelers are very interested in Mike Tomlin, the Minnesota Defensive Coordinator, who is a Tony Dungy protege and runs the "Tampa 2" 4-3 defense. Of course, the real origin of the Tampa 2, as Dungy is fond of saying, is the Steel Curtain defense of yore.

However, across Stiller land message boards crackle with fears that the Steelers will no longer run the 3-4 with the new Steeler coach. You want to know why they are scared? Because Bill Cowher refused to play rookies and made a point of "developing" players for 2-3 years before making them full-time starters. In their minds, therefore, transitioning to the 4-3 will take at least 3 years of growing pains. Better to stick with what works, or seems to at least.

But maybe a new coach won't be afraid to play rookies, maybe if the Steelers run a 4-3 they can draft players already familiar with the system who won't have to learn and memorize a 4-inch wide playbook, who can learn on the go. Playing rookies is risky, sure, but so is keeping a guy around for years and then finding he's not cut out for the job. Alonzo Jackson anyone? Jeremy Staat? Jamain Stephens? Amos Zeroue?

Marty Bath

from PFT today

Marty, We Missed Ya! Welcome Back!

Well, Marty's up to his old tricks again, despite having the most talented team to ever set football on the field, he still loses to a savvy Patriots team with the hated but admired Tom Brady at the helm.

I was almost tempted to give Marty a pass, I mean, he didn't fumble an interception....except for the fact that the INT occurred on 4TH DOWN!!! How can you not coach your players up to just drop the ball!! Ridiculous. Then Marty exacerbated the situation by challenging the play, which wasn't even close to being a review toss-up. That's one timeout lost. But how about the other?

Rivers called one in the 4th quarter RIGHT AFTER a 5 minute stoppage in play for injury!! If you can't get your players lined up and ready during an injury stoppage, then, well, I don't know, maybe you deserve to get the boot. But perhaps, just like Marty in the 1st quarter, his boss will pass on a relatively easy FG on 4th and 11 and go for Marty ONE MORE YEAR!!

With those 2 timeouts at the end, maybe SD gets closer in to tie the field goal. Of course, it should never have come to that.

I guess if you want to blame the players, and not that they deserve a free pass, but you'll have to implicate the late 80s Cleveland Browns and the 90s KC Chiefs, also. You know, the other teams that inexplicably choked with Marty at the helm.

JIM TRESSEL’S BCS INNER MONOLOGUE

Gametime My kids are ready. I just gave the pregame speech of the week, so I know they are. I stood before them in the locker room, cocked my head in that arrogant way only Robert Duvall can truly do, and whispered in a voice they strained to hear above the pounding of their excited hearts: “I love the feel of merino wool in the evening! It feels like...VICTORY!!

1st Quarter
14:44. Like I said, victory. Ted Ginn Jr. is fast. Real fast. That’s what speed is, Urban! Somebody tell him the humidity down there actually slows people up.

14:34. One of the things I like best about myself is my sideline demeanor. I am cool, collected, under control. I never panic. Never. I think I should be on some insurance commercial or something. “Hi, my name is Jim Tressel, Coach of THE Ohio State University Buckeyes and two-time National Championship winner in five years. I never let my teams see me sweat, and that’s because neither does All State. Or something like that. If that doesn’t work out, I’d be happy to pitch the Viper Anti-Car Theft Device.

14:21. I am so confident of my defense’s ability to stop the Urban Gators that I will not even pretend to care about what my defensive coordinator is calling. By the way, do you get the Urban Gator? Get it? There’s a double meaning there. I won’t tell you what it is. See if you can guess.

11:20. I will resist the urge to wonder about my DC’s playcalling. This game is in the bag, people.

10:41. Tie score. There’s a Chinese proverb that says every opportunity is a crisis, or vice versa. This crisis gives me the opportunity to unleash Troy Smith on the Urban Gators. He and Ted Ginn, Jr. are going give Urban some kind of crisis! I mean it!

8:40. Hmmm. Troy is a little off. That’s cool. I didn’t see Ted Ginn, Jr. out there. Where is he, I wonder? We must have installed a Ted Ginn Jr. On The Sidelines package that week of preparation I spent shopping for a fitting professorial glasses/sweater vest combination. I settled on the gray frames and red vest, as opposed to the opposite. Like it? It’s classy, I know. I even went with the plain front pants. To keep it real.

5:41. I specifically asked Coach OC what's-his-name to NOT run the Ted Ginn, Jr. On The Sidelines package and what does he do? He not only has Ted Ginn, Jr. on the sidelines, but also in the locker room. He keeps telling me to talk to the medical staff. Like they know how to properly utilize Ted Ginn, Jr.! I mean, who else is Troy going to throw to??

2:49. The medical staff has just informed me that Ted Ginn, Jr. is injured and may not play the rest of the game. Ok. Ok. Ok. Ok. Ok. Ok. Ok. Ok. We’re fine. Ok. Ok. Ok. Ok. Ok. Ok. We’re good. Ok. Ok. Ok. Ok. Keep calm. Don’t panic. Thank God Coach put in the Ted Ginn, Jr. On The Sideline package…Ok. Ok. Ok. We’re good to go.

2nd Quarter
14:56. 21-7. Not insurmountable. Especially with Troy Smith and Ted…I mean, Troy Smith and Anthony Gonzales. I know that Anthony has the utmost respect for me because, for one thing, I have NEVER, EVER put the word “speedy” just before “Gonzales”, even when I am busting his balls. If I do it, I put the “speedy” AFTER Gonzales, just like they would do in his language. I am very respectful of other cultures.

13:32. Pittman scores! 21-14! What’d I tell you? Absolutely nothing. It was a trick question. My professional demeanor alone has inspired by troops to get back in this game. I didn’t even have to say ONE word. I just stood there and flipped through the pages on my clipboard as if there was actually football-related stuff on there when really it’s a list of things to accomplish after winning a 2nd National Championship. I may have to fit the insurance commercial in there between “divorcing my long-suffering wife to get some hot co-ed-u-action” and “winning a 3rd National Championship with the best Ohio has to offer while idly standing by.”

6:15. This game is settling down…finally submitting to my will and becoming as calm and docile as I am. We are not stopping them, but we are about to contain them.

3:45. Urban, you are mine, now. You will feel the force of my indomitable will. I will go for it, here, deep in our own territory. I will call the most unimaginative, straightforward play you can possibly imagine, overriding my OC’s plan to roll Troy Smith out for a run-pass option because that is NOT what this game is all about. I don’t play your sissy game, Urban. I play MY game. And my game is about DOMINATION. My domination. And I will show you. I will stuff this ball right down your throat in such an obvious and moribund fashion that you cannot help but wilt before me. In fact, screw this. I’m going to tell you what the play is. Here it is: 34 SMASH. 3 for the tailback, 4 for the rightside off-tackle hole, and SMASH for WE ARE GOING TO SMASH YOUR FACE IN! And because this is played indoors, sort of, there will be no cloud of dust to hide your embarrassment and fear!! DO YOU HEAR ME, URBAN!!

3:42. Urban must have paid off the refs, Chris Wells, or both. I cannot believe this. Time for some deep meditation, to align my chi with the rest of the universe.

1:49. See, that wasn’t so bad…all they got was a field goal…

1:47. Troy Smith, you are raping me tonight! Raping me!! Ok. Ok. It’s all good. Maybe I should talk to him, yell at him…maybe yell, then encourage. Yell at, encourage, pat on the butt. Carrot and the stick, or stick and the carrot, that sort of thing. No, that stuff is gay. Troy knows what to do. I think it’s best of I just let him work this out. He has the heart of a champion. I know this. Because that’s what a head coach does. He enables people to develop champion-sized hearts just like his.

Halftime My players, even Gimpy Ted Ginn, Jr., are looking at me expectantly. My coaches tell me I should make some adjustments. Adjustments?! What do they want me to do, punt on 3rd down?

3rd Quarter
14:59 – 0:01. See? Our comeback is in full swing. We are lulling them to sleep with a series of punts on our side, and forcing them to punt as well. Like the mongoose that shakes it’s head back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth…and the cobra’s head follows, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth…lulling the cobra into a stupefied state of vulnerability…YAWN…man, coaching is hard work. I’ve set the stage, now it’s time for Troy to bring us back. Time for a nap.

4th Quarter
14:50. Man, do I feel rested. Do you know I perfected the art of sleeping while standing? I just let my energy go down…real low…it’s not easy, you know. I can be very uptempo sometimes. But not in front of my men…just my women, if you know what I mean. And if you don’t, I mean regarding sex. Just to be clear.

10:25. Wow. We are in a hole. Not good. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one aware of this. So that’s good. Because if I start to emanate a sense of urgency, my players could take the wrong cue and start to panic. And this THE Ohio State University Buckeyes team NEVER panics. NEVER!! I would rather die than panic.

8:03. I’ve always wondered, is Urban Meyer a Mormon? I think he is. He has a funny white man name and coached for Utah. He must be. Let me ask the guys up in the press box. How do you turn this headset thingie on?

6:23. The guys upstairs don’t seem to know about Urban Meyer’s religion, and they seem to resent me asking them to Google it. I mean, they all have labtops up there with Wireless cards. What’s the big deal?

5:24. Speaking of funny white man names, Ted Ginn, Jr. is one athlete that must wake up every morning thanking God he is African-American. Because if he was white, he would face a lot of stigma. I mean, if you walked across some white dude named Ted Ginn, you would think he was a serial killer, right? And if this white dude was Ted Ginn, Jr., that would be even worse, because he was the son of a serial killer and knew all the tricks of the trade. I almost didn’t recruit this kid because of that; then I saw his picture and it was ok.

1:07. I feel really let down right now. But on the bright side, the Urban Gators just ran out the last 8 minutes of the game running the ball down our throats. That’s taking a page out of my book. So he has to copy me in order to beat me. I feel validated.

Postgame
I just asked Urban if he’s a Mormon, and he said no, he’s Catholic. Wow. That really caught me off guard. That's surprising, because I am usually prepared for everything. Well, time to install the gameplan for next year, which should only take about 15 minutes, and then get on with the more important things in life. Like achieving my dreams.

Sean

You suck Charlie Weis!

UFC moneymaker

Again, it's not football-related, but this time it is sports-related.

A while back, i was talking with someone about boxing vs. UFC (i believe it was Austin), and the topic of money came up. I just found this article at FoxSports.com MMA blog (http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/FOXSportsMMA). It refers to the most recent UFC bout, UFC 66, which took place on December 30, 2006. I'll have this bout on TiVo for the next 2 or 3 weeks, if anyone is interested in coming over--it's a great fight and all are welcome. FYI: If anyone doesn't want SPOILER info regarding UFC 66, I wouldn't click on that link if I were you. I've been careful to not include any SPOILER info in the following article:

"*If UFC 66 hits its predicted buy rate of 1.2 million homes, Ortiz and Liddell would likely end up with somewhere around $3 million each when all is said and done. UFC reportedly pays out 25% of their share of the PPV gross (the amount left after the cable and satellite companies take their half off the top) as a bonus to their PPV headliners. Under this formula, Liddell and Randy Couture both ended up with about a million for their UFC 57 match, which drew about 400,000 buys. That doesn't include whatever sponsorship and endorsement money Ortiz and Liddell lined up.
*Attendance at the MGM Grand was a sellout 14,607, with a gate of $5,397,000, the biggest North American MMA gate in history and nearly $2 million more than the previous mark. "

UFC 57 (Liddell/Couture) took place on February 4, 2006, if that tells you anything about how much the league has grown over the course of 10 months. What is sure to draw even more viewers was recently announced--UFC just signed a six-fight, two-year deal with Mikro Cro Cop, arguable the most exciting fighter in the PRIDE and K-1 organizations (both UFC-competitors). One need only "youtube" his name (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABfm8ofsYFc) to see how powerful this Croatian soldier-turned-police officer-turned-kickboxer-turned-MMA fighter has been.

Cro Cop's UFC debut is against Eddie Sanchez on Feb. 3 and should be a fairly easy fight, leading to his eventual title shot (UFC has a tendency to do that--bring in a big shot from a competitor league with the promise of a quick title shot--that's how Anderson Silva became the UFC Middleweight champ after only his first fight). The question is, will Cro Cop (6'2", 218 lbs.) opt for challenging 6'8", 265 lbs. Tim "The Maine-iac" Sylvia for his Heavyweight title, or will he instead choose to cut 13 lbs. and do battle with the Lightheavyweight champ (who shall remain nameless in this post in order to avoid SPOILER information from UFC 66--it's either Chuck Liddell or Tito Ortiz). The world has been calling for a Cro Cop/Liddell fight for over a year now. A Cro Cop/Ortiz fight would be equally entertaining.

Barber out

Is anyone else a little annoyed at Tiki Barber retiring? Don't get me wrong, i'm a big fan of saying things like "Brett Favre's legacy is his to ruin" whenever people call for his retirement. But there's a difference in the two players. Favre is a shoe-in for the Hall (hell, they'll probably rename it the Brett Favre Hall of Fame--or move it from Canton to Favreville, i'm sure there's one in Wisconsin or Louisiana named in his honor). But Barber is certainly no shoe-in. He might get in, but he also might not.

What annoys me about his decision to retire is that it shows his lack of desire to play the game, to compete. There's nothing inherently wrong with that--in fact, when you don't enjoy the game anymore, it's time to retire. It just annoys me that this guy could hang in there for two more years and ensure himself a Hall spot, maybe even make it back to the SuperBowl--his team is consistently a playoff contender. He is, after all, better today (arguably) than he has been at any other time in his career.

I saw a stat during the game last night that, from 1997 - 2003, he averaged 2.7 fumbles per X carries (don't remember how many exactly), but under Coughlin from 2004 - 2006 he averaged 0.7 (i probably have these figures a little off, but you get the point: he no longer fumbles). Couple that with the fact that he makes up 40 percent of his team's offense--more than any other current NFL player, and what do you have? Hall potential. But that's it--just potential. I think he needs about two more years of no-fumbling football. I think the Giants need him now more than ever--with their dwindling leadership and increasing lockerroom bickering. I think Eli needs him to continue taking the bulk of the heat so that he can mature into a SB-quality QB.

Barber's decision, while his alone to make, smacks of selfishness and of disregard for the Hall--a feat many players fight their entire careers to achieve, only to fall short. I smell Ricky Williams' attitude on old #21. maybe they wear the same cologne.

Jimmy vs Barry

This Year's Boise Bowl featured both Jimmy Johnson and his Dallas successor Barry Switzer in the studio doing pregame analysis. I wondered what tension there would be between the mastermind of Dallas's early 90s Glory Years and the dim-bulb who rode that talent wave (and a scared Neil O'Donnell) to another Super Bowl victory before taking a dump at the NFL level. Needless to say, Barry sounded like the dimbulb he probably is: "I talked to Coach So and So and he says they need to play good defense and not turn the ball over." Wow. Amazing. Meanwhile, Jimmy was smooth and polished and probably said something just as obvious but boy, it sure sounded better and more insightful.

Barry did bring up the 1986 Fiesta Bowl, where Jimmy's Canes got beat by Shane Conlan and Penn State thanks to 5 Vinny Testy INTs (Granted, he was probably supposed to, because it was the 20th anniversary and all, but poor form to the producers for assigning him to bring it up). Jimmy didn't like that too much and Barry later brought up one of his own Bowl losses to compensate. You have to give Barry this, the man does have charm. And he's quite handsome, don't you think?

a movie review

okay, so it's not related to football, but...

so I watched a movie the other day that is pretty much a stylized porno. it's called "Lie With Me" and stars some chick who looks like a redheaded sister to Elisha Cuthbert (Lauren Lee Smith) and some dude with a big nose who was in the OC at one point, as well as the remake of "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (Eric Balfour). both are pretty much buck naked throughout the entire thing (side note complaint: while her character doesn't seem to own a bra—which is good—it shows him sans pants more than it shows her sans pants—which is obviously not so good). it also features a ridiculously small amount of dialogue, and instead features voiceover narration and mood music (think "Brown Bunny"). also like "BB", I'm convinced that the female lead actually performs fellatio on the male counterpart—and he definitely goes down on her. some things you can't fake.

anyway, the movie, surprisingly, isn't awful (although this is coming from the guy who thought the same thing about "BB"—a film most people would have to be stoned out of their gourds to make it through till the end (which is where the infamous Chloe Sevigny blowjob scene takes place, for those of you who are renting it just for that—go ahead and skip the first hour and a half).

anyway, my point: why is it that indy film can think they can get away with making pornography if they just add a voiceover, mood music or interesting editing? don't get me wrong, I think more and more well-known actresses could benefit by gettin' down and dirty (okay, maybe "benefit" isn't the right word); but in the end, there's neary a difference between these art-house NC-17s and a full-blown (no pun intended) porno. and I say to the cast: what, do you think you'll have an easier time breaking the news of your upcoming role to your folks about the chick with the dick in her mouth by emphasizing the fact that there's a much better (arguable) soundtrack to this movie than is featured in "Debbie Does Dallas"? pornography that's artistic is still pornography, isn't it? or are we still trying to push the envelope with what defines pornography? I got news for ya folks, pornography is only defined by Congress, who—as proven time and time again from McCarthy to Ashcroft to Lieberman—doesn't know dick about art, or, for that matter, pornography. and any film that features an actor/actress actually performing fellatio/cunnilingus is a porno, no matter what packaging you put it in.

not that there's anything wrong with that. to quote the late great Bill Hicks, "I LOVE pornography."

Cowher Powr to Miami?

Your one stop shop for compelling rumors, Pro Football Talk, speculates that Miami will seek to avenge the humiliating loss of Nick "Miami's for Old People, and the Coaching's Hard Too" Saban by going after Bill Cowher. Even better, two of Cowher's former Ass Clowns in Arms, Dom Capers (admittedly, a good coordinator) and Mike Mularkey (admittedly, a sucky coach at all levels) are already there.

But Cowher is still under contract; however, according to Pro Football Talk email to NFL rep Greg Aiello, the NFL still allows trading coaches, so a deal could be swung involving high draft choices. Here's hoping the Steelers can build a dynasty off the door that hits Cowher in the back on his way out. It's been a good 15 years, Field Goal Bill, more or less. Your spittle will remind all those old folks on the beach of the crashing waves, not acid run-off from the steel mills dotting the banks of the Three Rivers.