Introduction: Squared Circle and Sweet Science

There is so much to offer in the world of sports. In Golf, you can bask in the serene surroundings of a golf course as your favorite player steps to the teeing ground to advance the ball with the least amount of strokes. If that isn't your cup of "tee" you may be one who prefers the chill of the hockey rink as you hear the ice skates scrape against the ice and a slap shot pummels the puck 90 miles per hour into the goal. Then again, if your goal is not to see the use of stick to puck, but foot to ball, soccer is your game. You anticipate the players moving the ball and maneuvering with picturesque athleticism to drive the ball into the enemy's territory.
Or if you like seeing balls driven but prefer them being smashed with
netted aluminum bats, your sport is tennis. It invigorates you as your head moves from side to side following the fast-paced hypnotic rhythm of racket to ball to racket. But then again, you may prefer the racket of helmets and shoulder pads clashing on the field as the titans collide to protect their quarterback from the blitz as the oblong pigskin swirls into the air to meet the hands of the wide receiver. Maybe your ball is not oblong but spherical; and from the moment of the tip-off you watch your favorite players score 3 pointers, hook shots, lay ups and dunks. And you cringe at the sight of the opposing team's baskets since your team has the home court advantage. But speaking of home,you might prefer when the batter assumes the position at home-base, awaiting the pitch with all bases loaded. And you sit patiently as the pitcher and the catcher communicate in a language unknown to the batter. Then as the
ball escapes the pitcher's hand, the bat connects and sends the ball
darting through the air and out of the stadium to score the big Grand Slam.

Now I must admit, I do find pleasure in all of these. I enjoy the craze on
the court, the calm on the course, the fervor on the field, the raucous in the rink.

However, there is one place that lights that passionate fire in my soul.
There is one place that no matter the season, I can catch a glimpse of its grander, a view of its valor. There is a place where the Sweet Science
resides; and that place is the squared circle of illuminated canvas. This is the place which holds my passion.

I am a Football and Basketball fan. I have two favorite football teams
and one favorite basketball team. When my teams play, I watch calmly.
Whether they win or lose doesn't usually have much of an affect on me.

However, when the gladiators grace the canvas, all anxiety and nervousness surface. All of my attention hones in on the squared circle.
For this is where the warriors meet to participate in the Sweet Science.
And when they collide I am there with them absorbing every punch,
throwing the perfect jab and counter punch. I become lost and drown out
all surrounding noise. For now I am in my niche. I am here as a scientist.
I am here to analyze, dissect, and put back together again.

This is my purpose: to talk, to hear, to live and to share the Sweet
Science of Boxing.

I hope you enjoy my contribution to this blog. I ask that you comment
after you read each post. Thank you for allowing me to share with you.

@SUPERJUDAH calls-in to "Tha SPORTSKRIB"!!

Imagine my surprise, when I introduce myself, as the host, and the caller tells me, "This is Zab Judah, and I'm calling into to support my man, Lonnie Love!!". First, the wave of disbelief, then the 'shock', of actually talking to one of the BEST fighters, in the world today. Zab is scheduled to fight again, on 16 July, and has promised, to give us a post fight interview.

UFC 116 LESNER vs. CARWIN: Picks

Saturday July 3rd is the day that we find out who the true Heavy Weight Champion of the UFC is. Ex-WWE Super Star and current champ goes up against the KO artist Shane Carwin in a 5 round battle. Is it going to go all 5 rounds? I don't think it will. Saturday is sure to bring in some early fireworks. Below are my picks for the fights.
Fight Picks:
Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin
Winner: Shane Carwin by TKO in the 1st.

Yoshihiro Akiyama vs, Chris Leben
Winner: YoshihiroAkiyama by Submission in the 3rd

Chris Lytle vs. Matt Brown
Winner: Chris Lytle by TKO in the 3rd

Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Stephan Bonnar
Winner: Stephan Bonnar by Decision

George Sotiropoulos vs. Kurt Pellegrino
Winner: Kurt Pellegrino by Decision

Brendan Schaub vs. Chris Tuchscherer
Winner: Brendan Schaub by TKO in the 1st

Seth Petruzelli vs. Ricardo Romero
Winner: Seth Petruzelli by Decision

Kendall Grove vs. Goran Reljic
Winner: Goran Reljic by Submission in the 2nd

Gerald Harris vs. Dave Branch
Winner: Garald Harris by TKO in the 2nd

Daniel Roberts vs. Forrest Petz

Winner: Forrest Petz by KO in the 1st

Jon Madsen vs. Karlos Vemola
Winner: Karlos Vernola by TKO in the 2nd

A GUEST Blog: Louie@chicitysportsfan

The $91.5 Million Dollar Douche Bag!!

I've had enough of Carlos Zambrano's childish antics. The Cubs will never win anything of importance let alone a World Series with him on their squad.

If you bet it would be before July when the Cubs $91.5 million dollar asshole would blow up and make a fool of himself, congrats. You’ve won 3 more months of god awful baseball on the north side. It’s been a few days since Zambrano went postal on Derrick Lee, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to waste time writing about the mental midget. Z has been suspended by the Cubs and has been placed on the restricted list. He won’t return to the Flubbies until July 15, if at all. FYI- I’d love to be a fly on the wall during Carlos’ “evaluation” with doctors. They may need more time than until July 15th to figure out what’s wrong him. Just to be clear, I’ve never been a Zambrano guy. I was at Wrigley in June of ‘07 when he went after Michael Barrett like a crazed lunatic. The spin back then was that the Cubs were fueled by the fight and Lou Pineilla’s subsequent tirade that weekend. All I thought at the time was what I think now, “Carlos Zambrano is a Chris Brown sized piece of shit.” Fast forward to last Friday and there was Zambrano at it again. He has always to felt the pressure of big games, in my eyes. Not one time have I ever had confidence that Little Z would come up big when his team needed him to. Once again, Z didn’t let me down. Cubs broadcaster Bob Brenly said it was nice to see a little fire because the Cubs have been “A dead ass team.” Sorry Bob, but Zambrano wasn’t trying to fire up his team. You’ll hear comparison to the Rays Evan Longoria and B.J. Upton getting into it. The difference is Longoria is a respected leader. Zambrano isn’t a leader, he’s a unstable mental patient who can’t control his emotions. After his latest tantrum I have to ask, “Is it finally time to sever ties with the petulant child?” If Tom Ricketts is back from his African safari, someone please ask him.

Zambrano should only point the finger at himself. It wasn't Derrick lee's fault that he served up this meatball to Carlos Quentin. Yes, the home run came on an 0-2 pitch.

His antics towards one of the best teammates in baseball (Derrick Lee) just goes to show he doesn’t respect anyone he comes across. Thanks for your 1 inning of work Carlos. I wonder how much of his $18 million dollar salary he earned Friday? I wrote earlier this season that the Cubs created a monster with Zambrano because Jim Hendry has babied him since Z got to the Cubs. I wrote that when you create a monster who feels he can get away with anything, that monster grows into an uncontrollable beast. Cubs fans can thank Jim Hendry for creating this nut job’s massive ego.

I sound cynical when I talk about the Cubs, but I truly feel that they needed to suck in 2010 so that new owner Tom Ricketts had no choice but to clean house of his baseball atrocity. Here’s hoping that the Zambrano blowup will be the last straw. I understand why Ricketts didn’t fire Hendry and Lou Piniella’s corpses before the season. When you pay close to $1 billion dollars for a team and have a $25 million dollar note it’s hard to eat any more money. The time has come, however, for Ricketts to rid himself of Zambrano. Trading Zambrano will be difficult, but what other choice does he have? Find some stiff with an equally horrendous contract, and make a deal happen. Piniella’s corpse will be gone after the season. Hendry, too, will likely be fork lifted out the door. Those moves will be a step in the right direction, but Zambrano can’t return to this team. The players talked about the atmosphere in the clubhouse on Saturday and Sunday at The Cell and how different it was. When you remove a cancer from the clubhouse, the attitude and moral improves. And, you thought the Cubs’ chemistry would improve with Milton Bradley gone. If the Cubs welcome Zambrano back, the countdown starts to another meltdown.

Random Tangent: Firing Hendry has to be done, but the Cubs feel the wrath of Lord Fatso for years to come. The back loaded deals and no-trade clauses will be the death of the Cubs for the next 4-5 years. It doesn’t matter who the Cubs bring in to replace Hendry, his stench will be felt for a long time. That being said, the move still has to be made. The guy gave Jeff Samardzija a no-trade for Christ’s sake. I mean, anytime you can give a scrub pitcher who should be playing the flanker in the NFL, you have to do it, right? Ugh. Excuse me while I throw up on my keyboard. On the Zambrano deal, Hendry didn’t have to sign Zambrano to that extension. Teams don’t sign pitchers to big money extensions who aren’t headcases and actually take care of their bodies. However, there was Hendry with the $91.5 million deal. Smart teams (not the Cubs) pay for future production and what they think a player WILL be. You don’t pay for past production–especially not for a guy who refuses to do his required rehab work. Thanks again, Jim.

I’m not the guy who gets off on calling for managers and coaches to be fired. I’m not a guy who wants a guy to be cut or traded at the drop of a hat. This Zambrano situation is at the point of no return. There is no other choice but for Ricketts to pry Hendry away from the buffet table and make him trade his boy at any reasonable cost. I don’t care what the Cubs get in return. I’d be happy with a bucket of balls. I don’t care if Tommy Boy Ricketts has to take back an equally bad contract in return. Zambrano is finished in Chicago. How many times have we heard him in his monotone spring training voice say he’s a changed guy? It’s the same routine every year. People are tired of it. Cubs fans are already staying away from Wrigley. An estimated 1,500 less seats per game so far this season. That number will dip even lower as this dog and pony show of a season continues. It’s become obvious by their indefinite suspension that the Cubs don’t want the big headache anymore. Put down the Italian Beef and get on the horn Jim.

I always laugh at Cubs fans who say that Zambrano is different, and this is the year he fully reaches his potential. By the time you’re a certain age (Zambrano is 29), you are the person you are. This is who he is and the way he’ll always act. Bringing him back and putting him in the bullpen won’t solve anything. Teams know what he is as a pitcher–starter, reliever, Gatorade jug thrower, raging penis, they know. He’s a 29 year old pain in the ass who’s had shoulder issues, drinks Red Bull like water, never hits 93 mph on his fastball anymore, can’t keep his emotions in check in a big game, is no better than a 5th starter, cares more about dinner plans with Ozzie Guillen, and is HATED by teammates. This is known. His stock is lower than the self esteem of girls who hook up with Patrick Kane. The Cubs need to be proactive and, basically, give him away. He’ll wave his no-trade clause if he’s not welcome back to the team. If he is, then the monster is that much closer to another blowup. Ricketts has a lot on his agenda, but the $91.5 million dollar douche bag just moved himself to the top of the list. Your move, Tommy Boy.

Post Published: 28 June 2010
Author: LKR

UFC 115 Thoughts and Picks

This weekends UFC events is packed full of exciting match-ups and possible new beginnings. In the main event we have 2 ex-champions looking to get back on track for a run at the title. Chuck the "ICE MAN" Liddell & Rich "ACE" Franklin will be sharing each others company in the octagon as they both come into the night with hopes of restarting their careers and another crack at a belt. Chuck Liddell is coming off a loss to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 97 where he was stopped via KO in the second. It has been 14 months since Chuck has been in the cage and with that comes the question of ring rust and how will it play into this fight. Chuck has back to back losses since 2008 and was questioning retirement but now has found a new interest in making a run for the title. Rich Franklin has not strapped on the gloves for about 9 months were in his last fight he lost to Vitor Belfort via 1st round KO. So will the time away from the cage come into play in this battle of greats? Like always, I take the opportunity to watch their last fights and see what both will bring to the cage. In Chuck's last fight he looked in shape and ready to take the fight to Shogun. What I did notice is that Chuck seems to be losing some of his speed. His power is there but his punches just don't find there target like they used to. He was getting good shots in and there were times when he gave Shogun a good smack. What I also noticed was the leg kicks that Shogun was landing seemed to bother Chuck early in the round. They both worked some take-downs during the fight that I believed took a little out of Chuck. When you watch the punch that knocked him down, he was moving backwards and it seemed like he could not move quick enough to get out of the way. The good things I saw is that Chuck can still put those combinations together and if he lands most of them it usually means good night. I believe that in order for Chuck to come out with a win he will need to pace himself and pick his moments. Try not to rush in that much and to check those leg kicks. Chuck is also a great wrestler and knows how to win rounds when he needs to. If Chuck can keep his legs fresh, pace himself and keep landing combinations its going to be a long night for the Jim Carrey look-a-like. The other thing is that if Chuck hurts Rich he needs to pounce and put the ACE on ICE. There are lots of things that Chuck does right but it is the things that he might do wrong that will determine if he walks out a winner.
Rich Franklin is coming of a loss to Vitor Belfort where he was knocked out in the round. Watching that fight Rich was moving forward a lot and was working to find his range. Unfortunately he was tagged with a punch on the side of the head making him dazed. Belfort went in for the kill as he always does and finished the fight. Rich does have great footwork and head movement and awesome leg kicks. I don't believe this fight will be going to the ground that much but if it does it will be interesting to see how Franklin will do on his back. When he fights he always uses good angles and movement to find the range to land one of those devastating punches. I think that he will need to use those leg kicks to stop Chuck from planting that power foot and use lots of movement to keep Chuck guessing. I know that Chuck will not let Rich him keep up against the cage so he needs to watch out when they separate or Chuck will sneak in a KO blow. This fight is a must win for both fighters so it is sure to be a great fight with lots of action. It is possible that this fight will go all 3 rounds with both fighters not really taking big risks or chances but just trying to get the win. With both fighters coming off knock out losses I see this as being the outcome.
The other fight that is going to be a definition of wreckage and carnage is Mirko Cro Cop vs Pat "HD" Barry. These 2 fighters are all about bringing the pain. They both have devastating leg kicks and power in the hands. The one thing that I see may be a problem is Pat going into this fight with to much excitement and blowing all his energy early in the fight. As soon as the ref says fight Cop is going to rush towards Pat and keep the pressure on him from start to finish. I hope that Pat doesn't take to long to get started. If he does it may be a short night. I think this won't be the case since Pat is really looking forward to start his run at the top of the heap. I think Pat will be focused and ready to take on the challenge of meeting one of his idols in the cage. He will then ask for a autograph, so he said. I see one of these fighters getting knock-out of the night.
For all that tune into watch UFC 115 i don't see any one walking away disappointed. The other fights of interest are: Paulo Thiago vs. Martin Kampmann, Ben Rothwell vs. Gilbert Yvel (another possible KO of the night), Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald (possible sub of the night in this one).
Below are my picks for UFC 115:
Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin
Winner: Rich Franklin via Split Decision
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Pat Barry
Winner: Pat HD Barry via KO in the 1st rd
Paulo Thiago vs. Martin Kampmann
Winner: Martin Kampmann via Split Decision
Ben Rothwell vs. Gilbert Yvel
Winner: Ben Rothwell via TKO in the 1st
Carlos Condit vs. Rory MacDonald
Winner: Carlos Condit via Submission in the 2nd
Tyson Griffin vs. Evan Dunham
Winner: Tyson Giffin via Choke in the 1st
Mac Danzig vs. Matt Wiman
Winner: Matt Wiman via Split Decision
Don't forget to catch the prelims on Spike TV before the PPV

B.T.S for June 10th show

Tomorrow night Tha Sports Krib will feature two Charlotte based comedians who are huge on the local scene. Jeremy "Burpie" Alsop and Darren Brand. You don't want to miss these future kings of comedy as they aim to tickle your funny bone. Sports and comedy collide in what's sure to be an unforgettable show.

Next week VP of My Life Keys LLC Tavaughn "Montster" Monts will join us for our first Motivate Your Motivation segment. The concept is Inspiration + Sports=Success! Monts played DB for Clemson University from from 2000-2004. He also has a very powerful story.

Also Bill Cody from the BleacherReport joins co host JersyMikeJr for a discussion on the recent Miguel Cotto-Yuri Foreman fight and the future of both. Join us Thursday night from 9pm-11pm EST!

JersyMikeJr Interviewed

Over the Memorial Day holiday, we took the time to pause and reflect on those who sacrificed their lives to perserve our freedom. We remember them fondly as our brothers, sisters, fathers, uncles, aunts, cousins and various loved ones. Our hearts went out to those who went down in the line of duty.

It was also on this day that JersyMikeJr recieved his first exclusive interview with Randy Inman of AssosciatedContent.com and FootballDogz.com. Here is the transcript

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5440562/exclusive_interview_with_justin_davis_pg2.html?cat=49