Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The Sports Brief’s MMA RANKINGS (12/30/08)

Here it is our loyal readers, the Sports Brief's year end MMA Rankings. The UFC finished 2008 with a bang with UFC 92 last weekend. Great card, great fights, great night! Let's take a look at how the new Top 10's look going in to 2009.

Heavyweight:

1. Fedor Emelianenko
2. Brock Lesnar
3. Andrei Arlovski
4. Frank Mir
5. Josh Barnett
6. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
7. Randy Couture
8. Tim Sylvia
9. Alistair Overeem
10. Chiek Kongo

Gabriel Gonzaga, Shane Carwin, Ben Rothwell, Fabricio Werdum, Heath Herring, Aleksander Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop, Junior Dos Santos

The UFC's 4 Man Tournament dethroned both the Champion and Interim Champ. What looked like a Couture/ Big Nog final turns into a rematch of Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir. Elsewhere Affliction gets going again next month with their 2nd show, Fedor takes on Arlovski. Overeem and Cro Cop fight on New Year's but alas not against each other.

Light Heavyweight:

1. Rashad Evans
2. Quinton Jackson
3. Forrest Griffin
4. Lyoto Machida
5. Chuck Liddell
6. Maurcio ‘Shogun’ Rua
7. Thiago Silva
8. Babalu Sobral
9. Wanderlei Silva
10. Keith Jardine

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Tito Ortiz, Vladimir Matyushenko, Brandon Vera, Luis Cane

Another title fight, another Light Heavyweight Champion. Will anyone ever retain this belt? Rashad beat Forrest at UFC 92 and Rampage knocked out Wanderlei. Makes sense for Rampage to get a shot at the title next, but he wants Forrest as well. Machida and Thiago is on the way. Soko failed in the UFC and followed many others to Affliction. Speaking of Affliction Tito Ortiz... will provide the color commentary for the next card. The long awaited return of Shogun Rua is next month, but against Mark Coleman. What? Interesting weightclass to say the least, looks as though everyone can beat everyone in the top 10.

Middleweight:

1. Anderson Silva
2. Matt Lindland
3. Dan Henderson
4. Rich Franklin
5. Robbie Lawler
6. Cung Le
7. Yushin Okami
8. Gegard Mousasi
9. Michael Bisping
10. Nathan Marquardt


Denis Kang, Chael Sonnen, Paulo Filho, Frank Trigg, Patrick Cote, Frank Shamrock, Kazuo Misaki, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Thales Leites, Demian Maia, Chris Leben, Ricardo Almeida, Ronaldo Souza

No changes here since last month. A very deep division world wide, with Anderson Silva head, shoulders, and even a full body length ahead of everyone else. A rumored bout with Thales Leites does not get me goin though. Denis Kang and Chael Sonnen are coming to the UFC. Sonnen to face Maia in a few months. Dan Henderson and Rich Franklin fight in a couple weeks, but at 205. Not sure I get that one. The Spider might as well move up too.

Welterweight:

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Jake Shields
4. Thiago Alves
5. Josh Koscheck
6. Diego Sanchez
t-7. Matt Hughes
t-7. Matt Serra
9. Karo Parisyan
10. Carlos Condit

Nick Thompson, Mike Swick, Marcus Davis, Drew Fickett, Jay Hieron

January 31st GSP puts his belt on the line against Lightweight Champ B.J. Penn. We'll see what happens to both divisions after that. Who will Shields fight next? And it looks as though Diego Sanchez will be moving down a weight class to challenge Joe Stevenson.

Lightweight:

1. BJ Penn
2. Eddie Alverez
3. Joachim Hansen
4. Shinya Aoki
5. JZ Cavalcante
6. Takanori Gomi
7. Josh Thomson
8. Tatsuya Kawajiri
9. Sean Sherk
10. Kenny Florian

Gilbert Melendez, KJ Noons, Nick Diaz, Victor Ribero, Joe Stevenson, Roger Huerta, Frankie Edgar


The little hyped WAMMA Championship comes to the Lightweight division on New Year's Eve in Japan with Eddie Alverez vs. Shinya Aoki. B.J. Penn anyone? Even still the Aoki/ Alverez fight should be very entertaining. The UFC dominates many of these divisions, but clearly not this one. Does Penn stay here or move up for good? What kind of splash does Diego make down here?

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Gentlemen's Club Champion Crowned

As posted by NFL.com: Arkham Asylum (Rich Keefe) won the Gentlemens Club Championship by a score of 86 to 85 over A-Rod still has meat curtains (Tristan Besse). Randy Moss led the team in scoring in the championship round and Michael Turner led the team in scoring for the season. Congrats once again to Arkham Asylum on a terrific Fantasy football Season. Hope to see you all next year!

As posted by the Brief: Rich Keefe joins former champions Tristan Besse, Rick Keefe, and Will Woodward on the plaque. Besse finished 2nd for the 2nd time in 4 years as well as capturing the 1st title since keeping track on said plaque.

Matt Vaughn finished the regular season as the number 1 overall seed in his first season as Owner/ GM, before succumbing to the eventual champ. Vaughn had worked the previous 3 seasons as assistent GM to Brian Sharkey, who also made the playoffs this season. Vaughn edged out Besse and Keefe for 2008 Executive of the Year.

The Commissioner of the League will go over the final statistics of the season to see whether or not changes need to be made. But at this time, just a "Job Well Done" goes out to Rich Keefe and the rest of the Gentlemen's Club for a great season.

Friday, December 19, 2008

The Sports Brief's Week 16 NFL picks

Well, this is the week we’ve all been waiting for. It’s Championship Week for The Gentlemen’s Club of the NFL.com fantasy football variety, and Keefe and I will lock horns for the league title. There are a couple reasons we’re excited about this matchup…first and foremost is the fact that we’ve always discussed the excitement that would surround the two founders of The Sports Brief competing head-to-head for a league title. Second is the fact that the plaque will no longer be owned by Woody (which was despicable and embarrassing for The Brief) and will now be mounted in the Keefe or Besse household.

And we’re going to have ourselves a fairly competitive match. I’ve listed the starting lineups for this week’s final and would love to hear your input as to who you think will have the upper hand in this matchup. Obviously by Monday night we’ll have crowned a new champion.

And now for the introductions, let’s go to the voice of UFC, Bruce Buffer…

Introducing first, in the red corner, Arkham Asylum (Keefe):

QB: Kurt Warner v. Patriots
RB: Chris Johnson v. Steelers
RB: Michael Turner v. Vikings
WR: Braylon Edwards v. Bengals
WR: Randy Moss v. Cardinals
WR: Eddie Royal v. Bills
TE: Tony Gonzalez v. Dolphins
K: Matt Bryant v. Chargers
DEF: Colts (13 points during last night’s game against the Jaguars)

And now introducing, the former, undisputed champion of the Gentleman’s League, A-Rod Still Has Meat Curtains (Besse):

QB: Drew Brees v. Lions
RB: Ronnie Brown v. KC
RB: Pierre Thomas v. Lions
WR: TJ Houshmandzadeh v. Browns
WR: Terrell Owens v. Ravens
WR: Kevin “Don’t call me Ken” Walter v. Raiders
TE: Greg Olsen v. Packers
K: Kris Brown v. Raiders
DEF: Texans v. Raiders

A couple interesting things to note with this matchup, as well. Earlier this season I traded Kurt Warner and Tony Gonzalez for Ronnie Brown and a bag of chips. I think there was a TE involved, but I can’t remember if it was Olsen or not and I don’t feel like looking it up. But the trade worked out well for all of us. Bush was injured at the time and Pierre Thomas had yet to evolve into a significant fantasy force. I literally did not have an accomplished running back, so I was in dire need. Meanwhile, Keefe needed a QB after JT O’Sullivan hit the crapper and he picked up a solid TE in the process. Both our teams got over slow starts and were able to land ourselves a berrth in the final. Great stuff.

Also, I have had the Ravens defense all season, but this week I’m going to go with the Texans. Houston has played solid football as of late, and I actually think the Ravens will turn in a stinker like they did against the Colts earlier this year. And I’m pulling for Romo and Owens to have solid outings as well, as I have Owens going in this league and Romo starting two Yahoo leagues, both of which I made the final in. For the record, of my six leagues this year, four made the playoffs and all four made the final. I already won a title last week in my ESPN league, so it’s been a satisfying season thus far. It’d certainly be nice to add some more hardware to the shelves.

Onto the picks…

Keefe’s picks:

Last week: 4-12; overall: 108-116

Colts -6.5 over Jaguars
Ravens +4.5 over Cowboys
Browns -3.5 over Bengals
Saints -6.5 over Lions
Titans +1.5 over Steelers
Dolphins -3.5 over Chiefs
Rams +5.5 over 49ers
Cardinals +7.5 over Patriots
Chargers +3.5 over Buccaneers
Seahawks +4.5 over Jets
Texans -7.5 over Raiders
Bills +6.5 over Broncos
Redskins +4.5 over Eagles
Falcons +3.5 over Vikings
Panthers +3.5 over Giants
Bears -4.5 over Packers

Besse’s picks:

Last week: 6-10; overall: 123-101

Colts -6.5 over Jaguars
Cowboys -4.5 over Ravens
Bengals +3.5 over Browns
Saints -6.5 over Lions
Steelers -1.5 over Titans
Dolphins -3.5 over Chiefs
Rams +5.5 over 49ers
Patriots -7.5 over Cardinals
Chargers +3.5 over Buccaneers
Seahawks +4.5 over Jets
Texans -7.5 over Raiders
Broncos -6.5 over Bills
Eagles -4.5 over Redskins
Falcons +3.5 over Vikings
Panthers +3.5 over Giants
Packers +4.5 over Bears

Random Rob’s picks:

Last week: 12-4; overall: 128-96

Jaguars +6.5 over Colts
Ravens +4.5 over Cowboys
Browns -3.5 over Bengals
Lions +6.5 over Saints
Steelers -1.5 over Titans
Dolphins -3.5 over Chiefs
Rams +5.5 over 49ers
Cardinals +7.5 over Patriots
Buccaneers -3.5 over Chargers
Jets -4.5 over Seahawks
Texans -7.5 over Raiders
Bills +6.5 over Broncos
Eagles -4.5 over Redskins
Vikings -3.5 over Falcons
Panthers +3.5 over Giants
Packers +4.5 over Bears

Enjoy the games this weekend and we’ll check in next week before the holiday.

-Bess

Thursday, December 11, 2008

The Sports Brief's Week 15 NFL picks

So Keefe and I are involved in a league on NFL.com which we’ve been affiliated with for several years now; it dates all the way back to our teenage years at St. Paul’s. So three years ago I took down the championship before losing to Keefe’s dad in the finals the following year. It was all good, my name was first on the plaque and after losing to Pocket Hercules, I drove up to NH and we had a ceremony in which I handed off the plaque to the new king of our FFL. It was like Tiger Woods helping Lefty get his new green jacket on. The whole thing was moving, really. But last year, a dark cloud was cast over our league. Woody came out victorious and everyone was left with a bitter taste in our mouths. The only got worse when Keefe and I joined a Fantasy Baseball League with him and his friends on ESPN. Neither of us realized it was rotisserie style, and after a month we realized we were playing it the wrong way. Woody, meanwhile, shot out to an insurmountable lead and never looked back. It was our goal to dethrone him in football this fall.

Last week, Keefe won his final regular season match, as did Sharkey, meaning Sharkey took down the division and Keefe edged Woody for wildcard spot via points. It was truly a glorious day. Even more exciting is the fact that I take on Shark and Keefe takes on Vaughn, setting up a potential Sports Brief blockbuster in the finale. And tonight’s game will have major implications. I have Brees starting at QB, Bush at RB and Greg Olsen at TE. I’m leaving Pierre Thomas on the bench tonight b/c I believe the Saints will pass the ball and utilize Bush out of the backfield and in the slot. Meanwhile, I have Bush going on two other playoff teams, as well as Colston in two other leagues, one of which is a playoff team. What makes the situation a little sticky is that I have Lance Moore going for my ESPN league team (which is in the championship against my cousin Matt, nonetheless). That’s one of the teams Bush is also on. However, Sharkey has Moore going in our NFL.com league. It’s ugly. I guess that’s what I get for having six fantasy football league teams this year. I’m thinking of cutting it down to four next year, but we’ll see. It’s made the weekends quite dramatic over the last several months.

Oh and Vaughn has Forte going tonight. So here’s to hoping Forte gets shut down, Brees lights it up with Bush and Colston, Moore doesn’t have many receptions but has a modest evening, Olsen has a TD receptions and Forte takes the night off.

Seems pretty simple, right?

Anyways, if you didn’t check out the UFC Fight for the Troops card on SpikeTV last night, you may have missed what was arguably the most action packed, exciting card in UFC history. Four of the five main televised bouts were absolutely brutal stoppages, while the one decision was awarded fight of the night honors and giving an extra $30K to each participant. Ridiculous. I e-mailed my buddy Scotty this morning and said the following:

“Of the following fights, let me know the order in which you’d like to view the corresponding videos…”
a) Knockout of the Year and arguably one of the most brutal, if not THE most brutal KO in UFC history
b) A vicious right hook followed by an absolute flurry of punches ultimately putting a man to sleep
c) An arm being snapped and bent backwards
d) One of the most ferocious and overwhelming attacks via Muay Thai clinch that Joe Rogan claimed was more impressive than Anderson Silva over Rich Franklin

Scotty chose C, B, D, A and that’s how I’ll give them to you here. There’s a bonus video of Corey Hill at the end that wasn’t televised last night. And for good reason. It’s a clip that will live in infamy.









And finally, the Corey Hill video…



In closing, I had one of the most incredible realizations yesterday. Please spell out the name of the object show below:




If you’re like me, you didn’t realize that it’s actually wheelbarrow and not wheel barrel. What I struggled with the most was that I feel like I knew this, but every time I went to say it yesterday it sounded like wheel barrel. For some reason I can’t get myself to pronounce it properly. What the hell is the barrow, anyway? Ridiculous. I can’t believe Merriam and Webster screwed this up.

Onto the picks…

Keefe’s Picks:

Last week 9-7; overall: 104-104

Saints +2.5 over Bears
Buccaneers +2.5 over Falcons
Redskins -6.5 over Bengals
Colts -16.5 over Lions
Chargers -5.5 over Chiefs
Packers -1.5 over Jaguars
Texans +3.5 over Titans
Seahawks -3.5 over Rams
Dolphins -6.5 over 49ers
Jets -7.5 over Bills
Vikings +3.5 over Cardinals
Panthers -7.5 over Broncos
Ravens -1.5 over Steelers
Patriots -7.5 over Raiders
Giants +2.5 over Cowboys
Browns +14.5 over Eagles

Besse’s Picks:

Last week 12-4; overall: 117-91

Saints +2.5 over Bears
Falcons -2.5 over Buccaneers
Redskins -6.5 over Bengals
Colts -16.5 over Lions
Chargers -5.5 over Chiefs
Packers -1.5 over Jaguars
Texans +3.5 over Titans
Seahawks -3.5 over Rams
Dolphins -6.5 over 49ers
Jets -7.5 over Bills
Cardinals -3.5 over Vikings
Panthers -7.5 over Broncos
Steelers +1.5 over Ravens
Patriots -7.5 over Raiders
Cowboys -2.5 over Giants
Browns +14.5 over Eagles

Random Rob’s Picks:

Last week 8-8; overall: 116-92

Bears -2.5 over Saints
Buccaneers +2.5 over Falcons
Redskins -6.5 over Bengals
Lions +16.5 over Colts
Chargers -5.5 over Chiefs
Jaguars +1.5 over Packers
Texans +3.5 over Titans
Rams +3.5 over Seahawks
49ers +6.5 over Dolphins
Bills +7.5 over Jets
Cardinals -3.5 over Vikings
Panthers -7.5 over Broncos
Steelers +1.5 over Ravens
Patriots -7.5 over Raiders
Cowboys -2.5 over Giants
Eagles -14.5 over Browns

Enjoy the weekend.

-Bess

Thursday, December 4, 2008

The Sports Brief's Week 14 NFL picks

It’s Week 14 of the NFL season and for some, the commencement of playoff action in fantasy football leagues worldwide. For the record, I got crazy this year and joined six different leagues. Let’s face it, I kept getting asked by people and couldn’t say no. I mean who could possibly resist another fantasy football draft. Tons of fun. So anyway, I’m definitely playoff bound in three of those leagues – top seed in one - and await the verdict this week in a fourth. As for the two leagues I did not make the playoffs in? I’m top three in scoring. Brutal. Nonetheless, it should be a lot of fun heading down the stretch. Tonight’s game is a disaster with the Chargers and Raiders. Could this potentially have one of the lowest ratings ever for a nationally televised game? I’ve been getting jacked up every week for Thursday night football, but this is more dreadful than going to work. In fact, I’m benching Antonio Gates this week in favor of John Carlson in my ESPN league for the first round of the playoffs. Now I definitely have no reason to tune in tonight.

Before we get to the picks, I thought I’d share some YouTube videos I came across last night. I was bored watching the final two episodes of TUF8, which by the way had some of the sh*ttiest fights I’ve ever seen. I might not even tune in to the live finale, and the fact that I’m going to the Foxy for BJal’s birthday doesn’t help either. But check out some of these vicious hits, they’re pretty good.







And here’s a bonus clip. I love this b/c it’s a Pop Warner game and this kid pulls out a video game juke move. Unbelievable.



Onto the picks…

Keefe’s picks:

Last week: 9-7; overall: 95-97

Chargers -10.5 over Raiders
Bears -6.5 over Jaguars
Vikings -9.5 over Lions
Texans +6.5 over Packers
Titans -13.5 over Browns
Colts -13.5 over Bengals
Falcons +3.5 over Saints
Eagles +8.5 over Giants
Jets -3.5 over 49ers
Chiefs +9.5 over Broncos
Dolphins +1.5 over Bills
Patriots -5.5 over Seahawks
Cardinals -13.5 over Rams
Cowboys +2.5 over Steelers
Redskins +5.5 over Ravens
Buccaneers +3.5 over Panthers

Besse’s picks:

Last week: 9-7; overall: 105-87

Chargers -10.5 over Raiders
Bears -6.5 over Jaguars
Vikings -9.5 over Lions
Texans +6.5 over Packers
Titans -13.5 over Browns
Colts -13.5 over Bengals
Saints -3.5 over Falcons
Eagles +8.5 over Giants
49ers +3.5 over Jets
Chiefs +9.5 over Broncos
Bills -1.5 over Dolphins
Patriots -5.5 over Seahawks
Cardinals -13.5 over Rams
Cowboys +2.5 over Steelers
Ravens -5.5 over Redskins
Panthers -3.5 over Buccaneers

Random Rob’s picks:

Last week: 11-5; overall: 108-84

Chargers -10.5 over Raiders
Bears -6.5 over Jaguars
Lions +9.5 over Vikings
Texans +6.5 over Packers
Titans -13.5 over Browns
Colts -13.5 over Bengals
Falcons +3.5 over Saints
Giants -8.5 over Eagles
Jets -3.5 over 49ers
Broncos -9.5 over Chiefs
Bills -1.5 over Dolphins
Patriots -5.5 over Seahawks
Rams +13.5 over Cardinals
Steelers -2.5 over Cowboys
Ravens -5.5 over Redskins
Buccaneers +3.5 over Panthers

Also, if you haven't had a chance check out the Miguel Angel Torres v. Manny Tapia WEC bantamweight title fight on Versus last night. Torres just may be the best pound for pound fighter in the world right now. The guys tried a forward roll axe kick for god's sake. Anyway, check out the link below and hopefully Versus or the WEC hasn't taken it down yet. As of now it's still working...

http://www.fightchat.com/665-wec-37-torres-vs-tapia-video/

-Bess