Who will win the Heisman?

The College Football season kicks off on Thursday. This Thursday. I can’t believe it either. Not a great slate of games with only 1 Top 25 team in action as #23 Wake faces Baylor, with everyone else taking the field on Saturday. But it’s still football. Before week 1 begins I have to weigh in with my top picks for the Heisman, getting on record now. Really the more predictions you make, the better your chances are of getting something right, right? So allow me to take a stab at it. Remember the Big 8? Well here are my Big 8 favorites to take home the statued stiff arm.

8. Matthew Stafford, Junior QB, Georgia
(2007: 2,523 passing yards, 19 TD, 10 INT, 2 rushing TD)
The QB on the #1 team, like it or not he’ll be in the mix until he plays himself out of it. Georgia has a world beater schedule if you ever saw one featuring 6 preseason Top 25 teams. If Stafford and Moreno (below) can keep it up, they’ll receive a ton of Heisman consideration at the end of the year. His numbers weren’t pretty last year, but playing in the title game can make stats look much more impressive. Like plastic surgery.

7. Jeremy Maclin, Soph. WR, Missouri
(2007: 80 receptions, 1,055 receiving yards, 9 TD, 2,776 total yards, 16 total TD)
Easily one of the most entertaining players in college football. Whenever Mizzou is on TV this year be sure to watch. Maclin, and not QB Chase Daniel, is the Tigers’ best chance at the Heisman. He does it all. He catches the ball, runs the ball, returns punts and kicks, he’ll even throw it (1-2, INT last season.) Maybe he shouldn’t throw it, but any time it’s in his hand he has a chance for 6. Teams may just kick away from him this year, which would significantly hurt his stock, but Daniel and the Mizzou offense better find him even more opportunities to touch the ball this year.

6. Beanie Wells, Junior RB, Ohio State
(2007: 1,609 rushing yards, 16 TD, 5.9 avg.)
I am sick of everything Ohio State football. Troy Smith winning the Heisman, Ted Ginn getting picked way to high by the Dolphins, the Buckeyes getting blown out bad in BCS Championship games by anyone from the SEC. Enough. This guy is nasty though. Flip a coin between Wells and Moreno to decide the best RB in the country. Wells will try to join Archie Griffin and Eddie George as RBs from “the” Ohio State to win the Heisman, but if he really wants he may have to stay for his senior season… and that ain’t happenin’.

5. Pat White, Senior QB, West Virginia
(2007: 1,724 passing yards, 14 TD, 4 INT, 66.7%, 1,335 rushing yards, 14 TD)
Head coach Rich Rodriguez and speedy RB Steve Slaton are gone, but White’s Heisman hopes are still very much alive. He and Noel Devine will spearhead a West Virginia team that once again finds themselves in the preseason Top 10. The Mountaineers have a huge non-conference game against Auburn on ESPN Thursday night in October where he can grab some votes by putting up big numbers vs. an SEC defense. Last Big East Heisman winner? You have to go back to 1992 when Gino Torretta won it at UMiami.

4. Knowshon Moreno, Soph. RB, Georgia
(2007: 1,334 rushing yards, 14 TD, 5.4 avg.)
Moreno went over 100 yards on the ground every game he had 22+ carries. He racked up 196 vs. Troy and 188 vs. Florida with 3 TDs in both games. The guy tore up the SEC as a freshmen reminiscent of another former Bull Dog, (I believe that guy also did some bobsled work.) Moreno’s team starts the season ranked #1 and he’s been on a number of magazine covers, so the hype is certainly there. On the flip side, since 2000 only one RB has won the award. If Darren McFadden can’t win it, it’s going to be tough for any RB let alone Moreno.

3. Michael Crabtree, Soph. WR, Texas Tech
(2007: 134 receptions, 1,962 receiving yards, 22 TD)
Look at those freshmen year numbers. Comical. If Crabtree can somehow better those freakish totals he must be a finalist. Desmond Howard and Tim Brown are the only WRs to win the Heisman trophy, and both men were exceptional return specialists as well. It’s certainly an up hill struggle for Crabtree, but I’ll be rooting for him all year. What would it take? 150+ catches, 2,000+ yards, and 25+ TDs? That’s a great college career, let alone season, and you know what, he could do it. Michael Crabtree for Heisman!

2. Tim Tebow, Junior QB, Florida
(2007: 3,286 passing yards, 32 TD, 6 INT, 895 rushing yards, 23 TD)
As we all know, Tebow is trying to join Archie Griffin as the only back-to-back/ 2 time Heisman trophy winner. In just his sophomore season he compiled an astonishing 55 total touchdowns for the Gators. Unreal. He’s the hands down obvious pick to capture the award again, and that’s why I can’t pick him. I’m not going to predict an injury, but with the ball in his hands so often and the hits he takes against SEC defenses I think its going to be extremely difficult to repeat. Key games against Miami, Tennessee, LSU, Georgia, and Florida State will attempt to derail Tebow’s chances.

1. Graham Harrell, Senior QB, Texas Tech
(2007: 5,705 passing yards, 48 TD, 14 INT, 71.8%, 4 rushing TD)
If you like stats, and I do, then you can’t ignore the boys from Texas Tech. I was a fan of Colt Brennan the past 2 seasons out in Hawaii, where his competition (or lack there of) hurt him, but for Harrell? You can say system all you want, but he’s putting up XBOX numbers in the Big 12. How about 46-67, 646 yds, 5 TD-0 INT in a loss to OK State last year? In a loss? They had 4 of them last year, and will certainly need to cut that down to have a chance for a Red Raider to hoist the trophy. He and my true favorite Crabtree will split votes, but Bush and Leinart seemed to do ok with that same problem. Much like my inquiry with Crabtree, what will it take for Harrell? 6,000 passing yards? 50+ TD passes? 75% completions?

Three of Texas Tech’s last 5 games are against Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. If they can finish the year with 1 or 2 losses I would have to think Harrell will get serious attention. Home games versus Eastern Washington, SMU, and UMass. The scoreboard guy is going to be busy, we could even see some records fall.

Well there’s my Heisman picks. Looks like I’ll have a close eye on Texas Tech all season. Who do you like this year? (Besides Tebow)

-Keefe

KO Clip of the Week

If you haven't noticed - in which case you're clearly not reading our site - we here at The Sports Brief are huge mma fans. In fact we just enjoy watching fighting in general. Like most people who, like us, are suckers for brutal knockouts, blood and good ole' fashioned throwdowns, we troll the internet on Youtube, break.com and other various sites looking for some entertaining video clips. That being said, I'm proud to announce the first edition of The Sports Brief's KO Clip of the Week. We'll use this forum to share with you some of our favorite knockouts, fights, and bloody battles, as well as other humorous, gruesome or extreme video clips that we enjoy. We encourage you, the reader, to send in some of your favorites so that we can include those in our weekly column to share with other fans of The Brief.



In the words of Mike Goldberg, "and here we go!!!"







Enjoy, and feel free to send in any of your personal favorites to The Brief. Also, take a look at the new poll and vote for who you think will win the AL wildcard this season.

Top 10 Upcoming Fights in September

This was originally going to be a part of the updated MMA rankings (see below), but with so many great fights in the next month it warranted its own segment. Here are the 10 best match ups, with a couple of honorable mentions, that are on tap for the month of September. Highlighted of course, by UFC 88, many of the world's best fighters get in the cage and or ring. In the stoic words of Big John McCarthy, "Let's get it on."


1. Ronaldo Souza vs. Zelg Galesic; Melvin Manhoef vs. Gegard Mousasi; winner vs. winner at Dream 6 on 9-23-08
3 for the price of 1, you get the Dream middleweight Grand Prix, semi-finals and finals. Four relatively unknown fighters square off in Dream 6. I like the winner of Manhoef and Mousasi to take the whole thing, but should be 3 great fights.

2. Chuck Liddell vs. Rashad Evans at UFC 88 on 9-6-08
Wanted to see the Iceman vs. Shogun, but we’ll take it vs. Sugar Rashad. Big fight for both guys, with title aspirations. Remember Evans still has a grand total of 0 losses in his MMA career.

3. Rich Franklin vs. Matt Hamill at UFC 88 on 9-6-08
Hamill’s only loss was a result of one of the worst decisions I have ever seen. (In fact only Ricco Rodriguez losing to Big Nog at Pride Total Elimination 2003 was worse in my eyes.) He’s a great wrestler is Hamill, but 3 of his 4 wins have come via (T)KO. Franklin moves back up to an already stacked light heavyweight division. This fight should go a long way for the future of both men.

4. Paulo Filho vs. Chael Sonnen at WEC 36 on 9-10-08
The rematch after Sonnen “tapped out.” Filho has been in rehab, we’ll see if this fight even happens. We here at the Sports Brief are not as high on Filho as many other MMA sites, so let’s find out who’s right on the 10th.

5. Dan Henderon vs. Rousimar Palhares at UFC 88 on 9-6-08
Palhares makes his 2nd UFC fight following a win over the recently retired Ivan Salaverry, but this will be his toughest competition. Henderson on the other hand is coming off of back-to-back losses. Of course those fights were against Anderson Silva and Quinton Jackson, look for Hollywood to come back strong.

6. Urijah Faber vs. Mike Brown at WEC 36 on 9-10-08
One of the best pound for pound fighters in the world. And on free TV! A must watch for all MMA fans every time Faber is inside the cage.

7. Nick Diaz vs. Hayato Sakurai at Dream 6 on 9-23-08
Nick Diaz has been rumored to be in a number of fights including this one against the legend Hayato “Mach” Sakurai for the Dream Welterweight Belt. I hope this one happens, we’ll have to wait and see.

8. Nate Marquardt vs. Martin Kampmann at UFC 88 on 9-6-08
Marquartdt recently suffered a bad loss to Thales Leites, he needs this win to get back on track. He was the heavy favorite over Leites and will be again over Kampmann.

9. Karo Parisyan vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida at UFC 88 on 9-6-08
The 5th fight from the upcoming UFC 88, Karo vs. Yoshida is a solid welterweight match up. Parisyan is a tough guy to figure out, and could find himself outside the Top 10 for the first time in awhile with a shaky performance.

10. Kazuo Misaki vs. Joe Riggs at Strikeforce at the Playboy Mansion on 9-19-08
Misaki is another great middleweight outside of the UFC. He holds career victories over Dan Henderon and Denis Kang. The problem is at 185 and now in Dream or the UFC, who’s he going to fight? He’s coming off a pair of wins in Sengoku, so its hard to truly rank him with the very best. Joe “Diesel” Riggs wants to move back to the UFC and a win over Misaki would certainly make him appealing.

Honorable Mention:
Alistair Overeem vs. Mirko Cro Cop was originally scheduled for that stacked Dream 6 card, but Cro Cop was pulled. They can’t make many great heavyweight match ups outside of Affliction and the UFC, this is one of them. Let’s hope it happens.

Jens Pulver vs. Leonard Garcia at WEC 36 on 9-10-08
Should be an exciting match up on the same card as Filho vs. Sonnen II. Pulver looks great at 145 and gave Faber a hell of a fight. Big measuring stick fight for Garica. Does he belong with the best in the WEC? We’ll see. I hope Pulver runs through Garcia and another guy before getting a shot at Faber once again.

Sports Brief's MMA Rankings (8.21.08)

The Sports Brief is back with it’s most recent MMA rankings. Although we had UFC 87 and WEC 35, there wasn’t much that changed in the rankings. The WEC talent pool just isn’t deep enough to truly break into the MMA rankings except for a notable few, and most everyone on the UFC card took care of business.

Once again, apologies to Urijah Faber and Miguel Torres, but you will not see Featherweight or Bantamweight, because we just don’t know enough about it. Those fighters do show up, however, on the Pound 4 Pound rankings. Also there a list of honorable mentions following each weight class, for the guys who just missed out on the Top 10. Enjoy the list and let the debates begin.

Heavyweight:

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

Honorable Mentions: Ben Rothwell, Heath Herring, Chiek Kongo, Gabriel Gonzaga, Aleksander Emelianenko, Mirko Cro Cop

Affliction doesn’t have another card until October, so the heavyweight division shouldn’t fluctuate much until then. That tells you how stacked Affliction’s heavyweight talent pool is. Lesnar makes the jump into the rankings, however, after his dominate effort against Herring. Let’s face it, Lesnar’s striking, wrestling and brute strength/athleticism are downright scary. Until he proves his mettle against a bona fide jiu-jitsu fighter such as Mir, Big Nog or Fedor, or shows he can outstrike world-class fighters like Arlovski, Lesnar will continue to teeter on the outside looking in. But we expect him to continue his ascent.

Light Heavyweight:

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

Honorable Mentions: Babalu Sobral, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Tito Ortiz, Vladimir Matyushenko, Brandon Vera

None of the light heavyweights that competed over the past month are even close to consideration here, so nothing changes. We did, however, move Vera to light heavyweight since his next opponent is Keith Jardine. That justifies a change in weight class in our rankings. There are lot of intriguing matchups to be made, particularly involving the likes of Forrest, Silva and Rampage. And the Machida v. Thiago Silva fight is very intriguing. But most intriguing is Liddell’s tilt against still undefeated Rashad Evans. This could be Chuck’s final bid for a title comeback if he falters.

Middleweight:

1. Anderson Silva
2. Matt Lindland
3. Dan Henderson
4. Rich Franklin
5. Paulo Filho
6. Cung Le
7. Robbie Lawler
8. Yushin Okami
9. Nathan Marquardt
10. Frank Trigg

Honorable Mentions: Patrick Cote, Frank Shamrock, Kazuo Misaki, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Thales Leites, Chris Leben. Michael Bisping, Ricardo Almeida, Demian Maia, Gegard Mousasi

I hope James Irvin saved some of those painkillers for after the fight. Cote is up next, and it’ll be interested to see if the slugger fairs any better than Chris Leben did. Speaking of which, that should be a heck of a matchup between Leben and Bisping free on SpikeTV at UFC89. Can’t wait.

Meanwhile, Rich Franklin returns to 205 against Matt Hamill. And Nate Marquardt faces Martin Kampmann, who could seriously be a sleeper in the middleweight division. Dan Henderson returns, as well, all on the undercard of Liddell and Evans main event clash. Wow.


Welterweight:

1. Georges St. Pierre
2. Jon Fitch
3. Jake Shields
4. Thiago Alves
5. Josh Koscheck
6. Diego Sanchez
7. Carlos Condit
t-8. Matt Hughes
t-8. Matt Serra
10. Karo Parisyan

Honorable Mentions: Nick Thompson, Mike Swick, Marcus Davis, Drew Fickett, Jay Hieron

So St. Pierre is clearly a class above the UFC’s 170lb division, and most likely the rest of the world at that weight, as well. He took care of Fitch in their title bout, but Fitch proved he’s among the elite and that he was deserving of the title shot, grinding out five rounds of punishment in a decision loss. Condit, meanwhile, proved he is a true champion of the WEC with his impressive win over Hiromitsu Miura. Condit is a world class fighter, and we hope you’ve been watching these WEC telecasts because they’re really enjoyable. On the whole, the talent is a notch below the UFC and some other major organizations, but the fights are exciting nonetheless. Let’s hope they can bring in some other notable opponents for Carlos or perhaps have him cross over into the UFC.

Lightweight:

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

Honorable Mentions: Kenny Florian, KJ Noons, Nick Diaz, Victor Ribero, Joe Stevenson, Tyson Griffin, Roger Huerta

BJ Penn is all but off to the welterweight division for his rematch with St. Pierre. While it’s an exciting fight that everyone wants to see, it leaves the championship belt idle in the meantime. Kenny Florian certainly showed he could be considered as next in line for a shot at the champ. His decision win over Huerta was tactical and exciting in spurts, and Florian is showing ever improving skills every time out. He says he wants to keep fighting regardless of what Penn does, and that could lead to some exciting possible matchups. The winner of Griffin-Sherk, Stevenson or even Frankie Edgar would be intriguing.

Pound 4 Pound:

1. Anderson Silva
2. Fedor Emelianenko
3. Georges St. Pierre
4. BJ Penn
5. Urijah Faber
6. Miguel Torres
7. Takanori Gomi
8. Forrest Griffin
9. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
10. Quinton Jackson

Some Beef from The Brief

Brewers missed one trade deadline move

Getting rid of Ned Yost.

Watching last night’s ESPN2 game between the Brewers and Astros, I couldn’t help but think two things:

1) CC Sabathia is pitching like a beast right now
2) Ned Yost will be the reason the Brewers tank at the end and miss the playoffs AGAIN

I think the first point is indisputable. Just look at CC’s numbers since coming over from Cleveland. He’s 8-0 with a 1.60 ERA and the Brewers are 8-1 in his nine starts. He’s flooding the strike zone with his entire arsenal, and when you’re talking about a low to mid 90’s fastball on both sides of the plate mixed in with a plus curve and changeup, any offense will have its hands full. That being said, if CC keeps this up can he make his way into the Cy Young discussion? I understand everyone is foaming at the mouth over the trio of Brandon Webb, Tim Lincecum and Edinson Volquez, but it’s just so hard to overlook what Sabathia is doing to the National League thus far. Volquez has looked human as of late, and if Webb and/or Lincecum hit a rough patch, I think CC could steal a few votes. It’ll be hard to overcome him only playing half a season, though.
Regarding Ned Yost... For anyone watching last night’s game, was it me or was Steve Phillips nailing it right on the head? There was NO reason to trot out Sabathia in the bottom of that ninth inning. He was already at 111 pitches, right around his season average, and you could see him clearly laboring, especially after allowing a couple guys to reach and one run to score. Look, Ned, any dimwit paying attention saw that you were leading 9-2 and while I realize you’re at home and want to give the fans something to go nuts about – such as CC’s 5 th complete game with Milwaukee – that 9 th inning was the perfect opportunity to trot Keefe or I out there to get in some work. If we load em up or surrender a run or two, you could get Mota and Torres warming, which you did, and bring either or both of them in to shut the door. Even Gagne would have been a safe choice in that situation. And not only did ole’ Neddy not recognize that, but he let CC labor through the last couple batters of that inning, including the at-bat to Tejada in which every fastball was up at his eyes. I realize you’re trying to maximize your value with the guy, but it’s the middle of August and he’s probably going to make another six or seven starts. If, miraculously, you do make the postseason, let’s try and make sure he’s got enough in the tank to avoid a tumultuous flop like last year. He hit a career high 241 innings and was clearly showing signs of being taxed in his three postseason starts. During that three game stretch he surrendered 21 hits in 15.1 innings and had a K/BB ratio of 14/13. Ugh.

Manny (or CC) for MVP

Again, I know it’s hard to make the argument given these two will have only played half a season for their respective ballclubs. But I can’t help but think that if either, god forbid both of these teams, makes the playoffs, it will clearly be because of Manny and CC’s contributions in the 2 nd half. I already pointed out CC’s numbers in Milwaukee thus far, and Manny’s, from an offensive standpoint, are just as gaudy. He’s hitting .421 with six homeruns and 21 RBI in 16 games. He’s got eight multi-hit games and has been held hitless only twice. Not only that, but look at what he’s done for a guy like Jeff Kent. While Kent is clearly too arrogant – he tried to fight Barry Bonds, who would’ve crushed him – to admit it, Ramirez’ presence in that lineup has brought him more pitches to hit, and he’s responded to the tune of .421 in the month of August.
Let’s face it, the Utley for MVP train has de-railed, the Pujols will lose votes to Ludwick, the Cubs are getting production from everyone, and the Diamondbacks’ offense sucks. David Wright was my sleeper at the midway mark and I think he’s starting to turn into a real contender with his 95 RBI and .322 clip after the break. But in my opinion this award should go to a guy who’s had the most impact and a direct correlation to a team’s success. Both Manny and CC, to this point, exemplify those qualities and they have some filthy numbers to back it up. We’ll see how it plays out, but if this keeps up, I think it needs to be considered.

Jason Bay is an idiot that can hit

I’ll preface this by saying that the Red Sox did not replace Manny Ramirez with Jason Bay. They merely acquired the most value available at the time.

But Bay has been a welcome addition to that lineup, and his .348/3/16 line with the Sox so far is impressive. Coming off last night’s 2-homer game in which he also stole a base, it looks like Bay could be a nice catalyst and solid player down the stretch. But he’s not a cleanup guy, and the Sox will need Youkilis or a healthy Mike Lowell ready to deliver when David Ortiz starts getting walked every time up.

The reason Bay is an idiot is because of his comments to alleged mistress to the captain in a post-game interview. When Heidi Watney asked Bay to comment on Jon Lester’s performance, he said he was impressed and that not many people knew about the guy outside of the AL East.

Are you kidding me?

The guy beat cancer and was back pitching in the majors a year after his diagnosis.

He won Game 4 of the 2007 World Series. Were you watching? Or do you literally shut it down after game 162?

He threw a no-hitter against the Royals back in May.

He’s 12-4 with a 3.17 ERA this season.

I’m pretty sure people know about the guy.

What people may not know is that he’s a legitimate Cy Young candidate in a non-Cliff Lee season. Lee more or less has a stranglehold on the honor with his 17-2 record and 2.43 ERA. It’ll take a Brian Bannister v. Yankees type bombing, on more than one occasion, or a season ending injury right now in order for Lee to lose it. But if it weren’t for him, Lester would be and still should be right up there in the discussion along with teammate Daisuke Matsuzaka. He’s got 16 quality starts in ’08 and the Sox are 18-8 in games which he has started; not to mention Boston is 11-2 in Lester’s last 13 starts. Pretty filthy. To compare, Lee has 18 quality starts in two less starts and the Indians are 18-6 in those 24 games. Hey, if he gets lit up to the tune of 10 runs in one inning ala Bannister in his next two starts, he’d be 17-4 with a 3.44 ERA when the dust settles. Improbable? Yes. Impossible? Yes.

Oh and don’t forget about Roy Halladay, either. I tried trading for him with Shark for fantasy, offering up Chris Volstad and David Price in our keeper league. He threw me John Lackey instead, which is fine, but Halladay is a monster. Eight complete games, a 14-9 record and 2.64 ERA. The Jays have lost 11 games in which Halladay started, but they’ve only scored 19 runs in those contests, being shutout three times and scoring three runs or less in nine of them. Tough deal.

Tom Brady injured?

In my NBA MVP debate, I mentioned that Lebron James should be given the Lebron James MVP award every season based purely on the fact that his team would absolutely suck without him. We’re starting to see that perhaps Tom Brady falls into that category, as well. No only are Matt Cassell, Matt Gutierrez and Kevin O’Connell not the answer, but the defense is porous and won’t carry this team at all in ’08. If Brady isn’t healthy, not only will the Pats struggle to finish 8-8, but Moss won’t catch 80 balls and he’ll end up bitch slapping someone on the sideline. Peyton Manning probably falls into this category, as well, but there’s much less concern here for the Colts.

And I apologize if I spelled any of the names wrong for those three backup QB’s, but they’re so bad I didn’t care enough to look it up.

Classic commercial

For anyone that hasn’t seen it yet, check out the new Nike commercial with LT and Kimbo Slice. Pure comedy at its finest. If you can’t ignore and work past the clear cut stereotypes here for the terrific humor involved, then you’re an idiot. This is absolute gold. Check out the part where Kimbo tosses open the freezer door. That might have sealed it for me.

[1]

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading.

-Bess

UFC 87 Results

Here are the results from Saturday night's UFC event, and you can see how the guys from the Brief did with their picks.

Ben Saunders def. Ryan Thomas via submission (arm-bar). Round 2, 2:28.

Chris Wilson def. Steve Bruno via unanimous decision.

Jon Jones def. Andre Gusmao via unanimous decision.

Cheick Kongo def. Dan Evensen via TKO (strikes) -- Round 1, 4:55.

Tamdan McCrory def. Luke Cummo via unanimous decision.

Demian Maia def. Jason MacDonald via submission (rear-naked choke) -- Round 3, 2:44.

Kenny Florian def. Roger Huerta via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27).

Rob Emerson def. Manny Gamburyan via TKO (strikes) -- Round 1, 0:12.

Brock Lesnar def. Heath Herring via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26).

Georges St. Pierre def. Jon Fitch via unanimous decision (50-43, 50-44, 50-44), to retain his Welterweight Championship.


The Sports Brief Picks

Besse: 8-2
Keefe: 6-4

The Sports Brief's UFC 87 Picks

The UFC has a slew of great fights coming up over the next several months, and this card is a great way to kick things off. Not only is GSP putting his welterweight crown on the line, but he'll have an opportunity to make his case for being the top pound-4-pound fighter in the world. Meanwhile, Brock Lesnar returns and looks to avoid a disastrous 0-2 start to his UFC career, one that he nor the company can afford. And to top it off, we get two of the top lightweight contenders in the UFC going toe-2-toe for their shot at UFC gold. With further ado, here are the picks, Keefe's first, then mine. We did them separately then put them together, so let us know what you think, who you agree with and who you like coming out on top on Saturday night.

Televised Bouts

Keefe’s Picks

Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch (Welterweight Championship Bout)

GSP and Fitch truly are the two best welterweights in the world. The 170 pound division is dominated by UFC fighters and this is the match up every fan wants to see. The only hick-up St. Pierre has faced was the stunning loss to Matt Serra. Since then he has defeated fellow Top 10 guys in Josh Koscheck, Matt Hughes (for the second time), and took care of business against Serra. Along with those names, how about B.J. Penn, Sean Sherk, Frank Trigg, Jason Miller, Jay Hieron, Karo Parisyan, and Pete Spratt being on GSP’s resume. Why not add Jon Fitch to that list?

I understand Fitch has rattled off 15 straight victories including a perfect 8-0 in the UFC with wins over Diego Sanchez, Thiago Alves, and Josh Burkman, but I’m still not convinced. Half of Fitch’s victories in the UFC have come via decision, and St. Pierre has never lost when it comes down to the judges. He usually doesn’t let it go that long. Fitch is a great wrestler. That’s a fact. But GSP out wrestled Fitch’s training partner and 4 time All-American wrestler Josh Koscheck. Maybe Fitch can submit GSP? He has finished 3 fights in the octagon by submission. Don’t count on it. Besides that armbar by Hughes in 2004, GSP won’t let that happen either. I truly believe the only way to defeat GSP now is a fluke knock out a la Serra. I think this is a solid fight for 2 and a half rounds but than St. Pierre, one of the best pound for pound fighters on the planet, ends it.

Georges St. Pierre def. Jon Fitch via (T)KO in the 3rd round

Roger Huerta vs. Kenny Florian

These two are not Top 10 lightweights in the world, but they are Top 5 in the UFC. The winner could find him self in line for a title shot down the road, the one problem being that the current champ B.J. Penn has his sights set a little higher, on a rematch with Georges St. Pierre. I think Penn will be watching this night of fights pretty closely. After a busy 2007, Huerta has not fought in 8 months. He can’t afford to have any ring rust against a guy like Ken-Flo. (I’m still upset I didn’t tell Florian he had a good flow when I took a leak next to him in a Somerville bathroom, damn.) Either way I like Florian to catch “El Matador” in one of the 5,000 submission holds he knows.

Kenny Florian def. Roger Huerta via submission in the 2nd round

Heath Herring vs. Brock Lesnar

Will big Brock Lesnar last more than 90 seconds this time around? For the paying fans I hope so, for Herring’s face, different story. Lesnar proved he’s an absolute monster who just has a lot to learn. Mir got a title shot out of defeating Brock, in his 1st UFC fight no less, you figure that out. Meanwhile Herring is coming off a victory over Kongo. Heath has yet to have a fight in the UFC not go the distance, but I think this will be different. Herring’s only chance here is to find a submission, where most of his Pride victories came from, and slap it on early a la Mir. Upset alert… if this is an upset.

Heath Herring def. Brock Lesnar via submission in the 1st round

Demian Maia vs. Jason McDonald

A pair of fighters here who find themselves on the outside looking in, on the true contenders list at 185. Both guys hold victories over Ed Herman, of course so does Besse and I. McDonald’s best win is over Leben, but anytime he’s gotten a shot a one of the elite, he has lost (Franklin and Okami.) This is a huge fight for Maia. Where does he stack up? He’s 7-0 in his career and 2-0 in the UFC. McDonald, owner of the worst nickname in sports “The Athlete” (aren’t they all athletes?), needs this win. In fact, I feel like it’s a great win for one fighter, but a bad loss at the same time, if that makes since. The loser here is a long way from a title shot, the winner may only need another fight or two, much like Patrick Cote who went on a nice run.

Demian Maia def. Jason McDonald via submission in the 3rd

Manny Gamburyan vs. Rob Emerson

Not sure why this is a televised main event bout, I’ll be honest. I can understand the die hard fans who say enough with the TUF crap being pushed down our throats. Yes there have been many great and entertaining fighters from the past shows like Forrest Griffin, Chris Leben, Diego Sanchez, etc., but there’s been many more who don’t belong on TV. I’m not saying Manny and Emerson are bad fighters. They could both be solid some day. If you watched Dream 5 last month you saw some incredible lightweights. This is an undercard fight. Manny’s had a nice run of quick finishes, and I think it continues.

Manny Gamburyan def. Rob Emerson via submission in the 1st

Undercard Bouts

Cheick Kongo def. Dan Evensen via decision

Ben Saunders def. Ryan Thomas via (T)KO in 1st

Luke Cummo def. Tamden McCrory via (T)KO in 2nd

Andre Gusmao def. Jon Jones via decision

Chris Wilson def. Steve Bruno via (T)KO in 3rd

Besse’s Picks

Televised Bouts

Georges St. Pierre vs. Jon Fitch (Welterweight Championship Bout)

Finally, GSP is clear of the whole Matt Hughes/Matt Serra shenanigans and can finally begin truly defending the welterweight crown. His first test since regaining that title is against a guy who is on quite a roll in Jon Fitch. Fitch has won 15 straight, but he looked a bit off target in his fight with Chris Wilson. Don’t get me wrong, Fitch clearly deserves this opportunity as he’s beaten some talented and fairly big name fighters along the way. He’ll be relying on the strength of his wrestling and jiu-jitsu in this fight, but he’s going to have his work cut out for him.

That’s because he’s taking on MMA phenom Georges St. Pierre, who is truly exemplary of the new generation of athletes in the sport. GSP is athletic and well-rounded, and you could argue that he is never at a disadvantage in any facet of the game against any fighter. Formally you would have pointed to his wrestling, but after his decisive win over Josh Koscheck, he put that to rest; he’s also training with the Canadian National team. His striking will be far superior to that of Fitch, and I expect GSP to come out and get comfortable on his feet. While I think he can hang with Fitch on the ground, he’ll want to score points standing and wear down the challenger, who will be going for five rounds for the first time in the UFC. In the end, GSP will simply be too much for the game, but outclassed Fitch.

GSP remains your Welterweight Champ via (T)KO in the 3rd round.

Roger Huerta vs. Kenny Florian

This is the fight that I’m most excited about on this card. Florian and Huerta are two of the top lightweights in the UFC and I think this could be an opportunity for one of these fighters to establish himself as a top 10 lightweight in the world. Dana White should be taken seriously when he says this has the potential to be a Fight of the Year candidate.

Huerta is returning to action for the first time since his win comeback win over Clay Guida last December. He posted an impressive 6-0 campaign in 2007, and while I argue that his opponents weren’t top caliber fighters, his aggressive, all-action style makes for great fights and his win over Guida showed he is dangerous at any point during a fight. While he should be compared to GSP in terms of talent level, he’s similar in that he’s an athletic, well rounded competitor. He’ll need to apply pressure for all 3 rounds and not allow Florian to gain control on the ground.

For Florian, his biggest challenge will be sticking to his gameplan. I’m confident that due to his experience at a championship level, he’ll be able to do this, but he needs to avoid getting into a fast paced, all-action brawl with Huerta. Florian’s striking is very good, don’t get me wrong, but Huerta is more athletic and rangier, so Florian will need to utilize angles and his Muay Thai clinch. If he control the action and eventually take Huerta down, I think he can work his way to the mount and go for the finish.

Kenny Florian wins via (T)KO in the 3rd round

Heath Herring vs. Brock Lesnar

I hate this fight because I’m actually a fan of both fighters. Herring HAS to be one of everyone’s favorite fighters simply because the guy will fight anyone, anytime, anywhere. That and his infamous YouTube clip in which he knocked the guy out for kissing him during the stare down. That scores points with me any day of the week.

Yet interestingly enough, you have to respect Brock Lesnar because he’s not taking any cupcakes for opponents. This guy has stated he wants to fight tough, credible opponents, and he got that in Frank Mir and he’s getting that again in Herring. I thought Lesnar was mighty impressive against Mir, inflicting serious damage and relentless attack before being caught in a submission. Meanwhile, Herring is coming off an impressive win over Cheick Kongo, a match that many thought would go the other way. But Herring has revamped his training and dedication to the sport, and he looked very tough, durable and much improved in grinding out the decision win.

There’s no question that the biggest hole in Lesnar’s game is his submission defense, and Herring has captured 16 of his 28 victories via just that. However, a lot of those have been submissions that come as a result of being on top of his opponents. I simply don’t see him finding a way to control Lesnar on top and work his way to a mount, taking the back, acquiring a choke, etc. While he may be able to roll Lesnar or work out of Lesnar’s guard, it’s my contention that Brock will simply be too big, too strong and too powerful. Herring will put in yet another gritty, impressive performance, but Saturday’s fight will show why he is the Chris Lytle, Chris Leben and Marcus Aurelio of the heavyweight division.

Brock Lesnar wins via (T)KO in the 2nd round

Demian Maia vs. Jason McDonald

Maia and McDonald could be a ton of fun to watch. Both are sick submission specialist, and I thank them both for their respective embarrassments of Ed “Short Fuse” Herman. Maia has come out of nowhere and is off to a modest 7-0 start to his career. McDonald, meanwhile, has shown flashes of brilliance at times, earning him fights with Yushin Okami and Rich Franklin. He fell flat on his face both times, however, and is slowly developing into a guy who will always fall just a bit short.

A lot of times when two guys with similar backgrounds go at it, the fight is won by utilizing other facets. It’s a matter of who is more comfortable in other areas and can keep it there. I don’t think that will be the case here. Maia seems to have jiu-jitsu skills that are unparalleled, and I think his will simply outclass McDonald’s in scoring a late submission win.

Plus his submission over Ed Herman was much cooler than McDonald’s. That and I also have trouble picking a guy with the nickname, “The Athlete.”

Demian Maia wins via 3rd round submission

Manny Gamburyan vs. Rob Emerson

Joe Silva is pitting a pair of TUF 5 alums against each other here. Interestingly enough, Emerson is an alum of something else, as well: The Lords of South County. Pretty hardcore, eh? Not if you watch the video in which he and his boys ambushed some poor guy at a gas station filling up his car. Pretty weak. I’m not a fan of Gamburyan, either, but I’ll take him over some spoiled, rich kid punk. Not only do I expect Manvil the Anvil to run right through Emerson, I’m hoping he gets hold a limb and goes Babalu on that ass.

Manny Gamburyan wins via 1st round submission

Undercard Bouts

Cheick Kongo def. Dan Evensen via decision

Ben Saunders def. Ryan Thomas via 1st round submission

Tamden Mcrory def. Luke Cummo via decision

Andre Gusmao def. Jon Jones via 1st round submission

Chris Wilson def. Steve Bruno via decision

-Besse and Keefe

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