Rajon Rondo vs. Chris Paul

The NBA is back. What better way to spark the conversation and get attention than a trade rumor involving two of the league's Top 5 point guards? It appears as though Danny Ainge and the Celtics are extremely interested in Hornets All-Star Chris Paul and are willing to trade away their All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo to make the deal happen. Will it happen? Should it happen? Let's check the tale of the tape first. Rondo vs. CP3.

Rajon Rondo
Age: 25
Current Contract: 4 years remaining at a total of $46 million
NBA Seasons: 5
Games: 384
Career Averages: 10.7 points, 7.6 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 1.9 steals, 48.6% FG

2010-11: 10.6 points, 11.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 2.3 steals, 47.5% FG

Playoffs: (78 games) 13.8 points, 8.5 assists, 5.8 rebounds, 1.9 steals, 43.7 % FG

Achievements: 2-time All-Star, NBA Champion, 1st Team All-Defense (2), 2nd Team All-Defense, All-Rookie 2nd Team

Chris Paul
Age: 26
Current Contract: 1 year left for $16.36 million (player option for '12-'13 for $17.78 million)
NBA Seasons: 6
Games: 425
Career Averages: 18.7 points, 9.9 assists, 4.6 rebounds, 2.4 steals, 47.1% FG

2010-11: 15.9 points, 9.8 assists, 4.1 rebounds, 2.4 steals, 46.3% FG

Playoffs: (23 games) 21.9 points, 11.1 assists, 5.3 rebounds, 2 steals, 49.3% FG

Achievements: 4-time All-Star, All-NBA 1st Team (1), All-NBA 2nd Team (1), All-NBA 3rd Team (1), All-Defense 1st Team (1), All-Defense 2nd Team (2), Rookie of the Year

CP3 also gets a huge nod in free throw shooting and 3-point shooting. He is 85% at the line, and 36% from deep for his career while Rondo is a sad 62% and 24%.

Both the statistics and the eye test prove that Chris Paul is a better player overall than Rajon Rondo. That is not breaking news. However a trade for the two All-Star point guards is not nearly that simple. Would Paul sign an extension to stay in Boston? Does he think that an aging Paul Pierce and what Avery Bradley, JaJuan Johnson, maybe Jeff Green look like a solid foundation? Is that better than any of his Hornets teams?

The Paul extension really is the beginning and end of the conversation. If the answer is "No." or even "We'll see." I'll have to pass on the deal. And why would he want to sign with the Celtics again? Exactly.

If, for some magical reason, he would rather play in Boston than in New York with his buddies Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, or even stay in New Orleans where he has played his entire career and is the face of the franchise, it's still not a slam dunk. As it stands now, Rondo, Pierce, and Bradley are the only players under contract for next season. So obviously there will be a dozen more guys signing. If Chris Paul opts out of his player option to become a free agent, he is walking away from close to $18 million in guaranteed money for next season. Therefore he is going to cost a pretty penny.

Paul could make more money over a longer period of time staying with the Hornets (this is also where sign and trades come in to play as well.) But let's just say he makes between $18-20 million dollars a year for the next 4 years in this "dream" scenario where he comes to Boston. You still need to surround him with talent, and clearly more than just a David West, Tyson Chandler, or Emeka Okafor. We've already seen how far that can go.

Regardless of what happens, the Celtics are going to go through a major makeover for the 2012-13 season and beyond. I don't know all the players who will be available and (almost as important) interested in coming to Boston, but I do know that Rondo will be anywhere from $5-10 million cheaper than CP3. You can get a pretty good player for that price.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this all plays out. And the conspiracy theorist in me wonders if Ainge and the Celtics are leaking this story just to get some talk going concerning the Celtics. I mean you got the defending Stanley Cup Bruins, who are 11-0-1 this month, the Patriots looking to be the #1 seed in the AFC and the Red Sox just hired Bobby Valentine. How else can you still some headlines than with a "trade your only good young player" rumor.

Either way, I'm just glad we're talking about the NBA again.


-Keefe

Keefe's College Football Top 10

The BCS will be released later today, but do you trust it? I don't. Virginia Tech is in the Top 5? Who have they beaten? Seriously. Before next week's Conference Title games and regular season finales, this is how the Top 10 in College Football should look like.

1. LSU (12-0)
2. Alabama (11-1)
3. Oklahoma State (10-1)
4. Oregon (10-2)
5. Stanford (11-1)
6. Boise State (10-1)
7. USC (10-2)
8. Arkansas (10-2)
9. Oklahoma (9-2)
10. Wisconsin (10-2)

It won't look like that, but it should. Also, count me as someone who does NOT want to see an LSU-Bama rematch in the title game, however right now they are the two best teams in the country. I'll be rooting for a Georgia win in the SEC title game over LSU and then absolute chaos.

-Keefe

AND HOW ABOUT THE NBA? More on that to come.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Come on inside for Football & Turkey!



Quick Picks:

Lions (+7) over Packers
Cowboys (-7.5) over Dolphins
Ravens (-3) over 49ers

Happy Thanksgiving!

-Keefe

Rich Keefe on JT The Brick 11/21/11

Rich Keefe once again joined the JT The Brick Show on Fox Sports Radio to break down the Patriots 34-3 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football. Listen below. (Skip ahead to 17:55).

Erin Andrews Gatorade Shower

Baylor knocked off #5 Oklahoma on Saturday night. Robert Griffin III was good, but Erin Andrews getting a Gatorade shower was better.





-Keefe

Hendo, Wanderlei Win; UFC 139 Results

MAIN CARD:
Dan Henderson* def. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
Wanderlei Silva def. Cung Le via knockout (strikes) - Round 2, 4:49
Urijah Faber** def. Brian Bowles via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 2, 1:27
Martin Kampmann def. Rick Story via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
Stephan Bonnar def. Kyle Kingsbury via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-25, 30-27)

UNDER CARD:
Ryan Bader def. Jason Brilz via knockout (punch) - Round 1, 1:17
Michael McDonald def. Alex Soto via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 0:56
Chris Weidman def. Tom Lawlor via technical submission (D'arce choke) - Round 1, 2:07
Gleison Tibau def. Rafael dos Anjos via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
Miguel Torres def. Nick Pace via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Seth Baczynski def. Matt Brown via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 2, 0:42
Danny Castillo def. Shamar Bailey via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 4:52

*Hendo will likely face Jon Jones-Lyoto Machida winner for a shot at the UFC Light Heavyweight Title

**Faber will face Dominick Cruz (for the third time) for the UFC Bantamweight Title.

Be sure to check out The Sports Brief's MMA Rankings.

-Keefe

Night of Legends: UFC 139 Preview

Tomorrow night the UFC continues their ridiculous streak of events with UFC 139 out in San Jose. This card is stacked with former champions. The great champs from PRIDE will be well represented as Shogun Rua faces Dan Henderson, and Wanderlei Silva takes on former Strikeforce champ and action movie star Cung Le in his UFC debut. Also two of the best from the WEC square off with Urijah Faber vs. Brian Bowles.

Here is a closer look at the 6 MMA legends who will enter the cage on Saturday night.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
MMA Record: 20-5
UFC Record: 4-3
Last Five: 3-2

Key Wins: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem (2), Kevin Randleman, Mark Coleman, Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida, Forrest Griffin
Key Losses: Babalu Sobral, Coleman, Griffin, Jon Jones

Achievements: PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion (2005), UFC Light Heavyweight Champion

Dan Henderson
MMA Record: 28-8
UFC Record: 5-2
Last Five: 4-1

Key Wins: Carlos Newton, Gilbert Yvel, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Babalu Sobral (2), Renzo Gracie, Murilo Rua, Murilo Bustamante (2), Akihiro Gono, Kazuo Misaki, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, Rich Franklin, Michael Bisping, Rafael Cavalcante, Fedor Emelianenko
Key Losses: Wanderlei Silva, Big Nog, Lil Nog, Ricardo Arona, Misaki, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Anderson Silva, Jake Shields

Achievements: UFC 17 Middleweight Tournament Winner, PRIDE Welterweight Grand Prix Champion (2005), PRIDE Welterweight Champion, PRIDE Middleweight Champion, Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion

Wanderlei Silva
MMA Record: 34-11-1
UFC Record: 3-6
Last Five: 2-3

Key Wins: Guy Mezger, Dan Henderson, Sakuraba (3), Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (2), Ricardo Arona, Keith Jardine, Michael Bisping
Key Losses: Vitor Belfort, Tito Ortiz, Mark Hunt, Arona, Cro Cop, Henderson, Chuck Liddell, Rampage, Rich Franklin, Chris Leben

Achievements: PRIDE Middleweight Champion (2001-2007), PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix Champion (2003). Most wins (22) and KOs (15) in PRIDE FC history

Cung Le
MMA Record: 7-1
UFC Record: ---
Last Five: 4-1

Key Wins: Frank Shamrock, Scott Smith
Key Loss: Smith

Achievements: Strikeforce Middleweight Champion, all 7 wins by KO

Urijah Faber
MMA Record: 25-5
UFC Record: 1-1
Last Five: 3-2

Key Wins: Cole Escovedo, Charlie Valencia, Dominick Cruz, Jeff Curran, Jens Pulver (2)
Key Losses: Tyson Griffin, Mike Brown (2), Jose Aldo, Cruz

Achievements: WEC Featherweight Champion

Brian Bowles
MMA Record: 10-1
UFC Record: 2-0
Last Five: 4-1

Key Wins: Charlie Valencia, Damacio Page (2), Will Ribeiro, Miguel Torres, Takeya Mizugaki
Key Loss: Dominick Cruz

Achievements: WEC Bantamweight Champion

With these 6 guys on the card, it should be great. Wanderlei is past his prime, but is still a must-see guy. I'm torn on my picks. I'll go Shogun, Le, Bowles.

Enjoy the fights.

-Keefe

Thanks For Playing Herman Cain

We don't usually get involved with politics here on The Sports Brief, in fact this might be the first post ever to mention a Presidential candidate. But this is certainly a unique case. You've probably seen it by now, or at least heard it, here is Herman Cain's interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Wow. Instant classic. Your move Rick Perry.



The bigger question is, does SNL just replay this or actually act it out?

-Keefe

UFC Title Picture By Division

There are 7 divisions in the UFC. The biggest of them all took center stage last Saturday night for the promotions network television debut. Junior Dos Santos defeated Cain Velasquez to become the newest champ in the UFC. What is next for JDS and the rest of the champs? Here is a divisional breakdown of the best-of-the-best.

HEAVYWEIGHT:
Champion: Junior Dos Santos

How: Defeated Cain Velasquez, November 12, 2011 at UFC on Fox

What's Next? Faces the winner of Brock Lesnar - Alistair Overeem, which is set for December 30, 2011 at UFC 141. It will be Dos Santos' first title defense.

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT:
Champion: Jon Jones

How: Defeated Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, March 19, 2011 at UFC 128. Defended title against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, September 24, 2011 at UFC 135.

What's Next? Was set to face Rashad Evans but injuries to Evans have postponed the match up twice, he will now square off against former champ Lyoto Machida, December 10, 2011 at UFC 140.

MIDDLEWEIGHT:
Champion: Anderson Silva

How: Defeated Rich Franklin, October 14, 2006 at UFC 64. Defended title a record 9 times with wins over:
Nate Marquart (UFC 73)
Rich Franklin (UFC 77)
Dan Henderson (UFC 82)
Patrick Cote (UFC 90)
Thales Leites (UFC 97)
Demian Maia (UFC 112)
Chael Sonnen (UFC 117)
Vitor Belfort (UFC 126)
Yushin Okami (UFC 134)

What's Next? Rematch with Chael Sonnen, date TBA.

WELTERWEIGHT:
Champion: Georges St. Pierre

How: (On current run) Defeated Matt Hughes, December 29, 2007 at UFC 79 for Interim Title, defeated Matt Serra, April 19, 2008, to become undisputed champ. Defended title 6 times with wins over:
Jon Fitch (UFC 87)
B.J. Penn (UFC 94)
Thiago Alves (UFC 100)
Dan Hardy (UFC 111)
Josh Koscheck (UFC 124)
Jake Shields (UFC 129)

What's Next: Nick Diaz, February 4, 2012 at UFC 143. (GSP was set to face Diaz at UFC 137, before Diaz was replaced by Carlos Condit because of failure to meet pre-fight responsibilities. GSP was then off the card due to injury.)

LIGHTWEIGHT:
Champion: Frankie Edgar

How: Defeated B.J. Penn, April 10, 2010 at UFC 112. Defended title against B.J. Penn, August 28, 2010 at UFC 118, kept title after a draw with Gray Maynard at UFC 125, and then defeated Maynard at UFC 136.

What's Next: Ben Henderson, February 26, 2012 at UFC 144.

FEATHERWEIGHT:
Champion: Jose Aldo

How: (WEC Title became UFC Title) Defeated Mike Brown, November 18, 2009 at WEC 44. Defended belt 4 times:
Urjiah Faber (WEC 48)
Manny Gamburyan (WEC 51)
Mark Hominick (UFC 129)
Kenny Florian (UFC 136)

What's Next: Chad Mendes, January 14, 2012 at UFC 142.

BANTAMWEIGHT:
Champion: Dominick Cruz

How: (WEC Title became UFC Title) Defeated Brian Bowles, March 6, 2010 at WEC 47. Defended belt 4 times:
Joseph Benavidez (WEC 50)
Scott Jorgensen (WEC 53)
Urijah Faber (UFC 132)
Demetrious Johnson (UFC on Versus 6)

What's Next: TBA likely winner of Faber vs. Bowles which is set for this Saturday at UFC 139.

-Keefe

Dos Santos Wins Title: Full UFC on Fox Results

The UFC made its debut on national television last night with a one-bout Heavyweight Championship showcase. The telecast began at 9:00pm EST and after 30+ minutes of build up with stories about the two (challenger Junior Dos Santos and champion Cain Velasquez) as well as commentary from UFC president Dana White and former UFC champ Brock Lesnar, the fight finally got underway. And it didn't last long.

Perhaps a bittersweet moment for the UFC, its first fight on Fox, which had been built up for months on their network, particularly during NFL games on Sunday. The fight lasted just over 1 minute, with Dos Santos becoming the newest Heavyweight Champ.

For those that criticized the fact that only one fight was shown on Fox (the rest of the card was seen on facebook and or FUEL TV), Dana White has two words for you, "Shut up." The fact is the contract between the UFC and Fox does not kick off until 2012, so this was really just a taste. But will it leave casual fans wanting more?

Full results below.

MAIN CARD
Junior Dos Santos def. Cain Velasquez via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 1:04 - Heavyweight Championship Bout

UNDER CARD
Ben Henderson def. Clay Guida via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Dustin Poirier def. Pablo Garza via submission (D'arce choke) - Round 2, 1:32
Ricardo Lamas def. Cub Swanson via submission (arm-triangle choke) - Round 2, 2:16
DaMarques Johnson def. Clay Harvison via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 1:34
Darren Uyenoyama def. Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-27)
Robert Peralta def. Mackens Semerzier via TKO (strikes) - Round 3, 1:54
Alex Caceres def. Cole Escovedo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Mike Pierce def. Paul Bradley via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
Aaron Rosa def. Matt Lucas via majority decision (28-28, 30-26, 30-26)

The Rich Keefe Project on 98.5 this Weekend

Check out The Rich Keefe Project this weekend on 98.5 The Sports Hub.

Who: Rich Keefe
What: Two radio shows
When: Saturday night following Bruins-Sabres & Sunday afternoon post Cowboys-Bills & before Patriots pre-game. (Sat. 9:40pm-ish & Sun. 4pm-ish start times)
Where: 98.5 The Sports Hub / CBS Boston
Why: Why not?

Call in at (617) 779-0985 and text the show at 69985.

Penn State Saga

The Penn State situation has gotten completely out of hand. One day after the school cancels Joe Paterno's weekly press conference, he comes out with a statement saying how he is going to retire at the end of the year and that the school should not worry about his status. What? Why does he get to say that? Yeah, you coached for 46 years at the same place, but sorry pal this one is out of your control now, after you let it go without doing anything.

Paterno needs to go, the President of Penn State needs to go, the WR's coach (then an intern or whatever) needs to go, and can the NCAA get involved in this one? If Ohio State and USC can get in all kinds of trouble for tattoos and some money, I think Penn State deserves something, right?

Fire all those who knew about it and did nothing. No bowl games for awhile, (sorry Outback Bowl, which seems to get the Nittany Lions every year). Something tells me that even if the NCAA doesn't do a damn thing, smart and talented high school football players who are getting recruited my multiple schools will see what's going on at Penn State and say, I might go somewhere else. Good.

Former Penn State DT and horrible Lions GM Matt Millen was on SportsCenter yesterday talking about the news coming out about his alma mater. I thought it was pretty good...



-Keefe

Joe Frazier: 1944-2011

Former Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier was one of the greatest boxers of all-time. Everyone knows his name, but do we all really know how good he was?

Smokin' Joe won the 1964 Olympic Gold Medal over in Japan, competing in the heavyweight division. In 3 years as an amateur (1962-64) he lost 1 bout.

He went on to amass a ridiculous 32-4-1 record as a professional. In fact he began his pro career 29-0 with wins over Buster Mathis, Oscar Bonavena (twice), and in "The Fight of the Century" in 1971 he defeated Muhammad Ali to cap off his 29-0 start. The fight was the first ever to feature two undefeated champions. Ali was 31-0 and coming off a 3 year suspension while Frazier was 28-0.

You wonder how many times these guys could have squared off if Ali was around in the late 1960s, although I'm not sure we really needed to see too many more rounds between these two all-time greats.

Frazier would finish his career 4-4-1 with two losses each to Ali and George Foreman. In all he went 41 rounds with Ali and another 7 with Foreman. The fact is he didn't match up well at all with Foreman (who did?) being 4 inches shorter.

Smokin Joe Frazier was born in South Carolina but became the pride of Philadelphia. He was one of the toughest athletes ever and will be remembered as one of the greatest boxing champions of all-time. If anyone was ever a badass it was him.

R.I.P. Joe Frazier.



-Keefe

UFC 138 Results

IF YOU PLAN ON WATCHING THE FIGHTS ON SPIKE'S TAPE DELAY TONIGHT, DO NOT SCROLL DOWN. IF YOU DON'T CARE, CHECK OUT THE UFC 138 RESULTS BELOW....

MAIN CARD:
•Mark Munoz def. Chris Leben via TKO (corner's stoppage) - Round 2, 5:00
•Renan Barao def. Brad Pickett via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 4:09
•Thiago Alves def. Papy Abedi via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 1, 3:32
•Anthony Perosh def. Cyrille Diabate via submission (rear-naked choke) - Round 2, 3:09
•Terry Etim def. Edward Faaloloto via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 1, 0:17

UNDER CARD:
•John Maguire def. Justin Edwards via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
•Philip De Fries def. Rob Broughton via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
•Michihiro Omigawa def. Jason Young via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
•Che Mills def. Chris Cope via TKO (knee) - Round 1, 0:40
•Chris Cariaso def. Vaughan Lee via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)

Reminder: The Sports Brief's MMA Rankings can be found on the right side of the site by simply clicking "MMA Rankings." The Top 10 lists have been updated to include the UFC 138 results.

Grand Theft Auto V Trailer!

Release Date: TBA
Battle Meter: 100

Assassins Creed Revelations Trailer

Here come a couple video games that have not been released yet, but look pretty sick. First up the latest installment in the Assassins Creed franchise.