Tuesday, October 26, 2010

UFC 85 Flashback: Alves, Bisping Win

By Ross Everett

A day after failing to make weight for his fight against Matt Hughes, Thiago Alves dominated the former UFC welterweight champion en route to a 2nd round TKO victory. The main event at UFC 85 in London was somewhat anticlimactic to the fans at the O2 Arena who considered the semifinal matchup between Manchester's Michael Bisping and Jason Day the biggest fight on the card.

Hughes didn't make any excuses following his one sided loss, saying simply that hes a good fighter and he got me. The longtime king of the UFCs welterweight division also gave notice that his career as an active fighter was drawing to a close, suggesting that he had one fight left and challenging Matt Serra in what presumably would be his retirement match.

The end came early in the 2nd round as Hughes was caught coming in by a devastating knee strike. He fell to the canvas in a heap and referee Herb Dean was jumping in to stop the contest before Alves could follow up with any punches. As the ringside physician entered the ring to check on the fallen fighter, Hughes gave an indication that his knee was injured. Replays showed that his knee buckled under him in a very awkward fashion as he fell and while the extent of the damage is yet to be determined Hughes indicated in the postfight interview that it was messed up.

Michael Bisping simply overwhelmed Jason Day en route to a lopsided TKO victory. Bisping built upon the improved boxing skills he demonstrated at UFC 83 by unveiling an impressive ground and pound attack. Day never really got anything going and by the last minute of the fight was simply trying to cover up to prevent damage from Bispings elbows and hammer fists.

In other action, Mike Swick used an array of high kicks and a 7 reach advantage to coast to a unanimous decision over Marcus Davis. Davis, a former professional boxer, was unable to get inside against his lanky opponent and was never really in the fight.

A controversial point deduction for a strike to the back of the head cost Nate Marquardt his match against Thales Leites. Marquardt was solidly in charge for the entire fight, but suffered a point deduction for an illegal knee strike in round one. While that infraction was valid, replays of the 2nd round deduction for the strike to the back of the head gave the impression that he was penalized for a legal strike to the side of the head.

In the opening PPV match, another controversial ending saw Fabrico Werdum defeat Brandon Vera by 1st round KO. The fight had been evenly contested up until the stoppage, with Werdum scoring a couple of takedown and Vera countering with some effective punching. Late in the first round, Werdum got a full mount and began to fire a series of punches. Vera was clearly defending himself and didnt appear to be hurt at all when the referee jumped in to stop the fight. Vera said that hed answered that he was OK when asked by ref Dan Miragliotta and that he was just trying to ride out the round from that position. - 42572

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Dallas Routs Hapless Seattle

By Ross Everett

Quarterback Tony Romo had another solid game, and the Dallas Cowboys made short work of the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday afternoon in a 38-17 victory. Romo threw for 256 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, and receiver Miles Austin caught a touchdown pass for the third straight game. The Cowboys improved to 5-2 with the win, while the Seahawks dropped to 2-5.

The Cowboys also got on the winning side of the NFL pointspread ledger with the win and cover as -10 home favorites. Dallas is now 4-3 against the spread for the season, while Seattle fell to 2-5 versus the number. The 55 combined points scored went OVER the posted total of 46'. Dallas has gone OVER in 5 of 7 games this season and four in a row. Seattle eclipsed the total for only the third time this season.

Romo has made greater patience in the pocket a priority this season, and it's paying dividends. Sunday's game was his third straight without an interception and he's stayed interception free in five games this season-more than he did all of last year. Romo couldn't resist a joke at his own expense:

"Shock! I'm seeing things. It's as simple as that. I'm not throwing and hoping."

Head coach Wade Phillips expressed his pleasure, but didn't want his team to start believing their own press clippings:

"I feel good about the progress we've made, but we've still got a ways to go."

Team owner Jerry Jones was happy with the performance and already looking ahead to next Sunday's game at Philadelphia:

"I'm just glad to see as many people really do as well and play as well as they did today. Philadelphia is the kind of game that I think we're ready for. ... Plus, I think we all remember so much -- I know I do and so many players on this team remember -- how we left Philadelphia last year."

Seattle quarterback Todd Hasselbeck played well, amassing 249 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions but didn't get much help from a defense that couldn't put the necessary pressure on Romo. He sounded frustrated in his postgame comments:

"We put two weeks into this game plan. I felt like we were ready. We just didn't get it done. .... I feel physically drained, emotionally drained. I'm frustrated. We're all searching for answers."

The big game for the Cowboys that Jerry Jones alluded to is next Sunday night as they travel to Philadelphia to face the Eagles. The Cowboys have been installed as +3 underdogs with the total set at 47'. They'll head to Green Bay to take on the Packers the following Sunday before returning home to play the hated Washington Redskins. Seattle will host the lowly Detroit Lions next Sunday, with the Seahawks a -10 home favorite and the total set at 43. - 42572

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Take A Look At An Effectual Quick Weight Loss Solution

By Joseph Bettencourt

There are lots of strategies that 1 can use in order to achieve speedy excess weight loss. Some of these strategies are very effective and will also provide menus that contain delicious and heart healthy meals that will assist an individual lose between eight and eighteen pounds of excess weight in just fourteen days of utilizing a particular diet regime. All that you have to do is to apply some easy guidelines and then you are able to obtain your targets easily and effectively.

A great diet regime that can allow you to obtain rapid fat loss will require eating particular kinds of foods for breakfast time, lunch time and evening meal. For breakfast, you are able to start off by eating 2 slices of Canadian bacon that along with a 2 egg omelet and some herbs as well as non-fat cheese will fill your stomach without adding to the fat content within the body. A nice cup of non sweetened natural tea will make things work ideal for you.

This menu can obviously be varied and you can choose foods to include proteins and vegetables as well as any beverage so long as it is not sweetened with sugar. You'll be able to also eat as much of these foods as you like but be sure to keep the amounts to a reasonable limit.

After breakfast, it is time to turn your attention to what you should take in for the mid morning snack. A red bell pepper should be cut after which the slices can be dipped into any good reduced carb bean or even vegetable dip. Add about 6 roasted almonds to this diet regime and in addition drink a glassful of V 8 juice or some other non sweetened herbal tea. Also, take a protein as well as a fruit with this and other snack food times.

For lunch, you really should permit your self to take in a cooked chicken breast that has been cooked with olive oil. Add some salad that contains freshly cut romaine lettuce and sliced bell peppers as well as tomatoes and cucumbers. Include half a boiled egg as well as take some walnuts and some juice of a half lemon that has been squeezed completely.

For your mid-day snack, you should eat about 5 almonds or fourteen roasted sunflower seeds. Acquire some celery along with two tablespoons of tuna fish salad (homemade.) consume about eight oz . of water and try and in addition take some proteins and greens.

At dinner, you ought to think about consuming little salads that include greens dipped in olive oil and also you ought to include a grilled or baked piece of pork chop. Eat some vegetables and drink non sweetened herbal tea. Your dessert really should not include more than 75 calories and here you are able to consider taking some mint and hard candy or a piece of chocolate or any diet pudding.

Don't forget to eat some protein and a few servings of vegetables at dinner time and also add just a little bit of dairy. You'll be able to also think about taking about two tablespoons of fat which could form part of the salad dressing or your main dish. This diet regime is a ideal solution for those who wish to affect speedy weight reduction. - 42572

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College Football Flashback: 2008 SEC Championship Game

By Ross Everett

The Florida Gators rampage through the SEC reached its culmination with a 31-20 victory over #1 ranked Alabama in the conference championship game. The Gators scored-- 4th quarter points to secure victory in a contest that was an epic struggle for three quarters with five lead changes and two ties. This victory set the stage for the Gators' appearance in the National Championship Game.

The Gators struck first, taking a 7-0 lead on a three yard Tim Tebow TD pass to Carl Moore. The Crimson Tide quickly answered, tying the score on an eighteen yard run by Glen Coffee and taking their first lead of the game at 10-7 several minutes later on a 30 yard FG by Leigh Tiffin. Florida came right back in the second quarter, tying the game on a Jonathan Phillips' yard FG and taking a 17-10 lead into the halftime break on another Tebow TD pass, this one to David Nelson from five yards out. Alabama regained control in the third quarter, tying the score on a 2 yard Mark Ingram touchdown run and then regaining the lead at 20-17 in the final seconds of the period on another Tiffin field goal. Florida put them away for good in the fourth, however, on a 1 yard Jeffrey Demps TD run followed by Tebows third touchdown strike of the day.

As was the case more often than not during Floridas run to the BCS title game, Tim Tebow was the big star for the Gators. The junior QB had 216 yards passing with 3 TDs and no interceptions plus fifty seven yards on the ground. Florida head coach Urban Meyer wasnt hesitant about praising Tebow effusively in his post game comments:

"I've had some great players, and I've got some great players on this team. But I've never had one like this. Tim's got something special inside him. I'm not talking about throwing. I'm not talking about running. I'm talking about making everyone around him better. That fourth quarter was vintage Tim Tebow.

Alabama coach Nick Saban agreed:

"He's a great competitor. He takes his teammates on his shoulders a lot. They have a lot of confidence he's going to make plays, and they play that way. They scored two touchdowns where we had them covered about as well as we could cover them."

The conventional wisdom is that the Gators are a speed and finesse team, but according to cornerback Joe Haden the world has underestimated their toughness:

"Our team is a tough team. The only reason they look past our toughness is our speed. They said we were a speed team and they were a tough team. We're just as tough. We can still be pretty and fast and tough at the same time."

Even in defeat, it was impossible to overlook the remarkable resurgance of Alabama football. In only two years at the helm, Nick Saban has amassed a'-7 record at Alabama with no signs of slowing down. - 42572

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More Interesting Facts About Solar Energy You May Decide To Understand

By Dicky Rejaka

While there can be many interesting facts about solar energy, I would like to give out many of the solar energy facts which may be more to your benefit after you have taken the time to understand them. You should let others know about this information, as well, simply, to do your share of helping others to understand more about solar power and the benefits that we can all derive from using alternative energy.

We have but one environment and we should all be doing at least a bit in helping to conserve national parks and understanding solar power is the initial step in to be able to make some type of difference to our world.

Solar Energy Facts That Can certainly produces a Difference

1. Solar cells or solar radiation is the energy that we can use to make alternative sources of power. We can take the potency of the sun and employ it for many different functions such as powering our homes or heating our pools. The technology of generating power from the sun is quickly advancing and it'll soon be used worldwide as a way of generating most of our electrical needs.

Many homeowners are already building their own solar panels to help cut the price of the heating bills winter months' time. Some are even making solar panels which they can use to heat a swimming pool in the summertime time.

2. Solar power has been doing use for 1000's of years as seen in a few of the architectural structures designed and used by The Greeks and The Chinese. We have seen an increase in the design of homes even more recently that are planned and built for harnessing solar power.

There are solar roof tiles that may also be used to help heat or cool your home as well. Mentioned a few solar energy facts that can produce a difference to our environment.

3. Solar power is being used by farmers to be able to help increase their harvest. Solar power is being used to help dry crops and also as a way to dry the manure which is used as a fertilizer in the fields before planting.

4. just about everyone has seen green houses. These green houses are employed convert the sun's light into humidity which enables plants of all types to be grown throughout every season in many areas.

Put simply solar power is being used a growing number of as a way of generating all types of power and the technology for using solar energy is being developed quickly in order to help our environment. This technology will help to us in turn to save some of national parks before we uses up them completely.

If we all do some to help that can certainly produce a big difference.

I have only shared a few interesting facts about solar energy and alternative energy sources here there is however much more now that you could learn if you realize solar energy facts to be of interest to you. - 42572

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Monday, October 25, 2010

Roller Girls Bring A Dead Sport Into The 21st Century

By Ross Everett

Roller Derby was a staple of the early television era and was similar in its promotional format to its better known "sports entertainment" cousin, professional wrestling. It was frequently seen in the same bad timeslots on the same low powered UHF TV stations, and it was run by the same loose confederation of Runyanesque promoters and businessmen that characterized the regional territory era of pro wrestling. Unfortunately, roller derby didn't catch on the way professional wrestling did. There was obviously a serious athletic component to it, but the "angles" and storylines surrounding roller derby made pro wrestling seem like Ibsen by comparison. The sport does have its own history--most know that the LA T-Birds were the perennial champions of'70's, and Ann Calvello and Ralphie Valladares had been in the sport forever and were considered legends--but it never really stuck in the public consciousness like the pre-Hulk Hogan era of pro wrestling.

New era roller derby reached a national audience through the A&E reality series Roller Girls. It featured a local, all-girl roller derby league in Austin, Texas and followed the lives of the players on and off the track. While the show was oddly engaging, it was the first clue that many had that such a league existed in the first place. A sport that was never taken seriously to begin with and that was really living on borrowed time since the'60's before fading into the lowest level of obscurity had been rediscovered and embraced by an eclectic group of young women. They had kept the same essential format, thrown in a healthy dose of burlesque camp and Varga pin-up inspired glamour and made it into their own vibrant subculture. They changed some of the nomenclature and competitive format--in lieu of regularly scheduled games they renamed the competitions "bouts" a la MMA or boxing. The result was a compelling mixture of glamour, toughness and athleticism driven by a healthy dose of punk rock "do it yourself" mentality.

Today, the same sort of league featured on "Rollergirls" had become a full blown cultural phenomenon. There are now literally hundreds of local "roller girl" leagues in the US, many under the auspices of a national organization called the Womens Flat Track Derby Association. Las Vegas has the 'Sin City Roller Girls', Portland, Oregon the 'Rose City Rollers" and Seattle the 'Rat City Rollers'. There are now groups in not only the larger and traditionally "hipper" cities but also smaller flyover country environs such as Birmingham, Alabama and Omaha, Nebraska and all over Canada, Europe and Australia. Most of the local groups similarly play up the campy retro pin-up/hot rod iconography and everyone involved sure looks like they're having a good time. Between teams there's a vibe of good natured competitiveness and camaraderie.

This organic rebirth and growth of roller derby is a result of young women taking what essentially was TV time filler and made it into their own distaff 'action sport'. The community that has sprung up around it bears a striking resemblance to the skateboarding or snowboarding subculture. Granted, there are plenty of talented female skateboarders and snowboarders but they're typically male dominated disciplines. The roller derby circa 2009 is just the opposite--a living, breathing matriarchal success story. No one is in it for the money, as these local groups are typically run as non-profit organization. The women involved have recreated this sport, and run it, promote it and compete in it on their own terms.

The new generation rollergirls also pay homage to their sports' pioneers much in the same way that skateboarders give props to Duane Peters and Tony Alva. Many of the individual group websites have sections devoted to the history of roller derby, and the late Ann Calvello--regarded as the Queen of the original Roller Derby--is revered as something of a patron saint. The Texas Rollergirl group featured in the A&E series has renamed their championship the Calvello Cup. - 42572

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Rams Foil Comeback Attempt To Beat Bengals In Preseason NFL Play

By Ross Everett

Kyle Boller filled in for an injured Mark Bulger, and the St. Louis Rams improved to 2-1 on the NFL preseason with a 24-21 victory over the host Cincinnati Bengals. The Rams led 24-14 heading into the fourth quarter, but a Bengals TD early in the frame made for some drama down the stretch. The Bengals couldn't close the deal, however, and lost their second game in NFL preseason play.

Boller did withstand a hard hit from linebacker Keith Rivers that knocked his helmet off his head. Despite the hit, he Rams #2 QB was 14 of 20 for 96 yards. After the game, he talked about the play:

"I could have slid a little earlier. It is what it is. My chin strap hit just above my eyes. It was a good scramble, but maybe if I can get down a little sooner, the coaches would like that."

Rivers also commented on the play:

"I was just trying to get to the ball. It wasn't anything intentional."

Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo gave Boller some props in his postgame media comments:

"He moved the team. He drove us down there after the bad start. When you score on a drive, the quarterback deserves the credit."

Bengals second string QB J.T. O'Sullivan didnt have it quite so easy"he was sacked three times, lost a fumble and had two passes deflected by linemen. The lost fumble added to the Bengals NFL preseason turnover woes"theyve lost five fumbles and thrown three interceptions for eight turnovers in three games. O'Sullivan talked about the problem after the game:

"We've just got to find a way to eliminate it. It puts you in such a disadvantage any time you turn the ball over. That's one of the things that has to change immediately."

Head coach Marvin Lewis agreed:

"When you turn the football over, you have a difficult time winning, whether you're playing in the regular season, the preseason, junior high, sixth grade, whatever it is.

The Bengals conclude their NFL preseason slate next Thursday as they host the Indianapolis Colts. The Rams play at home on the same night, welcoming the Kansas City Chiefs to the Edward Jones Dome. - 42572

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