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Last Word On Sports

Sports News Since 2011. Honestly.

Last Word On Sports Logo

Sports. Honestly. Since 2011

Year: 2012

UFC Shocker: Henderson Injured, UFC 151 Cancelled, Jones to fight Machida in Toronto

Posted on by Ben Kerr

Shocking news today as UFC 151 has been cancelled.  Originally the card was built around a main event featuring a UFC Light Heavyweight championship bout between champion Jon “Bones” Jones and longtime MMA veteran Dan Henderson.

Henderson, training for the main event title fight against Jones, injured his medial collateral ligament and cannot fight.  Replacements were quickly sought to keep the card going, however many fighters were unwilling to face Jones without the benefit of a training camp.

One fighter who did step up to the plate is Chael Sonnen, who has been goading Jones in interviews and on Twitter in recent weeks.  Jones was presented with the option to fight Sonnen, but has refused the fight.  Instead he will defend his title against number 1 contender, (based on UFC on Fox 4 results) Lyoto “the Dragon” Machida at the scheduled UFC 152 on September 22 in Toronto.   No other fighter was willing to fight Jones as a replacement, without the benefit of a full training camp.

Henderson, Dana White, and Chael Sonnen have all heavily criticized Jones for not agreeing to the replacement fight in a UFC Conference call announcing the decision to cancel the event.

Without a main event, Dana White has made the tough decision to cancel the Pay Per View Event.  White said that this is the first time in 11 years that a UFC event has been cancelled after a fight card was announced.  The UFC previously cancelled a Montreal card, but there were no fights announced for that event.

 

Top Shelf Prospects: Tampa Bay Lightning

Posted on by Ben Kerr

Welcome to today’s edition of “Top Shelf Prospects” – a team-by-team look at the top prospects in the NHL. As I continue my alphabetical journey, I bring you a look at the Tampa Bay Lightning.

As always you can find a complete listing of my previous articles here. Since we had an extensive NHL Draft preview, I will not be reviewing the players who were drafted in the 2012 draft, as there have been no games since then, and my reports on them will not have changed. What I will be doing is linking you to those articles, as well as taking a look at prospects that were acquired before this year’s draft; their progress, and their chances of making the 2012-13 roster of the NHL team in question. I will also bring you one sleeper pick – a player who was either drafted in the 4th-round or later, or was an undrafted free agent signing who I pick as my darkhorse to make the NHL. For those wondering, the cut-off for what is or isn’t a prospect is typically about 45-50 NHL games played or being 25 years old. These are not static rules though, as I may make some exceptions depending on the circumstances.

Rulings:  Keith Aulie (76 Career Games) and Brett Connolly (68 career games) have graduated.

2012 Draft Prospects Reviewed:
Slater Koekoek, Andrei Vasilevski, Dylan Blujus, Brian Hart,

 

Top Prospect: Vladislav Namestnikov, Centre
Born Nov 22 1992 — Voskresensk, Russia
Height 6.00 — Weight 170 — Shoots Left
Selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in round 1 #27 overall at the 2011 NHL Entry Draft

Namestnikov comes from impressive bloodlines. His father, Yevgeni, was a journeyman pro who played 43 NHL games but mostly played in the AHL and old RSL (Russian Super League, precursor to the KHL). His uncle (mother’s side) is Slava Kozlov who scored 853 points in a long NHL career with Detroit, Buffalo, and Atlanta. Namestnikov has spent the last two seasons playing his junior hockey in London, and he was part of the Knights squad that won the OHL title and went to the Memorial Cup, only to lose the championship game in Overtime.

Namestnikov is an excellent skater. He has a very smooth, textbook stride and it allows him to have very good top end speed and acceleration. He is a very agile skater, with very good edgework. This makes him very shifty and elusive, beating defenders off the rush or in the offensive zone.  He could use a bit more lower body strength in order to help him be stronger on the puck, and harder to knock off his stride.

Namestnikov is a talented offensive player with very good hockey IQ.  He has great vision in the offensive zone, and makes great reads of opposing defences.  He almost always makes the smart, effective play.  Excellent stickhandling skills allow him to extend the play in the offensive zone waiting for teammates to get open.  This is followed by a quick, accurate pass that often finds their stick when they do.  Namestnikov is a deadly playmaker, who makes his wingers better around him.  He also has decent power on his wrist shot, good accuracy and a decent release.  It can be a weapon for him in the OHL, and even at the pro level, but Namestnikov’s real calling is as more of a playmaker than a sniper. Namestnikov is not afraid to go into traffic or go to the dirty areas of the ice to make a play.

Namestnikov is also defensively responsible, and understands the roll of a centre in his own end of the ice.  He works hard to help with the backchecking duties and to cover a man down lown.  His hockey sense also helps him in the defensive end, as his great anticipation causes turnovers.

On the boards Namestnikov works hard and engages in board battles, but he quite simply needs to bulk up and get bigger and stronger before he can win more.  A year in the AHL refining his game would probably be a good thing for his development as well.  Expect Namestnikov to challenge for a spot on the Lightning Roster in 2013.

 

Top Prospect #2, Mark Barberio, Defence
Born Mar 23 1990 — Montreal, PQ
Height 6.00 — Weight 201 — Shoots Left
Selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in round 6 #152 overall at the 2008 NHL Entry Draft

Barberio took his game to a new level in Norfolk this year.  Leading the offense from the backend, he led the entire AHL in scoring by a defenceman, and was fourth in overall team scoring with 13 goals and 61 points in just 74 games.  His contributions were a key component of the Norfolk Admirals record setting win streak, and their Calder Cup Championship.

Barberio’s offensive game is built on his intelligence and poise with the puck on his stick.  He makes excellent reads and gets the play started from the blueline showing a natural ability to quarterback the powerplay.  His passing and vision lead to excellent scoring opportunities for the Norfolk forwards.  A quick and agile skater, Barberio walks the line and opens up shooting and passing lanes effectively.  He has a hard and accurate slap shot which he can keep low to advantage of traffic in front, or rip top shelf on a one timer.  Barberio has been known to take too many chances pinching, or leading the rush in the past, however he has really cut this down.  He makes better decisions and still creates offense in these ways, he just does it more selectively and effectively.

Barberio’s defensive game has long been a question mark, even going back to his junior days.  It was the improvement in this side of his game that really allowed him to have an offensive explosion this year.  You see, there wasn’t much question about his offensive talent, but his riverboat gambling style, and a lack of upper body strength used to make him a defensive liability.  He’s cleaned up those areas of his game, and as a result got a lot more ice time with Norfolk last season.  He even played on the penalty kill.

Last season, Barberio went from a player that needed his minutes and matchups carefully monitored to the Admiral’s number 1 defenceman.  This season Barberio hopes to continue that upward trajectory and make the Lightning squad out of training camp.  He certainly has a chance to make the team, and the Lightning could use him with Matt Carle to give the team a big powerplay boost.  Even if he can’t crack the opening day roster, expect to see Barberio as one of the Lightning’s first callups.  He’ll be in the NHL sooner rather than later.

 

Top Prospect #3; Richard Panik, Right Wing
Born Feb 7 1991 — Martin, Slovakia
Height 6.02 — Weight 215 — Shoots Right
Selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in round 2 #52 overall at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft

As a rookie for Norfolk, Panik had an impressive rookie season, scoring 19 goals and 41 points in 64 games. In the playoffs Panik scored the overtime winner in game 6 of the Admirals hard fought second round series with the Connecticut Whale. This goal would push the team into the Conference Finals, as the Admirals continued their run to the Calder Cup.

Panik is a talented skater. He has good top end speed and agility. He changes speeds effectively to create separation from defenders. He has good agility, and edgework, and makes quick precise cuts. This makes him extremely elusive and gives him the time and the space to create offensive chances.

Panik has hard and accurate wrist and snap shots. He’s a sniper, and his quick release often freezes goaltenders. Before they know it, the puck is in the back of the net. He’s also an effective playmaker off the wing, with the ability to thread a pass through a very tight space, and with good vision to find the open man. His hands are excellent, as he is able to stickhandle in a phone booth and has great puck protection and control.

Panik needs to continue to work on his defensive game, as it is what is holding him back right now. He needs to learn proper positioning, be more physical in his own end, and remember to keep his feet moving at all times. Once he can improve at this aspect of the game, he’ll get his NHL opportunity.

 

Sleeper Pick, J.T. Brown,
Born Jul 2 1990 — Burnsville, MN
Height 5.10 — Weight 170 — Shoots Right
Signed as a Free Agent March 2012

Coming out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Brown was the most sought after college free agent forward this past spring. Steve Yzerman scored a major coup in attracting Brown to the lightning. The young Brown would play in 5 games for the Lightning this year and then make team USA where he was used sparingly in 6 games at the Men’s World Hockey Championship this spring. Blessed with the athletic gene, Brown is the son of former Minnesota Vikings running back Ted Brown.

Brown may be only 5’10”, but he plays a rugged, physical game.  Some might even call him a power forward.  Brown has excellent skating, he has great balance and is very difficult to knock off the puck.  His top end speed is very good and helps him to be an effective forechecker.  He is often first on the puck, and causes mistakes and turnovers with his ability to pressure defencemen.  He’s a punishing hitter who will relentlessly tire out an opposing teams defence with constant forechecking pressure.  Brown also has good agility and edgework which help him to beat defenders one on one and cut to the net hard.

Brown is a goal scorer.  He has good hands in tight, and a heavy shot from further away.  His release is above average but could still be improved.  His playmaking is decent as he has decent vision and some good passing skills but it is not the strength of his game.  The biggest part of Brown’s game is the tireless work ethic and the willingness to play a robust game.  This also helps him at the defensive end of the ice.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that Brown was put in the NHL for 5 games immediately after signing.  This is often a contract issue as it lets the top college free agents burn a year off their entry level contract and is often an enticement for a highly recruited player like Brown.  He will still have to work hard in training camp and make the Lightning squad this spring.   He certainly could make the big squad with a good camp, or he could end up starting the season in Syracuse in the AHL for further development and find himself being a mid-season callup.   Brown’s future potential is to be a 2nd or 3rd line NHLer who brings energy to his team and secondary scoring potential.

 

The Lightning have done a great job in finding late round talent, or signing undrafted free agents. They have really built up a deep and talented group of young prospects. Many in that group were part of a late season, record setting winning streak for the Norfolk Admirals in the AHL. The Admirals would also go on to win the Calder Cup. This has shown the talent of players like: Cory Conacher, an undersized but skilled forward who led the team in scoring and invokes memories of Martin St. Louis; Tyler Johnson, another undersized but skilled winger with tremendous skating; Radko Gudas, a physical and aggressive defensive, defenceman;  and Dustin Tokarski, a good young goaltender who is extremely fundamentally sound. With other prospects like Alex Killorn at Harvard, Nikita Kucherov and Nikita Nesterov in the KHL, and their impressive 2012 Draft crop the Lightning have built up some great depth in the system.  It should be noted that the Lightning have changed AHL affiliates, and that this season their AHL prospects will be playing for the Syracuse Crunch.

Feel free to leave your comments below and follow me on twitter @lastwordBKerr.

PreSeason Injuries: Panic Button Time?

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NFL preseason is half over.  With two weeks in the books, we’ve seen a number of significant injuries.  Now which of these injuries are game changers and which ones are not a lot to worry about?  Let’s take a quick look at some of the more significant injuries and what it means to their teams going forward.  There are so many preseason injuries that this obviously can not be an exhaustive list, but these are injuries that I feel will have the greatest effect on their teams.

 

Michael Vick, QB, Eagles:  Vick suffered injured ribs in a preseason game against the Patriots on Monday.  They have done a battery of tests and reports are that Vick’s injuries do not appear to be serious.  However, the injury illustrates some important points.  Many are picking the Eagles to win the NFC East this year, but I just can’t trust them.  First of all, the Eagles have a weak offensive line, especially at Left Tackle where Demetrius Bell has proven that he is not the answer with Jason Peters injured.   Michael Vick has also never played a full season in his career.  Given both of those factors, Vick’s penchant for getting hurt, and the Eagles inability to protect him, the Eagles should be concerned.  Vick may have avoided disaster this time, but its a fair bet that he will probably miss regular season games at some point.  The NFC East is so tight, that how many he misses could be the difference between a division win and 3rd place.

 

Ryan Mathews, RB, Chargers: Ryan Mathews suffered a broken clavicle in week 1 of the preseason and was forced to undergo surgery to have it repaired.  The typical recovery time for this surgery is 4 to 6 weeks, which means that it is an injury that could effect Mathews into the start of the regular season.  This is a huge blow to the Chargers as Mathews was their featured back in both passing and rushing situations.  Backup Ronnie Brown is an old back with a lot of miles on him and can not be expected to carry the load for very long.  Mathews has told reporters that he plans to play in the season opener, but we wouldn’t be so sure.  Players often underestimate recovery times especially early in the recovery, and even if he does come back he may not be 100% right away.  Don’t get me wrong, Mathews shouldn’t miss “that much” time, but we must see that the lack of a training camp and preseason means that even if he’s healthy enough to play in week 1, he won’t be 100%.  Things should eventually get back to normal but don’t be surprised if the Chargers running game suffers early in the season.

 

James Harrison, LB, Pittsburgh Steelers: Arthroscopic Knee Surgery pretty much guarantees that Harrison will not be ready to go for the Steelers in week one and maybe a few more weeks early in the season.  However the question is, how much will the Steelers miss their star linebacker?  Lamar Woodley has emerged as a legitimate NFL star on the other side and certainly will help to make up for the loss of Harrison.  The Steelers have spent the last 2 decades playing “plug and play” at the linebacker position, and an injury to Harrison might just mean that another linebacker is going to get his opportunity to play.  I would bet on Woodley and Polamalu stepping up and picking up a good portion of the slack for the Steeler defence, while Chris Carter and Brandon Johnson man a rotation at Harrison’s spot until he’s ready.  I don’t think the Steelers will miss a beat, and let’s remember they were 4-1 without Harrison in 2011 (including a win vs New England).  Harrison is a good player and will help the Steeler D to become even more fearsome upon his return, but I think they’ll survive without him early, too.  I’ve included this injury because its getting a lot of attention, but it is the one on the list that I think has the least effect on the team in question.

 

Terrell Thomas, CB, Giants:  Last year Eli Manning and the Giants offence were consistently putting up points all season long, however they were a .500 team until they got hot late in the year, and went on to win the Superbowl.  A real key to the Giants play down the stretch and into the playoffs was the improvement of their defence, and specifically the secondary.  When the Giants lost starting corner Aaron Ross to the Jacksonville Jaguars it was hoped that Thomas would re-take his CB spot he played so well in during the 2009 and 2010 seasons and the secondary wouldn’t miss a beat.   Thomas missed the 2011 season after tearing his ACL, and has now reinjured it.  It is unclear how much time Thomas will miss, but it is a serious injury.  He could be gone from anywhere from half a season, to the whole year again.  The Giants hope 2nd year CB Prince Akumara can fill his spot, but even if he can this is still a big problem for them.  With the way the NFL is today, teams need deep secondaries to compete.  Its become such a pass happy league.  Losing Ross to free agency and now his replacement in Thomas is a major blow.

 

Chris Chamberlain, LB, Saints:  I know, I know, not the same name value as the other guys in this article.  Still I think that Chamberlains’s loss is a big blow to the Saints.  This is a defence that has already been weakened at linebacker by age, free agent defections, and of course suspensions related to the bounty scandal.  Chamberlain was competing with Scott Shanle for the starting outside LB job for the Saints. It even appeared as if Chamberlain had the upper hand, when suddenly a gruesome ACL injury struck and he was lost for the year.  I’m no fan of Scott Shanle, and I feel that if he’s a starting linebacker, the Saints defence just got weaker again.  Chamberlain’s injury means yet another problem for a defence that is going to have a tough time this season, and he is also an important special teamer who will be missed in this capacity for the Saints.  The Saints have traded for Barrett Ruud, but I think he’s a downgrade from Chamberlain, at this point in Ruud’s career.

 

Austin Collie, WR, Colts:  Through two preseason games, it appeared that Collie was developing a nice rapport with new Colts QB, Andrew Luck, however once again Collie’s biggest enemy has reared its ugly head.  Collie was forced to leave Sunday’s game with yet another concussion, his 3rd in just 22 months.  While the Colts are saying that Collie will return this season, and maybe even in time for week one, I question if he can avoid the injury bug for the balance of the year.  As we all know by now, each concussion a person suffers makes them more susceptible to future concussions, and makes future recovery times longer.  Considering the damage already done to Collie, one must wonder how much football he has left in him.  From a team perspective, the Colts are losing one of the targets who should make Luck’s transition into the NFL easier, at least for the rest of training camp, and probably early in the regular season.  This doesn’t make life any easier for the highly touted rookie.

 

While there have been a number of injuries in preseason (and we can likely expect a few more), these six are some of the biggest and in my opinion will have a huge impact into the regular season.  This is by no means an exhaustive list, so I ask you to leave your comments below if you think there is someone else whose injury will have a major effect on his team.

 

Hammer Radio: Ronda Rousey retains at StrikeForce, plus the Week in MMA News

Posted on by Ben Kerr

Its Wednesday Night, so the Hammer Radio show is back, and available in Hamilton on 93.3 CMFU FM, and archived on the internet at http://thehammar.libsyn.com

The Boys at the Hammer feature weekly coverage of all things MMA. This week they are back with another new episode and you can listen to the archived podcast by clicking here. Hammer Radio 107.

“Ronda Rousey retained her Strikeforce Women’s Bantamweight Championship with yet another consecutive first round armbar victory. It’s amazing. We discuss the title fight, the future of women’s MMA, and the rest of the Strikeforce card from last Saturday night.

Then we run down this Saturday night’s Bellator show, The Score Fighting Series in Hamilton Ontario, Frankie Edgar dropping to Featherweight, Jon “Bones” Jones getting picky with his fights, Miguel Torres’ release from the UFC, Uncle Creepy’s arrest, a bunch of upcoming fights, and what Brock Lesnar has been up to.”

The Hammer features lastwordonsports’ own writer Greg Persson, long time internet superstar Steve Jeffrey, and is hosted by MMA aficionado Dave Abraham.

The Hammer has had interviews with some of the biggest names in MMA over the years, including BJ Penn, Dan Henderson, Sean Sherk, Mark Coleman, and others. They continue to bring unparallelled, independent coverage of all things MMA to fans of the sport.

They’ll give you the straight goods and the Last Word.

Beat the CFL Odds: Ti-cats vs. Alouettes

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Spread: Montreal Alouettes -4 over Hamilton Tiger-Cats

This is the classic case of two teams going in opposite directions. The Tiger-Cats enter the contest with two straight losses and are fortunate not to be on a three-game losing streak thanks to that big 4th quarter comeback at Saskatchewan.

The problem with the Ti-cats has always been their defense – well at least in the last several years. They are the worst defense in the CFL and it was masked at times by the play of the Hamilton offense and Special Teams, most notably Chris Williams. The Ti-cats have allowed either a 300-yard passing game or a 100-yard rushing game in every game this season. Things have been even worse for the Ticats with injuries in the secondary and at LB with Markeith Knowlton out the last couple of games.

There aren’t any significant changes being made for this week’s game vs the Als. I do not expect Hamilton to stop anyone, especially a Montreal team that has started clicking in most aspects of the game. Montreal’s O-line was considered a major plus in the preseason and started the season off poorly, due to execution as well as some key injuries. Calvillo was getting hit and getting hurried quite often. Teams were also bottling up the run game. It looked as if the Als were finally getting old and the dynasty was coming to an end, as all good things do. However the last couple of weeks, the O-line has played very well and has given Calvillo time to pick apart defenses.

Calvillo looks like he is over the shoulder injury that bothered him early in the year and has found a nice rapport with WR London. They showed last week vs a great Eskimo defense that they could do well without some key missing pieces in WR Richardson and RB Whitaker. This week, Whitaker should return and he should make for a good tandem with RB Anderson, who played well last week. Richardson will still be out, but the Als should have success moving the ball through the air again.

Montreal’s defense has also been playing much better. They have been getting to the QB with greater success and the pressure has taken some stress off the secondary. Getting pressure this week is key to slowing down the Hamilton offense. Henry Burris has been playing “All-World” this year. Last week, he was superb, however he couldn’t hold on to the ball as he fumbled three times in the loss to Winnipeg. The Hamilton offense will also get a big boost with the return of Andy Fantuz, who returns from a concussion. Fantuz has been having a great season and has been Burris’ go-to guy through the middle of the field.

Hamilton will lose RB Walker for this game and he will be replaced by former Als RB, Avon Cobourne. Cobourne should still effective but he doesn’t have that huge-play potential that Walker brings and Montreal should be able to focus a little more on the passing game with Walker out.

All in all, I really like the Alouetttes to keep the momentum and dispose of the Ti-cats here. I do think the Ti-cats offense will get their points here, but Montreal has improved enough on defense that they should be able to slow down the Ti-cats. I believe the Ti-cats defense is still lost and with no big personnel or strategic changes, they will continue to play like the worst defense in the league, and with Calvillo rounding into his usual form, Montreal could put up 40 here. We also have the revenge factor for the Alouettes, as they have lost the last 2 to the Ti-cats, including the East Semifinal. I look for Montreal to continue their winning ways.

Pick: Take the Als and give the four points.

NCAA Football Preview – ACC

Posted on by Lindsay Higgins

Our preview of the NCAA football season rolls on.  After looking at the Big East Conference, and then the Big XII Conference, we move back East and look at the Atlantic Coast Conference or ACC.  Last year the conference was won by the Clemson Tigers who blasted then #3 ranked Virginia Tech 38-10 in the ACC Championship game.  The game was tied 10-10 at halftime, but Clemson Quarterback Tajh Boyd exploded in the second half leading the Tigers to a convincing victory.

As ACC Champion the Tigers would go on to play West Virginia in the Orange Bowl.  This game did not go as well as the Mountaineers would shred the Clemson defence for 70 points, on route to the victory.

However those blowouts are ancient history now and a new season brings new hopes, and new dreams for Clemson, Virginia Tech, and all the ACC schools, so lets get to it and look at what the ACC has in store for fans in 2012.

BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES

2011-12 Record: 4-8 (3-5 ACC)

Returning Starters: 7 on offense, 7 on defense

Key Losses: LB Luke Kuechly (NFL), all-time BC leading rusher Montel Harris (removed from team for “repeated violation of team rules)

Player To Watch: Deuce Finch will be part of the committee at RB, but his ball security needs to improve.

Of Note: Four starters are returning on the offensive line.

Can’t-Miss Game: BC-Miami should be one of the better games on a weak slate September 1.

CLEMSON TIGERS

 2011-12 Record: 10-4 (6-2 ACC)

Returning Starters: 7 on offense, 8 on defense

Key Loss: Electric RB Sammy Watkins- albeit only for two games- after an offseason drug arrest resulted in a suspension.

Player To Watch: QB Tajh Boyd had impressive numbers through the first three-quarters of the season, then cooled off considerably. Can he play up to his ability throughout this year?

Of Note: Only two starters return on the offensive line, a unit that struggled at times last year.

Can’t-Miss Game: September 22 on the road at Florida State

DUKE BLUE DEVILS

2011-12 Record: 3-9 (1-7 ACC)

Returning Starters: 7 on offense, 6 on defense

Key Loss: LB Kelby Brown to an ACL injury

Player(s) To Watch: Duke doesn’t have a clear #1 RB heading into the season. Who will emerge as that guy?

Can’t-Miss Game: November 26 at North Carolina. Just pretend they’re playing basketball.

FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES

2011-12 Record: 9-4 (5-3 ACC)

Returning Starters: 7 on offense, 9 on defense

Key Loss: Nigel Bradham (NFL)

Key Addition: Senior RB Chris Thompson, injured most of last season.

Player(s) To Watch: The offensive line. Four true freshman started in the Champs Sports Bowl, which the Noles won over Notre Dame, but will they have growing pains over the course of a full season?

Of Note: Florida State has more returning starters than anyone else in the ACC

GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS

2011-12 Record: 8-5 (5-3 ACC)

Returning Starters: 7 on offense, 6 on defense

Key Loss: RB Stephen Hill (NFL)

Player To Watch: QB Tevin Washington didn’t throw a single TD his last seven games last season, and he has a less experienced WR corps this year.

Can’t-Miss Game: October 6 at Clemson

Of Note: The Yellow Jackets open the season with a road conference game at Virginia Tech

MARYLAND TERRAPINS

2011-12 Record: 2-10 (1-7 ACC)

Returning Starters: 4 on offense, 7 on defense

Key Loss: QB Danny O’Brien graduated and transferred to Wisconsin for grad school

Key Addition: Five-star WR Stefon Diggs. The Terps don’t get top-notch five-star recruits every day.  Must be the uniforms (or maybe not).

Players To Watch: The offensive line, with just two returning starters

NORTH CAROLINA STATE WOLFPACK

2011-12 Record: 8-5 (4-4 ACC)

Returning Starters: 7 on offense, 6 on defense

Key Losses: LBs Terrell Manning (NFL) and  D.J. Green (suspended one year by NCAA for testing positive for a banned supplement).

Player(s) To Watch: The defensive backfield, especially if you’re an opposing QB. All four starters return,  and NC State’s defense led the NCAA in interceptions last year with 27.

Of Note: NC State has only finished with double-digit wins once, in 2002, with San Diego Chargers QB Philip Rivers at the helm.

Can’t-Miss Game: October 27 at North Carolina

WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS 

2011-12 Record: 6-7 (5-3 ACC)

Returning Starters: 3 on offense, 7 on defense

Key Loss: WR Chris Givens (NFL)

Players To Watch: A very inexperienced offensive line

Can’t-Miss Game: November 24 against Vanderbilt, the battle of the creepy humanesque mascots

MIAMI HURRICANES

2011-12 Record: 6-6 (3-5 ACC)

Returning Starters: 5 on offense, 5 on defense

Key Loss: LB Sean Spence, DE Olivier Vernon (NFL)

Key Addition: QB Ryan Williams, a transfer from Memphis who started 10 games there and sat out 2011

Of Note: The ‘Canes have tough non-conference games against Kansas State, Notre Dame, and South Florida. At some point they’ll likely have NCAA sanctions issued as well.

Can’t-Miss Game: October 20 vs. Florida State

NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS

2011-12 Record: 7-6 (3-5 ACC)

Returning Starters: 7 on offense, 5 on defense

Key Loss: None

Key Addition: K Casey Barth was granted a fifth year of eligibility by the NCAA after missing most of last season due to injury

Of Note: The Heels could be looking at more NCAA sanctions down the road due to the current academic fraud investigation, and are already banned from bowl games

Can’t Miss Game: October 13 at Miami. Call it the Sanctions Bowl.

VIRGINIA CAVALIERS

2011-12 Record: 8-5 (5-3 ACC)

Returning Starters: 6 on offense, 5 on defense

Key Loss: 3 of their defensive front 4

Of Note: True sophomore Demetrious Nicholson is the only returning starter in the defensive secondary

Can’t-Miss Game: November 24 at Virginia Tech

VIRGINIA TECH HOKIES

2011-12 Record: 11-3 (7-1 ACC)

Returning Starters: 3 on offense, 9 on defense

Key Loss: ACC Player of the Year RB David Wilson (NFL)

Player(s) To Watch: The RB corp attempting to replace Wilson

Of Note: The Hokies led the ACC with 41 sacks last year, and return almost their entire defense

Can’t-Miss Game: October 20 at Clemson is the only road game on the schedule that should be a challenge for VT

ACC OVERVIEW

Conference Champ: Florida State

Possible Dark Horse(s): Virginia Tech, Clemson

Offensive POTY: Virginia Tech QB Logan Thomas

Defensive POTY: Virginia Tech LB Bruce Taylor

Coach On The Hot Seat: David Cutliffe, Duke (15-33 in four years)

Ronda Rousey, the Queen of the Armbar, Trailblazing Women's MMA

Posted on by Chris Duarte

Earlier this week, Last Word columnist Mark Modeski wrote a piece on why Women’s MMA will not work and will not find a home in the UFC.   I must say that I disagree.  Not only is there a place for women in the UFC, but I think that it will happen sooner, rather than later.

Ronda Rousey, Strikeforce’s Women’s Bantamweight Champion, is the biggest thing to hit the female sector of the sport in recent years.  She is the face that the Women’s game has been long been looking for.  She has everything going for her – she is charismatic, very well spoken and gives a great interview, can cut promos, has a legit athletic background and an Olympic medal in Judo, she is dominant in the cage, and she is gorgeous (sorry, her looks shouldn’t matter, but as of now they still do).  Rousey was even featured on the cover of ESPN the Magazine.  Yes, many may say that Gina Carano had the same appeal, but let’s be honest, she was not the dominant fighter that Rousey is, nor was she ever as comfortable as Rousey is in front of the microphone.  At 6-0 with 6 first-round submission victories, the girl can fight and is much more than just a pretty face.

Now Mark has said that people don’t care about Women’s MMA.  I also beg to differ here.  Rousey is gaining some significant name value. In fact her March 2012 fight with Miesha Tate was the highest rated Strikeforce Event in 2012, doing nearly 10% more viewers than the average Strikeforce card.

Well, today, the Numbers for Kaufman vs Rousey are in, and they are astounding as Saturday’s fight was even bigger than Rousey vs Tate.  Lets take a quick look at the facts:

  • The card drew an average of 529,000 viewers on Showtime.
  • The ratings peaked for the Kaufman/Rousey main event with 676,000 viewers taking in that fight.
  • Compare this to the average Strikeforce card in 2012 (averaging 425,000 viewers before Saturday) and we see Rousey is responsible for an over 50% increase in viewership.
  • This fight was the 6th highest rated Strikeforce on Showtime event of all time, and the highest since UFC took over the company.
  • Perhaps even more astounding is who was watching.  In the all important Male 18-49 demographic that UFC craves, this is the 2nd most watched fight in Strikeforce on Showtime’s history trailing only the Fedor vs Silva mega fight.

This should be no surprise based on the buzz in the MMA media, on ESPN, and from people like Dave Meltzer, its clear that Rousey is becoming the biggest draw in the UFC controlled version of Strikeforce.  Amazingly Rousey is doing bigger numbers than the Heavyweight Grand Prix, or Nate Diaz.

Dana White has long been against women’s MMA but all indications are that his stance on it is softening.  The fact is, Dana himself has booked Rousey as the main event of her last two Strikeforce shows.   White is above all things a business man first, he sees the numbers and the buzz that Rousey is generating, and is looking to capitalize.  This is nothing new in professional sports.  White was even ringside for the fight on Saturday night, something he hasn’t always done for Strikeforce events, as he clearly wanted to see Rousey in action.

The fact is that Mark is partially right – one year ago no one cared about Women’s MMA.  But what a difference a year makes.  In the last few weeks I’ve heard a lot of chatter about Rousey.  She’s a game-changer, and her next fight could be the biggest fight in Women’s MMA history.  A matchup with Cris “Cyborg” Santos would easily be the biggest fight in Women’s MMA to date, and would have legitimate mainstream appeal.  The story is a promoter’s dream, and literally all the elements anyone would want.   A dominant champion facing her biggest challenge to date, legitimate heat and hatred between the two fighters, a hero in Rousey (the gorgeous All-American Champion, and Olympian) vs. the villian, Santos (a Brazillian, not so easy on the eyes, and a women who was busted for PEDs, which resulted in suspension until December).  The story line practically writes itself.

Mark has also argued that the Women’s division is Rousey and nothing else.  Again, I disagree.  In addition to Rousey, the UFC could promote Miesha Tate and Julie Kedzie, who had a great fight on Saturday’s undercard.  They could also promote Santos, and Gina Carano is still around for another potential superfight with Rousey.  You also have Invicta FC, who put on a heck of a pay-per-view last month with an all-women’s card, and a number of exciting fights.  Quite simply the UFC certainly has the money to raid Invicta or buy out the promotion entirely and build a division if it wanted to.  Would a women’s division have any less name value than the flyweights? Quick, think to yourself, who is fighting for the UFC flyweight championship?  Or some of the other low profile UFC divisions?

Now I’m not saying that the women’s game will ever be as big as the men’s.  Or even that they can headline a UFC ppv, but we all know that Strikeforce will eventually die.  And with so many UFC events to promote, and so much airtime to fill, doesn’t another division make sense?  Could Rousey be the co-main event on a UFC Card?  Why not.   Could other women work their way up the ranks and fight on undercards and pre-shows?  Again, I say, “why not”?

There is no better time for women’s MMA than right now.  They have a dominant personality to lead the division.  Two potential superfights in matches against Santos and Carano, a number of up-and-coming talents who just need to be properly packaged and marketed, and some real media and fan buzz in the industry.  The time is right for UFC to capitalize, and what better way than a December or January fight of Rousey-Santos in a PPV co-main event slot?

Feel free to add your comments below.

An Early Look at the Russian Olympic Hockey Team for 2014

Posted on by Maksim Vasilyev

The 2014 Olympics cannot come soon enough. For me this is one of the more exciting tournaments in hockey and I would value it on par with the Stanley Cup Finals. I really appreciate the whole country vs country competition a bit more than a city versus city scenario.

The Summer Olympics have come to an end and Russia finished 3rd in overall medal count. Summer is nice and all, but Russia and Canada care the most about the Winter Olympic Hockey gold – that is the ultimate prize. The passion of these two countries to show who is the most dominant nation has been on display ever since 1954. Soviet Union, or the Red Army as Russia was known back then, mostly dominated the international play. This was due mostly to the lack of NHL stars or Canada’s best players participating in the Olympics. To settle the score, Canada and Russia held a Summit Series, which had a recent anniversary game with the best young kids from both countries that ended in both teams taking two games each.

While Grant Herschell took a look at the possible Canadian Olympic squad roster for the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games, I will take a look at the possible Russian squad.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCCZHm_ltIo&w=560&h=315]

Russia recently became the number one ranked team by the IIHF after winning the 2012 World Championship. The World Championship roster contained the following players:

 

The starting goalie for the team was Semyon Varlamov, who went undefeated with a 1.77 GAA and posted SV% of 93.9. His back up was Konstantin Barulin who went 2-0 with .50 GAA and a SV% of 98.48.

Wait, what? Who are most of these guys? KHL superstars, that is who! The reality is that due to relatively decent paychecks cut by the KHL these days, we have less and less Russian hockey talent in the NHL. The trend will likely not change, especially if the new CBA has any say on the entry-level contracts and how early a player truly can get “paid”.

While the hyped up stigma that Russian young players are all about the money, the reality is a bit more…well, realistic. If you get paid more to play at home where they know what the hell Borscht is, why leave? On the other side of this Russian coin we have a positive impact on the hockey scene in Russia. More money being pumped into camps and more youth is playing hockey again.

But before I get carried away on a KHL versus NHL and the unfair rep Russian players get, let us do some fantasy work and draft an Olympic roster for team Russia.  I will use the same rules as Grant used. (Currently over-18 player pool)

One good advantage to having the Olympics in Russia is the ice. Most of the Russian players play on it every day and are used to the more room that is available on the European ice surface (big fan of it being introduced in the NHL). The problem here is who to pick. I mean last year the NHL only had 24 Russian players. T-w-e-n-t-y f-o-u-r. (I had to double check this statistic). What is worse is the fact that only four of them scored more than 60 points. Malkin, Datsyuk, Kovalchuk, and Ovechkin were able to eclipse the 60-point mark with Semin trailing behind at 54 points. Granted these five are not chop liver, but in the grand scheme of things it is looking kind of desperate. I mean Canada can lace up Stamkos, Giroux, Spezza, Neal, Tavares, Thornton, Eberle, St.Louis, Staals(all of them),  and Sharp, Richards, Jamie Benn, and well the list goes on and on. They have 29 players who had more than 60 points and the 30th guy with 59 points was Rick Nash. Boo-Hoo, right?

So where do we get a roster to match Canada, and how did we win the last World Championship?

Well, Russia won because they can score and have a very underrated defensive game. The puck possession game eliminates the touches that the opposition gets and limits the opponent’s chances. Having said that I would probably suggest a roster along these lines:

Forward Line 1- Kovalchuk (LW), Malkin (C), Yakupov (RW)

Forward Line 2- Ovechkin (LW), Datsyuk (C), Semin (RW)

Forward Line 3- Radulov (LW), Shipachyov (C), Perezhogin (RW)

Forward Line 4- Shirokov (LW), Grigorenko (C), Zherdev (RW)

13th Forward – Alexander Popov

Now we can see a lot of offense from all four lines and this will create some interesting match-ups. The roster is dependent on the growth of two high-end picks from this draft in Mikhail Grigorenko and Nail Yakupov. Russia also has a very strong talent pool coming out next year, so things can still change. I see this roster putting intense pressure on any defensive corp. Semin, Ovie, and Datsyuk really lit it up at the Worlds and Malkin just killed it in the NHL and the Worlds. Yakupov has the hockey sense and that elite ice vision to dish the puck out while Kovalchuk has one of the heaviest and quickest wristers in the league – this math just works. Radulov is dominating the KHL and that is saying something (here is some mouthwash, Nashville fans, to wash out that bad taste he left in your mouths). Grigorenko is another young gun question mark. He did not have the best Canada/Russia challenge this summer, but he will play enough North American hockey to hopefully develop into a solid top-4 or top-6 player by the 2014 Olympics.

The defensive unit will probably be even younger than our forwards:

Defense Line 1- Markov, Nikitin

Defense Line 2- Kulikov, Voynov

Defense Line 3- Nikulin, Volchenkov

7th Defenseman- Orlov

 

The biggest question mark on the back-end has to be Markov. Can he be healthy enough to play? Gonchar will be too old to anchor the powerplay and we have enough talent to do that for us. Kovalchuk can man those duties on the first unit with Markov. The upside of the Russian D here is huge. With the KHL pumping money into the Russian hockey system we have started to develop more and more talented players, who also spend more time playing in North America. There has never been more money involved in hockey in Russia then it is today and the talent pool reflects that. With Kulikov looking to claim number two spot on the Panthers’ defensive depth chart and with Voynov and Volchenkov having played very well in the playoffs for the LA Kings and Devils, I see a defensive unit that will blossom just in time for the 2014 Olympic Games.

The weakest point in my opinion for the Russian Olympic team is the goaltending. Goaltending a year ago would have been a done deal. We had Bryzgalov.  But after the less than perfect season last year (I’m being too kind, I know), I am not so sure. We do have some younger goaltenders coming into their own with Varlamov leading the charge. He performed in almost dominating fashion during the IIHF World Championship going with eight wins and zero loses. His NHL numbers are not as great but he only had one year as a full timer on a rebuilding Colorado squad, so there is room to improve. Bryzgalov would need to bounce back to claim the number one Russian goalie spot back from Varly. Andrei Vasilevski is another young prospect who has played well in the international competitions. He posted excellent numbers in U18 tournament in 2011 and at WJC in 2012, finishing both tournaments with an average GAA of 2.32 and SV% of .958. Unless he takes over a number one spot in the NHL in the next two years with some Vezina type play, which is highly doubtful since he is only 18, he will be the third guy in.

Goaltenders- Varlamov (starter), Bryzgalov (back-up)

3rd Goalie- Vasilevski

 

So while looking at the above line up and comparing to what Canada can ice, it seems a bit weak. The Russian National team has an X-Factor.  No, not the vodka that may or may not be in their waterbottles, but in their new head coach, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov. He has an old school Soviet, defensive, puck possession coaching style, which helped Russia go 12-0 in the 2012 IIHF World Championship. This should be no surprise as he played defense for one of the most dominant Red Army teams to take the ice. Playing for them from 1973 to 1988 he got to play with the best of the best in the history of Russian hockey. You know what he can do that apparently no USA head coach has been able to do for the past two years? Motivate Alexander Semin! Semin had 5 points for him in 3 games. He also showed up in the Gold Medal game with 2 goals and 1 assist. So if he can get these guys playing to their potential during a World Championship, I am sure he will get them jumping through hoops for the Olympic games.

So there you have it. My opinion on the 2014 Russian Olympic squad. With a bunch of names that most North American fans have never heard of, but will surely remember after the 2014 Olympics!

 Follow me on Twitter – @LastWordOnNHL, and check out my column, “NHL Happy Hour”.

Forgotten Fantasy Football Finds

Posted on by Ben Kerr

Every year as we enter a new fantasy season there is rampant speculation over how much impact the rookie wide receivers and running backs will have.  Players who typically get left out of this discussion are high draft picks from the year before that either because of injury or inactivity have mostly been forgotten about by the fantasy community.  But in many cases these players are in a better position to make an impact in their second year than their rookie counterparts.

Greg Little – Drafted only one pick after Torrey Smith last season he manged to catch 61 passes for 700 yards without really making any noise at all.  This year he will be playing with a much more capable quarterback who is able to get the ball down field.  But the main reason Little could be an intriguing fantasy target this season is that he is the unquestioned #1 receiver on his team this year and with a full offseason to prepare he could take off.

Ryan Williams – Even though Ryan Williams was drafted in the second round in 2011 he was only the 2nd running back taken off the board.  The Cardinals didn’t draft him this high to let him sit on the bench.  They drafted him this high because they know Beanie Wells is not their long-term answer at running back and it is only a matter of time until the ultra-talented Williams is the Cards’ starter.

Daniel Thomas – In two early season games last season Daniel Thomas ran for 107 yards on 18 carries and 95 yards on 23 carries – he may very well have been on his way to being the Miami Dolphins lead back.  Then he injured his hamstring and never looked like the same player again the rest of the season.  In fact he was downright awful.  But with a new coaching regime comes a new opportunity and I don’t think there is any guarantee Reggie Bush ends up as the Dolphins starting back.

Vincent Brown saw limited action late in the 2011 season but he was impressive when he did play.  This year he has the inside track to the Chargers #3 receiver position.  On top of that the two starters in front of him have had plenty of chances to start earlier in their careers and have always failed to impress.  It’s never a bad idea to grab a 3rd receiver from a team with an elite quarterback, he is just one injury away from being an impact fantasy player. (Editors Note: Vincent Brown has suffered a broken ankle and is projected to miss the first 8 weeks of the season.)

Randall Cobb – Speaking of 3rd receivers playing with elite QB’s, why not pick the guy playing with the best one.  Cobb is better than James Jones and Donald Driver and will see plenty of playing time this season.  He also works as a handcuff for Greg Jennings (or simply a bet on him continuing to be injured) until he proves he can return to full health in a regular season game.  Really like Cobb as a late round pick this season.

Leonard Hankerson – The Redskins brought in plenty of receivers this offseason but I am not sure they can push Hankerson down on the depth chart.  Pierre Garcon appears to be the #1 in Washington but the #2 job is up for grabs. At 6’2 Hankerson might also be the Redskins best redzone target at the receiver position.

Lance Kendricks – If you are looking for a deep sleeper at tight end then Kendricks could be your guy.  His stats last year were not impressive but the entire Rams team was a disaster in 2011. This year he returns as the top tight end target in a revamped passing attack.

Alex Green – The recent signing of Cedric Benson might make this deep sleeper appear less appealing but I still believe Green has a shot at the starting job.  Benson has played in Cincy and Chicago, two teams with very different offenses than the Packers.  With only a few weeks on the team Benson might not be able to climb up the depth chart in time to supplant Green.

Follow me on Twitter – @LastWordBrown