New Episode of Black and Blue!

Joseph and Tim talk the last week of NCAA Football and English Premier League. They also preview this upcoming weekend.

Goal of the Day! Courtesy of Hunter Wolfe

Another great find by my buddy Hunter Wolfe. Great split and finish, enjoy!

Ultimate Fight Night 22: Main Card

Tonight is going to be quite a time for UFC fans, because it's that time that comes usually about twice a year, when the organization puts on a free fight night card to precede the premier of an Ultimate Fighter season. Fight Night cards don't normally deliver a card of this magnitude, but tonight will break away from that norm with fireworks expecting to fly from bell to bell

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Cole Miller vs. Ross Pearson

The televised card gets started off with a bang as Ultimate Fighter winner Ross Pearson looks to build on the impressive start to his UFC career as he takes on fellow alum Cole Miller. This scrap has fight of the night written all over it.

Ross Pearson definitely has the weapons to deliver real knockout blow, pun intended, to Cole Miller, but will he be able to finish him? Miller, in his two UFC losses, has shown that he doesn't necessarily have the best "chin," getting knocked out by both Jeremy Stephens and Efrain Escudero. His saving grace with those two losses is the fact that both of those guys pack an extremely heavy punch, something that Pearson hasn't shown.

Ross is a very technical and crisp striker, which could also give Miller problems. For Pearson to win, he will need to keep it standing and maybe clinch with Miller and use his Muay Thai. He will need to be weary of Miller's range as well as his ground game. If Miller can get it to the ground, he could very easily submit the Brit. Fireworks...

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Jim Miller vs. Gleison Tibau

This next fight is going to be an absolute war of attrition. Both fighters possess nearly the same strengths in their ground attack, but possess dissimilar builds. Tibau, one of the bigger lightweights, is known for his ability to bully his opponents with his size. He will look to do this from the sound of the bell and take Jim Miller down. He possesses decent enough stand-up to stand with the New Jersey native, but will need to get it to the mat if he wants to finish this fight.

Think of Miller as a smaller Tibau, substituting some of the jiu-jitsu for wrestling. Miller has shown, like his brother, to be a very scrappy fighter that is game wherever the fight ends up. He has also shown quite a few holes in his stand-up when he fought Gray Maynard. Luckily for him this time around, he won't have near as bad of a time with Gleison's boxing. The key for him is to keep the fight on the feet, and try to keep Tibau at bay with his jab. If he does end up on the ground, he needs to use his wrestling to try to get up.

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Efrain Escudero vs. Charles Oliveira

This fight is going to be another size battle, as the much bigger, more powerful Escudero will look to impose his will using his brute strength and wrestling. He will need to be extremely cautious if he does decide to take the fight to the ground, because he is dealing with an absolute submission ace in Oliveira. Efrain has shown that he has good submission ability, but also showed a weakness in his defense during his fight and eventual submission loss to Evan Dunham. In his fight with Dunham, he was dealing with a much better and stronger wrestler than he will be against Charles Oliveira. He will need to just pick his shots and throw power punches while shrugging off takedown attempts.

If Oliveira can get this fight to the ground, he should be able to submit Efrain. It looks like his main means to get him down will be by pulling guard. He's a very lanky fighter, and that definitely plays into his advantage when trying to pull guard. Charles needs to stay weary of Efrain's power and avoid any looping punches, and maybe try to clinch with him against the cage. Submission seems to be the only way he beats Efrain, but his chances are pretty good.

Note: This fight will be at a catchweight of 159 pounds after Efrain failed to make weight.

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Nate Marquardt vs. Rousimar Palhares

Now for the main event. This is the kind of fight mentioned above, that just breaks the norm of what a Fight Night card usually produces. Both men are probably only two wins a piece away from a title shot. Marquardt is coming off a disappointing loss to Chael Sonnen where he seemed to have his eyes opened. Nate has gone back to the basics, saying he's training more with his ground game than he did prior to the Sonnen fight. He will need to be very weary of takedowns against Palhares, who is known for powerful slams. Nate looks to be the more well rounded fighter, and has a lot more weapons at his disposal than Palhares.

Rousimar's cardio has also been called into question on occasion. He will need all of that he can get against a machine like Marquardt. He has also shown that he doesn't have much in the way of stand-up. He's looked shaky on his feet against Jeremy Horn and Dan Henderson. His one way of winning this fight will be to wrap up one of Marquardt's legs and do what he's known best for. Otherwise, he will likely be battered by Nate.

Look for this one to go really only one way. Marquardt will use his wrestling and strength to ward off almost all, if not all of Palhares' takedown attempts and beat him up on the feet. He could also reverse the roles and take Rousimar down and work some ground and pound, which has been known to be effective when Palhares fought Dan Henderson. A nice win for Marquardt to cap off an exciting night of fights and to give way to a new crop of prospects to show their stuff on the Ultimate Fighter.

What to Take From Yesterday: Champion's League

After an explosive kick-off to the group stages of this year's Champion's League tournament, there are a few things that we can all take from what we saw yesterday. First and foremost, it's going to be a thrilling affair, with a lot of goals scored and possibly a lot of upsets.

The new Barcelona duo, pictured above, got off to a rocky start yesterday versus Panithinaikos when Sidney Govou sent them one goal down in the first half. But Barcelona, not to be outdone, put five on to board to route the Greek side. Villa had a goal, while Messi put in two, missed a penalty and assisted the last two from Pedro and Dani Alves. They looked a much better side than the one seen against newly promoted Hercules. They have a relatively easy group ahead of them, and should dominate it with ease, while the second spot still seems open despite FC Copenhagen's win over Russian champions Rubin Kazan.

Manchester United have yet to hit their stride, and it showed with yesterday's frustrating draw with Scottish foes Rangers. Their neighbors to the north held the Red Devils scoreless, while the Brits saw Antonio Valencia rushed to the hospital. The Ecuadorian's season is in question at the moment, which would be a huge blow to Manchester United. Sticking with this group, the favorites look to be Spanish side Valencia, after their crushing 4-0 victory over Turkish champions Bursaspor. The Spaniards lost arguably their two best players to the transfer market, but have yet to lose this season and will look to continue their form when they play Rangers and Manchester United.

Maybe the most interesting group right now is group a, which saw eight goals amassed by its four teams, all evenly distributed with two goals per side. Tottenham kicked things off against their German foes with an own goal by Petri Pasanen, soon followed up by a goal by target man Peter Crouch. Werder Bremen were not to be outdone as Hugo Almeida sent his team into the locker room only one goal down. The Germans stormed out of the locker room with a goal in the first two minutes of the second half scored by the little spark-plug Marko Marin.

The other game in group a saw Dutch champions FC Twente go down a goal quick to last season's treble winning Inter Milan side, after Duth international Wesley Sneijder put one in for the Italians in the 13th minute. The Dutch boys struck back and quick scoring a free kick in the nineteenth minute and causing an Inter Milan own goal by Diego Milito in the 30th. Samuel Eto'o capped off the thrilling first half with a goal in the 41st minute that saw the champions gain a much needed point and two crucial away goals.

Probably the least talked about group of yesterday's affairs was group c, that looks to be headed by the Portuguese Benfica and France's Lyon. Schalke's 2010 woes have continued after they suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Lyon. What was first ruled an own goal by Howedes was later awarded to the Brazilian full-back Michel Bastos. The aforementioned Howedes was later sent off after a "professional tackle" on Lyon's Jimmy Briand. It remains to be seen whether Schalke's offseason spending spree will pay off or not, and yesterday's result is not a good indication for the boys from Gelsenkirchen after Lyon controlled them. Portuguese champions Benfica also took control of the group after two well placed goals by Luisao and Paraguayan Oscar Cardozo.

An interesting set of results indeed, and they make way for another exciting day of soccer today as the other four groups start their Champion's League campaigns.

Kick-Off

Kick-off has started for half of the UEFA Champion's League field just seconds ago. I'm a little late to the punch, but here are a few big games today:

Schalke vs. Lyon - Schalke will try to put their Bundesliga woes behind them as they take on the perennial French powerhouse.

Tottenham vs. Werder Bremen - This game has second place written all over it.

Manchester United vs. Rangers - Will Rooney be able to silence critics?

Today will sure be interesting and will be certain to set the tone for this year's tournament.

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Goal of the Day! More Euro Qualfying

Starting the day off nicely with a beautifully taken chip by Fernando Torres during last week's game with Liechtenstein.

Goal of the Day! - Euro 2012 Qualifier Turkey vs. Kazakhstan

An absolutely amazing strike from Hamit Altintop of Turkey in their first Euro 2012 qualifier against Kazakhstan. Bravo!

Welcome Aboard Joseph Champey!

Joseph Champey, also of Six Days a Week has joined the Black and Blue team as a contributing writer. He'll be adding his two cents, as it were, to the sports news. He's a long time friend, and also my co-host for the Black and Blue Podcast. He will be writing mainly editorials about recent events.

Joe has contributed with his thoughts on Boise State!

Check it out here! Link

When Does Forgiveness Become Cliche?

A second chance. It's something that a lot of troubled athletes have muttered into a journalist's microphone over the years, though it seems more prevalent as of late. Whether it's nature, nurture, the pressure of the limelight, or just plain stupidity, professional athletes seem to break down sooner or later, and due to their public exposure, it's made out to be a lot worse than it sometimes is. This isn't true, of course, in serious legal cases involving murder, drugs, etc., a subject touched on in one of the first Black and Blue entries.

So when does forgiveness become cliche? Commissioners, presidents, and general managers of organizations seem to have temperamental memories. Some hold grudges, or so it seems, and some are very lenient in following their initial rulings of ineligibility and fines. For instance, David Stern, stuck to his namesake after the "Malice at the Palace," when he banned Ron Artest an entire season for his actions in the brawl. He's normally one of the more strict bosses in professional sports, along with Roger Goodell. Goodell though, has been known to have a soft spot, reinstating Michael Vick after his initial ban from the NFL after "good behavior," but suspending players like Adam Jones, despite no charges sticking.

So enough rambling, the subject was brought out by a recent reinstatement of former, and now re-signed UFC welterweight Karo Parisyan. The 28 year old Armenian Judoka was released from the UFC and damned by the hands of Dana White via Twitter, after pulling out of his second fight in a year within two days of the fight. Last week, news came through multiple MMA news outfits, that Dana White and Karo had made amends, and following his July victory over Ben Mortimer at Impact FC 1, signed a new three-fight deal with the UFC. So after White's tweet:

"Karo Parisyan has (expletive) over the UFC, the fans and his opponent again!!! He will not be fighting saturday or ever again in the UFC!!"

He has allowed the talented, yet troubled fighter back into the UFC to face Dennis Hallman at UFC 123 in Detroit.

It's not as if the UFC welterweight division was in shambles, nor does a fighter of Parisyan's caliber really spice up the pot. So a president who wears his heart on his sleeve, with his emotions sewn into said sleeve has gone back on his normally "iron-clad" word. In previous instances he has held complete grudges over fighters like Matt Lindland over much less, like sponsorship disputes. What happened to his ban? Did he swallow his pride? Did he see something that the MMA viewership didn't? Is Karo dedicated and off of pain killers?

So it just begs the question, at what point are powerful figures in sports finally driven to go back on their decisions? Will the public accept their new stance? There doesn't seem to be a general consensus amongst MMA fans with White's decision to allow Parisyan back into the UFC. A lot of fans are skeptical of his dedication to the sport and professionalism, while others are excited to see him compete again at the highest level.

A new poll has been posted on the side bar asking about your thoughts. Vote!

Upon Request

Last Night the Broncos of Boise State traveled to a "neutral sight" to play the Hokies from Virginia Tech at FedEx Stadium which is in Maryland, which neighbors Virginia... Boise State got off to an early lead of 17-0 when VA Tech bounced back and made a game of it. Boise State ended the match in victory for what will likely be one of the best games of the football season. It had a little bit of everything in and was entertaining all the way around. Post-game, a number of my friends made various comments about hating Boise State and how they didn't respect them because they play in an easy conference.

The question that arises with me is what constitutes a "good conference." Putting bias aside I am an SEC fan. I believe as a whole the top of the SEC is stronger than the top of any other conference. Likewise the bottom is a bit stronger than most other groups' low points. But nevertheless, not all talent, or worthy competition stems from this conference. The Big 12, Pac 10, Big 10, ACC are all very competitive divisions. The Big East may be one of the most competitive conferences in the NCAA, but the teams at the top aren't as prolific as Alabama, which pains me to say is leaps and bounds better than the rest of the field. Of course that's speculation and I have nothing to defend that with.

But apparently, because the WAC is so terrible, Boise State is undeserving of a National Championship bid according to an innumerable amount of my friends. If that's the case, why are teams in the Big East in a "BCS Conference"? The Big East had a handful of good years, usually with West Virginia at the helm, but haven't produced much in the most recent of years.

Boise State is an underdog. They beat a highly esteemed team who usually comes into a season highly overrated, and usually loses 3 games or more on blunders and having a Vick at the helm. But nevertheless looks more like a legit team than I would've picked at this point in the season.

I always thought the "Cinderella Story" was something great in this country. We all wanted to see the 14th seed George Mason make it to the championship of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship in 2006. In the same context, George Mason shouldn't get a bid to the big dance simply because they play in a weak conference.

After about 4 years of the Cinderella Story, I guess it wears off. But it still doesn't make sense for everyone to hate the underdog so much. They have flash and bang and pop all a bit of snide undertone from their blue field, their swagger, and their unwillingness to part with their blue jerseys at home. It's a bit arrogant. Or a bit strategic, you can pick.

But based on argument's sake, no team outside the major conferences should be allowed to be rank, nor play of bowl games, nor in basketball be allowed to participate in the Madness of March.

That seems a little more unfair than letting a computer decide the fate of a consistent powerhouse.

LSU has close games against mediocre opponents, this past weekend Utah State (WAC) was 7 points from beating Oklahoma. That's apparently not the same caliber as BSU beating VT on a "neutral site" that was anything but neutral.

I suppose this is a matter of opinion, but I really have a sour taste for the hatred of the Cinderella Story who continues to win and does not have blunders against mediocre teams. Boise State will likely coast through their conference into a 2 or 3 seeding and lose the opportunity because a computer picks their final destination. Most SEC teams struggle against mediocre opponents, most other schools do too. It's hard to not slip up here and there, but Boise State doesn't. They have 3 undefeated seasons in their last 5. Consistency deserves reward. Maybe they do have a soft scedule, but beating the lesser opponents by a comfortable margin.

Respect is apparently more earned from playing in a "good conference" than it is from beating the teams that win those conferences.

Giving You Guys What You Want

Looks like, after looking through the pageviews, that the most viewed articles are the UFC fight breakdowns. With next Wednesday's Ultimate Fight Night, be sure to check out the breakdowns throughout the next week!

New Episode of Black and Blue! NCAA Recap and NFL Preview

Joseph and Tim recap this weekend's college football action with the top 25, and delve into the opening week of NFL. They also make a few enemies along the way, listen and find out how!

Black and Blue: EPL Recap and NCAA Talk

Joseph and Tim talk about the last week of premier league action, and give their thoughts on each team, as well as the transfer deadline deals. They also talk about the NCAA opening week.