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UFC 98 turned out to be a pretty good night of fights which included the settling of a grudge match and another title changing hands in the 205 pound division.  It was Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida’s win over “Suga” Rashad Evans that is going to be remembered most, and for good reason.  It served notice that the Light Heavyweight division may have it’s first long time champ in…a long time.

Of the last 3 Light Heavyweight Champions, only 1 has defended his belt successfully, that being Rampage Jackson when he defeated Dan Henderson in 2007.  For a champion who defended his title multiple times, you have to go back to Chuck Liddell who did it 4 times before falling to Rampage.  The last 2 champs (Forrest Griffin, Evans) have been one-and-done Champions.  The new champion doesn’t strike me as being in that same category.

First of all, lets go through the fight.  It was as expected between 2 guys who aren’t especially known for their ability to finish fights.  It was very tentative to start, with both fighters feeling eachother out and being very selective with their chances at engaging.  But the second round transpired exactly as the calculated Machida had hoped.  He found an opening, he was able to hurt Evans with a few shots and really start to take control of the round.  Give Suga credit, he’s got a great chin and showed admirable heart staying alive as the round went on.  But Machida smelled blood and he finished like many thought he was unable to do (even with the Thiago Silva KO).  The way he finished the fight, the win over Silva, his perfect 14-0 record, and the body of work in his fights add up to 1 thing.  One bad ass dude at the top of the 205 pound heap.

The reason I say that is because I just have a hard time believing there are many guys in this division that are going to be able to stop the Machida train.  He’s now proven that his undefated record is 100% legit, and he’s proven in 2 consecutive fights that not only is he extremely elusive and frustrating to fight against; but he’s also got explosive and devestating knockout power.  His calling card has been, and will remain, his elusiveness.  The inability from top notch fighters to strike effectively against Machida has been well documented.  Ask Rich Franklin, BJ Penn, Tito Ortiz, and now Thiago Silva and Rashad Evans.  He still chooses his spots when to strike and has shown a great ability to defend the takedown.  Already, that makes him top notch.  But the KO power he’s shown makes him really, really scary to me.  There aren’t very many guys at 205 pounds that I can see giving him a run…so maybe we will see a reign of more than 1 title defence for the first time in a long time.

Also on the card, the grudge match between Matt Hughes and Matt Serra.  Hughes wins a unanimous decision in a fight that can only be summed up as “meh”.  Neither fighter looked great; Hughes looked better than he has the last little bit and used his superior wrestling to work an all right ground and pound game.  Serra had the advantage standing, but Hughes did the smart thing and took that away from him by forcing most of the 2nd and 3rd rounds the ground.  But damn, how good did Frankie Edgar look in his 3 round dismantling of Sean Sherk?  I thought that would be real close fight, but it wasn’t.  Edgar controlled and simply dominated the whole time standing and was effective the few times he was taken down by Sherk.  The 155 pound division should be on notice for “The Answer”.

Next up, UFC 99 in Germany on June 13th.  Some really intriguing fights from the hardcore standpoint, but I wonder if the UFC ends up putting it on free TV without the huge name fights on the card.  Love the main event, with Rich Franklin taking on Wanderlei Silva at 195 pounds.

A Light Heavyweight Title Match between “Suga” Rashad Evans and Lyoto “The Dragon” Machida headlines Saturday’s UFC 98 in Vegas, but a stacked undercard turns it into a must-see show.  With Matt Hughes, Matt Serra, and Sean Sherk all in competition, this show isn’t just about the main event.

Lets start with the grudge match, as Hughes will take on Serra in the co-main event.  Remember, these 2 were set to fight following season 6 of Spike TV’s The Ultimate Fighter.  But a last minute injury to Serra meant Georges St. Pierre had to step in, and subsequently whip Hughes in an all-too-easy 2nd round win.  It’s been almost a year since Hughes was last in The Ocatagon; June 7th, 2008 to be exact at UFC 85.  But it’s a big fight for Hughes…he’s lost 3 of his last 4 fights, and hasn’t been really impressive in the last number of years.  His only recent win came over Chris Lytle at UFC 68 and his loss to Thiago Alves wasn’t even close (2nd round TKO).  At 35, you wonder if a loss here spells the end of his career.

As for Serra, he’s extremely popular, but hasn’t fought in more than a year.  That loss wasn’t close either…April 19th, 2008 in Montreal when he was demolished by GSP.  I’m not sure what to make of Serra as a fighter, to be honest.  I love the guy as a coach on the show, I love the guy as a personality.  But where is he in the 170 pound mix?  After winning TUF Season 4, he shocked the world and beat GSP.  But in the return match, he got completely pulverized.  Before those 3 fights, he hadn’t been in the UFC since 2005.  To me, I completely respect his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu pedigree and have been impressed in how his standup game has improved.  To me, that’s where this fight shakes down.  I have NOT been impressed with Hughes in the striking game, so he’ll be outmatched by Serra.  But Hughes is an outstanding wrestler and will look for takedowns; if Serra can keep his back off the mat, he’ll win this fight standing.  If Hughes can avoid Serra’s BJJ on the ground and use his ground and pound effectively, Hughes wins.  I just see Serra coming away with this one.

I like the potential of Sean Sherk and Frankie Edgar at 155 pounds.  Sherk looked incredible in his last fight at UFC 90; a win over Tyson Griffin.  He wants to get back to the top of the perch at 155 pounds, and is driven to get there.  What I like about Sherk lately is his last 2 fights (a loss to BJ Penn, the win over Griffin) he’s looked really good on his feet.  His striking has been solid, especially against Griffin, and we all know how good a wrestler he is.

He takes on Edgar (9-1) who is also coming along as a striker.  Also an accomplished wrestler, Edgar has the age advantage on Sherk (Edgar is 27, Sherk is 35).  In his 5 UFC appearances, he’s won 4 fights including wins over Griffin, Hermes Franca and Spencer Fisher.  Edgar will give Sherk a run, but to me, The Muscle Shark is on the war path and wants his belt back.  I give Sean the edge standing up and I think he’ll be able to pull this fight out via decision.

The always exciting (if not successful) Drew McFedries is back at it the middleweight division.  McFedries (7-5) will take on the explosive 20-10 “Professor X” Xavier Foupa-Pokam.  Another middleweight battle between Dan Miller and Chael Sonnen rounds off the televised card.  We’ll preview the main event tomorrow.

Okay, so maybe hate is a strong word, but there are many, many reasons to strongly dislike the so called “dynasty” teams of the last 10 or 20 years.  From the Cowboys to the Yankees to the Patriots to the Bulls, you could always find reasons to route against them.  Right now, the Detroit Red Wings are the benchmark for NHL greatness…and yet, I can’t dislike them.

By all means, tell me how stupid I am when you’re done reading this, I’ll post your comments.  But the Yankees spent/spend money like nobody’s business, from A-Rod and Damon to Clemens and Matsui.  The Bulls had a coach who wasn’t affable and had an extremely superior attitude.  The Patriots?  Their coach isn’t the most likable fellow.  And the Cowboys were the brash, cocky, womanizing bunch that just kept winning.  But the Red Wings?  Friendly, gracious, genuine and deadly effective.

3 reasons I can’t hate them.  First, it’s class.  From Ken Holland to Mike Babcock to Nik Lidstrom to Chris Osgood, this team demonstrates the utmost class in the media, to the fans and on the ice.  There are no barbs thrown at other players in the media.  There are no post-whistle scrums.  Mike Babcock doesn’t bark at the media when they ask “stupid questions”.  It’s just an organization based on class in everything they do, which is the main reason why it’s just so hard to dislike what you see from them.

Second, their front office dealings are done with deadly efficiency, and I can’t do anything but nod my head and respect that.  They find diamond in the rough draft picks in Henrik Zetterberg (7th round), Johan Franzen (3rd round), and Pavel Datsyuk (6th round).  They’ve brought in free agent gems out of nowhere in Mikael Samuelsson and Brett Lebda.  And they fit the big name free agents into their system perfect…see Marian Hossa and Brian Rafalski.  They pinpoint players, they set them loose in the AHL, and then usher them into the NHL.  And when another batch of players leave, Derek Meach, Ville Leino and Jimmy Howard are ready to step in.

Finally, I find them just too damn fun to watch.  I know some people hate it!  but I sit back and can’t get enough of watching the Red Wings play.  It’s hockey at its purest form at points.  The way they utilize the back pass and the quick outlet on the wing is second to none.  They play speedy hockey that has lots of finesse in it, but they aren’t soft.  Montreal is soft.  Detroit may not overwhelm you physically, but they can match you physically, and they’re almost impossible to hem on the boards.  For me, I just sit back and marvel and enjoy every minute of watching the Red Wings play.

Will the Wings win this series with Chicago?  Probably (they’ve won 8 straight series when leading 2-0), but it’s not over yet.  Is it premature to crown the Wings Stanley Cup Champions?  Yes, absoloutely.  But it is fair to say the Wings are the benchmark for consistency in this league.  And yet, it doesn’t bug me.

It ended with an NLL Champions Cup.  Not a bad season for the Calgary Roughnecks, who took a 12-10 win on Friday night to clinch the NLL Champions Cup over the New York Titans.   It was the best regular season in team history, at 12-4, but it was the postseason that defined this edition of the Riggers.

They allowed just 23 goals in their 3 playoff games and never once allowed a team over 10 goals in a game during the postseason.  It really was the coming out party for the less heralded, but immensley important defensive unit of the team.  The pressure based defence of the Roughnecks started frustrating teams from game 1 of the regular season; but their wins over Colorado, San Jose, and New York were perfect examples of how the Riggers want to play.  Bruce Codd was popping balls loose; Kyle Couling and the Carnegie (Mike and Scott) boys were relentless on loose ball scrambles; Jeff Shattler and Jeff Moleski were hawks in picking those LB’s up.  People close to this team were aware of their defensive prowess throughout, but many more are now aware just how important that was to a Champions Cup.

Offensively, what can you say?  I know they didn’t get the most recognition league wide, but when you had the consistent contribution of Sanderson, Kelusky, Dobbie, Ranger, Toth, Malawsky, Shattler, etc. you’re going to be in good stead.  It is hard to make an argument that there is a deeper group of forwards in the NLL.  But how do you distribute the ball to that many talented guys?  Well you don’t.  You just focus on scoring regardless of who’s on the scoreboard.  The offence had a meeting at the beginning of the year, and they made sure that there was no ego with this team, it was all about the big prize…an NLL Title.  That’s what happened all season long, and it was certainly on display on Friday night.

Congrats to Matt King and Paddy Campbell.  There could have been resentment between the 2 goaltenders.  Campbell had the starting job that King wanted; King took that gig for his strong play and went 10-0.  But after every game King won, the first guy giving him a big hug was ALWAYS Paddy.  Congrats to Bruce Codd, Kyle Couling and Curt Malawsky.  Almost 40 years of NLL experience and not 1 title, until now.  Congrats to Head Coach Troy Cordingley.  He follows up a Mann Cup win with Brampton with the Champions Cup; to me, no question, he’s the best coach in box lacrosse.  Congrats to Jeff Shattler, Mike and Scott Carnegie, Dane Dobbie, Mike Kilby, and Nolan Heavenor.  The new breed of NLL stars getting a taste of the title in their first 2 or 3 years.  To the vets…Tracey Kelusky, Josh Sanderson, Kaleb Toth.  They drove the bus.  Scott Ranger had his role changed, and never complained once.  For a guy who questioned his future in lacrosse, it’s good to see 71 get a title win.  To Andrew McBride, who’s now on his way to India.  He’s got more than 100 games under his belt as a Roughneck, and 2 titles

All in all, it was a really fun season to be a part of.  A great group of guys who put their heart and souls into the sport and who never forget to be as gracious as possible.  To see the 2009 Roughnecks win the title was fitting and deserving, and I’m glad I got to witness almost every minute of it.

For the first time since 2004, the Calgary Roughnecks have a chance to hoist the National Lacrosse League Champions Cup, as they take on the New York Titans tonight on The FAN 960 and FAN960.com (7:30 pm faceoff, 6 pm pregame).  The Riggers are the last game in town, and hope to continue riding their wave of momentum; Calgary has won 4 straight games including the final 2 regular season showdowns.

The game between the Roughnecks and Titans will also be carried across the NLL Network on NLL.com.  It marks the 2nd time this season the 2 teams will meet; their lone regular season encounter came on the final day of February at Madison Square Garden; the Riggers prevailed 12-10.  To me, this matchup is about as interesting as you could possibly get in this league, and 3 immediate things jump out to me.

First, the dramatic differences in the way these teams have been built.  New York is based around mostly American players with an NCAA, field lacrosse background.  Calgary on the other hand employs players who have all been brought up on the indoor, “box” game.  The Titans count 17 players with NCAA experience on their resume, including 13 Division 1 players (Calgary has 2 Division 1 alums, Tracey Kelusky and Devan Wray).  The most notable is New York’s leading scorer Casey Powell, is who is probably the most popular American player ever.  His 85 points in 13 games lead the Titans in scoring, and his points-per-game ratio was second best in the NLL.  What you’re going to see in this game is a very, very athletic Titans team go up against the pressure based defence of Calgary.  There was a real adjustment period in their earlier game at MSG, so you will see some feeling out I think in this game.  New York is adjusted to the box game, however.  Helped out by coach Ed Comeau and vet Pat Maddalena, this team has done a great job of translating the NCAA backgrounds into solid NLL skill sets.

Second, both teams are playing some damn stingy defence.  Calgary is averaging just 6.5 goals per game against in the postseason, which is down 3.9 goals from the regular season.  What’s more impressive is that Calgary was the best defensive team in the NLL during the regular season.  The Titans are right there with them, with idential goals against numbers as Calgary in the playoffs (13 in 2 games).  New York allowed just 3 goals in their East Division Final win over Buffalo, a 9-3 triumph.  That was just 1 goal away from tying an NLL record, as goaltender Matt Vinc (another Div 1 alum) made 41 of a possible 44 saves.  Toronto only allowed 2 goals in a playoff game back in 1999, which still remains the NLL record.  As high powered as these 2 offences are, it’s the play on the defensive side of the ball that is going to win the day.

But offence is where we’ll pick up on our final point.  These were 2 of the highest scoring teams in the NLL regular season, but one has potted a ton, and one seems like a dormant offence ready to strike.  New York has just 20 goals in the postseason thus far, down 1.9 goals per game from the regular season.  However, Powell leads all scorers with 15 playoff points and previously quiet studs Maddalena and 2007 1st overall pick Jordan Hall are poised to break out.  On the Calgary side, they look to keep their scoring momentum going.  The team is averaging 16 goals per game thus far in the playoffs, way above their season average (+3.1).  Lead by Josh Sanderson and Dane Dobbie, the Riggers have got big outings from all around.  That includes Scott Ranger (9 points last week), Tracey Kelusky (11 points overall), and transition studs Jeff Shattler and Nolan Heavenor (3 goals combined).  If New York’s offence gets going, that’s scary.  If Calgary’s offence keeps going the way they have; that’s even scarier.

It proves to be one outstanding NLL Champions Cup Final tonight at the Dome.  Tickets are still available and I really, really encourage you to go check this one out.  Quite honestly, you won’t be let down.  As this is my last pregame blog of the season, I have to say a special thank you to the behind-the-scenes queens of the Roughnecks.  Those being Kelsey, Allana and Miranda in the Necks front office.  Kelsey is the friendliest voice ever on the phone.  Allana hurt her arm and yet always gives me pizza.  And Miranda always smells nice, has the best game notes in the NLL, and has only made me cry once.

No question, hockey fans have been spoiled to a rather large degree with what we’ve witnessed in the first 2 rounds of the NHL playoffs.  3 series go to 7 games in the 2nd round, and we had 2 more deciding games in the opening round of the postseason.  With 3 more series remaining, the potential is there to tie or exceed the NHL record of 7 game 7’s in 1 playoff year.

But now it’s coming to an end and I fear I’m going to start going into withdrawl.  Now I realize the Western and Eastern Conference Finals still loom with the  Stanley Cup Finals on the horizon as well.  But I feel as if I’m going to be sapped of 2 things that have been so much fun the last month or so.  First, the sheer volume of hockey.  With 2 to 4 games a night on the NHL schedule on a nightly basis, I could get home from work, fire up the PVR and just watch and marvel.  Tonight will be the last night (most likely) we get more than 1 game on a single night until the regular season begins in October.

But it’s the second factor that I’m going to miss the most.  The sheer drama and theater of the first 2 rounds, coupled with the amount of it, is going to be sorely missed.  Can you think of a playoff year with this much straight up fun and conversation topics on a daily basis?  Just sit back and contemplate.  You can start in the first round when you’re flipping back and forth between a 2-1 game here and a comeback victory there.

Think of Monday night!  My usual routine is to PVR the games I want to watch, start watching them for the first period and a bit, head to the gym, finish watching the games at the gym and then go home and re-watch them on the PVR.  So Monday, I started watching the Caps-Pens game at home, went to the gym, saw Crosby score the tying marker right as I got there.  I hit the treadmill as OT started, took up a spot in between TV’s with TSN and CBC on it.  As the Caps were forcing a game 7 with David Steckel’s OT winner, the Canucks and Hawks were underway.  As the night went on, I was back on the treadmill for the 3rd period in Chi Town, watching Vancouver take the lead and Chicago tie it and eventually overtake the last Canadian hope.

Or think back to April 28th, the last night of the NHL’s 1st round!  The Capitals were in the midst of coming back from a 3-1 series deficit on one channel while the Devils were busy coughing up a 3rd period lead to the Canes on another.  Who would have thought you could finish watching the Caps complete an amazing series comeback and then flip to Newark and see the Devils hold a 1 goal 3rd period lead.  And within minutes, you see Tim Gleason’s series/season saving play to somehow get a puck to Joni Pitkanen, who somehow found Jussi “I Don’t Just Do Shootouts” Jokinen to the right of Martin Brodeur.  And then you’re all excited for OT right?  Well Eric Staal says no thankyou, ends the game in a fashion not one person thought was possible.

Tonight’s game 7’s are going to be incredible.  I can’t wait to chill out and watch things unfold in  Detroit and Boston.  And I cannot wait for the start of the WCF and ECF.  And I’m as excited as anyone else to see who gets crowned the 2009 Stanley Cup Champions.  Is the NHL postseason finished?  Not by a long shot.  But that doesn’t mean I (and many, many others) won’t miss the incredible first month.