Well, I had every intention of watching UFC 112 Saturday night. However, due to extenuating circumstances and the fact that I found out the results of the fight before the fight was broadcast in the U.S., I ended up not watching. That’s right, the fight was fought in Abu Dhabi and the results announced before the U.S. broadcast (needless to say, I was a little annoyed).

If you don’t know, Anderson Silva put up a lackluster performance but still won and retained his title as middleweight champion with a unanimous decision over Demian Maia

Anderson Silva. I really don’t know what to think of him anymore. Clearly, he has all of the talent, which he supposedly demonstrated in the first two rounds tonight. But there are times when he can just be so frustrating and does not do much at all, which is what he did in the last three rounds. The guy can be flat out amazing. They call him the Spider for a reason (check out his knockouts of Forest Griffin and James Irvin or any of Silva’s highlight videos). I just don’t get it. Two of his last three fights have been disappointments (although the Thales Leites fight wasn’t really Silva’s fault; Leites just laid on the ground the whole time). The only solution I can think of is to give Silva a challenging fight, either against Georges St. Pierre (the likely choice) or against Fedor. Both would be great fights and if Silva doesn’t step his game up he probably will lose.

I really hope Anderson Silva starts fighting like his old self. There really isn’t anyone like him. The first time I saw Silva fight all I could think of was Neo from the Matrix dodging bullets. I just don’t get how he can dodge punches like that. It is crazy. Hopefully he can get his act together because Silva really is a treat and joy to watch.

Oh, the Lakers. I really just don’t know what to think about them (objectively of course. In real life, when I am less objective, I just hate them.) Despite my ill feelings towards the Lakers, I have to admit they are a great team…most of the time. To me, the Lakers are like Mike Tyson. Stay with me for a second. The Lakers are like young Mike Tyson: they have all the talent in the world. Realistically, nobody should be able to stay with them. They have 5 potential all stars.

Lamar Odom, who despite never really living up to his full potential, can still be dominant and is that perennial “X-factor.” Then you have Pau Gasol, who can pretty much score at will against most teams despite looking like one of the orcs in Lord of the Rings. Andrew Bynum has tons of potential and is one of, if not the, best young centers in the game. Ron Artest is possibly the best perimeter defender in the NBA and is a solid offensive weapon. And then there is Kobe Bryant. While he may not be the best teammate in the league, he still is pretty good (ok, there is an underestimation).

However, like Tyson against Buster Douglas in 1990, I feel like the Lakers could very well be upset this year. Yes, I know they just clinched the top seed in the Western Conference Friday, but they still seem vulnerable, especially since the All-Star break. They have lost a ton of games that they should have won (see Charlotte and New Orleans). The Lakers are still the team to beat, but it will be interesting to see if they can keep it together. Realistically, nobody should even touch them, but like Buster Douglas, upsets happen.

For better or worse, according to the Chinese calendar 2010 is the year of the tiger. I repeat, 2010 is the year of the tiger.

I don’t know how life could get any more ironic than that. It is so true. Tiger is seriously like Lil’ Wayne in that Lil’ Wayne is featured on EVERY SINGLE rap/hip-hop song on the radio, and Tiger is everywhere. Every day, you hear something on the radio, read something online, or see something on ESPN about Tiger. Like it or not, 2010 is the year of Tiger Woods.

Everyone wants to know how he will perform, especially at the Master’s, which starts Thursday. There is only one way Tiger can put this controversy behind him, and that is to play well and to win (for the record, I am not condoning Tiger’s actions by any means. What he did was wrong, disgusting, etc.).

I consider Tiger’s fall from grace very comparable to Kobe Bryant’s. Both got into trouble for extramarital sex, both lost sponsorships, both lost countless fans. The media surrounding each respective situation was comparable. Look at Kobe now; NBA champion, scoring leader, commercials with Nike, and more. The only way Kobe achieved this was by winning and by getting his life straight.

The only way Tiger can return to grace is by achieving these two goals. It seems like Tiger is trying to get his life straight, but who really knows, because Tiger’s private life is less well known than the launch codes for our nuclear weapons. So maybe there is part one. Like I said, the second part is winning. Everyone loves a winner, and like Kobe, people will forgive Tiger in due time, like it or not.

Yes, Monday’s college basketball national championship game was exciting. Yes, it had a memorable finish. Yes, it was a great game. At the sake of alienating Duke fans, Butler should have won it.

Yes, I know Duke fans from the Carolinas to California hate me for saying this, but Duke didn’t win the game so much as Butler lost it. I am really not trying to take anything from Duke; they are the national champions, they played the best, and that is that.

However, look at the stats from that game. Butler shot 34.5% from the field. 34.5%!! And sorry Dukies, that is not so much Duke’s defense but Butler missing easy shots. I watched the game, and while Duke did a solid defensive job, they were not that good. Butler missed open shot after open shot, layup after layup. Shooting like that is not going to get you a national championship.

I don’t know why Butler shot that poorly (they shot 10% below their season average.) Maybe they were not ready to handle the pressure. Maybe they were still surprised or in awe that they even made it to the championship game. I really don’t know. All I do know is that Butler shot as poorly as the Imperial Stormtroopers in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (search Wikipedia for principle of Evil Marksmanship to see what I mean).

In the end, congratulations are in store to both Duke and Butler. Butler made an incredible run and did what few thought they could do. Duke won the national championship, simple as that, and at the end of the day, that matters most.

This year’s “March Madness” has been as mad as ever, and Saturday proved to be more of the same.

In the national semifinals, aka the Final Four, Duke beat West Virginia 78-57 and Butler beat Michigan State 52-50. Both games had their share of surprise and intrigue but for very different reasons.

The Duke-West Virginia game was the more surprising of the two games. It is the fact that the game was a blowout that this game was astonishing. Last week, West Virginia defeated number one seed Kentucky, considered by many to be the best team in the country. However, the Mountaineers’ highly touted defense seemed helpless against the Blue Devil’s hot shooting. Duke shot 53% from the field and an astonishing 52% from the three point line.

The other game went down to the wire. Butler ultimately prevailed with a basket by Gordon Hayward with 2 seconds left, but for most of the game the outcome was in doubt. Butler was able to force 16 turnovers and, in many ways, this proved to be the deciding factor in the game. Still, Michigan State was able to come within one point, 52-50, with 56 seconds left. However, Michigan State was not able to come back.

The championship game is Monday, and it is the underdog, mid-major Butler Bulldogs against the storied, traditional powerhouse Duke Blue Devils. While Duke had a better regular season, Butler has the nation’s longest winning streak and one other advantage: the championship game is essentially a home game. Nevertheless, it will be a great game and hopefully one for the ages.

As I am a lowly college student in need of some money, there will be some advertisements on end of the bench. I will try to limit them in order to preserve the integrity of the site, but if I can make some money that would be great. Thank you for your understanding and if the ads are too annoying then let me know. Thanks

Joe

April Fool’s Day is usually a day full of harmless pranks and general fun. For the Denver Nuggets, April 1 was no such matter.

While Denver got a much needed win over the Portland Trailblazers 109-92, the postgame wasn’t so much fun. During the game, former Nuggets ball boy and now guard J.R. Smith’s driver Laquan Johnson took forward Kenyon Martin’s keys and proceeded to fill Martin’s Range Rover with popcorn.

When Martin found out about the prank, he stormed back into the locker room, yelling profanities and threats at various people. At one point, Martin threatened to boycott the playoffs. “How 'bout if I don't play in the playoffs until somebody tells me who did it,” Martin stated.

A source close to Martin stated that Martin was not angry over the prank but mad at the fact that someone could just go in and take his private property.

An anonymous source said that “it was just an April Fool’s joke that went horribly wrong. The kid thought it would be funny and it wasn't. Kenyon was back at practice today and everything was fine between him and his teammates.”

Things may be fine now, but this comes at a bad time for the Nuggets. Coach George Karl has missed games recently due to cancer treatment and before beating the Trailblazers the Nuggets had lost five of their previous six games.

Source: espn.com