When the fight between welterweights Joshua Clottey and Zab Judah ended in the middle of the ninth round, it was for the wrong reason. Judah had suffered a significant cut over his right eye, which had at first been ruled as being caused by an accidental head-butt. The ringside doctor gave Judah a visual test, which Judah failed several times, and thus was ruled to be unable to continue. As Clottey has a disqualification on his record for that very reason, it would seem a likely explanation. Though as a quality replay from HBO would show, the cut was definitively caused by a short Clottey punch. Judah was the flashier of the two, but never proved to be any real danger to Joshua. Clottey had been landing the more powerful punches all night, and his cut-inducing punch was good evidence to that fact.

Continue reading "Nearly disasterous ending for Clottey may lead to big payday in Margarito rematch"

I'm still confused. How did Brett Favre, living legend and America's old-school Wrangler-wearin' tough guy get bullied into going to the worst possible destination?

I have to give credit (for simply the tactic, not the stance) of Green Bay's front office for stone-walling Favre and not simply acquiescing to his wishes. It seemed very likely that Brett would be headed to Tampa Bay, and the Jets had no shot. That's what everyone, including myself, were thinking when we realized he was done in Green Bay. Tampa was going to be the best fit for Brett, since he was never going to get traded to Minnesota or the barely mentioned Chicago Bears. I fully expected to see Brett flex his legend-muscles during trade negotiations to make sure he didn't end up as second-fiddle in the AFC East division. But it never happened. Favre was obviously tired of this whole debacle and simply wanted to get into a camp so he could play the game he loved (yet said he didn't want to play anymore only a few months ago).

Continue reading "Favre as a Jet: How did that happen?"

Well, the second Chicago Bears pre-season game is in the books. It was a fairly interesting game, as far as pre-season affairs go. It actually went into overtime, which I'm convinced is exciting (though it might just be watching scrubs with even more pressure before they get cut).

Now that it has ended, we can focus on who won the quarterback competition for the night. Lovie Smith has come out and said that this game against Seattle would be a significant measuring stick for whomever will start the season opener at Indianapolis. Note how I said "didn't lose" because neither of these QB's have "won" anything. This job is almost assuredly Kyle Orton's, much to my chagrin. Kyle has not won this job, because I don't think he can. I figured the only way he starts at quarterback is if Rex loses the competition. After the game against Seattle, it's almost a give-in. Rex lost his shot to start. Though it wasn't his fault. The coaches aren't putting him in situations in which he can succeed.

Continue reading "Which Bears quarterback didn't lose the competition?"

Another preseason Bears game, another loss in the books. Who really cares, its the preseason! Right? Not so fast there buddy. If you weren't paying attention last Thursday, let me run down what you should have taken from this latest outing.

The Bears defense looked putrid against what is an at-best average San Francisco offense. The secondary was picked apart by journeyman J.T. O'Sullivan, who has been named the starter for the season opener, beating out former number one overall pick Alex Smith. The defensive line brought a little pressure, but you can be assured that Tommie Harris is taking is easy to make sure no freak injuries occur. The real weak spot for the defense was showcased on the first four San Francisco offensive plays of the game, when each play Frank Gore rushed for over ten yards. It was embarrassing. The first team defense wasn't tackling or staying in their gaps. They looked nothing like the super bowl defense of only two years ago. The first stringers gave up 27 points while they were on the field. That's unacceptable for a group that's being paid so much money. The scrubs didn't fare much better either. Dan Bazuin, a second rounder last season has yet to show anything on the field of play after being injured all of last season. He's in Lovie Smith's doghouse, which means he and Mark Bradley should try for a jail-break.

Continue reading "Bears' Defense is Embarassed as Orton is Impressive"