Cain Velasquez, Jamie Varner and Glover Teixeira are UFC 146?s three stars

When plans for an all-heavyweight main card at UFC 146 were announced, I was skeptical. While heavyweights can deliver thrilling knockouts, they can also deliver boring wheezefests consisting of two large men pushing at each other. My skepticism was misplaced, because UFC 146 turned out to be one of the best cards of the year. Starting with Mike Brown's return to winning ways and ending with the Junior dos Santos' convincing title defense, this card delivered. But who stood out more than the rest?

No. 1 star -- Cain Velasquez: Losing his title to JDS in just 64 seconds could have messed with Velasquez's head, or it could have motivated him. Judging by the amount of blood that came from Antonio Silva's head (more on that later), Velasquez took the latter route. That dismantling of "Big Foot" propelled Velasquez back into heavyweight title contention.

No. 2 star -- Jamie Varner: Coming into UFC 146, Edson Barboza had 10 straight wins over such fighters as Ross Pearson, Terry Etim and Anthony Njokuani. Coming into UFC 146, Jamie Varner hadn't fought in the UFC for a year and a half. His last three fights? Wins in XFC over Drew Fickett and Nate Jolly and a loss to Dakota Cochrane.

None of that mattered Saturday. Varner, the one-time WEC lightweight champ, was given his chance back at the UFC and stopped the Barboza freight train with unrelenting pressure and a first-round TKO.

No. 3 star -- Glover Teixiera: Visa issues prevented Teixiera from fighting in the U.S. previously. In just one minute, 53 seconds, Teixiera let fans know what we've been missing. He beat up on Kyle Kingsbury, then sunk in an arm-triangle to get the submission win.

Honorable mention -- Blood: The liquid that courses through our veins made quite an appearance on Saturday night. It showed up in Brown's win over Pineda, made cameos in Dan Hardy's knockout of Duane Ludwig and Stipe Miocic's TKO of Shane Del Rosario. But blood truly took its star turn in the Velasquez-Silva bout. There was so. Much. Blood. In the unofficial Cagewriter blood-o-meter, it topped Josh Koscheck's decision over Chris Lytle and Karl Amoussou's submission of John Doyle.

Who were your three stars from Saturday night? Tell us in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.

Graham Hill Phil Hill Peter Hirt David Hobbs Gary Hocking

WMX Rider Insight: Sayaka Kaneshiro

At the 13th annual 'A Day in the Dirt' I got a chance to talk with Sayaka "Teriyaki Sauce" Kaneshiro, WMX Pro #15

How was your racing today?

It was good, I thought we had a practice first, I went out and it was actually a race. I was just racing and riding around, I felt like ... WOW!

Photo by Heather Majcherek

What did you think of the event overall?

It was to difficult racing for me, because I didn't ride my pace. I rode about 6th place, less than I wanted to. I got the same number as last year, I just tried to do my best.

Kasey Kenneth Kahne Matthew Roy Kenseth Alan Dennis Kulwicki Travis Wade Kvapil Robert Allen Labonte

WMX Rider Insight: Jackie Ives

In only her second season as a professional Motocross racer, Jackie Ives is currently sitting in 16th position for the WMX point standings through the first four rounds of the 2010 AMA Woman's Motocross Championship Series.

Jackie Ives (17) cheezing on the line at Thunder Valley

You might think 'How cool is it to be racing professional motocross all over the USA!' But it's a lot harder and a lot more work than you might think! Not all racers get the big bucks and the factory rides like James Stewart, Ryan Dungey, and Chad Reed. As a matter of fact, most of the woman racers in the USA have to work quite hard during the week just to make it to the race track!

Heikki Kovalainen Kevin Harvick Armour Vienna Sausage Kroger Chevrolet Clint Bowyer Zaxby s Chevrolet

Mason Silva ? Disorganized Fun

Mason Silva absolutely destroys it in this segment of Disorganized Fun.

Ingo Hoffmann Bill Holland Jackie Holmes Bill Homeier Kazuyoshi Hoshino

Nike Division I Top 20 Poll - 05/29/2012

Poll Name: 

Nike Division I Top 20 Poll

(Photo: Greg Wall)

Loyola's preseason ranking of No. 21 in the Face-Off Yearbook became a rallying point for the Greyhounds. The Hounds took that ranking as a challenge, winning 18 games including the national championship against Maryland.

Now, they can look back on the end of the year with a No. 1 ranking in the final Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll.

Loyola is followed by its opponent, Maryland, at No. 2 in the poll. Notre Dame, Duke and Virginia fill out the top five. The Cavaliers were the No. 1 team heading into the season.

Poll Shortname: 

d1media

Week Number: 

13

Poll Details

Place: 

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

Team: 

Loyola University - LOYOLA - 2010

University of Maryland - MARYLAND - 2010

University of Notre Dame - ND - 2010

Duke University - DUKE - 2010

University of Virginia - UVA - 2010

University of Denver - DENVER - 2010

Johns Hopkins University - JHU - 2010

Colgate University - COLGATE - 2010

Lehigh University - LEHIGH - 2010

University of Massachusetts - UMASS - 2010

University of North Carolina - UNC - 2010

Yale University - YALE - 2010

Princeton University - PRINCETON - 2010

Syracuse University - SYRACUSE - 2010

Penn State University - PSU - 2010

Cornell University - CORNELL - 2010

Fairfield University - FAIRFIELD - 2010

Ohio State University - OSU - 2010

Bryant University - BRYANT - 2010

Saint Johns University - STJOHNS - 2010

Villanova University - VILLANOVA - 2010

Drexel University - DREXEL - 2010

Bucknell University - BUCKNELL - 2010

Robert Morris University - RMU - 2010

Georgetown University - GTOWN - 2010

Stony Brook University - SBU - 2010

Canisius College - CANISIUS - 2010

Points: 

380

359

341

326

293

269

258

244

230

215

211

167

149

135

110

100

72

34

27

23

First Place Votes: 

19

Jeffrey Tyler Burton Richard Allen Craven Kerry Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr

El Yelmo 2009

Still time to head for the 10th Festival Internacional del Aire in el Yelmo, Segura de Sierra, Cazorla this weekend. Take a look at http://www.fiaelyelmo.com/ for details.

Eddie Irvine Chris Irwin Jean Pierre Jabouille Jimmy Jackson Joe James

A very Happy Mother?s Day to MMA Moms

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms of fighters and the moms who fight. For a reminder of how cool MMA moms are, check out Urijah Faber's mom holding off a burglar, Rashad Evans getting pre-fight advice from his mother, and Diego Brandao buying his mom a house after winning "The Ultimate Fighter." Also read parts one and two about what it's like to be a fight mom, featuring the mothers of Joe Lauzon, Clay Guida, Evans and B.J. Penn.

Before heading to brunch with your mom, check out how these champs celebrated their special moment with the women who supported their children on the way to the belt.

UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson hugs his mother after winning the belt in February.

Ronda Rousey headed straight to the woman who supported her through Olympic judo and MMA careers after winning the Strikeforce bantamweight belt in March.

UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz took his mother to the World MMA Awards.

Jon Jones celebrates with his parents after defending the UFC light heavyweight belt.

A very Happy Mother's Day to all the Cagereading Moms out there, and to my own mother, for taking me for ice cream after I first threw a punch.

Christian Goethals Paul Goldsmith José Froilán González Oscar González Aldo Gordini

UFC 146 will answer these six questions

The UFC is billing this weekend's bouts as literally the biggest main card of all time because a whole lot of big dudes are fighting on the main card. It will answer these six questions.

1. Who is the best heavyweight in the UFC?* Of course this question will be answered. With the UFC heavyweight belt on the line, the main event is designed to answer that question. However, it has to have an asterisk on it because of the Alistair Overeem shenanigans before the bout. He was suspended from fighting for nine months because of abnormally high levels of testosterone, and his own actions kept him from fighting on this card. Through no fault of their own, Frank Mir and Junior dos Santos' bout will have an unsatisfying "what if" hanging over it.

2. How did Cain Velasquez recover from his first loss? From the second Velasquez stepped into the cage, he was a freight train. He started his career with nine straight wins, topped off by a TKO of Brock Lesnar for the title. Dos Santos stopped that train with a 64-second knockout, and this is the first time fans will see Velasquez since then. Will he be able to fight back to get a win over Antonio Silva, or will Velasquez suffer his second loss?

3. Can Dan Hardy stop his epic losing skid? "The Outlaw" has four losses in a row in the UFC, which is an unheard of number. Fighters have been cut for much less. After losing to Chris Lytle in August, Hardy took time away from the sport. He doesn't have an easy fight in Duane "Bang" Ludwig. We'll find out Saturday night if he can finally right the ship.

4. Is Jason Miller more than a TV star? "Mayhem," and his awesome dog Gator, starred on both "The Ultimate Fighter" and "Bully Beatdown." He is engaging, funny, and knows how to be the star of a show. However, that didn't help him in his first fight back in the UFC in six years, as Michael Bisping manhandled him. Miller's bout with C.B. Dollaway will give him a chance to prove he belongs in the UFC.

5. Can an all-heavyweight card be exciting? The UFC is taking a gamble with this card. Though the idea of an all-heavyweight card is good in theory, in practice, it's dicey. Heavyweights can provide great knockouts, but they can also provide wheeze-fests like Travis Browne's bout with Rob Boughton or Frank Mir's with Mirko Filipovic. The pressure is on these 10 men to deliver.

6. Who will Daniel Cormier fight next? The newly crowned Strikeforce heavyweight champ will supposedly have another fight in Strikeforce, but his best tests will be in the UFC. UFC 146 is chock full of heavyweights who could test Cormier's wrestling and striking. Who will his next opponent be? See the main card for the answer.

Other popular content on Yahoo! Sports:
? Marc J. Spears: Perry Jones III's draft stock hinges on proving his consistency
? Albert Pujols becomes fourth-youngest player to hit 450 home runs
? Chad Ochocinco gets robbed, mourns loss of Starbucks gold card

Sam Hanks Walt Hansgen Mike Harris Cuth Harrison Brian Hart

Weather to fly......

No messing about with Becky - we took off and caught
a thermal up, right above the take off


Here's Becky waiting on the ground
and in the air.
We were waiting for Jerry 'sprint'
on his new wing to catch up so we could fly together


Nice flight 6km down the ridge, flying with an eagle and landing
with my passenger who looks like
she is going to let me take the
all the weight!! Feet down next time Becky!


Thankfully the under-carriage went down
at the last moment for a perfect landing








Watching Sprint come and join us! Jess is keener
on the colour now she's seen it against that lovely blue sky

Flying Gin Sprints makes you smile!

Peter de Klerk Christian Klien Karl Kling Ernst Klodwig Kamui Kobayashi

holiday west wales style

Ten days in wales, and THE day it didnt rain much!
and the winds were light ish we went to Rhosilli
just to remind ourselves how beautiful this place
is , and there was a bit of flying to watch
everyone taking off from the beach and hopping back to the dunes
apart from this speed wing

Thai fish cakes and mussels in white wine for lunch!

contemporary Welsh fare! not like in the old days

when it was half & half!

Armour Vienna Sausage Kroger Chevrolet Clint Bowyer Zaxby s Chevrolet Brad Keselowski Ruby Tuesday Dodge

La primavera en Saliente

Back on the mountain after a few weeks away to find sunshine and wild flowers have taken over....... almost tempting to stay in the hammock instead of heading for take off.......

Kerry Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr Carl Michael Edwards III William Clyde Elliott

New video for Gecko Fly Parapente!

Here's our great new video: shot on location at the take off at Saliente by Simone Owen who came flyng with us and got inspired!

Thanks Simone!

Jeremy Allan Mayfield James Christopher McMurray Casey James Mears Juan Pablo Montoya Joseph Francis Nemechek III

Interview: AMA Women's Motocross Champion Jessica Patterson

Jessica Patterson is the 2010 AMA Women's National Motocross Champion. Here is Supercross.com's latest interview with JP$.

Jessica, congratulations on your 2010 AMA Women's National MX Championship. You walked away with some amazing trophies from this summer's race wins .... where do you put all those great awards, and what does it mean to you when you see them?

Thanks Annj. I usually go straight to my parents house and drop them all off and let my mom decorate the house with them. But recently she told me that I have started to bring home too many, and to figure out where to put them at my place because her place is now full.

Her suggestion to me was to rent a storage unit if I didn?t want to keep them all over the house. They are all just hanging out at her house right now, and eventually when I decide where I want to move, then I will take them with me and start the decorating.

To see the trophies is pretty cool. It is what I have been working so hard for, and after struggling for for two years and now coming back and winning the championship in 2010, it makes it that much better. Seeing that I have all those number 1 trophies from each race except for two, it reminds me of how good of a year it really was, so it makes me really happy and makes me want to keep pushing.

Hans Heyer Damon Hill Graham Hill Phil Hill Peter Hirt

Above the clouds

one of the pleasures of flying a paramotor
has to be playing above the clouds


bathed in sunlight flying in shorts and T shirt
casting a Brocken spectre on the clouds below


its the stuff of dreaming!

Bruce Halford Jim Hall Duncan Hamilton Lewis Hamilton David Hampshire

Houston Texans Inside Slant: Steph Stradley Talks Being the Division Favorites

Welcome to the Inside Slant, where each week we focus on an outstanding writer from around the AFC South.

One of the best writers in the league is Steph Stradley.

Stradley is a lawyer who writes a  Houston Texans blog for the Houston Chronicle online. You can find her on Twitter @StephStradley and can also find her writing for her personal blog at www.StephStradley.com.

Whether you are a Texans fan or not, you should be reading her regularly. 

BR: What is the mood of the fan base right now? The Texans are favorites in the South, but have had a rough offseason. Are fans upbeat in Houston or nervous about being in the cat-bird seat? Do you feel the same way?

SS: Generally, the mood of the fan base is positive. The Texans last year went to the playoffs with a backup backup quarterback. Relative to other teams, I'm not sure it's been a particularly rough offseason. Though there were some departing players, the critical players of center Chris Myers and running back Arian Foster have returned. And defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is back (and healthy).

Not sure you can generalize about all fans: I'm sure there's plenty who are upbeat, plenty who are nervous, and some who are both. I'm generally positive about the outlook of the Texans in 2012 because there's no turnover in coaching staff, the Texans have proven schemes on both sides of the ball, and the rest of the AFC South is in significant transition.

 

BR: What's the one thing that concerns you about the Texans right now? If future Steph came back to warn you about disaster striking in the 2012 season, what do you think she'd say?

SS: If I must limit it to one thing beyond the generic injury concerns all NFL teams worry about, I'd say the known unknowns. The Texans are transitioning in three spots: 1. The right side of the line with new players at right tackle and right guard; 2. Wide receivers behind Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter; 3. Special teams. The Texans are entering 2012 with a new field goal kicker and possibly a new punter given that Brett Hartmann is coming off of injury and will be suspended for three games this season.

Coaches like to encourage competition, which presents both challenges (uncertainty) and opportunities (the possibility of upgrading in those spots).

Usually it isn't the known unknowns that create problems for your team, but rather the unknown unknowns. (Hat tip to former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield.)

 

BR: 3. What can you tell us about the Bum Phillips opera? 

SS: Former Oilers coach, Bum Phillips, is one of the most beloved figures in Houston sports history. A group of former-Houstonians who now live in New York decided to create an opera based on his biography, Bum Phillips: Cowboy, Coach, Christian. (People can order an autographed copy of this book in time for Father's Day. All proceeds go to Bum's charities).

The issue with creating an opera about a living person is that they have rights to publicity. So the opera creators went to see Bum on his ranch and got his permission to do this. Bum and his wife thought it would be, in their words, "a hoot."

Recently, the creators of the opera did Online fundraising to help commission the opera. Here is a video of their project. They are hoping to stage it in both New York City and Houston. They will likely do more fundraising in the future. If anyone out there wishes to be a contributor to the next phase of this project, I suggest going to the website of the opera company.

Ignazio Giunti Timo Glock Helm Glöckler Paco Godia Carel Godin de Beaufort

Pittsburgh Steelers: Mike Wallace, Management Need to Find Happy Medium

Only time will tell if Mike Wallace and his agent, Bus Cook, playing hardball with Pittsburgh Steelers management will be end up being a beneficial thing for the 25-year-old wide receiver.

The restricted free agent still has not signed his one-year tender deal of $2.74 million, and it’s obvious he and Cook are using this delay as leverage to try to get a decent long-term deal with the club. It's a typical strategy in the NFL, and not necessarily a bad one by Wallace, who missed the beginning of voluntary workouts (organized team activities) last Tuesday.

If Wallace, (72 receptions, 1,193 receiving yards and eight touchdowns in 2011) were to somehow get injured during OTAs, though a remote possibility, his chance at landing a long-term lucrative contract with Pittsburgh, or any other team, would severely be diminished.

Steelers president Art Rooney and general manager Kevin Colbert have both stated the team wants to sign Wallace to a long-term deal.

"Our intention has always been to sign Mike to a long-term contract," Colbert said.

Wallace is unhappy with the tender offer, but the Steelers certainly aren’t in a position with their present salary cap to give him the monster contract like the one a league source said he wants that surpasses the eight-year, $120 million one Larry Fitzgerald signed with the Arizona Cardinals last year.

Wallace has until June 15 (one day after mini-camp ends) to sign the tender offer before the Steelers can cut it to 110 percent of his 2011 salary—or $577,500—a huge $2.1 million loss on Wallace’s part.

I highly doubt management will actually exercise that reduction piece of the tender offer as it would likely alienate Wallace even more, which could lead to him holding out for training camp and possibly the start of the season—a bad move and vibe for both parties involved.

So a little bit of hardball and posturing by both sides at this point in time, but most people think a deal will eventually get done.

"It'll be over, (just) a little bit of short-term misery,'' head coach Mike Tomlin said. "It won't be significant in the big scheme of things hopefully.''

The Steelers have been down this road in the recent past with Plaxico Burress and Santonio Holmes, and some cynical fans, tired of the prima donna wide receiver routine, think the Black and Gold will be just fine with Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders showing much promise last year.

However, with Hines Ward now gone, not signing the speedy Wallace for at least one year would hurt the pass-heavy offense quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and new offensive coordinator Todd Haley hope to further cultivate.

So both sides need to give in a little bit next month. The Steelers need to pay the piper and Pro Bowler Wallace (and his agent, Cook) need to step back from demanding so much money that it hamstrings the club and any future deals it may want to try to make.

As it looks now, Wallace will continue this premeditated waiting game (missing mini-camp from June 12-14) until his agent takes one final pre-mini-camp attempt at securing a long-term deal, which the Steelers will likely deny if the asking price is still too high.

Wallace should give in at this point (June 15) and sign his restricted tender offer knowing he could lose a lot money and hope the team agrees, in good faith, to return to the bargaining table—like it did with Troy Polamalu, LaMarr Woodley and Lawrence Timmons last year—during training camp.

Should Wallace decide to play the ultimate hardball and sit out training camp and the start of the NFL season, he will not only hurt the team by having it lose the league’s best deep threat, but he will be hurting himself in terms of game shape and his image to other teams that may be interested in signing him next season.

If Wallace does sign the $2.74 million tender offer and the Steelers make no real effort to sign him to a long-term pact, he will then become an unrestricted free agent and other teams will then be able to bid on him for next season without the fear of losing a first-round draft pick.

This is a modern-day game of “NFL chicken,” with both sides not willing to give in to the other just yet with Wallace and his agent knowing how the game works and what happened last offseason.

I expect both sides to reach some sort of a happy medium during training camp with the young wide receiver wanting to spend the prime years of his football career with a quality organization like the Steelers.

However, if Wallace and Cook can’t agree to the best deal the Steelers have to offer under current financial circumstances, Wallace may end up going the same route as Burress and Holmes did—straight out of the Steel City.

 

Follow me on Twitter: @KevinStott11

Virgil Ernest Irvan III Kenny Dale Irwin Jr Dale Arnold Jarrett Jimmie Kenneth Johnson Kasey Kenneth Kahne

Is Rajon Rondo Going to Be a Problem For the Heat?

Kevin Garnett vs. Udonis Haslem should be fun.

Randy Joseph Lajoie Kevin Paul Lepage William Ashton Lewis Jr Sterling Burton Marlin Mark Anthony Martin

NBA Playoffs 2012: LeBron James and Dwyane Wade Shut Down Celtics in Game 1

Most experts aren't giving the Boston Celtics much of a chance to win the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat. Things have to go close to perfect for the Celtics to reach the NBA Finals.

It didn't go perfect for them tonight, as the Miami Heat ran away in the second half to post a 93-79 win in Game 1.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were both exceptional for the Heat.

James continued his strong play with 32 points and 13 rebounds. James shot effectively (13-for-22), got to the foul line nine times and blocked three shots.

Wade was more of a facilitator much of the night, dishing out seven assists. However, Wade picked his scoring up in the second half and finished with 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting.

When James and Wade play at such a high level, the Heat are nearly impossible to beat.

Miami still needs help from their role players and they received that tonight.

Shane Battier, appearing in his first conference final game, was all over the court. He made life miserable for Paul Pierce, grabbed rebounds and made some key shots. Battier registered a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Mike Miller came off the bench to score eight points in the second quarter including two straight three's. Mario Chalmers played a solid all-around game with nine points, five rebounds and four assists.

The Heat were exceptional defending the paint, repeatedly blocking Celtic shots close to the basket. Miami blocked 11 shots tying their playoff record.

To have any chance, the Celtics needed to shoot well—particularly Ray Allen and Paul Pierce from the perimeter.

That didn't happen tonight.

Allen, dogged by his ankle problems, did not look good shooting the ball. His shot came out flat much of the night as he shot 1-for-7 and, even more incredibly, only 3-for-7 from the charity stripe. Pierce shot a woeful 5-for-18.

Kevin Garnett was the only Celtic hitting shots consistently from outside and scored 23 points.

Miami's defense won it for them in the second half. After Boston poured in 35 second quarter points to tie the game at 46 at halftime, the Heat limited Boston to 33 second-half points.

Boston is pretty battered.

Avery Bradley is out for the season, Ray Allen is a shell of himself and Pierce is nursing a knee injury and is not at full strength. But you get the feeling that even if they were at full strength, there may not be any stopping Miami as long as James and Wade can play at such a high level.

Game 2 is Wednesday night in Miami where the Heat are now 29-5 this season. Boston will need to play one of their best games of the year to avoid returning home down 2-0.

Narain Karthikeyan Ukyo Katayama Ken Kavanagh Rupert Keegan Eddie Keizan

Day 10

Benjamin is now into double figures.
We even managed a short walk outside today, down to Byres Road and back.

Hans Klenk Peter de Klerk Christian Klien Karl Kling Ernst Klodwig