sportsblogger

   Finally, after nearly two weeks away due to some computer issues solved by the Great Alfonso, I have returned to my blog and I hope to continue talking sports. There has been plenty of newsmakers in the past 2 weeks and I hope that today we can talk about each sport and its major story.

NBA- The NBA has kicked off the first two games of its annual June Showcase of the two best teams which is the NBA Finals with one marquee name, the Los Angeles Lakers. The Showcase, or Showtime, is running on full power right now and the Orlando Magic have no answer.

MMA- In Mixed Martial Arts, we have brought in the “Machida Era” and Lyoto Machida will have his first title defense against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Next up is UFC 99 featuring top heavyweight prospect Cain Velasquez who will face his toughest opponent in Cheick Kongo.

NHL- The Stanley Cup Finals are also underway and no surprise here, the Detroit Red Wings seem to be on the verge of winning another Championship. Also not surprising is that they are looking to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second straight year.

NFL- It figures that when I make my return to Sportsblogger, the top story in the NFL is the apparent come-back yet again of Brett Favre. Brett has reportedly undergone surgery and will likely play for the Minnesota Vikings for the 2009-10 season.

MLB- When we last reported MLB news, it seemed that the Los Angeles Dodgers were on their way down after Manny Ramirez’ performance enhancing suspension. It’s funny but I guess the Dodgers didn’t get the memo and still have the Leagues best record and best defense.

J.M.Saucedo

Proud to be back!!

   After missing last weeks Sports Market, the Monday staple returns bigger and better than before with a beefed-up amount of topics. The weekend was full of stories that can match up with last weeks bombshells such as Manny Ramirez and Brett Favres likely return to the NFL.

Los Angeles Lakers- The Lakers have looked a bit bleek in this series with the Houston Rockets and it doesn’t appear any better. Los Angeles was blown out of Game 4 from start to finish and needs to get serious about this series and not expect to walk over the Rockets with ease.

Until the Lakers learn this, they are down in our Market.

Manny Ramirez- If it wasn’t the use of performance enhancing drugs that has hurt Manny’s reputation, it is certainly not a great week for Manny. Now he has reportedly got under the skin of Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt who has demaned Manny address his team.

Manny is down.

Alex Rodriguez- Speaking of alleged steroid users, A-Rod has had a sort of re-birth in the New Yankee Stadium as he attempts to rebuild his reputation. In his first at-bat since admitting the his use of steroids, Rodriguez belted a home-run.

That is the first step to rebuilding his reputation, and that leaves A-Rod up in the Sports Market.

Roy Jones Jr.- As Jones Jr. tries to keep a career in professional sports, he will attempt to use his boxing skills for a career in Mixed Martial Arts. The problem is no major MMA Promotion wants to take a chance on Jones Jr., so he will likely have to start from the bottom and work his way up.

With that, Jones Jr. is down.

Darrius Heyward-Bey- Do you know the name? Well I didn’t either but he was the Oakland Raiders first pick in the draft this year. Apparently, Heyward-Bey had a rough first mini-camp where he would drop three wide-open passes and would tweak his hamstring.

For that, Heyward-Bey is down.

Last Week: There was no Market last week. We will return the review section next week.

J.M.Saucedo

   Without any Sports Market on Monday, the news is over-flowing and we are going to use Shocking/Not So Shocking to get to most of it. Now, let’s get to the Sports stories that are making headlines today and put our usual funny twist on things.

Shocking: Manny “I got 99 problems but a pitch ain’t one” Ramirez has a new problem on the list, he was suspended from baseball for 50 games.

A Second Shocking: Manny was suspended for testing positive for the use of a performance enhancing drug but the rumor mills are circulating that he did not test positive for steroids or hgh. More news should appear in the coming days.

Shocking: Brett Favre is reportedly willing to talk to the Minnesota Vikings about a possible return to football in hopes of sticking it to the Green Bay Packers.

Not So Shocking: Brett Favre is reportedly not talking to the Minnesota Vikings, according to the team, they are saying they have no interest in Favre; until they sign him in the coming months.

Shocking: In the wake of the Manny Ramirez bombshell, many people are forgetting that the Los Angeles Dodgers won their 13th game in a row at home.

Not So Shocking: 13-0 at Dodger Stadium is a tremendous feat and the Dodgers should be proud of that, but the Manny Ramirez suspension is hanging over the Blue Crew today.

Shocking: The Los Angeles Lakers evened up their series with the Houston Rockets yesterday in physical fashion yesterday at Staples Center.

A Second Shocking: Whether it was the Derek Fisher getting ejected or Ron Artest, this series will be physical for the remainder of the games.

Shocking: The Champions League final is set with Manchester United returning to the final for the second consecutive year to face Barcelona.

A Second Shocking: This years Champions League Final sets up a Dream match-up with great players on the field such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Thierry Henry; it should be a great Final.

J.M.Saucedo

   The Los Angeles Dodgers are off to the best home start in MLB history with a 12-0 record at Historic Dodger Stadium this season. What is utterly surprising is how the Dodgers have been so dominant at home which has been their really efficient pitching.

   After last season, a season which took the Dodgers to the NLCS, Los Angeles was expecting this season to be much better for the Blue Crew. As it turns out, the season has started off better for the Dodgers who have opened plenty of eyes around Major League Baseball.

   To make things even more interesting for the Dodgers, they have found their pitching staff a source of comfort as even Jeff Weaver has stepped in as a solid starting pitcher again. Then there is still the Manny Ramirez factor that has rubbed off on the younger Dodger players.

   Manny has been a great leader for the Blue Crew and his Manny-factor has really helped OF Andre Eithier who is having a stellar season thus far. Then, there is Joe Torre, a World Champion Manager who is steadily improving his roster and teaching the young players how to play the game right.

   Torre’s main development is easily going to be C Russell Martin who is becoming one of the best Catchers in the National League, if not MLB. So if you incorporate all of those factors, you get a MLB record-tying 12-0 start to the Dodgers’ 2009 season.

   The real winners here are the loyal Dodger fans who show up in record numbers every season to the Diamond of Los Angeles, Dodger Stadium. There is no better place to be in Los Angeles than Dodger Stadium from April to October and it’s even better when the Blue Crew is 12-0!

J.M.Saucedo  

   On this Thursday, there is plenty of news to discuss and it just so happens to be the best day to get to it all, Shocking/Not So Shocking Thursday. Today, we get to explore the top stories from most sports and we will get to do that in a humorous way as always.

Shocking: Jose Canseco will venture into Mixed Martial Arts and face 7′2″ Hong Man Choi at the DREAM Promotions 10th event which will feature an open-weight tournament.

Not So Shocking: Japanese MMA fans love a freak show, but allowing a former baseball player/steroid user/boxer to take part in an MMA show furthers the stereo-type that MMA is not to be taken serious.

Shocking: Boston Celtics PG Rajon Rondo was not suspended or given a flagrant foul for his actions against Chicago Bulls C Brad Miller.

A Second Shocking: After watching the foul a few times, it is obvious that the play in question was in fact at least a flagrant one foul, that was proved by Millers dazed face.

Shocking: May the Brett Favre rumors begin as he was released by the New York Jets yesterday after just one season in the Meadowlands.

Not So Shocking: Favre has said that this retirement is indeed final, but as soon as the Minnesota Vikings come calling, do you think he will not listen?

Not So Shocking: A report today says that in a new book to be released soon, that Alex Rodriguez has taken steroids since High School.

A Second Not So Shocking: Really? Let’s be honest with ourselves here, do we really need a book to tell us that Rodriguez is a liar? I wouldn’t doubt that the book is true, but cashing in more on this story does not help your own cause anymore, so just accept the fact that we have all been lied to for quite some time. Thanks Bud!

Shocking: Ohio State Mens Basketball player/bench warmer/blogger, Mark Titus, was banned from entering the NBA Draft.

A Second Shocking: Titus was banned for the NBA’s fear of making a mockery of the NBA Draft. I guess the NBA learned from Darko Milicic that players entering the Draft can make a mockery of the sport.

J.M.Saucedo

   It is always a great discussion that gets notice from even the most novice of NBA fans, what is considered a hard foul and what’s just a flagrant foul? This question has been put to the frontlines today after two controversial plays were made yesterday.

   The first play has already cost Orlando Magic C Dwight Howard a one game suspension in which he will serve during game 6 of the Magic’s series with the Philadelphia 76ers. Howard was seen getting tangled with 76ers C Samuel Dalembert and afterward Howard threw a cheap elbow at Dalembert.

   What really got plenty of people upset was the fact that Howard was not thrown out of the game and instead was hit with a technical foul. This kind of play should not be allowed, nor should the referee’s feel affraid to throw out a top player from a game.

   That brings us the the Boston Celtics vs Chicago Bulls game last night where Celtics PG Rajon Rondo tried to clothesline Bulls C Brad Miller. In all honesty, there was no ill intent on the foul and Rondo was trying to play the ball but it still could have been called a flagrant foul.

   Miller was seen on the sideline and you can immediately tell that he was at least a little dizzy from the hit to his head. My question is what qualifies as a hard foul and what is a flagrant foul? How can there be something such as a hard playoff foul, but not a hard mid-season foul?

   These are questions that always have a fine line, for instance you can smack someone on the side of the head and not have a flagrant called against you, but then you throw an elbow at someone and only get suspended for one game. Whether its the playoffs or not, the NBA must serve justice to any person who deserves it.

J.M.Saucedo

   When my brother was kind enough to text me this morning about breaking UFC news, I couldn’t believe what I was reading! After a lack-luster fight with Thales Leites, UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva will fight former UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Forrest Griffin.

   The fight itself will likely take place on August 8th at UFC 101 where UFC Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn will defend his title against Kenny Florian. Whether you believe that this fight should take place or not is up to you, but I feel two ways toward this fight.

   On one hand, this is going to be a fight that will push Anderson Silva to his limits as Griffin is not going to lay on his back and let Silva bring the fight to him. Griffin, however, stands a very tall and long 6′3″, where as Silva is typically the taller fighter at 6′2″, will be smaller.

   That will be an unlikely disadvantage for Silva because he usually has the size and reach advantage against most of his opponents. How Silva decides to handle being the shorter fighter is going to dictate the pace of the fight and should make this match an all out war.

   My other problem is that, and whether you agree or not, Griffin is a former Champion that could easily be one win from a title shot. Silva has not fought an elite fighter at 205 lbs. and should not be thrusted into a title fight if he does defeat Griffin.

   Griffin does deserve a title shot if he defeats Silva and more importantly, Silva needs to work his way up to a title shot. Either way you go with this fight, it has all of the markings of a huge pay-day for the UFC as it places the pound-for-pound best fighter in the World against possibly the biggest star in Mixed Martial Arts.

J.M.Saucedo

   If it wasn’t the NFL Draft, or the NBA Playoffs, or the NASCAR race this weekend, my inbox would be pretty light but it wasn’t. There was plenty of News makers and breakers this weekend, so I will attempt to write about most of the biggest stories from this weekend.

Mark Sanchez and Matthew Stafford- Although it was Stafford that was the first overall pick in the draft to the Detroit Lions, Sanchez was indeed the spotlight stealer. Sanchez was picked by the New York Jets and immediately became the newest toast of New York City.

For that, Stafford and Sanchez are up in our market.

Arizona Cardinals- How does the Arizona Cardinals start this next season after one of their most successful seasons ever? They get a player that could potentially be one of the biggest steals of the draft in RB Chris Wells of Ohio State with the second to the last pick in the first round.

Wells will bring a power running game that the Cardinals lacked, for that they are up.

Chicago Bulls- What else can you say after yesterdays 2 overtime victory for the Bulls over the defending champion Boston Celtics? The game itself will likely go down as one of the best games in NBA Playoff history and propelled the Bulls to a two game tie with Boston.

The Bulls are up in our Market!

NASCAR at Talladega- Talladega has to be one of the most dangerous tracks for NASCAR drivers as they are always running at high speeds with dense amounts of traffic. That was the case yesterday when Carl Edwards was spun out of control in the last lap by Brad Keselowski who would win the race.

Talladega is always a fun race to watch, but maybe it’s too dangerous for the drivers. The race is up while NASCAR is down due to safety concerns.

Last Week: Chuck Liddell and the UFC are still down after his last loss; Orlando Magic are tied in their series with the Philadelphia 76ers and are still down; New Yankees Stadium is still down as fans can’t afford the new high prices; Drafting Matthew Stafford was the turning of a new page for the Lions and they are still up.

J.M.Saucedo

   If everyday was a Shocking/Not So Shocking Thursday, we would have no reason to search on other sites for our sports news. But since there isn’t always a Shocking/Not So Shocking Thursday, check out Sportsnewsdaily.today.com, it is a terrific site for Sports news.

   Now let us get to Shocking/Not So Shocking Thursday.

Shocking: The Kansas City Chiefs have finally traded All-Pro TE Tony Gonzalez after months of declaring that they would not trade him.

A Second Shocking: Gonzalez’ new team, The Atlanta Falcons, will have a solid, and new veteran target for QB Matt Ryan for 2009.

Shocking: ”Spirit”, the Atlanta Hawks mascot, decided to spread his wings last night, the only problem is that “Spirit” is an actual Hawk.

Not So Shocking: While attempting to lure the Hawk, “Spirit” decided to perch himself on the backboard during the 1st quarter of the Hawks and Miami Heat game causing a slight delay. If it was Sports Market Monday, I’d say the Hawks and “Spirit” were soaring!

Shocking: High School Basketball star, Jeremy Tyler will skip his senior season to play Professional Basketball in Europe until he is eligible for the 2011 NBA Draft.

A Second Shocking: Yes, you read that right! We now have High Schoolers skipping out on High School to become Pro-Basketball Players. Next is going to be 8th graders skipping High School all together, it is completely terrifying on what Pro sports has become.

Not So Shocking: It was not a shock to me that the Detroit Lions have started contract negotiations with QB Matthew Stafford as their first pick in this years NFL Draft.

A Second Shocking: Stafford, was the consensus no-brainer move for the Lions after a dismal 0-16 season that proved teams really do need a talented QB to win.

Shocking: One of the best College Basketball players to watch in a long time, Stephen Curry of Davidson, will head to the NBA.

Not So Shocking: Curry should be a top ten pick in the Draft, and as a fan, I can not wait to see him take his scoring abilities to the NBA.

Shocking: WAMMA Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emeilianenko and WAMMA Lightweight Champion Shinya Aoki will face off in a “special exhibition” on April 29th.

A Second Shocking: As the headline reads on MMAJunkie.com, “Only in Japan”, and that is clearly the best statement that describes this freak-show of an event.

J.M.Saucedo  

   When the Playoff Series between the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz started there wasn’t many people who thought the Jazz stood a chance, including the Jazz Head Coach. Everyone thought the Jazz would just be out-classed by the Lakers but that is clearly not the case.

   The Jazz have held their own in the first two games of this series and although they are usually fighting back from an early deficit, they are indeed fighting. Utah could have just mailed in this series and just been satisfied with making the Playoffs but they haven’t.

   The Jazz are most likely not going to upset the Lakers but they are playing with pride and will not be pushed around by Los Angeles. Not bad for a team that no one could have thought be able to even hang with the Lakers who are starting to hit full stride.

   As for the Lakers, they have impressed me with their abilities to regain most of their cohesiveness they had at the start of the season. 7-footers Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol have looked like a dominant force that the Jazz have struggled to handle so far.

   Kobe Bryant has been a bit uncharacteristically quiet so far in this series, but if I was a member of the Jazz I’d be a little afraid. Usually, Kobe likes to take over on the road and this series will head over to Utah on Thursday where the Jazz are historically tough to defeat.

   So whether you consider yourself an NBA fan or expert, you probably didn’t think that the Jazz would put up this much of a fight, because I didn’t. Los Angeles will have to expect that every team is going to have the same type of enthusiasm and fight throughout the Playoffs.

J.M.Saucedo