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   After months of hype and promotion, the First UFC title bout will be on the line at 7 pm PT when Georges St.Pierre defends his Welterweight Championship against BJ Penn. It seems like it was years ago since this match was announced by UFC President Dana White.

   The Penn vs St.Pierre main event is enough to sell to the most novice MMA fan, but the undercard will not be a disappointment either. As always for UFC events, Sportsblogger will Preview the top two bouts for todays event.

BJ Penn vs Georges St.Pierre: BJ Penn is currently the Lightweight Champion in the UFC, but has fought at various weight classes before. Penn is the underdog, but not by much and will have the advantage in striking abilities and is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu where he was a former World Champion and UFC Welterweight Champion.

   St.Pierre defeated Penn in their previous match-up, but St.Pierre’s devotion to MMA has since improved tremendously since the last fight. St.Pierre is likely the best wrestler in the Welterweight Division (170 lbs.) despite not having a wrestling background.

   If Penn wins, he will prove his great abilities in Mixed Martial Arts and become one of the Greatest ever to fight in the UFC. If St.Pierre wins, well, he will continue moving forward as one of the next great Welterweights and be in the same book as UFC Great Matt Hughes.

Lyoto Machida vs Thiago Silva: There is not much you can say about a MMA fighter that has an undefeated record at 13-0, so what do you say about two? Both Machida and Silva are that fighter that is described above and both are hungry for a shot at the UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion Rashad Evans.

   Machida’s style may not be the most exciting, but he sure does execute it with great results and he has beat some of the best in his division. Silva is a pure offensive fighter that will push Machida, not to mention Silva is as lethal as it comes in the UFC Light-Heavyweight Division.

J.M.Saucedo

   It is not everyday during an NBA season that you can sit and question who is the best team in a Conference and 3 teams come to mind. Usually, like in past years, you say one team for one conference and that is the end of of your debate and you move on.

   Last year it was easily the Boston Celtics, the year before that it was the San Antonio Spurs in the West, but this year is different. The talent level of the NBA has risen to new heights and now we see a great balance of teams in the Eastern Conference that all have a shot to be tops.

   The Boston Celtics are the reigning East and NBA Champions who were once in a slump and thought to be too old to contend again. Since that slump, the Celtics have regained their mojo, and look like one of the best teams in the league and a top contender.

   The Cleveland Cavaliers were not supposed to be contenders this year, but LeBron James has carried his team to top of the East. James’ teammates have played unexpectedly well over the first part of the season and will be a force to reckon with in the Playoffs with an undefeated record at home.

   A team really no one expected to even be in the conversation was the Orlando Magic with their young roster with few veterans. Orlando has built itself around Center Dwight Howard and Point Gurad Jameer Nelson and now sit only 2 games out of the top spot in the East.

   The West is a different story, perhaps even just a one trick pony, with the Los Angeles Lakers dominating the standings and sitting pretty with a 4.5 game lead for the top spot in the Conference. Again, the season is just about to hit its halfway point so we will see who the real contenders are at the end of the regular season.

J.M.Saucedo

   With the Super Bowl just days away and the huge B.J.Penn vs Georges St.Pierre title bout at UFC 94, this weekend needs a great kick off. What is the best way to do that? Shocking/Not So Shocking Thursday here as every week on Sportsblogger.

   As always, we take the top sports stories and split them in half to help expose how those clever writers try to lead us to an end in which we should expect. Some stories seem like they are a shocker, but in all truth, most stories repeat themselves.

Shocking: Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald has said that he is willing to restructure his contract to help resign team-mate WR Anquan Boldin during this up-coming offseason.

Not So Shocking: Boldin has expressed his desire to leave the Cardinals for some time now. Will a few extra bucks matter? Maybe. Though I highly doubt Boldin is the type that wants to share the stage with the emerging star that is Fitzgerald.

Shocking: B.J.Penn will have his shot at becoming a Champion in two different weight classes this Saturday when he fights current UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St.Pierre in Las Vegas.

A Second Shocking: St.Pierre defeated Penn in their previous fight, although it was close many people say the fight could have gone either way. This fight is historic because it is not too often that two Champions in seperate divisions face off.

Shocking: Plenty of reports have been circulating that the Phoenix Suns are ready to tear apart the team and start the rebuilding process.

Not So Shocking: You can’t say you didn’t see this one coming. Really, the Shaquille O’Neal experiment hasn’t worked and has slowed the once running Suns. Shaq should be traded to a team like the Washington Wizards and be paired up with a player like Caron Butler.

Not So Shocking: The Oakland Raiders will reportedly keep their Interim Head Coach Tom Cable after having a 4-8 record taking over for former Head Coach Lane Kiffin last season.

A Second Not So Shocking: The Raiders love to hire within the organization. So realistically, this move doesn’t come as a big shock, but if Cable struggles he best have eyes in the back of his head.

J.M.Saucedo 

   Searching for a story in Tampa, Florida, the site of this years Super Bowl, is like trying to find an answer to what the Los Angeles Clippers are really doing. The main Headline coming into to the “Big Game” was how “Misery’s Team”, the Arizona Cardinals, finally made it to a Super Bowl.

   Even that didn’t seem right, seeing as there have been teams that weren’t expected to make a run at Championship before. Kurt Warner, QB of the Cardinals proved that when he took the St. Louis Rams to the Super Bowl after being a career back-up.

   Then again, Kurt Warner could infact be involved in another miracle team and win his second Super Bowl after being declared “washer-up” only two years ago. How he has managed to re-discover his abilities was never believed possible after his stint with the New York Giants.

   Another story is the Will He/Won’t He question circulating around Pittsburgh Steelers WR Hines Ward after injuring his right knee. Ward has said, for the past week and a half that he will play in the Super Bowl no matter what, but plenty of people are wondering whether he will be a factor.

   Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger has a small story in that he can become a top NFL QB by grabbing his second Super Bowl Championship. The added bonus to this topic: He has to win it over former mentor and coach, the Cardinals’ Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt.

   Roethlisberger and Whisenhunt are said to both no longer have a good standing friendship and want to win as badly as the other. Still, the hype before the game is struggling to stick with one story line, but the story lines are just a part of keeping our interest because the game still needs to be played.

J.M.Saucedo 

   At the end of the 2008 NBA Draft, there was a trade in the Eastern Conference that had everyone wondering how good the Toronto Raptors would actually be? The Raptors made a trade with the Indiana Pacers for F/C Jermaine O’Neal that was supposed to make the team an immediate contender.

   When the trade was made, I will admit that I loved it from the thought of putting two good post players on the same team, meaning O’Neal and Chris Bosh. Like any other NBA fan, when two big men are paired together you start thinking of the success of Tim Duncan and David Robinson.

   To be fair to O’Neal, he has been hurt for the beginning of this season, but to stay with being fair when isn’t O’Neal hurt? He is healthy now, but how long will he stay that way? O’Neal was once thought to be the future big man of the NBA and successor to Duncan once he retired.

   This season O’Neal has averaged 14.3 points per game with only 7.7 rebounds, which is far below the amount you would expect from a player of his caliber. Bosh has been averaging 23.3 points and 10 rebounds a game as the starting big man for the Raptors.

   Toronto needs to decide if the trade was infact a mistake by the February 19th trade deadline in which O’Neal might still be a hot item. The teaming up of Pau Gasol and Anrew Bynum has been working lately for the Los Angeles Lakers but it took some time for the two to get it working.

   If the Raptors give this experiment some time maybe they can turn this ship around, as of today Toronto currently sits in last place in the Atlantic Division and 13th out of 15 teams in the East Standings. Toronto has been rumored to be offering O’Neal but may just sit and let O’Neal and Bosh to continue to get it together.

J.M.Saucedo

   After a stunning debate in which I challenged the Fan-hood of my friends and myself in an instance of how much are you willing to take from your team, I found myself wondering “How much is enough?” The debate stems from the struggling Los Angeles Dodgers franchise.

   Growing up in East Los Angeles, the lights of Dodger Stadium were always visable from my street, and we could always see the annual Fourth of July fireworks show. So naturally, the Dodgers were always etched into my blood no matter what they did.

   Then, I decided to take up writting for a living and ofcourse with that, your own personal bias must be set aside if you hope to tell it like it is. When looking at teams, most people only see the players, which is natural, but really the team runs as a collective unit from the owner to parking attendants.

   If one piece is not holding its own, the team will not have success and will fail on a level only a few franchises have ever hit. The Dodgers, for instance, have been a local team for over 50 years now and have seen good times and bad times.

   Lately, the franchise has hit a bit of a snag that must be pointed out for the hopes of keeping up with the times, and that is spending wisely. The McCourt Family, which has taken over ownership of the team, has spent most of their time speaking about renovations to the Stadium then potential signings.

   It’s not that a re-vamped stadium is a bad idea, but being frank with yourself, is it really what the team needs. Here in Los Angeles we expect our teams to win World Championships and any season that doesn’t end in one is a complete failure with no excuses.

   The Dodgers have announced that they will spend the next 50 years totally renovating Dodger Stadium, but for what reason really? Shouldn’t the team worry about putting a winning team on the field instead of what the type of shopping experience you can have while there?

   How much more can the fans take, you know the fans that have waited for a title since the Kirk Gibson home-run over 20 years ago? The Lakers are easily the top team in Los Angeles, with the Dodgers quite possibly falling behind the USC Trojans football program to third place.

   It’s tough to see a team that is affraid to spend money on players, but adding a new restaurant to the stadium that still sells $7 beers. That’s not fan friendly, that is not even what fans care about. The fans want a winner, simply and plain.

   If you live in Los Angeles, you know that the Dodgers set attendence records every year and that the team is making money. A player once said about the team: “This is the Dodgers, not the Kansas City Royals”, meaning why is the team so scared of spending money?

   Los Angeles is the second biggest media market in the United States and is likely the best place to come and play baseball. Do not sign Guillermo Mota and expect fans to think you are doing everything possible to put a winning team on the field, Sorry, it’s just not going to happen.

J.M.Saucedo 

J.M.Saucedo

   With just one punch, Fedor Emelianenko furthered his domination of the Heavyweight division in Mixed Martial Arts. Andrei Arlovski was not a heavy underdog, nor was he some slouch or a freak-show, still he was not even in the same class as Emelianenko.

   Fedor was currently one of the best MMA fighters in the world before the fight, and now he is easily in an elite class with maybe two other fighters. Being honest with myself, I gave Arlovski a good chance in this fight and believed him to have the skills he would need to win.

   Arlovski came out and seeked to control Fedor in the first round with his boxing skills and really looked sharp when he got too confident and tried a flying knee. Fedor capitalized on the Arlovski mistake and dropped him with a punch that knocked Arlovski out cold.

   Now the question is, who else can Affliction throw at Emelianenko? Who does Affliction believe deserving of a shot at this machine called Fedor? The finger looks to be pointing at Josh Barnett, but he sounded reluctant to take the fight, and Fedor himself said he has no interest either.

   If not Barnett, the best thing to do for both sides is let Emelianenko walk away and either sign with the UFC or continue to be a free-agent fighter. There has been reports that the Affliction Promotion has again over extended itself and lost money in this event.

   The attendence was slightly down, but early estimates say the Pay-Per-View purchases where not as great as the company anticipated. If this is true, Affliction will be in trouble and they have not announced any future plans for more events in the up-coming months.

J.M.Saucedo

   Herm Edwards is one of the classiest Head Coaches in the NFL; Players love to play for him and front offices love to work with him. Edwards’ time in Kansas City was ended Friday as he was fired as Head Coach of the Chiefs after a very disappointing year.

   The move was seemingly inevitable as the Chiefs brought in a new Genereal Manager during this offseason and Edwards is a product of the former GM. The new GM, Scott Pioli, felt the team needed to move in a different direction and that was in the direction of a new Head Coach.

   Who the new Head Coach will be, the Chiefs said they are in no hurry to finish their search, but rumors are flying that their choice will be Mike Shanahan. The Chiefs are denying any link to Shanahan being next, but for Herm Edwards all that can be said is that through the end he remained classy.

   Affliction will hold the Promotions second event ever at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Ca. Saturday night featuring a WAMMA Heavyweight title bout. The Heavyweight Championship bout featuring Champion Fedor Emelianenko vs former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski.

   Many say that Emelianenko is unbeatable and has looked so since his stint in the Pride Promotion that has since went out of business. Fedor currently holds a record of 28-1 with 1 No Contest, but has since won his past nine fights with some people questioning his strength of opponents.

   Arlovski posses a great threat to Emelianenko as he is larger in height and just as quick as the Russian and may have a better striking game. Arlovski is a lot better standing and was once the UFC Heavyweight Champion, but has never faced a fighter like Emelianenko.

J.M.Saucedo

   If you are a Mixed Martial Arts fan, January is certainly the month for you as there will be four Major Events from three top Promotions. But, there is still a slight problem for one of the organizations in the mix of the largest month in MMA History.

   That problem is for the Affliction Promotion, that is already experiencing problems for over-spending and really having one marketable asset. Fedor Emelianenko is one of the best Pound-for-Pound fighters in all of MMA and maybe in the world of combat sports.

   Fedor is associated with Affliction, but has only one fight left after his January 24th fight with former UFC Heavyweight Champion Andrei Arlovski. If Fedor wins, then the next opponent for the Russian superstar will not be easy to pick seeing as the only fighters that Fedor has not beat are in the UFC.

   The UFC has played Affliction well, and I must say I am very impressed, Fedor can destroy former UFC Champions all he wants, but they are former Champs for a reason. Randy Couture, Brock Lesnar, Shane Carwin, and Frank Mir are currently the fighters that are all on the merge of eclipsing Emelianenko’s popularity.

   Fedor can not fight every month, and Affliction has based there promotion on Fedor’s popularity so while he sits at home, UFC Heavyweights are currently fighting eachother. Now, if Fedor is defeated by Arlovski, well Affliction will likely go the way of EliteXC.

   Did Affliction not learn anything from those crazy EliteXC people who based the whole promotion on the swinging arms of Kimbo Slice? Now the UFC is smashing Affliction in between two cards highlighted by Rich Franklin vs Dan Henderson first, and then B.J. Penn vs Georges St.Pierre.

   Also, the UFC owns the WEC which will feature Urjiah Faber vs Jens Pulver, and Jamie Varner vs Donald Cerrone on January 25th. Up until the month of March, the UFC will feature fighters such as Joe Lauzon, Diego Sanchez, Joe Stevenson, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and Shane Carwin.

   That is what is next for the UFC while the Affliction is at a fight to fight process based on Fedor’s results after a bout. The UFC and WEC are on a set schedule, while Affliction has to be servants to Emelianenko’s scheduling and future plans.

   Unfortunately for Affliction, the forecast does not look pretty for their Promotion and things will not get better seeing as they are struggling to sell out their event on Saturday. I am all for Affliction, but it is easy to see the EliteXC debacle repeating with Affliction.

J.M.Saucedo

   Very often there are new ways to attract new readers to your blog or column and the techniques usually fall flat down. Here at Sportsblogger, there is one day dedicated to the readers of this blog and that day is Shocking/Not So Shocking Thursday.

   As always, I take the top stories of the day in sports, slice it in half, and point out how a situation that is a story really was expected. The stories might not be so shocking to some, but it is my choice to poke fun at the way we are trained to watch a story unfold a become surprised as we learn the result.

Shocking: San Diego Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson stated on his personal website that he hopes to stay in San Diego for the rest of his career amid rumors the team will be looking to move the future Hall of Famer and his large contract.

Not So Shocking: Chargers GM AJ Smith in a statement today said he will do what is best for the team and will not lean one way or the other on Tomlinson. Judging by that, I would have to say Tomlinson’s chances of staying his whole career in San Diego are as likely as the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series this year.

Shocking: A report from Mark McGwire’s brother Jay is out and Jay McGwire ousted the former Single Season Home Run King by saying his brother did use steroids and HGH.

Not So Shocking: Jay and Mark McGwire are no longer on speaking terms so why did he have to throw his older brother under the bus? Oh, right, because it allows him to make a quick buck. The economy must be bad if family members are willing to sell eachothers dirty secrets.

Shocking: Los Angeles Lakers C Andrew Bynum had the biggest game of his career last night as he scored 42 points with 15 rebounds, and became the first Laker besides Shaquille O’Neal or Kobe Bryant to score over 40 points in quite some time.

Not So Shocking: Ok, so it was against the Los Angeles Clippers who are surprisingly still in the NBA. All jokes aside, what a great game for a guy who is still only 21 years old.

Shocking: Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo said in an interview that he will step-up next season and be the leader of the Cowboys and take a larger role in the locker room.

A Second Shocking: Wow, thanks Tony for stepping up for the Cowboys next season, so what exactly have you been doing since you became the starting QB? Thanks, but no thanks. Afterall everyone knows the Cowboys a setting up for a major collapse next season and you will be one of the first to be sent packing.

J.M.Saucedo