by sloppyvinyl | Nov 9, 2018 | SPORTS
UFC 233 Set For Blast Off
Another exciting champion vs champion UFC title fight is official, and it’ll kick off the 2019 PPV slate.
Henry Cejudo will defend his UFC flyweight title against current UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 233, according to sources.
The fight will take place at the Honda Center in Houston on January 26th.
T.J. Dillashaw (17-3, 12-3 UFC) will attempt to become just the third fighter in UFC history to capture and hold two belts simultaneously.
The first to do so was Conor McGregor back in November 2016 when he knocked out then lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez in the second round of their UFC 205 main event.
Just this past July it happened again when current light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier moved up in weight and stunned Stipe Miocic by 1st-Round KO to win the heavyweight title.
Henry Cejudo (13-2, 7-2 UFC) pulled off one of the biggest upsets the UFC has seen in quite some time when he upended former flyweight kingpin Demetrious Johnson by split-decision at UFC 227 to win the flyweight title.
Cejudo had lobbied for an opportunity at another world title in a second weight class following his victory over Johnson, eyeing T.J. Dillashaw’s bantamweight title.
With that not coming to fruition, it will be interesting to see if the UFC’s plans to eradicate the flyweight division, as has been rumored, will take shape following this fight.
What are your thoughts on this matchup and who has the edge? Leave your comments below!
by sloppyvinyl | Nov 9, 2018 | SPORTS
Philly Picks Up Key Division Win; Contenders Roll
Week 9 Results: 9-4
Record this season: 86-48
Midway through the season and there’s been something I think most of us want to know, who’s leading the NFL MVP race?
After last week, I’d have to give a slight nod to Drew Brees. While Patrick Mahomes is operating at a machine-like level, in my opinion it’s not as impressive as Drew Brees’ season right now.
Brees is completing 76.3 percent of his passes while throwing for 2,336 passing yards, 18 touchdowns and just one interception with an NFL-best 120.6 Passer Rating.
At 39-years-old, the veteran looks like he’s playing in peak form. Certainly from a mental standpoint he’s as great as he’s ever been, but he’s not just throwing the ball for short yardage accurately, he’s flinging it all over the field. And for that, he’s gotta be the NFL MVP to this point having led the Saints to a 7-1 record.
Also, in New Orleans’ only loss, he threw for 439 passing yards and three touchdowns with a 82.2 percent completion percentage…
Just sayin’.
The NFL Week 10 slate doesn’t have a marque matchup on the docket, with a Thursday night matchup between the Carolina Panthers and Pittsburgh Steelers the only great matchup on paper.
Still, the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints could be surprised with road test in Tennessee and Cincinnati respectfully.
There’s also an NFC East matchup happening on Sunday night in Philadelphia that could go a long way for either team trying to win the division.
The games will be much more important in just a few weeks, but for this week in particular it appears a number of contenders should cruise through the week.
With that said, here are my picks for Week 10 of the NFL season.
Carolina Panthers at Pittsburgh Steelers
This could be lower scoring than I have it, but if I thought that to be the case I’d be ignorantly ignoring the offensive potency of both teams. The Panthers won in their last trip to Pennsylvania, but they’ll find it tougher sledding against a team that typically lights up the scoreboard at home.
Prediction: Pittsburgh Steelers 24 Carolina Panthers 19
Buffalo Bills at New York Jets
Neither Josh Allen or Sam Darnold will play. Even if one or the other did, neither team is playing well offensively. The Jets are decimated with injuries on offense, and while Josh McCown is normally reliable, he’s going up against a Bills team that can rush the passer enough to effect his timing.
Prediction: Buffalo Bills 16 New York Jets 10
Arizona Cardinals at Kansas City Chiefs
We all know Kansas City’s offense is great, but their defense has picked it up over the past three weeks. Against one of the worst offenses in the NFL, that unit shouldn’t have much trouble on Sunday at home.
Prediction: Kansas City Chiefs 38 Arizona Cardinals 17
New Orleans Saints at Cincinnati Bengals
A much closer game with A.J. Green in the lineup, but we all know even with him Cincinnati is not a better football team than New Orleans. This could be as hard or as easy as Drew Brees and company make it, and I’m guessing they’ll be looking for blood on Sunday.
Prediction: New Orleans Saints 34 Cincinnati Bengals 16
Atlanta Falcons at Cleveland Browns
The Atlanta Falcons have put themselves back in the playoff conversation with three straight wins. We all know about the offensive weapons and the play of Matt Ryan, but the Falcons defense has slowly put it together as a unit after being torn apart by injuries early in the year. The Browns offensive line is a concern and while the defense creates turnovers, they’ve allowed 70 points over their last two games.
Prediction: Atlanta Falcons 30 Cleveland Browns 20
New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans
The Titans defense can be terrific at times, but against top signal callers they can be had. Tom Brady has just one touchdown pass over the last two weeks, but it’s hard envisioning that continuing if Sony Michel and Rob Gronkowski return as expected.
Prediction: New England Patriots 30 Tennessee Titans 16
Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis is playing good football all of late, and there’s really no reason to pick them to lose this one. Surely, there’s always the chance Jacksonville’s defense returns to form, but I’m not seeing it. The Colts defense can bring pressure to disrupt Bortles and with their newfound rushing attack, Luck should have his way with a depleted secondary
Prediction: Indianapolis Colts 24 Jacksonville Jaguars 16
Washington Redskins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Playing a team that’s lost six out of their past seven games would seem like the perfect storm for Washington coming off a 38-14 loss at home to Atlanta, but the Buccaneers have a strong offense. Unless Josh Doctson and Paul Richardson start getting separation on the outside for Alex Smith, Washington’s NFC East lead will disappear here.
Prediction: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24 Washington Redskins 17
Los Angeles Chargers at Oakland Raiders
This is about as sure of a lock as you’ll get this week. The Chargers held the Raiders to 10 points in their first matchup and now with Oakland having traded away Amari Cooper, that’s one less pass catcher to work about for a team that can’t run the football and has become increasingly one dimensional. And dysfunctional.
Prediction: Los Angeles Chargers 42 Oakland Raiders 17
Miami Dolphins at Green Bay Packers
The Packers played tough on the road vs the Rams and Patriots, but ultimately came up empty handed. If there’s a team they want to play right now, it’s the Miami Dolphins, who can’t win on the road and have a suspect secondary and run defense to boot.
Prediction: Green Bay Packers 24 Miami Dolphins 7
Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams
The Los Angeles Rams should be looking at this game as if there’s something to prove. How quickly have people begun jumping off their bandwagon as a lock for the Super Bowl after their defensive woes reached a new low last week vs New Orleans. Look for Marcus Peters to rebound here and get an interception after he was torched by Michael Thomas last week.
Prediction: Los Angeles Rams 36 Seattle Seahawks 17
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia has not been anything like the team we saw last season, but the addition of Golden Tate has the potential to bring a level of scariness that this offense desperately needs minus a consistent rushing attack Dallas’ defense will make it tough, but ultimately the Cowboys offense will be too much to overcome.
Prediction: Philadelphia Eagles 27 Dallas Cowboys 17
New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers
It may be a game that only matters in terms of draft positioning when it’s all said and done, but the reason it may not is if Nick Mullins first start last week wasn’t a fluke. San Francisco would have an odd situation on their hands with a young quarterback who could be used as trade bait, or…
Prediction: San Francisco 49ers 24 New York Giants 13
What are your thoughts on the Week 10 slate of games? Leave your comments below!
by sloppyvinyl | Nov 8, 2018 | SPORTS
NYK Survive Late Push From Atlanta
Enthusiasm in the New York Knicks’ play has waned in recent weeks. A matchup against a team they dominated in their season opener gave New York an opportunity to erase the memory of their most recent defeat.
The New York Knicks defeated the Atlanta Hawks 112-107 on Wednesday night at State Farm Arena to snap their two-game skid.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored a game-high 34 points from the field in his return to the court after sitting out Monday night’s loss vs the Chicago Bulls.
He scored 12 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter where he helped New York hold off the Atlanta Hawks strong push.
The third quarter proved to be the difference as David Fizdale’s team came out with a renewed focus and energy.
New York outscored Atlanta in the third period 35-18 as Hardaway Jr. sparked the Knicks in the third quarter in addition to the fourth.
Enes Kanter continued to dominant with the second unit as he scored 17 points while grabbing 11 rebounds.
Noah Vonleh continues to be a solid presence for the New York Knicks as he recorded his fourth double-double of the season. The former lottery pick finished with points and rebounds vs Atlanta.
Kevin Knox, who was limited to five minutes on Monday night in his return from an ankle injury, saw him once again play in a limited capacity as he went 0-for-6 from the field on a scoreless night vs the Hawks.
The Knicks shot a season-high 47 free throw attempts while hitting 33 of them. In comparison, the Hawks shot 29 of them.
Omari Spellman led the Hawks with 18 points and 11 rebounds on a night as he represented one of the few issues for the Knicks offensively.
Trae Young struggled to get things going with his shot as he scored 13 points on 29 percent shooting. He would add eight assists as well.
New York (4-8) built a 16-point lead in the second half with their strong third and went into the fourth up 14.
It’s a different game if Atlanta hits a few more shots as they got the looks but could not knock them down.
For New York, their troubles to maintain leads resurfaced here tonight, but time was on their side as they escaped with the victory.
Finishing in the fourth quarter was a problem in each of the past two games and it’s something that David Fizdale has to help the Knicks develop in order for this team to see progression as the season goes on.
The New York Knicks will visit Scotiabank Arena to face the Toronto Raptors on Saturday afternoon.
What are your thoughts on the Knicks latest victory? Leave your comments below!
by sloppyvinyl | Nov 8, 2018 | SPORTS
Feeling Green
The Buffalo Bills may not be the only team without their prized rookie quarterback on Sunday afternoon.
New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold is expected to miss this Sunday’s game vs the Buffalo Bills with a sprained right foot injury.
Darnold was seen in a walking boot on Wednesday at practice, and coach Todd Bowles told reporters his quarterback was “limited” today in practice.
The New York Jets have a bye week for Week 11 as Darnold’s injury is considered to be ‘day-to-day’.
Veteran quarterback Josh McCown will make the start if Sam Darnold is indeed unable to go.
McCown started 13 games for the New York Jets last season and went 5-8 as a starter. He finished the season with career-highs in passing yards (2,926) and touchdown passes (18).
Should the Jets keep Sam Darnold out longer? Leave your comments below!
by sloppyvinyl | Nov 7, 2018 | SPORTS
Panthers And Steelers Coming On Strong Heading Into Contest
It’s a matchup of two teams trending in the right direction as Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers travel to Heinz Field to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Both teams are streaking and are playing their best football as they each have their eyes on a Super Bowl title in 2018.
Pittsburgh has won four straight games after a 1-2-1 start while Carolina has rolled to three straight victories, the past two by a combined 29 points.
Before this huge non-conference Thursday night tilt, we’ll take a look at the headlines going into this NFC South vs AFC North matchup.
Let’s take a look.
Has The Steelers Defense Turned A Corner?
The Steelers are winning, and a big reason why is because of their defense, which has allowed on average of 18 PPG while recording 13 sacks.
There’s reason to believe the defense is not just benefiting from a soft part of their schedule as the Atlanta Falcons and Cincinnati Bengals both have high-powered and high-scoring offenses, both of which Pittsburgh handled themselves well against.
The defense notoriously gave up 45 points in the Divisional Round of the playoffs last season to the run heavy Jacksonville Jaguars.
Those struggles continued into the regular-season as they gave up 42 points to the Kansas City Chiefs and allowed both the Buccaneers and Ravens to rack up yardage and big plays in Weeks 3 and 4.
Pittsburgh, however, seems to have recovered from their early season woes as the secondary play of Mike Hilton and Sean Davis has improved over the past four weeks.
That’ll be important moving forward if Pittsburgh wants to continue its roll vs Carolina.
Cam Newton’s Best Season Ever?
It’s been quite a season so far for Cam Newton, who is thriving in his first season with much renowned offensive mind Norv Turner as his offensive coordinator.The offense, on a week to week basis, is unpredictable. That’s been a plus for Newton, as the Panthers have shown versatility in their offensive attack, using their entire roster to create positive plays.
Just last Sunday, three different running backs scored touchdowns for the Carolina Panthers. When it comes to the play of Cam Newton, the 2015 NFL MVP is on pace for arguably his best season ever.
Cam Newton has thrown for 1,893 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and four interceptions while completing 67.3 percent of his passes with a 100.8 Passer Rating.
He’s protecting the football as well as he did back in 2015 while throwing the ball with accuracy better than he ever has. Accuracy has been a criticism for Newton that has followed him throughout his entire career, but he’s silencing his critics in his eighth season.
When considering his career-high in completion percentage is 61.7 percent, Newton is enjoying his most impressive season as a pro while still being very much a threat as a runner.
What To Do When Le’Veon Bell Returns
All-Pro Le’Veon Bell appears set to return to the Pittsburgh Steelers next week before the deadline of November 13th, and that will be an interesting story to follow once he does.
James Conner is second in the NFL in rushing (706 rushing yards) and has been equally effective as a pass catcher as he has 38 receptions for 379 receiving yards and one touchdown.
In some respects, he’s doing better than Bell did all of last season as he’s averaging 4.7 rushing yards per carry. In comparison, Bell only averaged 4.0 yards per carry in 2017. Pittsburgh in all likelihood believe they need Le’Veon Bell to win a Super Bowl, but the question becomes how will the Steelers locker room embrace the embattled running back?
The offensive line, the guys blocking for him, have been outspoken about Bell since training camp and were peeved when Bell’s departure lingered into the regular-season.
Prepare for some fireworks.
Who wins Thursday night’s game at Heinz Field? Leave your comments below!
by sloppyvinyl | Nov 7, 2018 | SPORTS
McCollum Taking Ankles And Souls To Begin The Season
No young fella, it’s definitely not like guarding someone in the Big East.
C.J. McCollum had his way with the Milwaukee Bucks and rookie guard Donte DiVincenzo on Tuesday night during a hot shooting performance.
The sharp-shooting guard dropped 40 points in the Portland Trail Blazers 118-103 win, and it was his slick move against the former Villanova Wildcat standout that had the crowd oohing and aahing at the Moda Center.
Take a look below.
https://twitter.com/TheRenderNBA/status/1060029465953214465
That’s one hell of a move to put on a kid just looking to earn more minutes off the bench, but it’s nice to see a guy hit a shot for once after humiliating a guy with their handles.
Also, the Portland Trail Blazers look damn good to start this season.
Keep hoopin’.
What’s your favorite crossover of all-time? Leave your comments below!