In my quarterfinal edition of Who is the Best Player in the NBA, LeBron James got the nod over Dirk Nowitzki, and Chris Paul edged out Dwight Howard as well. Today, James and Paul go head to head, with the winner facing off against Kobe Bryant in the Final.

Chris Paul vs. LeBron James

Interestingly enough, both of these players have drawn many comparisons to the same Hall of Famer in their short times in the league. Due to their ability to fill up a stat sheet in multiple ways, many have called both Paul and James the next Magic Johnson. While Paul is a true point guard and certainly has Magic's ability to pass the ball as well as score, LeBron is much closer to the actual mold. Magic had size much like James does, and while LeBron might not be quite as good of an assist man, he's certainly not a slouch, and the argument could be made that he's a superior scorer. Both Paul and James also have great ability defensively as Paul leads the league in steals with James right behind him in 5th.

Since the last article, both players have been named starters for the upcoming All Star Game via fan voting, adding to their already impressive list of accolades in their young careers. Here's a quick look back at their career highlights discussed in the previous article.

Chris Paul:
- 2006 Rookie of the Year
- 2006 All Rookie Team
- 2 Time All Star (2008, 2009)
- 2008 All Defensive First Team
- 2008 All NBA First Team
- 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist

LeBron James:
- 2004 Rookie of the Year
- 2004 All Rookie Team
- 5 Time All Star (2005-2009)
- 2 Time All Star Game MVP (2006, 2008)
- All NBA Second Team (2005, 2007)
- All NBA First Team (2006, 2008)
- 2007 NBA Finals Apperance
- 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist

While the two are quite close in age, James is just 6 months older, LeBron got a major jump start by heading straight to the NBA from High School, while Paul put in 2 years at Wake Forest before heading to the league. At 23, and 24 years old, the future for these two superstars looks incredibly bright. The question however, is who is the best so far in their careers. Stats and accolades aside, LeBron James has done more with less so far. He took Cleveland to the NBA Finals in 2007 despite little help from his supporting cast, and he currently has them amongst the best records in the NBA this season as well. While he has gotten a bit more help this year, Paul seems to have the better teammates in general.

Purely from a gameplay standpoint, there is perhaps no other player in the NBA that can dominate a game like James can when is at his best. He's 6'8, 260 lbs. and has incredible strength and power. He also shows uncanny quickness for size and is quite possibly the most explosive player in the league. Top it off with his ability to handle the ball and set up his teammates, and there is little to be desired, outside of a sometimes streaky jumpshot which has improved throughout his career.

Paul on the other hand has a fairly typical point guard build, and while he can score proficiently if needed, he is best served as a setup man, easily leading the league in assists this season at 11.1 per game. He has been known do take over games from time to time, but just not at the same level that LeBron can. While a very good player, at this point he still has to rely on teammates to help him get the job done, much more so than James.

Winner: LeBron James

Chris Paul is certainly one of the best young players in the NBA and is already on pace for an incredible career, but James, while only a few months older, already has Hall of Fame type numbers and accolades. LeBron came into the NBA with more hype than any player in memory and has yet to disappoint in the least. It's likely only a matter of time before he begins to rack up MVP trophies and quite probably NBA Championships as well.

Don't forget to check back next week as Devin and I go head to head and make our cases for the best player in the NBA. Can LeBron overcome the cagey veteran, Kobe Bryant? Or is the Mongoose too much for King James to handle?

Only one team has earned more trips to play on Super Sunday, but on February 1st, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have a chance to move alone into first place for Super Bowl victories. The Steelers head to Tampa to face off with the surprising Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. After a strong regular season performance, Pittsburgh entered the postseason as the #2 seed champions of the AFC North. Having knocked off both San Diego and Baltimore to claim the Lamar Hunt Trophy as AFC champs, they now find themselves matched up against a Cardinal team that essentially nobody expected to make it this far.

Coming into the season, the Steelers were expected to be amongst the best teams in the AFC, and they didn't disappoint on their way to a 12-4 record. Their 4 losses all came to teams who would go on to join Pittsburgh in the postseason, including close losses to Philadelphia, the New York Giants, and the Indianapolis Colts. After the loss to Indy in Week 10 however, the Steelers won 6 of their last 7, only dropping a game 31-14 in Tennessee in Week 16. As is customary for Pittsburgh, the team got the job done with a blue collar work ethic all season long. The focus was on defense throughout the year, invoking memories of the vaunted Steel Curtain of the 70s for many who watched them. It was defense that continued to propel them in the playoffs as well.

In the divisional round, the Steelers found themselves matched up against a red hot San Diego Charger team who had taken down heavy favorites in the Indianapolis Colts the week before. Holding the ball for 14:57 of the third quarter and only allowing San Diego one offensive play, which resulted in an interception, the Steelers would move to a 28-10 lead in the 4th quarter. After an exchange of touchdowns, the defense would relax a bit and allow one more before the game ended, making the final score 35-24 in favor of Pittsburgh. Moving on to the AFC Championship, the Steelers would host division rival Baltimore in a surefire defensive battle.

Leading 13-0 in the middle of the 2nd quarter, Pittsburgh finally surrendered a touchdown late in the half as Willis McGahee brought the Ravens within 6. After more defensive back and forth in the 2nd half, the Steelers clung to a 17-14 lead late in the game when Troy Polamalu picked off a Joe Flacco pass and took it into the endzone. This moved the Steelers to a 9 point lead at 23-14, which would prove to be the final score. A 7th trip to the Super Bowl had become a reality for the Steel City.

As I mentioned in a previous article, I'm a big believer in the theory that defense wins championships, and Pittsburgh brings the top ranked defense in the NFL with it into Tampa. However, they face an offense from Arizona that been the most prolific of any postseason team. The Cardinals have been absolutely on fire during their postseason run, most notably with the Kurt Warner to Larry Fitzgerald combination. Add in a seemingly recharged Edgerrin James, and Arizona might just have something to test the Steelers' D. While a win would give Pittsburgh their 6th Super Bowl title, the Cardinals will be making their debut in the big game despite being an original member of the NFL and they are out to prove they belong in this position after many doubted they could make it out of the first round of the playoffs.

Pittsburgh's got a decided advantage in Super Bowl experience with 20 members of it's roster having been there before. Arizona by comparison has just 5 players who have dealt with the added pressure of a Super Bowl. This could play a role early on in the game when the Cardinals might find themselves overwhelmed by their surroundings. If they can settle down quickly however, one would think a football player's instincts take over and all the hype and pressure are forgotten. If the Cards can manage an early touchdown, it will go a long way to boost their confidence and keep them in the game.

For Pittsburgh, one of the keys to victory is going to be establishing their running game early on. Their offense in flashy by no means and instead relies on a ball control system as well as the play of their defense. Ben Roethlisberger has an outstanding record, including 7-2 in the postseason, in his short career, but he is not at all known for putting up big numbers. If Willie Parker can get in a groove early on and Pittsburgh can keep the ball out of Kurt Warner's hands, it provides them with their best path to victory. Arizona's defense, while not overly impressive throughout the season, has turned it up a notch in the playoffs and only allowed around 77 yards rushing per game. Parker made a name for himself in Super Bowl XL and his performance will go a long way towards propelling his team to victory again in my opinion.

A great deal of attention has been focused on the battle between the Pittsburgh defense and Arizona offense heading into this game, and with good reason. These teams have both clearly excelled in these areas respectively, but I think the battle can be broken down further. The key matchup for me rests between the linebackers for the Steelers against the offensive line of Arizona. Kurt Warner has had a history of struggling when he faces a great deal of pressure. So far the Cardinal linemen have been up to the task, most notably against Philadelphia, a team known for it's blitz packages. The interesting thing for Pittsburgh however is they don't actually blitz in the conventional sense of the word. Generally a blitz is recognized as the defense sending more men at the quarterback then the offense has linemen to block them. The Steelers however typically only send 4, maybe 5 guys to rush the quarterback. The key to their success is their unpredictability, it's difficult to know where it's going to come from. LaMarr Woodley and James Harrison combined for 27.5 sacks during the regular season from the linebacker position.

Arizona absolutely needs Kurt Warner on top of his game and throwing the ball all over the field to Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin to have a legitimate shot to win in this game. If he doesn't get the time in the pocket to make accurate throws, the Cardinals are likely in for a very long night. The Steelers weakest point on defense is probably their cornerbacks, which could prove great for Warner, again, provided he has the time to make good throws. If he doesn't however, Troy Polamalu will be playing centerfield just waiting for the opportunity to ruin all the hopes and dreams of Cardinals fans.

Other possible notes of interest that could play a role in Sunday's game include the status of Hines Ward. Pittsburgh's do it all receiver injured his knee in the AFC Championship and hasn't practiced since. While I'd be surprised if he didn't end up playing in the game, his effectiveness could be questionable, and his versatility is going to be needed both in the passing game as well as for his effective run blocking. Additionally, it's a well known fact that the Steelers faithful travel very well, perhaps better than the fans of any other team in the league. Typically Super Bowl crowds aren't particularly loud one way or the other due to the nature of where most of the tickets end up, but all reports thus far are that Pittsburgh fans far and away outnumber Arizona fans in Tampa. Perhaps enough of them will actually make it into the game to provide a bit of a home team advantage for the designated visitors in this game.

As the two weeks leading up to the game have progressed, it seems more and more people are jumping aboard the Arizona bandwagon. I think this is a typical reaction to two weeks worth of hype and statistical bombardment, eventually the underdog doesn't seem so unlikely anymore. Personally, I'd say the 7 points that Pittsburgh is favored by are pretty close to dead on. I see this game staying close just because the Steelers offense won't have the fire power to pull away. Meanwhile, Arizona has too much talent to be held down completely and will manage a few big plays along the way. I look for the Steelers to get a score from either their defense or special teams and take the win by about a touchdown.

Prediction: Pittsburgh 26-20

It still doesn’t sound quite right, but the Arizona Cardinals are taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers this Sunday in Super Bowl XLIII. The Cardinals came into the playoffs as the number four seed in the NFC by way of an easy division championship. Many fans and writers felt as if they didn’t even deserve to make the playoffs when they qualified. Few people gave them a chance in the Wild Card round against Atlanta, even less gave them a chance in the Divisional round at Carolina, and just about everyone (including me) picked the Eagles to knock them off in the NFC Championship. One thing is for sure heading into Sunday; the Cardinals deserve to be there and will put up a good fight against the Steelers.


Before the season even started, the Cardinals were in the news for their decision to go with Kurt Warner at QB instead of their first round draft pick from USC, Matt Leinart. It was a gutsy call by Coach Ken Wisenhunt, but one he felt he had to make in order to win more games. Looking back, it seems to have been the right decision. The Cardinals started out 2-0 with wins over San Francisco and Miami, and then lost the next two games on the East Coast to Washington and New York.

Arizona returned home to face the 4-0 Buffalo Bills. The Cardinals trashed the Bills 41-17 and essentially exposed them as frauds to the rest of the league, sending Buffalo into a tailspin that would last all season. They then got a big win at home against Dallas when they blocked a punt in overtime to win the game. Heading into the bye at 4-2, fans in Arizona were optimistic.

Coming out of the break, Arizona lost a tough game at Carolina, which moved their East Cost record to 0-3. Some would say it was a trend, but the Cardinals ended up proving that theory wrong when it counted the most. The Cards then won their next three games against division opponents which ran their record to 7-3 and 4-0 in the division. It was at this point that almost everybody could see the division was theirs to lose.



Arizona lost a very close game at home to the eventual NFC East Champion New York Giants, then had to travel East on a short week to face Philadelphia for a Thanksgiving Day match-up. They played terrible in that game, losing 48-20. They returned home the following week and overpowered another NFC West team, the Rams, to clinch the NFC West and ensure the fans of at least one home playoff game.

With the last three games essentially being meaningless, Arizona played like it in two of those games. They fell to Minnesota 35-14 and allowed Tarvaris Jackson to throw for a career high four touchdowns. Arizona then traveled east again and moved their East Coast record to 0-5 as they were completely overpowered by the New England Patriots. The Cardinals came home in the final week to beat Seattle, which allowed them to finish the regular season at 9-7 and a perfect 6-0 in the division.

Kurt Warner had an excellent season stat wise throwing for 4583 yards, 30 touchdowns, and finishing the regular season with a QB Rating of 96.9. Arizona didn’t run the ball nearly as much as they passed it, so Edgerrin James finished the season with only 514 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns. Rookie Tim Hightower took over the rushing duties mid-season and finished with 399 yards and 10 touchdowns. Wide Receiver Larry Fitzgerald cemented himself as one of the best in the league with 96 receptions, 1431 yards, and 12 touchdowns. Closely following him was teammate Anquan Boldin, who had 89 receptions, 1038 yards, and 11 touchdowns. Boldin’s numbers are even more impressive if you consider the fact that he missed time after being carted off the field against the Jets earlier in the season. As an overall unit, the Cardinals finished fourth in scoring (26.7), fourth in overall yards (365.8), and second in passing yards (292.1).


The defense has held their own and gained momentum during the post-season. They are led by Karlos Dansby, Antrel Rolle, Adrian Wilson, Bertrand Berry, Roderick Hood, and rookie Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The defense combined had 31 sacks, 20 fumbles, 13 interceptions, and 2 touchdowns. Their league ranks aren’t quite as impressive as the offense or nearly as impressive as Pittsburgh’s defense. The Cards finished the season 28th in points (26.6), 19th in yards (331.5), 22nd in passing yard (221.2), and 16th in rushing yards (110.2).

Prediction: Pittsburgh 37, Arizona 17. I tried my hardest to not involve personal bias in my pick and I think the final score reflects that. It's pretty simple, I don't think Arizona is good enough to hang with Pittsburgh. I think the key to Kurt Warner's success is having time in the pocket and I don't think the Steelers defense will give him an ounce of that time. Combine that with a lack of running game, and I don't see this game even being close.

It's an often asked question these days. Who is the Best Player in the NBA right now? Here at D & S Sports Report, we're going to attempt to answer the question, tournament style. Devin and I will take who we view as the Top 8 players in the league and face them off against one another to see who reigns supreme. Today, we bring you the first 2 quarterfinal matchups. LeBron James will be taking on Dirk Nowitzki, and Chris Paul is head to head with Dwight Howard.

Quarterfinal #1: LeBron James vs. Dirk Nowitzki

LeBron James has had to live up to more hype than perhaps any athlete on the planet, and thus far has done an admirable job in doing so. Since being drafted by Cleveland at the age of 18 in 2003, James has been responsible for single handedly carrying his team on his back. For his career, he is averaging 27.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game. It's not just offense for James though as he also averages just under 2 steals per game. His accomplishments include 4 all star game apperances (MVP twice), All NBA 2nd Team twice, All NBA 1st Team twice, and All Rookie First Team. He also lead his team to an NBA Finals appearance in 2007.

James has improved virtually every year of his career thus far and is currently the leading candidate for MVP this season, as he once again has his Cleveland Cavaliers near the top of the standings. Teams have already begun to make moves anticipating his free agent status in 2010, and at just 24 years old, his best years are still ahead of him.

Dirk Nowitzki was the 8th overall pick in the 1998 draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, but was immediately traded to the Dallas Mavericks, where he has spent his entire career. The German born forward is best known for his remarkable shooting ability considering his size at 7'0". HIs career numbers include 22.6 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. He is currently 5th in the NBA this season with 26 ppg and has not scored below 23.6 per game in the last 5 seasons. Dirk has made the all star team 7 times, been named to 8 All NBA teams, and was the league MVP in the 2007 season. In 2006, he took the Mavericks to the NBA finals, but was beaten by the Miami Heat in 6 games.

Nowitzki is widely recognized as perhaps the best International player to play in the NBA. He has been the cornerstone of the Dallas franchise for many years now, but after repeated postseason flameouts, their is talk of him leaving town in the near future. At 30 years old, he still has some valuable years left in him, and his numbers are still amongst the best of his career.

Winner: LeBron James

James simply has too much upside to be ignored. He's already among the elite in the NBA and is still so young, that his potential is almost frightening to think about. Dirk has been a very good player, but simply hasn't been able to get it done when it counts the most, and his time to do so is starting to run out.

Quarterfinal #2: Chris Paul vs. Dwight Howard

Now in his 4th season out of Wake Forest, Chris Paul has been redefining the point guard position since entering the NBA. His numbers improved each of his first three years and he continues to be a statistical machine. For his career, he is averaging 18.7 points, 9.7 assists, 4.7 rebounds, and an amazing 2.4 steals per game. Paul has made all of his teammates in New Orleans better players with his incredible ability to distribute the ball, but he's not afraid to do it himself when the situation calls for it either. He's already established himself as one of the best clutch shooters around, and his defense speaks for itself. The 2006 Rookie of the Year also earned himself honors in 2008 by being named to the All Star team, the NBA All Defensive Team, and the NBA First Team.

Paul currently leads the league in assists (11.0) and steals (2.7) per game this season and has been mentioned by many as a potential MVP candidate, an award which he placed 2nd in voting to last season behind Kobe Bryant. At just 23 years old, the future is very bright indeed for both him and the Hornets. He lead the team to their first postseason in 5 years last season, where they advanced to the 2nd round before losing to the Spurs in 7 games.

Dwight Howard was drafted first overall straight out of high school by the Orlando Magic in 2004. His play has gotten increasingly better with each passing season and he has become one of the most dominant big men in the NBA. He's averaging 16.9 points, 12.4 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game for his career, but is putting up better numbers in all categories this season. In addition to his 20.2 points a night, he leads the league in rebounding at 14.1 per game, as well as blocks with an astounding 3.2 per game. Howard has become a virtual walking double double, having accomplished the feat 31 times so far this season, also good for best in the league. Howard has been an All Star each of the last two seasons and won the Slam Dunk contest at last year's festivities. He was named to the NBA 3rd Team in 2007 and both the NBA 1st Team and All Defensive 2nd Team in 2008.

Howard has restored the Orlando Magic to prominance in the Eastern Conference where they are currently tied for 1st place. Last season he took them to a division title as well as the 2nd round of the playoffs where they were defeated by the Detroit Pistons in 5 games. Like Paul, Howard is just 23 years old and steadily improving.

Winner: Chris Paul

This is a very close contest with both guys still extremely young and constantly getting better. Both will be forces for years to come in the NBA, but Paul gets the nod at this point for having more overall success as well as finding so many ways to lead his team. His stat line is just a bit better and more diverse than Howard's, but ultimately it's his team's success that makes him the better player right now.

In the world of Mixed Martial Arts, a new player has emerged on the scene. Affliction, which began simply as a clothing company, threw it's hat into the ring last year with it's premiere show, and made an immediate impact. Focusing primarily on the heavyweight division, Affliction managed to sign many of the top ranked fighters in the world by paying them a fair share more than they were likely to make elsewhere. Of course it depends on who you talk to, but most people seem to regard their first show as a successful one, but now they seek to top it with their second show, Day of Reckoning.

While the second show includes well known names from various weight classes, it's once again the heavyweights that take center stage. Little known Gilbert Yvel (35-12-1-1) out of Holland has been brought in to take on the highly ranked Josh Barnett (23-5). Yvel's 35 wins have all been clean finishes, with 30 knockouts and 5 submission victories to his credit. The reason he is not so well known however is that the only names of note that he has beaten are Cheick Kongo and Fabiano Scherner. He has faced top level talent in the past however, he just hasn't been too successful. Amongst his losses are Dan Henderson, Vitor Belfort, and Jeremy Horn, well known names to those in the MMA community.

Barnett on the other hand is extremely experienced against some of the best in the world. Wins against Dan Severn, Randy Couture, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Pedro Rizzo at the first Affliction show, are not to be taken lightly. Barnett also lost to Nogueria in their rematch, as well as Rizzo in their first fight, and his own personal kryptonite in Mirko Cro Cop who he lost to on 3 separate occasions. Barnett is very heavily favored in this fight and is expected to face the winner of the evening's main event for a shot at the WAMMA Heavyweight Title at a future show as well.

As for the main event, former UFC champion and highly regarded heavyweight Andrei Arlovski (15-5) will face off with the unanimously top ranked fighter on the planet, Fedor Emelianenko (29-1). Arlovski's resume looks fairly decent, though most of his wins have come against mid to top level opponents, not names that most would consider elite. He won the UFC title from Tim Sylvia back in 2005, but lost both rematches and his title in the process the following year. He has two other losses of note, coming against Ricco Rodriguez and Pedro Rizzo when they were considered amongst the best in the sport at the time.

Emelianenko, however, has beaten essentially anybody put in front of him. His lone loss came in only his 5th professional fight by way of a doctor's stoppage back in 2000. Since then, he has amassed a streak of 25 wins in a row (with a no contest mixed in there) on his way to being considered the best fighter in the world. Among the victims of that streak are Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira twice (as well as the aforementioned NC), Mark Coleman twice, Kevin Randleman, Mirko Cro Cop, and most recently Tim Sylvia at the first Affliction show. Fedor has 6 wins by KO or TKO along with 16 submission wins in his career.

Both Fedor and Arlovski have backgrounds in Sambo, which is a hybrid form of martial arts with roots in Russia. They are similar in styles due to this with very crisp striking ability as well as solid submissions games should the fight hit the ground. This fight could really end up anywhere and both men would be fairly comfortable.

As far as these two heavyweight fights go, look for both the heavily favored fighters to win. This would set up a potential showdown between Fedor and Josh Barnett which many have been dying to see for a long time coming. This would surely be the outcome that Affliction is hoping for because they could see a huge PPV revenue by putting that fight together. Affliction seems serious about trying to take a run at the proverbial 800 lbs. gorilla known as the UFC and has banked most of their effort behind the heavyweight division.

Heavyweights aren't the only notable names on this card however. Top middleweights Matt Lindland (21-5) and Vitor Belfort (17-8) will do battle, as will former UFC Light Heavyweights Renato "Babalu" Sobral (31-7) and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (5-3). If you're looking for something a little different than the UFC, Affliction offers a good place to start. The first show was a fairly good one, despite some issues with the presentation, camera work, etc. Hopefully those have since been resolved and this show exceeds the previous one.

The main card can be seen on Pay Per View, Saturday, January 24th, beginning at 9pm and features the following fights:

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Andrei Arlovski
Josh Barnett vs. Gilbert Yvel
Matt Lindland vs. Vitor Belfort
Renato "Babalu" Sobral vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Chris Horodecki vs. Dan Lauzon
Paul Buentello vs. Kiril Sidelnikov

The undercard will be broadcast live on HDNet, starting at 7pm and includes these fights:

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
Jay Hieron vs. Jason High
L.C. Davis vs. Bao Quach
Antonio Duarte vs. Albert Rios
Brett Cooper vs. Patrick Speight

1. San Jose Sharks: The Sharks came out the gates smoking this season and haven’t stopped yet. San Jose has historically done well in the regular season, but often times fallen short in the playoffs, so time will tell if this Sharks team is for real or not.

2. Boston Bruins: Boston has hands down been the class of the Eastern Conference this season. After sneaking into the playoffs last season with the 8th seed, they gave the top seeded Canadiens all they could handle. For most Bruins fans, that was a sign of things to come this season. If Boston can keep on their game for the second half of the season, look for them to hold down the top spot and challenge for the Presidents Trophy.

3. Detroit Red Wings: Detroit is nipping at San Jose for the top spot in the West. After winning the Stanley Cup last season, all they did during the off-season was dramatically improve by signing Marian Hossa. They also replaced Dominik Hasek with Ty Conklin, who has rewarded them with five shut-outs so far and his second consecutive Winter Classic victory.

4. Washington Capitals: The Capitals have built on their post-season experience last season and have a strangle hold on the SouthEast division so far this season. They have gotten good contributions by several players, including Alex Ovechkin and new goalie Jose Theodore, and now they look to continue rising up the standings in the East. No matter what teams try to do, they can’t seem to stop Alex Ovechkin, as he continues to prove himself as the best player in the league right now.

5. New Jersey Devils: The Devils have surprised many fans by doing as well as they have considering they are missing the cornerstone of the franchise, Martin Brodeur. The Devils are neck and neck with the Rangers and Flyers in the division, but if they can get Brodeur back in time for the playoff race other teams in the East need to be on the lookout. Signing Brendan Shanahan in the middle of the season won’t hurt their chances either.

6. Montreal Canadiens: The Canadiens were most experts pick as the top team in the East, but they have fallen well behind Boston in that race. Still, with half a season to go, anything can happen. They will need to get quite a bit of help in the second half if they plan on winning the NorthEast division, and we’re not talking about the type of help they received in loading up for the All-Star game.

7. Calgary Flames: The Flames are always in the discussion of teams out West due to the consistent play from goaltender Miika Kiprusoff. If he can withstand the usual heavy workload during the stretch run, I look for Calgary to make some noise in April.

8. New York Rangers: Like said above, the Rangers are in a tight division race and could easily fall out of the playoff race altogether if they go on any kind of extended losing streak during the second half. However, if they can get strong goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist, they should be able to make it into the playoffs. Now whether they make it past the second round this year or not is still to be determined.

9. Chicago Blackhawks: The Blackhawks have been a great story so far this season. After years and years of losing, they seem to have turned it around. They made a risky move this season by firing their coach extremely early into the season, but that doesn’t seem to have affected them very much. Much of their success will come down to how well young stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews play.

10. Buffalo Sabres: The Sabres started out hot, cooled down, and have since heated right back up once the calendar hit 2009. Since New Years the Sabres have been much better and goalie Ryan Miller looks like he is on top of his game. It will be interesting to see how the Sabres do down the stretch because they have plenty of teams nipping at them in the standings.

11. Philadelphia Flyers: The Flyers have rebounded from a slow start and look back in form so far this season. They will most likely improve even more when they get forward Danny Briere back from injury. However, they will need to clear some cap space in order to make that move, so it will be interesting to see how the front office handles that situation. Much of the Flyers success during the second half will hinge on how well their goaltenders perform and if they get hot at the right time again.

12. Phoenix Coyotes: The Coyotes are doing well so far this season, despite facing bankruptcy and other issues off the ice. They have been a much better team at home than on the road, so they might not last long if they squeak into the playoffs. Then again, once the playoffs start, anything can happen.

13. Anaheim Ducks: The Ducks are hanging around out West but haven’t been very consistent so far this season. They have been pretty average at home and on the road this year. They will need to step up their game down the stretch to continue their post-season streak or they will be watching from home this year.

14. Minnesota Wild: The Wild have gotten very good goaltending from Niklas Backstrom. It shows in the standings as their goal differential is much better than the other teams they are surrounded with in the standings. If the Wild sneak into the post-season, they could cause some trouble for the higher ranked teams, much like Edmonton did a few years ago.

15. Florida Panthers: Florida has done very well so far this season, considering most experts didn’t even have them getting near the playoffs. The play from Florida has been good enough so far this season to have Pittsburgh looking in from the outside at the Eastern Conference playoff picture, but there is still plenty of time for Florida to take control or fall apart. If they slip up and fall out of the race, look for them to deal star defenseman Jay Bouwmeester before the trade deadline.

On the flip side of our AFC Championship recap, a bad side of writing is being proven completely wrong after writing an article earlier in the week. This was the case in my NFC Championship preview as I predicted the Eagles would hammer away Arizona 27-10. Barring a missed two point conversion, I almost nailed the Philly score on the dot but I completely underestimated the Arizona offense.

Arizona came out of the gates flying high in this game and completely took Philadelphia by storm. They marched right down the field on the opening drive and capped off a nine play drive with the first of three Larry Fitzgerald touchdowns. Fitzgerald cemented himself as the best wide receiver in the league with another amazing performance. He finished the day with 9 receptions, 152 yards, and 3 touchdowns.

The Eagles tried to keep up but failed to do so in the first half and went into the locker room at halftime down 24-6. Donovan McNabb tried his best to will his team to victory in the 2nd half with two touchdown passes to tight end Brent Celek in the 3rd quarter to bring the score to 24-19. McNabb continued his hot play in the 4th quarter with a highlight reel touchdown to rookie DeSean Jackson, who bobbled the ball all the way into the end zone to give Philly the lead 25-24.

Arizona’s offense, which had been non-existent in the 3rd quarter, finally came back to life and marched right down the field to take the lead. The Cardinals capped the drive off with an 8 yard touchdown pass from Kurt Warner to Tim Hightower and then got the 2 point conversion with a pass to Ben Patrick to make the score 32-25. The Eagles had one final shot to tie the game, and seemed like they were well on their way until the drive came to a screeching half around mid-field. With 4th down and the season on the line, McNabb’s pass to Kevin Curtis fell incomplete, and so Arizona advanced to Super Bowl XLIII for the first time in franchise history.

It goes without saying that many football fans didn’t give the Cardinals a chance to make it out of the first round, let alone take the NFC crown, so as one of those writers I have to give credit where credit is due. The Cardinals will have their hands full with Pittsburgh’s number one defense but they definitely have a shot to take it all.

Look for our Super Bowl XLIII preview coming next week on D&S Sports and stay tuned for plenty more sports articles coming this week.

One of the nice things about writing is that every once in awhile the things you say come true and you have some sort of evidence as vindication. Now, I didn't really go on any limbs with my AFC preview exactly, but I did throw out a few fairly specific things I thought could happen, and as it turned out, I wasn't too far off.

Simply for bragging purposes, I'll point out a handful of things I wrote about last Monday:

"Both defenses are simply going to bring it and turnovers will likely play a huge role in this game as well. I would put money on the fact that there will be a defensive touchdown scored in this game at some point."

"Flacco is going to have to be kept away from Harrison as well as LaMarr Woodley to avoid making mistakes and if he can't, Polamalu is the type of player that always capitalizes."

"Ultimately, I think it comes down to Flacco being pressured or not. If the Steelers can't get to him for some reason, the Ravens will have their best shot at a victory. I just don't see that being the case though. The Steelers fans will be crazy as ever with Terrible Towels in hand and they'll pump up their defense to make big plays. I see this one coming down to a turnover forced in the 4th quarter leading to Pittsburgh getting the late game winning score yet again. Steelers 20-13."

I guess I could say that I saw the Polamalu interception coming ahead of time, and while I wasn't right on the score, I wasn't far off. Simply put, Pittsburgh's defense was the best in the league this season and Flacco's rookie magic was due to run out. Those things kind of went hand in hand of course, and when they both came together, you saw the end result.

Anyways, enough of my pompousness, let's take a quick look at the game itself. As expected, the defenses were the dominating storyline in this one. Neither offense looked all that impressive at all, but Ben Roethlisberger managed to cobble together one of those good games without huge numbers that he's become rather famous for. 16-33, 255 yards, and 1TD don't really jump out as you as stellar, but against the Baltimore defense, it's all he really needed. Especially when you consider Joe Flacco went 13-30 for 141 yards, and most importantly, through 3 interceptions. Baltimore had mild success on the ground against the Steelers for the 3rd time this season, but it wasn't enough to keep the Steelers blitz away from Flacco.

One of the big storylines heading into the game was about the star safeties on each team, Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu. Reed was virtually a non factor with just 2 tackles on the day, while Polamalu of course had the interception return for a touchdown that virtually sealed the win for the Steelers with 4:39 to go. Flacco dealt with a lot of pressure all day long, getting sacked 3 times, and forced to make bad throws several others.

The win marks the 7th time the Steelers have advanced to the Super Bowl, with a 5-1 record in previous appearances. The two week layoff will certainly do them some good as a few players were banged up in yesterday's extremely physical game. Most notable amongst them was Hines Ward, who appeared to injure his knee after a reception in the 2nd quarter. Pittsburgh will look to continue it's defensive dominance against a red hot Arizona Cardinals team lead by a Kurt Warner to Larry Fitzgerald combination that has been on fire in the postseason.

Make sure you check back as we give you a full preview of Super Bowl XLIII next week, and don't forget to look for new stories from all throughout the sporting world in the meantime.

I must say, I was quite surprised to pull up the "worldwide leader's" website this evening and see that Jon Gruden had gotten in the axe in Tampa Bay today. One more victim in what seems like an ever growing trend, not only in the NFL, but in pro sports in general.

Here's the list of coaches that have been canned so far since the start of the season:
Lane Kiffin - Oakland
Scott Linehan - St. Louis
Mike Nolan - San Francisco
Romeo Crennel - Cleveland
Rod Marinelli - Detroit
Eric Mangini - N.Y. Jets
Mike Shanahan - Denver
Jon Gruden - Tampa Bay

Obviously some of these aren't so surprising, teams like Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis, Oakland, and even San Francisco have performed quite poorly. New York is New York and Mangini was bound to have a short leash too, so you can maybe even lump that one is as well. Then you get to names like Shanahan and Gruden. How many people would have expected these guys to go, especially with respective records of 8-8 and 9-7 respectively? Yes, both teams missed the playoffs, but narrowly.

Shanahan was 146-95 in his career, including 8-5 in the postseason with 2 Super Bowl wins. Subtract out his early struggle in LA with the Raiders and you can bump him up to 138-86 with Denver, which is good for a .616 winning percentage. That ranks pretty high up there amongst the best in NFL history. However, 3 straight years of missing the playoffs seems to be more than the power that be in Denver can handle.

As for Gruden, his numbers are a little less outstanding at 95-81 between Oakland and Tampa, but he too has a Super Bowl ring on his hand. The last 6 years have only brought two playoff appearances however, and both were losses in the Wildcard Game. While there were at least mild rumblings out of Denver about Shanahan's job security, Gruden's firing today seems to come as a total surprise to most.

Personally, I fail to understand the logic of some of the coaching firings in the past few years in sports in general. Shanahan and Gruden both fall into this category for me. It would seem to me that you better have a replacement that you think can fair better if you're going to get rid of somebody, and at this stage in the game with more than half of the vacancies out there already filled, that seems fairly unlikely. It's a risky proposition at best replacing a known commodity like Mike Shanahan with a guy who has 3 years as an offensive coordinator under his belt. Sure, Josh McDaniels ran a prolific offense in New England during his stay there, but he also inherited quite a bit of talent while doing so. As for Tampa, the pickings are even slimmer, with only a few choice candidates remaining out there.

Perhaps the success of rookie head coaches Mike Smith in Atlanta, John Harbaugh in Baltimore, and Tony Sparano in Miami have embolden teams to go out and take a risk on a fresh face without the experience as a head coach. No doubt, those guys did remarkable jobs this past season, but this year seems exceptional in that fact. Looking back at the past seasons and many of the first time head coaches are the same ones now seeking employment. It is indeed a crapshoot at best, but in this "what have you done for me lately" environment, teams seem willing to gamble.

Only time will tell if these decisions pay off of course, but don't be the least bit surprised to see Shanahan and Gruden land elsewhere and likely be fairly successful within a year or two if given the chance. There is no denying that the trend is growing however with only 2 NFL coaches having lasted 10 years with the same team in Jeff Fisher (1994) and Andy Reid (1999), and only 4 others (Bill Belichick - NE, John Fox - Carolina, Marvin Lewis - Cinncy, and Jack Del Rio - Jacksonville) with at least 5 years in the same location. You can't help but wonder who might be next.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

6:30 PM EST - CBS Sports

Baltimore Ravens (13-5) VS Pittsburgh Steelers (13-4)

It would be easy for me to tell you that as soon as the playoff brackets were finalized, this was the matchup I had for the AFC Championship, but since there is no documentation of this fact, you'll have to take my word for it. The reasoning behind that pick is a simple one. I'm a firm believer in the old adage that defense wins championships. Well, it doesn't get any better than #1 vs. #2 right? The Steelers and their top ranked defense will host the second best unit in the league when the Ravens come to Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship.

These teams are certainly no stranger to one another, both residing in the AFC North, they've already faced off two times this season. Pittsburgh won both of those games, but they were very tight contests and I think we can expect the same this coming Sunday. Nearly every time these two teams do battle, it's a close, hard hitting game and a chance to go to the Super Bowl will only serve to amplify those facts. Before we take a look at the previous matchups from this season, let's first see how both teams made it this far.

Baltimore snuck into the postseason as the 6th seed, edging out New England for the final Wild Card spot. As the final seed, they were forced to win on the road if they wanted to progress in the playoffs. Their first stop was South Beach, to battle the AFC East Champion Miami Dolphins. To nobody's surpise, Baltimore used it's stellar defensive play to force 5 turnovers out of a team who has only coughed up 13 in the regular season. NFL Comeback Player of the Year, Chad Pennington has perhaps his worst performance of the season, throwing 4 interceptions, as the Ravens dominated the Dolphin offense. Baltimore walked away with a 27-9 victory, advancing to face the top seeded Tennessee Titans.

Tennessee had a very stout defense of their own, and there was some concern as to whether or not rookie QB Joe Flacco would be effective in leading the Raven offense. As it would turn out, he didn't necessarily have to be, as the defense continued to prove itself as Baltimore's best weapon. The Titans were also stingy with turnovers throughout the regular season, but the Ravens managed to force 3, while not giving up the ball themselves. With less than a minute to go, Matt Stover kicked a 43 yard field goal to put the Ravens up 13-10, which proved to be the final score.

Pittsburgh finished the regular season with the 2nd best record in the AFC, and in the process, earned themselves a first round bye. After San Diego managed to knock off the early favorite of many in the Indianapolis Colts, they headed to Heinz Field to face the Steelers. As if Pittsburgh's league best defense needed any extra help, they got it when LaDainian Tomlinson was ruled out of the game due to an injured groin. Still, many were impressed by the performance of his replacement, Darren Sproles in the Indy game, and thought he would be capable of putting up big numbers yet again. Pittsburgh had other ideas though. The Steelers took away San Diego's ground attack completely, holding the Chargers to a mere 15 yards on the ground. Despite good numbers from Phillip Rivers, the Steelers has an answer for him as well. In what has to be one of the most lopsided quarters in playoff history, Pittsburgh held the ball for 14:47 in the 3rd quarter, allowing San Diego only one play, which was an interception thrown by Rivers. Willie Parker lead a ground control attack, on his way to 146 yards and 2 TDs. The Steelers never looked back and advanced with a 35-24 victory.

As I stated earlier, these two teams are very familiar with one another as division rivals. Their first contest of the season took place in week 4 on Monday Night Football in Pittsburgh. Close is far and away the best word for this game. Statistically, there was very little difference between the teams in what turned out to be a game marred by injuries. Baltimore ran the ball fairly well even after Willis McGahee was knocked out of the game, as Le'Ron McClain picked up the slack. Joe Flacco only threw for 192 yards, but 137 of them went to the man who has become his primary target, Derrick Mason. The difference making play in the game came as James Harrison, who had 10.5 tackles and 2 sacks in the game, hit Flacco and forced a fumble, which LaMarr Woodley then picked up and ran into the end zone. McClain would score late in the 4th quarter to tie up the game, but in overtime, Pittsburgh marched down the field with their first possession and Jeff Reed hit a 46 yard field goal to give the Steelers the 23-20 victory.

Baltimore would have to wait until week 15 to have a chance at revenge, as the Steelers headed to M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens once again ran the ball fairly effectively against the usually stingy Pittsburgh defense, but Joe Flacco would struggle, managing only 115 yards passing and 2 interceptions. Despite this, Baltimore found itself leading 9-6 late in the 4th quarter. Ben Roethlisberger (22-40, 246 yards) would go 7-11 during a 92 yard drive and find Santonio Holmes on a 4 yard TD with under a minute remaining. There was some controversy however as the TD had to be reviewed. Holmes was standing in the end zone with his arms outstretched in front of him, in the field of play, as he caught the ball, and was hit from behind knocking him back into the playing field at nearly the same time. The review ruled that the ball had broken the plain of the goal line when Holmes caught it and therefore the TD was good. Pittsburgh snuck away with a 13-9 win.

With the track record between these two teams, and the two tight battles from this season, it stands to reason that more of the same can be expected in Pittsburgh this weekend. Both teams will be coming into this game fairly healthy this time around, with only the Ravens possibly missing a few key players. So far, the Ravens have relied very heavily on their defensive playmakers creating turnovers to advance in the postseason, while Pittsburgh showed a bit more offensive prowess in their victory over San Diego. Willie Parker looked very good against the Chargers, but the Chargers defense can't really be compared to that of the Ravens either. I'd expect them to slow him down greatly, and force Big Ben to make plays instead. Pittsburgh will likely try a similar tactic in making Joe Flacco have to win the game for Baltimore. Flacco is the first rookie QB to win 2 postseason games, but he has merely managed both wins thus far.

Roethlisberger may only be in his 5th season, but he obviously has a big experience advantage in this matchup, having already won a Super Bowl in his short time in the league. Ben has not been known to be a big play quarterback so far in his career, instead also playing the manager role for the Steelers. He has however shown flashes of brilliance with an occassional 300+ yard, multi-touchdown game. I would suspect you won't see one of those against the Ravens however.

The keys to winning this game for both teams are very similar. Whichever team is able to establish the run first and take some of the pressure off their quarterback will hold the advantage. Both defenses are simply going to bring it and turnovers will likely play a huge role in this game as well. I would put money on the fact that there will be a defensive touchdown scored in this game at some point. While I don't think either team will be particularly successful in their running attack, I'd give the edge to Willie Parker and the Steelers, again, based on experience.

Key matchups for this game also look similar for both teams. For Baltimore, it will be the play of Joe Flacco facing Pro Bowlers at linebacker in James Harrison and safety in Troy Polamalu. Flacco is going to have to be kept away from Harrison as well as LaMarr Woodley to avoid making mistakes and if he can't, Polamalu is the type of player that always capitalizes. The Ravens offensive line has their work cut out for them stopping the Steelers blitzes as well as trying to make space in the middle for the running game against big tackle Casey Hampton. By contrast, Pittsburgh faces much the same issue. This time, it's Roethlisberger facing Pro Bowlers Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. Much has been made about Ed Reed in recent weeks, with some going so far as to call him the best player in football right now. I don't agree and I think it's simply a case of most people in the media being infatuated with what's happening right this second. Surely I'm not going to discount Reed's big play ability, but his tackling has been highly suspect as of late. He has dealt with some neck and shoulder injuries and it's very obvious when you watch him try to bring guys down. He has done a lot of arm tackling lately and not lead with his shoulder. Watch for this to play a role if Parker manages to get past the nasty Raven linebackers and into the secondary. Additionally, Pittsburgh has been running several plays from a Trips Bunch package. 3 WRs lined up tight together, interweaving routes and generally breaking down the defense into leaving one guy open. These are middle range routes and are going to require the safeties coming up to make the tackles.

All this being said, I still think this is going to be a fairly low scoring, defensive battle, you'd almost be foolish to say otherwise. Ultimately, I think it comes down to Flacco being pressured or not. If the Steelers can't get to him for some reason, the Ravens will have their best shot at a victory. I just don't see that being the case though. The Steelers fans will be crazy as ever with Terrible Towels in hand and they'll pump up their defense to make big plays. I see this one coming down to a turnover forced in the 4th quarter leading to Pittsburgh getting the late game winning score yet again. Steelers 20-13.

Philadelphia Eagles (11-6-1) VS Arizona Cardinals (11-7)

The Cardinals have continued their improbable run
and now host the NFC Championship, a first since relocating to the desert many decades ago. Arizona has beaten the odds twice this post-season with a wild card victory over Atlanta and a shocking upset against the Carolina Panthers.

The Philadelphia Eagles are also riding a little hot streak as they travel west to Glendale for their fifth NFC championship appearance this decade. Head Coach Andy Reid and QB Donovan McNabb have been with the team for all five, however they have consistently fallen short in the quest for a Championship.

These two teams previously met this season. The Eagles completely dominated Arizona in one of the Thanksgiving day games in Philadelphia, 48-20. The Cardinals had just lost a very tough home game to the Giants and had to travel all the way to the East Coast on a short week, which put them at a huge disadvantage. Kurt Warner threw three interceptions that game and Brian Westbrook delighted fantasy owners with four touchdowns.

In the week prior to the first match-up, Donovan McNabb was benched by Reid in what many are saying was a turning point for the Eagles this season. Following the benching, the Eagles won the next four out of five games to gain a post-season berth and have since followed that up with two more victories, both on the road.

Both the Eagles and Cardinals are led by veteran quarterbacks and strong defenses. The Cardinals forced six turnovers, including five interceptions of quarterback Jake Delhomme in the divisional round. The Eagles shut down the Giants and forced Eli Manning into throwing two interceptions while keeping the Giants out of the end zone for the entire game. If this game comes down to coaching, Andy Reid has the advantage of being a head coach in the big game, but Ken Wisenhunt of Arizona has already won a Super Bowl while serving as the offensive coordinator for Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XL.


Both teams have relied heavily on their passing game throughout the season. The Eagles are known to run the ball more than Arizona, but the combination of Brian Westbrook and Correll Buckhalter get plenty of action in the passing game as well.


The Cardinals almost completely ignored their running game during the season, prompting Edgerrin James to say that this season will be his last in Arizona. However, that trend changed once the post-season started. James led the way against Atlanta with 16 carries for 73 yards, while rookie Tim Hightower had 6 carries for 23 yards and 1 touchdown. Against Carolina the duel threat of James and Hightower combined for 37 carries, 156 yards, and 1 touchdown.

The Arizona faithful sold this game out in six minutes, which is a change of pace from when the NFL had to extend the blackout deadline for their match-up with Atlanta. You can expect Arizona to keep the roof closed to create as much crowd noise as possible. If the Eagles can shut down Larry Fitzgerald, they should be able to win and get back to the big game.



Eagles 27-10.

UFC 93 is set to take place at the O2 arena in Dublin, Ireland next Saturday, January 17th. As is typical of the UFC shows held in Europe, the card is spectacular by no means. The main event is an intriguing one however for long time MMA fans, as top Light Heavyweights face off when former Pride Middleweight (205 lbs.) and Welterweight (183 lbs.) champion, "Hollywood" Dan Henderson, faces the former UFC Middleweight (185 lbs.) champ, Rich "Ace" Franklin. At one point in time, these two were considered the top two fighters in the 185 lbs. weight division, but that was before the emergence of Anderson Silva as perhaps the best pound for pound fighter on the planet. Perhaps because of Silva's dominance in that weight class, both fighters have moved back to Light Heavyweight recently. The winner of this fight will coach the US team against the Michael Bisping lead UK team in the next season of The Ultimate Fighter.

In addition, UFC 93 brings us a long awaited rematch between Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Mark "The Hammer" Coleman. These two first fought in Pride Fighting Championships back in February of 2006. Coleman won that fight just :49 seconds into the first round, when Rua dislocated his elbow. This time, the fight moves into The Octagon and the UFC, where Coleman last fought 10 years ago. Rua has one fight under his belt in the UFC, a dissapointing loss to Forrest Griffin at UFC 76 in September of 2007. A series of injuries has kept Rua out of the cage since that time.

The rest of the card features many names that aren't likely to be familiar to the casual MMA fan, but longtime observers will know fighters like Jeremy Horn and former cast member of The Ultimate Fighter, Chris "Lights Out" Lytle. While big names bring in big Pay Per View numbers, often times, lesser known fighters and newcomers provide the most exciting fights, so it's hard to discredit the undercard on this show. Let's take a look at the two main event matchups though.

Dan Henderson vs. Rich Franklin - Light Heavyweight Contest

Dan Henderson brings a 23-7 record into this fight and has fought a literal "Who's Who" of MMA. Wins over Renato Sobral and Vitor Belfort, along with splits against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Wanderlei Silva stand out when looking at his fight card. Upon rejoining the UFC in September of 2007, Henderson first fought then Light Heavyweight Champ, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, losing by decision after a 5 round battle. His next matchup was certainly no easier, battling Middleweight Champ Anderson "The Spida" Silva, where he was submitted by rear naked choke, late in the 2nd round. Henderson is known for being impossibly difficult to finish, having never suffered a KO or TKO loss in his career. His overhand right punch can be vicious and will end a fight quick, just ask Wanderlei Silva. A former Olympic wrestler, Henderson uses his ability to dictate where the fight goes, which often leads to some vicious ground and pound beatings for his opponents. All 23 of Henderson's victories have come by way of decision or TKO/KO.

Rich Franklin has a career mark of 24-3 as well as 1 no contest. Franklin is the former UFC Middleweight Champion, which he won by defeating Evan Tanner at UFC 53 in June, 2005. In addition to a 2nd win against the late Tanner, Franklin also has notable victories over Ken Shamrock, David Loiseau, and Yushin Okami. His 3 losses are nothing to be ashamed of, dropping fights to undefeated light heavyweight top contender, Lyoto Machida, as well as twice losing to Anderson Silva. All 3 losses came by way of TKO. Franklin has proven to be a versatile fighter, winning 13 fights by TKO/KO, as well as 7 by submission. Rich is a brown belt in jiu jitsu under Jorge Gurgel, but is known more for his striking ability.

Common Opponents

Often times, looking at common opponents can be a good way of breaking down a fight. For Henderson and Franklin, this means taking a look at the Anderson Silva fights. Franklin was the first to fight Silva, in fact, both his fights against the middleweight champ took place before Henderson faced him. Unfortunately for Franklin, not much can be taken from either of the two fights as Silva mostly had his way with him. The first of the two bouts saw Silva capture Franklin in the Muay Thai clinch and land knee after devastaing knee, destroying Franklin's nose in the process. Silva took Franklin's belt with a TKO victory at 2:59 in the first round. The rematch saw Franklin last a bit longer, and avoid the Thai clinch for awhile, but eventually, the result was the same. Silva won with a TKO by knees yet again. Henderson faired only slightly better, and actually looked fairly good in the first round of his bout with Silva. Henderson was able to take Silva to the ground and keep him there, landing the occassional strike along the way. However, Silva turned the tide in the second, with crisp striking. Again, Silva went to the Muay Thai clinch and punished Henderson with a knee. After sending him to the mat, Silva began to work his black belt Brazilian Jiu Jitsu skills, eventually sinking in the rear naked choke, forcing Henderson to tap with just 8 seconds left in the round.

Prediction

Looking at their common fight, along with their careers as a whole, it seems as though Henderson's best bet would be to use his wrestling and take Franklin down and keep him there. Rich is much better on his feet than on the ground and will likely want to strike. Regardless of where the fight ends up, I like Henderson in this matchup. Franklin has good ability on his feet, but Henderson's rock hard head will make him tough to finish. Look for Henderson to keep Franklin on the ground for the majority of the fight and grind out a decision victory.

Mauricio Rua vs. Mark Coleman - Light Heavyweight Contest

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua has a career record of 16-3, and was widely regarded as the most dangerous light heavyweight in the world prior to his UFC debut. Rua has finished his opponent in all his victories, 13 coming by TKO/KO and 3 via submission. Amongst Rua's top wins are names such as Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, and 2 victories against Top K-1 Kickboxer Alistair Overeem. His 3 losses have come at the hands of Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Forrest Griffin, and his opponent in this fight, Mark Coleman. During his time in Pride, Shogun went 12-1, losing only to Coleman when he dislocated his elbow just :49 seconds into the bout. This lead to Rua being considered an immediate contender once Pride was bought out by the UFC in 2007. For his Octagon debut, Rua was matched up with Forrest Griffin and was an overwhelming favorite to win the match. Rua came into the fight as the much smaller fighter and seemed ill prepared, completely gassing early on in the fight. In the 2nd round, Griffin took complete control, and eventually took Rua's back, forcing the submission via rear naked choke with :15 seconds left in the round. Some believe that Rua was unable to train properly due to a knee injury leading up to the fight. He elected to undergo surgery on the knee afterwards, but unfortunately ruptured the same ACL while training for a scheduled match against Chuck Liddell at UFC 85. Once again needing surgery, Rua has been out of comission, and this will be his first fight back.

Mark "The Hammer" Coleman, at age 44, is a throwback to the earlier days of the UFC, last appearing in the promotion in 1999. Coleman is 15-8 in his career, holding wins over Don Frye twice as well as Dan "The Beast" Severn to win the first ever UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 12 in 1997. Coleman also won both the UFC 10 and 11 tournaments, leading to his title bout. Coleman has lost to an impressive list of heavyweights during his time in Pride, including Mirko Cro Cop, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and twice to Fedor Emelianenko. The UFC Hall of Famer was a National Champion wrestler at Ohio State University and placed 7th in the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.

Common Opponents

Having fought at different weight classes for most of their careers, the two have no common opponents, but have of course, fought each other. Very early into the fight, Coleman went to take Rua down, and Rua landed awkwardly on his arm, dislocating his elbow. Coleman jumped on top of Rua and started drilling the injured Rua. As the reft stopped the fight, Shogun's brother had entered the ring and a bit of a melee ensued between both fighter's camps. Along the way, Coleman's corner man, Phil Baroni took down Wanderlei Silva, and Coleman stepped on Silva's throat. Bad blood clearly arouse between the two groups and they vowed to settle it sometime in the future. With the collapse of Pride and the UFC's subsequent buy out, the Octagon will be the place for the rematch.

Prediction

Coleman has a long history of terrible stamina in fights, having to finish his opponents quickly or else suffering badly as the fight goes on. Rua know faces similar questions after his UFC debut, and additionally has concerns of a surgically repaired knee. Mauricio is the much more dynamic fighter, and assuming he is in shape, should have his way with Coleman in my opinion. The Hammer will need to land a big blow early or take Rua down and pound him out in the first round to have much of a chance. Coleman is now 44 years old and hasn't fought in over 2 years. While Rua has had a similar lay off, he is also only 27. My prediction sees Rua win by TKO due to strikes in the 2nd.

Fight Card

Scheduled Pay Per View Fights:
Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Mark Coleman
Denis Kang vs. Alan Belcher
Rousimar Palhares vs. Jeremy Horn
Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle

Undercard Fights:
Martin Kampmann vs. Alexandre Barros
Ivan Serati vs. Thomasz Drwal
Tom Egan vs. John Hathaway
Nate Mohr vs. Denis Siver
Eric Schafer vs. Antonio Mendes

As a reminder, since the show is being held in Ireland, it's an early start time. 3pm EST is when the main card airs live on Pay Per View.