Talk About Being Wrong

Not only did Big Brown get completely embarassed by finishing last at the Belmont Stakes, all FIVE of my UFC 85 main card picks were wrong. The term “time to hang it up” never applied more to anyone than it does to Matt Hughes right now. The Xyience “country breakfast” commercials were funny in an ironic way when Hughes was outlasting people and/or knocking them out as champion, but now they seem like an un-ironic parity of a guy who doesn’t have the reflexes and/or gas to win a fight against a top-level opponent. It’s a shame; at least Randy Couture went out on top by beating the best the UFC had to offer in his division and below (Chuck Liddell and a very underrated Tim Sylvia). Right now, Hughes is ruining his legacy as the one who defined the UFC in its hayday, coming up from considered “banned” by the bigwigs in D.C. to a mainstream mainstay. He needs to take a fight against a crossroads type opponent like Karo Parisyan, win, and call it quits in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. That’s the only way a true Hall of Famer like Hughes can go out.

MLB

Tampa has recovered from their seemingly pathetic performance in Boston to show that they’ve gained moxie and killer instinct in Texas so far this weekend. I really thought the Rays would struggle after the Beantown Brawl on Thursday, but they’ve bounced back to beat a hot Rangers team in Arlington the last two nights, keeping pace with Boston today and gaining a game on them yesterday. They are in a great position to finish out the road trip strong with their final game in Texas tomorrow before moving on to Los Angeles to battle the Angels in a battle between teams currently in the American League playoffs.

NBA

I’m still sticking with Lakers tomorrow. 105-96. Book it.

Saturday Morning Quick Hits

MLB:

Well, now that Scott Kazmir is back to being, well, Scott Kazmir, let me revise my AL Cy Young pick. It’s Scott Kazmir. Talk about coming into your own.

I don’t think the question is if Brandon Webb will win the NL Cy Young, but if he will win it unanimously. I think Tim Lincecum will have something to say about that when all is said and done, but Webb is looking at a 25-27 win season right now.

Typical 2008 Yankees: Get their biggest win of the year against Toronto, then get shut down by Kyle Davies and the Royals. This team needs to start looking toward 2009, now. Considering the way Jason Giambi and Bobby Abreu are hitting, they should definitely considering getting what they can for them since both are attractive trade pieces in the last year of their contracts. Same goes for Mike Mussina. On the plus side, Hank Steinbrenner seems to want Brian Cashman back as GM. Anything less would be devastating for the franchise that has gone from bereft to awash in minor league talent.

If the Mets have any hopes of staying in the race this summer, they are going to have to win 85% of Johan Santana’s starts. Last night was not good; it’s obvious, but losing 2-1 to Randy Wolf is unacceptable when you get a very good start from your ace. I mean, it’s bad regardless of who is starting, but the Mets simply don’t have the depth or the leeway in the standings to lose these types of games when, outside of John Maine, they have no clue what they are getting on a day-to-day basis on the mound.

NBA

Must win for the Lakers tonight, and I think they’ll get one. The Celtics seem to have a good idea of how to defend Kobe Bryant, but he’s not going to shoot under 40 percent in two consecutive NBA Finals games.

Tennis

I know most outsiders must be thinking ‘Wow, another Nadal-Federer final,” but take into account last year’s classic Roland Garros final as well as the emergence of Novak Djokovic in the past year before passing this match up tomorrow morning. We may not get many more of them in the non-clay environment. I’m pysched for another chapter in one of tennis’ most underrated and exciting rivalries of all time. 

MMA

Quick hit picks for the televised portion of tonight’s UFC 85: Bedlam 

Matt Hughes TKO2 Thiago Alves

Jason Day SUB1 Michael Bisping

Marcus Davis TKO1 Mike Swick

Nate Marquardt UD Thales Leites

Brandon Vera SUB2 Fabricio Werdum

Belmont Stakes

Casino Drive wasn’t going to make a huge difference, so his scratch won’t change things. Big Brown is going to outlast the field for a Triple Crown victory over Ready’s Echo and Denis of Cork by 7 lengths.