Month: April 2013

UFC 159 – Newark, NJ

Posted on by georgefattell

Wow, what a great fight card Dana White & Co. have put together for UFC 159 at the Rock, in Newark, New Jersey. All five fights on the Main card have the potential to be very good fights in my humble opinion.

Light Heavyweight Championship

Champion Jon Jones (-925) vs. Chael Sonnen (+725)

Jon “Bones” Jones is a heavy favorite and justifiably so, but I still find this fight very intriguing because I think Sonnen’s may, and I emphasize the word “may”, be able to find a way exploit a weakness in Jones that we have not seen yet. Sonnen is a very smart, well-rounded fighter and he is fearless and relentless. This a classic clash between Sonnen, a crafty veteran who is still at or near his peak as a fighter, and Jones, a young champion who has been able to defeat all challengers to date ( not counting the controversial fight he lost to Matt Hamill by DQ for illegal elbow strikes prior to becoming champion). Jones combines a very rounded MMA skill set with truly exceptional athletic ability. He is also extremely well coached by the now famous (at least in MMA circles) Greg Jackson of New Mexico.

I am a fan of both fighters and have been for a long time. I think Jones will probably win, but he is such a heavy favorite that I would not want to bet on him at -900 or -1000. The risk/reward is not favorable because crazy Chael Sonnen just might find a way to deliver the huge upset.

Jones wins by TKO in the third round.

Middleweight

Michael Bisping (-170) vs. Alan Belcher (+160)

These two guys are both desperate to win and stay in the mix among the contenders in this division. They also seem to really hate each other. Forget these fighters taking a conservative approach. I expect a lot of fists to fly early in this fight.

Bisping wins by TKO in the 3rd.

Heavyweight

Roy Nelson (-230) vs. Cheick Kongo (+210)

Roy “The Belly” Nelson will prove to be too much for Kongo imo. Nelson doesn’t look like much an athlete, but he is really an exceptional wrestler and packs real power in this fists. Kongo is very strong too, but I don’t think he is nearly as polished a fighter as Nelson.

Roy Nelson wins by KO in the 2nd Round.
Light Heavyweight

Phil Davis (-280) vs. Vinny Magalhaes (+255)

I am very tempted to go with Magalhaes, the underdog, here. Davis is a great athlete and a top notch wrestler, but I still think other parts of his MMA skill set need work. However, I’m going to pick Davis to win because I don’t think Magalhaes is quite good enough to defeat Davis. Magalhaes has a strong ground game, but it is hard to see how he will be able to take down Davis, who was a D-1 wrestling champ at Penn State.

Davis wins by decision.

Lightweight

Jim Miller (-260) vs. Pat Healy (+240)

This fight should be a very tough scrap. I expect Miller, a Jersey guy, to be a little extra motivated fighting in front of the home crowd. Healy is a former Strikeforce champ and I expect him to give Miller a very serious challenge. Most of the Strikeforce fighters that were invited to join the UFC have acquitted themselves very so far in the Octagon and I think we will see Healy continue that trend. However, I just don’t think Healy will be able to defeat the extremely tenacious Miller, who owns a multifaceted MMA game and can win standing or on the ground.

Miller wins by decision.

A Few Of My Favorite Podcasts

Posted on by georgefattell

I have become a big fan of podcasts within the last 5 years or so. I love the ability of being able to listen to a podcast at a time that is convenient to me. I probably listen to about 10 podcasts on a regular basis and there are others that I listen to on an occasional basis.

Here are a few podcasts that are among my favorites. I will list others in future posts on this topic, but I will start with these three because I listened to all three this weekend.

1) Mark Steyn (Substituting for Rush Limbaugh) – Steyn is my favorite substitute host for Rush. I think Steyn’s wit and his decidedly un-PC sense of humor always produce an entertaining show when Mark is substituting for the Big Voice on the Right.

2) Webster Tarpley’s World Crisis Radio – Webster Tarpley is a Washington D.C. based author, historian and journalist. His podcast is presented weekly and presents his views on the major domestic political events of the past week and his view of the geopolitical landscape around the globe, especially hotspots, such as Europe, the Middle East and Asia. This choice might come as surprise to those of you who know that my personal politics lean right of center on most issues, because Tarpley is way, way out on the left. I rarely find myself in agreement with Tarpley, but I respect his views because he is very well educated (BA Princeton, MA Skidmore College, Ph.D. Catholic University of Ammerica) and he offers a lot of insights you won’t find in the MSM. I also appreciate his literary and historical references, which I think are quite funny sometimes.

Oddly enough, I discovered Tarpley on the Alex Jones show. He was a frequent guest on AJ’s show until he started hosting his own show on the Genenis Communications Network.

3) ESPN UFC Podcast – Hosted by Garth A. Davies and Ben Blackmore from the UK. This is weekly podcast that discusses the the fights and fighters of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. These guys always provide interesting analysis of UFC fights that have just taken place, as well as predictions for upcoming fights.

The 10 vehicles I would buy if won the lottery

Posted on by georgefattell

I see quite a few nice cars on the streets of San Diego and other parts of Southern California. I sometimes ask myself which ones I would buy if I had an unlimited budget. So, if I won the lottery or invested in the next stock that goes up several thousand percent and had a few million to spend on vehicles, along with a garage to house them, I think would buy the following 10 vehicles:

1) Ferrari 458 Spider

2) Audi R8

3) Porsche PanameraI think the big Porsche is very cool. Not everyone is a fan of this design, but I am. I think Porsche definitely raised the performance bar for luxury sedans with this car.

4) Tesla Model S This car has redefined all electric vehicles forever. Whenever I see one I feel like I am looking at the future.

5) Chevy Volt

6) Ford F-150 Raptor I decided I wanted at least one truck in the group and this beast is the king of the hill.

7) Honda CRV Also had to add one SUV and the CRV is the best all around value for this type of vehicle imo.

8) Dodge Challenger SRT Of all the neo-muscle cars the Challenger projects the most muscle. I like the Camaro and Mustang too, but I give the Challenger a slight edge over those two.

9) Scion FR-S I think this is the best sports car under 30K. I love the minimalist character of this car. A beautiful design.

10) Honda Civic Natural Gas