by on April 5, 2016

UFC Returns to New York City

 

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Recently, the New York State Assembly finally lifted the state’s 19 year ban on mixed martial arts. Now, the UFC is eager to put on a show that will be one of the biggest events in company history at the famous Madison Square Garden.  The first match in New York City won’t likely be until November, so the UFC has some time to decide on who will get this awesome opportunity. There are a ton of intriguing options, so today we look at the top 3 options UFC could book for it’s anticipated New York debut.

Miesha Tate vs Ronda Rousey

Despite Rousey suffering her first UFC defeat against Holm, she is still UFC’s most marketable female fighter, with a hosting stint on Saturday Night Live and a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover appearance as proof of her ongoing popularity. She is slated to make a return to the sport in November, and it could very well be against Bantamweight Champion, Miesha Tate.  Tate has already lost twice to Rousey, once back in Strikeforce and then again in the UFC in 2013. This fight would have the potential to draw a massive crowd to MSG and on pay-per-view, especially since it could possibly be Rousey’s first fight since losing to Holm at UFC 193.  With the Women’s Bantamweight Title on the line and Rousey’s return, this would sure make a hot ticket.

Conor McGregor vs Frankie Edgar

Conor McGregor is one of the most dominating fighters in UFC and a matchup with a talented fighter like Frankie Edgar to defend his Featherweight title would be sure to draw a sell-out crowd at Madison Square Garden. Edgar has a great combination of speed and footwork to make the fight extremely entertaining. McGregor versus Edgar has long been discussed by fans as a potential blockbuster fight, and New York’s large Irish population coupled with Edgar’s roots in New Jersey would make it an easy sell for the UFC.

Jon Jones vs. Anthony Johnson or Daniel Cormier

What would be better than having Jon Jones, a native New Yorker fight at the UFC’s first event in the Empire State?  This would be an awesome selection. Jones will be taking on Daniel Cormier at UFC 197 on April 23. A match that everyone will be watching as Jones looks to recapture the Light Heavyweight Title. If he defeats Cormier it would seem that Anthony Johnson would be the next in line to take on Jones. However, if Cormier ends up beating Jones, it would not be out of question to book the trilogy at Madison Square Garden. Either way, there would be an intriguing matchup for Jones.

These were just a few possible match ups for one biggest events in UFC history.  To check out the rest of possibilities for the New York City showdown, please read this article.

Filed Under: UFC Tagged With: , , , , , ,
by on March 30, 2016

Syracuse Heads to The Final Four

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The Syracuse Orange continued their improbable, but exciting run in the NCAA Men’s Division I basketball tournament this past Sunday. They will be heading to the Final Four to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels in Houston, Texas. Many people were surprised Syracuse was even selected by the NCAA committee  after a 0-4 start in ACC play and losing four of their last five games to end the season. The Orange also had to cope with losing their head coach, Jim Boeheim, for nine games due to a suspension from the NCAA.

Syracuse opened up the tournament against a talented Dayton Flyers team and Syracuse made a quick statement to everyone on why the deserve to be in the tournament. They routed the Flyers 70-51 and were led by talented freshman, Malachi Richardson with with 21 points.

Next up was the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. The Blue Raiders upset the championship favorite, Michigan State to get to this game so you knew their confidence was sky high coming in. However, it did not make a difference for the Orange whose trademark zone defense suffocated the Blue Raiders on the offensive end causing multiple turnovers. Syracuse defeated Middle Tennessee 75-50 and punched their ticket to the Sweet Sixteen.

A sweet sixteen matchup against the Gonzaga Bulldogs proved to be one of Syracuse’s toughest matchups in the tournament. With Gonzaga leading 57-48 late in the second half, Syracuse turned to their aggressive full-court pressure to shut down the Bulldogs and get them back in the game. Down one with under 20 seconds remaining, Senior Forward, Michael Gbinije made a go-ahead layup and Syracuse advanced to its 10th Elite Eight under Jim Boeheim with a 63-30 win.

After a gut wrenching win against the Bulldogs, it set up an all-ACC matchup with Virginia for a spot in the Final Four.  Let’s just say this game was by far one of the best games I have ever watched. Syracuse trailed by 16 points at the start of the second half and rallied all the way back to defeat Virginia 68-62. Malachi Richardson was the difference-maker in the game as he scored 21 of his 23 points in the second half and hit key shots down the stretch. After the game, Coach Boeheim said “It was a great comeback, one of the best I’ve coached in, any team I’ve had, in terms of you’re playing, I think, a great team”.

Syracuse was among the last teams to get into the NCAA tournament and now they are headed to the Final Four. They will be taking on a very talented North Carolina team, but the sky’s the limit for this year’s team as they have shown they can overcome anything thrown their way.

Tune into TBS at 8:49 PM EST on Saturday, April 2 to watch Syracuse and North Carolina battle it out for a spot in the National Title Game on Monday.

 

Filed Under: Sports, Syracuse Tagged With: , , , ,
by on May 7, 2015

The Origins of Soccer

This presentation focusses on the origin of soccer and its rise in popularity throughout the last decades. Soccer is extremely popular among European countries and Latin America, however, its popularity in the US is slowly increasing.  This is the Newest soccer presentation via Prezi.

Filed Under: Football, Ralph Cotran, Ralph Cotran - Soccer, Soccer Tagged With: , , , ,
by on May 6, 2015

Syracuse Football Having Success in the Recruiting Game

Ralph Cotran

Syracuse University Football

Syracuse University football offensive coordinator George McDonald and director of recruiting Eric White have been delivering to their Twitter fans. Exclamations such as “BOOM!” and “#BeBold” have been used to announce the a new a new verbal commitment from a prospect to play football at SU, the Post-Standard reports.

These exclamation are not unwarranted apparently. So far, Syracuse has earned itself commitments from 25 recruits – the highest at this point in the recruiting cycle since the statistic started being tracking 2002. The 2015 Syracuse recruiting class is ranked 28th currently by Rivals.com and 43rd by Scout.  McDonald has roots in Florida and has had a great deal of success so far with securing commitments from that area, with seven players thus far. The high school football programs in that state have been shown to be strong recruiting grounds and having success there could prove invaluable for SU this season.

This influx of recruits so early in the cycle should allow the SU coaching staff to start looking ahead at 2016 and developing a long game.

The coaching staff, under the direction of McDonald, has made targeting players that fit the team’s philosophy and approach to play a top priority, and this could explain much of this early success in in recruiting.

“I think having a lot of guys on board shows the commitment that we’ve made to recruiting and recruiting the right players, but it also shows from a university standpoint that we’re doing something right and we have a lot of excitement across the country,” McDonald said.

McDonald’s excitement here is also not unwarranted. By any fair metric, Syracuse’s 7-6 finish in 2013 was quite an accomplishment for the team’s first season in the ACC combined with the fact that they were being led by a first-year coaching staff. Head coach Scott Schaffer has said that he aims to win 8 this season, a number that would certainly validate the new recruits and give credence to McDonald’s strategies.

Read more at the Post-Standard.

Filed Under: Football, Ralph Cotran, Syracuse Tagged With: , , , ,
by on March 11, 2015

Chelsea v PSG : An Agressive Match to Date

Ralph CotranJosé Mourinho, the manager for Chelsea, has announced that his team members will not be awarded a bonus during the Champions League playoffs unless they take home the Champions League trophy this upcoming June. After his return to Chelsea in 2013, Mourinho restructured his team’s salaries and the per match bonus give aways. Although these payouts are by no means on the low end scale, Chelsea’s manager wonders whether money is an adequate incentive to motivate his players to do better. 

Mourinho believes that unless the team comes out victorious in the finals, they are not deserving of team bonuses, given that they already get paid very well. In a recent interview regarding this matter he was quoted:  “If we take the club into quarter-finals, semi-finals, finals but we don’t win the competition, we are doing a very good job for the club financially but I don’t think we should get extra money if we don’t win the last prize. Every player at the high level has enough money in salaries and I think everyone plays to win.” Mourinho states that the pride and success that comes with each win should override the desire to incentivize players with large bonuses. The love and passion the players have for the game should be enough encouragement to try their hardest and win each match. 

The Champions League has been a time of reflection for the Chelsea coach and his team, and as they close on the first part of CL, Jose believes that Paris Saint-Germain is one of the most aggressive teams they have played thus far. On the game against PSG, Mourinho voiced a real disappointment stating that the game was more about foul calls and aggressive interaction among the players and much less about soccer. 

Filed Under: Chelsea, Ralph Cotran - Soccer, Soccer, Syracuse Tagged With: , , ,