A Little Birdy Told Me...

I've just started a twitter account about a month ago and haven't really gotten much use out of it. But I decided to try a little exercise to see what tweetin' could do for me.

I never realized that people had sooo much time to update their twitters. Surely, Facebook takes up 90% of their web-use as it does for me (I guiltily admit this. It's an addiction). But the good thing about twitter, as pointed out by my sports writing teacher, is that Joe or Jane Journalist can follow a relevant athlete and/or other sources for quick updates that might not be launched into the news world until the next day.

Nevertheless, I still hesitate to say that I love Twitter, but maybe I'll get there someday.

Anyways--to the point...

Here are a couple of things I've gotten from Lance Armstrong's tweet for the past few days:

*Just days after surgery on his broken collarbone, Lance was working out on an indoor spin-bike. Good news for fans hoping to see him compete in the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France this summer.

*Yesterday, he drove a car for the first time since his accident.

*Dude likes to keep his fans updated.

*AND he really likes Unseen Bean coffee...

Whether or not everything he tweets is relevant, it's nice to bridge the gap between fans and athletes. It's great to see that his family life is so important to him and that he's well on the way to hitting the pavement soon. (And there are some really neat pictures of him post-surgery. What an incision!!!"

As for Twitter: I remain unconvinced, but my interest has been sparked.

Hawkeye Fans Anticipate Loss

The Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament opens today at the Conseco Field House in Indianapolis. The 10th seed Iowa Hawkeyes face the Michigan Wolverines (7th seed) today at 1:30 pm.

Iowa beat Michigan in overtime (70-60) the last time the two teams met on Feb. 22 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Either Hawkeye fans have forgotten the victory or have brushed it off as a lucky win.

“I hope they have a chance,” UI student Sean Deerfield said. “I would say it’s 50/50 whether they will win or not.”

In last year’s Big Ten Tournament matchup, Iowa lost to Michigan in the first round 55-47.

And with the Hawkeyes’ less than impressive season record (5-13 in the Big Ten, 15-16 overall), many fans don’t have high hopes, especially in an away game.

“They’ve only won like one game on the road,” Kass said.

Some have hope that the Hawkeyes can break past the first game in the tournament.

“I hope they win today,” said UI junior Jake Wilson. “What’s that white guy’s name? Jake Kelly. I hope he does well.”

Despite popular belief that Iowa doesn’t stand a chance in today’s matchup, are Hawkeye fans making plans to watch?

“I can’t skip class to watch the game,” UI senior Andy Kass said. “But we’re probably going to lose anyway.”

Would Iowa fans be more interested if the Hawkeyes pulled off a victory over the Wolverines in today’s matchup?

Most agreed they would be.

“If they win today, I will definitely watch them in the rest of the tournament,” Rinozzi said.

Interviews
Sean Deerfield
Andy Kass
Peter Hutcheon
Jake Wilson

Blog Challenge of the Century- The Name Game

Thus far into my sports blogging experience, my posts have been severely lacking in the comment area. But I will not be swayed from participating in the 2 week blog comment challenge. 

So here's what I want to talk about...

We all know of someone (who knows someone's friend's cousin's whatever) who has a ridiculously funny, inappropriate, or weird name. I for one have always been fascinated with how parents choose the names of their children and the 'unexpected' consequences/reactions the kid receives for it growing up.

For example, my brother played football at Eastern Illinois University with a guy named Lucious Seymour. He changed his last name to Seymour after receiving tons of flack for his birth name. I'll let deadspin's post from 2006 do the damage on this one....

I want everyone to post their favorite funny sports name. 

Come on people. I need some extra credit here.

UFC 96 Results

UFC fans voted via-text message for who they thought would win UFC 96's main event tonight. The results? 67% Rampage, 33% Jardine.

Rampage gave them what they wanted. 

Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson defeated Keith 'the Dean of Mean' Jardine in the Light Heavyweight bout to a sold-out Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. 

The win was essential for Rampage to fight in the Light Heavyweight Championship bout against Rashad Evans, the defending champion.

It was a sweet victory for Jackson, who is the former Light-Heavy champion. 

In a 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 three round decision, Rampage proved to be a dynamic fighter. Though his highlighted weakness were leg kicks, you wouldn't have known it watching Rampage fight tonight. Still, his clinch punching and no-mercy style won it for him.

The two fighters tied up early in a fairly even first round fight. 

In the aggressive second round, Rampage landed a heavy blow to Jardine, almost knocking him out. But the 'Dean of Mean' wasn't ready to let up. 

Jardine took control at some points, but his unorthodox style didn't work for him.

The decisive move came in the third round, when Rampage threw a tight left-hook to Jardine in the last seconds, solidifying his win. 

But the main event doesn't speak for the whole night.

Out of seven events, five ended in first round knockouts.

My favorite was the insane kick that Ohio native Matt Hamill (sooo hot!) landed to Mark Munoz's dome in the first Light Heavyweight bout. What a great way to show his hometown crowd what he's all about! And for Munoz, not so much fun in his UFC debut.

Other results for the night:

Lightweight

Gray Maynard (7-0 pre-fight), a former NCAA All-American wrestler, ended Cole Miller's  8 win streak in a three-round unanimous decision. Miller was 13-1 pre-fight.

Middleweight

Kendall Grove knocks out Jason Day with a swift left-right jab to the face 1:32 into the first round.

Welterweight

Matt Brown (11-7) knocks out Pete Sell (8-5) 1:32 into the first round.

Welterweight

Tamdan McCrory knocked Ryan Madigan to the ground, and took him out with his elbows 3:35 into the first round.

Heavyweight

Shane Carwin uses his four inch reach advantage to take out Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion Gabriel Gonzaga (10-4) 1:09 into the first round, giving him an 11-0 MMA record.

Matt Hamill... smokin'.

photos: Top: mmabuzz.com

              Bottom: fight24.pl

Tonight's UFC 96

Tonight at 9: Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, will take on Keith Jardine in Columbus, OH for UFC 96.

Winning this fight would be a huge step for Jackson if he's looking to regain his title. Jardine has taken down both Forrest Griffin and Chuck Liddell. 

The Fighters:

Jackson- 

• First-round knockout of Wanderlei Silva in December
• Read the latest interview with Rampage
  
• Career duration- about 10 years
• Has been training in the UK after switching camps in 2008
• Record: 29-7-0
• Height: 6'1''
• Weight: 205

Jardine-

• Knocked out by Wanderlei Silva last May
• Most recently took down Brandon Neva
• Interview with Jardine
• Career duration- 3 1/2 years
• Has been training with Rashad Evans at Greg Jackson's gym in Albuquerque
• Record:14-5-1
• Height: 6'2''
• Weight: 205

My pick is Jardine, but Rampage will put up a good fight. 

In Search of a Few Good Laughs...

Amidst the chaos and crappy circumstances I've found myself in the past few weeks, I needed something to laugh about.
Normally I would go to YouTube and see what the top ranked vids are for the week, or perhaps pay a visit to fmylife.com. But seeing as I am trying to learn more about the wonderful world of sports (outside of my personal experiences), I decided to do a little shallow research.

Enjoy them or not, here are a few sports pictures that I got a hearty chuckle out of.

Why not?

Update:

Here are a couple of links to entertaining blogs with some great pictures.

• Photo and image
  
• Fan Nation

Future Moto-Kids Won't Have a Chance

On Feb. 10, 2009, the Consumer Product Safety Commission passed a bill that has had immediate effects on the motor sports industry.

The law now states that "products designed or intended for children 12 years of age or younger may not contain more than 660 ppm of lead by weight for any part of the product." Over the next few years, it is the intention of the committee to reduce this down to 100 ppm, according to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

This act makes it illegal to sell motorcycles and ATVs targeted to children 12 and under.

Manufacturers including Kawasaki and Honda have already taken their youth dirt bikes and ATVs off the market, putting the industry in a vulnerable position in an already sinking economy.

MXPTV's Matt Wozney produced a video in protest of the act.

"Motorcycle enthusiasts understand the danger of lead poisoning, especially with younger children," he said in the video. "(But) this law must exclude off-road vehicles and an exception to this law must be made right away before an industry is destroyed."