College basketball is one of my favorite sports to watch. I get pumped up when the college guys take to the courts because to me it is so much better than NBA basketball. The college players seem to have much more drive and heart than the professionals. I am not sure why, but I think they do. I know a lot of people that would agree with me as well. I mean you watch college basketball and you get hooked to the fight that they put into their games.

My favorite college team would have to be the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. A lot of the teams in the ACC are great teams, but there is just something special about the Tar Heels. They are an incredible team with huge heart. Take a look to see what I mean.

Before Sunday, Tom Brady had gone four straight games without throwing an interception.  During the fourth quarter of the game between Brady’s New England Patriots and the Washington Redskins that streak was broken, and this interception led to quite an argument between the quarterback and Bill O’Brien the offensive coordinator.

After the pick, Brady was obviously upset as he stormed off the field.  After sitting the offensive coordinator approached and you can see how immediately the two got into it.  Both were very animated and had to be separated by head coach Bill Belichick.  Before Bill got involved though you can see other players trying to intervene and stop the argument.  Even after the split up O’Brian kept on yelling at Brady.

It is not an uncommon thing to see sideline arguments in football, but to see Brady blow up like that was different.  The two have reconciled and Brady took the blame for the ruckus.  He said that the yelling was deserved as he did throw a pick that could have been very serious.  ”I threw a pretty bad interception so he wasn’t happy with that,” Brady said.

Well, it’s good to hear that all things are well with the coordinator and quarterback.  Had the Patriots not won the game 34-27, I’m not too sure if they would have made up as quickly as they did.

Take a look at Brady losing his cool below.

If you have ever sat around trying to figure out what college hoops and aircraft carriers have in common, you were probably stumped for days until finally just making up a similarity that would allow you to get some sleep at night.  Thank goodness the NCAA thought of a way to bring these two things together.  You read correctly, after tomorrow evening, you can associate aircraft carriers with college basketball and vice versa.  How is this so?  Well, it’s simple really, the United States Navy, University of North Carolina, and Michigan State University clearly have a vivid imagination.  Along with that, ESPN will be broadcasting the game thanks to an agreement with the Morale Entertainment Foundation.  In honor of Veterans Day this 11/11/11 the two teams will face off on board an aircraft carrier basketball court.

The coaches of both teams are very excited and honored to be a part of something so very special.  Michigan State’s coach Tom Izzo said:

I can’t think of a better way to start the season than playing in the Carrier Classic…on Veterans Day.  The opportunity to give something back to those that serve in the military and their families is a humbling experience…As coaches and athletes, we are familiar with terms like wins and losses, but to our servicemen and women, those phrases have very different meanings…”

Roy Williams the coach for University of North Carolina said:

It is an honor for Carolina Basketball to play in such a unique game that will benefit and salute the United States’ armed forces…The experience will create for them [the team] a lifetime of memories.  Even more important is the chance to combine the start of college basketball season with saluting and thanking our military personnel for all they do to allow us to safely live and play each day in the United States of America.

The game will air on ESPN at 7 p.m. ET.  Will you be tuning in to watch this amazing event and support the troops along with the teams?  I know I will!

Over ten years ago the New York Yankees picked up a new pitcher, Mariano Rivera.  His first year in 1995 was not really full of Hall of Fame potential, especially with him starting.  The next year though, his potential more than shined through as he would set up for closer, John Wettland.  1996 was the year that Mariano, or “Mo” would finish third in the Cy Young voting and prove that he had what it took to be a Yankee.  Mo is a 12 time All Star, 5 time World Series Champ, and he primarily uses one pitch that is impossible for others to replicate.

On Tuesday, September 13, Mo became only the second reliever to accomplish 600 saves with a 3-2 win over the Seattle Mariners.  Now it is not just his pitch, “the cutter,” that has gotten him this far, but it is undoubtedly a huge component.  Hitters just simply cannot hit the cutter, plain and simple.  Pitchers cannot replicate it either.  Many have done all that they can to do it.  Some have gotten herbs from legalherbsdirect.com, some have spent hours watching him and training, but it is just not possible.  With his 600 saves and original pitch, Mo is definitely going to be in Cooperstown without a doubt, but he belonged there prior to Tuesday night’s game.  Congratulations to Mo and to the Yankees.

Watch the 600th save for yourself, and you can also find out a little more about Mo in the video below too.

The world record holder in the 10m and 200m races, Mr. Usain Bolt, let down fans everywhere by false starting in the final of the 100m yesterday. Bolt was thus disqualified from the race and did not win what was surely to be a World Championships Gold Medal in Daegu, Korea. The fastest man in the world was clearly upset about this, but in the end it was his own fault and he will have a chance to redeem himself in the 200m finals on this Saturday, that is, if he makes it through the heats on Thursday and semi-finals on Friday.

There was some speculation that Bolt purposefully false started to avoid the mandatory drug testing for top finishers in the finals, but if he lines up for the 200m heats on Thursday as expected, this clearly will not be the case. Most all performance enhancing drugs cannot be cleared from the human body in that short of a time period, so it would be obvious that Bolt is not doping if he raced in the 200m final. However, there will surely be massive speculation if he false starts again, or gets DQ-ed for stepping in another lane, or for any other reason. The prospect of Usain Bolt, the fastest man in the world and most likely the fastest man in the history of the world, doping to obtain his superior speed, would be a huge blow to the sport, as previous doping cases in athletics have destroyed the reputation of the suffering sport.

The World Track and Field Championships, which happens every other year, to many is simply a warm up for the Olympic Games, which is why many fans of the sport are not overly concerned with the DQ. If this had been the Olympic Games, there would be outrage at the “one and done” rule, which states that the first time an athlete false starts in a final counts as a disqualification. Many track and field fanatics, especially when it comes to fans of the sprints, feel that the first false start should be counted against the field, and then disqualifications should only happen after the first one counted against the field. That means that no matter who false starts the first time, everyone goes back to the line to start again. Then, if someone false starts the second time around, whether or not they jumped the gun too early the first time or not, that person is then disqualified and the remainder of the field goes back to the line to start again. Since this is the World Championships and not the Olympic Games- which happens half as often, however, there is not quite as much outrage that the fastest man in the world didn’t get a chance to compete. We can only hope that London 2012 doesn’t happen in quite the same fashion.

To say that long time UFC 133 dominator Ryan Bader is going through a rough spot is a bit of an understatement. After losing his last three matches in a row, Bader is in a spot he isn’t very familiar with at all: the risk of getting cut. Not that anyone actually thinks he will, but many fighters have been cut for less than that, so now he’s riding on his past accolades to get him through to his next match and push him back up on top where he belongs. The 28 year old fighter, who is now 12-3, now recognizes his need to step out of his comfort zone after back to back stoppage losses to Jon Jones and Tito Ortiz. But stepping out of his comfort zone doesn’t necessarily mean working harder, but just improving different areas of his game plan and improving on his boxing. “I need to get out of my comfort zone. I want to be nervous because I’m sparring with a new guy,” Bader said. “I’m going to be getting different looks. I really can’t work any harder because I was already going so hard, but I can change things.”

The Arizona State University wrestler admittedly relies too much on his wrestling experience and hasn’t fully embraced boxing technique as much as he should, which would make him a much bigger threat to guys with boxing backgrounds. He needs to be on their level when it comes to throwing and blocking punches: “I’ve got to work on my defense and my movement,” Bader said. “That’s one of my problems. I don’t move my feet. Those mistakes cost me the fight.” Which was a very costly fight indeed, as Bader came in as the heavy favorite against Ortiz, with most expecting this to be Tito’s last fight and for him to retire after a striking loss to Bader. But instead, Tito’s upset has breathed new life into his career, as he has now accepted a main event fight for UFC 133 against Rashad Evans.

But Bader hopes that he can hunker down and diversify his training to come back stronger than ever before, looking to make a serious comeback that reflects his fighter’s nature and his reputation, building on his successes and learning from his mistakes to make him a better fighter than he’s ever been before. Bader says that after the loss to Jones, he didn’t necessarily feel the pressure. But now, after losing a fight to a serious underdog that tripled his losing streak, the pressure is now getting to him. Pressure, however, isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and Bader recognizes this, giving him a do or die drive to perfect his technique and come back more skilled than ever before. Bur for now, we’ll have to wait and see whether Ortiz’s hige upset is just going to be a fluke, or if he can really hang with the big names when he takes on Rashad Evans. A win against Evans would be validating for Bader, but that absolutely can’t be the focus. To get back to his prime, it shouldn’t matter who he goes up against, and that’s what he’s looking for.

With the current NBA Lockout, which officially started on July 1st, still in effect, many NBA players are looking to sign with European teams while their American contracts are suspended. This way, players who don’t want to get rusty and maintain their regular summer schedule will get to compete overseas without threatening their NBA contracts (for the most part). Since NBA players contracts are currently suspended, they are allowed to sign up to play with teams in other leagues, and are allowed to return to the NBA after their FIBA stints if and when the lockout ends.

As NBA Commissioner David Stern stated himself, “If there’s a lockout, the players are free; their contracts are suspended,” Stern said during All-Star weekend in February. “It’s that simple.” The one problem with being picked up by a European team, when it comes to their original contracts, is that NBA players risk nullifying their NBA contracts if they get injured while they are playing for another team under another contract. And while the medical insurance provided for them under their European contracts would cover their injury expenses and rehabilitation back to full health, their NBA contracts would not be guaranteed if they were unable to play when the lockout if lifted.

One of the top point guards in the NBA, Deron Williams of the New Jersey Nets, has just reached a deal with the Turkish team Besiktas to play in the upcoming FIBA 2011-2012 season starting September 27th. Other players from the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers have agreements in the works with Besiktas, none of which have been finalized yet. One major concession non-national players will be looking for is the opportunity to have another contract provide them with medical insurance, so that their national teams for the Olympic 2012 games do not have to. Foreign nationals who play in the NBA who’s home team has not yet qualified for next summer’s games will feel more certain about their country’s qualifying as well as their prospects for playing in London. However, if the NBA Lockout is lifted before then (which hopefully it will be), then many players will be able to keep their NBA insurance while playing for their national team and qualifying issues will be smoothed over (for the most part). But for now, we will just get to look forward to NBA players highlighting this fall’s FIBA european season of hoops.

There are several major, international effects the NBA Lockout is having and will have on the sports world. Free agents aren’t getting paid, rookies can’t play with their teams and get to know the game at a new level this summer, and athletes don’t have medical insurance to pay for their numerous health issues and injuries that dominate the life of a professional basketball player. Because for every minute on the court, each player spends countless minutes in the training room nursing and rehabilitating certain aches and pains. Training and playing at the professional level requires a certain level of regular physical exertion that guarantees at least some resistance by the body, and nothing less than the most excellent sports physicians. With this being said, medical insurance is a necessity for NBA players to continue their training and to play in the Olympics, fast approaching in London Summer 2012.

Many countries are concerned with the added cost of insuring NBA players who would compete for their national team next summer. Because not only does the missing insurance lost from the NBA Lockout have to cover medical expenses that apply to their day to day training regimes, but it also must cover lost wages due to injury, which is an exceptional amount for the biggest superstars, who are obviously the most likely to play in the 2012 Games. The President of the French Basketball Federation, Jean-Pierre Siutat, recently explained the situation from the nation’s perspective: “We are aware of the situation with the players, now we have to wait for them to say yes. We are currently trying to raise the necessary funds to cover the additional costs and are thus trying to find somebody who can help us in France – the government or some alternative sponsor. Considering that we have six players from the NBA, we’re talking about a substantial amount of money.”

Teams like Spain (the Gasol brothers), Argentina, Portugal and more would all have hard times fielding their best possible teams if finances got in the way. Fortunately for the American players and fans, Team USA already qualified for the 2012 London Olympics by winning the FIBA World Championships last year. But for many other countries that are traditionally highly competitive in basketball in the Olympics, this means dishing out some serious dough just in order to qualify for the games. So for now, we’ll just have to wait and see if by some slim chance the owners and players can come to some sort of agreement (maybe for the sake of international competition and the Olympics? Can the barely surviving basketball league at least acknowledge this and be good sports about it?) or if the struggling euro zone can somehow find several sponsors in each country who want to see the games go on.

If there is an NBA lockout, expect to purchase direct tv international channels if you ever want to see your favorite bball player hoop it up again.

Joe Rogan, the comedian and actor who has hosted UFC events for more than ten years, and is a martial arts expert himself, says that he thinks of MMA as the sport of the future, eventually overtaking football and soccer as the most popular sport in America and the world, respectively. Most people find this ridiculous, because it seems that team sports will always fill more arenas, foster greater fanship, and stay on top. But we’ll have to see if Rogan’s reasons for an MMA takeover prove correct overtime, but my guess is that they won’t.

Rogan has several reasons for believing the MMA will be the biggest sport of the future. First, he commends MMA athletes, and fighters in general really, for being “much more humble than the average athletes”. Hogan claims, “Martial artists are some of the most humble people I’ve ever met in my life… it gets rid of all the silly chest-puffing, ego non-sense that you see in a lot of other sports.” This is supposed to make MMA athletes more approachable and likable than athletes from other currently popular sports, creating greater fan bases and more enthusiastic fans.

Another reason Rogan thinks MMA is going to overcome football and soccer after it makes its way to the top of all combat sports is because “Fighting is universal. It is in our chimpanzee DNA”. Mixed Martial Arts combines all combat sports and transcends boundaries across countries and cultures, unlike baseball: “You can’t sell baseball to a country that’s not into baseball. You can’t sell cricket to America,” says Rogan. MMA has made significant progress in the last 10 years breaking into the mainstream because of the way it resonates with natural human aggression, and that this progression will undoubtedly continue until it is the biggest and most popular sport on the planet.

One of the problems with Rogan’s analysis is that he fails to account for fanship based on location- you know this if you’ve ever lived in a city like Pittsburgh or Green Bay, Boston or Detroit- people love to root for the home team, especially when it’s their home team. Also, team sports easily garner more popularity than individual combat matches. When it comes to filling an arena, having a large playing field with many players on it is much easier for 80,000 people to watch (live) than a small ring with two men making precise strikes against one another. Also, most people played some sort of team sport in high school or in a recreational league growing up. High school football games and rivalries are a central experience to the American adolescent as much as local futbol is to international teens. Team sports will attract more fans because they involve more players and give most average citizens a chance to participate. How many millions of people can play pick up basketball wherever there is a court? “Pick-up” MMA is illegal and can get you an assault charge. The greater range of experience and relate-ability, the fact that people generally know how it feels to play the game they are seeing their favorite stars play on TV, will make it so that commonplace team sports will always be more popular than combat sports. Not that MMA can’t reach the level of the glory days of professional boxing, or even beyond, but just expect us to trade in our NFL jerseys for UFC spandex anytime soon.

Direct TV Channel Lineup has reported ridiculous increases in viewership when they pick up a popular fight. Sales are even higher than NFL Sunday Ticket. Hmmm…maybe we’re on to something.

With UFC 129 in the books, we can finally stop watching Georges St. Pierre and Jake Shields pass each other in the hall. In spite of Shields’ hard-to-believe record, St. Pierre’s win over Shields by unanimous decision was a foregone conclusion. St. Pierre is simply too well-rounded. The more interesting match-up at UFC 129 was Randy Couture versus Lyoto Machida. First of all, by asking for a match-up with either Machida or Mauricio Rua, Couture proved once again that he’s the gamest fighter around. What was disappointing about Couture versus Machida was the way Machida won the fight. Yes, he used the same kick his training partner Anderson Silva used a while back to knock out Vitor Belfort. He could have at least used a slightly similar kick. Anyway, Couture says he’s retiring again and Machida will at some point face the new light-heavyweight champion, John Jones.