Smashed

On Thursday Junkie ran my feature on Mark Kerr and his latest comeback attempt. The odds were Buster Douglas-like against Mike Tyson, but there was no shocking upset. In fact, it was pretty ugly. Muhammad Lawal literally knocked out Kerr in 25 seconds. Kerr's a real good guy who's cleaned up his life and told me he plans on fighting until the end of next year. To be fair, he had just three weeks to prepare for a rising star looking to make a name for himself in the United States. But Kerr needs to step away. He finally has balance in his life and there's nothing more to prove.

Thursday afternoon I did something different for YES: A feature on a visiting team. The Texas Rangers showed they're for real in taking two of three from the Yankees, but they will be in a war to secure a playoff spot.

Tonight is UFC 102 and a great card is lined up. Here are my quickie predictions:

Randy Couture vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

Big Nog offered up no excuses for his KO loss to Frank Mir, but competed with a staph infection. The Natural is still a force even at age 45, but this time Minotauro is healthy enough to pull off one of his patented rise-from-the-dead late comebacks. Nogueira split decision. 

Keith Jardine vs. Thiago Silva

Both are off losses and their careers are at a crossroads. Jardine's been through the wars and has proven his resilience, but which Dean of Mean will show up> Silva was knocked out cold by Lyoto Machida and will be taught more hard lessons. Jardine unanimous decision. 

Demian Maia vs. Nate Marquardt

This will be the fight of the night. Maia (10-0) is undefeated -  and untested. Marquardt looked awesome in dismantling Wilson Gouveia and has also competed against Anderson Silva and Martin Kampmann. Maia has that invincible aura about him, but his best chance in this, his stiffest challenge, will be keeping it on the ground. Marquardt has an array of skills and is peaking. Marquardt TKO Round 3.

Chris Leben vs. Jake Rosholt

Both are coming off losses, yet this is Leben's last chance.  He's been given numerous opportunities to stay clean. Here's hoping his life is finally in shape. As for his UFC shelf life, the Crippler makes a statement. Leben TKO Round 1.

Krzysztof Soszynski vs. Brandon Vera

Great opportunity for The Polish Experiment, who steps in for Matt Hamill (knee). The Hammer and his camp have a vested interest in this fight, for it's likely Hamill will take on the winner. Like Jardine, the biggest question about the Truth is whether the good or bad Vera will show up. Soszynski was TUF 8's best competitor and was stopped only by an injury. Vera is re-dedicated to the sport, but hasn't yet shown he can maintain focus. The experiment cashes in on his chance. Soszynski unanimous decision.

Rink Rap, Silverback, Smashing Machine

Jim Cerny, a colleague and friend from my hockey writing days, has launched a new blog called "Rink Rap." Jim's covered the NHL for more than 20 years working as radio play-by-play voice of the Islanders and now as the beat writer for the Rangers' official Web site. You can't have a big enough hockey fix, especially in the New York metropolitan area. Jim will keep you plugged in.

Seth Petruzelli knocked out Chris Baten at 2:23 of the first round last Saturday in his first post Kimbo Slice bout. The Silverback told me days before that he's been in talks with Strikeforce and the UFC about a return to the latter promotion. This is a nice first step.

Keep an eye on MMAJunkie.com tomorrow for my exclusive interview with "The Smashing Machine," Mark Kerr, who is attempting another comeback and this time in the best frame of mind he's been in his whole life. Kerr will fight rising star Muhammad "King Mo" Lawal at M-1 Global's first televised event Friday night in Kansas City. Seconding Lawal is his close friend Daniel Cormier, the former Olympian who spoke with me shortly after singing an MMA contract with Zinkin Entertainment.

Contrary to popular belief, the Yankees haven't wrapped up the AL East. There's more than a month to go and Tuesday night the Texas Rangers showed why the road to a championship won't be easy. I'll be at Yankee Stadium tomorrow to learn more about the team that's shooting for its first postseason appearance since 1999.

Couture-Varon? Strike now, Coker

The Junkie crew had this covered yesterday, culminating with John Morgan's exclusive interview with Kim Couture. As former WWE and current TNA wrestler Victoria (aka Lisa Marie Varon) told Dann Stupp, she's planning an MMA career and has apparently challenged Couture to a future fight.

Couture's record speaks for itself. She may be too big of a bite for Varon, but Brock Lesnar wasn't supposed to steamroll through veteran competition either (Heath Herring, Randy Couture, Frank Mir II). And Varon has always been full of surprises. Before a 2001 WWE (nee WWF) event in San Jose, Varon sat in an empty area with a few WWF developmental league wrestlers and was about as a warm and gracious person you'd ever meet. I knew she'd make an impact someday, but she blossomed into one of WWE's most feared competitors and its women's champion.

Yes, wrestling is an act, but it takes an unbelievable amount of physical talent and incredible charisma to succeed in the business, one that takes a physical and emotional toll beyond comprehension. Varon has the desire to succeed in MMA. The question is whether her skills will be up to standards.

Either way, if I'm Scott Coker, I'm not wasting time. Couture is eying two bouts before the end of the year and this is Coker's opportunity to cash in on the electric fan reaction to Gina Carano-Cris Cyborg by building a women's division. Attendance dropped 8.12 percent from April's "Shamrock vs. Diaz" Strikeforce event, but Carano vs. Cyborg drew 576,000 viewers on Showtime, the highest-rated MMA program to ever air on Showtime Networks according to Showtime officials.

Thanks to the bad economy, you can cut the attendance figures some slack. This is Coker's chance to strike it rich. Dana White had his chance (WEC), but passed. A full-fledged woman's division, combined with Fedor and a growing talent roster and Coker's ready to seriously compete.

Silverback: Time to create my own image

Seth Petruzelli returns to the cage Saturday night when he'll face Chris Baten at an Art of Fighting event in Tampa., Fla. There are still those who consider the Silverback lucky and a joke. Saturday is his chance to rewrite his story. An impressive win brings him one big step closer to a deal with Strikeforce or a return to the UFC, and possibly a rematch with Kimbo Slice. A lackluster win and doubt will still surface. A loss and he can forget about shaking that fluke label.

Carano didn't give into fear

It was last July when Gina Carano sat ringside at the Stockton Arena for EliteXC: Unfinished Business. One of the televised matches was Cris “Cyborg” Santos against Shayna Baszler. Cyborg destroyed Baszler at 2:48 of Round 2. CBS cameras caught a glance of Carano smiling, but not the attractive grin that ticketed her for Maxim’s hot list. It suddenly dawned upon her that a showdown with this destruction device was inevitable. For the first time in her life there appeared to be a shred of fear and she entered Saturday night the face of women's fighting, but also an underdog.

Give this to Carano: She lost to Cyborg, beaten up pretty badly, but did not give in to fear, unlike Michael Spinks against Mike Tyson in 1990. She gallantly traded punches with Cyborg and escaped a kimura attempt late in the round, but Cyborg’s power was too much. She pinned Carano against the cage and unloaded at least 20 unanswered blows. Amazingly, there are those who thought referee Josh Rosenthal was wrong in stopping the fight. The ref’s job is to keep an eye on the fighter, not the clock. While Carano was getting pounded, she was told three times she had to fight back and when he failed to receive a response Rosenthal had no recourse but to stop it when it just so happened to be one second left in Round 1.

There were a few comparisons to the epic Julio Cesar Chavez-Meldrick Taylor bout in 1990, when Taylor was three minutes from ending Chavez’s undefeated run at 66 fights and winning the WBC World Junior Welterweight title. He was floored with 17 seconds left and rose at the count of six, yet was verbally unresponsive to referee Richard Steele’s questions. Steele stopped it with two seconds left, setting cornerman Lou Duva in a rage. In Taylor’s case he was nodding and looking towards his corner. He had two more seconds in him, which is why the controversy continues to this day.

No controversy over Cyborg’s tremendous victory before arguably one of the hottest and most energized atmospheres (13,524 strong at The Shark Tank, the NHL’s loudest arena) in the history of MMA, albeit one virtually 100 percent behind Carano.

“I felt like everybody was on Gina's side, but I wasn't alone," Santos said. "I had God on my side and all of my team. I was very comfortable with that. [Having the crowd against me] was something more (to motivate me) for the fight, but I was ready. Inside the cage, there's only two fighters.”

Who’s next for Cyborg? For Carano? And what about the future of women’s MMA and Strikeforce? All mostly sunny from where I sit. Strikeforce president Scott Coker is looking at one of his new additions, veteran Marloes Coenen (16-3), reports my Junkie colleague John Morgan.

Mike Chiappetta of Fanhouse projects it’ll be Erin Toughill, respected in the MMA community, but unfamiliar to the casual audience Strikeforce is looking to attract. Toughill had reportedly been at odds with the organization, but Coker told reporters that she will be welcomed into the fold.

Either way, both Cyborg and Carano need one fight – and impressive wins – under their belts before a rematch, which would be so big Strikeforce had better hope a deal is in place with CBS (they’re not ready for PPV yet). Anyone who believes Strikeforce will go under because its ‘meal ticket’ was pummeled is misguided and failed to notice how awesome Glibert Melendez and Gegard Mousasi looked during their respective victories. If management's eyes do not get bigger than its stomach, Strikeforce will be OK.

Carano will be back and better than ever, because the great ones evolve after learning how to lose. As far as Cyborg goes, never mind her being the the best female fighter. She proved Saturday night she's one of the best in the world, period.

Daniel Cormier launching MMA career

This release came from Zinkin Entertainment & Sports Management, who now represents former Olympian wrestler Daniel Cormier.

A few quick updates: I'll be interviewing Seth Petruzelli on his next fight, August 22 against Chris Baten at Art of Fighting 4 in Tampa, Fla. After that it's a discussion with former New York Giant turned MMA fighter Matt Mitrione and Season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter. And I couldn't help think about Forrest Griffin while reading Zinkin's release. Never a good loser, Griffin was schooled by Anderson Silva at UFC 101, stormed out of the Octagon and hasn't been heard from since. Word has it days before the bout the last thing he wanted to deal with was media attention. Stay tuned.

Daniel Cormier, 2x US Olympic Wrestler and 6x U.S Senior National Champion, has just signed on with Zinkin Entertainment & Sports Management, officially beginning his professional career in MMA. Cormier adds his name to other MMA stars under Zinkin Entertainment such as Chuck Liddell, Forrest Griffin, Jon Fitch, Mike Swick, Josh Koscheck, Cain Velasquez, Josh Thomson, Bobby Southworth and Paul Buentelllo.

Cormier, resident of Oklahoma since his collegiate wrestling career at Oklahoma State University, is known for his extraordinary talent and physically aggressive, explosive style of wrestling. Zinkin Entertainment is excited to have Cormier as part of their team and have high expectations for their latest MMA fighter. Daniel will soon begin training at the world-renowned American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) in San Jose , California under “Crazy” Bob Cook, Javier Mendez and Dave Camarillo.

With a collegiate record of 117-10, Cormier is considered one of the most decorated U.S wrestlers.

Munson: The heart & soul of a franchise

YESNetwork.com's tribute to Thurman Munson, 30 years after his untimely death, is on-line. Here's the rundown:

• Munson: Still loved and respected
• Reflections on Thurman by Ray Negron
• From Munson to Cory Lidle
• No. 15 for the Hall?

As I write this, the Chicago White Sox radio broadcast team are recalling Munson as an all-out player who would beat your brains out for a win. Notre Dame head football coach Charlie Weis was a catcher growing up and is describing how Munson was an influence and how he admired his toughness. If you were a runner heading home and Munson was blocking the plate, he'd ensure you'd make contact with his shin guard before applying the tag. A long-time Yankees fan who I interviewed for my feature summed it up best: There was tough and then there was "Thurman tough."

It's ironic that today, August 2, 1979, the Yankees are in Chicago playing the White Sox in the same park where Munson played his final game. Whether he's a Hall of Famer or not - my heart says yes but conventional wisdom and analysis suggests no - is immaterial. Munson is on the same level as Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, Mantle, Yogi, Martin and Jackson: Yankee icons who made an impact on the field and in the hearts of fans. To this day we're still talking about them as well as plenty of others.

For me, it's back to covering the modern gang. Thursday marks the opener of a four-game showdown against the Red Sox.

Five Days in August

Ray Negron, a Yankees senior advisor and special consultant to George Steinbrenner who's worked for the Boss for 35 years, kept a hand-written diary that documented his emotions of the five days in August of 1979 when the team mourned the loss of its captain, Thurman Munson. Last week, Negron made his diary public and I produced a five-part series for YESNetwork.com that launched its tribute to Munson's memory 30 years after his tragic death in a plane crash.

• Part I
  
• Part II
• Part III
• Part IV
• Part V