Winter's wrath

It's 32 degrees and plummeting in my corner of the world. By mid-afternoon the first flake of what's expected to be at least a foot of snow is expected to hit the ground straight through Sunday morning. Those of you living in South Florida or Southern California, go ahead, brag. From where I sit it's an excuse to hunker down and enjoy a fine TV day and night. The Rangers are in Philly to take on the Flyers at 1 p.m. And tonight a big Cowboys-Saints game is an appetizer for two MMA shows airing at 10: WEC 45 on Versus and Strikeforce: Evolution on Showtime. I understand the importance of competition, but also wish these great shows didn't air simultaneously.

I did a great interview with Matt Mitrione this week for a FightMagazine.com feature running early next month. The crux of it: "Meathead"says The Ultimate Fighter behind him. His UFC contract was extended and he hopes to prove that there's a lot more to the devious person that was portrayed on the show. That said, if you choose to hate him, he won't care. He'll tell his story in the Octagon. Here's how he summed up his win over Marcus Jones at the TUF Finale on December 5:

“As soon as he took me down the first time and couldn’t do anything with me, I was saying to myself, ‘Oh he’s [screwed],’” Mitrione said. “You’ve got nothing for me, guy.”

Lay off the haterade: First, there's no argument that the UFC is tops in the MMA world and the best is still yet to come as long as it continues to build and market its new stars. But why knock your competition? Strikeforce to date is not making Ted Turner's and Eric Bischoff's mistakes nor is it jumping in deep, shark-invested waters. Let it build and grow, and from there up the ante. It's in the best interest of MMA's market and fans.

Yet more haterade, this time in baseball: Why are many hating on the Yankees' decision to sign Nick Johnson? Is he Hideki Matsui or Johnny Damon? No. Is he a good player (when healthy)? Sure is. Johnson, pending he passes a physical, returns to his original team with career numbers of .279-.477.-413. Damon and the Yankees are at an impasse (thank you Scott Boras), so the Yankees turned to a player who fits in perfectly as a No. 2 hitter who along with Nick Swisher can spell Mark Teixeira at first base. Johnson will primarily DH, but that slot will remain a pit stop for the older veterans with a ton of mileage on their legs.

I'm sad to see Matsui go. He represented class, dignity and was clutch during his seven seasons. Unfortunately, the grind of all those games in Japan and the U.S. took a toll on his knees. He'll put up nice numbers in Anaheim in 2010, but the Yankees were not going to play him in the field at any cost. With Matsui gone, here's hoping Damon can somehow find his way back in pinstripes. He's another one of the great guys in the sport who still has plenty of game. Boras' demands just don't match with his market value at this stage of his career, which is why interest remains minimal from strictly a baseball perspective.