Notre Dame Football is Not the Center of the Universe

Half a millennium ago Nicolaus Copernicus claimed that the Earth is not the center of the Universe. That all changed when Notre Dame Football was born. Along the way All Americans, Traditions and National Championships emerged. And as the season approaches and training camp days away, other sporting events prove that ND Football is not the center of the Universe.

This upcoming weekend is specially loaded with lots of sporting events.

UFC 101 (Pay Per View, August 8 Saturday)

First, we have UFC 101. A big fan of UFC and MMA in general. UFC 101 is not as loaded as UFC 100, but the expected fireworks and unpredictability of this card makes UFC 101 more intriguing than the overly hyped UFC 100. The undercard is not noteworthy, but so as most UFC undercard events. The main card is only two deep. The co main event is the fight between Anderson Silva and Forrest Griffin. This has the making of an all out brawl. If you are not a fan of the UFC or MMA in general, Anderson "the Spider" Silva is/was the pound for pound best figter in the world. I put "/was" not because he lost to a fight to another fighter but because his last two fights have been a snooze fest. I still say he is the #1 P4P because the last two fighters he fought was actually the reason for the snooze fest. And that the 2 fighters (George St. Pierre and Fedor Emelianenko) ahead of him are very predictable. Anyways, the fighter Silva will be fighting is Forrest Griffin. Forrest is not the best fighter in the world, but he does have the biggest heart and strong will. His fight against Bonnar probably saved the UFC. The other co main event is the fight between B.J. Penn and Kenny Florian. To simply put it, this has all the ingredients to be the fight of the year. I'm a big fan of Penn because he talks a lot, and he has been in the island supporting the local MMA scene here so I'm rooting for Penn to win. Plus, I want to see him fight Diego Sanchez to clear out the division. If he does, fireworks should start flying again in BJ's head. He will probably ask for a rematch against St. Pierre which will never happen, so it will be interesting to see who he wants to fight next.

My predictions

Kenny Florian beats B.J. Penn via split decision.

I hate to predict a loss for Penn, but Florian is in one of those camp that will come up with a good game plan. I see Florian copying St. Pierre's game plan. Florian will out wrestle Penn (not so much out wrestle but more of an out strengthen) and Penn will spend at least fifteen minutes on his back. This will be a snooze fest if Florian does copy St. Pierre. I sure do hope I'm wrong. Let's go B.J. Penn!

Forrest Griffin upsets Anderson Silva via split decision.

Silva can easily win this by using his skills on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. However, if he does try to take Forrest down and use his BJJ, there is a great chance that this fight is going to be another boring fight which he cannot afford for loosing a lot of fans. Forrest is no BJJ master, but his defense against it should be enough to not get submitted. Thus, look for both fighters to stand up all the way. Expect to see a lot of kicks. Expect a knock out. Expect "the Spider" to Knock Out Forrest but also expect Forrest to get back up by shear heart. Expect this to happen a couple of times. Along the way, Forrest will score and outpoint Silva. Forrest wins by a contoversial split
decision against Anderson Silva.

Pro Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2009)

I do not know much about the Class of 2009. The only one I remember is Rod Woodson from Madden football game and Baltimore Ravens. I heard about Bruce Smith and Derrick Thomas. I do not like watching HOF ceremonies, but I like looking at the bust presentation. I wonder how it feels to look at a severed head of yourself. Those guys must feel weird when they first see it.

Hall of Famers by College

Southern California (11)
Notre Dame (10)
Michigan (8)
Alabama (7)
Illinois (6)
Minnesota (6)
Ohio State (6)
Oregon (6)
Syracuse (6)
Penn State (5)

Notre Dame Players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Nick Buoniconti, Dave Casper, George Connor, Paul Hornung, Earl (Curly) Lambeau, John (Blood) McNally, Joe Montana, Alan Page, George Trafton, and Wayne Millner.

NFL Preseason Starts

Football season is officially on the clock. It is Buffalo Bills against the Tennessee Titans. It's on Sunday on NBC. Terrell Owens suits up for the Bills for the very for time. As Owens once said, "Get your popcorn ready." Football season is here!

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