Petitionen & Spendenaufrufe » massive drop in targets in overblown. P

One way or another, UFC 200 will be a redemption story for one of the sports light heavyweight champions.Jon Jones, already the greatest fighter in the world at age 28, will attempt to the reclaim the title he was stripped of in April 2015, when he fled the scene of a traffic accident in New Mexico. The story on Jones is his natural, unrivaled talent, which at times he has seemed determined to waste. A dominant performance against Cormier would go a long way toward closing that narrative.And on the other side is Daniel Cormier, one of the most accomplished athletes in the game but also one missing a truly career-defining moment.Cormier, 37, is a six-time U.S. National wrestling champion and a two-time Olympian. As a collegiate wrestler, however, he came up one win short of winning an NCAA championship. His two trips to the Olympics produced zero medals. And even though he is the defending UFC champion in Saturdays main event at T-Mobile Arena, he did not take the title from Jones. The two fought in January 2015 before Jones was stripped, and Cormier lost via unanimous decision.I havent experienced that shining moment, Cormier told ESPN. When [UFC president] Dana White straps that title belt around your waist, thats huge. But to be truly recognized as the best in the world at something? I cant say that Ive felt that because Jon beat me in our first fight.Ill say this -- there are things Ive done that cant be taken away, but my legacy in mixed martial arts comes down to this fight. If I dont win this fight, Im dead. I have nowhere else to go. I will have lost twice to [Jones]. This is life or death for me and Im OK with that.Cormier (17-1) says his rematch with Jones will define his legacy in MMA, not his athletic career as a whole, but even some of those closest to him have trouble separating the two.Originally from Lafayette, Louisiana, Cormier has been tied to sports for most of his life. He was a high school state wrestling champion and fielded a football scholarship offer from LSU.Wrestling specifically has always been his first, second and third passion. It has been his safe haven at times. When he was 7, his father was fatally shot on Thanksgiving. He lost a close friend and then a cousin to separate car accidents in high school. In 2003, his three-month-old daughter, Kaedyn, died in a car accident. Cormiers therapy through it all took place on the wrestling mat.If you know anything about Daniel, you know that wrestling pretty much adopted him, said Craig Andrus, Cormiers cousin. When those tough times in his life happened, he always looked to wrestling.Cormier began his collegiate career at a junior college in Kansas, before transferring to NCAA powerhouse Oklahoma State for two seasons. He moved weight classes in the process, dropping from 197 pounds to compete at 184. That happened to be the same weight class as Cael Sanderson, who is considered to be the greatest collegiate wrestler of all time.I think his senior year, he had singled Cael out, said John Smith, head coach at OSU. Right out of junior college, he was still realizing how good he was, and we took it slow with him. By 2001, it wasnt about winning an NCAA championship anymore, it was about beating the best pound-for-pound guy in college wrestling. Daniel was so competitive, I remember feeling that if he was that focused on Cael, I wasnt worried about him making the NCAA finals, because we knew thats where Cael would be.Cormier would lose to Sanderson six times between 2000 and 2001. After college, his focus immediately turned to winning an Olympic gold medal, which he came close to accomplishing in 2004 with a fourth-place finish.All roads led to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Cormier made the team for the second time and was promoted to team captain. The field was wide open. None of the three wrestlers who finished ahead of Cormier in 2004 competed in 2008.What was supposed to be the peak of Cormiers athletic career, however, became its lowest point. After making weight, Cormiers body began to shut down. He was taken to a medical facility and diagnosed with kidney failure. He ultimately withdrew.He let his weight get heavy going into those Olympics, said Kevin Jackson, former USA wrestling coach. It became a purely dehydration cut. For three days, we were in plastics, in the sauna. He sucked it up and got through it, made weight, but he was hurting and cramping up. We made the decision to get him to the hospital.After he withdrew, I think there were some people that turned their back on him. They thought it was embarrassing to the country. There were even thoughts that he needed to pay back the costs of his flight and housing in Beijing. A few of us stayed focused on what was really important, the man, but it was his fault he didnt compete. Nobody else did that to him.When Cormier returned to the U.S., he took a job at a television station in Oklahoma. His love of wrestling was never going anywhere, but Andrus says Cormier kept to himself initially. Before the Olympics, he had talked about winning a medal and then transitioning to a coaching job at a Division I college. After the Olympics, his relationship with the sport was less mapped out.That was one of the worst times of his life, Andrus said. Id be lying if I said he didnt still keep up with wrestling, but he really turned himself away from a lot of it. It was like, I dont know what I want to do with wrestling anymore.And then one day, it just hit him. He called me and said, Bro, Im going to California to fight. Im too short to try out for the Houston Rockets, so Im gonna go fight.The revelation didnt come from nowhere. Cormier had been recruited by MMA manager and former collegiate wrestler DeWayne Zinkin since about 2003. Zinkin had actually taken his business partner Bob Cook to one of Cormiers wrestling matches and declared, This guy is going to be a badass fighter.Cook, seeing Cormier for the first time, responded, That short, little guy?Cormier, who is 5-foot-11, arrived at American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose after a year of relative inactivity. Cook remembers him weighing around 268 pounds, with not as much muscle as he has now. Cormier was a fast learner, however, and a natural leader. In addition to winning his first 15 fights, he quickly became the head wrestling coach at the gym.And now all roads have led to UFC 200 in Las Vegas. The Jones (22-1) rematch was supposed to headline UFC 197 in April, but Cormier pulled out with a leg injury. That delay, coupled with a public spat between the UFC and Irish star Conor McGregor, paved the way for Cormier to headline a landmark event. His shot at redemption against Jones, whom he personally dislikes, is coming on the grandest stage the sport can offer.Expectations are that Jones will get his redemption, not Cormier. Jones is significantly favored to win the fight, as he was before their first meeting.The cruel reality might be that Jones is just better, a once-in-a-lifetime talent. Cormier is just unlucky enough to have run into two of them in his lifetime: Sanderson and now Jones.But this is where Cormier is able to separate the two, and its why he believes UFC 200 will leave a lasting impact on his MMA career and not his overall legacy as an athlete. Cael was better, Cormier will tell you. He just was, for multiple reasons. He had it all together. No one was beating Sanderson in a college wrestling match in 2001.Jones? Cormier believes he can beat Jones, which would make him arguably the best fighter in the world. His redemption will be proving that to everyone.I truly believe I am better than Jon Jones, Cormier said. I still believe that the last time we fought, I fought bad. I dont have to be mistake-free to beat Jones, because I feel like Im the better fighter. Clearance Huaraches .J. -- Josh Cribbs was in the Pro Bowl in February and out of a job six months later. Nike Air Huarache Cheap . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. http://www.airhuarachediscount.com/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Nike Air Huarache Discount . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday. Cheap Nike Huaraches Shoes . Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov.TSN.cas NFL Editor Justin Boone and Fantasy Editor Scott Cullen go head-to-head with their fantasy football rankings and debate some of the more notable differences in their opinions. Tom Brady (Patriots) vs. Robert Griffin III (Redskins) Cullen (Brady #5, Griffin III #9): In the last six seasons, Tom Brady has either thrown for 4,000-plus yards and/or at least 34 touchdowns in five of them, with 2008 the only exception because he got hurt in the first game of the year. I dont know if he can keep it alive with his cast of receivers, but if Danny Amendola is Welker-lite and Rob Gronkowski is reasonably healthy, then Im inclined to see if Brady can drag production out of the rest of the unprovens on the Patriots offence. RGIII is obviously great, but its also fair to be cautious considering part of what makes him great is his running ability and hes coming off a torn ACL that will likely keep him out for the entire preseason. If hes waiting right up until the bullets fly for real, shouldnt that present some uncertainty about his readiness for the season? Maybe a couple of series in the third pre-season game wouldnt mean much, but it would probably make me feel better about committing my 2013 fantasy hopes to him. Boone (Griffin III #6, Brady #9): Not everyone has Adrian Petersons Wolverine-like recovery ability, but all reports have Griffin on track to play in Week 1. On the first day of Redskins training camp, Jim Corbett of USA Today said that Griffin "look(ed) explosive," which is all I need to hear to draft him at his current ADP in the sixth round (12-team leagues). Griffin will wear a brace on his knee this season, and hopefully that makes him think twice before taking contact. If he learns to scramble for a gain and then slide, it could also reduce his risk of another injury. If other owners in your league are like Scott, and want to pass on Griffin, dont hesistate to take advantage. Brady is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league and the Patriots offence will still put up points even after all the off-season turmoil. However, Bill Belichick is the type of coach that alters his scheme to fit the talent he has. Entering the season, the Patriots have an elite offensive line and a stable of versatile running backs, while their receiving corps is full of rookies behind Danny Amendola. If Gronkowski is healthy, he is one of the two best tight ends in the game, but he may miss time or be slowed early in the year. Unless rookie wideouts Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins learn the Pats system faster than any other young receiver ever has, Bradys numbers will be impacted. I dont see Brady falling off the map, instead regressing closer to his 2006 numbers when a pedestrian talent like Reche Caldwell was his top receiver, something like 3,800 yards and 28 touchdowns. Maurice Jones-Drew (Jaguars) vs. Alfred Morris (Redskins) Cullen (MJD #8, Morris #13): Just as I hold concern for Robert Griffin III, it would be reasonable to have some skepticism regarding Jones-Drew, who only played six games last season and required off-season surgery for a Lisfranc injury in his foot. At the same time, hes one season removed from leading the league in rushing and is still the one and only threat in the Jaguars offence, so as long as Jones-Drew doesnt suffer any setbacks in camp, hes capable of piling up 1,600-plus yards from scrimmage like he did in each of the three seasons prior to 2012. There is lots to like about Alfred Morris and Mike Shanahan has had success with low-round draft picks in the running game, but I suppose Im wary of Shanahans fickle history with running backs and maybe a little concerned about Morriss heavy workload as a rookie -- only five backs in history have had more than the 335 carries as a rookie that Morris had in 2012. Boone (Morris #6, MJD #14): Morris finished his rookie season second in the NFL in both yards (1,613) and touchdowns (13), yet somehow he is being drafted at the back end of the first round.dddddddddddd Some people might doubt Morris and consider him a one-year wonder as a low-round pick in a Mike Shanahan offence, but you shouldnt. Morris running style works perfectly in the Redskins system and he runs hard on every play. He might not catch a lot of passes, but he doesnt have to if he is averaging over a 100 yards a game on the ground, which he did last season. The only thing that could hold him back is injuries, but that can be said about any running back. Morris is part of the endangered group of NFL workhorse backs and is easily a top six rusher heading into this season. Jones-Drew has led the Jaguars in rushing the last five seasons, which is impressive since he only played in six games in 2012. However, MJD is coming back from a Lisfranc injury that is not something to be written off and can potentially be career threatening. While a healthy Jones-Drew is definitely the best option in the Jaguars arsenal, I disagree with Scott that he is the only threat. Cecil Shorts showed that he can be a go-to receiver for the Jags and when Justin Blackmon returns from his four-game suspension, Jacksonville will feature two decent targets in the passing game. The Jaguars are also a team that will likely find themselves trailing, so they may need to spend their second halves putting the ball in the air as they play catch up. Its not that I dont like Jones-Drew, but the foot injury makes him too much of a risk in the second round where he is being drafted. Victor Cruz (Giants) vs. Demaryius Thomas (Broncos) Cullen (Cruz #3, Thomas #13): For the past couple seasons, Ive leaned more toward Hakeem Nicks in the Giants passing game, but Im sold on Cruz, who has 2,628 yards and 19 touchdowns over the last two years, ranking fifth and sixth, respectively, in those categories among NFL receivers over that time frame. That production also included the 2012 season during which QB Eli Manning had his lowest passing yardage and fewest passing touchdowns since 2008, so slight improvement from Eli figures to bump Cruzs production too. The challenge with forecasting the Broncos passing game is knowing just how many balls will find their way to Wes Welker. If Peyton Manning treats Welker like hes Brandon Stokley in the slot then, sure, Thomas and Eric Decker will keep putting up big numbers like they did in 2012. If, however, Welker is good for 100-plus catches, like he has been for five of the past six seasons, then it becomes more difficult for Thomas (and Decker) to get the same number of targets that they did last season. Boone (Thomas #6, Cruz #13): Thomas targets will almost definitely see a slight decline with Welker on board, so Scott and I have finally found something to agree on. However, I think worries over Thomas or Decker seeing a massive drop in targets in overblown. Peyton Manning threw 583 times in 2012 and 264 of those targets went to Thomas (141) and Decker (123). While they may lose 10-20 combined targets to their new teammate, I believe the majority of Welkers targets will come from the departed Brandon Stokley (58 in 2012) and tight ends Jacob Tamme (85 in 2012) and Joel Dressen (58 in 2012). Thomas remains the most talented pass catcher in Denver and the best downfield threat. Manning will spread the ball around, but he wont forget about his number one receiver, who is coming off a breakout season where he had 1,434 yards and 10 touchdowns. Two years ago, Cruz had 1,536 yards and helped countless fantasy owners reach their championship after they picked him up as a free agent after Week 1. The bar was set high and despite starting all 16 games last season, Cruz came up short with 1,092 yards. Teams began to key on Cruz and he was often unable to overcome the added attention. After signing a nice new contract this off-season, Cruz will only be focused on more and that worries me in a fantasy year where receiver is one of the deepest positions. ' ' '