BROCK LESNAR TAPS CARWIN
Brock Lesnar may be an arrogant and cocky man, but after Saturday, he proved that he deserves all the praise he gives himself. Lesnar has been out for about six months now after suffering a near career ending and almost fatal sickness. Even if he would have lost this match, I still would give him credit for working his way back into this position.
But, he didn't lose, and that says a lot for this man. Carwin is one hell of a fighter, coming into the fight at 12-0 and not even letting any of his fights get out of the first round. It almost looked like he was going to make win 13 almost as easy, but Lesnar wouldn't quit. Carwin nailed a vicious blow to Lesnar that sent him stumbling backwards and to the ground. Carwin pounced on him and kept on throwing punches.
Lesnar said after the fight that he knew that if he could keep moving and show the ref that he was fighting to keep going that he would have a chance because Carwin was getting tired.
That is exactly what happened and in the second round, Lesnar shot at Carwin, took him down, and applied the submission that Carwin had no choice but to tap to. The submission not only signified that Lesnar was back and still in power, but that he is learning as a fighter. If you look at some of the first fights, and even the Mir fight, Lesnar used his strength. The fact that Lesnar took Carwin down and made him tap even knowing that Mir was tired shows a lot of growth.
So congratulations to Lesnar for making his return when he could have easily succumbed to his sickness. He is the best fighter in heavyweight right now. His next fight will be a tough one against the ready Cain Velasquez.
BRAZIL IS OUT, GERMANY IS DOMINATING
Raise your hand if you expected Brazil to be out in the quarterfinals? Not many, if any, predicted this outcome. Netherlands had yet to lose or even tie, and coming from pretty easy group play, I expected Brazil to continue to play like their number one world ranking. That didn't happen.
Brazil took an early lead and looked to run away with this one. Then the second period started and Felipe Melo stepped up his game... in a bad way. In the 52nd minute, Melo scored... on his own goalie. He was trying to stop a shot and instead of leading Brazil goaltender Julio Cesar take the ball, he tried to head it away and ended up heading it into his own net.
That goal just tied it up and there was still time. But, that goal seemed like it took the air out of Brazil and again Netherlands scored, but on their own this time. This goal was a nice one too. After a corner kick, Dirk Kuyt headed it backwards to Wesley Sneijder who headed it into the goal.
And then, to top the absolute collapse of Melo and in return Brazil, Melo was given a red card after he stepped on the thigh of a Netherlands' player. Not only did it look painful, it also looked like Melo meant to do it. He was frustrated and wanted to win, but that was not cool.
Uruguay and Ghana played in a great match that should have been Ghana's victory, but a handball in the last seconds of extra time followed by a missed penalty kick caused the downfall of Ghana. Spain was also able to take care of Paraguay in the last minutes.
The other big match was Germany vs. Argentina. I figured this would be a close, hard fought match with Argentina coming out on top. Boy was I wrong. Germany completely dominated this match and to see Diego Maradona agonize over the 4-0 romp of his team was just a cherry on top.
What I liked most about this match was the no quit attitude of Germany. Even when they had a comfortable 3-0 lead and were headed toward the semi-finals, they kept playing hard and pushing and were able to score another goal in the 88th minute.
The only downside actually proved to be a positive. Thomas Mueller was given a yellow card, which means he will miss the game against Spain with two now. The positive? Well Mueller gave Germany the lead in the 2nd minute, but that the team was able to keep Argentina scoreless and score three more goals was amazing.
Germany vs. Spain should be a great match-up.
Brazil took an early lead and looked to run away with this one. Then the second period started and Felipe Melo stepped up his game... in a bad way. In the 52nd minute, Melo scored... on his own goalie. He was trying to stop a shot and instead of leading Brazil goaltender Julio Cesar take the ball, he tried to head it away and ended up heading it into his own net.
That goal just tied it up and there was still time. But, that goal seemed like it took the air out of Brazil and again Netherlands scored, but on their own this time. This goal was a nice one too. After a corner kick, Dirk Kuyt headed it backwards to Wesley Sneijder who headed it into the goal.
And then, to top the absolute collapse of Melo and in return Brazil, Melo was given a red card after he stepped on the thigh of a Netherlands' player. Not only did it look painful, it also looked like Melo meant to do it. He was frustrated and wanted to win, but that was not cool.
Uruguay and Ghana played in a great match that should have been Ghana's victory, but a handball in the last seconds of extra time followed by a missed penalty kick caused the downfall of Ghana. Spain was also able to take care of Paraguay in the last minutes.
The other big match was Germany vs. Argentina. I figured this would be a close, hard fought match with Argentina coming out on top. Boy was I wrong. Germany completely dominated this match and to see Diego Maradona agonize over the 4-0 romp of his team was just a cherry on top.
What I liked most about this match was the no quit attitude of Germany. Even when they had a comfortable 3-0 lead and were headed toward the semi-finals, they kept playing hard and pushing and were able to score another goal in the 88th minute.
The only downside actually proved to be a positive. Thomas Mueller was given a yellow card, which means he will miss the game against Spain with two now. The positive? Well Mueller gave Germany the lead in the 2nd minute, but that the team was able to keep Argentina scoreless and score three more goals was amazing.
Germany vs. Spain should be a great match-up.
NADAL STRUGGLES EARLY BUT WINS WIMBLEDON
(Yahoo! Sports)
Rafael Nadal is back to being the best tennis player in the world. After an injury last year that kept him out of some tournaments, hurt his chances in others and had him forfeiting others, Nadal struggled when he came back. Nadal is known for his energy on the court and he just didn't have it.
But, earlier this year he won the French Open. That was the beginning. And then, after a slow start at Wimbledon, he dominated in the last two rounds and avoided having to face Roger Federer.
Federer is starting his decline. Not to take anything away from the man, he is still one of the top players in the world, but the 16 Grand Slams are taking a toll and he just hasn't been himself in the past two Grand Slams. Nadal on the other hand is half way to Federer and he is just warming up. Had it not been for the injury last year, Nadal may have more... and Federer less.
Nadal knows how to close out the competition, beating out Tomas Berdych in three straight sets. He is the best player in the world, and he will continue to chip away at Federer's record.
The US Open starts at the end of August and Federer will be looking to rebound. But, he dropped to third in the world rankings, so that may get him a lower seed and a harder route. I guess we will see when the time comes.
I don't like either sport, but great job Josh.
ReplyDeleteI meant any of the three!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I wanted to broaden my horizon sports wise and have slowly added them. I started following tennis about three years ago and mixed martial arts about two years ago thanks to some friends who watch it.
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