7 Things We Missed This Weekend

Wow. That was quite the weekend of sports action. With the NBA and NHL Playoffs underway, the MLB season in full gear, and the EPL race coming down to the wire - there is a lot of stuff going on! Oh, and the NFL Draft begins this Thursday! Our Mock Draft will be coming later this week, but first let's recap what went on in the world of sports with 7 Things We Missed This Weekend.

1) NBA Playoffs

-The NBA Playoffs aren't known for their upsets, and that was true for each of the series openers this weekend. In 8 series, only 1 road team, Portland, won Game 1. Oklahoma City had a good chance to win in LA, but Kevin Durant and the Thunder shot poorly. The Cavs were in cruise control against the Bulls and the Mavs won a hard fought game against the Spurs. Perhaps the highlight of the opening weekend though was this fracas in Boston's win over Miami which leaves Kevin Garnett suspended for Game 2. At least this time Paul Pierce didn't need a wheelchair...

2) Stanley Cup Playoffs

-The biggest stories thus far from the early stages of R1 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs are the amount of road wins that we've seen. 10 of 19 games have been won by road teams thus far. Each series is either tied at 1 or stands at 2-1. Under most pressure are the top seeds in each conference - Washington, New Jersey, San Jose, and Chicago are all currently without homeice advantage. We'll take a more in-depth look at the Stanley Cup Playoffs later this week, but for now check out this goal that won't be showing up on Dan Boyle's personal highlight reel to leave the Sharks down 2-1...

3) Ubaldo No No

-It's always cool when somebody throws a no-hitter, and Ubaldo Jimenez threw the first in the long, prestigious history of the Colorado Rockies Saturday night in Atlanta. Jimenez had 6 walks and 7 strikeouts in the game, and was helped by a diving catch in the outfield by Dexter Fowler. Here's the highlights...

4) 20 Inning Game

-On the same night no less, the Mets beat the Cardinals 2-1 in 20 innings! It was scoreless for the first 18! So much for that Steroid Era. Jose Reyes' sac fly in the 20th ended up winning the game for the Mets, who are in the NL East cellar at 4-8. Don't put too much into the MLB Standings before June though, or at least while the Pirates are above .500. Oh, and the highlights? Well, it was scoreless for 18 innings and the game winning run was scored on a sac fly - I think I'd rather watch... darts! With Phil Taylor and James Wade tying 7-7 in the Premier League on Thursday, how about we relive this unreal leg of darts from 2008!

5) Manchester Derby

-In the EPL, Manchester United got back into the title race with a last minute 1-0 win at their city rivals Manchester City. Paul Scholes scored in the last minute of stoppage time to get the win. Later in the day, Tiger Woods' biggest fan John Terry got the boot as Chelsea lost to Tottenham. Those results leave Chelsea 1 pt ahead of United at the top and Tottenham 2 pts ahead of Man City for the last Champions League qualifying place. If Chelsea win at Liverpool on May 2nd they'll likely sweep their last 3 and win the title. Meanwhile, 4th spot will come down to the last game of the season - Tottenham @ Man City. Great stuff to end the season, here's Scholes' winner...

6) Champions League Semis

-The cloud of volcanic ash and grounded flights in the UK has put Fulham and Liverpool's Europa League semis in doubt, but on the continent the Champions League semis appear to be ready to go. Lyon plays at Bayern Munich and Barcelona plays at Inter Milan this week. In their respective leagues, Barca is 1 pt ahead of Real Madrid after winning at the Bernebeau last week, Inter trails Roma by 1 pt in Italy (having won 4 straight Serie A titles), Bayern lead in Germany by 2 pts after winning at Schalke recently, and Lyon is surprisingly 3rd in Ligue 1 trailing Marseille by 9 pts. While English clubs have dominated the CL in the past couple years - this year is a treat because the 4 sides left are the 4 preeminent clubs in the best continental leagues. My picks are Barca and Bayern. I know you're asking for footage of the giant ash cloud instead of more highlights!

7) One Last Thing

-As always, our last thing covers something a little weird or miscellaneous. First, check out this video of Brian Davis costing himself a playoff win at Hilton Head by calling a penalty on himself. Yes, golf is a gentlemen's game. Jim Furyk ended up with the win. Second, I don't know who any of these guys are, but watch as the typical boxing/wrestling scene plays out... 1) Guy interviewed after winning fight 2) 2nd guy jumps into ring wanting a fight 3) The brawl is on - it's a standard formula. I was waiting for Vince McMahon to enter the ring or Rock Newman directing traffic with his giant cell phone. But, as Gus Johnson points out, having this happen on network TV doesn't put MMA into a good light and makes it seem rather cartoonish. Oh well, at least it's fun to watch!

1 vs 2: The Future of MMA

The 1 vs 2 Debate returns with the future of Mixed Martial Arts. UFC 100 happens tonight as Frank Mir faces Brock Lesnar for the Undisputed Heavyweight Crown. Mir won their first encounter (picture above) via submission. While this is a milestone occasion for the UFC, what does the future hold? Mr. Yoder I and II debate.

Mr. Yoder I - Well Y2, MMA takes center stage with UFC celebrating their 100th show and one of the most anticipated fight cards in MMA history. It's been a long ride to its current position of prominence, yet I'm not convinced there is much growth potential for MMA. The sport has found its niche with young college kids that like to see guys knock the crap out of each other, but is it really mainstream?

Mr. Yoder II - There is a certain gladiator element to the UFC that will always draw viewers. With the combination of grappling, striking, martial arts, and wrestling, there is something for everybody. Also, the slow self-destruction of boxing into bolivion, as Mike Tyson would say, will open up more viewers to the sport. UFC 100 is expected to get well over 1 million viewers on PPV and their TV shows are widely watched. While I'll grant you MMA won't threaten the big 3 sports any time soon, it can be more than a niche sport, much like boxing was from Ali to Tyson. The key will be the heavyweight division, can Brock Lesnar or Frank Mir be THE star to catapult UFC into the mainstream?

Mr. Yoder I - And therein lies one of the problems. As soon as Chuck Liddell, Rampage Jackson, or Tito Ortiz hit it big they get their face mashed like silly putty. There is no longevity for MMAers to become household names, it's the nature of the beast. Even if these guys do have a long period of success the spectacle of the fight is the story, not them. MMA will never grow beyond the fanbase of fight lovers like golf has with Tiger Woods. Do you think Joe Public would recognize former great welterweight Matt Hughes on the street if he didn't have a sign that said, "Hi! I'm Matt Hughes all-time great MMA fighter"?

Mr. Yoder II- But Y1, look at how far the UFC has come even in just the past couple years. Would you have guessed 5 years ago that UFC 100 would be a major story on ESPN.com or the lead on SportsCenter? You've gotta give Dana White (right), the mastermind owner/promoter of the UFC, his due. If he can can stay out of the headlines for the wrong reasons, he has the potential to make stars out of the likes of Brock Lesnar. If UFC 100 can have a legendary fight tonight, perhaps that lets Dana White and the UFC get both feet in the door of the mainstream sports media.

Mr. Yoder II - White is another problem. He has this Vince McMahon/WWF quality that he wants to be the star of the show and rule MMA. Job well done thus far Dana, but MMA is at its peak. White's edgy style and profanity-laced tirades might appeal to the rebellious crowd that already loves him, but he isn't getting MMA to the mainstream. MMA's brutality and the lack of breakthrough moments or stars will inhibit it from moving beyond a niche sport. 5 years from now will we remember UFC 100 from UFC 62 or UFC 237? Will Georges St. Pierre be as big as Tom Brady? And just where is Kimbo Slice?

Mr. Yoder I- We all know there's no way GSP will ever be as big as Tom Brady. And remember, the Kimbo Slice flop happened outside of White/UFC. I think this is a watershed moment tonight for MMA. If UFC can come out with some stars to push, maybe they can say they've finally made it. But just remember, whether its boxing or MMA, there will always be an outlet for people to watch two guys square off to see who is the better man, it's just human nature.