UFC 168 Weidman VS Silva and Rousey VS Tate Fight Predictions

Hey UFC fans, if you have made it here it is because you were searching either the  Chris Weidman VS Anderson Silva fight or just hoping to see Rhonda Rousey get a taste of her own medicine by getting her face beat in. It won’t look too different than that ugly face she makes when she is mad.

As you all may know, I love to watch MMA and this New Years Eve card will be one to remember! Not only will the fights be good, but Angel and I are having a UFC party at our house Saturday night as well. Beer pong, corn-hole (known as bags by most), beer, good people making a great time. Pretty stoked to have people over and watch Miesha Tate treat Rousey to some of her own medicine by reversing her arm bar and pounding Rousey out in round 2.

Arm bar is the only way Rousey has finishes her opponents, I’m sure by now Tate knows a few ways to defend and counter it. C’mon Rousey, let’s be a little bit more versatile. Expand the victories with something else, we’re all bored! Miesha Tate has brought new life (and better looks) into this match up and could possibly help make UFC 168 one of the top PPV purchases of the year.

So let’s jump into my picks for this weekends fight:

Chris Weidman (C) VS Anderson Silva

Anderson Silva has been one of the longest title defending Champs in the UFC. You probably remember Silva dancing around Weidman last May and then Weidman capitalizing with a vicious knock out. 

After the fight, Silva said that Weidman earned it and Silva didn’t act like he wanted the rematch. Only days later the UFC announced the rematch for this weekends fight. Silva is coming back to avenge a loss but after Weidman has already fought him, he should know what to expect. That being said, Weidman is going to get the W.

Projection: Chris Weidman, Round 4, Knock Out

Rhonda Rousey (C) VS Miesha Tate

As mentioned in the opening paragraphs of this post, Rousey has finished all of her opponents in the UFC by arm bar in the first round. Also earlier mentioned, she has the ugliest ‘mean face’ I have ever seen on a female fighter. Just looking at her face pisses me off. 

That being said, I hope Tate can land some good punches and take that shit eating face into a fist eating face. Tate lost to Rousey once before, guess how – arm bar. Who would have thunk! Tate is going to come out knowing how Rousey fights and I am 100% positive Tate has been training and practicing reversals for Rousey’s signature move. That being said, Tate is going to bring Rousey into the second round, Rousey will shoot, get the takedown, move in line for her arm bar and Tate is going to reverse it into a leg lock, knee bar, or maybe even pretty up Rousey’s face with some ground and pound, which is the outcome many UFC fans would love to see.

Projection: Miesha Tate, Round 2, Ground and Pound!

Chris Leben VS Uriah Hall

One of the only other fights on the card that brings any real interest to me, the Leben VS Hall bout. If Hall doesn’t know that Leben has a good chin and a big left hand by now, he may find out tomorrow night. However, Hall is extremely explosive and has the potential to get that split second Knock Out. 

Leben has fought only three times in the last three years, losing all three. This is a bang or bust fight for Leben. If he wins, he may get a contract extension, but if Leben loses, it may be the last time we see ‘The Crippler’ in the UFC octagon. Hall has also lost his last two fights and Dana White says ‘Hall is not a fighter.” On top of that, Uriah has some serious mental demons that he needs to deal with if he is going to continue to be a contender in the UFC Middleweight division. I think if Hall is ready for this fight mentally, he will take home the purse.

Prediction: Uriah Hall, Round 2, Knock Out

Here are the rest of the UFC 168 fights as well as my predictions.

Josh Barnett  VS Travis Browne – Winner: Barnett

Jim Miller  VS Fabrício Camões – Winner: Miller

Dustin Poirier VS Diego Brandao – Winner: Poirier

Preliminary card (Fox Sports 1)

Gleison Tibau VS Michael Johnson  –  Winner: Johnson

Dennis Siver VS Manvel Gamburyan – Winner: Siver

John Howard VS Siyar Bahadurzada – Winner: Howard

Preliminary card (Online)

William Macario VS Bobby Voelker – Winner: Voelker

Robbie Peralta VS Estevan Payan – Winner: Payan

Think you have better picks? 

Leave your comments on who you think will win.

UFC 164 Henderson VS Pettis – Pre-Fight Predictions

Holy shit, I haven’t put out a blog post for more than a month, almost two now. I know, its because Angel Hesseltine and I have been waking up in the middle of the night for three months with our new baby Colton! (who besides the lack of sleep, he is simply amazing)

So what better way to get back into the blogosphere by giving you some of my pre-fight predictions for UFC 164 going down tomorrow night, Sept. 1, 2013 on PPV. Arizona native Benson Henderson currently holds the lightweight belt and if you do not know the history behind this fight, I urge you to watch this video of the kick heard round the world. Anthony Pettis jumped off the cage in WEC 53 in 2010 and took the championship bout from Henderson. The fight won ‘Fight of the Night’ AND ‘Fight of the Year.’

Enough about that, lets get into the predictions shall we?

Benson Henderson (c) VS Anthony Pettis (Lightweight)

Both Henderson (@BensonHenderson) and Pettis (@showtimepettis) are very skilled fighters and have a lot of wins under their belts, Pettis may have the advantage by having already beat Henderson in WEC 53 but on the flip side, I’m sure Henderson wants his revenge to avenge the loss. Pettis carries a 3^rd degree black belt in Taekwondo and a Purple belt in BJJ as well as a professional MMA record of 16-2 while Henderson has a black belt in both as well as an All American Wrestler in NAIA and a 19-2 record. This is going to be a close fight. In a recentarticle posted on Yahoo! Sports, Pettis’ coach compares to Pettis a MichaelJordon of MMA. Not sure if he has the accreditation to cite those claims but it does give you an alternate view of Pettis and his history.  

Looking at the opponents that each have fought, Henderson has notable wins over Nate Diaz, Clay Guida, Jim Miller, as well as Frank Edgar and Donald Cerrone twice each in the last three years. Pettis, however, lost to Clay Guida but also has some victories over big names including Donald Cerone as well, Joe Lauzon, my boy Jeremy Stephens but the kicker is, he has already beaten Benson Henderson.

Prediction: Pettis, Round 4, TKO

Frank Mir VS Josh Barnett (Heavyweight)

Okay I’m not too sure about this fight; Frank Mir (@thefrankmir) has been a top contender in the Heavyweight spotlight for a number of years even holding the belt at one period of time (UFC 48, June 19, 2004 defeated Tim Silvia to be exact) however Josh Barnett (@JoshLBarnett) hasn’t fought in the UFC since 2002 – THAT’S MORE THAN 10 YEARS AGO! 

Don’t discredit Barnett just yet though, he has fought 24 separate times since his last UFC appearance so it’s not like he has been sitting naked in a beanbag eating cheetos for ten years – however, he hasn’t been fighting top opponents like he will be facing tomorrow night in the UFC against Mir. Frank is coming off duel losses against Daniel Cormier and Junior dos Santos so he is looking to take another rung out of the UFC heavyweight ladder.

Prediction: Mir, Round 2, Submission (probably triangle choke)

Chad Mendes VS Clay Guida (Featherweight)

This fight will be a huge challenge for Chad Mendez (@chadmendez), he has a good winning record but not over any big names or top contenders. In the blue corner, Clay Guida (@clayguida) has fought more than 40 documented fights in the cage and been against the toughest in the featherweight weight class. 

Having won multiple submission and fight of the nights, I think this fight should be a walk in the park for Guida. Facing a guy who has a good record but hasn’t seen any top contenders other than Jose Aldo which he lost the featherweight championship to in 2012, this punch-fest should end with Guida’s hand in the air.

Prediction: Guida, Decision

Ben Rothwell VS Brandon Vera (Heavyweight)

From 2002-2006, Brandon Vera (@Verafied) was one of the UFC’s top emerging contenders with an 8-0 record during those four years; then he met Tim Sylvia and that all changed. Since his first loss in 2007, Vera has won only four of his last 11 fights, not the best record around the UFC heavyweight division. 

However, Big Ben Rothwell (@RothwellFighter) demolished fighters in the IFL but hasn’t had the same streak in the UFC. Rothwell has had only five fights it the UFC, his first in 2009 against Cain Velasquez which he lost in the second round. Since then, Big Ben is 2-2 losing to Gabriel Gonzaga, Mark Hunt and defeating Brendan Schaub and Gilbert Yvel at UFC 115 in Canada. Rothwell has had more than 40 fights and has shown some tremendous heart but I’m not sure if he is going to pull this one off.

Prediction: Vera, Round 2, TKO

THINK YOU HAVE BETTER PICKS? COMMENT THEM BELOW AND THEN RETURN AFTER THE FIGHTS TO SEE HOW YOU LOST ALL FOUR MENTIONED IN THIS POST!

UFC 161 Rashad Evans VS Dan Henderson – Fight Predictions

 

A little pressed on time and want to get this post out before I finish my lunch so in a nutshell, here are my picks for the main fights tomorrow night for UFC 161:

Jake Shields VS Tyron Woodley

I personally like Jake Shields, he is former military and a great fighter. He is a seasoned wrestler but can also stand and bang with his opponent. Losing two of his last four and taking a No Contest with Ed Herman because he failed to pass a post-fight drug test; I’m not sure if he is ready for this fight.

However, Tyron Woodley is coming into this fight with an 11-1 record with his only loss to a notable Nate Marquardt in Strikeforce last July. Woodley has notable wins over Paul Daley and Jay Hieron and should be able to perform nicely in this fight too.

Prediction: Tyron Woodley, Round 3, TKO

Pat Barry VS Shawn Jordan

Coming into this fight with a kickboxing background, Pat Barry is heading into the UFC octagon for his 13th time. We can easily say he is used to being in the UFC spotlight. Shawn Jordan has a much better record than Barry but has not appeared in the UFC no more than three times, this marks his fourth appearance.

Both contenders have lost bouts to Cheick Congo so we know they have no problem going against a big dude. This should be a good fight for both opponents but I think Jordan will have his hand raised at the end of the fight.

Prediction: Shawn Jordan, Round 2, TKO

Alexis Davis VS Rosi Sexton

Oh yeah! Chick fight! Rosi Sexton isn’t much of a chick, more of a soccer mom trying to make some extra bucks by stepping in the cage but does have a decent record. She can fight, she deserves to be there but her last three fights have been overseas.

Same as the guys from the UK, 90% of UK fighters are just a little more soft than United States fighters. Davis has a winning record of 13-5 and is looking to make this her third consecutive win. The UFC is ramping up their women to give Rousey some competition. I’m not too big into chick fights unless they start doing them topless so I’m going to go with the better looking fighter on this one.

Prediction: Alexis Davis, Round 3, Rear naked choke

Roy Nelson VS Stipe Miocic

I don’t know too much about Stipe Miocic but I do know I cant pronounce his name. He lost last September to Stephan Struve and Roy Nelson knocked out Struve a year before that.

I can only imagine Roy Nelson is going to run through this Miocic dude and then break the cage when he tries to hop on top to rub his belly. This should be a no contest.

Prediction: Roy Nelson, Round 1, TKO

Rashad Evans VS Dan Henderson

The main event. This part is my favorite, also because I enjoy watching both fighters and since they are going head to head, it will be a very good fight. I do not see this going to the ground however I do see someone getting knocked out in devastating fashion.

Rashad Evans is coming off a two fight losing streak to Jon Jones (current Champ) and Antonio Nogueira in February so he needs to be on his A game to get a W tomorrow night. On the other hand, Hendo has won 7 of his last 9 fights including wins over Fedor Emelianenko, Maurício “Shogun” Rua and Rich Franklin, his most recent fight and loss was to Lyoto Machida which went to a split decision in Machida’s favor. Even though I like Rashad Evans better, I think Hendo is going to take this one. He is going to catch Evans on the chin (just like Machida did) and jump on top of him to finish with ground and pound making Henderson the winner by TKO.

Prediction: Dan Henderson, Round 3, TKO

Tim Tebow Joins Tom Brady on Patriots - BREAKING NEWS

Thats right, according to my sources; Tim Tebow will be joining training camp with the New England Patriots joining Tom Brady.

See confirmation image below:

Read full story on CBS Sports: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/eye-on-football/22385524/report-patriots-signing-tim-tebow-will-be-at-minicamp-tuesday

UFC 160 Cain Velasquez VS Bigfoot 2 - Fight Predictions

That’s right fight fans, it is that time again; UFC is putting on another big time show with some heavyweight contenders. The main event will feature current UFC Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.

A guy that I play softball with (Brendan Waller) has decided to throw a party at his house on Saturday too, depending on the baby status, I may not be able to make it. Colton Timothy Hesseltine was officially due on May 23, 2013 and after the doctor appointment last Wednesday, my amazing wife Angel Hesseltine was able to get scheduled to get induced Sunday morning 7:30am. Colton's Birthday should be May 26, 2013.

UPDATE: I just found out that Jeremy Stephens is fighting on this card, not sure why he is bottom of the card unless he was a fill in but after losing his last three UFC fights I can see why he isn’t on the main card. Regardless, you have love down in Phoenix Jeremy, hit me up next time your in Vegas and I’ll make the 5 hour trip! Anyways, let’s get into the fight predictions shall we? Since I just mentioned Lil Heathen, let’s start with his fight.

Jeremy Stephens vs. Estevan Payan  

First off, Jeremy is a guy I used to train with back in Iowa years ago, used to kick it in the club and even hit a few parties with him (remember the Drake brawl Jeremy?). 

So, not too sure who this Payan guy is and no one else should waste their time either. Jeremy should take the win and I’m making the bold prediction he is going to do it in devastating fashion by way of KO in the first round. JSteves, get KO of the night for a nice little bonus check huh?

Prediction: Stephens, Round 1, KO (Knock out of the night)

Glover Teixeira vs. James Te-Huna - Light Heavyweight            

Teixeira is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt under Luigi Mondelli and he is also training with the same guy who trained chuck Liddell. Teixeira has won a number of grappling tournaments so this could very well go down to the ground early. 

Coming off of a good winning record of 10-1 in his last eleven fights, Te-Huna is a TKO artist. If he can stay on his feet and connect with Glover’s chin, he may end this fight early, more than half of his last 10 fights have finished within the first round.

Prediction: Te-Huna, Round 3, TKO by ground and pound

Gray Maynard vs. TJ Grant – Lightweight

Maynard is another product of the TUF series, coming out of TUF 5, he was unbeaten for three years until a draw with Frank Edgar for the lightweight championship (which also won fight of the night and fight of the year) and then only seven months after the draw, a rematch in which Edgar was victorious over Maynard. 

With wins over Nate Diaz, Kenny Florian, Clay Guida, Roger Huerta and Jim Miller; TJ Grant better be prepared for this stand up bout. Grant, on the other hand has also had some very notable wins including most recently over Matt Wiman and Evan Dunham late last year which was also the fight of the night. Both these fighters have won fight of the night multiple times, this should be a good stand up toe to toe battle.

Prediction: Gray Maynard, Round 2, KO by right hand combo

Mike Pyle vs. Rick Story - Welterweight

Mike Pyle has won six of his last seven fights with his last loss in August of 2011 to Rory MacDonald. Another fighter who is no stranger to TKO’s and KO’s of the night, Pyle should have a pretty good chance going toe to toe with Rick Story. 

Story, who has lost three of his last five fights, is looking to extend his one fight comeback against Pile. Another good bout that should stay on their feet and away from the ground game. Look for this fight to go in the first or second round.

Prediction: Pyle, Round 2 by TKO

Junior Dos Santos vs. Mark Hunt – Heavyweight

Junior Dos Santos has only lost one fight since 2008, it was against current Heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez. Could you go 5 years without losing a professional fight, bet not. He fought some big names and pulled off a W in the end; some of the fighters Dos Santos beat include: Frank Mir, Cain Velasquez, Shane Carwin, Roy Nelson, and Gabriel Gonzaga. 

Dos Sasntos has a big heart and seems to be a pretty humble guy repping his home country, Brazil. Hunt, who has had a long kickboxing career, my surprise many coming in to this fight. Hunt has heavy hands and has won 30 fights in his kickboxing career. Hunt also fought in Pride and is looking for his fifth consecutive win in the UFC, facing Junior Dos Santos Saturday night in the co-main event.

Prediction: Hunt, Round 2, TKO

Cain Velasquez vs. Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva – Heavyweight

The main event. The fight no one has been waiting for because Velasquez has fought the same two people in his last four fights. Regardless, Velasquez vs Bigfoot I was a good fight, bloody fight, just what the fans want to see. Big heavyweights battling it out and getting bloody. 

Antonio Silva may come out with a vengeance to beat Cain but I don’t think it is going to happen. Velasquez has amazing wrestling skills and power behind his punches, only thing he needs to do is keep his hands up and not let Bigfoot use him as a punching bag.

Prediction: Velasquez, Round 3, TKO

 Think you have better picks, comment yours in the box below - lets see who can be victorious!

UFC 159: Jones vs. Sonnen - FIGHT PREDICTIONS

Oh yeah, it’s that time again where a UFC title belt is on the line. UFC 159 should prove to have a few exciting bouts between some big names and a possibility of Jon Jones surrendering the belt to Chael Sonnen. 

We will get into that here in a minute, but first let’s take a look into the main card of the night and breakdown the fighters by weight class, bout and you will see my predictions will become factual once again. 

Jim Miller VS Pat Healy - Lightweight         

Starting off the main card is Miller VS Healy, to say the least, this fight should be awesome. Both fighters should stand with each other and bang it out. Healy, who hasn’t lost a single bout since 2010, has pulled out six wins in the last three years, all of which pushed a third round. Miller on the other hand, has lost two of his last five in the last three years. Miller’s most recent win was over Joe Lauzon in UFC 155 where the judges declared Miller the winner by unanimous decision. As mentioned above, these two fighters will probably stand toe to toe and bang it out, should prove to be a good fight.

Prediction: Miller wins in Round 3 by TKO

Phil Davis VS Vinny Magalhaes - Light Heavyweight

I don’t know too much about Vinny Magalhaes other than he is a Brazil native and this is his second fight in the UFC. He debuted back in September of last year and was victorious over Igor Pokrajac by arm-bar. On the other hand, Phil Davis has fought in the UFC eight times, this will be his ninth. We have seen wins from Davis of top condendars such as Alexander Gustasson, Brian Stann and Antonio Nogueira. This should be a good stand up brawl as well but could go to the ground if Magalhaes can get Davis down.

Prediction: Davis wins in Round 2 by TKO

Roy Nelson VS Cheick Kongo - Heavyweight         

Four years ago, you would have never thought you would see Big Country Roy Nelson still alive and making moves in the UFC. Surprisingly not indorsed by KFC, Nelson is returning to the octagon against Cheick Kongo who has a significant reach and height advantage. Although Nelson is on the shorter and fatter side, he can still pack a punch against guys who are taller than him. Lets look back to 2010 when Nelson fought skyscraper Stefan Struve, he jumped right in front of him with some dirty boxing, closed Struve’s range and BAM, knocked Struve out. Coming off of a win in UFC 149 back in July of 2012, Kongo has had time to recover from any damage, illness or injury he may have suffered. If Kongo can keep Roy on the edge of his gloves and not in his personal space, he may just defeat the colonel sanders kid, Big Country Nelson.

Prediction: Roy Nelson wins in Round 2 by KO

Michael Bisping VS Alan Belcher - Middleweight   

Okay, I have never really been a big fan of Bisping, nor do I understand why he is fighting again so soon after his recent loss to Vitor Belfort only three months ago. Alan Belcher on the other hand has a decent record coming into this fight despite his most recent loss over Yushin Okami in UFC 155 in 2012. Belcher has wins over top contenders such as Jason MacDonald, Patrick Cote, Wilson Gouveia and Dennis Kang; I’m going to make this one short and sweet, just like Belcher is going to do tomorrow.

Prediction: Belcher wins in Round 3 by Rear Naked Choke

Jon Jones (Champion) VS Chael Sonnen - Light Heavyweight Championship

Now that the undercard is through, it is time for the main event of the evening. Current reining and defending champion Jon Jones is finally going to step into the ring with top contender Chael Sonnen. If many of you remember, UFC 151 was cancelled because champion Jon Jones turned down the fight with Chael after Dan Henderson suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee only days before the scheduled title bout. Now that Jones and Sonnen have gone head to head in the TUF series and coaches challenges, we wait no longer and they will be going toe to toe in the octagon tomorrow night.

As we all know, Jones is very explosive. Jones has nasty elbows and a sick reach advantage over most opponents. Jones has defended his light heavyweight title four times now and is looking down at Chael to be number five. However, Sonnen has different plans. Having lost to Anderson Silva twice in his last seven fights, Jones is the next best man to beat. Once Sonnen beats him, he gets the belt too, it’s a WIN WIN for Sonnen, if he wins.

Side note, Angel Hesseltine and I have been watching the Ultimate Fighter series religiously over the last eight weeks and before she saw the first episode, I told her straight up, “after watching these, you are going to love Chael Sonnen.” My prediction came true later that night. Chael is a good guy. He is a good coach and truly cared about his team. I’m not saying that Jones didn’t care but it was blatantly obvious in season 10 with Rampage, he was just going for the W’s. I’m pretty sure he didn’t even show up to one of the TUF fights due to previous engagements – go act in another movie guy..

Now that I am done ranting a bit; to say the least, tomorrow’s fights will be good. I am looking forward to Chael taking the belt.

Prediction: Sonnen in Round 2 by TKO (he is going to catch Jones with some dirty boxing and capitalize with ground n pound)

Arizona Cardinals 2013-14 NFL Season Schedule

Thats right. We are getting closer to the 2013-14 NFL season and the league has released the official schedule for the upcoming year. As many of you know, we (AZ Cards) didn't make the playoffs last year. Well, I'm here to tell you that will not be the case this year. Looking at the players we picked up in the off-season and our seemingly easy looking schedule, we are going to make a superbowl run.

Here is the schedule for this season, I'm getting tickets - Who's coming with me!?

Arizona Cardinals
Week 1 (Sunday, Sept. 8): Cardinals at Rams, 4:25 p.m.
Week 2 (Sunday, Sept. 15): Lions at Cardinals, 4:25 p.m.
Week 3 (Sunday, Sept. 22): Cardinals at Saints, 1 p.m.
Week 4 (Sunday, Sept. 29): Cardinals at Buccaneers, 1 p.m.
Week 5 (Sunday, Oct. 6): Panthers at Cardinals, 4:05 p.m.
Week 6: (Sunday, Oct. 13): Cardinals at 49ers, 4:25 p.m.
Week 7: (Thursday, Oct. 17): Seahawks at Cardinals, 8:25 p.m.
Week 8 (Sunday, Oct. 27): Falcons at Cardinals, 4:25 p.m.
Week 9 Bye
Week 10 (Sunday, Nov. 10): Texans at Cardinals, 4:25 p.m.
Week 11 (Sunday, Nov. 17): Cardinals at Jaguars, 1 p.m.
Week 12 (Sunday, Nov. 24): Colts at Cardinals, 4:05 p.m.
Week 13 (Sunday, Dec. 1): Cardinals at Eagles, 1 p.m.
Week 14 (Sunday, Dec. 8): Rams at Cardinals, 4:25 p.m.
Week 15 (Sunday, Dec. 15): Cardinals at Titans, 1 p.m.
Week 16 (Sunday, Dec. 22): Cardinals at Seahawks, 4:05 p.m.
Week 17 (Sunday, Dec. 29): 49ers at Cardinals, 4:25 p.m.

Arizona Cardinals New Additions for 2013-14 NFL Season

Though there are no NFL games going on, the NFL players and staff are behind the scenes training and making trades with other teams to bulk up their roster.  This year will certainly be a game changer as the Arizona Cardinals have added a few more quality assets to their repertoire which gives us that much more of an advantage to reach the big game this year.

Lets break it down by our strong suited Defense and then talk about our new additions and comments on offense. Here is the most recent news with your Arizona Cardinals.

Defense:

Starting last month in mid-March, the Arizona Cardinals made a 2 year deal with LB Jasper Brinkley who had a career high 117 tackles last year on the Minnesota Vikings. He Last year he also forced three fumbles and had two sacks, Brinkley should be a good addition to our defensive backs.

Cardinals also made a one year deal with Matt Shaughnessy started all 16 games last season with the Oakland Raiders. He had 3.5 sacks along with 42 team tackles, 29 solo tackles.

In sadder news, long time Cardinals LB Daryl Washington will sit out for at least the first four games of the season due to the NFL’s substance abuse policy. Washington admits his mistakes and will be able to participate in full for all training programs however will miss the first four games of the regular season.

Offense:

Of course you can guess the hot topic, the Quarterback position. After two years of Kolb injured half of both seasons on the sidelines, the Cardinals finally made a smart decision and cut QB, Kevin Kolb. There were talks about getting a rookie in the spot or even starting John Skelton but recent news has shows Skelton was picked up off waivers by the Cincinnati Bengals.

Ever since Bruce Arians was hired to replace the fired Ken Whisenhunt, quarterback was the No. 1 topic of conversation. In late March the Cards seemed confident that Drew Stanton would be the starter until Mr. Carson Palmer stepped up and showed some interest in Arizona. The Cardinals met and made a deal with Oakland for Palmer who should be a good addition to Arizona’s offense. Though Palmer had a rough year last season in Oakland, I think he has plenty of arm left and will compliment our receivers with a sturdy arm at the Quarterback position.

Larry Fitzgerald is arguable one of the greatest receivers of all time, in a recent statement by Fitzgerald, he states "I'm coming off the most disappointing season of my career and I'm in 'prove it' mode," Fitzgerald told Darren Urban of the Cardinals' team site on Tuesday 4/2/13. "Anyone who can come to our team and help us reclaim the division, I'm all for." Now when Fitz says anyone, he is directly referring to the addition at the QB position. I expect Fitz to be a very strong second half receiver this season with Palmer targeting No. 2-3 receivers and tight ends in the first half, pulling defenders off Fitz to cover the new play-makers which will give Fitz some one-on-one lines.  

It is still very early in the offseason and things can still change but for the most part, our 2013-14 season is shaping up and looking good. Look forward to the NFL schedule release in two weeks on April 14. 

Upcoming Movies in Theaters to Watch in April 2013

As many of you know Angel Hesseltine and I have a child coming in May, Lucas does Karate, Jasmyne does gymnastics and Angel is still working full time as the director of her pre-school in Gilbert – we have a pretty busy life. Not to mention family coming in town, birthdays on weekends and in Las Vegas and my Thursday night softball beer league to add icing on the cake of busy weekdays. Somehow we still find time to go out and do fun things with the kids.

Last month I wrote about movies upcoming in March, 2013 and guess what, it is that time again and I am going to recap a few movies that are being released in theaters in the month of April that I hope to find a seat in the theater for sometime soon. Which I might add that we still haven’t went and seen ‘The Croods’ with the kids and we really need to get that one out of the way first.

Here are some movies I am looking forward to watching this month:

Evil Dead

Number one movie on my list that I want to see in the month of April. It comes out on April 5 and it looks great! Angel won’t even watch the previews with me because it shows the little girl looking out from under a board or something – I’ll admit the little demon girl looks pretty scary, but that’s what is going to make this movie great.

The movie based around five friends who take a trip out to a remote cabin where they discover of a Book of the Dead. This book directs them to unintentionally summon demons living in the nearby woods and what do demons do? They terrorize and kill eventually kill people. Movie rumors are raving that the evil demonic presences try and possess them one by one, who knows how many of the five will get out alive.

Jurassic Park 3D

SO STOKED FOR THIS! Lucas is infatuated with animals, dinosaurs, cows, bulls, etc. so when we found out the original 1993 Jurassic Park was being re-released in 3D, we made it a point to take Lucas to it. I think it may get a bit scary during some parts for him especially if there is a dinosaur coming out of the screen trying to eat him but I’m sure he will enjoy it. J

If you haven’t seen the original Jurassic Park, it is based on a un-inhabited island that frog DNA testing has been done and strains have been made to re-create dinosaur DNA, essentially bringing dinosaurs back to life. During a preview tour of the drive through theme park, a major power outage takes the cast for an adventure they had not prepared for. The cloned dinosaur exhibits security fences fail and dinosaurs become the top of the food chain.

Oblivion

I’m not sold on this movie yet. The reason why I included it on this list because it stars Tom Cruise on a solo mission and it seems to be somewhat of a repeat of “I am Legend” which starred Will Smith and wasn’t too bad of a movie either. Regardless, if you had any questions on Tom Cruise’s acting ability, I think this movie will show his true colors of holding an audience by himself.

Oblivion is based around a veteran (Cruise) who is assigned to extract the Earth's remaining resources and while on his journey, he begins to question what he knows about his mission as well as himself. Alright solo man on Earth, lets see what you got for us and bring those resources back to home planet.

42

Rated PG-13 and rightfully so to educate children of today’s neglected world of television, this movie shares the life story of Jackie Robinson and his extraordinary story of making his way into the Major League Baseball. This movie showcases the history-making Robinson signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers under the guidance of team executive Branch Rickey.

This movie looks amazing. This drama based biography feature film with a sports twist should be a major hit with baseball and sports enthusiasts all over the world. Not only should this be a very compelling movie but it will be sure to bring tears to your eyes during certain struggles that Robinson had to face while making his way into the MLB.

The Lords of Salem

This movie looks good as well. It is created by the producers of Paranormal Activity series and Insidious (which I thought was pretty good too until the end) and a setting based in Salem which having a huge history of witches, warlocks and Satan worshiping, it should prove to be a good thriller and keep you on the edge of your seat.

This movie is about a young woman named Heidi who is a radio DJ in Salem, she receives a box containing a record; a "gift from the Lords." The sounds that play from the record trigger flashbacks of her town's violent past and begin to haunt her, meanwhile the Satan worshipping is happening in the background encouraging these haunting and awaiting a special day for a child to come into the world.

Pain & Gain

Many people don’t, but I personally like movies with Mark Wahlburg – my favorite being ‘Rockstar’ which was released in the early 1990’s. Either way, “Pain & Gain” stars Wahlburg and Dwayne Johnson (better known as ‘The Rock’) and should prove to be an action packed movie.

Pain & Gain is based in Florida about a three bodybuilders who get caught up in an extortion ring and a kidnapping scheme that goes terribly wrong. They find themselves smack dab in the middle of less than appealing situations and use their brawn to get out of these sticky situations.

MUD

Right up on my favorite actors list with Wahlburg, Nicolas Cage, Bradley Cooper and Timothy Olyphant; Matthew McConaughey stars in this feature film based around a fugitive on the run living in the woods looking to find his true love. Sounds a bit sappy trying to work a love story into the film but I’m sure it will play out okay with the support of Reese Witherspoon as the true love.

Assuming Mud (Matthew McConaughey) escapes from jail or prison and is living day to day; two teenage boys stumble upon his stuff and the use of their boat sparks scary thoughts. Eventually the boys form a pact with Mud to help elude the bounty hunters with hopes of reuniting him with the woman of his dreams. This movie won’t be the first one I try and see in April but makes the list because of the cast.

Get ahold of me if you want to go see one, we can hit a Harkins somewhere!

5 Easy Steps to Use Google’s New GIF Search Functionality

If you are a visual person who uses Google image search a lot, you may find something new that was just released this week. Google has added animated .gif image search filter options to their image search where you can find images coming to life.

If you want to filter your search to provide animated gif listings in your image search, take these 4 simple filtering steps:

1. Do a Google Search - use whatever term you want.

2. Filter by ‘Images” - this will tell Google you want to see pictures

 3. Click ‘Search Tools’ - this will give you a selection to choose from.

4. Click “Any Type” - this will allow for a dropdown will appear. 

5. Sort by “Animated” - this will now allow animated GIF’s to appear in your image search results. 

 And there you have it. 5 Easy steps to implement Google's new .gif search functionality in Google Image search results.

UFC 158 Tomorrow - Current Champ GSP VS Nick Diaz

Alright boys and girls, fight fans of all ages - it’s that time again where we have a big fight on the horizon with big names and a 170lb belt up for grabs. As always, I have a good post for you putting out some bold predictions to compliment my past winning record predictions.

This Saturday’s fights UFC 158 on PPV are between some of the top MMA fighters in the world, don’t be a pussy, comment and put yourself out there and tell me what your predictions are for these big Welterweight bouts! 

Major Preliminary Card fight – Broadcast on FX

Patrick Côté VS Bobby Voelker

Okay, I may be a bit biased on this fight because I tend to lean towards fighters I have some type of connection with. I was able to see Bobby Voelker fight a couple of times a few years ago before moving down to Arizona and he is a pretty well rounded fighter. However, only having 4 fights in the last 3 years (three of the four against Roger Bowling), I’m not sure if he is completely ready for Côté. Patrick Côté only has one loss in his last six fights. Coming off a first round victory over Alessio Sakara due to Sakara’s disqualification and a loss to Chung Le, I’m pretty sure Côté will be coming back ready to swing with a ‘Win’ in near sight.

Prediction: Côté wins in Round 2 by TKO

Major Preliminary Card fight – Broadcast only on PPV

Jake Ellenberger VS Nate Marquardt

This is another fight where I had the opportunity to see one of these fighters throw down in person. I believe it was in February 2006 at VFC 12: Warpath in Council Bluffs, Iowa I saw Ellenberger defeat Mark Bear by way of TKO and a cut. Ellenberger is coming off a win over Jay Hieron last October, who I also enjoy watching fight ever since I saw him take a knock out punch and wake up to grab a takedown on the way to falling on the mat. Daniel Nisley is also a big fan of Jay, who fights out of Las Vegas, NV. Despite snatching the Strikeforce welterweight belt from Tyron Woodly by 4^th round KO last July, Marquardt gave it up to Tarec Saffiedine on his next and most recent fight in January, 2013. Marquardt is now returning to the UFC for the first time since his win over Dan Miller in UFC 128, he should be motivated for this big show welterweight fight trying to make his way back up the ladder since re-signing with UFC.

Prediction: Marquardt wins in Round 3 by TKO.

Carlos Condit VS Johny Hendricks

When Condit sees GSP for the first time since he lost to unanimous decision last November, I can only assume he is building up his motivation to fight GSP once again sometime soon hopefully using Johny Hendricks as a live punching bag. I’m sure it is a little bitter-sweet for Condit knowing that he beat Nick Diaz in February 2012 and then lost to GSP in November – now Diaz and GSP fight right after this bout. Winning 13 of his last 15 fights, Condit has made a name for himself in the UFC and hopes to get another title shot – there is only one problem. His name is Johny Hendricks. With a long standing OSU wrestling background, Hendricks has skills on the ground and power in his hands – he went 56-0 his senior year at Ohio State in 2007. Now sitting at a pretty 14-1 MMA record, Hendricks is in a direct line for the title shot against GSP (assuming he doesn’t lose immediately after his fight with Condit to Nick Diaz). With notable wins over Martin Kampmann, Josh Koscheck and 12 second KO over Jon Fitch, Hendricks is on a B-line for the welterweight belt.

Prediction: Hendricks wins in Round 2 by TKO (ground & pound after big head shot)

UFC 158 Welterweight Title Fight

Georges St-Pierre (Champ) VS Nick Diaz

The fight the world has been waiting for, GSP’s dark side to beat Nick Diaz down (assuming the soccer mom in Lodi, CA hasn’t already done it, see pre-fight conference call). If you have a chance to listen to the call, Diaz try’s to defend his ‘good guy, hard working past’ but eventually digs himself deeper by opening his mouth and getting loud with GSP (it could have been Geoff from Craig Ferguson late show) on the phone. Long story short, GSP came back to the UFC after a long injury and looked bigger and better than ever against Condit last November. Having not lost since 2007, GSP needs to not let his dark side over-commit to Diaz as he could land some hard counter punches and upset the 7 time defending champion.  

I’m not a big fan of Nick Diaz, nor his brother Nate; however I do know that Nick has been in the fighting game for a long time and his most recent fights other than losing to Condit have been more than impressive. I’m thinking that GSP will want to bring this fight to the ground and not want to bang it out with Nick, which hopefully they will give the fans a show and keep it on their feet.

Predication: Diaz wins by TKO in 4^th Round (GSP’s dark side is going to over-commit and get him KTFO)

Watch Joe Rogan and Dana White Podcast about GSP and Diaz fight

Upcoming Movie Preview – March at a Glance

Holy crap it has been almost two months since my last post, so lets bust one out now. If any of you know me, you know that I am a movie buff. I quote movies, enjoy watching all types and love to watch some over and over. Typically, I enjoy scary or thriller movies but I do enjoy comedies, some dramas but most of all the animated movies!

Here is a preview and a list of movies that are coming out in March that I hope to get a seat in the theater for – some to drag my babe Angel Hesseltine to as well:

Dead Man Down

Coming out March 8, Dead Man Down stars Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace – this is going to be an action packed movie. Based in New York City, a crime lord’s best man gets seduced by one of the boss’ victims seeking vengeance.

Rated ‘R’ for violence, excessive foul language and a scene of sexuality, I bet it was from more of the violence and guns that actually gave this film an ‘R’ rating, I’m sure it will be another faced paced gun shootout movie.

 

Oz the Great and Powerful

Also coming out March 8, Oz the Great and Powerful is a PG movie that should be child friendly. Though I am sure there will be a few scenes that will be ‘a bit off’ as far as reality goes, I’m sure it will be okay for the little ones to understand.

Starring Mila Kunis and James Franco as Oz, this movie is about a small-time magician with more undesired personal ethics who arrives in a magical land and must decide if he will be a good man or a great one.

The ABC’s of Death

This is definitely one that Angel will not see with me, not in theaters, not from Blockbuster, not from Redbox, and probably never. If I am ever going to get her to watch a scary movie with me, it wont be about children – which is completely understandable because we have two children and another on the way. Having her see a movie with a cover that looks like this one, when she is 7 months prego, probably isn’t the best thing for her (or me).

Only getting a 5.3 out of a possible 10 stars in IMDB.com, I cant say this is going to be a great movie – but it is a scary movie and I will enjoy it none-the-less. Showcasing death in all of its vicious wonder and brutal beauty; inspired by children's educational ABC books, the motion picture is comprised of 26 individual chapters, each by a different director assigned a letter of the alphabet. I cant imagine watching 26 short films with 26 different plots about death would be worthy of my $9.50 movie ticket so I will probably be waiting until this hits Redbox.

The Croods

This is the movie I have been waiting for since January after we first saw previews on tv. This movie looks great, not to mention that I truly enjoy the animated movies (speaking of, we went to see Rise of the Guardians yesterday with Janet Amado and Xochitl Amado).  With big personalities like Nicolas Cage, Ryan Reynolds and Emma Stone playing some of the character voices, I’m sure the narrative will be great.

Not the first stab at a prehistoric comedy flick but it just may be one of the first animated versions, this comedy adventure that follows the world's first family as they embark on a journey of a lifetime when the cave that has always shielded them from danger is destroyed. Traveling across a spectacular landscape, the Croods discover an incredible new world filled with fantastic creatures -- and their outlook is changed forever.

Spring Breakers

This is probably not going to be the best film ever made but it definitely appeals to a the young adolescent style of audience. Based around four girls (Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson, Vanessa Hudgens and Rachel Korine) who want to go on spring break and don’t have the cash, they develop a plan to rob a store to gain the funds they need to go on vacation. Little do they know they await a not so pleasant surprise of the cops pulling them into jail, even worse, a local drug dealer bails them out and puts them to work with some of his dirty work.

Rated R for strong sexual content, language, nudity, drug use and violence throughout the film, this one is sure to bring high school boys to the theater to see these four beauties partying in their two piece bikinis. I just wonder how dirty they get with James Franco as the main male character with support of Gucci Mane.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

I don’t know about you but I thought G.I. Joe 1 & 2 were pretty damn good – and I know the ladies liked them because of the whole fact of Channing Tatum is the star. Females just love that guy, I think he has a chocolate covered strawberry penis that makes the women all go crazy over him.

With mentions of the G.I. Joe’s being framed for crimes against the country, the team is terminated by the President's order, and the surviving team members face off against Zartan, his accomplices, and the world leaders he has under his influence. This Joe flick stars yes, Channing Tatum but also Bruce Willis and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson should be another box office hit!

The Place Beyond the Pines

Getting 8 out of 10 stars on IMDB.com, this film based around a motorcycle stunt rider who turns to robbing banks as a way to provide for his lover and their newborn child, a decision that puts him on a collision course with an ambitious rookie cop navigating a department ruled by a corrupt detective.

Bradley Cooper (who is slowly becoming one of my favorite actors) stars along side Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendez and Ray Liotta in this feature film which caught my eye because of motorcycle stunts and bank robberies. This film wont be my first choice to see in the theaters but is definitely one I cannot wait for Redbox to release.