Since our "instant" feedback form wasn't so instant yesterday we are posting the questions and comments that we did not get to on the show here. Again we'd like to thank everyone for their participation and hope to hear from all of you again in the future.
Question from Jim: What's the story with steroids in MMA UFC? I heard or read that they do steroid testing. So what do they use?
Big J's Answer
When it comes to taking steroids fighters will use the same drugs you hear about in other sports such as Boldenone , Nadrolone (otherwise known as Deca Durabolin), Testosterone, Oxymetholone (Anadrol), or Drostanolone. Drostanolone is what Josh Barnett tested positive for in the very first random test under the CSAC's brand new random, out of competition drug testing policy.
The testing is done by whatever State Athletic Commission in which the event is taking place. The UFC doesn't do its own testing unless they are competing overseas, i.e. England, Germany, etc. and I believe that its done by an independent laboratory. The test itself is a urine test.
Comment from Green Machine: Vernon Forrest's death was such a waste. He didn't need to chase the attacker down. He didn't walk away. Big lesson there.
Kevin's Response:
A truly tragic event. In hindsight, yes, let the wallet go. As an old lesson teaches, material things can all be replaced. Being a professional boxer I'm sure Vernon thought he would be able to take whoever he was running after. Unfortunately no athletic ability can compete with a gun. The real sad situation here is that criminals hold the upper hand in these situations and a good charitable man lost his life. You can't let people just walk all over you, criminals included, but there is also something to be said for living to fight another day. I can only hope these car jackers are caught and disciplined to the full extent of the law.
Question from Dave: For each of you - if you could follow just ONE sport, what would it be?
TJ's Response:
If I could only follow one it would be horse racing. Those guys are such great athletes.
Okay, for real, I would probably follow baseball. At least that is how I feel at the moment. I actually follow baseball pretty much year round now. Regular Season, World Series, Hot Stove, Spring Training. There's pretty much something to keep your interest all year. Now I'm probably going to catch grief for not picking football but that gets shoved down my throat so much I can't take it after the season is over. Seriously, can someone tell Ed Werder its okay to take a day off. He doesn't need to be sending in updates from the Cowboys facility at 3am, on a Sunday.....in June.
Big J's Response
If I had one sport to watch and only watch it would be the NFL in particular it would be Redskin football. I love a lot of sports but hands down without thinking its the NFL. It was the first sport that I watched growing up. That was the thing that my dad, my brother, and myself could all watch together. Every Sunday was spent watching football from 1 until it was time to go to bed. Its the most exciting sport out there if you ask me. Nothing else compares in my eyes from the hitting to the big touch down throw/run to the interception that seals the victory. There is just nothing quite like it.
Kevin's Response
This is a tough one for me. The two sports that I can sit down and watch at any given time are hockey and football. Specifically the NHL and the NFL. I've been a puck head since middle school and hockey is my favorite sport to play. The speed and intensity of the game is arguably unmatched by any other sport and once the playoffs start, there may be no other sport that comes close to the excitement on the ice. Hockey players are a special breed, the kind of people that other professional athletes look at, shake their head, and pronounce "those guys are f@&!ing nuts!" (Rugby players excluded, because they are in fact f@&!ing nuts)
Unlike the NFL there are two types of injuries in the NHL, upper body and lower body, and for a hockey player to miss a game something must have fallen off. Just like in the movie Miracle, if your leg hurts, well that leg is "a long way from your heart!" To do what these players do for 82 games or more is simply amazing. Plus the new crop of young talent that is entering the NHL is going to change the game forever. Bigger, faster, stronger, and skilled. The young blood of the NHL in my opinion is the most exciting group of talent in any sport. Alex Ovechkin with the Caps, Steven Stamkos with Tampa Bay, Luke Schenn with Toronto, Patrick Kane in Chicago, the list goes on and on.... The future of hockey is very, very bright and if you're not on the bandwagon yet, get your ass on board!
With all that said, on Sundays from September though December I've been known to disappear to my basement, which is painted burgundy and gold, around 11am, only to re-join the world above when Sunday Night Football has signed off. What keeps me involved? The week of speculation leading up to the game, analyzing the chess match between offensive and defensive coordinators, getting excited over big hits, having my jaw drop watching the ridiculous plays a QB/Receiver/Running Back can make with a man running full speed into his grill, screaming for touchdowns and pretending I could coach the team. I think that last reason is a big one for football's success amongst sports fans. A large part of the game will come down to play calling, and while the Average Joe may not be able to run fast, jump high, or throw a football 50 yards in the air, they can all take a guess at what the opponent is going to do, then call a counter-play based on that information. Everyone in their own mind can be a coach, which in football carries more weight than any other sport. It makes the fan feel like they could control the outcome if only they were allowed to scream in the offensive coordinator's ear.
Now I still haven't answered the question... one sport... ugh... my childhood heroes consist of football greats like Art Monk, Darryl Green, Joe Jacoby, Doug Willams, and Charles Mann, but the guys I'm most enamored with right now are named Alex Ovechkin, Mike Green, and Alexander Semin. In a close one, I'm going with the Caps and I'm going to say hockey.
The D.C. Sports Guys 7-28-2009
T.J., Big J, and Kevin get together to talk about Michael Vick, Brett Favre, the Redskins, Affliction folding, MLB, Caps News, Shaq, and some soccer (kinda). The web cam failed us a bit tonight. As the show progresses the video gets out of sync with the audio. We apologize for this and will have things back to normal for the next show. The audio only feed is available below.
Along with the video giving us a bit of a fit tonight, the on-line form was not so "instant". We did receive the messages but not 'till late. We will respond to the questions on the D.C. Sports Guys Blog. Questions came in regarding steroids in the UFC, the death of Vernon Forrest, and our favorite sports to follow. We'll get answers up to these up as soon as we can. Again, thanks for listening and participating!
As always, send your comments, suggestions, or ideas to mailbag@dcsportsguys.com
Podcast Times (for audio AND video)
Intro
NFL/Vick/Favre/Redskins: 00:01:30
MMA: 00:30:00
MLB/Nats/Os/HOF: 00:50:00
Caps/Golf/Shaq/Phelps/Soccer: 01:19:00
End
Nats News and Notes -- July 28th
I'm a bit short on time today, but figured that it may be a good time to put together a brief summary of whats been going on with the Nationals over the past few days, including some news, a bit of history triva, and some thoughts as we approach the trade deadline. Here goes:
- Dimitri Young, affectionately known around NatsTown as "Meat Hook" is (surprise, surprise) out for the season with a torn quad he suffered legging out (if you can call it that) an infield single during a rehab stint at AA-Harrisburg. If I had to bet, I'd venture to say that this is the end of the line for the Hook, who was never the same after posting an All-Star season in 2007 that garnered him Comeback Player of the Year honors. Young missed much of the 2008 campaign (including his own bobblehead night) with a variety of injuries, so it looks like it may be time for him to throw in the towl.
- OF Josh Willingham (still a National for the time being, but that could change prior to Thursday's trade deadline) hit two (yes two) grand slams in a 14-6 rout of the Brewers in Milwaukee last night. Willingham became the 13th player with two slams in the same game, and became the first Expo/National to drive in 8 men since Tim Wallach did it back in 1990. Willingham has been solid for the Nats all season, and would be a solid pickup at the deadline (rumor has it that the Angels and Giants have both inquired about Willingham).
- The Indians traded infielder Ryan Garko to the Giants, who had previously been interested in both Willingham and 1B Nick Johnson. Johnson has cooled off a bit since a hit start, but would be prime trade territory if Willingham is not moved. Should the Nats trade either, expect Adam Dunn to get more starts at 1B for the remainder of the season, with a call up of IF utility-man Kory Kasto to platoon at first and give some of the other every-day infielders a day off here and there.
- Scott Olsen, acquired from the Marlins along with Willingham in the offseason, is apparently done for the year.
- Buster Olney of ESPN had a few interesting blog posts recently, one where he explains why former MLB manager Bobby Valentine, who is coming off an incredible run with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan, should be a perfect candidate to serve as the Nats manager in 2010. Another Olney appearance (in a video blog) can be found under this interesting SportsNation poll, which asks readers about two currently dismal NL East franchises, the Nats and Mets. The results are interesting.
http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/post/_/id/4361535/got-misery-yes-do
- We are now T-minus 21 days until the Steven Strasburg trading deadline. More to come as information develops (or doesn't develop, both are very real possibilities).
- Dimitri Young, affectionately known around NatsTown as "Meat Hook" is (surprise, surprise) out for the season with a torn quad he suffered legging out (if you can call it that) an infield single during a rehab stint at AA-Harrisburg. If I had to bet, I'd venture to say that this is the end of the line for the Hook, who was never the same after posting an All-Star season in 2007 that garnered him Comeback Player of the Year honors. Young missed much of the 2008 campaign (including his own bobblehead night) with a variety of injuries, so it looks like it may be time for him to throw in the towl.
- OF Josh Willingham (still a National for the time being, but that could change prior to Thursday's trade deadline) hit two (yes two) grand slams in a 14-6 rout of the Brewers in Milwaukee last night. Willingham became the 13th player with two slams in the same game, and became the first Expo/National to drive in 8 men since Tim Wallach did it back in 1990. Willingham has been solid for the Nats all season, and would be a solid pickup at the deadline (rumor has it that the Angels and Giants have both inquired about Willingham).
- The Indians traded infielder Ryan Garko to the Giants, who had previously been interested in both Willingham and 1B Nick Johnson. Johnson has cooled off a bit since a hit start, but would be prime trade territory if Willingham is not moved. Should the Nats trade either, expect Adam Dunn to get more starts at 1B for the remainder of the season, with a call up of IF utility-man Kory Kasto to platoon at first and give some of the other every-day infielders a day off here and there.
- Scott Olsen, acquired from the Marlins along with Willingham in the offseason, is apparently done for the year.
- Buster Olney of ESPN had a few interesting blog posts recently, one where he explains why former MLB manager Bobby Valentine, who is coming off an incredible run with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan, should be a perfect candidate to serve as the Nats manager in 2010. Another Olney appearance (in a video blog) can be found under this interesting SportsNation poll, which asks readers about two currently dismal NL East franchises, the Nats and Mets. The results are interesting.
http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/post/_/id/4361535/got-misery-yes-do
- We are now T-minus 21 days until the Steven Strasburg trading deadline. More to come as information develops (or doesn't develop, both are very real possibilities).
LIVE D.C. Sports Guys Tuesday 7/28 at 7:30pm
Go to http://www.dcsportsguys.com to watch The D.C. Sports Guys LIVE Wednesday, July 28, at 7:30pm. Before the show send an email to mailbag@dcsportsguys.com with any questions, comments or topics you would like the guys to discuss. During the show use the on-line form next to the live feed to send messages instantly to the guys.
Affliction promotion folds, back to making gaudy T-shirts
From YAHOO! Sports, Affliction has folded their promotion business and will sponsor UFC. Dana White doesn't look so crazy now after adamantly declaring that Fedor vs. Lesnar would happen during a post UFC 100 interview. Already Dana has scheduled a press conference for July 31, which according to MMAJunkie, will include "a lot of crazy things". Among these "crazy things" will be Dana's willingness to put Fedor into a championship fight and a possible partnership with ESPN.
The UFC has shown once again that deep pockets aren't enough to overtake the tried and true brand in MMA. Affliction, EliteXC, and Pride all failed at acquiring either the talent or production level needed to compete. Much like Goolge, who's name is now synonymous with an Internet search, Zuffa's UFC promotion has become a word to describe the entire MMA industry.
Thanks to Josh Barnett testing positive for anabolic steroids, MMA fans may get what they've all been waiting for, Fedor Emelianenko in a championship fight, in the UFC. I smell a good conspiracy theory brewing here...
The UFC has shown once again that deep pockets aren't enough to overtake the tried and true brand in MMA. Affliction, EliteXC, and Pride all failed at acquiring either the talent or production level needed to compete. Much like Goolge, who's name is now synonymous with an Internet search, Zuffa's UFC promotion has become a word to describe the entire MMA industry.
Thanks to Josh Barnett testing positive for anabolic steroids, MMA fans may get what they've all been waiting for, Fedor Emelianenko in a championship fight, in the UFC. I smell a good conspiracy theory brewing here...
Jumping into Redskins training camp
In less than a week July 30th will be upon us, and with it all news in the D.C. area will turn deep shades of burgundy and gold. The beginning of training camp raises many questions. Will the offensive line be healthy? Can Jason Campell effectively quicken his release of the football? Will Haynesworth be successful in bringing a much needed pass rush to Washington? Will Clinton Portis have 'Southeast Jerome' inform us that veterans don't need to participate in the pre-season? Will Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly develop into everyday receivers? Will one of Washington's free agent signings become a YouTube sensation jumping into trucks and out of pools?
Well Redskin fans, you can cross that last question off the list. If you haven't already meet Keith Eloi here he is in full YouTube glory. The first is Eloi from a stand still, in socks and sandals, jumping into the back of an F-150. The second is Eloi jumping out of 3ft of water... backwards.
Pretty amazing stuff, but can he catch a football? Whoops, there I go adding another question back to the list after just being able to cross one off.
Well Redskin fans, you can cross that last question off the list. If you haven't already meet Keith Eloi here he is in full YouTube glory. The first is Eloi from a stand still, in socks and sandals, jumping into the back of an F-150. The second is Eloi jumping out of 3ft of water... backwards.
Pretty amazing stuff, but can he catch a football? Whoops, there I go adding another question back to the list after just being able to cross one off.
The D.C. Sports Guys 7-22-2009
Back from the beach TJ sits down with Kevin to go over the Capitals new ticket plans, development camp, the Washington Redsinks, the British Open, Lebron getting "dunked on", upcoming MMA events, and more.
As always, send your comments, suggestions, or ideas to mailbag@dcsportsguys.com
Podcast Times (not for video)
Intro
Washington Capitals: 00:01:30
Redskins/NFL: 00:26:00
British Open / Golf: 00:55:00
Lebron/NBA 01:18:00
MMA/UFC: 01:25:00
Other News: 01:33:30
End
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