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When golf legend Jack Nicklaus was still a young upstart in the sport and only starting to tear up PGA courses, legend Bobby Jones commented following ‘The Golden Bear’s”65 Masters win that “he plays a game with which I am not familiar”. Following his absolute destruction of Rashad Evans in the main event of UFC 98, there’s likely a few MMA fighters saying the same thing about the new light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida who made it look easy en route to a 2nd round TKO victory.

The fight started slowly, with each man trying to get a feel for his opponent and wait him out to see who blinked first. Evans, who prefers to counter punch, quickly began to become uncomfortable with facing an adversary who didn’t come right at him. Late in the first round, Machida went on offense with frightening suddenness, flooring Evans with a nice straight right hand. Evans was able to recover and survive, but it only delayed the inevitable as Machida used another right hand to send his opponent down again and did so for the third time in the fight with a crisp combination that displayed the handspeed that hadn’t before been seen from ‘The Dragon’ . Evans gamely tried to fight back, but a final right hand from the Shotokan Karate master left him out cold.

After the fight UFC announcer Joe Rogan proclaimed the start of the Machida era and this is not just mere hyperbole. Machida is unlike any fighter before him, rooted in mastery of traditional martial arts but with the versatility of a modern MMA competitor. He’s essentially a Mortal Kombat character come to life–in a more realistic cross disciplinary comparison he shares many of the same characteristics as boxing great Floyd Mayweather, Jr. as he combines insane handspeed, underrated stopping power and nearly impenetrable defense into an unorthodox and extremely lethal package.

The comparisons with the insanely talented but equally insanely arrogant Mayweather end when the final bell sounds. Outside of the cage, Machida is a modest and respectful gentleman who is quick to give credit to his father and his karate teachers for his MMA success. He spent most of his UFC 98 postfight interview not singing his own praises, but imploring others to strive to realize their dreams.

An odd trivia note about Machida serves as further repudiation for MMA neophytes who think that the sports kinship with pro wrestling began with Brock Lesnar: Machida was discovered by Japanese wrestling legend Antonio Inoki, and became something of his protege. He trained for some time at the New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo in Tokyo and made his MMA debut on a NJPW card in 2003, defeating Pancrase veteran Kengo Watanabe.

Perhaps the most frightening thing about Machida is that hes only now reaching his full potential as an MMA fighter. In other words, hes only going to get better which is a scary prospect for opponents given the fact that hes never lost in MMA competition. Early in his UFC career he had a reputation as a boring fighter, but in his recent bouts hes shown a downright lethal ability to end fights. He stopped Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at UFC 79 with an arm triangle choke, and blitzed Evans and previous foe Thiago Alves with punishing punching combinations en route to TKO victories. The so called boring fighter has in the process earned two UFC knockout of the night bonuses by virtue of his evolving power punching skills.

Machida will very likely face Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson in a future light heavyweight title defense and, with all due respect to the PRIDE/UFC veteran, its difficult to see him faring much differently than Evans did. One thing working in ‘Rampage’s’ favor is his greater experience and a resume filled with high level opponents of various fighting styles. Still, everyone comes back to the fundamental reality that no one has ever really seen a fighter quite like Machida before.

In the co-main event of the evening, Matt Hughes defeated Matt Serra by unanimous decision to gain the upperhand in their long running feud. It was a surprisingly entertaining fight, with Serra taking the first round with his power punching before Hughes used his takedown and ground control abilities to win rounds two and three. The two men embraced after the fight so, for now at least, their well known dislike for one another that began during their stint as rival coaches on The Ultimate Fighter may have ebbed.

Ross Everett is a widely published freelance writer and respected authority on soccer betting. His writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Renting a movie is a great way to spend the night at home. It’s a perfect solution to unwind from a hard days work. Just pop it in and relax on your sofa.

Just relaxing with a great show and a couple of snacks is a great way to brighten the end to an otherwise dull or stressful day.

And, no need to be greedy about having a great time. You can also share the enjoyment with your family and even make a family night out of it. Renting a movie is a great way to bond with the family.

Movies are known to be great conversation starters and who said unwinding is best done alone. Share the experience with the whole family.

Just throw in a bag of popcorn in the microwave and enjoy it with your favorite dressing. Or, if health is a concern for you, even some fruits and vegetables would be enjoyable as healthy snacks while you watch your movie rental.

Heck, if the movie that you choose to rent is enjoyable, everyone will be too busy watching to worry about what they’re eating anyway.

A really big trend going on right now is renting movies online. This option is absolutely perfect for those who tend to rent movies very often. Some of the online rental service providers offer full year memberships so that you can enjoy renting as much as you want all year round.

Of course, this is only a good option if you and your family rent movies on a regular basis. Compare the costs. It may be a great deal for you, especially if everyone in your house likes a different kind of movie.

Online movie rental is also really convenient. How many people really feel like stopping one more place on the way home after a long day at work? When you rent online, you simply send your movies back through mail.

Most memberships make it very easy to select the movies that you want. All it takes is a simple click of a button and your movie rental will be in your mailbox the next day.

Plus, no more rainchecks for that movie you really want to see. Most online rental services are always stocked and with a wide variety of movies.

So, whether your prefer the old fashioned method of getting up and getting your movie, or the new modern way of movies-in-the-mail, take a night for yourself and enjoy a movie night at the comfort of your own home.

Mike Turner is an article writing who writes about a large variety of things including HD movie trailers. Make sure to visit Mike if you enjoyed what you’ve read.

Carolina Panthers’ quarterback Jake Delhomme struggled on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and was fortunate that his running backs bailed him out. Delhomme threw for only 65 yards with two interceptions, but D’Angelo Williams (152 yards) and Jonathan Stewart (110 yards) kept the chains moving as the Panthers won their second straight game defeating the Bucs 28-21. Tampa Bay has now lost ten straight dating back to last season and are 0-6 for the first time since’85. Carolina improved to 2-3 with the victory.

NFL sports bettors were faced with a choice between two teams with dismal ATS records in this game, and those who had the guts to take a 1-3 team as a -3 road favorite were rewarded with the cover. It was Carolina’s first NFL pointspread cover of the season and left them with a 1-4 record against the number. Tampa Bay has covered one of their six games this year. The 49 points scored went OVER the total of 40′.

Delhomme attempted only seven passes in the second half, but the way Williams and Stewart were running there was no reason to put the ball in the air. Williams said that even though Tampa Bay knew what was coming they couldn’t stop the Panthers’ running game:

“I’m sure everybody in the stadium knew what we were going to do. There were times they had nine in the box and we were still getting 7 or 8 yards.”

There’s been little impatience locally with Bucs’ rookie head coach Raheem Morris, but his weekly habit of explaining the obvious to rationalize yet another loss is starting to wear thin:

“We got overpowered at the end, and really throughout the game.”

Carolina safety Dante Wesley was ejected after clobbering Bucs’ return man Clifton Smith after a fair catch call. After the game, Wesley gave this defense for his actions:

“I was just trying to make a play. You can check my record. I’ve never really tried to hurt anybody. I’ve never tried to take a cheap shot on anybody.”

Wesley could face a possible fine or suspension from the NFL but, in all fairness, it did appear to be a momentary mental lapse as he was trying to make a big play and not a deliberate attempt to injure Smith.

Tampa’s schedule has the look of them going from ‘the frying pan into the fire’ as they host the New England Patriots next Sunday-fresh off of their 57 point drubbing of Tennessee. Carolina has an easier draw, hosting the Buffalo Bills next Sunday. The game is currently off the board pending the status of Bills’ QB Trent Edwards who suffered a concussion in Sunday’s win over the New York Jets. The Panthers will then play on the road the following two Sundays, traveling to Arizona and New Orleans.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer and noted authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

Had things happened differently, Nick Diaz would forever be part of MMA history. Regardless of how his career transpired after February, 2007 he should have been remembered as part of one of the greatest fights ever. His PRIDE 33 matchup against Takanori Gomi should have created a legacy like the first Forrest Griffin/Stephan Bonnar bout, only it was better. It was a mixed martial arts version of Gatti/Ward or Castillo/Corrales 1. It should have been the biggest victory of Diaz’s career and the centerpiece of his highlight reel.

On April 10th, the Nevada Athletic Commission announced that he’d failed a drug test. The Nevada Athletic Commission considers a THC level over 50 a positive result for marijuana usage. Nick Diaz’s THC level was an astounding 175 and that led NSAC Chairman Dr. Tony Alamo to speculate that in this situation marijuana was a performance enhancing drug. The rationale was that during the fight Diaz was feeling no pain”literally. Diaz was fined, suspended and the result of the fight against Gomi changed to a no decision.

Diaz had singlehandedly removed the luster from a classic bout. Following an action packed and very close first round Gomi took control in the second. Gomi had opened a cut on Diazs face and it was bleeding a gusher. On several occasions Gomi implored the referee to stop the fight, or at least check on the cut due to the excessive blood flow. With the ref showing no signs of stopping the fight and Diaz hanging tough, Gomi took the fight to the ground and in a matter of seconds found himself forced to tap out to a gogoplata. Looking at the fight now, the action is the same but theres something absent from it on a spiritual level. Had Diaz not tested positive and the result stood it would have become a classic fight. As it turned out, it became more of a case study demonstrating just how much pain a stoned mixed martial artist can withstand.

While Diaz might not be a bad person, hes definitely someone who attracts trouble. Instead of learning a lesson from the experience of his positive drug test, he became a more outspoken advocate of marijuana use. While the relative risk pot smoking is debatable and beyond the purview of this article one thing is certain”fighters are prohibited from its use. Sadly, it appears that Diaz places a greater value on his recreational drug use than his legacy as a professional prizefighter.

Ironically, Japans notoriously lax oversight of mixed martial arts makes it a perfect fit for Diaz. He doesnt have to worry about drug tests or athletic commissions who arent sympathetic to his claiming a need for medical marijuana. His workrate, conditioning and versatility as a fighter will be appreciated by the Japanese fans, and offers countless matchup opportunities for the promotion. Most significantly, perhaps, his participation with Japanese promotions DREAM or Sengoku provides Diaz the opportunity to put his missteps behind him and reassert himself as one of the sports most exciting fighters and not as a ‘cautionary tale’.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and sportsbook directory sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and an emu. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.

Carolina Panthers’ quarterback Jake Delhomme is having a season he’d like to forget, and things got even worse on Sunday at home against the Buffalo Bills. Despite dominating the Bills on the stat sheet, Delhomme threw three interceptions that allowed Buffalo to take a 20-9 victory over the struggling Panthers. Delhomme threw for 325 yards, though without any touchdowns. The Panthers dropped to 2-4 while the Bills improved to 3-4.

Buffalo rewarded NFL pointspread players with the outright victory as +7 road underdogs. The Bills have covered four of their seven games this season, while the Panthers have an awful record against the spread-they’ve only covered once this season for a 1-5 ATS mark. The 29 combined points went UNDER the posted total of 37. Buffalo has gone UNDER in 4 of 7 games this season while Carolina evened their NFL totals mark at 3-3.

The Bills’ Terrell Owens was again a non-factor, but gave credit to the defense for earning the victory:

“You can’t really complain about a win. Defensively, those guys are keeping us in ballgames.”

Buffalo defensive end Chris Kelsay commended his team’s performance on the road:

“Never once on the sidelines was there any doubt that we were going to win the game. Regardless if it’s an ugly win over not, it’s hard to win in this league.”

Ryan Fitzpatrick started at QB for Buffalo in place of the injured Trent Edwards and was solid, if not spectacular. Coach Dick Jauron observed:

“He made the plays when we had to make them.”

Panthers’ coach John Fox has said he’s going to’re-evaluate’ whether the struggling Delhomme should continue to start, and even the quarterback himself couldn’t make an emphatic case that he should keep his job:

“In my heart, yeah, but I mean let’s be honest, I don’t think I’m a dummy. When you’re not playing well offensively, you always have to look at the quarterback.”

The Panthers’ schedule doesn’t get easier this week as they head west for a game against the improving Arizona Cardinals. Carolina is a +9 road underdog with the total set at 43′. They’ll head south the following week to face the red hot New Orleans Saints before returning home on November 15 to take on the Atlanta Falcons. Buffalo will host the Houston Texans this weekend, with the game currently off the board due to injuries on both teams. They’ll have their bye week after that and will return to action on November 15 against the Tennessee Titans.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former interior secretary James Watt.