En Espanol
Feedback

Posts from the Breaking News Category at FanHouse

FanHouse

Resources

Email our editors with your tips, corrections, complaints, inquiries, suggestions, etc.

Blog Roll

After 19 Straight, Del Potro Eyes the Open

Eric McErlainPosted Aug 17th 2008 5:20PM by Eric McErlain (author feed)
Filed under: International Tennis, Tennis, Breaking News

In a world dominated by always on broadband Internet connections, it's hard for any athlete to sneak up on sports fans anymore. But over the past few weeks, with the sports world focusing relentlessly on the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, a 19-year old Argentine may very well have put himself in the best position to win the Men's Singles Title at this year's U.S. Open.

The young man I'm talking about is 19th-ranked Juan-Martin Del Potro, and the reason to get excited about his prospects is that he hasn't lost a tennis match since he exited the second round of Wimbledon back on June 25. Toss in the fact that he's got the sort of looks that could win him a second career as a male model, and you can see why plenty of folks think he's ready to break out in a big way.

After an early exit from Wimbledon, Del Potro won a pair of clay court tournaments in Europe -- his first wins on the ATP Tour -- before decamping to the USA for the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles where he beat Andy Roddick in the final in two sets. Here all week in Washington at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, it's been nothing but more of the same, as Del Potro ripped through his side of the bracket as the tournament's second seed, running his consecutive win streak to 18 matches. Meanwhile on the other side of the ladder, #1 seed Roddick was upended in the quarterfinals on Friday night by the unheralded Serbian Viktor Troicki, Del Potro's opposition in today's final.
Continue Reading After 19 Straight, Del Potro Eyes the Open

NL Central Arms Race: Cubs Get Rich Harden

Matt W.Posted Jul 8th 2008 7:41PM by Matt W. (author feed)
Filed under: Chicago, Oakland, Athletics, Cubs, AL West, NL Central, Breaking News, The Word, MLB Transactions

Rich HardenJust days after the Brewers made a splash by trading for CC Sabathia, the Cubs countered by acquiring an ace of their own, picking up Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin from the A's in exchange for Sean Gallagher, Eric Patterson, Matt Murton, minor leaguer Josh Donaldson and ... wait, that's it? Whoa. Advantage: Cubs.

Harden is obviously a huge injury risk, but no one can dispute that he's one of the most dominant pitchers in the game when healthy. In 13 starts he's been one of the best in the AL this year, posting a 2.34 ERA (1.14 WHIP) while averaging better than 10.7 strikeouts per nine.

And while Gaudin is clearly an afterthought, he's not all that bad himself, capable of eating innings from the bullpen or starting rotation.

What did it cost Chicago? Some intriguing prospects, sure, but absolutely nothing in terms of players capable of helping the Cubs win today.
Continue Reading NL Central Arms Race: Cubs Get Rich Harden

UFC 86 Classic Slugfest: Forrest Griffin Beats Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson

Michael David SmithPosted Jul 5th 2008 11:59PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Breaking News, The Word, UFC

UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson lost his title to Forrest Griffin by unanimous decision in one of the all-time great fights in UFC history tonight at UFC 86 in Las Vegas.

It was a classic slugfest in which both fighters gave out and received punishment. Rampage got off to a tremendous start in the first round with a brutal uppercut, while Griffin dominated the second. On my scorecard Rampage got the better of the last three rounds and won the fight, but all three judges disagreed with me.

The key to the fight was the way Griffin hurt Rampage's knee with a big leg kick in the second round. That hindered Rampage the rest of the night.
Continue Reading UFC 86 Classic Slugfest: Forrest Griffin Beats Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson

Amir Sadollah Submits C.B. Dollaway, Wins The Ultimate Fighter

Michael David SmithPosted Jun 21st 2008 11:15PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Breaking News, UFC

Amir Sadollah defeated C.B. Dollaway with a first-round arm bar tonight in Las Vegas, earning a UFC contract by winning the final fight of this season of The Ultimate Fighter.

The fight was a rematch of a fight that aired during the Ultimate Fighter season; Sadollah won that fight and eliminated Dollaway, only to have Dollaway invited back as a replacement for finalist Jesse Taylor, who was kicked out of UFC.

Although this fight was shorter than their first fight, the result was similar: Dollaway appeared to be in an advantageous position on top on the ground, only to have Sadollah put him in an arm bar. Sadollah is a likable, articulate guy and a skilled fighter who's got a great future ahead of him in UFC.

Said Sadollah after Joe Rogan called him The Ultimate Fighter, "I just heard it and I like it."

UFC to Put Anderson Silva on Spike July 19, Affliction Might as Well Cancel

Michael David SmithPosted Jun 17th 2008 5:53PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Breaking News, UFC, Affliction for MMA


UPDATED: UFC appears ready not just to take on the upstart Affliction mixed martial arts organization, but to try for a first-round knockout.

MMARated.com and F4Wonline.com are reporting that UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva -- widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world -- will fight on Spike on July 19, the same night that Affliction has a pay-per-view show.

The reports say it will be Silva's first fight at light heavyweight, and that his opponent will be James Irvin. According to MMA Rated, Silva is not planning to relinquish his middleweight belt. He'll fight Irvin at 205 pounds and then cut back down to 185 for a middleweight bout down the road. Hermes Franca vs. Frankie Edgar is reportedly part of the undercard.

The event will apparently be part of the Spike UFC Fight Night series.

Affliction's July 19 show is in serious trouble. Although Affliction has put together a good card, headlined by Fedor Emelianenko, it's going to lose a fortune if there's a UFC show headlined by Silva simultaneously. Very, very few people will pay to see Affliction if Silva is fighting for free. Affliction may want to consider canceling.

UFC 85: Thiago Alves KOs Matt Hughes

Michael David SmithPosted Jun 7th 2008 5:19PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Breaking News, UFC

Former UFC welterweight champion Matt Hughes lost a fight that may have signaled the beginning of the end of a great career today, as Thiago Alves dominated and won with a brutal second-round technical knockout at UFC 85 in London.

The 24-year-old Alves showed up overweight, weighing in at 174 pounds for the 170-pound fight, and he apologized for that in the Octagon afterward. The 34-year-old Hughes, a workout freak, showed up appearing in good shape as usual. Whether the weight advantage helped Alves or not we don't know, but Alves dominated the fight.

Georges St.-Pierre is the undisputed best welterweight in the world, and when he's at his best he looks unbeatable. But if Alves can prove he can make 170, he may get a crack at GSP -- Alves looked great tonight, with the biggest win of his career.

In the event's other fights, Fabricio Werdum defeated Brandon Vera by first-round TKO, Mike Swick defeated Marcus Davis by unanimous decision, Thales Leites defeated Nate Marquardt by split decision and Michael Bisping defeated Jason Day by first-round TKO.

EliteXC: Kimbo Slice KOs James Thompson

Michael David SmithPosted May 31st 2008 11:43PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Breaking News, The Word, MMA/Boxing, Elite XC

Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson stopped James Thompson in the third round to conclude the first mixed martial arts show on prime time network television in American history.

Slice, who until tonight was best known for fighting on YouTube, showed more skill as an MMA fighter -- not just a brawler -- than anyone expected, and the mere fact that it went past the first round was an upset.

But the fight was not without controversy: In the third round, referee Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight while Slice was battering Thompson's bloodied left ear; CBS announcer Gus Johnson thought the stoppage was premature and I think Johnson was probably right.

Continue Reading EliteXC: Kimbo Slice KOs James Thompson

UFC 84: B.J. Penn Destroys Sean Sherk

Michael David SmithPosted May 25th 2008 1:44AM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Breaking News, MMA/Boxing, UFC


Notes on a trip to Las Vegas.

UFC lightweight championB.J. Penn defended his title with a dominant third-round TKO Saturday night, leaving challenger Sean Sherk bloody, bruised, and hurting at the conclusion of UFC 84.

That picture above is of Sherk at his post-fight press conference, during which he claimed he felt OK and would be back in the Octagon soon. But he looked like a very different fighter than he was when we last saw him, 10 months ago. Sherk isn't a champion anymore.

Penn is. He simply dominated Sherk from start to finish. This was a great performance.

Also on FanHouse:
UFC 84 Video: Jenna Jameson on Tito Ortiz
UFC 84 Live Blog
UFC Gets Undercards Right
At UFC 84, a Pass Out but Not a Tap Out

Chuck Liddell Injured and Out of UFC 85

Michael David SmithPosted Apr 21st 2008 10:54PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Fighting, Breaking News, The Word, MMA, MMA/Boxing

UPDATED: UFC star Chuck Liddell is injured and will not be able to participate in UFC 85 on June 7 in London. The news was first reported by MMARated.com and has since been confirmed on UFC's official web site.

Liddell's inability to fight is a major blow to UFC. There's no other fighter they could put in the main event against Rashad Evans and still justify selling the fairly weak UFC 85 card. The UFC 85 main event has already been changed once, as Liddell was previously slated to fight Mauricio "Shogun" Rua before Rua pulled out with an injury. From UFC.com:
"Unfortunately, Chuck Liddell tore his right hamstring during training last week, and being the warrior that he is, he still wanted to fight, which is the reason why everyone in the world loves him," said Dana White, UFC President. "But I wouldn't let anyone fight with his leg looking that way. Let him heal and come back and fight when he is 100 percent."
White vows that he will add more fights to the UFC 85 card and that the show will go on in London.

UFC 83: Georges-St. Pierre Beats Matt Serra for Welterweight Championship

Michael David SmithPosted Apr 19th 2008 11:59PM by Michael David Smith (author feed)
Filed under: Fighting, Breaking News, The Word, MMA, MMA/Boxing


Georges St-Pierre beat Matt Serra for the UFC welterweight title at UFC 83 tonight, thrilling his hometown fans in Montreal with a dominant performance to avenge his knockout loss in 2007.

St-Pierre controlled the fight throughout and won by a second round TKO. Early on he effectively went for takedowns, and as the fight went on he increasingly landed solid strikes. The referee stopped the fight late in the second when they were on the ground and Serra had no answer for St-Pierre's strikes.

Serra entered the Octagon as the champion, although St-Pierre was technically the interim champion because Serra had been out of commission with a back injury. There is now no doubt; St-Pierre is the one and only champion of the welterweight division. Some will also consider him the best fighter in the sport of MMA regardless of weight class.

The crowd was a huge factor in the first UFC card ever in Canada; we noted the crowd as we live blogged both the main event and the undercard.

St-Pierre improves his professional mixed martial arts record to 16-2; Serra falls to 9-5.
ADVERTISEMENT
Play Fantasy Football
ADVERTISEMENT