Pacquiao vs. De La Hoya: The Biggest Fight of the Year

The Philippine Boxer is hoping that he will extend his streak by beating Oscar De La Hoya. Pacquiao has never lost a fight and I don't think that he will for a very long time. People call him the "Mexicutioner." This fight will be held on December 6, 2008 and I know that everyone is waiting for the big night to see who will win. You have to admit this will be an exciting game, because finally these two champions will come together. In my opinion, Pacquiao will do his thing and show everyone what he is made of again. Considered the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, Pacquiao is walking around now near 150 pounds. He's buoyed by information from his trainer and promoters and is convinced he'll extend his current eight-fight winning streak that includes victories over Mexican stars Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez.

A computer study shows that in recent years De La Hoya's punch and jab rate steadily deteriorates after the sixth round in his fights. Longtime Top Rank matchmaker Bruce Trampler drove in from Las Vegas to script with Pacquiao a strategy to beat the same fighter whose early career Trampler once so artfully directed.


Boxing followers have tabbed Pacquiao "The Mexicutioner" because of this winning streak, and Pacquiao is confidently promising De La Hoya, 35, will be the next to fall in their Dec. 6 fight.

"I think so," Pacquiao, 29, says, relaxing in his upscale Los Angeles apartment after a recent Hollywood gym training session. "He's not the good Oscar I saw before. He's still dangerous, but not as good as he was before."

Pacquiao will earn a guaranteed $11 million plus a possible pay-per-view percentage for the fight.


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Buick Ends Endorsement With Tiger Woods

After nearly a decade (9 years to be exact) General Motors Corp. (Owners of Buick) has decided to end its 9-year endorsement deal with Tiger Woods. Who is the blame for all of this? Well it turns out that its the poor economy. GM released a statement stating that it is looking to cut down costs, and that Woods was looking forward to spending time at home with his growing family (he has a baby on the way.

Woods has endorsed GM products around the world and mainly has been seen in Buick commercials as the company tried to give the nameplate a more youthful image. “I am very proud of the long standing partnership I’ve had with GM and have enjoyed being a part of the company’s dramatic product evolution,” Woods said in a statement. GM’s statement said the company and Woods agreed together to end the deal, and the separation was amicable.

GM has been making dramatic cuts in advertising as it tries to conserve cash. The nation’s largest automaker spent nearly $7 billion more than it took in last quarter and has warned that it may reach the minimum amount required to run the company by the end of the year without federal help. Experts say a company that falls below minimum cash levels will have to stop paying some of its bills, a move that could force it into bankruptcy protection.

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Safety for World Cup 2010

For any soccer fanatics out there, such as myself, the World Cup in 2010 seems to be quite a ways off. However, players and workers alike are already training and getting prepared for the 2010 World Cup. While players are out conditioning and training for this competition, South Africa is training by preparing their security to host this event.

The 2010 tournament will be held in South Africa, the "crime capitol" of the world. Hoping to ease the tension and fear of prospective spectators, World Cup organizers are ensuring that soccer fans will be able to safely watch the games in Africa. Chief Danny Jordaan, South Africa's organizing chief, has stated that there hasn't been a single incident during any big international events in South Africa since multiparty democracy in 1994.

"Crime in South Africa has steadily fallen in the past few years," says Deputy Police Commissioner, Andres Pruis. The South African government plans to spend a US dollar equivalent of 64 million dollars on 41,000 officers to patrol the World Cup and 66 million dollars on equipment such as helicopters, unmanned aircraft, border patrol and crowd-control equipment. All these efforts are in hopes of providing a safe atmosphere for fans to come enjoy the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and bring more attention to the beautiful wild life and nature that South Africa has to offer.

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LAKERS 7-1

Yes, the Lakers had won so many good games. And they would have broken a record since the late 1990's. Pistons took the eighth game and had disappointed so many Laker fans. We would have never thought right? yeah hard to believe, i was disappointed in them too. but other than that, they are still in the lead with teams of 7 to 1! Nobody expected the Lakers to go 82-0, but nobody really predicted this either. The Lakers did more than lose to the Detroit Pistons. They were pushed, prodded and posted up in a 106-95 thumping Friday that brought back shades of their struggles against another physical Eastern Conference team in June.

Kobe Bryant couldn't shoot straight, the Pistons aimed and fired from wherever they desired, and, for the final ignominy, the Lakers surrendered a double-double to Kwame Brown (remember him?).

It was a weird scene, almost surreal, but the sight that had played out in their road games -- fans leaving early when a Lakers victory became apparent -- unfolded in reverse at Staples Center as fans headed for the exits in the final minutes.

The Lakers hadn't been 8-0 since 1997-98, but, well, that's now a swing and a miss.


"We didn't do nothing good as a team -- defense, offense, extra effort, loose balls, steals," forward Lamar Odom said.

The Lakers (7-1), for all their success, had pushed the envelope in many of their victories.

They needed a 14-point fourth quarter from Bryant to slip past Denver and a 22-0 run after trailing the Clippers in the fourth quarter.

They trailed Houston by 16 in the second quarter, Dallas by 10 in the third quarter and almost blew a 21-point fourth-quarter lead Wednesday in New Orleans.

Perhaps it finally caught up to them, karma turning its cheek when the Lakers leaned in for another peck.

Bryant scored 29 points against the Pistons but took a whopping 30 shots, making only 12.

Derek Fisher, a source of stability in a 20-point effort against New Orleans, missed 12 of 16 shots and finished with nine points.

Vladimir Radmanovic failed to find his stroke, scoring two points on one-for-six shooting.

"Kobe and Fish both had difficult nights shooting the ball," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "You're not going to win sometimes when that happens."

And to think Detroit was coming off a push-the-pace victory 24 hours earlier at Golden State.

It was the Lakers, however, who looked tired.

They trailed immediately, 12-2, and never led by more than two.

Radmanovic and Fisher were scoreless in the first half, missing all 10 of their combined shots as the Lakers went into halftime with a 53-44 deficit.

It didn't get much better from there, the Pistons leading by as many as 20 in the fourth quarter before the Lakers made it look a little better by the time the final horn sounded.

New acquisition Allen Iverson had 25 points, as did old Lakers nemesis Rasheed Wallace.

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Kings Lose to Ducks

Yesterday was the freeway series for the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings and they were there for a good cause. With all of the fires in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties, some of the profits were to raise money for the families who have been affected by the devastating fire.

It was the Ducks' second shutout in the last two meetings between the Southern California rivals. The last time they met on Nov. 4 at Staples Center, the Ducks won 1-0 on Chris Pronger's overtime goal. The only other time the Ducks have had consecutive shutouts against the Kings in 2000-01, both in Anaheim by 4-0 scores.

"If you don't score, you don't win," Kings goalie Erik Ersberg said. "[Hiller] played good in net at the other end, so it happens. We played a good team tonight and we gave it our best effort. Maybe we ran out of gas in at the end. It was like this the last game, too. We couldn't get the puck in the net."

Ersberg, whose current string of seven consecutive starts began with the previous meeting against the Ducks, made 24 saves in the rematch. Ersberg has allowed just 14 goals during the last seven games (4-2-1).

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Top Free Agents in MLB

The economic crisis may be effecting NASCAR, but this little recession we may be going through most likely wont hurt the player of MLB.

Mark Teixeira of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, is the top free agent available this offseason for a number of reasons. Usually, the top position player free agent would be someone who plays a skill position, but this market is thin at those spots -- middle infield, catcher, center fielder and third base. Of the corner bats available, Teixeira offers the best combination of offensive production, defensive value and youth.

Derek Lowe of the Los Angeles Dodgers, entered free agency after the 2004 season on the heels of his worst year as a starter. He had capped it off with some great work in October that made the four-year deal given to him by the Dodgers and then-GM Paul DePodesta seem irrationally exuberant. But since the deal, Lowe has posted four straight seasons with ERAs under 3.90 and at least 199 innings pitched..

Milton Bradley of the Texas Rangers has always has had the ability to put up the kind of season he did in 2008, but injuries and his temper have conspired to limit his opportunities. He's a true switch-hitter who has plate discipline and plus raw power from both sides of the plate. He recognizes off-speed pitches well, lets the ball travel, then unleashes his bat, taking advantage of the speed in his wrists. In other words, he's exactly the player he was a year ago, but with a better platform year to take into free agency.

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NASCAR- Teams Will NOT Test in 2009

Economy is hurting everyone, now its hit the NASCAR franchise real hard. NASCAR will implement a no-testing policy next season in order to save millions of dollars during a massive downturn in the U.S. economy.

NASCAR officials met with teams' crew chiefs Friday morning at Homestead-Miami Speedway to inform them of the change. The official announcement is expected later today. All tracks that have NASCAR events in the top three series -- Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Trucks, which will be renamed Camping World Trucks next season -- are expected to be included in the testing ban.

The change also is expected to include Daytona International Speedway and the traditional two weeks of test sessions in January before the '09 season begins. "It has pluses and minuses," said Pat Tryson, crew chief for the No. 2 Dodge driven by Kurt Busch. "Times are tough right now, so it's probably not that bad a thing for most people. It's the same for everybody. It may make the racing better with nobody having the opportunity to test." This is a dramatic change from the idea NASCAR officials proposed to the teams two months ago, when the plan was to increase testing to 24 sessions per team, with every Cup track included. But the faltering economy caused NASCAR to rethink that idea and take a major step to limit costs.

Many teams spend more than $3 million a season on testing. Each test day can run more than $100,000 per car in expenses. Cup teams had lobbied for more testing at Cup tracks to gain valuable data on the new car at each Cup facility. Only a few tracks had open test sessions this year, so teams were forced to test at tracks where NASCAR doesn't have Cup races. The new policy will not keep teams from testing at non-NASCAR tracks.

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NBAs: Battle of Los Angeles 106

LAL 108 LAC 88. Los Angeles is my home town, and basically that's where my heart stays! What happens when two teams from the same city play against each other? A very exciting game it will be! I'm a huge Laker fan and yeah I still respect the LA Clippers, but you gotta admit, this is LAKERS season to take it! Lakers are on a record of 4-0! I usually have an article when writing about sports, but I always watch the Laker game. Lakers came back and they are ready to win. I was surprised because LAC had an overturn before half-time. But our Lakers never let us down.
The Lakers entered Wednesday night's game against the Clippers with a +21.6 point differential through their first three games, easily the NBA's best. Through four games the Clippers were -23 per night, by far the worst mark in the Association.

It was a game where nothing had to give... and it didn't. Using a 22-0 run over seven-plus minutes in the fourth quarter, the Lakers ran away with what was a close game early, winning 106-88. The LAC actually held a four point lead at halftime, but whether it was an inspired speech from Phil Jackson, a particularly refreshing batch of Gatorade, or the simple realization that, at least right now, the Clippers aren't that good, LAL came out with fire to start the third, erasing a four point deficit and setting the tone for a strong final two quarters. Had they been able to hit the broad side of a barn with their shots- it wasn't until the fourth quarter that the Lakers shot better than 40%- the purple and gold would have put this one on ice a lot faster.

Kobe led the way with 27 points, bolstered by 15 from Lamar Odom and 13 from Derek Fisher.


Lakers, you gotta love them (=

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Boston at Houston

It was Boston's turn last season, how bout this season? It has been said that Boston has been terrible with their turnovers and other things. Houston is 3-0 right now and they're ready for the Boston Celtics! I'm excited to see how this game will come about. I really want Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers to play against each other once again! In my opinion, I think that Paul Pierce is one cocky man. But we shall see how they come out with the Houston Rockets!
Fans got it right with this one, choosing to see the Rockets and C's on NBA TV over the possible Spurs/Mavericks or Suns/Nets contests in an NBA.com poll.

The runner-ups should be a pair of entertaining duels, but we could have a Finals preview in this Rockets/Celtics matchup, and it's good that the pairing will take to the national stage.

It should be a low-scoring affair, even as the Celtics (third in pace) and Rockets (14th) are running a bit more than expected this far into the season. Boston is having terrible issues with turnovers, throwing away 20 miscues a game, far and away the worst mark in the league.

Meanwhile, Houston is doing its damage by not damaging the opponent. The Rockets are averaging a league-best 16 fouls a night, which no doubt is leading to their third-ranked defense thus far.

On top of that, we have two gimpies (Ray Allen and Tracy McGrady) chasing each other around, with two burly wing beasts in Paul Pierce and Ron Artest set to do battle. Actual battle. With swords and shields and honor.

Yao Ming is averaging 22 and 11. Kevin Garnett is contributing 16 and 10 in only 32 minutes, and both outfits can boast scary-good benches.

No BtB tomorrow, I'm going to take in a night on the tube with my sights set elsewhere, but you can be sure I'll be recording this one on the other tuner and referring to it quite a bit. This isn't hyperbole, this could be a Finals matchup; and an especially intriguing one as neither franchise is likely to make much of an overhaul between now and the playoffs.

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Lakers are Bad News for the Rest of the West

What's most exciting about living in Southern California, is being a big fan of the LAKERS! I believe that this year is Lakers year. Although it has been 3 games, they remain undefeated. The most entertaining game would have to be Battle of LA. Between Los Angeles Clippers (LAC) and Los Angeles Lakers (LAL). Me being a girl, I didn't even know the Clippers were still alive. They managed to play a good game towards the Lakers though. The Lakers has 3 great players (listed in the article), yet Fisher decided to take Odom off the bench. I found this article that seems really interesting.

There’s a big problem brewing in Los Angeles. As in, too many bigs. The Lakers have future All-Star center Andrew Bynum back from a knee injury, along with former All-Star Pau Gasol at power forward. Then there’s 6-10 forward Lamar Odom, a guy so versatile he has averaged as many as 5.9 assists in one season and 10.6 rebounds in another. But coach Phil Jackson only wants two of the three to start, which has meant the Lakers must bring Odom off the bench.

Such a dilemma. “Yeah,” said Portland coach Nate McMillan with a roll of the eyes, “that’s a problem every coach would like to have.”

Indeed, the Lakers seem to be dealing with it just fine. Odom initially bristled at the bench idea — he had started 369 straight games before coming in as sixth man on opening night — but he has come around, and Jackson is anticipating no problems from Odom. “He is going to handle it professionally,” Jackson said.

Just as big a concern as Odom’s new role is the ability of Gasol and Bynum to play together in the starting lineup. At least, it’s a concern within Lakers circles. For those of us looking in from the outside, it sure looks like putting Gasol and Bynum together is not much of a problem at all. Don’t tell Gasol that, though.

“We play in the same area a lot, so, of course you have to worry,” Gasol said. “It will work out. We are two dominant 7-footers, and we need to prove to everybody that we are a force. But it’s not like we can just go out there and everyone will be afraid of us and get out of our way.”

It’s only two games, but the Lakers have yet to receive much of a challenge, and that’s thanks to an overlooked benefit of having Bynum and Gasol on the floor together — the defense is impenetrable, with Bynum’s big body clogging the lanes and Gasol’s gangly arms slapping harassing players in the high post. Throw in tough perimeter defenders like Kobe Bryant and Trevor Ariza, and the Lakers have gained a defensive ferocity that they seemed to be missing last year.

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