US Olympian turned E! Reality Star

11x Olympic Medalist, Ryan Lochte

This past year at the 2012 Olympic summer games, swimmer Ryan Lochte captured five Olympic medals to bring his lifetime total to 11. Lochte’s main goal at the games was to out perform his teammate, the most decorative Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps. Even though Phelps found more success than Lochte did that summer, Lochte was able to beat Phelps in their first head-to-head competition, where Phelps didn’t even medal. And with that, a star is born! But not exactly in the way that you expect.

The future looked bright for this kid, as he could have been one of the most famous competitive athletes in the world, perhaps even surpassing Phelps. But after a handful of post Olympic interviews, the world soon realized that there Olympic poster-boy is one of the dumbest people on the planet! And like every other star in show-bizz, Lochte’s stupidity has landed him a reality show called What Would Ryan Lochte Do? on E!. The same network that embraced Kim Kardashian, Kendra Wilkinson, and many other infamous stars. What a great group of people to be categorized with.

What Would Ryan Lochte Do? Trailer

The show What Would Ryan Lochte Do? is basically a show about nothing but get it straight, this is no Seinfeld episode. The show portrays Lochte as a professional public idiot, and the whole time he seems to not even have a clue. While we’ve seen our fair share of professional dummies, from the outside, Lochte doesn’t seem like he would fit that personality. He’s a decorated Olympian, he’s a good-looking dude, and he gets chicks! But have you heard talk?? Check out this pair of Fox 29 news anchors who loose it after "conducting" an interview with Lochte live on air.

With the combination of his stupidity and stereotypical frat boy image, many people would conceder Lochte to be a douchebag, except himself. Because he doesn’t know what a douchebag is!?! Yet Lochte seems to possess an big heart and has strong family ties so I must respect the man for that. And not to mention, he’s still an Olympic champion who has many years of swimming to do for this country.

With water already under the bridge, the only way is can see Lochte’s reputation being restored, even by the slightest bit, is by dropping the show and focusing on the pool! Lochte would be doing himself and this country a great deed if this were to happen. Doesn’t everyone else think so? #Jeah !!!

'Ronda Rousey' and the Future of WMMA

Above: Ronda Rousey, first and currently UFC's Women's Bantamweight Champion

For all you MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) Junkies out there, the world of sports "entertainment" is about to take on a whole new meaning with the introduction of the feared, yet beautiful Ronda Rousey to the UFC. Before recently joining the UFC, Rousey had compiled a resume that is very impressive for any athlete. She was a Junior World Champion (Judo), World Silver Medalist (Judo) the former Strikeforce (MMA Organization) Women's Bantamweight Champion, the first American woman to earn an Olympic medal in Judo (Beijing 2008; Bronze), Pan Am Games Champion (Judo), 4th degree Black belt in Judo and is the first and currently UFC's Women's Bantamweight Champion (MMA record: 7-0).

(Ronda Rousey WMMA Highlight reel)

After Rousey's historic win at UFC 157 against Liz Carmouche on Feb. 23, 2013, the media cant seem to get enough of

Ronda Rousey on the cover of ESPN Magazine

this chick and it's not just because of her performance in the sport. With only one UFC win under her belt, Rousey has landed on the cover of ESPN's Magazine for "the BODY issue". Since no other MMA fighter has been on the cover of ESPN's Magazines, its safe to say that she didn't land that spot because of her successful performance in the ring. Rousey has also captured the headlines of many after and an interview on the Jim Rome show regarding her views on sex before fights. Rousey states, "For girls, it raises your testosterone so I try to have as much sex as possible before a fight, actually. Not with like everybody. I dont put out a Craigslist ad or anything, but if I have a steady, I'm going be like 'yo, fight times coming up'" Rousey said with a laugh. With Rousey being the attractive athlete that she is, the media seems to have changed their journalistic perspective from strictly covering sports news to this E! News kind of feel to it. Its almost as if the media is robbing her of her MMA accomplishments and trying to turn Rousey into a Kim Kardashian kind of figure. Yet Rousey continues to stay true to herself by not getting to caught up in the limelight of fame.

Ronda Rousey (left) President of UFC, Dana White (right)

As for Dana White, President of The UFC, he believes that the recent success of Rousey can only do good things for the sports of WMMA and the UFC. When asked about the future of WMMA in the UFC White stated, "If you think about it, when we started this company, we had heavyweights, light heavyweights, middleweights, and welterweights. That was it. We've been adding weight classes, and the sport keeps getting bigger and bigger. The same will happen with the women. You think that after it starts to generate some excitement and interest that other women will pop out of the woodwork. I think over the next couple of years, we're really going to see a big boom."  It seems that White has taken a 180 degree turn on the subject matter as he had previously reported to TMZ that "women will never fight in the UFC". Could it be because of the sex appeal that Rousey brings to the sport? Or do you think White is really interested in the integration of WMMA to the UFC? Either way he know that guys love to watch chick fights and the more people watching, the more moneys he bringing in.  Also being the biggest star in WMMA and one of the biggest stars in MMA period has helped change Whites views towards WMMA in the UFC.

MMA overall has grown over the past few years to a global level and with the addition of WMMA to the UFC, the sport will only continue to get bigger. If Rousey and other female fighters continue to excite White and fan during their matches, WMMA will flourish in the future.

Ronda Rousey is set to defend her title against Cat Zingano, her second opponent in the UFC. Cat also made history going down as the first mother/wife to fight in the octagon. It has yet to be announced when this fight is to take place but its sure to be a must see match. The two are also set to be host's/coaches for next seasons The Ultimate Fighter reality show, where in the past  coaches square up against one another at the end of the season. So this could be the making of a long time rivalry. I know for me, I'm all about the intergrading of WMMA into the UFC. I believe it will attract me viewers/fans and will help to evolve sport of MMA. What do you guys think about the change? Are you planning on watching Rousey vs. Zingano fight? Keep it tuned it for more info regarding time times and dates for upcoming fights.

Rousey with an armbar on Carmouche at UFC 157

Can The Orioles Do It Again?

It’s not unlikely to still hear the chant Oh...oh-OH-oh oh OHH OHH echoing around the streets of Baltimore, but this times it’s for the other birds in town, The Baltimore “Oh”rioles! Opening day is just right around the corner and O’s cant wait to get back out there on the diamond! After the Orioles amazing run into the post season last year, many analysts don’t see the team having the same kind of success in 2013. But for manager Buck Showalter and his squad, they hope to silence their critics and pick up right where they left off…
                                         Orioles 2013 season roster preview

At the end of the 2012 season, the Orioles improved their team’s wins by 23 games; with at one point 15 straight extra inning-wins, and 16 1pt. marginal game winners. For any team, those are some pretty outstanding stats and to say that Baltimore will have another season like that is very unlikely. Yet, with many critics predicting the team’s demise this year, the attitude and confidence that the Orioles have shown thus far in Pre-Season seems to suggest otherwise.

The O’s are currently ranked first in Florida’s GrapefruitLeague (7-2, .778 PCT) and third in the overall American League. Putting them ahead of the San Francisco Giants and Detroit Tigers (the 2012 World Series contenders).

Going into the 2013 season, the Orioles have some things going for them that they didn’t have starting off last year. Such things include starters come back healthy and ready to play, along with depth at position on both the field and in the bullpen. Hall of Famer and former Oriole, Cal Ripken Jr. explains how the bullpen is going to be just as good this year with Buck continuing to run the show, “You saw that with all the one-run games last year. So then it’s just a matter of playing defense and scoring runs, and the Orioles have a good nucleus to do that.” The O’s will also have a chance to mold two new pitching prospects onto the team this year with Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman (2012, 1^st round pick from LSU).

Along with Bundy and Gausman, the depth of young players on the team (12^th youngest in the league) is pretty important. Manny Machado will probably gain the most spotlights in this category as the second year players plans on continuing his success in his first “full” season. Coach Showalter understands that young players sometimes have trouble getting adjusted from minor league to professional play but as long as Manny continues to show success on the defensive side of the ball, he will have a spot in the lineup.

                          

Manny Machado with an outstanding defensive play! MLB Nomination for Play Of The Year

After one of the most memorable and exciting seasons that the Orioles have had in as long as I can remember, and with the most recent Super Bowl win coming from the Ravens, the City of Baltimore seems to be more alive then ever before and I know the fans just cant wait for this upcoming season to cheer for the guys in black and orange!!

As for the fans, do you believe the O’s will again be a playoff contending team or was 2012 just a fluke year? If Ray Lewis has taught the city of Baltimore anything it would be to Believe, and I truly feel that the Orioles and its fans have really bought into that concept. What do you all think? I hope you guys are BUCKled up for the 2013 season as it should be another special year filled with great memories and tons of O-R-I-O-L-E-S Magic!!

                                         For those who missed out on all the fun last season, here's what the Yard looked like... 
 Lets keep the magic going into 2013!!!

Back to Work for The Ravens

Unless you have been living under a rock the past two and a half weeks, you know that the Baltimore Ravens are XLVII Super Bowl Champions of the World. For the Baltimore organization it didn’t take long for everyone to get back to work and prepare for the upcoming 2013 season. Looking ahead to the next season, there are a lot of big time decisions to be made regarding players and the team salary cap.

The biggest decision that needs to be made right away is what the Ravens plan to do with Joe Flacco. Right now the Ravens have two options: 1) Come to some kind of long-term (big money) deal or 2) Use the franchise tag on him (Valued at 14.5million). If the team were to put the franchise tag on Joe, any other team would be free to negotiate with him; and the talk around the league is that the Cleveland Browns are interested in talking with Joe. If that situation were to play out, in return, the Ravens would receive the Browns' first round draft pick this year and in the 2014 draft. So, it should be interesting to see how everything plays out in the next few weeks regarding Joe.

If Joe were to leave for the Browns next season, it opens up a lot of possibilities regarding the spots that are going to need to be filled due to retirement and free agency. As of right now the Ravens have 13 unrestricted free agents and 6 restricted free agents. Some of our top free agents (minus Flacco) include Ed Reed, Dannell Ellerbe, Cary Williams, and Paul Kruger. With Ray Lewis gone into retirement I think that Ellerbe will be back to control the middle. As for Reed, he has the decision to find another team or stick around and probably retire as a Raven like Lewis did. For Williams and Kruger, I don’t want to say it cause they had a great year and they're great players but they are both replaceable. All of these guys are defensive players, so this year in the draft expect to see a defensive player as the team's first pick.

Which brings me back to the Joe Flacco decision. If the Ravens were to release him to the Browns, the team would have a chance to pick up some big named super stars in the draft. My thought process regarding the draft goes as follows: With the Browns 7^th round pick, Manti Te’o would be a nice compliment to Ellerbe. With the Ravens 32^nd or 2nd round pick, Tyrann Mathieu would be a steal and have no problem filling Reeds' shoes. Ravens have a history of taking in talented players who have had off the field issues and turning their careers around for the better, which would be the case for Mathieu. And next year in the 2014 draft, with the Browns first round pick, Jadeveon Clowney  (So., OLB, South Carolina) could make a great compliment to T-Sizzle as a long term fill-in for Kruger.

Granted these are just my opinions about what I would like to see, knowing we have a lot of work to do on defense. What do you guys think about my predictions? Do you think a scenario will play out like this one or do you think Joe will come to terms with a big time deal?