Bleacher Report - Articles by Kevin C.

The Best and Worst Nicknames in the UFC

Kevin C. — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 06:20:53 -0400

Today, I look at some of the best and worst nicknames in the UFC.

I've got to admit, there ARE some intriguing ones...Jason "The Athlete" MacDonald...Patrick "The Predator" Cote...lots of nicknames that either show no style or are just simply terrible.

We've got two Spiders, two Rocks and two Pitbulls, *Cough* Cough. We also have a "Dentist", a "Nightmare", an "Axe Murderer"...pretty interesting, if you ask me.

There is also Kendall "Da Spider" Grove and Anderson "The Spider" Silva...someone should change his nickname...

Here are some of the best and worst UFC nicknames...

BEST

Randy "The Natural" Couture
Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell
Sean "The Muscle Shark" Sherk (fits his description very well)
David "Tank" Abbott (Not in the UFC, but I mean look at the guy...)
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
Keith "The Dean of Mean" Jardine
Brandon "The Truth" Vera

All if not most of those nicknames fit the fighter's personality very well!

Here are some of the...not-so-good ones..

WORST

Cheick "The French Sensation" Kongo (I mean, can you get any cornier?)
Jason "The Gizzard" Gilliam (What in the world is that?)
Georges "Rush" St.-Pierre (Not a bad nickname, but lacks any identification whatsoever and doesn't justify or explain his talent! *BUZZER*)
Rashad "Sugar" Evans
Ed "Short Fuse" Herman
Jens "Lil Evil" Pulver
Ken "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Shamrock (All the respect in the world to Ken...but you have got to be kidding me...)

Those were just some that made the cut. What are your best and worst UFC nicknames?

LeBron James: A Overhyped, Drama Queen

Kevin C. — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:33:38 -0400

Basketball season as we all know, isn't for a while, but I wanted to get my thoughts on LeBron out now.

Let me give you some info on "the King.” LeBron James has averaged 30 PPG in 2008, and 27.3 PPG in his career, in addition to go with that 7.8 RPG and 7.6 APG last year.He was last year's NBA All-Star Game MVP and Scoring Champion. Pretty good stats, eh?At 24-years-old, he has already accomplished what people only dream of. Known around the world as one of the most versatile and explosive players in the game, LeBron, in many people's minds, is better than Jordan, Rusell, Magic, and Bird.

But you see, that’s the problem. To be honest, like Deshawn Stevenson and many of my colleagues think, I think he is an overrated, camera-hogging, whining punk—not to mention traveling five miles every time he touches the ball.

Now, before you write comments on my story about how you think I'm a tool, just listen to my point of view.

The 2008 playoffs against the Washington Wizards must have been one of the most controversial, hard-fouling, competitive series in my mind."There's been some extracurricular activities going on outside and inside this series," James said, "but I've been able to stay focused." Let's go back to Game Four at Washington. LeBron’s drive to the hole: yes, he gets fouled. By who? Deshawn Stevenson. Not a flagrant or a real hard foul, but a foul, nonetheless. Of course, LeBron has to initiate and exchange words with Deshawn.

Now, there are many more examples of LeBron lashing out, complaining, whining, and pleading his case to the media, as showed by Brendan Haywood in a press conference shortly after a game. But I'm not going to lie; LeBron is the second best player in the league next to Kobe. He led his team to the finals in 2007 with a very weak supporting cast, which has been another issue.

My point is that the man is overrated. He's known for his highflying dunks, flashy passes, and the ability to distribute the ball, but I just think that in the public's eye is just overhyped. Yes, he will probably go on to be NBA's All-Time leading scorer. Yes, he is a role model for young people. Yes, the man is a beast.

But I look around and all I see are people wearing "James" jerseys, talking about his 50-point who knows how many missed shots he had games, and his amazing dunk from last night.

Who cares?

I know personally three players I would, right now, rather have on a team then him due to the fact that he draws so much attention away from the team and because his selfish, stat-hogging play wouldn't be wanted:

Kobe, Tim Duncan, and D-Wade.

You LeBron fans like stats don't yah?

Here are some stats for you:

· LeBron in ‘07-08 attempted 359 3-point attempts, and made 113, shooting 31 percent;

· He is No. 2 in the NBA this postseason with 4.1 turnovers per game—not a way to win the championship, if you ask me;

· And the best one of all, he ranks No. 1 in the NBA in Field-Goal Attempts Per 48 Minutes with 26.04 per game.

So, why is his stat book so nice? Because he does everything, shooting, passing, rebounding more than any other person in the league—and not in a good way. Guaranteed, if D-Wade were to play like LeBron he would be a much better player, now that he is healthy.

Somebody please tell me why you guys love this ball hogging, complaining, and drama queen, so much.

UFC 87: Seek and Destroy, Main Event Prediction

Kevin C. — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:14:47 -0400

We, as UFC fans, all know the welterweight division has been dominated by Georges "Rush" St-Pierre for awhile now. But on August 9 at Seek and Destroy, I'm beginning to have second thoughts.

Jon Fitch, who recently has come off victories over Diego Sanchez and Chris Wilson, has shown his strength on the floor and excellent grappling skills. I think this should have a major impact on the match this weekend, considering Georges St-Pierre isn't the best on the floor.

Though he is well-rounded, I have seen fights where Georges has struggled in the "ground and pound" game. If Jon can expose of this, I would have to give the edge to Jon.

Georges, on the other hand, as I said is a very well-rounded fighter, in excellent condition.

Coming off his last fight, a TKO in the second round against Matt Serra should be feeling great mentally and is expected, of course, to have trained his balls off his this match.

In the end, when betting with my UFC friends and studying this match up, I honestly don't know who would win. It's like the Rampage vs. Griffin fight, whoever has the better day, will win.