Stich Duran book commentary

Stitch Duran book cover
Credit: Amazon (click image to buy book)

So I've been a big UFC fan for the past 6-7 years and every time I catch an event I saw this Carlos Santana look-alike that worked on the fighters before, during and after the fights; being a boxing follower I knew about the importance of a great cutman but Stitch showed up on damn near every event, there must have been something good about this guy that he was there every time.

After reading a but about him I learned he had a book, I mentioned it randomly to my girlfriend -who is also kind of a UFC enthusiast- but nothing came about it. Not until Valentines Day where she got me the book as a gift. I'm a pretty fast reader, more so when it it something that gets me hooked. Needless to say I was into this one from the foreword -written by Bas Rutten- and I finished it in a couple of days, no more than 3 hours.

This will be an awesome read for so many kinds of people, not only MMA or boxing fans, since it depicts the life of a man who is a prime example of what the so called "American dream" is all about. Of Mexican descent, he was a kid that worked from before the sun came up in the fields of Planada, California; I'd say that 99% of field workers don't amount to anything else in life but you can read the drive Duran had. Hell, who can pull off working in the fields then going to school and staying late for baseball practice?

Not to spoil the book, but it takes you on the ride he took from Planada to Oakland to join the Armed Forces, his service in Thailand and how his love for martial arts grew. Upon his return he gets involved in the boxing world , opens a gym, has a soccer team of kids (nah, he just has 4), keeps his day job while running the gym, moves to Vegas, travels the world over, develops some cutmen products based on his years of experience, gets into UFC... basically takes us from the 60's all the way to 2010.

I know the last paragraph basically takes 280 something pages into a couple of lines but the idea of the blog is to comment on the book as a whole and a couple of the great stories.

How many people in this world say that Don King tried (unsuccessfully) to hustle them out of 500 bucks? That story alone is worth the book; most people won't understand that but if you are into boxing you know big of a figure (I'll leave my personal feelings out of it) King is in that world and to have him try to hustle you out of money is a story that will stick to you for ever.

The travel is a big part of this book. Stitch has been all over the freaking world! From working UFC events in Vegas and all over the States, to Klitschko bothers boxing fights in Germany, stuff with Pride in Japan and every other place you can image. I love how he tells stories relating to the events and also travel stuff; things like Josh Barnett helping him make 500 bucks for wrapping Japanese fighters, to a back alley fight in London involving the infamous Lee Murray (read into him here, some crrrrazy shit), Tito Ortiz and other well known UFC fighters; also, who can say he taught stuff to a Klitschko while dining in a Japanese restaurant in Hamburg, Germany.

The book gives a great perspective into the stuff behind the scenes we never get to see during a boxing or UFC pay-per-view. What fighters, cutmen and everyone involved go to. I loved every moment and story in the book; the amount of big names Stitch has met and interacted with is amazing: Tyson, Cro Cop, Barnett, Lesnar, Couture and Rampage to name a few; the stuff he got to see being with them in their most intimate and vulnerable moments is beyond cool.

While I'm a huge MMA fan and respect what Stitch has done inside and out of the octagon what I take away from this book is that no matter where you came from or what you where "supposed" to be in life you can actually achieve your dreams and goals if you persevere, keep your focus on it and work you freaking ass off.

I'd really encourage you check out the book, well worth the 14 bucks it'll cost you on Amazon, and learn about a great journey in life of Stitch Duran...

... Only one missing thing, he doesn't get into any detail about his awesome guitar playing and music career :)

Mr Khakbaz out!

2012-13 NBA preview

 Lakers House, Staples Center from NBA 2K13

So tonight we kick of the 2012-13 NBA season with a couple of pretty interesting games on TNT. First the Celtics travel to South Beach to take on the defending champions, Miami Heat followed by the Dallas Mavericks being hosted by my Los Angeles Lakers. I’ll be looking into the favorites for this season, surprises and other things to expect during the basketball year.

This is one of those seasons where I don’t expect many contenders for the title. There are maybe 3 teams who I give a legit shot at the O’Brien trophy. Miami, LA, OKC are top contenders (according to my sports book the Heat are the favs at only +120, while LA and the Thunder are at +200); two other teams that could be interesting to watch are the Celtics and the Spurs. Beyond that I can’t see anyone even coming close to these 3 big ones.

My main focus will be those 3 teams starting with the defending champs. It’s no secret I hate the Heat with passion but there is no denying they are a great team, not for nothing the won it all last year. The core of the team, LeBron, Wade and Bosh, remains intact and they’ve added some interesting pieces, mainly Rashad Lewis and Ray Allen. While these 2 won’t put up All Star numbers they will be of great help off the bench, one of their few weaknesses last season, and will help keep the Big 3 rested and in top form for when they are required to perform. LeBron is the greatest physical specimen in the league, I still doubt his mental toughness but last year he proved he has enough of what it takes to be a champion.

The Oklahoma Thunder had a coming out party in the playoff series vs the Spurs last year; they are true contenders and will be great this year. The topic of recent conversation regarding them was the departure of James Harden, the thing was Harden (who has the greatest NBA beard ever) wanted more money in a shorter period of time and the Thunder would not give it to him, so they set up a deal this past weekend with the Houston Rockets that sent Harden, Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to H-Town for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, two 1^st round draft picks and a 2^nd rounder. All in all it was a good deal for both sides; the Thunder didn’t really lose THAT much, got a solid player in K-Mart and a gamble on Lamb, plus the draft picks; also Harden got his extension with a 6 million upgrade as to what OKC offered him. This being said I don’t think this changes the Thunder’s chances at a title, neither does Vegas; Westbrook and Durant are spectacular, Ibaka is a monster on D and they will be in serious contention for the title but will wind up coming up a bit shot.

Now on to the Lakers. Did any team have a better offseason? Ever? They only lost often injured and yet to fulfill his potential Andrew Bynum in the deal that got them Dwight Howard. Any smart NBA follower will tell you this is a steal, and it is! While Howard is a diva, you know you’ll get 15-15 night in and night out and a huge post presence that few teams have. Then you get Steve Nash who is not nearly what he was 5 years ago but will be a huge upgrade to any PG the Lakers have had in recent memory, he will be great for the pick and roll and will create a ton of shots for Kobe. The impact of Nash is beyond description, the amount of energy Kobe expends to fight for a shot is astonishing and Steve will be of huge help with this. So all in all you get a hall of famer PG, a future HOFer Center in addition to Kobe, Gasol and Metta World Peace, can’t get much better in a 5 month span. Will the Lakers win it all? Will everything work to perfection in year one? Not sure on both questions, we could have a case of what happened to Miami in year one of the Big 3. Still LA should win the West with ease.

As I said before, these are the only 3 teams I give a chance to win the title. That is not to say that there won’t be other fun teams & surprises. For one, the Portland Trailblazers will be a really entertaining team night in and night out; they won’t win more than 40 games but all 82 will be real enjoyable. Denver is another one of those fast paced, don’t care about defense teams who always provides some fun TV time. Chicago will be fun to watch, and depending if D-Rose returns could be a contender for the title; I see an interesting scenario where the Bulls are 6 or 7^th in the East and Rose comes back around March and they make a serious run at the Heat. Also the Houston Rockets will be pretty solid.

Who will take the main individual awards this year?

• MVP: Kevin Durant; barring a long setback due to injury he will be a monster in 12-13


• Scoring champ: KD will take this one for the 3^rd straight year


• Defensive player of the year: Dwight Howard, closely challenged by Serge Ibaka


• Rookie of the year: Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Hornets

As you can see the main awards will be distributed between Lakers and Thunder, thus my prediction of them having great years.

Now the million dollar question, who will reach the NBA Finals and win it all? I’m going with pretty much everyone else’s prediction: Los Angeles Lakers vs Miami Heat. The winner? Logic says it will be the Heat but I’m going with my Lakers –actually saw a NBA 2K13 simulation of the whole season and it predicted the same outcome with LA winning the Finals in 7 games (for the article click here)

Who is your team? Who do you expect to win it all?

Mr Khakbaz out!

Go Lakers!

2012 World Series Preview

Baseball is a real special sport for me for so many reasons. Played it a while even though I sucked, have spent a ton of time at the ballpark with friends and family, have had some great times with my old man playing catch back home Nd have had the chance to interact with fans of lots of teams at 10 or so ballparks I've had a chance to catch games. So on the eve of the start of the World Series I'd like to share my thoughts on the 2012 postseason and how I believe the Fall Classic will unfold.

As always October brings us the most exciting baseball all year; most people don't get the sport and think it is to slow, well when you've never given yourself a chance to go to the ballpark and understand that baseball goes way beyond to what happens on the field, well then you'll never get it.

The Oakland A's made the playoffs when in April no one gave them a chance, and rightfully so. They were in a division with 2 teams that were, in the eyes of many, favorites to win the AL Pennant, the Angels and Rangers. While their playoff run was nothing memorable, their play during the season was a thing of beauty.

Something I will never forget is the EPIC collapse of the New York Yankees. I mean, seriously, how can that happen? You've got Cano, A-Rod and Granderson who just were erased right of the map; first I kind of enjoyed it them I felt bad for these guys. What will 2013 have in store for the Yankees? I believe Jeter will be back, Granderson is liked and will be back. A-Rod has never really clicked with the NY crowd even when he put up MVP caliber numbers; his contract is a nightmare but I really think he needs a fresh start and will be moved to another team. Cano is a real mystery to me, he has all the tools but always seems to collapse at the clutch moment, he is too young and has a great upside thus he will be back.

I expected a bit more out of the Orioles since the Yankees couldn't hit a lick, but somehow they were not able to grind out a series win. In my book the season was really good but the postseason will be remembered as a disappointment, if remembered at all.

On to the Tigers and Giants. Two teams that have a similar build and play to similar strengths. What I'll do is try and break down the different areas of the game and see who has the "advantage" based on that.

Hitting. This is a clear advantage for the Tigers since they have the eventual MVP Miguel Cabrera, Prince Field and Delmon Young who always seems to have big playoff series. The Giants rely on timely hitting lead by Buster Posey but are not as explosive as Detroit. Advantage Detroit.

Starting pitching. When you have Justin Verlander on your staff and you can count on him going out there in games 1, 4 and 7 if needed you must feel pretty good, and a guy like Max Scherzer and you are in great shape. The Giants have Matt Cain, bust Barry Zito -who has been really good recently- and Madison Bumbgartner, and somewhere lost in the shuffle Tm Lincecum, who from what I hear will not be in the rotation. Both rotations are solid as heck and a huge part of why these teams have gotten so far. Again, advantage Tigers.

Bullpen. No need to get into much detail here, the advantage goes by far to the Giants.

Managing. I guess I'll be a bit biased since Giants' manager Bruce Bochy was the manager of my Padres for 12 years and I really like the guy. Jim Leyland is one of those guys that will always put the team in a position to succeed, he is as good as they come, doesn't overthink stuff and just lets his guys go. Bochy is very similar in those aspects but I believe he has a deeper relationship and knowledge of his player that could prove to be the difference in the tight games we'll have. Advantage Giants.

Intangibles. Luck. Call it what you want but so many things have gone the Giants way it's amazing. A simple example is that double Hunter Pence got last night with the bases loaded; thanks to Fox's 300 FPS camera we got to see how the bat broke and actually made contact with the ball 3 times! Never have I seen that happen. Just timely hits, a bounce there, and you find a way to sneak into he finals. But then again, luck is usually on the side of better prepared, more talented teams and people.

The final tally is 3-2 in favor of the Giants; but I still believe the 2 areas where the Tigers are favorites are the most important ones. Sports books seem to agree as Detroit is at -170 and SF is at +140 to take it all.

My prediction is that the Detroit Tigers will take it all in 6 games. My heart wants the Giants to win it all, hoping they can close it out at AT&T Park since it's one of the best venues to catch a game (was lucky enough to catch 4 games in the summer of 04 while at Stanford) and they have some of the best fans around.

Regardless of the end result I hope we get some real exciting games with great pitching, timely hitting and just all around, fun to watch ballgames.
Who do you think will take it all?

Mr Khakbaz out!

Making sense of the Chargers mess

So it’s been a while since I blogged at all, I guess it has to do with being so active on twitter (@MrKhakbaz). After all it is considered a micro-blogging site and in a way it’s a means to talk, share thoughts or just vent on any random topic. So what brought me back? A horrible performance by the San Diego Chargers.

If you follow me on twitter, or on really old posts, you know I’m a huge sports fan, specially the Chargers; historically they have been a pretty crappy all time record (395-388-11, prior to this season), recently they have been “better” yet are one of those franchises that every year it seems they are on the brink of greatness and something gets in the way; whether it be injuries, draft mistakes, a fumble here or a pick there they always come close yet always seem to fail.

Yesterday I heard a ton of stuff on the Chargers demise. Some I thought was right, some I thought was pure bullshit trying to have some cheesy material for people to listen to or to write about. A couple of my favorite sports writers are Colin Cowherd (@ESPN_Colin) and Mike Wilbon (@RealMikeWilbon) have some very interesting points.

Cowherd, while may be a little extremist and someone I don’t always concur with, had the point of “why should I care to talk about the Chargers?”. At first I simply thought “you’re a sports writer, you should talk about them” but then he explained that if the organization didn’t care about the results why should he. He went into more detail talking about how AJ Smith was so full of himself and would never acknowledge that hiring Norv Turner was a mistake from the get go. That is as big a certainty as there is. Smith fired Marty Schottenheimer after a 14-2 record in 2006, you must expect the replacement to perform the same –maybe not a 14-2 record but at least to be better in the playoffs, right?- move on from 2007 till the present day, Turner has a 11-5, 8-8, 13-3, 9-7 & 8-8. While that is a better overall record than Marty (52-34 vs. 47-33) the context is totally different. Marty took over a team that was laughable while turner took over a 14-2 team!

I understand many of you will not understand what these last numbers mean, let’s do a quick exercise: who is a better coach, Bill Parcells or Wade Phillips? Pretty sure any football fan with half a functioning brain will say Parcells, right? It’s a simple answer, but if you go to the numbers Tuna has a .570 winning percent vs. a .573 by Phillips (which will go higher now that he is with Houston) yet the context is totally different. Parcells took over horrible teams and built them from scratch and won 2 Lombardi Trophy’s while Phillips is considered a defensive genius who has been hired  / upgraded from a specialty coach to a head coach of pretty good teams and done nothing! Sound familiar?

Wilbon talked about how that Chargers are “nappers”. Could not put a better adjective; this goes from owners all the way to the 3^rd string defensive backs, the team has seemed disinterested, not really caring and assuming that eventually the talent they have would be enough to win a couple of games and slide into the playoffs. How has that gone the last couple of years?

This may seem as a Norv Turner bashing post, while to a certain degree it is it also is a Chargers organization bashing. From top to bottom this organization is a joke. From the owners who aren’t willing to spend bucks in complimentary players and expect a economically depleted city to spend cash on a new stadium that will only benefit them! What kind of stupid logic is that? The General Manager is a clown who is not willing to admit his most profound mistake, hiring Turner, who in turn has taken a pretty talented team and turned them into the worst coached, most unprepared team I have seen in years –only comparable to what Jason Garret has done with the Cowboys-. I’m a huge Phillip Rivers fan and believe he has a ton of talent but numbers, in this case, don’t lie; he has gone down in every single category –well, up if you count interceptions- from 2008 where 7.1% of his passes where TDs and in 2009 where 1.9% of his passes where picked off to a 4.6% and 3.4% respectively in 2011.

What happens now? Well, they are 3-3 going into the bye week but regardless of what happens the rest of 2012-13 the Chargers problems run much deeper than a 10-6 or 8-8 record it goes way beyond this. I try to look at the big picture and what happens in the long run, I seriously hope they do bad and eventually fire coaches and the GM –but am not sure it will, should have happened this past offseason-; I know it’s not the way a fan should think that way but I truly think it’s the only way they will finally change things for the better.

I’m not even sure the past 867 words made any sense; I think it was a way for me to make some sense on what happened this past Monday, which is hard to understand. I didn't even mention Peyton Manning in this post, while Denver's return was possible in a big way because of #18, it would have never been possible if it no were for the brutal performance the Chargers put on.

What are your thoughts on the Chargers debacle or your teams current performance?

Khakbaz out!

Sporctober

If you have read any of my previous blog entries you have come to the conclusion that I'm a pretty big sports fan. From football to baseball to basketball, all the way to UFC and pro wrestling -we could spend hours talking about pro wrestling and if I should call it a sport or not. While the results are predetermined, you need to be a complete athlete to perform the way the do, there is no denying that; so I do consider it a for of sports and entertainment- I love watching sports, I've played most of them (soccer, baseball, basketball, flag football, bowling) and without a doubt I love talking and writing about them.

That being said, I'm really excited by the way October is shaping up. October brings to us the MLB playoffs and the second month of the NFL season, also kicks off the NBA season (most likely not going to happen this year), so there are a ton of options on stuff to see live. The reason I'm so excited is because I'll be going to a ton of events that month:

• UFC 136 - October 8th we get UFC 136 live from Houston's Toyota Center. Just today I bought my plane ticket and made hotel and car reservations for this trip. The card is looking good so far: Demian Maia vs Jorge Santiago, Chael Sonnen vs Brian Stann, Jose Aldo vs Kenny Florian for the Featherweight title, and Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard 3 for the Lightweight Championship. If you follow MMA you know that these have the potential to be some of the greatest fights in a long time. Also during the day we get the UFC Fan Expo which should be an interesting event.

[caption id="attachment_171" align="aligncenter" width="500"] UFC 136 Edgar vs Maynard III Poster[/caption]

• Raiders vs Texans - While these are two teams I don't really care for, the game will be October 9th so I'll be in Houston to catch it. Basically any NFL game I can catch live I'll do. Reliant Stadium is a beautiful venue (was there last year for a great Chargers-Texans game), the Texans have a great high powered offense and I expect the Raiders to suck (which is good for us Charger fans) so the Texans will certainly score a ton of point. Not to bad of a quick Friday-Sunday trip up to Houston.

[caption id="attachment_173" align="aligncenter" width="614"] Reliant Stadium and Reliant Astrodome at night from Kirby Dr.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_174" align="aligncenter" width="614"] Inside Reliant Stadium[/caption]

• WWE Raw Live - every chance I get to see WWE live I'm there, so I'll take full advantage of them being in town for 2 straight nights. October 12th  is a house show (not taped for TV) but these usually provide the most interaction with fans as the wrestlers have no time constraints and can go out there and have a good time doing their thing. While they don't bring a big screen and all the stuff you see on TV, you get that interaction that more than makes up for it.


• WWE SmackDown Live - The following night, the 13th, we get Smackdown for another live show. Same as the above, the interaction is well worth the price of admission; also getting to hear some of the guys curse in Spanish is pretty funny. I'm waiting to see who comes out with a soccer jersey (Monterrey has 2 teams), a couple of years ago Michelle McCool came out wearing a Tigres jersey looking for a face pop but half of the arena booed her - I guess most people in attendance were for Monterrey.

[caption id="attachment_175" align="aligncenter" width="614"] CM Punk & Alberto del Rio in Monterrey 05/14/11[/caption]

• WWE Vengeance. On October 23 WWE will revive the Vengeance PPV (I was at the 2001 edition in San Diego, yeah the one were Chris Jericho was crowned the 1st ever Undisputed Champion, see video below) live from the AT&T Center. While at a Raw taping at the same joing in May WWE announced that the event would be Uprising but quickly changed that. The last couple of Pay Per Views have been really good, lets hope they keep the trend leading to October.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNIDaPBlJ_4]

• WWE still has not announced any other events around the PPV, but we'll most certainly get a show in Austin, maybe Laredo, McAllen or Corpus Christi. This would definitely will be a great way to close out what is shaping up to be a great month.

What cool events do you have on the radar for the coming months?

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

NFL Lockout & Free Agency

5 days have passed since the NFL and it's Players Association signed a new labor agreement (that will last until 2020), to say that this is big news for sports fans is.

I'm not that interested in talking about the fine points of the agreement but some of the changes that were made were interesting. I see 3 main points here:

• The first one being the new salary cap


• Second, the rookie wage scale


• More money for retired players

All 3 are really important and have big implications, but in all fairness it all boiled down to money. The league generates soooo much money that a .01% difference is a big deal. When I talked with casual fans on their thoughts of the lockout and how it would be resolved, most of them said that there was to much money on the table to leave it there; while I totally understand that, the fact that there is that amount is the exact problem, nobody wanted to budge and lose a couple of million here o a hundred million there.

For me the rookie wage limit is something that had to be done. You hear "the highest paid rookie in history", on literally every position, almost every year; where was this going to stop? This was a good move no doubt; the playing level is so high that many great college players are nothing more that over-paid average players, I hope this will help moderate it.

A 4 month lockout that in theory didn't cost a single game (well maybe the Hall of Fame Game), yet the players didn't have the chance to practice as a unit, there were no OTAs and guys like Peyton Manning (who had some minor neck surgery) couldn't contact the team physician with whom he had worked throughout his career, making his rehab a not-so-smooth process.

Now teams are put on the spot to sign rookies, cut veterans, renew contracts and everything that usually goes on during the off-season in only a couple of weeks. I have no doubt this will cost some of the higher drafted players some big bucks as they won't have time to negotiate a deal, it's basically take it or sitout with no time to negotiate.

Also the money being thrown around for some of these free agents is just crazy. You get a guy like Kevin Kolb, (7 career starts, 11 TDs and 14 INTs with a QB rating of 73.2) who was replaced after a couple of games last season after being named the starting QB for the Eagles by Michael Vick (who is no great QB by any means IMO), traded to the Cardinals and signing a 5 year 64M contract with 21M guaranteed. Seriously, are you kidding me? Also you got a guy like Eric Weddle (Chargers) who gets paid like he is a premier player, he is good, but not premier.

Oh well, this is how it goes. The fact is that the NFL and the NFLPA came to an agreement, no games will be lost, we have labor peace at least until 2020, and the NFL as a whole came out winning as they are the standard for how a successful league should be run -say what you want about Roger Goodell but he avoided what could have been a huge disaster.

Money will be thrown around, players will be hurt, champions will be crowned, but most importantly US FANS GET A COMPLETE NFL SEASON.

Who you got for SB XLVI?

For now, MR KHAKBAZ OUT!!!!

Red Sox vs Yankees at yankee stadium

So I've been looking for a Red Sox Adrian Gonzalez #28 jersey or t-shirt since I arrived in NYC on Saturday, no luck whatsoever; I had to get a Red Sox cap, a huge selection at Lids. With some Sox gear on, I'm on my way.

Took the C Subway line across the street at Penn Station and right from the getgo had some fun interactions with Yankee fans; nothing rough, just lots of fun. After 4 stops I transfer to the D line which, about 15 minutes later drops me off right at Yankee Stadium.

While I'm not a Bronk Bomber fan I'm a big fan of baseball history so being at this stadium is just a wet dream for me. Say what you want, but this stadium is fucking amazing; just from outside seeing the YANKEE STADIUM sign right behind home plate is a awesome.

I walked around the outside a couple of minutes and then made my way inside, quick pat down and I'm in. To say I had chills upon entering is an understatement; just FYI watching a Red Sox vs Yankees at the Bronx is now something I can cross off the bucket list.

Just as I enter I find the Yankees Pro Shop, go in and find a HUGE amount of cool team memorabilia; they have these cool "lockers" for each player where you can find all sorts of merchandise for that specific player. Seriously, no one like American sports teams can come up with so much crap to sell. Got a shot glass for dad and a magnet for mom.

I keep walking along the concourse and find this store kind of what the Mets have at Citi Field; a ton of historic memorabilia. Signed balls, game used bas and bases, parts of old Yankee Stadium, jerseys and other cool stuff. Just great stuff you have seen in famous pictures -like that "thank God you are a Yankee" sign signed by the man who said this himseld Joe DiMaggio. It's awesome to see so many pieces of historic baseball stuff; I may sound like a Yankee fan, no I'm not, just a fan of baseball history and this IS history.

Keep walking along and taking tons of pics, which you can see here. At Center Field you can go into Monument Park, another wet dream for any baseball fan. Needless to say I'm just in awe at everything there is to see in the area; again tons of pics.

By this time its about 615 so it's time to start making my way up, up, up to my seat. While my seat was at the highest lever, I was in the first row and right behind home plate which is so much better than the left field seats from Citi Field. Got this awesome hot sausage dog with a ice cold Stella Artois, all for the low price (as sarastic as can be) of 17 bucks.

At my seat my neighbors are a tipical New York guy with his Asian girlfriend who is just an asshole (her, him not so much). She keeps bitching and moaning about everything going on, from the sun, the heat, the noise, the seats, the fart David Ortiz just took in the clubhouse, and any other thing going on. When the game started John Lester hit a couple of Yankee hitters, shenkeep bitching he should be thrown out; and kept going and going. So you have to runners on and you on purpose hit someone? What kind of dumb, ignorant person are you? If you don't know about something, shut up and learn.

There are a couple of Sox fans around me so I don't feel like my life is in danger for the next 3 to 4 hours. So, it's game time and right off the bat we get a Jacoby Ellsbury HR to lead off the game which makes us Sox fans pop big and you hear a couple if boo birds by yankee fans. Next Pedroia get a walk and A-Gon hits a triple to right-center to give Boston a 2-0 lead before they make an out. Youkilis follows with a sacrifice fly for a 3 run lead after 1 out. Yankees get the bases load but only 1 run across, so after 1 inning it's 3-1 Boston; also Mark Teixeira got hit right on the knee and had to come out of the game. Another Sox run to start the second and that's it for Yankees started Feddy Garcia.

We are 4-1 into the 5th were Adrian Gonzalez gets a walk and two hitters later Big Papi David Ortiz crushes a ball to the right field seats to give the Boston a 6-1 lead. By now the boo birds are out on full force; we (sox fans') are having a blast. NY gets both runs back in the bottom of the 5th for a 6-3 defficit.

After the 6th inning my neighbors leave which is good news for me. Boston started Lester didn't have his best stuff but battled and gave his team 6 runs of 3 run ball which was pretty good. 3 relievers work the 7th and 8th (Bobby Jenks came out after only 3 pitches, we'll see the extent of his injury).

Pappelbon comes in to pitch the ninth and get the save. It was not without drama as NY was able to get one more run on a single by Jorge Posada (who came in to play 1B for Teixeira). So with 2 outs, the tying run comes to the plate in the form of Akex Rodriguez, I'm nervous and the people left in the stands are really excited. It all ends in 5 pitches with a strikeout to seal the win for the Boston Red Sox by a score of 6-4.

All in all it was an awesome experience. Only a rivalry like this can get a sellout on a Tuesday night, last more than 3 and a half hours and have a playoff feel right at the beggining of June. Only a Red Sox- Yankees.
Got a chance to see 2 Jeter hits as he now only needs 12 for 3000. Had a couple of assholes beside me, but its part of the whole experience. I was surprised how quickly the crowd goes dead after just one or two pitches.

The subway ride back was so fun. Got to talk with some pretty cool yankee fans also with a girl from austin who was going to be in he city for only 22 hours so she had gone, lierally, everywere and not slept at all. As I was getting off the subway I passed a bar near the hotel where they had on the Mavs-Heat game so I went in, had a beer and watched the final 3 minutes of the game; a nice way to end a damn near perfect day.

For Wednesday I have nothing scheduled for after the conference, could this mean another trip to Yankee Stadium? Or dinner somewhere nice to catch hs game? We'll see. The current plan is to go out to learn as much as possible and make some contacts that will help out in the neat future, but for now...

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

Ny Blog, sunday

Bare with me asI wrote this on my iPad and most pictures are on my camera... Will upload them when I get home

Time to kick off a great week waking up early (for a Sunday) at 9am. I catch the 1st set between Nadal-Federer in the French Open finals; what a great comeback by Nadal after starting out pretty bad.

1030 I'm out of the hotel to walk around -the best way to be a tourist around NYC- to Times Square. This guy on a wheelchair singing "nobody jerks me off like you do", once you hear that you know you are in NYC.

Check out a couple of stores looking for a Adrian Gonzalez redsox tshirt for the game on tuesday, still not hae been able to find it. At about 1145 it find an Olive Garden right in the heart of TS, this is probably the only place where an Olive Garden has such a spectacular view. I've got the Hershey Store within view, so I now where the next stop will be. BTW when at Olive Garden get the Portobello Filled ravioli.

Couple of more hours of walking just soaking up the city and sights. Got into a irish pub for a quick beer and it was off to the Brooks Atkison theatre on 47th right off Broadway for Rain: a tribue to The Beatles at 3pm

Holy shit the show is AMAZING!!! I just can't put into words how great the show is. The theatre is pretty small so you have great views from any seat. Most tribute shows I have seen are just a cheap copy but this has a pretty good production but the performers are off the hook good. The guy who plays John Lennon looks so much like him it's scary. All of thr band members are great. Paul plays a great bass, George has some amazing guitar solos, and Ringo is great on the drums (although he looks more like Wolowitz from Big Bang Theory).

Any true Beatles fan show watch this show. It is so worth the price of admission and you will be glad you took a chance on a smaller but great show.

At 5:30 I make my way out of the theatre and onto the subway on 49th to get on the N line to get to the Mets game at Citi Field against the Braves; the trains are packed. About midway I switch to the 7th line and at about 6:15 it get off and get into the ballpack.

I can't stress how nice the stadium is, such an improvement from historic (nice word for old) Shea Stadium. Nice surprise that it's free batting helmet night, so I get a souvenier to take home. Got to the team store to get a couple of gifts for my old folks (a shot glass and a magnet for their collections). A thing I hadn't seen at other parks is that you have the chance to buy game used balls, bats and bases, along with other signed memorabilia like jerseys and lineup cards; a pretty cool thing for mets fan.

Got to walk around the park during batting practice, and then got to my seating area to watch the Braves some balls out of the park. Eric Hinske was cool with the fans, also Jair Jurgens threw some ball to the fans. One funny/scary moment was when a ball was hit one a line drive for a homerun; the thing was that is was hit si hard that everyone moved away, even some dude who left his daughter to be hit by the ball right on the shoulder; it was brutal and funny at the same time. The mother didn't know what to do, confort the girld or be mad at her husband.

Got a hotdog and a beer tight before the game, so its game time and right from the get-go the Mets were in control and hitting Tim Hudson's pitches hard. A 5-0 lead after 4 innings and some great pitching by R.A. Dickey (whoa his parents must have hated him) pretty much sealed it for the Braves. I was so cold and I had no jacket so I had to get some hot chocolate to help me get through the game.

At around the 7th inning I decided to walk around the ball park to see all it has to offer. Check all the pics here. Had to much to eat so I made a pitstop and right at that moment Brian McCann hits a dinger which I missed.

As I was to take the subway back to the hotel I decided to leave at the top of the 9th inning to try and not be all tight on the way back. Missed the braves 3 run ninth but the game was sealed and ended 6-4. Took the 7 all the way to Times Square and made the quick 8 block walk to the hotel.
All in all a great day, got to see a spectacular Beatles concert (the closest to seeing them live in my opinion) walk around Times Square, buy a couple of things and catch a baseball game along with getting to know the new stadium.

Back to the hotel which is pretty crappy but in a great location. I'm so tired right now so I'll just hang around and get ready for the start of the 8th Annual International Cloud Computing Expo tomorrow at he Jvist Convention Center, for now...

MrKhakbaz out!!!

NY Blog, travel day

So I get to Monterrey's airport pretty early (1015 for a 1235 flight) since the flight will be pretty much empty checking and security goes so quickly. Enough time to grab breakfast and sit around for a while tweeting with friends.

Boarding & everything goes quickly. We get one of those small ass planes, the kind that has 1 seat on one side and two on the othe and about 18 rows; I have no problem with that, the thing is they area made for short people, not that I'm tall (5-11.785, dang so close to 6 feet) and I hit my head when I stand totally upright.

A quick hour and 20 minutes later we touch down in Houston. Holy crap IAH is a huuuuge airport, I walk like 10 minutes at full speed only to get to immigration. A long line awaits, and by long I mean long and slow enough to get me nervous that I may miss my connection or that I won't be able to get my bag and pass customs and drop it off to get onto the plane. It's about 1:20 and I gotta board the plane to Newark at 3:05, time keeps passing and the line is moving sloooooow, about half way they open another couple of booths which helps out a ton. Finally at about 2:25 I make it past immigration and I'm off to the races.

I get my bag, go though customs and drop It off. Quick bathroom stop and we're off to the races to make it to the gate and hopefully get something to eat. At 3:10 I'm near the gate and all I could get my hands on was a coke and some cheetos. Junk food that saved me for the 3 hour flight from Houston to Jersey. As soon as I get to the gate they annouce boarding for rows 22 to 30 -I'm on 28 so its time.
Flight goes without a hitch. I love Continental on long flights as, even in coach, we get a individual screens. I got to catch a Big Bang Theory show and some games





Also got to see Hall Pass on the iPad and a couple of CSI Las Vegas episodes, also read a little. Gotta love the iPad for long boring trips. So after 3 hours we touch down at Newark about 20 minutes before schedule so we had to wait on the runway for the gate to clear. Another long walk to get to baggage claim, thankfully my bag got here.

I was going to catch a cab but the line was like 50 group long so I took a 15 dollar bus trip right to Times Square. Holy shit didn't remember how amazing this place is. Seriously, Manhattan is beautiful. Form the skyline right before the Lincoln Tunnel to getting onto 42nd street from 9th avenue. Made the short walk down to 33rd and 7th to the Pennsilvania Hotel which is right in front of Madison Square Garden. The hotel lobby is pretty nice, checked in and got up to the 11th floor. The floor halls are pretty old and the rooms are old and small. The one thing I love is the bathroom, it just screams NY.

After resting a couple of minutes I went out to catch something to eat at about 10pm. For the first time ever I had White Castle to eat, for anyone who has seen Harold and Kumar you know this is the holy grail. Damn it didn't dissapoint, had 4 sliders (small burgers that are amazing! 4 seems a lot but they are sooo small). Walked around the hotel area a bit, got some ice cream and headed back to the room.
Up at the room it was time to unpack and iron out clothes and then catch SportsCenter and wind down as it had been a long day.

Hoping tomorrow kicks off what should be an amazing week in New York, but for now...

Mr Khakbaz checking out!

NBA Finals

And the there were 2 (yeah I've been watching to much Seinfeld), we are finally down to the final two teams in the NBA Playoffs, that means it's NBA Finals time.

We've got the Miami Heat taking on the Dallas Mavericks, starting out Tuesday at 9PM ET on ABC



Both teams come in as hot a possible at predicting this will be a tough one, so lets break each team down to see who has a possible advantage at winning it all.

Dallas Mavericks

Without a doubt Dirk Nowitzki has been the player of these playoffs. No one has been more reliable, made bigger shots and carried the team on his shoulder. He has been a force in the paint, from mid-range and from behind the 3 point line, all in all averaging 28.4 points a game (2nd only to Kevin Durant). Oh and what can I say about his free throw shooting, he is 130 out of 140; that translates into a 92.9%. Just all in all a great player, and from what you hear in press conferences and interviews, a great team leader. He has been often regarded as a soft player due to his laid back attitude, I believe nothing is further from the truth and these 15 games have proven that

Along with Dirk's spectacular play, 38 year old Jason Kidd has played his part really well. While he doesn't have the speed he had 94 years ago he arrived at the NBA, he makes up with smarts and experience. He is averaging 7.7 assists per game and has averaged 2.2 steals per game; along with all the intangible he brings to the court.

To complement Kidd come Jason Terry and JJ Barea. Terry, the only other survivor along with Nowitzki from that 2006 team, we know about and know what he is capable off -great player off the bench, provides a spark, can run with the best of them, and when he gets hot he can take over a game -if not, ask the Lakers what happened after he was burning them up and ended the game 9 for 10 from behind the arc. Barea we, or casual fans, didn't know much about, but he has been an incredibly valuable asset; his speed and aggressive style provide a change of pace from what defenses see from J-Kidd and the JET, he has been a huge spark for the team and has really come into his own come playoff time -even with the huge cheap shot he took from Andrew Bynum-.

Inside the paint we've got Tyson Chandler and Shawn Marion, both of whom haven't put great individual numbers but represent what the Mavs are all about, getting the best result for the team regardless of who scores the basket.

Dallas comes off beating Portland 4 games to 2, sweeping the Lakers 4-0 (the most dominant playoff series win in a long, long time), and finally ousting the OKC Thunder 4-1 in the Western Conference Semifinals.

Miami Heat

There is no secret that I loathe the Heat, to me they are the furthest definition of what a team should be. They are just a gathering of All-Stars who have no idea on how to play as a team. I was convinced they wouldn't make it far due to this, yet they got to the final step of the way. Could it be enough or has their luck run out?

First and foremost they have Lebron James. Possibly one of the most gifted player since... nah I'm not going to compare him to a true legend. A great all around player who has only one thing on his agenda, himself. Just the other day I tweeted with my Beachbody coach (@katiechoudary, check her out even if you don't work out, she motivates the heck out of you to make every day count) and we were talking about players with class, she mentioned Derrick Rose and I was totally with her on the point that the kid shows class in every thing he does on and off the court; another example would be Ray Allen and Doc Rivers who showed the utmost class when the Heat were celebrating the win as if it was a Title, they stayed on the court to shake their hands and acknowledge they were beaten by the better team. On the other hand Lebron has no such attribute, from his infamous "The Decision" special, to his comments and all around attitute; they just scream out ASSHOLE. All that being said, there is no doubt he is on of the best players on the court today.

Along with James we've got D-Wade, who in my opinion is the most complete player there is in the world -there, I said it-. He plays every aspect of the game at a high lever, he may not be the best in all of them but when you put all the pieces together you get the most well rounded player there is. He is one of my favorites in and out of the arena and it's a shame that people boo him just because he is associated with Lebron.

Along with those 2 come Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers, Mike Bibby and a whole cast of players that will no doubt play a huge role on how the series will evolve.

The Heat come into the Finals after beating Philadelphia 4-1 in the 1st round, the Celtics 4-1 in the 2nd, and finally the Bulls 4-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Final(s) Breakdown

• Both teams have a 12-3 record


• Dallas has the bigger series win (4-0) over the Lakers


• Dallas has a better scorer in the Playoffs with Dirk's 28.4 PPG compared to LeBron's 26.0 PPG


• Dallas has a better assist man in Jason Kidd with 7.7 APG during the playoffs


• As a team Dallas has been scoring 99.7 PPG to Miami's 92.9 (8.8 point difference)


• Miami has better team defense as they allow 88.3 PPG to the Mavs' 92.5 (4.2 PPG difference)


• Dallas still has the better difference between PPG scored vs PPG alloved with +7.2 to Miami's +4.6 (second place these playoffs, not a coincidence)


• Dallas has a better FG% 46.3% to the Heat's 44.3%


• Miami's Defensive FG% is better with 41.9% vs the 44.6% posted by Dallas


• 3PT FG% is owned by Dallas with 38.8% against Miami's 32.2%


• The arena noise, from what I've heard on TV (I've only been to the American Airlines Center in DFW  and it LOUD even in a mid-season game) is some much more of a factor in Dallas. I feel bad when the game starts in Miami as you see a ton of empty seats.

From the bullet points (not taking in account the crowd factor) Dallas has a 7-2 lead yet when it comes to picking a real winner it is so much harder that just these stats. The series opens in Miami and most betting sites have the Heat a 4.5 point favorite with a 187.5 point O/U. That is much bigger of a difference than what I expected. Also they are putting Miami as the favorite as you have to bet 17.5 dollars to win 10 while Dallas pays you $14.50 for every 10 you bet. That is so one sided.

Who you got? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this or any other topic in the comments section

With all that said, my final pick to win the 2011 NBA Title is:

Dallas Mavericks in 6 games.

P.S. If Dallas wins the 1st game I will say it's over right on the spot. Let's see how it goes and I'll post my thoughts on Game 1 tomorrow night or early Wednesday.

For now...

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

NBA Conference Semifinals

>Well we're off with a bang in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. To say that we have had some incredible games is an understatement. Basically every series was competitive to some degree and without a doubt we've gotten some see-to-believe finishes.
16 teams started, we had some favorites get the early boot (Spurs I'm looking at you!), some teams no one gave 2 cents about moving on (Grizzlies), and some teams who may not have made it still fought to the end and provided us with some fun games (Pacers, Hornets). Well, with no further ado, let's go straight into the 2nd round preview.

Eastern Conference
#3 Boston Celtics vs #2 Miami Heat

This series is one that everyone wanted to see. I, for one, had picked the Heat to win their 1st round matchup with the 76ers in 5 games, which they did in that exact number of games and in convincing fashion. On the other hand we get the Celtics who I expected to lose against the Knicks in 6 games, and boy was i wrong and badly wrong, they just ran over the Knicks who made it interesting in the first two games but after that it was all Celts who swept to advance into the second round.
Without a doubt these are the two teams people are most interested in from the Eastern Conference -the Bulls are the 3rd one, and my pick to advance to the NBA Finals but that is for another time- and wanted to get this matchup. Boston brings to the table their 3-headed monster: Ray Allen -the best pure shooter in the history of the game, still is at the age of 35-, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, while Miami has it's on trio in the form of Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. Man to man I think the Heat's Big 3 are a bit better than those of Boston but in the playoffs I still side with experience and true team playing.
Role player-wise both teams have some interesting players. Rondo had a huge triple-double vs NY but has a tendency to disappear in big games and is always a question mark in my book. You've also got players like Delonte West (Lebron James' mom favorite player), Jeff Green and Big Baby. Anything Boston can do will hugely depend on what role players can do, every series you have these guys winning one or two games and that makes a difference.
Miami has some great players other than the Big 3: Big Z, James Jones, Mario Chalmers and Mike Bibby. I really expect Jones to be a huge factor in this series as Boston can be a little slow in transition defense and Jones will have some open looks from 3-point land.
I believe the Heat have the talent advantage while the Celtics have the experience edge. I really want LeBron to lose and take his talents on vacation, but I'm reluctantly going to pick the Heat to win in 6 games.
Pick: Miami Heat in 6 games.

#5 Atlanta Hawks vs #1 Chicago Bulls

In my last blog I predicted the Hawks to beat Orlando in 6 games which I got right. Also picked the Bulls to dispose in 5 games of the Pacers that was also right. I wrote that the winner of the Hawks-Magic series would not make it passed this second round against the Bulls and I'm keeping that prediction.
While the Bulls were pushed to the limit in the first 3 games by Indiana, and to be realistic they played pretty bad in the 1st 2 and still won; that is a testament of a great time, to be able to somehow win a game you did not deserve to win.

I'm not going into deep detail for this series as I expect the Bulls to take it pretty easily led by soon-to-be League MVP Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah. This trio somewhat reminds me of the 90's Bulls that had Jordan (Rose plays his role, NOT SAYING ROSE IS AS GOOD AS JORDAN, but he plays his role), Deng is the Pippen of this team and Noah is like Rodman who was all over the place, fought every ball to the death, didn't have the best technique but his heart is bigger that anyone on the floor.
Pick: Chicago Bulls win this series in 5 games.

Western Conference
#8 Memphis Grizzlies vs #4 Oklahoma City Thunder

This is a series never in my wildest dreams expected to happen. Memphis had a date with the #1 seed San Antonio Spurs in the first round which I expected the Spurs to take easily but what happened on the court was a totally different story. The Spurs were outplayed, out matched, out hustled by the Grizzlies, who showed a ton of heart after that brutal loss in game 5 (the one with the Manu 3 (2) pointer, and the Gary Neal game tying 3 pointer as time expired to send it to overtime) to rebound and take it in game 6 in dominant fashion. The Thunder kicked the Nuggets out of contention in 5 games of what was a pretty fun series and gave us some entertaining games but in the end was dominated all the way by OKC.
For the second series in a row, Memphis will be the huge underdogs but without a doubt will go down fighting. I expect this to be a lot closer than what many people think, with the Zach "Blue Collar" Randolph led Grizzlies pushing Durant, Ibaka and Russell Westbrook to the limit.
Every game the Grizzlies win extends what has already been an improbable playoff run. Randolph has been superb and will need to continue to give Memphis a chance, he may have his way inside due to the lack of inside size for the Thunder. With all that being said, I think OKC has too much young talent, a great coach and lots of poise to make-up for the lack of experience.
Pick: Oklahoma Thunder in 7 games.

#3 Dallas Mavericks vs #2 Los Angeles Lakers

It is no secret that I'm a huge Laker fan so you can predict who I want to win , but I'll try to be as objective as possible. Mavs won a hard fought 6 game series with the Blazers (I had it in 7 games), while the Lakers were given there moneys worth by the Hornets with also a 4-2 series win.
As always Dallas is a contender in the West but they are, as always, lacking the IT factor. The don't have that inside dominant position; Kidd (at 38) and Nowitzki are amazing talents but a two man team will come up short at some point, or for the last 5-7 years.
The Lakers will have a huge size advantage with Bynum and Gasol on the inside. My question is, will we get the Gasol from game 1 against NO or the on from the final games in the regular series? That will be a deciding factor on who this series goes. You know Kobe will do his part, Fisher and Blake will do their thing, Odom will get it done, but Bynum and Gasol could make this a 4 game sweep or push the series deep.
Lakers weren't impressive in the 1st round against New Orleans but I believe they will be much more dominant against Dallas as they match up so much better against them. CP3 gave the Lakers fits as they don't have anyone fast enough to defend him but the Mavs don't have a threat like that. Without a doubt LA must win game 1 to take control of the series and not be forced to win game 2. That being said...
My pick: Lakers in 5 games.

After a spectacular first round in the NBA Playoffs I hope we get more of the same great ball...

Who you got? Who's your favorite

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

Liga de Campeones UEFA 2011

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Llegamos a los 4 últimos equipos en la Liga de Campeones de la UEFA, probablemente el mejor torneo de futbol del mundo , y tenemos a 4 grandes involucrados, cada uno sus argumentos para llevarse a casa la orejona.

Schalke 04 vs Manchester United
Después de una notable actuación contra el FC Internazionale Milano, el alemán Schalke 04 sigue siendo considerado el más debil de los 4 restantes. De hecho era considerado de los débiles de los últimos 8 pero se quito ese mote de débil después de arrazar con los Nerazurri por un marcador de 5 a 2 en el juego de ida; y más aún, a domicilio en San Ciro. El partido comenzó bien para el Inter con un golazo de medio campo de Stankovic pero todo fue en picada apartir de ahí y el Schalke tomó el control para llevarse el triunfo por 3 goles.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nE2Zftr0ec]

El juego de vuelta este pasado miércoles en Alemania fue una mera formalidad ya que el Inter ocupaba lo más cercano a un milagro para avanzar a semifinales. Cuando el árbitro dio el silbatazo final y el Schalke obtuvo una victoria de 2 por 1 para un marcador global de 7-3. Para un equipo que, de acuerdo a los expertos, no tenía oportunidad de avanzar más allá de los cuartos de final el Schalke llega sin presión alguna ya que han logrado sobrepasar las expectativas.

Del otro lado del campo tenemos al Manchester United que no ha sido menos que una máquina en el primer trimestre del año. Viene de dos convincentes victorias sobre el Chelasea, la primera a domicilio en Stamford Bridge por un marcador de 1-0 en sólido encuentro, sin llegar a ser espectacular; este marcador puso al ManU en control, además de tener ventaja adicional por el gol de visitante.
El juego de vuelta fue, sin duda, más entretenido; el Manchester tomó ventaja por un gol anotado por el Chicharito Hernández -no que sea sesgado mi comentario por ser mexicano, pero que jugadorazo es, y lo que le fata mejorar. y tomó el control del juego hasta el minuto 77 cuando Drogba venció a Van der Sar con un riflazo de derecha; la cosa se ponía interesante para el Chelsea pero menos de un minuto después Park anotó el gol que puso en la congeladora el partido.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJs3kPHRNK4]

Los sitios de apuestas favorecen por mucho al Manchester United para avanzar a la Final, yo me inclino hacia el mismo lado sin embargo estoy seguro que el Schalke no será presa fácil y peleará hasta el último minuto. Será interesante ver como se desarrolla el juego de ida, a jugarse en Alemania, donde el club dirigido por Raúl buscará a toda costa salir con la victoria, y de pasó dejar en ceros a una de las ofensivas más potentes de Europa.
Yo veo al Schalke saliendo a atacar y buscar establecerle su ritmo al juego, no si sea posible ante un equipo tan fuerte como los Red Devils. Al jugar agresivo y atacar mucho tendrán que confiar en su defensa para detener a gente como Rooney, Berbatov y Chicharito. Dicho lo anterior, creo que en el mejor de los casos para el Schalke sacarán un empate en este partido.
Para el juego de vuelta en Old Trafford creo que el Man U saldrá con la victoria sin mucho problema y avanzará a la Final que se jugará en su país (Wembley Stadium en Londres el 28 de mayo).
Resultado: Manchester United advanza.

Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona
El Real Madrid llega a la instancia de semifinales después pasarle por encima al Tottenham por un global de 5-0. Esta serie se definió en los primeros 15 minutos del juego de ida que vieron al Madrid tomar una ventaja de 1-0 después de un cabezazo de Adebayor y la subsecuente expulsión del delantero Peter Crouch al 15 por doble amarilla. El resto del partido los merengues hicieron los que quisieron y anotaron 3 goles más.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB3BQj2ZJfk]

Como fue el caso del Schalke-Inter, el juego de vuelta fue mera formalidad y el Real tomó ventaja de 1-0 después de un gol de Cristiano Ronaldo que llegó en un tiro no complicado que el portero Gomes erró por completo y selló en definitiva este par de juegos. Al final el Madrid blanqueó en ambas instancias al Hotspur y ganó por marcador global de 5-0.

Los galácticos se medirán a su eterno rival, con quien han caído en sus últimos 5 encuentros (habrá dos más antes del juego de ida), el FC Barcelona quien viene de un par de juegos contra el Shakhtar de Uncrania a quienes venció sin mayor complicación. El juego de ida se realizó en el hermoso Camp Nou, casa de los Blaugranas, que se llevaron la victoria con un convincente 5-1; el primero fue de Iniesta al minuto 2 y se llevaron una ventaja de 2-0 al descanso. Después de un gol de Piqué los Ucranianos mostraron señales de vida con un gol al 60, sin embargo fue lo más cerca que estuvieron y el Barcelona se llevó una ventaja que no dejaría ir en la vuelta.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6uZlA6_Z4Y]

Me pareció extraño que solo en 1 de los 4 juegos de vuelta se jugaba algo (Manchester-Chelsea). Como en los otros 3, el Barcelona solo esperaba el pitazo final para asegurar su lugar en las semifinales. El Shakhtar no puso mayor resistencia y perdió 0-1 después de un gooooooool de -el mejor jugardor del mundo- Messi al 43.

Con esta semifinal de Champions tendremos el placer de ver 4 Madrid-Barcelona en un plazo de dos semanas (el sábado 16 en el Bernabeu en La Liga, el miércoles 20 en Mestalla, Valencia para la Final de la Copa del Rey, además de la ida y vuelta de Champions). La ida será en el Bernabeu y veo un partido extremadamente parejo, las casas de apuestas pagan lo mismo por ambos equipos, y dificil de predecir; me cuesta trabajo decidir quien ganará (se que quiero que el Barcelona gane) y creo que el resultado de este juego se verá influenciado por el resultado de los dos encuentros que sostendrán antes. Para la ida me inclino por una victoria del Madrid de 2 a 1.

La vuelta, a jugarse el 3 de mayo en el Camp Nou, será un juego sólido sin ser el más espectacular ya que -si mi predicción de 2-1se hace realidad- el Madrid saldrá a defenderse y el Barcelona a atacar buscando los goles del empate y victoria. Al cumplirse los 90 minutos el Barcelona se alzará con una triunfo claro de 3-0, llevando el global a 4-2.
Resultado: Barcelona avanza.

Una predicción para la Final de la Champions League? Tendremos que esperar a ver que sucede en las semifinales (coff coff Barcelona campeón coff coff) y comprobar si mis predicciones fueron las correctas.

Quien crees que ganará? Quien quieres que gane?

Por ahora

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

UEFA Champions League 2011

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We are finally down to out last 4 teams in the UEFA Champions League, arguably the best football tournament in the World, and we have 4 great teams involved all of them making strong cases to take home the big trophy.

Schalke 04 vs Manchester United
After a dominant performance against Italian Stallion FC Internazionale Milano German Schalke 04 is considered the weakest of the 4 teams left. Heck, they were underdogs entering the Quarter-finals but put that status to rest as they took Inter to the woodshed behind a 5-2 victory at San Ciro. This game started off in favor of the Nerazurri after a near midfield goal by Stankovic but it was downhill from there as Schalke took complete control of the match that they ended up winning by 3.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nE2Zftr0ec]

The return match this past Wednesday in Germany was a mere formality as Inter needed nothing less than a miracle to advance. When it was all said and done, Schalke pulled off a 2-1 victory for a 7-3 aggregate.
For a team that, according to the experts, had no chance of making it passed the Quarterfinals Schalke comes in with no pressure as they have exceed expectations.

On the other side of the field will be Manchester United that been nothing short of a machine in the first quarter of 2011. They come of two convincing victories over Chelsea, the first one coming at Stamford Bridge by a 1-0 score in what was a solid, yet not very appealing match; the 1-0 win put ManU in the drivers seat and they had an extra advantage by virtue of the visiting goal.
The return match was much more entertaining and saw Manchester take advantage on a goal scored by Chicharito Hernandez -not that I'm totally biased because I'm Mexican, but this kid is the real deal and has a ton of upside and potential- and took control of the match until the 77th minute were Drogba scored on a laser that Van der Sar could not keep out; things were looking up for Chelsea but less than a minute later Park scored what proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Chelsea

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJs3kPHRNK4]

Most betting sites are heavily favoring Manchester United to move on to the final stage of the Cup, I'm also picking them to move on but the Schalke will not go down without a huge fight. It will be interesting to see how the 1st leg works out since they will play in Germany where the club led by Raúl will have to pull out a win and in the process try to shut-out one of the most potent offenses in Europe.
I'm looking for Schalke to come out attacking in the 1st match and try to establish their style on the match, not sure if that will be possible with a team as strong as the Red Devils. By playing aggressive and attacking a lot they will heavily rely on a solid defense that can cover Rooney and Chicharito or Berbatov mostly one on one to free up people in midfield and on the other side of the field. With all that being said I expect, in the best case scenario for Schalke, a tie in this game.
For the match at Old Trafford I expect Man U to come up with the big W and thus advancing to the Finals which will be played in their country (Wembley Stadium in London on May 28).
Result: Manchester United advances.

Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona
Real Madrid comes into this semi-final stage after emphatically beating Tottenham by a 5-0 aggregate. This was pretty much in the books after the first 15 minutes of the match that saw Madrid take a 1-0 lead in the 4th minute via a Adebayor header and Hotspur forward Peter Crouch shown a red card at the 15th. For the rest of the match Real did what they pleased and managed to score 3 more goals.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mB3BQj2ZJfk]

As was the case with Schalke - Inter, this game was a mere formality and Madrid took the match 1-0 after a gol by Cristiano Ronaldo following a shot that was brutally mishandled by Tottenham goalkeeper Gomes. In the end the better team won both matches by shutouts and we ended up with a 5-0 total

Madrid will be opposed by longtime rival, and a team they have lost to the last 5 meetings, FC Barcelona who is coming of a couple of matches with Ukrainian Shakhtar which they easily won. The first leg was at beautiful Camp Nou in Barcelona taken by a 5-1 result after a quick goal in the 2nd minute by Iniesta, and took a 2-0 lead to halftime. After a goal by Piqué, Shakhtar showed some life by scoring a goal at 60. In the end Barcelona took a commanding lead they would not relinquish in the return match.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6uZlA6_Z4Y]

Seemed weird that only 1 of the 4 return matches was interesting (Manchester-Chelsea). Like the other 3, Barcelona came in just waiting for the final whistle to assure their spot in the semi-finals. Shakhtar didn't put up a fight and lost 0-1 after a 43rd minute gooooooooooool by, the best player in the world, Messi.

So this semi-final match will give us a total of 4 Real Madrid - Barcelona matches in a two week span (1 for La Liga, 1 for la Copa del Rey, and these 2 games). In the Champions League matches the 1st leg will be at Santiago Bernabeu were most of the betting sides are calling it right down the middle and I can't really decide on who will win (I know I want Barcelona to win), the result for this game I think will be heavily influenced by the result of the previous 2 games (Saturday the 16th at Bernabeu, and Wednesday the 20th at Mestalla, Valencia). I'm going to go out on a limb and pick Madrid with a 2-1 victory.
The return match to be played May the 3rd at Camp Nou will be a solid game but not spectacular -if my 2-1 prediction comes true- where Madrid will come out defending and Barcelona looking for the tying goal. In the end I see Barcelona picking up a 3-0 victory for a 4-2 aggregate.
Result: Barcelona advances.

A prediction for the Final of the UEFA Champions League? Well, that will have to wait for after the semifinals (wink wink Barcelona wink wink) and after making sure my previous picks were correct?

Who do you expect to win? Who do you want to win?

For now...

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

NBA Playoff picks

>Now that if finished my first round predictions I give you my playoff bracket where I pick put the teams I picked in the next round and so on and so forth until I predict my NBA Champion for the 2011 season.



For more detailed breakdown on every matchup check out My Eastern Conference blog and my Western Conference blog.

On next NBA blog I'll compare my predictions to what happened and lets see how it goes.

Who are your favorite teams to win it all in 2011???

For now...

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

NBA Playoffs Western Conference

The NBA season is finally over and it's time for the playoffs. For any NBA fan this is the best time of the year as we are down to the best teams of the year get to show their skills against the other best teams in games that actually mean something. I'll take a look at each Western Conference playoff series, the teams, players, injuries and what I expect the outcome to be. (to check out my my Eastern Conference blog click here)

#1 San Antonio Spurs vs #8 Memphis Grizzlies 

In my opinion the Spurs have been, by far, the best team in the NBA this season; that being said they aren't the favorite to move on to the NBA Finals, mostly because the have to go through the Lakers to get there and they aren't 100% healthy. Still I see them as favorite to take this series against the Grizzlies who have been a nice surprise this season; heck they are the 8th seed and are 10 games over .500 so they aren't a bad team yet they don't have that one great player that can take over a game. I expect the Spurs to take it in 5. And really hope they move on deep into the playoffs, more into that in a bit.

#2 Los Angeles Lakers vs. Now Orleans Hornets

If you have read other blog entries you know I'm a Lakers fan so there is not much secret who my favorite will be in this series. Right about now I'm pretty scared as to how far the Lakers can go in the playoffs, it all depends on Andrew Bynum's knee; when the Lakeshow had their amazing run after the All-Star break Bynum was playing to his full potential and better than at any point in his young -albeit injury-filled- career and the Lakers were leaps and bound ahead of everyone else. While LA's doctors said Drew's injury was only a bone bruise I'm not sure about that as he has had a history of right knee issues;that being said, if Bynum can be effective the Lakers are the top title contenders. New Orleans is a solid, discrete team lead by Chris Paul and David West, their problem this series is their lack size to take on the Lakers, who even without Andrew are far bigger than the Hornets.
I really want the Spurs and Lakers to go deep into the playoffs for 2 reasons: first, this could be one of those epic historic series that people will talk about for years to come; and second, I would have the chance to go up to SA and watch a couple of games live. I'm not a fan of the LA crowd as it's mostly composed of Hollywood starts who are there more to get on camera than because they care about the team, on the other hand the San Antonio crowd is amazing, every game they play seems like a playoff game (you can check out my to blog on the Miami Heat - San Antonio game or the Los Angeles Lakers - San Antonio Spurs where I get more into depth on that topic.)
I'm taking the Lakers in a 4 game sweep.

#3 Dallas Mavericks vs #6 Portland Trailblazers

This is a pretty interesting series, I enjoy watching both teams as they play some pretty exciting ball. The Mavs are led by Dirk Nowitzki while the Blazers rely on a team of young players led by LaMarcus Aldrige along with Brandon Roy who was a superstar in the making that could never live up to full potential due to bad knees. While both teams are entertaining I don't see them making it deep into the playoffs due to a lack of depth. This series is kind of a toss-up since they are pretty evenly matched up and both teams play really good at home, therefore I expect the Mavs to take this in 7.

#4 Oklahoma City Thunder vs #5 Denver Nuggets 

This is, by far, my favorite matchup of the 1st Round in the West. While I root for the Lakers the Thunder are a favorite of mine to watch, they are a young team that has grown a lot the last couple of years and still have a ton of potential to grow more; you've got Kevin Durant, who doesn't get enough praise and publicity for the great player he is, along with Serge Ibaka, Russell Westbrook, Kendrik Perkins, Thabo Sefolosha and a bunch of great young talent, they are a great team that will only get better. On the other hand we have the Denver Nuggets who have been, in my opinion, a big surprise after the Carmelo trade; I know they got some great players in return but I did not expect them to fit in George Karl's system so fast. Both teams are quick, score a lot, shoot well, have an average defense and have great crowds that always make the games that much hotter. This series is really hard to pick but I'm taking the Thunder in 6, this pick is based on my desire for OKC to advance and nothing more.

Who are your favorite teams to win it all in 2011???

For now...

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference

The NBA season is finally over and it's time for the playoffs. For any NBA fan this is the best time of the year as we are down to the best teams of the year get to show their skills against the other best teams in games that actually mean something. I'll take a look at each Eastern Conference playoff series, the teams, players, injuries and what I expect the outcome to be. (to check out my Western Conference blog click here)

#1 Chicago Bulls vs. #8 Indiana Pacers

So we have the best team in the East led by Derrick Rose taking on the Pacers who frankly have no players I know by name, still the must be doing something good enough to get to the playoffs -well not really because they ended the season 37-45 and to have a team with 8 more losses than wins have a chance to win the Title is bullsh*t, I'm all for a change in the NBA and reduce the number of playoff teams to 4 o 6 (a la NFL) but that is for another blog-. Chicago has been dominant all season led by Rose -my MVP pick- along with Noah, Boozer, Brewer and other guys and will easily take this matchup in 5 games, still I'm not totally sold on the being a championship team although I'm pushing so much for them because I enjoy watching them play and Chicago was so much overdue for a winning team.

#2 Miami Heat vs #7 Philadelphia 76ers

Miami taking their talents into the playoffs is no surprise, heck it was an obligation for a team with that much talent and all of the acquisitions they made. Philadelphia is another of those teams that makes the playoffs because of the system and really has no chance to win this series. LeBron, Wade -THE most important player for the Heat-, Bosh will prove to much even if they underachieve as they have done a good part of the season. I've got the Heat taking it in 5.

#3 Boston Celtics vs #6 New York Knicks 

This is the most intriguing match-up in the 1st round of the East. The Knicks (ever since the Carmelo Anthony trade) have been a tough riddle to decipher; some games they seem like a Title contender and other games they seem totally lost. A truth is that even in the game that they have won their defense is lackluster, heck even I think a could drop 25-30 on them any given night. On the other hand the Celtics have a ton of experience so they have an advantage in that aspect, my doubts start after the Perkins trade and their faith on a old and injured Shaq. Both teams have been inconsistent the last couple of months so picking a winner will be hard but I will take a risk and pick The Knicks in 6 games.

#4 Orlando Magic vs #5 Atlanta Hawks

 

This is another tough series to predict. For me the Magic is a team with lots of problems, it basically consists of Dwight Howard and 4 other midgets; while the Hawks are just a team I'm not sold on in any way. But both teams have done something right to earn a spot at 4 & 5. Not to interested in this series as I don't see any these teams going past the next round, for blog sakes I'll take Atlanta in 6.

Who are your favorite teams to win it all in 2011???

For now...

Mr Khakbaz out!!!

Edge retirement Speech

To go right along with my Thank You blog, here is the Raw part from this Monday where Edge retired.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GsO5KCHDiM]

The following is a fan shot speech Edge gives during Smackdown, not sure how much of it will air but it is a touching moment from one of the great performers of our generation.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mp_WRWReKb8]

A couple of really touching moments that any real fan will enjoy... no more words needed, just

THANK YOU EDGE!!!

Mr Khakbaz out!

Mets season over?

NCAA Final Four

So we are winding down March Madness, should we call it April Madness? Name is irrelevant, the fact is we have gotten a awesome NCAA Tournament for the last couple of week. Before I get deep into the topic, let me state that I have the 68 team field, those 4 previous games are absolute crap and no one gave two chunks of monkey crap for them.

Being from SoCal I've been rooting for SDSU who got to the Sweet Sixteen until they were ousted by UConn, there went my pick for National Champion, still we got their best performance ever in the tourney. Speaking of the Huskies they are still alive and well playing in the Final Four against Kentucky. This seems to be better game, at least on paper, of the 2 semifinals. On one hand UConn has been playing amazingly well, winning -I believe- 9 games in 19 days which is nothing short of impressive, along with the fact that they have such a young and inexperienced team; and on the other hand we have Kentucky who is just solid and has some great coaching by John Calipari. Most betting houses have the Wildcats a 2.5 point favorite, personally I'll pick UConn to win a pretty tight game that will not disappoint.

The other game, which actually comes before (6:09pm EST), pits Butler vs VCU in a battle of a couple of underdogs. VCU who many "experts" believe shouldn't have been in the tournament (don't really share an opinion if a team should or shouldn't have been, I focus on how teams have played the last 2 weeks) but they have won their way to this point and there is no denying they deserve to be here. Butler, still called an underdog, but who is actually looking to return to the Title game which they nearly won on a last second shot by, now Utah Jazz player, Gordon Heywood (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDjUob6LRqU&feature=related), so I can't call the real underdogs. In this matchup Butler clearly has the experience advantage along with having a better team. Betting sites have Butler a 3 point favorite, and I am going to have to go with them and pick Butler to win and advance to the title game.

If my predictions were to be correct we would have a Butler vs UConn title game and my money would be on UConn to win it all, but that is a topic I'll touch upon in my next blog on Sunday Morning.

All in all, I hope we get some great games tomorrow live from Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas (that is a beautiful stadium by the way), hope the crowd is really hot and we see some high quality basketball.

Editors note: the Women's Final Four is also going on this weekend. Semifinals will be played Sunday and I'm picking my Alma Mater Stanford to win along with UConn. The title game would clearly pit the 2 best teams in recent memory and the result is something I would not dare to try and predict as it will clearly be a tug-of-war -still hoping Stanford gets it done-.

For now, all I can say is enjoy the games and if you don't have access to CBS you can watch them online at this link http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/2010-12-19/ncaa-march-madness-demand. Enjoy

Mr Khakbaz out!

MLB Opening day

Long time no blogging, not really any specific topics I've been interested in writing but that is about to change. We are on the eve of Major League Baseball's opening day, this is a national (well international since I'm in Mexico) holiday for us baseball fans.

It's hard to explain why baseball is so great. I have a lot of friends who just despise baseball and I could rant all day on many of the beautiful aspects of the game they don't get but we I'll leave that for another day. I've some topics I'd like to touch on. We've got expectations for this season, playoff picks, MLB.tv and other random stuff

First off, lets talk about expectations for this season. 

• I expect tons of hitting, more so than last season. Temperatures will be hot so that definitely helps the ball travel, pitching won't be so dominating and some teams just have a brutal lineup that makes any pitcher cringe when looking at the box score.


• All "expert" analysis goes out the window after the first pitch tomorrow. Baseball is so full of surprise performances (José Bautista and 40+ HRs anyone?), injuries always come into play, off field issues also have a huge part on on-field performances. At the end of the day usually the teams with the most talent come out on top, that is until we get a team red hot at the right time of year... looking at you San Francisco Giants.


• Looking for the Atlanta Braves to have a huge season. They've got the talent, lets see how the new manager holds it all together.


• I expect huge things from John Lester of the Boston Red Sox.


• Adrian Gonzalez will have a monster season and get the publicity, money and success he deserves. As a Padre fan I was sad to see him go. but at the same time excited as he deserves to take his talents (a LeBron quote for a guy who is as far, class-wise, from #6 as possible) to a huge market. Hope he makes it big, his home will always be in SoCal.


• Jeter will continue to decline in every stat yet the Yankees won't notice that.


• Mets and Dodgers will keep spending money like crazy and get absolutely nothing in return.


• I expect the Giants to run away with the NL West (again, this saddens me as a Padre fan). I think Pablo Sandoval will be great this season. Lincecum could get have another Cy Young season (the kid is still only 26). Hope Wilson is back pretty quick, beard and all.


• St. Louis is a huge question mark. Their pitching is very suspect and with the Pujols' contract stuff we could have an off year for them.


• The NL Central is up for grabs between the Cards, Reds and (wait for it) Cubs...


• I think the Braves will run away in the East, the Phillies won't have the pitching and with Utley out they rely on Mr 200 K Ryan Howard to carry the load.


• Texas will have another great season, will they make it to the WS like in 2010? I doubt it.


• The AL Central is up for grabs.


• For another year no one will show up at Marlins games, and fill up Tropicana only for Yanks and Sox games. Florida is not a place for baseball.

Playoff picks
NL West: SF Giants
NL Central: St Louis Cardinals.
NL East: Atlanta Braves
NL Wildcard: Chicago Cubs

AL West: Texas Rangers
AL Central: Minn. Twins
AL East: Boston Red Sox
AL Wildcard: Tampa Bay Rays

MLB.tv
I'm no spokesperson for any product, but this is a great investment if you are a baseball fan. For 120 bucks you get every game in HD quality in a long list of devices. Really a great thing to get, not much more to say about it but this is my 3rd year buying it and have never been disappointed. 

Random

• I hope we get a great season with lots of surprises to, like every year, prove that this is the most beautiful and unpredictable sport there is.


• Hope my Padres put up a fight and make it fun for us fans. I see them finishing 2nd in the West.


• I'll constantly blog on baseball, there is so much to write about it.


• Hope I can fly out to Boston to watch my Padres in June take on the Red Sox. Wearing my Adrian Gonzalez jersey will make it so much better.


• Side note, I hope the NFL labor dispute gets worked out so we get a full 16 game (stop with the 18 game crap)

As the great Ernesto Jerez would say:
"No se diga más, solo PLAY BALL!"