Mikey Garcia celebrates after defeating Jessie Vargas in a unanimous decision at The Ford Center at The Star on February 29, 2020 in Frisco, Texas. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Mikey Garcia reminded those who jumped off his bandwagon 11 months ago why he has won world titles in four weight classes and has been so universally respected throughout the sport.
In just his second bout at welterweight and his first since losing last year to Errol Spence Jr., Garcia overcame a slow start and showed he belonged in the division with a gritty victory Saturday over ex-world champion Jessie Vargas in Frisco, Texas.
Vargas was in command in the first few rounds, and was particularly effective with a looping left that was coming over Garcia’s right and finding a home. But though he was the smaller man, Garcia showed he was the harder hitter. He began to close the distance in the fourth and in the fifth, he hit Vargas with a perfect 1-2 combination that essentially changed the course of the fight.
Vargas went down from the right hand and he was never fully the same after it. Judges Cathy Leonard and Steve Morrow scored it 116-111 while David Sutherland had it 114-113 for Garcia, who is now 40-1. Yahoo Sports had it 116-111 for Garcia.
“I had to make adjustments to his reach and natural size,” Garcia said. “As the fight went on. I started to hurt him, closing the gap, finding my rhythm, and timing. In the end it worked out very well.”
It didn’t look like it was going to be a cakewalk early, as a confident and motivated Vargas started quickly. He was on his toes and firing shots at Garcia that were not only winning rounds but also getting Garcia’s attention.
Robert Garcia, the fighter’s trainer and older brother, said he was simply getting a feel for what Vargas could do.
“We always know that Mikey is a slow starter,” Robert Garcia said. “He uses the first two or three rounds just to figure out his opponent and see what punches they’re actually looking for. He uses that opportunity to see what our opponent is trying to do. He always does that, but little by little, Mikey started landing his punches. The straight right hand is the one that did the damage with that first knockdown.”
Vargas made a late rally, but he had lost a lot of zip off of his punches by the time the 10th rolled around from the punishment Garcia had delivered in the decisive middle portion of the fight.
Vargas, who complained that he didn’t follow his corner’s plan as well as he wished, said his early fast start may have worked against him.
“I got a little [over] confident,” Vargas said. “In the fourth round, I thought I hurt Mikey. I lightened up, but Mikey fought a great fight. I give him credit and don’t take anything from him. It was a learning experience for me.”
Garcia talked about options, but the No. 1 option appears to be a bout with WBA champion Manny Pacquiao. There are conflicting reports about whether Pacquiao is free of his contract with the Premier Boxing Champions. Pacquiao, who once signed two promotional deals simultaneously with Top Rank and Golden Boy, recently signed a management deal with Audie Attar of Paradigm.
But if Pacquiao is available, a fight with Garcia would be a huge bout. And it’s one that would prove conclusively whether or not Garcia is really a legitimate welterweight.
There are many superstars who are no longer affiliated with WWE, but they’re still continuing their wrestling careers elsewhere. One former ECW World Heavyweight Champion still wrestles on the independent circuit, but he won’t be doing it any longer for a particular promotion in Florida. The Sandman has been banned from Atomic Revolutionary Wrestling after drunkenly botching a recent main event and delivering a rant to the crowd.
It has been more than a decade since The Sandman was seen in WWE or their new version of ECW, but he’s still been wrestling. For a while, he spent some time with TNA Impact Wrestling, but he’s since moved onto the independent scene and random appearances for other big promotions.
About a week ago, The Sandman appeared for Atomic Revolutionary Wrestling at the Space Coast Convention Center in Cocoa, Florida. It was the three-year anniversary show for the promotion, and Sandman was booked in a Fatal 4-Way Match that included some other popular stars.
As reported by Heel By Nature, Sandman was set to face Vertigo, Chico Adams, and former WWE superstar Shannon Moore. The match was scheduled to go at least 12 to 15 minutes due to the big names in it and there being four wrestlers taking part.
The unfortunate thing for the fans in attendance is that it only lasted about three minutes, and that was all in part to The Sandman. The former ECW Champion was reportedly very drunk and botched the finish of the match which had officials call for the bell early.
WWE
Once the match was called and over, The Sandman took a mic and gave an unscripted “drunken rant” as recalled by the promotion. At one point, Sandman even mentioned the name of the city being “Orlando” when they were actually wrestling for fans in the city of Cocoa.
The problems with The Sandman were much worse than what happened in the ring as it spilled backstage too. ARW said that he was “sexually harassing multiple female wrestlers,” insulting people, trash talking, and continuing his drunken behavior while damaging parts of the venue.
It appears needless to say, but the promotion has banned him from ever performing at one of their events again. They were more than happy to reveal they will never again invite him to have a match or even attend one of their future shows.
During his time in ECW and even WWE, The Sandman was the beer-drinking hardcore legend who beat people senseless. He was a huge part of ECW and spent time in promotions all around the world, but things are no longer going so well for him. Atomic Revolutionary Wrestling is embarrassed for their fans by his behavior at their event and they’ve simply chosen to part ways with him for good.
Orange Cassidy (accompanied by Best Friends) wrestled his first match in AEW against PAC at the Revolution pay-per-view in Chicago, IL.
There was some comedy at the start of the match but this quickly became a wrestling match with PAC hitting some offense in the first few minutes. PAC drove Cassidy’s head into the ring post at ringside and then continued to beat on him in the ring for several minutes. PAC hit an avalanche brainbuster off the top and he could have pinned Cassidy but he pulled him up before 3. PAC then went for the Red Arrow but Cassidy rolled out of the ring. PAC tried the Red Arrow again but Cassidy rolled out again. Cassidy got a second wind and hit a suicide dive through the ropes, hit a cross body off the top and a DDT. He almost pinned PAC but he kicked out.
Cassidy surprised PAC with a diving right hand and then the slumdog millionaire (stunner-like move) and then he went for a move off the top but PAC tripped him up. PAC tried a piledriver off the top but Cassidy countered into a DDT off the top and then a diving DDT off the top but PAC rolled out of the ring before the pin attempt. Trent tossed PAC into the ring and Cassidy hit the Air Raid crash but PAC barely kicked out. Lucha Bros ran out and took out Trent but Chuck Taylor did a dive on them. Cassidy was distracted by this as PAC got up. PAC locked in the Brutalizer submission and Cassidy tapped out.
Click here for complete results from AEW Revolution.
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ESPN had hoped to hire Tony Romo as the new Monday Night Football analyst. With Romo staying put at CBS, ESPN must move on to Plan B.
Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reports that ESPN has “alternative plans” for the Monday night booth. Per Marchand, the first call “likely” will be made to Peyton Manning, whose relationship with ESPN expanded in 2019 to include Peyton’s Places on ESPN+.
If Peyton once again declines (and maybe $17 million per year will get his attention), ESPN will have to move to Plan C. Regardless, it still feels like a major change is coming to Monday nights, especially since the broadcast will be changing producers.
Last year, Joe Tessitore handled play-by-play and Booger McFarland served as the analyst. In 2018, McFarland roamed the sideline in a down-in-front rolling chair, with Tessitore and Jason Witten in the booth.
But the Matchroom USA president is still working hard to see if he can make it Joshua vs. Tyson Fury, instead.
It might not be the fight that Anthony Joshua necessarily wants next, but Eddie Hearn says it's official nonetheless.
Hearn told DAZN's Chris Mannix on Friday that Joshua will be fighting Kubrat Pulev, one of his mandatory challengers, on June 20. While the fight hasn't been formally announced, including details about its location, Hearn had previously revealed that Joshua wanted to defend his unified world heavyweight championship back at home in London next.
That being said, the fact that Pulev, like Tyson Fury, is promoted by Top Rank's Bob Arum, has Hearn optimistic that some kind of step-aside deal could be made, so that Fury skips his trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder and Joshua bypasses Pulev to make it a Joshua-Fury fight for undisputed glory, instead. Standing in the way, though, is Wilder. After suffering a seventh-round TKO loss to Fury, Wilder said that he wants a rematch with Fury to get his WBC title back. Fury also stated that he'd be willing to give Wilder that rematch.
"We just recently closed a couple of minutes ago, the Pulev-(Joshua) fight for June 20, but we know that Pulev is also promoted by Bob Arum, so there is a deal that can be worked there," Hearn told DAZN on Friday. "If there's no step aside, let Fury and Wilder go again in July, we'll box on June 20 and then we can agree now, we can sign now for the undisputed fight in December of this year."
The 30-year-old Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) regained his unified heavyweight crown with a unanimous decision win over Andy Ruiz Jr. in December. Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs) has won eight straight fights since suffering his only pro loss, a November 2014 KO to Wladimir Klitschko. Last year, the 38-year-old Pulev defeated Bogdan Dinu by KO in March and Rydell Booker via unanimous decision in November. Joshua's other mandatory challenger is Oleksandr Usyk.
Sammy Guevara and Darby Allin fought in the second card on the main card of AEW Revolution in Chicago.
The match took several minutes to officially get started because they fought at ringside and that included Guevara doing a 450 splash onto Darby through a table at ringside. Jurassic Express watched this match from ringside.
Darby won this match with a Coffin Drop. This was faced paced from the start. Darby got a lot of distance on the Coffin Drop. After the match, Darby was about to use the skateboard on Sammy but Jake Hager rescued him.
Click here for complete results from AEW Revolution.
On tonight's AEWRevolution it was announced Dynamite: Blood and Guts will take place on March 25 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
The show will feature one giant covered cage with two rings for WarGames-like match. You can check out the promo in the video below.
The name of the show is a play off of what Vince McMahonsaid during an earnings call about AEW last July. Vince said WWE will not "do blood and guts and things of that nature, such as what is being done on our new potential competitor."
Lots of interference by Sabian, Baker made Riho tap to the Lockjaw. This match is expected to be shown on next Tuesday's AEW Dark. Taz and Excalibur called the action.
Syracuse men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim had some special guests courtside on Saturday afternoon at the Carrier Dome.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, wide receiver Julian Edelman and “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon attended North Carolina's 92-79 win over Syracuse together on Saturday, the Orange’s final home game of the regular season.
Tom Brady (left), Julian Edelman (center) and Jimmy Fallon attend a game between the Syracuse Orange and the North Carolina Tar Heels at the Carrier Dome on Saturday. (Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports)
His future is perhaps the biggest storyline currently in the league. So much so that an appearance at a college basketball game became ground for free agency speculation.
Julian Edelman says Tom Brady is ‘coming back’
Edelman, however, seemed confident that Brady will be back in New England this fall.
The Tar Heels — who had lost seven of their last eight heading into Saturday’s matchup — used a huge 16-4 run midway through the first half to pull ahead of the Orange, and never looked back en route to the 13-point win. Garrison Brooks led North Carolina with a double-double with 26 points and 13 rebounds, and Cole Anthony added 25 points while shooting 7-of-11 from the 3-point line.
Virginia head coach Tony Bennett reacts to a call during an NCAA college basketball game against Duke Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020, in Charlottesville, Va. (AP Photo/Andrew Shurtleff)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Mamadi Diakite made a short, go-ahead jumper with 37 seconds left and Jay Huff blocked Vernon Carey Jr.'s shot under the basket with 3.7 remaining as Virginia ended a three-game home losing streak against No. 7 Duke with a 52-50 victory on Saturday.
Huff led Virginia (21-7, 13-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) with 15 points, nine rebounds and 10 blocked shots, none bigger than when he rejected Carey's attempt from in close with the Cavaliers leading 51-50. Huff also ripped the ball away, was fouled and made one of two free throws at the other end.
Tre Jones tried an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer, but missed, allowing the surging Cavaliers to claim their sixth victory in a row and leap-frog the Blue Devils into third place in the ACC standings with a week left in the regular season.
Carey had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils (23-6, 13-5), who lost their second in a row and for the third time in four games.
The game was tied at 25 at halftime and at 39 and 45, the latter with 4:52 to play, and the teams swapped the lead the rest of the way. Diakite's short shot gave Virginia the lead for good at 51-50, and Huff's block on Carey finished a sterling defensive effort.
Duke was 18 for 59 (31%) and 4 for 17 on 3-pointers.
BIG PICTURE
Duke: The Blue Devils came in averaging 83.2 points and having scored at least 63 in every game. They managed just 25 in the first half, but were tied despite Carey playing just nine minutes and No. 3 scorer Cassius Stanley, No. 4 scorer Matthew Hurt and No. 5 scorer Wendell Moore all being scoreless at the break.
Virginia: Turnovers were again a factor for the Cavaliers, who have been prone to more than coach Tony Bennett can accept several times this season. While they lead the nation in scoring defense (52.7), a deliberately paced offense and scoring questions make empty possessions especially difficult to overcome. The Cavaliers had 15 turnovers, but Duke scored just three points off them.
UP NEXT
The Blue Devils are at home against N.C. State on Monday night.
The Cavaliers head to Miami for their last road game of the season on Wednesday night.
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Ringside Collectibles To Release Exclusive “A Little Bit Of The Bubbly” Chris Jericho Action Figure
By Wayne Daly on February 28, 2020
Ringside Collectibles sent out the following:
A LITTLE BIT OF THE BUBBLY EXCLUSIVE FIGURE REVEALED!
Celebrate Chris Jericho’s viral phenomenon A LITTLE BIT OF THE BUBBLY with this exclusive figure of Le Champion in special Bubbly Packaging!
Ringside Collectibles has announced this one of a kind Limited Edition AEW exclusive figure of Le Champion Chris Jericho from Wicked Cool Toys! Featuring special Bubbly bottle packaging and everything you need to celebrate the night Le Champion won the AEW Championship!
The figure is packed with accessories to recreate the backstage Bubbly celebration including the AEW World Championship Belt, Bottle of Bubbly, Champagne Bucket, Deli Platter Spread, Cup & Folding Table!
A Little Bit of the Bubbly Ringside Collectibles AEW Exclusive Figure is available to Pre-Order Now at WrestlingFigures.com!
Source: Shared Account, Neville2017, edited, CC BY-SA 2.0
– AEW officially announced Lance Archer’s commitment yesterday. The 42-year-old signed a multi-year contract and will make his debut for the doctorate next week at “AEW Dynamite”. Lance Hoyt, his real name, has appeared for WWE, TNA and most recently for NJPW during his career. He most recently worked for New Japan without a fixed contract, so that he was able to sign directly with AEW. In 2019 Archer established himself as a singles wrestler at NJPW and quite a few saw him as one of the best Big Man in the world.
– Chris Jericho suffered a laceration in the final segment of yesterday’s edition, which had to be closed with 7 stitches.
– All Elite Wrestling (@AEWrestling) February 27, 2020
– Downstait will perform the entrance song of Cody live before the match against MJF next weekend at “AEW Revolution”. The band should be well known to wrestling fans, as over the years they have delivered theme songs for Dolph Ziggler, Zack Ryder and Britt Baker. On Saturday they will perform the song “Kingdom” in the Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
– The “Countdown to Revolution” special, which was broadcast on TNT last night following “AEW Dynamite”, has meanwhile appeared on YouTube in several parts:
– With The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) vs. SCU (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio) and Orange Cassidy vs. PAC two further matches for the “Revolution” PPV were announced last weekend, so the Matchcard should be complete.
By the way, our prediction game for the upcoming AEW-PPV is now online. You can participate under the following link:
AEW Revolution prediction game! (Deadline: February 29, 2019 at 11:59 p.m.) Click!
A free account in our forum is required to participate in our prediction games. Register today and get to know the many other advantages of our free forum! And yes, we also have a board!
Note: If you have submitted your tip in the corresponding thread, you will not be able to see your sent post for the time being. To avoid annoying copying from each other, the tip sheets remain invisible until the deadline. š
https://ift.tt/2Vy8Vgz
All Elite Wrestling “Revolution”
Location: Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois, USA
Date: February 29, 2020
Time: 1:30 a.m.CET (in the night on March 1st, 2020)
Live and OnDemand for $ 19.99 on FITE TV!orfor 16 € on Sky Select! Click!
AEW World Championship Singles match
Chris Jericho (c) vs. Jon Moxley
AEW World Tag Team Championship Tag team match
“Hangman” Adam Page & Kenny Omega (c) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson)
AEW World Women’s Championship Singles match
Nyla Rose (c) Kris Statlander
Singles match
MJF vs. Cody
Singles match
Darby Allin vs. Sammy Guevara
Singles match
Dustin Rhodes vs. Jake Hager
Tag team match
The Dark Order (Evil Uno & Stu Grayson) vs. SCU (Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio
Singles match
Orange Cassidy vs. the PAC
Discuss these topics in our forum with many other wrestling fans! Click!
It is only a matter of time, experts believe, before the coronavirus spreads further. And only a matter of time, therefore, before worry turns into action. Before social distancing measures are put in place. Before large public gatherings are shut down.
And very few public gatherings, if any, put gatherers at more risk than major sporting events do.
This weekend, tens of thousands of fans will pack into NBA, NHL and college basketball arenas; MLS and XFL stadiums; and MLB spring training parks. At such games, says Bill Schaeffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, “People are within 3-6 feet of each other all the time. So there’s ample opportunity for viruses to spread.”
And so, as the virus spreads to the U.S., Schaeffner says, U.S. sports leagues will be “nervous.” And they’ll be thinking: “Is it responsible to keep having these mass events?”
Yahoo Sports reached out to the NBA, NCAA, MLB, MLS, NHL and XFL to find out whether that question has been asked internally by league officials, and to ask what contingency plans or potential countermeasures have been discussed. Here’s what we know so far.
NBA, NCAA statements on the coronavirus
No sports organization has more to lose over the coming month than the NCAA, whose banner event, March Madness, begins in a little over two weeks. On Saturday, an advocacy group for college athletes called on the NCAA to “take precautions to protect college athletes,” and to make its plans public. The group, the National College Players Association, suggested “cancelling all auxiliary events that put players in contact with crowds,” and said there should be “serious discussion” about playing NCAA tournament games with no fans present.
The NCAA, in a statement to Yahoo Sports, said that its Sport Science Institute had recently sent two memos to NCAA members “directing schools and conference offices to Center for Disease Control and Prevention resources on the issue.”
“Otherwise,” an NCAA spokesman continued, “NCAA staff continues to prepare for all NCAA winter and spring championships, but we are keenly aware of coronavirus and will continue to monitor in coordination with state/local health authorities and the CDC.”
The NBA, which will play games every day between now and April 15, had a similarly vague statement. Spokesman Mike Bass told Yahoo Sports: “The health and safety of our employees, teams, players and fans is paramount. We are coordinating with our teams and consulting with the CDC and infectious disease specialists on the coronavirus, and continue to monitor the situation closely.”
MLS forms task force; games in Portland, Seattle still on
The issue is perhaps most pressing in MLS. Both the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders host games on Sunday, and again next Saturday. Coronavirus cases have been reported in both Oregon and Washington.
As of Saturday evening, no significant special measures were in place for those games or any others. However, the Sounders said they’d have “additional hand sanitizer stations throughout CenturyLink Field,” plus sanitary wipes at concession stands. They’re “maintaining real-time communication with regional health authorities,” and participating in both a regional task force and a league task force.
And MLS, in a statement to Yahoo Sports, said:
Major League Soccer has formed a task force to manage the response of the league and its clubs to COVID-19. The task force is comprised of executives responsible for the principal league functions and includes MLS’ Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Margot Putukian. The league is in direct contact with the relevant governmental agencies including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Public Health Agency of Canada and is also coordinating with other sporting organizations. The task force has been monitoring the most recent developments and communicating with MLS clubs regarding appropriate measures to take as the situation continues to evolve.
The Portland Timbers host Minnesota United on Sunday as concerns about the coronavirus in the region grow. (Soobum Im/Getty Images)
Major League Baseball, meanwhile, has been monitoring the virus and consulting with the CDC and HHS, and passing guidance along to its 30 teams. Its season does not start until March 26. But there is a good chance the virus will have spread by then.
The NHL and XFL have not yet responded to Yahoo Sports’ request for comment.
What will U.S. sports leagues do?
The question that will gnaw at league officials: Are they responsible for the health of their ticket-buying fans?
If, say, the NBA holds games as planned, and allows fans to make their own decisions with respect to the virus, and droves of game-attending fans contract it, is the NBA in the wrong?
Which leads to the big question: Should sports leagues tell fans not to come? Or allow those fans to choose on an individual-by-individual basis?
“I think in the United States, there will be much more letting people make up their own minds,” Schaeffner says. “Here in the United States, we make recommendations. We don’t impose requirements so often. So I think there’ll be a lot of people being reclusive on a voluntary basis.”
If the virus spreads prolifically, that could mean half-empty “sold-out” stadiums.
Another issue, then, could be refunds. Say the NBA publicly acknowledges the risk, and warns fans, but says the game will go on and allows them to make their own decisions about attendance. If a fan decides she would rather not put herself in harm’s way, would she be able to get her money back? (And then what about the Warriors or Wolves fans who want refunds – but more so because they’ve realized they’d rather not pay to see their awful teams?)
If, however, there is a major outbreak in a given city or region, leagues could consider postponing games or playing them behind closed doors. “Then there may well be pressure on the people who run any kind of activity that brings people together face-to-face to not do that.”
Will players be at risk?
As for the players and coaches and team staff, Schaeffner doesn’t think playing games in front of fans would put the athletes at risk. “This virus travels, for the most part, within 3-6 feet,” he says.
He assumes franchises will, however, instruct players not to sign autographs and interact with fans. Perhaps they’ll arrive earlier at stadiums, or via back routes, to avoid coming into contact with fans seeking high-fives or pictures. “You can have all kinds of little strategies,” Schaeffner says. Some European soccer teams have already put some of those strategies in place.
“If, when, this virus spreads more in the United States, there will be all kinds of ramifications,” Schaeffner says. “Because the social distancing initiative, other than washing your hands and avoiding people who are coughing and sneezing, that’s really the only mechanism we have to try and reduce the transmission in our population.
“So there’ll be a lot of social discombobulation. And sporting events are mass gatherings. There will be a call not to hold them. There will be a call to not attend them, even if they’re not forbidden. Just don’t go there. So this is going to have big social, economic, cultural repercussions.
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