Despite his somewhat lofty ERA, you just can’t dog Kyle Lohse’s 10-2 record as he pitches for a long term deal. He’s taken the ball at every call and has generally given the Cards a chance to win which is just about all you can ask for. Lohse is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in his last couple and 2-0 (2.73) LT against the Bucs. Zach Duke is 0-1 with 6.57 ERA in L3 and while he does pitch somewhat better at home, figures to be hit hard after allowing 28 baserunners in his last 12 2/3 innings work. The Red Birds are 6-1 in L7 as a road fave of less than a quarter and rate solid nod here. Take St Louis.

IMO, one of the greatest appeals of MMA over boxing has been the general excellence of the judging. Since becoming a fan of MMA two years ago and watching virtually every match of every Pay-Per-View, I can’t remember one outright highway robbery or even one controversial decision. Big names are not saved from bad performances to preserve big money matchups down the line. Even when I personally may not have agreed with an outcome, a solid argument could have been made for the other side ……..  until Saturday night’s Light-Heavyweight Championship fight between Forrest Griffin and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

Crowd favorite Griffin won a lopsided unanimous decision, the judges scoring it 49-46, 48-46, 48-46. In all honesty, I can’t imagine what fight they were watching, especially the judge that had it 49-46 or 4-1 Griffin.

Tha Mack Attack had the fight a 47-47 draw. Here is my recap.

Round One: Griffin set the tone of the fight with a sustained kick attack. Rampage decked Griffin with an uppercut and dominated the final minute and a half. Jackson 10-9.

Round Two: Griffin did some major damage at the start with two perfectly placed sidekicks behind the knee. Griffin took Rampage down, was able to mount the champ and pummel him with strikes and elbows for the next four-and-a-half minutes. A dominant round by Griffin, 10-8.

Round Three: UHC title fight are five five-minute rounds rather than the standard three five-minute rounds. Generally the third round is the round where both fighters take a blow and this was no exception. Five minutes of stand up with Jackson continuosly stalking and connecting with the better shots. Clearly 10-9 Jackson.

Round Four: Both fighters traded strikes. Jackson was able to take Griffin down and set him up for his famous Power Bomb that really did not connect. Jackson also nailed the challenger with a solid body shot right on the liver and busted open Griffen’s left eye with less than 30 seconds left. 10-9 Jackson.

Round Five: The two stood toe-to-toe and traded strikes, both apparently thinking they had the fight in hand. Not much action. In my eyes, Griffin appeared to be the fresher crisper fighter and that won him the round.   You certainly could have given it to Jackson.

The DMack card had it 10-9, 8-10, 10-9, 10-9, 9-10 for 47-47, three rounds to two for Jackson.

I’m not sure I agree with the old adage that to take the belt away from the champion, you have to knock him out but ……….. you do have to beat him convincingly and that was clearly not the case here. Rampage was certianly not sharp off a nine month layoff but took the fight to Griffin in all but the second round.

There was very little complaining about the decision except from some of the more knowledgeable UHC beat writers at ringside and those that held tickets on Jackson, a solid 5-2 favorite. Jackson himself was a gentleman and consummate company man.

Scoring it a draw myself, I probably have little case for Jackson. I can only say that IMO, all three judges were way off base and can only hope that this was a one-time thing rather than a trend for the future.

Any thoughts ???

The Tigers stopped a two game slide with 8-4 win over the M’s last night, the’re now 18-6 in L24 and 6-1 against Seattle this year. Kenny Rogers gets the call and the crafty vet has been dominant if four of his last five starts and has already beaten Seattle this year without his best stuff. Mariners’ starter Erik Bedard has excellent numbers but Seattle is just 7-7 in his 14 starts. He hasn’t seen the Tigers since 2005, but he wasn’t a mystery then with a lifetime 8.43 ERA. As previously mentioned, Detroit is 6-1 in the series this year, 9-4 in Seattle L13, and 17-8 over L3 yrs. Wrong favorite here, take the Tigers.

DMack wishing everyone a Happy, Healthy, and Safe Holiday Weekend !!!

Shaun Suisham kicks a 110 yard FG at Redskins Park …. or did he ???  You make the call !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1lm5sqFiZY

By the way, Suisham was 26th in Kickoff/Touchback percentage !!!

Is this the greatest catch ever by a MLB ball girl or a Gatorade commercial ??? You make the call !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=176GUOfquME&feature=related

These cross-state rivals meet last week for a three-game set in St Louis with the Royals getting 2-1, 3-2, 4-1 sweep. Not sure the red-hot Royals will be breaking out the broom again this weekend but expect pitching to again rule the day. The Red Birds have lost Joel Pineiro’s L5 starts giving his just 13 runs of support. The Card righty certainly did his part with his 2.37 ERA in L3, all three going under the total. Pineiro is 4-1 LT with a 2.70 ERA in six starts versus Royals. KC’s Gil Meche has an identicle 2.37 ERA in his L3, 5 earned in 19 innings of work, and comes off masterful one run/three hit, six inning win over the Giants. If both pitchers hold form, this is an instant replay of the last week’s three game series,  play the UNDER.

Last night we lost a true comedic Icon in George Carlin. Strangely, he played the New Orleans in Las Vegas this weekend, 500 meters from where I work. He was the first host ever of Saturday Night Live and probably most famous for his bit, “The Seven Words you’re not allowed to say on TV”. He also had his take on sports. Below is his classic, “Baseball vs Football”. Enjoy !!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YphEUa5LPjM

The Jays are on seven straight losses, two with new skip Cito Gaston, 4-13 in L17 overall. Toronto is not hitting a lick wasting some excellent starting pitching. The Jays are averaging just 2.9 rpg and hitting just .218 in their L7 and that type of production just won’t get it done with Dustin McGowan toeing the bump with his 1-4, 6.28 road credentials. Ian Snell is no bargain at 3-7 with a 5.84 ERA but he gives up a whopping three less runs per game at home (2-2, 2.97) and has allowed just two earned in his L2 home starts covering 13 innings. Take the Pirates.

Randy Johnson is a first ballot HOFer that would already have his 300 wins if he had seen the Twins more often in his career. In three LT career starts against Minnesota, he is 3-0, allowing one earned-run and eight hits in 26 innings, while throwing one-hit and two-hit shutouts. Now granted these starts were 1998, 2004, and 2005 and not a viable factor here, the Unit can still bring it in the low 90s and has done his best work on the road this year with a 2.79 ERA. The Twins Scott Baker has been rock solid at 2-2 with a 3.71 ERA, 1-0 with 2.69 at home. His is ERA is 3.00 in three starts since coming off the DL getting just four total runs of support. Runs figure to be tough to come by making the under a solid call.