It looks like NJ is going to get a lot of MMA action in the next couple of months with Strikeforce having two quarterfinal  fights in the Heavyweight tournament take place in NJ and then a month later, the UFC will have it’s UFC 128 show in Newark, NJ. On this card along with Shogun and Evans for the UFC World Lightheavyweight championship, Uriah Faber will face off against former WEC Bantamweight champion, Eddie Wineland.

Shogun Rua haven’t fought since he laid to rest the Dragon that is Machida back in May of 2010.  Evans, fresh off his wrestling clinic against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, is waiting and possibly licking his chops to regain a championship belt, many felt he should have lost if he stuck to his plan from master MMA Coach, Greg Jackson.

On a side note, this event is the second UFC event since UFC 111 when Carwin pretty much destroyed Frank Mir and where GSP pretty much had his way with Dan Hardy; you can believe that members of NY’s congress will point out the millions of dollars in revenue they will more than likely lose because pro MMA is not regulated in that state. New Jersey, again, will come out the winner as this card may draw more at the Prudential Center than it did last year.

As if being suspended for testing positive for a PED, Chael Sonnen’s name has come up in a money laundering case.  As of this very moment, not a lot has been divulged, but the following excerpt came from the Lake Oswego Review:

‘A licensed Realtor from West Linn, Sonnen admitted before a judge Monday that he conducted a financial transaction designed to hide or disguise the ownership and control of proceeds of mortgage fraud, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.

Marcus Williams, a special agent in charge of IRS criminal investigations for the Pacific Northwest, issued a public statement about Sonnen’s case.

“West Linn residents, and other residents throughout the Portland-Vancouver area, can rest assured knowing that federal law enforcement agencies take mortgage fraud very seriously because it played a major role in almost crippling this nation’s banking system just a few years ago,” he said.

Money laundering carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.’

As more news of this occurs, it will be reported right here at Pro Sports Blogging.

As of 11:37PM there’s been more developments on this shocking story!!!

The following is from Sherdog.com

“UFC middleweight Chael Sonnen has pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of money laundering stemming from his work as a real estate agent in 2006.

In 2010, Sonnen ran for a seat in the Oregon House of Representatives, winning the Republican primary in the state’s 37th District. However, Sonnen withdrew from the race in June, citing “a 2006 legal issue… that needs my immediate attention.” ‘

We will keep a very close eye on this story as it continues to develop.

After spewing off three consecutive losses with two of them coming from ACC rivals, the Clemson Tigers had several questions they needed to answer and the one to answer them was not head coach Dabo Sweeny who basically turned his weekly press conference into something of a self-defense session.

“I wish we had a little bit better record, but this season isn’t over,” Swinney said. How true that statement was.  At Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina, the young pride of tigers ran down that hill and avenged the two losses from last season. Yeah, two! One during the regular season and the second was in the ACC Championship game last season.

Lead by Andre Ellington and his career high 166 yards and three touchdowns, the Clemson Tigers handed Georgia Tech their third loss of the season sending them to 5-3 overall and 3-2 in ACC play while improving the Tigers to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in ACC play. The Tigers are still 4^th in the Atlantic Division and faces the last place Boston College Eagles next week at Boston.

From the beginning the Tigers ran the Georgia Tech defense up and down the field with the first major strike came at the hands of “The New Storm’s” Andre Ellington when he ran for 55 yards for the score with just a little more than 13 minutes left in the first quarter. The Tigers defense showed much improvement from the losses to Auburn, Miami and North Carolina as they continued to pressure Joshua Nesbitt the entire game holding him to 6 for 19 for 83 yards.  Then again, Georgia Tech really isn’t known for their passing game, but the Yellow Jackets did try to come out passing against a Tigers defense that has been prone to giving up the big passing plays.

Kyle Parker continued to show why he’s the leader of this young team by going 17 for 27 for 167 yards including a 10 yard touchdown to Andre Ellington in response to a 26 yard field goal by Georgia Tech’s Scott Blair.

This game has literally brought the Tigers Nation down in South Carolina back to life and has the Tigers believing that they can run the table and get a chance to play for the ACC Championship again.  The Tigers get that chance next week when they face off against the Eagles of Boston College who just lost a close thriller to the Maryland Terrapins who lost to the Tigers last week.  This thrilling match up takes place at 12 Noon.

By reading the heading of this article/posting you’re probably thinking that someone is being a smart alek about the recent struggles the Tigers have been facing over the past few weeks.  And if you’re a South Carolina Gamecock fan, you’re laughing it up hard with how the Tigers keep falling on their faces. Failing to capitalize and close out games that they have had in hand.  But there is one thing Tigers fans can be certain of…This is a young team that is bound to get better as the years go by.  But there are certain concerns that this Tigers team has as they get ready to go down Tobacco Road and face ACC rival, North Carolina Tar Heels.  One, can the Tigers get a lead against another team seeking their first win in conference play and keep it.  The second and biggest concern is how quarterback Parker will perform.

Against The U Parker had a dismal game as he threw 14-for-33 for 149 yards and three, count them THREE interceptions.  There is no way possible a team can win any kind of game if the offense keeps turning the ball over.  Another concern that fans have with Parker is if his mind is on football or on that minor league baseball contract that is rumored to be worth over $1Million!

Either way, The New Storm of Ellington and Harper hope to storm into Chapel Hill, NC and take advantage of a team that has been wrecked with suspensions and other controversies such as an assistant coach having ties/working for athletic agents.  You can guess how the NCAA liked that news when it was leaked.

This game is going to be played on NATIONAL TELEVISION!!! Yes, the Tigers are on television again as this game will be aired on ABC at 3:30PM on Saturday.  North Carolina hopes to ride the wave of momentum of their two wins and a balanced rushing attack of John White and Shaun Draughn who both are averaging over 120 yards per game at this point.

The winner of this game is going to be the team whose rushing game is on top of their opposing defense and control the clock.  Either way, Clemson fans get ready for what promises to be a fun game to watch whether at home on tv or at the stadium.  But I have a sneaky feeling that UNC is going to pull off the victory, and that is what I’m apologizing for.

Broomfield, Colorado – BREAKING NEWS!!! Donald Cerrone laid a beatdown on Jamie Varner, who refused to respect the wrestling skills that The Cowboy has gained while training at Greg Jackson’s MMA and the two combatants still don’t like each other and will probably have a third showdown to see who comes out 2-1…OK, so Cerrone beating Varner isn’t big news or surprising. Anyone that has been following Cerrone as of late knows that he’s a beast when he gets in the cage.

OK, here’s some real breaking news…Chael Sonnen tested positive for a natural steroid and was suspended for a YEAR, thus taking him out of the possible rematch against Anderson Silva. What’s that you say?  That’s last week’s news? And you say the UFC have named Vitor Belfort as the next challenger to Silva’s crown at UFC 127 on Super Bowl Weekend?

How about this?!? Jose Aldo knocks out Manny Gamburyan! OK, that wasn’t much of a surprise. Gamburyan is a great fighter, but wasn’t ready for the blitz of an attack that Aldo puts on people. Just ask Todd Harris and Stephan Bonner.  Both commentators felt that Gamburyan didn’t have a chance against the current kingpin in the 145 lb division.

OK, here’s the real deal…Miguel Angel Torres pretty much had his way with Charlie Valencia.  He pretty much squeezed the juice out of him.  OK, that was a pretty bad joke, but it sounded good at the time of the fight.  This showing proved to a lot of people that Torres is serious about his MMA career, and that was evident by moving to Montreal, Quebec, Canada to train at Tri-Star. Who knows, while there he got to work on his wrestling with Georges St.Pierre, the world kingpin in the welterweight division.

With that victory, the WEC has to be hoping that Uriah Faber wins his November 11^th fight against Mizugaki to prepare a huge clash between him and Torres. That fight would be bigger than any championship fight in the Bantamweight division right now. No disrespect to Dominick Cruz, but a fight between two former champions that could be heading towards a championship fight on the level of Torres and Faber is a superfight and could be seen as a PPV quality fight.

The mutterings of this possible fight has already started fluttering around on Twitter and Facebook. People asking who would win in a fight between Torres and Faber. These two fan favorites would without a doubt be a wonderful fight for anyone. Both fighters would make this an exciting fight due to the fact that both fighters are very aggressive and at times wreckless and are also great wrestlers that like to stand and bang in the cage. So all MMA fans sit and wait for Faber to fight a very tough Mizugaki on November 11^th in hopes that Faber can face Torres for a shot at the Bantamweight title.  Oh, and to answer that earlier question of who’d win in a fight between the two fan favorites? The WEC, MMA and the fans all come out on top!

Whoever said that the football teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference really take it easy should have their eyesight checked. After what can be considered one of the games of the month of September with the Auburn Tigers, Clemson had a bye week in which they took time to correct things they saw on tape and to also heal. It was to the point where Coach Swinney felt that things couldn’t have gone better. Kyle Parker got to heal his bruised ribs and as mentioned before the rest of the young Tigers got to correct mistakes and miscues on the field that cost them a game that if they won, would have had them ranked in the top 15.

All this rest though, is it going to be good for the Tigers or bad for the Tigers as they host the University of Miami Hurricanes, or The U, this week at Death Valley (Clemson, SC branch). This game is scheduled to be seen on ESPN2 at 12:00 and is the opening ACC opponent for Clemson. A victory here will have analysts thinking twice about Miami being the conference champion and will possibly make Clemson the new favorite. Miami isn’t coming in looking for the easy win.

After a win that looked easier on paper against the Pitt Panther, QB Jacory Harris injured his non throwing shoulder, but if anyone can make plays happen against a team that is considered inexperienced in big games, it is Harris. But Kyle Parker is not to be outdone. As hurt as he was after receiving a helmet to his lower back, Parker almost lead his team to victory and according to Coach Swinney, Parker will be ready to go 100%.

It seems though, as of late, these Tigers want to leave it all on the field and this Saturday’s game is no exception. People are sleeping on this young Tiger team and that can be their demise. The Tigers will without a doubt be using the 235lb Andre Ellington to soften up the Defensive line of the Hurricanes to prep for the passing game. The New Storm looks to have a big game and to take people’s minds off the close loss suffered in Auburn. Will that happen? Time will tell on Saturday at Noon!

Prediction: Clemson 21, Miami 17

Well, the Clemson Tigers have this week off to lick their wounds, so to speak, after a very losing a close thriller that had a top play featured on ESPN’s Top Ten Plays of the weekend.  But with having the week off there is so much that the team needed to do to get ready for their big game next at home against “The U!” who just happened to be ranked #19 on the ESPN poll.

After seeing how the ‘Canes pretty much had their way with the Pitt Panthers on Friday (they won 31-3), you’d think the Tigers would be panicking for this game.  WRONG! This group of young Tigers learned some very valuable lessons last Saturday night at Auburn.  They were on prime time and gained some very valuable experience.  Now that doesn’t mean that they’re going to go into Death Valley in Clemson and think they’re going to wreck shop against a Hurricanes team that many analysts are saying can come out ACC champions and make people take note that not only they’re for real, but that the ACC is for real!

So what are these young Tigers doing tonight? Here is a small list of things that they’re probably doing:

• RESTING – That game last week was tiring to look at. Just imagine how tired the coaching staff and the players themselves were after that game.  The fans were even drained and those that aren’t fans of either teams, but love college football was drained!  The Tigers ran through drills and were told to relax  and be an example to the Tebo-less Florida Gators and stay out of trouble.
• WATCH FOOTBALL – Having growing up in a football town and actually being part of a team, I know that watching other teams play is a great way to have fun.  I’m sure that some of the Tigers are somewhere on campus watching another future opponent play the team they just lost too…Their in state rivals, South Carolina Gamecocks, who is giving Auburn a run for their money.
• WATCH UFC – Tonight is UFC 119: Cro Cop vs. Mir.  Many football players seem to love this crazy sport of MMA. Not sure why. OK, I lie, I know why. It’s a fun sport to watch and even train in and football players, especially defensive players, love to see big hits and even picture themselves delivering hits.  Please don’t try the flying armbar at home. Unless home is your dojo and you’re training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

All in all, that’s about it. Nothing much else to do in Clemson, other than to do your homework.  I’m sure there are other things to do, but I’m not touching those matters.  The NCAA would frown upon that, and that would be one of the matters I agree with.  I’ll try to do better next time, tune in next week when I breakdown how this game is going to be a fun game to watch!

Auburn – In what has to be called the game of the week, the Clemson Tigers marches into hostile SEC territory and laid it all on the field as the Tigers from Clemson, South Carolina, lost a thrilling heartbreaker to the Auburn Tigers, 27-24 in overtime.

This game is your classic case of “A game of two halves” as Clemson came our roaring at the beginning of the game.  The first possession of the game saw Clemson march down the field 76 yards over 12 plays in just a little over six minutes.  The first score of the game was an eight yard pass from Kyle Parker, the two sport star, to one half of The New Storm in Jamie Harper.   Not to be outdone by their offense, the Clemson Tigers defense roared onto the field and basically had their way with QB Cam Newton.

Throughout the first half it looked like Clemson was going to have it easy as they held Auburn’s high powered offense in check by holding the Tigers from Auburn to 106 total yards while Kyle Parker lead Clemson to 257 total yards.

The second half started off just as the first did…Almost.  Kyle Parker suffered a major injury after getting rammed by a player’s helmet in his lower back. Parker showed resiliency and stayed in the game and showed why he is the future of that program at Clemson.

Auburn came out of the locker room with new found intensity and came out scoring fast.  Starting with Onterio McCalebb’s 12 yard run, Auburn scored 24 unanswered points going back to the 35 yard field goal by Wes Byrum near the end of the first half.  Going into the 4^th Quarter, Clemson was down 24-17 and the young Tigers held their composure and kept their cool as The New Storm (Andre Ellington and Jamie Harper) ran circles around the Auburn defense and Auburn kept shooting themselves in the foot with penalties.  Auburn had 9 penalties for 90 yards.  This is something Clemson did capitalize on at times.

Despite having a total 181 yards on the ground, Clemson’s defense was still unable to maintain Auburn’s rushing game as they amassed 221 yards on the field. As the time wound down and the game went into overtime, the 87,000 fans that packed Jordan-Hare Stadium went into frenzy.  Auburn started overtime and Clemson’s defense showed up by holding the Tigers to only 3 points.  Kyle Parker, still in pain, came onto the field and Clemson marched down near the 10-yard line.  After a failed reverse, Clemson is forced to go for a field goal.  After the field goal is made to force a second overtime a flag is on the field. Off-sides: Auburn Tigers.  As the crowd moaned, the referees huddled together and saw that there was a false snap, illegal movement of the ball, and that drew the off-sides.  Clemson goes for another shot and this time Chandler Catanzaro misses!

The thing that was plaguing the Auburn Tigers for most of the game nearly came back to bite them at the end, but it was a penalty on the young long snapper that eventually cost Clemson the game. Nevertheless, they have NOTHING to be ashamed of.  They should walk out with their heads held high as they gave Auburn a huge scare and a wake-up call to the entire ACC.  This pride of Tigers are for real and with the next week off, Clemson can heal and work out things such as dropped passes for long gains and touchdowns.  Clemson’s next game is at home against the dreaded U, the University of Miami.  If that game is as heavily contested as this one was, it’s going to be a wonderful game!

As mentioned before this game was a thriller and any football fan that likes hard hitting games would LOVE this game. There are some pro teams that don’t hit as hard as these two programs did tonight. This was an action packed game from the first whistle to the final missed field goal, and is sure to be an ESPN instant classic with plays like the 235 lb Jamie Harper flying to catch a 24 yard pass for the touchdown in the 2^nd quarter by Kyle Parker. Or, how about the 78 yard pass the 6’ 6’’ former Florida Gator and JUCO superstar, Cam Newton, threw to Terrell Zachery which breathed new life into the Auburn Tigers in the 3^rd Quarter? This game is going to be one that many people will be talking about for a long time and I’m sure a play or two will be in the Top 10 plays on SportsCenter.

Yeah, I know. The title probably sends chills up some of your spines.  Some of you probably even just said, “Secondary titles? This ain’t the WWE or TNA!” True as that statement is, is it really a bad idea to have a secondary title in each weight class in the UFC?

Think about it for a minute, the Light Heavyweight class.  That class alone is one of the most stacked divisions in the UFC.  You have the likes of Rampage Jackson, Randy Couture, Machida, Matt Hamill, Forrest griffin, Rich Franklin, Jon Jones and Shogun.  In any given year anyone of these guys would get a shot at the title.  Any of them right now except for Jon “Bones” Jones.  Although many feel that he’s ready for a shot at the title, the UFC bosses want him to “work on his craft”.  So why not have a “lower level” championship for those that are almost ready to break through to that upper echelon level.

“What would be the name of this championship?”

I’m glad you asked.  Zuffa seems to have a stranglehold on MMA here in North America so why not have a UFC North American Championship in each weight division? The same name can be said for a secondary title in Strikeforce.

Think about it, Zuffa already get good numbers for their Fight Night cards that they produce on SpikeTV and these fighters are considered the “up-and-comers” of the company. Usually these guys don’t get to get seen on pay-per-views, but are some very talented guys and can produce some monstrous “OH MY GOD” moments!  Imagine the ratings the UFC will get when there are actual title fights on the network for free! Just take a look at the events that the WEC puts on and when they have title fights on their shows on Versus the ratings for that show goes through the roof.

Strikeforce already have a good show for their “newer” guys in their promotion, Strikeforce Challengers.  A title match on that show would surely have more people tuning into see those shows. Just a thought, Mr. Coker.

North American title fights would bring more people in to see the fights because people always want to see history.  It also gives the fighters that are not at that upper echelon level of the promotion something to aim at. And we all know that the more people that watch your shows, the more money you stand to make off of television revenue and later on you can market replica belts to fans that love championship belts.

Sure it all seems “pro wrestlingesque”, but think about the success the WWE and TNA actually have BECAUSE of secondary titles.  It helps the promotions see who can soon be brought up to play with the big dogs.

Two games at home for the Clemson Tigers and two victories over smaller, underpowered schools in North Texas and Presbyterian College.  For many Tigers fans seeing that the running game continue on without CJ Spiller and the passing game flourish the way it has been, makes them very happy with the looming thought of “when will the Tigers mess this up?!?”

For those that don’t like Clemson Tigers (i.e. South Carolina Gamecocks fans) they say that time will come this Saturday when the Clemson Tigers visit the Auburn Tigers.  This is going to be the first real test for the Clemson Tigers this season.  After going 15 for 26 for 284 yards and throwing for 4 touchdowns and 1 interception, Clemson’s sophomore quarterback, Kyle Parker hopes to lead the high powered offensive Tigers to another victory.

One thing that can be said about this young Tigers team is that they are hungry and are willing to do what it takes to get the job done, but as it has been pointed out by many other analysts, they are not facing the kind of caliber that they will be facing against on the 18^th.  The Auburn Tigers are coming off a close victory over SEC rival, Mississippi State and what mistakes they made then, Coach Gene Chizik is going to make sure that his Tigers stick to what they do best and that is to make sure that his team, which is 9^th in FBS in rushing, continue to run the ball like they have so far this season.

It is very early in the season to say that the Clemson Tigers are poised for something special, especially with the number of freshmen and sophomores on this team; they may not get the victory, but you can rest assure that Coach Dabo Swinney will have his troops ready to play hard in what will most likely be hostile territory.

As a country boy that grew up in the upstate of South Carolina, I have been privy to hearing about Clemson football for all of my life. Even today now that I live in Washington, DC, and have worked for a popular sports shows, I still hear about Clemson Football.  I know that come Saturday night at 7PM a lot of questions will be answered. Which pride of Tigers will reign supreme?

Prediction: Auburn 35 – Clemson 28