Butch_Stearns's Blog

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is and has been the fasting growing sport in America.  But where will it go from here?  Is it a shooting star that will eventually burn out and fade away?  Or is is a stock that continues to rise and hasn't even scratched the surface of it's success?

Even if your not a fan of MMA or UFC (Ultimate fighting), you can't help but notice it.  It's now on TV almost every night.  Plus there are events in every major market across the country and in other countries and there are more matches and fights than boxing. Watch my story on it here.

The popularity of the sport can be measured on many levels.  Recently a George St. Pierres vs Matt Serra bout set the record in Canada for the largest live gate in history for a combat sport at $5.1 million dollars.  That beat the record set by the 1980 Roberto Duran vs Sugar Ray Leonard bout.  The pay per view totals continue to rise for MMA fights.  And the last time I checked people really don't have a ton of discretionary income to be throwing around these days do they?

A bad sign? The ratings for the TV show that began all of this ( The Ultimate Fighter) continue to decline.  But then again, there are new stars bursting on the scene and being as wisely promoted and packaged as boxing has ever done.  Former NCAA wrestling champion Brock Lesnar who is now a MMA fighter is a good example.

So which direction is this sport heading?  Will it rise or fall?  Tell us why?

Butch 

 

 

If Jason Varitek and the Red Sox can not agree on a new contract that would bring the Captain back to catch in Boston this year, it's the Red Sox who are making the bigger mistake.  

Varitek is not the only catcher who can be successful with this Red Sox pitching staff and beyond.  Cleary, the soon to be 37-year-old Varitek is not the future behind the plate at Fenway. But he is the present and Red Sox pitching for 2009 could be much different without him.  The Captain does not deserve all the credit for the success of Red Sox pitching the last few years but he does deserve a lot of it.  Terry Francona, John Farrell, Gary Tuck and others have a system that works with their pitching.  But it works better with Varitek behind the plate.  Without him it's a roll of the dice for 2009.  Bring Tek back and also bring in the catcher of the future and let him learn from the Captain.

Your thoughts.

Butch

With what's been going on in Foxboro (depatures of Scott Pioli and Josh Mcdaniels, Tom Brady's uncertain health)  it is fair to ask this question:  Have we seen the last of the Patriots Dynasty?   I say no and I'm sure many of you agree with me but there is plenty of ammunition to debate this one.

The reason I say no is Belichick.  I think Belichick is the most important figure in Patriots history and clearly one of the best coaches ever in the NFL.   But, the line between winning and losing in the NFL is paper thin, in my opinion, especially at the championship level.  I also believe that championship success is a fickle thing that takes a very good combination of people and events to sustain it in any sport.

For the past 9 years the Patriots have had that successful championship combination.  Bob Kraft's support, Bill Belichick's leadership and coaching ,Tom Brady's talents and performance and a supporting cast that helped keep the machine rolling along no matter who defected.   And there have been plenty of defections.  (Charlie Weis, Romeo Crennel, Eric Mangini, Asante Samuel, Adam Vinatieri, Willie McGinest and on and on and on).

But isn't Scott Pioli's departure different?  Doesn't his absence threaten what the Patriots have built and the continuation of the "Dynasty" going forward?   You can't say no, but in the same breath give credit to how great the Belichick/ Pioli combination was for the past 9 years.  I think it's hard for us to really grasp what exactly Scott Pioli was responsible for and how important he was to the Pats success.  But what we do know is that their combination worked.    There are many management situations that don't work and teams that have been looking for years for that right championship combination at the top.  But the Patriots had that combo and now it is over

Again, Belichick is the one irreplaceable figure in Foxboro in my opinion.  I still think Tom Brady is 1A, despite the teams 11 wins with Matt Cassel at quarterback this year.   And I don't think the dynasty is over because I do believe Brady will come back healthy.  But with Pioli gone now, this is a good debate

Butch 

On his 15th and final time on the ballot Jim Rice finally gets voted into Cooperstown.  Rice barely made it in, by just 7 votes.  405 were needed for election. Rice got 412.  So why now? What's changed.

In 1995, when Rice appeared on the ballot for the very first time he received just 29.8 percent of the vote.  In subsequent years his vote total went up to 50 percent, then 64.8 percent, then last year 72.2 percent when he finished just 16 votes shy.  So this year he makes it by just 7 votes.

There are many factors writers use to vote but here is one constant.  Rice's numbers.  Over 16 seasons Rice's career numbers are very good:  .298, 382 home runs and 1451 RBI in 2089 games.   He was the 1978 AL MVP and an 8 time All Star.  Rice's numbers have never changed but voters attitudes have.  It shouldn't have taken this long for Jim Rice to get in.  He was a hall of famer back in 1995

Butch

So on Wednesday January 7, 2009 Boston College announces they are firing head football coach Jeff Jagodzinski after two years on the job.  "Terminated without cause" is the language used in describing Jagodzinski's dismissal.  So who is the biggest loser in this situation, Jagodzinski or Boston College?

Both parties are losing a great dea, but I say Jagodzinski is a bigger loser in this situation.  The 45 year old Jagodzinski had 3 years left on a deal that would pay him 1.3 million dollars over that period.  He was also the head coach of a major college program.  Not one of the "elite" college football programs, but hey blame that on BC's priority with actually requiring their student athletes to focus on the student side of things.  Imagine that, a major football school that actually cares about the education their student athletes leave the school with?   Anyway, back to Jags.  He may end up taking an offensive coordinator position in the NFL very soon.  Rumor is that he did all this because he is about to be named offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks.    But why give up a secure head coaching position both financially and support-wise to become an assistant, even if it is in the pros?  And damage your reputation while doing it.

Boston College may lose some college recruits while they decide about their next head football coach.  But I think Gene DeFilippo and BC will end up better in the long run by moving on from someone who didn't have the character to live up to the commitment he made to the school.

The NFL Playoffs without the Patriots.  It's a strange feeling and a not-so-good feeling isn't it?  It also makes it hard to root for any other AFC team to get to the Super Bowl doesn't it?  I'll be happy if anyone but the Steelers wins the Super Bowl. Yes, it won't bother me if the Giants win again.

Here's the way I see it.  Pittsburgh has won 5 Super Bowls in their history. So we don't want them to win another one.  San Diego is my next least favorite to win one, just because I hate the Chargers.  If either the Ravens or Titans win a Super Bowl, who really cares?  It's not like fans in Baltimore or Tennessee will be able to rub it in our faces in any other sports.

As for the NFC.  I am rooting for the Panthers.  I think the Giants will get there but I like the way the Panthers play football and for me, Deangelo Williams should be the league MVP.  He had the best season of any player in the league this year.  Don't want the Eagles to win.  Philly fans are obnoxious enough and now with the Phillies winning the World Series they've got some recent ammunition to back up their bragging.  You can forget about Arizona.  Does anybody really think they have any chance at all?

Here are my predictions for this weekend:

Baltimore wins in Tennessee, Pittsburgh beats San Diego

Carolina crushes Arizona, Giants beat the Eagles in a close game

League championship games:

Pittsburgh will beat Baltimore

Giants will beat Panthers (even though I'm rooting for Carolina)

Super Bowl:

Giants will beat Steelers 24-17

Your thoughts?

Butch

Mark Teixeira now a yankee?  Who cares.......yeah right.   For all of us who wanted Teixeira to end up in a Red Sox uniform it's hypocritical for us now to say, who cares.  But as we all know that's what we will do.  

Teixeira is now public enemy number one.  Unlike Johnny Damon, Roger Clemens and others before him, Teixiera never wore a Red Sox uniform.  But kind of like Arod in the winter of 2003-2004, it sure feels like he did, doesn't it.   Teixiera makes the yankees considerably better.   And having Arod and Teixeira hitting 3-4 in that lineup has the potential to be even greater than Ortiz / Manny was for a six year period with the Red Sox.

Consider this now.  The Yankees pay a total of more than $123 million per year to just six players:  Arod, Jeter, CC Sabathia, Teixeira, AJ Burnett and Mariano Rivera.  $123 million to just 6 players total!   As of this writing their are only 3 other teams in baseball with total payrolls over $123 million.

Does this make the Yankees devastating when you consider all their other offseason moves?  CC, AJ, Swisher?  Sure it does.  But I'm still going to enjoy watching Red Sox pitching shut them down and beat them when it matters the most.

Butch

As of 10:45 pm on thursday night December 18, 2008 the Red Sox say they are out of the Mark Teixiera sweepstakes.   In a statement to the media, John Henry said  ""We met with Mr. Teixeira and were very much impressed with him. After hearing about his other offers, however, it seems we are not going to be a factor"

Let me share a couple of thoughts about this story and stories like this with you.  Being in the news business it is both fun and frustrating covering a story like this as it develops.  And call me crazy but I think this is still developing.   We (sports reporters) all have our different sources and people we talk to involved with these situations.  Without giving up my source, let me just tell you that my source on this story thursday night knows exactly what is going on with this situatiion and what is being said between the parties.    

The Sox have been told by Scott Boras that another team has made a better offer to his client than the Red Sox offer.   I was told the Sox offer was for b/w $175-185 million dollars and for no more than 8 years.  I was also told that Boras says he has an offer for more years than that and more money.  That may be true or not.  But know this, the sox are not willing to go more than 8 years for Teixiera.

Here's my guess as to what happened this night.  Mark Teixiera decided on which team he wants to play for sometime recently ( I believe that team is the Angels).   He and Boras still took the meeting with the Red Sox for several reasons.  The Sox may have just come in face to face and made a ridiculous offer that they couldn't refuse ($200 million or more and 9-10 years).  That didn't happen.  but if I"m right and Teixiera has already decided on his team then Boras can now go back to this team and try and squeeze even more money out of them using the Sox as leverage.   Again, I believe he is going to the Angels.  One thing is certain. Anaheim is not an unknown for Teixiera. He played there for several months last year.  Played for Mike Scioscia and also experienced his first playoff series with Anaheim.  So he is familiar with what they do and how they do it.

The only other crazy scenario here is that the Yankees are involved and they have told Boras:  go make your best deal and then we will top it, no matter what it is.   Oh boy, let's hope that's not true.

Pitchers and Catchers report to Ft Myers on Thursay February 12, 2009.  Wonder if Jason Varitek will be there?

Butch

Writing this as of thursday night 12/18/2008 9:45 pm.

According to a source involved in the negotiations between the Red Sox and free agent slugger Mark Teixiera the sox are meeting with Teixiera and his agent Scott Boras in Dallas on thursday night.

The source says the sox called for this meeting and wanted to make sure it was a face to face with Teixiera involved so there would be no confusion on his part about how the team feels about signing him and him being a part of the Red Sox going forward. 

The Red Sox feel like, that in the past, Boras has not always accurately expressed to some of his former clients, how the sox felt about those players.  Or that some of the sox feelings have been lost in translation.  So in this situation, the Sox want to make sure that Teixiera is 100 % clear about how the team feels about him, and again they wanted to do this face to face.

I've been told that the sox are encouraged about their chances of signing Teixiera but they do have limits on a contract offer in terms of how far they will go with the amount of money spent and the lenght of years.  I've been led to believe that the sox offer is for more than the $160 million over 8 years that the Angels have reportedly offered Teixiera.

Meeting face to face is a bold step for the Sox.  And this is keeping with their agressive manner of negotiating in the past. But it is important to note that a face to face hasn't always resulted in deals for the sox in the past.  With Curt Schilling it did. With Alex Rodriguez it did not.

Stay tuned

Butch

Make no mistake about it. The Red Sox are serious about their pursuit of free agent slugger Mark Teixiera but should they be?  I say yes, but I still have many questions and most of them have nothing to do with the money.  My main question?  Does signing Teixiera make the Sox any more of a consistent contender and champion?  That I go back and forth on.

While this seems like a no-brainer on many levels, I think we have to consider what the Sox are losing if they sign Teixiera and that would be Mike Lowell and all that he brings to the Red Sox.  All the numbers say sign Teixiera. Go ahead, look them up.  Go to baseball reference and spend as much time as you want looking up Teixiera's numbers. After six full major league seasons, you'll see he has no warts.  Clutch situations, close and late, home and away, lefty and righty?  You name it and the soon to be 29-year-old switch-hitting slugger stacks up with all the best hitters in the game today.  In fact with just over 3,400 at bats in his career so far, look at Teixiera's stats (.290 avg, 203 HRs and 676 RBI) and then go back and look up the stats of these players after 3400 at bats:  Manny Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez and Albert Pujols. What you'll find is that Teixiera is on the same path that those three sluggers were on at this point in their career.

So that brings us to Lowell.  The soon to be 35-year-old gold-glove caliber third baseman is coming off a serious hip injury.  He is also signed with the Sox for the next two years at $12 million per year.  Even Lowell will admit that his numbers don't stack up with Mark Teixiera as a slugger but ask yourself this: are numbers what win championships?  In baseball, numbers certainly are a big part of it.  But if that's all that matters then why haven't the Yankees won a championship since they signed A-Rod or even Jason Giambi before him?  Many loyal Yankee fans will tell you that since their last championship some "championship grit" has been missing from that team that was provided by guys like Scott Brosius and Paul O'Neil.  I think Mike Lowell provides that for the Red Sox and I think it is vastly underrated when it comes to winning big games.  Does this mean Mark Teixiera doesn't have this or won't bring it to the table here in Boston?  We don't know.  But acquiring Teixiera most certainly means you have to get rid of Lowell when you move Youkilis over to third.  And please no talk about trading David Ortiz here.  If your going to get Teixiera, isn't one of the main reasons to rebuild that 3-4 combo in the lineup?  So how do you feel about the Sox getting Teixiera?  All things considered, is it worth it?

Butch

So after more than 2 hours of testimony on thursday morning (12/11) in Worcester Superior Court, judge Christine Roche decides to deny the motion from the Massachusetts referee's (MSBOA) and rule in favor of the MIAA.  I think we all win in this, unless some crazed, lunatic fan ends up slapping a ref around after a game.  Then this thing will rear it's ugly head once again.

I think the postgame handshake is a big part of sports.  I know I judge athletes on how genuine they are in the postgame handshake.  I think it's a huge part of sportsmanship.  You go out for 4 quarters, 3 periods or 12 rounds and try and beat the stuffing out of each other and when it's over you congratulate each other on the battle.  That's the time to show that no matter if you win or lose, you respect your opponents.   Should the refs have to be here to make sure everything goes well?  I still say no, but a judge says yes.  So the refs will now comply with that ruling and it looks like they will give up this fight in court for now.  They have until monday 12/22 to make that decision.  It sounds like they won't be pursuing this further.  Although, again, if a ref is abused in the next week or so after a basketball game while watching over the postgame handshake then we will be hearing more about this, don't you think?

Butch

The MIAA wants Massachusetts officials to stay at the conclusion of a game and oversee the post game handshake.  Local high school basketball referees don't want to do that.  They say they are trained to leave the court immediately after a basketball game is over and if they stay there any longer there is a good chance their safety will be compromised or the safety of the situation.  The referees feel so strongly about this they are taking the MIAA to court to try and stop this from happening.  There are many levels and many issues to this debate, and although I do believe in the postgame handshake,  I have to agree with the referees on this one.  They shouldn't have to stay there.

Here's more.  A little more than a decade ago, the MIAA felt that the high school sports of hockey and soccer needed some cleaning up.  So as part of doing that, they began to "request" that officials in those sports stay around after a game, along with school officials and coaches to oversee the postgame handshake.  As the MIAA says in its bylaws:  "The MIAA has a mission to promote a culture of fairness, respect, responsibility, and civility in sports and to foster initiatives which encourage positive attitudes and behaviors in athletes, coaches, officials, parents and spectators of all ages in Massachusetts.  Beginning with the 2008 fall season game officials in the team sports are required to remain at the team competition site until the "handshake" ceremony has concluded.  The strategy is an opportunity to utilize the partnership of coach and official as teachers for the expected and programmed outcome of respect for opponent.  It adds to providing a positive environment, which has a modeling impact on fans."  I agree with all of this and I do agree with the spirit of the postgame handshake.  I think it does promote sportsmanship.  However, I don't agree that basketball referee's should be "required" to stick around.

Basketball is a different sport than any of the others.  The environment is different, the officials have more effect on the outcome and tone of a game than in other sports, and the crowd is inside and closer to the action than in any other sport.  The referee's case is that it's not safe for them.  They have written complaints from several referees from last year's tournament games. Also, on a website called:  www.donaldcollins.org, you can see and read about many incidents involving bad fan behavior in sports.  The MIAA feels these claims are exaggerated by the referees.  Furthermore, they say that if these officials don't feel safe in a particular game they don't have to stay for the handshake but they then must fill out a form explaining the situation.  The referees feel like if they fill out this form, they could be "blackballed" from working further events and bigger games.  The MIAA does approve which officials will work which tournament events.

Again, I think the referees have a case, because I do believe that basketball is different than all the other sports and the officials are subject to a greater degree of scrutiny and abuse.  As I said, there are many levels and many issues involved with this debate. The two sides are going to court to try and resolve this. Let's talk about it.  Tell me how you feel?

Mansfield 22 Bishop Feehan 6.  Look out Walpole. It's Mansfield against the world now and there could be no stopping them.  I actually think that Ryan Izzo and Walpole will win the Division 2 Superbowl this saturday at 1:30 at Gillette stadium.  But Mansfield needs no further motivation going forward.  As one local high school athletic director/football coach told me before wednesday night's game in Bridgewater: "Coach Mike Redding doesn't need to say anything to his team now.  They are the bad guys and that's a big edge for them and built in motivation."

I still believe that Mansfield is mostly to blame in all of this mess.  By waiting so long to admit to the MIAA about breaking the rules, Mansfield put everyone in a very difficult situation.   And if they eventually do get penalized for this, then North Attleboro will be left feeling unfulfilled and left to wonder what if.   Let's keep one thing in mind here.  By going to court on monday in Taunton what Mansfield "won" was the right to have a hearing in front of the MIAA to plead their case about their ineligible player and breaking the rules.  Win or lose this saturday, Mansfield will get that hearing sometime next week.  I'm told it will happen some day after Monday.   It is likely that after that hearing Mansfield will still be punished in some way.  Assuming that is true and if Mansfield does win the Superbowl on Saturday, they will celebrate a championship but then likely be stripped of the title and forced to give their trophy and title to Walpole.  While this will be ridiculous to some, I still believe this is much better than having all of this settled in a courtroom instead of on the football field

Butch

Have you heard about this story involving the Mansfield high school football team? Take a minute to digest what I've written below and then let me know how you feel about this situation.   Through all of this mess, I am left with one thought.  This should all be decided on a football field not in a courtroom.

The basic story here is that Mansfield high school admits they broke the rules and they were punished by the MIAA and told they would have to forfeit their scheduled playoff game. However, a local court overturned that ruling and is allowing Mansfield to play.  But now as of tonight (tuesday night)  the MIAA tells Fox 25 they plan to take this to appeals court in Boston tomorrow to try and uphold their original ruling and stop this game from being played. 

Here's the story. Several weeks ago the Mansfield high school football team used an ineligible player in two of their games. The kid was not a star player. He played a handful of plays at the end of two different games that Mansfield was about to win easily. This player is ineligible because he is a 5th year senior. Reportedly, Mansfield head coach Mike Redding and first year athletic director Pat Burns (not the former Bruins head coach) did not know about this players eligibility issues until thanskgiving. Redding and Burns admitted they unknowingly broke the rules and informed the MIAA (massachusetts interscholastic athletic association) about this on Monday night December 1st. That is just one night before Mansfield's scheduled playoff game that was supposed to be played againts Bishop Feehan on tuesday night at 5:15. After meeting all monday night, the MIAA ruled late monday night, that Mansfield must forfeit the two games this kid played in and because of that, they now must forfeit the playoff game. And furthermore, as a result, Bishop Feehan gets to go play in the Divsion 2 superbowl on saturday December 6th at Gillette Stadium.   The MIAA did consider rewarding the Hockomock title and a chance to play in this playoff game to N. Attleboro high school if Mansfield had to forfeit.  N. Attleboro would be next in line if Mansfield is ruled ineligible.  But the MIAA decided that, for safety and other issues, N. Attleboro couldn't be expected to play because they haven't been practicing since thanksgiving and have already turned in their equipment and ended their season.

So after this MIAA ruling on monday night,  Mansfield asked for and was granted a hearing in Taunton superior court on tuesday trying to block this ruling by the MIAA and allowing them to play the game against Bishop Feehan. The judge in this case ruled for Mansfield and against the MIAA. So the playoff game was then to be played on tuesday night.  Upon hearing this, the Mansfield players boarded buses from Mansfield high school and went to Bridgewater Raynham where the game against BF was supposed to be played.  Only problem?  The ruling came down so late (4:15) that Bishop Feehan decided not to show up for the 5:15 game.  Plus the detail police in Bridgewater that were hired for this game were not there because they had been cancelled earlier in the day.  So, the Mansfield team left the site and plan on playing this game tuesday night at 7:00.  But again, the MIAA is going to court to appeal this ruling and try and stop this game?  Why at this point?  Just let them play.

In my opinion, there is plenty of blame to go around here but most of it goes to Mansfield. By waiting until monday night to inform the MIAA of this they put everybody in a very difficult situation. It forced the MIAA to make a quick decision and didn't allow enough time for all parties to plead their case and for the right decision to be made. The right decision would be for N. Attleboro to play Bishop Feehan in a playoff game to decide who is going to the Division 2 Superbowl. To have three different kids seasons decided in court instead of on the football field is wrong. There are many, many issues that need to be considered in all of this, but again, to have this decided somewhere other than the football field goes against everything sports should be all about.

Butch

With Matt Cassel emerging as a viable starting quarterback, these 2008 Patriots are sure fun to watch aren't they?  But we all know better around here don't we?  We have learned with the Red Sox that pitching matters more than anything else when it comes to getting to the playoffs and winning in the postseason, and just like that with the Patriots, we have learned that Defense matters the most.  And when it comes to this 2008 Patriots defense, it feels like they are going to come up a little bit short in the end.

On Sunday in Miami, Cassel became the first Patriot quarterback ever to throw for more than 400 passing yards in back-to-back games.  As fun as that was to watch, the Patriots defense gave up 4 touchdowns in the red zone to Chad Pennington and the Dolphins.  This comes on the heels of the week before when Brett Favre led a game winning drive in overtime right down the field to beat the Pats.

We have high expectations when it comes to the Patriots around here, and they sure do have built in excuses no matter how far they go this season -- especially on defense.  On that side of the ball, they have lost the following players this season: Asante Samuel (free agency), Rodney Harrison, Adalius Thomas and rookie cornerback Terrence Wheatley.  Thomas has still not been put on the injured reserve list, so there is hope that he may come back before this season is over.  But the question remains, if the Patriots plan to compete for the AFC title again this year, can their defense once again step it up when the weather gets colder and the games get bigger?   It sure doesn't feel like it.

Butch