Amir Khan takes on Zab Judah Saturday July 23 from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas and Live on HBO sponsored by Tecate. Smitty was able to speak with both fighters and their well known trainers, Freddie Roach and Pernell Whitaker. Make sure to watch InThisCornerTV.com for a Post Fight Report as always brought to you by Cerveza Tecate!
Browsing Posts tagged Preview
Floyd “Money” Mayweather and “Sugar” Shane Mosley will square off in one of the most anticipated fights this Saturday on PPV. Jason Horowitz and HBO Sports’ Jim Lampley take an in depth look at this blockbuster fight.
Carl Froch takes on Glen Johnson Saturday June 4 in Atlantic City in the second Semi-Final matchup of Showtime’s Super Six Super Middleweight tournament. Smitty had a chance to speak to both fighters last week. The winner will meet Andre Ward in the Final.
2011 Atlanta Falcons Free NFL Picks Preview: Atlanta Falcons (13-3 SU, 11-5 ATS, 1st Place in NFC South)
Last season, the Atlanta Falcons were able to get into the postseason as the top seed in the playoffs. Though they squandered their chance by losing in their first playoff game, the Falcons definitely proclaimed that they are here for the foreseeable future.
It’s amazing to think that Atlanta ended up ranked No. 16 in offense and defense at 341.1 yards per game and 332.4 yards per game respectively. Of course, it was fifth in both points for (25.9 PPG) and points against (18.0 PPG). Head Coach Mike Smith has clearly done a fantastic job with this team.
QB Matt Ryan led a great offense last year, and he is clearly working his way up the ranks of the best quarterbacks in the league. He threw for 3,705 yards and 28 TDs against just nine picks. Of course, he had some major help in the form of WR Roddy White, who was once again one of the best in the league, and now, he also has a rookie with a ton of potential in WR Julio Jones.
RB Michael Turner rushed for 1,371 yards and 12 TDs a season ago, and he, RB Jerious Norwood, and RB Jason Snelling are all fantastic backs that have the ability to have big games, though both are still unsigned at this point.
The defense was really helped last year with the addition of DB Dunta Robinson, and as a result, there really weren’t a lot of changes in the offseason. The big loss was that of DE Jamaal Anderson, who was picked up by the Indianapolis Colts via free agency.
Playing well at home is the key once again. That playoff loss was as bad as it got for Atlanta at the Georgia Dome, as it dominated every other opponent in every other meaningful game there on the season. The lone loss in the regular season was a 17-14 defeat to the New Orleans Saints when the NFC South was already essentially wrapped up.
This year, the home slate is awfully tough, with visits from the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, and Minnesota Vikings in addition to the NFC South and two teams from the AFC South.
Don’t be surprised if Atlanta has yet another fantastic season behind its offense that is starting to resemble that of a video game. The only hiccup could be the defense.
2011 Atlanta Falcons Predictions: 12-4, 1st Place NFC South
If you’re looking For Great NFL Picks, Check out the NFL Forums at Bang the Book!
2011 Tennessee Titans NFL Picks Preview: Tennessee Titans (6-10 SU, 8-8 ATS, 4th Place in AFC South)
The Tennessee Titans had a ton of turnover this past year, but there is a real question about whether that turnover is going to be creating a winning nature once again this year.
The first change was right at the top. Head Coach Jeff Fisher, a man who was on the post since way back when this franchise was in Houston. Now, Mike Munchak, a man who has been a lifetime Oiler/Titan, takes over the team for his first head coaching job.
The next major change came at the quarterback spot. Last season, QB Kerry Collins and QB Vince Young started 15 of the 16 games. Neither one even completed 60 percent of his passes, nor neither reached the 2,000 yard passing mark. Young did have a 10/3 TD/INT ratio, but he just never really progressed as a true starting signal caller in this league.
That being said, owner Bud Adams elected to make some wholesale changes. Collins retired, and Young was granted his release.
The question is who was going to be replacing these quarterbacks. The team arguably reached quite a bit to take QB Jake Locker early in the first round of the NFL Draft. We know that Locker is a bit of a project pick, which is why QB Matt Hasselbeck was signed.
Presumably, Hasselbeck will be the starter in Week 1, but that doesn’t mean that he is going to be keeping the job the entire season, and it doesn’t mean that he is a savior. Last year, the Seattle Seahawks made it to the playoffs in spite of Hasselbeck, not because of him.
It’s also not good news that RB Chris Johnson is holding out right now after running for over 3,300 yards in the last two seasons combined. At this point, there are no outstanding wide receiver options after WR Randy Moss left the team and retired. WR Kenny Britt and WR Nate Washington just don’t scare us.
Just like the rest of this division, the Titans really struggled defensively. They ranked No. 26 overall at 367.7 yards per game, and they had the 29th ranked pass defense at 252.0 yards per game.
The schedule is rough this year for everyone in the AFC South, but at the outset of the season, three roadies and home games against the Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, Houston Texans, and Indianapolis Colts is probably going to be just too much to overcome for a young team.
2011 Tennessee Titans Predictions: 6-10, 3rd Place AFC South
If you’re looking For Great Free NFL Picks, Check out the NFL Forums at Bang the Book!
Follow the team – facebook/fordwrc The start of the second half of the WRC Season is, as ever, Rally Finland, held in the country that is the emotional heart of the sport. It means Ford Abu Dhabi drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala are on home turf, and looking for victory, as Becs Williams reports…
The rally town of Jyväskylä is bracing itself for its annual motorspoprt fest, the Neste Rally Finland. The stages are very fast indeed – probably the fastest in the world. Colin Clark previews the rally, and meets up with MINI WRC co-driver Paul Nagle…
document.write(‘ CFL Week 2 NFL Picks: The 2011 CFL regular season got under way last week with all eight teams playing their season opener. It was a week of upsets as all four favorites lost against the spread and three lost their games straight-up. The defending Grey Cup Champion Montreal Alouettes kicked things off last Thursday with a 30-26 victory over British Columbia, but failed to cover as a five-point home favorite. On Friday, Hamilton lost to Winnipeg 24-16 as an 8.5 point home favorite and the 2010 West Division champion Calgary Stampeders were beaten by Toronto 23-21 as an eight-point home favorite. Sunday night’s Week 1 finale saw Saskatchewan fall to Edmonton as a six-point home favorite. The following is brief preview of Week 2 in the CFL along with the opening point spread and ‘over/under’ lines as provided by BTB. Friday, July 8 Toronto Argonauts at Winnipeg Blue Bombers (-1.5) Over/Under: 48 Toronto went 3-0 against Winnipeg last season both SU and ATS after losing four of the previous five games to the Blue Bombers dating back to the 2008 season. The Argonauts won 36-34 as a 10.5 point road underdog in a Week 2 clash with the total going ‘over’ the 46.5-point line. They beat Winnipeg 27-8 for the second time on the road in Week 17 as a six-point dog. This time the total stayed ‘under’ the 49.5-point line. Toronto has now won four of the last six meetings ATS overall. The total has gone ‘over’ in nine of Winnipeg’s last 11 home games overall, but has stayed ‘under’ the total in seven of the last nine meetings with the Argonauts at Canad Inns Stadium. Blue Bombers quarterback Buck Pierce was lucky to come away with the win over Hamilton last week after completing just 46.2 percent of his passes for 151 yards. Calgary Stampeders at BC Lions (-2) document.write(‘ Over/Under: 53 These West Division foes played each other four times in 2010 with each winning both games on the road SU and ATS. Calgary won 27-22 as a two-point road favorite in Week 6 and 48-35 three weeks later as a 5.5 road favorite. The total was a ‘push’ in the first game with a closing line of 49 points and it went ‘over’ the 51-point line the second time they played at Empire Field. The Lions lost eight games SU to the Stampeders going all the way back to November of 2008 before ending the streak with the Week 6 win. Calgary still has an overwhelming advantage ATS with a 9-2-1 record in the last 12 games against BC overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in eight of the last 14 meetings in BC. Lion QB Travis Lulay had a huge game last week against Montreal with a CFL-high 366 yards on 26 completions. Calgary signal caller Henry Burris was also hot with a 70.3 percent completion rate on 37 attempts in the loss to Toronto. Saturday, July 9 Montreal Alouettes (-2) at Saskatchewan Roughriders Over/Under: 54 Montreal will try to make it seven of eight SU against the Roughriders including the last two Grey Cups. They also met twice last year in the regular season with Saskatchewan winning in overtime 54-51 as a 3.5-point home underdog on opening day. The Roughriders tied the 54-point total line all on their own. The Alouettes are 6-1 SU against Saskatchewan in the last seven games overall but just 2-5 ATS. The total has gone ‘over’ in seven of the last eight meetings at Mosaic Stadium but has stayed ‘under’ in five of the last seven games of this series overall. Montreal QB Anthony Calvillo threw for 312 yards last week to continue his quest to be the CFL’s all-time leader in terms of total passing yards. Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Edmonton Eskimos (-1.5) Over/Under: 52 These teams played each other twice last year with each team getting the win SU at home. The Eskimos beat the Tiger-Cats 37-35 as a 1.5 home underdog in Week 14 and the total went ‘over’ the 50-point line. They have evenly split their last 10 games SU, but Hamilton is 8-2 ATS. The total has stayed ‘under’ in six of those 10 games. The Tiger-Cats are actually 11-2 ATS in their last 13 games against the Eskimos and the total has gone ‘over’ in six of the last eight meetings in Edmonton. Hamilton sustained a number of injuries on opening day but none appear to be too serious as all eight players that went out are listed as questionable for this game. QB Ricky Ray looked sharp on opening day for the Eskimos; completing 77.8 percent of his passes for 294 yards and three touchdowns in the victory over Saskatchewan. If you’re looking For Great NFL Picks, Check out the NFL Forums at Bang the Book!
INSIDE THE ZONE SAC CONFERENCE FOOTBALL PREVIEW AT WANE WITH TOM DAVIS OF THE NEWS-SENTINEL
Pre race press conference highlights with comments from Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart along with a Pre Race newscast.
