UFC 141: Lesnar vs. Overeem: LESNAR RETIRES!

Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem
(7:15 p.m. MT) Let's face it, Brock Lesnar did not look good in his title defense against Cain Valasquez. His battles outside of the octagon with diverticulitis raises even more doubt in his ability to come away with the win over a guy the size of Alistair Overeem. PREDICTION: Overeem makes good on his prediction and knocks out Lesnar in the second.

ANALYSIS: Brock cuts Overeem with a jab to start the first round. Overeem lands a strong kick to the ribs that sends Brock to the canvass. Overeem continuously lands blows as Brock turtles. Yamasaki calls the fight. Overeem wins via first round TKO. Lesnar looks terrible. LESNAR RETIRES!

Brock Lesnar did great things for the heavyweight division but this is a good decision for him. Unfortunately Brock just doesn't have the standing game to compete with Dos Santos, Valasquez, or Overeem. Speculation is already looming that he may return to the WWE but who knows. All the best to Brock in the future. Can't wait to see Overeem vs. Dos Santos!

Donald Cerrone vs. Nate Diaz
(7:20 p.m. MT) Really excited for this fight. Going to be a slug fest the whole way. Tough to say who wins as both Cerrone and Diaz have proved that they both can finish fights but where as Diaz has the attitude, Cerrone has the overall skill. PREDICTION: Cerrone wins unanimous decision, both fighters leave battered and bruised.

ANALYSIS: Both fighters come out swinging hard. Cerrones swinging wildly while Diaz is dialing his strikes in and landing nearly all of his punches. Cerrone is just eating shots over, and over and over again. Joe Rogan claims that Cerrone's jaw is broken as it bleeds. Second round starts off with Cerronne knocking down Diaz twice and landing some pretty good shots.Cerrone repeatedly sends Diaz down with sweeping leg kicks. Diaz gives Cerrone the double middle finger before the third round begins. Diaz continues to land shots over and over again. Cerrone sweeps his legs twice but doesn't mount. Both fighters trade blows as the round comes to a close. Both fighters look exhausted but Cerrone looks hurt. Diaz wins via unanimous decision.

Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks
(7:35 p.m. MT) Haven't watched Fitch or Hendricks fight in a long time but going off of what I know, this should be a be a great fight. Look to see Fitch taking this fight to the ground and trying to control Hendricks along the cage while Hendricks looks to counter quickly with strikes. If Hendricks catches Fitch it could be over quick. PREDICTION: Still, I think Fitch's ground game is too good. Fitch wins via submition.

ANALYSIS: WOW!! Hendricks nails Fitch with a hook that sends him to the ground. Mazzagatti jumps on Fitch to call the fight at 12 seconds!!

Alexander Gustafsson vs. Vladimir Matyushenko
(7:40 p.m. MT) I really like Gustafsson in this one. Matyushenko is good but Gustafsson is better, younger and stronger. Should be quick. PREDICTION: Gustafsson wins via first-round knock-out.

ANALYSIS: Nailed it. Gustafsson knocks out Matyushenko in the first round (2:13 TKO). Looks in control the entire time throwing numerous headkicks before catching Matyushenko with a stiff jab coming in. Gustafsson gets on top swinging and the ref forced to call it off.

Jim Hettes vs. Nam Phan
(7:45 p.m. MT) I like Nam Phan, his name alone gives me enough confidence to pick him. I know nothing about Jimmy 'The Kid' but I know he's unbeaten and who am I to pick against him now? PREDICTION: 'The Kid' wins via split decision.

ANALYSIS: The Kid starts off strong, sweeping Nam Phan to the ground, pounding on his face and going for countless submitions. An ambar attempt turned ground and pound left Nam Phan bloodied as the round ends. Second round is much of the same as Hettes controls Nam Phan on the ground and drops bombs from and goes for numerous submitions, The Kid is relentless. In the third Nam Phan begins to land some shots from the standing position but again Hettes takes the fight to the ground and beats Nam Phan relentlessly. Very impressive.
Jimmy 'The Kid' Hettes wins via unanimous decision... I was close.

Nailing Hemmer to the cross

Despite being known as one of the leagues most dynamic offensive players it looks as if Ales Hemsky's injury-prone history, poor start to the seaosn and seemingly poor attitude towards media will see him shipped out of Edmonton come trade deadline day (Monday, Feb. 27).

Earlier this week Hemsky abruptly cut short a media scrum involving the Edmonton Journal's and Hall of Fame sports writer, Jim Matheson. Matheson has always been a stark supporter of Hemsky but like the fans, his attitudes towards Hemmer have soured.

In his latest column/blog, Matheson is spot on in saying that Hemsky "absolutely has to be a leader at a time when the Oilers are teetering on being a playoff possibility or falling out."

SEE: (http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2011/12/28/hemsky-is-doing-himself-no-favours/)

Ales says his shoulders are fine. I doubt that. I doubt they ever will be. And it's this injury speculation that further drives trade speculations in the media.

It's about selling papers

I understand Hemsky COULD be traded and that he MIGHT not sign a favourable contract with the Oilers upon seasons end, but it's not our job to speculate and it's certainly not our job to bring up speculations with players.

But somewhere along the line this is what sports reporting has become. More of a tabloid, celebrity-style of news telling.

Will Ales Hemsky get traded? Most likely, but the trade deadline is two months away. What if he puts up 20 points in 15 games? What if he turns the page? What if, what if, what if.

We could speculate what the return on his trade would be but do we know? No. We could speculate whether he will or will not re-sign at the end of the year for less than what he's making now (surely he can't demand more), but we don't know.

Let him play his game

I look at Hemsky and I see (a less strong) Marian Hossa in Chicago. Once a first line star turned second-liner but still an integral piece to the Blackhawks winning the cup behind Toews, Kane and Sharp (or in Edmonton's case RNH, Eberle, Hall.)

If Hemsky were to train his body this summer (I hear Gary Roberts has a fantastic training program, wink, wink), build some muscle and return to putting up 60-70 points a year alongside the kids than this Oilers team has a legitimate shot at going places.

The Oilers need some help on the back-end before that will ever become a reality but unless a trade with Hemsky can warrant a strong d-man in return (which most would agree he wouldn't) than why trade him?

There's no way Tambellini gets a Dustin Penner-style return and the Oilers really have no one to replace Hemsky (Omark, maybe). Perhaps a package of picks and Sam Gagner could warrant a stronger return? But who knows?

Again, it's all speculation.

Trading Hemsky seems like the right thing to do and for all I know it is. But mark my words, if he moves onto another team and lights it up the following season or even in the latter stages of this season, Oilers fans will cry foul, and it will do nothing but turn that scrutinizing speculation to Tambellini or Renney or maybe, God forbid, the media for pushing out another otherwise talented player to succeed elsewhere.

Now where have we heard that story?

All aboard the concussion train

It's disconcerting. The amount of concussions being reported in wake of improved diagnosis and increased awareness is exactly what is needed to keep professional athletes from seriously damaging their lives upon retiring from playing the game they love.

It's a tough balancing act for a fan. Nobody wants to see their favourite stars turned into vegetables but it's getting to the point where players are dropping left, right and centre.

SEE: (USA TODAY: Concussion tracker: http://travel.usatoday.com/gallery/NHL+concussion+tracker/G2848)

Fans are witnessing the berth of a new era in NHL history where iron-man streaks like Martin St. Louis's 499 straight games will become a thing of the past.

It's not as if players are being knocked out and put on the shelf for as long as Sidney Crosby has. Ottawa's Milan Michalek returned to action last night against the Montreal Canadiens after missing only five games with a a concussion.

Same thing goes for Claude Giroux who missed four games with a concussion before returning to the Flyers' lineup in star-studded fashion netting four points in a 4-1 win over the Dallas Stars.

God knows how long Shea Weber will be out for but the question I ask is how long will concussion related injuries be front-page, top headline news before it becomes accepted as just another part of the game?

An unfortunate part, of course, but given the amount of concussions we've seen and the talks I've had and read with former NHLers who admit to having an upwards of 10 concussions in their career, it seems as if this injury has been and always will be commonplace.

According to NextGen Journal: "In the NHL only 17% of concussions result from illegal hits to the head. In fact, most of the concussions in the NHL, about 70%, result from either legal hits or accidents."

(SEE: http://nextgenjournal.com/2011/12/toughness-vs-the-brain-concussions-in-professional-sports/)

The players need to be protected to ensure that they live fulfilling lives after hockey but the risk of injury is the exact reason why they're compensated so much salary-wise. Face it, there is no reason why an athlete should be making millions of dollars other than the threat to their health.

So let them make up their minds. Let them govern themselves on the ice. The NHL will do what they can to limit the amount of dirty hits but eliminating concussions is impossible. Simply impossible.