Disappointment

What a weekend in sports. Where to start? Wolves, Liverpool, Manchester City, UFC Main card? Let’s go in order.

Manchester City – I don’t like Man City. I guess I respect Pep; he’s a great coach with a lot of money at his disposal. And I love Kun Aguero, but he’s at the end of his time out there. And that’s about it. The rest of this current team is just unlikeable. I’m sorry, they just are. They have also been on a win streak and are at the top of the table. But that win streak was ended this weekend by Manchester United, of all teams. Why am I disappointed? Because this is the 2nd week I’ve put 3 City players in my FPL team and they blanked on me again.

It’s petty. I know.

Wolves – I find myself rooting for the Wolves ever since the injury to Raul Jimenez. They are a scrappy team, stuck in the middle of the table, with a tendency to pull off a win after I turn the game off at halftime. The disappointment comes from the fact that they had so many chances to score and failed to finish. I’m not sure what Nuno can do about this, but he better get to work. One or two more signings, get rid of that bodybuilder, and pray that Jimenez can be ready for next season.

Liverpool – My goodness. They need help. Now! It’s sad to watch them actually, they are falling apart right before our eyes. I think Klopp made so many changes because the fight for the Prem is over – is he resting guys for the Champions League match later this week?

I said earlier in the season that whatever the problem is, it has nothing to do with the absence of VVD. I still believe that. When he was injured, the team managed to win games with Fabinho and Matip at the back. They even rose to the top of the table at one point. But once Matip went out, then Fabinho, then Hendo . . . things just unraveled. And of course, the guys in front stopped scoring.

At the moment, things are a proper mess. Will Origi, Shaq, Ox, Matip, Milner and Keita be around next season? I hope not.

UFC Main Card – But first, let’s talk about Dom Cruz, who won his fight then went on a rant about some dude at Monster. It was a whole lot of inside baseball that I don’t care about. Apparently, he wants a fight for charity with the Monster guy who happens to be 100lbs heavier than he is.

This is ridiculous and one of the reasons I am sick of the fighter/commentator crew who are becoming the real stars of the show. Guys are happy to win fights, but the chance to talk to Joe Rogan and ask to be on his podcast is the real treat.

Dom doesn’t have title aspirations anymore and he must have a safe full of FU money to feel confident literally picking a fight with a major sponsor. But he’s one of Dana’s chosen ones, so this lack of professionalism is what we’re subject to on any given weekend.

Then there’s Joey B, the saddest guy I’ve ever seen. Good Lord, how many times does he have to lose and act like all 5 of his dogs died? On one hand, fighters act like they are savages and warriors and us fat fans on the couch better not say a word of criticism. Or, we have to actually experience cage fighting in order to have an opinion on it. Then on the other hand, we gotta see Joe crying into his wife’s arms like he’s just been released from a POW camp. It’s a professional fight and he’s been paid handsomely.*

Main Card – I’ll keep it short. It’s fun to watch Amanda win because she is more likeable as time goes by. I think I said previously that she was boring, and she is that, a little bit, but she seems to be a wonderfully nice person. But they have to get rid of the 145ers. It doesn’t make any sense.

Izzy vs Jan – Well, I was wrong. It remains my opinion that Mr. Adesanya has won fights where he should have lost (Kelvin, Yoel), but the UFC’s promotional apparatus was all in for him to win. They were hoping that a relatively small guy who fights at 185 could go up to 205 and beat the champ. A champ with Legendary Polish Power. With a ground game no one expected. Jan Blachowicz was completely overlooked because they wanted another champ-champ situation and a potential matchup with the GOAT, Mr. Jon Jones.

Welp. It turned out to be a rerun of Poirier vs McG.

The UFC has got to stop doing this and let the fights play out. There’s always room for these money fights between folks who don’t want to or can’t fight for the belt. Let them run their mouths on Twitter, perform comedy skits on social media, stage fake confrontations with each other at hotels or on the street (it’s on sight!). Whatever. This is what they do for attention. Let the real fighters fight for the belts.

And speaking of the belt: I was upset, even a bit sad over the way Aljo’s fight played out. I was rooting for him and it sucks that he won the belt that way.

Yes, it was illegal. No, he could not continue.

But you shouldn’t be able to win the championship like that. There’s a lot to say on this topic, but I’ll just say this: An intentional foul should be enough to strip the champ and call the fight a no-contest. This would eliminate a lot of shenanigans.

*I remember when he was an absolute jerk on TUF to Henry Cejudo because Cejudo was proud to be Latino and wanted to be seen as a role model. I don’t like Cejudo’s fighting persona (the Triple C), but he is a role model and a champion.

Wolves vs Liverpool next week.

M