Blood (in Toronto), Sweat (at Loftus Road) and Tears (in New York)

Can anyone else feel a draft?

Full of all the razzmatazz you would expect from US Sports, the 2011 National Football League (NFL) draft took place at the weekend from Radio City Music Hall, New York City. 

For those not familiar with the process, the draft follows the usual American tradition of taking the best available players from the nationwide college network and drafting them into their professional ranks. 

The premise is great.  To try and improve competition across the league the worst performing team has the opportunity to pick first in each round, of which there are seven.  As the process continues teams are able to ‘trade’ picks to take the players they wish.

Imagine if you will that English football ran a similar process.  Wayne Rooney (assuming he was intelligent to graduate from college) rather than being signed by Manchester United may have ended up drafted by Derby County having finished with the record low points tally in the Premier League.  Of course there is no promotion/relegations within the NFL and, being a closed competition, teams successes often run in cycles, essentially down to the opportunities lower ranked teams have to draft the most talented young players to their rosters.

As last years worst team the Carolina Panthers picked first and took a 248lb Quarterback from Auburn University, Cam Newton.  Newton arrived at the draft highly rated and highly thought of, hence his place in the 1^st round of talent to be selected.  The Quarterback position is one which requires leadership as well as extraordinary talent.  Newton had this in abundance in his years in a successful Auburn team and will hope to get his chance in the Panthers team sooner rather than later.

Over the past 14 years 11 Quarterbacks have been drafted as 1^st round picks.  From those eleven only a handful have gone on to be starters for their professional side.  The NFL offers extreme challenges to all players and the pressure on a young quarterbacks shoulders (despite all that padding!) can be great.  Much of Newtons success will be down, along with his undisputed talent, to the Linemen whose job is to protect the teams offensive ringmaster.

Possibly the most sought after players in the first round were Von Miller, a linebacker from Texas A&M, and AJ Green, a wide receiver from Georgia.  Miller ended up at Denver (he was in tears as his deal was announced – surely Denver isn’t that bad, despite the snow in Winter!) and Green in Cincinnati.  Both will be successes at their respective teams.  It is only hoped that all those drafted at all levels enjoy the rewards that their talents and perseverance have brought about. 

Just by signing a professional contract in one of the richest sports in the world is a life changing occurrence for any one of these young men and their families.  At the highest echelons players in the league earn hundreds of millions of dollars.  For many of these young men football has given them not only a college education but has secured their families futures.  It was noticeable just how proud those families were when watching their reactions throughout the weekends events.  I’ve not seen so many tears from grown men since Newcastle were relegated from the Premier League! 

Story of the first round, and the weekend, for me was the drafting of Danny Watson from Bayler College.  He was drafted 23^rd in the first round by Philadelphia.  He will be the oldest rookie when he arrives at pre-season training with the Eagles.  Watson is 26 years old.  The oldest first round choice in 30 years.  An ex firefighter from British Columbia he only played the US version of the game for the first time at Junior College having played rugby, among other sports, during his formative years. Having invited a large number of firefighters from both New York and Canada to the draft event, the crescendo of shouts of “Danny, Danny, Danny” was a joy to experience.

It's Squeaky Bum Time

Having complained last week that the Easter weekend decided little domestic football wise, the May Day Bank Holiday fixtures injected a small dose of life into the scene.

A lenient referee at Stamford Bridge and Aaron Ramsay at the Emirates sparked some life into the Premier League title race.  Chelsea’s win against Spurs, and Arsenals against Man Utd, mean that Chelsea visit Old Trafford on Sunday 3 points behind the long term leaders.  A win would take them above their rivals, on goal difference at least, and it will be theirs to lose.  A win for the home side will just about confirm their retaking of the title from the West London side.

All the teams at the bottom are still hopeful of a revival which will move them away from the bottom 3 spots, currently occupied by West Ham, Wigan and Wolves.  In 2 games time I would expect the picture to be clearer but the final day dramas which supporters all over the country look forward to may still be on the cards.

QPR, as expected, won promotion and the Championship title at Watford on Saturday with a strong performance which has become their trademark this season.  They are currently involved in their biggest game of the season though, with a Football League tribunal deliberating over the charges levied at them over the signing of Alejandro Faurlin.  An unfavourable decision could see the Hoops docked points which would put them in the play-offs or even back in the Championship for next season. 

If that were to happen, Norwich would be crowned Champions in their place.  The Canaries confirmed their own promotion to the Premier League with victory at Portsmouth on Monday night, just hours after Cardiffs own challenge failed with a devastating home defeat by mid-table Middlesbrough.  The Bluebirds are in the play-offs though, and depending on the outcome of the QPR hearing may be promoted without the need for the stress of the play-offs.  They’ll be pushed hard for their final league position by Swansea though.  The other contenders for the end of season lottery are Reading and Nottingham Forest (who should make it barring a heavy defeat by Crystal Palace, coupled with a win by Leeds away at the Champions).

At the bottom, Sheffield United and Scunthorpe will join Preston in League One next year after failing to get the results they needed at the weekend.

A Legend Departs - for now anyway 

On Saturday night the drama was more Blood, Guts and Glory than Glory, Glory Queens Park Rangers though as the Ultimate Fighting Championship arrived in Toronto for UFC 129.  Ring Announcer Bruce Buffer told us that “IT’S TIME!” and indeed it was.

The main event was the championship bout between

Georges St Pierre

and Jake Shields.  Eagerly awaited it comes as no surprise that the fight was a slight anti-climax.  From 30 seconds into the bout Shields looked like he was waiting to be finished by the usually supreme champion.  After a number of spinning leg kicks and overhead rights the challenger looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights of GSP’s shining UFC record.  In the third round he caught the Champion in the left eye which, hampered St Pierres vision from that point on.  Shields started the final round both amazed to still be in the fight and glimpsing a chance to win the contest, bringing the fight to the champion with jabs to that damaged left eye and nullifying the threat that the champion posed.  GSP finished as bruised and battered in the face as I’ve ever seen but won this battle on all three judges cards.     

The major action on the night happened on the under card though.  Among the usual one sided affairs and 45 second knockouts which come at all UFC events a couple of the bouts stood out.

Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture is one of the most eponymous names in the UFC along with the likes of Georges St Pierre and Chuck Liddell.  In Toronto on Saturday Couture was undone by a second round jumping front kick to the face by Lyoto Machida.  A devastating blow to Couture and as soon as the kick landed The Natural was laid out flat on the Octagon floor.  For Couture it was ione too many defeats and he announced his retirement immediately after the fight.  But legends like Him do not disappear and only time will tell whether it is the last we see of him in the Octagon.

The most brutal fight of the night, a title bout at 145 lb over “FIVE, FIVE MINUTE ROUNDS” (Thanks Bruce) was between the holder Jose Aldo and challenger Mark Hominick.  A brutal, bloody battle between two fighters at the top of their games ended with Hominick suffering from a grotesque swelling to the left side of his forehead which for a time gave the impression that he had 2 heads, a la Zaphod from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.  Sheer determination from the challenger kept him in the fight but Aldo’s class told, as it usually does on these occasions and he won the fight easily on points.

55,000 people watched the action live in Canada which is a phenomenal amount of people for any sporting event.  Large screens erected around the arena gave them a super view of the despair of Couture, the spilt blood on the canvas and, of course, that swollen head of Hominick.  The UFC TV producers aren’t afraid of showing numerous replays from numerous angles and its no wonder that Mixed Martial Arts in all its forms is becoming one of the fastest growing spectator sports in the World.

It’s a sport which although bloody and violent is totally, totally watchable.  The protagonists in each bout show incredible craft and technique demonstrating the months of hard training that go into each contest and literally put their bodies on the line when they step into the Octagon.  They deserve credit for their commitment to the cause.  Over the time I have watched the sport I can recall only a few occasions where total respect has not been paid by one fighter to the other at the end of the match which in my mind shows that all appreciate the endeavours of their opponents.

If the 55,000 odd people who attend the Premier Leagues big game on Sunday see as much passion and determinations from the ‘gladiators’ in that arena they’ll have done well.

And Finally...

No Sports column/blog this week can pass without mentioning the sad loss to the World of Henry Cooper.  Our 'Enery died this week and will be greatly missed by the boxing and wider fraternities.  Ever a gentleman who worked tirelessly raising money for various charities during and since his retirement from boxing.  His legendary fight with Cassius Clay was before my time but how different might his life had been had the bell not saved Clay at the end of that round or if he had stronger scar tissue around that eye. 

A true British sporting hero.  RIP Henry.

Next Week?

The QPR result and fallout; that big game at Old Trafford; Formula One in Turkey; and DeGale v Groves (see above on the respect issue at the end of their battle)