UFC and Lebron both fall short

Now more than ever, the question is being asked whether or not Ultimate Fighting should be up there with basketball, baseball, football and most importantly boxing as a legitimate sport. Last night, a showdown between Chuck Liddell and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson had the opportunity to officially propel the "sport" to the next level and possibly even replace boxing as the number one blood fueled entertainment spectacle in America.

Instead, like Chuck Liddell's title defense, the opportunity was squandered. Liddell was knocked out in the first 1:53 of the fight causing millions of fans to ask themselves, "Was that really worth 50 dollars?"

I have a good friend who is a die-hard UFC fan and we're always arguing over whether or not ultimate fighting is a sport or not. If last night's fight was a little more legitimate and Ultimate Fighting's headlining superstar (Liddell) ducked Jackson's right hook, the casual fan would be drawn to future pay per view fights. Instead the realization that these fights usually end in under 10 minutes will ultimately be a major turn off to the casual fan and seriously hurt the UFC in its attempt at jumping to the next level. Time will tell whether or not UFC is a flash in the pan.






On my 7 hour car ride from Delaware to Massachusetts yesterday, I pondered up a little basketball/hip-hop analogy (I realize the two barely ever intertwine with one another but bare with me).

Lebron James is like the Jay-Z of basketball circa 2000. Jay was an absolutely incredible talent with big hits like "Big Pimpin'" and "Hard Knock Life", but he hadn't quite reached that signature status of greatest rapper alive. Hov was surrounded by mediocre talent (Beanie Sigel and Memphis Bleek) and truth be told, those two were seriously holding him back. Not until Kanye West came along and blessed Jay with several tracks on the now classic Blueprint album was he able to call himself the greatest of his era.

Lebron needs that Kanye West type jolt of assistance on the Cavs. Only then can he beat the Detroit Pistons (more on them later). For the record, I haven't given up on Cleveland just yet but if they don't win tonight the series is over.

The Detroit Pistons are like the Wu-Tang clan. Tayshaun Prince, Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, and Rip Hamilton are individually above average players, but not quite at that "Lebron" level of excellence. When they get together and play as one entity, they are a very formidable opponent.

Sheed is like Method Man (if he was still alive, he'd definitely be ODB)...the face of the team and the most important piece of the puzzle. Detroit wouldn't have been to the past 5 eastern conference finals if it weren't for Rasheed Wallace and he instantly gives the team a swagger that can't be denied. Just like Meth did for Wu-Tang in '94.

Chauncey Billups is RZA...the architect and straw that stirs the drink. When he plays well Detroit is unbeatable just like no matter how good lyrically the Clan performs, they're only as good as the creative beats that the RZA concocts.

Tayshaun Prince is Raekwon...undeniably underrated and under appreciated throughout their entire careers. Prince was the one who shut down the red hot Luol Deng in their second round series and closed the Bulls out with some clutch offensive baskets in game 6. The first time I saw Tayshaun Prince play he was at Kentucky and in the first half with his team up by double digits, he pulled up at the 3-point line on a fast break. Of course the shot was nothing but net, but the point is that Prince is the type of player who knows what he's capable of doing and he won't hurt your team with costly turnovers or sloppy defense.

Rip Hamilton is Ghostface Killah...The Ghost has Richard Hamilton beat in nicknames (by my count Ghostface has at least 4 aliases: Sun God, Pretty Toney, Tony Starks, and Ironman) but it's hard to say who has been more consistent. Don't let his mask fool you, Richard Hamilton is a warrior. He comes off screens in the 4th quarter with the same burst of energy that he does in the 1st and seems to ALWAYS make his 15 footers.


So going by this analogy, which group do you think would put on a better show?

A tight Wu-Tang crew that consists of some real lyrical talent and a blend of different personalities that when united create something unique...

Or...

Jay-Z working his ass off doing the best he can, only to pass the mic off to incompetence every time he needs a breather.

The answer is simple, but deep down I'm still rooting for Lebron to pull out the next 2 home games and make this a competitive series.