Inland Waterways » via unanimous decision JC This

DENVER -- Jordan Lyles couldnt locate his fastball. He had no trouble picking up heaters from Felipe Paulino or Daniel Webb, though. Relying on sinkers and sliders, Lyles pitched effectively into the seventh inning in his Coors Field debut for the Rockies. He also added a career-best three hits and drove in two runs during Colorados 8-1 win over the Chicago White Sox on Monday night. "It was the Brandon Lyles show tonight," Colorado manager Walt Weiss said. Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez each homered and made a spectacular defensive play for the Rockies, who beat the White Sox for the second time in six tries in Denver. Lyles (2-0) was headed for Triple-A when Tyler Chatwood pulled a hamstring running the bases in his last start of spring training. Not only did Lyles show resiliency when he didnt have his best stuff Monday, but he flashed athleticism in the field, prowess at the plate and modesty afterward. "Somehow the ball found the bat and the bat hit the ball and guys werent there," he said. Lyles added a nifty play in the field when he charged Paulinos bunt and spun around to throw a strike to Tulowitzki, starting an inning-ending double play in the third. Lyles scattered five hits, walked two and struck out four in 6 2-3 innings. He left after giving up Alexei Ramirezs RBI double and then walking Tyler Flowers in the seventh. Right-hander Adam Ottavino came in and struck out Dayan Viciedo. Lyles usually relies on a two-seam fastball with good movement. But on this night, he had to rely more on his breaking pitches and changeups. "Actually, fastball location wasnt there tonight for the most part," Lyles said. "I really wanted to spin it and for the most part, it was pretty good." Lyles joined the Rockies from Houston in a trade for Dexter Fowler last winter. While with the Astros, he made just one appearance at Coors Field, receiving a five-inning no-decision on May 28, 2012, when he had a single in two at-bats and scored a run. The last Colorado pitcher to go 3 for 3 was lefty Brian Bohanon against the Dodgers on July 20, 2001. Paulino (0-1) allowed six earned runs on nine hits and four walks in 4 1-3 innings in his return to Coors Field, where he pitched for the Rockies in 2011 before being plagued by arm troubles the last two years. "They got me today," Paulino said. "Even the pitcher." Tulowitzki led off the sixth with his first homer of the season, one that barely cleared the wall. "I knew it had a chance, but I wasnt sure," he said. Gonzalezs homer, his third of the year, was a line-drive shot to right in the first inning. "Ive been on deck for a lot of his home runs, obviously, and that one got out quicker than any one that Ive ever seen," Tulowitzki said. Lyles helped his own cause with a double into left-centre an inning later that scored D.J. LeMahieu from first base for a 2-0 lead. The Rockies loaded the bases in the third, when Wilin Rosario bounced an infield single off Paulino to make it 3-0, and in the fifth, when LeMahieus single just over the glove of second baseman Marcus Semien made it 4-0 and chased Paulino. Lyles, who singled leading off the fourth, greeted Webb with a line-drive RBI single up the middle to make it 5-0, and Charlie Blackmon followed with a sacrifice fly. "At one point their pitcher is outhitting us," Chicago manager Robin Ventura lamented. "Thats never a good sign. We need to be a lot better than that." NOTES: This marked Chicagos first night game of the season. ... Before the game, the Rockies activated LHP Boone Logan from the 15-day DL and optioned OF Corey Dickerson to Triple-A Colorado Springs. Jose Juan Barea Jersey .ca. 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Luka Doncic Jersey .J. -- Jaromir Jagr has hit so many NHL milestones this season for the New Jersey Devils that he is starting to downplay them.Capping off a successful 2013 for the Ultimate Fighting Championships is UFC 168, featuring a pair of intriguing rematches in the main and co-main event. Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks for this weekends event in Las Vegas. Let us know which side youre on! Either #TeamLynch or #TeamJC, tweet us on Twitter. Also feel free to leave your opinions in the comment section below. Chris Weidman (c) vs. Anderson Silva (UFC Middleweight Championship) James Lynch TSN.ca (@LynchOnSports) Current middleweight champion Weidman looks to prove that lightning can strike twice as he battles former champ Silva in one of the most anticipated rematches in UFC history. Their first encounter at UFC 162 back in July was not your average championship match. The 38-year old Brazilian title holder was taunting the American up and comer by leaving his hands down and demanding the challenger engage with him in a slugfest. This over confident tactic would prove to be Silvas downfall as the 29-year old Long Island, New York native would catch the Brazilian and knock him out in the second round. For Silva, it was the first knockout loss in his 38-fight career. Two big questions surround this rematch: The first being was Silva his own Achilles heel with cockiness? Or is the undefeated American truly that talented in defeating a seemingly unbeatable middleweight kingpin? If you watch the fight closely, it appears Silva was winning the majority of the fight and by the second round, Weidman was slowing down quite a bit. Im of the belief Silva lost the fight for himself and while no doubt Weidman is talented, I dont believe the Blackhouse product will make the same mistake twice. One guarantee I can make is this fight will not go the distance, but expect the former champion to emerge victorious. Silva via third-round knockout. Jordan Cieciwa TSN Radio 1290 (@FitCityJordan) Not sure if you tuned into last weekends TSN 1290 " The Weigh-In", but Im excited to write down what I perceived to be the best quote on the Weidman vs. Silva situation. Chris Weidman beat Anderson Silvas ego, he still hasnt beat the legend. The first time they met Weidman won the fight with striking, if he thinks he has a chance at winning that way again, this fight will be done in the first three minutes of the first round. Anderson Silva got to the top of the pile with precision striking. The only chance Weidman has is the same shot every other guy in the division seems to have. Out wrestle Silva, control him, frustrate him, and avoid his miracle punches or last second submissions. I still dont think Weidman is good enough to control the entire fight. His first mistake will be the win for Silva. Silva via fourth round submission Ronda Rousey (c) vs. Miesha Tate (UFC Womens Bantamweight Championship) Lynch The two coaches for Season 18 of the Ultimate Fighter finally clash to close out the year, as the face of Womens MMA Rousey, battles 27-year old challenger Tate. These two women first met back in March of 2012 in Strikeforce, when then 135lb champion Tate was making the first defence of her title. Rousey, who was 4-0 at the time, engaged in verbal warfare leading up to the fight. The then 25-year old would backup all that talk with a first round submission of Tate to take home the title. Since then Rousey has remained undefeated, going a perfect 7-0 with wins over Canadian Sarah Kaufman and Liz Carmouche. No doubt her Olympic Judo pedigree and high level jiu-jitsu have served her well in taking the top spot in the bantamweight division. Since the loss, Tate has had a very lackluster showing in her last two fights. She had a very uninspiring win over newly retired fighter Julie Kenzie and was defeated by Cat Zingano in her UFC debut, losing by TKO at the TUF 17 finale. In fact if it werent for Zingano suffering an injury prior to the filming of The Ultimate Fighter Season 18, Tate wouldnt have received this title shot. Expect Rousey to emulate a similar game plan as their first fight, by getting this contest to the ground and going in for the submission. Rousey via second round submission. JC Well here we go, a rematch that I really want to see. Rousey did no favours for herself on "The Ultimate Fighter" from a PR stand point, but she did a great job of making this a fight I want to see. Tate is in this fight somewhat by accident. Her loss to Cat Zingano saw her controlling the first two rounds, and then the tides turned fast for a TKO and the lost opportunity to coach and have a rematch Rousey. Zingano eventually had to bow out of TUF 18 after an injury. This leaves Tate with something to prove and an evolving skill set to hopefully avoid the one-sided attack of Rousey. Unfortunately, Rousey is really good at MMA, her striking has never looked sharp, but she has also never had to put it into action. Tate is going to have to stay away from Rousey and hope that she has enough power in her punches to KO the champ. I dont think that will happen, instead this will be another typical outing for Rousey. Stalk, over power, submit from a clinch takedown. Rousey via first round arm bar. Josh Barnett vs. Travis Browne Lynch In a matchup that could easily produce the next challenger to the heavyweight title, former UFC heavyweight champion Barnett looks for his third-straight win, when he takes on the very durable Browne. The 36-year old Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt had an impressive UFC return in his last fight, defeating Frank Mir in the first round back at UFC 164. The win over Mir was Barnetts tenth in his last 11-fights, with his only blemish being a unanimous decision loss to former Olympic wrestler Daniel Cormier in 2012. For years Barnett was considered one of the best heavyweight fighters outside the UFC and was never offered a contract because of his steroid use back in 2002 during his first UFC stint. Now back with the promotion, a win over Browne could propel Barnett to a title shot once again.dddddddddddd Meanwhile in his last contest, the Jackson/Winklejohn product Browne had a comeback of the year performance in his win over Alistair Overeem at UFC Fight Night 26. After suffering a number of devastating blows to the head courtesy of the former K1 champion, the 31-year old would bounce back and head-kick knockout Overeem to win the fight and improve to 6-1-1 in the UFC. While Browne has a significant height advantage and a two-inch reach, Barnett has the experience edge over the Hawaiian, who has just 17-fights under his belt. Both fighters have knockout power, with the slight edge going to Browne, but Barnett is the better wrestling and possesses a better ground game. Like with many fights, experience usually triumphs youth and I think well see that in this fight. Expect Barnett to neutralize Brownes standup arsenal on route to a unanimous decision victory. Barnett via unanimous decision JC This will be the Fight of the Night. Josh Barnett will mix it up with anyone; he is an angry and aggressive man. He also has the skills to back it all up. Travis Browne is putting together an impressive career, and a legitimate reason to be called a title contender. Browne had a lot of difficulty early on in his match-up with Alistair Overeem, at the start of the year. Its got the hype of being the best comeback of the year. Fighting a MMA Superstar and person with the talent of Overeem has set Browne up to be ready for the strength, and skill of Josh Barnett. That being said, Josh Barnett is probably one of the most underrated threats for the UFC heavyweight title. He spent most of his career out of the UFC spotlight, to the average fan, that means hes not "good". The truth is, Barnetts style is unique, and his aggressive attack takes most guys by surprise. This will be a battle, but cage control and aggression will be Barnetts. Barnett via unanimous decision Fabricio Camones vs. Jim Miller Lynch Looking to propel himself back into title contention, the always durable Miller looks to make a statement Saturday night when he faces off with 33-year old Team Nogueira product Camones. While it may say Miller is coming off a "No Contest" to Pat Healy in his last bout, it really was a loss as he was dominated for three rounds by the 30-year old Healy and eventually submitted in the third round. Because the Athletic Commission believes Marijuana is a performance enhancing drug, Healy was suspended and the bout was turned into a "No Contest". Throughout his MMA career, Miller has always been known as that fighter who cant seem to get over the hump. While he does have impressive wins over Joe Lauzon, Melvin Guillard and Gleason Tibau, he has lost to Benson Henderson, Nate Diaz and Gray Maynard. Camones meanwhile has had a number of injuries and actually hasnt competed inside the octagon since July of 2012 where he lost a unanimous decision to Melvin Guillard at UFC 148. Both fighters are well versed on the mat, but its Miller who has the edge in his wrestling and striking. In addition, the fighter with the longer layoff generally loses to the fresher fighter. Expect Miller to get back in the win column by grinding out a unanimous decision victory. Miller via unanimous decision. JC Im a huge fan of Pat Healy, which is why in my eyes he won the Miller fight, and the THC they found in his system had no bearing on that fight. That was a three round clinic put on by Healy. I dont think Fabricio Camones has the ability to do that to Jim Miller. Miller has the unique ability of being extremely durable, he can take a beating and still wind up imposing his will on his opponent. This fight should never see Miller needing to prove he is tough, his danger will be in being submitted. I cant see Camones winning this in a decision. Miller has never been KOd, but Nate Diaz did catch him with a submission. Thats Camones chance, use that Team Nogueira background and slip in a submission. Problem is that I dont see that happening. Miller via nanimous decision Diego Brandao vs. Dustin Poirier Lynch Ultimate Fighter Season 14 winner Brandao battles American Top Team product Poirier in a featherweight affair. Brandao is coming off a unanimous decision victory over Daniel Pineda back in August at UFC Fight Night 26 where he improved his UFC record to 4-1. Poirier meanwhile is coming off a dominating performance over Erik Koch at UFC 164 where he dropped the 25-year old twice on route to a unanimous decision victory. For the 26-year old Brazilian, Poirier provides a big step up in competition and will no doubt look to keep this fight standing in hopes of catching the durable 24-year old. Thats easier said than done though as "The Diamond" has never been knocked out through his 17-fight career. In addition, the 2012 Fight of the Year winner has both the height and reach advantage going into this fight. No doubt this will be a competitive matchup, but Poirier should have more tools in his arsenal to edge out a close decision victory. Poirier via unanimous decision. JC If you have been watching Poiriers career, youll know that the kid is talented. He has headlined a UFC event, and contended with the best in his division. He looked fantastic in his last showing against Erik Koch. On the other side of the octagon is Diego Brandao, who set up a slick submission against Pablo Garza for a win. That victory doesnt compare with being in a fight with Cub Swanson, Chang Sung Jung, or Erik Koch. Poirier has been getting better and better over the past two years. I think he is a step ahead of Brandao and hell prove it in this fight with a knockout win. Poirier via 3rd round knockout Undercard Picks: Lynch: Hall, Tibau, Siver, Howard, Voelker, Peralta JC: Hall, Tibau, Siver, Bahadurzada, Voelker, Payan Agree or Disagree? Let us know your picks in the comments section below. Blackhawks Jerseys Store Cheap Wild Jerseys Cheap Red Wings Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Penguins Jerseys Store Capitals Jerseys For Sale Blues Jerseys Store Cheap Kings Jerseys Adidas Lightning Jerseys Stars Jerseys For Sale Cheap Predators Jerseys Ducks Store Sharks Jerseys For Sale Cheap Sabres Jerseys Rangers Jerseys For Sale ' ' '