UFC 136: Frankie Edgar comes back from the brink – again – to demolish Gray Maynard

Frankie Edgar will eventually be a Hall of Fame mixed martial artist. In an incredible turnaround – mirroring his first title fight with Gray Maynard – Edgar looked to have been finished by vicious uppercuts in the opening round, yet miraculously he came back to dominate, then demolish Maynard by knocking him out in the fourth round. Edgar has everything. Movement, cardio, an incredible chin and the lion heart of a proven champion.

Dana White reckons Edgar is the best boxer in MMA. "It was better than Rocky. He is the Arturo Gatti of MMA. Frankie Edgar is No 2 in the pound for pound list," said White. "Anderson Silva is only better because he has not lost since 2006. He came back from being nearly knocked out, and stopped Gray Maynard. He's incredible."

"It's a real honour to be talked about in the same breath as these other guys. That's Dana's opinion, and it a personal thing," said Edgar. The little man from New Jersey held on to his UFC lightweight title after a horrific first round when he looked close to being knocked out. Edgar does not know the meaning of the word 'quit'. His incredible fitness – and chin – got him through the final two minutes of that torrid opening stanza, and after his head had cleared, he moved and boxed brilliantly. He must have been 10-8 down after the first round, but by the end of round three, he had popped Maynard's head and body off, and had drawn level in the contest. Maynard was mesmerised by his movement. Edgar then caught Maynard with three right hands to the head in the fourth, and the challenger crumpled like used clothes falling into a suitcase. Edgar pounced on him, and the fight was over. It was a staggering turnaround. Edgar deserves every plaudit which comes his way.

UFC 136: Brilliant Chael Sonnen rips Brian Stann apart on the ground

On a brilliant night of fights, arguably one of the best UFC events ever staged for dramatic showdowns, Chael Sonnen was just imperious, stamping himself back into contention for a middleweight title re-match with Anderson Silva, of Brazil. Sonnen submitted Brian Stann by arm triangle in the second round after a wrestling clinic. Sonnen came straight out, going for Stann, got the takedown, and eventually gained side control.

So funny,too. Sonnen had said of the War Hero: "He's an American hero he's gonna get a red, white and blue ass-whipping". Sonnen did exactly that, wrestling the life out of Stann, who was tested to the core on the ground. Sonnen was utterly dominant on the ground, and at one point in round two, with Sonnen in control, there was a terrible decision by the referee to stand them up. It might have cost Sonnen the fight, but he slammed Stann straight into side control. One of the great characters in MMA – Sonnen immediately called out Silva. "Anderson Silva, you suck." He challenged UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva to a loser leaves town match on Super Bowl weekend. It is likely to be one of the biggest selling pay per view events in the history of MMA.

Angels purge continues: Abe Flores out as player development director

Last one out of the Angels' front office, turn out the lights. That's how things are beginning to look for the team, which continued its front-office purge by not renewing the contract of player development director Abe Flores, a major league source confirmed Saturday.

With the resignation of General Manager Tony Reagins and the firings of long-time assistant GM Ken Forsch and special assistant Gary Sutherland, the Angels have now parted ways with four key front-office executives since the end of a season in which they failed to make the playoffs for the second consecutive year.

Flores had just completed his fourth season as the team's player development director, in which he oversaw all aspects of the club's minor league system. He had spent the previous six years as the team's manager of baseball operations.

Before joining the Angels in 2001, Flores worked for nine years as an area scout in Southern California and Mexico for the Colorado Rockies and three years as an assistant coach at USC.

The Angels are in the process of compiling candidates for their GM job, a list that is expected to include former Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker, who is now the vice president of baseball operations for the Tampa Bay Rays, as well as Chicago White Sox assistant GM Rick Hahn, and could include former Dodgers GM Dan Evans and Boston Red Sox assistant GM Ben Cherrington.

Detroit assistant GM Al Avila, the father of Tigers catcher Alex Avila, has been mentioned as a possible candidate, but Avila signed a three-year contract extension in August and said he wants to remain in Detroit with GM Dave Dombrowski.

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--Mike DiGiovanna, reporting from Arlington, Texas

UCLA-Washington State: Live updates from the Rose Bowl

Washington State 3, UCLA 0 (9:09 left in first quarter)

UCLA’s defense took the field first and promptly was put on its heels by the high-powered Washington State offense.

The Cougars marched down the field, driving 76 yards, but were held to a 21-yard field goal by Andrew Fumey.

The Bruins didn’t help themselves by committing two personal foul penalties. But UCLA could take solace in that it didn’t allow Washington State to score a touchdown.

Pregame

UCLA will be without two more defensive starters for tonight’s game against Washington State. Neither safety Tony Dye nor linebacker Glenn Love will play.

Dye, a captain and the team’s leading tackler in 2009, has battled a nerve issue in his neck since training camp. He missed the two previous games.

It has reached the point where Dye has sought alternative treatments, including an acupuncture session on Friday.

The loss of Dye weakens a UCLA secondary that is already without cornerback Sheldon Price (knee injury) and safety Alex Mascarenas (concussion).

Love will miss his second game since injuring a hamstring in practice.

Offensive guard Chris Ward (shoulder injury), defensive tackle Justin Edison (concussion) and kicker Kip Smith (hip flexor injury) are also out against Washington State.

--Chris Foster

Photo: UCLA safety Tony Dye goes for the tackle against Texas receiver D.J. Grant earlier this season. Harry How / Getty Images

Fans Raise a Glass to Al Davis

OAKLAND, Calif. — In the back of Ricky’s restaurant in San Leandro, the unofficial headquarters of Raider Nation, a booth was empty Saturday afternoon except for the memories on the tabletop: a Super Bowl XV program; a Raiders program from a Sept. 27, 1964 home game against the Kansas City Chiefs with Al Davis on the cover, stalking the sideline; the California license plate JST WN BBY; a Raider beer mug, a Raider helmet telephone and two pennants, one from the 1977 Super Bowl at the Rose Bowl.

The table was reserved for Davis, the maverick owner of the Raiders who died Saturday morning. Davis, who was 82, never set foot in the restaurant, preferring the company of his small inner circle to the companionship of the sporting nation he spawned.

But many of his players throughout the decades were regular customers, and throughout the day, die-hard Raiders fans converged at Ricky’s to drink to Davis’s memory.

Ann Niemczyk and her husband, Mark, were among those who came to pay their last respects to Davis. They awoke Saturday to so many cellphone messages, Niemczyk said she immediately thought a family member must have died. She wasn’t too far off the mark. Raiders fans looked at Davis as their Godfather.

“When we got all the messages about Al Davis passing, the first I thought is where are we going to go to pay our respects?” Niemczyk said after buying a round of tequila shots. “The Coliseum seemed inappropriate. It didn’t seem very warm or friendly. So we came here.”

Jaime Rodriguez and two of his friends, all of them long-time Raiders fans, also were at the bar hoisting beers and toasting Davis. Their long faces and strained conversation stood in sharp contrast to the college football revelers shouting at the jumbo television screen that dominated the room, which was tuned to the game between Penn State and Iowa.

Rodriguez and his friends asked the bartender if one of the larger screens could be tuned to the NFL Network, which was paying tribute to Davis, but were told, they said, that on this Saturday, college football was king. So they paid their tab and made the 10-minute drive to the Raiders’ practice facility to be mourn in a more appropriate setting.

The Raiders flag at the entrance was flying at half mast and several bouquets and flower arrangements ringed the pole. Around dinner time, there were a dozen mourners, most of them standing with their heads bowed, in front of a makeshift memorial that was a collage of flowers and Raiders shirts, stuffed animals and homemade cards and posters with personal messages.

One man left a note on lined yellow paper, which read: “Dear Mr. Al Davis, I just wanted to day thanks. I grew up loving the team you gave us. I remember being more than intrigued when I saw you on T.V. I hated you for moving the Raiders to L.A. And then 13 years later bringing them back to Oakland and I loved you again. God bless and enjoy watching our beloved Raiders.”

Tiger Woods is not quite good enough Saturday at Frys.com Open

Tiger Woods had plenty of shots to feel good about after Saturday’s third round at the Frys.com Open.

Just not enough to put himself in realistic contention for Sunday.

After closing to within a few strokes of the lead early on, Woods missed several birdie putts and made several errors the rest of the way, finishing with a 68 to stand four-under par, well back from the leaders at CordeValle Golf Club.

“I was very close to really putting it together on the front nine,” he said. “I wasn’t that far away.”

Briny Baird had a late charge, including an eagle on the par-four 17^th hole, to lead the tournament at 13-under.

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Tiger Woods steps onto smaller stage at Frys.com Open

-- David Wharton, reporting from San Martin, Calif.

Photo: Tiger Woods hits his tee shot on the fourth hole Saturday at the Frys.com Open at CordeValle Golf Club. Credit: Allan Henry / US Presswire

London 2102 Olympics: Todd gives another masterclass to the young pretenders

One is  loath to tempt fate  with the show jumping still to come, but even if Mark Todd  does not win Boekelo three-day event tomorrow, it is increasingly difficult to bet against the 55-year-old claiming a fourth Olympic individual medal – 28 years after his first – at London 2012.

With NZB Campino,  a relative newcomer to this level, Todd led both after dressage and cross-country in Holland.  He is the only rider from the first two days to have remained in the top 10, after giving riders of all generations a lesson in bold but economical riding over Sue Benson’s trademark  accuracy fences.

Boekelo is a three-star event, a level  below Badminton and Burghley but always a  fantastically competitive  end to the horse trials season in northern Europe. It’s notable for starting a huge number of horses (110) from more nations (21) than any other comparable  competition; organisers say that 30 per cent of Boekelo runners always go on to the following year’s European championship or Olympic Games, and there will have been extra interest in getting a run this weekend, for Boekelo   is  the last opportunity for many to ride a track designed by Sue Benson before she unveils her Olympic cross-country  at Greenwich next summer.

In May, Todd rode another debutant, NZB Land Vision, to re-write his own extraordinary history by winning his fourth Badminton, 11 years after officially “retiring “ from eventing and going home to New Zealand to train racehorses.  Todd says it took a solid three years to get back to the riding standard he had left off.  His peers voted Todd “Rider of the 20th Century” after he’d apparently hung up his boots. He certainly warrants the billing, for as well as riding as well as ever he has seamlessly assimilated numerous technicalities that changed the character of eventing in his absence.

Boekelo always attracts numerous  Brits,  a mix of established riders with younger  horses ready to be asked  tough questions, and up and coming  riders aiming to cement their own credentials. This year’s was not memorable for the  19 who crossed the channel, with only five  British still in the top 30 after cross-country.

Best is Tina Cook, fifth overnight with De Novo News.  Cook has produced the horse  from his “baby”  days. He is not yet in the same league with his dressage but she will be thrilled to have a capable understudy for 2009 European champion Miners Frolic. The latter missed the 2011 season after suffering life-threatening colitis, which reduced him to a skeletal state, and while  Cook is simply happy he has he survived,  his ability to defend his 2008 Olympic individual bronze is inevitably unclear at this stage.

Domestic distractions may have meant that Zara Phillips did not have the best preparation for Boekelo with Lord Lauries, who won a one-day international in Ireland on his previous outing,  but Boekelo  was a step up both in distance and class  for this German-bred horse and they had a demoralising three refusals at “accuracy” fences when lying third overnight.  However, Phillips’ top string High Kingdom excelled on his  Burghley debut and has put her back in Olympic contention. Even if it’s back to the drawing board with Lord Lauries, she can still be satisfied with her best competitive season since  Toytown’s retirement.

Producing horses to this level is a long game and most major names accept there will be consecutive seasons on the sidelines as they train-up the next  equine generation.  The desire to be part of London 2012 is immense, though, and there is an unusual amount of gossip about negotiations between riders of rival nations  anxious to lease horses from each other for next year.

Two without this imminent worry are William Fox-Pitt and  Mary King, who have qualified over 12 horses between them already.  Missing Boekelo, they   make the long drive south on Monday  to the Pyrennees  where their  season-long tussle for both the world number one slot  and the HSBC Classics series prize comes to a conclusion at Pau.