Perhaps the most star studded event in UFC’s history is getting ready to take place August 25^th at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.  The feature match of the night pits a 44-year old legend against a 28-year old relative new comer, but is coming off the biggest win of his career.

Randy “The Natural” Couture (15-8 6 KO’s) is the oldest world champion in any type of fighting.  After losing the title to another legend, Chuck Liddell back in February of 06’ year at UFC 57, he regained the championship by defeating Tim Sylvia back in March of this year.  Couture’s record may be a bit misleading, but he’s fought a virtual who’s who in the UFC.  Also, he was a relative late comer to UFC, back in 1997, meaning he was already close to his mid 30’s before he first stepped into the octagon.  The Natural first really announced his arrival on the scene when he beat Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz in back-to-back fights in 2003.  Even though he’s since lost to Liddell twice since then, also a late bloomer, he has continued he still has plenty to offer, even in his mid 40’s.  The exclamation point of his career was the unanimous decisions victory of Sylvia in the fall.  A lot of sentences end with two exclamation points, and that’s exactly how Couture is hoping to end his career.

His opponent Gabriel “Napao” Gonzales (8-1 3 KO’s) last fought at UFC 70, back in April of this year.  In this fight he defeated mixed martial arts legend Mirko Filpovic with a kick to the head at the tail end of round one.  Gonzales was brought in, by most experts opinions, just to be an opponent, before Filpovic went on to face the Couture’s and Liddell’s of the UFC world.  Instead, by a simple kick to the head, the roles were reversed, and now in just his 10^th MMA fight and fifth UFC fight he is challenging for a world title.  Napao’s only loss came in his third professional MMA fight in 2003.  That fight is so far behind him, and now the only thing he is concentrating on is becoming the next UFC heavyweight champion.  It’s been a while since a man in his 20’s has laid claim to the championship, but on August 25^th, that’s just exactly what he’s hoping to do.

The main under card bout of the evening features the return of another UFC legend, Georges St-Pierre (13-2-6 KO’s).  St-Pierre last fought, and lost, unexpectedly at UFC 69, in April.  St-Pierre was unceremoniously dispatched in the first round by Matt Serra.  It could be argued that the former champion was looking on to other things, such as a rematch with Matt Hughes, but the fact remains you can’t look past anyone, no matter how big of a favorite you are.  St-Pierre’s only other loss, also to Hughes was back in 2004, and he rebounded well from that.  His opponent though, is going to try to make it two straight KO losses for St-Pierre.

Josh Koscheck (9-1 1 KO) is on a hot streak.  Since his only loss back in November of 2005, he is undefeated, including a most recent win against Diego Sanchez at UFC 69.  Koscheck is 29 and is looking for a career defining win so he can go on to fight champions.  Even though St-Pierre is coming off of a loss, a Koscheck victory here would still easily be the biggest win of his career.

Other fights expected to take place are:

• David Heath vs. Renato “Babalu” Sobral
• Antoni Hardonk vs. Frank Mir
• Marcus Aurelio vs. Clay Guida
• Ryan Jensen vs. Thales Leites

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Tomorrow the 2007 PGA Championship will tee off from the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  While the weather there is expected to be blazing, nobody has been playing hotter than Tiger Woods.  Last week Woods smoked the field at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational by winning by eight strokes and being the only play to finish under par.  It is numbers like that, that allow players from other sports to take notes of what he’s doing.  Hours after Barry Bonds hit home run 756, breaking the all-time major league record, he was asked how his record compares to other.  Basically Bonds said that every record was special, just like it will be special when Woods breaks Jack Nicklaus record of major victories.  That just goes to prove that Woods is transcending sports on all levels, and being just six wins away from tying Nicklaus, we better start taking note soon. 

So far this year though, Woods has come up short in both of this year’s Major Events.  Back in April, at the Master’s Woods finished second, and again in June he finished second at the U.S. Open.  For most people coming in second place in two major events would be quite an accomplishment.  But, Woods and “first place” have become so synonymous that it just almost feels weird that he hasn’t broken the second place hump this year.  The first place victory last week shows the Woods is playing great golf, but what’s even more scary to opponents is Woods says he isn’t even playing his best golf.  The problem is though, his average golf is better than most golfer’s best.  Woods, who won the PGA Championship last year, and looks to be more than ready to defend his title.

One player that the Tulsa locals will be keeping an eye on is there very own resident Bo Van Pelt.  Van Pelt has yet to win a PGA event yet, but has been getting closer and closer.  In his last event, the Canadian Open, he finished 15^th.  A reason some locals are also picking him is because he will be used to the sweltering heat that will near 100 degrees throughout the event.  If he won it would defiantly be an upset, but stranger things have happened.

One player that would love to win his first major is Sergio Garcia.  During the British Open Garcia seemed on par to win his first major, but then he couldn’t even manage a par himself down the stretch.  In golf sometimes the mental barriers are harder to break than any hazard that meets you on the court.  Garcia will without a doubt be battling some demons of his own, but a victory for him here would be oh so sweet.  Garcia also played last weeks WGC Bridgestone Invitational, and finished tied for 20^th.

All together the Southern Hills golf club in Tulsa has hosted 13 major tournaments.  The course was designed by Perry Maxwell in 1935 and was renovated by Keith Foster in 1999.  The par 71, 7,198 yard course will be the next challenge for the best golfers in the world, may the best man win!

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In just about three weeks football fans will be in heaven. If you are a college and NFL fan you might as well say goodbye to your loved ones now, because for the next five months all of your Saturdays and Sundays are accounted for. In this section we will concentrate on the college kids, the one’s who hope to be playing on Sunday’s in the near future. With almost 120 teams playing division one college football it is almost impossible to give a thorough account of the entire league as a whole. So instead we will focus on some of the more popular teams that are generally in the running for the national championship as the season comes to an end.

If we are taking that route the first team you have to start off with is defending national champions the Florida Gators. A repeat for them is far from a given. They are rated ninth in the preseason USA Today poll, but will be returning with nearly a brand new team. Only five players from the offense and one player from the defense will be returning. Hardly does a team win a championship with only that many returnees, especially with only one on defense. On the offensive side of the ball the Gators will rely on sophomore quarterback Chris Tebow. Tebow played a little last year under Chris Leak, usually in option style attacks. Waiting in the wings of Tebow is big 6’5 quarter back Cameron Newton. Newton is expected to play in short yardage situations where his large frame will give him an advantage against undersized defensive line members. The defensive side speaks for itself, they will need to replace a ton of speed they lost to last years champions. A successful defense is possible, but not without a little luck.

Runners-up to the Florida Gators last year were the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes fair a little better than the Gators, returning five starters on both the offense in the defense. The most glaring loss will be that of quarterback Troy Smith, who has since gone to the NFL. Replacing Smith will be junior Todd Boeckman, or Robbie Schoenhoft. Little is known about these players, what is known is that they have huge shoes to fill. If defense alone were to win championships, then the Buckeyes look set. They return starting linebackers James Laurinaitis and Marcus Freeman. Laurinatis is returning from a season where he won numerous defensive awards, and here is the scary thing for opposing offenses, he is still just a junior. An easy schedule early will probably help the offense work out the rust, while the defensive looks to hit its prime. Ohio State is rated 10^th in the preseason rankings. Their first real test probably won’t come until October 6^th, where they will travel to meet an improved Perdue team who looks to play a spoiler.

Rated number one in the preseason rankings, and always on everyone’s list as potential national champions are the University of Southern California Trojans. They looked to be stacked in every position. The defense is returning 10 out of its 11 starters from last year, including four seniors. The offense is returning five players, including Heisman trophy hopeful John David Booty. Booty will have the luxury of throwing the ball to 6’5 wide receiver Patrick Turner, who is always just a step away to breaking one to the end zone. The offensive line is also rumored to be even faster and more athletic then it was last year, which is a scary thought for defenses. The Trojans are also always known for having good running backs (See Reggie Bush), and this year is no different. Senior Chauncey Washington and sophomore C.J. Gable will probably share carries early in the season to determine who will be the dominate back as the season progresses. Despite bringing back that star studded team, the schedule is one of the toughest in the country. They face Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon, and California, all on the road. The experience and talent seems to be there, but with a schedule like that sometimes you just have to expect a minor slip up on the road.

There is a very broad preview of the upcoming season. It is likely that none of the teams I mentioned will be playing for a title, but these look to be some of the teams that have the highest chance, at least in the preseason. Thanks for reading, and enjoy the season.

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