Brett Okamoto

Sports reporter

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Blog Post Archive

Oscar De La Hoya wants to see Pacquiao/Mayweather: Friday, Nov. 20, 2009; http://www.ringtv.com/blog/1329/oscar_de_la_hoya_blog_mayweatherpacquiao/
Episode 10: High stakes volleyball: Thursday, Nov. 19, 2009; Tenth episode of The Ultimate Fighter has arrived, highlighted by a semifinal match between Brendan Schaub and John Madsen. With all the injuries to the heavyweight division lately, hopefully these guys are ready to step into some big shoes pretty soon in the UFC.
Episode 9: Funky chickens: Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009; Matt Mitrione’s brain is still not doing well from his opening-round fight. If he can’t come back…gee whiz…which eliminated fighter will take his place? Could it be Kiiiiimbo?
Episode 8: The last soldier: Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009; It's Rampage's last chance to win a fight against Team Rashad, but he may have saved the best for last. Marcus Jones has looked the part this entire series, now we get to see if he's truly for real.
Episode 7: When will the rat snap: Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009; Rashad announces the next fight will be Matt Mitrione vs. Scott Junk. Wes Sims plays ninja and Rampage and Rashad go at it again.
Gray Maynard to face Nate Diaz in January: Friday, Oct. 23, 2009; http://mmajunkie.com/news/16554/nate-diaz-vs-gray-maynard-set-for-ufc-fight-night-20-main-event.mma
Episode 6: 'Team Cocky': Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009; In the sixth episode of The Ultimate Fighter, Rampage gets on the nerves of one of Team Rashad's fighters by continually picking on him. The two even come close to blows when the fighter gets in Rampage's face about the constant name calling.
Episode 5: Rampage: Am I cursed?: Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009; Team Rampage feels it can rebound from a horrible 0-4 start when its most experienced fighter, Wes Sims, is selected by Rashad to fight.
Silva says he hasn't comitted to Belfort fight: Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009; http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=AveM7tQX7iPHpfJpnwcqVSA9Eo14?slug=ys-mmaweekas101309&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Episode 4: Road to victory: Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009; Team Rashad sits down to map out their goal of a perfect 8-0 record against Team Rampage.
Rashad Evans will face Thiago Silva in January: Friday, Oct. 2, 2009; http://mmajunkie.com/news/16371/rashad-evans-vs-thiago-silva-set-for-ufc-108-co-main-event-in-january.mma
Episode 3: Kimbo Slice finally enters the Octagon: Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009; It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for, and it’s going down in just the third episode of the season. Follow Kimbo Slice's first fight in the Octagon with the Las Vegas Sun.
Episode 1: Picking Sides/Enter Kimbo Slice: Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009
First Jackson, now Carano lands movie role: Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2009; http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/Carano-lands-movie-role-Women-s-fighting-needs-;_ylt=Ao1G8lLJn_f2d23KaR5WLCw9Eo14?urn=mma,187652
Injury forces Mike Swick out of UFC 103: Friday, Sept. 4, 2009; http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/ufc/2622916/Mike-Swick-injured-out-of-UFC-103-Paul-Daley-will-face-Martin-Kampmann-instead.html
Penn to face Sanchez at UFC 107: Friday, Sept. 4, 2009; http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090904/SPORTS24/909040345/Penn+will+fight+Sanchez+in+UFC+107
Former Octagon girl Edith Labelle finally reveals why she was let go: Thursday, Sept. 3, 2009; http://mma.fanhouse.com/2009/09/03/edith-labelle-former-octagon-girl-discusses-reason-behind-ufc/
WEC 43: Cerrone vs. Henderson postponed: Monday, Aug. 24, 2009; The WEC announced Monday that its Sept. 2 event has been postponed due to an injury to main event fighter Benson Henderson. The event has been rescheduled to Oct. 10.
UFC's White changes tune on Leites, McCrory: Friday, Aug. 14, 2009; http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news;_ylt=Au5Na4T18rZpHEqgjFBYUrU9Eo14?slug=ki-leitesupdate081409&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
WBC sanctions Dawson vs. Johnson rematch: Thursday, Aug. 13, 2009; The World Boxing Council sanctioned the Nov. 7 bout between undefeated light heavyweight Chad Dawson (28-0, 17 KO) and former world champion Glen Johnson (49-12-2, 33 KO) for its interim light heavyweight title Thursday. The fight is the second meeting between the two, the first resulting in a unanimous decision win for Dawson in April 2008.
Air Force honors Kelly Pavlik with aircraft: Monday, Aug. 3, 2009
WEC 42 to be offered internationally via internet broadcast: Wednesday, July 29, 2009; WEC announced Wednesday that the Aug. 9 world bantamweight championship fight between Miguel Torres and Brian Bowles will stream live on its Web site to a global audience.
Four Las Vegas fighters scheduled for UFC 101: Tuesday, July 21, 2009; Undercard bouts for UFC 101 Declaration were made official today by UFC brass. UFC 101 will take place on Aug. 8 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.
Dates announced for first round of Showtime boxing tournament: Tuesday, July 21, 2009; Showtime announced official dates for the first round of its Super Six World Boxing Classic super middleweight tournament Tuesday. The event features six of the top super middleweight boxers in the world and is based on a win/loss scoring system.
Henderson, Franklin rematch set for UFC 103: Monday, July 20, 2009; Dan Henderson had been awaiting word on whether or not his latest knockout win over Michael Bisping at UFC 100 would be enough to earn him a rematch with Anderson Silva. On Monday, Henderson found out he would be getting a rematch after all. Although it wasn’t the one he was hoping for.
Matchup of welterweight contenders set for UFC 103 in Dallas: Wednesday, July 15, 2009; The UFC has officially announced that it will be headed to the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on Sept. 19 for UFC 103. The UFC's previous trip to Texas was in 2007 for UFC 69 in Houston.
Showtime to feature six-fighter boxing tournament: Monday, July 13, 2009; Showtime Sports announced Monday that it would present the inaugural Super Six World Boxing Classic. Dates and venues for the six-fighter tournament will be announced later this month. The final bout would take place in early 2011.
UFC 100 Weigh-in — Brock Lesnar: 'See you tomorrow night': Friday, July 10, 2009; During the UFC 100 press conference Thursday, Brock Lesnar told everyone he was done talking. Had nothing left to say. After tipping the scales at his usual 265 pounds at Friday's weigh-in, the heavyweight champ made one final comment to his opponent Frank Mir.
No. 1: Experts offer predictions: Friday, July 10, 2009; Maybe predictions from fighters carry the same weight as fans. Then again, maybe not. Just in case these guys are as good at predicting fights as they are performing in them, the Las Vegas Sun has assembled a panel to offer predictions and insights into the top three fights on the UFC 100 card.
No. 3: Top 10 Fighters: The most influential men in UFC history: Wednesday, July 8, 2009; There is no draw. Not even a split decision. The most influential fighter in UFC history is Randy Couture. His many accomplishments in the Octagon coupled with his appeal to the mainstream market and dedication to furthering MMA, firmly places him at the top of the list.
No. 5: The Matchmaker: Silva avoids spotlight, aims it at fighters: Monday, July 6, 2009; It's common knowledge around the UFC that when matchmaker Joe Silva wants something, he usually gets it. But even Silva had to know that a recent request he made to UFC president Dana White probably wasn't going to happen. "Joe called the other day and wanted me to fire (UFC co-owner) Lorenzo Fertitta," White laughed. "He said, 'Hey, we've got to get rid of this guy.' He was joking of course, but that's the way he is. When he calls, he's got an opinion, I listen, and a lot of times he'll get his way. "And nobody is ever going to win an argument with him."
No. 9: The Voice: Buffer offers unique entertainment to UFC events: Thursday, July 2, 2009; There's a special kind of focus that makes one man the "Veteran voice of the Octagon." You don't have it. I don't have it. Few of us will ever even understand it. The man who welds this power refers to it simply as: “Buffer-mode.”
No. 10: A different brand of entertainment: Wednesday, July 1, 2009; It used to be mixed martial arts apparel was sold out of the back of cars. But oh how the times have changed. "We owe a deep debt of gratitude to all the guys at (UFC parent company) Zuffa for being able to piggyback off their success," said Dan Caldwell, co-founder of the Tapout clothing brand that started selling T-shirts in parking lots.
UFC programs to air in China: Monday, June 29, 2009; The UFC announced early Monday morning it has finalized a deal with Inner Mongolia Television to bring the UFC to television in China. Known as NMTV, Inner Mongolia Television is a network broadcast station available in 80 million households.
Al Bernstein to reveal "Greatest Boxer Ever": Thursday, June 25, 2009; It’s a question many would argue is impossible to truly answer: Who is the greatest boxer of all time? Nevertheless, legendary boxing analyst Al Bernstein and other boxing experts are going to try.
Couture, Liddell headline UFC's star-studded fan expo: Wednesday, June 24, 2009; In anticipation for the historical UFC 100 event at Mandalay Bay on July 11, the organization has planned an opportunity for mixed martial arts fans unlike ever before to mingle with the most influential fighters of all time.
Injury forces Goulet to withdraw from UFC 100: Thursday, June 18, 2009; Canadian welterweight Jonathan Goulet (22-10-1) has been forced to withdraw from his bout against Dong Hyun Kim on the undercard of UFC 100 on July 11 due to a dislocated shoulder. Another Candain fighter, Nova Scotia’s T.J. Grant, will replace Goulet.
Evans, Machida keep it simple at UFC 98 weigh-in: Friday, May 22, 2009; UFC 98 got a little bit closer Friday, as 21 fighters tipped the scales in anticipation of Saturday’s 11-bout fight card at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
No. 1: Predictions and pick 'ems: Saturday, May 2, 2009; Now the only thing that remains is the settlement in the ring. Who is going to win The Battle of the East and West? Well that's really a personal pick, but if you’re scoring at home the Las Vegas sports books are still heavily favoring the Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao by a healthy minus-250 mark.
No. 2: Pacquiao, Hatton love Las Vegas: Friday, May 1, 2009; It might as well be written in each contract. If you choose boxing as an occupation, sooner or later, you're coming to Las Vegas. Stockbrokers work on Wall Street, actors work in Hollywood, the President works at the White House. Big-time boxers work in Las Vegas.
No. 4: Hatton still a power puncher at heart: Wednesday, April 29, 2009; To most boxing observers, body blows can be easily overlooked during the roar of a bout. They're boring. They don't knock a man unconscious, nor draw blood. But those who understand the sport know, the right body shot can stun a fighter, complicate the simple act of breathing and end a fight. Ricky Hatton threw what some consider the best body shot ever in a 2007 welterweight title fight against Jose Castillo. After three fairly even rounds, Hatton landed a left hook to Castillo's liver that dropped him to his knees. The blow sickened Castillo enough that he didn't move once during referee Joe Cortez's full 10-count.
No. 5: Pacquiao is one quick cat: Tuesday, April 28, 2009; Speed kills. It's one of the universally accepted philosophies that holds true in every sport and arguably no boxer puts his speed to better use than Manny Pacquiao. "Speed is always a big key for Manny Pacquiao," said Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach. "It's not only his hand speed, it's his foot speed. He gets himself in and out of trouble really quick. He scores points and gets out of there. He's got quick hands, but his feet are what's special."
No. 7: 'The Manchester Mexican' vs. 'The Mexi-cutioner': Sunday, April 26, 2009; Technically, there won’t be any fighter of Mexican heritage in the ring on May 2 when Ricky Hatton and Manny Pacquiao meet at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. But with so much history between the two regarding boxing’s Mexican fan base, an interesting question has surfaced: Which of the two has earned the support of the demographic?
No. 9: A battle between East and West: Friday, April 24, 2009; For Richard John Hatton, taking over the family business involved different requirements than that of the average occupation. When Hatton was born on Oct. 6, 1978, the fact that he would become a supporter of the English soccer team Manchester City, was clearly made for him as his father and grandfather both played for the club. The choice as to whether or not he would follow in their footsteps in the ring, however, was one he ultimately would have to make.
No. 10: The biggest chapter in two champions' storied careers: Thursday, April 23, 2009; As if any boxing fan needed to be told, May 2 will be the biggest fight of either boxer's career — but for completely different reasons. Officially, the 12-rounder is for Hatton's IBO and Ring Magazine World Junior Welterweight titles. Unofficially, it's for pound-for-pound superiority, a poor country's lowest class, redemption, the “world’s best” trainer trophy — take your pick.
Wright, Williams hug it out at weigh-in: Friday, April 10, 2009; With a row of media photographers waiting for the signature stare-down pose between Winky Wright and Paul Williams, the two "most avoided boxers" in the sport did the exact opposite. They smiled, laughed and even ... hugged?
4A Boys' Basketball Power Rankings: Monday, Feb. 9, 2009
4A Boys’ Basketball Power Rankings: Monday, Feb. 2, 2009
4A Boys' Basketball Power Rankings: Monday, Jan. 26, 2009
Football recruiting updates: Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2009