Boxing Challenge: Garcia busts Benn

   Ryan Garcia dropped Conor Benn with a right hand and finished him off after a shaky Benn got to his feet in round two, for a painless stoppage of Benn in the biggest fight promoted by Zuffa Boxing in their short existence.

Benn slugged it out evenly with Garcia in the first round, but his drop from the middleweight division may have weakened him, as the Englishman crumbled with the big right hand from Garcia.

Garcia has spoken of several opponents for his next fight, asking for a return from retirement from former three-division undisputed champion Terence Crawford, a rematch with Gervonta Davis, who stopped Garcia in seven rounds in 2023, or a unification fight with WBA champion Teofimo Lopez.

Benn will likely rise in weight but doesn't have an obvious opponent for his next fight and will have to revitalize himself after a devastating loss.

Unbeaten former IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opietaia stopped WBC champion Noel Mikelian in nine rounds in the co-feature, but didn't win the title as Mikaelin was stripped of the title before the fight.

Andres Cortes won a unanimous decision over former featherweight champion Mark Magsayo in a lightweight ten rounder and in the best fight of the night, welterweight contender Alexis Rocha won a competitive unanimous decision over former junior welterweight champion Jose Ramirez.

I'd like to see Rocha and Ramirez in a rematch.

Boxing Challenge

TRS:  106 Pts (5)

Ramon Malpica: 91 Pts (4)

Vince Samano: 60 Pts (0)

 

Browns battered in Jacksonville opener

    The Cleveland Browns were completely overmatched and couldn't score a touchdown until the final minute of the game in a disastrous 34-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Jacksonville.

About the only good news in this game was DeShaun Watson's late-game strike to rookie Denzel Boston for a 46-yard touchdown, the Browns' only touchdown.

Cleveland (0-1) travels to 0-1 Tampa Bay next Sunday to meet the Buccaneers.

Brownie Bits

1) DeShaun Watson was lousy other than his late toss to Denzel Boston, but that's not my biggest worry from this game.

After all, I already knew Watson was terrible, and he proved it.

2) My biggest worry was the defense looking so bad.

The defense had been touted by some observers as not taking a step back from 2025 despite trading Myles Garrett.

That could have fooled me, as Trevor Lawrence had all day against an ineffective Cleveland pass rush that, aside from one sack by Mason Graham, couldn't reach Lawrence, who threw four touchdown passes and sat out much of the second half.

3) The Browns crowed about the trading of Myles Garrett as they patted themselves on the back for forcing the Rams to add Jared Verse to the deal.

I like Verse, and I'm not giving up on him, but he was a non-factor in this game, finishing with three tackles, one for loss, and the Browns will need more from him if they plan to improve this season.

4) Deshaun Watson's interception on the first drive was a bad one, as there was no one with an orange helmet in the area. The Browns continued to struggle to get downfield afterward, and only a garbage-time score to Denzel Boston gave the Browns even decent quarterback play.

5)  Todd Monken announced after the game that he is sticking with Deshaun Watson for this week's game in Tampa Bay.

I'm ok with that.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have given Watson the job to start with, but since they did, I don't think it's fair to move away from Watson yet.

6) The Browns revamped their offensive line in the offseason, and it was not an auspicious start, as Zion Johnson was called for two holding penalties, Tytus Howard committed a key false start penalty, and allowed five sacks against DeShaun Watson.

7) The Browns lost their change-of-pace back for at least four weeks as Dylan Sampson suffered a knee injury, which placed him on injured reserve after the game.

Former Denver Broncos running back Jaleel McLaughlin was promoted from the practice squad to replace Sampson.

8) The two offensive gems from the 2025 draft had disappointing starts to their season.

Quinshon Judkins rushed for thirty-three yards on twelve carries, and Harold Fannin caught only two passes for twenty-two yards.

9) Perhaps the only bright spot other than garbage time scores was the impressive kick returns of Rocket Sanders.

Sanders returned one kickoff 74 yards and set up the Browns' first score, a field goal by Andre Szmyt

I'm interested to see if Sanders can continue his success.

10) I'm afraid this Sunday will see another beating for the Browns.

Tampa Bay lost their opener 33-27, scored lots of points, and has a motivated Baker Mayfield ready to ravage the Browns..

Fourth Quarter fade costs Ohio State in Texas loss

    Ohio State dominated their visit to Austin for three quarters, but allowed touchdowns on the final three drives, allowing Texas to slip by with a 24-23 win.

Julian Sayin threw for 278 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Jeremiah Smith caught eight passes for 164 yards and a touchdown to pace the skill players.

Ohio State drops to 1-1 and will host Kent State next Saturday.

Olentangy Offerings.

1) I know Texas scored on three long drives in the fourth quarter, but I have a hard time blaming the defense, which was simply gassed out on the final drive.

The defense does appear to be down a bit from last season, but that's natural considering the talent on that team.

I'm not concerned.

2) Texas did convert two key fourth downs that, if the Buckeyes had been able to stop one, would have been the difference in the game.

3) Jeremiah Smith had a huge game, but most of his damage came in the first half.

I wouldn't say I would be disappointed in his game at all, but a better second half would have helped the cause.

4) I think Ryan Day erred by allowing Texas to roll so much time off the clock before scoring their game-winning touchdown,

Ohio State only needed a field goal to win, and those seconds would have helped in the final desperation drive.

5) Julian Sayin was okay, not great, and his first-half pass was too high for a wide-open Devin McCuin and cost the Buckeyes a certain touchdown.

6) Devin McCuin was dynamic against Ball State. Still, the UTSA transfer returned to earth against Texas, missing his connection on the above pass from Julian Sayin, and finishing with only one catch for five yards.

Ohio State will need someone to step up as the second receiver to relieve some pressure on Jeremiah Smith.

7) I'm aware of Connor Hawkins ' late-game miss from 45 yards that would have clinched the game, but watching the replay, it looked like the holder didn't have a smooth handling of the snap.

Hawkins hit his other three tries, including one from 48 yards, and I think Ohio State has a top notch kicker.

8) The defeat was the first loss in Ohio State history when leading by seventeen points or more at halftime and lost for the first time in 366 games when entering the fourth quarter with a lead of twenty or more- yuck.

9)  Of all the brickbats that could be thrown at Ryan Day for the loss- conservative second-half playcalling, poor time management late in the game, etc .- one stands out above all.

Fourth and two from the Texas 13 and ahead 10-0, Day decided to go for it rather than take a chip shot for three points.

Day then called a run up the middle by Ja'Kobi Jackson for one yard and turned the ball over on downs.

Day has had a tendency to go for it in such situations and against better teams, especially on the road; taking every point might be a better idea.

10) The Buckeyes fell back in their long-standing trap of rotating their defensive linemen so much that when the game is on the line, their best players are on the sidelines.

Larry Johnson has always been a believer in that, and while I see the point (especially on a hot night in Texas) in keeping your freshest players in the lineup, I don't believe it should come at the cost of your best.

Boxing Challenge

 Boxing Challenge

WBC Welterweight Title, 12 Rds

Ryan Garcia vs Conor Benn

Ramon Malpica: Garcia KO 8

TRS: Garcia KO 4

Vince Samano:

Cruiserweights, 12 Rds

Jai Opietaia vs Noel Mikaelian

R.L: Opietaia KO 6

TRS: Opietaia Unanimous Decision

V.S:

Lightweights 10 Rds

Mark Magsayo vs Andres Cortes

R,L and TRS: Magsayo Unanimous Decision

V.S:

Welterweights 10 Rds

Jose Ramirez vs Alexis Rocha

R.L: Ramirez Unanimous Decision

TRS: Rocha Unanimous Decision

V.S:   

PPM

  The NFL season begins and the Ohio State Buckeyees travel to Texas to meet the Longhorns.

Last Week: 9-2

College

Ohio State over Texas 23-21

Texas Tech over Oregon State 41-13

Boise State over Memphis 42-37

N.C. State over Richmond 49-10

UTSA over Texas State 31-21

Wyoming over Northern Colorado 43-13

Nebraska over Bowling Green 37-16

Marshall over Middle Tennessee 27-17

Clemson over Georgia Southern 34-24

Utah over Arkansas 40-31

Games of the Week

Iowa over Iowa State 28-14

Virginia Tech over Old Dominion 45-10

Pro

Jaguars over Browns 27-10

Lions over Saints 31-27

Games of the Week

Bills over Colts 24-17

Chiefs over Broncos 28-25

Boxing Challenge: Knyba upsets Ruiz

         In Newark, New Jersey, former heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz's comeback stumbled from the start as Damian Knyba won a much closer-than-it-should-have-been unanimous decision.

The 6'7 Knyba danced on his toes for most of the fight and pounded Ruiz consistently with his jab.

Knyba dropped Ruiz in the seventh, and the fight could have arguably been stopped, but Ruiz deserves credit for surviving and even winning a few rounds later in the fight.

The scores were bad, with Knyba winning 117-110 (my score was 116-111) and by two scores of 114-113, which means that without the seventh-round knockdown, the fight would have been scored a majority draw and would have been a horrible result.

Knyba will likely move on to an eliminator of some sort, while Ruiz looks like a fighter far past his prime and might want to consider retirement.

Middleweight Vito Mielnicki scored the biggest win of his career with a dominant unanimous decision over former title challenger Austin "Ammo" Williams in the co-feature, scoring a knockdown and winning by scores of 98-91 on all three scorecards.

In Ireland, the IBF's top welterweight contender Paddy Donovan stopped countryman Tyrone McKenna on cuts in the fifth round.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 101 pts (2)

Ramon Malpica; 87 Pts (3)

Vince Samano: 60 Pts (0)

Ohio State rolls past Ball State

    Unlike that school up North that won over Western Michigan in the biggest injustice since the 1972 Olympic Gold Medal game in basketball, Ohio State dispatched its MAC opponent with ease as the Buckeyes scored two touchdowns in each quarter in a 56-3 thrashing of Ball State. 

Julian Sayin threw for 320 yards and three touchdowns, with Jeremiah Smith catching eight passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns.

Ohio State will travel to Texas next Saturday for a rematch of last season's Buckeye win.

Honestly, I fell asleep during the game, so I'm not offering a recap.

I do plan on watching an edited replay, and if time permits, I may write about the reserve quarterbacks who each played and threw a touchdown in the win: Luke Fahey and Tavian St.Clair