Boxing Challenge

  Since time is short from the weekend wrap-up, here is a just-the-facts recap for the boxing challenge and keeping the points straight.

IBF Junior Lightweight champion Joe Cordina retained his title in Monte Carlo over Edward Vazquez by majority decision.

Official scores of 116-112 twice for Cordina and the third judge scoring 114-114.

My score was 114-114.

Adrien Curiel upset Sivenathi Nothshinga with a devastating right hand in the second round to stop Nothshings and win the IBF light flyweight title on the Cordina-Vazquez undercard.

In Lake Tahoe, heavyweight Efe Ajagba stopped Australia's Joe Goodall in four rounds, while undefeated lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla was very impressive in stopping the previously unbeaten Diego Torres in eight rounds.

In Miami, Noel Mikaelian stopped Illunga Makabu in three rounds to win the WBC cruiserweight title that was vacated by Badou Jack.

Mikaelin knocked Makabu down in the second and third before the fight was ended.

Boxing Challenge

TRS: 168 Pts (7)

Ramon Malpica: 152 Pts (4)

Vince Samano: 110 Pts (1)  

Browns whitewash Cardinals 27-0

  DeShaun Watson threw two touchdown passes in his return to the lineup and Amari Cooper finished with 139 yards receiving as the Cleveland Browns stomped the Arizona Cardinals 27-0 in Cleveland.

The Browns defense allowed only fifty-eight total yards to the Arizona offense, sacked Clayton Tune seven times, and intercepted the rookie twice in a complete demolition of the Cardinal offense.

Cleveland improved to 5-3 with the win and will travel to Baltimore to face the 6-2 Ravens in what will be a vital game for tiebreakers inside the division.

This is shorter than usual since I was away on Monday and Tuesday, and this is now old news.

Brownie Bits

1) DeShaun Watson struggled at first but he was sharper as the game moved on and his fifty-nine-yard dart to Amari Cooper was the type of throw that the Browns hoped they would see from Watson.

It's a bit away from the day that I could truly say this is the player that they traded for and he is consistently at that level but this was a flash of hope.

2) The Cardinals are a bad football team with only one win and starting a quarterback that had never taken an NFL snap, so the Browns should have been impressive in victory but this was a domination that good teams do to bad teams.

This is how it should be done but that doesn't mean that they deserve little credit for doing so.

3) The wide receiver position is still a worry to me as other than Amari Cooper, the wideouts caught only three passes (two to Elijah Moore, one to Cedric Tillman) for a combined seventeen yards.

4) The defense's seven sacks was a strong outing but it seemed like it could have been even more as the pass rush was bothering Clayton Tune with every dropback.

5) Dalvin Tomlinson was signed to shore up an interior defensive line that was abused consistently last season and he has done so.

Tomlinson finished this game with two and a half sacks and in my opinion, is playing at a Pro Bowl level thus far this season.

Tomlinson is responsible for the improved play of Jordan Elliott this season as he occupies two blockers and allows Elliott to deal with just one with Elliott stepping up his play to the highest of his career.

Ohio State defeats Rutgers 35-16

   Kyle McCord threw three touchdown passes, two to Marvin Harrison Jr. as the Ohio State Buckeyes used a strong second half to rally past Rutgers 35-16 in New Jersey.

Rutgers led at the half 9-7 on three field goals and drove down the field to start the second half before Josh Proctor smashed into Rutgers' Kyle Monangai forcing the pass into the air where Jordan Hancock plucked it and ran ninety-three yards for a touchdown and the lead.

Rutgers hung around for a while but their upset chances were never close after the Hancock score.

TreVeyon Henderson finished with 128 rushing yards and 80 receiving yards to lead Ohio State, who improved to 9-0, 6-0 in the Big Ten, and will host hapless Michigan State next Saturday night in Columbus.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Another stout day for the Ohio State defense in allowing only one touchdown and sixteen points overall.

2) Rutgers did have some success running the ball and used the tactic of using the ground attack to shorten the game,

Rutgers led in time of possession thirty-five to twenty-five but once the game became a two-score game in the third quarter, Rutgers was forced to throw and that is not a strength.

3) Give Rutgers some credit, they had a plan, struck with it as long as possible, and in the end didn't have the ammo to slug it out with OSU but Greg Schiano is doing a good job with the Scarlet Knights. While Rutgers may never be a power, they could be a mid-level team under Schiano.

4) Ohio State pulled a bizarre fake punt run by Jesse Mirco that was dropped short of a first down.

What really made the call a strange one was that Mirco usually runs a bit to the right before he kicks but on this play, Mirco moved to the left which tipped off the fake.

5) Kyle McCord did throw the three touchdowns but the yardage was only 189 yards and he threw an awful second-quarter interception.

6) Marvin Harrison Jr. caught just four passes for twenty-five yards but two of those were for scores.

Rutgers made it the focus of their game plan to take Marv. Jr out of the game and they did that but you can't take them all out as...

7) TreVeyon Henderson was the leading rusher and receiver, finishing with 208 yards of total offense

Henderson gives the Buckeyes something that their other backs don't and when he is healthy, defenses have to respect the short pass out of the backfield.

8) Rutgers moved the ball better than expected but they would score just one touchdown.

The goal line stand late in the first half was key in not allowing Rutgers to be too high entering halftime and even those Rutgers rushed for over 200 yards, the defense didn't have a bad day.

9) The key play was Josh Proctor's wipeout that caused the ball to hang into the air to be grabbed by Jordan Hancock for a drive that ended a scoring threat and gave Ohio State the lead.

Hancock has played well this year and deserved a big play and Proctor left the game after the hit but will hopefully return next week.

Boxing Challenge

    The boxing weekend isn't star-studded but there are three world titles on the table, a heavyweight on the fringes of contention, and a world-class lightweight on the rise, all in action.

Monte Carlo will be the site for the two initial title affairs on a Matchroom/DAZN card.

In the main event, Wales's Joe Cordina will defend his IBF junior lightweight title against Edward Vazquez.

Cordina won that title for a second time when he earned a split decision over Shavkat Rahkimov in April in a terrific fight while Vazquez is a light hitter with only three knockouts in his fifteen wins but his most impressive fight was his only loss when he lost a controversial split decision to the talented Raymond Ford in 2022.

Vazquez has won four fights since the Ford loss and might be a live underdog against Cordina.

Should Cordina successfully defend the title, his next outing could be a unification fight against WBC champion O'Shaquie Foster early next year.

In the co-feature, Sivenathi Nothshinga will defend his IBF junior flyweight title against Adrian Curiel.

Nothshinga looked sensational in winning the title in a fight of the year candidate in September 2022 over Hector Flores but won a dreadfully tedious decision in July over Regie Suganob to take some of the glitter off his title-winning effort.

Curiel is a journeyman from Mexico receiving his first title shot and has stopped only four of his twenty-three victims, so who really knows what he will bring to the fight.

ESPN+ and Top Rank are live in the evening with two contenders attempting to keep winning streaks alive to move up the ladder.

In the main event, heavyweight Efe Ajagba will meet Joe Goodall in a ten-rounder.

Ajagba was last seen winning by disqualification in four rounds when Zhan Kossobutsky continued to hit Ajagba low and has won three straight since his only loss to Frank Sanchez in October 2021.

Australian Joe Goodall knocked out Stephan Shaw in six rounds on a July card and was a decorated amateur, so he isn't a pushover despite Ajabga having the edge as a professional.

Raymond Muratalla continues his move towards the top of the lightweight division as he faces Diego Torres in the co-feature.

Muratalla looked very impressive in a two-round blowout of solid former title challenge Jeremiah Nakathila in May and shows signs of being a top boxer at 135 pounds.

Torres has stopped seventeen of his eighteen foes and hasn't lost but will be making his first fight outside of Mexico and is a bit of an unknown factor.

Don King Promotions pops his head out with a card from the seldom active promoter from Miami with a main event for the WBC cruiserweight title vacated by Badou Jack.

Former champion Illunga Makabu, who lost the title to Jack, battles Noel Mikaelyan for the crown.

Makabu was stopped by Jack in the final round in February and won a controversial decision in 2022 to Thabiso Mchunu, so he is a fighter on the decline while Mikaelyan has fought only three times in the five years since his controversial title attempt in the World Boxing Super Series in which he lost to Mairis Briedis, none against even fringe contenders.

Boxing Challenge

IBF Junior Lightweight Title. 12 Rds 

Joe Cordina vs Edward Vazquez

Ramon Malpica & TRS: Cordina Unanimous Decision

Vince Samano: Vazquez Unanimous Decision

IBF Junior Flyweight Title. 12 Rds

Sivenathi Nothshinga  vs Adrian Curiel

R.L & TRS: Nothshinga Unanimous Decision

V.S: Curiel Unanimous Decision

Heavyweights. 10 Rds

Efe Ajgaba vs Joe Goodall

R.L: Ajgaba KO 9

TRS: Ajgaba KO 7

V.S: Goodall Unanimous Decision

Lightweights. 10 Rds

Raymond Muratalla vs Diego Torres

R.L: Muratalla Unanimous Decision

TRS: Muratalla KO 8

V.S: Torres KO 6

Vacant WBC Cruiserweight Title. 12 Rds

Noel Mikaelian vs Illunga Makabu

R.L: Makabu KO 7

TRS: Mikaelian Split Decision

V.S: Makabu Unanimous Decision

Cavaliers lose Tournament Opener in Indy

   The Cleveland Cavaliers offense showed up late for their first outing in the new "NBA In-Season Tournament" in Indianapolis against the Pacers, trailing by seventeen points at halftime.

The Cavaliers would make a valiant comeback in the second half and pushed the Pacers to the wire before falling short in a 121-116 loss.

Donovan Mitchell scored 38 points to lead the now 2-4 Cavaliers, who will face Golden State on Sunday evening in Cleveland.

Swashbucklings

1) Yes, this was the Cavaliers' first game in the new NBA In-Season Tournament, an idea of league commissioner Adam Silver to emulate what European soccer leagues do in their seasons.

While I don't hate the concept, I don't see anything special about it either.

2) The reason it isn't special because it's not exactly what is done in the European soccer tournaments.

Those leagues involve all the lower levels so you can have multiple times every year, a smaller league team playing a top team.

Imagine if the Hagerstown Suns drew the New York Yankees in a tournament and depending on the blind draw, the Yankees coming to Municipal Stadium?
That can happen in those tournaments and it's missing in the NBA version.

3) The only way to approach that would be to integrate the G-League teams, maybe some teams from Europe, and (although I don't think this would be possible) a few college teams.

That would be the only way to bring the underdog aspect to the tournament and give it more value than a bunch of specially tagged regular-season games with a trophy at the end.

4) While I don't love the tournament, there isn't anything to be griping about either.

Well, except for one thing- the special courts made for each team are just blinding.

Most are terrible in these super bright team colors with what looks like a runway strip down the middle of the court which the NBA states is supposed to symbolize the road to Las Vegas where the finals of the tournament will be.

Indiana's blue and yellow was very loud and hard to watch and I saw that Philadephia's red (who the Cavaliers will play in the tournament) looked really bad.

5) Jarrett Allen made his season debut against the Pacers, scoring ten points and grabbing seven rebounds.

Allen's minutes are being limited and he played just twenty-one minutes as the team gradually rounds Allen into full-time shape.

Sorry, I spent more time on the tournament than on the game but Ohio State is starting shortly and I need to wrap this up.

PPM

 The stakes only increase as the weeks go by in the football season and the same for the week in the PPM.

Last Week: 8-4

Overall: 89-36

College

Ohio State over Rutgers 31-13

Texas Tech over TCU 31-24

Bowling Green over Ball State 20-14

Florida over Arkansas 23-17

UTSA over North Texas 34-29

Georgia Southern over Texas State 31-28

Middle Tennessee State over New Mexico State 28-19

Miami over N.C. State 23-14

Oregon State over Colorado 40-28

Fresno State over Boise State 32-27

Games of the Week

Alabama over LSU 20-17

Kansas State over Texas 34-31

Pro

Browns over Cardinals 21-13

Chargers over Jets 34-21

Games of the Week

Bills over Bengals 33-30

Chiefs over Dolphins 37-31

I Tell Ya' Herbie

It's time for our weekly glance at the world of college football with more "I Tell Ya' Herbie"

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             While I'm surprised to see Ohio State as number one in the first CFP rankings and while I don't think they are the top team in the country currently, it's not unreasonable that they are ranked first.

The Buckeyes are the only team to have beaten two top-ten teams (Notre Dame and Penn State), one of those on the road, and except for Texas's win over Alabama, the Notre Dame win is the best non-conference win in the nation.

I'm not sure they will remain at the top as the process unfolds but for now, I can understand the decision.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            Last week, I wrote about the troubles at Clemson and their potential struggles down the stretch with their schedule.

I didn't include N.C.State in the tougher games as the Wolfpack have had their own struggles this season, so of course the Pack dropped the Tigers 24-17 sending Clemson to a reeling 4-4 on the season.

However, the worst story of the week for Clemson wasn't the loss to N.C. State, it came during Dabo Swinney's radio show when Swinney had a complete breakdown in dealing with a critical fan on the air.

I'm not sure Swinney was completely wrong in stating that Clemson's fan base has gotten spoiled with their success and I'm sure he's sensitive to any criticism of the decline in the program, especially since he was so haughty when the Tigers were at the top of the sport.

And while anything that spices coaches shows up and adds some entertainment along some balance to a program about the team is welcomed, Swinney might have been better suited biting his tongue a bit and eating a little crow.

"Tyler from Spartanburg" raised some good points but he was pretty confrontational and that was possibly deliberate knowing Swinney would have problems staying composed.

Plenty of blame to go around.

I Tell Ya Herbie:

                            The Iowa-Northwestern game at Wrigley Field this Saturday is reported to be a record low on the over/under line with the offensive problems from both teams.

Iowa announced earlier this week that beleaguered offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz will not return in that role next season, which is a move that should have been taken care of before this season.

With one final season of the Big Ten divisional alignment of East-West, Iowa should have been all-in on the final West Division title (which they still may grab with Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Minnesota tied for first with a 3-2 conference record) instead of retaining Ferentz and risking exactly what happened- another year of awful offensive football.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            I wonder about how hot the seat is getting for Mike Locksley at Maryland.

After winning their first five games, against admittedly weak teams, Maryland has dropped three straight, and their remaining schedule isn't easy playing both Penn State and Michigan, Rutgers, who has been better than expected, and Nebraska, who have won five of their last six,

Maryland didn't play badly in their first loss, a 37-17 defeat against Ohio State but have since lost to Illinois at home and then at Northwestern.

It's not out of the question that Maryland could lose their last four games, which would mean a seven-game season-ending losing streak, a bowl game miss, and maybe a new head coach.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                             There are three unbeaten teams in the Group of Five and two of them reside in the state of Virginia.

James Madison and Liberty aren't scheduled to play each other but both are making a run at perfection.

Liberty leads Conference USA an 8-0 overall record with six wins inside the league while James Madison is at the top of the Sun Belt at 8-0 overall and five wins against conference foes.

Madison has the tougher road with games against 6-2 Georgia State, Appalachian State, and a season-ending game at Coastal Carolina with three of Liberty's four remaining opponents holding losing records with only a non-conference game against Old Dominion, who gave Madison a hard time last week in a 30-27 loss.

James Madison is ineligible for a bowl game despite their record due to their "transition period" to 1-A football, while Liberty may have to hope for a loss by the other unbeaten in Air Force, and even then with the Flames' weak schedule may have to hope for a two-loss champion from the Mountain West (Fresno State has just one loss) and the American, where Tulanes has one loss and SMU has two, to have a chance for the New Years Day G-5 bid.

Liberty and James Madison are scheduled to face each other in a home-and-home series in 2033 and 2034.