By Brian Oswald… Inside Fight’s Jeremy Botter is reporting that Anderson Silva will moonlight at light heavyweight for a second time.

This time with more resonance perhaps.

According to Botter’s report, nothing is set in stone regarding an opponent, but the honor could go to divisional gatekeeper Keith Jardine.

He also indicates the fight will probably be a free broadcast on Spike TV.

MMA Junkie is reporting that UFC 103 is (possibly) going to be in the U.K.

Connecting the  dots, one could conclude that Anderson Silva will be fighting in England for the first time in his UFC career.

That conclusion is based on the fact that U.K. fight cards have a track record for being aired on Spike TV.

Anderson Silva was last rumored to fight in England at UFC 95, Spike’s last U.K. broadcast. One potential opponent mentioned at that time was Chuck Liddell, ironically, a man who was beaten by Keith Jardine.

That fight obviously never went through, and Silva went from October to April without any spectacle.

British MMA fans have been clamoring for more marquee matchups, so the prospect of Anderson Silva on a U.K fight card is promising.

Dana White went as far as promising the fans a title fight; unfortunately for those fans, Anderson Silva won’t be defending his belt this time around.

You can thank UFC 97 for that.

The UFC brass does not want to risk airing a repeat of Silva-Leites, at least not any time soon.

In the same blurb, Botter reports that Demian Maia will meet Nate Marquardt to determine the No. 1 contender to the middleweight title.

Marquardt and Maia both last fought on the aforementioned UFC 95 card in London, England. Both picked up impressive wins in their respective fights.

Could the two be traveling across the pond once again, this time to face each other?

Or could the fight make it onto UFC 102, along side a main event which features Randy Couture vs. Antonio Nogueria?

If in fact Anderson Silva does face off agaisnt Keith Jardine, or another Top 10 light heavyweight, it is worth speculating whether or not the UFC is setting him up for a title fight at UFC 105.

That will greatly hinge on the outcome of the UFC 98 title fight.

If Rashad Evans defends his title against Lyoto Machida, then an Anderson Silva light heavyweight title run becomes a real possibility.

That is because his friend and former training partner will be out of the picture long enough for him to get his turn.

A win over Jardine would likely put Silva one fight away from a title shot.

While Rashad Evans is fighting Rampage Jackson, possibly in Memphis, Silva could preoccupy himself with an opponent like Shogun Rua, Rich Franklin, or Luis Cane.

If Silva were victorious, the Rashad vs. Rampage winner would await him.

If Machida wins, then a Silva 205 pound title run could morph into a super fight with George St. Pierre.

Either way, having Silva fight at light-heavyweight gives the UFC the perfect wiggle room to set up his fight right after.

Silva either gets one step closer to a light heavyweight title shot, sets up a super fight with St. Pierre, or fights a bonafide No. 1 middleweight contender in the winner of Marquardt vs. Maia.

Here is to creating opportunity inside the octagon, not security.

By Stoker MacIntosh… Recently, with mixed emotions, the world witnessed one of the greatest boxers who ever lived hang up his gloves, bringing an end to a lucrative and stellar career.

For those of us who were lucky enough to see him in his prime, Oscar De La Hoya was a thing of beauty.

He could box from the outside or apply fight-stopping pressure with his powerful hooks—delivered with workman-like-precision—to the body and head.

The undefeated super middleweight champion, and longest-reigning world title holder in recent boxing history, Joe Calzaghe, also announced his retirement earlier this year.

Calzaghe didn’t expect anyone to question him when he decided to retire undefeated, after all—there was no one in England, the United States, or the World for that matter who would give him a real test; or so he said.

At that time, Calzaghe totally dismissed the idea of fighting his fellow countryman, Carl “The Cobra” Froch.

“I need to fight guys who are going to improve my legacy. I need to fight guys I can be motivated to fight against as a champion,” he stated.

Calzaghe said “He (Froch) only won a belt that I’d given up, and the guy he beat—Jean Pascal, was a bum.

“I’m fed up with people just mouthing me off and saying disrespectful things. I don’t like the guy, so why would I want to give him a payday?”

Calzaghe’s comments were in stark contrast to the congratulations that Froch gave Joe-Cal for his win over Mikkel Kessler.

It mattered not; hardly anyone noticed, except maybe Froch.

Of course, being an undefeated fighter is all well and good, but for my money, it’s the guys who get up off the canvas—and rally back to win in courageous fashion—who are the true champions of the sport.

The undefeated Froch recently travelled to the United States to defend his world title, and with not an ounce of support from his British homeland, or from here in America, he suddenly became the consummate underdog.

In spite of this obvious adversity, Manchester, England’s Carl “The Cobra” Froch created one of the greatest come-from-behind victories in recent years.

Froch trailed 106-102 on two of the judges’ scorecards going into the final round against former middleweight champion and No. 1 contender Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor last Saturday night.

The tough English fighter knew he was behind and needed a knockout to win—he could quit now, take his paycheck and go back to Britain, or he could go out there and give it every ounce of fight that was left in him.

The Cobra chose the latter, and he knocked Taylor down with less than a minute remaining.

Froch then battered Taylor against the ropes until referee Michael Ortega stopped the fight with 14 seconds left.

It’s these type of fighters who keep boxing in the forefront of all other combat sports.

Froch is an exceptional fighter, built from the stuff of which champions are made, and in today’s money-driven world, that is a rare and priceless commodity.

—Winston Churchill

By Jeff Greenwell… If you’ve ever watched the NBA, NFL, NHL, etc., and dreamt about being a professional athlete, only to gently knead the giant mass of flesh that is your stomach and remember how you get winded answering the phone, well, cheer up. There is hope. For every pro athlete with a chiseled physique stemming from advanced training techniques, hours in the gym and a chef-prepared healthier than healthy diet, there exists the rare athlete that is wildly successful, in spite of their resemblance to the Michelin Man. So the next time you’re staring at yourself in front of the mirror in only your tighty whiteys, remember, if these portly pro’s can make it, why the hell can’t you!?

By Martin Fitzpatrick… As I sat back and relived the 2009 Masters this afternoon through the power of DVR, I could not help but begin asking myself a question that could wind up defining this generation of the PGA Tour.

Is there no one, other than Tiger Woods and a tiny handful of others, that can close out a golf tournament?

Major championship meltdowns have happened throughout the course of history and will, without question, continue to happen in the future.

However, it seems to happen considerably more often in this day and age than at any other time in the sport’s recent history.

Just have a brief look at the major champions over the past four years.

The 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot is, and always will be, remembered for Phil Mickelson’s improbable meltdown on the 72nd hole rather than Geoff Ogilvy’s first major championship win.

Although Mickelson fell furthest and hardest on that fateful Sunday, both Jim Furyk and Colin Montgomerie fell pretty hard themselves.

Sitting just one stroke behind Mickelson at the time, Furyk limped home at the 2006 U.S. Open with bogeys on the 15th and 18th holes.

Not long after Furyk’s disappointing finish, Montgomerie approached the 18th hole tied with Mickelson at plus-4 for the tournament.

After a perfect drive, Montgomerie, who is widely regarded as one of the best iron players on the planet, completely flubbed his approach shot and eventually finished the tournament with a double bogey six.

There’s no point in even reliving Mickelson’s astonishing meltdown—we’ve all seen it replayed hundreds of times by this point.

Let’s jump ahead to Padraig Harrington’s first major championship win at the 2007 British Open.

Heading to the 72nd hole with the tournament lead, Harrington found the creek with his tee shot and finally managed to make a five-foot putt to finish up with a double bogey and went to the clubhouse trailing Sergio Garcia by one stroke.

Garcia came to the 18th hole needing a par to win and a bogey to tie.

Garcia, who is also one of the best ball strikers in the world, found the green side bunker with his second shot and lipped out a five-foot putt that would have given him his first major championship win.

Harrington, of course, won the playoff, and Garcia blamed the golf gods, of all people, for his defeat.

Although conditions were tough at last year’s Masters, Trevor Immelman limped home with a final round 75 and still won by two strokes over Woods, who was the only one to make any kind of a move up the board, as indifferent as his Sunday charge was.

This, however, is not something that’s only happening at the majors.

Just look at the tournaments so far this year.

Let’s start with Woods’ win at Bay Hill a few weeks ago.

Sure, he really turned it on down the stretch, but he was by no means at his best. He was just lucky that Sean O’Hair, who began the day holding a six-stroke lead, happened to completely fall apart from the opening tee shot of the day.

Holding the lead at the 2009 Bob Hope Classic, Steve Stricker shot a final round 77 on a course that was not overly difficult.

At the 2009 FBR Open, Charley Hoffman missed a short birdie putt on the 18th, and just a short time later, Kenny Perry came through and recorded a bogey when a par would have won him the tournament outright. Perry would go on to win in a sudden death playoff.

At the Northern Trust Open, Stricker once again faltered down the stretch when he bogeyed the 72nd hole and wound up losing by a single stroke to Mickelson.

At the Transitions Championship, 54-hole leader Tom Lehman shot a final round 75, albeit he is nearly 50 years old and will be off to the Champions Tour soon. But eventual winner Retief Goosen also limped home with a bogey at the 16th, and after hitting his approach shot to the worst possible location on the 18th, he barely snuck in his par putt for the win.

At the Shell Houston Open just two weeks ago, Paul Casey came to the 72nd hole on Sunday needing a par to win.

As you might have expected, Casey bogeyed the 18th and was fortunate that J.B. Holmes couldn’t handle the heat either and duck-hooked his drive into the lake on the first hole of the sudden death playoff.

Although Casey hit a terrible tee shot himself—he found the fairway bunker for the second consecutive time on the 18th—he still managed to win with a sloppy par.

Then we come to the 2009 Masters.

The tournament just took place yesterday, so I don’t see a need to relive the agony for a third time in two days.

But what we saw yesterday evening was clearly a case of three men all trying their absolute hardest to throw away the 2009 Masters.

Cabrera just happened to play average golf in the playoff and was able to fall into his second major championship win in the past three years.

Being a big fan of the PGA Tour, I don’t want to believe it, but the evidence is overwhelming, and this is something that could quite possibly eat into Tiger Woods’ legacy one day.

Obviously Woods has established himself as “head and shoulders” above everyone on the PGA Tour and would probably still manage to win nearly as often if he were actually challenged by a group of players.

Furthermore, there is a much larger group of players on today’s PGA Tour that have the physical ability to win any given tournament, which makes winning today arguably more difficult than at any other time in the game’s history.

However, we would be naive to believe that when Woods’ career is over and done with, and he has likely shattered Jack Nicklaus’ record of major championship wins, that the issue of his competition will not come up.

Woods will more than likely wind up being the greatest golfer to have ever played the game, if he is not there already.

But he also might be entering his prime during an era of the PGA Tour that could one day be referred to as the “Era of Meltdowns.”

By Stoker MacIntosh… Kelly “The Ghost” Pavlik is the middleweight champion of the world.

Today, Jermain Taylor—the man whom Pavlic defeated twice in succession to win the title—will meet the undefeated Carl Froch in a super middle weight contest at Mashantucket, Conn.

Taylor will attempt to eradicate—if not from the record books at least from our brain’s recall—those two devastating losses to Pavlik

Froch, who hails from Nottingham England, currently holds the British title at the Super-Middleweight level, having previously held the English title and also the Commonwealth belt.

Although Froch isn’t expected to give Taylor too much trouble, he has an awkward and unorthodox stance and seems to have decent power.

In a ghastly familiar way, Froch is almost a clone, style wise, to Pavlik.

Froch is a tall, rangy boxer, who prefers to fight on the outside, he holds his left hand low, and uses his shoulder to protect his chin from right-handed attackers.

While reflecting on the first meeting of Pavlik vs Taylor, I seem to remember that The Ghost hit the canvas in the second round and it looked for all intents and purposes that the six feet two inch Ohioan was about to fall apart.

However, the wiry limbed boxer sucked it up in the seventh round; two uppercuts and a solid left hook floored the champion Taylor.

It was one of those—classic throw back type wins, reminiscent of the of the famous Battle of the Long Count.

That historic match took place on Sep. 22, 1927, between Gene Tunney and Jack Dempsey at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Just 364 days before hand, on Sep. 23, 1926, in Philadelphia, Tunney had beaten Dempsey by a 10 round unanimous decision to win the Heavyweight title.

This was their rematch, and in the seventh round, with Tunney trapped against the ropes and near a corner, Dempsey unleashed a combination of brutal punches that floored the champion.

This was the first time in Tunney’s career that he’d been knocked down.

Dempsey was instructed by the referee to go to a neutral corner, however, he would not obey the orders of the third man in the ring.

Popular belief has it that if Dempsey had responded in time to the referee’s request, he would have likely finished the fight—then and there, ultimately, regaining his world Heavyweight crown.

In the eighth round, however, Tunney had recovered fully and resumed his slick boxing style from the outside.

He floored Dempsey in that round and went on to dominate the next and final two rounds, retaining the title by an unanimous decision.

In a true sports-man-like gesture, Dempsey lifted Tunney’s arm when the fight was over and said, “You were best. You fought a smart fight, kid.”

That was the final fight in the boxing career of Dempsey, and it was Tunney’s next-to-last.

Taylor and Pavlic have both had solid wins since their championship meeting, and hopefully Taylor will take one more step this weekend to erase the ghost of Pavlik.

If indeed he has, then maybe there’s a small chance we could be treated to a third installment of the Taylor Pavlik series; I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the first two.

Courageously rising up off the canvas, and mounting a comeback to win the championship of the world demonstrates tremendous heart.

It’s the stuff that true Champions are made of, and it keeps us buying tickets to the greatest sport on earth.

Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.– Oscar Wilde, Lady Windermere’s Fan, 1892, Act III
Irish dramatist, novelist, & poet (1854 - 1900)

By Martin Avery… “”Excuse me, I said. I thought you were a trout stream.”
“I’m not, she said.”
— Richard Brautigan (Trout Fishing in America)

The Zen-like experience of fly-fishing can be experienced by other fishermen and non-anglers, too, of course. Here’s my guide to fishing in Ontario.

With this year’s trout fishing season set to open, it’s time to get out the tackle, find your waders and head for the stream. Maybe you are thinking of getting into the kayak craze.

A kayak let’s you get into remote hot spots no other angler can reach.

Springtime in Canada can be a wild time in the outdoors, with winter slowly giving way to longer days and warmer weather. For trout fishing enthusiasts, that often means dealing with hazards, from lingering ice to cranky bears emerging from their dens.

Many trout waters are most productive right at ice-out, but you need to be extra cautious about lingering ice and be ready for a challenge.

When a large portion of the waterbody is still covered in ice, or chunks are still floating around, vertical fishing with a jig may be your only option, since casting and trolling will be too difficult.

Use a stable boat and avoid heavily iced areas. When wading this time of year, keeping an eye out for fast, high water, as well as chunks of ice.

There are many types of trout to fish for in Ontario. Our lakes are teeming with both Lake Trout and Brook (Speckled) Trout.

Lake trout like the cold, dark depths of deep lakes. The bigger lakers in the region can exceed 30 pounds.

Community activists are giving the Ontario government low marks for its response to a series of attacks on Asian anglers since 2007. A number of Asians had been harassed by people demanding to see their fishing permits and inspect their catch, resulting in some anglers being pushed into the water or attacked in other ways.

The Ontario Human Rights Commission released its final report on the Inquiry into Assaults on Asian Canadian Anglers. Entitled Fishing without Fear: Follow-up report on the Inquiry into Assaults on Asian Canadian Anglers.

Those warnings and that controversy aside, here’s my top 10 list.

1. The lakes and rivers around Tweed, north of Belleville, beside The Zen Forest, are famous for muskies, but the trout fishing is also good.

In 1996 the town made news when it applied for a CFL team, in an attempt to become the Green Bay of Canada. Had the attempt been successful, the team would have been known as the Tweed Muskies.

Tweed is also known for some good swimming and awesome fishing spots. Lake Stoco, which borders the town, is home to the popular sport-fish, the muskellunge or Muskie

Perry’s Tackle Wholesale Distributor - Perry’s Tackle is a Canadian distributor of wholesale tackle located in Tweed, Ontario.

I don’t know if the Zen Forest Retreat is open. It appears to have disappeared. I can’t find it on-line and a machine takes phone messages.

2. Lake Scugog, pronounced skew-gawg, beside Port Perry, is a man-made lake.  The old river bed is marked by buoys.

The lake is shallow and the waters are murky and very weedy. The dark waters are a perfect home for the elusive walleye.

3. My favorite fishing hole is the Muskoka River, around Bracebridge. It has the most waterfalls of any municipality in the world.

Fishing here is focused on smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, northern pike and walleye, on Lake Muskoka, Rosseacuh, Lake of Bays, and Lake Joseph, as well as the Muskoka River.

4. Owen Sound is Salmon Fishing City but it’s good for trout fishing, too. This part of Georgian Bay is very deep, cold and clean, making our tasty fish 100 percent edible.

The Sound is sheltered from prevailing winds and the waters over Owen Sound are remarkable for several reasons.

Lake Effect Snow with 80 inches of snow and long, long weeks of dull gray weather doesn’t deter salmon anglers on Owen Sound.

To combat the Great Gray Funk (or the Seasonal Affective Disorder) lots of locals go salmon fishing. There are heavy runs of salmon and trout.

5. Lake Huron: The top 25 fish in last year’s CFPS Chantry Chinook Classic on the east end of Lake Huron weighed in at more than 22 pounds each, with the largest tipping the scales at 26.08 pounds.

There’s over 90 miles of shoreline on the east side of Lake Huron. Off Sauble Beach, a runs of five to six miles is required.

6. The Almaguin Highlands, north of Muskoka, in the Near North of Ontario has been ranked by many as one of the top 10 places to fish in Canada.

There is a series of lakes that stretch for miles giving you a hundred miles of shoreline with great fishing spots. Six-pound small mouth bass are not uncommon here.

Almaguin Highlands has hundreds of lakes, rivers and streams is probably one of the most overlooked in Ontario for its quality sport fishing

7. Lake Nipissing, north of the Almaguin Highlands, is the fifth-largest lake in Ontario. It is relatively shallow for a large lake, with an average depth of only 4.5 m (14.8 ft).

The little city of North Bay sits along the lake’s northeastern shoreline. The lake has over 40 different species of fish.

Most anglers target walleye, smallmouth bass, muskie, and northern pike.

8. Lake Ontario: Held each summer on Lake Ontario, the Great Ontario Salmon Hunt is Canada’s largest tournament.

Last year approximately 14,000 anglers vied to be the first to reel in a specially tagged salmon worth $1 million.

The biggest fish caught during last year’s 50-day event, meanwhile, was a tournament record: a 46.38-pound chinook.

The most popular harbours are Bronte, Port Credit, Bluffers Park (Scarborough), Oshawa, Port Hope, and Wellington.

9. Fishing in the nation’s largest urban centre may sound strange but there are lots of places to go fishing in Toronto.

Tournament-worthy smallmouth bass surround the Toronto Islands. There are pike in Toronto harbour.

Big carp haunting the Humber River marsh in the west end and in G. Ross Lord Park.

The Rouge River is known for perch. So is Tommy Thompson Park (Leslie Spit) in the inner lagoon just after ice-out.

10. Lake Simcoe, off Jackson’s Point and out from Willow Rocks, in water between 65-75 feet deep, is very popular. You’ll see a flotilla of boats.

P.S. I haven’t been fishing for decades but I’ve been to all of the above places, over the years, for the Zen experience of fishing. I’ve kayaked and canoed in these places and eaten trout or salmon from the northern spots.

By Martin Avery… Everybody now knows the Toronto Maple Leafs want John Tavares. He says he will go wherever he is drafted. Could that be a big mistake?

Tavares may not be the next Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin or even Steve Stamkos, but he will be a very good player who will score between 40 and 50 goals a year in the NHL, they say.

He was recently ranked third, not first, by a scouting agency. The New York Islanders have not made it clear they want him over Victor Hedman.

Here are the top 10 reasons Tavares should reconsider the Lindros option and hold out to become a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs:
1. Leafs GM Brian Burke declared he would move heaven and earth to try to get him in a Toronto Maple Leafs uniform.

2. New York Islanders GM Garth Snow has not only declined to say which way the Islanders are leaning, but he also told reporters last week that he would review all the top-ranked players before settling on the one he would draft, according to the New York Times.

3. Tavares has been a hockey hero in the Toronto area ever since he scored 72 goals at the age of 16 for his former team in Oshawa, just east of Toronto. He also played for the London Knights, just north-west of Toronto. He already has a huge fanbase in the region and could build on it.

4. He’s from Oakville, just west of Toronto, and there’s nothing like family support, especially in your rookie year. He could live at home!

5. Tavares is now ranked third, behind Hedman and also Brampton Battalion centre Matt Duchene and then Tavares. If Toronto takes Duchene, from nearby Haliburton, he will get the tons of attention instead of Tavares.

6. The Islanders finished last, this year. The franchise last enjoyed success in the 1980s. Critics of the Isles have called the organization “inept.”

7. Some sportswriters have advised Tavares to pull a Lindros, and avoid Isles, Bolts, Thrashers. Steve Simmons, writing in the Ottawa Sun, said he would be a fool to sign with the Isles.

8. Tavares was always a Leafs fan, growing up. He could make his childhood dreams come true and play for his favourite team.

9. Nationalism doesn’t mean much to NHL players but his city, Toronto, needs him.

10. One word: Endorsements.

By Captain Fantabulous… Detroit will pick one of Matt Stafford, Jason Smith, or Aaron Curry. Desirability in that order.

The Lions are on the clock as I type this though, and represent the only team in the draft that can make its pick before the draft starts.

It seems clear that Detroit will sign the first guy who puts pen to paper at least 48 hours before the draft. Stafford and his agent will be given enough time to negotiate with the Lions and come to an agreement.

If they can, Stafford is No. 1.

If he’s not signed two days before the draft, then it’s on to the next guy. There is no way Detroit will risk a lengthy, expensive quarterback holdout with a pick they probably don’t even want.

Now, the interesting part: Smith and Stafford share the same agent. Meaning he could play one against the other in order to make sure that the Lions pay one of them.

And pay them big.

Demanding big money for both, would, in effect, price one player out and force Detroit to pay the other.

Either that or pick neither of them.

One thing to remember is that tackles and quarterbacks are highly paid whenever they fall in the top five. Matt Ryan and Joe Thomas both got first-pick money and record-breaking deals.

Neither was No. 1.

I’m not sure that Stafford, Smith, or their mutual agents will be bullied into taking anything less than a record deal, no matter who ends up as the top pick.

In steps Mr. Curry.

Even record linebacker money doesn’t approach what teams would have to pay Stafford and Smith. Their demands could very well open the door for a guy like Curry to be picked at No. 1.

Signing Curry at No. 1 would be a very easy deal for any team to make, and I’m sure Curry would be delighted to move up two places for bragging rights alone.

The only thing that may hold Detroit is that they would more than likely have to make a rookie the highest paid linebacker in football history.

Effectively paying Curry, an unproven rookie, more money than Demarcus Ware, Ray Lewis, and Brian Urlacher, could be a mental block they find impossible to overcome.

They are, of course, happy to do this for tackles and quarterbacks, but signing an unproven linebacker to that kind of money could be a mental block for the Lions.

However, it is not entirely out of the question.

New head coach Jim Schwarz is a defensive guy who loves linebackers. He stated recently that Curry would be able to step in and be an “every down player immediately” if picked.

Logic suggests that Stafford and Smith are the Lions’ top two guys. But there is no guarantee that either will be taken No. 1.

Bill Parcells, the Dolphins’ vice president of football operations admitted post-draft that he would have passed on last year’s No. 1 pick Jake Long if he was unsigned on draft day.

His reasoning? A 1-15 team couldn’t afford lengthy, expensive hold-outs.

Detroit is in the same situation.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Curry finds himself the No. 1 pick.