Jon Fitch, B.J. Penn Fight to a Draw at UFC 127

In a battle of two of the best fighters in mixed martial arts, the judges couldn't pick a winner: Jon Fitch and B.J. Penn fought to a majority draw at UFC 127.

One judge scored it 29-28 for Fitch, but the other two judges scored it 28-28, and those two judges made it a majority draw -- a disappointing ending that left the fans in Sydney, Australia booing. It was the second time in three UFC pay-per-views this year that the main event has been scored a draw.

Fitch seemed to control most of the fight, and Penn acknowledged afterward that he thought he had lost. But Penn requested a rematch afterward, and that seems likely.

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Penn charged across the Octagon and went for a takedown at the start of the fight, a surprising decision to try to beat Fitch at his own game. For the first minute of the fight, Penn was pinning Fitch against the fence, but Fitch managed to reverse positions and hold Penn against the fence for another minute. After they spent the better part of the first round jockeying for position, Penn eventually took Fitch down, an impressive achievement in and of itself.

Then once Penn got Fitch on the ground, he took Fitch's back, and he attempted a rear-naked choke. But Fitch did a nice job of escaping the back control and getting back to his feet, and the round ended back on the feet, with Fitch holding Penn against the fence again. It was a close round that I scored for Penn, 10-9.

Penn and Fitch charged toward each other at the start of the second round, and when Penn missed with a flying knee, Fitch took him down and got on top of him. Penn seemed completely comfortable on the ground, however, and he got back to his feet without ever getting in any trouble. As they clinched against the cage Fitch was in control of the positioning, but Penn was landing better strikes, including several short elbows to Fitch's head. By the midway point of the second round, Fitch was bleeding profusely out his nose.

After the two briefly separated and threw a couple of punches, Penn took Fitch down and took his back, but Fitch escaped back control again and got on top of Penn, doing some damage with ground and pound as the round came to an end. I thought Fitch did enough with the ground and pound at the end that he may have taken the round, making it all tied up heading into the third and final round.

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UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Jon Fitch strikes BJ Penn at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

Daniel Herbertson, FanHouse

Daniel Herbertson, FanHouse

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Tiequan Zhang submits Jason Reinhardt at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Tiequan Zhang celebrates his submission win over Jason Reinhardt at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Tiequan Zhang celebrates his submission win over Jason Reinhardt at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Mark Hunt punches Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Mark Hunt drills Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Mark Hunt drills Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Chris Tuchscherer leaves the Octagon bloody at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Curt Warburton ground and pounds Maciej Jewtuszko at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Curt Warburton ground and pounds Maciej Jewtuszko at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Fitch's corner told him after the second round that he had to win the third, saying, "We need this third, big. Go for broke."

Fitch did, indeed, go for broke at the start of the third round, hitting Penn hard and taking him down, then taking his back a minute into the third round. From there Fitch got on top of Penn and unleashed more ground and pound, and there wasn't much Penn could do. It was amazing how effective Fitch could be with the ground and pound, unleashing punch after punch after punch to Penn's face, even though Penn had Fitch in full guard. I gave Fitch a 10-8 round, meaning I scored the fight for Fitch, 29-27. But the judges disagreed with me, and there was no winner.

A disappointed Fitch said afterward that he didn't know what he could have done differently.

"I think I did enough to win at least a split decision," Fitch said. "I want the title more than anything, but at the end of the day we don't make the decisions. ... I'm here to fight, I'm here to fight the best. If my 13 wins in the UFC already isn't enough to put me in for a title shot, I'm ready to prove myself more.

Penn sounded dejected afterward, but he said he expected to fight Fitch again.

"Since the gods were nice to me and gave me a draw, if he wants to do it again I'll do it again," Penn said.

The UFC should do it again: Penn and Fitch deserve the chance to erase any doubt about who's the better fighter.

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UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Ross Pearson and Spencer Fisher exchange shots at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

Daniel Herbertson, FanHouse

Daniel Herbertson, FanHouse

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Tiequan Zhang submits Jason Reinhardt at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Tiequan Zhang celebrates his submission win over Jason Reinhardt at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Tiequan Zhang celebrates his submission win over Jason Reinhardt at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Mark Hunt punches Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Mark Hunt drills Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Mark Hunt drills Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Chris Tuchscherer leaves the Octagon bloody at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Curt Warburton ground and pounds Maciej Jewtuszko at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Curt Warburton ground and pounds Maciej Jewtuszko at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

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UFC 127 Morning After: Judges Were Wrong, Jon Fitch Beat B.J. Penn

Show the B.J. Penn vs. Jon Fitch fight to people who don't know how MMA is judged, and ask them who won. They'd tell you it was Fitch, obviously. But of the three people whose job it was to decide who won, only one said Fitch was the winner. The other two said it was a draw, and so that was the result: No one won the main event at UFC 127.

What's unfortunate is that the people who don't know anything about MMA would have done a better job of judging this fight than the professional judges.

Jon Fitch deserved to win the decision at UFC 127. That the fight was a draw is a combination of the fact that MMA has bad judges, and bad judging criteria.

Let's start with the bad judges: This is something that it seems everyone in MMA agrees on: Too often, the judges just plain get it wrong. What the judges score a round, it doesn't match up with what the rest of us saw. UFC President Dana White said as much when Nick Ring was gifted a unanimous decision he hadn't earned over Riki Fukuda. White wrote on Twitter: "Judges f**king suck again!! Fukuda got robbed!!!"

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I agree with White's assessment, but why doesn't the UFC find better judges? In the United States, the UFC often blames athletic commissions for failing to hire and train competent judges. But in Australia the UFC isn't beholden to any athletic commission and can choose which judges it brings in. It's the UFC's responsibility to make sure the judges don't suck.

So I'd love to see White himself lead the way toward recruiting and training better judges. It's first and foremost the responsibility of the state athletic commissions, but the state athletic commissions have shown they're not up to the task.

But even aside from the individual judges, there are problems with the judging criteria. My biggest problem with MMA's use of the 10-point must system imported from boxing is that far too many MMA judges seem to think they have to score every round 10-9, and 10-10 or 10-8 rounds are far too rare. Fitch absolutely dominated the third round -- according to Compustrike he landed 134 strikes in the third, and Penn landed zero. That's a textbook example of a 10-8 round, and yet one of the judges scored it 10-9.

Watching the fight live, I scored it 29-27 for Fitch: I gave Penn the first round 10-9, Fitch the second 10-9 and Fitch the third 10-8. Watching it again this morning, I scored it the same way. FightMetric.com, which offers the most comprehensive analysis of MMA fights available anywhere, also scored it 29-27. This was a fight that Fitch won.

Except that he didn't. Instead, what Fitch gave us was another example of why MMA needs judging reform.

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UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Jon Fitch strikes BJ Penn at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

Daniel Herbertson, FanHouse

Daniel Herbertson, FanHouse

Tiequan Zhang submits Jason Reinhardt at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Tiequan Zhang celebrates his submission win over Jason Reinhardt at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Tiequan Zhang celebrates his submission win over Jason Reinhardt at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Mark Hunt punches Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Mark Hunt drills Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Mark Hunt drills Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Chris Tuchscherer leaves the Octagon bloody at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Curt Warburton ground and pounds Maciej Jewtuszko at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Curt Warburton ground and pounds Maciej Jewtuszko at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Notes from UFC 127
-- Is there a worse nickname in the UFC than Nick "The Promise" Ring?

-- Nice submission win for China's Zhang Tie Quan, but let's not forget that Jason Reinhardt is a 41-year-old who hadn't fought in three years and had never beaten anyone of any quality in his life. Reinhardt was the most ill-equipped fighter the UFC has put in the Octagon since James Toney.

-- It's hard not to lose respect for Michael Bisping over the last couple days, between his homophobic slur toward Jorge Rivera and his illegal knee when they were in the Octagon and his post-fight antics. Bisping showed that he's a better fighter than Rivera, but he hasn't exactly covered himself with glory this weekend.

Quotes from UFC 127
"He was very disappointed on the show when his leg blew out." -- Joe Rogan on the injury suffered by Nick Ring on The Ultimate Fighter. Tell me when you meet someone who's happy that his leg blew out.

"Both these guys have great futures at 155 pounds." -- Mike Goldberg on Spencer Fisher and Pearson. Fisher is 34 years old and has now lost three of his last four fights. His future isn't looking so bright.

Good call
Brian Ebersole's decision to start his fight with Chris Lytle by using a cartwheel kick. No, it didn't work, but it was worth a shot for a heavy underdog making his UFC debut -- and Ebersole has done it successfully before. It set the tone for a fight in which Ebersole would have his way with Lytle.

Bad call
Ebersole's decision to shave his chest hair into an arrow. Maybe it was a good luck charm in the upset victory, but it looked ridiculous.

Stock up
Mark Hunt: Granted, Hunt's stock couldn't have been much lower than it was heading into this weekend; he was riding a six-fight losing streak. But even if he's overweight and out of shape and getting old, Hunt can still hit hard, and when he connects, it's going to hurt. It certainly hurt Chris Tuchscherer. Hunt, the 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix champ, is probably getting close to retiring from combat sports. It would be nice to see him retire with a win.

Stock Down
George Sotiropoulos. After the way Dennis Siver handled him in the stand-up and easily avoided all his takedown attempts, I don't think we'll hear any more about Sotiropolous ever being in title contention again.

Final thought
UFC 127 was entertaining, as far as it went, but it didn't have a lot of really important match-ups. It was nice to see, however, what a good job the UFC did promoting UFC 128, a huge card headlined by Jon Jones vs. Shogun Rua. The preview for UFC 128 was tremendous, and reminded us what a really great fight card (which UFC 127 was not) looks like.

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Winning Priority No. 1 for New Sabres Owner Terry Pegula

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- You can bet Buffalo general manager Darcy Regier and Sabres coach Lindy Ruff have probably never heard what they heard Tuesday when billionaire Terry Pegula was introduced as the team's new owner.

"If I want to make some money, I'll go drill a gas well," said Pegula, who paid $189 million for the team. "Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres' reason for existence will be to win a Stanley Cup."

Imagine that, an owner willing to turn a pretender into a contender, at his own expense.

Regier was admired around the NHL for getting the most of owners more concerned with the bottom line than winning.

And Ruff earned the respect of his peers for getting the most out of a lineup that doesn't have a star attraction.

Under previous owner Tom Golisano, the Sabres had slashed the budget for the scouting department, relying heavily on video scouting.

Those days are over.

After saying that Regier and Ruff will be back, Pegula said he will dip into his deep pockets to bring a championship team to Buffalo; he all but promised a blank check to Regier.

"We'll put the pedal to the metal as capably as we can," he said. "I don't know if it's wise to spend to the cap every year. But we're not in this to save money, that's for sure."

"Darcy will run a hockey department that I have previously said will have no financial mandates. We're cutting the chains off and he's free to run with whatever he wants to do with scouting, player development, working with Lindy (Ruff, coach) and the coaches. We're going to pour some resources into that area of the team."

"There is no salary cap in the National Hockey League on scouting budgets and player-development budgets. I plan on increasing, working with Darcy and the guys, increasing our scouting budget with bodies on the ground in areas we might not be hitting, and enhancing our video department.

"Starting today we will bring in more player development coaches to help these guys become better hockey players, work on their weaknesses or whatever the coaches think. We will aspire to be the best in the league at finding, developing and keeping our players in their new Buffalo Sabre family."

At 59, Pegula has an estimated worth of $3 billion and was most recently ranked 110th on Forbes magazine's list of wealthiest Americans.

Pegula and his wife, Kim, have lived previously in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park. The couple will continue to live in Florida but will travel back and forth to Buffalo.

Pegula grew up a fan of the Sabres.

"I'm the guy who lived in Houston, Texas, in 1979 and listened to that horrible (playoff) overtime loss to the (Pittsburgh) Penguins," said Pegula. "A friend of mine in Olean, N.Y., held his phone to the television and I listed to the game on the phone. I'm the guy who used to sit on an overpass in Pittsburgh in the early 80s to listen to Sabres radio broadcasts as they faded in and out."

Pegula then turned to where Sabres alum and Hockey Hall of Famer Gilbert Perreault was sitting and began crying.

"You're my hero," he said. "That's my hockey genesis right there."

The Sabres are on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture, in ninth place.

The first order of business is the Feb. 28 trade deadline. Pegula didn't rule out making player moves, but didn't say whether he has anything specific in mind.

This isn't his first venture into hockey.

In September, the Pegulas made the largest private gift in Penn State history, donating $88 million to fund a new multipurpose arena and help upgrade the men's hockey program. The Nittany Lions will make the move to Division I hockey in the 2012-13 season.

But make no mistake about it.

Winning a Stanley Cup is his top priority.

And that was exactly what Ruff, the longest-tenured head coach in the NHL, wanted to hear.

"It means a lot to me, personally," Ruff said. "For almost 30 years, I've been a Sabre in some capacity or another, going back to when I was drafted in 1979. I said my goal was to win a Stanley Cup, and he may be more passionate than I am.

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Teal Bunbury: A Striker For The Next Generation

It was a modern phenomenon befitting a very modern player.

Within minutes of converting a penalty kick against Chile in the U.S. national team's Jan. 22 friendly outside Los Angeles, Teal Bunbury had gone viral.

He had his composure from 12 yards and Telefutura announcer Pablo Ram�rez to thank. Bunbury, normally rather reserved, celebrated his first international goal with a little dance near the corner flag.

That's when Ram�rez' impromptu Black Eyed Peas-inspired call transformed a mundane penalty into an iconic moment, a forgettable friendly into a celebration and "Boonbooree" into both a trending topic and a t-shirt.

The player was among the last to find out about it.

"One of my buddies sent me a text and let me know about it," he told FanHouse about the "Boonbooree" call. "A couple of days days after the game I went online and listened to it for the first time. It was kind of shocking."

Ram�rez sealed the game's place in American soccer lore, but Bunbury did an awful lot to bring it to life. It was lurching along at a dreary pace when U.S. coach Bob Bradley inserted both the Sporting Kansas City forward and the New York Red Bulls' Juan Agudelo at the hour mark.

The pair (combined age, 38) added an obvious spark, attacking fast and fearlessly. Chile was on its heels, and Agudelo earned the penalty when he was brought down following a give-and-go with Alejandro Bedoya. Bunbury, sensing his moment had arrived, convinced the player he considered "my little brother throughout the whole camp" to relinquish his claim on the kick.

"Eventually he let me take it," Bunbury said.

What followed vaulted the 20-year-old into the country's soccer conversation, both the kind limited to 140 feverish characters and the more thoughtful part addressing the future of the American striker. Currently, the only reliable American goal scorer is playing for Italy, and while Jozy Altidore remains in the picture, the position remains up for grabs.

That prospect undoubtedly fueled the "Boonbooree" excitement. U.S. fans are hungry for a forward who can make things happen, and Bunbury appears to have that knack. It's a knack resulting from a combination of factors that leave him almost perfectly positioned to make an impact on the modern game. Bunbury is, in his own way, an embodiment of the growth of American soccer. He is a player for the next generation.

It starts with his roots. Although Bunbury's example is extreme, it's part of a growing and auspicious trend. Not everyone will be fortunate enough to be raised by a pro, but more and more American players will grow up surrounded by family, friends and coaches who know the game. Partly because of its increased popularity, partly because of our shrinking world and partly because those who grew up with soccer in the 1970s and early '80s now are having kids of their own, the number of players with early and knowledgeable soccer influences is surging.

"The landscape of youth soccer has changed dramatically in the last 10 years. It's not pockets of the United States. It's really consistent throughout the country," Sporting Kansas City coach Peter Vermes told this website.

Eleven years ago, Vermes was a teammate of Alex Bunbury on the Kansas City side that won the 2000 MLS Cup. The elder Bunbury was born in Guyana and moved to Quebec as a child. By the time Teal came along in 1990, his father was a four-year veteran of the Canadian national team. Alex would play professionally in England, Portugal and the U.S. His son would grow up with a love, appreciation and affinity for the sport, and with a father who pushed him to excel.

"It felt like every little thing I did in training he would critique," Bunbury told The Shin Guardian in January. "Obviously my teammates were there but it seemed like he was always singling me out for everything. If I had one bad touch he was on my case ... which isn't a bad thing though. It prepared me for my career."

Bunbury is a modern player in body, as well as at his foundation. He is not the kid of a dozen years ago, who settled for the soccer team because he was too small for football. At 6-feet-2, 175 pounds, he is big yet lean, strong enough to hold off defenders and win the ball, but quick and skillful enough to run at the opposition and create.

"He's sort of at the next level. In some respect, this guy's the prototypical wide receiver," Vermes told FanHouse. "You start talking about certain guys just because of their body makeup, and he has a lot of qualities that are very interesting for that (forward) position -- his size, his speed, the technical ability."

Bunbury scored 17 goals in his second and final season at the University of Akron, and tallied five in his rookie campaign in Kansas City last year (his first MLS goal is below). Vermes can use him in a variety of attacking positions, both leading the line and playing behind the strikers.

His transition from club and high school ball to Akron, from Akron to MLS and from MLS to the national team has appeared almost seamless. Bunbury even felt comfortable during a practice stint with English Premier League club Stoke City in December, scoring in a reserve team match.

The modern player is confident yet humble. He's comfortable with a ball and can anticipate the demands of each subsequent level. He has the skill, the long-term vision and the temperament to succeed.

"You attribute that to his professionalism at a very young age," Vermes said. "He's an extremely mature kid. He has a great work ethic. He comes to training every day to be the best, and it's just inside him. He's always realistic. Sometimes, athletes -- we've all been there -- what happens is you wind up being a little bit unrealistic, a little delusional when you do a little self evaluation.

"He's not that way at all. He's 100 percent a very good evaluator of his performance. That really helps his development. He can move on and build and work on certain aspects of his game. You can talk about it and he'll pay attention. You can spend time after practice working on different aspects.

"Because of that you can really indoctrinate yourself not only into a team, but into another level because people are willing to work with you and give you the benefit of the opportunities that are out there. He's just taking advantage of it."

Bunbury said the biggest jump was from college to Kansas City. "The speed of play was my biggest thing to adjust to, but granted, I think I adjusted to it quickly," he told FanHouse.

As far as getting comfortable with the national team, he credited Bradley's candor and renowned attention to detail for helping him plot his path.

"He's very meticulous. He's really clear on details and things like that," Bunbury said. "He's just always really, the few times I've been in camps and stuff, just trying to keep me grounded, give me things to work on. I still have a lot to learn and he's always trying to focus on different things to help me improve my game as much as possible."

Such as?

"He just wanted me personally to work on my opening runs, giving myself an extra yard from the defender and get the ball facing the goal, was his biggest thing, He wanted me to work on just keeping my head up and just staying focused."

Staying focused, at least on the big picture, has never been an issue. Bunbury has always had his sights set on a pro career, on success at the highest level. Players of his generation, whether they're the son of an international or not, will be exposed to the game at a young age -- the game beyond drink boxes and orange slices.

They'll have grown up with professional coaching in the youth and college ranks and a viable and competitive domestic league. They'll be monitored by an ambitious and well-organized national team program (or two) committed to player identification, and they'll benefit from the trailblazers who ensured that the American player will be considered and respected abroad.

It's the start of a virtuous circle that, hopefully, will produce players more athletic and more mature than their predecessors, and more moments like the one at the Home Depot Center.

That road also will have forks, and those options present a different kind of pressure. New clubs will come calling, and many players will be eligible for more than one passport.

Bunbury's first foray into the headlines came last November, when he accepted Bradley's invitation to join the senior side for the friendly against South Africa. Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Bunbury had followed in his father's footsteps and played for Canada's under-17 and under-20 teams.

Then Bradley called, and offered him the chance to make his own name for a team that had qualified for six consecutive World Cups.

According to Vermes, it was not a very tough decision.

"I felt as if he was leaning toward the United States, and at the same time he also wanted to respect the fact this his dad played for Canada," the coach told FanHouse. "He realized that he's got to live his own professional career, and I think he realized that a lot of the things he wants to achieve can lie with the United states team. It wasn't a selfish thing on his part at all. He just wanted to give himself the opportunity to play in the best competition he could."

Those offended by Bunbury's switch may have missed to important elements. The first was that Teal left Canada at the age of two, when his father signed with West Ham. When he returned to North America eight years later, the family settled in Minnesota. It was there that Bunbury went to high school. It was there where he began to feel American.

The second was that by playing for his adopted country, he did follow in his father's footsteps. Alex sought greater opportunity in Canada, and his son would do the same in the U.S.

"He's got my back 100 percent no matter what decision I would have made. He's happy with whatever decision I make. It was the right one, and I wanted to make it. He didn't want to pressure me," Bunbury said.

He addressed it like an adult. He addressed it with mature perspective.

"The fans and the media kind of blow it out of proportion and get carried away with it. Ultimately it's the player's decision on his future," he told FanHouse, shortly after the conclusion of the European transfer window featured scenes of Liverpool fans burning their Fernando Torres jerseys.

Torres was purchased for millions from Atl�tico Madrid and sold for millions to Chelsea. Bunbury argued that in the business of modern soccer, loyalty is far more nuanced.

"Obviously every player is going to try and stay as loyal as possible, but when it comes down to it you have to provide for your family and do what's best for you in your professional career. But that's the day and age we're in now and people are just exploiting things differently," he said.

"People are entitled to their opinions and their decisions. I guess I have to deal with it. I'm very honored and blessed with the decision I made and the opportunities I've been given, and I'm going to just continue to do what I can to make myself a better person on and off the field. I can't really please everybody."

Bunbury wants to play in Europe. It's been a dream of his since he followed his father there. But he knows that will come if he makes good on his commitment to Kansas City. It's a club that, thanks to a new stadium and rising profile, will provide a legitimate platform for him to showcase his abilities.

It's a city where he's already been embraced. A Sporting spokesman said that Bunbury has never refused a media request and has, along with good friend Kei Kamara, set an admirable standard for his interaction with fans on Twitter.

Those fans responded with their designs for the "Boonbooree" t-shirt that the club has been selling on its website. In about two weeks, Bunbury had progressed from national team camp hopeful to meme to fashion statement. It's a modern story about a player equipped to shape it. It's a story that's just beginning.

"I'm a bit more reserved, but I think it's good, bringing more attention to Sporting Kansas City, having a little contest with the shirt," he said. "I'm grateful and very humbled by it. I'm not a guy to go out and promote myself and things like that. I'm very honored that people have taken the time."

At this rate, Bunbury will continue to attract attention. There certainly is no guarantee of success, as the news that he may have dislocated his elbow in a Tuesday scrimmage attests. But there is no question that he possesses the tools required. He is at the vanguard of what could be a profound change in the way American soccer players are forged and followed.

"For right now I'm really happy with where I'm at," he said. "But I'm always looking forward."

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UFC 127: Michael Bisping Beats Jorge Rivera

• Michael David Smith
• Lead Blogger

Michael Bisping showed off an impressive, well-rounded offensive arsenal against Jorge Rivera at UFC 127, using a combination of takedowns and punches to win a second-round technical knockout.

The fight was the culmination of a rivalry between Bisping and Rivera that included bad blood and harsh trash talk from both fighters over the last few weeks, including Bisping spewing a homophobic slur toward Rivera at the weigh-in. After the fight Bisping and Rivera appeared to have some more harsh words for each other, as did their respective corner men. But they eventually exchanged a hug, and Bisping said he was sorry in his post-fight interview.

"I just want to apologize," Bisping said afterward. "He touched a nerve and I'm a sensitive guy."

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As for the fight itself, a minute into the first round Bisping shot in for a great takedown and ended up on top of Rivera on the ground, although Rivera got back to his feet after 30 seconds without taking much damage. Rivera landed one hard punch when they were back to their feet, but Bisping got his second takedown of the first round after that. Bisping appeared to be in control, but he stood up and landed an illegal knee to the head of Rivera while Rivera was still on the ground, leading to a pause in the fight. Rivera was examined by the doctors, and ultimately allowed to continue, while Bisping had a point deducted.

For the rest of the first round it was Bisping who was getting the better end of the striking exchanges, and he also secured another takedown. Bisping deserved to win the round 10-9, so with the point deduction it was a 9-9 round.

At the start of the second round Rivera rocked Bisping with a big right hand, and it looked like Rivera might bounce back. But after that one big punch, it was all Bisping: The Brit started battering Rivera with punches and eventually knocked Rivera down with a hard right hand and then unleashed a couple more punches on the ground before the referee stopped the fight, awarding Bisping the technical knockout victory.

The win improves Bisping's record to 20-4. Rivera falls to 19-8.

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UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Jon Fitch strikes BJ Penn at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

Daniel Herbertson, FanHouse

Daniel Herbertson, FanHouse

Tiequan Zhang submits Jason Reinhardt at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Tiequan Zhang celebrates his submission win over Jason Reinhardt at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Tiequan Zhang celebrates his submission win over Jason Reinhardt at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Mark Hunt punches Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Mark Hunt drills Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Mark Hunt drills Chris Tuchscherer at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Chris Tuchscherer leaves the Octagon bloody at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Curt Warburton ground and pounds Maciej Jewtuszko at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

Curt Warburton ground and pounds Maciej Jewtuszko at UFC 127 on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 at the Acer Arena in Sydney, Australia.

UFC 127 Fight Night Photos

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Duke Snider, Dodgers Hall of Famer, Dies at 84

NEW YORK (AP) -- Duke Snider, the Hall of Fame center fielder for the charmed "Boys of Summer'' who helped the Dodgers bring their elusive and only World Series crown to Brooklyn, died early Sunday of what his family called natural causes. He was 84.

Snider died at the Valle Vista Convalescent Hospital in Escondido, Calif., according to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, which announced the death on behalf of the family.

"The Duke of Flatbush'' hit .295 with 407 career home runs, played in the World Series six times and won two titles. But the eight-time All-Star was defined by much more than his stats -- he was, after all, part of the love affair between the borough of Brooklyn and "Dem Bums'' who lived in the local neighborhoods.

Ebbets Field was filled with stars such as Pee Wee Reese, Roy Campanella and Gil Hodges during that 1955 championship season. Yet it is Snider's name that refrains in the ballpark favorite "Talkin' Baseball.''

"Willie, Mickey, and the Duke,'' the popular song goes.

Snider wore No. 4 in Dodger blue, and was often regarded as the third-best center fielder in New York -- behind Willie Mays of the Giants and Mickey Mantle of the Yankees -- during what many fans considered the city's golden era of baseball.

"The newspapers compared Willie, Mickey and I, and that was their thing,'' Snider said several years ago. "As a team, we competed with the Giants, and we faced the Yankees in the World Series. So we had a rivalry as a team, that was it. It was an honor to be compared to them, they were both great players.''

Mantle died in 1995 at age 63. Mays, now 79, threw out a ceremonial ball last fall before a playoff game in San Francisco.

Snider hit at least 40 home runs in five straight seasons and led the NL in total bases three times. He never won an MVP award, although a voting error may have cost him the prize in 1955. He lost to Campanella by a very narrow margin -- it later turned out an ill voter left Snider off the ballot, supposedly by mistake.

Snider hit .309 with 42 home runs and a career-high 136 RBI in 1955. That October, he hit four homers, drove in seven runs and hit .320 as the Dodgers beat the Yankees in a seven-game World Series.

For a team that kept preaching "Wait till next year'' after Series losses to the Yankees in 1953, 1952, 1949, 1947 and 1941, it had indeed become next year. A generation later, long after they'd all grown old, those Dodgers were lauded as the "Boys of Summer'' in Roger Kahn's book.

Born Edwin Donald Snider, he got his nickname at an early age. Noticing his son return home from a game with somewhat of a strut, Snider's dad said, "Here comes the Duke.''

The name stuck. So did Snider, once he played his first game in the majors in 1947, two days after Jackie Robinson's historic debut.

A durable slugger with a strong arm, good instincts on the bases and a regal style, Snider hit the last home run at Ebbets Field in 1957.

Snider's swing gave the Dodgers a lefty presence on a team of mostly righties. He often launched shots over the short right-field wall at the Brooklyn bandbox, rewarding a waiting throng that gathered on Bedford Avenue.

"The Duke's up,'' fans in the upper deck would shout to those on the street.

A wild swinger, Snider was harnessed by Branch Rickey, who made him practice standing at home plate with a bat on his shoulder calling balls and strikes but forbidden to swing.

Snider stayed with the Dodgers when they moved to Los Angeles in 1958 and won another World Series ring the next year. Prematurely gray, "The Silver Fox'' returned to New York with the bumbling Mets in 1963 and finished his career in 1964 with the San Francisco Giants, the Dodgers' longtime rivals.

Snider was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980 on his 11th try. He was a broadcaster for the Montreal Expos for several seasons -- he played in the city as a minor leaguer in the Brooklyn farm system -- and later was an announcer with the Dodgers.

In 1995, Snider pleaded guilty to federal tax charges and was sentenced to two years' probation and fined $5,000. He admitted not reporting more than $97,000 in cash from autograph signings, card shows and memorabilia sales.

Snider was sentenced at the Brooklyn federal courthouse, a few miles from where he had starred. The judge said Snider had been "publicly disgraced and humiliated ... here in Brooklyn, where you were idolized by a generation ... of which I was one.''

Snider apologized for his actions. He said he began making autograph appearances because he had little in savings and had made several bad business decisions. The judge said Snider paid nearly $30,000 in back taxes and noted he had diabetes, hypertension and other illnesses.

A native Californian, Snider became part of Brooklyn's fabric during his playing days.

"I was born in Los Angeles,'' he once said. "Baseball-wise, I was born in Brooklyn. We lived with Brooklyn. We died with Brooklyn.''

The Duke, however, had some early problems with the boisterous Brooklyn fans.

Once, in the early 1950s, he was quoted as calling them the worst in the game. He came to the park after the quote was published and was greeted with a chorus of boos. But he enjoyed one of his better nights, and silenced the fans for good.

"The fans were something.'' Snider said. "They were so close to you. You got to know them, some of them by name.''

During his playing career, Snider became an avocado farmer. He lived many years in Fallbrook, Calif., which calls itself "the avocado capital of the world.''

He is survived by his wife, Beverly, whom he married in 1947.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

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Charlie Davies Ready to Prove Himself as Player and Person With D.C. United

Charlie Davies is ready to be a grown-up. He's ready to be a role model.

The man whose life changed forever when he skipped out on national team curfew (less than 48 hours before a World Cup qualifier) and got into an SUV with a woman who'd been drinking now wants to be the player to whom others turn for guidance.

He's hoping to get that chance with D.C. United, which is trialing the 24-year-old striker in Florida. If Davies can demonstrate that he's able to contribute, the MLS club will acquire him on a year-long loan from Sochaux.

Naturally, he hopes those contributions show up on the scoreboard.

"I think as far as on the field just to show that I'm back, as far as being physically able to contribute and be the player that I was before," he said during a Friday conference call when FanHouse asked what he hoped to show United during his tryout.

"Whether that's using my speed, creating chances, scoring goals -- all of the above -- that I do. That's just being out there and and being the player that I am."

But Davies also wants to make an impact that can't be quantified.

It's certainly fair to say that he's engaged in some impetuous behavior over the past 16 months. From that fateful and fatal night in Washington, to the comments and tweets that created rifts with both Sochaux and U.S. coach Bob Bradley last spring, and to the October incident where he lied to French traffic cops in order to protect a speeding teammate, Davies hasn't always taken the mature and professional path.

He implied Friday that he's ready to do that now, telling FanHouse that he wants to offer his leadership and new-found wisdom to his teammates.

"As far as off the field, (my goal is to be) helping the younger guys in certain situations on the field, and obviously giving my input and my advice, since I've been through a lot of things," he said. "So I can help out these younger guys, and even the guys who have more experience.

"It's just being the guy (who) guys can go to with questions, and obviously helping out guys on the field and off the field."

Davies is an unknown quantity in both places. Obviously, no one is sure whether he can perform consistently at a professional level.

He was "out of favor" at Sochaux, D.C. coach Ben Olsen told MLS's ExtraTime Radio, and Davies acknowledged during the Friday call that, "Do I need to improve on different things? Of course. I haven't played in a year at a high level, in a competitive match, so I still have to progress."

Olsen and his staff will have a sense by the end of next week how far Davies has come as a soccer player.

Should he stick with United, we'll all have the chance to see his evolution as a person.

He admitted his culpability in the events leading to the October 2009 accident that left one woman dead and Davies' body shattered, and expressed his appreciation for the memorable show of support from Washington fans two nights later as the U.S. took on Costa Rica.

"It's not the city that made the mistake that night, it was me. It was a bad decision, but the fans there are unbelievable ... and I'd love to have the chance and the opportunity to play in front of them and make things happen," he said.

Taking responsibility for your actions -- that shows some genuine adult perspective.

Davies offered some more toward the end of the call, responding to a question from FanHouse about how he has trained and behaved differently since the accident.

"Of course when you go through something like I went through, extra training is normal. Every day, if there's doubles, you're doing triples. If (there's) singles, you're doing double. I've put in the work to get to where I am now. I know it's not going to stop," he said.

"You can't take things for granted anymore. I think it's one of the biggest things I've learned. I wake up every day and I'm so thankful I can go out and put on my boots and play with the ball and play with my teammates. I look at it, if you can go out and do it, you go out and do it to the fullest. I think in that sense, there's no limit to where I can work and where I can get to."

Olsen said he's going to hold Davies to a high standard, that he needs a striker who can contribute immediately, and that he hasn't been in touch with anyone at Sochaux regarding the player's health. It's all on the line for Davies over the course of the next week.

The coach did say, however, that Davies' "intangibles are very good."

He's needed them to get over the trauma of the crash, and through the disappointment of missing the World Cup and the rigorous rehabilitation and training that's brought him to the verge of an MLS contract.

He'll need them going forward as well, to make good on his Friday promise to be team leader and to prove that he's become a person who can make the right decisions. That sort of player is far easier to cheer for.

Here are highlights from United's Friday intra-squad scrimmage:

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