Month: July 2020

UFC on ESPN+ 31 faceoffs video highlights, photo gallery

Check out all the fighter faceoffs ahead of UFC on ESPN+ 31.

ABU DHABI – After the UFC on ESPN+ 31 weigh-ins took place Friday, so too did fighter faceoffs, and MMA Junkie was on the scene.

In the main event, rising middleweight prospect [autotag]Edmen Shahbazyan[/autotag] looks to make a name for himself with a signature win against [autotag]Derek Brunson[/autotag]. And in the co-headliner, [autotag]Joanne Calderwood[/autotag], who is forgoing a title shot, takes on [autotag]Jennifer Maia[/autotag] in a women’s flyweight bout.

Those four fighters made weight, but there was one miss, as well as one fight canceled from the card.

Afterward, everyone came face to face. You can watch the faceoffs in the video above, as well as check out our photo gallery below.

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UFC on ESPN+ 31 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas and streams entirely on ESPN+.

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WATCH: Highlights from the first Oklahoma football practice

The first day of football practice took place for Oklahoma despite fully knowing if it will be playing football a month from now.

The first day of football practice took place for Oklahoma despite fully knowing if it will be playing football a month from now.

“It’s a long time coming,” said Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley to Sooner Sports TV. “You could feel that in the atmosphere today. Guys are just eager to be out here (and) are very excited—maybe even more than a normal opening of camp—because they’re always fun, but this one had a little different feel to it.”

Here are highlights from the first practice for the Sooners in preparation for a season.

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Brad Stevens, Celtics ‘glad to have opportunity to compete’ in restart

Coach Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics are looking forward to competing for a title in the Disney ‘bubble’ restart.

Ahead of the Boston Celtics season restart with the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston head coach Brad Stevens shared his thoughts during the pregame media availability session on how he felt about the restart now that it was finally up and running officially with games that count.

“We’re glad to have the opportunity to compete together,” offered the Indiana native.

“The benefit of an otherwise uncertain time, as we’ve all transitioned to this bubble, has been being on the court together and competing and sharing the joy of that. And now you get a chance to compete against somebody else, you get a chance to compete against one of the best teams in the NBA and I think that’s a good thing — I know our guys are looking forward to it; I’m sure their guys are too.”

“It was fun to watch the games last night, I thought that there was great competitive spirit on all sides, so it’s good to have basketball back,” he added.

While both teams may not go as hard as they might during any other regular season game given their designs on valuing postseason readiness over the season’s winning percentage, it should still be one of the premier tilts of the still-young restart.

And no small part of it comes from the joy of competition at the highest levels hard-wired into both rosters.

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Analyst names UGA’s Jordan Davis as a top SEC interior lineman

SEC Analyst Cole Cubelic names UGA football DT Jordan Davis as one of the league’s top interior lineman.

In addition to the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation for the 2020 cycle, the Georgia Bulldogs have a plethora of talented players returning for the upcoming season.

One of those returners, and a leader for the Dawgs’ defense next year, is defensive tackle Jordan Davis.

SEC Network Analyst Cole Cubelic has gone as far as to call Davis the SEC’s second-best interior defensive lineman for the upcoming season.

Davis played 11 games as a freshman in 2018, making 25 total tackles and six solo. Davis also had 1.5 sacks, earning the Football Writers Association of America Freshman All-American Team and Coaches Freshman All-SEC Team honors.

In 2019, Davis then played 14 games, making 18 tackles, seven solo tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks.

Davis could be even more effective on the defensive line if he cuts weight, which would certainly impress NFL scouts. Becoming more than a great run-stopper is what’s going to be the difference when teams consider Davis in next year’s draft.

The Charlotte native, who stands at 6-foot-6, 330 pounds, will be a junior this year and will be looked up to as a leader by many on the defensive side of the ball.

Three-star East Lansing receiver Andrel Anthony commits to Michigan over Michigan State

Anthony Jr. had long been considered a strong Michigan State lean, but flipped his pick to UofM this week.

Jim Harbaugh scored his first win over new Michigan State coach Mel Tucker on Friday.

Three-star wide receiver Andrel Anthony Jr., an East Lansing native long considered to be heading to MSU, committed to Harbaughs’ Wolverines over Tuckers’ Spartans on Friday evening.

Anthony, the top wide receiver in the State of Michigan, chose from a final four consisting of MSU, Michigan, Penn State, and Notre Dame. Anthony is ranked as the No. 529 player in the class of 2021 and the No. 12 player overall in Michigan.

On recruiting websites 247Sports.com and Rivals.com Anthony had long been considered a heavy Michigan State lean. As recently as Wednesday this week 22 of 22 predictions between the two sites had Anthony heading to MSU. Then word got out that Michigan was going to be the move and slowly but surely the predictions began to flip to the Wolverines.

It’s another tough recruiting loss for Tucker and the Spartans as the COVID-19 pandemic limiting visits has helped stall out MSU’s recruitment of the class of 2021. Currently the Spartans have 12 players committed in a class that ranks 63rd in the country and 12th in the Big Ten.

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Michigan steals away 2021 WR from rival MSU

The Wolverines stole one of the Spartans’ top targets away at the last minute.

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What a turn of events.

Just days ago at this time, it seemed that if Michigan wanted to add another receiver to its 2021 arsenal, it would have to look at a player like Jayden Thomas, the Atlanta (GA) Pace Academy four-star, who won’t be deciding for some time. The Wolverines already have California four-stars Cristian Dixon and Xavier Worthy committed, as well as Clayton (OH) Northmont three-star Markus Allen. But it seemed that in-state target Andrel Anthony was a non-starter, as he had ten 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions all prognosticating that he’d end up at Michigan State.

Funny, that.

With an announced July 31 commitment, the Spartans getting the East Lansing (MI) standout seemed imminent. However, Anthony reportedly made a quiet, unofficial visit to Ann Arbor to take another look around, and it seems that made the difference. On Wednesday, just two days before his decision, the 247Sports Crystal Balls shifted dramatically towards the maize and blue.

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And on Friday, his commitment came to fruition, as he spurned MSU and his hometown for Ann Arbor and the Michigan Wolverines.

He announced live on Instagram.

A two-sport star in high school, 247Sports’ national recruiting analyst Allen Trieu projects Anthony to be a Power 5 starter once he acclimates to the college game.

Long, thin frame. Very smooth, natural athlete. Changes directions and comes in and out of his breaks fluidly. That serves him well as a route runner where he creates separation. Excellent ball tracking skills and body control. Shows ability to make catches in traffic. Solid runner after the catch. Must get physically bigger and stronger. Pure straight line speed is something he can still add more of as well. Should be a very good college receiver who can play on the outside or in the slot and be a difference maker at the Power 5 level.

Had Anthony committed to Mel Tucker & Co., he would have been the Spartans’ highest-rated pledge in the 2021 class.

But with Michigan stealing him away, it bolsters the Wolverines to 21 commitments in the cycle, pushing the maize and blue ahead of North Carolina for the eighth-ranked team nationally in the 247Sports Composite team rankings.

Anthony is rated the No. 529 player in the country according to 247Sports, the No. 12 player in the state of Michigan and the 85th-best wideout nationally. Sherrone Moore led his recruitment for the Wolverines along with offensive coordinator Josh Gattis.

Touchdown Wire: Alabama vs. USC was key 2021 draft matchup

TD Wire explains why the season-opening game between Alabama and USC was a key draft matchup for the 2021 draft.

The drastic changes made to conferences’ schedules for the 2020 college football season means viewers will lose some matchups made for prime time. Along with those matches come opportunities for NFL teams to view potential draftees against quality opponents.

Mark Schofield of USA TODAY’s ‘Touchdown Wire’ listed Alabama’s now-canceled opening matchup against USC as a game that would have showcased plenty of top-tier talent, especially on the Crimson Tide’s side of the ball.

“…another matchup that was going to be worth watching would have taken place in the trenches, with USC interior defensive lineman Jay Tufele working against the inside of the Alabama offensive line, including guard Deonte Brown and center Landon Dickerson.

Of course, we also have to wait a bit longer to see quarterback Mac Jones taking over as the full-time starter in the wake of Tua Tagovailoa’s departure. Jones was steady taking over for the injured Tagovailoa, but now the job is his and his alone.”

The matchup against USC will certainly be missed, but the new conference-only schedule within the SEC will definitely make for an interesting and high-stakes season.

Roll Tide Wire will keep you updated on all things Alabama football as the 2020 season approaches.