WATCH! Seattle Dragons’ Marcell Frazier makes incredible Pick-6

Seattle Dragons defensive end Marcell Frazier showed off some pretty good hands.

Marcell Frazier may be playing defense but the 6-foot-5, 256-pound defensive end from Missourie showed some great hands in the Seattle Dragons’ 17-9 victory over the Tampa Bay Vipers Saturday.

Frazier pilfered a pass at the Tampa Bay 1 and waltzed into the end zone for a touchdown in the second half. After a successful two-point try from the 5-yard line on a Brandon Silvers pass to Keenan Reynolds, the Dragons had a 14-9 lead with 5:31 left in the third quarter.

The XFL and the Dragons may be new to pro football, but the team showed it knows what to do after a Pick-6. They scored the 17 points in a row after falling behind by nine.

Seattle loves its football and that could never have been more obvious than in the crowd, which was rousing and totaled 29,172.

UFC on ESPN+ 25 results: Lando Vannata wins tactical affair over Yancy Medeiros

A fight that was expected to be filled with fireworks wasn’t, but that suited “Groovy” just fine.

On paper, UFC on ESPN+ 25’s main-card opener between [autotag]Yancy Medeiros[/autotag] and [autotag]Lando Vannata[/autotag] seemed to be one of Saturday night’s best fights. The lightweight duo have the ability to put together “Fight of the Night” caliber brawls on any given evening.

Instead, a tactical affair broke out at Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho, N.M., largely because that was the pace Vannata (11-4-2 MMA, 3-4-2 UFC) dictated. The New Mexico resident used a smart counter-striking style to fluster his foe and earn a unanimous decision on a count of 30-27 across the board.

“I got a great team around me,” Vannata said. “I believe I’ve got world class talent, world class skill. I believe I’m still growing in this sport.”

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There wasn’t much mystery to Vannata’s game plan as he moved at a fast pace, darted in and out, kept his hands down, and waited for Medeiros (15-7 MMA, 6-7 UFC) to strike.

Medeiros, for his part, liked to stay outside and land straight shots to set up the rest of his offense, but he never seemed to be able to adjust to his nimble foe, as Vannata always seemed to land counter combos and then scoot out to safety.

The Hawaiian Medeiros seemed a step off the entire fight, perhaps due to the high altitude, but Vannata never slowed. And while Medeiros tried to pick up the pace in the third and landed occasional nice shots, he was never able to unleash a sustained offensive streak.

Vannata is now 2-1-1 in his past four, with all except for his one loss in that run going the distance. Medeiros, who hasn’t won a fight since 2017, has lost three in a row after dropping a decision for just the second time in his career.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN+ 25 results include:

  • Lando Vannata def. Yancy Medeiros via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Daniel Rodriguez def. Tim Means via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 3:37
  • John Dodson def. Nathaniel Wood via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:16
  • Scott Holtzman def. Jim Miller via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Devin Clark def. Dequan Townsend via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26)
  • Merab Dvalishvili def. Casey Kenney via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-25, 29-28)
  • Macy Chiasson def. Shanna Young via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
  • Raulian Paiva def. Mark De La Rosa via knockout (punches) – Round 2, 4:42

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Bears could target these 3 recently-released DBs in free agency

One team’s trash could be another team’s treasure. Especially when that trash could help the Bears address some needs at defensive back.

One team’s trash could be another team’s treasure. Especially when that trash could address some needs at defensive back.

Ahead of free agency next month, several teams made some cuts at defensive back, which could benefit the Bears that are in the market for some help in the secondary.

With safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix set to become a free agent and with cornerback Prince Amukamara likely to be a cap-casualty, the Bears will have holes to address in the offseason.

Here are three recently-released players that should be on Chicago’s radar heading into free agency.

Josh Norman, cornerback

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

The Redskins cut former All-Pro and Pro Bowl cornerback Josh Norman on Friday, and the Bears should consider adding Normal to their defensive backfield. Norman is 32 years old and his production has dipped over the last three seasons, where he had 48 pass breakups and nine interceptions.

But Norman would certainly benefit from joining one of the NFL’s best defenses, which features three former All-Pros in Khalil Mack, Eddie Jackson and Kyle Fuller. With Prince Amukamara likely on his way out of Chicago, as cutting him would free up $9 million in cap space, Norman is an intriguing veteran option the Bears could pair with Fuller.

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Kemba Walker: ‘going to be a very emotional weekend’ at All-Star Game

Boston Celtics starting point guard Kemba Walker fielded a lot of questions at All-Star media availability on Saturday, but the loss of Kobe Bryant and David Stern was never far away.

It’s not uncommon at Media Day at the NBA All-Star game for participants to get some unusual questions, and for Boston Celtics starting point guard Kemba Walker, this year was no exception.

But some questions were inevitable, given the pall the loss of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant’s accidental death still casts over the league and event.

It began when the UConn product was asked what was the first thing that comes to mind regarding what Walker learned from Bryant.

“Like I’ve been saying, just his work ethic, second to none,” offered the Bronx native.

“He was a very, very, very hard worker, and you could tell,” added Walker. “Fourth quarter came, I feel like everybody else is always tired, and Kobe wasn’t, you feel me? Yeah, he was a special guy.”

Other questions were less serious, such as where to find the best bacon, egg and cheese sandwich, which Walker had little trouble answering. “No question. It’s definitely in the Bronx. Any corner store you go to in the Bronx is the best for sure.”

Favorite nickname? “EZ Pass”.  Different playing for a new franchise in the All-Star Game? “Not really,” he began. “I don’t know if it’s something you get used to, but … it’s the same format, just a different team.”

Presumably, Walker was referring to the process of getting selected, or perhaps the newer format of forming the teams through a draft, since he’ll be taking part in a very new format designed to commemorate the life of Kobe Bryant Sunday evening.

Kobe’s memory remained front and center even in the mostly light-hearted interviews Saturday, Walker’s included.

Asked what the weekend was going to be like, the former Husky closed out his media availability with a reminder the wider NBA community wasn’t just mourning Bryant but also former Commissioner David Stern.

The architect of the NBA passed in January after a cerebral hemorrhage suffered in December.

“Very emotional, of course,” said Walker. “Of course with the tragic death of Kobe and Gigi and the rest of the families.”

“David Stern [too], it’s definitely going to be a very emotional weekend, and we’re going to celebrate those guys and everyone else as best as we can. They meant so much to our game. They grew the game so much.”

“We all just have a lot of respect for them,” he closed.

Walker and Celtics teammate Jayson Tatum will celebrate those memories Sunday evening in the All-Star Game — albeit on different teams — in that aforementioned new format to honor the Laker legend.

It will be a big departure from previous iterations of the midseason friendly, and will likely draw a fair number of eyeballs to see how the new format actually works as much as to honor Stern and Bryant.

Whether the format flops or not, the nod to the twin giants lost by the NBA community this year is an excellent way to memorialize the duo, the All-Star game’s Most Value Player trophy having been revealed to being named for Kobe as an additional touch.

And whichever team wins the contest — Team LeBron or Team Giannis — they probably won’t be asking them about breakfast sandwiches.

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Ohio State Women’s Hockey upsets No. 2 Wisconsin 3-1

The Ohio State Buckeyes Women’s Ice Hockey team made an important move towards its NCAA Tournament chances, upsetting No. 2 Wisconsin 3-1 in Madison. Ohio State scored all three of its goals in an impressive two-minute stretch, and they held that …

The Ohio State Buckeyes Women’s Ice Hockey team made an important move towards its NCAA Tournament chances, upsetting No. 2 Wisconsin 3-1 in Madison. Ohio State scored all three of its goals in an impressive two-minute stretch, and they held that lead, giving up one goal the rest of the way. Tatum Skaggs, Gabby Rosenthal, and Sophie Jaques scored the three goals for Ohio State.

We went over Ohio State’s tournament chances on Friday, and this win takes away a lot of the potential stress for the Buckeyes. We’ll still continue to track this as conference tournaments approach, since bid thieves could still take Ohio State out of contention. Additionally, next week’s series against St. Cloud State is a must-sweep series, though less so after this win.

The Buckeyes get a second shot at the Badgers at 3 PM on Sunday. One win was great, and a second win will go a long way towards sealing up an at-large berth. The Buckeyes also got some breathing room as other bubble teams faltered. Minnesota-Duluth went 0-1-1 against Minnesota State, while Clarkson lost to Quinnipiac on Friday, before its two-game series against Princeton.

Ohio State now has a startling four wins against the top three teams in the country. The Buckeyes are the only team to have defeated No. 1 Cornell, two wins over Minnesota, and now have added a win over Wisconsin. The Buckeyes are currently up to No. 5 in the PairWise Rankings, and are currently the second in line for one of the four at-large bids.

Video: Muay Thai referee has the most dramatic reactions to vicious knockouts

You’ve got to see this.

“Big” John McCarthy? Marc Goddard? Herb Dean? Nah, Sittichai Ineiad is the greatest referee in the history of combat sports.

OK, that’s just me being dramatic, just like him. But take a look at Ineiad working Saturday’s Muay Hardcore event, and you’ll at least agree with me that he’s a legend (via Twitter).

So dramatic!

Amazing.

The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. We don’t take it overly serious, and neither should you. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, expect to have the previous sentence repeated in ALL CAPS.