Alexander Volkanovski: Jose Aldo was tougher style matchup than Max Holloway

Alexander Volkanovski sees the argument Jose Aldo was a more difficult puzzle to crack than Max Holloway will be.

LAS VEGAS – [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag] acknowledges the stiff test he has in front of him Saturday night.

He greatly respects his UFC 245 opponent, UFC featherweight champion [autotag]Max Holloway[/autotag]. There’s no question. But just because Volkanovski (20-1 MMA, 7-0 UFC) views Holloway (21-4 MMA, 17-4 UFC) as a difficult task, doesn’t mean he sees him as his most challenging stylistic matchup to date.

At a UFC 245 media day held Thursday, Volkanovski told MMA Junkie he believes his most recent fight against [autotag]Jose Aldo[/autotag] in May was probably a trickier matchup than Holloway, stylistically-speaking.

“I’ve always been confident,” Volkanovski said. “But them last couple of fights really did boost my confidence even more… To completely change my type of style just to adapt to a fighter (against) one of the greatest of all time. I was able to do that and get it done. That just really proved to me that we’re on another level.

“That just made me be like, ‘Man.’ I reckon stylistically, usually you would say that was a harder fight for me than even Max, when you look stylistically. But I mean, Max is a great champion.”

It is seemingly undeniable Holloway is a great champion. He’s defended his 145-pound strap three times, in largely dominant fashion, against Jose Aldo, Brian Ortega, and most recently Frankie Edgar.

  [lawrence-related id=469415,469432]

Holloway has won 14 of his most recent 15 outings entering UFC 245, a stretch dating back to January 2014. Holloway’s lone loss came at lightweight by decision against former interim champ Dustin Poirier. So how does Volkanovski plan on beating Holloway on fight night?

“Obviously with my last one, I had to play it a little more safe and I had to work around things,” Volkanovski said. “With this fight, I don’t. He’s going to put himself in positions where he needs to try and break me, right? He needs to work his game. He’s going to try to land is jabs on the outside. He might do what he did with Frankie, but I’m not going to be so easy.

“… We’re both going to try to break each other’s rhythm, but at the same time we’re both not going to let each other take a backwards step. If we’re going backward, we’re doing it on purpose… Mate, you’re going to see fireworks. Again, he’s going to put himself in positions where he thinks he can maybe get a hand ahead, but he’s going to run into a brick wall.”

UFC 245 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN2 and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

[jwplayer XevJ84KO-RbnemIYZ]

Josh Norman missed practice due to illness

The Redskins DB is day-to-day.

Josh Norman hasn’t seen his name leave the headlines lately largely because a Washington Redskins coaching staff with an eye on the future has decided to sweep him aside for younger players.

And Norman missed practice Thursday, a day removed from interim head coach Bill Callahan making it clear there is a reason for Norman being active lately but not getting any snaps.

But that reason isn’t what one would expect.

Per reporters on the scene, Redskins coaches told the media Norman missed because he is sick and classified him as day-to-day.

Here’s one such report from Les Carpenter of the Washington Post:

We’ll see if Norman can get healthy in time to be active for Sunday’s game so he can work in some of those subpackages. But one Friday practice stands between the Redskins and the game against Philadelphia.

[vertical-gallery id=26767]

Cardinals injury report: Mason Cole, Budda Baker, Byron Murphy upgraded

Check out the second injury report of the week for the Cardinals.

[jwplayer dKzBi4bM-ThvAeFxT]

The Arizona Cardinals released their second injury report of the week on Thursday and things got a little better. Four players were upgraded in the practice designation, but two new injuries popped up.

Did not practice

  • OL Justin Pugh (back)
  • LB Terrell Suggs (back, illness)

Pugh’s back is something to watch. The season before signing with the Cardinals, he had back issues. Suggs has practiced little this season, so he will still likely play.

Limited

  • S Budda Baker (hamstring)
  • OL Maon Cole (knee)
  • OL J.R.Sweezy (illness)
  • WR Andy Isabella (shoulder)
  • WR Christian Kirk (ankle)
  • CB Kevin Peterson (shoulder)
  • LB Joe Walker (ribs)
  • TE Maxx Williams (knee)

Baker, Cole and Sweezy were all able to practice some after sitting out Wednesday, which suggests they are progressing toward hopefully playing on Sunday. Williams’ injury is new.

Cornerback Byron Murphy (calf) was a full participant on Thursday after being limited Wednesday. Tight end Darrell Daniels (chest) appeared for the first time on the injury report but he practiced fully.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Stitcher Radio.

Ep. 251:

[protected-iframe id=”0db2998b8165e735bc48c285807b6f3a-112738498-106269283″ info=”https://api.spreaker.com/v2/episodes/20679628/download.mp3″ ]

Ep. 250:

[protected-iframe id=”ee3442976e811ebdf9032e21cf434833-112738498-106269283″ info=”https://api.spreaker.com/v2/episodes/20478076/download.mp3″ ]

Joel Embiid dominates as Sixers overcome Celtics in Boston, 115-109

The Sixers left TD Garden with a 2-0 record against the Celtics on the season, as they defeated Boston on Thursday night, 115-109.

Joel Embiid entered Thursday night’s contest wanting to send a message. It’s safe to say he succeeded, as he valiantly led the Sixers to a tough road win over the Celtics, 115-109.

As many would have predicted, the clubs engaged in a back-and-forth battle, but in the end, the Sixers got too much from Embiid down the stretch. The young big man ended the night with 38 points on 12-for-21 shooting from the field. He also added 13 rebounds, six assists and a game-sealing block against Daniel Theis to preserve the victory for Philadelphia.

Heading into the contest, fans in Boston looked forward to welcoming Al Horford back to the building where he spent the last three years of his career wearing Boston green, but he was held out of the contest due to a sore left knee and tightness in his left hamstring. Even without him, though, Philadelphia was able to emerge with the impressive road win.

The teams battled fairly evenly in the game’s first half, as the Celtics carried a 59-56 lead into the half behind 53 percent shooting. Kemba Walker also scored 21 of his 29 in the game’s first 24 minutes before fading down the stretch. Unfortunately for Boston, he was held scoreless for the first 10 minutes of the game’s fourth period, during which the Sixers were able to capitalize.

Philadelphia managed to open up a nine-point lead with about 2:30 remaining before Walker sparked a 7-0 Boston run to trim the Sixers’ lead to just two points with 1:01 remaining in the game, but it was too little, too late.

The Celtics managed to cut the deficit to a single point on a late Jayson Tatum 3-pointer, but a pair of clutch free throws by Ben Simmons on the preceding possessions left Boston with a deficit. A critical no-call on what appeared to be a foul from Josh Richardson and a late block by Joel Embiid on Daniel Theis helped the Sixers clinch the victory. The final score of the contest doesn’t actually reflect how tightly it was contested.

Tobias Harris added 23 points for the Sixers while Enes Kanter (10-for-13 shooting) scored 20 points off the bench for the Celtics.

With the loss, the Celtics fall to 17-7 on the season while the Sixers improve to 19-7 and move into first place in the Atlantic Division.

BAMA BEAT: Non-Playoff bowl games + players potentially skipping (Ep. 279)

Clint Lamb and Brett Hudson sit down to discuss Alabama football playing in its first non-Playoff bowl game since 2013.

Cecil Hurt and Clint Lamb, through TideSports.com and The Tuscaloosa News, produce a podcast called “The ‘Bama Beat”, which features all the latest news and analysis surrounding the Alabama Crimson Tide.

In this episode, Lamb and Brett Hudson sit down to discuss Alabama football playing in its first non-Playoff bowl game since 2013. During the discussion, the two dive into players potentially skipping the bowl game for the NFL draft while also touching on potential Playoff expansion.

 [protected-iframe id=”e6e0c19e5a9821df198a3991fc75db72-162776958-84624375″ info=”https://omny.fm/shows/the-bama-beat/non-playoff-bowl-games-players-potentially-skippin/embed” width=”100%” height=”180″ frameborder=”0″]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

BAMA BEAT: SEC Championship recap + Playoff rankings reaction (Ep. 278)

Cecil Hurt and Clint Lamb, through TideSports.com and The Tuscaloosa News, produce a podcast called “The ‘Bama Beat”, which features all the latest news and analysis surrounding the Alabama Crimson Tide. In this episode, Lamb and Brett Hudson sit …

Cecil Hurt and Clint Lamb, through TideSports.com and The Tuscaloosa News, produce a podcast called “The ‘Bama Beat”, which features all the latest news and analysis surrounding the Alabama Crimson Tide.

In this episode, Lamb and Brett Hudson sit down to discuss the SEC Championship Game, which featured LSU and Georgia. The two also break down their opinions on where Alabama checked in with the College Football Playoff rankings and how it compares to the Bulldogs.

 [protected-iframe id=”4dd2526ffe31c17d96b5a4d995a1e48d-162776958-84624375″ info=”https://omny.fm/shows/the-bama-beat/sec-championship-recap-playoff-rankings-reaction-t/embed” width=”100%” height=”180″ frameborder=”0″]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

The Chiefs were ready to get very creative to avoid forfeiting over an equipment mishap

Masconomet Regional High School nearly helped the Chiefs avoid forfeiture.

The Kansas City Chiefs had an equipment problem.

Ahead of the team’s Week 14 win over the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, the Kansas City equipment staff realized they didn’t have 35 sets of equipment. They then quickly realized that equipment was in Newark, New Jersey.

Oops.

The error is funny now. At the time, it was a serious issue at the time. If the Chiefs couldn’t get their pads to Foxborough, they were looking at forfeiting their game against the Patriots, which would have proven costly in the playoff hunt (along with being very embarassing). The Chiefs ultimately got their equipment to the stadium on time. But they were prepared to get creative, if that equipment didn’t make it. They were ready to borrow from a local high school: the Masconomet Regional Chieftans.

Metro West Daily News had a terrific story on the situation.

The Chieftans and the Chiefs have almost the exact same helmet, and so Riddell, the company that makes the helmets, linked up Kansas City and Masconomet Regional High School. The only difference? The Chiefs have “KC” in their arrowhead — the Chieftans have an “M.”

Here’s what Metro West had on it:

“He told me, ’I really don’t have too much time to talk,” Daileanes said. ”‘But a bunch of the Kansas City Chiefs helmets and shoulder pads and other equipment are in Newark, New Jersey right now. There’s a big snafu. I need to get down to Masco, and if it’s possible could we use your helmets for the game?’”

The Riddell rep got a state police escort to Masconomet Regional High School. Daileanes notified a custodian who had been there working on Sunday morning, and that staff member led the Riddell rep to the Masconomet helmets.

And off to Foxborough they went.

“I just said it’s OK for him to get as many helmets as he needed,” Daileanes said. “They were trying to do the best they could to match it up to the Chiefs helmets.”

It probably would have violated an NFL rule. But the Chiefs would rather pay a fine than take a loss to the Patriots.

[vertical-gallery id=75081]