|  Wys³any: 2019-06-15 05:00:09 Temat postu: Montreal is finding past glory doesnt
TORONTO -- Just 13 weeks after walking away from his title, Georges St-Pierre is not forgotten. But he is devalued. Once ranked among mixed martial arts pound-for-pound elite, the former UFC welterweight champion from Montreal is finding past glory doesnt last long. Fighters have short memories. So do fans. "I cant think backwards," said top 170-pound contender Johny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks. "Ive got to think forwards. "Look at our division. Its a pretty stacked division. Very talented people in the top 10 and now that Georges has walked away, its time for one of us to make our own mark." Hendricks, who lost a controversial split decision to St-Pierre at UFC 167 last November, gets another shot at the welterweight crown March 15 when he faces veteran (Ruthless) Robbie Lawler at UFC 171 to decide St-Pierres successor. The 32-year-old St-Pierre vacated the title in December, saying he needed time away from the sport. St-Pierre (25-2) left a 12-fight winning streak and a string of UFC records behind him. But his last seven victories came by decision. And in a sport that celebrates sudden, violent finishes to fights, going the distance is not a plus. While some saw only St-Pierres ability to blunt his opponents strengths, others criticized the champion for not taking risks. Facing St-Pierre was death by a thousand cuts. Fighters like Hendricks and Lawler offer one-blow blunt force trauma. In MMA, youre only as good as your last fight. And St-Pierres last offering was gritty but unconvincing. Hendricks (15-2) told a media conference call Thursday that he sees Lawler (22-9 with one no contest) as a more dangerous opponent that St-Pierre. "Georges, you knew that he was going to throw a jab, a high kick, a low kick and try to take you down," he said. "Thats his game plan. "Robbie, if you make a mistake, weve seen it time and time again that he can knock you out. So you really have to make sure that you stay focused, cross all your Ts and dot all your Is, and make sure that you stay solid. And thats a lot more dangerous fight. "With guys who can knock people out, youre one punch away from losing. But those are also the more fun fights for me. You dont know whats going to happen. All you know is youre going to step into an Octagon and hopefully you get your hand raised." Carlos (The Natural Born Killer) Condit, one of the more thoughtful fighters in the UFC, said GSP leaves "some big shoes to fill in one respect." Then Condit (29-7), who lost a decision to St-Pierre at UFC 154, agreed with Hendricks on GSP. "I think people have wanted to see a little bit of excitement," said Condit, who dragged St-Pierre into rare deep waters with a head kick when they fought. "And I think Georges, from time to time, later in his career he had some spurts of excitement. But for the most part people kind of knew what was going to happen. "And now the division has been infused with some energy. Theres a lot of buzz -- you know, whats going to happen? Theres a lot of really really tough guys bottlenecking at the top spots of welterweight. "I think its an exciting time. We all get the opportunity to get in there and try to put that welterweight belt around our waists. Its just a perfect storm. The fans ultimately are going to be the ones that benefit with some really really exciting fights." The 30-year-old Hendricks is the top-ranked contender in the 170-pound division while Lawler is No. 3. No. 2 Condit, who lost to Hendricks at UFC 158, takes on No. 11 Tyron Woodley (12-2) in the UFC 171 co-main event. Condit says he has been told a win will earn him another title shot. Hendricks, a former two-time NCAA champion wrestler, is currently No. 10 in the UFCs pound-for-pound rankings. Lawler does not figure in the top 15. St-Pierre seems to deserve better. The decision over Hendricks was a record 19th win in the UFC for the Canadian, moving him past former welterweight champion Matt Hughes at 18. The Hendricks victory also moved GSP past former middleweight champion Anderson Silva for most wins in UFC title bouts at 12. St-Pierre holds the record for career fight time in the UFC at five hours 28 minutes 12 seconds. And he owns the UFC mark for most championship rounds fought (52). UFC 167 was St-Pierres 14th championship fight, one behind Randy (The Natural) Couture. St-Pierre also leads the UFC records in total strikes landed (2,523), significant strikes landed (1,254), takedowns landed (87) and takedown accuracy rate (73.7 per cent), according to FightMetric. Cheap Los Angeles Rams Gear . Carey Price made 27 saves for Montreal (30-21-6) for his fourth shutout of the year and second in four games. David Desharnais added an empty netter for the Canadiens. Reto Berra stopped 25 shots for Calgary (21-28-7). Los Angeles Rams Greg Gaines Jersey . -- Jose Bautista never worries about hitting homers during the regular season. http://www.ramscheap.com/ . Portuguese sides Benfica and Porto also advanced to the last eight while Basel overcame an early red card to win 2-1 at Salzburg and progress from a last-16 second leg that was briefly suspended because of crowd trouble. Lyon, Valencia and AZ Alkmaar will also be in Fridays draw in Nyon, Switzerland, where the team to avoid will be Juventus -- even though the Italian champions made heavy work of their all-Italian last-16 match against Fiorentina. Los Angeles Rams David Long Jersey . The Canadian skicross racer appeared to have the bronze medal locked up in the mens final at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, only to wipe out while trying to make a pass in the biggest moment of his career. Los Angeles Rams Jerseys Outlet . After falling 5-0 on home ice in a game that could have tied them for second in the wild card standings, Washington head coach Adam Oates had some strong words for Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin. TORONTO -- It was the worst and lowest-paying job offer on the table. But Ryan Nelsen said yes to Toronto FC in January 2013, reckoning he could learn more from trying to resuscitate a perennial MLS loser than sit on a bench as an assistant coach at an English Premier League club. Twenty months later, Nelsens education in Toronto is over. General manager Tim Bezbatchenko, who inherited Nelsen as coach when he was hired last September, fired the former New Zealand international Sunday. In an interview with The Canadian Press last Wednesday -- when he suspected the axe was coming -- Nelsen mused about why he chose to become Torontos eighth coach in seven years. The biggest challenge is the most rewarding, he reasoned. "For me, my biggest enjoyment I get from work -- whether its in little business stuff or anything -- is to take something thats nothing or crap (and) build it into something thats respectable and good ... because thats where you learn the most," a relaxed Nelsen said while sitting in the sunshine at the clubs $20-million-plus training centre. "And once youve turned into something thats really good, then it doesnt have the same interest for me ... Then Ill probably move on." He never reached his goal in Toronto despite rebuilding the roster, earning the franchise much-needed respect and steering the club towards the playoffs for the first time. In axing Nelsen and five assistant coaches, Bezbatchenko cited the 9-9-6s teams disappointing record of late -- Toronto is 3-5-5 in its last 13 games. Greg Vanney, Bezbatchenkos assistant GM and academy director, took over as coach. In truth, the 32-year-old rookie GM had been at odds with Nelsen for some time. Bezbatchenko, a former league official described as "wicked smart" by MLS commissioner Don Garber, won a power play to rid himself of Nelsen and his assistant coaches. The coaching staff had been responsible for many of the teams recent deals, having filling a void left by the previous regime. Toronto went from being a franchise routinely fleeced to one Nelsen believed was one of the leagues "stealthiest." Bezbatchenko, who clearly was not on the same page as the coaching staff, was not willing to sit on the sidelines. A recent point of contention was the purchase of a pricey analytics service. Nelsen is not averse to analytics but saw the outlay -- and the front offices focus on numbers -- as somewhat out of whack given the teams success in horse-trading. Bezbatchenko and Vanney made a point Sunday of talking up the worth of analytics. In recent weeks, as Bezbatchenko flexed his muscle, Nelsen resisted -- only to see support from outgoing MLSE CEO Tim Leiweke fade. Leiweke once had Nelsens back, retaining "Nellie" as coach when he axed team president Kevin Payne in September 2013. "What I am certain of is that with respect to the way that we need to go as an organization, Ryan sees the world exactly the way we do," Leiweke said at the time. "Im supportive of Ryan. He will be our coach next year." That changed. Nelson, it appears, was on a short leash. "I was loyal to Nellie and I think Nellie was loyal to the organization," Leiweke said Sunday after the firing. "But that said, we always knew that there would be a pretty short window here as to if things went south, due to how competitive everything is. "And with that said the team obviously not only did not play well but really didnt show up." Leiweke has his own masters. And Toronto FC was his baby, with a playoff guarantee and buckets of money poured into his pet project. Even while headed to the MLSE door, Leiweke could not afford to see his team fail to deliver. Especially when the franchise, traditionally a cash generator, will lose money this season due to the megabucks lavished on star striker Jermain Defoe and midfielder Michael Bradley. Reminded that Toronto FC was one win away from tying the franchise record of 10, set in 2009, Leiweke replied: "Were also one game away from being out of the playoffs." Still Leiweke made a point of saying the decision to unseat Nelsen was Bezbatchenkos -- an employee he has jokingly referred to as Harry Potter. "This was a decision Tim made and I fully supported," Leiweke said. "You cant have a team quit on you. And its unfortunate and Im not sure its all Nellies fault. I think the team has to step up and accept some of the blame here too. But that said we cant let the season slip away. But that said and were going to do anything and everything we can to try and make the playoffs." Nelsen, not surprising, saw things differently. He believed his revamped team was headed in the right direction, but hitting dips or plateaus as it learned along the way. "Well kick on again and then well have our roadblocks where everyone will call us crap again," he said with a smile. "And next thing you know -- whatever time, and it will be in the future -- well be crushing teams and youll be going Oh you only won 3-0 today." Nelsen firmly believed that Toronto FC would be the class of the league next year. The manager did not go out quuietly.dddddddddddd. The night before his firing was announced, Nelsen lambasted Bezbatchenko for issuing a challenge to his club "to take it up a notch." In an astonishing rebuke to his superior, Nelsen essentially accused his GM of sabotaging his club by ratcheting up the pressure on the players. Nelsen, it should be noted, waited until he was asked about Bezbatchenkos comments before firing his broadside at the news conference following Torontos 3-0 loss to New England. On Sunday, Bezbatchenko dismissed Nelsens tirade as "excuses." Saturdays loss was a lacklustre performance, the kind that gets coaches fired. But there had been forces behind the scenes in the days leading up to the match. In hindsight, one can see Bezbatchenkos pre-game comments as piling the pressure on Nelsen and setting the stage for the firing. The GM chose his words carefully, ensuring he did not throw anyone under the bus. But it was nearby and the engine was running. Nelsens approach to the media was always more guarded and less Machiavellian. "In all honesty here, do you really think Im the same person in front of the media and in front of people I dont know as I am in the changing room with the guys I have to be with in day in and day out?" he said in 2013. "I mean its professional football, this is proper stuff, this is not a Sunday kickaround. "Theres ripple effects of whatever you say in the media." Still Nelsens raw reaction to Bezbatchenkos comments was not entirely unexpected. While captain at Blackburn Rovers, he spoke out against the ownership for failing to communicate properly with the players over the firing of manager Sam Allardyce. Nelsen, who had learned of the sacking via TV, was unceremoniously shown the door himself a little more than a year later. In hiring Nelsen, Toronto was taking a gamble on a player with no managerial experience. But Nelsen is driven. Not the most physically gifted athlete, he earned his keep at the highest levels on the field through hard work and smarts. And he had been planning for his move to the sidelines for years, observing other managers and making notes. Every training session in his first Toronto FC pre-season was planned weeks or months in advance. Nelsen also arrived with a substantial Rolodex, contacts that benefited Toronto FC greatly. His ties to QPR and manager Harry Redknapp -- not to mention MLSEs deep pockets -- resulted in the arrival of Defoe and Brazil No. 1 goalkeeper Julio Cesar, acquisitions that earned TFC worldwide coverage. Nelsens network, via an agent, also helped net Brazils Gilberto. On the minus side, Nelsen was stubborn at times. Players like veteran Canadian attacking midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, a local favourite, simply fell off his radar. Given DeRos lack of playing time under Nelsen and Bezbatchenkos support of the player in the wake of Nelsens firing, one can guess whose signing that was. Nelsen, who kept his player opinions in-house, acknowledged he could improve in the area of management. "I think if you asked anybody theyd probably always tell you they could be a bit better. Its really hard because you have 23 guys who all want to play, so theres always going to be 12 pissed-off guys." He also rued the gap in sports science systems the club instituted going into this season, meaning the clubs fitness regimen started with a hiccup. Some things were out of his control. He did not particularly want to hold training camp in Florida again but the league was anxious to have its teams take part in the pre-season tournament there. Next year, he hoped to take the club to New Zealand to take advantage of the summer conditions and local opposition. But he feared such an adventure might be unfeasible, given the leagues looming labour negotiations. Shed no tears for Nelsen, whose canny business instincts have already led to his own winery and real estate holdings around the globe. He will land on his feet. "I wish the players all the success as they make the playoffs and I enjoyed every moment working with the other coaches putting the team together," Nelsen said in a text Monday to The Canadian Press. "Wish only success for TFC." Lost in the coverage of Nelsens departure is the 5-21-8 team he inherited at the beginning of 2013. "What we had in pre-season was probably the worst put-together squad in the history of the league," he said in December 2013. "It was that bad. It was actually terminal." In its 2013 transactions section, the MLS website lists 26 players going out the door at Toronto FC and 27 coming in. The 2014 list has 10 more players coming in and 17 leaving. Nelsen will look back at Toronto FC and wonder what might have been. "When youre on the outside, you just want to flick a switch, you just want everything to be great," he lamented last week. "Fans just want it to be great ... but no matter what, every team has to go through these little ups and downs." The clock is now on Bezbatchenko, who has his hand-picked coach and a looming void in the corporate structure above him. Toronto FC, warts and all, is his team now. 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Montreal is finding past glory doesnt
