Kritik und Lob » treakMiller: 16 wins in UFC lightweight d

OAKLAND, Calif. -- With ace Clayton Kershaws troublesome back making him somewhat of an unknown for the stretch run, the contending Los Angeles Dodgers boosted their depleted rotation Monday by getting left-hander Rich Hill and right fielder Josh Reddick from the Oakland Athletics for a trio of pitching prospects.With Reddick acquired, the Dodgers plan to demote outfielder Yasiel Puig to the minor leagues on Tuesday, according to Puigs agent, Adam Katz. Katz said Puig did not travel with the Dodgers to Colorado on Monday after being told hed either be traded or sent down.The deal was announced two hours before the deadline for completing trades without waivers.The As received minor leaguers Jharel Cotton and Grant Holmes, along with Frankie Montas, who made seven appearances with the White Sox last year -- three pitchers that general manager David Forst expects to help his team for years to come.Letting Reddick go wasnt an easy call.This was not a typical decision because of Josh, Forst said. ... Josh has been here for a long time and in a lot of ways has been the face of the franchise over the past number of years and has really connected with the fans, everybody who works here, the staff. I cant say enough about Joshs time in an Oakland As uniform.Forst said despite ongoing discussions since the end of last year the sides never could work out a new contract that satisfied both parties, disappointing for the As and Reddick, Forst said, noting, this was not your typical buy-or-sell decision.Forst said Oakland was simultaneously considering trading Hill and extending his contract.Hill, who signed a $6 million, one-year contract with Oakland during the offseason, is on the disabled list with a pesky blister on the middle finger of his throwing hand that hasnt healed. He had been scheduled to pitch Sunday in Cleveland before the DL stint.Big-spending Los Angeles began the day with a 59-46 record, two games out of first place in the NL West behind San Francisco.The 36-year-old Hill is 9-3 with a 2.25 ERA in 14 starts and 76 innings. The 29-year-old Reddick is batting .296 with eight home runs and 28 RBI. This was his fifth year with the As after spending his first three big league seasons with Boston.Both Hill and Reddick can become free agents after this season. Reddick is earning $6,575,000 this year.The As, at 47-58, are often sellers at the trade deadline. They made the deal with former Athletics executive and now-Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi.Montas hasnt pitched in the majors this year. He was scheduled for a follow-up scan Monday on his ribs. He had a rib resection done then suffered a setback during a rehab assignment when he sustained a stress fracture to another rib.That didnt deter the As, who are confident he will be fully healthy to pitch next season.We felt like we got significant value and made a significant contribution to the future of the organization, Forst said. At no point were we looking to move players for the sake of dollars, that was not ever a directive. And we also are not interested in moving players and throwing some sort of white flag for the rest of the season. Cheap NFL Jerseys . JOHNS, N. Cheap Football Jerseys . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. http://www.nflcheapjerseysfreeshipping.com/ . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping .C. -- Todd Fiddler scored a hat trick, including the overtime goal, as the Prince George Cougars survived an 8-7 win against the Kamloops Blazers in Western Hockey League play Sunday. NFL Jerseys China . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. In a year that already has proved to be massive for the UFC, with one major card after another, UFC 205 on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York looks to be the biggest and most important of them all. In honor of such a marquee event, ESPN.com is providing dedicated previews to all 13 bouts on the card, breaking down whats at stake and projecting who will win, along with quotes and statistics for each fighter.Lightweights: Jim Miller (27-8) vs. Thiago Alves (21-10)Odds as of Nov. 2: Alves (-165), Miller (+145)Dana Whites thoughtsJim Miller is always exciting. You never watch a Jim Miller fight and go, Oh, what happened? That guy just didnt show up tonight. Hes one of those guys who just goes. Hell stand with you if you want to stand, but hes also great on the ground and has had some great ground wars.And Thiago, I think everybody the last couple years has been moving around weight classes and if hes still the Thiago we used to know at this new weight, that should be a really good fight.Whats at stake?Miller: From retirement talk to win streak in less than six monthsA strange feeling came over the veteran Miller on March 5 as he stepped into the Octagon to fight Diego Sanchez at UFC 196. It was something he had never felt in his entire career.That was the first time I actually kind of didnt want to be there, Miller said. That was a tough one for me, and it was for a million different reasons.Miller, 33, decided long ago that whenever his career ends, it will happen immediately after a fight, while hes still inside the cage. He wants that farewell moment on the microphone, to let his fans know its over. In order to guarantee that moment, Miller said he has to know ahead of time, going into a fight, that its his last one.He thought that was going to be the case at UFC 200 in July. After performing poorly and not feeling right at UFC 196, Miller asked for a fight at UFC 200. He figured it was the perfect time and place to say goodbye.But when he got into that fight camp, Millers body responded better than he thought. Things turned around quickly and he ultimately decided that wouldnt be his last fight. He has won two in a row since.It started off like it would be my last run, but I got back to feeling like my old self, Miller said. Its different now. I know what its like when Im off, but I also know when Im feeling good. I know by the results in the gym -- theyre back to where they should be, where they used to be a couple years ago.It went pretty quickly from All right, lets just get through this and put on a show to I think I can stay in this for a while.Alves on weight cut: Im gonna make all these lightweights payAlves is tired of looking up to the opposition -- literally.The veteran welterweight will make hiis long-awaited lightweight debut at UFC 205, and hell do it without the assistance of longtime nutritionist Mike Dolce.dddddddddddd Alves is working with a new nutrition group ahead of his first cut to 155 and feels confident about the process, even though he actually has struggled in the past to make the 170-pound limit.Im gonna make weight and Im gonna feel great -- thats actually the slogan of the company Im working with, the 5-foot-9 Alves said. I know the morning of the weigh-in, Ill have the whole world asking, Is he gonna make it? Thats exciting for me because I love to prove people wrong.Ill be one of the biggest lightweights in the division. I had to lose 10 pounds of muscle and 10 pounds of fat. Ive lost a lot of muscle and Im gonna make all these lightweights pay for that s---. We shouldnt be losing muscle, man, especially doing what we do, but thats what was necessary and my body feels great.I was just giving up a lot of reach and height as a welterweight. All my last fights, these guys were 6-foot-2. Its tough fighting giants.Alves, 33, has never recaptured the magic of a seven-fight win streak that led to a title shot at UFC 100 in 2009. But in a new weight class, under a new lifestyle, he doesnt think it will take long to get a title shot.A lot has changed since the last time I fought [in May 2015], Alves said. Im a father now. I got married. You guys used to see the young, dumb Pitbull. Now youve got an adult.Im not looking ahead. I know Ive got to get through Miller first. But I think it makes complete sense to give me a top-5 opponent next and then the title. Thats the goal.Statistical comparisonMiller: 27-8 record (16-7 UFC); on two-fight win streakMiller: 16 wins in UFC lightweight division tied for most all time with Gleison TibauAlves: 21-10 record (13-7 UFC); first fight since May 2015Alves: 11 knockdowns landed in UFC fights, tied for eighth most all timeBreakdownAlves said it in plain English: Hes looking forward to fighting opponents with less reach.His knockout power stacked up fine at 170 pounds, but the same wasnt always true of his frame. That doesnt mean he wasnt (or still couldnt be) effective at that weight, but you cant blame him for dropping down.Although he has expressed confidence, its worth asking how that cut to 155 will go. Miller likely will look to set a high pace on the bigger man and his grappling can be deadly, especially if his opponent tires. He does have a tendency to get into prolonged exchanges, which is good for his entertainment value but perhaps bad against a dangerous finisher like Alves.PREDICTION:?Miller by third-round submission. ' ' '