Model Ships Blog

Helio Gracie–patriarch of the legendary Gracie MMA family–died earlier this year in Rio De Janeiro at age 95. His influence on martial arts, and even more so the sport that is known known as mixed martial arts, is staggering. The Gracie family name will forever be synonymous with Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, MMA and the UFC due to the accomplishments of Helio Gracie and his progeny.

Helio Gracie began his training in mixed martial arts early, and by his teenage years was already teaching judo. While he had no problem mastering the theoretical aspects of judo, he found that many of its techniques were less effective for a practitioner with a smaller build. Along with his brother Carlos, Gracie began to work out his own fighting system by adapting many of judo\’s techniques and making them more a product of leverage rather than brute strength. This led to the creation of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ), frequently called Gracie Jiu Jitsu in his honor.

Gracie also had a professional fighting career, taking on champions from other disciplines in a forerunner to modern mixed martial arts. These bouts were grueling, unregulated affairs with rules that were often made up as they went along and time limits that seem barbaric by todays standards. By his own recollection, he had 15 fights against the top fighters of his day. He began his career in\’32 by submitting professional boxer Antonio Portugal (whod likely never even heard of a submission at that point, let alone experienced one) in just 32 seconds. Later that year, he fought American catch wrestler Frank Ebert to a draw after the ringside doctor ordered the bout stopped after an ungodly fourteen ten minute rounds.

His most famous battle was against Japanese judo legend Masahiko Kimura, resulting in a rare loss for Gracie. Despite the setback, he fought bravely and may have actually enhanced his legend after refusing to submit to a reverse arm bar (the same modern MMA submission that now bears Kimuras name). Only after his arm was broken did his brother Carlos throw in the towel.

Gracies influence on the Brazilian sports scene, and later the nascent sport of mixed martial arts, would continue through his family. Married twice, he had seven sons (Rickson, Royler, Rolker, Royce, Relson, Robin and Rorion) and two daughters (Rerika and Ricci), many of whom went on to make their own mark on the fight sport world. Royce Gracie is well known as the first UFC superstar, while sons Rickson Royler, Renzo have also achieved considerable fame in professional MMA. At the time of his death, Helio Gracie was a 6th Dan Judo black belt and the only living 10th degree master of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

The cause of Gracies death was officially given as natural causes. He had been having stomach problems for several days prior to his passing, and was admitted to a Rio hospital for this reason. His seriously epic last words will go down as a fitting envoi to a man who gave so much of himself to fighting:

\”I created a flag from the sports dignity. I oversee the name of my family with affection and nerves of blood.

Ross Everett is a freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sports news and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.

The Clemson Tigers used a touchdown pass on their first possession of overtime to upset the Miami Hurricanes 40-37 on Saturday night to cap a back and forth game. Miami kicked a field goal on their first possession of overtime to take the lead, but Clemson responded with a seldom used play on third and 11 to get the victory as quarterback Kyle Parker completed a 27 yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Ford. Clemson improved to 4-3 with the win while Miami slipped to 5-2.

College football betting devotees who backed Clemson as +4 road underdogs eventually cashed their tickets, but they definitely earned their money in a game that saw twelve lead changes and two ties. Clemson improved to 5-2 against the spread with the cover, while Miami dropped to 4-3 against the money.

After the game, Jacoby Ford explained his logic for suggesting the surprise play in the huddle:

\”We knew this game was going to come down to who made more plays. And we did.\”

Miami has a history of winning when their offense is clicking-this loss was only the second in 115 games when the Hurricanes score 37 or more points dating back to\’85.

For his part, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is glad this one is over:

\”I have a birthday next month and I think I\’m going to turn 50 instead of 40. We had to put on Superman capes. We made plenty of mistakes that could have lost us the game, but they played with poise and confidence. We just kept battling.\”

CJ Spiller was also a big factor for the Tigers as he set a school record with 310 all purpose yards including a 90 yard kickoff return for a touchdown. He also added 81 yards rushing and 104 yards receiving with a 56 yard touchdown catch.

Clemson QB Parker suggested that last week\’s win over Wake Forrest was a turning point for his team:

\”I think last week we realized that we could be really good and this week we acted on it. I thought we really got some explosive plays and we played well.\”

Miami\’s quarterback Jason Harris sounded a different tone in his postgame comments:

\”This has to be my toughest loss here. We fought so hard throughout the game as a team and didn\’t come out with the victory. We let Clemson outwork us, we turned the ball over too much — little things that made us get to this point.\”

Clemson will host FCS foe Coastal Carolina next Saturday before resuming ACC play the following week at home against Florida State. They\’ll travel to North Carolina State on November–. Miami plays two of their next three on the road, starting next weekend at Wake Forest.

Ross Everett is a freelance writer specializing in boxing, college football and NFL betting. He serves as a consulting handicapper for Sports-1 Sportsbook in Costa Rica and is a noted authority on Internet sportsbook betting of all forms. He lives in Las Vegas, Nevada with three Jack Russell Terriers and several pet geckos.

Its that time of the year again–Americans are getting ready for football. In a few months NFL teams will be opening training camp and college football teams starting practice. Up north, however, the footballs are already flying as pro football is in full swing up in Canada with the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Most Americans dont realize that the CFL has a lengthy and storied history. The league itself has been around since\’30, and the Canadian Football championship–known as the Grey Cup–has been contended since\’09. More recently, American fans are aware that a number of NFL stars got their start in the CFL including Doug Flutie, Jim Kelly, and Jeff Garcia.

The CFL is very high level professional football, but there are some significant differences between it and the NFL game:

First of all, the football itself is bigger–the CFL ball is larger than its American counterpart. If you know anything about rugby, its roughly the same as a #3 rugby ball meaning it is somewhat longer and fatter than the NFL ball. The CFL field is also longer (110 yards) and wider (65 yards vs. the NFLs 53.5 yards), and the CFL end zones are 20 yards deep as opposed to 10 yards in the NFL. The CFL goal posts are on the goal line, while the NFLs are on the end line at the back of the endzone.

CFL teams are allowed an extra offensive player (a wide receiver), and on defense they\’re allowed an extra defensive back. This means that 12 players can be on the field at one time as opposed to 11 in the NFL. CFL football also differs in that teams only have three downs to gain ten yards, as opposed to four in US football. The phrase \”two and out\” is as commonplace in CFL football as is \”three and out\” in the US game.

There\’s also a significant difference in the way the game is scored. The first time many US fans see a CFL score update reflecting a 1-0 game they\’re usually left scratching their head in confusion. CFL teams are able to score a single point, known as a \”single\” for a kick that lands in the end zone such as a punt or missed field goal.

The rule differences also extend into the front office, where teams are required to have a certain quota of their roster be Canadian born. In an effort to prevent the CFL from becoming an NFL farm system, and to protect the unique identity of Canadian football\’ of the 40 players on the roster must be natives.

Despite the rule differences that suggest a higher scoring, more wide open style of play than in the NFL it really doesn\’t work out that way. Most games end up with a final score in the 40\’s and have a similar pace to their NFL counterparts. There may be a few individual rule differences, but a strong rushing game and defense are tickets to success in the CFL as in the NFL.

The requirement of native born players making up 50% of a CFL roster also results in a much more even distribution of talent across the league. Certainly there are good teams and bad teams, but the end result is greater parity than is found in the NFL.

The CFL isn\’t in a financial position to draw the top level US players away from the NFL or, in most cases, even a NFL practice or developmental squad. While some US players are uniquely suited to the CFL style of play, most of the US players that end up there are of a similar talent level as to that seen in Arena Football.

Despite some major differences, the NFL and CFL have more in common–they\’re both high level, intensely competitive professional football leagues. Once you understand the rule differences and the unique and fascinating history of the CFL, it is a very enjoyable brand of professional football to watch.

You wont see CFL news on ESPN, since theyre more interested in featuring spelling bees and lumberjack competitions and letting their personalities like Stuart Scott show how clever they are than covering sports. The good news is that the CFL receives extensive coverage in the Canadian press and all you need to do is visit a couple of websites to stay up to date. Each CFL city has their own sports media, and most have pretty good websites. The best one stop shopping can be found at the leagues own and Slam! Sports, which is roughly the Canadian equivalent of ESPNs website and has extensive CFL news, opinions and statistics.

Ross Everett is a widely published widely published freelance sports writer and highly respected authority on sports betting odds comparison. He writing has appeared on a variety of sports sites including sportsbooks and betting odds portal sites. He lives in Las Vegas with three Jack Russell Terriers and a kangaroo. He is currently working on an autobiography of former energy secretary Donald Hodell.