First and foremost, I met former UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Serra today. He, along with other UFC talent, were in Toronto for some media stuff, and today, Serra went to Humber College for a Q&A, and then some photos and autographs, as well as a sit down interview which, unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to do with him.
Serra is booked at 5’6″ and 170 lbs. In retrospect, I’m 5’8″ and 165. Those numbers (for both of us) are accurate. I was very surprised with how short Serra was, but nonetheless, the guy is built and thick and broad.
During the Q&A, he discussed his relationship with Matt Hughes, Brock Lesnar’s win over Randy Couture, Kimbo Slice, women fighting in the UFC, Dana White, George St. Pierre, and his lifestyle outside of the UFC.
Autograph time. As I walk up to him, he says, “Hey, how are you? Nice to meet you, thanks for coming out here.” He pulls out a photo of his Welterweight Championship fight and asks, “Who can I make this out to?” So, I say, “Marc with a ‘C’.” (see below) He gladly signs, and I ask him for a photo, which you can see above. He gladly obliged, and we shook hands, and I thanked him for his time.
All in all, despite playing the stereotypical Italian New-Yorker on The Ultimate Fighter, and although he does seem cocky and arrogant on TV, he was actually a very nice guy and very funny when talking with the students at Humber College.
MLB
– FOXSports.com‘s Ken Rosenthal reports that Yankees RHP Mike Mussina has decided to retire. All signs indicated that The Moose was hanging them up, but Mussina finished last season with his first 20-win season of his career, so his decision to retire before next season is odd. If Moose is finished, he completes his career with a 270-153 record and a 3.68 ERA in 18 seasons.
– The Royals acquired OF Coco Crisp from the Red Sox for RHP Ramon Ramirez. Similar to the Mike Jacobs trade, the Royals deal a quality reliever in exchange for a veteran. Crisp adds an extra $5 MM to the payroll, but he should be decent as an everyday center fielder. The Royals now have a slightly crowded outfield, with a perfectly capable David DeJesus in centre, but there’s a good chance that he plays in left field for 2009 – Jose Guillen looks to play right, which means that Mark Teahen could be coming off the bench, or being traded with Jacobs occupying first. The Royals could go with a lineup of: CF Crisp, SS Mike Aviles, LF DeJesus, RF Guillen, 1B Jacobs, DH Billy Butler, 3B Alex Gordon, C Miguel Olivo/John Buck, 2B Alberto Callaspo.
– The Seattle Times reports that the Mariners have named Athletics bench coach Don Wakamatsu as their manager for the upcoming season.
NHL
– Peter Forsberg’s agent didn’t deny reports that the Swedish superstar underwent more foot surgery recently. Don Baizley said that Forsberg still had some right foot problems. Don’t look for Forsberg to be in the NHL in the foreseeable future, if at all.
NFL
– Cowboys owner Jerry Jones confirms that the NFL has reinstated CB Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones from suspension, but must sit out two more games before returning.
UFC
– K-1′s Fedor Emilianeko has challenged UFC’s Brock Lesnar to a match. Stay tuned, this could be epic.
WWE
– Raw’s rating dropped to 2.9 this week.