Weekend Wake Up: Iceman Meets Extinction, Nava Slams, Bynum to Play, Rachel’s Return

Liddell On Ice. Does the old guy getting battered in the above video look anything like a competent MMA fighter to you? Rich Franklin’s knockout of Chuck Liddell is the latter’s fifth loss in six fights, and has more enlightened MMA observers than myself calling for Liddell’s retirement. I’d like to find a person not related to Liddell (or connected to his checkbook) that wouldn’t agree.

Nava’s Nova. Hitting a grand slam on the first pitch you see in the majors is a good way to get pretty people to notice you. And while Erin Andrews may not be picking up Daniel Nava’s tickets in the near future, she’s at least looking to congratulate him. (You can watch Nava’s homer here. The only other MLB player to hit a grand slam on his first pitch? Kevin Kouzmanoff.)

Bynum’s Knee Crucial. Andrew Bynum has been quite good in these NBA playoffs for being a big man on a bum knee, but his 12-minute, two-point Game 4 and subsequent knee drainage has the Lakers concerned. Bynum says he’ll start, but if his effectiveness is limited for Game 5 or the rest of the series, the Celtics figure to dominate down low, and are likely the favorites to take two of the last three games.

She’s Baaack. In the only horse racing story worth following, Rachel Alexandra reignited hopes of a match race with Zenyatta with a 10 1/2-length romp in the Fleur de Lis Handicap. The 2009 North American Horse of the Year running well is nice enough; the idea that she could meet Zenyatta and perhaps end her unbeaten streak later this year is intriguing.

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