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TORONTO -- UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon (Bones) Jones is backing Georges St-Pierres decision to give up his title and walk away from the sport. Marcus Allen . "Im proud of him," Jones said in an interview from Sacramento, site of the UFCs weekend televised card. "I think hes listening to his body and hes doing what makes him happy and thats what life is about ultimately. "Hes done a great job and hes been a great example. And hes continuing to be a great example even with the decision that hes made. And Im happy for him." Calling his life a "freaking zoo," St-Pierre announced Friday that he was leaving the sport for an undetermined period of time to look after undisclosed personal issues. The 32-year-old from Montreal leaves the sport ranked No. 2 behind Jones on the UFCs pound-for-pound top fighter list. Jones, 26, is no stranger to life in the spotlight himself. He became the UFCs youngest ever champion at 23 when dethroned Mauricio (Shogun) Rua at UFC 128 in March 2011. Away from the cage, he lost his drivers license after crashing his Bentley into a pole in Binghamton, N.Y., in May 2012. But he said he had no problems with being in the limelight. "Its great, man. Its great," said Jones, who recently got his license back. "Its a lot of work. Theres a lot of perks and Im grateful for it, man. My storys just getting started." Jones said he doubted St-Pierre (25-2) would return. "I dont think he has much more to prove. I think if you go too long on vacation, it just may feel good to have a little gut. He just might stay on vacation." Light-heavyweight contender Alexander (The Mauler) Gustafsson called GSPs decision to walk away "a little bit sad." "Because hes the champion and hes a legend in the sport," Gustafsson said in a interview from his native Sweden. "But at the same time, I support him. If he thinks thats the right decision, I understand. "Only he knows whats best for him." On Friday, Gustafsson defeated St-Pierre in a fan vote to see who joins Jones on the cover of the upcoming "EA Sports UFC" video game. Fourteen other fighters were eliminated earlier in the vote. "I never thought I would make to the cover," said Gustafsson, citing the champions and big names up for the honour. Jones (19-1) defeated Gustafsson (15-2) in a close fight at UFC 165 in Toronto in September. The two are expected to fight again in the near future, providing they both win their scheduled bouts in March-April. No. 1 contender Gustafsson is slated to take on Jimi (Poster Boy) Manuwa on a televised card in March while Jones faces No. 2 Glover Teixeira of Brazil at UFC 172. Vance Walker . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. Eric Fisher . Kane got tangled up along the boards with Anthony Peluso, and Peluso appeared to fall on Kanes right leg. Kane was seen holding his leg in pain and he was helped off the ice.PHOENIX -- The good news for the Portland Trail Blazers is they only face Goran Dragic and the Phoenix Suns one more time. And thats not until spring. Dragic scored 31 points, Channing Frye added 25 and the Suns used their up-tempo style to recover from a poor start and beat Portland 120-106 Wednesday night and snap the Blazers 11-game winning streak. Markieff Morris scored 19 and twin Marcus Morris 15 for the Suns, who wiped out a 16-point second-quarter deficit to hand the Blazers their first loss since Nov. 5 against Houston. Two of Portlands three defeats have come to the Suns, who shot 52 per cent from the field behind the speedy Dragic, who was one point shy of his career-high and added 10 assists. "Im glad we dont have to play Phoenix until April," said Blazers coach Terry Stotts, whose team is 1-2 against the Suns and 12-1 against the rest of the league. "After we got a lead they completely outplayed us. They ran, they rebounded, they played an excellent game. They have played us very well and we will see April 4 if anything changes." LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and Damian Lillard scored 16 points for the Blazers, who had also won six straight on the road but couldnt keep up with the new-look Suns, who moved a game over .500. "We already played those guys three times and in all those games, we were better or we were close," said Dragic, who hit 4 of 5 3-pointers. "I dont know why. I think theyre a good matchup for us. They want to play slow in the half court and we want to run. And thats to our advantage." Suns coach Jeff Hornacek said before the game that he wanted to push the pace, adding, "Were not good when we hold the ball." But the Suns looked sluggish early and Portland looked poised to match the third-longest win streak in franchise history. Then Dragic took over. Playing without backcourt mate Eric Bledsoe (bruised shin) for a sixth straight game, Dragic fueled a 40-point second-quarter with a variety of 3-pointers, midrange jumpers and nifty passes for buckets on the fast break. Frye helped by heating up from the outside. Portland turned a 39-23 deficit into a 61-58 halftime lead. "Goran has just been on a tear," Frye said. "When he is feeling it like that you just give it to him and get the hell out of the way." Fryes 3 to start the second half was the beginnning of a 10-0 spurt and he hit another 3 to start the fourth quarter as the Suns built a 97-78 lead. Jerron McMillian. "Every time we look at the tape, if we play half court we have problems," Dragic said. "But when we run we got those easy, open 3s or easy layups. Everybody wants to play like that. Its really fun." It was no fun for the Blazers, who had another miserable visit to the desert. It was Portlands 22nd loss in the past 26 trips to Phoenix, including a loss on opening night. Not even Bledsoes continued absence could keep the surprising Suns from winning for the third time in four games. After limping through the morning shootaround, Bledsoe had an MRI that Hornacek said "didnt show anything besides what they knew already, which is a contusion." Bledsoe has been sidelined since colliding with teammate P.J. Tucker in practice Nov. 17. The Blazers havent had the same uncertainty, starting the same five players all 16 games. And Portland came out with much more energy early, racing to a commanding lead early in the second quarter behind Aldridges play inside and ex-Sun Robin Lopezs work on the boards. But the Blazers struggled to contain Dragic. After Lillard struggled to stay in front of him, Nicolas Batum took a turn on Dragic, who added five rebounds and four turnovers as Phoenix set a season-high in points. "Thats something special in the NBA to win that many games in a row," Aldridge said. "Were definitely proud of it but we have to bounce back and not lose two in a row." NOTES: Hornacek said they plan each game as if Bledsoe wont play so theyll be "surprised" when he does. "I thought hed miss one game or maybe two games. But hes got to be able to push off and if he cant then he doesnt play." ... The Blazers made only 7 of 19 3s after entering the game shooting 42 per cent. But Stotts insisted before the game he believes they can continue to shoot well if his top five shooters take the bulk of the shots. "Its not far-reaching to think that each one of those guys could shoot 40 per cent or better on the season," he said. "So is 42 per cent sustainable? I think it is." . Ex-Suns F Grant Hill attended the game. ... Blazers G Mo Williams (three points) returned after serving a one-game suspension for his role in a scuffle Saturday against Golden State. ' ' ' |
