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Bellator lightweight champion?Michael Chandler isnt overly cocky or brash, yet he isnt afraid to speak his mind regardless of what others may think.Theres a fine line between humility and not thinking highly enough of yourself, Chandler told ESPN.com. I spent a lot of years tip-toeing around, being afraid of what people were going to think. Its OK to have a little bit of pride in yourself. I spent way too many years suppressing that, and I just refuse to live a life thats not conducive of a champion.After knocking out Patricky Pitbull Freire with a thunderous right hand -- described by Chandler as hitting the sweet spot on a baseball bat -- to recapture the lightweight title in May, Chandler has begun to enjoy the fruits of his labor, to take stock of a great moment in his career.I stand here not afraid to admit that Ive watched that knockout a thousand times,?Chandler said. If my visions come to fruition, Im going to knock Benson Henderson out in the first or second round just as devastatingly.Chandler will look to make that prediction true against Henderson (24-6) on Saturday in the headliner of Bellator 165 from the SAP Center in San Jose, California. The matchup pits the Bellator and UFC 155-pound champions from 2012 and most of 2013 against each other.Henderson defended the UFC strap three times in that time frame while Chandler defended the Bellator belt twice. Chandler says he wouldve loved a shot to fight Henderson then, to see who the true premier lightweight in the world was, but he gets his shot years later -- a stretch of time Chandler claims he has only benefited from.I feel like Im the best Ive ever been, and I think its happening at the worst time for him, Chandler said. I think he has done nothing but second guess himself, decline in skill, and I think at this point hes settled on becoming the head coach at the [MMA] Lab. You know, you get to coach and be a gym owner. I was focused on gold belts.While both fighters are 3-3 in their last six bouts, Chandler is riding a three-fight win streak in which he has dominated his opponents, including the knockout of Freire that Bellators Jimmy Smith called fast in slow motion. In his own stretch, Henderson fought three times at welterweight, including his Bellator debut to Andrey Koreshkov in April, a unanimous decision loss. In his title eliminator fight with Patricio Pitbull Freire?in August, Henderson didnt look stellar prior to winning via TKO in the second round when Freire was unable to continue with a leg injury.Hes past his prime, and he has taken way too many shots, Chandler said. He doesnt believe in himself anymore, he doesnt believe he can beat me. He sat there and he lied to Scott Coker at the negotiation table. Scott Cokers writing him big checks, and hes coming out and underperforming. Im going to go out there and put a nail in the coffin, and send him off into retirement down there in Arizona.This appears to be the halcyon age for Chandler, but to get here, he had to go through some dark times. The aforementioned three-fight losing skid, in which Chandler dropped the title to Eddie Alvarez in a contested split decision, kicked it off. That loss was followed by back-to-back defeats to Will Brooks. He went 688 days without a victory, a time he says made him grow physically, mentally and spiritually into the man he is today.During that time, Chandler decided to switch camps and train with the Blackzilians in Boca Raton, Florida. He reconnected with grappling coach Neil Melanson, whom he bonded with while beginning his MMA career at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. Chandler says that their dynamic works great because hed run through a brick wall if his coach told him to, and it would be reciprocated. He adds that relationships like theirs are rare in this sport, and compared it to the likes of Demetrious Johnson and Matt Hume or Frankie Edgar with Mark Henry.He has been my grappling coach, head coach, good friend, mentor, and hes worth his weight in gold because hes the best grappling coach in the entire world, Chandler said. He loves me more than anybody else in this entire sport. He believes in me more than anybody else in this entire sport, and thats a very powerful thing.Based on his words, you could think that Chandler is looking past Henderson this Saturday, but that isnt the case. The Bellator champion says his work inside the gym is producing the best version of Michael Chandler to date. Saturday is the five-year anniversary of Chandler-Alvarez I, one of the best fights of 2011. A kid one year and a half out of college submitted a perennial top-five lightweight in the fourth round to win his first title. Now proven to the world and comfortable in his own skin -- to call it the way he sees it -- Chandler only has to measure up to his own standards.The only person that I need to outperform out there is myself, Chandler said. If I go out there, and I put together my game plan, and I put together my hands and my feet, and my aggression, and my speed, and my power together like I know I can, theres not a man in this division, in this world, that can stop me. Kai Forbath Jersey .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. Mike Ditka Jersey .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. https://www.cowboysjerseysale.com/1245p-nate-newton-jersey-cowboys.html . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. Demarcus Lawrence Jersey . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. Russell Maryland Jersey . -- Aldon Smith believes he is on the path to being sober for good. OTTAWA, Ontario -- Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau broke into the NHL nearly 20 years ago. The 37-year-olds are having too much fun with the San Jose Sharks to think up hanging up their skates.I feel great, Marleau said. (Im) having fun out there so Ill keep going.Thornton logged more than 25 minutes Wednesday night in Ottawa, while Marleau played 22 minutes in the Sharks 4-3 victory over the Senators, their second shootout win in two nights.San Jose holds the puck more often than not when Thornton and Marleau take the ice. Thornton ranks second on the team in puck possession (55 percent), with Marleau just a touch back in third (54 percent).I think both of us love the game and we still feel we can play the game at a high, high level and want to contribute each and every night, said Marleau, born two months after Thornton in 1979.Thornton and Marleau are among the most productive players of the last decades, two stunning marvels of fitness who rarely miss a game. Ten players in the NHL this season werent even born when Thornton and Marleau were drafted in 1997.Marleau has missed only 31 games over more than 18 seasons since he was drafted second overall behind Thornton in 1997. He ranks first in games played among all NHL players during that stretch (1,472), last sitting out a game during the 2008-09 season.Thornton isnt far behind. He has played in 95 percent of possible games for the Boston Bruins and Sharks, missing a mere nine games since the start of the 2006-07 season.Marleau credits his longevity to adjustments in training, eating, stretching and exercise as well as a new approach to rest. The Sharks annually face some of the leagues most arduous travel and coach Pete DeBoer has made it a priority to ensure that his players, especially the old guys, get to recover.I think there wasnt too much emphasis on rest and recovery right when we first came into the league, Marleau said. Now you see a lot more teams talking about it and taking a lot more optional skates, especially with a west coast team that travels as much as we do.dddddddddddd. A lot of practices are video, going over video and things like that.Thornton is tops in points (1,360) and assists (981) since joining the league. The underrated Marleau ranks fifth in points (1,047) during that same 19-year span and also fifth in goals (488). Hell likely become the 45th player in NHL history to reach 500 goals at some point this season.Both endure in different ways. Never the swiftest on skates, Thornton employs superb passing, vision, and an undervalued ability to protect the puck. Marleau has long been a terrific skater with persistence and a scorers touch.But at the end of the day I think their hockey sense stands alone, Sharks captain Joe Pavelski said. They know how to work their way around the rink, make plays, win battles, those types of things, put themselves in good positions and thats allowed for good careers. Theres no secret, you need a little luck along the way, but those guys have earned everything theyve got.Still, Thornton and Marleau are certainly not the players they once were.Thornton is on pace for a 30-point dropoff from last seasons 82-point campaign and his lowest point total in a full season since he was a teenager in Boston. He hasnt scored in 17 straight games after finishing with 19 goals last season.Marleau is only slightly off-pace for his 14th 20-goal season, but hes also on track for a career-low 31 points.And yet the Sharks are undeniably a better team when either player is on the ice. San Jose generates the lions share of scoring chances when Thornton and Marleau are out there at even-strength.Both remain weapons on the power play, too.Both are also unrestricted free agents with uncertain futures at seasons end. Asked last March about playing as long as 44-year-old Jaromir Jagr, Thornton responded: If I feel good Id love to play that long, but right now its hard to say if I could. ' ' '