This shouldnt come as a shock, considering his former line of work, but it usually doesnt take Phil Brooks long to make an impression.Take UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, for example. He first met Brooks, better known as former pro wrestler CM Punk, in January 2015, and thanks to pure coincidence, the two joined Roufusport martial arts academy in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, around the same time.Punk, 37, was brand new to the sport at that point, signing with the UFC the previous month despite having no experience. Woodley was a veteran who, as it would turn out, was just 18 months away from winning a UFC title.Unlike some of his peers, Woodley never took issue with Punks fast track to the UFC. He wasnt necessarily a fan either. He was indifferent to Punks story at first, but quickly came to respect him, even learn from him.One of the first conversations we had, we were talking about the WWE, and he told this story about early in his career, a guy came down from the big circuit and asked if anyone knew how to ride a motorcycle, Woodley said. Everyone in the room started answering, No, no, no. Punk stood up and said, I can ride a bike. The guy said, Cool, were pulling you up for this show. After he left, everybody was like, Man, youre so lucky. If only I knew how to ride a bike, and Punk said, I dont know how to ride a bike, but Ill learn between now and then.He was telling this story like it was funny or a joke, but it was inspiring to me. Just that mindset: You dont have to have it all figured out.It has taken longer than some originally expected, but that same mindset has carried Punk to his Octagon debut against Mickey Gall (2-0) at UFC 203 on Saturday inside Clevelands Quicken Loans Arena.The impression Punk will ultimately have on MMA might take longer than the one he made on Woodley, Then again, maybe not. Perhaps Saturday will mark the start and finish of Punks career, or maybe hell fight into his 40s. Its hard to say.A celebrity with no experience making his MMA debut in the sports top promotion, against a 24-year-old opponent who was hand-picked during an internet mini-series -- theres no precedent for something like this.At the very least, one would assume theres pressure on Punk to look respectable Saturday. Many view him as a privileged star who has been gifted an opportunity he doesnt deserve. Punk is not a fighter but has been afforded the luxury of the UFCs promotional muscle. Hes taking attention away from the real athletes in Cleveland, and probably earning more than them. Those who see it this way want Punk to lose, badly -- enough that hell never venture close to a cage again.Punk and his team claim hes not feeling that pressure though. As trite as it sounds, he just wanted to get in a fight, and it isnt more complicated than that. Placing it under a spotlight only made sense, but its not the main reason behind it.Punk gets hounded by people, but theyre not seeing it from his perspective, UFC lightweight and Roufusport teammate Erik Koch?said. Punk never asked to fight in the UFC. He said, Hey, this is something Id like to try, and when Dana White heard that, he jumped all over it. Punk said, Id feel like a jackass if I turned this opportunity down. People kill for this opportunity.I think a lot of people are under the impression theres this pressure on Punk, and in a way there is, but hes doing this to have fun. Hes doing it because at the end of his life, he wants to look back and say, Hey, I did that s---.In the last year, Punk uprooted his life from Chicago to Milwaukee to eliminate the daily drive to practice. At the peak intensity of his training, he was in the gym three times per day.He has been a teammate to former lightweight champion Anthony Pettis during a championship fight week. Earlier this year, Punk and Koch went to a movie theater in Milwaukee while Koch was in the process of dropping weight. Instead of popcorn, Koch brought what he thought were hard-boiled eggs as a snack, but mistakenly grabbed raw ones. When he cracked an egg all over himself in the theater, Punk nearly died laughing. In recent months, Punk has gone through the process of trimming weight himself.In the fight itself, anything can happen, and although he has hinted at fighting beyond Saturday, nothing is guaranteed. After UFC 203, though, Punk will have experienced the life of a professional fighter. In that sense, hes already comfortable with the outcome.I dont think it was ever questioned whether physically I could handle the training camp, Punk said. I think mentally was the question, but now we all know.[Regarding naysayers], if I set foot in the Octagon, Ive already won. Im doing something that a lot of people thought I couldnt do. At the end of the day, I dont want to walk in there and lose. I want to show up. I want to beat Mickey. Theres so many different variables, everything has to line up on that one perfect day, you know, and Im looking to that on [Saturday]. Comprar Air Max 95 Baratas . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Air Max 95 Rebajas . On June 12, just as the sun sets on the magnificent historical city of Sao Paulo the inventors, innovators and purveyors of “joga bonitowill” open their campaign. The opponent, Croatia and all its football might and will. As opposites do attract we are set for a corker of an opener. http://www.airmax95baratas.es/ . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. Venta De Air Max 95 ., for the next three years with the signings on Monday of Daryl Townsend and Michael Carter. Nike Air Max 95 España .Y. -- Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers had no intention of changing his hard-hitting style before taking part in a disciplinary hearing for his illegal check to New Jersey forward Dainius Zubrus head. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- After the Los Angeles Angels stumbled to their ninth loss in 10 games Wednesday, manager Mike Scioscia held a closed-door meeting before they packed up and flew to Boston.Although everybody described the meeting as relatively upbeat, the Angels didnt emerge with any big ideas on how to slow a season going south. With too many injured players and not enough big hitters, the Angels (32-47) are on pace for the worst record in franchise history.We know weve seen some guys performing at their absolute worst for the first half, and we know theyre better than that, Scioscia said. Thats going to be our goal, to get those guys going in the right direction ... I dont think these guys are taking losing in stride. I think thats a positive.If so, its one of the few positives in Anaheim these days.Houston completed a three-game sweep of the Angels on Wednesday, outscoring its AL West rivals by a combined 21-7. The Angels been swept in seven series already this season, and their 8-19 record in June was their worst in the month since 1980.Those 1980 Angels lost 95 games. The current Angels are on pace for 96 defeats, less than two years after they won 98 games for the majors best record.Mike Trout is still performing brilliantly, going 18 for 30 with three homers during their six-game homestand. Just about everybody else in an Angels uniform is struggling to some degree -- when theyre healthy enough to put on the uniform, that is.Our team has to be more than Mike, Scioscia said. Weve been struggling to get our lineup a little deeper. ... Were looking forward to getting some guys back, but the guys that are in that room should be playing better than we are, and thats what were going to focus on. Were all looking in the mirror and trying to get us going in the right direction. We all need to get better.Injuries are the most obvious cause for the Angels woes, particularly on the mound. Few teams could thrive after the loss of three top-of-the-rotation starters -- in the Angels case, Garrett Richards, Andrew Heaney and C.J. Wilson. Several key regulars also have missed extended time, from shortstop Andrelton Simmons and third baseman Yunel Escobar to top reliever Joe Smith.The Angels have already used 43 players in their first 79 games.The injuries are ssomething Ive never been a part of, said Jered Weaver, who dropped to 6-7 with a 5.dddddddddddd.51 ERA after losing to Houston. Theres been a lot of people going down, a lot of people getting called up and back and forth. But its no excuse. Its nothing that any other team hasnt gone through. No one is going to feel sorry for us.Yet the Angels slide also is rooted in decisions made years ago.Their depleted farm system has produced very few candidates to replace those injured players, and owner Arte Moreno already devoted a huge chunk of the Angels payroll to Albert Pujols and Josh Hamilton this season and into the future. Combined with Morenos unwillingness to spend past the luxury tax threshold, even this big-budget club cant buy its way out of trouble now.The Angels have some salary relief in sight: Weaver and Wilson, who are making $20 million apiece, will be off the books this winter. But Hamilton is owed another $17 million in 2017 while he plays for Texas, and Pujols will make $140 million over the next five years while he jogs well past his 40th birthday.At least Pujols plays every day and keeps things interesting by climbing the career homers list, passing Harmon Killebrew for 11th place last week with his 574th. The three-time NL MVP is second on the team with 50 RBI, but is batting .247 with a meager .417 slugging percentage.General manager Billy Eppler hasnt had much early luck in his first year on the job. Eppler said this week that Scioscias job isnt in jeopardy during his 17th season, acknowledging that the Angels injuries and depth problems can hardly be solved by the longest-tenured manager in baseball.Eppler said the Angels have too many financial resources to be forced to enter a rebuilding phase. He wont trade Trout, but its possible the Yankees former professional scouting director could restock his largely barren cupboard by trading the Angels few valuable assets once this hard-luck season officially becomes lost.There is no doubt we want to be a contending team, year in and year out, Eppler said. Every move that we are going to make, whether its in July or the offseason, is for the betterment of the team. ' ' '