Fight #14: Sanchez vs Kane

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The Matchup: Mark Sanchez vs Patrick Kane.

Size: Mark Sanchez is a pretty formidable 6'2" and weighs 225 lbs. Kane is a much smaller 5'10" and weighs just 178 lbs. Advantage Sanchez.

Speed: Well, I was criticized in the Ovechkin fight for giving the speed to the guy who doesn't play hockey. I won't make the mistake again. Kane's speed on the ice actually likely does translate the to the octagon. Sanchez may be fairly mobile in the pocket, but nothing compared to Patrick Kane stopping, accelerating, getting around the edge, and scoring the Stanley Cup winning goal all in the blink of an eye. Advantage Kane.

Power: Sanchez has the size advantage and probably does a little more lifting than Kane does. Pound-for-pound, I'd probably put them pretty close to each other. Unfortunately for Kane, Sanchez has 47 more of those pounds to work with. His size advantage translates into the strength advantage. Advantage Sanchez.

Smarts: To be honest, I've never been that impressed with Mark Sanchez. And that's not just because he's on the Jets. I have never thought he was as good as they make him out to be. So who's smarter? Generally QB's need to be the smartest out there. Hockey players need to be real smart too. But I guess Kane isn't specifically known for his hockey IQ -- don't mistake me for doubting it, I am not -- but he just doesn't stand out in your mind as the smartest player in the world. Neither does Sanchez... but he requires more smarts out there. Beating a Bill Belichick defense will take every ounce of smarts you have. Advantage Sanchez.

Intangibles: There are lots of intangibles as usual here, but the biggest one to me is the winning factor. Sanchez hasn't proven yet that he can carry a team to championship status. If you ask me, he was a QB of circumstance last year with that run to the AFC championship. They only made the playoffs because the Colts pulled Peyton in Week 17. Sanchez didn't bring that team to where they got. The defense and ground game did. Kane, on the other hand, was a major contributor and clutch performer in what was ultimately a championship run. That's valuable winning experience that can't be denied.

Toughness: This is the toughest category for me to call. Which one of these guys would be tougher to knock out? My gut instinct says it's Kane, because of him being a hockey player and how tough they are, and how Sanchez never has to exert physical contact onto another person. But my mind is telling me that it's Sanchez, simply because he's a bigger and stronger guy and he'll be more difficult to knock out. So which do I choose? Kane isn't much of a fighter, and the only person he's really ever fought was that cab driver. So him being a hockey player doesn't give the full advantage it would if he was Shawn Thornton or something. With that said, I think I have to go with Sanchez again. He has too much size on Kane with a very similar set of characteristics. Advantage Sanchez.

The Decision: It really ails me to give Mark Sanchez the win, but I just hope that he doesn't go past the next round. It's back to the drawing board for Patrick Kane, who endures a long, hard fight, but can't win over the judges when all is said and done. The fight goes to a judge's decision and the judges score (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in favor of the winner, Mark Sanchez.

Disagree? Do you think Kane would toast Sanchez? Let me know. I don't see a bright future for Marky Mark though, and he advances to face Dwyane Wade in the second round. We'll see how that one goes. Tomorrow, we've got famous bicycler Lance Armstrong slotted against the great Jack Bauer, star of the hit television series 24. That will be an interesting one.