For Chris Weidman of Baldwin, New York, fighting in the UFCs maiden Madison Square Garden card always appeared to be a shoe-in. However, the neck injury he sustained earlier this year made it a long shot.If I would have done the fusion, the chances of me fighting in New York would have been really tough, Weidman told ESPN.com regarding some initial recommendations by physicians. It would have been really pushing it.On May 17, Weidman (13-1) was removed from a middleweight title rematch with Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 due to a cervical disk herniation. After undergoing an MRI, Weidman met with three different doctors, all of whom suggested fusion surgery to repair the injury. Facing a serious procedure with a prolonged recovery time, Weidman decided to educate himself and get different opinions because neck [surgery] is a scary surgery.Two opinions that provided hope for Weidman came from UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman and Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle. Both former standout wrestlers recommended that Weidman meet with Dr. Hae Dong Jho in Pittsburgh, who developed a non-invasive surgery with a shorter recovery time.Five days after the man who replaced him at UFC 199, Michael Bisping, captured the belt in an upset, Weidman underwent surgery in New York with Dr. K. Daniel Riew. Two weeks after the surgery, the former champ felt like I could do everything again. After six weeks, he was back to full training. A few months later -- with a neck thats feeling great -- The All-American set his sights toward a spot in the first card at the worlds most famous arena.For one of the preeminent faces of New York MMA -- a man whose hometown held a day in his honor for beating Anderson Silva -- Weidman will get his chance to fight in front of his local fans against Yoel Romero (11-1). Gone are the days of 3-hour-plus drives to Atlantic City, where Weidman made his debut with Ring of Combat. Now, Weidmans local fans can take the Long Island Rail Road directly to MSG.Weidman was part of the UFCs campaign to get the sport legalized, and when the vote passed the legislature via a 113-25 margin on March 22, he told WICZ-Binghamton it was a dream come true. Now, nearly eight months later, Weidman is ready to make the walk.I dont really feel extra nervous that its in New York, Weidman said. I put a lot of pressure on myself just to go out there and dominate and separate myself from the guy Im standing across from. I dont think you can put more pressure on yourself than that.Romero is an Olympic silver medalist in freestyle wrestling, and this battle between the third- (Weidman) and fourth-ranked (Romero) middleweights, according to ESPN.com, offers an interesting test to see which fighters wrestling skills translate better inside the cage.According to FightMetric, Weidman completes nearly double the amount of takedowns (3.52-to-1.85) as Romero, and at a much higher percentage (55-35). Weidman edges Romero in takedown defense percentage as well (81-75). It will be both fighters first bouts since last Decembers UFC 194. While Weidman lost his championship belt to Rockhold via fourth-round TKO, Romero defeated Ronaldo Jacare Souza by split decision for his seventh consecutive victory.A month later, Romero was flagged for a potential violation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Facing up to a two-year ban, the 39-year-old claimed the positive test was due to a contaminated supplement he was taking. USADA independently confirmed the claim, which led to the two sides agreeing to a reduced six-month suspension. Despite Romero getting cleared, Weidman still has his suspicions about his opponent this Saturday.Theres such gray area in there where you can set it up to where you look innocent. Anybody who fails a drug test, in my eyes, you failed a drug test -- thats on you, and youve got to live with that, Weidman said. Im just hoping that USADA is drug testing him. If he is taking stuff, I hope hes crapping his pants that USADA is going to hopefully catch on to whatever theyre all taking.This fight isnt necessarily a No. 1 contenders bout; however, the pathway to a title shot became easier when Rockhold pulled out of his Nov. 26 fight against Souza with a knee injury. Other top middleweights are in action later this month, too. Gegard Mousasi, ranked sixth according to ESPN.com, looks to avenge a loss to Uriah Hall on Nov. 19. Robert Whittaker and Derek Brunson, ranked eighth and ninth, respectively, square off on the 26th in Australia.The current champ Bisping has already told SiriusXM Rush he wouldnt want to fight Romero if victorious due to the positive drug test.As for the former champ Weidman, hes only looking to control whats ahead of him.I think good things happen if I just go out there and do what I feel like I can do against Romero, Weidman said. I cant waste my time thinking about different scenarios and if its unfair or not unfair. Im not at that point right now where I could do that. Im just focused on the camp, Im focused on Romero, thats it. Cheap Wholesale Balenciaga Shoes . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. Balenciaga Shoes Discount .5 seconds to play in the game, Kevin Love never stopped believing that they would come out of there with a win. http://www.cheapbalenciaga.net/ .S District Court against Major League Baseball, the Office of the Commissioner and his own union, the MLBPA. Balenciaga Shoes Sale Online . The news was first reported on Gonzalezs Twitter account and confirmed by the Rockies. Gonzalez has a six-week window before position players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona. Balenciaga Shoes Wholesale China . LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The Atlantic Coast Conference has fined Louisville and Virginia Tech $25,000 each after reviewing the findings of a Wake Forest investigation that concluded a former Demon Deacons assistant coach-turned-broadcaster leaked game plans to opponents.Commissioner John Swofford said in a statement Saturday that he is deeply disturbed something like this would occur.The league said its review and follow-up discussions with the schools indicated that game plan information for four of Wake Forests games was provided to three schools over a three-year period from 2014-16 -- Virginia Tech in 2014, Louisville in 2016 and Army in both 2014 and 16.Wake Forest beat both the Hokies (6-3 in double overtime) and Army (24-21) in 2014. Army beat the Demon Deacons 21-13 on Oct. 29 -- two weeks before a trip to Louisville in which they lost 44-12 and began to suspect a security breach.The announcement came four days after former Wake Forest assistant and radio analyst Tommy Elrod was fired after the school determined he shared or attempted to share inside information.Sportsmanship and ethical values are at the core of competitive integrity, Swofford said, and in these instances, those were missing.The ACC says the amounts of the fines are the highest allowed by the leagues bylaws. The announcement came a day after Louisville said co-offensive coordinator Lonnie Galloway was suspended for the Citrus Bowl following its internal review, and the ACC said in its statement that it is fully supportive of that suspension.An Army spokesman also said Saturday that it will investigate its role in the scandal, with Superintendent Lt.ddddddddddddGen. Robert Caslen ordering athletic director Boo Corrigan to open an investigation that will be conducted by a U.S. Army officer.Elrod has not returned phone calls or text messages, and his lawyer -- former Wake Forest player James Quander -- has declined to comment ever since the school released its findings.Wake Forest began its review after documents related to its game plan for the Louisville game on Nov. 12 were discovered at the Cardinals stadium.Coach Dave Clawson revealed four days later that school officials were investigating a possible security breach and Wake Forest announced its findings Tuesday night -- absolving the current staff and players and pinning the blame solely on Elrod, a former player in the 1990s and assistant under Jim Grobe who went into broadcasting when he was not retained during the coaching change to Clawson following the 2013 season.Academy spokesman Matt Faulkner confirmed Armys involvement Wednesday night but did not have any additional details.A day later, Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock said a former unidentified Hokies assistant was provided with some game plan information before their game in 2014 but that retired coach Frank Beamer had no knowledge of it and the assistant was not retained when Justin Fuente replaced him after last season.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '