Stu Ungar didn’t have much going for him in most areas of life. In fact, it could very well be argued that he was downright inept in most areas of existence. He also had a self destructive streak that manifest itself in heavy drug use and other behaviors. Ungar, however, had one great gift–he was a prodigy with a deck of cards. He would become one of the first superstars of poker before it became a fixture on ESPN, but wouldn’t live to enjoy the ‘boom’. Ungar would eventually be done in by his baser elements, and would be found dead in a Las Vegas hotel room in November,’88.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers managed to escape with a win at Jacksonville on Saturday night, but by the narrowest of margins. The Jags gave up the opportunity to tie the game after a last minute touchdown, and decided to go for a 2 point conversion and the win. The attempt failed, and the Bucs survived to win by a 24-23 final score.

The Dallas Cowboys received a solid effort from QB Tony Romo in his first action of the NFL preseason, but ultimately went down in defeat to the host Oakland Raiders by a 31-10 final score. Romo went three and out in his first series, but orchestrated a nice drive on his second go-round culminating in an eight yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten.

LaDanian Tomlinson is still not fully recovered from a sprained right ankle, and as a result hell miss his second consecutive NFL regular season game this Sunday. Tomlinson was hurt in the San Diego Chargers season opening victory over the Oakland Raiders and didn’t play last week. The Chargers are slated to host the Miami Dolphins on Sunday afternoon.

Kyle Boller filled in for an injured Mark Bulger, and the St. Louis Rams improved to 2-1 on the NFL preseason with a 24-21 victory over the host Cincinnati Bengals. The Rams led 24-14 heading into the fourth quarter, but a Bengals TD early in the frame made for some drama down the stretch.

Brett Favre may get all of the headlines for the Minnesota Vikings, but NFL insiders are well aware that running back Adrian Peterson is the key to the teams offensive success. Peterson’s threat alone is enough to open up options for the passing game. Hes definitely more than a decoy, however–after winning the NFL rushing title last year hes already off to a great start with 272 yards and four touchdowns in only two games. His threat on the ground has been a large part for Favre’s solid play with his new team.

Reigning lightweight champ BJ Penn entered his main event battle against welterweight kingpin Georges St. Pierre looking to become the first man in UFC history to simultaneously hold titles in two weight classes. GSP never gave him the chance to make history, as he stopped Penn after four increasingly dominant rounds to retain his belt with a TKO victory.

Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo has been plagued by inconsistency over the past two seasons, but on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons he was in top form. Romo threw for 311 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions as Dallas ripped the visiting Falcons by a final score of 37-21. Backup receiver Miles Austin had another solid game in place of injured starter Roy Williams, with 171 yards receiving and two touchdown grabs.

Brock Lesnar is now the biggest PPV attraction in mixed martial arts, and has brought a large following of new fans who have the mistaken impression that he’s ‘unbeatable’. Before his past two fights many were questioning whether his credentials justified giving him a shot at the title, with some even unfairly comparing him to EliteXC YouTube sideshow attraction Kimbo Slice. In the aftermath of Lesnar’s UFC 100 victory the new question surrounding the former WWE champion has become who can beat this guy? Lesnar definitely is a freaky physical specimen combining size and strength with speed and agility. Hes also progressing by leaps and bounds as a fighter with every bout. Still, hes got a big deficit in experience to make up on the job as UFC heavyweight champion.