ng position," Gibbons said. "Jose is feeling good righ

The lines on Joe (Diesel) Riggs face hint of more than a few stories. Not all good.The veteran fighter has battled drug addiction, demons and himself in the past. In 2006, Riggs and Nick Diaz infamously continued their UFC 57 fight at the hospital afterwards with Riggs firing punches undeterred by the IV in his arm.Eight years to the day since his last UFC bout, the 32-year-old Riggs returns to the Octagon to face welterweight Ben (Killa B) Saunders on a televised UFC Fight Night card Saturday in Phoenix.Im really excited, Im ready to fight, man. Im in the best shape of my life and Im going to knock it out, for sure, Riggs said in an interview.Riggs road back to the UFC has been typically complicated. He was due to fight Set. 13 on a card in Brazil, stepping in for the injured Mike Rhodes against Paulo Thiago. But instead he found himself fighting for his life after his gun accidentally discharged in late July at his Arizona home.Im a man thats handled guns my entire life and a brand new gun that should never malfunction malfunctioned, he explained.A live round was stuck in the chamber. The safety was off but as he tried to dismantle the gun, the hammer dropped and Riggs was shot in the hand and thigh.I didnt think I was going to die, I knew I was going to die ... I accepted I was dead, he said.Lying on the floor in a pool of blood, Riggs prepared for the worst.I said goodbye to my boy, who means everything to me. Who Id die for at the drop of a hat. Saying goodbye to him was really really hard for me. Picturing my son having to grow up without a father, it changes you.He called his wife, who summoned an ambulance. Because a gun was involved, police had to secure the area first. Riggs says it was 40 minutes before he made it to a medevac helicopterRiggs was fortunate in the way the bullet struck his leg. It was pinched in the right way that I didnt bleed out.Doctors told him he would never fight again.I wouldnt accept it, said Riggs. To think I went through all this for nothing, I finally got to where nobody thought I would be and this happens. I wouldnt accept it.My life has been horrible. Ive had a horrible live and Ive had a great life. But everything that I went through in my life I overcame and Ive gotten through. So I just tried to put this toward that and push through and I did. Today, Riggs says hes happy and in a great place.He used to fear thinking about losing. Now he understands anything can happen in mixed martial arts.Now I can go out and fight with a clear mind and know that whatever happens Im OK with it. I just want to fight to the best of my ability. And Im one of the best in the world so I think every time I fight its going to turn out good.The UFC lists Riggs record at 40-14. Riggs himself says he has 65 wins and 14 losses, one of which came in a K-1 fight.Riggs, who made his pro debut in 2001, acknowledges that in the past he had become jaded in the sport. Then he started training at the MMA Lab in Glendale, Ariz., determined to see how far he could go.Riggs points to newly crowned welterweight champion (Ruthless) Robbie Lawler, another veteran who has made the most of his skills and reaped the rewards of hard work and dedication.Riggs, whose nose is clear proof he doesnt work behind a desk, has been around so long that he has a tattoo that reads NHB, for no holds barred. Its a reminder of his early days fighting when there were few rules.Not many, Riggs said. I couldnt bite a mans nipple off, thats about it.With four years at the MMA Lab under his belt, Riggs says he trains smarter these days. I havent lost since.Still, just making it to the Octagon again given his past is an accomplishment.I think the fact that Im even fighting again and alive, the fact that Im doing something that nobody thought I would ever do again is a huge win for me, Riggs said. Beating Saunders is the icing on the cake.Saunders (17-6-2) is 5-3 in the UFC, returning to the promotion in August to submit Chris Heatherly in the first round after a four-year absence. The six-foot-three Saunders is a graduate of Season 6 of The Ultimate Fighter.Former champion Junior Dos Santos, currently ranked second among heavyweight contenders, takes on No. 4 Stipe Miocic in the main event at US Airways Center. No. 14 lightweight Nate Diaz, Nicks younger brother, faces No. 3 Rafael Dos Anjos in the co-main event. Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter Air Jordan Cheap Uk . -- James Harden scored 31 points, including 25 in the second half, and the Houston Rockets dug out of a double-digit, first-half hole to beat the Orlando Magic 101-89 on Wednesday night. Air Jordan Cheap Online . New York (16-9-8) took over first place in the Eastern Conference and has the best record in the league with one game remaining. Houstons five-game unbeaten streak was snapped, and the Dynamo (13-11-9) are sixth in the East with one game remaining. http://www.airjordancheapuk.com/. Beckham says "nothing has been confirmed yet, but its something I am very excited about." He adds that "Miami is something that really excites me because there is a great energy down there. Wholesale Air Jordans . PETERSBURG, Fla. Air Jordan Cheap For Sale . Quarterback Drew Willy appeared to injure his throwing hand on the third last play of practice Thursday.TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays have used power, speed and pitching on a recent surge that has put them in first place in the American League East. Their 3-1 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Sunday showed just how well that combination can work. Edwin Encarnacion provided the power with his 14th homer of the season, Jose Reyes provided the speed by equalling a career best for a game with three stolen bases and left-hander J.A. Happ provided the pitching with seven runless innings. Put it all together, and you get a team thats on a season-best six-game winning streak and has won 16 of its past 21 games. "I dont know if you ever see it coming," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "What it really comes down to is were just playing good baseball. The starting pitching has been really good, our offence has been alive, the bullpen has been solid." The Blue Jays (29-22) swept the three-game series with the Athletics (30-20) who lead the AL West despite losing their past four games. "Our three pitchers and their three pitchers were very good," Gibbons said. "And in those tight ball games, some clutch hitting and some great base running made the difference in most of those games. So ride it, ride it." It was Torontos second straight sweep after taking three games from the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Happ (4-1) allowed four hits and three walks while striking out seven in his longest outing of the season. "Hes filling up the strike zone," Gibbons said. "Hes really doing a nice job of using his fastball on both sides of the plate. Hes locked in right now. (Catcher Erik) Kratz has done a great job with him." Dustin McGowan replaced Happ in the eighth and allowed Josh Donaldsons 11th homer of the season. Casey Janssen pitched the ninth inning to earn his seventh save in as many attempts this season. "Definitely wanted to pitch off the fastball today and Kratz did a great job behind the plate," Happ said. "We were on the same page and tried to use that. "First and foremost it was about me throwing the ball where Im supposed to throw it, and then pitching off the fastball and using everything. I thought today we did a good job establishing the fastball." As left-hander Drew Pomeranz (4-2) allowed five hits, four walks and two runs in four-plus innings. "I think I maybe tried to locate a little too much instead of going right at guys and ended up walking too many people and being in bad counts a lot," Pomeranz said. "I wasnt attacking guys like I should have." The Blue Jays did not have a hit until Encarnacion homered to left on a 2-2 fastball with one out in the fourth. It was the 14th of the year and the 12th of the month, tying him with Jose&nbbsp;Bautista for the team record for homers in May.ddddddddddddThe run also snapped a string of 18 consecutive runless innings for Pomeranz. Toronto went on to load the bases in the inning on singles by Brett Lawrie and Dioner Navarro and a walk by Steve Tolleson, but Kratz grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Blue Jays loaded the bases in the fifth on a single to centre by Kevin Pillar, an infield hit by Reyes and a walk to Melky Cabrera. Bautista singled off right-hander Jim Johnson to score one run, but Reyes was thrown out at home by left-fielder Yoenis Cespedes. Encarnacions pop to centre field dropped in but Bautista was forced at second on centre-fielder Craig Gentrys throw to Johnson covering second base. Gibbons immediately challenged but the review upheld the call. Unconvinced, Gibbons argued and was ejected for the first time this season. "I was looking up at that (score) board and it looked pretty obvious to me," Gibbons said. "Their video probably isnt as big as that board maybe. I guess its a good system but its not a perfect system. That was big right there. We were sitting pretty good with a chance to blow the game open if hes safe. The out call changes the whole complexion a I thought they got it wrong out there." Bautistas sacrifice fly against right-hander Luke Gregerson in the seventh gave Toronto a 3-0 lead, scoring Reyes who opened the inning with a single and stole second and third. The three steals in a game equalled a career best for Reyes who has done it eight times. The previous time was Sept. 25, 2008, against the Chicago Cubs when he was with the New York Mets. "He can really generate his own runs when he gets in scoring position," Gibbons said. "Jose is feeling good right now. ... Hes exciting, thats one of the reasons they brought him over here." The Athletics completed a nine-game trip at 5-4 starting with five wins against the Cleveland Indians and the Tampa Bay Rays. "You go through these periods," As manager Bob Melvin said. "Youve just got to fight your way through it. "Youre not always going to score seven, eight runs a game and right now were going through a drought." NOTES: The last time the Blue Jays were alone in first place later than May 24 was July 6, 2000. aRight-hander R.A. Dickey lowered his earned-run average to 3.95 with his 8 1/3-inning outing in Saturdays win to drop his ERA below 4.00 for the first time in his Blue Jays career. a The Blue Jays open a three-game series at Rogers Centre against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday with right-hander Drew Hutchison (3-3, 3.45 ERA) facing Ottawa left-hander Erik Bedard (2-2. 2.63 ERA). aAttendance was 45,277, the fourth sellout of the season. ' ' '