The 30-year-old Swedish netminder made his biggest stop with

Actor, police officer and MMA fighter. No one can accuse Sergeant Nick Hein of not living life to the fullest. As the 30-year-old German lightweight himself notes, most of the good stuff -- his role on a hit German TV show and UFC contract -- came in the last 18 months. It really gives me a shiver every time I think about it, he said in a interview. Its a cool time right now. Hein steps into the Octagon for a second time Saturday night when he faces James The Texecutioner Vick on a televised UFC card in Austin, Texas. Former lightweight champion Frankie The Answer Edgar, currently ranked No. 3 among featherweight contenders, faces No. 2 Cub Swanson in the main event at the Frank Erwin Center. Hein (11-1 with one no contest) won his UFC debut in May via unanimous decision over American Drew Dober on a card in Berlin. It was an impressive showing with Hein using his left hook to carve open a cut over Dobers eye and his judo skills to take the American down. He faces a tall task in the unbeaten Vick (6-0), who at six foot three has a seven-inch height advantage on the German. We train for that, Hein said nonchalantly. We have tall Germans too. Hein is a firm believer that things happen for a reason and has plenty of ammo to back it up. He shifted to MMA after his judo career was essentially blocked by having a German world champion in his weight class. He won his role on the popular German sitcom Diese Kaminskis after meeting a scriptwriter in the gym. When it came time to audition last year, he almost missed his opportunity because he neglected to check his voice mail, eventually listening to the message just in time to make it. Perhaps most importantly he met his wife-to-be -- an artist -- in Tokyo while he was training in her native Japan in 2005. I lost her number the first time, he said. I was one and half hours away from Tokyo and Tokyos not the smallest place to find somebody again. He went to the same place one week later and waited. She had the same idea and they found each other. They got married two years later. Hein was 19 when he joined Germanys Federal Police out of school. The force supported amateur sports, allowing Hein to pursue his blossoming judo career. These days Hein patrols the busy train station in downtown Cologne. Its a crazy place, he said with a laugh. After his UFC debut, he recalls making a shoplifting arrest at the station only to see a store employee staring at him. Hein thought he might have food on his face after lunch. Youre the MMA fighter? the employee eventually asked. In a country where mixed martial arts is still struggling to gain acceptance, Hein sees that recognition as a step forward. While its been more than four years since the UFC held its first show in Germany -- UFC 99 in June 2009 in Cologne -- mixed martial arts still has a way to go in Heins home. The sport is still not allowed on domestic TV so fight fans will have to watch Saturdays card online. Hein addressed that in May in his post-fight interview in the cage. He took the microphone and, in German, asked the fans if they felt good. Then he asked them to shout U-F-C to show the world that the UFC has a home in Germany. Hein said people may remember that post-fight interaction more than the bout itself. Germany remains split on MMA, he says. The younger generation supports it but the older generation doesnt understand it. And thats usually the generation of your bosses, he said. He started judo at the age of six and went on to win European under-20 and under-23 titles. But his dream of making the Olympics was stymied by the fact that he competed in the same weight class as Ole Bischof, who won gold at the 2008 Games and silver in 2012. He competed better internationally in the time when it counted, said Hein, an Olympic alternate in 2008. Still it was like a setback. I had to accept I couldnt pass him by. He calls what has happened since a fairy-tale. But there were tough times getting there, with Hein calling the end of his judo career a nightmare time. He eventually switched his focus to MMA, a sport that had been in the back of his mind since someone had given him a VHS copy of UFC 1 years before. I thought I could do that too, he recalled. That seed resurfaced in 2009 when a really depressed Hein was at a judo camp in Brazil. He needed a new challenge and decided to find an MMA gym when he went home. The sport captivated him and he started taking more classes, eventually making his pro debut in August 2009. Still a member of the national judo team, he did it in secret. Hein told his coach he had to go to a friends wedding in Italy. He won his fight in Cologne -- moved to a small space after the original venue was cancelled -- and left in the wee hours to take a train to Berlin so he could attend judo training camp the next morning. Nobody knew what happened, he said. Hein won his MMA debut in the first round and said he felt like he had won the heavyweight championship of the world. I was fighting in European (judo) championships, I was fighting in Brazil, in Russia, all over he world, really big competitions, really big organizations. But that (first MMA) fight with 30 people in the room gave me that feeling, he said. Hein took some boxing lessons and learned he had power in his hands. His TV show is about three undertakers who arent the sharpest knives in the drawer. While he has no acting background, Hein said the script grabbed him. I read it and I felt Man, I can do this. Thats me actually. A really dumber version of me. He says he manages to fit everything into the day thanks to staying focused and the support of his wife. But when its time to fight, acting taking a back seat. Orioles Jerseys 2020 . Lineup news, Fantasy and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES St. Louis Blues – After rolling the San Jose Sharks for seven goals, for the second time in a week, the Blues have a bunch of players on hot streaks. Baltimore Orioles Gear . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. https://www.cheaporioles.com/. -- Kansas City Royals right-hander Luke Hochevar will have Tommy John surgery that will sideline the pitcher for the season. Cheap Orioles Jerseys .Y. -- Scott Chandler is returning to Buffalo, where he spent the past three seasons establishing himself as the Bills top pass-catching tight end. Baltimore Orioles Shirts . -- The Orlando Magic finally are showing the patience in critical moments that coach Jacque Vaughn has been waiting for all season. CEDAR PARK, Texas -- Toronto Marlies coach Steve Spott didnt let his team dwell on its first loss of the Calder Cup Playoffs, a 6-3 setback against the Texas Stars in Game 2 of the Western Conference final. The Marlies had won their first eight playoff games before Game 2, but the streak was derailed as Brett Ritchie and Scott Glennie each scored twice for Texas-- which fired 52 shots at Torontos net. "We turned the music on right away," Spott said referring to the teams post-game dressing room. "I went in and said a couple things about what we knew to do better. Then I said, when we leave here, Im a believer negativity is a wasted energy, and we turned the music on and we get back to work." The Stars have mustered 102 shots through two games and Toronto goalie Drew MacIntyre has stopped 95 of 101 shots. "We gave up, in my mind, three free goals," said Spott. "Weve got to be smarter and weve got to be tighter, the margin or error this time of year is slim." Glennies second goal gave Texas a two-goal lead with less than six minutes remaining in the third period after the teams traded five goals in the second. Spott said he felt Glennies goal, which came on a rebound after Mike Hedden drove hard to the net, ended Torontos comeback effort. "I thought we had some good push back when went to the third and then we gave up a soft goal," said Spott. "A coverage issue that we got beat on and then it ends up in the back of our netathose soft goals on some of those coverages, weve got to address." Chris Muellers fifth goal of the playoffs capped the barrage to give Texas a 4-3 lead 61 seconds before the second intermission.dddddddddddd Before Muellers goal Glennie and Ritchie scored for Texas, while Josh Leivo and Peter Holland countered for the Marlies. Glennies goal, which gave the Stars a temporary 2-1 lead, was the first time the Marlies trailed since the regular season finale against the Rochester Americans - a streak of 512 minutes five seconds. "Not any disrespect to Texas, but I dont think we were on our game tonight and they pounced on that," Marlies defenceman T.J. Brennan said. "Theyre a good team and they took advantage of a lot things we didnt do (in the second period)." Earlier Toronto had opened the scoring on its first shot 4:22 into the game when Jerry DAmigo took advantage of a Texas turnover and beat Christopher Nilstorp over the right shoulder for his fifth goal of the playoffs. Travis Morin added an empty-net goal for the Stars while Nilstorp had 27 stops for the win. The 30-year-old Swedish netminder made his biggest stop with 13.5 seconds left in the second period on Stuart Percy. Percy had an apparent open net, but Nilstorp reached out and around a screen to make the glove save with his right hand. "Oh, (Nilstorp) played unbelievable tonight," Stars forward Mike Hedden said. "That save he made at the end of the second, I think it really lifted the guys on the bench and carried the momentum into the third period." Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday at Torontos Ricoh Coliseum. ' ' '