Heavyweight Boxing Quiz: So the other day, Mark R., Phillies and Steelers fan and constantly referring to the former’s dominance over my godawful Mets, says, “I’ve got a quiz for you. Name the current heavyweight boxing champion?” He was being facetious, since there are like five different governing organizations these days, or so it seems, and I know of the Klitschko brothers, but otherwise really don’t have a clue. The point being it ain’t like the old days when a lot of us got fired up for a good title fight. Anyway, your quiz for today is to go back to the time when Muhammad Ali first beat Sonny Liston for the title and before he was stripped of the crown for his stance on Vietnam and the draft. The WBA initially took away Ali’s title because he refused to fight a certain individual and instead had the controversial rematch (“phantom punch”) with Liston. Later he did fight, and pummel, the other guy in 1967 for the WBA title in perhaps the ugliest bout of Ali’s career. Who was it? Answer below.
Barry Bonds…Guilty!
[The verdict in the Bonds case came in after I posted the last column so I need to catch up a bit, plus it’s taken a few days for some to weigh in.]
A federal jury convicted Bonds on a single count of obstruction of justice but failed to reach a verdict on the three counts that he knowingly used steroids and human growth hormone and lied to a grand jury about it.
After four full days of deliberation, the jury of eight women and four men could reach a unanimous verdict on only one of the four charges and U.S. District Judge Susan Illston declared a mistrial on the others. Illston set May 20 for a hearing on the obstruction verdict and it’s possible she might throw it out. Nonetheless, the maximum sentence for the count is 10 years in prison, though federal guidelines recommend 15 to 21 months. In previous sentences in the BALCO case, Illston has sentenced offenders to home confinement.
One juror who gave only her first name, said that the final votes were 8-4 to acquit Bonds of lying about steroids and 9-3 to acquit him on lying about HGH use. The panel voted 11-1 to convict him of getting an injection from someone other than his doctor, with one woman holding out. That juror, “Nyisha,” said she “needed more” evidence, while declining to go into detail. On the steroids count, she said: “We did go back and forth. But the question was, did Barry Bonds know that was steroids?”
Note to Nyisha. Your name has just been put in the December file for “Idiot of the Year” consideration. Good lord. What an indictment of our education system.
Prosecutors haven’t decided whether to retry Bonds on the three counts but at this point it’s over.
“Barry Bonds’ statistics cannot be erased. Bonds did not get away with his actions in federal court, where he was convicted of a count of obstruction of justice Wednesday. But in his era Bonds was allowed to stay on the field and hit 762 home runs and win seven Most Valuable Player awards.
“Fans can judge those accomplishments however they want, but they did happen, and they are as historically valid as the 714 homers Babe Ruth hit without ever facing an African-American pitcher.”
“Racism clearly affected baseball’s records. So did the rampant use of steroids. But all the records stand, as they should.
“ ‘That’s a slippery slope,’ (Commissioner Bud) Selig said. ‘Once you get involved in that, there’s no fair way to do it. At this moment I have no feeling of doing anything differently than I’m doing.’
“While facts are facts, the Hall of Fame is subjective, and the guardians of Cooperstown are not keen on cheaters. That is why Bonds seems very unlikely to be enshrined.
“The verdict in San Francisco does not help his cause, but it is peripheral to the Hall of Fame debate. Almost everybody believes Bonds used steroids, and more than a quarter of voters believe steroid use disqualifies a player from induction. There may be flaws with such logic, but that is reality….
“Voters’ opinions can change over time, but does anyone believe three-quarters of voters [the number required for induction] will ignore the sport’s most explosive issue since the Black Sox scandal? No chance.”
Kepner compares Mark McGwire to Harmon Killebrew. Killebrew hit 573 homers and batted .256. McGwire hit 583 homers and batted .263. But Killebrew received 59.6% of the vote in his first ballot, in 1981, and was in three years later. McGwire received 23.5% his first year, “which means, unscientifically, that 36.1% of voters disqualified him immediately because of steroids. That is easily a strong enough voting bloc to bar a candidate from Cooperstown. After McGwire’s admission of steroid use in 2010, his total slipped below 20%.”
Bonds was obviously a superior player to McGwire, but as Kepner notes, “there is a one-sentence instruction on every ballot that reads: ‘Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.’ If more than 25% of voters disqualify Bonds based on his lack of integrity, sportsmanship and character, he will not get in.”
“Those home runs, and (his) reputation are Bonds’ to keep. The trouble begins when others begin to judge him, and Wednesday was only the start.”’
“Even the one count of obstruction implicates the entire industry, for engaging in omerta during the home run frolics of the late 1990s and early in this century.
“Yes, the country has bigger problems, and yes, the trial was expensive, but people should care about this one conviction because of Bonds’ denial of the needle. There are rules against performance-enhancing drugs in sport, partly to ensure a level playing field and partly because those drugs can be unhealthy for young people. By his own behavior, Bonds acted as if he knew he was breaking rules. He did not care, but we must….
“Baseball is now stuck with more than a guilty verdict for Barry Lamar Bonds. It is also stuck with a stretch limousine full of the biggest sluggers of this generation: Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro and that admitted partaker of steroids, Alex Rodriguez, who is 145 homers behind Bonds after a homer Wednesday, to say nothing of Manny Ramirez, who retired last week facing a 100-game suspension for testing positive for banned drugs….
“On Wednesday evening, Commissioner Bud Selig released a statement praising baseball’s rules and testing for drugs but referring only obliquely to ‘allegations about the conduct of former players.’
“This was no allegation; this was a conviction of the career home run leader for obstruction of justice. Major League Baseball will have to deal with it.”
“Championing Barry Bonds for the Hall of Fame feels a little like endorsing Bernie Madoff for Financier of the Year.
“But I believe Bonds should be enshrined in Cooperstown even after seeing him found guilty of obstruction of justice. I have a Hall of Fame vote, and in the winter of 2012, I will place a check mark next to Bonds’ name on the ballot.
“That is because in my court of law – one in which only I have to believe something beyond a reasonable doubt – I think Bonds is the best player I ever saw.
“No, not the pumped-up freak whose head swelled in every way – along with his stats. I am talking about the tool shed who ended the 1998 season with three MVPs, eight Gold Gloves and the distinction then – and now – as the only 400/400 man with 411 homers and 445 steals.
“That was the year in which Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa waged their homer battle that obsessed a nation and obscured that Bonds hit .303 with a 1.047 OPS, 37 homers, 28 steals, 122 RBIs, 130 walks and 120 runs. He was the best player in the game and few noticed, which devastated Bonds’ ego….
“Look, there is no exonerating Bonds. But I do understand his steroid use. Greed – for fame and dollars – is a strong pull. It is easy to see why Bonds would be annoyed that his all-around greatness was overshadowed by McGwire and Sosa….
“For me, the saddest group that used includes players such as Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Roger Clemens, who were looking to become greater or extend greatness. These are players who all could have gotten to Cooperstown without aid of illegal performance enhancers….
“And Bonds was going to be a 500-500 man clean. Even with the ornery personality, Bonds was going to be feted after his career, maybe own the distinction rather soon as the Greatest Living Player.
“Instead, he was found guilty in a court of law last week for essentially trying to cover up his steroid use, more tarnish to his legacy. Still, there was a time when he was the greatest player I had ever seen and at a period when I believe he was clean. In my court of law – the only one that matters on my Hall of Fame ballot – he gets a check mark.”
Kobe Bryant
Midway through the third quarter of Tuesday’s Lakers victory over San Antonio, Bryant was called for his third offensive foul and upon arguing was hit with his 15th technical of the season, one short of the number that leads to a one-game suspension. Coach Phil Jackson removed Kobe and when he reached the bench, Kobe slammed a chair, threw a towel and then yelled “Bennie” toward referee Bennie Adams before uttering “Faggot”. Alas, the whole incident was aired live on TNT’s national broadcast. Immediately, analyst Steve Kerr commented that “you might want to take the cameras off him right now, for the children watching from home.”
On Wednesday, NBA Commissioner David Stern fined Bryant $100,000 and, in a statement, described Bryant’s remarks as “offensive and inexcusable.” Kobe apologized and said the words he used had come “out of frustration during the game, period.”
“The words expressed do not reflect my feelings towards the gay and lesbian communities and were not meant to offend anyone,” he said.
There have been a number of similar incidents over the years, including former NBA player Tim Hardaway’s statement in February 2007 that “I hate gay people,” which led to the league banning him from All-Star weekend. Two years ago, the Kansas City Chiefs imposed a two-game suspension on running back Larry Johnson for using the same epithet that Bryant did. Johnson directed his at reporters. [The Chiefs then reduced it to one.]
“You casually toss around an anti-gay slur as if it were a 19-foot jumper, something you do every day, part of your vocabulary, part of you.
“You issue an initial apology with no admission that you were wrong or the word was wrong, an apology that puts the onus on everyone else for taking it wrong.
“You called someone a ‘faggot,’ and you say you didn’t mean to offend anyone? That may work in the insulated sports world, but not in a diverse and tolerant Los Angeles that has mostly supported you for your entire adult life.
“In the last 15 years, I’ve seen Kobe Bryant grow from a snotty kid to a strong and sensible man, but he is still filled with some sharp edges that make him difficult to embrace, and his city felt one of them Tuesday night….
“Bryant’s taut personality will never allow him to spend his post-basketball career like the charismatic and influential Magic. But if he wants to maintain his own brand of magic, he needs to show folks that the screaming fool on Tuesday night was indeed not him.”
“This wasn’t Tiger Woods cursing up a storm after missing a shot. This was the NBA’s marquee player – one of its most accomplished ever – hurling a vile epithet that in nearly any other context would have been fighting words.
“But the penalty wasn’t harsh enough. For a star player earning $27 million this season, a $100,000 fine – about 0.4% of his salary – is far less imposing than cutting into his playing time….
“We live in a world in which money has increasingly become a substitute for morality, where it cures all. Commit a crime, throw money at it; hurl an insult, pay a fine….
“Had Stern sat Bryant down for a playoff game, rather than administer checkbook justice, the league would have made a forceful statement about its intolerance with intolerance.
“Hardly. Not in an atmosphere in which intolerance seems to be stiffening….
“Throwing a $100,000 fine at Bryant for hurling an epithet at an authority figure on national television is a symbolic gesture. Sitting Bryant out for a playoff game, ratings be damned, would send a powerful message that slogans aside, the NBA really does care.”
John Amaechi…a former admitted gay NBA player (four years after his career was over)…in the New York Times.
“Kobe Bryant isn’t some great, bigoted monster, as some have implied, but he isn’t the innocent victim of some overblown one-off incident about a word that’s ‘not even that bad,’ either.
“This controversy is not a storm in a teacup turned into a vendetta by loony liberals, as many in the sports world seem to think. What our heroes say and do means something – and in an America where sports stars carry more influence and in some cases more credibility than senators, what they say matters more than ever….
“I challenge you to freeze-frame Bryant’s face in that moment of conflict with the referee Bennie Adams. Really examine the loathing and utter contempt, and realize this is something with which almost every lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender person is familiar. That is the sentiment people face in middle and high schools, in places of worship, work and even in their own homes across the United States….
“I am tired of people having this debate about the relative impact of pejorative words on their target minority group. If injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, then the relative power of an antigay slur is irrelevant, it is simply a threat to human dignity, and that should appall us all.”
Jimmy Doolittle
“On April 18, 1942, then-Col. James “Jimmy” Doolittle led a sortie of Army B-25 bombers launched from the carrier Hornet in a bombing raid of the Japanese mainland, the first airstrike against Japan after the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor.
“What became known as Doolittle’s raid had a negligible impact on Japan’s ability to wage war, but it was a much-needed psychological victory for a country shattered by the devastating attack on the Pacific fleet in Hawaii.
“The idea for the raid began from the observation that the B-25 could conceivably be launched from an aircraft carrier with a useful payload and enough fuel to land in airfields in China after a strike on Japan, according to Naval History and Heritage Command’s website. U.S. Fleet commander Adm. Ernest King and Army Air Forces leader Gen. Henry ‘Hap’ Arnold were both excited about the idea, and Arnold selected Doolittle to lead the mission.
“The Hornet got underway April 12 after loading 16 B-25s, and was met April 13 by the carrier Enterprise, which was tasked to provide air cover for the raid. On the morning of the raid, the task force ran into unexpected enemy pickets, some of which managed to get off warning signals before the U.S. navy sank or evaded them. The sortie had to be launched 600 miles from shore rather than the planned 400.
“Most of the 16 bombers were sent to attack Tokyo, with a few hitting Nagoya. Although many of the bombs fell on target, damage was not extensive. None of the aircraft made it to the Chinese airfields, and the Japanese captured eight American airmen, executing three of them. But the raid was deeply embarrassing to the Japanese, who began planning elimination of the American carrier threat early in the war, setting the stage for the critical Battle of Midway.”
[The lone five survivors of the raid gathered this past weekend to commemorate their heroic efforts.]
–And the NBA Playoffs are underway…the Grizzlies upset the Spurs, the Hornets upset the Lakers, and the Knicks choked in the end against the Celtics. Carmelo Anthony was 5 of 18 from the field and missed a potential game-winner.
—NBA Commissioner Stern said the league will lose about $300 million this year, 22 of 30 teams in the red, as the NBA prepares to negotiate with the players on a new collective bargaining agreement.
–Aside from the Bonds’ conviction, another former baseball star, Lenny Dykstra, found himself in a heap of trouble as he was charged with bankruptcy fraud for selling belongings from his $18.5 million mansion after he had filed for bankruptcy in 2009. Dykstra was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department on separate grand theft charges and is being held on $500,000 bail. “Nails” has been accused of removing, selling and destroying property that was part of the bankruptcy estate without permission from the trustee. A lawyer for the trustee estimates Dykstra stole or destroyed more than $400,000 from the estate, including a “truckload” of furnishings and fixtures (like chandeliers, mirrors, a stove and a grandfather clock) to a Los Angeles consignment store. If convicted he faces up to five years in prison. In his original bankruptcy filing, Dykstra listed assets of $24.6 million against debt totaling $37.1 million. He owes $12.9 million to JPMorgan Chase.
–The Boston Red Sox signed first baseman Adrian Gonzalez to a 7-year, $154 million contract; essentially $21 million a year plus a signing bonus.
–The Yankees have a real problem…the condition of Phil Hughes’ throwing arm. He was put on the disabled list after a dreadful start to the season with what Hughes calls a “dead arm.” The thing is his velocity is way down after his 18-8 mark last year (when he had a poor second half). The New York Daily News’ John Harper says Hughes’ problems appear to be all too familiar. The culprit could be the ‘hard cutter,’ which puts more strain on the arm than a traditional fastball. One prior example is Jim Abbott, who in his mid-20s threw in the 92-93 range and suddenly it dropped to 87-88 and he was out of the game at 31. [Abbott went from 18-11 at age 23 to 2-18 at age 28 and then barely hung on another few seasons.]
“In fact in all seriousness, I know it’s been less than 10 days for the 2011 baseball season, but I get the sense it’s going to totally blow.”
“(This) April has seen a half-dozen teams produce the worst single-game crowds in the history of their stadiums, and several more flirted with that distinction.”
The Braves had the worst crowd in the 15-year history of Turner Field. The Twins at Target Field. The Mariners, the Indians (despite them getting off to a great start had crowds of less than 10,000 in four of the first six games). The Yankees, and the Cardinals.
Granted, the weather has had a lot to do with it, but I would submit it’s also because there is little to get excited about these days.
–Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal points out a rather startling, and depressing, fact for Mets fans. New York’s five highest-paid players – Johan Santana, Carlos Beltran, Jason Bay, David Wright and Francisco Rodriguez – make up roughly 72% of the club’s entire payroll. “No other team in baseball has such a large chunk of their money invested in such a small group of players.” The Cleveland Indians are next at 67.4%, but their total payroll is just $49.1 million to the Mets’ $119 million.
–In reading a piece by the New York Times’ George Vecsey on Casey Stengel, it really is remarkable to think that he was the only man to have worn the uniforms of the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, Yankees and the Mets; playing for the first two and managing the first, third and fourth.
–Ah ha! So you know how last week I said of Uncle Mo’s poor performance in the Wood Memorial, “Maybe he ate some bad sushi or somethin’”? Guess what? Trainer Todd Pletcher stepped forward after the colt underwent a battery of tests and proclaimed:
“Although it is not my standard practice to share a horse’s examination results with anyone other than the owner, I feel that Uncle Mo’s disappointing performance in the Wood Memorial warrants an explanation. After his three extremely impressive starts as a 2-year-old and his dominant performance in the Timely Writer in March, the Wood Memorial was an uncharacteristically poor effort.
“On Tuesday, we did a number of tests and pulled some blood work. Late yesterday, both (owner Mike Repole) and I spoke with the vets, who concluded that Uncle Mo has a GI tract infection, and we began treatment immediately. The vets also concluded that Uncle Mo is perfectly capable of returning to full training while the treatment continues. He will ship to Churchill Downs on April 18 and will have two weeks before May 7.”
So there you have it, equine fans. It was indeed bad sushi, or somethin’ else. The $6 million I have already wagered on Mo appears to be secure. The stretch call for the Derby is a lock.
“Mo Mo Mo…how do you like it…how do you like it…Mo by seven lengths at the finish!!!”
–In this week’s PGA Tour event in San Antonio, the Texas Open, golfer Kevin Na had a 16 at the ninth hole, the worst score on a par-4 in PGA Tour history. And it could have been worse.
“Na, an American who is ranked 64th in the world, could not remember how many strokes he had taken after he repeatedly slashed at his ball in a small forest of live oak trees during a seemingly futile attempt to extricate it from the dense undergrowth.
“He nearly signed for a 15 after the round, which would have disqualified him for signing an incorrect scorecard. A lengthy video review confirmed his actual score.”
Despite the 16, Na managed to shoot 80 for the round, which wasn’t that bad, all things considered.
“Na’s problems began when he hit his tee shot way right on the ninth hole at the T.P.C. San Antonio. He declared his ball unplayable, picked it up and returned to the tee. But his second tee shot was no better. Thinking his ball might be lost, he hit a provisional into position in the fairway. He then had the misfortune of finding his tee shot among the vines. Had he not found it, he would have been hitting his fourth shot from the fairway.”
[Incidentally, Na is known to be the slowest player on Tour and is not well-liked…a real jerk, according to some.]
–Guess who is going to be the lead sponsor for the 2012 Bop Hope Desert Classic tour event? None other than Bill Clinton, or more specifically, the William J. Clinton Foundation and Humana, the health-benefits company, which signed an 8-year deal. Good for him…and it’s good for the Tour. I bet he’s pretty good in the booth with the guys, which I’m sure he’ll be doing each Sat. and Sun. of the event. Look for the 90-hole, pro-am format to change some, though. They need to attract more top-notch players.
–So much for San Diego State’s run. Sophomore forward Kawhi Leonard is entering the NBA draft. He has immense potential, but I also see a lot of the Wake sophs who went out a year too soon in him as well. Leonard should have stayed to work on his shooting, but at the same time this was a highly predictable move on his part. What it means for the Aztecs, though, is they lose four starters off their great 34-3 squad. I’ll wait for a preseason report, though, before declaring my Aztecwear one-and-done. They do have three talented guards returning, after all.
–Talk about an idiot. From Samantha Henry / AP:
“An international fugitive who authorities say skipped out on a prison sentence in Portugal was finally tripped up this week by a formidable obstacle that rankles commuters every day: the New Jersey Turnpike.
“Manuel Albert Soares, convicted in Portugal of trying to hire hit men to kill his ex-wife, was pulled over April 11 in Elizabeth for driving in a carpool lane with fewer than the requisite three passengers.
“When officers checked his driver’s license, they discovered an international warrant for his arrest.”
“Russia’s Arctic foxes are under threat from an expanding population of red foxes, according to scientists.
“For the first time, a red fox has been observed intruding on an Arctic fox breeding den in Russia’s far north.
“The Arctic fox abandoned its den to the dominant intruder, leaving pups to fend for themselves.”
“Researchers say this is evidence that red foxes are expelling Arctic foxes as a warming climate allows them to survive much farther north.
“Arctic foxes live in mountainous tundra habitats around the north polar region.
“Previous studies have identified the foxes retreating from the southern edge of their range.”
Meanwhile, imagine those poor pups when the stranger scrambled down the hole.
“Hey, who the hell are you?!” [That’s exactly how young Arctic foxes talk, in case you didn’t know.]
—Playboy has selected the University of Colorado at Boulder as the number one party school in the nation. Colorado was cited for its numerous medical-marijuana dispensaries nearby, the four breweries in town and it’s “super hot girls” as it’s qualifications for the top spot. Following Boulder were Penn State, Arizona State, Canada’s Univ. of Western Ontario, and the Univ. of Texas at Austin.
–The man I’ve said has taken over from Joe Namath as the epitome of cool among New York athletes, Walt “Clyde” Frazier, is opening up a sports bar and restaurant on 10th Avenue between 37th and 38th streets in December. Just putting this alert out there because we need to remind each other, not that Clyde won’t get some good press as we get closer to the date.
Yup, no one cooler than him. He recently told the Times that he acquired three penthouse apartments in Harlem to hold all his clothes. Speaking of the sports bar, Frazier added, “It will be a shrine to Clyde.”
–TV alert. I read a review in the Wall Street Journal of “John Muir in the New World,” a “re-enacted documentary about the legendary environmentalist” that premieres Monday night on PBS’ “American Masters” series. Emmy winner Catherine Tatge follows Muir’s travels to the Northwest passage. I bet this is good. [9:00 PM Eastern]
—U2’s 360 Tour is on track to become the highest-grossing concert tour ever, according to TIME….$700 million, beating the Rolling Stones’ $550 million Bigger Bang Tour.
Top 3 songs for the week 4/17/71: #1 “Joy To The World” (Three Dog Night) #2 “What’s Going On” (Marvin Gaye) #3 “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)” (The Temptations)…and…#4 “She’s A Lady” (Tom Jones) #5 “Another Day” (Paul McCartney) #6 “Put Your Hand In The Hand” (Ocean) #7 “Me And Bobby McGee” (Janis Joplin) #8 “Doesn’t Somebody Want To Be Wanted” (The Partridge Family…your then 13-year-old editor was in love with Susan Dey, along with 25 million others, Ms. Dey being about 18 at the time) #9 “For All We Know” (Carpenters…Karen and Richard were cranking them out) #10 “One Toke Over The Line” (Brewer & Shipley)
Heavyweight Boxing Quiz: It was Feb. 1967 that Ali fought Ernie Terrell for the WBA title. Terrell called Ali “Clay” and Ali responded by punishing Terrell over the insult, shouting to Terrell during the bout, “What’s my name, Uncle Tom…What’s my name?” It was not one of Ali’s finer moments. While he didn’t knock out Terrell, many say he kept Terrell up just to punish him. [By the way, it’s still not known if the great singer Tammi Terrell actually married Ernie to take the name. Some say they were briefly married, others say she just took the name for the stage. Ernie Terrell’s sister, Jean, was a member of the Supremes, after Diana Ross left to pursue her solo career, and Ernie had his own group for awhile, if I recall correctly. Actually, I’m very confused about what I just wrote. Very, very confusing situation, kids.
Finally, it was ironic after Mark R.’s call on this topic that the following week, Sports Illustrated ran a blurb titled “Heavy Wait…It’s been awhile, but the action is picking up in boxing’s premier division.” Polish-born Tomasz Adamek, who fights out of New Jersey, is in line for a Sept. 10 showdown with Ukrainian WBC titleholder Vitali Klitschko, which will take place in Poland and be televised on a premium U.S. network. That could be fun. But we need an American contender.
