Floyd Mayweather.. Living legend?

As I watched Floyd Mayweather pick apart Senor Guerrero last night, the first thought in my head was is he that good or was Guerrero just not the right fighter for him. I thought about Mike Tyson. When Tyson was blasting all of his opponents, his conquests became verbs. His actions were all adjectives and his victories became a new vernacular. When Tyson lost to Evander Holy field, every accomplishment became belittled. Every victory was criticized because he "didn't really fight" anyone. The heavyweight division was filled with tomato cans and one sledge hammer. In fact if you hear sports radio today, the hosts frequently taunt the Tyson era as a soft one. Larry Holmes is another champ who gets no love even though he is the only fighter in 50 plus years to come close to tying Rocky Marciano for most wins in a career without a loss. (49-0). Holmes destroyed Ali and was a hated champion like Mayweather. He was cocky. He had a sick jab and could beat anyone in his prime with that one punch.  Mayweather is beyond cocky. Mayweather can box with speed,precision, and defend like no one ever has. He has made people look absolutely foolish. The destruction of Gatti, Rickey Hatton, Marquez, De La hoya, Shane Mosely have shown his prowess and extraordinary ability. Yet he is vilified and abhorred for his lifestyle.
He is mostly criticized these day because he had not fought Manny. Pac man was robbed in the Bradley fight and got the snot knocked out of him in the Marquez fight. Mayweather feels that he can destroy Pac man. He calls him the little guy because of Pac mans weight rise over the the past 15 years. It would be an interesting fight only to see if there is a strategy to defeat May weather. 44 fighters have had a plan and they have all left with a defeat and a sore face. Will we scrutinize Mayweather's wins forever like Tyson and Holmes if there is no Fight with Pac man? They are both approaching 40. Both f their careers are winding down. Neither have nothing to prove. I read somewhere that there is a cry for Mayweather to lose which could help his public appeal. As if Mayweather really cares about his public appeal.
He is a living legend no matter how it ends. I realize that we over analyze everything in sports, but some things need not be so difficult to see. Next we will criticize Tiger or Lebron for their dominance. We don't have to love our heroes. Ali lost. Babe Ruth didn't always get the game winning hit. Jordan didn't win a title every year. Tiger lost to Y.E. Yang at the pga's. If Floyd never loses, I will still put my pants on one leg at a time right. Admire what he has done. If you do, you will see that he truly is a legend...

What a weekend of sports..

Hello sports fans my name is Richard Harris and boy did we have a huge weekend of outstanding sports.   Upsets in Tennis, college football, boxing, NFL, and the Nascar sprint cup has its eligible driversfor the cup.  When Roger Federer loses before the semi finals of a grand slam tournament something must be in the air.  Tomas Berdych can really hit the ball hard and he over powered Federer.  Andy Murray had an out of body experience in winning tournament.  He outlasted Novak Djokovic in five grinding sets.  Serena went from dominating to survival mode in oreder to steal the title from Azarenka. Azarenka had a 5-3 lead in the third set and could not put Serena away. Serena is still the gold standard no matter if she is not ranked number 1 or not. 
Some more stories.. Arkansas showed that as great as the SEC conference is, you still need your quarterback to win games.  Louisiana Monroe pulled off the first shocker of the season by physically beating up Arkansas' offensive line and then knocking out Tyler Wilson. UCLA, a home underdog, showed Nebraska that the Pac 12 can play physical football as well. The Pac 12 had two other impressive wins.  Oregon St. shut down Wisconsin 10-7 and the Arizona schools had good out of conference wins as well. The Pac 12 may have the best conference before the season is over. USC and Stanford Saturday. Savannah St. beat the spread because game was called due to weather. 55-0 would have been 110-0 if they played it out.
The NFL continues to show why they are the kings of sports.  A few shocking results as Washington stunned the Saints. Rg3 played like a seasoned pro and guided the Redskin offense to a 40-32 win.  He had no turnovers and managed the game like he had done it before.  Andrew Luck had to play the Bears defense and found his debut a bit more challenging.  All of the rookie qbs except Griffin lost and threw some bad picks. Weeden, Tanneyhill and Luck threw multiple picks that really hurt their team.  It is only week one so there will be greater days ahead for all of them. 
Peyton Manning looked sharp in his return to the NFL. He few hits but when the Broncos went to a hurry up offense they changed the complexion of the game.  Manning got into a groove and they handled the vaunted Steeler defense.  The Jets shocked the world by scoring 48 points and looked like a completely different team than we saw in pre-season.  Baltimore look stellar getting points from defense and Joe Flacco continuing to show why he is an elite qb. Ugly wins from Philadelphia and Detroit. A win is a win right? The Niners have that look in their eye that they have a special season brewing if they stay healthy.  They play amazing defense and have balance on offense.  Randy Moss scored a touchdown and they just don't miss field goals. A 63 yard field goal from 85 year old Fred Akers is still jaw dropping.  They confused the Packers who have no running game.  The game of the year could be New England and San Fransisco later on this year. My super bowl pick the Houston Texans looked sharp in destroying Miami.   Cannot wait for week 2..
Chad dawson went down in weight to fight Ward and got slapped around. He was knocked down 3 times and looked sluggish. He is a champion?  Not impressed at all by him.
Rory Mcilroy won for the fourth time this year.  He held off Tiger, Phil, and Lee Westwood.  He is peaking at the right time.  The Tour championship and Ryder cup are upon us over the next few weeks. The only reason why I am not gushing about this is that Vijay Singh did the same thing a few years ago and Tiger the next year regained his throne and place in the game. I expect next year he will do the same thing.
Congrats to Jeff Gordon for qualifying for the Sprint cup. Go get em boys..

My favorite month of the year is September..

September 1st is New Years day to me.  I feel like the fall months of the calendar year is a time for rejuvenation and rebirth.  Enough of that nonsense, the reason why I love September is that College football and pro football commence, MLB pennant races heat up, U.S. Open tennis, and usually there is a great fight to watch.  The Nascar season winds down as the NHL gets started.  I cannot get enough of sports as you all know and if I had multiple televisons where i stay I would have a game on every channel. This September is no exception.  The college football season got off to a crazy start with blowouts, shocking results and Alabama showing us what a defending champ is supposed to do ona neutral field.  USC won as well and they really need to get to the title game and save college football.  We cannot have a seventh year in a row with a champion coming from the same conference..  It hurts college football because there is no growth in the game.  USC plays a completely different style of football than most of the SEC teams and their style of football translates better at the professional level.  Every year we keep hearing about pro teams wanting quarterbacks who can run and throw but at the end of each season, the Super bowl champ has quarterback that is pocket passer who can read coverages and pick defenses apart.  In fact only Steve Young and Aaron Rodgers who could also pocket pass well, have won super bowls.  Both of those qb's run well and could move out of the pocket.  Big Ben moves well in the pocket but he is not considered a running quarterback.  If you look at SEC football most of the teams run a a form of the Florida Gator offense from the shotgun and depend on their quarterbacks to either run or pass.  Geogia and Alabama this year have gone back to a little more traditional offense so they may be the exception.  Most of the nation runs that Florida offense.  The big difference between the SEC and the rest of the nation is the physical play on the defensive line.  When you dont have a fullback to help you block because you are in the shotgun single back set, your plays get blown up in the backfield.  Michigan could not get out of the backfield. Alabama and LSU make you play physical football and most schools do not have the schemes to handle these behemoths one on one.  So I am rooting harder than i ever to try to get a USC vs. SEC champ title game. Oklahoma showed me nothing on Saturday against UTEP.
The NFL starts with the Cowboys and Giants on Wedsnesday and the Cowboys are banged up and really don't know what to expect.  This season will either be a coming out party for new eleite teams or the same stuff different day.  I like Houston alot.  They have a soft schedule and a team that has a lot build on.  Foster, Johnson, Schaub,Daniels have to stay healthy on offense.  Wade Phillips has a fast defense who are hungry for a title.  The Patriots have the easiest schedule and would crave another shot at the Giants to give Brady his 4th ring.  The NFC is loaded.  At least 6 teams have the ability to win the title.  Packers, Giants, Niners, Saints, Eagles, Falcons, Bears, Lions, Cowboys can win in anyone's stadiums at any time if healthy. Should a wacky season.
The pennant chase in baseball has just gotten interesting. The Yankees are bailing water off of their ship.  They are so beat up and hope that returning star players like Arod and Andy Pettite will give them the boost to rejuvenate their season.  The Orioles are for real and the Rays have the best pitching. The Angels spent alot of money to get to the post season and succeed.  This series with Oakland will is important because they must take care of head to head games in order to gain ground.  The Tigers and White Sox just played an epic series where the Tigers earned a sweep.  Detroit has the veteran players to get this done based on pitching.  The White sox can hit homeruns but can they play to outscore their opponents or out pitch them?  The National League the intrigue is just as high.  The Dodgers created a Yankee style payroll  to win now.  They lose to too many bad teams though and I dont think they can get it done.  Billingsley was their hottest pitcher and he may be shelved for the season if shot in the arm does not work. Kemp needs to find April's magic and lead this team to the promise land.  Nationals are shutting down Strasburg and seemed poised to stay at top of N.L. east.  Chipper Jones final month as a Brave will make it interesting as the Braves don't want him to go out a loser.  After what happened last year, the Braves are going to make every team earn 27 outs.  The Reds are the real deal and if the game goes to bullpen, the game is over. Chapman is a beast.  Can you imagine facing a guy who throws 105 miles an hour in cold weather? Ouch babe..
U.S. open tennis is in its final week and Serena and Maria are on a collision course. So are Federer and Djokovic. Andy Roddicks surprise retirement announcement has buoyed ratings but tonight could be his demise.  DelPotro hits a big ball and can overpower most opponents.  Andy must serve well and steal a few concentration lapse games from Del Potro in order to advance.  I will blog about Roddick later this week.  Tennis lost Kim Clijsters last week as the young Brit robson showed some flashes of brilliance.  Robson also defeated Li Na.  Also there are two italian women playing in the quarters for the first time at the U.S. open.  Serena is lurking in their quarter if she beat Ivanovic and after winnin 6-0 6-0, in her last match she is driven to reclaim America's prize.
Chad Dawson wants to be a star in boxing, but his fights leave you not wanting to see him fight anymore.  He beat Hopkins in an unspired performance but Hopkins is like 50.  Sergio Martinez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. are about to get it on soon as well and we shall see who is the pound for pound best middleweight is.  Martinez is the gold standard but Chavez, Jr. is unbeaten and has grown up right in front of out eyes.  Also Jones and Machida will be explosive in MMA. I know everyone wanted Jones to fight Sonnen but this fight will have some great moments.
Denny Hamlins win last week gave him four for the season and he wants this title real bad.  The story is whether or not Jeff Gordon or Kyle Busch qualify for the playoffs.  This weekend in Texas will be exciting.  Gordon had the car last week to win but could not catch Hamlin on the last lap after the restart. Busch has had a quiet season. Normally right now he has had a few wins and has ticked off some other drivers.
Did I mention Golf?  The Ryder Cup is in America this time around and Hunter Nahan wants revenge.  Mcilroy is number 1 in the world but Tiger is starting to re discover his form on the weekends.  Yesterdays perfomance on the final will give him a ton to build on as the season ends.  Both are now vying for player of the year honors.  Two events left for the Fedex cup.
I COULD TALK ABOUT MORE..
HOCKEY WILL DIE if THEY LOCKOUT THE PLAYERS...
NOW YOU KNOW WHY I lOVE September?

mma vs. boxing

For the past decade, many people have declared that boxing is dead and Mixed martial arts is the new king in the sport of pugilism. Since there is no true answer here, I thought I would chime in and tell you that I still prefer Boxing over the MMA stuff. I have several reasons and here they are: 1). There is nothing like a championship fight in any sport. If both combatants are of equal ability it heightens the fight to another level. No game 7 in any sport can rival it. The Super Bowl may come close but fight night was awesome. When Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns fought or when Oscar De La Hoya fought Felix Trinidad the earth moved. When Ali fought Frazier or Tyson fought anyone the earth would stop to watch no matter what happened. Today sure the quality of fighters could sweat in the same gym as the previous 25 years of boxing. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacqiauo may be the best fighters in the world. Hopefully they will fight next year. They are the closest to what we had back in the day. But back to my point, I don't get the same feel with a MMA fight. The best fighters don't always fight one another. The current Heavyweight champion is 275lbs and he is beating on old fighters who could kick anyone else ass but not Brock. Plus he has had 7 fights and he is a champion. How is that possible? The really good fighters all have been beaten a bunch of times and it seems that everyone has a chance to win in a fight. Plus the best fighters are all old and they fight these up and coming guys and once they get beaten we never hear from them again. Before Chuck Liddell became a household name he had several losses and it was like he was proving himself to be tough and then get a few wins and then beat the heck out of Tito Ortiz and you are the baddest man on earth. What champion do you know has 7 losses?Usually in boxing when a championship fight is held, both fighters have great records or a pedigree of fights that warrant giving him a shot at the title. I am aware that HBO and Showtime do make showcase fights where a boxer that they are sponsoring gets a chance to show off what he can do. Once again that boxer has a good record and you think that translate into him being a good fighter. In MMA, all it takes is a proper strike and then a wrestling move and the fight usually is done. Now yes I have see some fighters tun an adverse situation around rather quickly in MMA fight and yes that is exciting but that rarely happens.

2) reason I prefer Boxing is that it seems as if MMA fighters could be anyone. I stopped being a tough guy a long time ago because you never know who are messing with. I was working at a club and Tank Abbot came in and my boss told me that if he starts fight just let him finish then clean up the mess. I heard a story about some guy who beat up a staff of bouncers at a night club and when I found out it was a guy who was a martial artist I though I was in a movie and laughed. Then I saw the guy and he was barely 5'10 and 185 soaked and wet and realized that he was crazy and was reliving a childhood fantasy. So many of these guys don't fit the profile. When I see Forrest Griffin I think he is a computer geek. I had a guy staying at my hostel who was a MMA fighter and he was the biggest pain in the ass and i couldn't believe that he knew Judo and could get down with the best of them. Joe Rogan is a MMA fighter/ announcer and can kick some serious butt if prompted. Don't you think the Carlos Mencia would just fight him if he was just a regular guy? I don't see the artistry in the sport. I hate to generalize but some o the guys look like they belong in prison and in motorcycle gangs. There is an art to boxing. Some fighters like to street fight and i think they are easily beaten by someone who times out their attack. When Mayweather took the late Arturo Gatti apart, i thought that was pure boxing and ring savvy. Gatti was famous for having a big, big heart and tough chin was getting peppered from every angle on his face. When Paquiauo was doing the same to Hatton and DeLa Hoya I couldn't believe just how pure and beautiful his techniques was. When I watch an MMA fight I see the creativity of putting submission holds on opponents and think of the mentality of a chess player when that happens. Getting someone to the floor takes some skill and usually a tired fighter. Too me that is when the sport gets savage because the elbows and forearms to the head makes sick sounds that I cannot take.

In conclusion Boxing needs to get better fighters in all divisions fighting again and then everyone will go back to it. The Klitscho brothers need to fight and the new good light heavyweights and middleweights need to bring back a glamour to the sport. MMA is exciting and 5 minutes in a ring is an eternity. They need less name fights and more quality fights. The old men of the sport needs to train a new genration and make the new generation better than the old. Regurgitating the same fighters over and over again is boring. Making these guys fight trilogies when one fight is plenty keeps me away. MMA needs to develop their divisions better and try to get all of the other leagues to join in. Fedor Emelianneko should be fighting Lesnar to have a universally recognized champ. I will watch both but will always prefer boxing. Call me old fashion... Maybe I like Bob Arum and Don King better than Dana White. Hell I like Vince McMahon better than all of them..