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..

who is the most hated man in sport?

Did ya miss me? I have a lot to blog about today so lets get to it. As an avid sports fan, I have had a lot of athletes that i could say that i hate. Hate is such a strong and cruel word so tend to say I dislike. I, like everyone else would dislike these players and secretly say that if they were on my team i would root for them like crazy. I hated Pedro Martinez for a long while until he became a Met. I hated Barry Bonds but when the world decided to dump on him I became his biggest fan. The funniest thing is that the players that most people associate hatred with never played for any of my teams. Bill Laimbeer, Bill Romanowski, Terrell Owens, Alex Rodriguez, Bonds are just a few names that immediately come to mind. I am going to shock you by telling you who is the most hated man in sports today is. His name is Isaiah Thomas.. Little Zeke has been cast into the fire hotter than O.J. Simpson. Whether you believe O.J. did the crime or not at least his hatred is for actually doing something to be hated for. Isaiah had a scandal with this secretary with the Knicks and he was made to pay the price for it with not his job but with cash. But the hatred for Isaiah goes back much farther than that.
After winning the national championship against North Carolina, Isaiah wanted to follow in his great "friends" footstep and turn professional at a young age. Mark Aquirre and Magic Johnson had turned pro after prolific endings in their college careers and went pro. Magic was a champion right out of the gate with Lakers and Mark had to wait some years but was a top notch rookie with the Mavericks. Isaiah went to the Pistons and seemed like a match made in mid-west heaven. He had a great career in Detroit. At the time when he was looking to come into the pos many people were against underclassmen from entering the draft early. They talked about how small he was and that he couldnt hold up for a full season. He did and that slapped a lot of the media in the face as well as the NBA brass and the NCAA. He is undoubtedly the greatest basketball player 6'1 and shorter and may be the best point/ shooting guard the eastern conference ever saw. No one could stop him. There are stories that Isaiah conspired with other players to make sure that Micheal Jordan would not get the ball in the All star game. The Dream Team players allegedly went to head of Olympic basketball operations and told them not include Isaiah on the Dream Team. His accusations that Magic Johnson was gay so when Magic came out with his announcement that he had HIV destroyed allegedly the friendship between he and Magic. Remember when the Bulls finally beat the Pistons and he and 7 other teammates walked off the court and did not congratulate the Bulls? That angered a lot of people. He was the first gm of the Toronto Raptors and drafted Damon Stoudamire and everyone thought that he was a genius. Stoudamire was rookie of the year the Raptors had a great future ahead. He drafted Tracy Mcgrady, Marcus Camby too. The Raptors did not win often and when new management came on they clashed on the direction of the team and he was gone. He coached the Pacers and apparently ruined them too. He was the owner of the CBA and ruined that too and of course he was the blame for the fall of the New York Knicks. He screwed up their salary cap, got rid of Larry Brown, couldnt co-exist with Starbury and Donnie Walsh who was a friend even turned on him. He gets hired to run a college team down in Florida and they lose their first exhibition game to a division 3 school. "What the hell is going on here?"
I have never seen someone so beloved be so hated in any capacity of life. Osama Bin Laden has fans. O.J. was still getting women after his crimes. Mike Tyson is loved by women all over the world. Isaiah went from being the guy who scored 16 points in 94 seconds and a superstar to the most hated man in sports. I have not heard a positive thing said about Isaiah in 15 years. His petty spat with Jordan kept off of the Dream Team. When he was put on the second Dream Team, none of the stars were playing then so it was like a consolation prize. To make matters worse, he destroyed his Achilles and had to retire. The crowd was chanting Magic, Magic last night during the game and he smiled. I am sure the talking hairdos around the country thought he was crazy for smiling. He is a misunderstood man I guess because very few people say anything complimentary about him. For Micheal Jordan to spend time in his retirement speech talking about him shows how much he was hated by him. He was a good T.V commentator. To be exiled to Florida International University is so sad. Indiana University had a scandal a few years ago and he should have been considered for that job. NOT....

First Half is about to be over..

The first half of the NFL season ends on Monday Night with a great game between the Denver Broncos and the Pittsburgh Steelers. So far this seas has been filled with either really outstanding play or really terrible play. There are two unbeaten teams left. The Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints. They are both led by very strong quarterbacks. Peyton Manning and Drew Brees. Each team has benefited from playing great and timely defense and explosive offense. The Saints have a lot of people thinking that they can go undefeated the entire season.. They play in a dome stadium so weather won't be a factor in any of their remaining games. They play Dallas and New England and Atlanta who have capable players and pose a threat to their unbeaten status. The other games should be pretty easy to win. Although Carolina has beaten the Saints in New Orleans in the past and the way the Panthers played last week maybe they are onto something. The city of New Orleans still needs help from the Katrina tragedy so I am rooting for them to get it done. Peyton Manning's family are legends there and wouldn't it be cool to see the Saints and Colts battle for the Super Bowl? The Colts have to play the Texans, Patriots, Ravens, and Texans all in the next four weeks. They will lose one of those games for sure and with the news today that Bob Sanders is out for the season, they will have their hands full.
Minnesota and Denver are the next intriguing stories of the season. Last season Brett Favre was the talk of the league at this point and then the wheels fell off as the Jets did not make the playoffs. Will he wilt again? He has been better than advertised this year and has made the Packers look foolish twice. The Vikings defense has not been as good as it has been in the past. Jared Allen may be having an M.V.P. season but the rest of the defense needs to pick up their play. Denver last season was in first place for most of the season and despite Jay Cutler throwing for a boat load of yards and Brandon Marshall having a Pro-Bowl season, they got caught by the Chargers and watched the playoffs from home. They have a tough schedule to finish the year as well. With games against the Steelers, Chargers, Eagles and Giants ahead. Speaking of the Eagles and Steelers, when they play well the do not lose. If Both Mcnabb and Big Ben stay healthy and don't turn the ball over, both of their teams will be in it at the end. My Giants need a bye week. They are dumping water off their boat at such an alarming rate that they need a week away from the game to get re-focused and poised to make a championship run. I think New England is ready to roll since they have had their bye week and Tom Brady is chomping at the bit to play again. Can Houston, Cincinnati, Houston and Arizona get on a roll and make it to the playoffs? The 49ers and Bears have potential. The Packers have the most accurate quarter back in Aaron Rodgers. The Cowboys, Falcons, Chargers and Ravens have what it takes to be champs but have mind blowing performances that confuse everyone. The Cowboys and Chargers have the talent to win it all. The Ravens and Falcons i think are a year away from really being special. Aside from the Jets and Dolphins, the rest of the league is horrible. Tampa, Detroit, Oakland, Carolina, Washington, Seattle, St.Louis, Kansas City, Cleveland, Tennessee, and Buffalo are looking forward to the draft. Jacksonville is wondering where the fans are. I never thought that in my lifetime that NFL fans would not show up to a game. At least show up and where the bags over your head. Draft Tim Tebow and see what happens. He is a local kid and would probably love to be the savior of football in that city. I cant wait to see what happens

To the victors..

Congrats to the New York Yankees!!!! 27 world series wins in 40 attempts is damn near 70% success rate. When I was a kid the Oakland raiders used to brag about how they were the winningiest franchise in sports. They did not have the most championships by a long shot but their actual win loss record was the best in sports until about five years ago. Wild huh considering how horrible they have been recently. Actually right now, I believe that the Yankees and the Lakers are the top two. In my lifetime the Yankees have played in 11 world series and won seven. The Pittsburgh Steelers have played in seven Super Bowls and have won 6. The San Fransico49ers have played in 5 and won all five which is pretty impressive. The Celtics have won 8 titles out 10 in my lifetime. The Lakers have been in 20 NBA finals in my 41 years of living. They have won 10 of them. In the NHL, The Montreal Canadiens were is 16 finals and won 10 of them. They have not won a title since 1993. I was shocked to see that. I thought Detroit or The New Jersey Devils would have the most since it seems every year lately they are playing for the cup.
All of these teams have one common thread. Great players and Great coaches. Joe Girardi has won the manager of the year award and was promptly fired at the end of that season with the Marlins. Doc Rivers was a good player and has grown into a pretty damn good coach. Phil Jackson is Phil Jackson. Mike Tomlin got it done in his second year like Girardi. Both men have a long future ahead of them. The other teams had legendary coaches that roamed their sidelines for years. Bill Walsh, Chuck Noll, Red Auerbach, Scotty Bowman, Bill Cowher,Joe Torre, are just the tip of the coaching icon iceberg. The players they had were second to none!! I could list them all but you know they are. Jordan, Russell, Bradshaw, Montana, Rice, Patrick Roy etc... Now the names added to the list are Jeter, Rivera, Posada and Petitte. Winning 5 rings in a career is extraordinary. Kobe and Shaq are close with 4 each and I got a feeling one of them is going to get a 5th in the next few years.
I wont forget my individual sport star too. Tiger has 70 wins and 14 majors. Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova, Dale Earnhardt, Roger Federer and Pete Sampras have enormous accomplishments and multiple majors and championships. Pretty boy Floyd deserves some props as does the Golden Boy. In short as this blog is today, I have lived through a lot of good sports in my time. The Lakers and the Canadiens have the most rings. So here's to all of you.. thank you for giving me the distraction that keeps me going. We will see how much has changed at age 50. I cant wait!!!

what about the fans?

As the sports world continues to evolve into more and more a business than a game, where do we fit in as fans. We have a right to scream, yell, boo, curse, moon, drink, eat and sleep sports as most of us do. We have an expectation that the product displayed out in front of us represents what we represent in our daily life. Meaning that we have a job to do so do it and go home and next time you are out there on the field do it again. Play hard and have fun they tell the players. Usually when I go to a sporting event I play hard and I have fun too. love the people who make the experience a true full all out experience. Tailgating, face painting, are cool and when done in "moderation" can be very cool. I am sure that we all have stories of traveling with friends to a game and getting festive before the game and all of the drama that ensues is stuff of legend and in some cases stuff that gets you fired.
Now I root for three teams that are tough to figure out but great to support when they are good. The New York Mets, New York Giants and the New York Knicks are my favorite sports teams. The Mets just had the worst season they have had in about 10 years. The Knicks havent been good since Patrick Ewing retired, the Giants however won the super bowl two years ago and if Plaxico doesn't shoot himself last year, they probably would have won another one. When I watch the Giants play lately I wonder do they believe in what they are doing. I scream at Tom Coughlin and Kevin Gilbride because of their predictable play calling. I scream at Eli because I am sick of him trying to emulate his brother. I don't care who the "mike" is or why before they snap the ball he screams out" Omaha", just execute the play and get on to the next one. when the Giants were winning I guess I thought that they were geniuses. Now that they are struggling I hate watching them. As a fan I feel compelled to let them know that i am not pleased and someone better do something about it. I heard today that Chief fans are begging the organization to get rid of Larry Johnson so that he cant break a team record. I find that taking the fan stuff too far. When Larry Johnson was atop three running back in the league I am sure that the fans supported him like crazy. So I guess you got to take the good with the bad and hope to get good again. The Owners of the Browns and Redskins today came out to speak to the fans and ask them to be patient and support us no matter what. I find that funny since the owner of the Redskins banned signs that spoke negatively of the team. You cant tell a fan how to be a fan. I feel for him only because, he has spent boat loads of money and the players he brings in just simply stinks or are too old that they cant play as well anymore. Do I think that the Mara family is going to apologize to me for the way that the Giants have played lately? No. They should though.
The funniest is Omar Minaya of the Mets. I joined a Mets site to keep up to date with the team and he writes letters all of the time. Maybe he should write less and put a product of players out there that represent what a New York sports fan expects. The Yankees see a need and fill it. No questions asked, No guilt involved!! The Mets are a Mess. The Knicks and the Mets have the same problems. Messy organizations trying to catch lightning in a bottle. The Knicks think that next year they are going to attract a major free agent and put the team back on the map again. Getting Lebron James, or Dwayne wade or even Amare Stoudamire may not guarantee us anything. But guess what? The great thing for both the Mets and Knicks is that the fans support the hell out of them.. Met fans still showed up in droves despite having a horrible season. The Knicks still draw at MSG like it was back in the Ewing days. We voice our opinions heartily and hope they hear us and do what we ask.
I remember one time I was at a Penn. State and Michigan football game and the fans were throwing snowballs onto the field. They hit a few of the players and i remember thinking what if the players actually saw the person throwing the snowball, what would he do? Just as I was about to let one go I got this feeling that someone was watching me so I ate the thing. I have a right to cheer, but not to throw anything onto the field. When I was a bouncer out here in Hollywood, I would constantly run into players at the clubs and talk their ears of about the games and the team. It is cool for a awhile, unless you can introduce them to a special lady the they are your guy for the night. I have been very lucky to talk to a lot of my favorites. Most athletes do care about the fans. They need us as much as we need them. When I hear that fans are criticizing young Matthew Stafford I laugh, but the fans have that right. He just needs to play better faster and they will be on his side again. Same with the Mets and Knicks.. Jut get it together and we will be there for you..

memories, like the ....

I have many joys in my life these days. Watching sports these days with my awesome daughter may be tedious for her mom but my daughter loves when they go to commercial and the music starts playing. Her mom may not admit it but she watches too and asks some smart questions. Reading some of the responses to my blogs and talking shop with some of my friends, got me thinking about things I remember as a child or even as an adult. My father was a cop in White Plains, N.Y. and he used to know so many professional athletes. He would take me to the N.Y. Giants training camp every year as a youth and I absolutely loved it. I went to see the Giants and Jets play in the Yale Bowl back in 1973 and I remember walking off the field with John Mendenhall. He looked so grizzled and scary but it was cool nonetheless. The Giants had Ron Johnson and Bob Tucker, Brad Van Pelt and Spider Lockhart. It was soo cool. The Jets still had Namath but he was a shell of himself. His knees were so bad then that he could barely walk. I couldnt imagine walking on the field and off today. Security would pounce pretty quickly.
I went to a baseball game once with Dan Weitz my junior year at Riverdale. We went to see the Cubs and the Mets and Dwight Gooden was on the mound and he was electric. We went with Paul Gleason who was the detention monitor in the movie the Breakfast Club. He was great friend I guess with Keith Hernandez who was a star with the Mets. Doc that night should have been given credit for a no-hitter but was not because Ray Knight could not field a ball hit by Ryne Sandberg. Gooden that night set the Rookie strikeout record. Straw hit a Home run, so did George Foster. We changed seats so many time that night until we finally ended up behind home plate and that is where we saw Straw's home run. It was awesome. After the game Mr. Gleason took us to the dugout and we got to meet Keith and the boys. Everyone knew that I had a football game the next day. I was sooo stunned that everyone wanted to talk to me about football. Mookie Wilson, Doc, Keith looked like Giants. Gary carter too. Rusty Staub then took out to the bullpen and we talked with Gary Matthews. Then the ladies that were supposed to meet up with Keith and Mr. Gleason showed up and that is when we knew it was time to go. What a night!!! The best part about that story is that 25 years later, i saw Mr. Gleason at a nightclub I was working at in Hollywood. I told him the story and he remembered. Mr. Gleason passed away last year. I was glad that i was able to relay the story to him.
To top all of that, within my first month working at Billboard Live Night club, Micheal Jordan showed up at the club. I couldn't believe my eyes. He walked past me and my boss knew that I wanted to body guard him more than anyone working there. So when he told me to go to the V.I.P room and stay with him, I nearly crapped my pants. In the same V.I.P room that night was Leonardo DiCaprio and he wanted to say hello to Micheal. I told his handler that if he thought that Micheal Jordan was going to get up and go over to him, he must crazy. Micheal started asking me questions about Leo. I told him that he was in a few movies and Titanic was a movie that he was about to star in. Then I started babbling about how I used to go to the Knicks-Bulls games when I was a teen. We sat right behind the Bulls and how I rooted for him. I was such a dork and was surprised that Jordan's security did not ask me to leave. Then the pipe broke behind the bar so they left and I was left with his vodka and cranberry drink. I did not drink it and when he and Leo shook hands they did know each other from a movie shoot DiCaprio did during "Basketball Diaries".
I have had the pleasure as a bouncer out here to meet several athletes and celebs. Remember when Jeter got credit for hitting a home run against the Orioles in the playoffs that gave the Yankees a victory? Jeffrey Mayer caught the ball. Tont Tarasco was the Oriole's outfielder who was below the play and we had a nice chat about the play. I worked the Magic Johnson foundation dinner in 1996. The Lakers had just signed Shaquille Oneal and i was given strict instructions not to let anyone in who's name wasn't on the list. Shaq showed up in a silver Bentley and he and his security wore matching silver three piece suits. I gave Shaq a hug and told he him that wasn't on the list and he couldn't come in. We all laughed and Magic came outside and escorted him in to a loud ovation. Denzell was there and Luther Vandross was the headline act. I remember working a LimpBiskit video shoot for the son "Faith". Peter Berg was the Director and he asked the boys to go on stage and play the song just to get the feel of the place. I had never heard the version of the song so when they jumped into the chorus I was wide-eyed and taken aback, but then that wasn't the story. The bass guitarist was jumping up and down on the stage and jumped right off the stage and fell and hit his head. All of us ran to the stage to help get the cord from around his neck. It was pretty scary but he was okay and the day was pretty cool. I could tell stories all day and night about my sport memories and others but i will save that for book one day.. I guess the moral of the story is having memories good or bad better than never experiencing them at all.. just live people..

take that.....

When I was a child, my favorite baseball player was Reggie Jackson. He walked the walk and more than often talked the talk. When the Yankees traded him the the California Angels in 1981, I was crushed. I couldn't believe that Mr. Steinbrenner had the stones to get rid of his only draw. They had Winfield and he just stunk it up in the world series, Guidry was coming back to earth. They had made so many runs with is team that it finally got old. They still had Nettles, Randolph, Pinella, Cerone, Tommy John. The team just did not have what it took i guess to make another run at a championship. At least that is what Steinbrenner thought. Then it happened. The Angels came to town for a three game series. I remember Guidry was pitching extremely well that night. Reggie hadn't really done anything in the game. Then in the eight inning, the score of the game I believe was 1-0 Yankees when Reggie came up to bat with a runner on first. It started to rain a little bit and Bob Lemon left Guidry in to face Reggie. I don't remember the count but, Gator made a mistake pitch and Reggie hit the ball so deep into the upper deck that i did not think the ball was going to land. The crowd all leaped to their feet and cheered loudly and started chanting George Must Go, George Must GO, GEORGE MUST GO!!!. The Angels won that 3-1. I never rooted for the Yankees again after that season. A week later the Yankees came out to the West Coast and Reggie hit homers in his first two at bats off of Guidry in game one of the series. I remember Warner Wolf poking fun at the Yankees for letting Reggie go. He actually that year hit 39 homers and drove in 101 runs. So i guess he wasn't done.
As i watched Brett Favre yesterday carve up the Packers for the second straight time i could only think of Reggie. I wonder Ted Thompson feels like today.. I am sure that there are other players that have gone up against their former teams and did well against them and defeated them, but none like what Reggie and Favre did. Favre was the Packers. He made them significant again after 25 years of obscurity. The Packers stunk in 70's, 80,s and finally came back to life in the early 90's. The way they treated him wasn't right although understandable. Sometimes you have to make decisions that are best for your organization and they felt that Aaron Rodgers was the answer. Aaron Rodgers is a great fantasy quarterback because he fills up a stat sheet like no other. His dilemma is that he needs to start winning games. If I was Favre I would have been more smug than he was in his interviews after the game. I just wish he would have said what every one else is thinking. If I was a packer fan today, I would be in mourning and hiding.. There is a tradition at Lambeau field where when the opposing teams bus arrives there is usually a line of fans that moon the bus. Today i would keep my pants up and would never pull them down again.
One of my favorite take that stories is that of "agent 0" Gilbert Arenas. When Gilbert was left off of the "Dream Team" he vowed that he would make the teams of the coaches that did not pick him pay for cutting him. He did. He scored like 64 points against Phoenix and Portland got torched for like 60. After the game the coach of the Blazers I think was Nate McMillan and he said that Duke better watch out because he 's coming for them next. I may not the details right but the point was that Gilbert wanted revenge and felt he got some against these teams. Revenge is sweet, but victory is better!!! I got to see Wayne Gretzky play the Kings as a Ranger and he scored a goal early in the game. (My First live Hockey game). The crowd went nuts for him and they treated him like he was still a Kings player.