Why the Fight That Won't Happen is Driving Me Crazy

I'm not a huge boxing fan. 


I don't feel like you have to be a casual fan of boxing to understand the general properties of the sport, and its ability to garner huge audiences (i.e Muhammad Ali). There are many well known boxing greats, and lots of very famous bouts between titans in the ring. Another huge potential showdown has been in and out of the works for the past couple years now, and that is a bout between unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. The two have been half heartedly trying to negotiate a fight for a while now, and both have fought matches against middling opponents in the meantime. I think I speak for lots of people when I say we don't CARE about Mayweather vs. Cotto or Pacquiao vs. Santa Claus. We want the big match, the real deal, the moneymaker. We want to put the top two boxers in the world in the ring against each other, winner takes all. I, for one, cannot stand Mayweather Jr. and would relish the opportunity to see him lose, so maybe he can finally shut up. I'd be so excited for this fight to happen, I'd seriously even consider paying to watch the damn thing somewhere. It should be a Congressional mandate that these two fight in 2012. I don't know what your feelings are on the Mayans but we may not get many more shots, you know? Heck, I bet they would probably grant us some sort of extension if we could guarantee the fight was gonna happen soon. Even the Ghost Mayans want this fight to happen.

We give them another year, tops. If we get too generous,
we'll look like the U.S  government.

Listen, we're missing our window here. Theres been allegations of drug use, quarrels over blood testing, theres been scheduling disputes, all intermingled with insults, condescending remarks and other miscellaneous trash talk. Pacman is 33, and may not be boxing much longer. He holds political office in his native Phillipines and wants to expand on that career soon. Mayweather is 34, has had several legal issues and is due for a ninety day jail term very soon.  Luckily, a boxer's biggest weakness is their own vanity, and hopefully they both feel like they need this fight to really push themselves into elite status. If this doesn't happen in the very near future, it may not happen at all, and then we'll all be left to wonder what could have been. And me? I'll be checked into Shutter Island, patient DXB-4801, life term.

Be our Valentine, Jeremy Lin

Jeremy Lin is everywhere.

The sports world's newest star, one of only a handful of successful Asian-American NBA players, has risen to absolute stardom in just one week, after being overlooked by many teams in the league. He's off to the hottest start of any NBA player in their first five games, during which he has led the Knicks to a perfect 5-0 record. His hot start includes a 38 point game against the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant, of all people. Yes, Jeremy Lin is everywhere, from replays on TV, to blogs like this one, to Sportscenter Top Plays, hes even been the butt of a few racist jokes( courtesy of Ball Don't Lie). Lin was a star in college, but since he played for Harvard, more credit was given to his academics than his basketball skills. Make no mistake however, Lin can and has balled with the best of them.

       Got my Doctorate in Dunking. 

Given Lin's meteoric, though short rise, I'm not surprised that he has gathered a lot of attention. Lots of guys can put up the numbers he does, and they frequently do. So whats the big deal? Well, Lin is Asian-American, which is unusual in the NBA but also very good for the league. His success thus far will help to promote more of a global market for the NBA, as it is highly likely the Chinese market will embrace Lin as they did Yao Ming when he was the most successful player of Asian descent.  He took harsh criticism from Kobe, wasn't intimidated, and even outplayed Kobe, scoring 38 on the Lake show as his team ran past them at home. He does all this on the biggest stay in basketball, Madison Square Garden, a place that has seen its fair share of ballers. 

So whats the point of this post? Unless you live under a rock, don't watch sports, or have been missing Sportscenter to watch the Walking Dead Marathon, then you probably have already heard of Jeremy Lin. The point is that he has become America's newest spotlight athlete, a great feel good story that is quickly becoming a huge media event. Lin is the Tim Tebow of the NBA, a like able player who earned everything he was given in this league. America loves a poster boy athlete, and with the Tim Tebow hype on temporary offseason lockdown, they've found a replacement.  As a society, we love to love the underdog, the small guy, the hard worker instead of the talented egotistical athletes. We love the gym rats, the Rudy's, the guys and girls that never say no. Tim Tebow is that guy. Jeremy Lin is that guy. We love the athletes who can perform well and be the hero and be humble about it, but we praise their ability to be something other than an athlete, something better. Lin has already said that Tebow is his role model, to which Tebow would probably say something like "Well I don't know why, I haven't done anything important."THAT is why we love these guys.  

I'm a lover, not a fighter.

Pro Bowl Make Me Holla. Also, Doping.

I'm sorry. 


It's difficult for me to say this, but.....theres another site. We've been going steady for a couple weeks now, and I just have to say, the connection is stronger than ours. I'll keep in touch, I swear. Its not you, it's me.


Look, look with your special eyes. Thats probably how I would tell you, in an overdramatic fashion, that I've been busy writing for a actual news outlet as of late, which is why I haven't been posting  much. I got hired on to Sesame Street to cover sports, and I work under the cookie monster. Honestly though, I know I've been gone recently and to all my original and loyal readers of this site, I want to thank you for reading.

Lets talk about the Pro Bowl. Despite the obvious aspects of this game as being a cash cow for the league and a fan driven popularity contest, I have to wonder if it contributes anything else to society? The game is like a community theater production of Cats, no one really cares that much. You're not watching because you care, you're watching because you're bored as all hell and Gossip Girl doesn't come on until 12.  The whole game looks like a glorified warm up, as players are just trying not to get hurt in what translates to an entirely meaningless game. Its played in warm as hell Hawaii, so while the viewers freeze their asses off from Minnesota to Washington, you can watch the players sweat and cool down with giant fans on the sidelines. Thanks for that one, NFL. Thankfully, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has said the Pro Bowl could be removed soon, which is great, because then we could all catch Jersey Boys down at the local YMCA instead. 

I'll send you a fruit basket Roger. Well done.

While we're on the subject of raging drug addiction, lets have a talk about competitive cycling. Its unfortunate that the inaugural mention of cycling on this blog is about doping, but at this point, I've reached the point of no return on cycling. Cycling is dirty. Its like a Twinkie picked up off a truck stop bathroom floor, I wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. Honestly though, this isn't just exaggerated hyperbole, there has been a lot of convicted dopers in the competitive cycling circuit as of late. Since 2006, at least 8 riders, including two winners of the race, were disqualified from the Tour or stripped of their titles after testing positive for doping agents. The most prominent alumnus of the Tour, Lance Armstrong, faces much criticism and doubt as to his performance as well. (To his credit, Lance Armstrong has not been found guilty of doping). So you may read that and say, hey, theres only been a handful of riders caught cheating so far, why is that an issue? The issue here, I would say, is that this could be just the visible tip of a very big iceberg. Cycling and baseball are two sports who are developing a very serious PED problem. Its very similar to the Heisman award which was stripped from Reggie Bush this past year. They can't go back and give that award to someone else, so it stays vacant, as constant reminder of someone who broke the rules to get to where they wanted to be. (Cycling awards a vacated first place finish to the rider who finished behind the doper, so as to not have a vacancy.) 

Now, relax. Some of you may go into a rage over this and go looking for facts on PED use in the NFL to throw at me. Whatever, lets go there. All professional sports leagues in the U.S have checks for PED's, and I think they do a pretty good job for the most part. Some athletes will always look for that extra edge, and be willing to go where others won't, and thats just a sad fact of life. Do some dopers slip through the cracks? Yeah, I'm sure. Can 53 year old Madonna sing as well as 25 year old Madonna? I don't know about that. All I'm saying is, in some sports, doping is a problem, and cycling has become too much of a "problem" to enjoy on a casual level anymore. 

Speaking of huge career choices, we HAVE to talk about where Peyton Manning is gonna go. If you're a Colts fan and still think he'll play for you next year um,.....sorry. Possible suitors include Miami, Arizona, and some outside possibilities include San Francisco, Dallas, Jacksonville, New York (Jets, as if I even have to specify after Sunday) and Washington. Lots of choices, lots of decent choices, one good choice, which is San Francisco, but I highly doubt the 49er's repay a strong year by Alex Smith by swiftly replacing him. He did nothing bad to lose the job, Peyton or not. If I were him, I'd choose either Arizona or the Jaguars. Arizona obviously has star wideout Larry Fitzgerald, and they would hook up oh, oh so many times if one the same team together. Jacksonville just got a new owner and coach, but retain their 9th ranked defense and the leagues top rusher from the recently completed season, Maurice Jones-Drew. Obviously, the team would need some receiver help after signing Peyton, but thats what the draft is for. Hear me out here. If Peyton plays for the Jaguars, he gets Tennessee twice a year, shouldn't be tough to beat, Houston twice, which is quite a bit tougher, but the real gem is getting Indianapolis twice, so he could (presumably) play Andrew Luck, his successor, twice a year and, ideally, beat him. Nothing shows dominance like continually beating the guy who replaced you. Dallas has Romo, who they don't seem to have given up on yet, and the Jets have Sanchez, same situation. Dallas is an awful spot to play at, with a clown of an owner and the most inconsistent and underwhelming team on the planet, hands down.