Classic American West Coast Boxing

[dagosd2000]

Thanks Dan. You keep those interviews coming too. Rog

[dagosd2000]

The Park In Venice

"That ees where Vivaldi live,"said the gondolier maneuvering the gondola with the big pole through the canal tightly around the small boats ."That ees hees house."
The great composers house stood erect and grand.An architectural masterpiece. My wife and I, with my grandson Adam and my granddaughter Amanda, sat in the gondola transfixed on the magnificence of a city built on an island during the Italian Renaissance.

The gondolier pushed gondola with the pole close to the sides of the narrower waterways ,but never once bumping against the curbs of the canal.Many men try to become gondoliers in Venice. It is a tough job to land. They are judged by other gondoliers that are looking for a smoothness and confidence.A bravado of pace. And then when to slow down and relax the craft so the riders can get the rhythm and feel of he beauty of the great merchant city.It is important that the gondolier to nurture the maximum aura of the journey.Then the fantasy emerges,becomes a reality, and the experience is never forgotten.As the gondolier pushed the pole along ,the gondola silently moved through the water. The gondolier began to sing a Neoplitan song. He told us that the Neopolitan songs were the best Italian songs.As the boat passed the vacant streets I imagined that everyone who lived on the stradas went inside wanting us to see the city very stoically without being blemished by any sign of life. It was like gliding by rows and rows of doll houses. A serene snapshot .A stillness in time.

The sun was dipping behind the old skyline and the last rays of the day pinked the clouds. After a time that was unmeasurable the gondolier slipped the boat next to the dock.It was finally night. We got off the gondola and didn't say anything for awhile. It would have been trite to express a hackneyed word. After stepping of the dock to the street I asked my family if they were hungry'
"Maybe an ice cream,"said my granddaughter .
Everyone agreed to that. I saw a little brightly lit cart .A small lamp illuminated just enough light so you could read the word "Helados" painted on the side.I bought everyone ice cream that the old grizzled faced vendor scooped into little wax cups.Everyone wanted a different flavor . I saw a sign next to a tarnished gate.My Italian was good enough to interpret the words to mean that through the gate was the city park. I suggested that we sit down on a bench and enjoy the ice cream inside the park. I only saw a few people in the park.They were by themselves walking slowly around.
I couldn't tell what they were doing besides just walking around.

The pathway was gravely and the dirt was very dry and we kicked up dust looking for a bench to sit down on. Finally we saw a bench that was in front a cage.The cage looked empty.We sat down with our ice creams.
"When we get to Seville tomorrow I'll be ready to dance my best,"said my granddaughter .
"You look very sharp,"I said.
"Miguel will put you in the front row,"chimed in my grandson Adam.
"It's fitting to be in this great city with all its beauty.Tomorrow will begin a great experience ,"I said trying to allude to my granddaughter's upcoming Flamenco workshop in Seville.
Amanda didn't say anything.
"You can equate the grandeur of this city with the grandness of your dancing,"I said trying to reach further.
I glanced over at Amanda.She was slowly licking the ice cream from her spoon.
"We better get back to the hotel,"said my grandson. "Amanda 's first class is early is tomorrow. We don't want to miss the plane."
"Let's go ,"said my wife ."I no like this park. Muy feo."
Just then there was a horrible screech that came from inside the cage behind the bench.Startled,we jerked our heads around. Through the darkness we could see the image of a monkey. His eyes were wild and he pulled violently on the bars. I imagined he had rabies.
"Let's get back to the hotel ,"I said.
Amanda got up first
"Yes, I think it's time to go,"she said.



Amanda ready for Seville

[dagosd2000]

I Was The Greatest

By now you know that I'm not into making lists. Who's the best.Who's the worst. Overrated.Underrated.If you want to tell me who was your favorite or who was at the bottom of your opinion poll,that's OK with me.I like eating tripe.No matter how hard I'd try to convince anyone to go along with that would be an act of futility. So where am I going with all this? I saw a list that was put together by,I think,some sports writers about who was the greatest all time athlete.(Sports writers love doing this sort of stuff).Well they came up with Jim Thorpe as numero uno.I'm sure he didn't win in a landside,but he beat out some pretty prominent names like Ali,Jordan,Gretzky,and Nicklaus to name a few.

I'll go along with Jim Thorpe. I won't defend my stance going to the grave,but I can see the point. Olympic pentathlon and decathlon gold medalist.All America football player.Basketball and baseball to add to the resume.I hear also he won some ballroom dancing trophies.(He must of had nimble wheels).Those other runner ups weren't that versatile.However,I never heard that he partook to boxing. He came along when they were wanting a White Hope. But maybe because he wasn't that White,he didn't get the backing.But I bet he would have been a challenge for Johnson.He was over six feet and a muscled 200 pounds. There's knock though.The history on Thorpe is that he barely trained for any of the sports he participated in.I don't know if boxing can give you that much leeway. Besides if Thorpe would have fought Johnson around that period,he'd better have been in shape,and know what he was doing.

Well, that's all I've got to say about that.Now I'll sit on the bus stop bench and talk to Forrest Gump about the different ways to make shrimp.


Jim Thorpe

[dagosd2000]

The Better Halves

I get these mailings from the local community college about the upcoming courses that are being offered for the next semester. One course that caught my eye was titled "Urban Sociology".I started reading the course description. The course contents were going to delve into the different ethnic groups that comprise the inner cities.When arriving at the dago neighborhood the curriculum was going to contain,partly, the influence of the Mafia. Nice. Can't people focus on something else that goes on in the the Little Italies of the big cities? But I must admit,there are a lot of Italians out there that look at the Mafia as something admirable. I think if they got their noses rubbed in it,they wouldn't hold this brotherhood in such high esteem.I was around it enough to see it was a dead end life. Sometimes literally.

So getting back to this college course.When they described the Italian mob influences,a section of the subject was viewing the movie "Goodfellas."I wonder what pedagogue came up with this idea?I never suspected "Goodfellas" to an be instrument for educating the mind. But maybe to some sheltered prep schooler,he got bowled over by Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci.

Don't get me wrong.I like the movie. I'm always quoting a lot of the dialogue. But like I've always said,it ain't difficult to direct Italians in a movie.When Italians act normal,they're acting anyway. Especially Italians that grew up in New York City or New Jersey.No stretch there.All Scorsese does is set up the circumstances and lets those guys improvise.

But I do have a bone to pick about "Goodfellas",and so did the mob.It was the way Scorsese,the writers,or whoever had the final word portrayed the wives. I remember some wiseguys got upset with the way the wives were described as being ,let's say"over the top." I remember my mother and some of the other mothers(the wives of those mobsters)being very reserved.Very shy. Very protective of their children.In the movie they were often at the bar with their husbands. No way. Those guys never wanted them to get "soiled"like they were.Down to their level. Oh the girlfriends were fast and loose.That's why they were the girlfriends. And some of their kids(especially the boys)got out of control later.But the wives? Nice Italian girls from the neighborhood. Took care of their husbands,the children,and never nagged or stuck their noses in where it didn't belong.That's the way it was with no if ands or buts.All were agreed.

So if the college hired me to teach that course on the urban neighborhoods and we got to Italian part and then I had to show "Goodfellas" to the students,I'd point out what I was talking about when it came to those wiseguy's wives. But I'm sure if I enrolled in that class at the college,the professor would think the depiction of those wives was the Gospel.But what does he know?He never learned about that in the university he went to.You have to have gone through the "school of hard knocks"to know the truth about that.











If the wives didn't know how to cook this stuff,it was divorce Italian style.

[dagosd2000]

Willie Lump Lump

If you hang around fight gyms long enough you'll eventually run into a variety of characters that seem like they popped out of a Damon Runyan story. Of course I'm thinking back when I used to mix it up in the gym.That was a time when there was still a fight arena in every town and no Pay Per View on the television. I always said if anyone wanted to take up the pen and write a story or two,frequent the local boxing gym. Not the mainstream sports fan there. Gamblers,ex pugs,trainers looking for their big score with a hot prospect. Managers working the floor putting things together for their best interests(not necessarily for their fighters' interests).Sparring partners who'd rather make a few bucks getting in there with someone who they could never match on a skill level,or maybe once they were a contender and now they were delegated,because of wear and tear, to getting a current contender ready for the big fight.

I've always said that when two boys get in there,inside the ring,there's no no room for any bulls--t.However after they climb down from the dais,I've never heard such tales of coulda woulda shoulda.When I think back I remember an old timer that used to hang around the 32nd Naval Street Gym in San Diego.He was a guy they called Willie Lump Lump.He got the name Lump Lump because he had two big old warts right in the center of his forehead.I mean they were huge.You couldn't help not taking your eyes off them when you talked to the him even though it was uncomfortable to look at.Since he had two of them we called him 'Lump Lump')It was a love hate thing.Willie was absent of all his front teeth too.If it wasn't for the lumps,the focus might have been on the lack of choppers in Willie's mouth. But there's a lot of people flashing their gums. I can't think of anyone who had knots like that on his noggin'. I don't think Willie minded though.He never was a shy one and to tell the truth he could ramble on talking about nothing forever. I think he wore the same clothes all week.Maybe longer. A thin worn T Shirt and brown khakis and scuffed up high top tennis shoes.I don't think he gave his razor much attention.

I never could figure out his exact role at the gym besides telling stories of how he trained Maori fighters in New Zealand when he was in the Navy or how he cleaned out a bar in Panama City(along with some other swabbies having his back) in the days of Prohibition. If they hadn't of repealed the 18th Amendment I think he would have made a career on the bounding main.His tales always drew attention. If there was a crowd around him,it was the new fighters who were in awe and believed the unbelievable. But if you frequented the gym often,you began hearing a repeat of the same yarns and then you knew what it all stood for.It was Willie's way of being recognized besides having those lumps on his forehead.

At the old San Diego Coliseum I'd see Willie in the corner once in awhile. I don't think he offered any service more than putting the spit bucket below a fighter's chin. Willie lived a few blocks from the Navy gym in an old boarding house where everyone shared the bathroom at the end of the hallway.Nat City was pretty much driven on sailors pay. There used to be a bar called the 21 Club that had a boxing ring inside. On Friday nights they had a card.Willie was a regular. If he wasn't in a corner he was at the bar, and if he wasn't working the spit bucket he'd be at the bar afterwards. National City was full of Filippinos because there were a slew of them stationed in San Diego and off base they all seemed to live in that burg. Of course the Filippino B girls were all over the place and every night I'd see Willie in the 21 Club he had a different Dragon Lady by his side drinking down all the watered down booze, of course on Willie's dime, until his wallet ran dry.But Willie didn't mind.You could never catch him on the downside.Besides I don't think those girls got tired of listening to his stories of how he got in a knife fight with three Indian sailors in an opium den in Bangkok( after he cut the first belligerant the others scattered) or when he parlayed what he had left of his Navy pay on a nag in Spain and cashed in with enough dough that he bought everyone at the bar drinks for the rest of the night(and then took a dare to enter himself in a bullfight competition the following afternoon.After being gored he stabbed the brave bull between the eyes,cut off the animal's ears, and was carried away by the hysterical aficianados). As long as Willie could afford the drinks,the girls could afford to listen to him.As far as I was concerned Willie never had to sponsor me at the bar.It was always fun to listen.

[dagosd2000]

The late Howie Steindler.A showpiece of boxing

[dagosd2000]

Mother's Day

No one knew how old she was when she died.My mother in law never had a birth certificate. At least they could never find one. The records office in Jiquilpan had no record. All that anyone knew was that she was born in Paredones on top of that mountain sometime before the revolution. She's been gone for twenty years. Her name was Maria De Jesus Mendoza.I called her Chuy which is one of a few Mexican nicknames for Jesus. Sometimes I'd just call her Jesus(Hay soos).She,of course,was named Maria and she decided to name three of her daughters Maria too.There is Maria Elena,another Maria De Jesus,and my wife,Maria Luisa.She outlived all three of her husbands. Her first was old enough to be her grandfather and died when she was still very young. Her second husband,my wife's father,was robbed and murdered riding his mule in the mountains by bandits when he was carrying the payroll from the mining company he was working for.(My mother in law was pregnant with my wife.She never saw her father).The last husband was an alcoholic. A nice guy from what I hear,but died suddenly in Mexico City from a heart attack. He was in Mexico City visiting his children from a previous marriage when one of his daughters was injured in a car accident. I guess the shock was too much for him and he dropped dead. So now my mother in law was on her own to raise nine kids. My wife's oldest sister took off to Mexico City because she couldn't handle tending after her siblings.It was then that my wife stepped up and helped her mother. She became like a mother to her younger brothers and sisters.

She was always lean and looked older than she was. She worked most of her life on the ranchita and life was tough.
She never shied away from laughing or singing old songs from the ranch with her son playing the concertina.Her steel gray hair was pulled back straight into a pony tail.Her face was wrinkled . That was because she worked under the Mexican sun and the sun had dried out her skin. I never saw her with make up on and I don't think she owned anything like lipstick or cold cream.She always was wearing her mandil,the Spanish word for apron.It was always splattered with grease from cooking with manteca and stained with tomato sauce from making salsa.

My mother in law couldn't read and write and never wanted to learn those skills. It was common that many people her age and that had lived in the country were illiterate.Out of necessity,work took priority of going to school. But there was always someone around who could read something for her like a letter. She never bought a can of soup,for example, at the store,so she didn't have to read any instructions. She cooked her food from scratch and didn't like going to restaurants. I remember once she wanted to send a letter to her sister in Mexico City so I took her to the town post office where they had people with typewriters and pens and tablets sitting on the steps of the building ready to take dictation from people like my mother in law who were illiterate.

I think my mother in law's purpose in life was to take care and bring up children.That was a role that she enjoyed. When her kids got old enough to have babies(and that wasn't that old sometimes)then she would step in naturally to care for her grand children.It was a world she enjoyed. Washing,cooking, and cleaning for her family.

Mexico is a land where the culture of machismo is very important,but don't be fooled. It's the women who are the strength of the country. Its backbone.The women have put up with a lot and it seems it won't ease much in the future. If you want to look at the quality of the standard of living in a country,examine how the women are treated.I don't think Mexican women want to be equal with men like here in the U.S.(thank God),but too many Mexican women are taken for granted.They don't have much clout in Mexico if they get kicked to the curb by a man.Sometimes I think the women blame themselves. They think they've messed things up making men ,in reality,the weaker sex because women know no matter how much stronger a man is physically, he's a weakling when it comes to wanting to get laid.Or maybe it's that Eve had to spread her legs in the Garden Of Eden and screw(literally) everything up for eternity.But I don't think my mother in law had the ambition to put an idea like that together or thought it would be worthwhile to think about anyway.

So today,May 10th,it's Mother's Day in Mexico. Next to Christmas and Easter,Mother's Day is a" biggie."Today the mothers of Mexico will get all the attention.Even from the ones who give them the most to worry about. My wife yesterday went to Tijuana to send money so that they could buy flowers and put them on her mother's grave. I'll say this about my wife,she always took care of her mother.Way way more than anyone else in the family. In many ways my wife is like her mother.Today, on Mother's Day, my wife will receive gifts and phone calls from the people in her life who think of her as their mother. And if the meek do inherit the Earth ,then my wife and her mother will have plenty in the end.


Maria De Jesus,my mother in law

[scartissue]

Mother's Day

No one knew how old she was when she died.My mother in law never had a birth certificate. At least they could never find one. The records office in Jiquilpan had no record. All that anyone knew was that she was born in Paredones on top of that mountain sometime before the revolution. She's been gone for twenty years. Her name was Maria De Jesus Mendoza.I called her Chuy which is one of a few Mexican nicknames for Jesus. Sometimes I'd just call her Jesus(Hay soos).She,of course,was named Maria and she decided to name three of her daughters Maria too.There is Maria Elena,another Maria De Jesus,and my wife,Maria Luisa.She outlived all three of her husbands. Her first was old enough to be her grandfather and died when she was still very young. Her second husband,my wife's father,was robbed and murdered riding his mule in the mountains by bandits when he was carrying the payroll from the mining company he was working for.(My mother in law was pregnant with my wife.She never saw her father).The last husband was an alcoholic. A nice guy from what I hear,but died suddenly in Mexico City from a heart attack. He was in Mexico City visiting his children from a previous marriage when one of his daughters was injured in a car accident. I guess the shock was too much for him and he dropped dead. So now my mother in law was on her own to raise nine kids. My wife's oldest sister took off to Mexico City because she couldn't handle tending after her siblings.It was then that my wife stepped up and helped her mother. She became like a mother to her younger brothers and sisters.

She was always lean and looked older than she was. She worked most of her life on the ranchita and life was tough.
She never shied away from laughing or singing old songs from the ranch with her son playing the concertina.Her steel gray hair was pulled back straight into a pony tail.Her face was wrinkled . That was because she worked under the Mexican sun and the sun had dried out her skin. I never saw her with make up on and I don't think she owned anything like lipstick or cold cream.She always was wearing her mandil,the Spanish word for apron.It was always splattered with grease from cooking with manteca and stained with tomato sauce from making salsa.

My mother in law couldn't read and write and never wanted to learn those skills. It was common that many people her age and that had lived in the country were illiterate.Out of necessity,work took priority of going to school. But there was always someone around who could read something for her like a letter. She never bought a can of soup,for example, at the store,so she didn't have to read any instructions. She cooked her food from scratch and didn't like going to restaurants. I remember once she wanted to send a letter to her sister in Mexico City so I took her to the town post office where they had people with typewriters and pens and tablets sitting on the steps of the building ready to take dictation from people like my mother in law who were illiterate.

I think my mother in law's purpose in life was to take care and bring up children.That was a role that she enjoyed. When her kids got old enough to have babies(and that wasn't that old sometimes)then she would step in naturally to care for her grand children.It was a world she enjoyed. Washing,cooking, and cleaning for her family.

Mexico is a land where the culture of machismo is very important,but don't be fooled. It's the women who are the strength of the country. Its backbone.The women have put up with a lot and it seems it won't ease much in the future. If you want to look at the quality of the standard of living in a country,examine how the women are treated.I don't think Mexican women want to be equal with men like here in the U.S.(thank God),but too many Mexican women are taken for granted.They don't have much clout in Mexico if they get kicked to the curb by a man.Sometimes I think the women blame themselves. They think they've messed things up making men ,in reality,the weaker sex because women know no matter how much stronger a man is physically, he's a weakling when it comes to wanting to get laid.Or maybe it's that Eve had to spread her legs in the Garden Of Eden and screw(literally) everything up for eternity.But I don't think my mother in law had the ambition to put an idea like that together or thought it would be worthwhile to think about anyway.

So today,May 10th,it's Mother's Day in Mexico. Next to Christmas and Easter,Mother's Day is a" biggie."Today the mothers of Mexico will get all the attention.Even from the ones who give them the most to worry about. My wife yesterday went to Tijuana to send money so that they could buy flowers and put them on her mother's grave. I'll say this about my wife,she always took care of her mother.Way way more than anyone else in the family. In many ways my wife is like her mother.Today, on Mother's Day, my wife will receive gifts and phone calls from the people in her life who think of her as their mother. And if the meek do inherit the Earth ,then my wife and her mother will have plenty in the end.


Maria De Jesus,my mother in law

Wow? What a great story, Rog. She looked a lot like my grandmother. Different continents, but the ideals were the same. Bringing up a family. Heard on the radio today that there is a majority of women holding off on having children until their 40s. This way they can get their career's started. Hey, to my mom, my grandmother, your wife Maria and Maria DeJesus, that was a career and not one to be frowned upon. But one to be revered.

On a separate note, loved your painitng of Howie Steindler. I know it was the styles of the time, but did you ever notice that you rarely ever saw Howie or Jackie McCoy in a photo without the cardigan? Trademark, baby.

[dagosd2000]

Thanks Dan.I was watching this sitcom Big Bang Theory at my son in laws.They say this show is very popular. Has won a lot of awards.The guys in this show are pathetic. The women are idiots.Last night I'm watching this thing and one of these guy's mother is staggering drunk and puts a lip lock on his friend. All the conversation throughout this menagerie is about who's sleeping with who , talking about tampons, and a variety of potty humor with all this giggly canned laughter.Everyone in the living room was enthralled by this program.I couldn't believe it.What in the hell has our society evolved into? A mother has the most important job in the world.A lot of women think it's cool to be like men. Well I got news for all these liberated split tails. If you want to come down to our level welcome to the club. Don't be offended and pull any of this sexual harassment or women's lib b.s. I've seen too many guys who go along with this kind of behavior(getting drunk,cussing,and undermining their husbands) with their women and the next thing you know these females get bored with them,start having affairs, and tell them to hit the road.Then these saps start crying like babies and go off the deep end.

Btw.Angelo Dundee and Doc Kearns were sweater guys too just off the top of my head.

[dagosd2000]

The Best Who Never Fought The Greatest

Possibly the best known amateur fighter who never turned pro was the giant Cuban heavyweight Teofilo Stevenson. For a couple of Olympics he was unbeatable, destroying, and seemed like toying with all the American competition, beating the others like a father beating his son.An imposing man,the boxing public knew that his talents were being wasted confined on an island. But these Commie bastards always want to protect and cover up any flaws with their heroes so Castro kept Teo from becoming a pro. Maybe though there was something inside Stevenson that eventually made him content to be a big man on a small slice of land. .

There was always the talk of maybe one day the Cuban would somehow escape the politics and step up in class with an Ali or Frazier. But often if you're used to having your way with mediocrity you build a false sense of security.Stevenson never fought a professional fight. He ,in time,gave way to father time and began showing vulnerability to other amateurs,notably to a now forgotten Russian.

But the same wear and tear brought down Ali and the Foreman and Frazier.The difference was they were the greatest who lost to champions who were also great.


Teofilo Stevenson

[dagosd2000]

The End Of Something

For the past twenty years I've been lifting weights at a gym in the neighborhood. When I began there I was still in my prime and making some big gains.Weightlifting is one of those sports that you can do successfully into your 40's and 50's.I was nearing the 50 mark, pretty much injury free, so I was inspired by my progress. By the time I was in my late 40's I was consistently bench pressing 500 pounds. My max was 535 and I thought there was no end to it. But reality set in when I started getting tears in my shoulders. Eventually my rotator cuff tore and that was the end of heavy pressing.Now, into my late 60's I'm content with using the various Nautilus machines. Sometimes I want to tell people what I used to lift and that I wasn't always a weak sister. But my ego doesn't have the compulsive desire like that eventually got me injured.However,without that compulsion I wouldn't have benched 535 pounds.

The owner of the gym is an old New York Jew who I don't think ever lifted a weight,or let alone, ever exercised in his life. If someone asks him to get set up with an exercise program,the old man shrugs his shoulders and says"Go ask one of the trainers."The guy is a neurotic to say the least. His social skills are on a par with Sam Kinneson. He's always whining and nagging someone about something. "Where's your towel?" "You can't expose your shoulders in the gym."You're making too much noise.""I can hear you cell phone go off."Maybe if the dude was a little polite it wouldn't come off so bad. But no,he's got to be all the time grumpy.If I had a dollar for everyone that told him to shove it and then joined another gym,I'd buy my own gym.

After seeing that he was losing money with his crappy attitude,he compromised by putting his son in to run things.But the son is a clone of his old man. A real prick.Now you might be thinking why I've stuck it out there for twenty years.I've had my run ins with the both of them.The reason I can put them in their place is that I can intimidate them when I feel I need to. It's nothing threatening.It's an attitude like "Hey look man,I grew up on the west side of Chicago.Don't give me any of your crap."Up until today,this method has been working. But today the kid went too far. His arrogance ventured into the area of my wife.

Somehow the topic came up about how my wife goes through the neighborhood and collects bottle and cans to recycle. She takes the dogs with her and that way she (and the dogs)get their exercise.But when I went into how my wife was collecting the bottles and cans and making 30 to 60 dollars a day,the little weasel began giggling.
"You mean your wife goes through the garbage?,"he giggled.
Now when it comes to anything I perceive as a slight against my wife,I begin taking the gloves off.
"What's it to you?"I asked peering at him.
"You mean your wife goes through garbage?"said Mr. Giggles.
Now I get close to the jerk and stand over him.
"Look man. Your wife doesn't clean the house or cook you dinner.She refuses to get a job and she undermines you in front of your daughter. I'll take my wife any day to your wife."
As I walked out the little worm had his head down still giggling.I wanted to bitch slap him.

I also pay for a membership for my grand daughter Amanda there . I went back to the gym later when Mr.Giggles wasn't there and disenrolled Amanda's membership.I won't be coming back either.And now I know what's going to happen. Instead of figuring it out that he crossed the line with me and now it's over,I'll be expecting a phone call.It'll go something like this.
"Where have you been?I see Amanda guit too. What happened?"
He can thank God(and so can I)that he'll be far away on the other end of the telephone.

[dagosd2000]

"Pops" Hanley and my wife,Maria.

[scartissue]

"Pops" Hanley and my wife,Maria.

Absolute classic! Never saw that one before, Rog. Too cool! Thanks, dude.

[scartissue]

Did anyone catch Marquez in action last night? Wow! Was that an understatement? I'll say it again. Wow!

[dagosd2000]

The Beginning Of Something

They're going to pave the parking lot at the condominium complex where I live. All the cars have to be parked in the street while the work is being done. The street is always packed with cars anyway so I think I'll just park my car at my sister's place and get out of town a few days.

I've always wanted to go to Dallas to see the Texas Book Depository Building where Lee Oswald was supposed to shoot Kennedy from.So I'll be in the Big D a few days. Being a history buff, that tale has always intrigued me.Looking back after Kennedy was killed,I can see how things started to change.Drugs,Vietnam,the anti establishment movement,the womens' movement ,and the movement about civil rights.The music changed,the movies changed,the old guard was fighting to hang on and convince us that "their" way was still the right way.It was the young and old fighting each other. Looking back,it was crazy.

What if Kennedy hadn't have been shot?Would there have been a Vietnam War?Would there have been a counter culture?No use going into that here. Besides there's tons of books and movies analyzing that period. And there have been volumes written on the JFK assassination.It's a conspiracy theorist's dream. I know how I feel about it. I've researched this thing for more than 20 years.

So I'm really looking forward to see where the greatest murder of the 20th century occurred.My mind,I'm sure, will drift back thinking about what really happened on November 22nd,1963. I've got a pretty good idea.

So I'll be off the thread until the weekend.I'm leaving tomorrow. BTW,here's something to think about. When Jack Ruby was in court for killing Oswald,he mentioned to his lawyer,Joe Tonehill,that if Adlai Stevenson would have been the Vice President, all this wouldn't have happened.

[dagosd2000]

"Pops" Hanley

Dan,I missed the fight. Will catch the replay. Might as well put Marquez together with Pac Man again. Mayweather doesn't want tp mess with Manny. Too much pressure.

[dagosd2000]

No Gain Without Pain

So in boxing if you wanted to make bigger purses you moved up in weight class.That holds true today too unless you can't get any heavier than cruiser weight(it used to be light heavy weight).Then a fighter is in "no man's land".Just ten or so more pounds and that's when a fellow is swimming with the big sharks,the heavy weights.That's where the big money is.That's the most prestigious belt that can be worn around a waistline.

Some fighters try to add the poundage to enter the heavy weight class and find the extra weight is mostly flab.Often their fighting performance slows to a sluggishness. The proper endurance level can't be attained. But the big money is alluring enough to keep many natural cruiser weights to keep packing on the blubber to stay in the heavier division. Sometimes it's just easier to keep on eating than training the Spartan life to make the lower weight.

But beginning in the 1970's with advancements made with nutrition and weight lifting,athletes began to grow.It wasn't added pounds of blubber,but muscle mass.The edge had been found.But in addition to the healthy way,the sports' doctors introduced anabolic steroids to the training regimens of the aspiring athlete.The desired results came faster and the end product was enhanced beyond the way it would have come to fruitition the "honest way." But often when the athlete,who becomes addicted to his performance,will sell his soul to the devil and become addicted to a needle. "I couldn't compete on the level I want to without the stuff,"he says. A sad commentary.

When the 'roid user can't evade the test anymore,the fall is dramatic and the legacy is damaged permanently. For example it can keep someone out of the Hall Of Fame, or the Gold Medals turn to rust and have to be given back,or there is a banishment from the sport altogether.

One sport that everyone seems to turn a blind eye to,or at least keeps one eye closed,is boxing. A slap on the wrist here and there. A fighter can go on with horsey hormones in his bloodstream especially if he can bring in the big purses. The promoters and their commissions can always say the fighter tested "clean."

One fighter who built his career on the juice was Evander Holyfield. Not big enough to fight Bowe,Foreman,and Tyson at around 200 pounds(at least successfully)he found Mr. Universe,Lee Haney,who became Evander's training guru.Well,they certainly don't give a darn about better bodies through chemistry in body building.(If Arnold Schwarzennegar was to attribute his fame to one thing,I think he'd say it was steroids.Without steroids,he'd just have been another brautwurst on the posing platform).Well with that said,after working with Mr. MuscleBound, Evander mutated into a hulking bulking heavy weight. Now he could physically match up.

I always liked Holyfield. He never got faked out by that bully Tyson. Unlike Buster Douglas who put it all together for that monumental moment in Tokyo,Evander could have beaten Tyson everytime,even when Mike was undefeated and thought to be invincible. You see Holyfield saw through all that mad dog stuff.When Tyson tried to stare him down at the weigh in,the Marine saw that Mike needed a bluff. When the bell rang,Holyfield transformed Iron Mike turn into the Tin Man.In the second figfht,Tyson knew that his fortitude(the bluffing thing was over)was not on the same plateau as Holyfield's so he tried show the world he was a savage at heart and began chewing on Holyfield's ear. Good try Mike,but not very convincing.

Like I said,I've always liked Evander Holyfield. He's a tough dude.No theatrics.Even when he was getting long in the tooth,he still wanted to fight for one more heavy weight title.You can say the steroids kept him in with the heavy weights,but he did that to so he could be the heavy weight champ. It wasn't the right way to do it,but I'll say it again. I like the guy.He was one tough SOB even without the help of science.


Evander Holyfield

[scartissue]

I caught that light heavyweight 'championship' fight last night. I've seen this Adonis Stevenson fight before and have never been impressed. Now if one is going to listen to the bluster of the announcing team, you'd swear he was the second coming of Archie Moore. In reality the only thing he's showed in the past is a big punch, taking his man out early. OK, now what happens when he goes into deep water? Well, last night he went into deep water against a fighter who would have been a clubfighter in any era. Watching Stevenson cope when he didn't fold early was pathetic. He doesn't throw punches correctly, feet leaves the canvas when attempting a counter, generally wide open, no stamina, no jab, but is fortunate to reside in a barren era. I think of a hard-luck fighter like Jesse Burnett and what he would have done to this glorified club fighter and can only dwell on how the landscape has changed.

[scartissue]

Hey, Rick, have you been in contact with Brian Higgins? My Hawks took it on the chin from L.A. last night. Time is running out. Hope you and Brian could get together though.

[El Gallo]

"Pops" Hanley

Dan,I missed the fight. Will catch the replay. Might as well put Marquez together with Pac Man again. Mayweather doesn't want tp mess with Manny. Too much pressure.

Wow! That is great, Rog! Miss Pops.
The West Coast Boxing HOF has a cool event in the works!
It will be the best Vet Boxers event to date, and you will never guess where we are going to hold it!
More news later. I know the CBHOF rat still sniffs around here on occasion. LOL!

[El Gallo]

Hey, Rick, have you been in contact with Brian Higgins? My Hawks took it on the chin from L.A. last night. Time is running out. Hope you and Brian could get together though.

Dan, although I am an L.A. guy the only local team I root for is the Dodgers.
Our pal is head of security for the Black Hawks, so I want Chicago to win this series and another Stanley Cup!
I regret not hooking up with Brian this time out, but I had a commitment, and I know the play-offs add to his responsibilities.
Go Hawks!

[dagosd2000]

Bang.......Bang Bang

"So how was your Dallas trip?"asked Ed the bartender as he was opening up a case of booze on the bar.
"Pretty good. Got a chance to get away for awhile,"I answered.
Ed was just opening up.There was no one in the place.The morning was warm and quiet.
"Did you get a chance to see the JFK Museum?"
"Yeah,I went there."
"How was it?"
"The outside was more interesting than the inside."
"How's that?"
"Well they changed just about everything on the inside,"I said. "The entrance to the museum is around to the side. The front steps from Elm Street just go into some offices.But the outside is just like it was.The picket fence.The grassy knoll.The Stemmons Freeway. The depository building. Hasn't changed.
"How was the 6th floor?"
"They gutted the place.No pillars.Put up a bunch of signs with writing and pictures on them. There's a little movie show where you can sit on some benches."
"How about the sniper's nest?"
"That's the same,but it's alone by itself in the corner."
"Do you think Oswald shot him from there?"
"When Kennedy's limo turned the corner onto Houston Street is where he should have shot him. The car was right in front of him.Why he waited for the car to get on Elm Street and be obstructed by a tree before he started shooting doesn't make sense."
"There's been a lot of loopholes to that assassination,"said Ed putting the liquor bottles on the shelf.
"Who knows if it was even Oswald who was up there.A couple of minutes later he was seen in the 2nd floor lunchroom drinking a Coke."
"That Warren Commission group left a lot of things out."
"But at the time we trusted what they said."
"Not many people trust what the government says anymore,"said Ed wiping off the bar.
"They said three shots fired. The first,then a pause and then the next two almost together."
"Can't do that with a bolt action rifle,"said Ed.
Ed picked up the remote control.
"Well,"said Ed." It happened so long ago I don't think many people care anymore."
"It was pretty empty inside. Not many people were there."
Ed turned on the TV.
"What do you want to watch?"he asked.
"Anything. It doesn't really matter."

[dagosd2000]

Burke Emery and me . Champs Lounge,San Diego

[dagosd2000]

Ton

The other night while driving my grandson Adam home from the gym,he asked me who hit the longest homerun in baseball.Well I hadn't given that topic that much thought in a long time,but after scurrying trying to find the answer in my recollections of the National Pastime,I came up with the old stand by from my youth and answered," Mickey Mantle."
"Adam,"I said looking at him fiddling with his IPAd IPhone(whatever in the hell you call those things),"Why don't you look it up on your gizmo."
Adam began fingering his contraption and after a few moments he blurted out,"Mickey Mantle."
I was a bit surprised. The Mick's last year I think was 67 or 68. That was a long time ago.I thought of all the behemoths(some of them with the help of roids)who could hit the 'ol pill a pretty far distance.But the record for the longest tater still read,"Mickey Mantle."
"That's really amazing Adam,"I said really meaning it."How far was it hit?"
"It says here that he hit a homerun at Yankee Stadium that looked like it was going to leave the park,but the ball hit the top of a façade and bounced back onto the outfield.They calculated if the ball had not hit the façade the ball would have traveled 734 feet."

I'll come clean. I hated Mickey Mantle when I was a kid growing up in Chicago. My team was the White Sox. Remember? They called them the "Go Go Sox."They had Louie Aparicio ,the little shortstop leading off followed by Nellie Fox,the little second baseman, and they would steal bases and bunt and hit and run and win games 2 to 1. They'd get get good pitching ,but in lieu of all that, always finish in second place ten games in back of the Yankees.In '59 my Sox somehow beat out the Yankees and Mickey Mantle and won the pennant. I was sure my Go Go Sox would run off the Dodgers in the Series. Well,the Chi Sox won the opener 11 to zip,but wound up losing the Series to the Dodgers in six games.

But back to that prick,Mantle. I was always praying that he'd be scratched from the lineup when he played my team.He always had some kind of injury and the Yankees probably could have signed another player to their roster for all the money they spent on tape wrapping up this guy.

He was only about five nine ,but he had these bull shoulders and he'd stand in the box with his jersey unbuttoned at the top because when he took his cut ...well put it this way,he could have smashed through a concrete wall when he swung the lumber. To me,he still was the scariest thing I ever saw in a batter's box.God I hated him. He might have struck out swinging his first three ups,but with the score close,his fourth at bat, he'd hit one into next week.

But those recollections were a long long time ago. I think back on that guy and realize he was bigger than life."Shucks,it 'taint nothin'".The Oklahoma cowboy rustling up a legend in the biggest sports town, wearing the pinstripes of the biggest team in baseball.

I'll never forget that scene in that movie "The French Connection II"when the French detective is trying to wean Popeye off heroin after the bad guys had kidnapped him and then forced "smack" into his veins. The French detective is sitting in a dingy hotel room with Popeye making him drink brandy to ease his withdrawls. Gene Hackman,who played Popeye Doyle, should have won his second Oscar for the 6 minute soliloquoy he goes through sitting on that bunk drinking the brandy. The French detective sits there bewildered listening to Popeye talk about when he was in his youth he got a tryout with the New York Yankees.As he's slurring his words, he comes to the part about how he came across this shortstop on the minor league club.Reeling,holding his glass unsteadily Popeye goes into he experienced.
"This kid was the fastest guy I'd ever see run. And he could hit the ball a ton."Popeye teeters some more and then grits his teeth."A TON,"he snarls."After seeing him hit that baseball,I applied for the police force."

I remembered that line from the "French Connection II" when I was driving Adam home from the gym.As we neared the house I was curious to know who had hit the second farthest homerun.
"So Adam, who does the computer say hit the second longest homerun?"
"Mickey Mantle. 636 feet."
I didn't ask who hit the third longest.That would have been a rhetorical effort.



Mickey Mantle

[dagosd2000]

What's My Name?

When I first heard the story of how Matthew Saad Muhammad's aunt told his brother to get rid of his little brother somewhere because it was too much for her to handle,I really felt for the guy. When I saw his (to me)funny looking ears,I felt terrible that his aunt would want to have him dumped off.A little boy with funny looking ears made to be frightened like that. The bitch could have found a better way to handle it.His older brother left the five year old by the Franklin Parkway in Philly.The kid was frightened and didn't know where he was.A little kid with those funny ears roaming around a city like Philadelphia.When the Catholic sisters found him they asked him his name.He didn't know it so the nuns named him Matthew Franklin.Matthew after the saint.Franklin after the parkway where they found him. .Later he was put with foster parents who took care of him as he was their own(so the story goes).

Matt Franklin converted to Islam during his boxing career and now his name was Matthew Saad Muhammad.It was the last name change.Discovering his childhood backround,he found out he was Christened, Maxwell Alonzo Loach. The lost scared little kid with the funny looking ears wound up liking the sport of boxing and became the light heavyweight champion of the world.I think a lot of the fans were pulling for this guy especially after knowing the story of his childhood.

Saad Muhammad certainly gave them their money's worth. He was a notoriously slow starter and would absorb a lot of shots before drawing on something deep down inside to rally back, and more than often,wear down and stop his opponent.Maybe he thought of the suffering he went through of being alone and scared on the street and it were those thought that he drew his reserve from. I saw him fight in San Diego when he defended his title against Lottie Mwale. Again Saad Muhammad got off slowly,but the fight never got into deep waters.Muhammad flattened Mwale in the 4th round.

The fighter with the big heart eventually ran into a compact bulldozer type,another Muhammad. The other Muhammad had also converted to Islam and the Christian name gave way to Qawi.The first fight was brutal,but then all of Saad Muhammad's fights were toe to toe.Muhammad got off to the usual slow beginning taking on this miniature Joe Frazier,but this time Saad Muhammad couldn't crack the bald head of this tough nut.In ten rounds the chaos was over.The title belt had changed midriffs.As so often in the rematch of a hammer and tong fight like that ,the results were similar. This time Saad Muhammad was broken down in eight. The demise followed.Pug corner was around the block.

All I know is what I read in the papers. They say Saad Muhammad wound up homeless again.He came full circle so to speak.But this time he found solace in a shelter. They say he helped people in a similar plight that lived on the streets.Maybe he found a waif with funny little ears who didn't know his name wandering under a bridge.If he did,I'm sure that kid found a friend.


Maxwell Alonzo Loach Matthew Franklin Matthew Saad Muhammad,nearing the final bell.RIP