Now that the road show we call pro boxing has been through St. Louis, one thing is for sure. It is an event. An event that St. Louis could support twice a year.
The marketing machine that Don King and his associates put together is remarkable in this day and age. For a solid week boxers were everywhere promoting the fight. While some may not be “must-interview” material, the mere notion that they get that sort of space and airtime is cool. While some think that the fighters are the event, make no mistake, people can not get enough of Don King.
This particular event featured good fighters in Devon Alexander, Glenn Johnson and Ryan Coyne, not to mention some up and comers. If you are a fight fan, when will you ever see two of the premiere trainers in Buddy McGirt and Hall of Famer Emanuel Steward work a corner?
In all, it was a great night of entertainment.
As for the fights, let’s put it this way: It was an evening to be out with that someone and be seen. You knew your status on the food chain by how close you were to the action.
Never will you see so many who thought they are so much with so little. You can put a suit on a loser and guess what? They are just a loser in a suit. Mind you, that does not apply to everyone but they know who they are.
While Devon Alexander has been sharper, I am anxious to see him fight Tim Bradley. Bradley showed in his last fight that he is beatable, but Devon will have to step up his game.
As for Cory Spinks, his performance was one that simply stated it’s over. Spinks will no longer see the big paydays that he once enjoyed if he has another performance like we saw Saturday night. At the rate he was going he has a better chance of seeing an emergency room. It’s time, Cory.
Thank you, though, for bringing boxing back to St. Louis. Without Cory, Saturday night would not have taken place.
Scrimmage and two?
While I know it is preseason, I have friends that will be lathered up because it’s Rams football. OK, it may be the Rams and they may be playing football, but it will be a far cry from what will be taking place on the second weekend of September.
This will not be pretty by any means but the Rams have to start somewhere, as the road back will be a long and tough one where only the strong survive. I say give it time and bring plenty of patience to the Dome this year.
By the way, is there anything worse than preseason football? The starters seldom play a lot, there are realistically a handful of spots available on today’s rosters and yet we have four games to decide those spots. How about a scrimmage and two games to save us all, including the players.
Ain’t saints
Is it me or is the NCAA busier these days with investigations and allegations? It seems like you put names in a hat these days and pull out some big-time schools from big-time conferences. While rules are rules, maybe it time to examine the rules to see if they apply. That does not save the blatant cheaters like Kiffin, Calapari and others who seem to have that cloud follow them wherever they go. What is amazing is that these guys continue to get second and third chances, compared to Kelvin Sampson who was run out of college basketball. Not to paint Sampson as a saint, but come on.
If the NCAA wants to clean this mess, it should do three things.
Put a legitimate non partisan committee together that should include presidents, athletic directors, coaches, players, former players and media to rewrite the rule book from front to back. Some things may stay but everything must be reviewed.
Second, punish players and coaches who are in direct violation. If it is proven that they were in the wrong, then the player, should he move to the pros, should be fined a significant amount of money starting at $1 million. It has to come out of his account. No one can pay it for him.
As for the coaches, they would be liable as well, so when Pete Carroll runs off to the NFL he and the team that signs him will be on the hook for at least a $1 million a piece.
Last, the committee will work for a five-year period whereas at that time they shall turn over members with the exception of three who will be familiar and can advise the incoming group. This tweaking would come about to prevent the new ways of cheating to get further out of hand.
The problem here is someone has to admit that the current system is flawed. Good luck on that venture.
