EVIL~! alkeiper

Nobody else is even close. How about losing your lefty setup man for 50 games, your MVP having hip surgery, losing a franchise player, losing a draft pick when you signed a more expensive replacement, and thinking Chan Ho Park can succeed outside Dodger Stadium? The Brewers aren't in a bad spot because they still have their great lineup, Yovani Gallardo is returning and they have a buyer's market to play with. I think Hughes is on the verge of a breakout season.

With Romero out and Utley hurt, it is going to be a rough six weeks for the Phillies to start the season.

HA!

Links used from dailymotion.com instead of embedded video when I found better footage. The 1920s kicked off with Jack Dempsey a newly established champion. Dempsey defended the title just once in 1920, a twelveth round KO of Bill Brennan. 1921 saw the biggest gate attraction at that time in boxing history. Dempsey battled Georges Carpentier, the World's Light Heavyweight champion. Adding to the attraction was Carpentier's status as a French war hero, whereas Dempsey was seen as a draft dodger. The fight drew 80,000 fans to Jersey City and drew boxing's first million dollar gate. Though game, Carpentier was overmatched and fell to a fourth round KO. http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/searc...arpentier_sport It took Dempsey two years to take his next serious fight, a decision win over Tommy Gibbons that bankrupted the town of Shelby, Montanta. Two months following that debacle, Dempsey stepped into the ring with big, raw Luis Angel Firpo. The damnest four minutes of boxing followed. http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance/searc...-14091923_sport While Dempsey drew huge purses, most of his attractive fights took place against smaller foes. Gibbons at his peak was a light heavyweight. Carpentier had won titles as far down as welterweight! Dempsey took three years off after the Firpo fight before he took the challenge of Gene Tunney in Philadelphia. The fight could not take place in New York City as the NY commission refused to sanction any title bout not involving Harry Wills. Wills had beaten Sam Langford and taken the measure of Luis Firpo in a no-decision bout. Tunney easily defeated Dempsey in a ten round decision to take the title. Meanwhile, Harry Wills lost to Jack Sharkey on a foul when behind on points. With Wills conveniently out of the picture, Dempsey KO'd Shawkey to earn a rematch at the title. You may have noticed in the Willard and Firpo fights that Dempsey would stand over his fallen opponents, hitting them as soon as they arose from a knockdown. This created the rule that a fighter should go to a neutral corner during a knockdown sequence. The "Long Count" followed. If anyone has a useable clip of these, feel free to post it. I was surprised not to find anything on Youtube. My own personal take on the controversy is that if Dempsey had Tunney on the canvas for a knockout, he should've damn well put him away anyway. Dempsey was outclassed the rest of the fight, he did not deserve to win. Tunney knocked out Tom Heeney in the eleventh round of his next fight, and announced his retirement. For the first time in history, boxing's heavyweight championship suffered a clean break in its lineage.

They've got the "on deck" series the Friday and Saturday preceding Opening Day in Citizens Bank Park. Two years for Burrell, at a cheaper salary than Ibanez? God fucking damn it. Good luck to Burrell in Tampa though.

I bet if Epstein offered a free stadium, the Marlins (and Loria) would take it.

Manager Jack Kearns claimed it was plaster of paris, but a boxing magazine ran an experiment and found it wouldn't work. I think it was legit. Dempsey clocked Willard because he was able to hit him as soon as both knees left the canvas.

I've tended not to use too many descriptions of the clips, but check out Jim Flynn trying to launch his head at Jack Johnson. Not the finest moment in fight history.

1910s Going into the 'teens, Jack Johnson reigned as heavyweight champion. The audacity of a black fighter holding the crown caused outrage in sporting America, with writer Jack London calling for retired champion Jim Jefferies to come out and restore white pride. Jefferies, overweight and living on his alfalfa farm, eventually relented and trained to return to the ring. Jefferies and Johnson met on July 4, 1910. The fight sparked race riots throughout the country. Johnson vs. Jefferies It was two years before Johnson took another fight. Here he fights Fireman Jim Flynn. Johnson vs. Fireman Jim Flynn Johnson fought a bad fight against Battling Jim Johnson, defeated Frank Moran by decision and knocked out Jack Murray. At the age of 37, he took a fight against the latest Great White Hope, huge Jess Willard. This is a short clip of the 26th round KO. Of particular note is that this bout was co-promoted by Jess McMahon, grandfather of the WWE chairman. Johnson vs. Willard Did Johnson throw the fight? I doubt it. If Johnson had thrown the fight, why would he have waited 26 rounds to do it? Johnson did shield his eyes, but KO'ed fighters have done odd things. I recall one boxer throwing punches on his back. Mike Tyson attempted to put in his mouthpiece backwards while attempting to rise from the Douglas knockdown. Willard defended the title once, in a ten round no-decision bout against Frank Moran. Four years after winning the title, Willard stepped into the ring against Jack Dempsey. What followed was utter destruction. Willard vs. Dempsey While Johnson was one of the greatest fighters of all time, his style was not exciting and the crop of white fighters in his era was weak. The best fighters such as Sam Langford, Joe Jeannette and Sam McVey never challenged for the title. Willard barely fought as champion, leading to an entire decade devoid of good heavyweight bouts. Dempsey ushered in a new era of a fighting champion fighting exciting bouts in hugely marketed events.

Is it a bad thing? It depends on your perspective. It's possible it could lead to the destruction of the industry. That's unlikely, but how would you react?

Since Shawn eliminated 'Taker last time, it requires 'Taker to return the favor. Should it come during the middle of the match like last year so that the heat doesn't take away from the ending or near the end to really put over the build towards WM? Taker eliminated Shawn in '07. I think a double elimination this time. And it probably should come near the end, as that would allow both characters to show frustration over coming close and missing.

Honestly, I don't see this being a big problem for WWE. Everyone knows professional wrestling has a steroid problem. It has been a running joke for upwards of 30 years now. The problem is that the general public simply does not care. There is no pressure on Congress to do anything. And if they did, they would encounter several problems. The main problem is that enacting a policy of steroid testing would require the creation of a Federal sporting commission. This is something that boxing has resisted fiercely in the past. Would the general public encourage Congress to spend more money in this economy on something seemingly as unimportant as professional wrestling? Quite the opposite. We all want to see wrestling make changes. But Congress getting involved is not a good thing.

To set up Shawn/Taker, both wrestlers would need to LOSE the Rumble. That's where the storyline comes from, both guys having huge interactions in '07 and '08.

Love that Roberts rumor. It clearly states it's just a Baltimore writer's rumination, nothing more. I think it's too early for fans to panic. A LOT of free agents are still on the market.

Let's see... -Had a six month relationship. Didn't work out but we're still good friends. Worth the time. -Still working full time. Oh yeah. -PHILLIES WORLD PHUCKING CHAMPIONS~!!!!!!!!!!!

What about Fontenot? Is he a candidate for the second base job?

Angels signed Brian Fuentes for 2 years, $17.5 million. It's amazing. No one (besides the Yankees) seems willing to spend money at all. Compared to other deals, AJ Burnett is going to seem like an amazing overuse of money.

I hope the Cubs didn't fall in love with Miles' empty .300 average. Even the Cardinals only started him 81 times. One thing Czech is mistaken about though, Miles is more versatile than DeRosa. Miles played all over the infield, played all three outfield positions, and even pitched. I think it's likely the Cubs give Ronny Cedeno and Aaron Miles a fight for the job, and the loser becomes the utility infielder.

Just as long as this means I finally get British television.

But he was the 1990s hit leader!

Andre was the biggest star, pre-Hogan. When they close-circuited Inoki/Ali throughout the country, they also showed Andre/Wepner from Shea. Is there a record of Bruno going outside WWWF and specifically failing?

Apples and oranges with Sammartino and Andre. Andre HAD to travel. If he stayed in one territory, he would have killed it.

Dusty really was fantastic at his best. The problem is that everyone saw and remembers him post-prime in Jim Crockett's promotion. As for Sammartino, I'm not sure he ever really attempted a big run anywhere else, so I don't know how valid that criticism is.

Boxing certainly had its share of fixed fights in the era, as did wrestling. I think the key is that it was possible for an honest boxing fight to be just as exciting as a fixed one, usually more so. A fixed wrestling encounter on the other hand was much more visually entertaining than a real one.

Boxing probably has the richest library of any organized sporting event. When Thomas Edison developed motion pictures, some of his first films depicted boxing in a studio. Obviously a small, stationary area like a boxing ring made the event more ideal for rudimentary technology. With boxing establishing Marquis of Queensbury rules around the 1890s (gloved fighting and timed rounds), virtually all of its history exists on film. With that in mind, I thought it'd be fun to progress decade by decade over the last century plus and find the gems. Bob Fitzsimmons KO's Jim Corbett in the 14th round to win the heavyweight championship. The footage is shaky because it was pieced together from potato chip fragments of film. Another nitrate film bites the dust. Fitzsimmons lost to James J. Jefferies in his first defense. Here, Jim Jefferies defends the title against Bob Shawkey. Jefferies retired as champion, naming Marvin Hart the new champ after Jefferies refereed a Hart bout. That was dubious. After Hart dropped the belt to Tommy Burns, Burns managed to establish himself as a legitimate champ with a string of knockout victories over notable (re: white) challengers. Here's a fight between he and Jack O'Brien in 1906. Jack Johnson pursued Burns around the globe, finally landing a title bout in 1908. Johnson is the first black fighter to challenge for the heavyweight crown. Following that victory, Johnson defends against middleweight champion Stanley Ketchel.