Manny loses, Mayweather’s in prison, boxing wins

Manny Pacquiao lost Saturday night to upstart Tim Bradley, and I couldn’t be happier.

It’s not that I’ve got anything against Manny. He’s a great boxer and an over-achiever who sings at concerts and sits on the Philippine Congress.

But he never fought Floyd Mayweather when both were in their prime. And that hurt boxing, a sport which is slowly turning into the red-haired stepchild when compared to the UFC’s mixed martial arts—or as I like to call it—cage fighting.

Now what? Will Mayweather fight Bradley? I doubt it. Once a coward, always a coward. Will Mayweather fight Pacquiao? I doubt it. For the same reason.

Maybe now Floyd Mayweather will finally be recognized for what he is—a great fighter when facing bums, and nothing more.

Joe Louis fought a lot of bums, the bum-of-the-month club I do believe. But he also fought Max Schmeling. Louis lost the first one, but won the second in a first-round knockout so decisively there wasn’t a third fight. There wasn’t even a need for a third fight.

Do you know what happened when Pacquiao met Mayweather? No, you don’t and neither do I. And we’ve all been deprived of that.

Let’s see if Bradley has the courage to capture our imaginations.

• • •

It’s on, OKC vs. The Heat. Yes, I really thought the Spurs would muster one more championship, but my eyes might have been clouded by nostalgia.

I’m 100 percent behind OKC though, and do believe they will win. Kevin Durant is on fire and Russell Westbrook isn’t a slouch himself. Throw in the best Sixth Man in the NBA, James Harden, and you’ve got a winning combination.

They’ve also got one more secret weapon—Derek Fisher. He’s just a journeyman player who knows how to win, reminiscent of Robert Horry, another journeyman winner, who holds seven championship rings.

If OKC wins it all, Fisher will have six rings, one more than Kobe. That’s impressive. That’s more than impressive, that’s hilarious.
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Spurs seek last hurrah

For my money, the best offensive game I’ve seen in a long time came in game six when the Denver Nuggets took it to the L.A. Lakers. But then I missed the Oklahoma City Thunder game when they blew out the Lakers as well.

That said, I like the Spurs vs. the Heat in the finals with the Spurs winning it all. Like LeBron said, “Not one, not two, not three…”

Okay. How about zero? Can you say Buffalo Bills?

• • •

Mayweather beat Cotto in some fight I didn’t bother to watch. Does anybody care? It’s not Manny, Floyd, so I don’t care.

Would Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier be the respected fighters they are today if they had never gotten got into the ring together? No.

Ali and Frazier fought three times. By the time Mayweather and Pacquiao get into the ring they’ll be fighting from wheelchairs.

• • •

I’m tired of football fans talking about adding Tom Brady to the discussion of the greatest Super Bowl quarterback of all time. I like Brady fine, but he never won a game on a last-second play—unlike his teammate at the time, Adam Vinatieri.

I’d love to interview Brady and Montana on their experiences in the big game. My first question would go to Montana.

“Joe, what’s it like to lose a Super Bowl?”

“Beats the hell outta me.”

End of discussion.

if you want to add another Super Bowl quarterback to the mix of Joe Montana, John Elway and Johnny Unitas, add Terry Bradshaw.

• • •

Don’t worry about Albert Pujols slow start. He’s just adjusting to the Angels’ new system. The drug-testing system.

• • •

So let’s review. Texas A&M left the Big 12 for the SEC. So the rivalry between the Longhorns and the Aggies will come to an end.

Texas won the last football came between the two rivals, the last basketball game, and recently the Longhorns won the final baseball game.

Good luck in the SEC, Aggies.

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Peyton and other places

Peyton Manning will now play quarterback for the Denver Broncos. They might as well start building the new sign at the border of Denver’s city limit.

“Welcome to Denver, the city where Peyton Manning was paralyzed for life.”

I was hoping Manning would take a long hard look at the big picture and simply retire, the way Steve Young did when he got one too many concussions as a 49ers quarterback.

Manning has a neck injury, nothing to be trifled with. I could be all wrong, but I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

At least the Broncos had the good sense to trade Tim Tebow. Whatever Manning faces in Denver, it won’t be the evangelical, revival-tent, circus-like atmosphere Tebow creates.

Besides, Tebow’s a perfect fit for New York. And yes, I’m being sarcastic.

• • •

I was pretty sure—and really hoped—that Jim Harbaugh wasn’t serious about getting Manning. I think Harbaugh took a long look at Manning just to build up Alex Smith’s confidence.

“Yeah, the GM wanted me to interview Manning, but my heart wasn’t into it,” I imagine Harbaugh saying. “You’re my guy at QB, Alex. You’re my guy.”

I could be wrong about that scenario, but I’m really glad about Smith’s three-year deal with the 49ers.The playoff game against the Saints convinced me he’s finally got the QB position down.

• • •

I didn’t fill in a bracket and I don’t have a final four, but I do pick Michigan State to win the NCAA Basketball National Championship.

My only reason is the faith and passion of MSUCrazyLady. She makes me wanna believe. So I will.

• • •

Frankly, I don’t give a damn about women’s basketball. It’s like watching the Special Olympics, except I actually do care about the Special Olympics.

The female sports I like are soccer (a little) and softball (a lot). Softball is the ultimate women’s sport, but I’ll expand on that topic in another column.

Still, it doesn’t take a lot of paid attention to pick the NCAA Women’s Basketball champion.

Baylor. It’ll be Baylor. And everybody knows that.

• • •

I started this column with Peyton, so I’ll end it with Payton.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Saints’ head coach Sean Payton a full year for allowing a bounty system—payment for injuries inflicted by the defensive players on key offensive players. You know. Key ones, like Peyton Manning.

The former defensive coach of the Saints, Gregg Williams, is on indefinite suspension and New Orleans general manager Mickey Loomis was suspended eight games.

The Saints as a team was also fined $500,000 and lost two second round draft picks, one this year and another in 2013.

One radio commenter said he wished baseball had a commissioner as strong as Goodell.

Me, too. I want a baseball commissioner strong enough to bring back steroids.
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March madness aka SXSW

Haven’t been able to write as much lately because I’ve been distracted by the South By Southwest (SXSW) Festival here in Austin, Texas.

It officially started last Wednesday with SXSW Interactive (i.e., techno geeks), while SXSW Film started this weekend and SXSW Music starts this coming Tuesday.

Every year during spring break Austin’s downtown area turns into a madhouse, and somehow I get caught in the middle of it all.

But at least it’s a paying gig.

Nothing much to be excited about right now anyway, except for Peyton Manning’s health and Tim Tebow’s sex life. Both are questionable.

That said, I am well aware of the mediocrity called Texas basketball. Looks like the University of Texas Longhorns managed to sneak into the big dance, despite a lackluster record of 20-13 overall and 8-7 in the Big 12 conference.

Friday, March 16, the Longhorns meet Cincinnati (24-10) in Nashville, Tennessee. I’m thinking the Longhorns are one and done. The ‘horns have no star to rally around and lack cohesiveness as a team. I just don’t see how they can gel at the NCAA tournament level.

But odds are writing what I just wrote increases their chances of winning.
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