The Ottoman Empire
Kobe Bryant (photo. Chris Sembrot)
One night after his back locked up in San Antonio and forced him to sit out the fourth quarter of a big game — which, knowing the man, means it had to have been debilitating pain — Kobe Bryant was in Dallas on Wednesday trying to give it a go against another West contender. For the first half of Lakers/Mavs, Kobe was obviously hurting, gingerly running around like late-model Patrick Ewing and serving as not much more than a decoy. In the second half he was moving a little better, but in true dramatic fashion, saved his best for last: Tied up with 42 seconds left after Dirk Nowitzki (30 pts, 16 rebs) hit a three, Kobe got a clear-out on Josh Howard, milked the clock, took him to the right elbow and dropped a pull-up jumper for the go-ahead bucket. After Erick Dampier bricked two free throws (badly) on the other end and Howard missed a three, L.A. was able to ice it at the line … When he wasn’t on the court, Kobe (10 pts, 5-11 FG) was laying in front of the bench with what looked like an ottoman placed nearby so he could elevate his feet. Between the ottoman, Phil Jackson‘s special high chair, and Ron Artest‘s “just in case” straitjacket, the Lakers are traveling with more special equipment than a quad rugby team … Tim Duncan wasn’t hurt — Gregg Popovich just decided to give him the night off for Spurs/Thunder. So given the absence of TD, the fact that Manu Ginobili shot 0-for-10, and the Thunder are playing like a legit playoff team, you figured OKC would roll, right? Nope … It was tied up in overtime with 1:30 to go when Kevin Durant (35 pts) stuck a jumper to put OKC on top. Antonio McDyess split free throws to cut the lead to one, and after Richard Jefferson blocked Thabo Sefolosha‘s jumper, the Spurs had one last possession. Manu drove and almost turned it over, but went Rodman-style horizontal diving out of bounds and somehow saved the ball to George Hill, who got it to RJ for the game-winning jumper. The Thunder had one more shot, but Russell Westbrook (25 pts, 13 asts) ignored an open Durant and missed a J at the buzzer. To be fair, Westbrook had hit a shot from the same spot to force overtime, but still … DeJuan Blair started in place of Duncan and was a BEAST. He notched 28 points and 21 boards in only 31 minutes. And of course, a mention or two that he doesn’t have any ACL’s … These announcers really need to learn to watch their mouth. Before Suns/Pacers, the Phoenix broadcast crew had graphics and stats that they said showed Steve Nash “blows away” Larry Bird as a shooter. Then the game started, and you would’ve sworn Bird saw that segment and sent his shooters out on an assassination mission on his behalf. After falling behind by 24 in the first half, the Pacers rallied as Danny Granger busted ‘em for 33 points, and Mike Dunleavy dropped 30 off the bench. In crunch-time, Granger stuck some jumpers and Dunleavy hit some free throws and threes to give Indiana the win … Oh, and in the first half, Earl Watson caught Nash (20 pts, 9 asts) with an elbow that left Nash bleeding at the mouth worse than Mick Foley. Nash left for a while, then came back sporting a Hitler mustache made out of Band-Aid. The lesson: Don’t ever talk bad about Larry Bird … But the game of the night was Rockets/Wolves. Minnesota was down three with two seconds left when Corey Brewer nailed a halfcourt heave to beat the buzzer and force overtime. Through the first OT and into the second, where Wayne Ellington (he’s playing?) hit a game-tying triple with 10 seconds left to force a THIRD overtime, where the Rockets eventually pulled away to earn the win … Breakout game for Ellington, who scored 17 and had his number called to take some big shots, but it was a career night for Aaron Brooks and Al Jefferson. Brooks dropped 43 points (14-30 FG) and six threes, while Big Al notched 26 points and 26 rebounds … Other notable stat lines from Wednesday: Carmelo dropped 27 points on Orlando in a win; D-Wade posted 35 points, seven boards, nine assists and three steals as the Heat beat G-State (Come back to DimeMag.com later today and you’ll hear a lot more from Flash); Joe Johnson scored 24 in ATL’s win over the Wizards; LaMarcus Aldridge scored 21 to lead Portland past Milwaukee; Sam Dalembert posted 12 points and 21 boards in a loss to the Knicks; Rajon Rondo put up 11 points and 14 dimes in a blowout of the Nets; and Chris Paul‘s 15 points, 15 assists and four steals got the Hornets past the Clippers … BTW, Dalembert has already contributed $100,000 towards the relief effort in Haiti following the catastrophic earthquake that hit this week. If you can afford it, please take a second to hit up the Dalembert Foundation and do what you can to help out … We’re out like TD …
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January 14th, 2010 at 4:02 am
j yosef says:
Firsht hahaha
i dont know why thats fun,
Hey no mentioned of UNC getting “the business” so bad for 10 minutes at Clemson that they just looked scared to death
January 14th, 2010 at 4:15 am
BRUCE says:
Breakout game for Yi too, dude had 19 points.
Doggone Chinaman is going to deliver like Judas!
January 14th, 2010 at 4:46 am
darkdefender says:
i dont know why Phil Jackson won’t pull a Popovich and give Kobe a night off too.
The guy has a busted finger and can barely walk… what more reason do you need Phil, you stupid fuck?
January 14th, 2010 at 4:48 am
luckylester says:
Yi has had 19 points a few times bub – a quick search says he’s done 20+ seven times this season.
I would like to mention Marcus freaking Camby, I’m a big of a box score reader, and that freaking guy is a machine, a high maintenance machine, but holy ish – i know points are what this game’s all about – but he’s a player I’d always want on my team, guy does so many important things.
Nash is good, but Bird is the word. Steve don’t got it like Larry had it.
January 14th, 2010 at 5:59 am
the_don_mega says:
“Don’t ever talk bad about Larry Bird…” – priceless…
January 14th, 2010 at 7:04 am
K Dizzle says:
Lakers once again…
I don’t like the spurs.
Don’t really like Manu…but that horizontal leap and ball save at crunch time got my respect
January 14th, 2010 at 7:50 am
RC says:
Nice move by Pops! resting Timmy but still grinding out the win. Tony Parker should step up a little bit and get this team rolling again.
Kobe should have rested. Back spasms sucks and what the hell is Phil Jackson thinking? Kobe needs to rest that back or he gonna end up like T Mac
January 14th, 2010 at 8:17 am
Dapro says:
That’s all Kobe fellas, I’m sure Phil tried to get him to sit this one out. Orlando got murdered,if they really want to be a contender – get a true low post player and let Dwight roam the paint for put backs and lobs.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:19 am
rangerjohn says:
blair got screwed! he fouled out on some really bad calls. that kid gets a lot of bad calls against him.
sean elliot was talking about (and pissed because it didnt happen, thanks a lot bin laden i mean refs) blair getting the 30-20. blair was the 1st rookie since duncan to get 20-20? how many 30-20 rookies have their been?
anyone, anyone, bueler?
January 14th, 2010 at 8:32 am
yoda says:
i think it was kobe’s decision to play hurt, not phill’s. and this has to make you wonder, what kind of injury has to be to force kobe to miss a game. i mean, he plays with injuries that would force lots of guys to miss play off game, and he keeps playing hurt in regular season game :O
and it must to be hard for other lal players. i mean, when you get injured, how can you say: i won’t play, when kobe plays broken.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:34 am
alf (from melmak) says:
Never ever speak badly about Larry Bird. They do not call him legend for nothing. What ever Steve Nash has accomplished does not even come close to what Bird has done.
I watched the Lakers-Mavs game and I believe Dampier was scared to death when he took those two foul shots. His eyes and body language told it all. Dirk should never had passed the ball.
Off topic guys. With all the steroids talk going around, do you think Pacquiao is on some sort of PED or Mayweather is just scared of him?
On a last note, my meal allowance predicts the Jazz will loose big time to the Cavaliers. Ouch.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:35 am
POPPI GEE says:
Houston Up!
Blair is making so many squads look STUPID, for not getting him when they had the chance. Again it makes the Spurs look like the smartes camp in the bunch.
Glad Houston won (really tripple ot against Minny?) and Brooks is the man hands down. I wanted lil dude to crack 50 so bad.
Any way feel free to go check Ariza’s stat line when anyone gets a chance and basically you will see that what he did in allll that time he had on the court, Tracy McGrady could have give you that same thing with better three point shooting(shooting percentage and his 3 point shooting percentage (atrocious)).
Please don’t bring up well he plays better D, cause that is by default if you will. He hasn’t play as long as or had the injuries T has had. Plus Ariza’s D hasn’t been all that excellent anyway.
This all just furthers the point that it was money waisted on Ariza that could have been spent on a big man and they could have gotten pratically the same thing out of McGrady that they getting out of Ariza….well better three point shooting and knowing how to create a shot.
What really burns my goozle is the way Ariza goes up to Brooks telling him things or pointing out things like he is this expert player. Man sit yo &*s down! Learn to create a shot then talk and point out stuff.
I don’t like Ariza so far and I ain’t impressed.
now Dejuan Blair….I am impressed!
January 14th, 2010 at 8:36 am
control says:
Kobe really should rest up. Being one of the top players in the world ain’t gonna help you if you are broken in half or your fingers are hanging loose like wet fuckin spaghetti. Take a break and quit jacking up nearly 40 shots when you should be resting…
January 14th, 2010 at 8:39 am
Steve Nasty says:
I love Mick Foley
January 14th, 2010 at 8:44 am
mules says:
Career shooting percentages:
Bird
fg% = .496
3pt% = .376
ft% = .886
Nash
fg% = .490
3pt% = .432
ft% = .903
I’m just sayin’
January 14th, 2010 at 8:44 am
POPPI GEE says:
@ Alf I think Mayweather would win, and while I don’t think Pac-Man is on the stuff, he sure didn’t help his case with not agreeing to something so simple as testing.
Like I said people have to understand Mayweather’s mental game. It’s like he already had beaten Pac with a simple blood test game. Mayweather knew what he was doing and it didn’t have to do with him being scared.
Mayweather will take the slightest edge from blood test, to wearing a mexican outfit to the ring, to calling a good fighter a c grade fighter and on. Physically and fighting wise Pac may well be a formidable opponent. Mentally he is wayyyyy out-matched.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:46 am
rangerjohn says:
gee
im with ya on ariza. i didnt like the signing in the 1st place. he is getting paid way to much. he is not a go to guy and the rockets got dooped by one good playoff series.
had a lot of locals talking baout how great a signing he was and how he was going to help get them to the playoffs, i said from the start NO!
January 14th, 2010 at 8:48 am
AdvancedMind says:
I agree with control, i mean you can rest for a game or two, im sure the team can share the 45 shots he takes every game.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:48 am
mules says:
by the way…
Drazen Petrovic
fg% = .505
3pt% = .437
ft% = .841
January 14th, 2010 at 8:53 am
AdvancedMind says:
lol Im trying to figure out when Pacman became Jesus Christ,Mayweather is a boxer, why all the sudden would he be affriad of another boxer? This is pretty much the excuse people use because that hate Mayweather and all his ignorant flash.
i agree with POPPI GEE, and all these mind games do nothing but make this fight bigger and better.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:55 am
rangerjohn says:
gee
mayweather is making excuses again and trying to put the blame on pacman so he doesnt look like the bad guy.
manny agreed to testing, he said 1 test 30 days before, 1 random test and 1 test immediately following the fight.
motormouth mayweather is nothing but talk. he might win but it would be a duck and run strategy.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:18 am
POPPI GEE says:
nah ranger
no excuses cause he doesn’t need any? Think about it now. Dude is undefeated. He has never loss. You can’t say he hasn’t fought anyone. For every dude that was supposed to be the one to beat him, he came out the winner. People thought it would be Zab, Hatton and a list of others and in the end it was Floyd.
Mayweather already signed the contract he was ready to fight this dude but again what fight has Floyd not played mind games to go with it.
His nicest and calmest fight might have been his last cause you really didn’t hear as much trash talk or see as much mind games, but dude is the master of the mental.
Pac man has been beat. Sure he is an awesome fighter and the defeats may have came early or whatever. But he has been beat.
Pac-Man wants to do the testing on his terms due to a whole bunch of excuses. LOL you call it duck and run but others may call it smart boxing. I personally haven’t seen him duck and run anyone. You don’t have to stand there and go toe to toe. This man is the excellence of execution at its best (sorry Brett Hart).
You may not be a fan of Mayweathers and that is cool. Still you can’t deny he has beat whoever he stepped in front of, and he is probably the quickest in the game, his defense is phenomenal and as Rick Flair would say “To be the man you have to beat the man”.
It’s on Pac to beat him, not vice versa. Pac-man has been sloved before. Floyd is still a problem!
January 14th, 2010 at 9:32 am
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
Mayweather is a great boxer but fuck him. Yeah he may very well beat Pac but until he does you cats can’t make excuses for him. Like rangerjohn said, Pac agreed to 3 tests. If that doesn’t satisfy mayweather than what’s the problem. Mayweather needs to put up or shut up.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:40 am
AdvancedMind says:
@ POPPI
Pretty much, its basically a build up to make even more money. Every story needs a bad guy in it.
Anybody who actually follows boxing and the sport as a whole knows that Floyd is a great fighter weather you like him or not.
My uncle owns and runs a boxing club, actually cant stand FLoyd, but admits hes one of the best technically sound fighters hes ever seen.
Boxing isnt rock em sock em, you dont stand in the middle of the ring punching each other until somebody falls. Its a technically sound sport that takes alot of mental. If your a boxing purest then you can appreciate Floyds skill, if your a casual fan then he isnt for you. Pacman is a good soild fighter with good power but you cant knock out what you cant hit, and in a fight wit the faster, smarter, stronger and more sound floyd, Pacman loses.
If you wanna watch a sluggfest then watch Rocky 4, that Russian can take a punch lol.. Or just watch Gatti Vs Ward.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:42 am
POPPI GEE says:
Mayweather wants testing closer to the fight and Pac doesn’t. So Pac has come up with all these other alternatives and I don’t blame Mayweather for not agreeing. I would want my opponent tested as close to the fight as possible, not way up during training when he has time to take a good test and then go hop on the stuff.
Specially in this day and age when everyone and their mother are taking “enhancers” lol DRUGS to supposedly keep up or keep that edge. I would want it close to the fight as well.
People who argue against Mayweather or usually those that didn’t even like dude before the possible Pac-Man fight. Lotta people don’t like his style and how brash and confident he is.
Show me where Mayweather loss and then I will go along with you that he is scared and making excuses. Till then you really reachin lol.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:45 am
POPPI GEE says:
@ AdvancedMind LOL you said it right.
“If you wanna watch a sluggfest then watch Rocky 4, that Russian can take a punch lol.. Or just watch Gatti Vs Ward.”
Again I agre lol. Any Rocky movie is a sluggfest lol.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:48 am
rangerjohn says:
the reason i dont put any faith into mayweathers undefeated record, look at the people he faced, his 1st 10 fights where against guys with a combined 111 and 163 record. with guys who where 0-3, 0-4, 12-45, 3-20. i mean tomato cans left and right. sure he faced some decent guys later but that 40-0 record is pure fabrication. this is the problem with boxing, getting your guy a fight with a can is to easy. you can pad records to easy. manny has not ducked anyone, he has never “waited till the right time”. kinda like mayweather vs de la hoya? i mean damn how old was oscar like 52? and mayweather didnt destroy him, he won but it was not domination. hell zab had him beat, but gave up on himself in the later rounds. he also scored a clear knock down that was not scored.
all i am saying is mayweather is opportunistic and only fights when he has a clear advantage. this is why he came up with the BS extra drug screening. the standard screening is all anyone has ever needed so why all of a sudden does he want more? to come up with an excuse because he knows manny (and most asians) are very superstitious, especially about their bodies and their “fluids”. he knew all along manny would not take a test so close to the fight. the way i see it (and manny also), there is no testable substance that he could take with less then 30 days before the fight, and have it gone immediately after the fight. so whats the point of testing 14 days in? the point is motormouth wants an out.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:53 am
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
@gee
But those ain’t the rules. Kobe can’t ask Lebron to be tested the day of game 7 of the finals. If boxing rules indicated that a fight MUST be blood tested on fight day then Pac would do it. They do not so why should he screw with his routine. Fighters like their routine and most follow it religiously.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:56 am
QQ says:
Damn,love the Larry Bird line. Touche.
Lost again. Damn. We’re falling… Gotta get up dudes.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:58 am
POPPI GEE says:
Naw Mayweather don’t want or need out, and even if you take away those 10 fights so what he is at 30 – 0 then lol, he would still be UNDEFEATED LOL. Beating 30 dudes is still a great feat and to still have no losses is a bottom line.
Even if you call him an opportunist that just makes him smart. Most fighters would stand to do better if they would fight when they were ready training wise, motivation wise and other. Just because he waits don’t make him scared that makes him smart. I mean if he wanted to go all willy nilly and fight whenever and whoever then more than likely he might have a few loses and still be great much like Pac-Man.
But to be undefeated and stay undefeated then you are more tatical and patient in fighting.
And yes he did know Manny was superstitious, but again Pac can’t let that go to fight and if you are the fighter they say you are superstitions aside you should be able to be like “Whatever you want to do Floyd, I’ll take 100 test and still whip that #ss”.
Instead Manny found an exit door and ran for it. But this is all really mute. Like I said show me the fighter who beat Floyd and I will gladly change my mind, but till then you will just keep coming up with with many reasons why he “woulda, shoulda, coulda” been beaten and he hasn’t.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:59 am
AdvancedMind says:
lol @ Rangerjohn thats basically hate speaking, and i never use hating cause its so over used but wow you should stick to posts about the SPURS, boxing really isnt your thing champ.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:00 am
sh!tfaced says:
Gayweather is a pussy and a cheat and he’s scared shitless to have that zero (defeat) taken away from him. And he knows it too, that’s why he’s making absurd demands. He keeps talking that the fight may not happen and this and that but he keeps on training anyway. He’ll go for an edge anyway he can.
The Pacman is an uneducated, superstitious fool for stooping at Gayweather’s level and playing his game. Manny should leave the mind games to Roach. Pac should have just called Floyd’s bluff and for sure we all would have witnessed what an undefeated pussy looks like.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:05 am
POPPI GEE says:
“He’ll go for an edge anyway he can.” < and that is bad?
"Pac should have just called Floyd’s bluff" < That I can agree with.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:07 am
AdvancedMind says:
@shitfaced
Gayweather? I see your overies are poluted, thats a punk statment. Dont say shit you wouldnt say to that man in real life, that makes you look extra lame.
Worry about your next customer at work, that Honda Civic isnt going to sell itself.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:08 am
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
Gee
You must be talking to ranger cause I never said shoulda, coulda, woulda. I just want to see this fight happen. I respect what floyd has done as a fighter. Yes I’m a pacman fan. And yes I understand Floyd is trying all the mental tactics he knows but this fight shouldn’t be Floyd has never asked any other fighter to blood test the day of a fight. If he wants this fight like you say he does then he would take the normal testing route and be done with it. Mental jabbing is fine with me but when start accusing a respectable fighter like manny of performance enhancing without any clear cut evidence you either are scared or jealous.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:20 am
POPPI GEE says:
Spliff I am talking to anyone in general. I am saying Floyd has nothing to be jealous of with Pac if anything Pac has to get on Floyd’s level.
If you follow Floyd you know he goes for the juggular. He tries to hit you wear it hurts mentally. I mean honestly we shouldn’t be shocked.
What I am shocked at is Manny taking the bait instead of pulling Floyd’s card.
Face it Floyd already has round 1 (the mental round) and you have to wonder if they fought would that lead to him winning the rest.
Advantage Floyd.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:24 am
rangerjohn says:
lets suffice to say that if the spurs could pick and choose an opponent and schedule for every game, they would be undefeated as well.
then again all the lakers, suns, mavs and every other teams fans would be saying “hey wait i want to play them too” and the spurs could say “well only if you play each other 3 nights back to back away, come in here, spin around in a circle with your finger on your nose, jump through hoops after doing 1 hour of grass drills. then we will fight you i mean play you on our home floor.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:29 am
POPPI GEE says:
Just the way of the sport. Boxing you can pick and choose and demand. I will say Boxers have to much control and it should be more structured.
Still if boxing leaves it open to them having the power then by all means use it to your advantage and that is what Floyd is doing. Again if other boxers aren’t smart enough to do the same. Shame on them.
Basketball isn’t that way and if it was hopefully their would be 1 team bad enough (the Rockets lol) to take the Spurs on their offer and kick the Sh** out of them lol.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:33 am
sh!tfaced says:
“thats a punk statment” – they call this smack, don’t they? and I’m not the first one to say it here anyway. Fraud Gayweather is what some of the cats here call him.
You gotta give to Floyd though, he’ll go for an edge anyway he can. – is what I meant to say. My bad.
And yeah, Manny has already lost even before the first punch was thrown.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:40 am
Spliff 2 My Lou says:
I honestly don’t think this fight will ever happen. Niether fighter needs it. $25 million would be nice but they don’t need money. Mayweather wants to finish his career undefeated and manny would like to start his political career.
I do not think mayweather is scared of Pac but he is scared of losing. Any fan of boxing knows that judges cannot be trusted to see the fight how it is. Even if mayweather were to beat pac in our eyes he could still lose and that’s what scares him.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:40 am
rangerjohn says:
so what your saying gee is that regardless of the garbage he has faced over the years to pad his record its all ok as long as he doesnt have an L? see that is one more reason why boxing is a quickly dieing sport.
i think a lot of fighters do it to. boxing is dead because of it. i watched chris arreola get his ass handed to him by klitchko and so to “boost his confidence” they gave him a can. the fans are getting tired of this kind of thing. you have a bunch of gaudy records and no real substance.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:55 am
POPPI GEE says:
No I said even if you take those 10 fights away you talked about then he would still be at 30 – 0. Lets not act like even with a few fighters given to him, that he still didn’t beat some very good competition.
Most fighters coming up start off with lowly opponents, Tyson, Jermain Taylor and others that went on to be champions. Why is Floyd held to such a higher standard than them and maaaany other fighters, especially heavyweights.
Now Spliff I can agree totally that Floyd is scared to get that 1 L on his record and that is why he pulls no punches mentally and otherwise before fights. Still once the fight starts he has been a proven winner going the distance and knocking opponents out.
Again I think boxing needs more structure but Floyd is dealing with the cards dealt and playing the game in an excellent way.
Honestly I think that is it, many just don’t like way Floyd goes about things, but to say he is scared and all that is really going beyond for a fighter that is undefeated and has faced good competition and again has yet to be solved.
I wish Floyd would retire and stay retired and just go out undefeated cause that would be so cool to see a fighter go out with no losses.
Still until a fighter beats him mentally and then in the ring, he is the man.
January 14th, 2010 at 11:15 am
rangerjohn says:
ok gee, name me 10 GOOD fighters he beat with no “strings attached” so to speak. you cant because he hasnt. almost all of his “big wins” come with guys like de la hoya who was OLDDDDDD, and still took it to split decision. he beat hatton who was supposed to be good and zab sure, marquez was ok . hell zab was in the middle of 3 losses and a NC.
mayweather got taken to a decision by marquez even after being 6 lbs over weight and having to surrender what 10% of his purse to marquez.
people give him to much credit, thats all im saying.
and yes i stated other fighters are handed cans also so we are on the same page. in the end some of those fighters being handed cans become cans in the end. mike tyson is a prime example. he dodged guys like holyfield for years and then in the end he was being handed over to guys because he had a big name and they KNEW they could beat him.
this again is boxing problem. (among others)
January 14th, 2010 at 11:35 am
POPPI GEE says:
ranger if you wanna go that route I can put “strings” on every fighter that Pac-faced? We can always find a reason(s) for why a fighter should have won better or faced someone earlier or weight issues and all.
Point is regardless of any “strings” Mayweather has beaten the dudes. At the end of the day he is undefeated and I could say people give Pac to much credit or people have argued Tyson got to much credit and I have even heard people argue that Ali got to much credit.
Not to mention even fighters who are handed opponents can still go on to be very credible. But the whole credible issue is in the eye of the beholder and obviously we have different eyes lol.
I am saying we can nit-pick on every fighter, but until a fighter is exposed or beaten then it’s pretty much waisted words cause things are “if” till that fighter is beaten.
Boxing does have it’s problems. It’s like the rap game of sports lol. It’s unstructured, to many belts, politics and other things. And much like the BCS it’s going to be that way for a while. So I don’t think the way Floyd plays the game is so much his fault in as much as it’s the way the game is.
January 14th, 2010 at 11:59 am
LakeShow84 says:
Mayweather is a puss..
To me hes Roy Jones III.. only fights who he KNOWS he can beat.. him putting on weight in the Marquez fight was FLUCKED UP.. one of his old affiliates who tried to mediate the whole drug issue and resolve it called him a scared little kid who only fights in fights he knows he can win.. shit talk about straight out the horses mouth lol
Hes scared of Pacman and he COULD win.. he just knows he also MIGHT lose.. id much rather follow Ward and his path to greatness.. at least the kid is fighting real fighters..
January 14th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
LakeShow84 says:
“and Ron Artest’s “just in case” straitjacket”
Best line of the week lol
January 14th, 2010 at 12:54 pm
Austin Burton says:
My two cents without reading all of the Floyd/Manny comments: The biggest thing Floyd has going for him in the “one of the all-time greats” discussion is that undefeated record, so yes, he would be very cautious in trying to protect that. But I don’t think he’s scared of Manny. There are fights where Floyd has been close to losing, but Manny has been totally out-boxed before (Morales), while Floyd hasn’t. And Floyd is the best technician out there. Also, if we’re saying “Floyd only fought Oscar when Oscar was old,” remember that Manny fought an even older Oscar, and that’s still his defining win.
January 14th, 2010 at 1:27 pm
POPPI GEE says:
^ so the comment won’t be to short I have to type this, but all I really wanna say is Amen.
January 14th, 2010 at 1:35 pm
rangerjohn says:
yes austin, manny did face an even older oscar but he also faced a better ahtton and a better marquez at a more natural weight (marquez came up from 130 to 142 to fight mayweather who was still well over weight and MUCH bigger.) marquez is mannys only “blemish” if you will in his last 5 fights with a SD. mayweather being the MUCH larger fighter at a higher weight class still went to decision. manny also fought hatton after floyd. floyd tko’ed him in 8 manny ko’ed him in 2. oscar took floyd to a SD and then 1 yr later got tko’ed by manny in 8.
in other words they have faced 3 of the same last 5 fighters and and manny has gotten the better of them. also looking at their last 10 each, manny has a 70% ko rate to floyds 50%.
as for manny getting out boxed by erik morales, he also went on to KO morales twice (a 10th round and a 3rd round) which shows his growth.
bottom line, manny is the better fighter TODAY, NOW even if floyd has a better record.
manny also has 15 more fights.
January 14th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Austin Burton says:
Manny KO’d Hatton earlier because Manny goes for knockouts. Floyd took his time and fought his fight. (As you can tell, I’m on Floyd’s side here.) And I don’t see how Hatton was “better” against Manny. He was two fights more experienced, but that’s about it.
January 14th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
POPPI GEE says:
Yea ranger If sloppy seconds is what you are hooraying then that is up to you.
that is not the bottom line at all. even with 15 more fights that is not saying a lot aside from he probably shouldn’t have taken what 2 or 3 (however many times Manny has lost) and gone at a slower rate then he too my be unbeaten.
I like Manny and I am not trying to discredit him and hiw work. I am just saying I am more impressed with one (regardless of reason) who has never been beaten than one (regardless of reason) who has.
Again you can find loopholes to say something on just about every boxer and their opponent. At the end of the day it’s harder for me to go against Mayweather when no one has pulled his card or beaten him.
If you want a bottom line you CAN’T say that Manny is undefeated or has been beaten. You can about Floyd though.
January 14th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
rangerjohn says:
where you are also taking credit away or giving to floyd, he is generally the bigger fighter, guys are coming up to fight him (like manny is) while manny is coming up to beat these guys. IE hatton, manny is a 130 lber, hatton is a 140 lber, while floyd is a 147 lber. hatton had 2 fights and 2 yrs to get better, he is/was not on a decline but on the way up.
by the way when is floyd going to stop ducking mosley at floyds natural weight?
January 14th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
rangerjohn says:
gee, so if your so “interested in his unbeaten record, where is the hype on guys like chris john, he is 43-0 at 126. there are plenty of undefeated guys out there. the only reason anyone cares is because mayweather was supposed to fight pacman. floyd is relatively irrelevant without this fight. word is that floyd is going to fight SOMEONE (a can?) on the same night manny fights clottey. my money says manny pulls in more buys then mayweather does.
January 14th, 2010 at 2:26 pm
Austin Burton says:
I wouldn’t say Floyd is irrelevant without fighting Manny. There’s a reason he can even talk about commanding a bigger purse or 50/50. Would Manny get more PPV buys than Floyd head-to-head? Yeah, because he’s a more exciting fighter. But Floyd is very relevant. You saw how the Marquez fight — against a guy with almost zero mainstream profile — crushed the competing UFC pay-per-view. That said, there’s ultimately too much money on the line for Floyd/Manny NOT to happen.
January 14th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
sh!tfaced says:
Whether the fight happens or not, Floyd and Pac must realize they need to face each other (and succeed) to solidify both their respective HOF careers and erase all the “what-ifs”.
If they don’t fight one another, questions, doubts, arguments and debates like this about their boxing records will just go on and on long after their fighting days are over.
January 14th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
rangerjohn says:
floyd is not the champ, manny is the champ and floyds greed nearly put the fight down before all of this other bs.
mayweather vs marquez was sorta a big deal, but comparing it to one of the weakest ufc cards of the year? what do you expect. keep in mind that this was only one weak ufc card. would the same thing happen had ufc 100 been the show mayweather marquez went up against? no way. pacman is the draw in this fight with floyd second. MAYBE a 50/50 but i doubt it. see floyd is all hype, all talk that is the only reason he is a draw these days.
ufc is the KING of ppv and they blew away the previous record for ppvs in 2009 with estimated $357.6 million gross sales. 2008 was the old record $283 mil (also ufc). boxing pulls up the rear (behind wwe) with an all time best 255 mil. boxing does have the 3 biggest ppv’s with de la hoya mayweather, tyson vs holyfield, and tyson lewis. (keep in mind oscar is the #1 all time in boxing for buys at 12.6 mil over his career)
austin, you are correct that floyd is not fully irrelevant but he is fading real fast and while the hard core fans may not all be growing tired of him, the casual fans are most definitely.
January 14th, 2010 at 3:22 pm
rangerjohn says:
oh forgot to mention boxings numbers are a bit inflated as they charge much more then ufc does per PPV. this is also part of the reason some of these boxers make so much money.
January 14th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
Austin Burton says:
I was talking about the numbers of PPV buys for Mayweather/Marquez, not the money; I heard it beat UFC like 2-to-1, and that’s like you said, even when boxing is more expensive. Also, that’s UFC’s fault for putting up a weak PPV against Floyd. But that’s hindsight. Obviously they didn’t think it was weak, since Dana White was talking so much sh*t about how he had the must-see card of that weekend.
Anyway, I don’t think Floyd is falling off to the casual fans, because he talks enough — and shows up on stuff like WWE and magazine covers — to stay in their mind. The only other active boxers who are relevant to the casual fan are Manny (because he’s getting his share of hype and Nike is pushing him), Roy Jones and maybe Bernard.
January 14th, 2010 at 4:27 pm
control says:
AB
Dana White is going to talk shit 3 days after he is dead…that guy runs his mouth worse than KG. He was also saying that Matt Mitrone was one of the best heavy weights, etc etc. As the main face for the UFC, the guy HAS to talk that shit…it’s not like he’d be like “yeah, this PPV sucks, don’t buy it anyone!”
January 14th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
the cynic says:
-unbelievable play by Manu, who couldn’t buy a bucket all game
-the first must see boxing match in like 10 years is being held up for promotional purposes because this is it for boxing. MMA just has so much more to offer, and it will be a lot better when I don’t have to hear Dana talk all the time. The only advantage boxing has is history and superior broadcast commentary; i’m not sure UFC will ever get where it wants to go with people being verbally assaulted by Goldberg every event
January 14th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
rangerjohn says:
dana is nothing but a hype monster. he is a pimp and nothing more. as for him not saying the card sucks, he is the 1st one to say “if you dont like this f-ing card, dont buy the f-ing ppv”. he says it on every single show.
cynic, i agree about goldberg, but then i cant stand rogan either. he is a FREAK. my prediction, joe rogan commits suicide dec 21′st 2012. he is a FIRM believer in the mayan calender and the end of the world and all that mess. his license plate on his car says something like dec 12. something like that.
January 14th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
POPPI GEE says:
Well I guess the ultimate opponent will be time and that will tell us the what’s up.
I will say I hope mma doesn’t go the way of boxing and in many respects and similarities it’s close.
January 16th, 2010 at 3:46 am
budz says:
hey poppi and AB, you can talk all day about your homeboy gayweather and his undefeated record but the truth is, there are a lot of boxers who are undefeated nowadays.
but is there anyone who has achieved the feat of 7 titles in 7 weight classes other than PACMAN?
youre right. NO ONE.
one more thing, being undefeated means peanuts when you measure a boxer’s greatness. just look at the top boxers of all time, most of them have L on there records. but who cared? fans and experts alike look for people who challenge themselves to find greatness that is why PACMAN is popular. and GAYWEATHER? not a bit. he doesnt even fight the best in his own division! not cotto, not margarito, not mosley. PACMAN at least has beaten one of the best in each division he has been on. and has NEVER been accused of ducking anyone.
here is a challenge, pacman went up in weight (albeit a catchweight) and fought a formidable cotto and beat him up. why cant mayweather challenge himself and go up a bit and fight paul williams for his next fight if the pacman fight doesnt push thru. that will be a challenge. that will create money. and that will be good for his legacy.
but i doubt he will do it. he is to GAY to be challenged.