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Recalling Dave Semenko vs. Muhammad Ali

Perhaps no other player in NHL history is more associated with Wayne Gretzky's backside than Dave Semenko (unless you want to include most of the Calgary Flames in the 1980s, as they watched The Great One frequently skate past them into the Finals). Semenko was known as "Gretzky's bodyguard," patrolling the ice for Edmonton over 10 seasons in the WHA and NHL.

One of the great bits of trivia about Semenko is that, much like Larry Holmes and Trevor Berbick, he fought Muhammad Ali in the 1980s. Mark Messier's uncle Larry (shouldn't everyone have an Uncle Larry?) came up with the idea for Semenko to brawl with the 41-year-old former champ after his plan for a floor hockey game between the Oilers and Hollywood celebrities didn't come together. The date was June 12, 1983; the fight was three rounds. Joe Pelletier, the Hockey History Blogger, has pieced together some interesting information that brings this curiosity some new-found focus.

Fighting Roy Jones Jr. Is Bad For Your Health

"Pros vs. Joes" might be the best show nobody watches. Basically, three regular guys with aspirations of ... I don't know, landing a date, go up against former professional athletes in various sports.

In this YouTube clip, the former professional athletes are Kevin Willis, Vince Coleman, Eric Dickerson and ... Roy Jones Jr. (By the way, Willis appreciates that anybody thinks he was ever an athlete). Now, it's easy to avoid serious injury competing against Willis in basketball, or Coleman in baseball. And maybe even Dickerson in football. But getting in the ring with Jones? Smokey my friend, you're entering a world of pain. And that's exactly what happened. A World. Of. Pain:

Joe No. 2 should be embarrassed for not only getting knocked down, but for all the smack-talking he was doing leading up to the fight. Oh, and for that body; somewhere Paula Jones is saying, "yeah, I can take that guy."

Also, points to host Petros Papadakis for busting out the "[Joe No. 1 is] an Eagle Scout and he's about to earn his 'I got my ass kicked by Roy Jones' badge." Nice.

Max Kellerman Says 70% of Heavyweight Boxers are on Steroids

HBO boxing analyst Max Kellerman was on the radio the other day, talking about Evander Holyfield possibly being linked to the ongoing massive steroid bust that you hear so much about (I didn't hear the show myself, as I listen to very little boxing radio talk). Kellerman says Evander's possible involvement should've have surprised anyone, and then (from this Bob Raissman article in the New York Daily News), he throws a bombshell of a number out there:
"Seven out of the 10 top heavyweights are on the juice," he said. "Most of the top guys are (juicing)."
I'm guessing this would be a much bigger story if anyone cared about eavyweight boxing. But anyway, Raissman hammers Kellerman for it, and rightfully so... it doesn't matter if Kellerman's number is accurate. What matters is that Kellerman throws it out there casually, and by doing so, casts major suspicion on every heavyweight.

Even if you assume that Kellerman's right (and it wouldn't surprise me, but again, that's not the issue), those other three heavyweights probably want to jam Kellerman's microphone in his earhole right now. Everyone looks like a juicer when someone says something like that. Seems a little unfair.

If Kellerman wants to do the right thing, he's got two options. One, name names. If he knows which seven are 'roiding it up, he owes it to the other three, not to mention to the "integrity" of boxing, to come clean. Or, option two, just take the whole thing back, apologize, and say it's a number he completely made up.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Gets Creative, Calls Oscar De La Hoya Chicken



I was out in Hollywood for the final stop of the 11 city tour promoting Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s May 5th fight in Las Vegas. Now obviously when you think boxing press conferences, you automatically think wild, over-the-top, scripted controversy. So after 11 cities, 11 days of the same promotion, same questions, same speeches day after day, you would think Floyd Mayweather Jr. would be out of ideas on how to smack Oscar De La Hoya. Apparently not.

During the middle of his speech, Floyd Mayweather Jr. busted out with a caged chicken named "Golden Girl." The gesture was a clear shot at Oscar who is nicknamed the "Golden Boy," and it sparked a frenzy amongst the fans in attendance (overwhelmingly in favor of Oscar).

Just how highly the "Golden Girl" thinks of Pretty Boy Floyd? Take a look at the stain on the newspaper for your answer. Amongst his smack-talking barbs, Mayweather Jr. also called Oscar a quitter, and advised fans to make easy money by betting on him.

Tickets for the eagerly anticipated fight sold out in three hours, and Pay-Per-View buys are expected to be record setting. With the media tour having concluded, the fighters will now begin training full-time for the May 5th fight. As the tagline for the fight says, "the world awaits."

Evander Holyfield, Gary Matthews Implicated in Steroid Bust? Not So Fast, My Friends

It's a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma!

A curious name popped up in a bust related to the one that took place yesterday at Signature Pharmacies of Orlando, Florida. Here's the breathless report from Brendan J. Lyons senior writer from the Albany Times-Union:

In a related case in Mobile, Ala., two owners of Applied Pharmacy Services have been indicted by an Albany County grand jury. Their customer list allegedly includes former professional boxer and heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, Los Angeles Angels center fielder Gary Matthews Jr., and retired baseball star Jose Canseco, an admitted steroid user.

A law enforcement source involved in that investigation said authorities have not identified what types of products allegedly were ordered by Matthews or Holyfield, whom they said used the name "Evan Fields" when placing orders.

Matthews was told before his spring training game on Tuesday that his name appeared in a Times Union news report. "There's nothing much to say. A name is mentioned. It's sketchy at best," said Los Angeles Angels Vice President of Communications Tim Mead.

How the federal investigators were able to, in one day, tie together the name Evan Fields to Holyfield is unknown. Unless the name is listed with Holyfield's address, it appears that the feds might be setting the public up for future tying of names - aliases? - to famous people.

Though Holyfield himself did not comment, Donald Tremblay, a PR director from Main Event, the company promoting Evander's upcoming fight said the ex-champ he's never heard of Applied Pharmacy Services. In a later statement, Holyfield said:

"I do not use steroids. I have never used steroids," the four-time champ said in the release. "I resent that my name has been linked to known steroid users by sources who refuse to be identified in order to generate publicity for their investigation. I'm disappointed that certain members of the media ... chose to use my name in headlines and publish my photo alongside stories ... about an investigation into a practice that has nothing to do with me or what I stand for."

Evan Fields, eh? It is said that entertainers are also involved with Signature and Allied. Perhaps the investigators need to check the names beginning with "S." There they may find the name "Strawberry Fields," a sure link to a famous entertainer living in - Paul McCartney.

Note to investigators: This should not be a, "let's cause a big ruckus" event to further tell the world of the horrors of steroid use. We already got that dog-and-pony show from Congress. Further, it's not an X-File where every name can potentially lead to the knowledge of alien intervention in creating a hybrid human-alien through the use of - steroids. Take your time, put in the work, come up with some facts, then hold a press conference and tell us all who did what. Don't say diddly-pooh beforehand.

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