First of all, yes, I was completely serious. I will explain in a sec.
But first of all, I have to take a moment to rip John McCain. The guy is pure filth. He is in the pocket of boxing commissions and the Nevada State Athletic Commission. No polititian was more instrumental in getting UFC banned by the NSAC and cable companies in the mid to late ninties. I agree that the man has some good ideas on other subjects and that he has done some great things, but I just don't like the fact that he basically has never been taken to task for his role with boxing commissions and the corruption that goes on there.
FRANK DeFORD
Least controversial of my three selections. He is arguably the finest sports journalist of this generation. Not only does he write with an articulate, lilting pen, but he writes with such an earthly common sense that I enjoy essentially everything I read from him. His article on the life of Bill Russell may have been the best magazine piece I have ever read.
In addition to his writing talent, he is a hero of mine for his efforts in tryig to create a national daily sports newpaper in The National. Sadly, it seems his idea came along about five or ten years too soon and it folded rather quickly. Also, as an aside, he is one of the few journalists to understand the role of pro wrestling in the sports and entertainment world.
JIM BROWN
"If I wanted to be loved by White America, I knew how to act." is simply a quintessential quote of Brown's that in a wierd way encapsulates why his rebellion and power are so endearing.
Before discussing anything else, it is relevant to bring up that Jim Brown is the greatest athlete in recorded history. As a LaCrosse player, he is still regarded as the greatest to ever step onto the field. As a track & field athlete, he competed at an elite level with minimal training. As a football player, he was the most intimidating, punishing player to ever step on a football field.
The photograph named best of the century by Sports Illustrated is of the TCU locker room before the 1957 Cotton Bowl. The photograph is incredibly touching because it encapsuates the sheer terror of an entire team of Texas farmboys preparing to face the most devastating machine college football had ever seen. At 225 lbs, Brown was as big as any TCU defensive player and obviously stronger and faster than all of them. He was simply so far ahead of his time that an athlete like him coming along in contemporary society in unimaginable.
Outside of sport, Brown's accomplisments rank with any athlete in history. His Amer-I-Can program has done a tremendous job in steering inner city youth down the right path. His acting career has also spanned five decades including memorable performances in everything from The Dirty Dozen to The Running Man. In addition, he has a phat pad in the Hollywood Hills.
Of course the is the issue of domestic abuse with Brown. Every person is flawed in their own way, though. I realize it is not a popular opinion, but I feel that comparatively, the sin of domestic abuse is not enough to detract from his amazing accomplishments.
What I personally like is his complete and total defiance at his own expense of a society he felt was unjust. Jim Brown had no intention of being America's house negro, no matter how much money and fame it would have given him. Brown would not appease the powerful majority in America. He chose instead to speak his mind and fight back via both words and actions. If Brown wanted to, he could have been an American icon on the level of MJ or Tiger. He was that talented and charismatic. Instead he chose to use his fame, power and money to help bring a society closer to racial equity at his own expense.
DON KING:
If I told you a low rent loan shark from Cleveland could end up ruling the boxing world, you never would have believed me until you heard the story of Don King.
Don King was born into poverty in Cleveland. From day one, the man had an unquenchable ambition for success. He started as a lowlife loan shark and quickly built a mini-empire in the organized crime world of Cleveland. He was then convicted of manslaughter and served jail time for stomping a man who owed him money to death on the streets of Cleveland.
While in prison, King gained resolve and decided to enter the boxing world. At the time, boxing had a fifty-plus year history of white promoters ruling the sport largely on the backs of black heavyweight champions. Though unscrupulous in his quest, King took advantage of this by playing into the inseecurities of unintelligent black fighters and recruiting them into his stable.
King made his name as a promoter to be reckoned with by promoting the famous Rumble in the Jungle between Ali and Foreman. King brilliantly manipulated two naive fighters as well as the entire government of Zaire into helping him turn this heavyweight title fight into a worldwide social event that would be revered for generations to come.
From there he took the reigns of Ali's career and squeezed every last penny from Ali's astronomical popularity before Ali had no more. King then moved on to an unapproachable string of fight promotions with Mike Tyson being his most notable and profitable cash cow.
Most recently, King was uncovered at the heart of the IBF (apologies, I may have the wrong initials) boxing scandals which involved paying off sanctioning bodies to get his fighters ranked to legitimize questionable title fights. Shortly thereafter, King outmaneuvered Cedric Kushner for the promotional rights to world heavyweight champion Haseem Rahman by showing up at Rahman's door with $200,000 in cash.
Why do I see King as a hero? Like it or not, King is the number one player in arguably the number one sport in the world. If you discount soccer due to its miniscule presence in the most powerful country in the world, then boxing is inarguably number one. King attained this status through extremely unethical machinations but most of all he attained this status through hard work. Even into his seventies, King wakes at 6 a.m. every morning to ensure that his empire stays untouchable. Not the media, not the feds and not dissatisfied boxers who routinely end up broke on the street after relationships with King can bring him down. He will outwork you, outthink you and just plain beat you if you oppose him. Though do not admire his willingness to bend morality at the altar of money and success, I do admire his resolve to become the best at the biggest game in the world against all odds.
But first of all, I have to take a moment to rip John McCain. The guy is pure filth. He is in the pocket of boxing commissions and the Nevada State Athletic Commission. No polititian was more instrumental in getting UFC banned by the NSAC and cable companies in the mid to late ninties. I agree that the man has some good ideas on other subjects and that he has done some great things, but I just don't like the fact that he basically has never been taken to task for his role with boxing commissions and the corruption that goes on there.
FRANK DeFORD
Least controversial of my three selections. He is arguably the finest sports journalist of this generation. Not only does he write with an articulate, lilting pen, but he writes with such an earthly common sense that I enjoy essentially everything I read from him. His article on the life of Bill Russell may have been the best magazine piece I have ever read.
In addition to his writing talent, he is a hero of mine for his efforts in tryig to create a national daily sports newpaper in The National. Sadly, it seems his idea came along about five or ten years too soon and it folded rather quickly. Also, as an aside, he is one of the few journalists to understand the role of pro wrestling in the sports and entertainment world.
JIM BROWN
"If I wanted to be loved by White America, I knew how to act." is simply a quintessential quote of Brown's that in a wierd way encapsulates why his rebellion and power are so endearing.
Before discussing anything else, it is relevant to bring up that Jim Brown is the greatest athlete in recorded history. As a LaCrosse player, he is still regarded as the greatest to ever step onto the field. As a track & field athlete, he competed at an elite level with minimal training. As a football player, he was the most intimidating, punishing player to ever step on a football field.
The photograph named best of the century by Sports Illustrated is of the TCU locker room before the 1957 Cotton Bowl. The photograph is incredibly touching because it encapsuates the sheer terror of an entire team of Texas farmboys preparing to face the most devastating machine college football had ever seen. At 225 lbs, Brown was as big as any TCU defensive player and obviously stronger and faster than all of them. He was simply so far ahead of his time that an athlete like him coming along in contemporary society in unimaginable.
Outside of sport, Brown's accomplisments rank with any athlete in history. His Amer-I-Can program has done a tremendous job in steering inner city youth down the right path. His acting career has also spanned five decades including memorable performances in everything from The Dirty Dozen to The Running Man. In addition, he has a phat pad in the Hollywood Hills.
Of course the is the issue of domestic abuse with Brown. Every person is flawed in their own way, though. I realize it is not a popular opinion, but I feel that comparatively, the sin of domestic abuse is not enough to detract from his amazing accomplishments.
What I personally like is his complete and total defiance at his own expense of a society he felt was unjust. Jim Brown had no intention of being America's house negro, no matter how much money and fame it would have given him. Brown would not appease the powerful majority in America. He chose instead to speak his mind and fight back via both words and actions. If Brown wanted to, he could have been an American icon on the level of MJ or Tiger. He was that talented and charismatic. Instead he chose to use his fame, power and money to help bring a society closer to racial equity at his own expense.
DON KING:
If I told you a low rent loan shark from Cleveland could end up ruling the boxing world, you never would have believed me until you heard the story of Don King.
Don King was born into poverty in Cleveland. From day one, the man had an unquenchable ambition for success. He started as a lowlife loan shark and quickly built a mini-empire in the organized crime world of Cleveland. He was then convicted of manslaughter and served jail time for stomping a man who owed him money to death on the streets of Cleveland.
While in prison, King gained resolve and decided to enter the boxing world. At the time, boxing had a fifty-plus year history of white promoters ruling the sport largely on the backs of black heavyweight champions. Though unscrupulous in his quest, King took advantage of this by playing into the inseecurities of unintelligent black fighters and recruiting them into his stable.
King made his name as a promoter to be reckoned with by promoting the famous Rumble in the Jungle between Ali and Foreman. King brilliantly manipulated two naive fighters as well as the entire government of Zaire into helping him turn this heavyweight title fight into a worldwide social event that would be revered for generations to come.
From there he took the reigns of Ali's career and squeezed every last penny from Ali's astronomical popularity before Ali had no more. King then moved on to an unapproachable string of fight promotions with Mike Tyson being his most notable and profitable cash cow.
Most recently, King was uncovered at the heart of the IBF (apologies, I may have the wrong initials) boxing scandals which involved paying off sanctioning bodies to get his fighters ranked to legitimize questionable title fights. Shortly thereafter, King outmaneuvered Cedric Kushner for the promotional rights to world heavyweight champion Haseem Rahman by showing up at Rahman's door with $200,000 in cash.
Why do I see King as a hero? Like it or not, King is the number one player in arguably the number one sport in the world. If you discount soccer due to its miniscule presence in the most powerful country in the world, then boxing is inarguably number one. King attained this status through extremely unethical machinations but most of all he attained this status through hard work. Even into his seventies, King wakes at 6 a.m. every morning to ensure that his empire stays untouchable. Not the media, not the feds and not dissatisfied boxers who routinely end up broke on the street after relationships with King can bring him down. He will outwork you, outthink you and just plain beat you if you oppose him. Though do not admire his willingness to bend morality at the altar of money and success, I do admire his resolve to become the best at the biggest game in the world against all odds.
