Cleaning out the inbox-Sports version

Cleaning out the inbox from the sports world this time and we have plenty to offer.

Starting with a suspected arson in Detroit where the famous Kronk Gym burned down.
Home of the Kronk Boxing team which was so dominant in the 80's and 90's, the original building which was built in the 1920's was where numerous world champions were developed by trainer Emanuel Steward, including the three in the poster to the left in Thomas Hearns, Milton McCrory and Jimmy Paul.

John Lepak writes a tremendous article on UCN about Kronk, the building, the fighters and what it was like to train there.
It is one of my favorite articles that I have read this year-Great work by Lepak.

The San Antonio Current writes an oral history of the USFL's San Antonio Gunslingers.
Lots of good USFL stories about shyster owner Clinton Manges, the team's money problems and how the team shoved the required amount of seats into old Alamo stadium that needed more to meet a league rule...

Battlin' Bob listed this Deadspin article on Facebook of the story of pro wrestler Nobuhiko Takada and his attempts at real fighting in MMA.
Takada was a wrestler that wasn't talented at either shoot wrestling or martial arts or anything in between, but he managed to fool people into thinking he was the toughest man in the world (If you lived in Japan maybe).
That lasted until the first time he faced any competition and was easy pickings for Rickson Gracie, who was regarded as the best of the famous Gracie family of fighters.
The story is quite interesting, even if you are only a fan of either wrestling or MMA from the early days of the MMA phenomenon in the early to mid 1990's...

Eric Williams writes for ESPN about the "Los Angeles" Chargers needing to catch up to the Rams in the battle for Los Angeles and believes changing full time to the much-loved powder blue uniforms would be a great idea.
I agree as the uniforms are terrific to see and might make Los Angeles buy in as the Chargers change their look to the past (not an awful future like the Browns did) and at the same time the market feels like the Chargers being in town truly becomes their team...

Cleaning out the inbox

The inbox filled up faster than expected,so time for a dumping!
This has some good stuff,so I hope you'll enjoy this one!

I stumbled upon this by accident,but I really enjoyed reading this by Paul Putz from 2013 about the old Kansas City-Omaha Kings and their three seasons that the vagabond franchise spent playing a handful of games in Omaha with their main base in Kansas City,
The article is a tremendously detailed article on those Kings and focuses on their players and the Omaha games in particular.
I love this type of article on the lost era,yet my era of the NBA (and ABA),so I'm always on the lookout for them.
I only wish that Putz would consider a book on the years of the K.C-Omaha Kings-It was that good.

The San Antonio Current posted an oral history of the USFL's San Antonio Gunslingers last fall and it was filled with things that made me laugh.
I've been planning a USFL show for the podcast all winter,but not sure if it will happen right away,but I will get one finished sometime.

Bruce Markusen's Card Corner for the baseball hall of fame writes an excellent article on Bobby Bonds.
Bonds was one of my favorites as a kid and it's so easy unless you are my age to just classify him as "Barry's dad".
Bonds was easily one of the most exciting players to watch of my childhood and to this day provided me with a childhood memory with just a few words.

The Hardball Times in a post from a few years back caught my interest as it covers the career of former Dodger catcher John Roseboro.
Roseboro,who was the long time catcher of Sandy Koufax,hailed from Ashland Ohio (my old residence) and I remember Roseboro's picture being painted on the side of a building downtown that has since been painted over.

Mary Beth Marsden has been a long time favorite of mine with her television and now radio work through the years.
I have been reminded more than once on a statement that I made at a ballpark once that "the only thing that I'm interested in listening to or seeing in the city of Baltimore is Mary Beth Marsden".
Marsden will be leaving WBAL radio and is uncertain of her next stop,but will continue to do videos on the autism spectrum,which has a personal appeal to Marsden as her daughter has an autism spectrum disorder.
I'll miss her work and for now-there is nothing that I'm interested in listening to or seeing in the city of Baltimore. HA HA!

Susan Petrone is an author that also blogs and does some interesting writing about the Indians,but this hit isn't about either.
Petrone smacks a double into the gap with a post about her daughter,who is entering the "tween" years and her letting go of her first favorite doll.
It hit home to me as someone sentimental about such things for me and my children and brought some remembrances of me.
Very touching,I thought.
Susan has agreed to do a podcast down the road and we'll talk about her book,the Indians and maybe even a question or two about "Big Baby".

We wrap with a goodbye to Charlie Fulton.
Charlie was one of the better "bad guy" wrestlers on the televised squash matches of my childhood,which basically meant that he would be able to get some moves in during these matches and show a little more talent.
Fulton was a talented wrestler that just didn't have the charisma to be a bigger star despite having the skills to do so.
Fulton appeared most often on WWF television and the Jim Crockett ran Mid-Atlantic territory and was just one of those guys that never got a break.
The former Vietnam veteran left the ring on a regular basis in 1985 with heart issues and his final match was 1992.
Fulton trained wrestlers after his retirement with his best known protege being Scott Levy AKA Raven.
Fulton was 67...