Shawn Marion signed by Cavaliers

The Cleveland Cavaliers continued their retooling for the 2014-15 season as the team managed to sign defensive specialist Shawn Marion to a contract for the veteran's minimum contract of 1.4 million on a one year deal.
The team had already used all the various exceptions and Marion accepted the contract offer over that of the Indiana Pacers,who could go as high as over five million as the Pacers had an injury exception for the season after the horrific injury suffered by Paul George in the USA basketball scrimmage.

The 36 year old Marion spent the last five years in Dallas with the Mavericks and was forced out by the Mavericks signing of Chandler Parsons in this off-season.
Marion averaged 10 points and over six rebounds a game and still is one of the best defenders in the league despite his advanced age.
Marion is an excellent addition mainly to his ability to defend power forwards,but especially small forwards on a team that will want to reduce LeBron James minutes wherever possible,.
James looked to be the only player on the team (assuming that Andrew Wiggins is headed to Minnesota in the Kevin Love trade) that could play significant minutes at small forward,so the signing of Marion is an immediate upgrade at that position.
Marion will also be able to play the four position with James on the floor adding to the team options at forward.
Shawn Marion is not the run and jump force that he once was,but can still help in transition and even though his jumper is one of the uglier in the game,Marion is still decent enough offensively that he is not a hindrance on the offensive end of the floor.

A very nice signing at a position of need and Shawn Marion should prove to be an excellent addition for the upcoming season.

Boxing Challenge: Brook upsets Porter

England's Kell Brook upset Shawn Porter to take Porter's IBF Welterweight title via majority decision in Carson, California.
Brook used a superior jab and a surprisingly strong inside game to clearly outpoint Porter (at least on my card, which was 117-111) over the 12 round distance.

It is easy to say this now that Porter has lost and especially since I picked him to win by KO, but watching the fight, one thing became clear-Porter's power is overrated against fighters that can punch hard enough to earn his respect.

Porter's recent wins over Devon Alexander and Paulie Malignaggi both followed the blueprint, fighters that couldn't hurt Porter or match his punch output.
Brook didn't follow the script and kept Porter off balance and outside the pocket, which resulted in a puzzled Porter...
Brook will likely look for a lucrative title defense against Amir Khan, likely in the UK, which would be a huge draw there.

R.L.and I each earned zero points for the Brook win, but we would both earn a point from Omar Figueroa's knockout win over Daniel Estrada in round nine to keep his WBC 135 pound belt, just when things were looking bleak.
A busted-up and cut Figueroa came out for round nine with his corner wanting to stop the bout, figuring that their fighter was ahead on the cards.
It turned out that he was, even though the fight was even on my card, and Figueroa dropped and then finished Estrada to end an exciting scrap.
Both R.L. and I picked Figueroa by decision,so we each earned a point.
Figueroa is expected to vacate his title and move to the talent-rich Jr.Welterweight division after his big win...

R.L earned two points to my one as Anthony Dirrell lifted Sakio Bika's WBC Super Middleweight title via unanimous decision.
R.L picked Dirrell by a unanimous nod, while I preferred Dirrell via split nod.
I had Dirrell winning 117-110, but if not for a point deduction, the fight would be a majority win as one card had Dirrell winning by a point.
It was a rematch of a draw between the two and followed a similar style of sloppy and dirty action from the first bout.
Dirrell clearly won, but his antics and acting over various fouls brought to mind his older brother Andre's routine in his bouts...

The Boxing Challenge now shows R.L. with a 59-56 lead over yours truly...

Boxing Challenge

The Boxing Challenge returns tonight with a three fight Showtime card from Carson,California.R.L.Malpica leads 56-54 at this point.

IBF Welterweight Title.12 rds
Shawn Porter vs Kell Brook

R.L;Porter KO 5

TRS: Porter KO 9

WBC Lightweight Title.12 rds
Omar Figueroa vs Daniel Estrada
Both :Figueroa Unanimous Decision

WBC Super Middleweight Title.12 rds.
Sakio Bika vs Anthony Dirrell

R.L: Dirrell Unanimous Decision

TRS: Dirrell Split Decision....

Disappointing 80's Heavyweights-Michael Dokes

After the golden age of heavyweights in the 1970's,it would have been easy to think that the excess of talented big men would continue into the new decade and the division would continue to flourish.
That didn't happen as a parade of heavyweights would disappoint fans and contribute to a division that would be dominated by two men at the top of the heap-Larry Holmes in the early part of the decade and Mike Tyson near the end...

The two that were thought of as the most talented of the bunch had lots of parallels in championship,yet disappointing careers.
Both held the WBA belt ( the lesser of the two at the time due to Larry Holmes holding the WBC title),both had fast hands,both would lose to lesser fighters,both had a propensity for entering bouts out of shape and both would pass away early in life.

Michael Dokes might have been the most talented of the group and had the best pedigree from the amateurs as he was the 1976 Olympic alternate in the heavyweight division.
Dokes was quite talented as his hands were the fastest of the bunch and he was an underrated puncher as well.
Dokes was a noted lover of the nightlife and didn't always come into fights in shape,which most notably backfired on him in a draw to undersized Ossie Ocasio in 1980.
A rarely motivated Dokes smoked Ocasio in one round in a rematch two months later,but Dokes then continued to battle fringe contenders for the next two years with the exception of a majority decision win over Randall "Tex" Cobb as Dokes waited for the title shot that he was promised.
Dokes had his choice of title shots and chose the path of least resistance in WBA champ Mike Weaver rather than the true champ in WBC beltholder Larry Holmes.
Dokes stunned Weaver and the TV audience with a stoppage after 63 seconds that was most noted for a Dokes flurry and a WAY too premature ending with an unneeded ending by the referee.
The public outcry was such that a rematch was ordered on a closed circuit broadcast that was touted as Night of the Heavyweights and was headlined by Larry Holmes-Tim Witherspoon.
Had things bounced and both won impressively,there could have been a unification bout next.
That wouldn't happen as Holmes struggled to a controversial split decision.
Meanwhile,amid the uproar of the Holmes win saw Dokes fight in the second best action fight of his career in getting a draw against Weaver,that most had Weaver ahead in a close bout.
Dokes didn't get the wakeup call as he was knocked out in a bout near his native Akron by Gerrie Coetzee in the tenth round and would then fight no bouts against top contenders for the next six years.

Dokes is best remembered by the casual fan for his 1989 fight against Evander Holyfield,which is most noted for the action and secondly for being the first bout that is well remembered as a Showtime broadcast.
The bout reestablished Dokes as a name after his 10 round TKO loss to Holyfield and he was able to parlay that into bouts for the next four years against young contenders and guys on the edge of contention.
The most memorable of these was his fourth round KO loss of the hands of Razor Ruddock,which established Ruddock as a contender after nearly beheading a defenseless Dokes in the corner.
Dokes then ripped off a nine bout winning streak over non-entities and two fringe contenders in Jose Ribalta and Jesse Ferguson in getting the nod for a title shot against Riddick Bowe.
Bowe dispatched Dokes in one round and essentially ended Dokes career against world class opposition.
Dokes would fight on for another few years against little known opposition before retiring in 1997.
The ending for Dokes would not be a pleasant one as he spent nine years in prison for attacking his fiance' and he would pass away a few years later from liver cancer.

I started this feature intending to cover several fighters in one post,cut it to two and decided as I wrote that this was so much fun that I think I am going to make this a recurring series!
Thanks to my nephew Jeff for giving me the idea for the post that became a series.
Look for a second installment soon!

Changes that flow

Change is a funny thing.
The laughter that comes from looking silly in the middle of change can be funny and yet often not,but the behind the scenes problem when you try to change yourself are more than you often know.

Change also comes when our children move away as well.
My life is different than it was on the day before Ryan moved out and when the day arrives that Rachel leaves home,my life will once again change.
That's not all bad.
Although I miss sitting around and watching late night games with Ryan and shooting the bull,I've never been shy about telling the truth about the last year or so that he was here.
The time was right for Ryan to leave the nest because as I've said "Ryan was ready to leave and I was ready to let him go"
Saying all of that,things still changed for me,but in such a positive way.
Cherie and Rachel have each helped me move into a life that features more of a upbeat form and even though I still have my days (just ask them),I believe that I have developed into a different person over the last few years.

Not just in who I am,but how I deal with things.
Don't get me wrong,I still have a long way to run in dealing with things positively.
I still get upset easily and I have issues in being able to let things go.
When things bother me ,they tend to eat at me and I have real difficulty letting things roll off my back.
I'll have friends tell me to just let it go or don't worry about it.
I can't help it,I'm a worrier and things just get to me,but it isn't quite as bad as it used to be and in recent years,I've taken some small steps to tolerate things better.
I'll give two examples during something that happened to me lately from the same event.
I'm not going to get into specifics,but I read a biased account of an event from a person that I am not friendly with about a person that I was friends with.
I sat down and prepared to write a scathing commentary about this guy on the board that he wrote on.
I even wrote it and then decided to let it go.
Small victory for this day.

Another one came when a friend suddenly doesn't consider me one anymore on the above incident (I'm not the only one).I don't understand why and I want to know why and what has happened,but trying to let it go despite the hurt that I and the others involved feel.
Letting go,another small victory.

That's part of change too being able to live with the limitations of what you are as a person.
Learning to live with yourself often can be more difficult than you can imagine,especially with the human foibles that we all personally have.
Change also means having the insight into realizing that you are flawed as a person and accepting that there are things that need changing.
I'm far from perfect on a good day,but if you truly want to change things about yourself,you have to be able handle the truth about yourself.
Example-I've had my days of being pretty egocentric,yet I've never always known that.
It took people that I care about and care about me to let me know that everything is not always about my likes and dislikes.
I'm still working on that one (ha ha),but realizing that things had to change is half the battle and that isn't always an pleasant realization to come to.

I've changed things about myself,my environment and how I treat people,but as I've told so many that I'm still a work in progress and have a long way to work on this canvas!
Some things have changed in my life,others still need to have a few tweaks,but the carousel of life never stops.
People will come and go and each of them bring a little something to your life that no one can.
We all change to various degrees,it's just a matter of adjusting or making the commitment to be better.
It's quite a long ride as we age and one that hits ups and downs,but one thing is for sure-you better be able to adjust to change because it never stops....

I've two other requests for topics and if there is no interesting news today,I'll be doing one of them tonight.

The overhand right-Dad,Showtime and a nod to a past great

The overhand right returns after a long hiatus with some observations from the world of boxing..


We'll start with a few words on the joke that was the Showtime/Golden Boy card from Brooklyn shortly,but I wanted to say thanks for the all nice emails,tweets and messages on Facebook about yesterday's post about my dad.
It is always nice to have people like your work,but here I get a special kick out of people liking the non-sports posts.
Thanks again for spreading the word on that for me,it was truly appreciated.

As far as Dad goes,he managed to talk the hospital in releasing him today.
It was a day earlier than they really wanted to,but he has a way about him sometimes that allows him to get his way.
Now the wait is on for the return of the tests that will tell the tale of whether this is a short term issues that surgery has resolved or has the long term war just begun?
Thanks for the wishes and prayers,those too are appreciated...

The Showtime card from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn was simply put a sad joke on boxing.
Danny Garcia's second round knockout over undersized and outgunned Rod Salka was a disgrace.
Now first,allow me to say this,Non-title fights go back as far as I can remember and I vividly remember WBC Featherweight Champion Juan LaPorte dropping a decision to clubfighter Gerald Hayes in the mid 80's,so these aren't always gimmes,but Gerald Hayes was likely a top 25-30 fighter,so Hayes putting all together on one night could happen.
Rod Salka on his best day wasn't top 100 and against the best junior welterweight in the world,you could see that this was a mismatch.
Shame on Showtime for agreeing to this farce.

The co-main was a little better,if only understandable as Lamont Peterson stopped Edgar Santana in the 10th to keep his IBF Jr.Welterweight belt.
Santana,while being more qualified than Rod Salka,was still untested against world class fighters and it showed.
I could live with this as a showcase bout for a Garcia-Peterson bout,if anyone was clamoring for that fight.
Yes,Peterson owns the only belt that Garcia didn't,but his third round KO at the hands of Lucas Matthysse and the subsequent Matthysse close decision loss to Garcia devalued Peterson's title until he proved otherwise.
The Santana win and his previous defense over the qualified Dierry Jean haven't quite done that,so I'm happy that Garcia-Peterson might happen to unify all the belts,but Garcia is the true champion and I'm not sure anyone is really excited about the bout.

When premium cable (HBO and Showtime) show such dreck,they show a disrespect for the paying customer and hurt the game and their boxing program.
HBO and Showtime customers pay for the programming that they provide and many (me included) have their channel just for boxing.
To have such a card is disrespectful to their consumers and the sport.
This card would have not been any better had it been televised on Fox Sports 1 (a GBP Partner),but it would have been understandable due to the lesser rights fees that would have been paid.
2014 has been a bad year in boxing,Last Saturday night,it got worse....

We wrap up with a few words on the 32nd anniversary of the car wreck that cost the great Salvador Sanchez his life in the midst of a great 126 pound title reign.
Sanchez's biggest win over Wilfredo Gomez is shown above,but the wreck cost boxing so much-a move up in weight that could have seen an eventual match vs the great Alexis Arguello,but especially the match that never was Sanchez and his nine defenses of the WBC belt against Panama's Eusebio Pedroza and his 19 defenses of the WBA title in the days of just two ruling organizations.
What a great fighter and what a loss for our sport.
Look for a Forgotten Superstars down the road on Salvador Sanchez.

Dealing with Dad's changes

Today was an interesting day for me and quite enlightening in some ways.
Enlightening to the point of life-changing.

What could have happened?
Well, it started by me turning down the chance to go to Aberdeen with Derreck and Brad.
I would have liked to have gone, but I hadn't had a chance to go to see Dad in the hospital yet and I felt that I should stay close to home in case anyone (my mom and grandmother) needed me.
My brother was at work and so was Cherie, so I thought someone should be around if things were needed.

It worked out because Cal Ripken was there and I would have been forced with a choice of lowering my principles (to improve my collection) or standing tall on them and having people think I'm a jerk (what else is new?)
But today, I realized something-  my father is getting older and therefore I am too.

The toughest guy I've ever met and the man that raised me complained that he was sick.
The man that almost cut his finger off and reported to work anyway was saying that he wasn't well.
Finally,he said he just didn't care about anything, one way or the other.
It finally struck home that my father wasn't the imposing person of days gone by, rather he was just another not very well older person.
I knew my dad had reached a certain age, but I had never thought of him as I saw him today.
Dad had some heart issues a few years back, but he was still working, not retired and I hadn't gotten as close to him as I am today, so seeing him in the hospital for the first time didn't hit home as this time did.

It's sometimes a wakeup call when you realize your parents are mortal and age like everyone else.
If they are aging, that means you are too and that can be more of a realization than muscle pulls and backaches ever bring to the table.
Time wins over all of us, but it's still stunning when it actually hits home.
So now what?
Well, in one way, nothing has changed-I'm still a middle-aged man with a father that is getting even older, but in one way, yesterday changed me dramatically.
I realized my father is human and as silly as it sounds, I might have never truly realized that before.
When you put people on the pedestal for whatever reason (and the reasons do vary) it's jarring to realize that they are people with problems and issues like anyone else.
The passing of Robin Williams should show an example of that.

Dad was grumpy, growling, wishing people would leave him alone and even told me that he wasn't going to be good company because of the pain.
He complained the hospital television sucked (No MLB or MASN, so no games) and we talked a little about the terrific end to the PGA Tournament "It wasn't terrific to me, I don't like McElroy"
Both of us are Phil Mickelson fans, so we chatted a bit about Phil's future and how many more chances at majors he might have before he again said he wasn't going to be good company because he felt sick.
I told him that I'd leave whenever he wished, but for now, I just wanted to be near,if he needed me.
I silently read a book (those that know me know that a book always accompanies me on nearly all occasions) as I sat near a window with the shade pulled down.
I bet in 45 minutes, those initial words were all that we spoke until my mom came in.
It didn't take him long to wake up then or to resume his grumbling as their bickering volleyed back and forth, so I left shortly thereafter, the silence broken.
The drive home was filled with some of the thoughts that I'm typing now, but even more thoughts too.
What happens when this is over? What happens when it's me in the bed and Ryan and Rachel looking at me that way?
Do my children look at me in the manner that I always looked at him?
Do they think I'm human?
The questions really made me wonder and only a few existed that I had answers for.
One cannot really know what someone else thinks for the most part, Can they?

Now what?
Well, I'll continue the process of being a better son and family member.
I've come a long way in the last two years, I think anyway, and I want to continue to grow, but I also want to get to know this fellow that I visited in the hospital even better.
You see, now he's a person just like me and that might open things up more than I could have imagined.
All the autographs in the world couldn't give me the realization that I discovered and yesterday would have been a good time (I still don't care much about Cal Ripken :)  with my friends, but I did just fine without a single drop of ink hitting a baseball card.
Some things are simply more important.