Cleaning out the inbox

We start the inbox with another goodbye as former N.C.State center Charles Shackleford was found dead in his home in Kinston NC at the age of 50.
Shackleford was a well traveled center in the NBA,playing for several teams,but was better known for his days as the center for the Wolfpack in the mid 1980's.
Shackleford was an imposing rebounder and big body,but was never able to develop the type of scoring skills away from the basket to be anything more than a role player at the next level.
It was the off court antics of Shackleford and another talented yet disappointing big man Chris Washburn that drew attention to N.C. State basketball under Jim Valvano and the eventual dismissal of Valvano with the dreaded tag "Lack of Institutional Control" to the basketball program...

Recently,we observed the 50th anniversary of the Apollo One fire and two interesting notes found their way into the inbox.
Motherboard offers a look titled "Heat and Ashes" in which one of the men that tried to pry the hatch to the capsule off (Henry Rogers) is part of the story by his grandchild-the author of the piece,Kaleigh Rogers.

The other note is that NASA has finally put a piece of the capsule out for public display.
Not the entire capsule,which remains in storage in Virginia,but the hatch that couldn't be released in the fire has been placed for the public to see at their Cape Canaveral museum.
It had often been mentioned with NASA displaying pieces from the two Space Shuttle tragedies that the Apollo One mission had never been represented.
The hatch is something to share with the public and allow them to pay tribute to...

Mark Arbour writes on the SABR Baseball Card blog about a mid-1980's trip for work in the defense industry than saw him use his per diem (in travelers checks,remember those?) on baseball and two baseball cards bought in a shop near his hotel.
Going chintzy on food and expenses in order to buy something for the collection sounds exactly like something I would do (and have done!)!!!!

I've written before about my LPGA fandom and my favorite player in Jessica Korda,but this season brings an added twist to the tour with the arrival of Jessica's younger sister Nelly.
The 18 year Korda was one of the top 10 players on the Symmetra tour (the LPGA's farm system) and automatically moved up to the main circuit.
The article talks about the sisters and shows a video of a shootout between the pair on the course....

Rachel has begun to bowl occasionally lately and she was surprised to hear that the game of her choice,Duckpin Bowling is a regional game,not a national one.
As I looked this up for more information,this blog turned up with a post on not only Duckpin Bowling,but something called Candlepin Bowling as well.
I've never heard of this game,but apparently it too is a regional thing,mostly in the New England states.
The interesting part for me was that I always grew up with Duckpin Bowling with three lanes offering it just in this town,but there are now just 41 alleys left that offer this game compared to over 400 in 1963.
Bowling itself might be scuffling along,but duckpin appears to be a dying game....

That completes the inbox,I'm hoping to finally get the Mary Tyler Moore piece finished for the next post!!

Devils hold off Wings 4-3

The New Jersey Devils played two strong periods and built a 4-1 lead in the third before staggering through the stretch and barely holding onto a 4-3 lead to defeat the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena..
Cory Schneider finished with 27 saves including a huge one with seconds remaining to cement the victory.
Kyle Palmieri scored twice (12 shorthanded and 13) to lead the Devils offense with Adam Henrique (13 shorthanded) and Stefan Noesen (4) providing the other New Jersey goals.
The Devils are off until Friday when they host Calgary in the first of a three games in four days run...

Hell Raisers

1) I liked what I saw from Cory Schneider in this one.
I thought the second goal was on him,but the first and three ones certainly couldn't be hung on him.
I think this was something to build on after his mopup effort against Washington...

2) Schneider also saved the game with a massive save with under 15 seconds to go.
The "duh" comment is to say that the Devils don't win without that save,but they don't and Schneider deserves the credit for the big play at the biggest time.

3) Kyle Palmeiri with two goals and one of them shorthanded?
The shorthanded one was the real surprise usually because Palmeiri doesn't usually see a lot of ice time with the Devils being a man down.
A Palmeiri return to form certainly would be a jolt to an offense in need of it.

4) Adam Henrique's shorthander with a flip over the shoulder of Jared Coreau and then going into the net on the bounce was another visually impressive goal.
I also liked Henrique's defensive play on the evening...

5) Stefan Noesen continued his fast start since being obtained off the waiver wire with the first goal of the game.
Noesen narrowly missed another goal shortly thereafter when a shot hit the post.
Noesen is hustling like a guy that is trying to take advantage of a new beginning and I hope this continues....

6) Non-Devils point-The Barclays Center has reportedly given notice to the Islanders that they want out of their deal with the team,so the clock has started ticking-the Islanders have two years to find a place to play.
The Rangers couldn't (likely wouldn't,even if they wanted to) share the Garden as they already have the Knicks there,The Devils likely wouldn't be interested in sharing the Rock and the Nassau Coliseum (the Islanders old home) might not be suitable despite a current renovation.
That means the Islanders might have to be involved in building a new arena,which if they had that possibility,they wouldn't have been in Barclays to begin with or might be on the move.
Let's make the stretch and say the move begins to happen-where will they land?
I'd think Quebec City would be the favorite with an arena ready to go.
In that scenario,I would think the league would want Quebec City in the same division as Montreal and Ottawa and my guess would be that the Boston Bruins would replace the Islanders in the Metropolitan Division.
Kansas City has an arena ready to go,so don't rule them out,Seattle makes tons of sense,but they don't have an arena and here are two more sleeper long shots,if the league wants to keep them in the Eastern time zone.
Cincinnati has a history of supporting hockey well,has talked on renovating their arena and would be a market where the NHL team would not share space with an NBA team.
Quicken Loans Arena is doing some fixup work in Cleveland,the Monsters draw well in the AHL and Dan Gilbert might be amenable to either owning or serving as landlord to another major league sport to help pay the bills.
My money would be on Quebec City,but there could be a few other horses in that race,if it's run...

Podcast:Special Guest Ian McArdle

The podcast returns with special guest Ian McArdle as we look back at the 2016 season for Ohio State as well as the future in Columbus..

TRS Boxing Ratings-Part Two

We return with part two of the boxing ratings.
Please note that the voting took place before the fights of 1/28....

Lightweights
1) Jorge Linares WBA Champ 15 pts
2) Dejan Zlatcanin WBC Champ 11 pts
3) Terry Flanagan WBO Champ 8 pts
4) Mikey Garcia 5 pts (Unranked)
5) Robert Easter IBF Champ 4 pts
Also received votes;Rances Barthelemy, Anthony Crolla

Junior Lightweights
1) Vasyl Lomachenko WBO Champ 15 pts
2) Francisco Vargas WBC Champ 12 pts
3) Gervonta Davis IBF Champ 8 pts (Unranked)
4) Jezreel Corrales WBA Champ 4 pts (Down One)
     Takashi Muira
Also received votes:Orlando Salido

Featherweights
1) Carl Frampton WBA Champ 15 pts
2) Leo Santa Cruz 11 pts
3) Gary Russell WBC Champ 8 pts
     Oscar Valdez WBO Champ (Down One)
5) Abner Mares 2 pts
Also received votes:Jesus Cuellar

Junior Featherweights
1) Guillermo Rigondeaux WBA Champ 15 pts
2) Jesse Magdaleno WBO Champ 12 pts (Unranked)
3) Nonito Donaire 8 pts (Down One)
4) Moises Flores 5 pts (Unranked)
5) Scott Quigg 2 pts (Down Two)
    Hugo Ruiz
Also received votes: Julio Ceja

Bantanweights
1) Shinsuke Yamanaka WBC Champ 15 pts
2) Rau'Shee Warren WBA Champ 12 pts
3) Juan Carlos Payano 8 pts
4) Lee Haskins IBF Champ 4 pts (Down One)
5) Zhanat Zhakiyanov 3 pts (Unranked)
Also received votes: Anselmo Moreno,Libarado Solis

Junior Bantamweights
1: Roman Gonzalez WBC Champ 14 pts (Up One)
2: Naoya Inoue WBO Champ 13 pts (Down One)
3: Carlos Cuadras 9 pts
4: Khalid Yafai WBA Champ 6 pts (Unranked)
5) Juan Francisco Estrada 1 pt (Down One)
    Omar Narvaez (Unranked)
    Sriasket Rungvisai (Unranked)

Flyweights/Under
1) Kazuto Ioka WBA Champ 15 pts
2) Donnie Nietes 11 pts (Up One)
3) Johnriel Casimero IBF Champ 9 (Down One)
4) Amrat Reuenroung 4 pts
5) Noknoi Sithprasert 3 pts (Unranked)
Also received votes: Zou Shiming WBO Champ

TRS Boxing Ratings-Part One

The TRS ratings are a little late this time,but better late than never!
Thanks to Ramon Malpica and Vincent Samano for the help with this project as always!!

Heavyweights
1) Anthony Joshua IBF Champ 15 pts (Up One)
2) Luis Ortiz 11 pts (Down One)
3) Deontay Wilder WBC Champ 9 pts
4) Wladimir Klitschko 7 pts
5) Joseph Parker WBO Champ 3 pts

Cruiserweights
1) Olesander Usyk WBO Champ 14 pts
2) Murat Gassiev IBF Champ 13 pts (Up Four)
3) Denis LeBedev WBA Champ 8 pts (Down One)
4) Krysztof Glowacki 6 pts (Down One)
5) Marco Huck 2 pts (Down One)
    Marias Bredis

Light Heavyweights
1) Sergei Kovalev 14 pts
2) Andre Ward WBA/IBF/WBO Champ 13 pts
3) Adonis Stevenson WBC Champ 7 pts
    Artur Beterbiev (Up One)
5) Joe Smith 3 pts (Unranked)
Also Received Votes:Sullivan Barrera

Super Middleweights
1) Badou Jack 13 pts-(Up Two) Jack has vacated his WBC title,will not be rated at 168 next ratings
2) Gilberto Ramirez 12 pts WBO Champ
3) James DeGale 11 pts IBF Champ (Down Two)
4) Callum Smith 5 pts (Up One)
5) Anthony Dirrell 3 pts (Down One)

Middleweights
1) Gennady Golovkin WBA/WBC/IBF Champ 15 pts
2) Daniel Jacobs 12 pts
3) David Lemieux 8 pts
4) Billy Jo Saunders WBO Champ 5 pts
5) Miguel Cotto 3 pts (Unranked)
Also Received Votes:Chris Eubank,Curtis Stevens

Junior Middleweights
1) Canelo Alvarez WBO Champ 15 pts
2) Erislandy Lara WBA Champ 11 pts
3) Jermall Charlo IBF Champ 10 pts (Up Two)
4) Demetrius Andrade 6 pts (Down One)
5) Jermell Charlo WBC Champ 3 pts (Unranked)

Welterweights
1) Kell Brook IBF Champ 15 pts
2) Manny Pacquiao WBO Champ 12 pts (Up One)
3) Errol Spence 9 pts (Up One)
4) Keith Thurman WBA Champ 7 pts (Down One)
5) Danny Garcia WBC Champ 3 pts (Unranked)
Also Received Votes:Shawn Porter

Junior Welterweights
1) Terence Crawford WBC/WBO Champ 15 pts
2) Viktor Postol 9 pts
     Adrian Broner
4) Julius Indongo IBF Champ 6 pts (Unranked)
5) Antonio Orozco 3 pts (Unranked)
Also Received Votes:Ricky Burns WBA Champ, Lucas Matthyssee

Santa Cruz avenges loss-Boxing Challenge

A fun four night night on two networks saw Ramon Malpica add three points to my two and tie the boxing challenge at six....

The biggest fight of the weekend was on Showtime with a rematch of one of the better fights of 2016 with Leo Santa Cruz regaining the WBA featherweight title from Carl Frampton via majority decision in Las Vegas.
The fight was filled with plenty of action,but for pure pugnaciousness,I thought the first fight was a little better.
It appears the next step for both will be a third fight,this time possibly in Frampton's home country of Northern Ireland.
I'm not really against a third fight,but unless it's going to be made quickly (it took six months for this rematch),I'd rather see Santa Cruz in another defense first.
I'm not a fan of two guys being the only two people involved with a title belt for well over a year.
Santa Cruz didn't throw as many punches as in the first fight,but he did make adjustments from his loss by being able to stay "long" and keep Frampton outside with more use of the jab than in the first fight.
I scored Santa Cruz a 115-112 winner or 7-4-1 in rounds....
Ramon and I each picked Frampton for no points.

The other Showtime bout saw Mikey Garcia win a title in his third division with a three round demolition of Dejan Zlaticanin to take away the WBC lightweight title.
Ramon picked Garcia for one point,while I picked Zlaticanin and 30 seconds into the fight,it became clear that Garcia was going to win this fight-it was only a matter how long and how.
The knockout is an early contender for KO of the year and hopefully this will be the start of Garcia being more active.
Garcia has always been extremely talented,I've never doubted that.
My doubts have always been just how much Garcia likes this game and does he have the desire to be great?
Hopefully,a Garcia match vs WBA champ Jorge Linares (Assuming Linares wins his rematch vs Anthony Crolla) can be made between the two top lightweights in the world.

HBO's bouts may not have had the significance of the Showtime card,but it did have a title fight and an eliminator for that champion to defend against in his next fight..
Those fights came through with two excellent action fights and well worth the watch as well-even if on delay after Showtime's bouts.

The main event saw Miguel Berchelt beat up Francisco Vargas and strip away his WBC junior lightweight title with an eleven round stoppage,
Vargas,who had endured huge beatings in tremendous battles against Takashi Miura (winning his title with a come from behind KO) and Orlando Salido (in a draw that I thought Salido won) had his moments,but Berchelt was bigger and stronger and was the deserving win in a good action fight.
Fighters like Vargas that are all action and take tons of punishment tend to lose their skills all at once and Vargas may have done that on this night.
I would suggest to Vargas that he consider retirement,I simply believe he is going to take beatings if he continues his career.
As for Berchelt,he steps into the forefront at 130 with several other fighters that all seem to be around the same talent level and can make plenty of great fights behind Vasyl Lomachenko,who is clearly the top fighter in the division....
WBC champ Berchelt,newly crowned IBF champ Gervonta Davis,WBA Jezreel Corrales and former champs Miura and Salido would make a great fight in any combination and perhaps the survivor of all could be a solid and interesting fight for Lomachenko...
Berchelt's win gave Ramon one point and none for me.

The eliminator saw Takashi Miura go back and forth with Miguel Roman before Miura put Roman away in round 12 to earn the title match later this year vs Berchelt.
I had Roman slightly ahead after nine rounds,but Miura dropped Roman in both the tenth and eleventh round before the fight ending knockdown in the final round.
This was the fight of the night,which says a lot on a night like this one!
Miura gave me two points for the win and knockout,while Ramon added one for the Miura victory

Boxing Challenge

The Boxing Challenge continues with four really strong fights across two networks.

Showtime has the more important fights with a rematch of one of the best fights of 2016 with Carl Frampton defending the WBA featherweight title against the man that he decisioned to win the belt with in Leo Santa Cruz.
Should be a great rematch and combined with WBC lightweight champ Dejan Zlatcanin defending against undefeated and often inactive Mikey Garcia.
Showtime has a great card Saturday night..

HBO's might be less important,but both fights should be loaded with action.
The main event see Francisco Vargas defending his WBC junior lightweight title against powerhitting Miguel Berchelt with former champion Takashi Miura in the co-feature against Miguel Roman,..
The winners are expected to face off in June..

The boxing challenge stands at 4-3 in my favor...

WBA Featherweight Title.12 rds
Carl Frampton vs Leo Santa Cruz
Both:Frampton Unanimous Decision

WBC Lightweight Title.12 rds
Dejan Zlatcanin vs Mikey Garcia
R.L:Garcia Unanimous Decision
TRS:Zlatcanin Split Decision

WBC Junior Lightweight Title .12 rds
Francisco Vargas vs Miguel Berchelt
R.L:Berchelt Unanimous Decision
TRS:Vargas Unanimous Decision

Jr.Lightweights. 12 rds
Takashi Miura vs Miguel Roman
R,L:Miura Unanimous Decision
TRS:Miura KO 9