Category: Trivia

Muhammad Ali: Still the Greatest

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Today is Muhammad Ali’s 65th birthday. It’s hard to believe that the champ is 65. It’s harder still to believe that Parkinson’s disease has been able to rob Ali of much of his health for many of these years.

I was five years old when Ali beat Liston for the title. Here was this brash young kid bragging that he’d beat this monster of a man. Then he did it. And then he did it again in a rematch. Ali was “the man.” He talked a lot of smack, but he backed it up. Plus it was obvious that he was having fun, so much of what he said seemed to be playful kidding around [until you stepped into the ring with him]. Ali was as cool as The Beatles or Elvis. In fact, Ali was the greatest.

 

I can remember the controversy that sprung up when Muhammad refused to enter the draft. Although I was against the war in Viet Nam, I felt that it was wrong to not support your country. Still, I admired Ali for standing by his convictions no matter the cost. And cost him it did. He was stripped of the title and not allowed to fight during three of what could have been his most productive years.

 

When Ali was once again allowed to fight, I can remember staying up late to watch it with my dad. Ali was fighting a tough guy named Jerry Quarry. Ali won by TKO in the 3rd. I had just turned 12 and Ali was still the greatest.

 

Less than a year later Ali fought Joe Frazier in what was to be the first of three legendary fights. Although Muhammad lost the fight, the battle become the thing of legends. Ali continued to fight and win.

 

Two years later, Ali fought and lost a split decision to Ken Norton. I was surprised about the loss, but even more so when I learned that Ali fought most [if not all] of the fight with a broken jaw. Six months later Ali beat Norton in the rematch. I was 14 and Ali was still the greatest.

 

Ali fought again the following month for an easy win. and then two months after that beat Joe Frazier in their first rematch. Their battle was another classic that went the entire 15 rounds, but this time Ali came out on top. Nine months later Ali entered the ring to fight Big George Foreman. Foreman was undefeated and had knocked out Frasier early. Heck, Foreman knocked almost everyone out early. Ali wasn’t given much of a chance. Of course we all know that Ali KO’d George in the 15th. I stayed up late listening to the results over the radio. I had just turned 16 and Ali was still the greatest.

 

In March of 75, Ali fought Chuck Wepner. No one gave Wepner ANY chance of winning. Still “The Bayonne Bleeder” went the distance in a losing effort and actually knocked Ali off of his feet at one point in the fight [although many say that it was more of a trip]. This fight, of course, is what inspired Sylvester Stallone to come up with “Rocky.” Ali followed with wins against Ron Lyle [talk about a huge, tough, ex-con] and Joe Bugner. In October of 75, Ali and Frazier met for the 3rd and final time. Ali won. I was 16 and Ali was still the greatest.

 

Ali fought regularly defending his title, winning against name fighters like Jimmy Young, Ken Norton [again] and Ernie Shavers. The Shavers fight was especially exciting. It was September 29, 1977. I was 18 years old and watched the fight while in Orlando for one of my first comic book conventions. After the fight, I got together with a bunch of my friends and played some poker. Of course we talked about how Ali was still the greatest!

 

Ali’s next fight was against a kid who had done well in the 76 Olympics. His name was Leon Spinks. The fight was televised on regular tv and I can remember watching it and seeing that the kid was winning. Spinks won with an upset decision. Ali later said that the loss to Spinks hurt more than any other of his career. Seven months later, at the age of 36, Ali beat Leon Spinks. I was 19 years old and Ali was still the greatest.

 

Muhammad didn’t fight again for over two years. Larry Holmes, one of Ali’s former sparring partners was champ, and Ali came back for “one last chance” to see him “dance.” I was at the pay-per-view the night that Holmes beat Ali. It wasn’t pretty. Still Muhammad gave it his all. As he did again when he came back 14 months later to fight a losing battle against Trevor Berbick. I was 23 years old and although Muhammad had lost, I felt he was still the greatest.

 

As the years have passed, Muhammad Ali’s legend has grown. He earned the nickname, “The People’s Champ” thanks to his popularity with folks of all races, soci-economic backgrounds and religions. Ali’s fans weren’t limited by borders. During his career he fought in 12 different countries; and was considered a true citizen of the world. Ali is probably more popular now than he was when he was in his fighting prime.

 

Today Muhammad Ali is 65 and he’s still the greatest.

Timberlake and Diaz Split

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Bad news for for Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz…
Everyone knows by now that they have split up.
Almost everyone is speculating as to the reason
That after three years maybe someone came between them…
There is speculation that it was someone else but…
You would think that there would at least be some clues as to his identity!

If It Weren’t For Bad Luck…

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I always try to keep my ZONE pieces positive and I don’t want that to change. Generally things go really well for me… You can hear the “but” coming can’t you?

For the last couple of weeks my luck has been terrible. [Before I go on, let me make it clear that the problems that I’m going to mention are minor compared to what some folks go through daily. I’m not looking for pity, only to explain why my posts have been scarce.]
It all started a few days before Christmas. My computer died. I know for some of us, that’s worse than the death of a seldom-seen relative. Luckily I had backed up most things. Of course I lost a bunch of e-mails and the like, but not enough to wish harm to dear ole Uncle Sticky. The timing wasn’t the best [“Rocky Balboa” had just opened and I had another week to go on the official movie blog], but I knew that I’d be able to work things out.
We’d been planning a family trip for the day after Christmas and I was looking forward to Christmas Eve with my wife and kids, my mom, my brother’s family, my two sister’s and their families, my cousin… well, you get the picture. Christmas Eve was great, unfortunately before the night was out my youngest son was throwing up and had come down with a major stomach bug. We postponed opening Christmas presents since he was so sick. [You KNOW a kid is sick when he doesn’t feel liking opening gifts.]
We decided to put off our trip for a day to make sure that Chris felt well enough to travel. The next day I came down with it. I spent the day reliving Chris’ losing battle to avoid the bathroom. I was throwing up and facing other aspects of the bug. Obviously we’d have to put off the trip again.
The next day I was still feeling woozey and my oldest son came down with the bug as well. Thank God we have two bathrooms. At that point we knew we weren’t destined to go out of state and cancelled the trip.
After a few days of the entire family feeling healthy we decided that a short trip to St. Augustine [about 60 miles away] was in order. We all loaded up the car and headed off. We made it about two miles from the house when my car died! I pulled it over to the side of the road and contacted Triple A. One and a half hours later a tow truck arrived [my family had long since left with another family member] and it was off to the shop where I learned it was a problem with the fuel pump.
And my computer was still dead.
Still, there is usually a silver lining… the fuel pump was under warranty. We’ve all returned to good health. I’m writing this post from my NEW computer and Uncle Sticky is probably still alive and kicking.

Man of the Year Material

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My buddy, “Big” John Beatty, although best known for his comic book art [The Punisher, Captain America, Batman, etc.] does, from time to time, write a pretty funny blog.

Big John has started updating again. His most recent post looks at People Magazine’s two time Sexiest Man of the Year award winners George Clooney and Johnny Depp. Seems that since Big John has so many things in common with them, he feels that his time as Sexiest Man of the Year must be coming. Read John’s post and then come on back for my comments.

Oh, back so soon?

I did some research and contacted a friend in the know. He called me back and the conversation went like this:

Mr. X: “John Beatty is on the list to be People’s Sexiest Man of the Year. The trouble is there are a few people ahead of him. Folks like: Andy Dick, Abe Vigoda, Don Rickles, Rex Reed and Jackie Gleason.”

Me: “Jackie Gleason! Jackie Gleason has been dead for years.”

Mr. X: “Yeah, but even now he’s still sexier than Beatty.”

Me: “Wow. That’s rough.”

Mr. X: “Yeah, but Craig, there’s one thing you need to know.”

Me: “What’s that?”

Mr. X: “Beatty‘s ranked ahead of you on the list.”

Ouch.

When I Lie, I Tell the Truth

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It was announced today that OJ Simpson has written a book titled “If I Did It.” [available November 30th]. OJ will also sit for a two part interview special to air November 27th and 29th on FOX. In the book and interviews Simpson will describe how he would have committed the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman, “if he were the one responsible.”


Despite the fact that the book’s publisher is referring to it as OJ’s confession, it does carry a disclaimer that it’s complete fiction.


Isn’t it ironic that many [if not most] folks will feel that in the past when OJ has swore that he didn’t do it, he was lying. And now when he says that he’s lying, he’s really telling the truth!

Britney Files

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Bad news for for K-Fed…
Everyone knows by now that Britney Spears has filed for divorce.
Almost everyone is speculating as to the reason
That she would leave him…
There may be another man in her life
You would think that if that was the case, there would at least be some clues as to his identity!

A Day Late is Right on Time

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Chris Mills points out that yesterday was Ed Wood Jr.‘s birthday. Wood was the director of such infamous movies as “Plan 9 from Outer Space” and “Bride of the Monster” [both of which, can be seen in the early morning hours this Saturday on Turner Movie Classics].

There’s something that’s just right about celebrating Ed Wood Jr.‘s birthday a day late. So with that in mind, here’s a fan tribute him.

Today We Die!

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My buddy, John Beatty, and I have been taking trips together since we were teenagers. So about 30 years ago, before we headed off on a short trip to Orlando, one of us looked at the other and said, “I really feel like we’re going to get in a wreck today.” Of course we didn’t, but that didn’t stop the creepy feeling that that simple statement gave us.It became a kind of joke with us. We’d be pulling out for a trip to Orlando, Tampa, Atlanta, or any destination and one of us would say to the other “I really feel like we’re going to get in a wreck today.” Over the years the statement even occasionally changed to “I really feel like we’re going to be killed in a car wreck today.” Of course whoever is driving then has to make sure that the prediction doesn’t come true. So far I’m 100% and John is pretty close to that.

So in honor of a stupid statement that we continue to toss at each other [of course NEVER when my wife or kids are riding with us], I give you Today We Die!