• Home
• About TBSD
• Copyright
• Privacy

• Baseball
• Football
• Hockey
• Other Sports
• Top Story

Subscribe

What If There Was A Field of Dreams For Football?

I think I found it this past weekend in a small town in Rockland County, NY.

It’s called the “Collegiate Development Football League.” Based in the little town of Hilburn, the CDFL really is the “second chance” for 18-24 year olds who feel they can still play the game at a high level. The brainchild of Father and Son football coaches George and Peter St. Lawrence, The League has held “combine-like” workouts for the last several months, and has a growing following.

“Our objective is not to get you beat up,” said the elder St. Lawrence to the assembled players at Saturday night’s workout. “It is to expose your skill or lack of it, and we mean that in a good way.” Here is a man who understands that injured players can’t do anything to help your status in getting a developmental football skills program started. Nor can they say anything good about how they are treated if the suspect they are being used as training camp fodder. Not the case here as everyone is treated fairly, and like family. Even the Reporter/Scout who shows up for the first time gets the VIP treatment.

While we will examine the Coaches in the next installment, let’s focus on some of the players. All have interesting backchannel stories that deserve telling, but here are four, plus an honorable performance mention.

Anthony Carillo is a QB who has gotten used to adversity on and off the field of play. After his High School playing days, Anthony went on to what he hoped would be four more years of football at Frostburg State. After injuring his shoulder, and his father surviving a near fatal accident, Anthony had to put both his college and football careers on hold to go home and help out. The CDFL has truly represented a “second chance” for Anthony, and that makes his Dad, now mostly recovered happy as well. Anthony also has the skills needed to succeed at the next level. He was already a polished football player coming in, and has steadily improved his game. He also admitted that the playbook looked like “Chinese” to him the first time, but he has studied hard.

La’Ron Davenport is a receiver from southern New Jersey. Even though he attended Grambling State University, things just didn’t work out for La’Ron down south. He was determined not to give up on his goal of playing football. So determined that he took two trains from South Jersey to get to the workout on Saturday. When he got off the train at the Suffern, NY station of NJ Transit, he realized he still had a distance to go. He walked the two and one half miles from the railhead to the practice field! “I’ve been doing lost of resistance training recently,” he told us “so 2-1/2 Miles walking is really nothing.” He is truly thankful for another chance to play the greatest game ever played. “I’m not trying to act like I’m all that. I just want to go out there tonight and every night and showcase what I can do.” La’Ron had a good night, catching a few slick balls in traffic during the 7-on-7 Drills.

Next we have the story of Olsen St. Louis. Olsen was a Kicker at Spring Valley High School, but then attended Hudson Community College, where there was no football program. Olsen didn’t give up either, and Saturday night during warm-ups he was hitting them with ease from 40 yards out. In a moderate rain with a slight crosswind no less. On top of that, Olsen has not kicked steadily in over four years. You couldn’t tell that by watching him prep for each kick. To say he has a cannon for a kicking leg is putting it mildly.

This last player has a bit of history that includes me as well. Jonathan Fox is a receiver from Hawley Pa. who recently graduated High School. No one thought enough of Jon to give him a look at the college level, possibly because of his size (5’10” & 160 lbs), but if they did give him a look they would know what I have known for close to a decade. You see, I met Jon when he was at the NFL Draft as a youngster many years back. At that time he was “the Youngest Expert in the History of the NFL Draft.” I know because that’s what I wrote about him in a feature piece at the time. I also predicted that an NFL team would someday hire him as a scout. While that has not become a reality yet for Jon, The CDFL is his reality. That, and a promise I made to him all those years ago to look me up when he was ready to be a football scout. I’m now happy to say that no matter what happens playing wise for Jon, I will keep my promise and help him in his scouting career.

Finally, I can’t let this piece end without an honorable mention for Willie Calhoun, a Fullback/Linebacker from Newburgh, NY. Willie showed me moves the likes of John Mackey and Howard Cross Saturday night. He broke so many tackles on his way to the end zone after the catch that I lost count at 5. A Strong Safety would have no way to match up against Willie, as he looks to be about 6’1” or 2” and about 250 or 260 pounds. I doubt anyone would want to get hit by him when he’s got a head of steam built up.

The CDFL Slogan is “Are you Ready?” well, Saturday night at the field of dreams, these players are ready.

Boxing Notebook

NEW YORK -   One of the ugliest incidents in pro boxing history will be recalled and documented on HBO Sports next Saturday August 1.  It was the night of June 16, 1983 at Madison Square Garden in New York City and Billy Collins Jr, after his fight with Luis Resto, was never the same.

Collins, undefeated had the opportunity of a lifetime fighting at the Garden and challenging Resto, who at the time moved up to welterweight, Resto had to put on some weight, Collins was a great puncher and moved up quickly after a successful career as an amateur from Nashville Tennessee.

Resto would upset Collins, and for those not familiar with events that followed there is ever more reason to view the HBO presentation.   The life of Resto would change, and for Collins an untimely death due to his downward spiral after sustaining numerous and detrimental injuries at the hands of Resto.

But for those who know Resto, a gallant and aggressive fighter at the time, he s not at fault for getting a victory over Collins that was tainted because his trainer, Panama Lewis had the padding illegally removed form Resto’s gloves. The result was Resto banned and incarcerated and Lewis banned form the sport.

“Assault in the Ring” analyzes and reviews events of that fatal night in a ring at Madison Square Garden.  Lewis provides his side of the story, so does Resto. Former New York State Athletic Commission chairmen Jack Penderville, Randy Gordon and Ron Scott Stevens, those who prosecuted Resto, defense and jury from the 1986 trial in New York also provide their accounts.

Here is why one should view the documentary that HBO will also replay 13 different times on their networks HBO and HBO 2. Resto is truthful and honest, now a retired fighter and training youngsters with promise at the Morris Park Boxing Gym in the Bronx, New York.

In the meantime, Lewis is still banned from the sport, and with the exception of a jurisdiction body out of the United States, Lewis is not allowed to train or be involved in any aspect of the fight business. And one can never believe this statement from Lewis:

“They wanted to nail me to the wall,” he said.  They wanted to take me out the game about winning too many fights.” Yeah, Lewis was an exceptional trainer, but resorted to using illegal means to get his fighters a win.

Case in point is how he aided one fighter the Hall of Fame champion Aaron Pryor, In his fight with now deceased Hall of Fame champion Alexis Arguello, in Miami back in November of 1982, Lewis spiked the water bottle of Pryor that enabled his fighter to get an added boost of energy. Pryor would get a 14^th round TKO and win the WBA welterweight tile.

To this day, Lewis will deny that occurrence. Though boxing authorities at the time felt powerless and let the decision stand for Pryor and Lewis. Evidence still exists that Lewis was a criminal then and his credibility for some reason wasn’t tarnished. He continued to train fighters who were vulnerable to the Lewis propaganda of, “I can make you a champion.”

Resto says about the ordeal that happened to him: “Yeah, that was the best year and the worst night,” commenting about the fight and the outcome. On the death of Collins years later, after living a distraught life, Resto says, “When that happened I wanted to commit suicide. I don’t care if I die or not.”

“You know, I think about that fight almost every day,” says Resto. ‘When I work in the gym, I work with the other guys. I don’t see your face, I see Collins’ face.”  Very compelling words that come from a misguided fighter who was the wrong victim at the hands of justice and has never recovered, since that fatal night at the Garden.

And the referee, Tony Perez on the bout and tampered gloves that defaced the face of Collins, says, “When I saw the gloves and I handed it to them (the authorities) I knew there was something wrong with the gloves. There was something missing, absolutely.”

There is so much more. HBO over the years has produced more than one award winning sports documentary. This one tells the story, the aftermath. Most of all it is another horrific story that will always be in the minds of those who love the sport..

.

THROWING THE PUNCHES: Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. is off the Top Rank pay-per-view “Latin Fury” card this Saturday after sustaining a rib injury in training He is scheduled ot return in September or October.  The fight to watch on the telecast is undefeated super featherweight contender Urbano Antillon (26-0, 19KO’s) against top contender Miguel “Aguacento Acosta (25, 9, 2, 19KO’s for the vacant WBA interim lightweight title….

So it is set the mega fight of the year, Miguel Cotto will defend his WBO welterweight championship against the best pound-for pound fighter in the business, Manny Pacquiao. The fight will take place November 14^th from the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas and will be televised on HBO Pay-per-view.

Both fighters promoted by Bob Arum of Top Rank have agreed to fight at 145 and the promotion will be billed as “Power Surge” with Pacquiao currently slated as a 2-1 favorite to win the scheduled 12-round contest. A three-day media tour to promote the fight is slated to begin after Labor Day with stops in Los Angeles and New York….

And from the, you can’t believe this:  Over 20 boxing promoters, including some of the most prominent gathered at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City Monday and came to an agreement.  They discussed the state of boxing and the need to establish a united boxers promoters association.  The only flaw of this is how many of the promoters who attended will be a part of this group once chaos ensues? And in the sport of boxing, when is chaos not evident?

Goals of the group are to protect the interest of boxing and the promoters. But will an Arum, a Don King or Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy really care if the smaller guys in the group like Fight Factory and Thompson are losing money and struggling to compete?

In other words, have unity when certain issues need to be addressed. One good unified aspect of the group is the continued interest and safety of the fighters they promote.

e-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com

The Erin Andrews Dilemma

I recently came upon a comment from an esteemed sportswriter for the Washington Post by the name of Christine Brennan. She’s won lots of awards for her writing and reporting and she’s enjoyed a long career as one of the top sports journalists in the country. She was commenting recently about the Erin Andrews issue and I must say, I was surprised by her views.  More on that later.

You remember what happened with Erin Andrews, don’t you? She’s the attractive sideline reporter for ESPN who was recently and purportedly surreptitiously videotaped by a peeping tom while she was walking around her hotel room without wearing any articles of clothing.  Erin Andrews, completely nude as she put on her makeup, has caused a national stir among the nation’s 16 year olds as well as among the media who cover such things.

Ms. Brennan made the following comment about Andrews:

“On the Erin Andrews situation, a quick thought for those who have asked: There are hundreds of women covering sports in this country who haven’t had this happen to them. I wish it didn’t happen to Erin, but I also would suggest to her if she asked (and she hasn’t) that she rely on her talent and brains and not succumb to the lowest common denominator in sports media by playing to the frat house.”

A couple of thoughts on Brennan’s observation of Andrews’ dilemma. It’s an interesting comment from another woman in sports media because the female brethren in a male-dominated industry have tended to band together in support of each other when there is a perceived “attack” on one of their own for reasons not related to job performance. When there have been criticisms of on-air women, not for how they perform their jobs but for how they look, there is usually (and rightfully) a cacophony of outrage from the sorority claiming unfair abuses based on looks that on-air men do not have to be confronted with. Professional reporters of the female variety are constantly talking about the double-standard they have to live under regarding youth and looks that male reporters in front of the camera do not have to put up with. And, they are right. There is a double standard and it shouldn’t exist. However, it does exist and the guys in the back offices of these networks who wear the suits continue to choose women with a “certain look” that management feels will appeal to the core of their audience. In the sports business, that audience core tends to be younger males with raging hormones. Like it or not, that’s the fact.

I’m not sure Andrews’ work as a sideline reporter (at which she is very good and very professional) “plays” to the lowest common denominator, Christine. I haven’t seen her hike her skirt up, on air, or lower her neckline so I’m not sure what you’re referring to when you say she is playing to the lowest common denominator. Andrews is  smart and she’s good at what she does. She’s also significantly more attractive than most other female on-air reporters with an audience of 16-24 males. And yes, she does have a bubbly, on-air personality who can ask the tough questions of her subjects.  Her looks and her audience does create an equation built for creating a sexy personna even if she doesn’t play to it. It’s how ESPN and many other networks have chosen to go but it’s nothing new in the business of delivering news or sports on television.

Are Baseball Writers Capable of Legitimate HOF/Steroid Proposal?

At least give them credit for trying. The steroid issue has been so prevalent in Major League Baseball for a number of years now and  the questions surrounding Hall of Fame inductions gets deeper every time one of the accused and/or proven hits the five-year mark and get placed on the ballot.

Mark McGwire may have been the first to feel the wrath of the Baseball Writers Association of America the past few years but he certainly will not be the last. The group that votes in the candidates annually met in St. Louis during the All-Star break and turned down a proposal that would have established guidelines on player evaluation during the steroid era.

Rick Telander, a Chicago Sun-Times columnist, first brought up the topic at a local BBWAA gathering and then made a formal proposal in St.Louis at a national meeting, which was voted down 30-25. The rules in place now state that voters must consider a player’s “record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.”

That can be interpreted in many different ways and it would not be the worst idea to amend that rule slightly with the recent addition of performance-enhancing drugs into the equation. But there are two ways to look at this and it would not be a stretch to say that neither include the obvious.

Initially, would these journalists, who for the most part do not have any independent knowledge of the use and effects of PEDs besides what has come out post-McGwire, actually take the time to speak to people who are more knowledgeable in the subject before coming to a conclusion on this new set of criteria?

Secondly, if things remain the same, are these writers going to be consistent in their vote for all of the players that have been proven to or suspected of using PEDs that would have otherwise deserved to get into Cooperstown? This also brings the consultation into the equation with personnel from the medical profession or another qualified field.

Judging by the low percentage of votes McGwire has received in his first three years of eligibility, the BBWAA may be against the so-called “cheaters.” Big Mac was never a sure thing to make the Hall anyway, so it will be very interesting when the likes of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are on the ballot. The unofficial ‘automatic’ entry statistics such as 500 home runs and 300 wins may go by the wayside if some of these numbers may be viewed as being tainted.

Ken Davidoff, a columnist for New York Newsday and BBWAA member, voted against the proposal. He explained in today’s edition, “Why would we as a group discuss guidelines for PED use – rather than have every voter make that value judgement on his or her own – when we don’t discuss guidelines for closers, or designated hitter, or the merits of on-base percentage versus RBI?”

While Davidoff  does make a valid point, the main objective here is if the members of the BBWAA can make a value judgement on their own without the full knowledge necessary.  Will they hold a certain degree of prejudice against someone who may have used such a limited amount of steroids that it did not even make any difference in his performance?

When anyone – especially an athlete – begins using a PED, it takes more than just one needle in the ass to change warning track power. An entire regimen that includes a proper diet, sleep and intense training must accompany a cycle of steroids for it to have any effect on the user. Most people who take these substances without knowing what they are doing end up just retaining water and getting fat – certainly not a performance enhancer in those situations.

For this Hall of Fame steroid proposal to work, there are many more questions that need to be answered. Some of them will be next to impossible to attain, such as exactly what was administered and what else was done during these cycles. But for this to have any merit, there needs to be an attempt to ascertain those answers.

Sure, it’s easy to broad brush it and say steroids were against the rules and anyone who even tried them once should be sent to the brig. But it is more complicated than that and the idea of certain criteria concerning the Hall of Fame and PEDs is a noble one that can be honed to actually have some validity to it. Before we scoff at the notion, more information, such as what exactly was proposed in St. Louis, is needed to come to a conclusion.

Boxing to Return to the Garden

New York -   Now boxing fans have been granted a tournament to crown a super middleweight champion that was unveiled Monday at Madison Square Garden in New York City that will be televised exclusively on SHOWTIME.  Six of the supposed best super middleweights with a combined record of 161-4-1, three champions, four undefeated fighters and five promoters who came together to put this together.

In the end, if the tournament concludes as scheduled in 18-14 months, one of the fighters is going to be crowned the best in the super middleweight division.  And for the sport of boxing to have one champion, you are asking for an impossible task, especially when five promoters get in the mix,

The SHOWTIME network, desperate for good fights and ratings, is feeling the heat because rival HBO Sports has the better fights and the premiere fighters. There was even talk, recently, that the network, a subsidiary of CBS Networks was losing money and considering televising less fights or getting out of boxing.

Besides, the welterweight division, in particular, is the premiere one in the sport and HBO seems to be doing fine with offering the best fights to the public without a devised tournament format to determine who is indeed number one.

“It began as an intriguing concept, and through a tremendous amount of hard work on everyone’s part, we are going to pull off one of the most exciting events in boxing history,” said Ken Hershman, Senior Vice President and General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports.

Perhaps to Hershman this may be exciting. His network needs something like this to draw interest, Boxing fans don’t need added confusion, more so more than a year to determine who the best is in a division that can’t rival the welterweights and lightweights.  The sport\ has enough alphabet champions and sanctioning organizations and this concept makes it more confusing.

You don’t draw more fans to the mix with more confusion, and despite what they were saying Monday, when was the last time boxing had one unified world champion in any of the divisions?   The round-robin tournament is scheduled to commence in October with venues to be determined.

Now take a look at the field and the first round match ups all scheduled for 12-rounds:

Carl Frotch (WBC Super Middleweight champion, 25-0, 20KO’s) of England) opposing Andre Dirrell (18-0, 13KO’s) of Flint Michigan, this for the WBC title, and probably the interest here because Dirrell gets a title shot and is one of the promising and exciting fighters that deserves exposure. Dirrell, 26 years old is a 2004 Olympic bronze medalist.

Jermaine Taylor (28-3-1, 17KO’s) the former middleweight champion from Little Rock Arkansas who has seen his career dwindle with recent tough defeats. So for Taylor, perhaps this tournament can put him back on the map. He opposes Arthur Abraham (30-0, 24Ko’s) of Germany who recently vacated his IBF middleweight championship to move up in class at 168.

And the interest for Taylor, and perhaps if you are a fan of this concept comes if Taylor should get by Abraham, because if he wins a possible return bout with Frotch is on the horizon in the tournament.  Back in April, Taylor faded late in his fight he was winning against Frotch and lost by TKO in round 12 and lost his chance at dethroning the 168-pomnd champion.

Mikkel Kessler (41-1, 31KO’s of Denmark, WBA super middleweight champion) opposes Andre Ward (19-0, 12 KO’s) of Oakland California for the WBA title. The 25-year-old Ward is the Olympic gold medalist and number one contender

So there it is. This is a tournament that is supposed to make a boxing fan content, and for the promoters involved, perhaps, a quicker way towards getting their fighters closer to championship prominence.  Listen to Lou DiBella, of DiBella Entertainment the former HBO executive who was itching at the chance for his fighter, Taylor to get another shot at Frotch.

“Everyone in this tournament starts with a clean state,” he said. “And believe me Jermaine Taylor is going to take advantage of that clean slate.  A loss to a champion gets you to another champion,” he commented also referring to how quickly this was put together and it is not easy getting five promoters at the same table to sign an agreement.

The flaws are some fighters are not in the mix of this, boxing is known for circumstances beyond control such as injuries to a fighter and weight issues. And the time process to crown a champion may be too long.  Fans don’t need to wait a year or more to determine who is the best because a network, SHOWTIME, needs to draw more interest with their boxing production.

Why isn’t top rated super middleweight, or middleweight contender Giovanni Lorenzo, the Domincian Republic native involved?  He has been calling for an opportunity to fight Abraham before the champion vacated his title. And Abraham will no doubt have his first round fight in Germany where he is unstoppable. The Garden would be a great venue for Lorenzo to highlight a card down the line with his Latino heritage.

Main Events, promoter of Lorenzo wound not get involved in the tournament which put their fighter out of the picture. Golden Boy Promotions of Oscar De La Hoya, Bob Arum of Top Rank and Don King, the other prominent promoters in the sport don’t need to get involved with a rival network they hardly do business with.

But for promoter Gary Shaw, who works hand- in- hand with SHOWTIME and for his fighter Dirrell, this is a perfect opportunity. “It’s the best of the best,” said Dirrell “Champion vs, champion.  I will bring a new element to the division and people will see what I am about,” he said.

The WBC has committed to make this three-stage situation happen and will honor all the fights and grant championships. “The sport needs a shot of adrenaline,” said DiBella. “This kind of event is what’s going to save boxing,” he added.

Maybe for SHOWTIME this offers some hope. The sports of boxing, though does not need more confusion and five promoters to make us wonder more: Who is the real champion?

GATTI THE WARRIOR: Arturo Gatti may not have been the best champion on record winning world championships in two weight classes at 130 and 140 pounds, but he was a warrior and a delight to fans.  Sadly, the 37-year old was found dead in Brazil Saturday and so another tragic ending to a great fighter,

Last week the boxing world was stunned to hear that another great champion, Alexis Arguello took his own life with an alleged self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest at his home in Nicaragua.  It seems this has become a common occurrence, great champions who gave us thrills in the ring and suddenly a tragic ending.

Gatti was a warrior who sold out the Atlantic City Convention Center each time he fought there. He is best remembered for the three epic fights against Micky Ward, two years back in 2002 and 2003, the last two held at the Convention Center.  Gatti won two of the three fights all on 10-round decisions.

And despite his reported out of the ring wild behavior, sometimes that has to be bypassed because of the great things he did in the ring. Gatti liked to have a good time and was always receptive to his fans and of course to the media who watched him throw punches at ringside.

So the sport has lost another legend. Gatti (40-9, 31 knockouts) gave us thrills and loved the sport and retired two years ago, July 14, 2007 with a loss to Alfonso Gomez by TKO in the seventh round, also in Atlantic City. That fight wasn’t his best and he knew it was time to leave the game.

There are no words to describe why fighters such as Arguello, and now Gatti have left us so soon. Perhaps it is a reflection for the society we are in. Because fighters know how to survive in the ring and when they leave the game survival becomes their biggest fight.

Rest in peace to another great champion and like Arguello we will toll the 10-count at ringside at the next fight.

E-mail Rich Mancuso: Ring786@aol.com