The Boxing Writers Association of America last week overwhelmingly selected Manny Pacquiao Fighter of the Decade. In his acceptance speech Friday night in New York City he said: “I confronted poverty by trusting in God and dreaming big. I was convinced I could succeed in boxing and that the boxing ring could be the breeding ground for my dreams.”
If the dream of most boxing fans comes true, this latest snub will inspire undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr., to agree to fight Pacquiao before the year ends.
Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, said the fight could happen in November, probably in Las Vegas instead of Cowboys Stadium. He said: “Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas is Frank Sinatra times a hundred. Nobody else can bring in the highest of the high-rollers.”
I like Pacquiao, but if Sinatra were alive, I wouldn’t go quite that far.
The unsung hero for the 2010 New York Yankees is Brett Gardner. The team’s brass deserves credit for gambling that Gardner could replace popular Johnny Damon as the regular in left field. The Yankees let Damon walk to Detroit and gave Gardner the job. So far, so good. Here’s how they compared entering Sunday:
DAMON ? .273 (53-for-194), 16 doubles, 1 triple, 3 HRs, 18 RBI, 30 walks, 31 strikeouts, 3 stolen bases in 4 attempts.
GARDNER ? .312 (59-for-189), 6 doubles, 3 triples, 3 HRs, 18 RBI, 24 walks, 29 strikeouts, 20 stolen bases in 24 attempts.
Also worth noting: Gardner covers more ground in left field and has a better arm. … Damon is 36 and Gardner is 26. … Damon is making $8 million this season and Gardner is making $452,500.
In hindsight, I’m glad The Sporting News conducted its “Greatest Coach in American Sports History” poll last year. Landslide winner John Wooden was alive and it wasn’t any sort of sympathy vote. The more we’re informed and reminded of Wooden in the days after his passing at age 99, the more we recognize how extraordinary he was as a college basketball coach and a person. The 118 former champion athletes, coaches, managers and media members who participated in the poll (including Rochester’s Joe Altobelli) got it right.
For the record, Wooden received 57 of the 118 first-place votes and runner-up Vince Lombardi received 20. The top 20 finishers, in order: Wooden, Lombardi, Bear Bryant, Phil Jackson, Don Shula, Red Auerbach, Scotty Bowman, Dean Smith, Casey Stengel, Knute Rockne, Pat Summitt, Paul Brown, Joe Paterno, George Halas, Chuck Noll, Bob Knight, Joe Gibbs, Tom Landry, Mike Krzyzewski, Bill Belichick, Adolph Rupp, Joe McCarthy, Eddie Robinson, Bobby Bowden and John McGraw.
In a fitting coincidence, Richard “Duke” Llewellyn died at age 93 Friday in California, the same day John Wooden passed away. Llewellyn was one of Wooden’s best friends for more than 60 years and founded the Wooden Award (college basketball’s Player of the Year) in 1976.
The only horse to finish in the top three in two of the 2010 Triple Crown races was First Dude. He didn’t win, but give him credit for finishing second in the Preakness Stakes and third in the Belmont Stakes after setting all the pace and battling to the wire in both races. … Onondaga County last week again rejected off-track by a 13-5 vote in the County Legislature. Thirteen counties in New York state are without OTB parlors.
The Rochester Rhinos had to settle for a 0-0 draw against Minnesota Friday night. Maybe Saturday’s Major League Soccer results made the Rhinos feel better. Of the eight MLS games, six were shutouts, including two scoreless draws. The games featured a total of 15 goals. … The Major League Lacrosse Toronto Nationals, until last summer the Rochester Rattlers, are off to an 0-4 start this season. They lost 14-13 at home Saturday to the Chicago Machine on a 2-point goal as time expired. Toronto is averaging an announced 1,960 fans for two home games.
Here’s hoping new linebacker Reggie Tabor turns out to be a great addition to the Buffalo Bills, but the Miami Dolphins decided to let him go rather than pay the $3 million salary he was due this season. … Rochester Raiders management was happy with the announced 6,320 fans for Saturday night’s “historic” 43-36 Indoor Football League victory over the Chicago Slaughter Saturday night at Marina Auto Stadium ? no matter how many freebies were in the crowd. The win was impressive. Is any pro athlete in Rochester having a more productive season than Raiders wide receiver Kevin Concepcion? The most embarrassing moment of the night: The public address announcer introduced former Chicago Bears star quarterback and Slaughter part-owner Jim McMahon for the traditional coin flip. He wasn’t there.
This week in Rochester sports history: 59 years ago (1951), the Rochester Red Wings beat the parent St. Louis Cardinals 6-5 at Red Wing Stadium before 13,655 fans. Red Schoendienst was 3-for-5 and Stan Musial was 0-for-2 for the Cardinals. Enos Slaughter hit the game’s only home run. … 39 years ago (1971), the North American League Rochester Lancers lost 4-2 to the New York Cosmos before 2,017 fans at Yankee Stadium. … Happy birthday to Anna Kournikova (29), Allen Iverson (35), Mike Modano (40) and Terry O’Reilly (59). Prince (52) and Tom Jones (70) could form an interesting duet to sing Happy Birthday.
