LAS VEGAS – Oscar De La Hoya might have beaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. had he stayed with his jab and found a way to land a left hook or two.
He would have beaten Felix Trinidad if he hadn’t decided to run instead of fight in the last few rounds, and he might have gotten the best of Shane Mosley if he hadn’t faded late in their two fights.
One common theme emerged after all of those losses – it always seemed to be someone else’s fault.
“It’s his nature,” trainer Freddie Roach said. “He’s never been a man who blames himself. He’ll always blame someone else.”
There will be plenty of blame to spread around Saturday night if De La Hoya can’t beat an undersized Manny Pacquiao in a 147-pound fight even the oddsmakers expect him to win.
Unlike De La Hoya’s fight last year against Mayweather, though, Roach won’t be a target of it because he’ll be in the opposite corner doing everything possible to carry Pacquiao to victory.
He’ll settle for a decision win. But what Roach would really like is a knockout that could bring an end to De La Hoya’s long career.
“I go through scenarios before I go to bed every night,” Roach said. “I can’t sleep until I come up with the right ending. And it always ends with Manny knocking him out.”
NHL: Vancouver wins ST. PAUL, Minn. – Kevin Bieksa’s power-play goal and an early scuffle sparked Vancouver in the first period, and goalie Cory Schneider picked up his first career victory for the Canucks in a 2-1 decision over the Minnesota Wild.
In other NHL games Friday night, Calgary topped St. Louis 4-3 in overtime, Dallas topped Colorado 2-1 in a shootout and Edmonton defeated Los Angeles 5-4 in a shootout.
Women’s NCAA soccer CARY, N.C. – Courtney Barg scored in the 15th minute and Notre Dame beat Stanford 1-0 Friday to reach the championship of the NCAA Women’s College Cup.
The Fighting Irish (26-0-0), who are in the final four for the third straight year, will play North Carolina on Sunday.
The Tar Heels advanced with a 1-0 victory over UCLA after Yael Averbuch, making her school-record 104th straight start, converted a penalty shot in the 41st minute.
