There will be Bad News and a Hurricane at Casino Rama Saturday night.
That?s the good news. The bad news is only one can win the jackpot.
Two of the world?s top female boxers will be in the ring tonight for the WBA women?s bantamweight title.
One is an all-world star about to become even bigger. She?s Ana ?The Hurricane? Julaton, an American-Filipina beauty who can bash and is a magazine editor?s dream cover girl.
The other wants to change that.
And let me tell you when Toronto?s own Lisa ?Bad News? Brown goes downtown with her famous left hook, you go down. Just ask the 16 girls she has knocked out.
?I am very aware of it,? said The Hurricane. ?I have a lot of respect for Lisa Brown.?
Hurricane has boxing champ Manny Pacquiao backing her, while Lisa has her husband, former boxer Errol Brown. Hurricane has the whole Philippines rooting while Brown will have her Cabbagetown supporters in her corner. This would be a great movie if they could have a ?Thrilla? rematch in Manila.
There are still tickets for the six-card fight, headlined by the IBF junior featherweight title fight featuring Steve ?The Canadian Kid? Molitor and South African Takalani Ndlovu. Contact Ticketmaster or the box office.
I am hoping for Molitor to win his title back in what will be a good slugfest. As for who will win the women?s fight? Never get between Bad News and a Hurricane but either way the winner is boxing.
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The music business is tough, so I was very impressed with how generous song-writing guru Jim Vallance was this week in a seminar at Long and McQuade on Bloor St. W. Invited there by Jenny James of Jen and the Men and her song-writing partner and husband Brian Mann, I marvelled at how the man famous for writing such hits, with Bryan Adams, as Summer of 69, could listen to a recording and then play it back on guitar or keyboards 10 seconds later. ?I like to give song writers encouragement,? said Vallance. ?But I also like to give them discouragement so they understand how hard this craft is.?
Long and McQuade?s Jeff Long and I looked at each other with a smile because we know how hard it is.
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When former Platinum Blonde bassist Kenny MacLean died suddenly at his studio Nov. 24, 2008, he was on the verge of finishing a solo album. Now close friends have finished it and fans will get to hear it performed by MacLean?s band, Clear, Apr. 8 at the Mod Club, 722 College St. A CD release party starts at 8:30 p.m. Admission is $20 with a free disc.
Organizer Denis Martel also has invited top talent to perform such as Jacques Pigeon of Jacques & The Shakey Boys, Patrizia, Paris Black, Mark Holmes of Platinum Blonde and Kenny?s son, Devlin MacLean. It will be rockin?.
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Other albums out soon I am excited about include one from Toronto Blues beauty Shakura S?Aida, whose 10-original-song recording, Brown Sugar, was produced by Jim Gaines. I remember her from 10 years ago at Blues on Bellair and now she?s literally touring all over the world.
Another one of my favourites is Canadian legend Andy Kim, famed for writing such monster hits as Sugar, Sugar and Rock Me Gently. Well, after 20 years of waiting, Andy is coming out with a new CD Wednesday called Happen Again, which features a song ?I Forgot To Mention? co-written with Barenaked Lady Ed Robertson. I hope to catch up with Andy, and Shakura, in May or June. I hear great things about both records.
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They tell me Saturday night is Earth Hour and you are to shut off your lights between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. My pal David ?Menzoid? Menzies, who has pulled other crazy media stunts before including dressing up like Batman, is going to celebrate in another way. ?My house is going to look like a Las Vegas Casino,? he said. ?I am getting out all of my Christmas tree lights and even rented movie lights to put in my front yard.?
Right at 8:30, he?s going to light up the sky. ?My goal is to have my house seen in outer space by the cosmonauts,? he said, adding as ?the rest of Richmond Hill is in darkness my house will be a sparkling gem.?
You can e-mail Menzoid, a regular contributor to the Sun, to the Michael Coren Show on CTS, John Oakley and Charles Adler on AM 640, at the [email protected]. But he told me his motivation is to shine light on ?ridiculous? and ?hypocritical? environmentalists like Al Gore ?whose carbon footprint is 10 times the average person.? Menzoid just wants to keep up with the Gores.
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Last but not least, thanks to Immigration minister Jason Kenney for letting the Mallozzi family of Oakville have another chance to fill out their temporary worker visa form and not immediately deport them back to England. All class by Kenney and staff. Have a great weekend. Scrawler out.
