The original Tyson says he’s ready to re-release the fury
As sports looks for an escape after two cruel months of inactivity, along comes one of the most impossible-to-ignore figures in its history.
Mike Tyson is hinting that he wants to fight competitively again at the age of 53. And if his daily barrage of fitness videos means much, the man who once was the youngest heavyweight champion of the world will have a chance to be the oldest.
So far, Tyson hasn’t said much more than,
“I’m back,” and that should he resume his career it would be with “the spirit of Mao.” And who’d have guessed that a convicted rapist who once bit off a chunk of Evander Holyfield’s ear might harbor an appreciation for one of history’s more repugnant tyrants?
Anyway, boxing never would have been popular without the ramblings of the chronically concussed. Tyson served his prison time. And in the context of the fight game, has been a gracious former champion. But what can he do at 53 that he couldn’t do 15 years ago when he lost three of his last four fights, including his career finale against Kevin McBride when he didn’t answer the Round 7 bell?
As dynamic as Tyson was early in his career, one truth has been cleansed by history: At the end, he could not fight. He didn’t know when to throw a punch or when to retreat. His footwork was suspect. He couldn’t execute a plan, if he had one at all. He ducked when he should have charged, and viceversa. His last title bout, a 2002 loss to Lennox Lewis, was eight rounds of proof that he needed to transition into a character actor. (And wasn’t he a scream in those Hangover movies?)
Maybe Tyson has studied film since his 2005 retirement. Maybe ring wisdom comes with age. And the heavyweight division is OK, but not so top-heavy that Tyson couldn’t parlay his legend to a title shot after a handful of cleverly scheduled walk-overs.
When George Foreman won the heavyweight championship at age 45, it was considered a stunning rejection of the aging process. Tyson is eight years older than that. Eight. Yet the videos show him to be in fighting shape. So orchestrate his ramp-up. Then rent a ballpark and match champ Tyson Fury against the man he’d been named after.
It would be the fight of the century in a century that needs one.
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That get-up the Egyptian pharaohs wore … I don’t get it.
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When the NFL returns, and it will, it will have taken every reasonable step to prevent its players from becoming ill. There will be virus testing, improved locker room hygiene and even an infectious-disease medical staff dedicated to each team.
Last week, veteran Eagle Brandon Graham said he was OK with that, insisting that he doesn’t plan to live in fear. Recently, Jason Kelce, who from time to time has been willing to shout out a point, projected a similar grasp of reality.
“I’ll be comfortable no matter what the NFL decides to do,” the veteran center said. “I believe that the end of the day, if the NFL is allowing 90 guys in a locker room it’s going to be in a safe, controlled environment. I don’t think it’s going to happen unless that is doable.
“I don’t believe we will be back and playing games unless the NFL was fully confident that it could be done in a safe manner. So I’ll be comfortable the moment they give the green light.”
That’s it.
That’s enough.
Do what you can to ensure health and get on with being healthy.
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How thirsty do you have to be, anyway, to require one of those coolers with a handle and wheels?
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Bryce Harper has a $330,000,000 contract. For the Phillies, it was worth it, not just for the way he plays baseball, but for how he connects with the fans, saluting them in right field, ever prepared, ever hustling, always projecting pride in the uniform.
So why did he have to jeopardize that compact with the customers by declaring that Blake Snell was “speaking the truth” when the Tampa Bay lefthander said that playing this season at a discounted price was not worth the health risk to his family?
There are two acceptable stances for a pro athlete during the virus crisis. One is to declare that it is too unsafe to play at any cost. The other is to say that playing for whatever collectively bargained compensation is a professional duty.
Pick one.
Both work.
What is not acceptable is to declare it OK to take a health risk at one price but not another. And if that’s what Harper is suggesting, then he can just skip it with the outfield salutes.
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The governor says I can play golf now. That’s great news because I could never play it before.
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If the NBA regular season is over, then the Sixers can be satisfied with their last draft, with Matisse Thybulle having led all rookies with 80 steals. (Atlanta’s Cam Reddish was next with 62.) Also, Thybulle’s 40 snuffs were the fifth highest among rookies.
Considering he had broken Gary Payton’s Pac-12 record for steals, that was not a shock.
“There were a handful of guys I watched and tried to take something from their game,” said Thybulle, on a recent NBA video chat. “One was Gary Payton. He was obviously ‘The Glove.’ But I watched other guys like Chris Paul and D-Wade (Dwyane Wade). They played passing lanes really well and did the little things to try to get steals. Creating steals and trying to force steals is something I tried to learn.”
One year into his NBA career, he showed he learned it well.
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Seems I was expected to generate some new obsession with Michael Jordan in recent weeks. Take a guess at how that worked out.