50 yeas ago this weekend, Cassius Clay, soon to be Muhammad Ali, shocked the world in Miami Beach, Florida, when as a 7-1 underdog he beat the heavy champion of the world into submission. Sonny Liston couldn't or wouldn't answer the bell for the seventh round. You can make an argument that just a few months after President Kennedy was killed, the young, brash Clay ushered in the 1960's.
Clay turned even the boring pre-fight weigh-in into an event. His pulse and blood pressure shot so high as he screamed at Liston and taunted him, that the fight doctor threatened to cancel the fight. Later, the doctor wrongly surmised that Clay's pulse and blood pressure were so high because he was scared.
Sonny Liston would barely live out the decade. He died in Las Vegas in 1970. Officially his cause of death was a drug overdose, but it was known that Liston owed money to the Mob. His grave is in a cemetary near the Las Vegas airport. The tombstone reads "Charles Sonny Liston. A Man."
Ali went on to win and lose the heavyweight title a record three times. He refused to be drafted into the Vietnam War and was stripped of his title and could not get licensed to fight for over three years in the prime of his career. His conviction for draft evasion was overturned by the US Supreme Court. Ali went on to have epic fights with Joe Frazier and George Forman. He spends his days quietly in Scottsdale, Arizona, no longer able to speak much, his body ravaged by the blows he took as a boxer and the resulting Parkinson Syndrome.
But 50 years ago- February 25, 1964- the greatest shocked the world and change was in the air.
See you in court.
When you see something that is not right, not fair, find a way to get in the way and cause trouble. Congressman John Lewis
JUSTICE BUILDING BLOG
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Sunday, February 23, 2014
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4 Questions:
1) Did Liston take a dive in the first round in the rematch in Lewiston, Maine the following year?
2) Why were all the carriers at Sea at Pearl Harbor the first week of December, 1941? Admiral Husban Kimmel never fully answered the question.
3) How could one bullet have caused all that damage to Kennedy and Connely ?
4) Why did Bogart let the girl go at the end of Casablanca?
Everyone knows Hub Kimmel ordered the carriers out to sea because he had more than an inkling of the pending attack. He saved the fleet and took the fall.
Miracle on ice was more significant , as a sports event , cultural phenom and political catalyst . And even if you don't agree , think about this embarrassing fact: on the cusp of the games president carter announced that we would boycott the next summer games to be held in the Soviet Union unless that regime withdrew its troops from Afghanistan . 34 years later, our troops are stupidly in Afghanistan . The miracle on ice was the best .
-GB
THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:
Bieber offered BOT ???
According to the Daily Mail:
Pop star Justin Bieber is about to reject a plea deal over demands he should submit for random drug testing.
The 19-year-old, who was arrested in January, is facing charges in Miami, Florida, of resisting officers and driving under the influence.
The State Attorney was alleged ready to drop both charges if Bieber agreed to undergo random testing for substance use and commit 40 hours of community service, but sources say the singer will reject the offer in a sensational turn of events.
According to website TMZ, sources close to Bieber believe the prosecutor's offer should be declined because Justin doesn't want to be under the constant threat of probation.
As part of the deal, prosecutors also asked that Bieber also attend an alcohol education course as well as a victim impact panel, where he will hear stories from the family and friends of DUI victims.
But sources tell TMZ that Bieber feels this would make him a spectacle.
The Baby singer would also be required to have an ignition interlock device installed in his vehicle for three months.
Cap Out ...
captain4Justice@gmail.com
Big deal, everyone gets BOT in his shoes.
How would they enforce drug testing with a jerk like that kid who travels all over the world?
Great post. I still believe that Liston took a dive in both fights. The 60's began on November 22, 1963 and ended on August 8, 1974. The sporting events that defined the era were Ali/Frazier. Jets/Colts, AFL/NFL. the 1968 Olympics, and Curt Flood's lawsuit against MLB. Where you stood on these contests pretty much summed up your political leanings.
Rump, a few years ago HBO did a special on the Ali-Liston bout and about the photo that would forever be known as "The Shot". It shows a triumphant Ali, all muscle and sinew, towering over a down and out Liston who would never be the same. There is a great backstory to that photo (it was on the SI front cover of greatest sports photos of the century, go to: http://i.cdn.turner.com/sivault/si_online/covers/images/1999/0726_thumb.jpg). Herbie Scharfman, a veteran sports photographer, always got his pick of spots around the ring apron. A freshman photog, maybe 22 years old at the time, named Neil Leifer, was told where he could sit/stand during the match. Wouldn't you know it, they were on opposite sides of the ring when Liston went down and Neil Leifer not only got "The Shot", he caught Scharfman's face (and a look of incredulity) right between Ali's legs as Ali stood screaming at Liston to get up off the mat.
Interesting story, but boxing is awful and proves nothing, other than the so-called victors succumb to brain injury and lead diminished lives. BFD
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