President Obama on the passing of Muhammad Ali.

He shook up the world, and the world's better for it. Rest in peace, Champ. pic.twitter.com/z1yM3sSLH3

— President Obama (@POTUS) June 4, 2016

Courtesy of Politicususa:  

Muhammad Ali was The Greatest. Period. If you just asked him, he’d tell you. He’d tell you he was the double greatest; that he’d “handcuffed lightning, thrown thunder into jail.” 

But what made The Champ the greatest – what truly separated him from everyone else – is that everyone else would tell you pretty much the same thing. 

Like everyone else on the planet, Michelle and I mourn his passing. But we’re also grateful to God for how fortunate we are to have known him, if just for a while; for how fortunate we all are that The Greatest chose to grace our time. 

In my private study, just off the Oval Office, I keep a pair of his gloves on display, just under that iconic photograph of him – the young champ, just 22 years old, roaring like a lion over a fallen Sonny Liston. I was too young when it was taken to understand who he was – still Cassius Clay, already an Olympic Gold Medal winner, yet to set out on a spiritual journey that would lead him to his Muslim faith, exile him at the peak of his power, and set the stage for his return to greatness with a name as familiar to the downtrodden in the slums of Southeast Asia and the villages of Africa as it was to cheering crowds in Madison Square Garden. 

That’s the Ali I came to know as I came of age – not just as skilled a poet on the mic as he was a fighter in the ring, but a man who fought for what was right. A man who fought for us. He stood with King and Mandela; stood up when it was hard; spoke out when others wouldn’t. His fight outside the ring would cost him his title and his public standing. It would earn him enemies on the left and the right, make him reviled, and nearly send him to jail. But Ali stood his ground. And his victory helped us get used to the America we recognize today. 

He wasn’t perfect, of course. For all his magic in the ring, he could be careless with his words, and full of contradictions as his faith evolved. But his wonderful, infectious, even innocent spirit ultimately won him more fans than foes – maybe because in him, we hoped to see something of ourselves. Later, as his physical powers ebbed, he became an even more powerful force for peace and reconciliation around the world. We saw a man who said he was so mean he’d make medicine sick reveal a soft spot, visiting children with illness and disability around the world, telling them they, too, could become the greatest. We watched a hero light a torch, and fight his greatest fight of all on the world stage once again; a battle against the disease that ravaged his body, but couldn’t take the spark from his eyes. 

Muhammad Ali shook up the world. And the world is better for it. We are all better for it. Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to his family, and we pray that the greatest fighter of them all finally rests in peace.

I don't think you can be on this planet without knowing who Muhammad Ali was. At least not anyplace civilized.

And if you knew who he was you were inevitably impressed with him as well. I know I certainly was.

Growing up in the 60's and 70's Muhammad Ali was everywhere in my young life. And as a fighter in my own right, I studied his movements and attempted to dissect whatever it was that made him so amazing.

Only to realize that no matter how many hours of footage I watched I was never going to be able to mimic what he had. (Don't believe me? Here is Ali dodging 21 punches in 10 seconds.)

He was bigger than life.

And he remained that way even as the Parkinson's disease ravaged his body, and stole his vaunted athleticism away from him.

And in my opinion even death cannot really defeat this champion, because who he was and what he did is going to live on for centuries to come.

As well he should, because like he always told everyone, he was the greatest.

The Mitt Romney-Evander Holyfield fight. One of the most disturbing spectacles I have ever seen.

Things to note:

30 second mark: Ann Romney wearing a Batman cap sideways trying to pull off the boxing groupie cosplay.

1:49 mark: Evander Holyfield makes his appearance looking far to authentic and majestic to be associated with this garbage.

3:16 mark: Mitt removes his robe revealing a suit and tie underneath it.

3:25 mark: They strip the suit and tie leaving Romney shirtless.

6:44 mark: The "fight" starts.

9:43 mark: After touching Holyfield with his outsized gloves like a man engaged in a tickle fight, Romney "knocks" Holyfield down.

10:03 mark: The Romney corner throws in the towel and the "fight" comes to an end. And not a minute too soon.

Okay here's the thing, I KNOW this was supposed to be for charity. And I know it supposedly raised a million dollars.

But I also know that the money went to something called CharityVision which is run by Romney's son Josh.

I also know that Romney could have reached into the back pocket of his faded jeans and simply handed the charity that same amount from his small change purse.

And he could have done that without acting like a fool and taking a giant dump all over the great sport of boxing. A sport that I used to really love.

Watching Romney throw those baby like punches was painful for me to watch. I have seen kittens leisurely swatting at floating dust particles that have more power than Romney demonstrated.

But even worse than that was watching the once great, and I mean GREAT, Evander Holyfield pretend that he also could not throw an effective punch and then take that dive in the second round.

That hurt my heart.

Look I've fought in the ring, and I've trained fighters. I know how much dedication it takes to develop those skills, to build your endurance, and to overcome your trepidation over stepping into a canvas ring that you may end up being carried out of at the end of the fight.

I will hand it to Mittens, he looked fit. But he had no business doing something like this.

Due to our knowledge of the massive head trauma suffered by boxers, the rise of MMA style fighting, and the diminishing interest from the public, boxing is on its death bed.

But it certainly did not need Mitt "Money bags" Romney to deliver such an ugly kidney punch before it breathes its last.

There I've had my say.

The George Zimmerman "celebrity" boxing match is off.

Courtesy of Time:  

It was going to be a matchup for the ages, but the promoter behind George Zimmerman’s fight with DMX has K.O.’ed the bout. 

Zimmerman’s promoter Damon Feldman has decided to forego “a lot of money” and cancel the controversial fight, according to his Twitter feed, because he’s concerned with hurting people’s feelings. 

Feldman is taking the blame for the decision to back out I think the real reason might be because the opponent they decided on, DMX, threatened to "beat the living f--k out of him." And urinate on his face once he had done so.

After all Zimmerman won't get to bring a gun into the ring which is the only way he feels manly enough to face off against a black guy.

I actually decided I wasn't going to write about this if it took place, but now that it has been cancelled there are a couple of things I think are worth pointing out.

One is that, despite our supposed progress toward increasingly civilized behaviors, we still live in a culture that is willing to pay to watch one man beat the crap out of another. And let's face it, not many eyes would be averted if DMX had whipped it out and urinated on Zimmerman. In fact for some that would have been the best part.

Second there was no way this was a good idea for Zimmerman no matter what the outcome.

If he, by some miracle, won, it would prove that the skinny 17 year old Trayvon Martin could not have beaten him down and made him feel helpless enough to justify killing him with a gun.

And if he lost, well he would simply be some idiot who got his ass handed to him on national television and even his racist supporters would be disappointed with his performance.

Not only that but earning money off of the "fame" that he apparently has for murdering an unarmed teenager would anger even those who may as of yet not despised his fat ass and he would need to hire even more protection.

Like I said I am glad the fight got cancelled. However just between you and me, there is still a primitive part of me that would like to see Zimmerman get his ass kicked all over the ring.

I am not saying I am proud of that, but it exists.

George Zimmerman signs up for "celebrity" boxing and the line of celebrities who want to beat his ass is growing by the minute.

Courtesy of The Washington Post: 

Folks, this is getting ridiculous. Ever since it was announced last Thursday that George Zimmerman, the killer of Trayvon Martin, would participate in a “celebrity” boxing match on March 1, every hardened would-be “hero” is coming out of the woodwork to one-up each other in a misguided contest to avenge the death of the unarmed 17-year-old. 

First, it was the rapper the Game, who declared to TMZ, “I will beat the f— out of him.” He went on to say, “I would not be boxing for me. I’d be boxing for the legacy of Trayvon Martin and for his family.” He added: “I would box him to knock him out. I would definitely take pleasure in it. It’s legal, and I want to show him you can solve your disputes without a weapon.” 

And then the rapper DMX got into the act with comments to TMZ that were so foul I’ll only quote some of them. “I am going to beat the living f— out him,” DMX said. “I am breaking every rule in boxing to make sure I f— him right up.” Again, that’s not the worst of what he said. DMX later said he wanted to fight Zimmerman for “every black person who has been done wrong in the system.” Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder last July.

As a rule I NEVER watch pay-per-view anything, nor do I watch boxing anymore since I learned about all of the head injuries, but I am not about to miss this one. 

Watching Zimmerman get chased around the ring and then beaten down like the little bitch that I know him to be, is almost too good to miss. 

In fact even though I have not set foot in a ring for over thirty years, and am not exactly a celebrity, I kind of wish I could have a shot at the son-of-a-bitch.

Oh well, seeing him knocked out by somebody else will have to suffice.